《Epoch of Twilight》


 Chapter 1: Mission

    Chapter 1: Mission


    Trantor: Editor:


    ¡°Tscht!¡±


    As the door of the bus opened, Luo Yuan disembarked, following the flow of the crowd. His white shirt had long been drenched in sweat while dirt and stains formed abstract art on the fabric. Commuting daily was a nightmare for Luo Yuan, and this unavoidable routine was testing his limits on a regr basis.


    ¡°It¡¯s getting hotter these days,¡± Luo Yuan thought while he pulled at his damp shirt. The hot weatherbined with today¡¯s difficult client had made him even more agitated. Luo Yuan tucked his briefcase under his arm and walked briskly towards the Jingyue Residential Area.


    The Jingyue Residential Area was near Donghu City¡¯s suburbs, more than 10 kilometers from the city center. However, rent prices in the area were far from cheap. Luo Yuan shared a house with a young couple. It was a fully furnished 2-bedroom house, and he only had to pay CNY1200 out of the CNY3000 monthly rental, which was considered a very good deal for a first tier city. Although the location was not very convenient, his housemates were decent and they were quite nice to him.


    He breathed in the smell of freshly cut grass before seeing a few workers mowing thewn in the residential area. ¡°What¡¯s going on? Didn¡¯t they mow the grass just two weeks ago?¡± Luo Yuan felt puzzled before he looked over at thewns that had yet to be mowed. Only then did he realize that the grass had grown extremely fast, and was reaching about half a foot already. The trees in the area also seemed to have grown taller and looked very bushy and dense.


    He then began to notice how odd the weather was. It was still hot when they were already approaching December. Most of the maple trees in the area were usually bald by this time of the year, but this year they strangely seemed to have grown lusher. There were many theories about it on the news, from equatorial counter currents to sunspot activity, some had even said that it could have been a supernova explosion from a nearbyary system. A simple search online could produce all sorts of arguments and hypothesesplete with photos and solid proof. All were equally logical yet headache-inducing and, at the end of the day, taken as gospel.


    ¡°Better leave it to the scientists. What is there for an ordinary citizen to think about?¡± Luo Yuan shook his head.


    A few minutester, the aroma of a home-cooked meal greeted him as he opened the security screen door. Just as he changed into his house slippers, Zhao Yali came out of the kitchen. She looked surprised that it was not her boyfriend. Recovering with a smile, she said, ¡°Oh, Yuan, it¡¯s you. Let¡¯s have dinner together. I¡¯ve cooked an extra portion today!¡± She went back into the kitchen, obviously still busy preparing.


    Zhao Yali was actually quite young. She was 27 years old, just four years older than Luo Yuan. She had fair skin, a slim figure, and a charming smile on her delicate almond-shaped face. She looked like a typical Jiangnan canal towndy.


    ¡°Sure, I get to save money that way,¡± Luo Yuan epted her invitation with a big smile. ¡°What about Bro Qiang? Howe he¡¯s not back yet? He usually gets off from work quite early. I was thinking I¡¯d y a game with him while I waited for dinner,¡± Luo Yuan added as he saw that there was still a pair of slippersid out.


    Zhao Yali¡¯s boyfriend, Chen Weiqiang, worked at the Forestry Bureau and his workload was usually quite light. He started work at 9:00 am and would usually get off at 4:30 pm. He hardly ever joined any social gatherings. It was quite strange for Luo Yuan to not find him home at this hour.


    ¡°All you do is y games!¡± Zhao Yali used haughtily, still in her apron, ¡°I know both of you gamed until 1:00 am while I was sleepingst night. Why didn¡¯t you stop him?¡±


    Luo Yuan smiled and replied, ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll try to stop him next time. I can¡¯t promise I¡¯ll seed though! He¡¯s an addict.¡±


    ¡°He can¡¯t force you if you don¡¯t want to y!¡± Zhao Yali retorted.


    Zhao Yali actually knew her boyfriend well enough to realize that she could not put the entire me on Luo Yuan. To put it nicely, Chen Weiqiang was a family man. But he was also known as a geek. He had no social life. He always left for home right after his working hours and spent the rest of his day gaming until midnight. She tried to stop him but failed most of the time.


    ¡°Okay, we¡¯ll go to bed before 11:00 pm next time.¡±


    Luo Yuan felt that they had been staying up reallyte recently as well, and always felt sleepy during lunch time.


    He went to his room to get some clean clothes and then headed to the bathroom for a shower. Afterwards, he started a game of Dota. He realized that the sky had already gotten dark after just one game. Zhao Yali came into his room just as he was about to start another one.


    ¡°Yuan, let¡¯s have dinner. We don¡¯t have to wait for him anymore,¡± she said softly with a worried expression on her face.


    ¡°Have you given him a call?¡± Luo Yuan asked.


    ¡°I have, he didn¡¯t pick up!¡± Zhao Yali tousled her hair a bit before saying, ¡°He did say that he¡¯ll be inspecting the forestry situation in Gaotang Town with his superior this morning. Perhaps he¡¯s still busy. Never mind. Let¡¯s eat first.¡±


    Luo Yuan stopped asking and the two of them sat down at the dining table. Zhao Yali was a very good cook. There were five dishes and a bowl of soup on the table, all of them looking and smelling delicious.


    ¡°Oh, this Old Duck Soup is my favorite! I¡¯ve liked it since I was in college and I¡¯ve been missing it. Let me try this first!¡± Luo Yuan helped himself to a piece of duck fillet.


    ¡°How is it? Did I add too much salt?¡± Zhao Yali asked nervously.


    ¡°Are you kidding? You could¡¯ve been a head chef with your culinary skills! It¡¯s such a waste that you¡¯re only cooking for Bro Qiang,¡± Luo Yuanplimented her.


    Zhao Yaliughed and chided, ¡°Stop ttering me! They¡¯re just regr dishes. Have some more if they¡¯re so delicious.¡±


    The heavy earlier atmosphere was reced by a harmonious one as they joked throughout dinner.


    It was when the dinner came to an end that Zhao Yali started to worry again.


    She took out her phone and redialed her boyfriend¡¯s number, her expression turning darker.


    ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡± Luo Yuan asked.


    ¡°His phone has been switched off,¡± Zhao Yali replied quietly.


    ¡°Maybe it ran out of battery. Besides, Bro Qiang will probably need to entertain his colleagues after the inspection. With his alcohol tolerance, I bet he¡¯s already passed out,¡± Luo Yuanforted her while smiling.


    ¡°That¡¯s true. His alcohol tolerance is the worst. All it takes is a bottle of beer to knock him out!¡± Zhao Yali looked slightly relieved when she entertained that possibility.


    Luo Yuan heard a beeping machine sounding from within him. His facial expression changed slightly as he summoned up the system silently. A green-framed hologram screen hovered in mid-air at the same time.


    Character: Luo Yuan


    upation: Foreign Trade Sales Representative, Qimei Trading Co. Ltd.


    Level: 3


    Experience: 900/1200


    Attributes ¨C


    Energy: 10 (10)


    Dexterity: 11 (10)


    Physique: 11 (10)


    Intelligence: 13 (10)


    Sensitivity: 10 (10)


    Determination: 11 (10)


    Skills: Science 16, Math 14, Mandarin 19, English 16, Finance 17, Programming 9, Dancing 1, Painting 3, Gaming 6, Negotiating 9, Socializing 7, Cooking 3, Driving 1, Hand-to-hand Combat 4


    Special Skills: Identification


    Pending Attribute Points: 0


    Pending Skill Points: 4


    Pending Mission: Level F ¨C Be Assistant Regional Manager of the Foreign Trade Department at Qimei Foreign Trading Co. Ltd. in 12 months (Cancelled)


    Optional Mission: Level F+ ¨C Investigate the reason of Chen Weiqiang¡¯s disappearance in 5 days (ept/Decline)


    He was stunned. Chen Weiqiang had gone missing? How?


    Luo Yuan had had some good times with him.These bad news felt unbearableing at this time. He felt worse when he looked at Zhao Yali who was grinning beside him.


    ¡°I must save him!¡± Luo Yuan thought.


    He looked at the mission on the attribute screen. This was the first time that he had received a short term Level F+ mission. Short term missions like rescuing a drowning child and participating in a sprint race during sports day, which were the ones he usuallypleted, were all Level F. They had been quite easy to achieve while only missions like getting a schrship and sitting for a Level 6 English test, which required a high level of effort, would be categorized as Level F+.


    The tag Level F+ itself betrayed the mission¡¯s difficulty and danger!


    However, what was even stranger was that his mission of bing the Assistant Regional Manager of Foreign Trade at Qimei Foreign Trading Co. Ltd. had been cancelled!


    What had happened to thepany? Would it be shutting down? Qimei Trading had about 10 billion dors of trade value a year and its sales were always good. Could it really be shutting down so soon?


    Luo Yuan recalled that this system hade about when he had been in his second year of university. His parents had been killed in a car ident and his girlfriend of one year had dumped him during the same time. He had been depressed and he used to spend his nights in inte cafes. One early morning, when he was staggering his way back home, a random object had fallen from the sky and hit him right on the head, injuring him severely.


    He had always been a third tier student in a third tier university who truanted like nobody¡¯s business. However, once he had been discharged from the hospital, he had suddenly changed and put all his effort into his studies, surprising everyone who hade to know him. He had already gotten a partial schrship for the second term of that academic year, had sat a Level 4 and 6 English, a sales qualification certificate, an international trade vouching certificate, and had even advanced his degree. His impressive r¨¦sum¨¦ upon graduation was the result of his perseverance through every hardship and obstacle. His initial path of fate had been shattered into pieces by the system.


    Unfortunately, each level up was rtively more difficult as the missions were given to him, not found. Plus, each level up only rewarded him one AP, otherwise he would have already be a superhero. After all, the reward policy of the system was different from other games as each AP added increased 50% of the respective attribute. Out of the three AP that he had obtained, two had been added to Intelligence and one had been added to Dexterity. If he had trained a bit more, his sprinting speed could have beaten the speed of a world champion by now.


    ¡°What are you thinking about? Am I boring you?¡± Zhao Yali knocked on the dining table, the dissatisfaction clear in her tone.


    Only then did Luo Yuan realize that he had zoned out for a while. He rushed to exin, ¡°Never. I just had a very annoying customer today who drained all my energy.¡±


    ¡°Perhaps you should get yourself a girlfriend. Don¡¯t think about work all the time. Is there anyone that you like? Do you need my help?¡± Zhao Yali voiced her concern.


    ¡°I¡¯m good, no worries,¡± Luo Tuan replied as he thought about the mission.


    They continued to chit chat for a little longer. Zhao Yali got up from her chair to clean the table.


    ¡°Let me get this. I can¡¯t have you cook dinner and clean too!¡±


    ¡°You¡¯ll break the bowls. Just go back to your games,¡± Zhao Yaliughed as she cleaned up fast.


    Luo Yuan thanked her and went back to his room. As hey on the bed, he thought about the mission.


    ¡°Tomorrow is Friday, so if I take one day off from work, I¡¯ll have three days toplete this mission.¡±


    He felt less enthusiastic about his job ever since he had figured out the possibility of Qimei Trading shutting down in six months¡¯ time.


    The next day, Luo Yuan came back from his usual morning exercise at the same time that Zhao Yali wasing out of the bathroom. She looked preupied. She forced a smile and greeted him. Luo Yuan knew that she must still be worried about her boyfriend noting home the previous night, but he didn¡¯t know how tofort her. He looked at the time and left the house after applying for leave to his regional marketing manager.


    The Ministry of Forestry was just a few kilometers from the Jingyue residential area. Luo Yuan had opted to jog there instead of taking the public transport. Since he had gotten the system, his interest in working out had been boosted as he could now measure his body¡¯s attributes. Although he had not achieved much all these years besides an AP in both Energy and Determination, he had made a habit of exercising every morning.


    About ten minutester, Luo Yuan had arrived at the Ministry of Forestry. He registered at the guard post and stated the purpose of his visit. Walking into the office, he saw employees scattered around the main entrance as he approached a young worker.


    ¡°Chen Weiqiang? I think I¡¯ve heard of him but he is not in our department. I¡¯m not sure, perhaps you can check with other staff.¡± The young man carried an air of arrogance, his eyes scanning Luo Yuan as he spoke.


    Luo Yuan thanked him with a smile and went on to ask somebody else. However, nobody seemed to know who or where Chen Weiqiang was. A middle-aged man passing by suddenly stopped and asked, ¡°You¡¯re looking for Chen Weiqiang? Is it urgent?¡±


    He was holding a briefcase and rocking a beer belly. He had a slight frown though, and looked serious overall. Luo Yuan looked at him and knew that he had to be a superior. He smiled and asked, ¡°Are you my brother-inw¡¯s supervisor? My sister sent me here to check if he is alright. He didn¡¯te homest night and his phone has been switched off.¡±


    Luo Yuan knew that the manager would not disclose any information if he told him that Chen Weiqiang was his roommate.


    ¡°Oh! He went to the forestry station in Gaotang Town with Supervisor He. They should be back by today. You can go home.¡±


    Beer Belly did not seem to suspect a thing and strode away right after finishing his sentence.


    ¡°If a Level F+ mission is this easy, then no reason to trouble myself!¡± Luo Yuan thought and sighed.


    It seemed that he could not get any further information, so he walked out of the building. Then he hailed a cab to head to the forestry station in Gaotang Town right away.


    The driver was a talkative person. He started talking non-stop the moment that Luo Yuan got into the car. At first, Luo Yuan had replied nonchntly but eventually he gave up responding. The car quieted down when the driver finally stopped talking after noticing that Luo Yuan was not keen on continuing the conversation. The traffic in Donghu City was terrible, especially during morning rush hours. It only became smooth again when they passed the outskirts.


    The trees along both sides of the road were tall and lush, looking exceptionally invigorating as they formed two rows of umbres that shaded the roadway. It would have been an enjoyable drive along the road, had it not been for the animal corpses that littered it every few kilometers. Corpses of snakes, rats, and sometimes even weasels and dogs, were the mostmon kind.


    ¡°Are there many snakes around here? They seem to be everywhere!¡± Luo Yuan said, frowning.


    He had been afraid of snakes ever since he was young. He had goosebumps even if he saw one from a very long distance.


    ¡°It¡¯s a recent development. What you saw is nothingpared to the vige. The vigers could earn CNY500 to CNY600 a day just by hunting for snakes and frogs. Just a few days ago, someone caught a wild boar about 300 kilos! Nobody knows where it came from! The hill is bing a jungle fast!¡± The driver had obviously held his tongue for a long time, so now he seized the opportunity to start talking non-stop again.


    The topography around Donghu City was a nd. Most of its mountain peaks were less than 300 meters above sea level. Therefore, it was more appropriate to ssify them as hills instead of mountains. Plus, due to recent exploitation, rabbits and pheasants were hard to spot, and so was arger-sized animal, much like a wild boar. Luo Yuan had been living in the city, hence he had not noticed any of these things. As he listened to what the driver had to say, he learned about the major changes that had been happening there during the past few months. ¡°If that¡¯s true, then isn¡¯t the vige dangerous?¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s so dangerous about it? We can make exotic dishes out of them! It¡¯s more dangerous uphill. There have already been a few people missing. Couldn¡¯t even find their bodies. Ever since, people hardly go up there anymore. I¡¯ve heard that the local government intends to chop down all the trees on the hill though.¡± The driver went on, ¡°They used to rally to nt more of them, and now they¡¯re cutting them down.¡±


    ¡°People missing!¡± Luo Yuan immediately thought of the F+ mission. ¡°Maybe Chen Weiqiang has also gone missing after going up that hill.¡±


    Luo Yuan lost his interest in keeping up with the conversation beyond that point. He knew the mission he had been given had to be a challenging one. It was Level F+ after all. How could it bepleted so easily? He was worried about his safety if he really had to go up that hill, though. He was unprepared and had no weapons whatsoever.


    However, it was useless for him to overthink it; the best course would be to go to the forestry station first to inquire, and then think about his next step. About 10 minutester, the cab had pulled up in front of a two-story building.


    ¡°Alright, this is the forestry station. It¡¯s CNY78 in total. Do you want me to wait for you?¡± the driver asked.


    ¡°No, thanks!¡± Luo Yuan paid and got off the car, making his way to the entrance.

 Chapter 2: Gaotang Town

    Chapter 2: Gaotang Town


    Trantor: Editor:


    A part of Donghu City, Gaotang Town was a small independent city with convenient transportation and a well-developed economy. However, its forestry resources were poor. With its limited given revenue and additional ie, the forestry station seemed much more destedpared to the lofty police station about ten meters away. Luo Yuan walked into the lobby of the building. There were only a few workers at the reception counter and all of them were either ying card games or chatting it up. He went straight up to the second floor.


    The Chief Officer was not in, so Luo Yuan could only knock on the door of the Deputy Chief Officer.


    ¡°Come in!¡±


    He opened the door and entered the office. A plump middle-aged man was inside. He had big bags under his eyes, which looked a little swollen. He took a quick nce at Luo Yuan and asked, ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡± before he resumed reading the document on his desk.


    Luo Yuan did not like being ignored, but he forced a smile and said, ¡°Hi, I¡¯m Chen Weiqiang¡¯s brother-inw. He came to Gaotang Town for an inspection with the city council Supervisor He yesterday and hasn¡¯t returned yet. My sister has sent me here to check on him. Do you know where they went?¡±


    The middle-aged man finally raised his head, the shock evident on his face. ¡°Supervisor He and Chen did note back. Hold on, let me make a call.¡±


    He stood up, took out his phone and made call after call, the beads of sweat on his forehead teeming more and more by the minute. A few minutester, he finally slumped back against his chair.


    ¡°Where did they go yesterday?¡± Luo Yuan asked curiously.


    ¡°Yesterday Supervisor He, Mayor Xia, Chief Officer Wang and Chen went up the hill for inspection after lunch. They should have been back by yesterday already. Have you called Chen? Is it possible that he¡¯s gone somewhere else?¡± he asked nervously.


    Luo Yuan was startled. This felt like a bad omen in his heart. He quickly replied, ¡°My sister has called him several times and I visited the Ministry of Forestry this morning as well. His manager told me that my brother-inw and his supervisor have not returned yet, and that it¡¯s possible that they¡¯re still on the hill. The most important thing to do now is to get help from the police!¡±


    ¡°Yes! Yes!¡± the man nodded his head. If anything happened to these superiors, not only would the local government be criticized, but he himself would also be fired from his position as Deputy Chief Officer. He quickly stood up and made a call.


    ¡°Hello!¡±


    ¡°Chief Inspector Xie? I¡¯m Cao Minghua from the forestry station... Yes, yes... I¡¯ll be heading over in a while... It¡¯s difficult to exin over the phone... I¡¯ming over right now!¡± He hung up the phone and said, ¡°Come on, follow me to the police station!¡±


    Luo Yuan and Deputy Chief Officer Cao quickly left and went to the nearby police station.


    Ten minutester, Deputy Chief Officer Cao walked into the Chief Inspector¡¯s office along with Luo Yuan and exined everything one more time. Chief Inspector Xie was rmed and he stood up, using him, ¡°How could it take you so long to realize? It¡¯s almost 24 hours!¡±


    Seeing Cao Minghua¡¯s grim expression, he gave a wave of the hand, ¡°Let me call PA Zhao!¡±


    He then took out his phone and walked out of his office. He looked very serious when he returned.


    ¡°Both of you go back and wait. I¡¯ll get my people to go up the hill. I¡¯ll make sure they find them.¡±


    ¡°Alright! We trust you, Chief Inspector Xie!¡± Cao Minghua nodded solemnly and got ready to leave.


    Luo Yuan realized that it was none of his business but he had to go work on the case himself or else the mission could not bepleted. He quickly said, ¡°Chief Inspector Xie, I want to go too!¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s very dangerous on the hill and we don¡¯t have the manpower to protect you. Wait here patiently, okay?¡± Chief Inspector Xie rejected his proposal with a frown.


    ¡°I know that it¡¯s dangerous, but that¡¯s my brother-inw. How can I just stay here and wait? I¡¯ve had somebat training before. I promise I won¡¯t be a burden to you,¡± Luo Yuan said, trying to appear anxious.


    Chief Inspector Xie took a look at Luo Yuan. The man was tall and muscr. Obviously he had been working out and could possibly be of help up on the hill.


    ¡°Okay. But you need to follow the orders!¡±


    ¡°I promise I¡¯ll follow them!¡± Luo Yuan answered immediately.


    Chief Inspector Xie dialed on his phone again before speaking, ¡°Captain Chen, have three members on call right now and report to my office!¡±


    Barely a moment after he had hung up, a lean tanned middle-aged man came into the office, ¡°Chief Inspector, you asked for me?¡±


    ¡°Yes, put your work on hold for now, there¡¯s a more pressing matter. A few superiors from the city and Mayor Xia have gone missing on the hill. I want your team to find them now!¡±


    The man¡¯s facial expression turned serious at once, ¡°I¡¯ll go right away. Is there anything else, Chief Inspector?¡±


    ¡°Yes, this is Luo Yuan, one of the victims¡¯ family members. He wants toe, take him along!¡±


    He took a peek at Luo Yuan and replied, ¡°Alright, I¡¯m leaving right now!¡±


    He then spoke to Luo Yuan coldly, ¡°Follow me!¡±


    The two of them left the office. There were already three people waiting in the corridor, two men and a woman, all whom looked younger than thirty.


    Of course Luo Yuan¡¯s eyes would set on the young woman. She wore a short-sleeved police uniform shirt, her waist was slim and her breasts pert, and her long legs were d in a pair of nude stockings below the hem of her police uniform skirt. She was like a ripe peach, absolutely alluring.


    ¡°Guess this is what people call a uniform fetish,¡± Luo Yuan thought as he shifted his gaze to the two men. One of them was around thirty years old, tall, with a face full of pimples and a crew cut. If not for his police uniform, he could certainly pass for a mugger. The other man looked like the epitome of innocence. He seemed to be new to work.


    ¡°Captain Chen, what do we have today? Howe it¡¯s so urgent?¡± Crew Cut asked Captain Chen, his tone not very respectful.


    ¡°We¡¯ll talk about itter. Everyone change into a long-sleeved uniform and get your weapons ready. We are going up the hill. Wang Fei, get a uniform for Luo Yuan too, he¡¯sing with us,¡± he ordered the rookie while he looked at Crew Cut.


    ¡°Yes, Captain!¡± Wang Fei replied immediately before turning to Luo Yuan, ¡°Follow me. You must be the same size as me, right? You won¡¯t mind wearing my uniform, will you?¡±


    ¡°Of course not. Thank you!¡± Luo Yuan smiled and asked, ¡°Sergeant Wang, you just passed the civil servant test this year, didn¡¯t you?¡±


    Wang Feiughed and said, ¡°*ss, I didn¡¯t pass, I graduated from the police academy. I came here to be a defense team member using some connections. But I can transfer if I perform well. Anyway, let¡¯s get to work now!¡±


    ¡°That doesn¡¯t sound bad. At least the benefits should be good!¡±


    ¡°They¡¯re decent enough to survive!¡± was the man¡¯s reply, but his tone was mixed with a hint of determination. He took two sets of uniforms and two pairs of boots out of his locker and handed one of them to Luo Yuan. The weather had been warm and humidtely, and it was evident that the long-sleeved uniform had been ruled out for a short period of time as it smelled moldy, but overall it was still clean.


    When Luo Yuan was done changing, Crew Cut came in and tapped Luo Yuan¡¯s head, ¡°Could pass as a policeman. Where are you from, kid? Howe you¡¯re following us up the hill?¡±


    Luo Yuan was a bit unhappy and moved his head out of the way discreetly while smiling, ¡°My brother-inw has gone missing on the hill. I¡¯ming along to search for him. My name is Luo Yuan. What should I call you?¡±


    ¡°Just call me Zhao Qiang.¡±


    Zhao Qiang knew that he had annoyed the young man and grinned, ¡°Don¡¯t mind me, it¡¯s an old habit. So, who is your brother-inw?¡±


    ¡°He works for the Ministry of Forestry,¡± Luo Yuan answered vaguely and ignored Zhao Qiang in favor of asking Wang Fei, ¡°Can you give me a gun for self-defense? I heard it¡¯s quite dangerous in the forest.¡±


    Wang Fei shook his head, ¡°I can¡¯t simply give you a gun. It¡¯s against the rules, no way!¡±


    Luo Yuan quickly asked, ¡°How about a knife or something? You can¡¯t have me going into the forestpletely unarmed, right?¡± This was an F+ mission. It would definitely be very dangerous for him to go in without a weapon.


    ¡°Okay, let me ask Captain Chen.¡±


    Wang Fei walked out of the locker room.


    A momentter, he came back and said, "No gun, but you can have a knife. We¡¯ve seized a lot of them, anyway. I¡¯ll take you to the storeroom.¡±


    The two of them went to the storeroom, which was located at the end of the corridor. Wang Fei opened one of the big boxes. There were all sorts of weapons inside: knives, watermelon knives, daggers, fruit knives, machetes, butcher knives... It was like a collection of domestic-use sharp weapons.


    ¡°Pick any one!¡± Wang Fei said generously.


    Considering there were snakes and other simr creatures around the area, as well as rattan and twigs on the hill, Luo Yuan supposed that a short weapon, like a dagger, would be practically useless while a watermelon knife seemed too fragile and would not be able to inflict much damage. After some consideration, he decided upon a machete used for hacking and chopping.


    Luo Yuan shed through the air a few times to try out how it felt in his hands, and was rather satisfied with it. At the same time, he whispered ¡®Identify¡¯ silently and a string of words appeared in his head.


    ¡°Sharp machete.¡±


    ¡°Material: Alloy.¡±


    ¡°Rarity: White.¡±


    ¡°Weight: 2.5kg.¡±


    ¡°Sharpness: 10 ¨C 15.¡±


    ¡°Equipment Requirement: Strength 9.¡±


    ¡°Remarks: This is a modern agricultural weapon, suitable fornd remation, wood chopping, and of course capable of killing. Its quality is average, but the de is strong. It¡¯s perfect for hacking and chopping!¡±


    ¡°Not bad. It¡¯s sharper than the kitchen knives at home,¡± Luo Yuan thought before saying, ¡°This one.¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s go then! Captain Chen is waiting for us!¡± Wang Fei said.


    The two of them went out the entrance, where everyone was already waiting inside the police car. Luo Yuan picked up his pace and quickly got in the car. The car took off and headed for the outskirts.


    After a while, they drove down an avenue and turned into a small road. Both sides of the road were framed by endless green fields.


    ¡°This is the farnd, right?¡± Luo Yuan asked, unsure.


    Weeds were all over the farnd. Surprisingly, they reached about a meter in height, covering the soilpletely. It looked like a green ocean whenever the wind blew.


    ¡°I guess so.¡± The female cop sitting at the passenger seat also seemed surprised, ¡°I don¡¯t remember the grass being this lush when I came by about 10 days ago. This is unbelievable, the weeds are going to take over the road soon.¡±


    ¡°If the weeds have already grown up to this height, won¡¯t it be worse in the forest? How could you ept this mission, Captain Chen? It¡¯s possible that all of us could go missing too!¡± Zhao Qiang joked.


    ¡°True, I¡¯ve heard that it¡¯s very dangerous up the hill now,¡± the woman added.


    ¡°Tell Chief Inspector Xie if you dare then. Why are you telling me? You could talk to the inspector if you wanted to. I can¡¯t help on this issue," Captain Chen replied grimly.


    He was preupied by the sudden increase in missing persons cases as well. There had already been five people missing, and most of them hade from the vige near Zhu Hill. He was more aware of the dangers of Zhu Hill than anyone else. However, he could do nothing but obey the Chief Inspector¡¯s orders.


    ¡°I guess it can¡¯t be that dangerous on the hill, right? All of us are carrying weapons. We could handle the situation, even if wee across a wild boar,¡± Luo Yuan tried diverting the conversation.


    If they continued to discuss this further, the policemen might just go back to the police station after a short drive. That was when the policemen realized that there was a rtive of one of the victims with them.


    ¡°Alright, stop discussing this. We¡¯re policemen. If we surrendered this easily every time we faced adversities, everyone would beughing at us! We will go up this hill, and we¡¯ll head back if it¡¯s too dangerous. At least we¡¯ll have done something. What do you think, Luo Yuan?¡± Captain Chen said.


    ¡°Sure! If we were all in danger, I think my brother-inw would do the same thing...,¡± Luo Yuan replied softly. This was his only choice for now. He could only give up if the mission became too dangerous. Although this would deduct a lot of his EXP, it was still better than losing his life.


    Half an hourter, they drove into a remote vige and made a stop there. Luo Yuan got out of the police car and looked towards the front. The hill was a stretch of dark green, its eminence less than 200 meters, yet it was enough to distress Luo Yuan.


    ¡°It¡¯s almost 11:00 am. Let¡¯s have lunch first and we¡¯ll depart for the hill in an hour!¡±


    Captain Chen shifted his gaze from the hill to his watch as he made his way to a roadside store.

 Chapter 3: Noxious Mosquito

    Chapter 3: Noxious Mosquito


    Trantor: Editor:


    The hygienic condition of the vige¡¯s food joint was rtively bad but its menu was unique, consisting mostly of exotic dishes like rabbit stew, snake soup with shredded bamboo shoot, sliced chicken with fungus, and braised frog. These were all captured by the vigers, and although they were usually rare, they had be prettymon as ofte.


    Despite the special menu, the atmosphere was rather tense and the conversation halted after some small talk. About 15 minutester, Captain Chen put down his cutlery and lit up a cigarette. Luo Yuan borrowed Captain Chen¡¯s lighter and mimicked him. It was not a habit for him, but he would sometimes smoke when he felt troubled.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go!¡± Captain Chen said, standing up after he finished his cigarette.


    Everyone stood up and departed in the direction of the base of the hill. Luo Yuan walkedst in line and yed with the machete, shing it through thin air. Zhao Qiang turned and watched him. "You are very energetic, aren¡¯t you?¡± he teased Luo Yuan, ¡°There are weeds all over the hill. You¡¯ll get to chop them all you wantter!"


    Luo Yuan did not mind his teasing. "I work out often, so I¡¯m quite fit. You guys can leave it to me to ze a trail. Just be on the lookout.¡±


    Luo Yuan was not really that energetic or enthusiastic. He just wanted to practice his skills using the machete in the meantime. This mission was apparently more dangerous and in this forest his 4-AP Hand-to-Hand Combat seemed to be insufficientpared to having a knife. However, it was not that easy to acquire a new skill. It was not like it could be acquired just by owning a knife and simply hacking or shing at things. One had to master the basic maneuvers, which required a lot of practice. Take Luo Yuan¡¯s Driving Skill, for example. He had acquired it by getting his driving license and even then, he had only gotten a pathetic 1. One could imagine what the level of difficulty in this forest would be like.


    ¡°Sure. Looks like we have to rely on you after all!¡± Zhao Qiangughed.


    The young policewoman could not take it anymore and said, ¡°Zhao Qiang, stop bullying him!¡± She then turned to Luo Yuan and told him, "It¡¯s alright, Luo Yuan. We can take turnster.¡±


    "I¡¯m fine, don¡¯t worry," Luo Yuan replied with a grin.


    ¡°Huang Jiahui, why are you ming me? He¡¯s the one who¡¯s volunteered.¡± Zhao Qiang said before murmuring, ¡°It sure helps to be young and handsome!¡±


    The policewoman, whose name he now knew was Huang Jiahui, red at him but kept quiet.


    Wang Fei rushed to say, "Bro Qiang, Sister Hui! I¡¯ll take turns with Luo Yuan since the two of us are the youngest." He was still new on the job, so this would be a good chance for him to prove himself.


    ¡°Alright, we¡¯ll leave that to Wang Fei and Luo Yuan. The rest of you be on alert and watch our surroundings,¡± Captain Chen finalized the n.


    They passed through the vige and reached the end of the cement road. A 2-meter wide farm trail with weeds reced it at that point. If it weren¡¯t for the vigers who used this route regrly, the trail would have probably been blending in with the farnd by now. They stepped on the grass, which felt soft and was actually not that difficult to walk on.


    Bristling and hustling sounds came asionally from the bushes and put everyone on alert considering that nobody knew whether it had been a rat, a snake, or some other kind of creature.


    Zhao Qiang, who had been walking in the back, suddenly pped himself in the face. He checked his palm to find an unfortunate mosquito crushed in a drop of blood.


    "Damn it. What a big mosquito!" Zhao Qiang cursed while he scratched his face. He felt an unusual itchiness.


    "We¡¯re near the forest, the mosquitoes are usually more noxious here. Be on the lookout," Captain Chen reminded his team.


    Suddenly, a vigorous movement came from the bushes just a few meters in front of Luo Yuan. The bushes seemed to thrash before a creature jumped out and fled in a sh. It moved like a released arrow, leaving a long impression on the bushes. The leaves had concealed everything so they were not able to see what it had been clearly. The unforeseen movement had frightened Huang Jiahui, who let out a yelp as she patted her own chest. ¡°Oh my God, what the hell was that?¡±


    ¡°Could have been a vole, I guess.¡± Wang Fei replied uncertainly. He had been walking behind Luo Yuan and had gotten frightened as well.


    "A vole? How can a vole be this big? Maybe it was a weasel. It sure scared me," said Huang Jiahui, fear still lingering in her voice.


    Luo Yuan had been walking in front, but he had only seen a vague shape and was not sure what creature it had been either. However, he was sure that it had not been a weasel because weasels were not green. He did not want to add to everyone else¡¯s fear though, so he remained silent.


    He took a deep breath and held his knife tightly, continuing to beat the bushes in front of him while focusing on the way he handled the machete. He had been disturbed by the unknown creature earlier. ¡°If the nts have been growing so strangely these past few months, what about the animals? nts are the producers of the food chain. If they evolve, then the whole ecology will change drastically as well. Perhaps it¡¯s not as obvious or widespread yet, but there must already have been some changes in certain creatures.¡±


    Suddenly, he thought of his canceled mission and he broke out in cold sweat. He had spected that Qimei Trading would shut down within six months but he had not thought about it any further. There were many factors that could cause such a shutdown, such as insufficient cash flow, financial issues or pissing off people in powerful positions. However, when hebined everything he had encountered in the past few days, he came to a shocking, impossible conclusion ¨C Trade could be suspended.


    ¡°There must have been some changes in the ocean as well if there had already been changes on thend. Once sea freight started experiencing problems, the number of affectedpanies and people would be unpredictable.¡± The world seemed to be experiencing some sort of major changes. Luo Yuan lived in the city, and while he had been made aware of these changes by the media, he hadn¡¯t thought that it was serious enough to attract his full attention. He would probably still have been ignorant if he had not visited this vige.


    ¡°No wonder the price of rice has skyrocketed and the frequency of bank interest rate has increased suspiciously. I should prepare myself afterpleting this mission,¡± Luo Yuan thought.


    After a while, they arrived at the base of the hill, where they found what seemed to be a trail covered by thorny nts and bushes. When Luo Yuan saw Zhao Qiang scratching his face and the lump the size of a baby¡¯s fist that had just formed on it, he asked curiously, ¡°What happened to your face?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s the sting from that mosquito. It¡¯s so itchy!¡± Zhao Qiang huffed as he checked his gun and scratched his face a few more times.


    Huang Jiahui came over to check it out and lookedpletely shocked. "Oh! How could the mosquitoes here be so noxious? I should¡¯ve applied for leave today. I won¡¯t be able to face anyone if I get stung like this.¡±


    Wang Fei held in hisughter while he said, "Maybe Bro Qiang has sensitive skin. I used to have a ssmate like this. He¡¯d always get a big lump whenever he got stung.¡±


    ¡°F*ck off, my skin is perfectly normal. Did any of you bring any rosewater or ointment?¡± Zhao Qiang asked, scowling at them.


    Luo Yuan had thought that it was probably skin sensitivity as well, but that was apparently not the case ording to Zhao Qiang. He was surprised. ¡°Looks like the animals are mutating too. How could a mosquito be so noxious otherwise?¡±


    ¡°Put some saliva on it. Use what you have.¡± Captain Chen was quite happy to see Zhao Qiang¡¯s almost deformed face. The guy was a sore thumb at the station. He was always uncooperative and seemed to enjoyining about everything. The captain had wanted to teach him a lesson for a long time. ¡°It¡¯ll be fine soon. Alright, let¡¯s go up the hill now. Luo Yuan, you go first.¡±


    Luo Yuan put his thoughts aside and walked towards the forest carefully, holding on to his machete.

 Chapter 4: Spooky Forest

    Chapter 4: Spooky Forest


    Trantor: Editor:


    The road that led up the hill was not steep. However, the thorny nts made it difficult for them to walk. As they went further into the forest, the weeds were reced by big trees. Their trunks were thick and there were plenty of branches growing out covering the trail. If they did not remove them, they would not be able to walk any farther.


    The trees formed a leafy canopy that covered the sun and made the trail darker. There were a few beams of light prating the gaps between the lush branches, which made them all feel like they were walking through an ancient forest. The barren forest had be a yground for wild animals. They could hear insects buzzing and birds chirping around them. Every once in awhile, they also saw pheasants and rabbits. No one knew where those animals came from. Luo Yuan pushed the branches aside and chopped the thorny nts on the ground so that they could keep going.


    ¡°Beep. After a sufficient period of practice, you have mastered the basic knife skills.¡±


    Luo Yuan felt pumped up. The knife skills seemed to be easier to masterpared to the driving skill. He opened the attribute board and realized he had obtained a point for his knife skills. He looked at his remaining four points and after some short consideration, allocated all of them to the knife skills. He now had five points for his knife skills. He definitely would not have done that under other circumstances considering the only other job that required knife skills was being a chef. His four-point bare-hand fighting skills had always been enough to protect himself.


    However, the world seemed to be changing and no one was able to predict the future. The knife skills would be very important in the forest as this mission was a dangerous one. That was the best time for him to upgrade them, and he felt so pumped up and excited at the same time. He could feel that there were some kind of illusions forming in his head but he could not distinguish them clearly. He was idle for a few seconds before he felt some changes in the way he was holding the knife. His body and muscles became hard.


    He instinctively tried to control his posture and widened his legs a little. After adjusting his stance, he subconsciously started ying with the knife again. In the blink of an eye, all the leaves in front of him were minced into confetti. Huang Jiahui had happened to watch the scene. She quickly covered her mouth and asked, ¡°Yuan, have you practiced martial arts before?¡±


    ¡°Oh, yes. I have.¡± Luo Yuan replied when he recovered.


    "I see. I¡¯ve practiced freebat before, when I was in the police academy, but I didn¡¯t learn how to fight with a knife because it¡¯s not as useful as a gun," Huang Jiahui replied.


    ¡°It¡¯s in the nature of men to show off in front ofdies. Regardless of whether they like them or not,¡± Wang Fei said with jealousy.


    ¡°What you did was real, right? That is awesome!¡± She thought it was unbelievable.


    In fact, Luo Yuan could move 1.5 times faster than the average person. When hebined his knife skills with his flexibility, his fighting ability became astonishing. He could kill anyone before they could even utter a word.


    Dexterity did not refer to speed. It referred to ones¡¯ reflexes. It was not amon thing to be able to react 1.5 times faster than most people. His path-clearing speed got faster and faster. His knife-holding and nt-chopping posture had been wrong earlier, which had consumed a lot more of his energy. Since gaining five points in his knife skills, he could fully utilize them and work more efficiently. He cut a bunch of branches down without looking at them, and watched the leaves fall from the trees. However, when his knife made contact with the next branch, he felt something strangely soft touch him.


    He took a look and yelled, ¡°Snake!¡±


    He quickly retreated as he felt his head and limbs go numb. It was a green snake with a big triangle-shaped head. Its body was slim, but it was about two meters in length. Luo Yuan butchered it, almost cutting it in two, leaving only a thinyer of skin connecting the two parts of its body.


    ¡°Sssssss.¡±


    The snake struggled vigorously despite its agony, exposing its fangs while producing more sounds of suffering.


    ¡°What happened?¡± Captain Chen asked, seeing how stunned Luo Yuan looked. He quickly pulled out his gun and walked towards him.


    ¡°There was a snake, and it looked poisonous! I killed it, though,¡± Luo Yuan replied when he recovered a few secondster.


    ¡°It¡¯s a bamboo snake! Everybody watch out! Those of you who haven¡¯t tightened your trousers, please do it now!¡± Captain Chen lifted up the snake using a tree branch and threw it farther away while talking to the members of his team. Silently he was thinking, ¡°Bamboo snakes are usually less than a meter long. I¡®ve never seen one reach more than two meters! I have no idea what the consequences would be if we got bitten.¡±


    He then looked at Luo Yuan, who was still in panic, and asked him whether he needed someone to take turns with him. Luo Yuan looked at Wang Fei and Zhao Qiang before replying, ¡°I¡¯m good. We just need to be more careful, but it should be fine.¡± He knew both of them had gotten frightened and would not be able to help with anything.


    If one of the cops of the team got injured, the mission woulde to an end. He needed their assistance. It would be extremely dangerous for him to go on alone if everyone decided to return. Although he was still really scared of snakes, he could now kill them easily using his abilities and quick reflexes. His self-defense skills were the strongest out of them all. Plus, it would be more dangerous if he had no weapons.


    "Alright," Captain Chen looked happy with his answer. He had not been happy at first when Luo Yuan had insisted on following the team, but now he realized that he might actually contribute more than his subordinates.


    ¡°I can give you my cap. Please be more careful, Yuan.¡± Wang Fei said, feeling awkward.


    "I¡¯m good, thanks for offering. I heard that bamboo snakes usually attack by jumping down from tree branches. I¡¯m rtively safe actually. It¡¯s safer if you wear a cap," Luo Yuan replied with a smile.


    It was in the human nature to try to avoid danger. Even Luo Yuan himself would not have simply entered the forest if he had not been allowed to join the rescue mission. Huang Jiahui looked pale after listening to Luo Yuan. He immediately regretted it. He was afraid that they would just give up and return home. He stopped talking and started walking again.


    Huang Jiahui quickly walked towards Luo Yuan and followed him, staying right behind him. She had seen him y with the knife and she believed that that was not a normal skill level. She could not see clearly enough, but she felt that he was very mysterious after recalling the scene of him ying with the knife. She thought that it was best to stick with him for safety. They had reached the end of the road already. The trail was now coveredpletely by branches. They could only rely on Luo Yuan to find the way.


    A ck animal appeared in the bushes and then disappeared again. It stood at the grove nearby and stared at them. It was as big as a dog but it looked like a cat with its smooth body and shiny fur that looked like silk. Its cruel eyes were shining like ambers and there was fresh blood dripping from its mouth. Luo Yuan halted immediately and held up his knife in front of his chest, ready to attack.


    "Looks like a leopard," said Huang Jiahui with a shaky voice while carefully leaning forward.


    Luo Yuan also thought it was a leopard. But how could a leopard be wandering around there?


    Bang! Bang!


    Everyone had panicked except Captain Chen and Zhao Qiang, who had responded fast by pulling out their guns and firing. The animal got scared and quickly escaped into the grove, crying out loudly.


    "That must have been a wildcat. Too bad we didn¡¯t get it." Captain Chen checked, but could not see any blood. "Everyone be more careful. Wildcats are very vindictive. It mighte back again," he said.


    Hearing that it had just been a wildcat, Wang Fei said, "I¡¯m worried that it won¡¯te back. I haven¡¯t tried wildcat meat before." He was afraid of those beasts, but subconsciously he did not take wildcats seriously as he thought they were weaker than other wild animals.


    ¡°Look who¡¯s getting his courage back! I hope you don¡¯t pee on your pantster,¡± Zhao Qiang made fun of him.


    Wang Fei was aware that he had underperformed earlier and he retorted loudly, "What¡¯s so scary about it? It was just a cat!"


    Captain Chen remained silent and somber. He had grown up in a vige. He knew that wildcats were fierce, but he had never seen such a big one. A tiger might not have been able to bring down this cat. They were lucky they had guns with them, otherwise they would have just died. Luo Yuan continued cutting down branches so they could keep moving. As he moved on, the groves kept getting lusher, so he decided to take a break and rest for a while.


    He could have continued for a little bit longer, however, it would not have been such a good idea to use up all his energy now. He decided not to. When he was about to turn around and tell the team that he needed a rest, he saw something sh across the way.


    He lowered his voice and said, "Watch out! That thing hase back again. It¡¯s behind you."


    Everyone quickly lifted their guns and checked in every direction, but they did not see anything at all.


    "Are you sure it¡¯s here?" Wang Fei asked cockily as he kept swinging his gun around.


    ¡°WATCH OUT!¡± Captain Chen pulled Wang Fei to him and started firing at something behind him.


    Wang Fei turned pale as bullets passed by his ears. He could sense death near him. He felt his legs go numb and he slumped down on the thorny bushes nearby, getting a few bloody scratches on his face. No one had the time to look after him.


    Roar!


    The wildcat moaned, causing an uproar. In the blink of an eye, a ck shadow rushed towards Captain Chen without any warning.

 Chapter 5: The Snake Trail

    Chapter 5: The Snake Trail


    Trantor: Editor:


    ¡°Bang! Bang!¡±


    They started to fire. A dark shadow rushed out and took a big leap, jumping on Captain Chen and grabbing his neck. Captain Chen was shocked when he saw the wildcat. His entire body tensed until he could not move at all. Luo Yuan immediately sped up his steps and rushed towards Captain Chen. He used his own shoulder to hit the wildcat. The animal flew into the air thanks to Luo Yuan¡¯s sudden momentum. Itnded on the ground and rolled around for a few seconds before getting up. It shook its head. Apparently, it was still dizzy from the hit. Luo Yuan immediately shed at its body before it had enough time to get over its dizziness.


    Although it was not sharp enough, the machete was still good at chopping and killing.


    ¡°Crack!¡±


    The wildcat¡¯s backbone cracked and broke, its body splitting into two pieces. The animal moaned in pain. It kept on struggling, its limbs still moving like it was trying to crawl away. Its internal organs slipped out of its body, getting dragged all over the ground. The air smelled like blood.


    ¡°Bang! Bang!¡±


    Zhao Qiang quickly fired two more shots to make sure that the wildcat was dead.


    ¡°Bloody cat!¡±


    He shot the wildcat on the head until it stopped struggling.


    Huang Jiahui could not stand the gory scene or the disgusting smell. She walked to the side and threw up in the bushes.


    Luo Yuan was not feeling well either. He had not had enough time to think about it. He had just rushed straight ahead and killed the wildcat. His hand was still shaking because of the unexpected attack, and so was the rest of his body. Since when had he be so brave? He had no idea.


    Wang Fei covered his face and crawled out of the bushes. ¡°Captain, this is already too dangerous. We don¡¯t have the manpower to handle a situation like this. If a wildcat can injure us this bad, then I can¡¯t imagine what we¡¯lle across if we continue any farther. I think it¡¯s enough. We can¡¯t find the people who have gone missing!¡±


    Everyone looked tired after hearing Wang Fei¡¯s words. The worst had happened.


    Luo Yuan, who was already feeling upset, said, ¡°I won¡¯t believe that my brother-inw is dead until I find his dead body! The least we can do is go check!¡±


    ¡°You have no right to speak! You can keep going if you want to die, but you can¡¯t drag us along!¡± Wang Fei exploded, yelling at Luo Yuan.


    Luo Yuan looked at Wang Fei, wondering why he had thrown such a tantrum. He had not offended him before, but now he was pissed off. ¡°You can go if you¡¯re afraid. You have beenpletely useless anyway.¡±


    His words triggered Wang Fei¡¯s anger. He felt insulted and suddenly pulled out his gun and pointed it at Luo Yuan. ¡°You son of the b*tch! Say that again!¡± he said, looking extremely mad.


    ¡°No!¡± Huang Jiahui screamed. She never imagined that Wang Fei would do something like this. He had always been an introvert, but now he seemed to have acted on impulse.


    ¡°Wang Fei! Put your gun down now!¡± Captain Chen ordered him, his expression very serious.


    Wang Fei felt bad. He hesitated when Captain Chen yelled at him. His ego though made him go on. He raised his voice and said, ¡°Captain, I don¡¯t intend to disobey your orders, but I want him to apologize!¡±


    At that moment, Luo Yuan was thinking about a lot of things. He would have been lying if he said that he had not been afraid. His heartbeat had gotten faster when he had looked up the barrel of that gun, his brain had stopped functioning, and he had felt the presence of Death himself near him. He had almost knelt to the ground and asked for forgiveness. He had not, however. He would not bow down to someone with a gun. That was an insult!


    All these thoughts shed across his mind as he slowly calmed down and realized that things were not as bad as he had thought. He did not believe that Wang Fei would have fired in front of everyone. Not if he had anymon sense. Furthermore, the distance between Wang Fei and him had been only about two meters. He could have actually broken his arms or even killed Wang Fei if he acted faster and more decisively. Of course, it would not have been the best thing to do and it would only have made things worse.


    "Put your gun down if you want me to apologize,¡± he said, ¡°You would have already been dead if Captain Chen had not reacted fast enough to save you! It doesn¡¯t matter if you¡¯re afraid now. I¡¯m following Captain Chen. If he wants us to return, then I won¡¯t say a word."


    These words were kind of tricky. He had shunned Wang Fei but had also hinted at his effort in rescuing the Captain so that the cops would not unite together against him. Captain Chen¡¯s facial expression became serious. He was thinking about how Luo Yuan had rescued him from the wildcat. Had it not been for him, he would have been dead now. He knew that he should show some gratitude in return.


    ¡°Wang Fei, I want you to put your gun down now! Do you hear me?¡± he yelled at him.


    ¡°Captain... Captain...,¡± Wang Fei tried to argue, but he sounded afraid.


    ¡°Hey, just put your gun down!¡± Zhao Qiang told him. He did not like Wang Fei either.


    Wang Fei stared at Luo Yuan, but decided to put his gun down.


    Luo Yuan did not bother looking at him. He walked towards Captain Chen and said sincerely, ¡°My apologies, Captain. I know I said some things in anger. Please ept my apology.¡±


    Captain Chen calmed down and replied, ¡°It¡¯s alright. I understand how you feel. It is not easy for you and I believe anyone would feel the same way in your position. However, it is indeed dangerous here. If we haven¡¯t found them by the time we get to the peak, then we¡¯ll have to return. What do you think?¡±


    They had to find the people who were missing. Otherwise, it would not be the same.


    ¡°Deal,¡± Luo Yuan replied before adding, ¡°I know that the chances are low, but at least there is still some hope. If we give up, then they will be hopeless.¡± Nobody cared about him apologizing to Wang Fei anymore.


    Huang Jiahui walked up to Luo Yuan and tried tofort him. ¡°Are you alright? Wang Fei is still new to the job. He has to train more. Don¡¯t take it seriously.¡±


    Luo Yuan replied, ¡°I¡¯m fine, don¡¯t worry.¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s it like to be threatened at gunpoint?¡± Zhao Qiang asked with a smile as he walked over.


    ¡°I still can¡¯t feel my legs,¡± Luo Yuan said with an awkward smile.


    Zhao Qiang gave him a thumbs up, expressing his respect that way. He had seen many different kinds of people having various reactions when they had a gun pointed at their head. Most of them knelt down immediately and asked for forgiveness. Others peed or pooped in their pants. That was the first time that he had ever seen someone react like Luo Yuan had. No one had bothered to check on Wang Fei, who was just standing somewhere nearby, feeling dissatisfied and jealous.


    They hadn¡¯t been there long, but they could hear so many strange sounds now. A big rat squeezed out of the bushes. It looked at them, then looked at the dead body. It seemed to hesitate for a moment.


    Captain Chen immediately became alert and got up from the ground. "Let¡¯s go, we can¡¯t stay here anymore. The blood will attract other animals," he told the team.


    "Captain Chen, What if we just shouted the victims¡¯ names since we¡¯re already half-way to the top? They would respond if they could hear us," Huang Jiahui suggested.


    ¡°Okay, but lets leave this area first. Shouting might disturb any animals that are nearby,¡± Captain Chen replied.


    Although Luo Yuan was exhausted, he felt slightly better after taking a short rest. He continued to remove nts and branches as he kept moving forward. They met many animals along the way. They were all attracted by the smell of blood, but none of them attacked them.


    When they were 10 meters away, they started shouting for the victims. ¦³hey got no response. Luo Yuan was getting more worried by the minute. He suspected that Chen Weiqiang was dead.


    ¡°Look! Is that a shirt over there?¡± Huang Jiahui shouted while pointing at an object somewhere ahead.


    Luo Yuan suddenly felt energized and rushed over to the direction where Huang Jiahui had pointed.


    ¡°Seems like it. There is a walkway! Perhaps, they used it to get up here. Captain, can we go and check?¡± Luo Yuan suggested.


    ¡°Alright, let¡¯s go!¡± Captain Chen replied.


    About 10 minutester, they were there.


    The trail was narrow and all the nts around it were crooked and damaged. A blood-stained sleeve hung from a branch.


    "The blood looks fresh. Probably less than two days old. Could be the Mayor¡¯s or someone else¡¯s from the group!" Captain Chen said.


    He then squatted down to check on their surroundings.


    "There is blood on the ground. They were probably attacked by a beast. They must have run downhill to escape. Let¡¯s find them!¡±


    Luo Yuan nodded and took off quickly. Everyone acted very fast but the blood stains stopped after about 10 meters. They came across a winding trail full of branches. The trail was about a foot in width and it looked very strange. Every single curve looked simr and all of them looked like they¡¯d measured precisely.


    Luo Yuan looked lost in thought as he studied the winding trail.


    Suddenly he shouted, "What the f*ck! Is that a snake trail?¡±


    Zhao Qiang immediately raised his handgun in alert before saying, ¡°If its trail is so big, I can¡¯t imagine how big the snake is.¡±


    Luo Yuan saw Wang Fei retreat quietly and stand behind everyone. He was sure he would have run away if he did not worry about his safety.


    ¡°It¡¯s your call, Luo Yuan. Shall we check it out or return home?¡± Captain Chen left the decision up to Luo Yuan.


    Huang Jiahui quickly said, "Let¡¯s just return. I don¡¯t think your brother-inw is still alive."


    Luo Yuan remained silent for a moment. Then he said, "Captain Chen, I can return home right now and just assume that my brother-inw is dead." He hesitated for a few seconds before he continued, "I can leave, but you cannot. That snake is already very big, and it will grow even bigger if the weather continues to be like this. When the timees that its appetite cannot be satisfied by the forest animals anymore, it wille down to the vige, and then to the city, to find food. You are all cops. Eventually, you are the ones who are going to have to fight it. You can¡¯t just run from it!"


    ¡°Don¡¯t you think it would easier to kill a snake that has just had a huge feast and is too heavy to move, rather than fight a giant hungry snake?¡± Luo Yuan asked.


    ¡°How do you know it can¡¯t move?¡± Wang Fei grabbed the opportunity to challenge him.


    Luo Yuan stare at him like he was stupid. He answered, ¡°No matter how big a snake is, it needs at least a few days to digest after it has swallowed several people. It wouldn¡¯t move much during that time because its movement would be constrained by its heavy body. Thus, it would be slightly less dangerous to attack.¡±


    Luo Yuan looked at Captain Chen and waited for his decision. He could not do anything further. He could only ept his failure if Captain Chen gave up. He was not prepared to fight the snake alone. Besides, his fear of snakes might not allow him to fully utilize his talents.


    After long consideration, Captain Chen looked at Luo Yuan and said, ¡°Let¡¯s hope that what you¡¯ve just said is true. Let¡¯s do this for the vige!¡±


    He still maintained some sense of justice. He knew that this was the best time for them to kill the snake and that things would only get worse if they didn¡¯t do it. Even Wang Fei had kept his mouth shut.


    It felt oppressive to walk on the snake trail. They could all estimate its strength and size by looking at the crooked trees and branches along the way. Just the snake¡¯s tail would be enough to cripple them if it identally hit them.


    Luo Yuan felt truly worried. His palms were sweaty and the sweat dripped on the handle of his knife and made it slippery. He did not know what she would think of him if she knew how scared he was. Everyone was on alert and walked very carefully. They were all sweating after a while.


    About 30 minutester, they arrived at the end of the trail. Before them was a barren desertednd with dry crooked branches. The ce was beyond any imagination. They immediately got down on the ground to catch their breath. Apparently, this was what the habitat of a snake looked like.


    ¡°Wang Fei, you go and check it out. Don¡¯t disturb it, though!" Captain Chen ordered him softly.


    He wanted Luo Yuan to go, but he had been helping out a lot along the journey while his own subordinates had not contributed much inparison. He felt ashamed to let Luo Yuan take the risk.


    Wang Fei turned pale instantly. He looked at his colleagues, then at Luo Yuan. Luo Yuan looked back at him and smiled sarcastically. He seemed to be challenging him.


    Wang Fei got angry and said, "Fine, I¡¯ll go!"


    He regretted it the moment he said it. However, he could not take his words back. He slowly took out his handgun and moved forward like he was walking to his own execution. He had only been walking for about 10 minutes when he felt his legs go numb and he slumped down against the ground. He was too afraid to go any farther.


    Captain Chen¡¯s facial expression changed instantly. ¡°You¡¯re embarrassing the entire police force!¡±


    Zhao Qiang chuckled and said, ¡°I¡¯ll go then.¡±


    Luo Yuanughed silently. He could not believe that Wang Fei had dared point a gun at him just because he¡¯d felt insulted, and yet could not face his own fears despite the fact that he was armed.


    Captain Chen nodded, agreeing with Zhao Qiang¡¯s suggestion.


    Zhao Qiang used to be in the army before, so he got down on the ground and crawled forward fast. After a few minutes, he reached the spot where Wang Fei was lying. He took his gun and stuffed it into his own pocket. He continued moving forward, not even bothering to check on Wang Fei.


    A momentter, Zhao Qiang returned. However, his cockiness had disappeared. He looked white as a sheet.

 Chapter 6: A Near Escape

    Chapter 6: A Near Escape


    Trantor: Editor:


    ¡°What a big snake... It was huge...,¡± Zhao Qiang murmured. His expression was a mixture of fear and excitement.


    ¡°Be more precise!¡± Captain Chen said, interrupting him.


    Zhao Qiang took a deep breath to get his emotions under control before saying, ¡°Its body was as thick as my waist, and its stomach was so big it looked like it couldn¡¯t move. It¡¯s sleeping on the hillside like a log.¡±


    ¡°Oh, yes!¡± Zhao Qiang seemed to remember something else. ¡°It looked like a king ratsnake!¡± he added.


    Their faces darkened.


    ¡°Are you sure you¡¯re not wrong?¡± Captain Chen asked doubtfully.


    ¡°Of course I am. How could I be wrong? I¡¯ve caught snakes like this before,¡± Zhao Qiang said unhappily.


    Luo Yuan knew all about king ratsnakes. He used to see them all the time when he was young and living with his parents in the vige. They were supposed to be approximately two to three meters long, and about as thick as a human arm. It was impossible for a king ratsnake to be as thick as Zhao Qiang had described it to be.


    Still, Luo Yuan was slightly relieved. It was always less stressful to face a non-venomous animal than a venomous one.


    ¡°We¡¯ve only got one chance. A bloated snake will not attack. As long as we do not provoke it, we should be able to walk by safely. Then we¡¯ll take our guns out, shoot it on the head and run. Understand?¡± Captain Chen asked gravely.


    ¡°Alright!¡±


    ¡°Everyone check your guns again. Zhao Qiang, pass Wang Fei¡¯s gun to Luo Yuan. You know how to use one, right? The safety is off, all you need to do is pull the trigger!¡± Captain Chen said after thinking for a second. It would be safer with more people carrying a gun. As for Wang Fei, they would just let him lie prostrate there for the time being. Getting him back now would only rm the snake.


    Luo Yuan took the gun in his hand. It was the first time he held a gun. Maybe it was because of the depressing atmosphere, but he was not as excited as he thought he¡¯d be. He checked the gun like everybody else. Wang Fei had not fired at all throughout the journey, so the gun was still fully loaded.


    ¡°Well... Let¡¯s go now!¡± Captain Chen said in a deep voice after a short hesitation.


    All of a sudden, Luo Yuan¡¯s heart started beating fast. His legs felt like they were floating in the air. He feltpletely powerless. Yet he astonishingly followed the rest of the team by creeping along. He was not thest one in line. He was followed tightly by Huang Jiahui, who was holding on to the edge of Luo Yuan¡¯s shirt. Her hands were shaking, and Luo Yuan could feel her shivers.


    He realized that he was not as brave as he had thought. When his fear reached a certain level, his timidity took over his emotionspletely. If it had been any other animal, he may have been braver. However, since that time in school when someone had yed a practical joke on him by putting a water snake down his back, he had started to fear the cold-blooded animals.


    The faint smell of rotten fish wafted up from the hillside. It was utterly revolting.


    They all walked over to Wang Fei before suddenly slowing down.


    ¡°Don¡¯t talk from now on. Just watch my hand signals before you act!¡± Captain Chen said in a soft voice. Then he crossed over the hillside and waved his hand. Zhao Qiang followed without any hesitation.


    Luo Yuan took a deep breath and followed them. As soon as he climbed up the hillside, he saw the giant snake that was lying there.


    Although he had been mentally preparing for it, he still felt a shiver down his spine when he actually saw it.


    The snake was more than 10 meters long and its huge body was adorned with shiny, glossy scales with a tactile impression of metal. Luo Yuan doubted that its scales were bulletproof. They radiated under the sunlight producing a rainbow-like halo. Its stomach was bulging and its whole body looked like a giant olive. It was the kind of creature that could cause terror even from afar.


    The area around it was very quiet. The group¡¯s heavy breathing was the only sound to be heard.


    In today¡¯s modern peaceful society, hardly anybody could keep their cool when seeing such a creature. Modern education enhanced people¡¯s knowledge but neglected their body; it increased the number of wise men but reduced the number of brave men. Therefore, anyone able to contain their terror and not scream in such a situation must possess unique inner qualities.


    Captain Chen looked at them and signaled for them to keep up with him before he started creeping towards the snake¡¯s head.


    The team slowly surrounded its body, stopping at a distance of 3 to 4 meters from its head.


    The giant snake¡¯s amber-like, ice-cold eyes were not moving and its pupils were slightly dted. It seemed like it was asleep. Luo Yuan noticed that the ck stripes on the top of its head formed a symbol. That symbol was a clear characteristic of its kind ¨C it was indeed a king ratsnake.


    Its whole body was releasing that dreadful breath that could freeze one¡¯s blood.


    Luo Yuan¡¯s heart was racing at a tremendous speed. He switched the gun to his right hand and held onto the knife with his left hand. He kept taking deep breaths. He looked as pale as a corpse.


    Huang Jiahui, who was right behind him, looked even worse. Her body suddenly felt like jelly and she held onto Luo Yuan¡¯s arm even tighter while the softer parts of her body were pressing up against him. Luo Yuan had no time to enjoy the feeling of her supple breasts, though. Instead, his face darkened.


    He thought he might get killed because of this woman when they all started firing and the snake struggled to survive.


    Captain Chen made a signal to attack and pointed his gun towards the snake¡¯s eye.


    Luo Yuan struggled slightly, but Huang Jiahui held onto him even tighter. Anxiety clouded his eyes but he could no longer do anything other than point the gun towards the snake¡¯s head.


    Time seemed to stop. Every second felt like years; sweat was dripping down everyone¡¯s forehead, hitting the ground and sshing into tiny crystals.


    ¡°Fire!¡±


    Almost at the exact same moment, three guns fired scorching hot bullets, one after the other. No one could miss at such short distance. Even Luo Yuan, who had never held a gun before, hit the target.


    Drops of blood spattered from the head of the giant snake. Its amber-like eye was blown off, a deep bloody hole forming in its ce. The sleeping snake could never have expected such a great loss.


    The pain made it wake up with a start and raise its huge head. It moved as fast as lightning, its shadow the only thing that could be seen. It also somehow stirred up the atmosphere, causing a sudden fierce wind.


    However, the movementsted only for a second before its head fell back to the ground. The dying snake was writhing violently, its mouth open wide while it hissed.


    The bullet had not just blown off its eye, it had also pierced its brain. As snakes are strong creatures though, it could not die so easily.


    It destroyed everything in the vicinity, its tail swinging around rapidly as it produced a loud sonic boom. All the trees nearby were snapped off, and debris and sand were thrust out in every direction like bullets, causing small red dots to form on their skin when they hit them.


    Luo Yuan pulled along Huang Jiahui, who would still not let go of him, and ran desperately towards a densely wooded area. Meanwhile, he heard a distant cry of terror. He did not recognize who it was.


    He cursed silently. Huang Jiahui was a burden to him. With his speed, he could have been safe by now. He so far as felt the urge to kill her.


    The exploding firework-like sounds heard continuously from behind them and the strong howling wind made them envision their own sudden deaths.


    He was dragging along Huang Jiahui, which caused his energy to drain fast after only a short distance of running. His lungs were burning and he did not feel like he could run anymore. When he spotted a huge tree ahead, he ran desperately using everyst bit of his energy. He reached the back of the tree and leant his body heavily against its trunk while his legs trembled.


    Huang Jiahui did not look satisfied though, and hugged his waist even tighter. Her body started shivering.


    Luo Yuan no longer had any energy, so he just let her hug him.


    He closed his eyes and felt the life pulsating within his body. It might be because he was facing death, but he suddenly felt the will to live.


    As time passed, all movement around them gradually reduced.


    Luo Yuan pushed Huang Jiahui away, wanting to go out and take a look.


    ¡°Don¡¯t. My legs are still numb!¡± Huang Jiahui hid her head in Luo Yuan¡¯s chest and hugged him tighter.


    ¡°Please, just sit here. I will go take a look. If the snake is dead, then we can go!¡±


    ¡°Okay!¡± Huang Jiahui let go of Luo Yuan, her body swaying and falling to the ground.


    Luo Yuan reached out to help her. He had not recovered his strength yet though, so he ended up being pulled to the ground.


    They were face to face, close enough to smell each other¡¯s breath. Their hearts were beating fast. Luo Yuan instinctively wanted to stand up, but when he thought of how he had almost gotten killed because of her, he suddenly became angry.


    He might still be alive, but he did not n on letting her off the hook that easily. He looked at her tender sweet lips, and nted a vengeful kiss on them.


    He could not have predicted her reaction.


    Huang Jiahui struggled only for a bit, and then she started to react intensely, kissing him in a more impulsive manner. Much like the sparksnding on the dry log next to them, the kiss burned out of control.

 Chapter 7: A Dexterity Point

    Chapter 7: A Dexterity Point


    Trantor: Editor:


    ¡°Huang Jiahui!¡±


    ¡°Xiao Luo!¡±


    Somebody was shouting for them. Both Luo Yuan and Huang Jiahui were in shock. They separated and straightened themselves hurriedly before walking out around the back of the tree.


    ¡°There you are. Were the two of you doing something naughty?¡± Zhao Qiang smiled ambiguously. There were blood stains on his face.


    Huang Jiahui blushed bright red.


    Luo Yuan was more brazen. Maintaining a neutral facial expression, he calmly changed the topic by saying, ¡°My legs were just numb. What about the snake?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s dead. How can it not be after we shot it so many times? It was tremendous, though. If it hadn¡¯t been bloated, it might have killed us,¡± Zhao Qiang grinned.


    Suddenly, Luo Yuan remembered something. He opened up his properties window only to find out that the mission had not beenpleted yet. He found it strange and wondered why. Could it be that Chen Weiqiang had not been killed by this particr snake, or perhaps that he was still alive?


    Then he realized that the properties window seemed to have changed somewhat. When he checked out all the details, he was overjoyed.


    He had earned an extra point for his Willpower, which had now reached 12 points and was his second best property after intelligence.


    He recalled his terrible performance while facing the giant snake and thought, ¡°It seems that Willpower is rted to my mental state.¡± Frankly, he did not care much about his Willpower. If it wasn¡¯t for that incident, he might have continued to neglect it.


    A brave man should be fearless. Being strong did not only require a strong body and an intelligent brain, but also a powerful soul. Although Willpower did not affect any other properties, it was still as important as any of them.


    During the fight, his 11-point Willpower had been higher than that of the average person, but he had been so terrified that his weakness had taken control of his limbs. He had not been able to use his full strength when facing a danger that was bigger than he had expected. If he had not been persistent, he would have been as paralyzed as Huang Jiahui. When it came to this, he was not as brave as Zhao Qiang and Captain Chen, who were both experienced cops.


    ¡°Xiao Luo, give me your knife. I want to cut open the snake¡¯s stomach. I have called the station. Someone will be here soon to carry it out,¡± said Captain Chen while walking towards him. He looked at the snake¡¯s stomach as well. He was certain that those missing would be found dead inside it.


    Luo Yuan passed him the knife and followed him.


    The scenery was aplete mess. Trees had been uprooted or nted, and the terrain had also changed dramatically. It looked like the whole area had just been struck by a hurricane.


    A giant snakey dead on the ground before them. Its mouth was closed tightly with its long forked scarlet tongue left outside while blood gushed out. The body was still twitching every once in awhile. Apparently, it had not turned stiff yet.


    Huang Jiahui looked at it from afar; her face was pale, her body swayed and she seemed to be about to copse again.


    ¡°It¡¯s not dead yet, is it?¡± Luo Yuan asked.


    ¡°Close enough. In fact, it is dead. This is just neural spasms,¡± Captain Chen replied coarsely.


    ¡°Let me shoot it one more time!¡± Zhao Qiang lifted his gun and fired.


    Bang!


    The bullet struck the giant snake, drops of blood spattering around. Its body twitched a little before it finally stiffened.


    ¡°Should be safe. Let¡¯s go!¡± Captain Chen said, looking relieved.


    ¡°Where¡¯s Wang Fei?¡± Luo Yuan asked as he could not see him around.


    ¡°He was unlucky. He got hit by a rolling stone while he was lying prone on the ground and broke his leg!¡± Zhao Qiang said disdainfully, pursing his lips. He clearly despised Wang Fei.


    Luo Yuan was pleased to hear it. He was not a saint, but he always repaid kindness with kindness and hatred with hatred. Even though he felt a bit disappointed that he had not done it himself, the news still made him happy.


    The giant snake seemed to be really dead now. It was not moving at all when they walked by it. However, when they were about to cut its stomach open, the animal twitched suddenly, scaring them all. In order to avoid any further ident, they waited for another half an hour to let it get even stiffer.


    They tore off some of its scales, which were each the size of a small palm, to expose the snake¡¯s white belly. Captain Chen lifted the knife and got ready to cut.


    The skin was very tough and slippery, so the knife kept slipping. The fact that it had been used to chop off bushes earlier meant that it had gotten blunt. Thus, Captain Chen managed to cut only half an inch, and he achieved that by using up most of his energy.


    ¡°Just let me do it!¡± Luo Yuan suggested. He could not stand watching him anymore.


    ¡°Alright!¡± Captain Chen shook his head and passed the knife to Luo Yuan. He shook his aching wrist and said with a bitter smile, ¡°This skin is too tough. Put a few of them together, one on top of the other, and you¡¯ll have yourself a bulletproof vest!¡±


    Luo Yuan was intrigued. ¡°I am interested in it. Can I please have some?¡±


    ¡°Sure, it¡¯s not a big deal,¡± Captain Chen said indifferently, ¡°After all, you did have a part in killing it too. We¡¯ll just split it into equal parts.¡±


    ¡°Unfortunately, its meat must not taste good. It¡¯s disgusting just thinking of the corpses there must be in it,¡± Zhao Qiang said, looking disgusted. He usually did not mind eating wild animals, but he dared not eat this particr snake.


    Luo Yuan smiled and took the machete knife. He examined it carefully, touching the tip to test its sharpness. He opened his legs slightly and focused while holding the knife with both hands.


    Then he swung it down and a stretch of white light shed like lightning. If the scene had been ying in slow motion, one could have seen the tip of the knife just barely touch the skin. It had been fast though, producing only a short soft sound.


    A two-inches long smooth cut had been formed on the tough skin. The depth of the cut was less than 1 mm, and there wasn¡¯t even any blood oozing out.


    Everyone was surprised to see it. Such advanced knife skill was like art. It looked truly marvelous.


    Luo Yuan breathed out. It looked amazing, but it was only his ability to control his strength perfectly and cut faster. A normal person could achieve it too with a couple of years of practice.


    The ability to control one¡¯s strength was crucial when handling a knife. Nevertheless, his 5-point knife-skill still needed some time to improve. He had to learn how to focus if he wanted his every cut to be urate.


    Luo Yuan made one more cut and then rested for a while. He repeated this process dozens of times until the skin was finally cut open. The inner organs flowed out slowly, and the atmosphere became heavy with that stinky smell. The bloated stomach looked like an over-inted balloon. Luo Yuan looked at Captain Chen.


    Captain Chen nodded heavily.


    Luo Yuan took a deep breath and cut it open little by little using the machete knife.


    Four corpses covered in gastric acid fell out. The gastric acid sttered all around. Luo Yuan jumped away.


    The acid had altered the corpses beyond recognition. The head and some other parts of the bodies had beenpletely digested, leaving behind only bones. Therefore, the identities of those corpses could not be confirmed. Luo Yuan took only a look before his stomach churned.


    The other two men looked just as sick.


    Suddenly, a mechanical sound was heard in Luo Yuan¡¯s mind. ¡°Ting! F+ Level Mission ¡®Investigation of the Disappearance of Chen Weiqiang¡¯ has beenpleted. Mission Completed in: 19 hours 35 min. Mission Evaluation: Good!¡±


    ¡°Basic Experience Value Reward 400!¡±


    ¡°Good Evaluation, Experience Value +200!¡±


    ¡°You have leveled up. You have been rewarded 1 property point and 5 skill points. Your current level is Level 4!¡±


    ¡°Your energy and injuries will all be recovered!¡±


    ¡°Finally I have leveled up.¡± Luo Yuan was delighted, but soon he became sad. Although he had not been very close to Chen Weiqiang, they had at least been friends. If the mission had beenpleted, then that meant that he was one of the corpses.


    He turned on the properties window.


    Character: Luo Yuan


    Profession: Foreign Trade Specialist at Qimei Foreign Trading Co. Ltd


    Level: 4


    Experience: 300/2400


    Attributes:-


    Strength: 10 (10£©


    Dexterity: 11£¨10£©


    Physique: 11£¨10£©


    Intelligence: 13£¨10£©


    Sensory Perception: 10£¨10£©


    Willpower: 12£¨10£©


    Skills: Science 16, Math 14, Mandarin 19, English 16, Finance 17,


    Computers 9, Dancing 1, Drawing 3, Gaming 6, Negotiating 9,


    Networking 7, Cooking 3, Driving 1, Hand-to-Hand Combat 4,


    Knife Skills 5


    Unique Skill: Identification


    Unassigned Property Points: 1


    Unassigned Skill Points: 5


    Iplete Missions: None


    When it came to the physical properties, Luo Yuan used to analyze them roughly. He divided them into three categories: One, the ones that were difficult to upgrade, such as Intelligence and Dexterity, whereby upgrades were limited no matter how hard one tried; two, the ones that were moderately difficult to upgrade, such as Strength and Physique, whereby upgrades could be easy if you trained hard enough, but after you reached a certain level they became more difficult; and three, the ones that were easy to upgrade, such as Willpower and Sensory Perception. Although the method to upgrade Sensory Perception was not yet known, upgrading it should be fast after one managed to identify the method.


    As the property point received from each level up was very precious, Luo Yuan would definitely not use it without putting some thought into it first. Each property point required careful nning. Those in the first category would be top priority. He would only add points to the second category when the threshold level had been reached. As for the third category, he nned to let it upgrade automatically.


    Before this mission, Luo Yuan would have definitely added the property point to Intelligence, because during peaceful times Intelligence was more useful than anything else. It was the key to help you climb up the socialdder.


    But what had happened that day hadpletely changed his way of thinking. The world had started to change and it would only be more dangerous in the future. Therefore, physical abilities would give him a much bigger sense of security.


    Luo Yuan thought for a while before he decided to add his only property point to Dexterity.


    As soon as he added the point, his body temperature suddenly increased, and then went back to normal.


    He suddenly felt like the world had changed. It felt like someone had pressed the slow motion button. The sounds of insects buzzing and birds singing seemed to be longer, and there was a kind of ethereal silence. Everything seemed to move a little slower. As he was used to the effect of Dexterity upgrades, he knew that this was a phenomenon caused by elerated nerve reflexes. That¡¯s why he was not surprised. He just needed some time to adapt.


    He looked at his skill points and decided to ignore them for the time being. In order to put his knife skill to use, he would need to have a knife. However, knives werergely controlled and limited in China. Plus, he had not decided yet whether he would continue practicing this skill.

 Chapter 8: The Ambiguous Message

    Chapter 8: The Ambiguous Message


    Trantor: Editor:


    Luo Yuan stepped aside while Zhao Qiang and Captain Chen covered their noses and rummaged the stomach with a wooden stick. They had to to confirm the victims¡¯ identities. After all, they were cops and were used to seeing corpses. Shortly afterwards, the support team arrived by following the opened path. They were shocked by the image of the giant snake, but quickly calmed down when they realized that it was already dead.


    Wang Fei was the first one to be carried down the hill. Before he left, he looked at Luo Yuan from afar with a confused anguished expression.


    There was nothing else for Luo Yuan to do.


    Several people spoke in whispers with Captain Chen and Zhao Qiang for a while. Then they put on rubber gloves, stuffed the corpses into transparent stic bags and carried them down the hill.


    Huang Jiahui had been silent for quite some time. She looked absent-minded and kept her distance from Luo Yuan. Luo Yuan wanted to talk to her at first, but quickly gave up when he saw her mood.


    The way back was quite smooth, without any unexpected dangers. When they reached the police station, Luo Yuan got out of the car and changed back into his own clothes. He exchanged phone numbers with Captain Chen and asked him to contact him when he identified the bodies. Then he left in a taxi.


    When the taxi entered the city, Luo Yuan checked the time and realized it was not even 3 p.m. yet. He got off the taxi at the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) and walked inside the building.


    Considering that he had been working for less than a year and that his sry was just enough to cover his basic needs, he did not have a lot of savings. However, he still had about two hundred thousand in his card after paying for his university tuition and living expenses. He had gotten that money by selling his house after his parents had been killed in an ident. He had not managed to get anypensation out of the offender.


    There was an announcement stating that ICBC¡¯s fixed deposit interest rate had increased, reaching 15%. Such a high interest rate had urred only once before, during the economic turmoil of the 90s. Luo Yuan had studied economics, so he knew that such an urrence was unusual.


    He walked to the counter. He wanted to withdraw one hundred thousand, but he was only able to withdraw fifty thousand because he had not made an appointment. He took the money and walked out of the bank, using the ATM outside to withdrew another twenty thousand.


    Carrying that huge amount of money, he called a transportpany and rented a small truck. Then he drove directly to a supermarket and purchased whatever he could think of. Drinking water, instant noodles, cereal, clothes, canned food, cooking oil etc. He stopped only when the truck waspletely full.


    When his storage room was filled with food and groceries and more than half of his bedroom was upied by bags of rice, he felt satisfied.


    As the saying went: one will not panic while there are sufficient food supplies in the house. If the world was really about to end, he could still survive for a long period of time with that much food and drinking water, and an increased interest rate.


    He turned on hisputer. All the forums and news sites were mostly reporting about the rapid nt growth rate and animal mutations. Some vigers even imed that people had been disappearing from their viges daily, spreading panic.


    However, there was not much feedback on those posts. That might be because people felt numb after reading them, or because they did not believe them considering that they had not experienced anything like that before.


    If it was the former, then Luo Yuan was one of them. After that incident with the snake, he did not feel like the same person anymore.


    He started to search for news on the army, which usually went unnoticed, buried deep into the sea of news posts. He still managed to find some clues. The country¡¯s military bases seemed to be very busy. The reporters kept using the words ¡°training¡± and ¡°transfer¡±.


    Then he came across a 10 days-old news post from Brazil.


    ¡°Because of the climate change, exports of Brazilian wood have stopped!¡±


    He was suddenly struck by a thought. As he continued to search for information about Brazil, he realized that it seemed to have disappeared from the news. There were no longer any news about the country, other than that piece of news that had been posted 10 days ago.


    Therger part of the Amazon Rainforest, also known as the lung of the earth, was located in Brazil. Its tree cover rate was extremely high and could not even bepared to Mount Zhu, which was no more than 200m above sea level. The Amazon Rainforest was a haven for wildlife but a forbidden area for humans, because of the many strange and dangerous species living there.


    Even a small hill like Mount Zhu had hid a giant snake. Considering that, things in Brazil had to be worse. No news from the country had to mean bad news.


    Luo Yuan shuddered at the thought.


    The sound of a door being unlocked came from outside, and Luo Yuan looked at the time. It was almost 5 p.m. It had to be Zhao Yali.


    ¡°Xiao Yuan, is Weiqiang back?¡±


    Luo Yuan opened his door. Zhao Yali looked even more worried than she had this morning.


    He didn¡¯t know whether he should tell her. The news would devastate her. The two of them had been engaged. They had bought a house together that was currently being renovated and had nned on getting married on New Year¡¯s. And now he had to tell her that he was dead, and that his body was beyond any recognition.


    She would find out soon enough, but maybe he could postpone it for a little bit longer.


    Luo Yuan hesitated before he said, ¡°He should be home soon!¡±


    Zhao Yali¡¯s face turned slightly pale as she muttered to herself, ¡°What is he up to? Why is he not returning my phone calls? That¡¯s not like him.¡±


    ¡°Maybe he¡¯s stumbled onto something!¡± Luo Yuan suggested.


    ¡°Do you think he¡¯s having an affair?¡±


    ¡°He is not that kind of man. Don¡¯t overthink it. Besides, doesn¡¯t he spend all his sry on you? I¡¯m going out for dinner,¡± Luo Yuan said, changing the topic.


    ¡°Let¡¯s just eat together. I¡¯ll cook!¡± Zhao Yali said politely. She felt better after talking with Luo Yuan.


    ¡°It¡¯s alright, I shouldn¡¯t always eat for free!¡± Luo Yuan said while he walked out. He felt uneasy. He did not want to keep lying to her.


    The small restaurant was located at the entrance of the district. Luo Yuan was a frequent customer, so the boss was nice to him.


    He had spent too much energy that day, so he ordered two extra dishes.


    The phone rang when he was halfway through his meal.


    Luo Yuan took it out and saw that it was Captain Chen. He could guess what it was about. He answered it.


    From the other end, he heard Captain Chen¡¯s deep voice say, ¡°Xiao Luo, please brace yourself. I¡¯ve got some bad news for you.¡± He paused, giving Luo Yuan some time to get ready, before he said, ¡°We have the results. One of the bodies belongs to your brother-inw. I¡¯m sorry!¡±


    Luo Yuan already knew this, so he wasn¡¯t surprised. ¡°Thank you, Captain Chen, I had actually already guessed it this afternoon. Have you contacted my sister?¡±


    ¡°I have already had someone from the other unit contact her. Considering the body is beyond recognition and has already began decaying, I suggest that the family cremates it right after seeing him for thest time,¡± said Captain Chen.


    ¡°Okay, I will talk to her,¡± said Luo Yuan.


    ¡°The dead don¡¯t rise from the grave, Xiao Luo. You have my sincere condolences. Goodbye.¡±


    Luo Yuan hang up. He remained silent for a while. Then he quickly paid the bill and headed back home.


    As soon as he opened the security door, the strong smell of something burning hit his nose.


    Luo Yuan ran shocked into the kitchen. He found Zhao Yali paralyzed on the floor, a spat in her hand, while smoke billowed out from the wok on the gas stove, making it look like it was burning.


    Luo Yuan quickly turned off the gas, filled a bowl with water and poured it on the wok.


    The water evaporated quickly with a soft sound.


    Then he looked at Zhao Yali. She seemed stupefied and had not moved at all, even when Luo Yuan hade in. She had to be in deep sorrow.


    ¡°Do you want to die? You almost burned the house down! What happened?¡± Luo Yuan scolded her. He knew it would be useless to try tofort her.


    Zhao Yali stared at Luo Yuan nkly before suddenly bursting into tears. She cried in agony, making his heart throb.


    ¡°It¡¯s alright, it¡¯s alright!¡± He squatted down and patted her on the shoulder. ¡°It¡¯s good to cry.¡±


    Zhao Yali hugged him and cried even harder.


    ¡°Dead... He¡¯s dead. Weiqiang is dead... He was still alive yesterday morning... And I yelled at him...It¡¯s my fault, it¡¯s all my fault.¡±


    ¡°No, it¡¯s not. That¡¯s life. It wouldn¡¯t have happened if he hadn¡¯t gone to Gaotang,¡± Luo Yuanforted her.

 Chapter 9: Purchasing A Knife

    Chapter 9: Purchasing A Knife


    Trantor: Editor:


    Luo Yuan looked at the sleeping Zhao Yali. After she had cried herself to sleep, he had lifted her easily, carried her to her room andid her down on the bed.


    When he tried to withdraw his hands, Zhao Yali, who seemed to be having some kind of dream, hugged him tighter. Suddenly, she started talking in her sleep.


    ¡°Weiqiang, don¡¯t go!¡±


    Luo Yuan had no choice but to stop moving and stay in the same position.


    Gradually he started feeling something, and his eyes turned involuntarily towards her legs.


    Zhao Yali was wearing a dress. She had been feeling hot when she got back home, so she had taken off her tights, leaving her white plump thighspletely exposed. Luo Yuan¡¯s hands were on her thigh.


    Her skin was very soft. It felt like cotton under his hands. Although Luo Yuan was not the kind of person to take advantage of somebody in a helpless situation, it was hard for someone so young to hold back when they were aroused. He felt his mouth go dry before the temptation.


    He cursed silently and turned his head, refusing to look at her again. Yet her image continued to linger on his mind.


    After about 10 minutes, when Zhao Yali was fast asleep and her breathing had be steadier, he withdrew his hands carefully and walked away. It felt a lot like fleeing from a battlefield.


    Luo Yuan took a bath and switched on hisputer to ess Taobao.


    He searched for the word ¡°knife¡± and lots of shops came up.


    Since he had returned the knife to the police station, he had felt naked. Besides, judging by that day¡¯s incident, it would be important to keep a knife at home. Not to mention that he could practice his knife skills.


    Knives, especially long ones, were regted products in the country. However, everyw had its loopholes. Trading decorative knives and swords was still allowed. Their only difference from regr knives was whether they had a cutting edge or not.


    Luo Yuan clicked on one of the online shops. All knives and swords were extremely expensive. The cheapest one cost more than a thousand yuan while the most expensive one could cost up to twenty thousand. Luo Yuan checked out a few more shops, but the prices were pretty much the same. He decided to go with the most popr one, and found out that they also offered customization.


    Luo Yuan knew in his heart that if he had met the giant snake alone, a normal weapon like the knife he had used would definitely not have been enough as it would not have been able to break through its skin. Therefore, if he wanted to make a purchase, he would have to buy the sharpest and biggest knife he could find to ensure that he would not face any simr danger again in the near future.


    He clicked open the Taobao chat box and typed, ¡°Do you offer customization?¡±


    Shortly thereafter, a salesman replied. He skipped all the pleasantries and asked directly, ¡°What materials do you use and what are the specifications?¡±


    ¡°About 1.45m long, suitable for hacking. Do you have any preferences concerning the material?¡± As Luo Yuan was 1.75m tall and reached 1.76m when wearing shoes, this length was perfect for him.


    ¡°People tend to choose tool steel, high-speed steel, or H13. These are sufficient enough to fulfill basic needs. Of course there are some imported special kinds of steel too, but their prices are higher.¡±


    ¡°You know what I need?¡± Luo Yuan asked curiously when he realized what was being implied.


    ¡°It¡¯s no secret! The number of people who purchase knives to defend themselves has been increasing, and I serve hundreds of customers every day!¡±


    ¡°What do you rmend then?¡± Luo Yuan typed after some consideration.


    ¡°Wise choice. I rmend to use steel because it¡¯s corrosion-resistant, and has strong durability and hardness. Many famous knives are made of this type of steel. Besides, when it gets heated, its hardness can rise up to about 60 HRC, which is enough to cut easily through iron. As the material is scarce right now, I can get only a little. That¡¯s why the prices are higher.¡±


    ¡°What is the cost range?¡± Luo Yuan asked.


    ¡°We charge by weight. It¡¯s ten thousand yuan per kilo of the finished product. Of course the prices are quite exaggerated, but they also keep rising daily. You may not able to get one in the future, even if you¡¯ve got sufficient cash.¡±


    ¡°Send me pictures of a sample.¡± Luo Yuan did not think that the salesman was trying to deceive him, but from both his tone and what had happened at Gaotang he had gathered that many people were getting themselves weapons.


    The salesman was very efficient and sent him more than 10 pictures in a short amount of time. Luo Yuan took a look and chose the picture that looked like the Zhanmadao because it could be used to attack either one-handed or using both hands.


    ¡°I¡¯d like the one in this picture. It weighs 4 kg. When can you send it to me?¡± It was still heavy for him based on his strength at the time, but his strength would only continue to increase.


    ¡°Your order has been finalized. You may need to wait another two to three days,¡± the salesman replied.


    ¡°I need it quite urgently. If you send it by tomorrow, I will pay you an extra three thousand yuan!¡± Luo Yuan typed quickly.


    Money had the power to speed things up.


    The salesman seemed to be thinking. After about 10 seconds, he typed, ¡°Five thousand! Transfer it to my ount. My ount number is *******. You have to make the deposit first.¡±


    Luo Yuan hesitated for a bit before deciding, ¡°Okay, deal!¡±


    It was only five thousand after all. He could afford to lose that much. The incidents that had urred recently had made him realize that money was no longer as valuable as it used to be. He could spend as much as possible and get the good material.


    The next day around 9 a.m. he walked into the Sanjiaozhou Gym.


    He had not meant to go to that gym specifically. He just went there because it was the one nearest to his house and it was big enough to suit him.


    His Strength had not been upgraded since his second year in university. Although he had gotten stronger, he still had not managed to meet the requirements for an upgrade. That was why he had decided to try this intense strength training to get his Strength to upgrade automatically. After he hade back from that hill, he had been feeling a sense of urgency to upgrade every one of his properties.


    ¡°Excuse me. Can I register for a monthly pass?¡±


    ¡°Of course you can.¡±


    The girl at the front desk looked young. When she had seen Luo Yuan walk in, she had stood up timidly and introduced herself.


    ¡°We offer a few different passes for you to choose from. Other than a three-year pass, a one-year pass, a season pass and a monthly pass, we also offer a day pass. All these cards allow you to use the gym¡¯s basic facilities. The monthly pass costs six hundred yuan a month, but if you register for a one-year pass, we can give you a 50% discount. No matter the type of your pass, you get a free shower and a locker. We also offer various types of training courses with professional coaches. There is yoga, freebat, dancing, swimming, etc. If you have any specific preferences, you can request a personal trainer or a masseuse, but these services are charged extra.¡±


    Luo Yuan gave it some thought before he asked, ¡°How much is the season pass?¡±


    ¡°One thousand five-hundred yuan.¡±


    ¡°Then I would like a season pass, please,¡± Luo Yuan said.


    The girl nodded, took out a form and handed it to Luo Yuan. ¡°Please fill out this form.¡±


    ¡°How much does it cost to hire a personal trainer?¡± Luo Yuan still had a lot of money in his bank ount. Now was not the time to save.


    ¡°One hundred yuan per hour. You can reload your card and the fee will be deducted automatically from it,¡± she said, beaming at him.


    ¡°Then please help me reload it.¡±


    After Luo Yuan had filled out the form and paid with his credit card, the girl gave him a member card. ¡°The member card number is also your locker number. The lockers are located in the changing room.¡±


    Luo Yuan took the member card and walked to the second floor. The area wasrger than 1,000 m2 and it was divided into several sections. The middle section had rows of gym facilities. It was a Saturday, which was considered peak day for businesses, so naturally the gym was very busy.


    There weren¡¯t just muscr guys, white-cor men wearing tracksuits, and urban women wanting to maintain a slim figure. There were older people and kids as well.


    Luo Yuan had not brought any clothes with him, so he did not go to the changing room. He headed directly to the gym area and called for an attendant.


    A tall girl approached him. She was wearing white tennis clothes that left her pale legs bare and was smiling at him professionally.


    ¡°I need a personal trainer for two hours. I would prefer a professional.¡±


    ¡°Yes, sir. We are a standard gym, so we have lots of retired or active bodybuilders working as coaches. Please wait a moment.¡± The attendant took the card with a smile and walked away.


    Shortly afterwards, a middle-aged muscr man in a singlet came over. Luo Yuan thought he was giving off a bad vibe.


    ¡°Sir, are you interested in body-building?¡± Maybe his facial muscles were so well-developed that they made his smile rigid, but he definitely looked strong.


    ¡°Just call me Luo Yuan. Frankly, I am not interested in bodybuilding.¡± Luo Yuan was not interested in having a muscr body. Muscles might look attractive, but they were difficult to coordinate. Sacrificing dexterity to increase strength was not worth it. It required more than just strength for someone to know how to take a blow.


    ¡°I just want to get stronger and increase my stamina without sacrificing my dexterity. I want to achieve it in a short period of time. That¡¯s why I need your help to create a customized intense training routine,¡± Luo Yuan emphasized the end of his sentence to show his determination.


    ¡°Of course, that¡¯s my job.¡± The coach gave him a stiff smile before continuing, ¡°Intense training is a process that uses science to destroy your body tissue so you can be stronger. If you haven¡¯t warmed up yet, I would suggest the jump rope.¡±


    The trainer had seen lots of clients like Luo Yuan, and most of them did not persist for long. Those whosted for four or five days were considered really goodpared to the ones that gave up after one day. This was because, after an intense training session, their bodies ached and tested their willpower. Today¡¯sfortable life made most people give up after their first try.


    ¡°I ran,¡± Luo Yuan said.


    ¡°For how long?¡± the man asked, slightly surprised.


    ¡°Half an hour,¡± Luo Yuan said after some consideration.


    ¡°Okay, that¡¯s good. If you¡¯ve already warmed up, then we can do some muscle training. First, I need to see your strength limit. Lie down on that bench and push each time I add on weight.¡± The man found an empty bench press and had Luo Yuan lie down on it.


    ¡°Rx your muscles and shoulders, and take a deep breath. That¡¯s right. I have now added 60 kg. Try to push it.¡±


    Luo Yuan did not need to use much energy to do it.


    ¡°It¡¯s too light.¡±


    The man added another 5 kg on each side, but Luo Yuan still felt nothing. It wasn¡¯t until they reached 90 kg that he started to feel like he was working out.


    The test showed that his limit was 95 kg.


    The trainer¡¯s eyes widened slightly. This young man, who looked barely older than a student, was extremely strong. The trainer could only push 115 kg, and that was by using his whole body.


    Luo Yuan exhaled. He was satisfied with his own strength.


    His bench press record had been about 78 kg during his second year in university and his Strength was currently graded with 10 points by the system. If each added point meant a 50% Strength increase, then he would need to be able to bench press about 100 kg in order to upgrade. As it turned out, it was possible to upgrade his Strength and reach 11 points in a short period of time.

 Chapter 10: Donghu Park

    Chapter 10: Donghu Park


    Trantor: Editor:


    Luo Yuan massaged his muscles before leaving the gym. They felt a little bit swollen. He looked at the time and realized it was about noon. He decided to have lunch before leisurely walking back home.


    Zhao Yali had gone out early in the morning so he hadn¡¯t gotten to see her. She must have gone to make arrangements for the funeral. As Chen Weiqiang wasn¡¯t from the area and his parents had not arrived yet, it had fallen to Zhao Yali to handle all these things.


    Luo Yuan¡¯s phone rang. He saw it was one of his colleagues calling and picked it up.


    ¡°Hello, Luo yuan. Come here now. We are having a BBQ at Donghu Park. It¡¯s Xie Chao¡¯s treat. Lou Jieying is here too.¡± It was thepany secretary, Wang Xiaguang. She had been hired at around the same time as Luo Yuan. She was a chaotic kind of person, and maybe that was why she got along well with everyone.


    ¡°I just had lunch, why didn¡¯t you say so earlier?¡± Luo Yuan said with a grin. He really did not feel like going.


    ¡°No way, you have toe. We need somebody to pick up the check when we go to karaoketer,¡± Wang Xiaguang said somberly.


    ¡°Oh, it¡¯s my wallet you miss having around. Okay, I¡¯ll take a cab there now. You¡¯re talking about the open-air BBQ area at Donghu Park, right?¡± Luo Yuan said. He realized that he may not get to see his colleagues again. He was going to resign soon after all.


    ¡°Yes, same ce we used to go. Hurry up, or there won¡¯t be anything left.¡±


    Luo Yuan hung up the phone, got a taxi and headed directly to Donghu Park.


    Donghu Park was a well-known scenic area in the Jiangnan Province. It was the best location for dates, and recreational and fun activities. It was amazing there every season. Spring, summer, autumn, winter; it was beautiful all year long and it attracted a lot of tourists. Due to the recent climate change, Lake Donghu had be even more limpid, looking like a sapphire dropped in the middle of the park. The water lilies in theke flowered unusually as well, making the scenery breath-taking.


    It was a Saturday, so Donghu Park was crowded with people. Couples could be seen everywhere on the meadow. Luo Yuan got out of the taxi and ran towards the open air BBQ area by thekeside.


    It didn¡¯t take him long to find them.


    Apparently they had just set up. Xie Chao was preparing themb, brushing oil skillfully on the pieces while chatting with Lou Jieying. Meanwhile, Wang Xiaguang was holding an eggnt, adding some pepper on it.


    Lou Jieying was in charge of thepany¡¯s finances. She had fair skin, an oval-shaped face, andrge eyes. She was one of the most beautiful women in thepany. However, she was a bit arrogant. She had a good rtionship with her female co-workers, but she was cold to all the men.


    Luo Yuan did not hang out with her much, and he did not know how Xie Chao had managed to get her to join them.


    ¡°I should haveeter. This is tempting me,¡± Luo Yuan said when as he walked up to them.


    Wang Xiaguang had a plump face with high eyebrows. Her cheeks dimpled whenever she smiled, which made her look cute. Although he had not inquired about her family background, she had to be well off judging by her outfit. When she saw Luo Yuan, her slightly wrinkled eyebrows straightened and she grinned, ¡°I didn¡¯t invite you here. All I needed was your wallet.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s the reality of our money-hungry society. It¡¯s so dark. I should eat more. Maybe I¡¯ll stuff myself to death!¡±


    Xie Chao and Luo Yuan both worked in the marketing department. Though he was familiar with the man, they were not that close. He greeted Xie Chao and Lou Jieying, and made some polite small talk before taking a chicken wing and putting it on the barbecue rack.


    ¡°Why didn¡¯t youe to work yesterday?¡± Wang Xiaguang asked.


    ¡°It¡¯s a long story. I almost died.¡± Luo Yuan sighed, thinking of what had happened the previous day.


    ¡°You¡¯re lying.¡± Wang Xiaguang raised her eyebrows. She obviously did not believe him.


    Luo Yuan was rtively close to her and they always had fun together. When he realized that she was oblivious to everything that had been going on, he wanted to warn her.


    ¡°Would you believe me if I said that I met a giant snake yesterday?¡±


    ¡°You mean in a dream, right? I¡¯m not stupid,¡± Wang Xiaguang said sullenly. She knew that she was not that smart, but she didn¡¯t like it when people made fun on her.


    Luo Yuan opened his mouth slightly. He was speechless.


    Xie Chao interrupted them, ¡°Where did you see it?¡±


    Luo Yuan spread some oil on his chicken wing before saying, ¡°On Mount Zhu in Gaotang. My roommate had been missing, so I went to Mount Zhu with a few cops from Gaotang and we came across a giant snake.¡±


    ¡°Howrge was it?¡±


    ¡°About as thick as a bucket!¡± Luo Yuan said.


    Xie Chao grinned. He did not look like he believed him either. ¡°There¡¯s been simr news all over the inte recently. Apparently nts and animals have been growing like crazy. Could it be that it was as thick as a human thigh, and not as thick as a bucket? You must have been mistaken.¡±


    After Xie Chao had expressed his opinion, he turned to Lou Jieying and said, ¡°Do you like it spicy?¡±


    ¡°Yes, but not too much,¡± Lou Jieying said, ncing at Luo Yuan.


    Luo Yuan looked crestfallen. Maybe the fact that people were reading too much peculiar information on a daily basis made them disbelieving.


    ¡°Is it true?¡± Wang Xiaguang asked timidly. Girls usually tended to be afraid of snakes.


    Luo Yuan patiently said, ¡°Why would I lie? The situation may get worse. Look at the nts around here. They are being trimmed quite often. If you go to a more rural area, you won¡¯t believe your eyes.¡±


    ¡°I believe you,¡± Luo Jieying said suddenly. She looked worried. She hesitated a little before adding, ¡°I have an uncle who works for the police. A lot of beggars have been going missingtely. They get eaten by ratsing from the drains.¡±


    Xie Chao was stunned. ¡°Rats are eating humans?¡± he asked incredulously,


    Lou Jieying did not answer. She seemed reluctant.


    Luo Yuan wasn¡¯t sure how to feel. On one hand, he had finally confirmed his hypothesis. On the other, he was afraid what the future might hold.


    Suddenly, someone screamed in terror in the distance. There was a bigmotion. People were crying out and screaming, many of them running desperately in that direction.


    ¡°What¡¯s happening?¡± Luo Yuan¡¯s face darkened as he turned towards theke. He saw theke water billow near the shore and the deep red color of blood gush up to the surface.


    A long line suddenly appeared on the surface of theke, piercing it like a sharp sword. The water line moved fast, reaching the point where the water was blood red in just a few seconds.


    Whirlpools kept forming on the water, one after the other. Each of them was about one meter wide and half a meter deep. Some collided with each other, either disappearing or forming arger whirlpool.


    The crowd ran around wildly for a while before it realized that the monster in theke could note out of water. Then everybody just stood there and watched. Some people were looking for the cause while more people started joining them after hearing themotion.


    The news were spreading fast.


    A couple had died. They had been making out by thekeside. It was too hot, so they had taken their shoes off and dipped their feet in the cool water. Nobody had noticed when exactly the ripples on theke surface had first appeared.


    A ck peculiar fish had suddenly jumped out of the water and pulled the man under. As they had been hugging at the time, the woman was dragged under the surface too. The two of them had died together.


    The cops came to the park quickly following the tragedy, and the site was soon closed off.


    Some of the cops did not seem surprised. When they were told what had happened, they immediately contacted their superior.


    ¡°I think we can¡¯t stay here any longer. Let¡¯s go,¡± Lou Jieying said. Her palms were clenched and she looked very pale. The tragedy must have shocked her.


    ¡°Okay!¡± Xie Chao suddenly turned and asked Luo Yuan, ¡°You were telling the truth about that snake?¡±


    Luo Yuan nodded grimly before he said, ¡°I¡¯ve decided to quit. You should get ready too. Things might get worse than you can imagine.¡±


    As they were walking out of the park, a few police cars pulled up. Donghu Park would need to close for a few days to ensure that all weird fish in theke were killed.


    They had reached the junction when Luo Yuan asked, ¡°Are we still going to sing karaoke?¡±


    ¡°You guys go ahead. I¡¯m no longer in the mood. I¡¯ll just head home.¡± Lou Jieying said as she shook her head.


    ¡°I am not going either.¡± Xie Chao had lost his interest too when he saw that Lou Jieying would not be going.


    ¡°You said you¡¯re going quit. Can I have your number?¡± Lou Jieying asked, looking at Luo Yuan.


    Luo Yuan was slightly bewildered but quickly said, ¡°Of course.¡±


    ¡°Keep in touch!¡± Luo Jieying beamed while she shook her smartphone. ¡°I¡¯m going home.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll take you!¡± Xie Chao offered.


    ¡°No, it¡¯s alright. I¡¯ll just take a taxi,¡± Lou Jieying declined, shaking her head.


    After they had exchanged numbers, Luo Yuan put his phone back in his pocket and looked at Wang Xiaguang who was still staring nkly into space. ¡°Why are you still in shock? You¡¯re not scared, are you?¡±


    ¡°What happened was awful! Why aren¡¯t you reacting at all?¡± Wang Xiaguang said, looking at him oddly.


    ¡°Men tend to be braver,¡± Luo Yuan said lightly. Compared to what had happened the previous day, what had just happened felt like nothing. That¡¯s why he wasn¡¯t afraid.


    ¡°Xie Chao is not. I think he¡¯s quite terrified.¡± Wang Xiaguang refuted.


    ¡°Are you looking for excuses?¡± Luo Yuan did not want to gossip, so he decided to switch the topic, ¡°It seems that nobody wants to go. Are we still going?¡±


    ¡°Of course we are. Why wouldn¡¯t we be going?¡± Wang Xiaguang said loudly.


    ¡°Just the two of us?¡± Luo Yuan was slightly confused.


    ¡°What, two people can¡¯t sing together?¡± Wang Xiaguang retorted while she red at him.


    ¡°Okay. You just have to make me spend money, don¡¯t you?¡± Luo Yuan could not help but say.


    The two of them talked while they walked toward the nearest KTV.


    ¡°You said you went to Mount Zhu yesterday. Did you find your roommate after all?¡± Wang Xiaguang asked curiously.


    ¡°He was dead. I¡¯m not going to tell you how. It would give you nightmares,¡± Luo Yuan said with a sigh.


    ¡°Don¡¯t tell me he had been swallowed by that snake!¡± Wang Xiaguang said while she widened her eyes.


    ¡°I didn¡¯t say anything.¡± Luo Yuan said innocently.


    ¡°Your face did, though. If I have nightmares tonight, it¡¯ll be your fault.¡± Wang Xiaguang scolded him.


    ¡°Reality is more dreadful. At least nightmares you can wake up from. I¡¯ll give you a piece of advice. When you get back home, buy lots of food and groceries. The more, the better. I¡¯m worried that things will get worse,¡± Luo Yuan said.


    ¡°Actually, my dad has already bought a lot. He¡¯s even built a basement. At first I thought he was overreacting. After all, he does have a record. He spent a lot of money on building a ship with his friends prior to the prophecy of the world ending in 2012. That had made us allugh for quite some time,¡± Wang Xiaguang murmured.


    ¡°If something really bad happened, you coulde to my house.¡± Wang Xiaguang murmured, lowering her head as she blushed.


    Luo Yuan was taken aback. He looked at Wang Xiaguang silently for a while before he said, ¡°Thank you. If I need shelter, I will look for you.¡±


    They remained silent the rest of the way, both deep in their own thoughts.

 Chapter 11: Snake Skin Bulletproof Vest

    Chapter 11: Snake Skin Bulletproof Vest


    Trantor: Editor:


    At the end, they decided to cancel their KTV ns. Wang Xiaguang¡¯s mother had called and it had sounded urgent, so Wang Xiaguang decided to return home, even though she didn¡¯t want to. Zhao Yali did note home that evening. Luo Yuan switched on his desktopputer to y a game, but then decided against it. He could not calm himself down. He felt depressed and he knew something was bothering him, which made him want to scream bad. He kept scratching his head in frustration. In the end, he walked to the living room and started shadow boxing. He had only four points in his closebat skills. However, his ability to attack became very powerful when hebined his 12-point Dexterity with hisbat skills.


    His movements produced several sounds as he fought against the air. He could injure someone severely by hitting them, and might even kill them if he striked their vital points. Initially, his shadowbox was meant to provide stress relief, and every single one of his attack moves was a violent one. However, eventually, he had gotten addicted to it and slowly discovered the joys of boxing. He felt pumped and excited. "Beep. After a sufficient training period, your Free Combat skills have improved. One point for Free Combat." He had been so into it that he hadn¡¯t realized there had been a skill upgrade. He had been practicing for almost an hour. When he stopped, there was a puddle of sweat on the floor and his shirt waspletely drenched. He felt his blood boiling and circting fast. He enjoyed the feeling.


    It was the first time that he had had such a long training. He had not expected it to be so addictive. He felt betterpared to how he had felt before shadowboxing, and he headed straight to the bathroom to take a shower. He could not predict any future turmoil. The only thing he could control was himself, and he had to keep improving if he wanted to be ready to face any future challenges. Be it the stone age or the 21st century, capabilities were always the key to survival. It was only the level of cruelty that varied. The reason he had undergone so much training in the past was to get strong, and that hadn¡¯t changed.


    The next morning, Captain Chen gave him a call to tell him toe and collect the snake skin right after breakfast. He immediately called a cab and headed to Gaotang. He walked into the restaurant where Captain Chen and Zhao Qiang were having tea.


    ¡°Hi, Captain. Hi, Zhao Qiang. There you both are!¡± Luo Yuan greeted them, smiling.


    The two of them just watched him without saying anything. Luo Yuan felt ufortable. He smiled awkwardly while he asked, ¡°What¡¯s wrong with you? Why are you looking at me like that?¡±


    Captain Chen coughed once and stared at him seriously.


    Luo Yuan got panicked. He thought he might be involved in a criminal case. However, the only fight he had had recently was the one with Wang Fei. What if Wang Fei was dead? He rejected that thought because if that were the case, then he would be meeting them at the police station, not at a restaurant.


    He decided to just ask them directly, "Did something happen?"


    Captain Chen tapped the table with his finger and replied slowly, "No, nothing happened. But we have some questions for you, and you better tell us the truth."


    "What is the rtionship between you and Chen Weiqiang? What you told us before does not match my investigation report. I believe you know us both well enough. It¡¯s your call whether to tell the truth or keep lying," he tried to intimidate him indirectly.


    Luo Yuan was trying to figure out what the best n would be while he listened to the Captain.


    He knew he could not hide it any longer, so he replied with a grin, "I see his girlfriend as a sister, so it makes sense to treat Chen Weiqiang as a brother-inw, doesn¡¯t it? Besides, it was just a spur-of-the-moment idea during a stressful time. Is it really so bad to be passionate and helpful?¡±


    Zhao Qiangughed before saying, ¡°Of course not! However, you seemed to be too passionate, which seems suspicious, if you ask me.¡±


    Luo Yuan carefully answered, ¡°Is this an upational disease? I know you meet a lot of bad people in your line of work, but it¡¯s unfair to question a good person. Don¡¯t you agree?¡±


    Zhao Qiang tried to pry by asking, ¡°Oh, really? Do you have a crush on that woman? I think so, otherwise you wouldn¡¯t be so passionate about her. I heard that the two of you are living together. Is it true?¡±


    They had met all the family members of the victims, and Zhao Yali had been the most impressive one. They had only found out that she was not his sister after talking with her. Captain Chen and Zhao Qiang had decided to tease Luo Yuan to get back at him.


    ¡°I¡¯m not that kind of person.¡± Luo Yuan was speechless. Although he did like her, he would never have done that to Chen Weiqiang.


    ¡°Hey, enough. We¡¯ve got more important matters to discuss,¡± Captain Chen interrupted Zhao Qiang. ¡°Here¡¯s the deal, Luo Yuan. Would you like to join the police? We¡¯re talking about an official officer role, which is different than working in federal defense,¡± Captain Chen told him.


    ¡°An officer? I thought that required specific qualifications,¡± Luo Yuan said uncertainly.


    "That¡¯s how it used to be. However, ever since we reported the snake incident, the Chief Minister has been paying close attention to this issue, and he issued a memorandum to recruit more policemen. That¡¯s why I wanted to check with you."


    Captain Chen had been impressed by Luo Yuan¡¯s performance. Most importantly, he admired his character. Luo Yuan had saved his life, and he had also been willing to sacrifice himself for his friend.


    "What¡¯s happening? Is the situation getting worse?" Luo Yuan did not agree right away. He was too shocked.


    "I don¡¯t want to hide the truth from you. You will find out eventually. We are facing a workforce shortage in almost all levels, but especially in the viges. There are too many criminals and people just keep going missing. I also heard that the government is going to burn down the forest once they have enough manpower," Captain Chen said, looking very serious.


    In fact, the police force was not the only department in need of new recruits. The city armed force had to do the same thing. All weapons had to be regrized and several tons of them had been shipped to the city. This news could not be disclosed to the public if they wanted to avoid chaos.


    Luo Yuan hesitated. He had never wanted to be a cop. Besides, the risk of being a policeman was a lot higher than it used to be. He could get killed anytime. However, it was difficult to predict the future. No ce was 100% safe anymore. If the viges had be so dangerous so fast, then the danger would soon spread to the city as well.


    ¡°I need to think about it,¡± Luo Yuan told Captain Chen after some consideration.


    ¡°Alright, I understand,¡± Captain Chen agreed, nodding his head. Since the day they hade back from the forest, several policemen had left on medical leave and two had handed in their resignations. Wang Fei had been one of those two.


    ¡°Oh, here you go!¡± Captain Chen seemed to remember something. He passed a parcel to Luo Yuan with a smile and said, ¡°Your eyes were very sharp. I was so sad to go back to the office and find this. All the snakeskin has been used to make bulletproof jackets. There are eight pieces in total and the Chief Officer treasures them all. I¡¯ve been asking to have them for quite a long time, but he only gave me one,¡± Captain Chen told Luo Yuan. ¡°It¡¯s made of fouryers of snakeskin, and it¡¯s stronger and lighter than any normal bulletproof jacket. To be honest, I felt like keeping it for myself,¡± he exined sadly.


    ¡°Oh dear! It¡¯s done,¡± Luo Yuan said happily as he took it into his hands and touched it. It was so light, it barely weighed 250 grams1.


    He opened the parcel and held the bulletproof jacket in his hands. It was a vest with a few snake scales attached to the front with superglue. It felt so smooth and shiny when he touched it. It was like artwork. Its only imperfection was its hard material. However, it was still considered a good piecepared to the heavy bulletproof jackets made of iron tes.


    Luo Yuan secretly used his superpower to analyze the vest.


    "Snake Skin Bulletproof Vest."


    "Materials: Snakeskin."


    "Rarity: Light Blue Color."


    "Weight: 0.2kg."


    "Protection: 14-18."


    "Secondary Functions: Protection against certain animals (Weak)."


    "Equipment Requirements: None."


    "Comments: This is a good bulletproof vest, perfect for preventing bullet and knife pration. Since it is made from rat snake skin, it could protect you against rats, frogs, and birds. Then again, it could also make them more aggressive."


    "Oh! It¡¯s a light blue piece of equipment!" Luo Yuan was so happy and excited.


    Most objects were grey, and very few of them were white. Only pieces of really sophisticated technology and equipment were a light blue, blue, or dark blue color. For example, his mobile phone was blue while normal phones tended to be light blue. The more advanced the object, the darker its color would be. But when it came to a bulletproof jacket or something simr that had nothing to do with technology, it was very difficult to get such a good rating.


    "What do you think? Not bad, right?" Captain Chen asked with a smile.


    "Indeed! Thank you so much. Although I still need some time to consider your offer, please don¡¯t hesitate to contact me if you need any help," Luo Yuan said as he kept on smiling. He felt safer now that he had the vest.


    "Oh, thanks! I wouldn¡¯t want to experience that kind of adventure again, though!" Zhao Qiang quickly said.


    They continued to chit chat for a while until Luo Yuan got up to leave.


    Luo Yuan saw many harvesters by the roadside on his way home. He did not understand why until he recalled what Captain Chen had told him. Apparently, the governors in Gaotang had decided to burn the farnd and the weeds in order to prevent disaster. Nobody could predict the effectiveness of those measures, but the aggressiveness of the government was telling. The world seemed indeed to being to an end.


    Trantor Notes


    1½ï (catty) is one of the unit measurements of weight in China, Taiwan, Peninsr of North Korea, Vietnam, Hong Kong, Macau, Singapore, and Mysia. It wasmonly used amongst the Chinesemunity but kilograms is getting popr in the modern society. A catty is approximately 500 grams in China and Taiwan, while it is approximately 600 grams in Vietnam, Hong Kong, Macau, Singapore, and Mysia. Therefore, half a catty is about 250 grams in China.

 Chapter 12: Deterioration

    Chapter 12: Deterioration


    Trantor: Editor:


    "Good evening, my fellow audience. You are now watching the news on CCTV. The President has urged citizens to remain calm during his speech following the inspection of the Nanjing Military Base. He expressed his hope that citizens will stay united to help stabilize society, and his belief that the government and army will be able to diffuse the situation... The President imed that reinforcements of both the Chinese and American military, as well as improvements in the technology and trading industry, are beneficial to both countries during his meeting with the Vice President of the United States in Southern China. The Vice President of the United States stated that the rtionship between China and America is vital to the world¡¯s development, and that the US is willing to cooperate with China towards a mutual goal...


    The Yunnan Military Base is currently conducting a series of weapon and bomb training sessions, as well as examining the power of its heavy-liftunching vehicle... In other news, the northern lights phenomena in the North-Eastern region has attracted a lot of people...¡±


    Luo Yuan was focused on the news, trying to analyze the current state of the globe. The tenants above his apartment were quarreling again.


    ¡°All you do is eat! We are going to die soon if you can¡¯t get any food by tomorrow!¡± the female tenant yelled loudly.


    ¡°What am I supposed to do? Everything is out of stock at the supermarket, the wet market, even the wholesale market. I¡¯ll try again tomorrow, alright?¡± The male tenant replied with a sigh.


    ¡°All I do is wait! How much longer do we have to wait? We are running out of food soon! I told you so many times to go grocery shopping earlier, but you refused to listen. You told me that you couldn¡¯t get your leave approved. And now what? Yourpany has shut down!¡± Her voice could prate the walls.


    ¡°Why didn¡¯t you go grocery shopping? Why do you always stay at home?¡± the guy was now raising his voice as well.


    ¡°You think I like staying at home? Who the hell is going to take care of the kids, though? Or am I supposed to bring them along to the supermarket? Are you insane? Do you know how dangerous it is out there? There are crimes happening every day!¡±


    Smash!


    The sound of ss breaking and children crying reached his ears.


    "Alright, alright! I¡¯ll get some from my friends tomorrow. Things will be fine sooner orter. There is lots of food reserved in the National Granary. The government won¡¯t just let us die," he lowered his voice, trying tofort his wife.


    "You¡¯re driving me crazy! Why did I marry you in the first ce? We are running out of food and you don¡¯t even seem concerned! How are we going to survive theing days?" the wife cried while she kept on shouting.


    "Fine! I¡¯ll go to the ck market! I¡¯ll get food no matter the cost, are you satisfied now?Just stop shouting, it¡¯s beyond embarrassing!"


    Their voices got gradually softer.


    There had been so many changes during the past two weeks. Both the news and the inte had been reporting the same things, causing major panic in the public. No matter how aggressively the government tried to urge citizens to calm down, it was proving ineffective. In fact, things kept getting worse every day. Many resources ran out of stock, especially food, and everything was getting more expensive. As a result, there were crimes happening everyday. Robbery, rape, and murder had be amon urrence. Luo Yuan was not affected, because he had been well-prepared for this situation.


    "Hey, Yuan! Let¡¯s have dinner!" Zhao Yali called,ing out from the kitchen.


    Luo Yuan switched off the TV and sat down at the table. She hade back 10 days ago. It was sad that she had to go through this ordeal before she could even recover from the pain of losing her fianc¨¦.


    Zhao Yali looked cautious while she was eating. After a while, she started to speak, ¡°I went to the wet market again today, but I still couldn¡¯t get anything.¡±


    Luo Yuan responded, ¡°I think it¡¯d best to just stay at home for a while. Things will get better. I don¡¯t think the government would neglect something like this. They will do something to help soon.¡±


    ¡°What about yourpany?¡± she asked.


    ¡°I have no idea. Everyone is worried. No one can get any work done. I don¡¯t know how long this can go on for,¡± Luo Yuan replied.


    Zhao Yali looked depressed and said, ¡°I¡¯m nning to move back to my hometown. I¡¯m worried about my parents."


    Luo Yuan was not surprised. Zhao Yali had been calling her parents a lottely and always looked bothered. ¡°When are you leaving?¡± he asked.


    ¡°I think the day after tomorrow. My house is located in a vige in the outskirts. I¡¯ve heard that it¡¯s very dangerous there, so I need to go back,¡± she told him, expressing her worry.


    Suddenly Luo Yuan¡¯s phone rang. ¡°Beep!¡± The system had sent him a message. It read, ¡°Optional F+ Level Mission: Make sure Zhao Yali gets back to her hometown safely. Mission fails if she dies.¡± ¡°No deadline. (ept/Decline)¡± Oh no! Another F+ Level Mission?


    One of his hands went stiff.


    ¡°Are you alright? You look sick,¡± Zhao Yali said gently.


    ¡°Oh, I¡¯m fine. When are you leaving again?¡± he quickly asked her in an effort to distract her.


    ¡°The day after tomorrow. I¡¯ve booked a train ticket,¡± Zhao Yali repeated. She added, ¡°You can keep everything in this house. Don¡¯t be a stranger!¡±


    She looked happier at the thought of returning to her hometown. Luo Yuan felt uneasy looking at her smile. Zhao Yali would probably die if he declined the mission. He could not put her in such danger. He was silent for a while before he said, ¡°Since you¡¯re so generous, how about I apany you there?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯d be great, I have lots of things to carry though, so don¡¯tinter.¡±


    Zhao Yali did not reject his offer because she thought that Luo Yuan would just apany her to the train station. Plus, she would be gone forever and wouldn¡¯t being back to Donghu City anymore. Even though she had been throwing lots of things away, there was still quite a lot to carry, and she had even considered shipping it back to her hometown.


    ¡°I think you misunderstood. I meant I¡¯ll be apanying you back to your hometown. It¡¯s very dangerous in the viges. It¡¯s too risky for you to go there alone,¡± Luo Yuan said in a serious tone.


    ¡°Oh! I¡¯ll be fine, don¡¯t worry. It¡¯s not that far away. It¡¯s just an hour¡¯s journey by train,¡± Zhao Yali said. She had looked surprised for a second.


    "Alright, here¡¯s the deal. I¡¯m not letting you go back alone. I¡¯m going to book a ticket online right now. What¡¯s the destination and departure time?" he asked.


    ¡°Yushui City, 1.30p.m.,¡± Zhao Yali answered.


    She knew that Luo Yuan would insist on following her. She was not an opinionated person, plus, all the bad news she had heard on TV and read on websites had made her really worried. However, at the same time, she was facing a dilemma. She did not know how to exin to her parents who Luo Yuan was. She was not sure what people would think of her considering her fianc¨¦ had just passed away.


    Luo Yuan suddenly asked her, "Is it possible to leave tomorrow?"


    "Actually, you don¡¯t have toe with me. I really don¡¯t want to trouble you. I also wanted to go back tomorrow initially, but there weren¡¯t any tickets. There are lots of working foreigners going back to their hometown as well. It¡¯s very difficult to get one."


    He waved his hand before saying, ¡°I¡¯ve resigned already, so my schedule is wide open. Just need to book a ticket.¡± He walked to his room, logged onto the railway service website, and booked it.


    Luo Yuan returned to his bedroom after dinner. He took out a long wooden box and removed the lid. There was a Zhanmadao1 lying inside it in a sheath. There were special designs engraved on it. Luo Yuan held the handle while he slowly pulled the sword out from the sheath. Its body was t and its de was very thin. The tip was curved but sharp, which made it look scary. It was strong enough to break through any normal metal with just a single strike.


    ¡°Zhanmadao."


    "Materials: 165cm of alloy."


    "Rarity: Light Blue."


    "Weight: 4.1kg"


    "Power: 16-20."


    "Secondary Functions: Attacking Speed +1."


    "Equipment Requirements: Strength 11-points."


    "Note: This is a modern Zhanmadao. It can break through most materials, including metal.¡±


    Historically, the Zhanmadao had existed since the Han Dynasty and it was simr to a Modao2, a sword that could to kill a horse as easily as it could kill a man. It was a famous weapon in the military battlefield, popr among frontline generals and knights. Apparently, the modern version was different from the ancient one, though. The handle of the modern Madao was shorter and easier to hold using one or both hands, and its body was shorter, reaching an ideal length that added strength to the sword.


    Although Luo Yuan¡¯s strength was still below 11-points, even after a period of intensive training, he could still use it well. His only concern was his high energy consumption.


    He yed around with the sword, swinging it in the air a few times. As this type of sword was very heavy, the gravitational force pulled it forward, making it easier for him to handle it. A normal person without any basic skills or knowledge couldn¡¯t have pulled this off. It was not a big deal for Luo Yuan, though.


    He was skilled at using the sword, and his every strike seemed effortless yet impactful in the battlefield. He practiced with the sword in his bedroom, stopping after half an hour. Then he took out a leather cloth and wiped away any unseen dust particles on the sword before sliding it back inside the sheath.


    ¡°Although F+ Level Missions are always dangerous, my strengths and skills have improved since myst mission. I got a new attribute point and there are five more points which I haven¡¯t allocated yet. If I allocate all my attributes on knife skills, I think I¡¯ll seed. I have just the weapon for it!¡±


    Trantor Notes


    1 Zhanmadao is a single long broad-ded sword with a long handle suitable for two-handed use. Dating to 1072, it was used as an anti-cavalry weapon. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinese_swords


    2 Modao was a sword that could to kill a horse as easily as it could kill a man. It was a famous weapon in the military battlefield, popr among frontline generals and knights. Apparently, the modern version was different from the ancient one, though. The handle of the modern Madao was shorter and easier to hold using one or both hands, and its body was shorter, reaching an ideal length that added strength to the sword.

 Chapter 13: Purchasing Limit

    Chapter 13: Purchasing Limit


    Trantor: Editor:


    Luo Yuan was awakened by the horn of an advertising car. It was early morning and the sun hadn¡¯t even risen in the horizon yet.


    "My dearest citizens! There will be a specific quantity of food and water avable to you for purchase in order to maintain harmony and suppress the price of goods. The city councilmittee has set up a few supply counters in a mega wet market, and all citizens are wee to make purchases by showing their identity card. I repeat, It is only a limited supply."


    ¡°My dearest citizens! My dearest citizens!¡± The loudspeakers kept ying the same thing over and over until his sleepiness had all but disappeared. He got up, put on his clothes and opened the door.


    ¡°What¡¯s happening outside?¡± Zhao Yali asked with a yawn as she walked out of her bedroom in her pajamas.


    ¡°The government has taken some action. We can get a specific quantity of food and water,¡± Luo Yuan replied happily. Although he had stored some dry food, he could not find any fresh vegetables or meat. They were always out of stock. Besides, sooner orter that food would run out too. However, they didn¡¯t need to be worried anymore. That was definitely good news. After all, nobody liked turmoil except for careerists and madmen.


    "Let me check it out and see whether we can get some," Luo Yuan said.


    "Let¡¯s go together. Maybe we could get double the amount?" Zhao Yali suggested.


    "Sounds like a good idea! You go and change, we should go as soon as possible. I think you don¡¯t need to brush your teeth first," Luo Yuan reminded her.


    "Oh no!" Only then did Zhao realize that she was still wearing her pajamas. Her face turned red. She quickly closed the door and went to change. It was 10 minutester that she came out of her room again. She seemed to have put on some light makeup. Luo Yuan felt uneasy while they left the house together. He was shocked to see what was happening outside.


    The district was extremely crowded. He had never realized there were so many residents in the area. All those people seemed to be attracted by something and the human queues they formed had eventually caused traffic. Those who owned a private car wouldn¡¯t stop honking as they got stuck in the human traffic. Some of them got out of their cars because they had not been moving at all. People had brought their shopping andundry baskets along, some had even brought their luggage bags. However, most of them had gone with bare hands, just like Luo Yuan had. When they reached the main street, they realized that what they had seen earlier was nothingpared to the crowd in front of them. The streets were full of people and the traffic had gotten worse. Both of them squeezed through the crowd, not really having to make any effort as people kept pushing them forward. This was something beyond Luo Yuan¡¯s imagination. He usually only saw such phenomena on TV.


    ¡°Wow! This is really happening, huh?¡± Zhao Yali looked excited to see all that crowd. She said, ¡°I used to think that people in this city were cold to each other, and that made people feel lonely. I can¡¯t believe this is happening. It¡¯s like what my mother used to tell me.¡±


    Luo Yuan shook his head, not really understanding her. "We shall see,¡± he replied, ¡°I wouldn¡¯t havee here if I knew there¡¯d be this many people. I have no idea how long we are going to have to wait in line." He was already regretting it.


    "Perhaps it is because I¡¯m leaving soon. I always thought that I would spend the rest of my life in this city, that I would get married and have kids. And yet I¡¯m leaving." She looked depressed and she had tears in her eyes.


    "Hey, you have to leave those sad things behind. Actually, the viges are not safe to stay in anymore. Why don¡¯t you convince your parents to move to the city? There are many mutated animals there. They would be safer if they moved here,¡± Luo Yuan suggested, trying tofort her.


    ¡°Okay. Anyway, I really want to thank you. I wouldn¡¯t have been able to go on with my life without your support,¡± Zhao Yali told him sincerely.


    ¡°I didn¡¯t do anything. You¡¯re being too kind. Are you forgetting that we have been housemates for a long time?¡± Luo Yuan said.


    ¡°Anyway, please keep in touch,¡± Zhao Yali said seriously.


    ¡°Oh, It¡¯s not the end of the world. I¡¯ll be apanying you tomorrow. You can thank me when you get home,¡± Luo Yuan interrupted her. Finally, they arrived at the nearest mega wet market for food supplies.


    There were two lines of fully-armed policemen standing there holding automatic rifles. Their job was to control the situation and maintain the order. Their deterrence caused some minor uproar among the crowd, but the situation was eventually stabilized. Luo Yuan and Zhao Yali run into the wet market, following the flow of the crowd. Many facilities had been removed from the market and reced by huge bulks of food supplies. There was a yellow string set up around the guarded zone, and policemen were standing at a one-meter radius from the trading counters. Although there were approximately 400 to 500 counters, the queues still moved very slowly. It was hot and the humidity was high. Both of them were sweating in 10 minutes. Luo Yuan felt fine as he had been physically strong and fit ever since he had gotten the superpower, and he recovered from illness and injuries faster than the average person. Zhao Yali was weaker, though, and she would probably suffer a heat stroke before they could even reach the counter.


    ¡°How about we go up front and try to squeeze in?¡± Luo Yuan suggested.


    ¡°I don¡¯t think that will work,¡± Zhao Yali said while she fanned herself with her hands.


    ¡°Let¡¯s try. Just hold my hand,¡± Luo Yuan said.


    Luo Yuan did not wait for her to respond. He just grabbed her hand and squeezed through the crowd. He was very strong, his strength being 1.5 times greater than a normal person¡¯s. They both moved between the gaps of the crowd, hearing someints around them. However, they were not only people to do that. It was something verymon for Chinese people. In fact, most working adults did that every day when they took the train or bus to work. After a while, they reached counter 1.


    "Why do I only get this much? It¡¯s much less than what the others are getting!" an olddy was saying.


    "Because you¡¯re not from the area. Please check the notice on the board outside," the young woman at the counter replied impatiently. "Please make way for the next person. Next!"


    The olddy was pushed away by the crowd.


    "I want everything. Give me the biggest portion," a bald guy with a big golden ne said, shaking a stack of cash.


    ¡°Each person can only purchase supplies for three days using their identity card. You can onlye back again after three days.¡±


    ¡°Can¡¯t you make a special arrangement? I have more than enough money,¡± the bald guy asked in a disrespectful way.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, I can¡¯t do that. That¡¯s the policy. Total CNY 200, please!¡± the employee said after exining.


    ¡°Looks like I can only buy food from the ck market then,¡± the bald guy murmured to himself while he paid and took his groceries.


    Finally, Luo Yuan came up to the cashier. He passed her his identity card along with CNY 200.


    The cashier asked him, "Three days right?" Then she went on to record all the particrs on herputer while another staff member handed Luo Yuan the groceries. They purchased them and quickly got out away the crowd.


    "Gosh, how hot it was in there!" Zhao Yali said while she let go of Luo Yuan¡¯s arm and looked back at the crowd. ¡°Let¡¯s see what¡¯s inside the bag.¡±


    ¡°A 2.5 kg bag of white rice, 500 grams of meat, 1 kg of vegetables, three apples, and 2.5 litres of drinking water. Oh, plus three pieces of chocte and a small packet of milk and sugar,¡± Luo Yuan said after checking.


    Zhao Yali seemed shocked. "That was way too much money that we paid for these little things. They used to cost just CNY 50. The value of money is depreciating!"


    "This is considered cheap these days. What did you expect? At any rate, it¡¯s a lot cheaper than the ck market," Luo Yuan told her.


    He knew that dry food in the ck market cost about CNY 25 per 500 grams, and meat was sold for CNY 100 per 500 grams. Therefore, CNY 200 for those things they had just bought from the counter was cheap inparison.


    ¡°Those are supplied by the government, though. How can they still be so expensive? Are they crazy? Ugh, thank God I¡¯m leaving soon, otherwise I don¡¯t think I would be able to survive in this city,¡± she said angrily. She used to work in a foreign investmentpany and her sry had been below CNY 3000. She wouldn¡¯t have been able to survive even if herpany had not shut down.


    ¡°It¡¯s true!¡± Luo Yuan said with a smile.


    Actually, the viges did not seem to be better off than the city. Captain Chen from the police station in Gaotang had given Luo Yuan a call a few days ago to remind him to store some food for emergency. He had not said much, but Luo Yuan could sense how critical the situation was, and he had decided to go check on it. When he had arrived in Gaotang, everything had seemed fine and stable. The government had burned most of the farnd and removed lots of big trees. However, when he hade to a small junction, he¡¯d realized that the new crops in the paddy field weren¡¯t growing in this warm unusual December temperature. In fact, he saw weeds growing lusher and higher than those young paddies. Those weeds had upied all the spaces between the paddy, preventing the paddy from absorbing sunlight for photosynthesis.


    An old farmer told him that those weeds were hard to get rid of by using pesticides, and the only other way of removing them was by pulling them out. However, there were too many poisonous snakes in the paddy field now, and no one was brave enough to do it. Luo Yuan was shocked by the situation in the vige. He could not even remember returning home. All he knew was that the world was about to change.


    The next afternoon, Luo Yuan and Zhao Yali were ready to leave. Luo Yuan carried out two pieces of luggage and called a cab to drive them to the train station.


    ¡°Why are you carrying that wooden box?¡± Zhao Yali asked, looking at the box in his hands.


    "Oh, it¡¯s a piece of art," Luo Yuan replied with a smile.


    "Actually, you don¡¯t need to buy anything for my parents. They might get the wrong idea," she said helplessly. Apparently, she had misunderstood Luo Yuan. If he brought a gift along, she knew that her parents would not believe any exnation she gave them.


    "You are the one who got the wrong idea. This is not a gift. I forgot to buy a gift. We can buy something from the train station!" he said with a smile.


    "Please don¡¯t. I¡¯ll never hear the end of it," she rushed to stop him.


    "Are you going home to see your parents? What about rice? I¡¯m sure your future mother-inw will like it," the cab driver joined in the conversation for fun.


    Zhao Yali¡¯s cheeks turned pink.


    ¡°Actually we¡¯re just friends. That¡¯s why she was concerned,¡± Luo Yuan exined when he saw the color on her cheeks.


    ¡°Oh, I see. My wife and I were like this as well, and we got married in the end. Anyway, where are you guys heading to? I mean, what¡¯s your final destination?¡± the driver asked.


    ¡°Yushui City!¡± Luo Yuan said loudly. He was a bit mad.


    ¡°Is there a ce there called Yushan?¡± the driver asked suddenly.


    ¡°Yes! Yushan is located in the northern region of Yushui City. It¡¯s a famous tourist attraction. Have you been there?¡± Zhao Yali asked the driver. She seemed excited to be talking about her hometown.


    "Hmmm, I haven¡¯t actually, but I¡¯ve heard from my friend that many people have died in the vige recently. Even armored cars came and bombed the ce for a day," the driver said seriously.


    Zhao Yali looked frightened.


    Luo Yuan tapped her shoulder tofort her before he asked the driver, "Is it that serious? How reliable is your source?"


    "I wouldn¡¯t joke about something like this. I¡¯d get nothing out of it anyway. My buddies are from Yushui City, but they work in Donghu City. They got their parents to move here because Donghu City seems to be safer. Everywhere else you go there¡¯s mess and chaos,¡± the driver said.


    ¡°How long ago did you hear about this?¡± Luo Yuan went on to ask.


    ¡°About three days ago. It should be fine by now. Anyway, you can never be too careful," the driver exined.


    "Thank you. It¡¯s lucky that you told us. We really appreciate it," Luo Yuan quickly thanked the driver.


    "Don¡¯t mention it. Everyone is having a hard time. It feels like the end of the world ising, and the government is still being strict with us. If you ask me, everyone should be given a gun for self-defense," the driverined.


    ¡°Yuan, what should I do? I¡¯m worried about my parents,¡± Zhao Yali said anxiously.


    "I thought you just called themst night. Perhaps you could call them again?" Luo Yuan suggested.


    "Yes, yes." She quickly took out her phone and dialed.


    "Hi, mom! Are you and dad alright? Oh, nothing special, just checking. I¡¯m taking the train at 1.30 p.m. I should be there by 4 p.m. I have a colleagueing along. It¡¯s a guy, but it¡¯s not what you¡¯re thinking. Oh, mom, did something happen in Yushui City? A rodent attack? Alright then, I¡¯m hanging up.¡± Zhao Yali hung up the phone, looking relieved. ¡°They are both safe. Seems like there was a rodent attack. That¡¯s nothing, right?¡± Zhao Yali asked.


    ¡°Just rodents?¡± Luo Yuan thought silently. He had a bad instinct. He knew an F+ Level Mission would not be that easy to handle.


    The two of them arrived at the train station but the Zhanmadao was not allowed past the checkpoint. Luo Yuan needed to arrange for an express shipment and make sure that it arrived at the same time that they would. He was not confident that he couldplete the mission without the knife. The train station was very crowded as Chinese New Year season was approaching. Everyone looked depressed and anxious about the future. Zhao Yali and Luo Yuan stood aside and waited because they could not find a seat. Luo Yuan realized that a lot of trains were dyed at the same time. The train going to Yushui City got dyed as well when it was around 1.30 p.m. It seemed like something had happened to the trains on the way to the station.


    ¡°Our train got dyed too. That¡¯s not punctual at all,¡± Zhao Yaliined.


    ¡°It¡¯s alright. What¡¯s important is that we get to our destination,¡± Luo Yuanforted her.


    Fortunately, there had been no ident, and the train arrived after 30 minutes.


    Luo Yuan validated his ticket and entered the tform. Everyone around him looked shocked. Some people were even shouting. The exterior of the train was covered in blood and there were also feathers in some ces. Luo Yuan bent down and picked up a gray feather. He used his superpower to identify it.


    "A feather from a sparrow."


    "Functions: materials."


    "Rarity: White."


    "Weight: 10 grams."


    "Comments: This is a feather from a mutated sparrow."


    A mutated sparrow? Had the train been attacked by sparrows? Judging by the size of the feather, he assumed that the sparrows must have been about a foot tall. If birds had also mutated, that would be really bad news for air transportation. It might even have to shut down entirely. The worse thing about birds was that they could go much higher than other beasts, making any defense against them more difficult.


    They were unable to prevent the arrival of mutated animals, even if the government chopped down the trees and burned the forests. Luo Yuan felt cold at the thought of thousands of big birds flying above the sky of the city. "I hope this won¡¯t happen in my city," he tried tofort himself. With the government burning forests on a big scale, those starved animals had to prey on humans to fill their empty stomachs.


    "I have no idea how this happened," Zhao Yali said. She kept shaking while she held onto Luo Yuan¡¯s arm.


    Luo Yuan did not know how tofort her, so he just said, ¡°Let¡¯s get on the train, otherwise we¡¯re going to miss it.¡±

 Chapter 14: Yushui City

    Chapter 14: Yushui City


    Trantor: Editor:


    The two of them hopped on the train. The seat beside Zhao Yali was upied, so Luo Yuan asked to exchange seats with the person sitting there. He helped Zhao Yali arrange her luggage, and then sat down beside her. There were two girls and a guy sitting across from them, and Luo Yuan naturally paid more attention to the girls. They looked like they had been crying. Their eyes were red and they seemed scared. The guy was tall and skinny, with lots of pimples on his face. He wasforting the girls softly. The three of them seemed quite close to each other, and Luo Yuan assumed that they were studying together at university.


    ¡°What happened to the train just now? Why was there so much blood?¡± Luo Yuan knocked on the desk softly, asking the guy.


    The guy looked at Luo Yuan before he exined, ¡°A big bunch of birds was flying this way and hit the train out of the blue. It was lucky that the cabins are thick and strong enough, and that the windows are bulletproof. Otherwise, we would have all been hurt.¡±


    ¡°A big bunch? That many birds?¡± Luo Yuan asked. He looked doubtful.


    A guy in a business suit sitting beside him joined in the conversation, "He¡¯s not exaggerating at all. The sky suddenly went dark, and when I looked up, there were birds covering the sun. Soon there were some weird soundsing from the windows, and the whole train was shaking. Eventually, the train was forced to stop for more than 10 minutes until the birds left. Look, there are still blood stains on the windows as we speak. I saw at least five birds hit the window in front of us, and it freaked me out. Thankfully, this is a train and not a ne, otherwise we would have crashed and everybody would have died."


    The businessman kept shaking his head. He looked scared.


    Luo Yuan checked on the window carefully and found that there were also six white prints on it beside the blood stains. Apparently, they had been caused by the birds¡¯ beaks during the collision.


    "Thank god we were able to catch the train in time, or we would have been terribly scared," Luo Yuan said, smiling.


    The businessman went on, "Things are getting worse, and we can¡¯t predict the future. China has been reported to be the most stable country right now. Africa has practically lost contact, and Europe and the US are both in a mess as well. I¡¯ve heard that many gigantic beasts have made an appearance," he said with a sigh.


    "China has a very big poption and a small forest area, which is notparable to other countries," the young guy from university joined the conversation.


    ¡°You¡¯re all still in university, right? Have you finished your sses already?¡± Zhao Yali asked as she recovered from the shock.


    "A few people have died on the campus, and sses were forced to stop. We¡¯re treating it as a winter break, but I don¡¯t think we¡¯ll be going back to campus anymore,¡± the young guy said helplessly, looking at Zhao Yali.


    She asked him more questions, ¡°What about your degree? Is that a lost cause?¡±


    The two girls began to cry again.


    ¡°Who cares about our degree now? There would be no jobs avable, even if we had a degree,¡± the young guy said. Zhao Yali was left speechless, her mouth slightly open.


    The train was now moving slowly, getting gradually faster. All the mountain peaks along the way had been burned, but there were new crops growing already. Perhaps there would new forests again in no time. An hour and a halfter, they finally arrived at Yushui City. The train slowly moved into the tracks, and the door was opened when it reached the tform. Luo Yuan and Zhao Yali disembarked, following the other passengers. Luo Yuan went up to the courier service counter to collect his wooden box. He opened the box quietly, relieved to see the knife lying inside. He opened his attribute board and allocated the remaining five points to his knife skills.


    He closed his eyes and felt instantly energetic. He slowly opened them again and said, ¡°Let¡¯s go!¡±


    ¡°Alright,¡± Zhao Yali replied and began walking. After a while, she asked, ¡°What happened to you just now? You looked scary.¡±


    ¡°Scary? Are your eyes alright?¡± Luo Yuan asked.


    ¡°I¡¯m not sure, but it felt weird. Perhaps my eyes fooled me.¡± Zhao Yali looked at Luo Yuan, doubting herself. Luo Yuan wondered whether there was something wrong with him.


    He recalled the differences and soon felt the changes. Other than gaining a deeper understanding of the knife skill, he was also more sensitive and alert to the outside world. Plus, he could focus his mind very easily now. He wondered whether upgrading the knife skill could affect his psychological behavior as well. Suddenly, he turned around and looked at Zhao Yali seriously, ¡°Did I look like this just now?¡± he asked.


    Zhao Yali looked into his eyes for a few seconds before quickly looking away. She seemed stressed and covered her own eyes. She hit him once, saying angrily, ¡°Don¡¯t you try to scare me again!¡±


    ¡°Alright, alright,¡± Luo Yuan said, smiling. He was delighted.


    Although it was aplementary effect of upgrading the knife skill, it was still effective. People would get scared of him even before they had begun to fight.


    ¡°How did you do that?¡± Zhao Yali asked.


    "I used to practice martial arts before, when I was in university. Perhaps it¡¯s affected my mentality as well. Anyway, people usually get scared of me when they look into my eyes," Luo Yuan said calmly.


    "So you must be really powerful, right?" Zhao Yali was surprised and curious.


    ¡°It depends on who my opponent is. Normal people are usually no match for me.¡±


    Luo Yuan was not trying to be humble. He knew that Zhao Yalicked determination and he needed to boost her confidence. This mission would be a challenging one, and he expected a dangerous and unpredictable journey. He thought it would be good to prepare her psychologically for such a situation in order to avoid any distractions while he was fighting.


    "Wow, I wouldn¡¯t know if you didn¡¯t tell me! You sure know how to keep a secret." Zhao Yali sounded like she was ming him. She felt relieved and thought there was nothing to be afraid of as long as she stuck by him.


    The two of them talked while they walked to the nearby bus station. Luo Yuan noticed that the cars there were weirdpared to cars in other ces. Bars had been installed on their windscreens and windows, and there were thick iron boards around the cars that also covered the tires. They looked like iron monsters. Zhao Yali was stunned. She could guess how bad the situation in Yushui City was just by looking at the modified cars.


    "Let¡¯s go! Don¡¯t think about it. What bus should we take to your house? Your call," Luo Yuan said as he pulled her away.


    "There¡¯s no direct bus line to my vige. We need to take bus 203 to the East Station and then transfer to another one," she said as she recovered from the shock and pointed to the bus. They hopped on it and sat down. The bus departed after a while.


    Yushui City looked deste. There were few people walking on the streets and most of the shops were closed. The few that were still open had their doors and bars half down. Nobody seemed to be cleaning the streets. There was garbage everywhere and dark red blood stains were still visible on the asphalt. Apparently, there must have been some kind of incident there not long ago. Several armed jeeps passed by transporting fully-armed soldiers. The sound of gunshots could be heard in the distance, making Luo Yuan uneasy. Some passengers disembarking from the bus saw the scene and got scared. Their faces turned pale. They wondered how the city had ended up like this.


    Zhao Yali looked out the window and remained silent. Luo Yuan tapped her hand and she grabbed his arm before he could pull it back. Everyone looked depressed and stayed silent. Luckily, nothing happened on the way to the East Station. The station was deserted. There were hardly any people walking around, and a few stic bags were being blown around in the air. The area became livelier when about a dozen passengers disembarked from the bus.


    ¡°We¡¯ll take the bus to Shuimen. It¡¯s about 30 minutes to our destination,¡± Zhao Yali said as she led the way. There was only one bus to Shuimen, and it looked slightly different. There were blood stains and squashed flesh on its front, and holes all along the rest of it. It looked scary.


    Luo Yuan suddenly asked, ¡°Does the bus pass by Yushan?¡±


    Zhao Yali looked surprised as she answered, ¡°Yes, it will pass by a small distance of about 3-4 km.¡±


    Luo Yuan walked into the bus while he thought about something. Zhao Yali inserted four coins into the farebox and they took a seat in the back. There were only about eight passengers on the bus. The driver looked frustrated and kept checking his phone. He went outside to make a call. No one could hear what he was saying, but he returned after one minute with red eyes. Luo Yuan noticed that there was an axe inside the driverpartment. After about five minutes, two girls go on the bus and took a seat in front of Luo Yuan. They made some small talk and then stopped talking altogether.


    A momentter, a phone rang. The driver checked his phone but did not pick up the call. He started the engine and drove away from the bus station. Luo Yuan thought that the bus was stuffy and tried to open the window.


    One of the girls in front suddenly screamed, "Don¡¯t open the window!"


    The driver stepped on the brakes very hard and yelled at him in a dialect. Although Luo Yuan did not understand what he had said, he knew it wasn¡¯t something good. He quickly apologized and closed the window. The driver continued to nag him for a while before he drove away again.


    Luo Yuan was confused and turned around to ask Zhao Yali, ¡°What did he say just now?¡±


    Zhao Yali bit her lip while she exined, ¡°He told you not to open the window because that would attract rats.¡±


    Luo Yuan was terrified. He quickly looked out the window. There was a mountain in the distance surrounded by mist. There were lots of holes in the middle of the mountain that exposed the yellowish gray stone inside it. There was even smoke in some ces. That had to be from the bombs. He recalled the rumors of armed trucks entering the city. He was suddenly shocked. He wondered why Yushan was getting bombed. Then he connected the dots linking Yushan, the rodent attacks and the armed trucks. Yushan had to be where the rats came from.

 Chapter 15: Mountain Pass

    Chapter 15: Mountain Pass


    Trantor: Editor:


    ¡°Ah!¡± someone in the bus shouted.


    Zhao Yali grabbed Luo Yuan¡¯s arm tightly. Her fingernails were poking into his skin but he didn¡¯t feel it. He was distracted by the sight of a gray rat the size of a kitten speeding across the road outside the window. It was extremely bigpared to normal rats, and it seemed very brave. It did not leave, it just hid somewhere nearby. Its entire body was gray and its fur was shiny. It had very sharp teeth and a pair of blood red eyes.


    "Come on, you bloody animal!" The driver sounded mad as he pressed on the elerator. The bus moved at a fast speed.


    The rat kept watching it until it had disappeared. Then it jumped across the road and ran towards the field. They were near Yushan when the bus reached a fork in the road and turned into the mountain pass. Most of the trees in the area had been burned. They could even see the bombshells. The most dangerous thing, though, was the small stones and rocks on the road. A bunch of them hit the iron boards of the bus, producing irritating sounds. Despite that, it was an overall smooth journey, which made Luo Yuan feel slightly relieved.


    The bus drove on for a few minutes and then took a turn. The driver suddenly pressed on the brakes and stopped the vehicle. Right there, in the middle of the road, was another bus that wasn¡¯t moving. The driver looked at it and took out his phone nervously. He dialed a few times, but nobody picked up. In the end, he threw his phone to the ground, checked the area around them and grabbed the axe. He talked in dialect with a few passengers who were sitting up front, and then pointed to a button inside the driver¡¯s panel. He pushed the door open, got off, and then shut it again. Then he started walking towards the other bus.


    ¡°What did he say?¡± Luo Yuan asked.


    ¡°He said that something must have happened up front and he has to go check. He asked to open the door for him when he returns,¡± Zhao Yali said anxiously. Everyone was silent. The atmosphere had gotten a lot heavier.


    ¡°Ahhhh!¡± someone screamed loudly.


    Everyone saw the driver running back to the bus, followed closely by about ten rats. He looked extremely panicked and desperate. Apparently, the rats could run a lot faster than him because a big rat had bit into his thigh in no time. The pain had the driver slumping to the ground along with his axe.


    More rats rushed towards him and bit into his body with their sharp teeth. He was bleeding and screaming, and he used everyst bit of his energy to get up from the ground and pull down the rats one by one in an effort to escape. The smell of blood attracted even more rats, who slowly came closer. The driver was still about 10 meters away from the bus and was trying extremely hard to reach the door. He kept tapping on it, asking for help.


    ¡°Open the door! OPEN THE DOOR!¡±


    The passengers sitting up front looked pale and frightened. A young man got up to open the door, but a woman pulled him away and he just shut up. There were lots of people in the world who tried to be helpful to show their kindness. Some of them donated money to victims of natural disasters, others gave up their seats to elders on the bus, and others donated free blood. All those actions were easy because they did not cause them any major injuries. However, when actions of kindness became a threat to one¡¯s own welfare or even their life, people became selfish.


    "Open the door, please! Please!" the driver begged the passengers. He felt disappointed and hopeless when they refused to open the door. Meanwhile, more than 10 rats rushed up to him and bit him. "You son of a bitch! Karma will get you!¡± the driver moaned as he screamed in agony.


    As more and more mutated rats jumped on him, blood flowed from his entire body like a river. Hey in a big pool of it. He had lost too much energy and left several blood stains on the side ¦Ïf the bus while he scratched it, seeking for help.


    Luo Yuan clenched his fists tightly. He wanted to open the door for the driver, but he eventually slumped back against his seat helplessly. He knew those rats woulde into the bus and bring chaos and death if he opened the door. He might not be able to protect Zhao Yali in that chaos. Even though he was good at fighting, the most he would be able to do was protect himself. He was not a hero, he could only try to protect himself and those he cared about. He turned away from the cruel scene. He didn¡¯t want to watch the driver die in such a horrible manner. A few rats climbed up to the iron bars and looked inside the bus with their bloody eyes. It was very quiet inside. The only sound was the heavy breathing of the passengers.


    More rats were gathering at the base of the mountain, all of them rushing towards the bus Luo Yuan was in. In no time, the entire bus had been covered by hundreds of rats, the whole cabin turning dark as they blocked the sunlight.


    "Oh my god! They¡¯re biting the iron bars!" the girl who was sitting in front of Luo Yuan said, screaming and crying simultaneously.


    Many of the rats had begun to bite the bars, a white powder falling down along with the iron kes. Zhao Yali was holding Luo Yuan tightly. He could feel her entire body shaking. Suddenly, there wasplete chaos, and the whole bus started to shake. Some people tried to call the cops, but nobody seemed to be seeding. Perhaps the police were too busy to answer.


    "The iron bars won¡¯tst long. Can anyone drive the bus and get us out of here?" an old man with ck framed spectacles asked in dialect.


    After a while, a young man replied, "I only have a Grade C license. I have never driven this type of vehicle before."


    "How long have you been driving?" the old man asked while looking at the rats outside.


    "Two years. I haven¡¯t driven recently though due to the escting gas prices," the young man replied.


    "I guess you¡¯re our only option. Go ahead and try," the old man said. The young man nodded while his face turned pale. He walked to the front and sat down in the driver¡¯s seat.


    He was as white as paper as he looked at the scary rats moving around on the windscreen. He took a deep breath and whispered something to himself. Heid his hands on the steering wheel, but let go instantly. A few minutester, the bus had finally taken off again. No one uttered a single word, because they knew the young man waspletely panicked.


    That was when one of the iron wires broke.


    Everyone inside the bus started screaming and the young driver became terrified. He suddenly stepped on the elerator. The bus was now moving like a mad cow, running randomly at high speed until it hit the deserted bus in the otherne.


    ¡°No! Stop!¡± someone shouted.


    ¡°My goodness!¡± Luo Yuan was in shock. He quickly pulled Zhao Yali into his arms to shield her.


    In almost no time, their bus had crashed into the other bus, all its windows breaking in an instant. The scariest thing, though, was that its bars broke too, a big hole forming inside them. The bus shook for a short while before it finally stopped. Zhao Yali was leaning in Luo Yuan¡¯s arms while she secretly looked at his handsome face. He looked strong and determined, and just being beside him made her feel safe.


    Luo Yuan released her while he asked, ¡°Are you alright? Did you get hurt?¡±


    Zhao Yali returned to reality. She shook her head and replied, ¡°No, I¡¯m fine. I was just shocked.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s good then. Don¡¯t worry, we¡¯ll be fine,¡± Luo Yuan tried tofort her. She seemedpletely lost. The rest of the passengers were still in their seats. Most of them had not gotten hurt. They¡¯d just gotten scared.


    The only exception was the young driver, who was leaning over the steering wheel, not moving at all. Blood was flowing and dripping between his fingers, but sadly no one noticed his injuries. The two buses had been squashed together. Luo Yuan and some of the other guys in the bus stood up and tried to look into the empty bus next to them. He suddenly turned his gaze away. He felt an electric current shock his spine.

 Chapter 16: Escape!

    Chapter 16: Escape!


    Trantor: Editor:


    There were many bones and dirty rags with blood stains all over the buss¡¯ floor beside them. A few white skulls were still rolling due to the earlier collision, which made them feel like they were wandering in hell. Water was dripping down and the bus was filled with a pungent smell of urine. A rat jumped onto the bus beside them and walked towards Luo Yuan. Those who were sitting in front started moving to the back.


    "Get some weapons! I don¡¯t believe we can¡¯t defeat them!" a ferocious looking guy shouted out, standing up. He nced across the bus, then walked to the front and grabbed the fire axe. A few other guys found some tools nearby the driver¡¯s seat, such as a spanner wrench, hammer and an iron bar.


    The rat squeezed through the broken grills and jumped onto the dashboard of the bus. A few of the women screamed and some of the guys subconsciously swallowed their saliva, then looked at each other. They could not move. However, the rat did not attack immediately but kept on making a noise.


    ¡°Hit it! It¡¯s trying to call its buddies!¡± the old man shouted out.


    Everyone was scared. The guy with the fire axe looked at those with weapons and said,


    "Let¡¯s fight, we have no choice anymore. Otherwise everyone is going to die."


    "Fine! Come on!"


    "I¡¯m going to bring them along if I really need to die!"


    All of them were trying to boost their courage. The guy with the fire axe shouted loudly and walked towards the rat. The rat screeched and quickly ran back to the other bus, disappearing from sight.


    Everyone apuded the victory! However, it did notst more than 30 seconds. There were more ratsing into the bus, and slowly the cabin became very dark. Luo Yuan sensed the danger and quickly took out his Zhanmadao and stood up. He pulled Zhao Yali up and whispered, ¡°Follow me.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t have my luggage.¡± Zhao Yali said.


    ¡°Just leave it behind. Hold my hand now, we need to leave. This is very dangerous!" Luo Yuan urged her.


    "Alright, alright." She had lost her mind and could just follow.


    ¡°Trust me! I¡¯ll protect you. Do you remember I¡¯ve told you that I¡¯ve learned martial arts before?¡± Luo Yuan tried tofort her. He held her hand and walked toward the driving area. Luo Yuan wouldn¡¯t be able to utilize his skills in this small space once the rats rushed into the bus. The people around would only burden him. He pressed the switch to open the door.


    ¡°Pshhhhhh!¡±


    The door slowly opened.


    ¡°What do you want to do?¡± a guy asked in a mad shout. ¡°Are you trying to kill yourself? Close the door! Hurry up!¡± Everyone was frightened and scolded Luo Yuan.


    Luo Yuan did not show any expression but spun his knife for a short while and said coldly, ¡°The knife has no eyes, I don¡¯t want to hurt any one of you, so please don¡¯t make me. I hope you could give way, we need to leave now.¡± A few guys were trying to stop him by force but they quickly thought better of it and backed off. ¡°Let¡¯s go!¡± Luo Yuan quickly escaped with Zhao Yali and ran toward the exit. The bus¡¯ door was shut immediately once they got out.


    Luo Yuan took a quick nce of the surrounding area and realized that it was better than what he imagined. There were only five rats further away in front of the road, and the rest were gone. Apparently, they were all inside the bus which they had just escaped from. He felt relieved for a second and then quickly ran away with Zhao Yali. Soon, the rats noticed them and began to rush after. ¡°Yuan!¡± Zhao Yali screamed.


    ¡°Don¡¯t be afraid! Keep running!¡± Luo Yuan said calmly after taking a nce at the mutated rats which were getting closer. Suddenly, those rats stopped chasing them. They seemed to be scared.


    The rats began to slowly turn back when Luo Yuan walked toward them. ¡°What¡¯s happening?¡± Luo Yuan wondered. Then he realized the snakeskin bulletproof jacket he was wearing had the effect of terrorizing rats and frogs. However, it did not seem to be working on mutated animals. After a while, the rats overcame their phobia and continued their chase. And they were getting nearer! 10 meters, 5 meters, 3 meters! It was so close!


    Suddenly, Luo Yuan released Zhao Yali¡¯s hand. He bent down and increased his speed. Zhanmadao shone due to the reflecting sunlight. Two heads of the mutated rats flew up to the sky, followed by blood spilling on the floor. Luo Yuan spun his knife and ughtered another rat which had tried to jump on him. He managed to avoid the blood gushing out of it. He just simply pulled the knife, and one of the rats¡¯ abdomens was opened up. Luo Yuan was good at using his knife, and the rats were dead even before they could get near him.


    Zhao Yali was shocked by what she just saw, it was beyond her imagination even if she knew that Luo Yuan had learned martial arts before.


    The dead rats were lying on the ground. There was a lot of screaming in the bus behind them, and they could see the bus shaking vigorously. From time to time, they also saw blood spilling on the windows. Luo Yuan turned his head around after watching for a few seconds and said, ¡°We need to leave as soon as possible. Otherwise, we will be in big trouble after the rats conquer the bus. They wille after us!¡±


    Zhao Yali turned around and looked at the bus. She covered her mouth with a sympathetic expression and asked, ¡°Are they going to die?¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t think about it, it¡¯s toote for us to go back. Let¡¯s go!¡± Luo Yuan sighed. He might consider helping them if he was alone. However, he had Zhao Yali with him and her safety should be his priority.


    Zhao Yali nodded her head and grabbed his hand tightly. Both of them continued to run forward. Luckily, there weren¡¯t many rats along the journey after that. Perhaps, they were all having a feast on the bus, or have been killed by the bombs.


    The two of them didn¡¯t bump into any big group of mutated rats along the way. And the few animals they did see, Luo Yuan managed to kill them easily.


    The mountain pass was only about 4 km away, and they had been driven to around a midway point. It took them around half an hour of running to finally leave this ¡®road of hell¡¯. The highway was very quiet as they did not see a single person, nor a car pass by. The trees on both sides of the highway had been chopped down, and the farnds nearby hadn¡¯t managed to escape from the fire either.


    The sun was going down and Luo Yuan turned around to ask Zhao Yali, ¡°Shall we find a ce to stay first? The sky is getting darker and it will be more dangerous once the nightes.¡± Zhao Yali nodded her head anxiously while holding his arm tightly.


    ¡°Are there any hotels nearby?¡± Luo Yuan asked.


    ¡°I have no idea, I haven¡¯te back for a long time,¡± she said, trying her best to recall old memories.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go to the vige ahead of us then,¡± Luo Yuan suggested, looking at the ce where the smoke kepting out from.


    ¡°That¡¯s Choo Vige but I don¡¯t know anyone from there,¡± Zhao Yali said.


    ¡°Let¡¯s check it out first then,¡± Luo Yuan replied.


    Suddenly, Zhao Yali¡¯s phone rang and she picked up the call. ¡°Hi mom, do you need anything? Oh, I don¡¯t think we can make it back by tonight since the bus¡¯s tire punctured. I think we need to stay overnight in the city and will have to go back the next morning.¡± Zhao Yali¡¯s cheeks suddenly became red, she turned away to avoid facing Luo Yuan and said, "Alright, he will be staying in another room which is very far from me. Yes, mom, I got it. I¡¯m not a kid anymore. Thanks, mom. See you tomorrow."


    Zhao Yali tried to calm herself and walked toward Luo Yuan. She did not hold his arm anymore but kept a distance instead. Luo Yuan definitely knew what the content of the phone call was about. He understood that all parents worried about their daughters¡¯ safety.


    Choo Vige was not that big. It had a poption of approximately 500 families.


    However, it was near an industrial area which helped to increase the poption, as well as the ie. The main road of the vige became amercial street and both sides of the street were filled with shops. Soon, it would be a well-developed and properous ce. However, it was almost empty now, and most of the shops were closed.


    Luo Yuan and Zhao Yali could not find a single hotel after walking around for a long while. As the sky was turning darker and darker, they agreed to knock on the door of a double-story house. After a few minutes, the door opened.


    Behind it stood a skinny man who looked to be around 50-years-old. He let the door open only by a small margin, and peeped through it with his entire body pressed against the door. He was ready to shut it the moment it seemed necessary. "What are you doing here?" he asked in his local dialect.


    Luo Yuan hinted for Zhao Yali to talk to the skinny guy by rolling his eyes and moving his eyebrows as if he couldn¡¯t understand what the skinny man had just said. Zhao Yali replied in the local dialect as well. ¡°Hi, we¡¯re from Zhao Vige. I should have gone home by now but the bus¡¯ tire punctured. Do you think it would be possible for us to stay at your ce for just a night? We would leave the very next morning.¡±


    ¡°No way! Please go somewhere else. We don¡¯t have space to amodate you!¡± The skinny man felt relieved when he found out that they were from the nearby vige. However, what Zhao Yali had said wasn¡¯t convincing enough. Recently several crimes had happened in Choo Vige, and the man didn¡¯t want to take the risk.


    Zhao Yali wanted to continue talking but Luo Yuan stopped her. He took out his wallet and pulled out three bank notes which were CNY 100 each and said, ¡°How about CNY 300 per night, dinner included? You should know we are not bad people.¡±


    The skinny man looked at both Luo Yuan and Zhao Yali. "The girl looks polite and gentle, even if she¡¯s full of anxiety. The guy looks quiet and is fair. Besides that, his eyes are clear. They shouldn¡¯t be bad people," he thought in his head. The skinny man looked at those bank notes in Luo Yuan¡¯s hand and seemed to be keen on the deal. He then changed his ent and spoke in Mandarin, "CNY 500 per night. Come on in, please, if you agree. Otherwise, please leave!"


    Luo Yuan was happy with the counter offer and said, ¡°Deal!¡± He then took out another two 100 bank notes and passed it to the skinny man. He took the money and began to count. Finally, he felt relieved and opened the door wide. ¡°Come on in!¡± he said.

 Chapter 17: Night Lodging

    Chapter 17: Night Lodging


    Trantor: Editor:


    Luo Yuan and Zhao Yali entered the courtyard. At this moment, the skinny man saw Luo Yuan holding a knife contaminated with some fresh blood and his face became pale. He quickly stepped back and shouted out, "What do you want? We have no money!"


    Luo Yuan frowned. From the reaction of the man he guessed that things here were obviously more chaotic. He then smiled and said, "Don¡¯t be nervous, we are not bad guys. The knife is just for self-defense. Without the knife, we couldn¡¯t have escaped from the mountains. We encountered a dozen mutated rats that would have turned the two of us into white bones on the roadside.¡±


    The skinny man looked surprised, obviously in disbelief, but on the surface he just nodded his head repeatedly. At this time, a middle-aged woman heard the conversation. She came out with a kitchen knife and then started screaming.


    Luo Yuan frowned again and wondered why the family was so quick to startle. Even speaking in a kind manner was useless. So this time he spoke in a cold voice, "I don¡¯t want to cause any trouble. I just need to stay for one night and tomorrow morning I will leave. Nothing else. Tell her to stop screaming.¡±


    The skinny man quickly pulled the middle-aged woman away and dragged her to his side. He quickly whispered in her ear, and soon, her mood improved a lot. She reluctantly smiled and said, "Luckily you told me we have guests. Come,e on in and sit.¡±


    "Please, go get the dinner ready and add more dishes, I will stay here to entertain,¡± the skinny man whispered to his wife, and then talked to Luo Yuan and Zhao Yali. ¡°Let me make some tea for the two of you."


    The middle-aged woman looked at her husband with some worry and hesitation but then entered the kitchen. The three of them in the meantime entered the living room, and the skinny man brought three cups of tea.


    Luo Yuan quietly checked it with his super power, and took a sip after confirming it wasn¡¯t poisonous. He said once more, "You don¡¯t have to be afraid. She and I are from Donghu City, and we¡¯re here to visit rtives. This knife is just for self-defense. You must know how dangerous it is out there now.¡±


    "Yes, yes!" the skinny man replied,ughing bluntly. His eyes gazed at the dazzling weapon from time to time. But the action seemed quite restrained.


    Luo Yuan looked at the sky which was now dark, then at the living room that had no lights. He felt strange and asked, "Is there electricity here?¡±


    "The cable was bitten by a rat, so we have been without power for three days now, since no one hase to repair it," the skinny man carefully exined with a smile.


    "Is there any water?" Zhao Yali asked as she was sweaty and greasy. It would be ufortable for her to sleep at night without a bath.


    "Yes, we have both cold and hot water since the roof is fitted with a water heater."


    The skinny man stayed alert through the evening. Luo Yuan tried to chat for a while but then lost interest. Thus, in the end, the three of them just sat at the table drinking tea.


    Soon, the food was ready.


    The middle-aged women quickly served their food on the table. Although they had added two dishes, the meal was very simple. Aside from a bowl of meat, the rest were vegetables.


    The middle-aged women sat down and felt the atmosphere was odd. She looked at the skinny man and then said to Luo Yuan and Zhao Yali, "Please help yourselves. It is just a simple dinner because it is very difficult to get vegetables and meat. All the greenery you see here is grown in our own backyard. It is all very fresh. And the dish is preserved dog meat. We killed it a few days ago, so it is still very fresh. Taste it.¡±


    "That¡¯s very kind. This is a lot more to eat than I have in Donghu City," Luo Yuan said, and smiled politely.


    "Why did you kill the dog? It¡¯s cruel,¡± Zhao Yali stated as she looked at the bowl of meat. She¡¯d had a dog at her home and every time she needed to leave the animal would follow her as far as possible because it was very attached to her. So seeing the family¡¯s dog killed, she could not help but worry about her own family¡¯s one.


    The middle-aged woman looked at Luo Yuan¡¯s expressionless face, then smiled and exined, "My husband looked after the dog since it was small but there were several mad dogs in the vige that killed people. We were worried about the incident, hence we put our own down. There are no more dogs in the vige now."


    No wonder they hadn¡¯t heard any barking along the way as they were being killed. Thinking about it, such animals were always a hidden danger. Although harmless to the owner, dogs could be dangerous to other people. Raising one also consumed a lot of food which at the moment could be an unusually heavy burden. At least they could also get arge amount of meat after killing the beast. It was more cost-efficient to just do that.


    Luo Yuan had another thought about the bowl of dog meat and with the information that surfaced in his mind, his face could not help but change slightly


    "Seasoned Mutated Dog Meat"


    "Material: Mutated dog meat, Salt"


    "Rarity: White"


    "Weight: 300 grams"


    "Effect: Rapid recovery of fatigue, enhances the body¡¯s immunity system"


    "Evaluation: this is a variant of a simply cooked dog meat, which contains traces of active energy.¡±


    Luo Yuan was slightly surprised. The food made from mutated creatures actually had these kind of effects. The effects were subtle and generally undetectable, except if he used his identification power. Otherwise, he didn¡¯t know when he would have found out about them.


    The mutated dog was only white ranked, which was the lowest level of mutation. Luo Yuan wondered about the pale blue level of the snake he had encountered earlier, and what its effects would be. But he did not regret not trying to fight it as the giant snake had also swallowed a few people. Even if he had gotten a chance to eat it, he wouldn¡¯t have tried to. He would have only paid more attention to it.


    After saying a few words, the atmosphere became somewhat dull.


    The couple asionally winked at each other andmunicated silently. Luo Yuan continued to eat and pretended to see nothing. They quickly finished the dinner and the sky gradually became dark.


    The woman stood up, smiled and said, "There are no rooms upstairs, so will you be okay staying in the room downstairs? I¡¯ll tidy it up for you now and make the bed soon.¡±


    "Sure!" Luo Yuan nodded his head. He knew they were both being highly alert, hence he didn¡¯t want to create any more trouble.


    The woman looked relieved. She smiled good naturally and said, "Qi Yuan, can you bring over two pairs of slippers and some candles?¡± She then turned to the guests, ¡°If you want to bathe, you can use the bathroom downstairs." From the words now and previously, it could be seen that the master of this family was the wife, as the husband was being very quiet.


    At this moment, Zhao Yali suddenly pulled Luo Yuan away. Luo Yuan began to feel a little strange, but he quickly responded, "Can you add another bed? We are not a couple so sharing a bed is inappropriate for us.¡±


    The woman frowned as she said, "There are only two beds in the house. What about an extra mattress?¡± "Good!" Luo Yuan nodded his head.


    A momentter, the couple left and headed upstairs. Luo Yuan entered the room, handed the candle to Zhao Yali and said, "You go bathe first."


    The outside was dark and coupled with the new environment, Zhao Yali held the candle with fear. She replied, "or... you bathe first?¡±


    "Nothing to be afraid of," Luo Yuan told her, smiling, and continued, "Do you want me to apany you to the bath?¡±


    Zhao Yali stared at him fiercely, hesitated for a long time, bit her teeth, and then left the bedroom. She immediately shut the door after entering the bathroom. Her heart was pounding in her chest. She had always been afraid of ghost movies and could easily get scared for several days. Sometimes she even refused to go to the bathroom when she needed to pee in the middle of the night. Not to mention after such a horrible experience as today.


    When Luo Yuan was around, she did not feel anything, but now when she was alone, she felt that every minute was excruciating. She was afraid that there were monsters which might break into the bathroom. She felt like leaving the small room as soon as she could. Taking off her clothes, she stood under the shower and bathed quickly.


    When she was about to put on her clothes, she hesitated. Most of her clothes had been lost with her luggage, and there were no clean ones to change into. Her t-shirt and skirt were still clean, but her underwear had a dark circle in the middle. Her face became a bit hot as she recalled the times when she was in danger and almost peed her pants. It was too disgusting to wear that kind of underwear again. If she chose not to wear it, though, she had to be careful not to expose herself.


    She dressed up again, feeling chilly at her butt as she wasn¡¯t ustomed to not wearing her underwear. She opened the bathroom door and hurried back to the bedroom. She found Luo Yuan holding a cloth and focused on wiping clean his knife¡¯s de. The fear in her heart disappeared immediately as she felt secure with Luo Yuan around.


    "You showered so quickly!" Luo Yuan gently put down the knife and returned it to the sheath.


    "I¡¯m done. Pleasee back quickly!" Zhao Yali cried as she did not want to stay alone here.


    Luo Yuan helplessly replied, "I wille back soon. There¡¯s really nothing to be afraid of. If there is something entering the house, they must pass through the main door. I wille if I hear it."


    "But I¡¯m scared!" Zhao Yali said as she sat down on the edge of the bed with a pitiful look on her face. She suddenly recalled that she was not wearing her underwear and quickly pressed down on her skirt, standing up.


    "Don¡¯t think about it. Fear causes most people to scare themselves. Think of something happy or y a game while I take a shower," Luo Yuan replied, and then got up and headed to the bathroom.


    When he came back from the shower, he found the door was locked from the inside and knocked on the door.


    "Who is it?" Zhao Yali asked with a trembling voice.


    "It¡¯s me, open the door," Luo Yuan reluctantly said.


    Zhao Yali opened the door and quickly turned back, walking a few steps forward then jumping onto the bed and covering herself to her head. Luo Yuan shut the door, feeling speechless when he saw the scene of Zhao Yali covering herself from head to toe. ¡°Is this the only way you can fall asleep? Don¡¯t you feel hot?¡±


    "It¡¯s not hot," Zhao Yali answered in a muffled voice.


    "Is it alright if I blow off the candle?" Luo Yuan asked as he took off his clothes.


    "Don¡¯t blow it off!" Zhao Yali anxiously replied, while lifting the quilt and revealing her head.


    "There is only a short length left, and if you want to go to the toiletter, there will be no light," Luo Yuan said as he observed the candle which was only about the length of a thumb. At this rate, it was going to burn out soon.


    "Then blow it out. Your phone still has some battery left, right?" Zhao Yali asked.


    "Why? There is half of the battery left, but don¡¯t bother thinking of keeping it on for the whole night. Based on the situation in Choo Vige, your home probably has no electricity, either. And I¡¯ll need the pher." Luo Yuan knew her well enough to stop her before she even made her intentions clear.


    He blew out the candle, and the room turnedpletely ck.

 Chapter 18: A Night With A Wolf

    Chapter 18: A Night With A Wolf


    Trantor: Editor:


    The room was very quiet and they could clearly hear noises from the outside. Yet the small room seemed to be separated from that world which made the two feel lonely and forgotten by the rest.


    ¡°Are you going to fall asleep?¡± Zhao Yali asked anxiously.


    ¡°Yes, soon. What¡¯s up?¡± Luo Yuan replied impatiently as he was exhausted from the fights he¡¯d had throughout the day. He could literally fall asleep instantly.


    ¡°I can¡¯t sleep,¡± Zhao Yali said, energized by hearing his voice.


    ¡°But I¡¯m going to fall asleep soon. Let¡¯s talk tomorrow, I¡¯m tired.¡± Luo Yuan did not want to continue the conversation anymore.


    A few minutester, Zhao Yali called him again, ¡°Yuan! Yuan?¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s up!?¡± Luo Yuan asked, annoyed.


    The room was silent for a few seconds. ¡°Why don¡¯t you sleep here?¡± Zhao Yali asked with a sobbing voice. Every time she closed her eyes, the blood scene repeated in her head. She almost fainted.


    Luo Yuan opened his eyes and said insincerely, ¡°This is not appropriate, though!¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, the bed is big enough for two. But, you¡¯re not allowed to touch me!¡± Zhao Yali said, biting her sexy lip.


    ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll go over then,¡± Luo Yuan agreed and switched on the torchlight on his phone. He saw Zhao Yali¡¯s curved body at the corner of a nket. He then flipped the nket and squeezed underneath it. Immediately he smelled her aroma which was charming enough to make him feel ¡®thirsty¡¯.


    He was a healthy young man and that was an active period for a man. So how could he not have any reaction when a beautifuldy slept right beside him? He began to feel uneasy as his blood started to boil. He hesitated for a while and then his hands began to explore in the dark. Suddenly, his hand slipped andnded on one of her thighs.


    Zhao Yali¡¯s body shook a little and she quickly pressed on his hand to stop him. "Yuan, don¡¯t move,¡± she told him, breathing heavily.


    "I didn¡¯t do it intentionally," he lied.


    30 secondster.


    ¡°Yuan, you promised me that you won¡¯t touch me!¡± she said helplessly. She could not stop him at all.


    ¡°Yali, you¡¯re amazing, I can¡¯t resist,¡± Luo Yuan said softly.


    Her body was getting hot. She exhaled a hot breath and said, ¡°You shouldn¡¯t do this!¡±


    Luo Yuan ignored her and continued to explore.


    ¡°Yuan, how could you do this?¡± Zhao Yali felt shy and her face was as hot as a cooked crab. She moaned and covered her own face. She sighed helplessly in the dark as she had no more energy to stop it. She could not think anymore for she was too exhausted from the tiring escape during the day, and fell asleep in the next few seconds.


    The next morning, Zhao Yali woke up from her dream. She was recalling something, and subconsciously, she touched her pubic region and suddenly her cheeks became red. She noticed that her pubic region was dry and there was some mud around the area. "I must be crazy! How could I do that?" She felt like killing herself when she recalled what she had done with Luo Yuanst night. She used both her hands to support her chin andter slowly put on her clothes. "Would I get pregnant? Although my period has just ended and it¡¯s far from ovtion, it could still be quite risky," Zhao Yali thought in her mind.


    She left the room and proceeded to the living room. Both of the house owners were hiding in the kitchen and peeping at the backyard. Zhao Yali was curious, so she turned her attention to the backyard and saw Luo Yuan practicing his knife skills. He emphasized on the practical part, and used every single point of upgrade to increase his power to attack better. There was nothing fancy in his skills but every strike was powerful enough to kill, and it made people keep a distance.


    Zhao Yali felt ufortable simply by watching him from afar. Although she had seen him fight many times, Luo Yuan almost always finished in a very short time. She could not remember his skills exactly but she knew they were quite good overall. Only now she understood how truly skillful he was.


    A few minutester, Luo Yuan finished his training. He looked at Zhao Yali and asked, ¡°You¡¯re awake?¡±


    Zhao Yali avoided looking at him and replied, ¡°Yes.¡±


    ¡°Well rested?¡± Luo Yuan tried to find something to talk to her.


    Zhao Yali stared at him for a few seconds and refused to talk. Luo Yuan felt awkward and pretended to change topics. ¡°Go get yourself ready for breakfast. We should leave before the raines.¡±


    Zhao Yali agreed and walked toward the bathroom. The hosts could not wait to send Luo Yuan and Zhao Yali away from their house.


    Yesterday had been sunny but today promised to be a gloomy day. The sky was still grayish even though it was almost 9 am. It was going to rain soon.


    "How far away is your home?" Luo Yuan asked.


    "I¡¯m not sure. I only know it took about 20 minutes to drive and then another 10 to reach the ce on foot," Zhao Yali replied after thinking about it.


    ¡°Let¡¯s see what we can do. I think we¡¯ll need to walk if we can¡¯t get a cab,¡± Luo Yuan said.


    They arrived at the transport station and were disappointed. The road was empty, without a car in sight.


    ¡°I don¡¯t think we¡¯ll be able to get a car. The incident from yesterday was a big case, so the road is probably closed for investigation or cleaning,¡± Luo Yuan said. ¡°We¡¯ll need to rely on our legs then.¡±


    They walked separately, one striding at the front and the other behind. The incident fromst night seemed to be bothering them. In fact, they were trying to control their emotions and make things return to normal between them.


    Zhao Yali looked at Luo Yuan who was walking ahead of her and felt uneasy. She was ashamed of herself as her fiance had just passed away barely two weeks ago, and she had already slept with another guy.


    Worst of all, she had enjoyed it, which was something she had never felt when she was with her fiance. She felt so guilty and regretful. Suddenly, she asked Luo Yuan, ¡°When are you going back to Donghu city?¡±


    Luo Yuan was shocked and replied, ¡°I¡¯ll go back once you reach home. I¡¯m worried about the things I kept in the house.¡±


    Although Zhao Yali had expected his departure and it was also what she wanted in the first ce, for some reason she felt disappointed when he said that. She lowered her head and continued walking, faster than before, and kicking stones along the road to relieve her anger.


    Suddenly, there were seven or eight people who came out from a factory nearby. They held iron bars, short knives, and other simr weapons. There were weird expressions on their faces when they saw Luo Yuan and Zhao Yali, and they seemed to be nning something. After a while, they began tough and walk toward Luo Yuan and Zhao Yali.


    Luo Yuan looked at them and frowned. He told Zhao Yali to stay further away. ¡°Those are bad people, so you stay here.¡±


    Only then did Zhao Yali notice them. She raised her head up and quickly backed away a few steps from shock. She asked, ¡°Will we be alright?¡±


    Luo Yuan replied with confidence, ¡°Yes, it shouldn¡¯t be a big problem.¡±


    The way they walked showed that they were just some useless jerks who were good at bullying normal citizens. They were too lousy to be Luo Yuan¡¯s opponents. Zhao Yali felt relieved after hearing herpanion¡¯s words.

 Chapter 19: Murder

    Chapter 19: Murder


    Trantor: Editor:


    A few of them came closer, led by a young guy who looked around 24-years-old. He looked reckless but there was a gun strapped to his waist. He was holding an iron bar in one hand and beating it against the other¡¯s palm every once in awhile. Upon approaching them, he arrogantly said, "You¡¯re quite brave, huh? Didn¡¯t even try to run when you saw using. I thought I¡¯d have to go after you!"


    "Boss, you don¡¯t need to bullshit him.¡±


    ¡°You, man! Leave your weapon and wallet here, while the girl, she must stay! Such a beautifuldy... must be a good one! Seems like we are going to be busy tonight!" another gangster said while looking at Zhao Yali and drooling.


    Zhao Yali¡¯s face turned slightly pale. She asked Luo Yuan, "Should we call the police?"


    "The police? Are you kidding me?"


    "It¡¯s the end of the world, so who cares? If you don¡¯t believe us, you can try calling." Several gangstersughed.


    "Are the police not working anymore?" Although Luo Yuan didn¡¯t understand their dialect, he could guess the general meaning.


    "I can¡¯t stopughing man! There are so many people dying every day and you think the police have nothing better to do? Nobody is going to investigate even if I kill you now. If you don¡¯t want to leave and want to be the hero, won¡¯t you regret it?" The leader of the gangughed crazily but felt somewhat uneasy. But he calmed down once he remembered the gun at his waist.


    Looking at thewless actions of these people, it seemed like they were saying the truth. "Does that mean it is okay to kill you, too?" Luo Yuan asked quietly.


    The gang weren¡¯t afraid and didn¡¯t take even the smallest of steps backward. Their head man reached for the pistol at his waist, but Luo Yuan had long noticed it and was definitely not going to give him the opportunity to use it. He adjusted his footing and propelled himself forward. His body moved like an arrow and he took out his knife before anyone was able to respond. His long knife easily slid out from its sheath and he quickly sliced off the opponent¡¯s right hand that held the gun. The hand fell onto the ground and the gang¡¯s head released a mournful scream.


    A few of the gang members looked horrified. Things happened too fast and they no longer knew whether they should stay or retreat.


    Luo Yuan kicked the pistol away from the detached hand. Without a gun, these bullies were no match for him.


    "Kill him, kill him!" the leader of the gang ordered while clutching his injured hand and crying hysterically. He was full of anger aimed at Luo Yuan. Several bullies hesitated as they knew they had encountered a stronger than usual opponent and now were very fearful.


    Luo Yuan hesitated whether to kill the leader or not as he saw the anger in the young man¡¯s eyes.


    His moral ethics and the concern of being arrested dyed his decision. However, Zhao Yali would be in trouble if he didn¡¯t kill the leader now. She would be staying nearby while he left to return to his own ce.


    ¡°Yali, please close your eyes,¡± Luo Yuan said suddenly.


    The gangsters¡¯ leader seemed to sense something wrong and tried to move backward. He shouted to his followers, "Beat him! You idiots! Do you think he will let you go?"


    "Shut up!" Luo Yuan yelled at the lousy leader and walked toward him. He raised his knife and sliced the leader¡¯s neck. The poor leader opened his eyes wide and pressed his remaining hand to his neck, trying to stop the blood from oozing out. He wanted to say something but he was no longer able to speak and his body slowly fell down in a puddle of blood.


    Something was stimted in Luo Yuan¡¯s mind while watching the poor leader fall. He then looked at the other gangsters with murderous eyes. He wondered whether he should just kill all of them to avoid any unnecessary trouble in the future, since he had already killed one anyway.


    All of them were bullies and had done many bad things; Luo Yuan didn¡¯t need to feel guilty even if he killed them all. It was a good deed to defeat evil people. He took a moment to convince himself of that and very soon didn¡¯t hesitate anymore.


    Those bullies sensed that something was wrong and tried to escape. Unfortunately, it was already toote. Luo Yuan acted very swiftly and his knife sliced through one of the bullies¡¯ necks, his head flying through the air and falling on the ground. Luo Yuan then took a few leaps to reach another bully, his de stabbing into the bully¡¯s neck and thening out on its other side.


    Cut, chop, strike, and slice! None of the bullies were able to escape. Luo Yuan managed to kill all of them with his 12-points of dexterity.


    Most of the bullies tried to escape but in the end, all of them got murdered. He only spent about 20 seconds to kill all of them. He shook his knife to try and remove the blood from the de, then returned it to the sheath.


    During the killing process, Luo Yuan was full of excitement, however, now all he felt was fear and regret. What if the police found him? He turned around and saw Zhao Yali sitting on the floor; she looked frightened.


    He quickly ran over and asked, ¡°Are you alright? I told you to close your eyes, why didn¡¯t you listen to me?¡±


    ¡°Murderer! You killed those people!¡± Zhao Yali said to herself without looking at Luo Yuan.


    "Don¡¯t worry, just a few bullies. We should leave now, otherwise, we will be in trouble if someone sees us!" he told her, and immediately realized he¡¯d said the wrong thing. But it was a bit toote to regret it.


    His concern had been for the consequences of murdering instead of the killing itself. He felt that killing people was almost the same as killing those mutated rats. For a moment he wondered since when was he like that. Previously, he¡¯d never dared to even fight anyone, and now he was fine with killing.


    ¡°Yes, you¡¯re right! We should go!¡± Zhao Yali responded immediately. But when she was about to get up from the ground, she felt numb and said, ¡°Could you help me up? My legs are numb.¡±


    Luo Yuan naturally looked at her thighs and noticed that the posture she was sitting in was inappropriate. Her dress had identally rosen up, exposing her fair buttocks. Luo Yuan had just gone through a series of fights and he was still pumped from the killing experience. He became braver and naturally touched her buttock after failing to resist such a seductive sight.


    ¡°What the hell are you doing?¡± Zhao Yali shouted out, shocked when Luo Yuan grabbed her butt.


    He then pulled her up from the ground.


    "You jerk! Your mind is just full of porn!" Zhao Yali scolded him madly. She got up from the ground and pushed Luo Yuan¡¯s hand away.


    ¡°Why didn¡¯t you wear any underwear? It¡¯s normal for a healthy guy to react this way!¡± he exined innocently. He wondered why women were so weird. Last night she was desperately asking for it, but today she was totally different, and he wasn¡¯t even allowed to touch her.


    Zhao Yali¡¯s face blushed red and she said, ¡°You shouldn¡¯t do that even if I¡¯m not wearing any underwear! You¡¯re not my boyfriend!¡± Luo Yuan remained silent. Zhao Yali became more furious and kicked his leg. She then walked away angrily and said, ¡°I¡¯m leaving, you should go home!¡±


    However, she slowed down when she saw the dead bodies.


    "There is still a long way to go and you might be in danger, I¡¯ll be worried if you go alone," Luo Yuan said.


    "Just leave me alone! Even if you arrive at my house, I¡¯ll still kick you out!" Zhao Yali threatened.


    ¡°Do you really need to do this? I¡¯m just trying to help you.¡± Luo Yuan sighed and then added angrily, ¡°Fine, I¡¯ll go home. Since you¡¯re so mad and don¡¯t want to see me, I¡¯ll just leave. I shouldn¡¯t havee here in the first ce!¡± He turned around and walked away without looking back.


    Zhao Yali turned around and seeing Luo Yuan walking away, she immediately felt depressed. She waited for a while but he was still walking away from her. Certain that he won¡¯te back, she squatted down and started crying the tears she had held in for a long time.


    It was bing difficult to breathe when she heard, ¡°Aren¡¯t you an adult? Still crying?¡±


    She sobbed even louder when she heard his voice and cried out, ¡°Don¡¯t bother me! Why didn¡¯t you go home? Why did youe back?¡±


    ¡°I was joking, my dear, and I recalled there is a gun somewhere in the area. I was trying to get it,¡± Luo Yuan exined. He wouldn¡¯t just let her go home alone even if there was no mission toplete.


    Zhao Yali stopped crying once she heard his exnation. She quickly got up from the ground and asked, "Are you crazy? Why would you take the gun? Throw it away, we might get arrested if the police finds out!"


    Luo Yuan felt touched and said, "The gun is for you, you might be able to use it in the future. And don¡¯t worry about the police, they are too busy for such small things. If even bullies can get a gun now, there must be more people out there who own guns. As long as you keep it properly, it should be fine."


    But Zhao Yali still rejected anxiously, ¡°Why would I need it? It¡¯s dangerous and my parents might be frightened!¡±


    ¡°The world is chaotic right now and it will be worse in the future. Who knows what is going to happen tomorrow? It will be safer if you have a gun for protection. Even if you bump into bullies in the future, you will be able scare them away with a gun.¡±


    Zhao Yali changed her mind as she remembered all the many horrible and scary experiences she had gone through recently. She was no longer afraid of the gun. "But I don¡¯t know how to fire," she said softly.


    "I¡¯ve learned from a police once, I¡¯ll teach youter," Luo Yuan told her with a smile.


    Zhao Yali got mad again when she saw Luo Yuan smile. "Don¡¯t even begin to think I¡¯ll forgive you. The incidentst night was a mistake! If you touch me again, I¡¯ll... I¡¯ll...¡± She couldn¡¯t think of a word strong enough to threaten him.


    The scent of blood was attracting many different mutated animals. There were also a few dark shadows lingering in the sky. It was obvious more wouldeter. It was good in a way, though, since the chance of Luo Yuan getting arrested would be that much slimmer.


    He looked around and then said, ¡°Alright, alright. This ce is not safe anymore, we should leave now.¡± He then grabbed her hand and ran.

 Chapter 20: Gigantic Dog

    Chapter 20: Gigantic Dog


    Trantor: Editor:


    Zhao Yali was physically weak so they had to stop several times for rest along the way. Fortunately, they didn¡¯t encounter any more dangerous circumstances.


    Finally, they arrived at Zhao Vige and Zhao Yali looked calmed by it. ¡°This is my alma mater, I used to study here. There used to be many boys swimming in the river beside my school, but it seems to have been long abandoned now,¡± Zhao Yali introduced and sighed.


    A woman walked toward them from the opposite direction and greeted Zhao Yali, ¡°Hi, Lili, you¡¯re back?¡± She then looked at Luo Yuan and asked, ¡°Is this your boyfriend?¡±


    Zhao Yali felt awkward and said, ¡°Oh, no. He just helped mee here.¡±


    The woman didn¡¯t seem convinced and continued, ¡°Why not? He looks good and you were obedient since young. But I can¡¯t talk much now. I¡¯m sure your parents are waiting for you at home. You should go see them. Remember toe to my ce for a meal with your friend tomorrow!¡±


    ¡°Oh, I think he will be fine. He¡¯s leaving today.¡± Zhao Yali quickly rejected.


    ¡°Oh dear, why don¡¯t you stay here for a few days?¡± the woman asked. She didn¡¯t seem to believe Zhao Yali again.


    When she was gone, Zhao Yali exined timidly, "I¡¯m sorry, she is one of my extended family members. She is used to being very passionate. I hope she didn¡¯t bother you too much."


    "Don¡¯t worry," Luo Yuan replied.


    This vige gave him the feeling of peace and quiet. The vigers looked friendly. like people did prior to the recent happenings. However, that didn¡¯t seem to be normal, and he wasn¡¯t sure if it was real. For some reason, he felt that the area wasn¡¯tpletely safe. But finally, they arrived in front of a small old house after the long journey.


    ¡°Beep!¡±


    ¡°Missionpleted!¡±


    ¡°Comment: Excellent.¡±


    ¡°Basic experience reward: 400¡±


    ¡°Comment reward: +200¡±


    Luo Yuan immediately felt relieved and free when he heard that familiar sound.


    ¡°Please remain silentter to avoid any misunderstandings. And if my dad asks you whether you have a girlfriend, please say yes,¡± Zhao Yali told him hastily in a depressed tone of voice.


    ¡°Alright, I got it. I promise I won¡¯t talk nonsense,¡± Luo Yuan easily agreed.


    Zhao Yali felt relieved and knocked on the door with excitement. ¡°Mom! Mom! I¡¯m back!¡±


    ¡°Coming, I¡¯ming!¡± They could hear the footsteps of Zhao Yali¡¯s mother rushing to the door. The grill was opened, and a woman with an apron walked out from the house. She hugged Zhao Yali, and both of them shed tears of joys.


    Luo Yuan noticed how alike the two looked. He was standing aside, uneasy. Since his parents had passed away in the ident, he hadn¡¯t seen this kind of a heart-warming scene. After a while, Zhao Yali¡¯s mother wiped away the tears and let go of her daughter. She looked at Luo Yuan and nodded, saying, "Oh dear, you¡¯re Lili¡¯s friend right? Come in, please. Why don¡¯t you introduce him?"


    It was difficult not to talk about Luo Yuan¡¯s appearance. He was tall and handsome. Besides that, he had be more stable and mature after the period of training and fighting. Right now, he could be considered as an outstanding person.


    Zhao Yali¡¯s eyes were teary as she stared at Luo Yuan for a second, then she replied to her mother, ¡°Nothing much to introduce, just a normal friend. But Mom, where¡¯s daddy?¡±


    Her mother nagged at her, ¡°How could you say that?¡± She turned to face Luo Yuan. ¡°I hope you don¡¯t mind. Pleasee in.¡± She quickly turned back to her daughter. ¡°Lili, can you please help me make some tea?¡±


    "It alright, ma¡¯am. My name is Luo Yuan, but you can just call me Yuan. I¡¯ll help myself, don¡¯t worry. I really appreciate it," Luo Yuan said.


    "Alright, allright! Lili, can you pleasee and talk with Luo Yuan? Your dad and Xiao Huang have went to the farm since he said he wanted to prepare some meat for you. They will be back soon," Zhao Yali¡¯s mother said happily while looking at Luo Yuan.


    Zhao Yali was shocked and herplexation paled instantly. ¡°Oh no, mom! How could you let him go alone? It¡¯s very dangerous outside! I¡¯ll go find him!¡±


    She looked at Luo Yuan with eyes begging for help, and he nodded.


    However, her mother wasn¡¯t worried at all and said, "Don¡¯t worry, my girl, he has Lao Huang. She is amazing, none of the other animals can beat her. You will be shocked when you see herter."


    Luo Yuan¡¯s facial expression changed instantly. "Is that a mutated animal again?" he wondered.


    Zhao Yali was sitting in the living room together with Luo Yuan when they heard someone trying to unlock the padlock outside the grill. ¡°Must be my dad!¡± Zhao Yali stood up when she heard the sound.


    A gigantic animal which was nearly two meters in height squeezed into the house once the door was opened. It was wagging its tail happily, but the feature that attracted more attention was an extraordinary ming red fluffy fur. It was moving up and down, following the animal¡¯s jumps. The fur was red, and it looked like a burning me.


    The animal¡¯s limbs were very strong and brought out a feeling of power. Even if a person was to only look from afar, they would feel pressured. But strangely, there was a chain tied around the dog¡¯s neck, and the far end of it was held by a man. Yet based on the animal¡¯s body size and energy, it could probably easily break the chain if it used any strength.


    Zhao Yali was shocked and stood up in fear. She didn¡¯t feelfortable looking at this gigantic dog as she found it unreal.


    Luo Yuan¡¯s body tensed, and he looked very serious as though he had bumped into a very powerful enemy. His hand naturally traveled to his knife just like at the time when he was about to fight with the big snake.


    Suddenly, a man with a snakeskin backpack came in holding the chain in his hand. The man looked about to be about 50 years old. "Oh, my dear! You¡¯re finally home! Were you shocked?" the man asked her.


    "Is this Lao Huang?" Zhao Yali asked.


    The gigantic dog kept wagging her tail and made some sounds to show how happy she was when she saw Zhao Yali. She did not rush to Zhao Yali but turned around to look at her father. He scolded the dog and she whined but allowed herself to be chained beside a big tree. Through all that time, she kept on looking at Zhao Yali while whining.


    Luo Yuan quickly stepped forward to shake his hand when he saw Zhao Yali¡¯s father walking toward him. "Hi, I¡¯m Luo Yuan. How are you?"


    Zhao Yali¡¯s father looked at Luo Yuan and said, "You¡¯re Lili¡¯s friend? Don¡¯t be afraid, the dog doesn¡¯t bite and she is very smart. We usually let her go around the house." He noticed Luo Yuan¡¯s knife hung by his waist and asked, "Were you alright on the way home?"


    Although Zhao Yali¡¯s father dressed very inly, he was not just a normal farmer. He spoke in a very fluent and urate Mandarin. He must have gone through something different before settling here.


    ¡°Oh, don¡¯t worry. Just some small problems, it was manageable. Luckily, I had a knife,¡± Luo Yuan replied, smiling.


    However, Zhao Yali¡¯s father had already noticed a few tiny blood stains on his daughter¡¯s dress, and he could understand the risky and dangerous experiences behind the simple description from Luo Yuan. He looked a bit scared and worried. "It seems everything is worsening faster than what we expected. I thought the city would be safer, otherwise, I¡¯d have waited for her at the station. I¡¯m so grateful that you were there for her along the way. I can¡¯t imagine what would have happened otherwise."


    ¡°You¡¯re very wee, uncle. Yali used to help me a lot; she is just like my sister. I only did what I had to,¡± Luo Yuan replied respectfully.


    Zhao Yali stood aside with a mad face. ¡°Is there any younger brother who will get on top of the sister?¡± she wondered in her mind.


    Her father continued speaking, ¡°Alright, then I won¡¯t mention it anymore. I wanted her toe back in the first ce, but I thought the city center would be safer than the viges. It¡¯s good that she¡¯s back now, at least we have food here. Besides that, her mom will no longer need to worry about her and nag me every day."


    Suddenly, Zhao Yali¡¯s mother called her father from the kitchen. He smiled and said, "Oh dear, please take a seat first. I need to help her mom. Let¡¯s drink together over dinner."


    Luo Yuan quickly replied, "Sure! Thanks for helping." After he went into the kitchen, Luo Yuan asked Zhao Yali, ¡°How was my performance?¡±


    Zhao Yali stared at him and said, "Normal." A momentter, she asked Luo Yuan, "When are you leaving?"


    "I¡¯ve never seen people like who would be so mean to someone who¡¯s helped them so much. Don¡¯t you think it would be nice to offer me a dinner as a return before I leave? I¡¯m starving," Luo Yuan told her. Suddenly, he put his palm on his forehead as if he was recalling something important and said, "Oh! Don¡¯t you n to get yourself some panties?"


    "You pervert!! Your mind is all about pornography!" Zhao Yali was mad and blushed. She was trying to run up to the first floor when Luo Yuan stopped her and passed the gun to her, ¡°Please hide it properly.¡±


    Zhao Yali took the gun carefully and quickly checked the surroundings, then ran up. Luo Yuan smiled and walked out of the living room. He looked at the gigantic dog. She waszily lying on the floor, and to Luo Yuan¡¯s amazement, she was still taller than half a meter. Her ears moved a little and straightened instantly when she became aware of people approaching her. She opened her eyes slightly and then closed them again. Luo Yuan noticed they were light blue and clear, just like crystals.


    Luo Yuan stepped a bit closer to her and then stopped. This dog wasn¡¯t like those mutated rats. Even though Zhao Yali¡¯s father described her as a gentle and smart dog, he wouldn¡¯t take the risk of challenging her. If he did, he would be thrown away five to six meters by a simple hit, since the size of the dog was really beyond imagination. Luo Yuan would receive some minor injuries even if he was confident enough to kill her. Yet, it was necessary to kill her. He noticed a few red animal hairs on the floor which were about 20 cm in length. He picked one up and used his identification power.


    ¡°Fur from a mutated gigantic dog.¡±


    ¡°Function: Resource¡±


    ¡°Rarity: Light Blue¡±


    ¡°Weight: 0.01kg¡±


    ¡°Comment: This is a fur from a mutated dog that consists of a small power of fire.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s real!¡± Luo Yuan was shocked but he proved his own spection. Zhao Yali was going to be safe here.


    Luo Yuan had no idea what was the factor that controlled the mutating speed since he realized that some animals were mutating faster than the others.


    Most of the mutated animals were categorized in Grade White, and there were just a few animals ssified in Grade Blue. Those graded as blue were usually super rare and were as valuable as the feather of a phoenix or the horn of a Chinese unicorn. However, Luo Yuan had seen two of these rare animals so far: the big snake and the gigantic dog in front of him. Each of them could be the king of their particr area. Perhaps, there was also a huge one in the ratmunity.


    Thankfully, they hadn¡¯t bumped into it.


    Anyway, it was no wonder that the vige looked extraordinary peaceful. As the infrastructure and agriculture in the viges got more sophisticated, cows became expelled from the farms. There was no reason for the vigers to be worried, especially since the dog was considered the big animal of the surrounding area and was enough to scare away the smaller mutated animals. Most importantly, she had undergone the evolution to light blue grade which was sufficient to protect the vigers.


    He recalled the couple who had killed their dog in the Choo Vige and felt they were stupid as they didn¡¯t know that a dog was always loyal to its owners as long as they didn¡¯t abuse it. Even if the dog mutated, it would not change its loyalty. Also, even if the dog was only graded as White, that was sufficient to fight off most of the threats right now. Though, it was extremely expensive to rear one if the dog didn¡¯t know how to find its own food.


    "Oh, but what is this power of fire?" Luo Yuan noticed about thements about the fur and wondered what it could be. "Does that mean this dog can spit fire?" He rubbed the fur a few times but didn¡¯t feel anything unusual. He then pulled the fur but it didn¡¯t tear, so he increased his strength and pulled again. Only then it finally tore into two pieces. The fur looked normal but it was actually very strong, even stronger than some wires.


    ¡°What are you doing here?¡± Zhao Yali suddenly asked from behind him.


    Luo Yuan turned around and saw Zhao Yali had changed into a long light green dress that brought out the fairness of her skin. She had also put on some light makeup which made her look even more charming.


    ¡°I¡¯m studying her fur to see what I could learn about it.¡±


    ¡°Such a waste that you didn¡¯t work as a biologist. Oh, her fur is so long! It used to be yellow but now it became red!¡± Zhao Yali said, grabbing the fur from Luo Yuan.


    ¡°You¡¯re getting harsher now!¡± Luo Yuan noted, getting up from the ground. He looked at the gigantic dog which had stood up and was now wagging her tail while looking at Zhao Yali. ¡°Why don¡¯t you y with her? It would be great if you could help me get a few of her hairs, the fur on her body looks darker,¡± Luo Yuan said.


    ¡°I¡¯m scared,¡± Zhao Yali muttered, looking at the dog. She seemed to be willing to try but was still hesitating since the dog¡¯s size was truly scary.


    ¡°She won¡¯t bite you. Remember your dad. He said she has mutated and be very smart, that means she won¡¯t do anything that might be dangerous to you. But she will be depressed and disappointed if you just keep standing here.¡±


    Based on her actions and performances, the dog was quite intelligent. It could bepared to an 8-years-old kid. If Zhao Yali couldn¡¯t ovee her fear, the dog would begin to keep a distance from her and eventually end up hurting her.


    ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll try. But you don¡¯t go too far away,¡± Zhao Yali said with a nod. She would have been feeling numb and looked deathly pale if this was any other animal than the one it was. However, it was a home dog and she was gentle enough to make Zhao Yali feel relieved.


    Zhao Yali felt boosted when she saw Luo Yuan nodding. She slowly walked toward the dog, while her heart beat vigorously and her palms sweated continuously. The dog wagged her tail at a faster pace when she saw her mastering nearer to her. She was so excited and kept squatting and standing up, but did not rush forward.


    Finally, she barked a few times and then lied down on the floor. Rolling over, she exposed her soft belly. Luo Yuan took a look and realized it was a female dog.


    Zhao Yali suddenly felt familiar and overcame her fear. She walked quickly toward the dog and bent down to rub its belly. The dog kept whining in joy and she rubbed her furry head against Zhao Yali¡¯s legs with some saliva dripping out at the edge of her mouth. Perhaps she had undergone some training before since she was quite good at controlling her strength.


    Zhao Yali chuckled and said, ¡°Good girl!¡± She then turned to Luo Yuan who was standing nearby, afraid of getting closer, and said, ¡°If you bully me again, I¡¯ll ask Lao Huang to bite you!¡± The dog¡¯s ears twitched immediately and she raised her eyelids. It seemed like she was thinking of standing up.


    Luo Yuan was sweating and whispered to Zhao Yali, ¡°Can you please stop joking? When did I bully you?¡±


    Zhao Yali shyly said, ¡°You know better!¡±


    Zhao Yali¡¯s mother came out from the kitchen with an apron tied around her waist and talked to both of them, ¡°Lili,e with your friend for dinner.¡±


    ¡°Alright!¡± Zhao Yali replied. She then patted the dog¡¯s head and kicked Luo Yuan once when passing by.


    The dinner was good with a big pot of an eel, frogs, and quail eggs. There were also a few tes of vegetables and some hard liquor, homemade and a bottle of Chinese traditional. Zhao Yali¡¯s parents were very nice and kept putting food on Luo Yuan¡¯s te and pouring liquor into his bowl.


    The amount was overwhelming for Luo Yuan. He had drank three bowls of hard liquor even though he tried to reject it. Luckily, he was quite good at drinking and his body was also fitterpared to others¡¯. He only felt a slight headache even after drinking so much.


    They continued to chit chat for a while after the dinner. Luo Yuan asked to leave by using the excuse of having some pending tasks in Donghu city. Zhao Yali¡¯s parents asked him to stay overnight but Luo Yuan insisted on leaving. They then asked Zhao Yali to send him out.


    After the two left the room, Zhao Yali¡¯s mother asked while cleaning the dining table, ¡°What do you think of this man?¡±


    ¡°Very stable and mature, has good manners. I kind of like him but I don¡¯t think Lili wants anyone now. As you know Weiqiang has just passed away recently. I think we should just go with the flow,¡± Zhao Yali¡¯s father replied and then grabbed a cigarette and began to smoke.


    "You¡¯re always like this, not paying enough attention to the details. Unlike you, I understand our daughter." Apparently, she didn¡¯t believe that Luo Yuan was just normal friend. She continued, "She used to behave like this when she brought Weiqiang over. Apparently, they had been going out for a while already but were still pretending not to. While today I saw her peeping at Luo Yuan when we were having dinner.¡±


    ¡°Oh dear! You have such keen eyes! I almost got tricked by her! But we don¡¯t know whether the man has noticed it or not.¡± Zhao Yali¡¯s fatherughed.


    ¡°Can¡¯t you see that he purposely went out of his way to send our daughter home even it¡¯s so far from his original goal? Does that say nothing to you?¡± Zhao Yali¡¯s mother asked.


    ¡°I think we should just leave it to the both of them.¡± Zhao Yali¡¯s father continued to smoke and sighed. ¡°The world is only getting more terrible. There hasn¡¯t been any electricity for a week or more already. I¡¯ve heard that there was a big turmoil in Zhang Vige a few days ago, and a few people had suddenly died. Our vige is considered better than the rest but still... Now they will be living separately, so who knows whether they will even see each other again or not.¡±


    Zhao Yali¡¯s mother looked worried and slowly sat down, putting the tablecloth aside.

 Chapter 21: The Landfill

    Chapter 21: The Landfill


    Trantor: Editor:


    Luo Yuan and Zhao Yali were leisurely walking along the street without saying a word.


    After some time, Zhao Yali couldn¡¯t take it anymore and said, "Don¡¯t you have anything to say to me?"


    Luo Yuan thought for a while and said drily, "Yes, please do take care of yourself."


    This man could always incite anger and hatred in others. Luo Yuan really wanted to beat him up, but sadly was unable to.


    "And?" Zhao Yali said forcefully while biting her lip. It seemed that she wanted to take her revenge.


    Luo Yuan was annoyed. He looked at Zhao Yali queerly and asked, "What do you want me to say?"


    Zhao Yali sighed in her heart. ¡°Oh yes, what to say? What answer do I want? Our rtionship was simply that of housemates, or just a one night stand. Furthermore, we are going to depart soon and may not see each other again. Isn¡¯t it meaningless to hang on?¡±


    They walked in silence, neither saying anything after that.


    The weather was getting colder ¡ª a humid and cool wind blew past them. Then, the bean-sized raindrops poured down. And soon, it was raining cats and dogs.


    Luo Yuan took off his T-shirt and used it to cover Zhao Yali¡¯s head. "Let¡¯s hide somewhere. This rain is too heavy."


    "Let¡¯s go to the factory nearby." Zhao Yali looked at the shirt above her head and felt warm.


    "Okay!"


    It was an old shabby factory. It seemed to have been shut down for a long time as it had no signboard and the rusty electric sliding door at the entrance was opened widely.


    They quickly ran into the factory. Nevertheless, they were both soaked to the skin.


    The light green dress was attached to Zhao Yali¡¯s body, making its outline more obvious and seductive.


    Maybe it was because they were somewhere in a hidden ce, or maybe because they thought they might not meet again, but the me of concupiscence ignited and burned fiercely. Neither of them could have said who started first but their bodies were soon stuck together. They were kissing, gasping and panting. Their skins rubbed against each other, heating up the fire even more.


    The storm outsidepletely covered the sounds made by the two.


    The rain gradually ceased.


    Zhao Yali snuggled up to Luo Yuan. Her dress was in an utter mess.


    ¡°Will we meet again?¡± she asked softly.


    ¡°Of course we will!¡± Luo Yuanforted her.


    ¡°But was that really so?¡± The world was getting more chaotic each day, and nobody could say anything about their future as the mutated animals continued to evolve. Luo Yuan was uncertain. Maybe with the advanced technology that humanity had, they might win eventually. But by that time, the world would most likely be severely damaged, and the air thick with smoke.


    Anyway, it all came down to an individual¡¯s luck. During such a disaster, one may only struggle and hope.


    When the rain stopped, Luo Yuan left.


    Zhao Yali watched him walking away and gradually bing a small dot. Then, she could no longer hold back her tears from dripping down her cheeks.


    She didn¡¯t know why, since it was only for a short period of time she had known him, but Luo Yuan had settled deep within her heart. Perhaps it was because Luo Yuan had alwaysforted her when she was alone, helpless. Or maybe it had to do with the peace and security she felt around him. Yet still, it could be simply because they used to get entangled sexually together.


    Those feelings were like a firing hot volcano, violently erupting and then forced to an abrupt-end now that he was gone.


    Luo Yuan walked to the highway. The mountain pass seemed to have been opened up, and there were already a few cars passing by.


    He waited for half an hour until an empty public bus finally came. He boarded it, and went to sit at the back.


    As the bus passed through the incident point, he saw that the two buses which had broken down were no longer there. Only the leftover blood stains showed that an incident had happened there.


    Yushui City was still in depression and there was no sign of revitalization at all. Panic was still pervading the whole city.


    Luo Yuan managed to buy a train ticket and check in his Zhanmadao. He turned back, looking at the city for thest time, and without hesitation boarded the train back to Donghu City.


    Thendfill at the east gate was stinky and with flowing sewage water. The ce was overcrowded with shabby old shacks and some simple iron shielded rooms. It was an obvious contrast to the beautiful and new high rise buildings nearby.


    Here was the slums of the city. People normally avoided toe to this ce.


    However, it gradually became lively.


    Fifteen days after Luo Yuan hade back to Donghu City, the condition at the city hadn¡¯t improved but deteriorated instead. The army and police were quite often on the streets, and armored vehicles could be seen asionally too.


    Fuel such as gas and diesel had be part of army supplies and, thus, had been taken overpletely. Other than some cars from the government or the army, there were barely any other on the road.


    Many businesses were closing down after being affected by increasing bills and theck of raw materials, transportation, and electricity. As the supplies were limited, many people started to make a living by themselves. In addition, the limited amount and the soaring prices of meat and food had made some people who thought they had some fighting skills start to join hunting groups.


    Thendfill was a city within a city where the living organisms gathered together. For them, it was a huge storehouse with an inexhaustible food supply. Of course, that attracted a of lot of cats, dogs and rats.


    However, after a few encircling and suppressing moves by the army, therger sized dangerous animals such as stray dogs could barely be seen. Only some of the elusive rats could be found.


    Nheless, it was quite dangerous there. Those rats were the size of a normal cat, very aggressive and quite clever. They always appeared in groups and a single bite of theirs would make a bloody hole in the victim¡¯s body.


    Besides that, four to five rats were enough to kill a strong adult. Thus, hunters were usually hunting in groups of three to five or even more than eleven people in a team. It was rare to see an individual hunter like Luo Yuan.


    He was wearing army boots, coarse jeans and a thin jacket to cover the snake scale bullet vest. He held the Zhanmadao in his right hand and walked toward thendfill.


    Luo Yuan came here often and his fighting ability was astonishing. Therefore, many knew this great man and surrounded him when he came.


    ¡°Brother Luo, can you please be merciful and share some meat with me? My family hasn¡¯t eaten meat for a few days already, and my kids are craving it. Just a leg of a rat is enough, and I¡¯ll pay for it. It¡¯s allright if you want two or five hundred for it,¡± a depressed middle-aged man said, forcefully squeezing into the circle.


    Because of the presence of the supply and demand rtionship, thendfill had be a lively market area. Every day, many were waiting to deal with the sessful hunters. But it was very rare to have hunters like Luo Yuan who would receive bookings before they even went out to hunt. Throughout thendfill, there were only a few people or teams capable of something like that. And they were mostly great people, with many of them having guns.


    It was now an open secret of how to purchase a gun. As long as one had some connections, he could easily get one. However, most were handguns, and it was rare to see the more powerful weapons.


    ¡°The money today is greatly inting. I¡¯ve got money but I can¡¯t buy anything, so what¡¯s the use of it?¡± one fat guy in a suit said scornfully. ¡°I want to change with food. Five catties of food to a one catty of meat, and I¡¯ll change all of them, face-to-face. It¡¯ll be in the open.¡±


    When the people took a look, there were four strong men with weapons standing alertly, watching over more than ten bags of fifty catties of food. The two of them even had guns at their waists.


    Someone knew the speaker and said with a grin, ¡°GM Xie, why didn¡¯t you continue with your softwarepany but started trading instead? Aren¡¯t you moving backward?¡±


    ¡°Software Company? So what? What¡¯s a big business? A business which can provide you food like this is the currentrgest business!¡± Xie Qifeng didn¡¯t mind exposing his business n as there were already arge number of such businessmen. Therefore, it didn¡¯t matter if there were more peoplepeting. Furthermore, one needed capital and socialworks to start a business.


    ¡°I don¡¯t need food nor money yet, I just need some gas. Do you have any sources?¡± Luo Yuan asked.


    As the number of people increased at thisndfill, it was bing more difficult to hunt. He needed to spend a lot of time daily to look for prey. Thus, it was one of the reasons why he needed gas.


    Since he knew the meat of mutated animals had some special effects, he tried to target only blue-level mutated organisms. However, the defensive power of Donghu City was strong, and the blue-level organisms were instantly killed by the army. In order to get some for himself, he had to go elsewhere.


    He managed to get a car but couldn¡¯t get gas.


    ¡°Brother Luo, you know that gas is now a controlled product. As the sea route was blocked, the crude oil can no longer be sent through there. It¡¯s still possible viand, but the transportation isn¡¯t easy. We should now save gas as much as possible. Well, I¡¯ve got some left at home, but what¡¯s the price?¡± Fatty Xie used to have apany, so of course, he had ways to get even controlled supplies. As soon as he started talking about business, the man¡¯s eyes began glowing shrewdly.


    Luo Yuan grinned. ¡°As long as you can get gas, the price is up to you.¡±


    Fatty Xie was moved and knew this was his chance to earn more, but soon he stopped himself from being too greedy. This was because many people might still have gas as they could get some from their cars, though it was precious. Furthermore, this guy wasn¡¯t someone easy to bully. If Fatty Xie cheated him today, he might seek revenge tomorrow. And with today¡¯s copsing order, such a person shouldn¡¯t be offended.


    ¡°Since Brother Luo is such a straightforward man, I¡¯ll not ask for a preposterous price either. Let it be fair enough, ten catties of meat per liter. You may ask around for the price of gas in the ck market, and you¡¯ll learn this is definitely a bargain,¡± Fatty Xie said straightforwardly, patting his chest.


    ¡°It depends, will you deal with mutated rats?¡± Luo Yuan said.


    ¡°Oh brother Luo, you are ready to do it, right? Sure, I will make a phone call and get somebody to send the gas here!¡± Fatty Xie said brightly.


    The surrounding people knew that they no longer had any chance and, thus, faded away quickly. Soon, another hunter team came, and these people went to surround them.


    The deal was done. Luo Yuan walked to the stall nearby, bought a bottle of beer and chose a rtively clean rock to squat on. It was still evening, the sky notpletely dark yet. So it wasn¡¯t the best hunting time.


    Though mutated rats came out during the day, they were most active during the night. asionally, the hunters might be lucky to meet somerger group in one of the smaller areas and receive great rewards for it. However, it was also the most dangerous time and it was normal to have more than ten people die.


    During the troubled time, human lives were not precious. Because of the living pressure, thendfill kept on attracting many risk-takers.


    As the day quickly darkened, the area was soon overcrowded. With the squeaking soundsing from deep in thendfill, some neers became nervous and breathed heavily.


    The crowd started to light up their torches, and the surroundings became brighter.


    Luo Yuan didn¡¯t prepare any torches as his eyesight was pretty good and his senses keen. With only some weak moonlight, he could roughly recognize thendscape, and it didn¡¯t have a lot of effect on his fights. Instead, he felt that a torch might interfere during a battle.


    He looked up at the sky and saw a full moon hanging, covering the ground with ayer of silvery light. It was a good day to hunt.


    As the night got darker, the people started to move toward thendfill.


    Soon, there was a scream of terror, and then a gunshot. The smell of blood started to fill the air.


    Thendfill had once more be the location of war ¡ª the war between men and rats.


    Luo Yuan continued to sit for a little longer, drank thest mouthful of beer, then simply threw the bottle away and stood up.


    Such incidents urred every day and he had already gotten used to it.


    However, it was somehow different. The war had started too fast and the screaming was obviously moremon than the previous times. Soon, there was amotion. Some people ran back with terrified looks on their faces; most of them neers.


    Then, Luo Yuan quickly walked to the front.


    ¡°Brother Luo Yuan, you came too?¡± a tall youth suddenly called Luo Yuan.


    ¡°Yes, what¡¯s happening? Why are all these people leaving?¡± Luo Yuan knew this guy, he was known as Chen Haiyan, adylike name. Like him, he was an individualist. He should have learned fighting before, and was good with a knife. He was strong and if Luo Yuan wasn¡¯t agile, he might not be his opponent. But they just knew each other from sight.


    ¡°We¡¯ve met arge group of rats. As soon as we started fighting, many had already died. And I heard that somebody saw arge guy,¡± Chen Haiyan summed up.


    ¡°Oh, it was therge group of rats!¡± Luo Yuan was moved. ¡°Do you mean that the big guy was the king of the rats?¡±


    ¡°Possibly. If it¡¯s not, then these people won¡¯t leave. You should know that having thisrge group of rats tonight is a great opportunity. I¡¯d bet on it, we¡¯ll earn more than enough for four to five days.¡± Chen Haiyan looked at thisndfill filled with screams and licked his dry lips. ¡°I heard that the price of this king of rats, the leader-level organism, is now very high. Normally when they appear, they are killed by the army and, thus, this is our only chance. I can¡¯t do it alone, shall we form a team and ***?¡±


    ¡°Has the good effects of consuming mutated animals have been made known to everyone? But it¡¯s not surprising after all. With the strong research abilities that the government has, such obvious effects would quickly be known to the public too. Even the hunters here must know a lot about it,¡± Luo Yuan thought.


    He had been ready to kill blue-level organism for some time now, so how could he give up this opportunity? When he decided on it, a message came into his mind.


    ¡°Optional mission, e- level mission: hunt down and kill the king of the rats in three days. You have to kill it on your own. Mission failed if it is killed by others (ept/Decline).¡±


    ¡°e- level mission, what the hell?¡± Luo Yuan was shocked and scolded himself.


    It was his first time receiving an e- level mission. Even when he killed that giant snake, it was only an f+ level while this mission was e-.


    Luo Yuan hesitated for a while, but then thought about the difficulty to upgrade and grinding his teeth epted. It was just a one level difference! Also, just like what Chen Haiyan had said, it was the only chance. He might need to wait for a long time until he received another e- level mission. Besides, with the two light-blue equipments, he didn¡¯t believe that he would be killed by that rat.


    ¡°Okay, let¡¯s separate and call some trustable people over, then we can gather here,¡± said Luo Yuan, grinding his teeth.


    ¡°Alright!¡± Chen Haiyan nodded and left speedily.


    Since Luo Yuan had been here for so long, he had to know some people. Soon, he found five.


    These five people were from a team. They used to be security guards for somepany, and they were also retired soldiers. They were very united and always helped each other, thus, bing a rtively strong team at thisndfill. Luo Yuan had saved their life once during onerge group of rats¡¯ attack, so they were quite close.


    Soon, Chen Haiyan came back with another group of people. They kind of knew each other as they were quite famous. Other than the individualist Qian Dakui, there was a noticeable group of three.


    Those three had a gun each, but no other weapons. Their shooting skills were very urate and their leader was a middle aged man called boss Zhou. It was said that he used to be in a gang, and was very stubborn, intractable and emotional. He would kill anyone who disagreed with him. Therefore, none dared to look for trouble with him.


    Luo Yuan slightly raised his eyebrow, feeling somewhat uneasy with this cooperation.


    The screams of terror kepting from thendfill, and more people were retracting!


    ¡°Everyone should know the others. With limited time, I will cut it short.¡± Chen Haiyan looked toward the noisy area in the far distance and said quickly, ¡°You should know the price of the king of rats, and I believe that many are targeting it.¡±


    ¡°Stop talking about this nonsense. Let¡¯s talk about dividing the prize to prevent misunderstandingster,¡± Qian Dakui said, interrupting. He was tall and strong, and his height was about two meters. He held a big hacking knife in one hand and a shield of one meter height in the other. The shield was apparently customized as there were seven sharp des welded onto it. One hit by such a shield, and one may soon die.


    Chen Haiyan looked at him, anger passing over his eyes for a second. He then said, ¡°Talking about dividing, let me rify first, this is our first cooperation and we don¡¯t know much about each other yet. In order to avoid misunderstandings, I would suggest that we divide evenly and the person who kills the king of rats will have two portions. If there¡¯re no other questions, we will start now to prevent the king of rats from being killed by others and us receiving nothing.¡±


    None disagreed as it was a team formed at thest minute. As they didn¡¯t know each other much, such division was more suitable.


    ¡°We ept even division, but let me rify first, if someone doesn¡¯t work for it, he¡¯ll be out,¡± Boss Zhou said, looking at everyone.


    ¡°Okay, let it be so,¡± Qian Dakui agreed.


    Luo Yuan also nodded in agreement.


    The people brought in by Luo Yuan, they had naturally let him be their leader.


    The operation had gathered a total of 11 people. Though they looked like a team, they were not of one body, and they didn¡¯t have any teamwork. However, they were all considered as strong men at thendfill. Once they walked into thendfill, they quickly went forward.


    Small sized mutated rats couldn¡¯t hinder their steps as they were killed the moment they got in the way.


    Since the target was the king of rats, nobody picked up the normal mutated rats in order not to burden themselves. When some people saw that they might get some advantages, they followed after them. Soon, the team expanded like a rolling snowball.

 Chapter 22: A Sudden Change

    Chapter 22: A Sudden Change


    Trantor: Editor:


    ¡°It¡¯s good to have this cannon-fodder,¡± the leader of the five said to Luo Yan while chopping down an escaping mutated rat¡¯s head with a Kukri.The man was called Huang Yaoguang and he used to be a security team¡¯s leader for apany. A few days after thepany was closed down, he gathered some of his team members and started to stay at thendfill. If it wasn¡¯t for Luo Yuan, who saved them during thest meeting with arge group of rats, they would have be bones already. Thus, he and his group had been following Luo Yuan tightly as soon as they departed.


    ¡°This crowd will disappear the moment there¡¯s danger!¡± Luo Yuan said while looking into the far distance. The front was vague. Even though many people had left, there were still over a thousand or so gathered in the few square kilometers ofndfill.


    The group of rats was veryrge in size, and it was probably thergest group within thest two weeks. The deeper they went, the more frequent the fighting became, and more corpses could be found on the floor. asionally, some mutated rats could be seen chewing on the corpses while the intestines and inner organs were spread out on the floor. A mixture of smell of blood and the unique stink of thendfill had formed an odd, nausea inducing smell.


    ¡°Look, what¡¯s that?¡± somebody in the front suddenly shouted out. The crowd looked in that direction and saw a piece of grey nketing over from about a hundred meters away. Then there were gunshots, and the fighting started. Some ran desperately back while more people ran forward it. The atmosphere became boisterous.


    That wasn¡¯t a nket but arge group of mutated rats which had gathered together. They were covering arge area of more than a hundred meters and were moving forward like a big wave.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go, the king of rats must be there,¡± Chen Haiyan shouted. He ran forward soon after finishing his sentence. The others increased their speed as well and went to the frontline. When they saw what was happening, they gasped in astonishment.


    It was over-crowded with rats, they even covered the whole rubbish mountain area. Though they saw only parts of them, there were already thousands of them. If Luo Yuan hadn¡¯t been surrounded by more than a hundred people who were continuously fighting, and many more who were stilling to join in, he would have already given up.


    ¡°Kill!¡± Chen Haiyan shouted and led their team into the fight. With only a few swipes of his knife, he had already killed some rats. As he moved around with his clever footwork and body movement, he hacked, pricked, chopped, swabbed, stripped, spread, pulled, cut and used other knife techniques. The rats couldn¡¯t get close to him at all.


    ¡°Sir Luo, what shall we do?¡± As Huang Yaoguang and his team weren¡¯t called in by Chen Haiyan and they also admired Luo Yuan, they didn¡¯t attack immediately but instead asked Luo Yuan as to what to do.


    ¡°It¡¯s just some rats, so they¡¯re insufficient to pose us a real threat. You guys stand behind and help me stop them from both sides.¡± Luo Yuan felt slightly excited after he saw Chen Haiyan¡¯s performance.


    ¡°Okay, we¡¯ll do it. Unless they step through our dead bodies, we won¡¯t let a single rat escape,¡± Huang Yaoguang promised immediately because he knew that this move would reduce the pressure on them. Luo Yuan nodded and walked forward with his knife ready.


    After a long period of training, his knife skill had upgraded to 13-points and, thus, his ability was much stronger whenpared to the time when he¡¯d went to Yushui City. The knife in his hand was like a part of his body, which allowed him to control it easily. His knife¡¯s de was glowing radiantly and before the rats managed to get anywhere near him, their heads were already removed, fresh blood spattering the ground.


    Compared to the knife skill of Chen Haiyan, he didn¡¯t have too many techniques but each one he did have were very urate and precise. The only specialty he had was speed. His hacking was so fast that a normal person could barely see his movements. Thus, Huang Yaoguang and the others who were following him had little to do.


    Other than Luo Yuan and Chen Haiyan, that middle-aged man, Qian Dakui, was an eye catcher too. He roared, bent his body, held his shield up and rushed recklessly into a group of rats. He was very strong and together with his shield, which had many sharp des welded-on, he knocked down all the rats before him. All of them were either dead or badly mutted.


    After rushing for a few meters, he stopped, spun his shield around his body and knocked down some mutated rats trying to attack from his sides. Then, he took out his knife and chopped continuously. Though his knife skill wasn¡¯t as good as either Luo Yuan¡¯s and Chen Haiyan¡¯s but he could easily protect himself from the attacking rats.


    Boss Zhou and his two subordinates were staying behind and only shot asionally to kill the escaping rats. To them, each bullet was precious and, thus, they couldn¡¯t kill unscrupulously like the rest. Besides that, they hadn¡¯t brought many bullets with them, so they could only use them during a crucial moment.


    As the crowd moved forward, corpses were left behind. There were corpses of both mutated rats and men, but mostly the rats. After about ten minutes, the group had moved about a few hundred meters and the number of people following them had also increased to more than a thousand. The size of the rats¡¯ group had gradually be smaller.


    Suddenly, there was a growling sounding from afar. It didn¡¯t sound like a rat but more like the roaring of a ferocious beast. Upon hearing it, the mutated rats started to retreat like a tide water.


    ¡°Oh no! The king of rats is escaping. If we lose this chance, the beast will be more difficult to kill next time!¡± Luo Yuan shouted out, rolling his eyes. If the king of rats managed to escape, he would fail his mission.


    ¡°Go after it! We must not let it run away.¡± The crowd heard it and became excited. But the people were soon divided, only about a hundred chased after while the rest decided to remain behind. After all, not everyone was ambitious. Most of the people came here just to earn something without taking too high of a risk. With so many corpses of mutated rats lying about, it was sufficient for them to live a stable life for a while.


    After a few minutes, a giant rat was seen. Perhaps it was the reflection of the moonlight or because of its fur characteristic, it looked silvery white. Its body was about one and half meters long and looked smoother than those of normal rats. Its slender tail was hanging straight and swung slightly along with the body movements. The animal seemed like an elegant king, surrounded by a group of mutated rats and retreating unhurriedly.


    The eyes of Luo Yuan glowed; the body of this mutated rat wasn¡¯t over-sized. Comparing it to the giant snake and the giant dog, it was small. Other than it having thousands of mutated rats surrounding it, which made it somewhat troublesome, it wasn¡¯tparable to the blue level animals he¡¯d met previously.


    ¡°Have you the nerve to try?¡± Luo Yuan asked the recently formed team.


    ¡°If we don¡¯t, we would have stayed at home. Why should we fight desperately here? It¡¯s either die from hunger for being a coward or die from overeating for being daring. Let¡¯s die from overeating this time,¡± Huang Yaoguang responded. He could see that Luo Yuan, Chen Haiyan and the others seemed to have a strong urge to attack. Though he didn¡¯t know exactly why, it had to be due to the value of the king of rats. He remembered a hearsay, and his heart suddenly throbbed faster.


    ¡°Yes, right. You may quit now if you don¡¯t want to go.¡± After Chen Haiyan finished his sentence, he looked at everyone.


    ¡°We¡¯re already here, so wouldn¡¯t it be a joke if we quit now? Just count me in,¡± said Qian Dakui in a pant, curling his lip and putting one end of his shield heavily on the floor. Though his stamina was good, it still wasn¡¯t easy to carry along such a heavy weapon.


    ¡°Boss Zhou, what about you three?¡± Chen Haiyan asked the other three.


    ¡°We will not quit but I¡¯m more worried of the others trying to take advantage of us. After all, we¡¯re not the only ones here!¡± Boss Zhou said with a smirk, stroking his handgun and looking toward the other people nearby.


    Luo Yuan didn¡¯t particrly care. His goal was to kill the king of rats toplete the mission. And how many people were to divide the capture, it would only matterter. Of course, he would be d to receive more, but it didn¡¯t matter if he received less. After all, he had already decided to go to the other ces to hunt for blue level organisms. So he should not argue with others for peanuts. Besides, if there were more people, they could share the risk and increase the probability ofpleting the mission. However, he couldn¡¯t say all of that aloud. He thought for a while and said, ¡°Perhaps we can talk to them and set some rules. I don¡¯t think many will dare to go.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll do it. I know the leaders of therger groups!¡± said Chen Haiyan after hesitating for a moment.


    ¡°Sure, you do it then,¡± Luo Yuan said indifferently. He could see that Chen Haiyan was a very ambitious person. He was very proactive and had been in the leading position along the way. However, it was none of Luo Yuan¡¯s business. In fact, it was beneficial to him if the man was more proactive.


    When the hundreds of them were facing thousands of mutated rats and the king, many hesitated as expected. Those who persisted were only about fifty people and they were divided into three rough teams. After they dyed, the group of rats had gradually crossed over one of the rubbish mountains. Seeing them about to disappear soon, Luo Yuan was very worried but he couldn¡¯t do anything.


    After a while, Chen Haiyan finally came back. He looked toward the front and said quickly, ¡°Because of the limited time, we¡¯ll talk on the way.¡± He started running, and exining quickly, ¡°The results of the discussion were this: three teams will attack from three different corners. The team who kills it first will receive half of the capture, the other two teams will evenly divide the other half. The benefit of this arrangement is that we will still receive some even if we don¡¯t manage to kill it!¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s good. Otherwise we may be cheated even if we kill the king of rats. After all, those who can survive here aren¡¯t easy to deal with. They¡¯ll do anything for a profit,¡± Qian Dakui said with a nod.


    Thendfill was a mess and a cruel ce, it seemed like a different world from the orderly city area. Human lives had no value here. There were hundreds of people who died or disappeared every day. Some were killed by mutated rats while others by other people. The corpses would be bones even before dawn. When people were eating mutated rats, the mutated rats were eating people too.


    If the terrestrial species did not have strict discipline, their speed would be reduced when they moved inrge numbers. After about ten minutes, the team managed to catch up to the group of rats.


    The fight started quickly. After a few skirmishes broke out among the group of rats, they suddenly stopped moving. Maybe they noticed that the number of their enemies had reduced and, thus, it was a good opportunity to attack. So they started toe over like a sea wave.


    At that moment, Luo Yuan felt tension increase suddenly. He stepped forward and back, swayed to both right and left, and waved the Zhanmadao with his hand like a mirage under the moonlight. Those mutated rats which did not fear death were cut by the intangible knife as soon as they jumped at him. He was defending himself from the mutated rats¡¯ attacks. With his sharp de, he tore open the group of rats. Each difficult step he took left corpses of mutated rats and the ground spattered with fresh blood.


    ¡°Beep, one point for knife skill.¡±


    Luo Yuan didn¡¯t notice the message. He was focusing solely on the fight, and his body was radiating a breath which made people¡¯s hearts throb. This breath also caused every rushing mutated rat to shudder slightly, interrupting their movement.


    It was only less than a minute but the team members were already reduced. As boss Zhou and the other two were using guns, they were left behind. If it was just a small group of mutated rats, they would be safe. Unfortunately, it was arge group of rats and they came from every direction.


    One rat bit at a leg of one of them from the back, and as soon as the man killed it, there were another two rats rushing toward him. He kept shooting to kill the two rats in a flurry and then found out that he had been separated from the team. More rats poured in, and he could only yell out once before being devoured by the group of rats.


    ¡°Damn it!¡± Boss Zhou wanted to save him but it was toote. He cursed and his face became gloomy. He then winked to hisst follower, and they squeezed into the middle of the team.


    Huang Yaoguang and hispanions followed tightly behind Luo Yuan, sharing Luo Yuan¡¯s pressure by blocking the mutated rats from both sides but soon it became too difficult to continue as they started to get wounded in the fight. When Chen Haiyan and Qian Dakui saw the situation, they joined in quickly and formed a ten people circle to block the attacks from the mutated rats.


    Then, there were gunshots from afar. The group of rats were shocked and they rushed in another direction. ¡°F*ck! Is it the army?¡± Chen Haiyan turned back to take a look and suddenly felt furious. He grinded his teeth and said, ¡°If I knew who gave the notice, I would kill him.¡±


    There were about ten soldiers shooting toward the group of rats with rifles. The surrounded mutated rats rushed toward them, reducing the number of enemies at Luo Yuan¡¯s side.


    He looked for a time with a changing facial expression, then finally sighed in disappointment. ¡°Let¡¯s go, with the existence of these people, we won¡¯t be able to even drink some soup. They will never let any leader leveled mutated animals off.¡±


    ¡°We¡¯ll just leave like this?¡± Huang Yaoguang asked in disbelief, touching his wounded arm.


    ¡°What else can we do? Fight with the army for food?¡± Qian Dakui vented his anger by knocking down a mutated rat with his shield and then spitting in fury. Having worked so hard and then seeing the almost caught prey being taken away, anyone would be full of distress.

 Chapter 23: Succeeded

    Chapter 23: Seeded


    Trantor: Editor:


    ¡°Bang! Bang!¡±


    Two gun shots rang out.


    ¡°Aaooo!¡±


    Far in the distance, two burn marks suddenly appeared on the Rat King¡¯s body. The creature howled loudly and swung its long tail violently until there was sonic boom!


    ¡°Bang!¡±


    Another burn on its body. The Rat King squeaked and realized the disaster it was facing. Then, it no longer took care of the other normal mutated rats but tried to escape instead. The surrounding mutated rats quickly faded away too.


    ¡°Bang! Bang! Bang!¡±


    The heavy sound of sniper rifle rang out continuously but apparently it was difficult to target the nimble Rat King. All three shots missed the target. Soon, the Rat King ran further away while spattering its blood along the path.


    ¡°Good chance!¡± Luo Yuan thought, and immediately chased after it. The others were stunned but quickly, they followed. Yet, they were left behind in just a few seconds. Luo Yuan was very fast and could bepared to a champion of short-distance running. Yet, his speed was still slower than that of the Rat King.


    Fortunately, the speed of the Rat King was reduced gradually. The heavy caliber sniper rifle had caused three bowl sized wounds on its body, and the wounds were still bleeding continuously. Thus, it might not live long. After a few minutes, the speed of the Rat King had slowed greatly. Losingrge amounts of blood had also drained its energy rapidly, and its silver-white fur had darkened and lost its original ze. It let out a howl and its body started to falter.


    ¡°Please don¡¯t die now, at least not now!¡± Luo Yuan ran desperately while muttering to himself. If he did not kill the Rat King himself, he would fail the mission. And the punishment, which will deduct double experience points, might even drop him down a level. It was something he could not bear. He panted heavily as his lungs seemed to be overworking.


    Finally, the distance between the two of them started getting smaller. Luo Yuan became excited. The Rat King seemed to have felt theing danger, or perhaps it knew that he could no longer escape with its current condition, so after running for a moment longer he stopped abruptly.


    It turned back to face Luo Yuan. Its crimson red eyes were bloodthirsty. The creature howled in a low voice and its muscles pulled up its lips, exposing the sharp teeth which were different from a normal mutated rat¡¯s. The slender tail was swinging slightly at the back of the body while its blood-stained fur was standing up, revealing that the Rat King was ready to attack.


    When Luo Yuan saw it, he reduced his speed and his face became grave. As the saying went, ¡®Though the tiger has died, its authority toward the others is still around¡¯. Though the Rat King was badly injured, it would never allow others to despise it.


    And the atmosphere was filled with the depressing breath which stopped the chirping sounds in the surroundings. Luo Yuan held his knife tightly, focusing on the sanguine eyes of the Rat King. If it was a normal fight, he would drag out the time as long as possible. But time was what hecked now, he had to act fast.


    After staring at each others¡¯ eyes for a while, Luo Yuan moved suddenly. He stepped heavily on the ground, bending his body to almost the same level as thend surface, so that when he dragged his knife through the floor, every step he took formed a shallow hole on the ground. He was like a ferocious tiger, speedily moving forward.


    It was almost at the same time that there came a sonic boom. Though it did note near Luo Yuan yet, his hair blew madly in the wind and his face was cut, which caused many narrow line wounds. While facing the fierce wind, Luo Yuan narrowed his eyes. Though his high agility was dragged down by other body qualities and he wasn¡¯t able to unleash itpletely, his eyesight was not affected. He could see a tail vaguely sweeping towards him. He knew that if he got hit by it, his body would definitely be cut in two.


    His pupil contracted and he held up his Zhanmadao, hacking violently in the air. The moment he cut off the tail, a terribly strong energy was transmitted through the Zhanmadao. Before he was able to react, his body was thrown into the air.


    ¡°Aaaoo!¡±


    The Rat King loudly cried out in pain and used its remaining strength to attack Luo Yuan who was still mid-air. Luo Yuan forcibly controlled his body and fell heavily to the floor. He looked at the Rat King, which wasing over, but did not try to avoid the oing attack. Instead, he scurried forward and the distance between them was shortened quickly.


    ¡°Bang! Bang!¡±


    Luo Yuan¡¯s heart gave a throb and he felt a pricking sensation at his back. He wasn¡¯t able to react and felt a throbbing pain in his back. He hissed softly, moved his body slightly, and another intense pain followed. Then, he realized what had happened. He was both shocked and angry, and could no longer maintain his fighting mood. As he saw the Rat King rush toward him, he flipped and evaded to the side.


    ¡°What are you doing?¡± a shocked and angry voice came from afar. It was Huang Yaoguang¡¯s voice.


    ¡°I wanted to save him but I missed. How can I fire if I am timid and hesitant?¡± Boss Zhou said indifferently and continued to fire. But he was shooting the Rat King already as he thought that Luo Yuan would definitely die after getting hit twice.


    Luo Yuan was furious when he heard the conversation. Everyone would certainly know what boss Zhou was thinking even if he was retarded. He shot his partner in order to get two portions of the Rat King. If Luo Yuan wasn¡¯t wearing the bulletproof vest, he would have already died.


    Such man as Zhou was not fit to live.


    Fortunately, the Rat King was distracted or Luo Yuan would have been in real danger. He tried to feel his body again and it seemed to be alright. Then he jumped up, caught up with the Rat King in a few steps and cut off its thin short leg with a swing of his knife. The running Rat King lost its bnce and slumped to the floor.


    But it wasn¡¯t over yet. Luo Yuan walked quickly toward it, dragging his long knife through the soft part of the stomach to cut it open. The inner organs spilled onto the floor. The Rat King painfully raised up its head, showed its ferocious teeth and tried to bite him.


    However, a bright cold light shed through its throat and the blood oozed out like spring water. Luo Yuan feared that it was not dead yet, so he obliquely cut through its throat until the tip of the knife touched its skull. Only then he pulled out his knife. The head of the Rat King slumped to the floor. The creature was no longer breathing.


    After a few seconds, the notification of the system finally appeared:


    ¡°Optional Mission, E-level Mission: Hunt down and kill the Rat King ispleted. Missionpletion time: 2 hours 5 min.


    Evaluation of the mission: Average¡±


    ¡°Reward: Basic experience value 800¡±


    ¡°Average evaluation: Experience value +0¡±


    ¡°Whuu, we¡¯re finally done.¡±


    Luo Yuan was relieved. Though he only got an average evaluation and received no extra reward, he was still satisfied with managing to finish the mission. He turned to look at the people who wereing over. Their footsteps stopped eventually. The face of boss Zhou was uncertain while his right handwas tightly holding the handgun.


    His face was stern. In a low voice he asked, ¡°Can somebody exin to me what just happened?¡±


    Huang Yaoguang wanted to say something but he was stopped by Luo Yuan. ¡°Chen Haiyan, this boss Zhou was called by you right. I respect you, so what do you think? For firing at partner, how should he be punished?¡±


    Everyone¡¯s eyes quickly moved to boss Zhou and Chen Haiyan.


    Chen Haiyan looked sour and said, ¡°Luo Yuan, it was just an ident, and it may happen during a fight. Fortunately you¡¯re alright, so why don¡¯t we let boss Zhou apologize and thenpensate? What do you say?¡± He hadn¡¯t seen clearly what had happened and thought it was just an ident. Furthermore, he had called boss Zhou to join in this movement and their rtionship was quite good, so he had to keep boss Zhou safe.


    Luo Yuan pointed at Chen Haiyan with his forefinger andughed. Then he glowered. ¡°ident? What ident! I have never heard that two continuous shots were because of an ident. If it wasn¡¯t for wearing a bulletproof vest, how would I have survived that?¡± Luo Yuan walked towards them while talking.


    There was an uproar. The faces of Qian Dakui and the others turned darker as they felt disappointment. After all, nobody wished to have such a person in their team. It was always a taboo to attack in a sly way.


    They stepped back to make room for boss Zhou and his subordinate, and even estranged from Chen Haiyan.


    The face of Chen Haiyan was grim, cursing boss Zhou for being so obsessed that he even wanted to kill a teammate. It would have been alright if the teammate had really died, nobody would fight for a dead person and there would be less people to divide the trophy between. However, he was still alive and Chean Haiyan himself was implicated in the conspiracy.


    Luo Yuan walked toward boss Zhou with a grim face, releasing the breath which caused others¡¯ hearts to throb.


    ¡°What do you want?¡± Boss Zhou asked stubbornly but his tone showed he was kind of admitting his mistake. He stepped slightly backward and his right hand which was holding gun was sweating as he saw Luo Yuan slowlye over.


    ¡°I am a person who clearly distinguished between kindness and hatred. Since you fired at me twice, then I will return with two strikes with my knife. Isn¡¯t that fair?¡± Luo Yuan said. The others moved to the sides. The subordinate of boss Zhou was sweating abnormally. He looked both right and left and moved away hesitantly. Chen Haiyan seemed to want to say something, opening his mouth but remaining quiet in the end.


    ¡°Son of the b*tch!¡± Boss Zhou scolded his subordinate. He swallowed and moved slowly backward and said to Luo Yuan, ¡°Are you not afraid of losing your life?¡±


    ¡°I am more afraid of someone attacking me from behind again!¡± Luo Yuan gazed at him.


    ¡°Then f*ck you!¡± Boss Zhou knew he could not avoid it anymore. So he suddenly raised his right hand and pulled the trigger to shoot at Luo Yuan. As soon as he shot, he felt cold in his hand and then an intense pain.


    He held his broken hand and let out an agonized cry. He kept moving backward, sweat streaming down his face. He was finally frightened. ¡°Oh please, I beg you, Boss Luo! My bad! I won¡¯t do it again. I still have wife and kids, please don¡¯t kill me!¡±


    ¡°If your wife isn¡¯t good looking, you don¡¯t have to worry. If your wife is beautiful, then you have even less to worry about. That was just one strike, you still owe me one more!¡± Luo Yuan said coldly.


    He moved forward, quickly put his Zhanmadao into Boss Zhou¡¯s stomach and twisted it forcefully until the intestines were cut off. Then, he quickly pulled out the knife and fresh blood flowed out slowly. Boss Zhou pressed on his stomach and fell to the floor with an agonized expression. His body twitched, blood oozing out from his mouth as he stared up and said with difficulty, ¡°You...you are so cruel!¡±


    The others looked at Boss Zhou, who was gasping for hisst breath, and then the Rat King with its stomach cut open and the knife cut which went through its throat to the skull. The people felt like they agreed with boss Zhou. However, in that world, if you weren¡¯t cruel to others, they were cruel to you.


    ¡°Since it¡¯s done, shall we start to divide the spoils?¡± Chen Haiyan said. He didn¡¯t seem to be too affected by what had just happened. ¡°We don¡¯t have much time already, those soldiers may soon find us.¡± Because of the limited time, they started to divide the Rat King.


    Luo Yuan stabbed into its neck with his knife¡¯s tip, pulled horizontally with great force and cut off the head. He then chopped off a hind leg and stopped. Though he could get more, it will give a greedy impression to others. Furthermore, he had already gotten the best part.


    His knife was so sharp that it was not excessive to say that it could easily peel metal. Though the skin and flesh of the Rat King was tough, it didn¡¯t hinder the light blue level Zhanmadao much. When Luo Yuan took out a sack to put his trophy in, the others were still cutting the meat with difficulty.


    Luo Yuan took a look at the time, greeted Huang Yaoguang and some others, then chose a road and quickly left. He didn¡¯t dare to stay there for long since the army was looking around. As long as they followed the blood stains, they would be there in no time. If he stayed longer, it would be more dangerous.


    There were still some mutated rats at thendfill. With the sudden escape of their king, they were lost and roamed freely. Luo Yuan killed some of them along his way and put them into his sack so that he could exchange them for gas with fatty Xie and also to cover what was inside.


    When Luo Yuan blended into the crowd, he felt relieved. As he followed the crowd to the shack area, he saw some army jeeps at the junction. There were some fully equipped policemen too. As they still looked rx, apparently, they hadn¡¯t received any messages yet. Luo Yuan just took a look and averted his eyes. Soon, he found fatty Xie. His grain had already sold out. As it had been arge group of mutated rats, it would not be enough to trade even if he had had more grain.


    He stood on a giant stone and was looking around. He wanted to leave as he had already gotten more than enough mutated rat meat because the value of it had quickly plummeted. Furthermore, the meat could notst long like grain. And processed meat wasn¡¯t as profitable as fresh meat. But after thinking for a bit, he resolved to stay. Since he had decided to get to know Luo Yuan, he should not give up. Though the gas was precious, it meant nothing to him as he had connections.


    ¡°Brother Luo, you are finally here. I have been waiting for some time.¡± Fatty Xie jumped off the stone when he saw Luo Yuan and his belly fat flopped.


    ¡°I have been dyed by an incident,¡± Luo Yuan said briefly and switched the topic. ¡°Have you brought the gas?¡±


    ¡°Already brought it here, just waiting for you,¡± Fatty Xie said brightly. ¡°I have a total of 30 liters, how much do you want?¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s deal at some ce with lesser people!¡± Luo Yuan looked at the nearby policemen and said to fatty Xie.


    ¡°Okay, let¡¯s go to the junction then,¡± Fatty Xie agreed, also ncing at where Luo Yuan was looking at. He waved his hand and his two subordinates carried the two stic tanks, each filled with gas.


    They left thendfill and chose a remote corner. Luo Yuan threw all the mutated rats on the floor; there were seven of them. Fatty Xie did not mind the bloody smell at all. He squatted and checked the rats carefully. Apparently every mutated rat had just died as they were still warm. Their wounds were located on the head. The cuts were smooth and went directly into the brain. Every would was also of the same size, like they had been done measuring with a ruler.


    Fatty Xie was amazed and he put a higher value on Luo Yuan. He smiled brightly and said, ¡°On a quick estimation, these mutated rats are about six catties each, five catties once the blood is drained. So, you can get 2.5 liter of gas. Anyway, you can have this tank of 30 liters and pay me the restter.¡±


    Luo Yuan knew Fatty Xie was trying to be good. ording to today¡¯s rate, every catty of mutated rats would not even enough for three catties of grain, so Fatty Xie was suffering losses. But that was the way towork. You had to pay the price before you could earn. Give and take, that¡¯s how a rtionship would be formed. When Luo Yuan thought of it, it wasn¡¯t too bad ¡ª he may need his help in the future, so he said understandingly, ¡°Let¡¯s work cordially together next time.¡±


    When the deal was done, their rtionship suddenly became closer. Fatty Xie said mysteriously, ¡°I heard there was a Rat King today. Did you see it?¡±


    Luo Yuan was shocked but soon he realized that it was alright. He unwillingly said, ¡°Don¡¯t mention it. I feel angry just thinking about what happened. I was about to get it but it was then grabbed by the policemen. I had no choice but to retreat. Or else I wouldn¡¯t have killed even these few rats.¡±


    Fatty Xie didn¡¯t doubt him. He sighed and said softly, ¡°As soon as there¡¯s a leader-leveled organism in Donghu City, the army and the policemen will take it. Now, the price of each catty of that meat is very expensive. If brother Luo can get it, please, do contact me. Price will definitely not be a problem.¡±


    ¡°If I can get some, I will definitely not forget you, Boss Xie. But to meet one of these animals is not only very difficult, but they are also very dangerous too. Thus, even if I can meet one, I may not able to kill it.¡± Luo Yuan was suddenly had a thought and said, ¡°If you can get a heavy caliber sniper rifle, we may have hope.¡± He had a deep impression of the sniper rifles the policemen used. It were just a few shots but the light-blue level animal was already badly wounded. And that was only because they did not hit its vital spots. If the shots had directly hit the Rat King¡¯s head or heart, it would have definitely died instantly.


    If he could get one of those, his next mission would be easy.


    Fatty Xie was shocked. ¡°Brother Luo, you¡¯re too brave. For handguns, government can just omit it because the world has changed. As for sniper rifles, they¡¯re definitely illegal. Even the whole Donghu City doesn¡¯t have that many of them.¡±


    ¡°I thought so too,¡± Luo Yuan said. He didn¡¯t have high hopes, after all. Unless one had connections with the army or high status people, it was impossible to get one of those. Luo Yuan didn¡¯t want to talk anymore so as not to get in trouble and soon left.

 Chapter 24: Evolved Man

    Chapter 24: Evolved Man


    Trantor: Editor:


    As soon as Luo Yuan got back to the rented room, he took out the head and the thigh of the Rat King out from the sack. He was slightly excited and used his identification technique on the meat.


    ¡°The head of the Rat King¡±


    ¡°Function: Food, Material.¡±


    ¡°Rarity: Light Blue.¡±


    ¡°Weight: 10 kg¡±


    ¡°Effect: 1. Slightly strengthens body stamina


    2. Slightly increases strength


    3. Slightly enhances sensory perception


    4. May evolve the body, though the possibility is small.¡±


    ¡°Comment: Its strong teeth and bone can be used to make weapons. Its flesh is rich in activeponents which can enhance your body¡¯s inner qualities and may even evolve it.¡±


    ¡°The thigh of the Rat King¡±


    ¡°Function: Food, Material.¡±


    ¡°Rarity: Light Blue.¡±


    ¡°Weight: 7 kg¡±


    ¡°Effect: 1. Slightly strengthens body stamina


    2. Slightly increases strength


    3. May evolve the body, though the possibility is small.¡±


    ¡°Comment: Its bone can be used to make weapons. Its flesh is rich in activeponents which can enhance your body¡¯s inner qualities and may even evolve it.¡±


    After digesting the messages in his mind, Luo Yuan was excited. ¡°That¡¯s why those people fought so desperately for the Rat King, even the army joining in the fight, too. If everyone knew blue leveled organisms had such effects, many would want to have some. I hadn¡¯t known that blue leveled organisms could not only strengthen the body¡¯s inner qualities but also cause it to evolve.


    ¡°Does that also mean that somebody has already evolved? Recently, many blue leveled organisms in Donghu City have been killed, so there might have been someone lucky enough. How¡¯s it like when they evolve? Do they increase in size like other organisms or does it affect the other properties?¡± If evolving meant increasing in body size, he would rather not to.


    He thought of something and took his hand phone from his bedroom, but its battery waspletely discharged. He changed its battery. As this area was always experiencing ckouts, he had prepared four to five extra batteries. Once the sweet music of switched on the phone rang, he essed the web and searched for evolved men.There were some information about them.


    Luo Yuan opened every site but most of the information was unreliable. Some ces were just talking nonsense without any direct proof. The moment Luo Yuan clicked onto thest post, his face became serious.


    ¡°An evolved man was found in Sha City. He killed a mutated dog with his fist which froze it to death. Proof is in the photo!¡± The picture was very clear with a man, turned away from the camera, in a punching posture. There was a huge frosted mutated dog in front of his fist. Below the post were hundreds of replies.


    ¡°Instinct needs fire, I need sofa.¡±1


    ¡°I¡¯m also in Sha City, why didn¡¯t I know of his existence?¡±


    ¡°It should be fake, this mutated dog must have been brought out from a refrigerator.¡±


    ¡°The doggie is so pitiful, wuwuwu..!¡±


    Most were uselessments. So he scanned through, looking for more valuable information.


    ¡°You feel weird because you haven¡¯t seen it before. Maybe you guys don¡¯t know, but I have a friend who¡¯s an evolved person, though his ability was about strength. And he has been called to serve by the government.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m an evolved man too but I don¡¯t dare to show off so that I won¡¯t be found out.¡±


    ¡°Certainly there are evolved men but they aren¡¯t very superb. I worked in a police station and I used to see one. He was like a normal man, could be killed with a gun, just that he had some special powers.¡±


    When Luo Yuan found out that the evolved men did not change in body size, he was relieved, but at the same time, he felt a sense of urgency too. The most important thing during troubled times was not only power and wealth, but also personal strength.


    As he had no wealth or power, he could only rely on his own strength. How could he be more nourished than others when everyone was struggling to survive and were afraid of tomorrow. It was because of the fact that he was stronger than the other normal people that he could live like he used to. No matter how much the world changed, it was always the strong preying upon the weak. It was just getting more obvious today!


    As Luo Yuan thought that, he acted immediately.


    He took out his Zhanmadao and peeled off the scalp of the Rat King. After washing it, the skull was as smooth as jade. He tried piercing it with his knife and realized that this skull was very hard. As he feared that his Zhanmadao may break, he didn¡¯t dare to use a lot of strength.


    He took out a small axe from his toolbox and hacked at the skull for a few times. Finally, it broke open and the greyish white brain juice poured into a big bowl.


    Then he used his identification technique and found out that it could only enhance sensory perception. But it was not unusual since sensory perception was rted to the brain and not to the other parts of the body.


    After that, he cut the rest of the meat into pieces, washed it and filled one big basin. Luo Yuan set up a pan, turned on the gas and started boiling water. He was clever enough not to put all the meat in to prevent the heat from damaging its effects.


    He only cut a small piece of meat to put it in the boiling water. When it was cooked, he used his identification technique to identify again, and the result showed the difference as expected. It could still strengthen the body¡¯s inner qualities but thest effect ¡®may evolve the body, though the possibility is small¡¯ was gone. It seemed that cooking food destroyed something.


    ¡°Shall I eat it raw?¡± Luo Yuan hesitated. As a person who was used to eating cooked food, he could not just ept the bloody smell of raw meat. But his hesitation copsed like weak building blocks in less than a second under the temptation to evolve. Sacrificing somefort for a chance to evolve; nobody would ever make a wrong choice here!


    Though the raw meat was cleansed and cut into slices, he still felt disgusted when he put it in his mouth. It was his automatic response which could not be suppressed. He took some times to adapt. Gradually, his body became hot. And that condition was simr to what he felt when he upgraded, just weaker. Luo Yuan was thrilled and continued eating the raw meat.


    When he finished two full tes, his stomach was very full, but Luo Yuan didn¡¯t feel anything special. ¡°Maybe it¡¯s not so fast!¡± heforted himself. He waited longer until the warmth gradually disappeared, but he still felt nothing more than the excitement of consuming lots of supplement.


    Luo Yuan turned on the properties column and checked carefully. But it didn¡¯t change at all. He neither evolved nor his properties had upgraded. ¡°Is it I¡¯m that I¡¯m too unlucky or did I not have enough meat?¡± When facing such a situation, Luo Yuan was disappointed but he could only ept the reality. So he marinated the leftover meat to make themst longer.


    When he finished his work, he found that it was 12 o¡¯clock already. But he did not feel sleepy at all. So he practiced his knife skills throughout the night. The next morning, he used the leftover brain juice to cook a bowl of soup and drank it as his breakfast. Then, he fried some of the marinated rat meat, which no longer went bad easily but could still be used as food.


    He could endure the raw meat but not the marinated raw meat. When he thought of the feeling of smooth and salty taste, he felt ufortable. Since he was not able to evolve, instead of continuing hopelessly, it was better to just fill his stomach.


    When the rat meat was fried, the whole kitchen filled with the aroma which increased people¡¯s appetite. Though Luo Yuan had already eaten, he couldn¡¯t help but swallow a mouthful of saliva and greedily eat another few pieces. Though he had just added some salt and his cooking skills weren¡¯t good, the fried meat was so delicious that he enjoyed it very much.


    Soon, he was ready to leave. The car had already been prepared. It was a rtively new Pajero Jeep which cost about three hundred thousand in the old days. Today, however, together with the leftover 8 liters of gas, it cost only two hundred catties of food. It could have been even lower if he had negotiated. With the newly established control over fuel, the cars had be scrap metal. Other than for consuming space in the garage, they weren¡¯t useful for much else.


    Luo Yuan didn¡¯t feel like departing so early because of the incident that urred yesterday. Though he did not reveal anything, it could still be found out easily if somebody was to investigate.


    He never looked down on the government¡¯s and army¡¯s abilities, nor put his hope in someone else. The army had always been a violent organization. If one fought with them for food and got caught, he would either get beaten or worse, lose his life. This was especially so after the copsed societal orde¡ªnobody could ensure their own safety after provoking them.


    After Luo Yuan let the fried rat meat cool down at the living room, he put it in a big stic bag and tied it tight with a rope. Then, his acute hearing heard footsteps at the door and he slightly paused.


    ¡°Who¡¯s there?¡± Luo Yuan tried to ask.


    ¡°Uncle...¡± there came an an answer in a timid voice. Luo Yuan was relieved and opened the door.


    A thirteen or fourteen-years-old girl was hesitantly standing at the door. Her fingers were worryingly agitating her shirt, and she was blushing.


    She was actually neighbor living on the same fourth floor. But the people in the city were said to be cold. Luo Yuan felt like he used to see the youngdy before but he did not know her name. At first, he was confused about her arrival, but soon he knew what was happening. It was the fault of the rat meat which smelled too good. As Luo Yuan saw that her face looked obviously thinner than before, he felt sympathetic. So he said gently, ¡°You are from the opposite side, right? What¡¯s your name?¡±


    ¡°Uncle, I am Wang Shishi!¡±


    ¡°You haven¡¯t had your breakfast, have you? Come in!¡± Luo Yuan said.


    The youngdy was shy, she blushed from just saying her name. She hesitated for a while but still entered. She curiously looked around and then lowered her head, feeling nervous. Luo Yuan opened up a stic bag and filled a te with meat. Then, he took out a box of milk from the no longer working fridge and put it on the table, asking, ¡°Where¡¯re your parents?¡±


    She took a pair of chopsticks to take a piece of meat and put it in her mouth, she then chewed slightly and swallowed. ¡°Dad¡¯s gone to work to the construction site, while my mom went out too. They wille back only at night.¡±


    ¡°Construction site!¡± He just remembered that the entrance to the residential area had a notice for recruitment. The government of the city seemed to want to build something big.


    Looking at the youngdy wolfing down her food, Luo Yuan felt funny and said, ¡°Eat slower and drink some milk. Why doesn¡¯t your mom take you along?¡±


    ¡°My mom said it¡¯s too dangerous and asked me to stay at home.¡± When Wang Shishi felt that Luo Yuan was quite friendly, she started to take it easy. She said recklessly, ¡°Uncle, why do I feel that my body is so hot!¡± She then timidly looked at Luo Yuan.


    Luo Yuan was shocked, and thought that he had heard wrongly as the hint was not what a thirteen or fourteen years old young girl should say. But soon, he found out what was wrong. She was red all over her face, her neck and also her arms.


    Then, the blood was oozing out from her nostrils and dripped on the table in front of her. When Wang Shishi saw the blood, she was shocked and wiped her nose. As she saw her hands full of blood, she was so nervous that she pushed the bowl and chopsticks away and cried loudly, ¡°Uncle, please don¡¯t kill me...wuwuwu... I will not eat greedily again. I...I¡¯m still a virgin, willing to do anything!¡± The girls today knew everything they should know and also what they shouldn¡¯t know as they have been using inte since a young age.


    Well, nobody could me the youngdy for her misunderstanding. She had just wanted to eat something and ate it until her body was hot and then her nose started to bleed. Anyone would find it unusual.


    Luo Yuan felt sorry and med himself for not being more attentive. It was important pay heed to the type of one¡¯s body before eating ginseng. And this flesh of blue leveled organism was apparently stronger than the ginseng as it containedrge amounts of absorbable activeponents. Luo Yuan¡¯s body¡¯s inner qualities were very strong, and he still felt hot after eating. But this youngdy¡¯s inner qualites were not even as strong as those of a normal adult, so the result shouldn¡¯t have been unexpected. If the energy wasn¡¯t gentle, the end result wouldn¡¯t have been as simple as a nose bleed already.


    ¡°Alright, please don¡¯t cry!¡± Luo Yuan scolded.


    Wang Shishi was so scared that she stopped herself from crying and sobbed.


    ¡°Raise your head and lie on the chair. How do you feel now?¡±


    ¡°I am still feeling hot.¡± Wang Shishi timidly answered.


    ¡°Don¡¯t stand up, okay?¡± Luo Yuan said with a straight face.


    ¡°I will be very obedient and will not move.¡± Wang Shishi was very scared, and so she sat there trembling, uncertain where to put her hands.


    Luo Yuan took out a towel from the washroom and moistened it with water. When he got back to the living room, she was still there, lying on the chair, not moving. He walked toward her and put the towel on her head. ¡°You will be alright. You are still young and I don¡¯t know what you were thinking. Anyway, I¡¯m going out soon, so you can go back first.¡±


    ¡°Yes, uncle!¡± Wang Shishi felt that she must have misunderstood and was vert embarrassed while holding the wet towel. ¡°Then I¡¯ll go first, uncle.¡± Her watery eyes kept looking at the unfinished rat meat.


    ¡°Take it, take it! But please don¡¯t eat it again to prevent your nose from bleeding again.¡± Luo Yuan said impatiently.


    ¡°Thank you uncle.¡± Wang Shishi grinned.


    Trantor Notes


    1 The sentence should be meaningless or just some modern intenguage because thementer may have just wanted to be the first person who replied to the post or to earn more points as a member of the forum.

 Chapter 25: The Large Group of Insects

    Chapter 25: The Large Group of Insects


    Trantor: Editor:


    Luo Yuan drove out of Jingyue District. The road was t and the cars were rarely seen.


    Luo Yuan just started to drive when dizziness struck him. He wasn¡¯t aware of it at the beginning as he thought it was the result of the insomnia he had.


    But soon he felt something was wrong.


    The surroundings suddenly became very noisy and then silent. His sight started to distort and turn vague.


    Luo Yuan braked and stopped the car at the roadside.


    He rubbed his face, trying to wake himself but it got worse instead. His mind buzzed like there were lots of mosquitoes inside. He was certain his head was going to split open at any moment. ¡°What¡¯s happening, nothing like this had happened before!¡±


    He kept taking deep breaths, resting on the seat and trying to maintain his equanimity.


    Fortunately, as the time passed, all the illusions faded.


    Gradually, an amazing feeling came. He closed his eyes and enjoyed it. He wondered whether it was an illusion that he could sense his surroundings. Though he had closed his eyes, he could still sense the rough location of certain objects.


    Suddenly, he reached out his hands and grabbed something from a corner in the car. When he opened his eyes, he was shocked to see that it was a palm sized mickey doll which had been thrown to the corner.


    Luo Yuan was sure he hadn¡¯t noticed such doll in the car prior to closing his eyes. The ce was dark, as it was usual now, after all. But somehow he¡¯d known there was something in the corner and could roughly estimate its size too.


    No reason, no exnation¡ªit waspletely illogical.


    He kept experiencing the feeling and took out things from time to time: something from a toolbox, magazine, one-time use cup, and even a box of condom. He hadn¡¯t checked what was in the car when buying it, and the toolbox was also closed but it hadn¡¯t affected his senses. It was as if the toolbox was transparent.


    When he realized that it wasn¡¯t a coincidence but real, he felt surprise and excited simultaneously. He knew clearly the strength of such an ability. If somebody would attack him from behind, he could sense it without turning his back. If he¡¯d had such a power yesterday, he would have dared to attack the group of rats by himself. Though such a power didn¡¯t directly enhance his killing strength but it was more like a lubricant to a machine, and it will definitely help a lot in both fighting and surviving.


    After about 10 minutes, his brain finally awokepletely. And he was even more energetic.


    Then the notification sound from the system came into his mind.


    ¡°Beep, Sensory Perception +1¡±


    ¡°So, this is the sensory perception! I thought I had evolved... Then it must because of drinking the brain juice. I didn¡¯t know the reaction would be so much more intense whenpared to the system gently adding a point. Enhancing inner qualities using the flesh of mutated organisms seems to be rougher and more dangerous. I should be more careful when I drink next time.¡±


    ¡°But the body stamina and strength didn¡¯t changed at all. This type of light blue color organism could only help before the property reached 11 points, and when it was above that, the effect would no longer be obvious.¡± Luo Yuan analyzed within himself.


    ¡°But I could get a property point; it¡¯s already a surprise to me.¡± He was slightly disappointed but his mind-set adjusted quickly. He started to familiarize himself with this rtively mysterious property.


    He roughly estimated the range he could sense and the result was about three meters. Anything that entered that range would not able to escape from his senses. But when that something was outside the range, Luo Yuan was no different from a normal person.


    Actually, everyone had sensory perception. For example, when somebody stares at you, you will look at him suddenly. Another example is, if somebody is standing secretly behind you and though he does not make any sound, you will still feel ufortable like something is behind you. It is just the sensory perception of a normal person is very weak and is always being neglected.


    Luo Yuan rested for a while before he got back on the road. When he reached the highway located at the outskirts of the city, the number of cars increased slightly. However, those were not private cars but the army¡¯s heavy trucks with tires close to the height of an adult. They were all carrying various goods and materials. And theserge metallic trucks passed by Luo Yuan quite frequently, making his jeep vibrate slightly each time.


    Luo Yuan switch on his radio. The receivable stations were very few and all of them were reporting news. The entertainment radio stations had already closed down.


    ¡°......****the central called for an emergency army meeting regarding the sea monster case at the eastern sea region. Allrge military regions near the coastal areas of south east are ready for first level war.¡±


    ¡°The temporary panel of the government during war raised the danger level again and also pointed out that the living organism crisis is a great challenge to the survival of human beings. Once again, the panel appealed to the people to keep calm and be united. The Central Republic Government will restore the order of the society as fast as possible and will also recover the society¡¯s manufacture...¡±


    ¡°Brazil¡¯s economic capital, Sao Paulo, fellpletely and there were more than a hundred thousand people who died. Brazil¡¯s Ministry of Foreign Affairs has requested a military support from the more powerful countries. It is reported that therge group of animals are mostly from the quickly expanding Amazon region, some of whose organisms are demonstrating some obvious mutations.¡±


    ¡°The flight which the vice president of European Union, Mr. Eros, took was attacked bybirds and the ne crashed in Switzend. A total of 18 personnel on board died.¡±


    Luo Yuan listened to the radio calmly. He even took out a bottle of mineral water to drink while listening. As the situation had be very bad, Luo Yuan wouldn¡¯t be surprised if he heard something unbelievable.


    He touched the steering wheel, thinking of where he should go.


    He had left in a hurry, without preparing much, and had no idea about his destination.


    He didn¡¯t notice when the sky started to gradually darken. It seemed to have been covered by the clouds but the mineral water on the ss stand was shaking and forming ripples from time to time. Sometimes Luo Yuan even heard buzzing sounds.


    While he was still driving, he suddenly felt a throb in his heart and was struck by sense of indescribable impatience, panic, and chill.


    Then, the ear-splitting siren of an air defense warning tore through the serene atmosphere. As Luo Yuan had never heard such a sound before, it was difficult for him to find a suitable adjective to describe it. It seemed to be able to prate through every ce, including both the hearts of the strong and the weak-willed.


    He unconsciously raised his head to take a look and the sight sent a chill down his body. It was akin to falling into an ice cer.


    A huge green colored face appeared in the sky.


    As the distance was too great, Luo Yuan couldn¡¯t estimate the actual size of the face and was uncertain when it had appeared.


    The face looked vague and unreal, but it was the face of a man. Though, what made people chilled was the fact that the face was continuously changing its expression. It could be angry at one time, butugh, smile or frown at another.


    And the buzzing from afar was getting louder. It started indistinctly but was bing so loud that it even covered the sound of the siren.


    The loud sound wave had caused Luo Yuan¡¯s blood to vibrate uncontrobly which left him dizzy and nauseated.


    As the face in the sky got bigger, the look became more vague. Luo Yuan quickly realized that it wasn¡¯t a single organism but was formed by millions of green dots.


    Luo Yuan knew that the nature had lots of organisms which demonstrated some simr traits in order to threaten their enemies. For example, lots of small fish gathered together to pretend to be a big fish while some peculiar moths would also gather together and form a weird design.


    As human being were positioned at the top of the food chain in the nature, they had an overwhelming advantage in thepetition, thus they would naturally be imitated by other organisms.


    Then, a heavy truck suddenly plowed into a guardrail, rolled over on one side and gave a loud noise. As the heavy truck generated terrific forces, they added with the violent friction against the concrete surface and produced a long spark of one meter high.


    The sight woke Luo Yuan.


    It didn¡¯t matter what wasing. If he wanted to live, he had to leave this ce.


    He quickly turned the steering wheel, pressed hard on the elerator and drove back. The car jetted out a dense ck smoke and sped down the road.


    He looked back and the face seemed to have grown bigger. Its speed was very fast, though Luo Yuan was racing as fast he could, he wasn¡¯t able to get rid of it.


    Worried, he took a nce to both sides and drove his car toward the **** nearby.


    The security there were already hiding inside the building. The electric gate was closing tightly, but Luo Yuan could no longer stop the car.


    ¡°Bang!¡±


    Came a loud noise, and the electric gate was smashed open.


    The jeep careened into the building and stopped only in front of the registration building.


    Luo Yuan had no time to attend to his baggage; he only took his knife and jumped out of the car.


    The ss door of the registration building was locked from inside. About twenty of the workers were watching in panic at the lobby. When they saw somebody run toward them, they became vignt.


    One of the workers was suddenly delighted. She talked to the security guards and the door was opened.


    Luo Yuan was relieved and quickly walked into the lobby.


    ¡°Xiao Luo, why are you here?¡± a youngdy wearing a light grey office wear asked in disbelief.


    Luo Yuan was slightly stupefied. He turned and said with surprise, ¡°Sister Huang, aren¡¯t you a policeman at Gaotang? Why are you working here now?¡±


    The person who was speaking was Huang Jiahui. The two of them had met while for Chen Weiqiang at Gaotang. But since then, they didn¡¯t keep in contact.


    ¡°The family has been opposing me being a cop. Furthermore, that near escape had somehow ruined my life, so I quit.¡± Huang Jiahuiughed at herself. ¡°But nobodyes to register now, so it¡¯s quite free here. Maybe I¡¯ll soon be transferred to another department.¡±


    Though Huang Jiahui described it indifferently, Luo Yuan knew that if she didn¡¯t have a certain family background, it would be difficult for her to be transferred to another department.


    ¡°Both of you are old friends that just met up, but, brother, you just came in from outside, do you know what¡¯s that human face?¡± a middle aged man, who looked like a leader and had a huge beer belly, asked worriedly aftering over.


    ¡°Xiao Luo, this is Manager Sun,¡± Huang Jiahui introduced.


    ¡°Let¡¯s talk about itter!¡± Luo Yuan stopped the conversation as he felt that the sound outside was getting louder.


    The face of manager Sun suddenly turned sour.


    Luo Yuan walked toward the ss door, put his hands on the surface and felt numbness through them. The ss door was vibrating in high frequency. The situation was worse than he¡¯d expected. So he turned to Huang Jiahui and said, ¡°It¡¯s not safe here. The ss door will soon break.¡±


    ¡°Brother, are you kidding me? This is bulletproof ss door, how can it break?¡± manager Sun said, interrupting him.


    As soon as he finished his sentence, a huge green colored insectnded like a lightning on the step.


    Manager Sun was frightened and drew a step backward.


    The shuttle-like shaped insect was covered with a shiny exoskeleton. Its two pairs of hind legs had tapering sharp ends like four thin and sharp des while all of the front legs¡¯ joints were pulled back into the chest. And from Luo Yuan¡¯s point of view, these front legs appeared to be even more dangerous.


    This about one meter long beautiful insect was like a creation of God. However, Luo Yuan couldn¡¯t imagine how horrible it would be when it moved.


    In the meantime, there were other insects werending on the steps. And soon, the whole ce were filled with insects.


    As the buzzing sound outside got louder, the ss continued to vibrate and then the vibration became more violent until the whole ss door started to tinkle. Suddenly, it cracked and a narrow white line appeared on the ss door. Then, there were more and more white lines spreading out like a spider web.


    ¡°Ahhh! Help!¡±


    ¡°Run!.¡±


    The people were frightened, and the room into chaos as everyone was trying to escape in a different direction.


    ¡°Help me, Xiao Luo!¡± Huang Jiahui screamed in panic.


    ¡°Just follow me,¡± Luo Yuan roared. He didn¡¯t dare to pull Huang Jiahui because he had learned his lesson as he was almost dragged to deathst time.


    Huang Jiahui followed immediately. Besides her, manager Sun and other five people followed too.


    ¡°Anypletely sealed room here?¡± Luo Yuan shouted while running.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡± Huang Jiahui shook her head anxiously. She had just started to work here and wasn¡¯t too familiar with the ce yet. Besides, how could she recall anything when she was so frightened?


    ¡°Fourth floor, there¡¯s a small meeting room at the fourth floor,¡± aely girl replied.


    When manager Sun saw Luo Yuan run toward the entrance of the staircase, he reminded, ¡°Why don¡¯t we take a lift, we have electricity all the time here.¡±


    ¡°We can¡¯t make it. There are many uncertainties if we take a lift. Besides, many people will think of taking the lift and that will slow us down!¡± Luo Yuan exined.


    Manager Sun agreed. If many people triedt to squeeze into the two lifts, it would be another problem of the door being unable to close.


    Then there was the sound ss shattering, soon followed by gun shots and screams.


    Luo Yuan tensed. He ran toward the staircase and with just a few steps he had already reached the first floor. He actually reduced his speed on purpose, else the rest wouldn¡¯t be able to follow him.


    The horrible cries and the calls for help outside urged them to run even faster toward fourth floor.


    Manager Sun was panting heavily as he used to drink alcohol which had weakened his body. Normally, he would start gasping for air after walking a short distance, but now he even had to climb the staircase. When he reach the second floor, he had already fallen behind.


    ¡°Manager Sun, let me help you,¡± a young man said, looking back and stopping immediately to help manager Sun.


    ¡°Good, good! Xiao Chen, you are good. Thankfully I didn¡¯t misjudge you.¡± Manager Sun said breathlessly, patting his shoulder.


    That young man called Xiao Chen was happy to be praised and quickly pulled manager Sun up the staircase.


    Suddenly, the window of the third floor shattered and the pieces of ss slid off the staircase like drops of rain.


    Manager Sun identally stepped on the sliding pieces of ss, his body nted and he slumped on the floor. The next moment, he sprang up like he¡¯d gotten an electric shock as his butt was pricked by the pieces of ss and bled.


    ¡°Are you alright, manager Sun?¡± Xiao Chen tried to stifle augh.


    Manager Sun waved his hand with an agonized face. ¡°Why¡¯s this window broke only at this very hour? Please, help me pull out these pieces of ss first. Ouch, it¡¯s painful.¡±


    Xiao Chen pulled out a fewrge pieces while manager Sun yelled in pain. Then, Xiao Chen said, ¡°Manager Sun, let¡¯s go first and settle the restter.¡±


    Xiao Chen was looking at the broken window worriedly as he feared that the insect woulde in anytime. As soon as he finished his sentence, he was scared that manager Sun would be displeased with him and continued to exin, ¡°Since we don¡¯t have any medicine right now, we may not able to clean them uppletely.¡±


    ¡°Alright!¡± Manager Sun knew it wasn¡¯t the right time to do it now. As the others had run far, he became anxious and said, ¡°Let¡¯s go faster.¡±


    But neither of them was aware that a giant beetle had silentlye in through the window and swiftlynded on the floor.

 Chapter 26: Trapped

    Chapter 26: Trapped


    Trantor: Trantion Nation Editor: Trantion Nation


    ¡°Where¡¯s that?¡± Luo Yuan climbed up to the fourth floor and asked.


    ¡°It¡¯s just further ahead, near the washroom along the walkway,¡± the pretty girl said while gasping. She could not wait to lie down on the floor.


    They ran another 50-60 meters and came back to the entrance of the small meeting room. ¡°Oh shit! We don¡¯t have the key!¡± Huang Jiahui became a little disappointed.


    "It¡¯s fine." Luo Yuan checked the door and realized it was a sturdy wooden door, he then lowered one of his shoulders and mmed against it.


    "Bang!"


    The door burst open.


    They entered the small meeting room which was about 60 square meters wide. It seemed like a small ssroom instead. Luo Yuan took a look at the surroundings and quickly moved a few tables to block the entrance. The room immediately became darker.


    Huang Jiahui switched on the lights and the exhaust fan and then leaned on the chair. ¡°It¡¯s so tiring. Howe Sun Zhuren and Shen are not back yet? Qian Qian, since you were behind us, did you see them?" Only then did she realize that there were two people missing.


    ¡°They were at the back. Sun Zhuren was walking together with Shen Xiu, and they should be here soon,¡± Cao Qianqian said, trying his best to recall what he¡¯d seen.


    ¡°Shen Xiu is good at bootlicking, huh. He even remembered to do so at this time," a guy wearing attice shirt said, frowning.


    "Zhao Tianming, it¡¯d better if you could say something good instead of being sarcastic. You can do the same if you want to excel,¡± Cao Qianqian could not take his sarcasm and scolded him.


    ¡°Just stop talking, don¡¯t bring the insects here!¡± Huang Jiahui interrupted them.


    Both of them quickly shut up and suddenly they heard footsteps. Cao Qianqian was happy and tried to move away the tables.


    Luo Yuan stopped her and said, "Don¡¯t move, this is not the footsteps of a human."


    The sound was clear and regr like someone hitting the floor with a nail at a certain frequency. All of them became pale.


    "Just stay here first, there is only one green bug outside, so we are rtively safe now." He thought they were going to stay there until the bugs left. However, something in his mind changed his n.


    ¡°E-Level Mission triggered¡±


    ¡°Mission: Kill 10 Green Bugs!¡±


    ¡°Time length: 3 days. (ept/Decline)¡±


    The system sent him a mission. ¡°Damn! Are you trying to kill me?¡± Luo Yuan cursed angrily, but he epted the mission. He was just one step away from being ranked Level 5. He would get upgraded immediately once hepleted the mission regardless of him gaining one or five bonus skill points. All his skills would get a big upgrade if he could kill all the bugs. Besides that, he could not just decline the mission as he was already in this situation. If he needed to fight anyway, might as well just ept the mission.


    The footsteps were getting closer to them and nearer to the door. The sound suddenly stopped and everyone held their breath. Nobody dared to move, it almost felt like the air had frozen too.


    The next second, there was a sharp and irritating sounding from the door, it sounded like the bug was scratching at the door with a piece of metal. The other thing that made all of them copse in fear was that another bug was also walking toward the meeting room.


    ¡°What now, Yuan?¡± Huang Jiahui asked Luo Yuan as she knew he was stronger than anyone else in the room and was also the only person carrying a weapon.


    Luo Yuan thought for a moment and then said, ¡°I don¡¯t think the door canst long, so we need to kill the two bugs outside. Otherwise, we¡¯ll be killed when theye in here.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t open the door! You want us to die?¡± Zhao Tianming screamed out in a low voice. "They won¡¯t be able toe in. We have many people here and there are many tables blocking the door.¡±


    ¡°Yes, you¡¯re right! We should move the tables there, hurry up!¡± Cao Qianqian refused to take the risk and quickly moved some tables over. Zhao Tianming also helped her carry the tables.


    Luo Yuan was conflicted as he needed to kill the green bugs andplete the mission and he knew there was a good opportunity to catch them one by one outside. However, he also knew the bugs would definitely rush into the room if the door was opened. He worried that they would then hurt or even kill the staff. He hesitated to sacrifice those innocent people just for the sake ofpleting the mission. Although he had changedpared to the time before animal mutation, but he was still not a cold-blooded person.


    ¡°Why are you still standing there? Come and move the table!¡± Zhao Tianming said as he saw Luo Yuan just standing there and doing nothing. Luo Yuan didn¡¯t want to argue with him and proceeded to help them. ¡°Keep holding a knife and pretending!¡± Zhao Tianming whispered when Luo Yuan walked toward them.


    Nobody knew whether he¡¯d said it intentionally as Cao Qianqian could hear it even though she was standing at the far end. Luo Yuan looked serious and stopped, he turned around and walked towards Zhao Tianming.


    He wasn¡¯t a calctive person or someone who couldn¡¯t take any criticism. But the main problem was a person like Zhao Tianming could be a bomb that could exploded at any time when everyone was busy fighting together.


    ¡°What do you want to do?¡± Zhao Tianming asked fiercely.


    ¡°Xiao Luo, please calm down. Zhao Tianming, quickly apologize.¡± Huang Jiahui knew Luo Yuan had learned martial arts before and he could easily kill Zhao Tianming.


    ¡°Why should I apologize? I didn¡¯t say anything wrong.¡± Zhao Tianming refused to apologize.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I just wanted to tell him a story,¡± Luo Yuan said, stopping Huang Jiahui. ¡°I think you probably aren¡¯t aware of this, but ten days ago there were around seven gangsters who challenged me like you just did. I used my knife to chop off their heads and hands. Yesterday, someone shot me from behind and I chopped off his hand and then poked through his stomach. Even cut his intestines. So do you want to try your luck?¡± Luo Yuan asked Zhao Tianming.


    Luo Yuan¡¯s coldness and his obvious killing intent made Zhao Tianming terrified. He felt as if his heart was squeezed tightly and his legs were numb. He didn¡¯t even realize his shirt was wet. Zhao Tianming could actually br better off but Luo Yuan had intentionally scared him to teach him a lesson. He was just an ordinary person so the pressure was enough to make him copse.


    ¡°Please remember, if you don¡¯t have the guts to fight, then don¡¯t challenge others. Otherwise, you will die terribly,¡± Luo Yuan said.


    ¡°You, you¡¯ve killed people before?¡± Cao Qianqian immediately felt regret and didn¡¯t dare to look at Luo Yuan. These people used to work in the government sector and had received sufficient food supply to live a stable life. Those things made their minds stay in the past even if they were aware of the current chaos. None of them really understood what was happening outside.


    "There are so many people dying in the city, so who cares if they are being killed by mutated animals or by human beings?" Luo Yuan said, turning around to look at her.


    Cao Qianqian was frightened and remained silent.


    ¡°I think that¡¯s enough, don¡¯t scare her anymore,¡± Huang Jiahui urged him. She then turned around and talked to Cao Qianqian. "He was trying to protect himself, and self-protection is legalized ording to the Law."


    If one had a crush on the other, the bad things they did would not affect their feelings. Huang Jiahui didn¡¯t realize that she was in a good mood from the moment Luo Yuan came. After a while, there were more and more footsteps drawing closer to them until they could no longer identify how many more bugs were outside. The corridor was very noisy.


    The strong wooden door was shaking repeatedly. A long, sharp, and semi-transparent leg slipped in through a newly made gap in the door. Cao Qianqian covered her mouth and the tears rolled down from her eyes.


    Luo Yuan immediately pushed against the door as he saw the scene and the bug¡¯s leg got stuck but did not break. The leg seemed to be quite strong.


    ¡°You,e and push the door.¡± Luo Yuan instructed Zhao Tianming. He was quite obedient after being threatened by Luo Yuan and quickly walked over and followed what he was told to do. Human beings were almost always the same, they liked to bully the nice people but were scared of the fierce ones. They didn¡¯t listen when others talked nicely to them. However, they would be very obedient and follow all the instructions once their life was threatened.


    Luo Yuan waited for Zhao Tianming to press on the door. He took out the Zhanmadao and sliced the bug¡¯s leg. Surprisingly, the bug¡¯s leg wasn¡¯t broken even by the sharp knife. Luo Yuan only managed to cut half of the bug¡¯s leg before feeling exhausted. This was way harder than the time when he bumped into the king of the rats. The green bug was triggered by the pain and produced some weird sound which sounded like boiling water. The insect crazily banged the door with a great force. Luo Yuan pulled back the knife and chopped at the same spot again. Finally, he managed to break off the leg!


    He picked up the long green leg, which looked slightly different from the bug¡¯s body. The leg was semi-transparent and shiny, and looked very strong. People might think it was an emerald if they didn¡¯t know it hade from a bug. Luo Yuan didn¡¯t use much strength and the sharp leg cut into the wooden table. It was easy imaginable that it would be very easy to use this to pierce into a human body.


    Luo Yuan used his super power to identify the bug¡¯s leg.


    ¡°Sharp leg from a green bug.¡±


    ¡°Function: Material.¡±


    ¡°Rarity: Light Blue¡±


    ¡°Weight: 50 grams¡±


    ¡°Comment: It¡¯s very strong and sharp, perhaps you can make it into a weapon.¡±


    ¡°Light Blue!¡±


    Although he has been prepared psychologically, Luo Yuan still couldn¡¯t hold his temper when he confirmed the difficulty of this mission. A light blue creature again, and this time there were several of them. The light blue creature seemed to be less valuable now? Why were there so many required or an E- mission?


    In fact, it was really not easy for him toplete this mission. It was simr to him killing ten king rats or ten big snakes. He felt hopeless when he thought about it. He pulled out the sharp leg and passed it to Huang Jiahui. ¡°Hui, you hold this for self-protection.¡±


    Huang Jiahui was a police officer before and her mental condition was stronger than that of an ordinary person. If it had to be justified with a number then her determination level should be around 10-11 which was stronger than what normal people possessed. This should make her braver than the other two during a critical moment.


    Huang Jiahui took the sharp leg and said, ¡°Thanks!¡±


    Zhao Tianming and Cao Qianqian envied her but they didn¡¯t say anything as both of them weren¡¯t as close to Luo Yuan.


    The green bug kept banging the door and producing the weird sound.


    ¡°Bang! Bang! Bang!¡±


    Zhao Tianming seemed to be giving up as he sweated a lot and said, ¡°I¡¯m exhausted, I don¡¯t think I can¡¯t continue. Cao Qianqian, please help.¡±


    Cao Qianqian peeped at Luo Yuan and then looked at Huang Jiahui, only then did she walk over hesitantly.


    ¡°Wait!¡± Luo Yuan seemed to have an idea. ¡°I don¡¯t think this is a good way and it can¡¯t be sustained for long. Jiahui and Qianqian please stay back, while Zhao Tianming, you don¡¯t push too hard so that this bug can enter and I can kill it.¡±


    ¡°Luo Yuan, do you really think you can manage this?¡± Zhao Tianming wanted to reject but he did not dare to do so.


    "Don¡¯t worry, I don¡¯t simply make a decision if I can¡¯t handle it," Luo Yuan replied.


    Zhao Tianming felt slightly relieved and told himself inside, ¡°The worst thing that could happen is death, chill!¡± He slowly released the door and the gap begun to grow. A cable-like antenna came into the room first, and then the bug pushed against the door to make the gap bigger. It began to push the head in as well. It looked like aplicated robot, which freaked them out.


    Zhao Tianming slowly boosted his courage and prepared to escape. At that moment, he suddenly saw a beam of light cross in front of him followed by very strange sound.


    ¡°Close the door!¡±


    Zhao Tianming immediately mmed it shut when he heard Luo Yuan¡¯s shout. He turned around and pressed on the table with his back. He slowly sat down on the floor and stayed stationary.

 Chapter 27: Bomb

    Chapter 27: Bomb


    Trantor: Editor:


    ¡°Not bad!¡± Luo Yuan said.


    Zhao Tianming was surprised by thepliment. He got up from the ground and bowed down slightly. He never did that even in front of his superiors. However, the second phrase from Luo Yuan was truly horrifying.


    ¡°Please do what you did just now when the bugse again.¡±


    Zhao Tianming didn¡¯t dare to reject and forcefully said, ¡°Alright.¡±


    Luo Yuan didn¡¯t bother with his sincerity. What mattered was that he could follow what Luo Yuan said. He walked toward the head of the green bug and saw some greenish liquid all over the floor. It smelled pungent.


    Luo Yuan chopped off the green bug¡¯s head while its body was outside the door. The mouth of the head was still moving even after being detached from the body. Luo Yuan used his knife to tap on its eyes and heard a sound-


    ¡°Png! Png¡±.


    It was like knocking on a rock.


    Huang Jihui walked closer to Luo Yuan and squatted beside him. ¡°Wow! Its eyes are so beautiful, its like there are a few little stars inside,¡± she said.


    Cao Qianqian hesitated but still went closer to check it out. She was afraid but also curious about the insect¡¯s head.


    Luo Yuan suddenly got up.


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± Huang Jiahui asked nervously.


    Luo Yuan tried to focus and listened carefully. ¡°More areing, a total of four bugs! Watch out!¡± he warned them.


    Cao Qianqian was shocked while Zhao Tianming became very pale. One was bad enough but now there were four!


    ¡°Jiahui, Cao Qianqian and Zhao Tianming, all of you please press against the door. We should follow the n that Tianming did just now. Let theme in one by one and then leave them to me," Luo Yuan instructed them. He was only shaken by the first attacker and was now in control of the situation.


    "Alright!" Cao Qianqian replied.


    ¡°Xiao Luo, are you sure? There are four of them,¡± Huang Jiahui asked anxiously.


    ¡°As long as the door isn¡¯t broken, four is almost the same as one. Therefore, you must hold the door properly, and if they really break in, you better pray they are all vegetarian.¡±


    Cao Qianqian was badly frightened and her body begun to shake. She might have copsed if Huang Jiahui didn¡¯t support her.


    The four bugs were hungry and very soon they arrived at the doorstep. It was natural for them to hunt for food even if there was dead corpse of their buddy lying in the way. One of the huge ones squeezed through its friends and slipped its head between the gap where the de was just right above its head. The bug desperately chewed the internal organs of its buddy.


    The other three made way for the aggressive one and attacked the other parts of the body. They easily broke the shell and a lot of greenish liquid spilled everywhere. The big bug was eaten by its buddies. In less than a minute, there was nothing left.


    Apparently, a green bug wasn¡¯t enough for the four of them, and their antennas sensed something more delicious. One of the bigger bugs raised its head and made a sound.


    "Glru, glru.¡±


    It then poked through the wooden door and made a loud explosive noise. The next second, its legs hit the wall and left four holes in it.


    The door was hit hard, and the other green bugs also did the same. However, the wooden door was too small for all the green bugs. It could only fit two. So two of the less dominant bugs were left anxiously waiting behind, their legs continuously scratching the floor tiles. This created a lot of long and deep marks.


    The door kept opening and closing as both the bugs and the humans were trying to open and close the door at the same time. That was a battle for survival in which the defeated party was going to die.


    However, after a while, the gap got bigger as most of them were exhausted. "I can¡¯t continue anymore, I have no more energy," Cao Qianqian cried out in fear.


    ¡°Please be persistent if you don¡¯t want to die. Otherwise, the bugs wille in!¡± Zhao Tianming tried to convince her. ¡°Don¡¯t panic, rx... rx...¡±


    Luo Yuan tried his best to calm down and held his knife tightly. Perhaps fear could help to unleash some powerful skills but it could also cause one to feel numb and stunned for a long period of time. If Luo Yuan also expressed this emotions, the other three would not be able to continue fighting. He knew all of them would die once the four bugs broke into the meeting room.


    Cao Qianqian felt slightly better and more energetic. Suddenly, there was a strong force hitting the door which left a big hole in it. Two bugs from the group immediately squeezed into the room and everyone began to scream. Cao Qianqian was horrified and fell to the ground. Yellowish liquid dripped onto her body and it smelled awful. It was beyond everyone¡¯s expectations to fight two bugs at the same time.


    Luo Yuan felt numbness in his back but quickly lifted his knife and then attacked the weak spots of one of the bugs. The first bug was busy looking for more food and neglected Luo Yuan¡¯s existence which caused it to lose its life. It screamed out its pain but could barely move anymore. Luo Yuan immediately went closer and struck its back to make a long and deep wound.


    The other bug noticed that something was wrong. It shook its body and extended two of its forelimbs.


    ¡°Png!"


    The action of its forelimbs extending made a sound which caused Luo Yuan to be dizzy. He tried to evade the forelimbs of the bug as they struck at his chest and scratched the snakeskin vest. All its scales shattered into small pieces and fell to the floor. And now the snakeskin bulletproof vest owned by Luo Yuan was exposed.


    Only Huang Jiahui was still conscious and yelled, ¡°Close the door! Close the door!¡±


    Zhao Tianming looked at the two green bugs in the room and shivered. He quickly pushed the door and closed it. Cao Qianqian also quickly got up from the ground. It was felt like a long time but the whole scene had happened in only a few seconds.


    The bug which had been attacked by Luo Yuan was furious. Luo Yuan rushed to the bug again with his knife and attacked its left shoulder before it could even respond. The bug almost split into two pieces and finally fell to the floor.


    Luo Yuan felt relieved for a second. However, he realized the other bug wasn¡¯t dead yet and immediately gave it another strike to kill it. He breathed heavily from exhaustion.


    Although the fight was just a few seconds of work, it was a very dangerous battle which required his full concentration. They would¡¯ve all died if he¡¯d been careless.


    The three were doing their very best to hold the door when they noticed the room was quiet. That made them tense up. The two arrogant bugs were lying in a puddle of greenish liquid, ughtered in a way they were almost split in two.


    Everyone was amazed as they looked at Luo Yuan who was breathing heavily while leaning against the wall. Huang Jiahui couldn¡¯t believe that Luo Yuan had just killed the two crazy bugs so easily.


    ¡°Luo... Yuan, shall we let the other two enter the room?¡± Zhao Tianming suddenly asked.


    ¡°Let them in, but one by one. If I had reacted just a bit slower, we would have died,¡± Luo Yuan said calmly.


    Cao Qianqian felt shameful and said, ¡°I¡¯m sorry.¡±If she hadn¡¯t taken a rest, the door wouldn¡¯t have opened and the bugs wouldn¡¯t havee in.


    Luo Yuan wanted to scold her very badly but if he did it now, then it would be bad for the situation. He helplessly shook his head and said, "I believe most people would react that way, be more careful next time."


    Cao Qianqian was very grateful and the way she viewed Luo Yuan changed slightly. Perhaps the presence of Luo Yuan could help boost the courage and confidence of these people.


    Things got smoother after that and the other two bugs didn¡¯t create any big problems under the supervision of the three of them. Luo Yuan managed to kill the two bugs. All of their dead bodies were dragged into the meeting room to avoid attracting more bugs.


    Huang Jiahui sat down on a bench and saw a puddle of water further in the room. She asked, ¡°Is there any water in the room? I¡¯m thirsty.¡±


    Zhao Tianming knew what was going on just now and said, ¡°Oops, I think you can try asking Qianqian.¡±


    Cao Qianqian was too embarrassed to reply and quickly took off her zer to cover her lower body.


    Huang Jiahui immediately understood what had happened and stared at Zhao Tianming. ¡°Female urinary tracts are shorter than men¡¯s, and that¡¯s why we can¡¯t hold it for too long. Is that a problem? You weren¡¯t performing as good as the females just now, too,¡± Huang Jiahui scolded him.


    Zhao Tianming didn¡¯t dare to mess with Huang Jiahui and quickly said, ¡°I was just trying to lighten the atmosphere.¡±


    Suddenly, all of them heard the sound of a bomb and they could feel its vibration. Huang Jiahui was shocked and quickly got up from the bench. She dialed her phone a few times but no one picked up on the other side. She looked very pale.


    Zhao Tianming and Cao Qianqian took out their phones to call as well, but simrly, no one answered their calls. They became anxious.


    ¡°What do you think is happening outside?¡± Huang Jiahui asked Luo Yuan.


    Luo Yuan shook his head and said, ¡°Don¡¯t ask me, I have no idea.¡±


    Such a big group of bugs had arrived in Donghu city, who would be willing to believe they were just passing by. The whole city had already copsed. It was no different from hell.

 Chapter 28: Death Seeker

    Chapter 28: Death Seeker


    Trantor: Editor:


    The sound of the bomb faded after half an hour, but Luo Yuan felt cold instead of being relieved. It wasn¡¯t easy to vanish such a big group of bugs in a short period of time. The only possible exnation could be that Donghu City was defeated and was now controlled by the bugs. And a helpless city would be like a huge abandoned granary to the bugs. That was why Luo Yuan felt anxious and sick.


    The security during the war was always a fragile and unstable thing. It was likely to be easily destroyed, just like those sand arts at the beach. Perhaps the only way for Luo Yuan to feel safe again was to get himself upgraded. He only had to kill another five bugs toplete the mission. A property point and five skill bonus points would be enough to upgrade his overall power, and then he would no longer need to be afraid of those bugs.


    He couldn¡¯t continue staying in the room once he thought about upgrading himself and said, ¡°I¡¯m going out, are youing with me?¡±


    Zhao Tianming asked, ¡°Brother Luo, it¡¯s very dangerous outside and here is safer for us. Why would you want to leave?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t want to stay here forever!¡± Luo Yuan replied.


    Cao Qianqian got up slowly and said, ¡°I, I want to follow you!¡±


    She understood that Luo Yuan was the only reason why they were all still alive. If he insisted on leaving and Cao Qianqian wanted to stay alive, then it was best to follow him. Besides that, the room wasn¡¯t safe anymore with the broken door. The green bugs mighte anytime and the three of them would not be able to fight them off without Luo Yuan.


    ¡°Xiao Luo, could you, could you send me home? My daughter is alone at home,¡± Huang Jiahui begged him.


    Luo Yuan shook his head. He noted Hung Jiahui¡¯s hopelessness and calmly added, ¡°We can¡¯t go now. There are many bugs outside, so it¡¯s too dangerous. We¡¯ll have to wait until the bugs leave.¡±


    Huang Jiahui teared up and quickly said, ¡°Thank you so much! I really don¡¯t know what I can do for you. I really appreciate it!" Luo Yuan had left a very good impression on her as he had once taken a risk to search for his housemate in the forest which might have costed him his life. She knew that people simr to Luo Yuan were almost extinct, hence she believed in him even if he didn¡¯t make any promises.


    "Just a small matter. I believe your daughter will be fine," Luo Yuan said, waving his hand.


    Cao Qianqian had also considered asking Luo Yuan to send her home. However, she just moved her lips for a few seconds but didn¡¯t ask for it. She wasn¡¯t as close as Huang Jiahui to him and she couldn¡¯t find any reason for him to send her home. When she thought about this, she seemed to be jealous on Huang Jiahui and med herself on not knowing Luo Yuan earlier.


    The two women were willing to follow Luo Yuan, and Zhao Tianming would definitely not stay here alone.


    Once the leaving problem was solved, Luo Yuan chopped off a few sharp legs from the green bugs and gave it to them as weapons. Those legs from the green bugs were the strongest part of their bodies and were even stronger than some of the metals. It was really a miracle, knowing that it came from a mutated animal.


    When everything was ready, Luo Yuan tried to listen to what was happening outside the door. He told Zhao Tianming to move away the tables once he confirmed that there were no more bugs in the corridor. Zhao Tianming happily did as told and opened the door. Luo Yuan checked again before stepping out and realized the fifth floor was empty as he didn¡¯t see any bugs there. He turned back and said, ¡°Let¡¯s go! This floor seems to be safe, so we should go down to the other one and see!¡±


    ¡°Brother Luo, can I go to the toilet first?¡± Cao Qianqian asked shyly as her pants were wet and made her feel ufortable.


    Luo Yuan nodded his head and said, "Anyone else who wants to go to the toilet please hurry up! And also be careful as the green bugs might fly in through the windows."


    Zhao Tianming wanted to go but he canceled his ns after listening to what Luo Yuan said just now.


    Cao Qianqian was a scared of the bugs as well but she really needed to clean herself. In the end, she forced herself to enter the toilet and then came out quickly after cleaning up.


    Luo Yuan looked at her for a few seconds as she took off her pants and wrapped herself with the big zer. However, the zer was just enough to cover her butt and pubic region, leaving her fair legs exposed which caught the attention of Luo Yuan.


    Cao Qianqian sensed his gaze and felt shy but happy. She then looked at Luo Yuan for a moment. She always felt proud about her legs as she used to take good care of them. Huang Jiahui was quite old and couldn¡¯t defeat her here. Cao Qianqian walked toward Luo Yuan, and tried to talk to him. "Brother Luo, what are we going to do at the 3rd floor?¡±


    ¡°We are going to kill the green bugs since we can¡¯t stay in this f*cking ce forever. We need to go home,¡± Luo Yuan said calmly.


    Cao Qianqian admired him as she felt a guy like Luo Yuan was a real man. Most of the people tried their best to avoid the green bugs but Luo Yuan took the initiative to kill them. And then, she had a crush on Luo Yuan.


    ¡°Even if Luo Yuan pushed her down on the floor now, she would just go with the flow,¡± Zhao Tianming spected after noticing the scene. His heart burned but he lowered his head, trying to hide his emotions. The four of them walked to the end of the staircase and stayed alert.


    The walkway was very quiet, but after taking a few steps they heard someone screaming downstairs. Very soon that person screamed out in pain and they could hear gunfire.


    ¡°There are people on the third floor, let¡¯s go,¡± Luo Yuan said. He immediately rushed to the third floor and saw a woman covered in blood run toward him.


    ¡°Lan Lan, what¡¯s happening?¡± Cao Qianqian asked, covering her mouth.


    The woman lifted her head up and upon seeing someone she knew, she immediately shouted out, ¡°Qianqian, run! Hurry up! There are green bugs!¡±


    She didn¡¯t intend to stop and wanted to continue running, however, Luo Yuan stopped her by holding her arm and she immediately struggled crazily. ¡°Ahhhh! Why are you holding me!? Let me go! Let me go!¡±


    Luo Yuan was annoyed when he saw her trying to attack him. He then pushed her onto the floor and said, ¡°Cao Qianqian, you take care of her then.¡±


    Zhang Lan quickly got up from the ground and wanted to run away but Cao Qianqian pulled her back. The woman almost went crazy and shouted, "Are you guys crazy? I¡¯ve told you there are bugs! Don¡¯t drag me along if you want to die!"


    "Pakk!¡±


    Huang Jiahui walked toward her and gave her a p. ¡°You shut up now!¡± Huang Jiahui told Zhang Lan to keep quiet.


    The woman was stunned and stopped struggling, then began to cry. ¡°All of you are bad people! Chen Xueyan is dead, and our security guard is also dead. All of them are dead, and it¡¯s my turn now! I don¡¯t want to die!¡±


    ¡°Can you ask her how many bugs are there?¡± Luo Yuan asked.


    Only when Zhang Lan calmed down did she realize all of them were holding a green stick which looked very familiar, though she couldn¡¯t recall where she¡¯d seen that object before. Besides that, all of them didn¡¯t seem to be afraid, especially the guy who had talked to Cao Qianqian. He looked very calm and confident, so was probably the leader of the group.


    She was quite smart and didn¡¯t wait for Cao Qianqian to ask and said, ¡°There were two, they came in from the window but I locked them inside the Integrated Management Office.¡±


    ¡°You guys wait here and I¡¯ll go check on it,¡± Luo Yuan said.


    ¡°Brother Luo, let me follow you. Perhaps I can help when you need it.¡± Zhao Tianming knew it wouldn¡¯t be safe to stay there, so he might as well follow Luo Yuan.


    ¡°No, thanks. I¡¯m worried I can¡¯t take care of you,¡± Luo Yuan rejected.


    He then walked away with his knife. After just a few minutes of walking, Luo Yuan already heard the sound of bones being chewed. He slowed down his footsteps and walked carefully, even slowing down his breathing. He arrived at the doorstep of a room and saw some reddish brown liquid flow out from the door gap at the bottom. It smelled awful, and he quickly stepped back.


    He raised his head and looked at the signboard, ¡°Integrated Management Department¡±.


    ¡°I see. It¡¯s here. Luckily thatdy remembered to close the door, so at least I can prepare myself before attacking the bugs.¡± He was actually still afraid when he recalled the dangerous scene of him fighting two bugs at the same time. He took a deep breath and then banged at the door. Both of the bugs were having a feast beside a dead body each. They were both shocked by the loud sound produced by Luo Yuan. At first, they stepped back and became alert. However, they rxed when they found out that it was just a better food, someone alive.


    One of the bugs screamed happily and left no longer fresh food behind. The other one didn¡¯t respond and continued its feast in the corner.


    It was quite pitiful of them not to know the differences between different types of food. Some food was soft and easy to chew, while another could be very hard and break one¡¯s teeth. Luo Yuan was slightly relieved when he saw only one bug trying to attack. He instantly took his knife and struck on the bug¡¯s head before it could respond.


    The bug fell onto the floor and kept shaking for a while. Luo Yuan immediately brought his knife along and rushed toward the other bug which was still eating a dead body. The bug was shocked when it noticed Luo Yuan, but it was toote for it to respond. He wanted to attack Luo Yuan but Luo Yuan¡¯s knife was already cutting through its mouth, brain, and forelimbs.


    Luo Yuan pulled out his knife from the mouth of the bug and tried to clean off the greenish liquid. He whispered, "Three more to go." He looked at the dead bodies on the floor, a male and a female. Both of their abdomens were opened and the intestines were flowing out.


    The female one was still alive, her eyes wide open and tears rolling down her cheeks. She was mumbling softly but when she opened her mouth to speak, a mouthful of ck blood gushed out. She smiled pitifully and begged him with her eys.


    "I¡¯m sorry, there¡¯s nothing I can do for you." Luo Yuan sighed as he knew there¡¯d be no difference even if he sent her to the hospital.


    The woman shook her head and he noticed she was drawing something on the floor with her finger. She was trying to deliver a message. Luo Yuan bent down and checked, the word was nted but he could still read it, it was the character for death.


    She wanted him to end the pain.


    Luo Yuan agreed, ¡°Alright!¡± The woman grinned and closed her eyes. Luo Yuan took a deep breath and aimed for the spot where her heart was, but then he hesitated.


    He had killed at least seven to eight people before, but this woman was different. Perhaps Luo Yuan respected life and didn¡¯t want to kill someone who was innocent. His forehead was sweaty and his hand shook as he was suffered trying to make the decision. When he was about to force himself, the woman had already died.


    Luo Yuan was relieved. He noticed there was a gun nearby and picked it up. He also found a few bullets on the dead body of the security guard. He then left the room with his new possessions.

 Chapter 29: Energy

    Chapter 29: Energy


    Trantor: Editor:


    Zhang Lan was slowly starting to feel better and was talking with Cao Qianqian when Luo Yuan returned. She was apparently amazed by what Cao Qianqian had told her was real.


    ¡°Settled?¡± Huang Jiahui asked.


    ¡°Yes. Unfortunately, those people inside the room were already dead. This is the gun from the security guard, take it.¡± Luo Yuan threw the gun to Huang Jiahui together with the bullets.


    Huang Jiahui operated the gun and inserted the bullets into it. She then did an aiming pose and said, ¡°I haven¡¯t touched a gun for such a long time!¡±


    ¡°Oh sister, you¡¯ve learned to fire before?¡± Zhao Tianming asked her respectfully with some curiosity as he knew she must have learned before to operate the gun professionally.


    ¡°I was a cop before recently being transferred here,¡± Huang Jiahui said, lifting her head up.


    ¡°You¡¯re amazing! I should have learned to use the gun too! I had no idea the world woulde to this.¡± Cao Qianqian sighed with envy.


    ¡°Alright, let¡¯s go to check the second floor,¡± Luo Yuan said, interrupting them.


    They saw a big puddle of blood when they arrived at second floor and a few leftover fingers with a bunch of grayish intestines. The group became pale from disgusted. Cao Qianqian saw a finger with a ring on it which looked very familiar. ¡°Is that the ring of Sun Zhuren?¡± she asked.


    ¡°I don¡¯t think he is still alive,¡± Zhao Tianming said gloomily.


    ¡°That¡¯s enough.¡± Huang Jiahui was pale and she covered her mouth, quickly following Luo Yuan.


    ¡°Hold on, you guys step back a little," Luo Yuan suddenly said. He was ahead of everyone but stopped after taking a turn. "The is a green bug still there."


    All of them were scared and quickly ran back to the third floor. All besides Huang Jiahui who lifted her gun and remained in her ce.


    ¡°Why are you still standing there? Move!¡± Luo Yuan turned around and stared at Huang Jiahui.


    ¡°I can kill a green bug also!¡± Huang Jiahui insisted with a pale face.


    ¡°Look at yourself, it¡¯s gonna be good enough if you don¡¯t create any problems,¡± Luo Yuan said angrily as he knew she would only get in the way.


    ¡°I promise I won¡¯t create troubles.¡± Huang Jiahui thought of the horrible snake incident earlier and motivated herself. She said, "I was a second runner-up during the shootingpetition organized by the city public security council. Please, don¡¯t look down on me."


    That was unbelievable to Luo Yuan. However, in fact, he had not seen her fire before, so he wasn¡¯t sure if that was true or not.


    ¡°Fine. Since you want to follow me, don¡¯t regret if you are eaten by a bug,¡± Luo Yuan said, mad. When she was about to reply, Luo Yuan made a sign for her to remain silent and Huang Jiahui could only obey his instructions.


    The bug was disturbed and it slowly crawled upward. Suddenly, it grew bigger.


    ¡°Bang! Bang! Bang!¡±


    Huang Jiahui¡¯s hands were shaking and she could not stop pressing on the gun¡¯s trigger .


    The green bug was stunned and stepped back as the bullets hit it. There were a lot of greenish liquid gushing out from its body but none of the bullets had hit any of the weak points. The green bug stepped on an empty space and rolled off the staircase to the lower floor after being shot by three bullets.


    Luo Yuan would definitely not let it go. He took a leap and jumped down to the lower floor with his knife. He increased his speed and rushed toward the bug to kill it in a sh.


    The sound of gunfire had attracted more bugs. There were three of them crawling over once they heard the noise.


    ¡°F*ck!¡± Luo Yuan was extremely mad when he thought about how Huang Jiahui always made things worse. Though, he hadn¡¯t expected it to happen so soon. He quickly turned back as the three green bugs were too overwhelming and he could only try to escape. ¡°Run!¡± Luo Yuan yelled at Huang Jiahui. She didn¡¯t run but instead inserted more bullets into her gun.


    "What are you doing? Run!" Luo Yuan was really mad and didn¡¯t bother with her anymore. He knew he would die if she continued to be like this. He took a leap over her head and ran toward the third floor. Huang Jiahui lifted the gun and aimed at the corner next to the staircase. A bug wasing close to it and Huang Jiahui immediately fired a shot at its chest. Then the second bullet hit its eye. The bug shook for a few seconds and copsed. Luo Yuan turned around and looked at her. He was wondering whether that should be considered lucky.


    No matter what, Huang Jiahui had helped him a lot. He was confident in killing two bugs. He brought his knife along and walked to the second floor, waiting the corner. Another bug was ughtered when it tried to peep. He then killed thest bug in the building. The system beeped when thest bug was killed.


    ¡°Beep!¡±


    ¡°E- Missionpleted¡±


    ¡°Time consumption: 1 hour and 35 minutes¡±


    ¡°Comment: Excellent!¡±


    ¡°Basic experience reward: 800¡±


    ¡°Comment reward: +800¡±


    ¡°You have leveled up and been awarded 1 property point and 5 skill points. Your current level is level 5!¡±


    ¡°Your energy and injuries will be recovered!¡±


    ¡°Finally I¡¯ve upgraded!¡± Luo Yuan was excited and he opened the properties panel.


    Character: Luo Yuan


    upation: Hunter


    Level: 5


    Experience: 900/4800


    Attributes:-


    Energy: 11 (10)


    Dexterity: 12 (10)


    Physique: 11 (10)


    Intelligence: 13 (10)


    Sensitivity: 11 (10)


    Determination: 12 (10)


    Skills: Science 16, Mathematics 14, Mandarin 19, English 16, Finance 17,


    Programming 9, Dancing 1, Painting 3, Gaming 6, Negotiation 9, Social 7,


    Culinary 3, Driving 1, Hand-to-hand Combat 5, Knife Skills, 14 .


    Special Technique Skill: Object Identification, Integration


    Unassigned Properties Point: 1


    Unassigned Technique Point: 5


    Luo Yuan read carefully through a lot of new information regarding integration which appeared in his mind when he saw the integration technique in the properties panel.


    ¡°Integration Technique: Integrate two objects based on a core object.¡± Luo Yuan quickly grasped it as the message was simple and easy to understand. It was simr to ¡°strengthening¡¯ in online games and could be used on equipment. Perhaps if he could find a strong alloy, then his knife could be upgraded too! In some ways, it could be considered as a superpower as well.


    However, he didn¡¯t have any time to test and could only put it aside. The most important thing right now was to assign his property points which had to go to his dexterity. He always believed in dexterity being very important since if he could react faster, it would also increase his attack power, as well as fighting flexibility.


    However, he hesitated.


    He realized that focusing on a single property or skill was a mistake. He remembered how he¡¯d felt helpless in many battles before when he wanted to increase his speed, but couldn¡¯t do so because of his physical condition. Right now he had 12-points in dexterity which meant he was 2.25 times faster than an ordinary person. That¡¯s why he should be able to act faster, but unfortunately, things did not go the way he wanted them to.


    He guessed that even if he assigned more points to dexterity, it would not help much with his physical condition. He hesitated for quite a while and, in the end, assigned the property points to ¡®Energy¡¯. Once it was done, he immediately felt the heat circting inside his body, and his muscles were shrinking and expanding. After a while, his muscles became more firm and all the bby fat was gone. The muscles on his back and chest became more firm. The whole process took only about two seconds and then he was back to normal.


    Previously, he had looked quite buff as he used to work out and train himself. However, he became skinnier now and was lucky that he was wearing a shirt. Otherwise, he¡¯d scare away the people around him once they noticed an extreme change in his body size.


    Huang Jiahui looked at him with a weird look but she couldn¡¯t tell what had changed. She just felt odd.

 Chapter 30: Vehicle Acquisition

    Chapter 30: Vehicle Acquisition


    Trantor: Editor:


    Luo Yuan didn¡¯t care about how Huang Jiahui looked at him as he was immersed in the changes. He held his fist and they could hear the bone cracking sound. He felt energetic and powerful, and his muscles were super active. He realized that his body had be lighter, and he believed he could act faster now than what he had imagined.


    That¡¯s right! One must have all properties to excel or he or she won¡¯t be able to go far while only focusing on improving a specific skill.


    ¡°Xiao Luo, are you alright?¡± Huang Jiahui asked Luo Yuan, feeling strange.


    ¡°I¡¯m fine. I just wanted to say I¡¯ve never felt so good before,¡± Luo Yuan replied while he tried to hide his excitement. He didn¡¯t rush to assign the other five technique points to his knife skill. He was already confident in fighting the green bugs after upgrading his energy.


    Besides that, it was easier to upgrade the skill while its level was low. He nned to practice more with his knife to upgrade its skill since it was still quite low and only assign the points to when it reached Level 15. He couldn¡¯t wait to see the changes when his knife skill reached Level 20.


    ¡°Sister Huang, could you please ask them toe down? I¡¯ll stay here to check whether there are any more bugs left,¡± Luo Yuan said.


    ¡°Alright!¡± Huang Jiahui replied. She was confident she could kill the bugs after the battle earlier. She checked on her gun and refilled it with a few bullets, then walked to the third floor.


    After she left, Luo Yuan took a deep breath and ran forward. His face vibrated while he ran and at his surroundings were moving backward. He took only a few seconds to reach the end of the corridor.


    He gasped and looked back, he¡¯d ran about 50 meters. Based on the trial run just now, he assumed it would take about 8 seconds for him to finish 100 meters and that is what he was supposed to achieve with 12 points in dexterity. However, he did realize that it consumed a lot of energy. He was already gasping for air even though he¡¯d only ran for such a short distance.


    It seemed like the 11 points of energy wasn¡¯t enough to support his activities. It was like an upgraded device without sufficient power supply; it couldn¡¯t sustain for long.


    Anyway, it wasn¡¯t a big deal for now as most of the battles onlysted for a few seconds. It wasn¡¯t like abatpetition which required the yers to fight for a long period of time orpete in several rounds. Luo Yuan was using a knife which could cause severe injuries or kill immediately. It wasn¡¯t simr to the ancient battles which couldst for a few days or months.


    There was a broken window at the end of the corridor, and when he looked through it, he saw many bugs flying above in the sky which made him feel disgusted. However, it was betterpared to the arrival of a big bunch of bugs earlier. But for some reason he didn¡¯t think it was a good sign as the green bugs might havended in the city center.


    A whileter, Cao Qianqian and Zhao Tianming came along and were stunned when they saw the scene.


    ¡°Ning Ning!¡±


    Huang Jiahui dialed her phone. Someone picked up the call very fast and Huang Jiahui shouted, ¡°Ning Ning! Are you alright? It¡¯s okay, don¡¯t be afraid. Good girl, don¡¯t open the door. Mommy ising back.¡± She put down her phone and cried.


    The rest also tried to contact their family. Other than Cao Qianqian calling her parents, Zhao Tianming and Zhan Yun didn¡¯t manage to reach their families. Zhang Yun was very depressed, she squatted down and cried.


    Luo Yuan looked at them, saddened. He then turned around and asked Huang Jiahui, ¡°Is your daughter alright?¡±


    Huang Jiahui shook her head and said, ¡°The bugs are banging on the door now, and she is frightened. I need to go home now!¡±


    ¡°You want to kill yourself?¡± Luo Yuan asked. He then looked out through the window again and said, ¡°Fine, I¡¯ll go with you.¡±


    He definitely wouldn¡¯t take the risk if he hadn¡¯t upgraded. After all, he wasn¡¯t a savior or superman. He could only help within the limits of his power and skills. If the mission was too dangerous and overwhelming, he couldn¡¯t and wouldn¡¯t try to finish it. However, he was more powerful now and three or four bugs could be considered manageable to him.


    Huang Jiahui looked at Luo Yuan and said, ¡°Xiao Luo, I really don¡¯t know what I can do in return for you. But I¡¯m truly touched by you offering your hands, but I can¡¯t let you take the risk.¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s no public transport now, or are you nning to walk home? Let¡¯s use my car,¡± Luo Yuan said.


    Huang Jiahui was so touched to the point where she couldn¡¯t speak a single word and just sobbed.


    "Brother Luo, could you bring me along?¡± Cao Qianqian asked carefully while looking at Luo Yuan.


    "You can tag along if your house is in the same direction as hers. Where do you stay?" Luo Yuan said with hesitation.


    "Yuehu Garden, near Qingteng Road,¡± Cao Qianqian replied nervously.


    Yuehu Garden was actually quite near to Jingyue district where Luo Yuan used to stay, but it wasn¡¯t in the same direction and he needed to drive another three to four kilometers. He sighed. Might as well bring her along then. "Alright, you cane with us then." Luo Yuan said.


    "Thank you so much!" Cao Qianqian eximed, shedding tears of joy.


    Zhao Tianming and Zhang Yun didn¡¯t say anything as they both thought it was safer to wait for rescue inside the building rather than taking the risk to escape.


    "Both of you take care, we need to leave first," Luo Yuan said to the other two people.


    "You too," Zhao Tianming said with slight sympathy but it was gone very soon. Zhang Yun tried to persuade Cao Qianqian but she insisted on leaving.


    Luo Yuan smiled but didn¡¯t say anything. Everyone had to take full responsibility of their decisions, so did she. No one knew what was going to happen next .


    The three of them left the building, passing through the first floor full of blood and broken limbs. Apparently, many hadn¡¯t managed to escape and Luo Yuan had to kill another four green bugs before walking out through the broken ss door.


    There were a few bugs lying on the ground at the za square, but they didn¡¯t move even when they saw Luo Yuan and the two women walking toward them. Obviously, they were too full after the feast and couldn¡¯t attack anymore. Luo Yuan looked at them and quickly walked to his car.


    The windows were broken. Luo Yuan opened the door of his car and swept away the broken ss, then got into the driver¡¯s seat. He started the engine and drove toward the main entrance like a shot arrow once the two women got into the car.


    A few bugs were shocked and flew up to the sky but then soonnded on the ground again.


    Donghu city had be a horrible ce where broken ss was all over the streets, reflecting the sun¡¯s light. The street was empty but for a few bugs still eating some dead bodies at the roadside. Blood was dripping down from their mouths while they chewed.


    The trio could hear some screaming from afar, as well as gunfire. It didn¡¯t sound like a handgun, though, but the rifles from the army. That meant the army had already begun to attack the bugs. Luo Yuan¡¯s car disturbed many of the insects and they flew towards the car to attack them.


    Unfortunately, most of them were killed by the car as well as Huang Jiahui¡¯s gun. The car engine sound also attracted the attention of some survivors nearby. They looked from behind the shattered windows, asking for help. Unfortunately, Luo Yuan could only protect himself and try to ignore them as he couldn¡¯t manage to save everyone. The car was driven away and the survivors hopelessly scolded and cursed them.


    Huang Jiahui checked her handgun and her pocket. Stunned, she said, ¡°Damn it. There are only two bullets left.¡±


    Luo Yuan was worried as he knew the journey wouldn¡¯t be smooth without her shooting skills. ¡°Use it wisely then. Don¡¯t fire if it isn¡¯t necessary,¡± he said.


    ¡°What if the bugse over?¡± Huang Jiahui asked anxiously.


    ¡°Leave it to me then,¡± Luo Yuan replied. Although it would be a bit inconvenient to get in and out of the car, but at least Huang Jiahui could help him during a critical time if necessary.


    A few bullets flew from behind and prated the wall of a building, causing some cement to drop on Luo Yuan¡¯s car. He immediately stepped on the brake.


    ¡°Is it a soldier from the army force?¡± Huang Jiahui asked, looking back.


    A soldier ran toward them with a rifle and said seriously, ¡°Get out of the car!¡±


    ¡°Why? This is our car.¡± Huang Jiahui asked, upset.


    "This is a special military order, I hope you canpromise!" the soldier said coldly with a rifle in his hand.


    Luo Yuan turned around and saw there were seven to eight soldiers more behind. A few of them were lying on the floor with a lot of blood on their bodies. Apparently, they needed a car to send these victims to the hospital. Luo Yuan would have agreed to lend them the car if they had asked nicely. However, he was mad now that the soldier used the attitude of a robber.


    Luo Yuan opened the door and walked toward the soldier with his knife and said, "I never heard about the special military order and I don¡¯t want to hear it now. This is my car, so why would I give it to you?"


    The soldier was stunned and mad at the same time as he had never seen anyone who dared to disobey a military order.


    "What¡¯s happening?" a tan guy who was the Second Lieutenant Officer asked angrily after rushing over to see what was happenig. ¡°How could you not know our buddies are in danger?¡± he scolded the soldier.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Sir. They didn¡¯t agree to give the car,¡± the soldier exined.


    ¡°Why? We are fighting with the bugs to protect the citizens. Our soldiers are injured and we can¡¯t even use their car?¡± the officer said, turning around and staring at Luo Yuan.


    ¡°Your soldiers are not the only people who are injured. There are many people who get injured and even die every single second in this city. Have you thought about our lives when you rob our car?¡±


    The officer smiled evilly and said, "So that means you want to disobey my order right? You should know this is war time!"


    "Are you threatening me? Do you know that you will be dead if you dare to touch your rifle?" Luo Yuan was mad and threatened the officer.


    Luo Yuan wasn¡¯t an ordinary person who allowed other people to mistreat him, and he definitely wouldn¡¯t mind doing something crazy if he really got offended.


    "Then you¡¯ll be shot by multiple bullets as well." The officer bit his teeth and raised his chin; he looked ugly. He didn¡¯t dare to simply move as he felt Luo Yuan was too calm. Usually, a normal citizen would have already lost their mind after seeing the soldiers, but for some reason he didn¡¯t see a simr reaction in Luo Yuan. He also thought that the only people who would still travel on the road with two women at this moment were either lunatics or a great men.


    ¡°Are you an evolution product?¡± the officer asked with hesitation.


    Luo Yuan smiled but didn¡¯t answer his question. Both parties wanted something from each other but they were worried to screw up the deal. Luo Yuan then looked at the rifles and bullets, he suddenly said, ¡°I have an idea, but I¡¯m not sure you want to listen.¡± He didn¡¯t wait for the permission from the officer and continued, ¡°Well, if you want the car, then trade it with the rifles and bullets.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re not part of the army, this is breaking thew!¡± the officer said with hesitation once more.


    "Oh well, I think that kind ofw belongs to the past, not now! A normal citizen could only wait to die if he didn¡¯t have any weapons. From what I see, your soldiers are going to die soon, but you¡¯re still wasting their time here. Come on! This is a fair deal, we need a way to protect ourselves if we don¡¯t have a car!" Luo Yuan said.


    "Fine!" the officer finally agreed after a period of hesitation.


    "Sir!" the soldier beside him shouted and stared at Luo Yuan.


    "That¡¯s enough. Go get him a rifle and 300 bullets. This is an order!" the officermanded.


    "Yes, sir!" the soldier shouted out and ran toward the other soldiers in a mad dash


    A momentter, the soldier returned. The officer took the rifle and a bag of bullets and then passed it to Luo Yuan. He then whispered, ¡°I hope you use it properly.¡±


    ¡°Thanks for your reminder,¡± Luo Yuan said. He then smiled and continued to say, ¡°By the way, I hope you don¡¯t do something which will cause misunderstanding.¡± He saw a green bug crawling over from the street and immediately shook and disappeared. Two soldiers were shocked and raised their rifles to look for Luo Yuan.


    When they found him, the bug was already in two pieces. Luo Yuan shook the de to clean off the greenish liquid. He then looked at the two soldiers who were aiming their rifles at him and walked toward them. ¡°Just an easy job. I hope your rifle is safe to use,¡± he said.


    Luo Yuan walked to the car and asked Huang Jiahui and Cao Qianqian to leave the car with their belongings. He then left the scene together with them.


    ¡°F*ck! He is too much!" Both of the soldiers put down their rifles and spat when they saw Luo Yuan disappeared from their vision.


    "Sir, are we really going to let them go?" the soldier asked angrily.


    "What would we do if we arrested him? Hurry up, and send everyone to the military hospital. Hopefully, we can still save some of them."

 Chapter 31: Guard Rank

    Chapter 31: Guard Rank


    Trantor: Editor:


    ¡°I thought he was going to fire!¡± Huang Jiahui uttered, still shaken.


    ¡°They¡¯re not that foolish. We¡¯re not holding a grudge, so they wouldn¡¯t take that risk,¡± Luo Yuan expressed his thoughts calmly. To be honest, he was rather shaken by what had happened. He didn¡¯t know what to think, but he was infuriated by the idea of falling back.


    Lucky for them, the opponent had not dared open fire. They might have just lost their car but they had managed to acquire a rifle.


    In fact, Luo Yuan considered himself quite fortunate; cars were not worth much these days, the petrol in the vehicle held more value than the car itself. If he ever decided to trade off the rifle though, he could potentially exchange several hundred liters of petrol, or even dozens of cars for it.


    ¡°Do you know how to use a rifle?¡± Luo Yuan asked Huang Jiahui.


    ¡°I¡¯ve never handled one before, so my aim may be off.¡±


    ¡°Well, that¡¯s still a better aim than mine!¡± Luo Yuan joked as he handed over the rifle.


    She struggled under the weight of it, her arms sinking as she tried to hold it up. She shook her head. ¡°This won¡¯t do, it¡¯s too heavy. Unless I can use it lying on the ground. I¡¯m more ustomed to pistols. Too bad rifle bullets are notpatible with them.¡±


    Luo Yuan had no experience with anything military-rted. He sighed, ¡°If I knew the bullets were different, I would have asked for pistol ammo instead. I thought all guns use the same bullets!¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t beat yourself over it. I doubt they have any pistol ammo left anyway. Besides, only battalion officers have ess to that kind of supply in the army.¡±


    ¡°Agh! Bugger it. How far are we from that ce you mentioned?¡±


    ¡°Hmm... I can¡¯t be sure, but I think we might still need to walk a few stations.¡±


    Suddenly, a group of civilians flocked out of a building in mass hysteria, screaming and running from the seven green beetles pursuing them from behind.


    The leading beetle was only a few steps away from the slowestdy running at the back of the crowd. It stretched forward and bit right into her skull, sucking the grey matter and sttering blood all over while its prey twitched vigorously in a mad dance.


    The crowd ran, but not a lot of them were able to get away. They were stomped, crushed, some even chewed to death, painting the ground red with their blood. The screams and scent of fresh blood attracted even more beetles that were in the area. One of them was as big as a car. It was a darker green than the others, and run so fast that it looked like a blur to the naked eye.


    It was very clear that in the realm of green beetles hierarchy was very specific. The surrounding beetles momentarily cleared out and made way for the giant beetle among them.


    The crowd saw where Luo Yuan and co. were and started running towards them. Luo Yuan¡¯s face was lost its colour. ¡°Oh, fuck.¡± He had never expected that there would be a bigger presence among the green beetles. Just by looking at its size, he could imagine the pressure of its body on him. Even Zhao Qianqian could see how freaked out the usually calm Luo Yuan was. It sent shivers down her spine and made her knees weak.


    ¡°Initiate E-grade Mission: Annihte Guard Rank Green Beetles. ept / Decline?¡±


    The message buzzed into his mind, not helping his state of panic. ¡°GUARD RANK beetles? F*CK!¡± he eximed. Ever since he hadst levelled up, he had kept low-ranking pests (in this case, the beetles) out of his mind, but now the giant beetle had stripped him off his short lived glory. He wanted to decline the mission and run away from this monstrosity as fast as he could. He was not confident that he would be able to kill one guard rank beetle, let alone a whole army of them. Luo Yuan nced at the rifle Huang Jiahui was holding, suppressed his fear, and made up his mind. ¡°I ept the mission.¡±


    ¡°Give me the rifle.¡±


    Huang Jiahui was startled, but she handed the rifle over without hesitation. He took the rifle, removed the magazine to check the ammo, locked it back into ce, and took aim right at the giant beetle. The crowd ran amok at the sight of Luo Yuan holding up the rifle. They thought that it was aimed at them. Luo Yuan aimed directly at the guard beetle, taking deep breaths, his finger carefully pushing on the trigger.


    Bang! Bang! Bang!


    Bullet shells rained all around him as he fired at the guard beetle. He kept adjusting his position while he fired, closing in on his target until.... BANG! He managed to get its body on his fourth try. Luo Yuan was taken aback by how unfazed the guard beetle seemed by the shot; that was when he realized how tough its exoskeleton was... The bullet had only scratched the surface of its body. Once the smoke had cleared away, he finally saw clearly that he had not made just one, but several scratches on its exoskeleton. His previous shots had actually hit the target!


    The guard beetle raged and screeched, reacting violently to his shots. It rampaged through themon beetles, pushing them out of its way, and ran with all its fury towards the source of the gunshots... charging right at Luo Yuan.


    Luo Yuan tossed the rifle aside and reached for his sword while he held his position. It wasn¡¯t very difficult to suppress his urge to escape. He knew that no matter how fast he ran, he would never be able to outrun the raging guard beetle. Never in his life had he ever walked on such thin ice, and it ignited a ming survival instinct within him.


    It¡¯s toote to chicken out now. Guess one of us has to die. Bring it on, you ugly green piece of sh*t!


    Luo Yuan remained focused, fuelled by an unknown fit of determination. Everything around him slowed into temporal suspension. His vision cleared to the point where he could see nothing but himself and the charging guard beetle. He felt a gust rushing right at him, and he dug his heels into the ground and sprinted head-on towards his opponent. Their momentums gradually closed up the distance to an inevitable point of collision.


    When Luo Yuan was nearly eye-to-eye with the guard beetle, he turned slightly, sprung almost three feet in the air, andnded smoothly on the back of his opponent, his sword piercing through its exoskeleton.


    Luo Yuan pushed with all his strength, but an inch was the furthest his sword would go into the body of the guard beetle. He still considered it a sessful execution of his n. As a trained martial artist with high sword mastery, Luo Yuan was able to adapt to most battle situations. He carefully jumped from the back of the beetle and wrenched the sword from its back. He proceeded to lower his centre of gravity while he hang onto the back of the guard beetle and positioned his upper body on the same ground level. Then he bent his knees and took small steps while he stretched his toes on the smooth surface of the beetle¡¯s exoskeleton. It only took him a few steps to reach the beetle¡¯s head. Then all he had to do was wait for the perfect opportunity to cut it off. However, the guard beetle had exceptional senses, and was already aware of its unwanted passenger, which made it stop right in its tracks.


    Basic physics and gravity did not allow Luo Yuan to hold his position on the back of the guard beetle. Instead, he was thrown head first into the ground. However, thanks to his quick reflexes, Luo Yuan was able to grab hold of the beetle¡¯s horns, which were about one or two metres long. His body swung all over and he could feel his heart thumping in his chest. The beetle guard stared right at him with its obelisk eyes and opened its intricate mouth structure to exhale an awful stench. Luo Yuan could not catch his breath. He realized that his vision was starting to blur and that he was breaking into cold sweat. He held onto the beetle¡¯s horns tightly and forced himself to swing his way back onto its head.


    Luo Yuan was flipping mid-air when he suddenly heard a loud breaking sound. He could not see clearly what was happening, but he caught a glimpse of the beetle¡¯s limbs breaking and retracting in a lightning-quick motion. Dust particles were scattered all around him until he realized, almost toote, that the beetle was digging into the ground. In a short span of time, it had managed to dig a hole about a metre wide and half a metre deep.


    When Luo Yuannded on the beetle¡¯s head, he felt a burning sensation on his feet. However, he couldn¡¯t afford to be distracted by the pain. He remained focused and lifted the sword high before he forced it down on the beetle¡¯s skull. Unfortunately, it was amon truth among the animal kingdom that the head is the most vital part of the body, so it came as no surprise that the beetle¡¯s skull had a hard, slippery structure. The tip of the sword failed to achieve what Luo Yuan had intended it to and kept slipping off when it came into contact with the beetle.


    Agitated by the unwanted passenger, the guard beetle shook in a vigorous motion. Luo Yuanid himself t on the beetle¡¯s back, trying to stay as still as possible by holding onto the spikes on the beetle¡¯s shoulders. When he had steadied himself, he went back to hacking at the beetle¡¯s head with his sword, leaving only light white scratches on the deep green surface. The sword was only light blue; it would take something with a much higher rating to cause some serious damage on a monster as tough as the guard beetle. The two were equally frustrated by their opponent and this seemingly endless dance; the guard beetle spread its wings in rm, getting ready to take off. Luo Yuan was caught unawares and put into a sudden state of despair by what was happening. Cold sweat dripped down his head. He knew that if the beetle took flight, his only option would be to get off its back. When he noticed that the wing structure below the beetle¡¯s exoskeleton was significantly softer though, an idea urred to him.


    ¡°THAT¡¯S IT!¡±


    He lowered his stance and leapt to the back of the guard beetle, which was already starting to fly off. Luo Yuan almost slipped due to the current caused by the beetle¡¯s flight, but he held on, lowered his centre of gravity, and struggled to make his way back to its wings. Gripping the hilt of the sword with his sweaty hands, he carefully positioned his weapon near the hidden flesh under the beetle¡¯s wings. Without any hesitation, he grabbed and cut the beetle¡¯s right wing right from the root.


    CRACK!


    The guard beetle instantly lost its bnce and its ability to fly. Its body tilted to one side and it quickly fell towards the ground. BOOM! It crashed from a distance of 20 feet above the ground. Luo Yuan was flung off in the process, rolling across the ground and only stopping when he hit a wall. His vision was blurred and there was not a single part of his body that was not aching. The battle, however, was far from over.


    He saw the beetle wobbling, trying to stand up again after its fall; he tasted metal in his throat and spat out the blood, standing up from the dusty ground all around him. He started to walk slowly towards the beetle, gradually going faster before breaking into a run. Then he furiously jumped onto its back, thrust his sword into its broken wing, and dragged it from the bottom up with an awful flesh-tearing sound. The wound expanded, the beetle¡¯s gooey blood and guts spilling from within and sshing around like an exploding soda can. The beetle screeched in agony. It was in a state of painful trance, flipping and turning as if it could shake the pain off. Then it stretched its uninjured wing and started to p it in motion, creating a st of wind.


    Luo Yuan held his ground against the wind and continued to drag his weapon all the way to the beetle¡¯s head. He suddenly thought of alchemy, and as he did, the de started to glow red and radiate heat. He wasn¡¯t sure if it was the contact between the sword and the exoskeleton, or the sword being sharpened by the alchemy, but the weapon managed to tear open a separate wound in the guard beetle. He was excited at the sess of his strategy, so he kept using alchemy. The sword seemed to get sharper and sharper as it effortlessly sliced and diced through the beetle¡¯s exoskeleton, even when the alchemy¡¯s effect was over.


    The guard beetle struggled less and less, until it finally copsed. Luo Yuan removed the sword from the beetle, and was about to deliver the death blow, when he noticed something peculiar. The color of the de had changed from white-silver to a glistening jade-green; he checked to see if it was the temporary coat of the beetle¡¯s fluid. He attempted to wipe the color off, but there was no liquid. The de was dry.


    ¡°Could it be a side-effect of the alchemy I used?¡±


    He couldn¡¯t think of any logical reason, and there seemed to be no other kinds of reasons. He held the sword with one hand and effortlessly plunged it into the beetle¡¯s skull. Its body trembled and it seemed to want to stand up for a moment, but it eventually fell back to the ground.


    Several system messages buzzed into Luo Yuan¡¯s mind.


    ¡°E-Level Mission: Annihte Guard Rank Green Beetles. Mission Aplished. Time: 8 minutes. Mission Score: S¡±


    ¡°Experience Earned: 1,600¡±


    ¡°Bonus S Score Experience: 1,600¡±


    Luo Yuan was very surprised that he had achieved an S score on this mission. It seemed to him that it had alle down to luck as it was the most challenging mission he¡¯d ever taken on. If he hadn¡¯t misjudged it, he would have not epted an E-Level Mission at all ¨C it had beenpletely out of his league. But he was d that he had managed toplete it and had gained the extra experience. He was on the EXP range of 4,100 ¨C 4,800 now. That was about 700 EXP before his next level up, which he would achieve if he scored a perfect F+ Level Mission orpleted a tougher E-Level one.


    It then urred to him that the more dangerous a zone, the higher the chances of triggering a mission would be. Hopefully, it would happen as often as it did during the good old days ¨C when he used to trigger a mission once every two or three months. At times it could be as bad as one mission every six months. But since the unprecedented changes in the environment, the frequency of the missions had been increasing exponentially. Luo Yuan had alreadypleted two within the same day, which used to be unheard of.


    He collected his thoughts and jumped off the body of the yed guard beetle, almost tripping on hisnding. He spat the blood that was still in his mouth and started to be aware of the pain all over his body. His legs felt particrly bad. He looked down and realized that half his pants had been shredded from his thighs down, and that the skin on his calves had beenpletely obliterated, exposing the red threads of his muscles.


    ¡°So that¡¯s why it hurts so much.¡±


    He could recall how it had happened. When the beetle had shot its limbs out, his calves had been torn by the intensity of the particles breaking from its digging motion.


    Soon, Huang Jiahui and Zhao Qianqian were running towards him, an extra group of men and women following closely behind them.

 Chapter 32: Blue Rank

    Chapter 32: Blue Rank


    Trantor: Editor:


    Huang Jiahui and Zhao Qianqian were running towards Luo Yuan, an extra group of men and women following closely behind them.


    It should be noted that Huang Jiahui had not been standing idly during Luo Yuan¡¯s battle with the beetle. She had actually been quite upied. It had all started when two regr beetles got ughtered while attempting to attack her. That was when she ran out of ammo, and picked up the rifle Luo Yuan had tossed aside earlier to continue fighting.


    The crowd had thinned as most people had fallen prey to the green beetles, who eventually stopped their assault once they had had their fill, giving the remaining escapees a chance at survival.


    ¡°Xiao Luo, are you alright?¡± Huang Jiahui asked as she looked at his injuries with worry.


    ¡°I¡¯m okay, I guess,¡± he said, relieved that the two of them were not in harm¡¯s way anymore. He looked at the five people behind her and asked, ¡°What about them?¡±


    ¡°They¡¯d like to follow us.¡±


    ¡°Follow us? Follow us where? There was a military camp along the path we came from. It¡¯s safer for them to go there.¡±


    ¡°You little brat! How can you be so unsympathetic?¡± eximed a middle-aged woman, who seemed infuriated by his rejection.


    ¡°Yeah, shouldn¡¯t we all stick together during difficult times like these?¡± added one of the men.


    ¡°Sympathy would have cost me my life. Besides, none of you would have survived if you had been sympathetic to your fellow escapees. I¡¯m sorry, but we can¡¯t help you. It¡¯s best that we go our separate ways,¡± Luo Yuan replied calmly. He was aware that having these people in his party would only slow him down. It would also attract unwanted green beetle attention. Plus, most of them had been severely injured and were uncertain of how much longer they would actually be able to survive.


    He turned to Huang Jiahui and Zhao Qianqian, ¡°Let¡¯s go. We¡¯re wasting daylight.¡±


    He tried to take a step, but was suddenly forced to stop by a sharp pain in his calves. He almost fell over. An unsuspicious man took advantage of his weakened state and stealthily moved towards Huang Jiahui. He pulled a dagger from his waist and pointed it at her.


    ¡°Don¡¯t move. Sure, we can go our separate ways. As long as you give us the rifle,¡± he demanded.


    Zhao Qianqian was shocked by what was happening. ¡°What the hell do you think you¡¯re doing?¡±


    ¡°Shut your mouth, b*tch! Don¡¯t make me repeat myself. Give us the rifle, or your friend dies.¡±


    No doubt this man had been eyeing the rifle right from start. During such difficult times, a rifle would increase his chances of survival, give him less reasons to be afraid, and even potentially allow him to do whatever he wanted. He hadn¡¯t made his move earlier because he had been terrified of Luo Yuan, the mighty warrior fighting against the giant guard beetle; but now, with Luo Yuan injured, he had seen a window of an opportunity and had grabbed it.


    Huang Jiahui was not afraid. She was just angry that the people they had just saved had turned against them.


    ¡°That¡¯s right, you piece of sh*t. While you¡¯re at it, throw in your sword or your girlfriend will pay!¡± the middle-aged woman threatened confidently, seeing that the tide had turned in their favor.


    The rest of them stayed quiet, looking anxiously at the situation that was unravelling.


    ¡°I¡¯m confused. Didn¡¯t you just save them?¡± Luo Yuan asked Huang Jiahui. Even though he hadn¡¯t seen it with his own eyes, it seemed quite obvious considering she had been the one holding the rifle while they followed her from behind.


    Huang Jiahui rolled her eyes at his remark, still raging at the idea that they had stumbled upon such ungrateful people.


    ¡°Just cut the bullsh*t and give me the rifle. Or would you prefer that I stab this prettydy instead?¡± the man threatened loudly while he looked at Luo Yuan. It was clear that the stranger with the knife was the one in control of the situation. Luo Yuan touched the hilt of his sword before he startedughing.


    ¡°Give him the rifle, Lady Huang.¡±


    Huang Jiahui was taken aback. She reluctantly handed the gun over to her captor, who kept the dagger against her waist while he epted the rifle with his free hand.


    ¡°And the ammo. If you would be so kind as to put it on the ground,¡± the man demanded, licking his lips habitually.


    She had no choice but to obey and put the pack of ammo on the ground. Her captor signaled for another middle-aged man to pick it up. The man hesitated at first before he carefully picked up the ammo while he eyed Luo Yuan in fear.


    ¡°You got what you wanted. Can we go now?¡± Luo Yuan asked patiently.


    The captorughed hysterically, his face somewhat twisted. He picked up the rifle and aimed it at Luo Yuan while he took a few steps back.


    ¡°Go? It¡¯s toote for you to go anywhere now, buddy. I can¡¯t sleep peacefully if I let an enemy like you just walk away! You¡¯ve got your soft spot to me. She¡¯s just a girl. It¡¯s all about power now. Besides, why would you worry about one girl when a rifle could have gotten you so much more? You¡¯ve got yourself some really good squeeze here, you know that? Must have been really nice to tap an ass like that. But don¡¯t you worry one bit, my friend. I¡¯ll take good care of her when you¡¯re dead.¡±


    Zhao Qianqian looked horrified, but Huang Jiahui seemed unfazed by the threats.


    Luo Yuan found the situation both funny and infuriating. He looked at their captor like was a dead man.


    ¡°You really think you can take me on? Guess I¡¯ll just have to remind you that your rifle¡¯s safety is still locked!¡±


    The captor looked at the rifle in his hand and turned pale.


    In the blink of an eye, Luo Yuan shifted, tearing the healing wounds on his calves and spilling fresh blood as he moved.


    He turned.


    He dashed.


    WHOOSH!


    He sheathed his sword back into ce.


    The sound of fluid squirting and bubbling, and the thud of a rifle falling were heard. Then there was the sound of a man choking, gasping, and drowning in his own blood.


    The captor¡¯s bulging eyes were filled with horror. He attempted to cover the cut on his neck with his hands, but blood kept bursting uncontrobly between his fingers. He took onest look at his killer, looking pained and remorseful.


    The other civilians shuffled backwards. A woman with thick makeup fell to the ground, sickened by the gore.


    Luo Yuan looked at the man who had picked up the ammo. The man stuttered and struggled to speak, ¡°Pppplease... Dddon¡¯t... dddon¡¯t kill me! It wasn¡¯t mmme! I don¡¯t kkknow this man!¡±


    ¡°Give. Me. The. Ammo.¡±


    The man crawled hurriedly towards the ammo pack, and handed it over apologetically to Luo Yuan. He got on his knees and lowered his head to the ground. Luo Yuan turned and nced at the woman, who had crawled several paces away. She was still shaking, but she managed an awkward smile.


    Luo Yuan took a deep breath, ¡°I still stick to my word. It¡¯s best if we all go our separate ways.¡±


    ¡°Yes! Yes of course!¡±


    ¡°LEAVE! NOW!¡±


    No one dared utter another word. They ran as fast as they had from the beatles. The woman struggled to stand, thanking Luo Yuan once again before she ran off.


    When the scene was clear and themotion was finally over, Luo Yuan could not stand still any longer. He violently spouted dark blood, turning very pale. Huang Jiahui ran to support him.


    ¡°Xiao Luo, are you alright? It¡¯s all my fault. If I¡¯d known the type of people they were, I would have let them be beetle food! How could I be so stupid?¡± she started tearing up.


    ¡°I¡¯m fine, really. Could you pass me the luggage?¡±


    He had already suffered an extensive injury during the battle and another er when he had fallen. That sudden move had only made his condition worse. He was only standing by sheer willpower anymore.


    Zhao Qianqian broke out of her stupor and rushed to drag the luggage over.


    ¡°Open it and take out the fried meat strips.¡±


    She did as she was told, and turned the luggage upside down to find a pack of fried meat strips sealed in a yellow paper bag. She held the bag, but wasn¡¯t sure what to do with it.


    ¡°Are you hungry?¡±


    Luo Yuan ignored her and snatched the paper bag. He tried to tear it open, but he was too tired. Huang Jiahui rushed to help him by untying the knots sealing the paper bag. The sweet scent of meat whiffed out. The girls couldn¡¯t help but drool.


    Luo Yuan frantically stuffed several strips inside his mouth and started munching them down, swallowing the meat. He ate so quickly that almost half the pack had vanished in a heartbeat. His body was heating up from the food, and he was starting to feel stronger. Flesh from light blue animals contained a concentrated amount of nutrition, even more so than the nutrition a well-aged ginseng could provide. It was very effective at healing injuries.


    Huang Jiahui felt his body temperature rise when she put her hand on his forehead. ¡°Zhao Qianqian, get a bottle of water! Quickly!¡±


    Zhao Qianqian nodded and took out a bottle of water from the luggage.


    Luo Yuan grabbed the bottle, took a couple of sips and shoved Huang Jiahui aside. ¡°I¡¯m feeling much better now.¡±


    ¡°But you might being down with a fever,¡± she said, sounding worried.


    Luo Yuanughed.


    ¡°These are fried meat strips made from high-level monsters. Consuming them is bound to make anyone¡¯s body temperature rise. You try one! Just a little, though. Your body might react differently. You might even get a nosebleed.¡±


    That kind of meat was considered very valuable amongmoners. Not to Luo Yuan, though. There was still an abundance of it in the storage area of his house.


    Huang Jiahui looked at him skeptically, noticing how much he already seemed to be recovering. She looked inside the paper bag. ¡°No wonder they smell so heavenly!¡±


    Zhao Qianqian had already started feasting on the fried meat strips before Huang Jiahui had even realized it. She handed the paper bag over to Huang Jiahui. Minutester, the two of them started feeling a warm sensation all over their bodies while theirplexion glowed with an unexpected blush.


    They couldn¡¯t resist the taste of the monster meat. As they kept feasting on the fried meat strips, they watched Luo Yuan walk towards the carcass of the guard beetle.

 Chapter 33: Gas

    Chapter 33: Gas


    Trantor: Editor:


    Luo Yuan inspected the carcass of the guard beetle and confirmed that it was indeed a blue rank monster. Oddly though, its nutrition appeared to be on the same level as the one found in light blue monsters. Weak. He took a while to consider whether he should harvest the green beetle¡¯s flesh, but he decided that it wasn¡¯t worth the hassle. Truthfully, it wasn¡¯t only its weak nutrition that he based this decision upon; he had lost his appetite just by looking at how awfully green all that mess was. Still, he noted what a waste it would be to leave a blue rank monster behind.


    He found a spear-like exoskeleton and was tempted to build a new armor using alchemy. However, that thought made him remember what had be of his sword. Uncertain of what might have happened to its properties, he decided to cast an evaluation spell.


    ¡°Razor-sharp Sword¡±


    ¡°Properties: M-Alloy, Green Beetle Exoskeleton¡±


    ¡±Rarity: Blue¡±


    ¡±Weight: 4.3 kg¡±


    ¡°Strength: 20-24¡±


    ¡°Secondary Effects: Attack Speed +1¡±


    ¡°Minimum Requirements: STR 11¡±


    ¡°Evaluation: The perfectbination of high-level alloy and green beetle exoskeleton. It enhances the sharpness of the de.¡±


    What had been originally just a in sword had now be a sharpened sword with an improved strength of 4 points and a blue rarity level. Luo Yuan couldn¡¯t help but feel joy at this idental product of alchemy. He wanted to find out if it could get any stronger, so he plunged the de into the hind leg of the carcass and began chanting. The de instantly burned, lightening the dark green flesh gradually until it eventually turned into a dry piece of meat. He gently touched the flesh with his foot and - poof! - it turned into dust. He could see the de glowing a brighter green than it originally had, somehow looking translucent. He gently waved the sword around, hearing the de tear through the air particles, feeling how refined his weapon had be. He cast a second evaluation spell and found that, other than a slight increase in strength, its rarity had not changed.


    Luo Yuan was excited at how the alchemy had improved his weapon; he continued casting spells on his sword while he moved from limb to limb on the guard beetle¡¯s carcass. The more spells he cast though, the slower the merging process became and the lesser the increase in strength his weapon obtained. By the time all its limbs had been merged, his weapon only had a total strength increase of two points, and its rarity had not changed at all.


    I guess the sword cannot achieve a rarity beyond the monster¡¯s ranking.


    He thought of his snake-skin bulletproof vest, and he immediately took it off and ced it on the back of the beetle¡¯s exoskeleton. He started casting spells once again, and only stopped when the exoskeleton had be white as snow.


    ¡°Fortified Snake Skin Bulletproof Vest¡±


    ¡°Material: Snake Scales, Snake Skin, Green Beetle Exoskeleton¡±


    ¡°Rarity: Blue¡±


    ¡°Weight: 0.3 kg¡±


    ¡°Defense: 20-24¡±


    ¡°Minimum Requirements: N/A¡±


    ¡°Evaluation: A bulletproof vest fortified with snake scales and green beetle exoskeleton. It can protect the wearer against most des and bullets.¡±


    It would seem that the merging had also cancelled the former negative coercion effect that used to be on the vest; Luo Yuan had not remarked upon this change as the former effect had not had much of an impact. He held the vest, feeling the hardened texture that made it hard to bend on the edges. He put it on and felt slightly contorted from the tightness, feeling more or less like a walking tin can.


    Desperate times call for desperate measures, I guess.


    He lit a cigarette from a pack he was carrying and took a deep puff. He had never been much of smoker, but the dire times he was going through had definitely changed him and stressed him out enough to constantly crave a smoke. He tossed his half-smoked cigarette aside, put on a wrecked jacket, and walked back towards the girls.


    He stumbled a bit on the way, still recovering from the exhausting battle. He noticed that the girls were staring nkly at the sky. Blood was flowing non-stop from their noses, turning their faces into abstract pieces of art covered in bright red stains. He took the paper bag from them and saw that it waspletely empty. They denied finishing the whole lot, iming that it had already been less than half when they had taken it from him. However, he was sure there had been at least half left and was shocked by how quickly the meat strips had been consumed.


    ¡°I can¡¯t even... I told you this would happen if you ate too much!¡±


    ¡°But we¡¯re fiiine... Right?¡± Huang Jiahui blushed. She wasn¡¯t sure if that was a side-effect of the meat strips or her own embarrassment being manifested.


    ¡°You won¡¯t die per se, but these things...They are technically an aphrodisiac! They excite your body when you consume them! You know what, forget it. You girls survive bleeding a week every month without dying anyway.¡±


    ¡°You did not say that!¡± Huang Jiahui eximed, baffled by Luo Yuan¡¯s remark.


    Huang Jiahui thought about her own daughters back home, who couldn¡¯t even handle a nosebleed by themselves, and was snapped back into the present. She felt anxious to continue their journey now that their hero had recovered.


    They resumed walking, getting ambushed several times along the way. Most attackers were shot dead by Huang Jiahui with the rifle. After less than an hour of walking, they arrived at the Shanshui District. Huang Jihui was very fidgety and kept mumbling to herself constantly.


    The Shanshui District was a high-rise zone, where every unit was at least ten floors high. Huang Jihui lived on the seventh floor. Unfortunately for the trio, the power supply had been cut, so the elevator was out ofmission. They had to climb their way up the stairs and by the time they reached the seventh floor, Huang Jiahui waspletely out of breath and looking white as a sheet.


    Luo Yuan looked ahead of her and saw that the metal gate was ajar. There were several dents on it made by both big and small punches, one of which was aimed right at where the lock had been, causing the door to break open. He deduced that the punches were made by a green beetle¡¯s front limbs.


    Huang Jiahui got herself together and frantically dashed towards her home.


    ¡°Ningning? NINGNING! Where are you?¡±


    Luo Yuan and Zhao Qianqian quickly ran after her. The room was aplete mess. Everything had been tossed all over the ce as if a hurricane had swept inside. The living room glowed from the reflection of the green beetle carcasses, and the walls were marked by bullet holes. Luo Yuan examined an empty bullet shell he found on the floor.


    ¡°Someone was here. You should look for your daughter. I think she¡¯s still alive considering there¡¯s no blood in the room.¡±


    Huang Jiahui sighed in relief, but was unable to find her daughter anywhere in the house. She ran towards the phone in a panic. Something had just urred to her, and she dialed before she could even hear a dial tone. ¡°Yujiahui, is Ningning with you?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, she¡¯s safe. Lucky I got there in time before anything happened.¡±


    She exhaled, ¡°I can¡¯t thank you enough! I was worried sick!¡±


    ¡°She is my daughter too. It¡¯s been getting really dangerous recently. I think it¡¯d be best if she stayed with me for a little longer.¡±


    ¡°Oh, okay. That¡¯s fine. Sounds reasonable. Could you please put her on? I just want to hear her voice.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m out on a mission at the moment. How about tonight? You could move here too. I¡¯ve already spoken with Xiao Yan. You guys would get along just fine.¡±


    ¡°Ugh! How could you even suggest that? I can¡¯t believe it!¡±


    ¡°Jiahui, please. Listen to me. It¡¯s really f*cked up out there right now, alright? People are dying every minute! It¡¯s too dangerous for you to be living on your own. If you move here, I could protect you. I mean it, I...¡±


    She abruptly mmed the receiver and tossed the phone on the couch.


    ¡°Was that your ex-husband?¡± Zhao Qianqian asked.


    ¡°Something like that. We¡¯ve been too caught up with work to get an official divorce yet. But we¡¯ve been separated for more than two years. Forget about that assh*le. Look at this mess! You guys want anything to drink? There should be some tea left, I¡¯ll go put the kettle on,¡± she said, trying her best to remain calm. She walked into the kitchen, where they heard her shout, ¡°The gas has stopped working!¡±


    ¡°What? The gas?¡± Luo Yuan echoed in concern.


    The units in the Donghu District ran on an interconnected system of gas piping. Only a handful of households use a canned gas supply. Luo Yuan was not as concerned about the power outage, because it was not as much of a necessitypared to the gas supply. Civilization could still function without power, but it would be slightly inconvenient to live without gas. People would have to go back to the stone age and start their own fires to cook their meals.


    This hit him hard. It was probably the first time that he felt that the end was near.


    From the broken window, he could see several green beetles casually taking a stroll, undisturbed by any human presence. It was as if the world had been dominated by aliens.


    Luo Yuan took out a cigarette and struggled to light it. He was shaking. He took a puff and nervously beat its ashes to the ground.


    Zhao Qianqian was confused, ¡°The government would handle it, right? They wouldn¡¯t let us die of starvation, would they? Otherwise, what are we going to eat?¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s hope they will,¡± Luo Yuan said as he stood. ¡°I have to go now.¡±


    From the outside, Luo Yuan might seem to have recovered from all his injuries, but he was aware that it was only the effect of the meat strips that was keeping him from copsing. Once that effect wore off, he wasn¡¯t sure what would be of him.


    Zhao Qianqian got up nervously.


    Huang Jiahui hesitated, caught in a dilemma. She looked at the broken door and recalled how angry she had been on the phone. ¡°Xiao Luo, is it alright if I stay at your ce for now?¡±


    ¡°Of course it is. I¡¯ve got plenty of rooms to spare!


    At times like these, it was indeed a terrifying thought for a woman to be alone; especially when her housecked a proper door.


    Zhao Qianqian stood silently,pletely baffled.


    Huang Jiahui quickly packed some essentials. She was out the door with her luggage in less than ten minutes time.

 Chapter 34: Accidental Injury

    Chapter 34: idental Injury


    Trantor: Editor:


    After seeing Cao Qianqian off, Luo Yuan and Huang Jiahui arrived at Luo Yuan¡¯s building in the Jingyue District.


    ¡°Which floor are staying on?¡± Huang Jiahui tried to find something to talk about. She was feeling quite nervous. This was the first time that she would be staying at an acquaintance¡¯s house for a few days.


    ¡°Fourth,¡± he said, turning around to look at her.


    ¡°Are you staying with her now?¡± Huang Jiahui asked while she yed with her fringe.


    ¡°Who? Are you talking about Zhao Yali? She is back in her hometown.¡± Luo Yuan seemed to idle for a bit at the mention of Zhao Yali. He quickly changed the topic, ¡°All the furniture is still here. You can stay in her room. Please hide the rifle so we can avoid any unnecessary trouble,¡± Luo Yuan told Huang Jiahui when he saw that she was still holding it.


    Donghu City was a mess and no police would bother to arrest them even they knew they had a rifle. However, it would be best for them to be more careful if they wanted to stay there.


    "Okay," Huang Jiahui responded before she put the rifle into her luggage.


    The two of them arrived on the fourth floor very soon. Luo Yuan could sense that there was someone standing near the fire escape. When he opened the door, he found Wang Shishi standing there and sobbing.


    "Uncle, my parents aren¡¯t home. I¡¯m scared,¡± she said while she looked at Luo Yuan with a pair of big teary eyes.


    Luo Yuan felt bad and said, "Why don¡¯t youe stay at my house for a while?"


    "Thank you, Uncle!" Wang Shishi responded.


    Huang Jiahui felt sorry for her and asked, "You¡¯re such a pretty girl. How old are you?"


    "I¡¯m in Year 8. Are you his girlfriend?" Wang Shishi asked curiously.


    Huang Jiahui felt embarrassed, and she immediately regretted talking to her. "No, we¡¯re just friends. I¡¯ll only be staying here for a few days,¡± she replied.


    Luo Yuan did not bother listening to their conversation. He just inserted the key into the lock and opened the door. The house was a mess. All the ss had been broken, including the balcony door. Luo Yuan checked around the house to make sure that no one had entered it before he walked into the kitchen. He switched on the gas stove and watched the blue me get weaker and weaker until it finally disappeared. He cursed silently. Something was wrong.


    "Xiao Luo, I¡¯m going to take a shower first," Huang Jiahui shouted from the other room.


    Luo Yuan rushed to stop her, "Wait!" he said while he lingered around the room.


    "What¡¯s wrong?" Huang Jiahui asked, noticing Luo Yuan¡¯s panic. She was cold, sweaty and scared, and she was feeling really ufortable.


    "Do you think there will be a water supply if there is no gas supply? The water storage in the city center must have been attacked. Soon there will be no water if nobody fixes it," Luo Yuan said calmly as he thought about it. He did not wait for Huang Jiahui to respond. He went straight to the bathroom and switched on the tap.


    Luo Yuan was relieved to see water gush out. ¡°Can you help me bring the stic pail and the pot over from the balcony?¡± he asked.


    ¡°Okay,¡± Huang Jiahui said, running towards the balcony. There were lots of pots in the house. Other than Luo Yuan¡¯s pail and pot, Zhao Yali had also left a couple of them behind. There were two stic pails and four pots in total. Nobody cared which ones had been used to wash the face and which ones the legs.


    Luo Yuan filled all the containers with water and then told Huang Jihui, ¡°You can take a shower now. Enjoy your shower while there is still water. We might not be able to have a shower anymore soon.¡±


    Huang Jiahui took a change of clothes and entered the bathroom.


    ¡°Uncle, do you think this is the end of the world?¡± Wang Shishi asked softly.


    ¡°Who told you that?¡± Luo Yuan asked her.


    ¡°I knew it,¡± Wang Shishi said sadly.


    ¡°Would you be afraid if it was?¡± Luo Yuan asked again.


    ¡°Fear can¡¯t change anything. My parent are noting back, right?" Wang Shishi asked again.


    "Yes, they are. Perhaps something has just dyed their arrival." Luo Yuan patted her head tofort her.


    "You don¡¯t have to lie to me, Uncle. I saw a lot of people get eaten by those big bugs in the district. They even swallowed their bones." Wang Shishi was shaking while she talked about the beetles, but she kept looking directly at Luo Yuan.


    Luo Yuan stopped patting her for a second. He did not know how tofort her. Then he realized that she was already in Year 8 and could even be considered a young adult. It was time for her to ept the harsh reality.


    ¡°You must be strong, okay? Even if your parents are not here, you must be strong to stay alive.¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡± Wang Shishi nodded while tears rolled down her cheeks.


    ¡°Alright then. Can you help me sweep all this broken ss?¡± Luo Yuan asked.


    Wang Shishi took a deep breath and agreed. She used a broom and dustpan, wiping her tears away while she swept the broken ss. Luo Yuan watched her for a while, and then went into the storeroom. There was an axe, a hammer, scissors, nails, and other tools inside.


    He walked back to the living room and cut the dining table into wooden boards, nning to use the edge pieces as firewood. He took a wooden board, the hammer and a few nails, and walked to the window to measure it. He began to nail the wooden board on the window. Although there was an iron grill outside, it was a fragile one that could easily be destroyed by amon thief, even more so by giant bugs. Of course, boarding the windows would not help much, but it was an extrayer of protection, and one that could block them from the bugs and other small animals¡¯ sight. A momentter, Huang Jiahui came out of the bathroom in casual wear. When she saw Luo Yuan and Wang Shishi working, she walked over to offer her help.


    Luo Yuan stopped her, ¡°We are good here. It¡¯s quitete already. Can you help prepare dinner? There is rice in the kitchen. Here¡¯s the lighter.¡±


    He raised his chin up and looked up at Huang Jiahui. She looked seductive. Her casual clothes did nothing to conceal her big breasts, and her small waist and round cherry-like butt drove Luo Yuan crazy. He quickly turned his gaze away and signaled for Wang Shishi to bring more wood.


    Huang Jiahui took the lighter, but realized it was out of gas. She could only use firewood to cook, so she carried some into the kitchen. She took out a pressure cooker and found rice inside a cupboard. However, when the moment came that she needed to light up the fire, she paused. She didn¡¯t know how to. Although she¡¯d had pics before, it was usually her male colleagues who would take care of the fire starting part, so she had never learned.


    Huang Jiahui asked, "Where should I start the fire? It can¡¯t be on the floor, right?"


    "Find a pot and do it inside it," Luo Yuan replied.


    Huang Jiahui said, "I can¡¯t do it, could youe and help?"


    "Pour a little oil on the wood and then light it up," Luo Yuan told her. A momentter, a choking smell came from the kitchen. Luo Yuan did not bother checking on her as that kind of smell was normal when someone lit up a fire in the kitchen. However, the smoke started getting thicker and thicker, making both his and Wang Shishi¡¯s eyes tear up at the same time that mucus started dripping down from their noses.


    Luo Yuan felt that something was wrong and quickly rushed to the kitchen to check. He almost fainted when he saw the pressure cooker on top of the pot and Huang Jiahui holding its handle. She lifted the pressure cooker and blew some air into the pot. Her eyes were red and she lookedpletely lost.


    "What are you doing? How are you going to light it up if there is not enough air in the pot?" Luo Yuan asked.


    "How should I know? I¡¯ve never started a fire before." Huang Jiahui looked innocent and sad. She had so much dirt on her face that she resembled a ck cat.


    "Then you should learn. You will be taking care of all our meals from now on," Luo Yuan said.


    Huang Jiahui did not argue. She knew it was dangerous outside, and the only way to remain safe was to follow Luo Yuan. His strength was the main reason she wanted to stay with him. Luo Yuan walked to Zhao Yali¡¯s bedroom and broke the hangers in her closet, making two piles. He put one of them under the pot to stabilize it before bncing a few wires on the edge of the pot. He then lit up the wood and waited for it to burn. He put another pile on the pot and then ced the pressure cooker on top of it.


    ¡°Alright, it¡¯s done. Just leave the rest to me,¡± Huang Jiahui said happily when she saw the fire burning.


    ¡°Okay,¡± Luo Yuan nodded.


    He walked to the living room to continue his work. The wood from the dining table was not enough to board all the windows. He also had to chop up the tea table to cover the rest. The upgraded Zhanmadao was very sharp. Its extreme hardness could almostpete with modern technology. It was very easy for him to chop the wood. Wang Shishi was amazed and surprised as she looked at Luo Yuan chop up the tea table with a long green sword.He made it look as easy as cutting tofu.


    The room became darker as he boarded up the windows. Other than the windows in the kitchen, only the screen door leading to the balcony was left. Luo Yuan scratched his head while he looked it. He could not find such a big piece of wood. He looked around the house to see if there was anything that he could use to cover it. Finally, his eyes stopped on a door. He was wondering whether he could chop one of the bedroom doors or the door to the washroom, but one door did not seem enough to cover the whole screen door. After some consideration, he decided to put the issue on hold. He could handle it if four or five bugs came in. As the sun went down, Wang Shishi got even more depressed. She kept looking at the door, on the alert for any activity outside the house. She got up a few times, but sat back down again in disappointment.


    Huang Jiahui moved a small table out from a bedroom and put all the dishes and rice on it. She had prepared 2 salted eggs, a te of zha cai1, and a te of canned stewed beef. Although that would not normally constitute a good meal, it was considered a gourmet meal under the circumstances.


    ¡°Let¡¯s eat.¡±


    Luo Yuan began to eat right away. Wang Shishi looked lost in thought while she stared at the food. She did not even respond much when Huang Jiahui addressed her. Luo Yuan smoked after dinner. No one noticed the sweat on his forehead.


    When he had finished his cigarette, he turned to Wang Shishi and said, ¡°Shishi, you stay with Auntie Huang tonight, okay? Don¡¯t think too much.¡±


    "Thanks, Uncle." Wang Shishi put down the chopsticks and began sobbing.


    Luo Yuan sighed but he did not try tofort her. He got up from the chair and walked to his room. He lied down on the bed straight away. His face was distorted. The power of the rat meat had been fading and there was not much left in his body anymore. He used his own determination to control and distract himself sometimes, but every time he rxed the pain took over. He tried his very best to endure it.


    Thirty minutester, there was a system message.


    ¡°Beep! Determination +1!¡±


    While he listened to the message in his head, his mouth twitched a bit. Eventually his eyelids shut tightly and he fell asleep. He was awakened again by the sound of bombs.


    ¡°What¡¯s happening?¡±


    He grabbed his Zhanmadao and got up from the bed. Although his chest still hurt, he felt a lot better after having a good night¡¯s of sleep. He walked to the window and opened the curtain. That was when he saw the wood and realized that he had boarded up all the windows.


    He quickly opened the door and saw Huang Jiahui and Wang Shishi standing at the corner, looking towards the balcony. He got panicked and walked to the balcony to take a look outside. His entire body stiffened when he saw the green beetles flying in the sky. They looked frustrated as they lingered above the ground. He could hear the sound of bombs. Huang Jiahui and Wang Shishi looked relieved to see Luo Yuan.


    ¡°The army is here to save us!¡± Huang Jiahui said, sounding excited.


    Luo Yuan was excited as well. The situation in Donghu City would get better if the army took over. Perhaps they could kill all the beetles. Neither the green beetles nor any other mutated animal could fight against their well-prepared modernized army. It would be a totally different kind of battle. Suddenly, a missile exploded into the sky near the district, producing a huge shock, strong enough to kill all the beetles. Some of the beetles closest to the missile exploded even before they could reach the ground.


    Luo Yuan felt the building shake. A hot wind came from the balcony as his brain suddenly went nk. People who had been born during peaceful times could never imagine what they were going through. Luo Yuan himself had only watched such scenes in television shows while he ate snacks andmented on the magic of the powerful weapons. He had never imagined the day when he would experience it for real.


    A missile had just exploded not long ago when two more missiles exploded nearby, killing all the green beetles in the vicinity in mere seconds. After a few minutes, several armored trucks with 30mm bombs arrived. A bomb was released, flying up into the sky. The sounds made him feel ufortable. A few of the remaining beetles were killed, their greenish fluids spilling onto the ground. The cannon kept spinning and releasing bombs, almost hitting some of the nearby buildings in the process. Some of them did get hit, the bombs creating several holes and gaps in the walls.


    Luo Yuan watched the scene speechless for a while. After he had recovered from the panic, he realized he was actually sweating. Their building happened to face themercial street. Once the cannons aimed and released bombs in their direction, the building might copse and they might all die.


    "We can¡¯t stay here anymore! Let¡¯s go!" Luo Yuan urged them.


    During modern wars, it was difficult for armies to avoid hurting innocent citizens identally, unless they were willing to sacrifice their soldiers. Based on the situation in Donghu City, their main concern was not any idental injuries, but the destruction of all green beetles as soon as possible. Although he understood that, Luo Yuan was still very mad. When something affected him, it was quite difficult for him to remain calm and make a rational decision.


    Huang Jiahui sensed the danger as well. She quickly ran into the bedroom and came back with the rifle in her hand.


    ¡°Where should we go?¡± she asked


    Luo Yuan walked towards the main door and said, ¡°Head to the ground floor. At least it¡¯s safer than here.¡±


    ¡°Alright!¡± Huang Jiahui replied.


    Wang Shishi looked like a pale doll. She was just standing there, not moving a muscle. Luo Yuan looked at her and sighed, ¡°Give me the rifle. You carry her.¡±


    Huang Jiahui responded by handing him the rifle, lifting Wang Shishi up and walking towards the door.


    Bullets prated the walls and produced high pitch sounds while they stepped carefully down the staircase. There were several cracks on the walls as well. Multipleyers of wall separated the outer walls of the building from the staircase, but the bullets could still prate them. Luo Yuan was shocked. His heart beat very fast. He looked at Huang Jiahui, who looked pale and speechless. He was relieved to see that she was not hurt.


    "Don¡¯t stop, keep running!" Luo Yuan shouted at her. She quickly followed Luo Yuan, both of them running down the stairs.


    In one minute, the three of them had reached the ground floor. Apparently, Luo Yuan was not the only smart person in the building though, as the ground floor was packed with people. When they saw the rifle in Luo Yuan¡¯s hand, they all went silent. Nobody screamed, nobody tried to escape. They were not afraid, they were just alert. The ability to ept things was rtively higher during chaotic times than during peaceful times. Swords and knives had bemon things, and it had also be verymon for people to carry their weapons wherever they went.


    Luo Yuan passed the rifle back to Huang Jiahui after she put down Wang Shishi. He believed Huang Jiahui was better at using it.


    "Hurry up! Somebody please help her!"


    Suddenly, a middle-aged man walked down the stairs with a woman in his arms. The woman was bleeding profusely. The crowd moved away to make space for them.


    The middle-aged man seemed like a gentleman. He wore a pair of ck-framed spectacles, and he looked anxious and helpless as he hugged the woman tightly in his arms. Blood was dripping down his arm, forming a line.


    He put thedy down on the empty space and begged the crowd, "Is anyone here a doctor? Could you please save her? Please..."


    He was crying.


    Luo Yuan took a look at the woman and quickly turned his gaze away. Her eyes were closed tight and her breathing seemed very weak. She looked as pale as a sheet, and there was a wound the size of a human fist on her chest. It was obvious she would not live much longer.


    "Please help her! Please, I¡¯m begging you... I can give you money. No, food. I still have food at home! I can give it all to you!" He looked at the crowd helplessly.


    The people around him looked away. Someone said, "Even sending her to the hospital won¡¯t help now. Her injuries are too severe. You have my deepest condolences."


    The man¡¯s body shook a little as he grieved. He wanted to touch her face, but his hand began to shake vigorously in the air. He cried out loud as he felt her body getting colder.


    Trantor Notes


    1 Zha cai is a type of pickled mustard nt stem originating from Sichuan, China. The name may also be written in English as cha tsai, tsa tsai, jar choy, jar choi, ja choi, ja choy, or cha tsoi.

 Chapter 35: Barrage

    Chapter 35: Barrage


    Trantor: Editor:


    ¡°Boom!¡±


    Missiles exploded in the sky above several buildings across the district. There were whole clouds of dust, the explosion causing huge cracks to form on the ceiling of the ground floor. People tended to think nonsense when fear crept into their minds. The crowd looked like rats hiding in their holes cowardly. They kept shaking, feeling insecure and hopeless. The chaos also had some of the women and kids crying. No one could predict their future. Perhaps the next missile would drop right on their building and crush everyone inside it.


    Wang Shishi was hiding in Luo Yuan¡¯s arms, shaking uncontrobly. Luo Yuan patted her head and sighed. He was also waiting for the call of destiny. He would much rather fight with weapons than wait in fear for an unknown future. At least if he died during a fight, he would know why he died. No one spoke, they just watched out from the grill with their eyes open wide. Perhaps that was the only thing they could do to calm themselves down.


    Time flew. A few missiles exploded in the sky near their building, causing the crowd to scream. Donghu City was the secondrgest city in the Jiangnan Province. Even if it wasn¡¯t the number one city in priority for homnd security, it had to at least be the second one on the list. There were several bomb shelters around the city, but unfortunately they had failed to y any role during the battle. The bombing had been an emergency n and most of the citizens had not been prepared for it. This battle was different than the one between humans and other mutated animals. The beetles had the air advantage and they were attacking the city center, which had not allowed the government to send out a war warning. The battle was still going on at noon.


    There were at least a hundred thousand beetles in Donghu City and it was not easy to kill all of them. There were countless missiles and grenades exploding in the sky, filling the air with a choking, burning smell. The sound of the explosions was fading as the evening sky turned darker. Everyone on the ground floor was extremely hungry, and their clothes were full of dust and pieces of cement that had dropped from the ceiling. They looked like construction workersing home from a worksite. They waited for a while, then went back to their respective units after confirming that this was it for the day. Luo Yuan felt relieved, but his body was stiff and his face was covered in mortar. He looked like a freshly made statue.


    There were about ten green beetles flying in the sky above, which was rtively less than what they had seen during the daytime. Luo Yuan would not be so worried if he did not realize that there were more big animals wandering in the sky than just the beetles. Other animals could fly at a very high speed too. Unfortunately, it was difficult to see clearly what kind of animals they were because the sky was too dark. Luo Yuan could guess what they were though, because he had killed one of them before.


    There were a few more explosions farther away, but they too started to fade as the night went on. Luo Yuan did not know how many guard rank green beetles were lingering in the sky as he could only see a small part of the sky above him.


    "Are those the same green beetles we saw earlier?" Huang Jiahui asked.


    Luo Yuan sighed and nodded his head.


    "Then the army...," Huang Jiahui drifted off.


    Luo Yuan did not wait for her to finish her question before he said, "We will know in the next two days. You go and prepare dinner."


    Huang Jiahui nodded and pulled Wang Shishi into the kitchen.


    Luo Yuan was standing in front of the balcony, watching the guard rank green beetles. Even though he had killed a guard rank green beetle on the ground before, he had never imagined it could fly at such a high speed. If it flew just slightly faster, it would probably break the sound barrier. A regr weapon would have a hard time injuring this creature, which was very powerful in its attack. Luo Yuan was sure the army would experience a big loss from the current battle. Luo Yuan recalled that the system had identified the bugs as regr green beetles and guard rank green beetles. However, he did not know whether there was any higher level than that. What if...


    Luo Yuan quickly stopped himself from thinking too much. He felt horrified when he allowed himself to entertain the possibility of the army getting defeated.


    The next morning, Luo Yuan was awakened by the sound of a supersonic aircraft. He quickly got up from bed and put on his snakeskin bulletproof jacket. He could hear Huang Jiahui already shouting while he was about to open the door.


    "Luo Yuan! Luo Yuan! Wake up! Hurry up! They¡¯re fighting again!"


    Luo Yuan opened the door and saw Huang Jiahui and Wang Shishi standing in the hallway anxiously. They both looked exhausted and had dark circles under their eyes. Apparently, they had not slept well the previous night.


    Luo Yuan walked to the balcony and saw a group of fighting jets that happened to be flying by the building. He guessed there were about a hundred fighting jets in the sky. Secondster, an air-defense rm was heard.


    "Let¡¯s go to the ground floor," Luo Yuan said as he turned around.


    He believed that the army was going to try and st the green beetles. Huang Jia Hui nodded her head and lifted Wang Shishi into her arms.


    "Wait, let me grab some food first." Luo Yuan could recall their experiences the previous day and thought today might be even worse. He went into the storeroom and took out some mantou that he had bought a while ago. He opened it and smelled it to confirm that it was safe to eat. Then he took the food and all of them walked quickly down to the ground floor.


    There were currently only a few people gathered there. However, many residents ran down the staircase in less than a minute¡¯s time. Luo Yuan looked at the cracks on the walls and frowned. This building had been built topensate the residents for the previous older building. That meant that the construction costs had been low and the quality had been rtively low as well. He was not sure that the building could survive a war, but his thought process was interrupted by the sound of bombs. Once the war had begun, the army was sure to try to do its best.


    Everyone could see the scene ying out through the gaps of the grill. There were clouds of fire in the sky, and many bombs and bullets being delivered on the battlefield. They saw shockwaves hit several tall buildings and leave holes on their walls. One minuteter, the building began to shake vigorously as the barrage got closer, and a missile exploded nearby. Suddenly, the building copsed. If someone was standing outside and looking at it from a distance, it would certainly be a jaw-dropping scene. However, everyone inside it was too shocked and stunned to do anything. Not that anyone would know what to do.


    Extreme fear and hopelessness were followed by numbness. The barrage was getting closer and closer and the vibration of their eardrums was getting stronger. The explosions seemed like non-stop thunderstorms. Luo Yuan immediately sensed the danger. He knew it would not be a smart move to continue to stay there. There were so many explosions happening around them that even if the missiles exploded in the sky and did not hit anyone, they would still cause lots of damage to the buildings. He looked at the cracks on the ceiling and the falling dust, and made the decision to leave.


    "This ce is not safe anymore. Follow me!" Luo Yuan pulled Huang Jiahui along.


    "Where are we going?" she asked.


    "To the district underground parking area. It¡¯s very close. You carry Wang Shishi. Hurry up, or it will be toote!" Luo Yuan said.


    "Uncle, I want to walk by myself. I don¡¯t want to slow Auntie down." Wang Shishi raised her chin and looked at Luo Yuan.


    He looked back at this young girl, who should have been enjoying freedom in school, but had been forced to face the ugly side of life instead. He nodded his head. "Alright. Jiahui, you take care of her."


    "Are you heading to the parking area?" a middle-aged man asked.


    "I think this building is going to copse soon. Let¡¯s all go together if you want to leave too," Luo Yuan said. Everyone suddenly looked at him.


    Other than the middle-aged man, everyone else seemed anxious and hesitant about whether they should leave the building or not. Apparently, while they knew it was not safe to stay in the building, they were also afraid to bump into the green beetles on the way to the underground parking area.


    Luo Yuan looked at the crowd and asked, ¡°We¡¯re leaving soon. Is anyone elseing with us?¡±


    Most of them chose to stay instead of risk their lives and face that challenge. In the end, only three guys and one woman followed Luo Yuan. One of them was the guy with the ck-framed spectacles from yesterday. The rifle that Huang Jiahui was holding was actually quite helpful to them as it gave them the confidence to leave. Luo Yuan opened the grill and the seven of them walked out of the building. The crowd immediately closed it again. Luo Yuan turned around and looked at theplicated expressions on their faces before he took a deep breath and ran away.

 Chapter 36: Aftermath of the Attack

    Chapter 36: Aftermath of the Attack


    Trantor: Editor:


    The war had caused mass destruction and made the green beetles fly around recklessly as if they were in a stew.


    Once they went out, Luo Yuan saw a giant shadow. It was too near to see with the naked eye, but he almost felt like going back.


    Fortunately, the giant thing was driven mad by a distant noise and was not aware of the food walking by right under its nose.


    Luo Yuan was holding his knife tightly in his right hand and was on guard while they quickly run towards the underground parking area. The parking area was located by the entrance of the Jingyue District. It was just a few hundred meters away, but that seemed very far at that particr moment.


    Wang Shishi could easily keep up with them at the beginning, but as their speed got faster, she started getting exhausted and her face turned pale. After all, she was still very young and thin, so her speed and stamina were notparable to an adult¡¯s.


    However, she persisted, trying her best to keep up.


    About two minutester, they finally reached the underground parking area, which was full of dusty cars that had been abandoned by their owners. Luo Yuan checked around and killed a few green beetles that had been hiding in there. Everyone felt relieved as they sat down unceremoniously on the dusty floor and gasped for air.


    Other than Luo Yuan, Huang Jiahui and Wang Shishi, there was also a couple who seemed to be still passionately in love. The moment they sat down, they started hugging andforting each other, and generally acting as if no one else was present. The rest were two middle-aged men with big bellies and the bespectacled guy.


    ¡°I¡¯m Cheng Guohua, my friend. How shall I call you?¡± a middle-aged man asked as he shifted nearer to Luo Yuan, trying to win his favor.


    ¡°I¡¯m Luo.¡±


    The middle-aged man did not seem to mind Luo Yuan¡¯s cold and indifferent manner and continued, ¡°Brother Luo, you used to practice, right? You¡¯re so skilled. If I knew what would happen today, I would have trained myself.¡±


    Luo Yuan smiled and said nothing.


    ¡°What does the future hold for us? This war will turn Donghu City to ruins,¡± Cheng Guohua sighed.


    ¡°The country could be rebuilt, right?¡± Huang Jiahui said, curling her lips.


    ¡°Hehe... rebuilt, you say? Under the current conditions, do you know how many resources we would need to rebuild the whole country? I think the only solution is a massive relocation!¡± Cheng Guohua said firmly.


    Luo Yuan agreed. Crude oil had been categorized as an essential war resource, and theck of energy as well as the transportation issues would make rebuilding the city an enormous project.


    Cheng Guohua sounded pleased, ¡°I think food will get more expensive, and we will all die of starvation if we don¡¯t have money! Oh, can I take a look at your knife?¡±


    Luo Yuan suddenly looked at him seriously and declined, ¡°No.¡±


    The middle-aged man had not thought that Luo Yuan would reject him so directly. He looked tense for a while before he gave him a confident smile and said, ¡°Don¡¯t be so mean. I can pay you a satisfactory price for this knife. It would be enough for you to live in another ce. I am interested in buying it.¡±


    Luo Yuan looked at him like an idiot.


    ¡°What is it?¡± the middle-aged man asked.


    ¡°Nothing. How much you can offer?¡± Luo Yuan suddenly felt interested in his offer after the past few days of oppression.


    The middle-aged man felt energized. He had tried hard to win Luo Yuan¡¯s favor in order to buy his knife. After all, he could tell how precious it was by the way Luo Yuan had used it to hack the green beetle.


    Nobody could be secure without a weapon for self-defense. It was useless to rely on others, and that included the police. He would much rather buy the rifle, but he dared not ask as he could tell that the rifle was a treasure that was not for sale. Therefore, his best option was to buy himself the knife.


    He remained silent for a while, guessing what the right price would be, before he said proudly, ¡°Five hundred thousand!¡±


    ¡°Ha!¡± Huang Jiahui, who was sitting beside him, snorted.


    ¡°It seems that the Jingyue District doesn¡¯t really have any rich men,¡± Luo Yuan sighed.


    As the middle-aged man was jeered by the beautiful woman, he glowered. ¡°What about one million?¡±


    ¡°How much rice can a million buy? Do you think we¡¯re still in the old days? Ten million would be just perfect,¡± Huang Jiahui interrupted him scornfully.


    ¡°Poverty must have driven you mad. This is outright robbery,¡± the middle-aged man cursed inside his mind. The fact that she was holding a gun prevented him from cursing her directly.


    The intion was very high. People could buy less with one million than what they could buy with one hundred thousand in the old days. Plus, there were a lot of things that money could not buy, things that could only be traded with food. One hundred thousand was not enough to buy Luo Yuan¡¯s knife. That price had to be multiplied by one hundred.


    The middle-aged man was so enraged that he would not speak another word, much like the bespectacled guy. The couple was still kissing and hugging.


    As the barrage gradually got closer, the earth started to shake.


    Suddenly, Luo Yuan felt an unexpected throbbing in his heart and he pushed both Huang Jiahui and Wang Shishi to the ground. He didn¡¯t have time to say a word before an ear-splitting sound swallowed everything.


    ¡°Boom!¡±


    A missile suddenly blew up with a loud crash over the district.


    They all felt a loud buzzing in their ears before there was total silence.


    The woman of the couple suddenly touched her ears and felt something wet. When she took a look, she saw blood on her hands. She was stunned for a while. Then she suddenly felt a chill and she screamed, only to find out that she could not hear anything.


    She wanted to stand up, but her boyfriend was hugging her tightly, so she just wailed.


    ¡°Boom! Boom! Boom!¡±


    Missiles blew up one after another, heating the whole underground parking area up to 45 degrees Celsius. The powerful explosion had used up most of the oxygen in the air and left the people feeling like they were suffocating.


    Fortunately, the explosion above themsted for only 30 seconds before it moved on.


    Luo Yuan continued prostrating for a little longer until the explosion had gone far enough. Then he got off Wang Shishi and Huang Jiahui. Both Huang Jiahui and Wang Shishi got up as well. Wang Shishi was blushing, but nobody knew what she was thinking about.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go out and take a look,¡± Luo Yuan said softly.


    ¡°Okay!¡± Huang Jiahui responded, holding his hand tightly as they walked towards the exit of the parking area.


    The others followed them.


    Parts of the exit had copsed and the floor was full of gravel. The thin edge of the wall had broken, forming several crevices.


    Luo Yuan took a look at the exit and considered himself lucky. If the copsed area wererger, the consequences would have been dreadful.


    When they walked out of the parking area, they were stunned by what they saw.


    The whole district had turned into ruins. All the buildings looked dpidated and dangerous, and whole blocks had copsed. Luo Yuan turned pale. When he had recovered, he walked quickly to his house. He made a turn and saw the block where he stayed.


    Arge crack had formed from the sixth floor to the first floor and the wall had dropped off, revealing the interior of the house.


    Even though the building was barely supporting itself and was no longer safe to live in, Luo Yuan was relieved.


    He kept lots of supplies inside his room and they would definitely be worth a big amount of money now.


    Everyone grinned.


    They walked quickly towards the entrance and found that the iron door was still closed tight. There appeared to be no movement from the inside.


    Luo Yuan felt a chill as he came to a stop.


    Cheng Guohua walked to the front and knocked on the door hard, but nobody answered it. He muttered under his breath, took out a key from his pocket and opened the iron door.


    Next thing they knew, his face had turned very pale and he¡¯d walked a few steps backward and tumbled down on the floor.


    ¡°They¡¯re dead, they¡¯re all dead,¡± he muttered.


    They looked through the door and saw more than ten corpses lying in a mess on the floor. The bodies had apparently been sted to death as their faces were deformed and bleeding. Even more gruesome was the fact that their limbs were still twitching.


    Wang Shishi was so frightened that she hid behind Luo Yuan.


    Luo Yuan was used to seeing dead bodies, so he recovered from the shock quite quickly and told Huang Jiahui, who still hadn¡¯t recovered, ¡°We can no longer stay here. Both of you wait for me here while I go get something!¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll go with you!¡± Huang Jiahui said.


    ¡°I want toe too!¡± said Wang Shishi stubbornly as she stepped out from behind Luo Yuan¡¯s back.


    ¡°Both of you stay here. I¡¯m afraid money might lead people tomit crimes. The city is in a terrible mess. Please be careful,¡± Luo Yuan smiled stiffly.


    ¡°Okay, you too. Please be careful, the building may copse at any time,¡± Huang Jiahui said with concern.


    ¡°Okay!¡± Luo Yuan nodded.


    He crossed over the bodies and walked towards the fourth floor.


    It was very dangerous as some parts of the staircase had already copsed. Although some areas were still intact, they were full of cracks and crevices. Fortunately, the copsed areas were not toorge, the biggest one being only about five or six steps. With his ability, it was not a big deal.


    However, even though he was very careful, he came very close to falling down a couple of times.


    After about 10 minutes, Luo Yuan finally reached the fourth floor.


    The security door was no longer at its original position, and the hallway that led from the staircase to his room had already copsed and fallen onto the third floor.


    He jumped over the two-meter path directly into his own room.


    The living room had a huge hole in it and the only furniture - a couch - had also fallen onto the third floor.


    However, the storeroom beside the living room was still intact.


    There were eight bags of grains, some medicine, snacks, salty eggs, salty vegetables, canned meat, and severalrge bags of toilet paper. When Luo Yuan had gone grocery shopping, he¡¯d bought everything in sight and as a result there were lots of unused supplies.


    As he looked at them, it became apparent that he could not carry them down the stairs. He could only threw them down.


    Luo Yuan took off the wooden block and opened the window.


    He called for Huang Jiahui to grab them from downstairs and then threw the bags of grains down.


    The bags were not strong enough and most of them burst open when they hit the ground. He could not help that.


    When Luo Yuan had thrown everything, he looked back towards the kitchen. He thought it would be a pity to leave the pickled meat to be devoured by the rats.

 Chapter 37: Communication Gap

    Chapter 37: Communication Gap


    Trantor: Editor:


    When Luo Yuan headed back down, half the staircase on the third floor copsed, almost causing him to fall.


    As he walked out of the building, the others surrounded him.


    ¡°Brother Luo, would you like to earn some money? If you bring my things out, I shall remunerate you fairly,¡± Cheng Guohua said airily, confident that Luo Yuan would say yes. He had tried to go up earlier, but he had retreated as the building looked too dangerous for him.


    ¡°We will, too. As long as you bring our things out, I will pay you,¡± the man of the couple said in a softer tone.


    Luo Yuan was fed up. He had to hold himself back from pping him. His face darkened as he said, ¡°My life is worth more than you can pay me. You couldn¡¯t afford me if you sold yourselves. Go look for somebody else.¡±


    As soon as he finished his sentence, he turned away, not waiting to see Cheng Guohua¡¯s reaction. He was afraid that he might not be able to control himself and would end up beating the man up.


    The grains had been scattered all over the ce and both Huang Jiahui and Wang Shishi were trying to gather them with their hands.


    ¡°Everything else is intact, but the bags were torn and about half the grains are scattered. We could get them back if we had a sack,¡± Huang Jiahui said in distress when she saw Luo Yuan head over.


    Grains had always been precious, but even more so now that the end of the world seemed to be approaching. Fear had caused many people to try and buy as much as possible, which had resulted in a grain shortage all around the country. Furthermore, the crops that used to be taken care of could no longerpete against the weeds, which had proved resistant to high-concentration weedicide sprays. Therefore, the fields around the country were being neglected and grains were in short supply. If the issue was not solved or a new highpetence species was discovered, they would be facing starvation on arger scale. Grains were always the main food source during a war.


    Luo Yuan looked both left and right; everywhere around him wasplete devastation. It would be very difficult to find sacks. He sighed and said, ¡°I¡¯ll look around, but I¡¯m not very hopeful. If only that jeep was still here. I thought I earned it, but I somehow feel the loss now.¡±


    ¡°Oh yes! Why I didn¡¯t think of that? There are so many cars in the parking area, it¡¯s a waste to just leave them there. Why don¡¯t we use them?¡± Huang Jiahui said brightly.


    ¡°Weren¡¯t you a cop? And yet you know how to steal a car?¡± Luo Yuan looked at her,pletely stunned.


    ¡°What?¡± Huang Jiahui felt uneasy being looked at that way. She seemed vexed as she said, ¡°My dad used to have an old car with lots of issues. He had to start the engine manually most of the time. That¡¯s why I know. I have seen it many times. Unfortunately, many cars today use the battery to start the engine. Hmmm...I wonder if there are any old cars in the parking area.¡±


    ¡°You can go look for one while I will wait for you here!¡± Luo Yuan did not want to ask about her family. It seemed like a taboo subject at the time.


    Huang Jianhui pped her hands and stood up. ¡°I will check it out then. Hopefully I will find one.¡±


    ¡°Please look for some gasoline as well. With so many cars there, there must be some leftover. Get as much as possible. I¡¯ll get you a container.¡± Luo Yuan looked around, but all he could find was a can of prunes. He poured them all out and put them into Wang Shishi¡¯s hands while he passed the empty can to Huang Jiahui. ¡°Just use this to scoop it up!¡±


    She rolled her eyes and said, ¡°Can I have your knife, too?¡±


    ¡°What do you need it for?¡± Luo Yuan asked curiously.


    ¡°The mouth of a gas tank is not all that big. Unless I open it up with the knife, how will I be able to scoop the gasoline up with this prune can? Should I use the rifle?¡± Huang Jiahui said impatiently, her tone full of resentment. Of course she wouldin. She was a beautiful woman being asked to go get some stinking gasoline.


    Luo Yuan smiled embarrassedly as he passed her the knife.


    Huang Jiahui stared at him before she turned and walked towards the parking area.


    Luo Yuan looked at Wang Shishi who was still working hard on gathering the grains. He patted her on the shoulder and said, ¡°Alright, you can stop and rest for a while. I¡¯ve got something to ask you.¡±


    He led her to a ce farther away from the building and sat down.


    Wang Shishi also sat down apprehensively. ¡°Uncle?¡±


    Luo Yuan looked at her and knew that she was worried. It was normal for a little girl who had lost her parents to feel insecure, and be scared of anything happening for fear of being abandoned again. Which was exactly what he wanted to talk to her about. He said gently, ¡°Sweetie, please don¡¯t think any nonsense. How could I abandon you? You¡¯re too cute. Plus, I have more than enough food to share with you.¡±


    Wang Shishi blushed slightly and peeped at him. ¡°Thanks, Uncle. Or maybe I¡¯ll just call you Brother Luo from now on!¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s up to you,¡± Luo Yuan said indifferently. It was just a name after all. ¡°Also, please don¡¯t restrict yourself next time, or people may think that I¡¯m mistreating you. Just do whatever you want.¡±


    ¡°By the way, have you noticed any changes on your body recently? Do you feel stronger, for example?¡± Luo Yuan asked. He was thinking that the small amount of marinated rat meat that they¡¯d been having for every mealtely might have had some kind of effect on her.


    Wang Shishi thought for a while before she said, ¡°I think I feel a little stronger. I used to get a stomachache whenever I run a small distance during gym ss, but now I can run faster and my stomach does not ache either!¡±


    Wang Shishi hesitated a little before she added, ¡°And there¡¯s been some other changes too.¡± Then she blushed and bowed her head.


    ¡°What changes?¡± Luo Yuan asked as he thought to himself, ¡°Don¡¯t tell me she has evolved?¡± He knew that the identification technique that could be used to cook food was not able to trigger evolution.


    ¡°Brother Luo...¡± Wang Shishi¡¯s face was blushing a deep red. She twisted her shirt in her fingers as she said, ¡°I...I think my breasts have gotten bigger, and every time I eat rat meat I feel like they¡¯re swelling.¡±


    Luo Yuan instinctively looked at Wang Shishi¡¯s breasts and found that they had indeed changed. Her chest, that used to be almost t and only slightly stuck out, had now be bigger and the two dots in the middle were hard and pointed. It was obvious that she was not wearing any underwear.


    Unfortunately, there was no girly underwear inside the house.


    Wang Shishi felt shy under Luo Yuan¡¯s gaze. Her breathing became heavy and quick as she said in a low voice, ¡°Brother Luo, I know boys like touching girls¡¯ breasts. You can touch them if you want to.¡±


    Luo Yuan blushed slightly when he heard her and said angrily, ¡°Who told you this? Why would you learn such naughty things at such a young age?¡±


    Wang Shishi started trembling in fear. Her eyes turned red and tears slid out as she said, ¡°Brother Luo, I haven¡¯t done anything naughty. My ex-boyfriend always wanted to touch me but I never let him.¡±


    In other words, she had wanted him to touch her, but instead of showing gratitude, he had scolded her.


    Boyfriend? Luo Yuan was speechless as he looked at Wang Shishi, whose body had just started to develop. He had always thought of himself as someone pure. He had only gotten himself a girlfriend when he¡¯d gone to university, and they¡¯d had intimate rtions only after they¡¯d been dating for a year. He felt that he had distanced himself from society and was no longer able to follow thetest trends.


    ¡°Okay, okay, I¡¯m sorry. I should not have said that you¡¯re a bad girl. Please stop crying,¡± Luo Yuan tried tofort her. He had initially wanted to educate her, but he gave up eventually. At least what she¡¯d said proved that she was a kind, grateful girl. Her method had just been a little unorthodox.


    As he talked, Wang Shishi felt even worse. Tears kept rolling down her cheeks as she sobbed, ¡°You¡¯re such a hypocrite, saying that you don¡¯t want to touch me...when you have been touching me all along.¡±


    ¡°What?¡± Luo Yuan was shocked. He tried to think back, but he could not recall what she was referring to. Confused, he asked, ¡°Are you kidding me? When did I touch you?¡±


    ¡°At the parking area. When you pushed me down, your hand was on my breast...It still hurts!¡± Wang Shishi said, pursing her lips.


    ¡°Did I?¡± Luo Yuan said embarrassedly. It had been an emergency, so he hadn¡¯t payed much attention. He did not even know where he had put his hands.


    Luo Yuan apologized and talked to her for a while before Wang Shishi finally stopped crying.


    An old Volkswagen Santana that was missing a door drove over, making a deep rumbling sound. It stopped beside the pile of supplies.


    Huang Jiahui got out from the car. She seemed to be in a bad mood as her face and hands were stained with greasy ck oil. She strode over to Luo Yuan and stared at him. When she noticed Wang Shishi¡¯s puffy eyes, she asked, ¡°Why are her eyes red? Have you been bullying her?¡±


    ¡°Who do you think I am? Do I look like a bully to you?¡± Luo Yuan said sincerely, feeling guilty at the same time.


    Huang Jiahui blushed slightly as she thought, ¡°I¡¯m not sure what kind of person you are. If we hadn¡¯t been found, somebody would have killed us while I was still in a daze.¡±


    She continued to gaze at Luo Yuan, looking like a typical policewoman interrogating a criminal.


    ¡°Ask Wang Shishi if you don¡¯t believe me!¡± Luo Yuan tried to defend himself.


    ¡°Uncle... Brother Luo did not bully me. I started crying because I was thinking of my parents!¡± Wang Shishi said in a lower voice, peeping up at Luo Yuan.


    ¡°Did you hear? Do you understand now? You cops only know how to use others. It¡¯s turning into an upational disease. Alright, let¡¯s start moving things. We¡¯ll look for a ce to stay and then we¡¯ll take it from there,¡± Luo Yuan said brightly, feeling relieved. He stood up and walked towards the pile of supplies.


    Huang Jiahui looked at Wang Shishi doubtfully again. She had observed a light grey handprint on her chest. It could only be seen if somebody looked closely. Had she not been in the police for so many years, she might have missed it.


    ¡°And I in the wrong here? He is a total beast, who won¡¯t even leave a little girl alone. I just left for a minute and he already got to her,¡± Huang Jiahui thought as Luo Yuan walked away. She stopped Wang Shishi before she could follow him. ¡°You must not stay alone with him again, do you hear?¡± she said earnestly. ¡°Don¡¯t go into his bedroom either. If he tries to do anything to you, you must say no.¡±


    ¡°Sister Huang, Brother Luo is a good man,¡± Wang Shishi defended Luo Yuan.


    ¡°He has a good character, but not when ites to others. You may not understand yet, but he wants to get you alone...¡± Huang Jiahui said patiently.


    ¡°Sister Huang, I already knew this. Many girls my age have sex. If Brother Luo wanted to, I¡¯d be willing. Now let¡¯s go move the supplies!¡± Wang Shishi walked towards Luo Yuan as soon as she finished her sentence. Huang Jianhui was left standing there speechless for quite a long time.

 Chapter 38: Realization

    Chapter 38: Realization


    Trantor: Editor:


    The white rice on the surface was quite clean, but the rest had for the most part been stained by green beetle bodily fluids. The grains had also been mixed with green beetle skeletons scraps, which made them utterly disgusting. Luo Yuan wanted to throw them all away but he was stopped by Huang Jiahui who felt that it wasn¡¯t right to waste food.


    The trunk of the Volkwagen Santana was not big enough to fit everything, so Luo Yuan pushed down the back seat to make space for the supplies. The car waspletely full.


    ¡°Alright, let¡¯s go!¡± Luo Yuan got into the driver¡¯s seat.


    Huang Jiahui rode shotgun with Wang Shishi sitting on herp. When they took their seats, Luo Yuan started the engine. He drove to the entrance of the district, and then turned back and took a look around the area, which was almost in ruins. It suddenly ured to him that he may no longer be able toe back.


    There were more people walking down the street. They had just been bombarded with a barrage of weapons, and some of them looked happy to be alive while others were crying loudly, seeing corpses of green beetles lie everywhere around the devastated city.


    Luo Yuan felt that the scene was both familiar and unfamiliar at the same time, but he could no longer blend in. He remained silent while he drove on slowly. Not long after, he saw a guard rank green beetle near a dpidated roadside caf¨¦.


    Its stomach had been sted open and disgusting liquid was dripping from a wound the size of a table, forming arge pool of sticky fluid on the ground. The formidable insect was still trying to stay alive, pping hard its only wing and creating a strong wind that almost blew the caf¨¦ tables away. It was struggling to stand up, but without aplete set of limbs and wings, its struggles proved pointless.


    Luo Yuan just looked at it while he continued to drive.


    Even though it was badly injured, the fierce insect would still be able to kill him despite his experience killing one of its kind.


    Besides, he knew that he had only seeded by pure luck. Considering luck might not be on his side every time, it would be very risky to fight this fierce organism. If he decided to, he would have to avoid any mistakes because his body defense was too weak. The guard rank green beetle could defend itself from bullet attacks, but all it would take for Luo Yuan to die would be one shot.


    The road started to vibrate slightly and a roaring engine noise came from afar.


    At the crossroads, they saw five armored cars and threerge trucks rumbling. Luo Yuan turned the steering wheel and gave way.


    There were about seven people loading heavy machine guns onto the trucks. They looked towards Luo Yuan solemnly.


    The group was obviously on cleaning duty as Luo Yuan could see that several of the trucks, which were more than 10 meters long, were carrying a guard rank green beetle.


    Seeing it made him get lost in thought. Other than collecting the guard rank green beetles for research purposes, their main purpose had to be to produce more evolved men. The human evolution percentage was small, only one in a thousand. However, if the army cardinal number was one hundred thousand, then the evolved men in the army had to be about a hundred. If the number was a million, then there would be a thousand evolved men.


    In fact, the odds could be even higher than that.


    The general public¡¯s disgust in eating raw green beetle was definitely not an issue in the army. Discipline and obedience had already been engraved deep into the men¡¯s souls. Therefore, he had no doubt that, given an order from their superior, they would squeeze those sick things into their mouths and swallow them without hesitation.


    He suddenly felt scared as he realized that he was not truly ready to face the end of the world. Even though he knew these things could give him a chance to evolve, he still insisted on not touching them because he found them disgusting.


    ¡°Why aren¡¯t you driving?¡± Huang Jiahui did not want to talk to him, but she could not help it when she saw that Luo Yuan had stopped for such a long time.


    ¡°Finally, I¡¯m convinced of one thing,¡± Luo Yuan said brightly when he recovered.


    ¡°What are you talking about?¡± Huang Jiahui asked. She was too curious not to.


    ¡°Would you eat a green beetle if you knew there was something in it that would provide you with a chance to evolve?¡± Luo Yuan asked as he started the engine and drove towards the junction.


    ¡°Evolve? Are you kidding me?¡± Huang Jiahui said scornfully. She didn¡¯t go online that often, nor was she in possession of any ssified information, so she didn¡¯t know anything about the existence of the evolved man.


    ¡°I know about the evolved man. It¡¯s everywhere in the inte,¡± said Wang Shishi.


    ¡°Does the evolved man really exist?¡± Huang Jiahui inquired doubtfully.


    ¡°Do I look like I¡¯m kidding?¡± Luo Yuan said while he drived.


    ¡°Then of course I would eat a green beetle. Only an idiot wouldn¡¯t eat it,¡± Huang Jiahui said indifferently. She did not believe Luo Yuan. What he was saying seemed too absurd to her to be true.


    ¡°Brother Luo, I want to eat one too!¡± said Wang Shishi in a low voice.


    ¡°We can have as much as we wantter. We¡¯ll eat until we¡¯re are so full that we can¡¯t eat anymore,¡± said Luo Yuan with a mysterious smile on his face.


    Several ambnces were driving over, followed by more emergency vehicles arriving one after the other.


    A few minutester, Luo Yuan pulled up in front of a hotel. The four-floor building was the one in the best condition around the area.


    He opened the door and got out of the car. The ss door was in shatters and the ground floor was covered in thick dust, indicating that the hotel had been closed down for some time now.


    ¡°Let¡¯s stay here. We can choose any room we want,¡± Luo Yuan said as he walked inside and took a look.


    Huang Jiahui walked in as well. ¡°Isn¡¯t it odd?¡± she said, ¡°What if the owneres overter?¡±


    ¡°This is a hotel. If the owneres, we¡¯ll just pay. Considering its condition, he won¡¯t charge us much,¡± Luo Yuanughed.


    Huang Jiahui did not say much after that.


    The two of them found a luxury suite on the third floor and started to carry in their belongings. By the time they were done, it was already noon. Huang Jiahui had just gone into the bathroom when he heard her fretful voice.


    ¡°There¡¯s no water supply anymore?¡±


    ¡°No water supply? But there was one this morning!¡± Luo Yuan looked gloomy, but he wasn¡¯t that surprised. ¡°I¡¯ll go look for the main valve downstairs and check whether it has been switched off.¡±


    He headed downstairs quickly. He had to search for more than 10 minutes before he found the valve inside the storeroom on the first floor. He was disappointed to find out that it was open. He walked out of the hotel and towards the already closed down restaurant just across the street.


    He walked into the kitchen and turned on the tap water. ¡°Crap.¡± The water pipe made a sound but no water flowed out.


    Luo Yuan walked back to the hotel gloomily.


    ¡°There¡¯s no water supply! Not in the restaurant across the street either!¡± Luo Yuan flopped down on the sofa in disappointment. ¡°The bombing today was too intense. Maybe the water supply was also affected. Luckily we still have about ten bottles of mineral water. We can no longer stay in Donghu City, though. We have to move somewhere else.¡±


    Huang Jiahui sighed and sat down, a scowling expression on her face. ¡°Move where?¡± she asked.


    Luo Yuan thought for a while before he said, ¡°Let¡¯s go to Hedong City. As a capital city, there should be at least one group of army troops there. The conditions will be a lot better.¡±


    When Luo Yuan was calm, he could be very good at convincing others. Huang Jiahui felt reassured. ¡°Alright, you decide then,¡± she said.


    ¡°We¡¯re leaving for Hedong City tomorrow morning!¡± Luo Yuan decided. ¡°You got enough gas for the car, right? We don¡¯t want to get stuck in the middle of nowhere.¡±


    ¡°Gas won¡¯t be a problem. As long as the car doesn¡¯t break down.¡±


    Luo Yuan frowned.


    Huang Jiahui rushed to add, ¡°Hedong City is about 100 kilometers away from Donghu City, and this Volkswagen Santana 2000 is maintained quite nicely, so it should be alright.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s good then, or else we¡¯d have to pick up another car. Everything¡¯s a mess now, so I don¡¯t know who we would buy one from. Let¡¯s eat something. Get the bag of bread. We¡¯ll just have that today.¡± Luo Yuan touched his stomach. He had been in an intense mode all day, so he had not felt like eating although he¡¯d had the bag of the bread. As a result, he was starving.


    Huang Jiahui stood up to get the bag from the living room, but she was stopped by Luo Yuan. ¡°Wait, let¡¯s not eat right away. I¡¯m worried you might both vomit. Let me get something from downstairs.¡±


    Luo Yuan walked out.


    Both Huang Jiahui and Wang Shishi were confused and felt like something bad was about to happen.


    ¡°Sister Huang, what¡¯s Brother Luo going to do?¡± Wang Shishi asked curiously.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know. But I have a feeling it¡¯s not something good,¡± Huang Jiahui said as she tried to look calm.


    They waited for about 30 minutes before Luo Yuan finally came back. He was holding a piece of green beetle exoskeleton in his hands. Judging by the color of the exoskeleton, it had to belong to a guard rank green beetle. Luo Yuan had searched around the area, but that was all he had managed to find.


    ording to the identification technique, the probability of evolution was the same for both the regr green beetle and the guard rank green beetle. This vague description could be inurate, though. For example, the probability of three in a thousand, seven in a thousand and even ten in a thousand could all be the bare minimum, but their sizes were entirely different and that difference could have a huge impact.


    Luo Yuan believed that the probability to evolve by eating a guard rank green beetle was stronger than that of eating a regr green beetle. But even if the probability proved to be the same, he would not suffer much of a loss.


    Luo Yuan put the exoskeleton on the table. It made a loud snapping sound.


    Huang Jiahui and Wang Shishi suddenly recalled what Luo Yuan had said in the car. Both their faces turned green as they shook their heads.


    Luo Yuan looked at the two of them retreating. He believed that they had to eat because they had already agreed to it. He had to eat too. After all, it would be more fair if everyone suffered together.


    Like a salesman, Luo Yuan tried to convince them, ¡°I have already cleared all the inner organs and bodily fluids. It¡¯s only the muscles left. It¡¯s extremely nutrient-rich, way better than any supplement in the world. Plus, it will also give you a small chance to evolve. Even if it doesn¡¯t though, it will still enhance all your body functions.¡±


    ¡°Huang Jiahui, would you like to have a superpower and still survive even after all mankind has perished?¡±


    ¡°Wang Shishi, I know you always feel insecure. Would you like to change and not be afraid anymore?¡±


    ¡°Human life is no longer that valuable. Do you know how many people were killed just today? It must have been more than one hundred thousand. If we hadn¡¯t been lucky enough to hide in the underground parking area, we would have died too. But the war isn¡¯t over yet. We might have been able to survive today, but what about tomorrow? It¡¯s worth to suffer a little now if it means that we can get the power to protect ourselves.¡±


    Wang Shishi listened to him as she clenched her fists. She felt her blood boil and her eyes sparkle. ¡°Yes, I...I want to be stronger, Brother Luo. I¡¯ll eat.¡±


    Huang Jiahui was also brimming with emotion. ¡°I¡¯ll eat too, I¡¯ll get a wok now!¡± she said excitedly.


    Luo Yuan gave them an odd smirk as he said lightly, ¡°Why would we need a wok? That¡¯s too much trouble. Plus, this thing has to be eaten raw, or it will lose its effect.¡±


    Huang Jiahui looked terrified. She stumbled a few steps back, her eyes were widening. She looked at the ivory white muscles on the green beetle exoskeleton, then back at Luo Yuan. She swallowed a mouthful of saliva before she said in confusion, ¡°Eat...eat raw?¡±


    Wang Shishi had turned pale. She felt sick to her stomach, and she suddenly covered her mouth and rushed into the bathroom.

 Chapter 39: Evacuation

    Chapter 39: Evacuation


    Trantor: Editor:


    After spending a long time trying to get mentally prepared and an even longer time hesitating, they eventually ate.


    Their suffering was indescribable. Luo Yuan was able to hold the food down, but both Huang Jiahui and Wang Shishi ate, vomited and then resumed eating again until they all they were able to vomit anymore was gastric acid. They seemed to be in great pain, and tears rolled uncontrobly down their faces.


    Unfortunately, though it was not clear whether it was because of their bodies qualities or because the probability to evolve from this blue color level organism was too low, none of them had evolved by the end of the day. Luo Yuan felt better. He had already failed once, so he was just slightly disappointed. However, it was a big blow to both Huang Jiahui and Wang Shishi.


    They had suffered so much and had seen no results whatsoever. Both Huang Jiahui and Wang Shishi felt secretly angry at him.


    They said didn¡¯t say a word to him the whole night.


    At midnight, Luo Yuan was awakened by the sudden vibration of a text message.


    He took out his phone, and turned the screen slightly brighter. In order to save battery, Luo Yuan¡¯s phone was constantly kept in dark screen. Nheless, his phone had still only onest bar of battery left. The rest of the battery had already been used up.


    Luo Yuan was surprised. The message was from his ex-colleague, Wang Xiaguang. Ever since he had resigned from thepany, they had barely contacted each other, andtely they had no longer been keeping in touch. He could not believe that he had received a message from her.


    ¡°Luo Yuan, we are going to leave with the fifth division soon. I just got the news that we will depart from the East Highway at 6.30 a.m. If you want to leave, pleasee over as soon as possible. Reply as soon as you receive my text!¡±


    Luo Yuan stared at the screen for quite a while.


    Then he quickly turned over, stood up and put on his clothes.


    It was already 5.30 a.m. and the departure was scheduled at 6.30 a.m., so he had only one hour left to get ready. He needed to rush.


    He had also nned on leaving Donghu City that day, but considering the current situation, nobody knew what would happen to them on the road. At least if they were escorted by the army, their safety would be guaranteed.


    He walked out of the room and knocked loudly on the door of Huang Jiahui¡¯s bedroom.


    ¡°Fast! Wake up! The army is leaving Donghu City at 6.30 a.m. It¡¯d be better if we went with them. We¡¯re running out of time, please hurry!¡±


    The sound of something falling on the floor came from the inside of the bedroom.


    ¡°Okay, okay,ing!¡± Were it not for the fear that Huang Jiahui had to deal with every day, which had made her more sensitive and alert, she would have taken more time to get out of bed. Now though, she had jumped up instantly when she¡¯d heard something.


    Wang Shishi had already started putting on her clothes in a hurry as well.


    When the two of them came out, Luo Yuan had already finished washing his face and rinsing his mouth.


    ¡°Luckily we already moved all the supplies back into the car yesterday evening, or we¡¯d be toote,¡± Luo Yuan said dly.


    ¡°How did you know that the army is leaving?¡± Huang Jiahui asked doubtfully. She had taken a bottle of mineral water from the living room and she looked like she was about to brush her teeth.


    ¡°Don¡¯t brush your teeth now, do it on the road. It¡¯s 5.40 a.m. and we have 50 minutes left only. I got the news from my ex-colleague, so it¡¯s from a reliable source. Doesn¡¯t your husband work in some kind of government department? Howe he didn¡¯t tell you?¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t mention him again. We¡¯ve already been separated for a long time. Besides, my phone is dead. Even he wanted to contact me, he wouldn¡¯t be able to reach me,¡± Huang Jiahui said, clearly annoyed. Then she turned towards the bathroom and packed her personal belongings inside a stic bag.


    When they had finished packing, they walked down the staircase in a hurry and jumped into the Santana 2000, whose passenger door had been broken.


    It was already January and it was considered winter season. Although the temperature was abnormal, the winter¡¯s short day and long night remained the same. It was about 6 a.m. and the sky was still dark.


    Luo Yuan wanted to switch on the front lights, but he discovered that the lights of the old car had already been broken.


    ¡°F*ck! Stupid f*cking car!¡±


    ¡°We¡¯re lucky that we even have a car!¡± Huang Jiahui said unhappily as she was the one who had picked up the car.


    Wisely, Luo Yuan did not pick a fight with her. He started the car in the dark, stepped on the elerator and drove towards the highway trying to see under the dim light of the wee hours.


    After two days of bombing, the road surface was full of stones and pebbles of various sizes; it had even cracked open in ces. When they had passed by yesterday on their way there, he had driven rather slowly so they hadn¡¯t noticed a thing. However, when he elerated now, the whole car started to bump along the road.


    Huang Jiahui¡¯s face had turned pale. She looked as scared as she would be riding a roller coaster. Plus, she was sitting on the passenger seat, and the door had been chopped off on that side while she was stealing the car. She did not know whether she had chopped it down to save them the trouble or just to vent her anger. She also had to take care of Wang Shishi, so she almost got thrown out when the car started bumping vigorously.


    After a while, she could no longer bear it and shouted, ¡°Wait! I can¡¯t stand it anymore. Let me drive!¡±


    ¡°Can you see the road clearly?¡± Luo Yuan asked as he stepped on the brakes. His eyesight was quite good and had gotten even better after his body¡¯s inner qualities had been upgraded. He did not possess the night vision ability yet, but it was already early in the morning and the sun had started to rise, so he could roughly make out the road. If he didn¡¯t, the ride would have been even bumpier.


    Huang Jiahui rubbed her aching butt while she limped over to the driver¡¯s seat, glowering. ¡°If I didn¡¯t have good eyesight, would I have been able to ce third in a shootingpetition? Open the door and I¡¯ll let you enjoy the ride too!¡±


    Luo Yuan felt reluctant as he had not driven much after getting his driver¡¯s license. He looked at Wang Shishi and said, ¡°Where shall Wang Shishi sit? She¡¯s a little girl and she can¡¯t just sit on myp, can she?¡±


    She was speechless for a moment. She had not thought of this. She looked at the slight shyness on Wang Shishi¡¯s face and thought of the handprint left on her chest yesterday. ¡°Oh, now you act like a gentleman! Don¡¯t you think I don¡¯t know what happened! Get out of the car!¡±


    Luo Yuan had no choice but to obey.


    They changed seats, and Wang Shishi blushed as she sat down on Luo Yuan¡¯sp.


    Huang Jiahui restarted the engine. She drove like she wanted to vent her anger. She drove more crazily than Luo Yuan had, like she was driving a cross country vehicle instead of a Santana 2000.


    Huang Jiahui peeped at Luo Yuan blissfully, but she was disappointed to see him sitting still. In fact, he was sitting so still that he looked like his body had been glued to the seat. As the car continued bumping, she was amazed and disappointed at the same time. She did not notice Wang Shishi¡¯s face blushing a deep red color.


    The number of cars was increasing, and many were driving towards the same direction as them. As they got nearer to the highway entrance, there were even more cars. They had to stop for a few minutes after a short while of driving.


    Soon, the old car finally stopped for good at a location about 1 km away from the highway entrance.


    There were countless cars there, blocking all sixnes. They were mostly luxurious cars that made the old Santana 2000 stand out even more among them.


    The Mercedes-Benz 600 next to them lowered its window and a fat guy put his head out. ¡°Hey bro, your car is such an antique!¡±


    Luo Yuanughed, ¡°As long as it still runs. Anyway, who gave you the notice?¡±


    ¡°The municipal office. They didn¡¯t tell you?¡± the fat guy asked in surprise.


    ¡°If my friend hadn¡¯t told me, I wouldn¡¯t be here!¡±


    That was to be expected. Luo Yuan was not angry or disappointed. He had long gotten used to mankind¡¯s pyramid system.


    ¡°You¡¯re lucky then. I heard that those people from the municipal office are leaving too. Donghu City will bepletely abandoned. The country cannot afford to rebuild it, so they can only move us to other ces. Our group has it quite good, we¡¯re protected by army troops. The rest will be evacuated in groups too, but they won¡¯t receive much protection from the army.¡±


    Huang Jiahui was not happy with what she was hearing. ¡°Rich men always have it good. We¡¯re only now sharing some of their advantages.¡±


    The fat guy did not seem to mind what she had said, but his smile became slightly bitter. ¡°I¡¯m so poor, all I¡¯ve got left is money. I no longer have mypany, my house, my wife or my kids. All I have is a bankbook with money that¡¯s been devalued more than ten times. If my mindset was not good, I would have alreadymitted suicide.¡±


    It was not easy for anyone to survive during such a hard period. Luo Yuan sighed and switched the topic, ¡°I see that there are many luxurious buses up front. Who are they transferring?¡±


    The fat guy pursed his lips and teased, ¡°University professors, professional technicians, researchers in the research institutes, and of course some civil servants. Their lives are more valuable than ours, and thus they are top priority. Donghu City has more light and service industry than heavy industry. Maybe you aren¡¯t aware of it, but the provinces with heavy industry have already started to work on the war economy. The life of a professional technician is more important than the lives of a thousand university students.¡±


    Apparently the fat guy was well-informed. Just as Luo Yuan was about to inquire for more information, he felt his phone vibrate. He took it out and saw that it was Wang Xiaguang.


    He picked it up.


    ¡°Luo Yuan, are you here?¡± Wang Xiaguang asked, sounding worried.


    ¡°Yes, I¡¯m in the back!¡±


    ¡°Then pleasee faster, we are leaving soon.¡±


    Luo Yuan hesitated for a while before he answered, ¡°I don¡¯t think I will. I¡¯m here with my friends and we¡¯re driving.¡±


    Complete silence.


    After a while, Luo Yuan thought he heard Wang Xiaguang take a deep breath. ¡°Well, then... good luck. I¡¯ll see you there. I have to go now!¡±


    Before Luo Yuan was able to say anything, Wang Xiaguang had already hung up the phone.


    Luo Yuan stared at it and saw that he had a few unread messages and two missed calls. He opened all the messages.


    ¡°Have you departed?¡±


    ¡°If you haven¡¯t already, you will not make it. Where are you? I¡¯ll get my dad toe pick you up!¡±


    He had just remembered that he had not replied to her message earlier, neither had he felt the vibration of his phone when she had called him.


    He wanted to exin but after a long hesitation, he decided to exin it allter when they met again face-to-face.

 Chapter 40: Lost Control

    Chapter 40: Lost Control


    Trantor: Editor:


    At 6.30 a.m., the vehicles started to move slowly.


    There were a few hundreds of armored vehicles in front, followed by the troop-carrying vehicles. There were also about a hundred buses and about ten military helicopters circling around at low altitude. Luo Yuan and everybody else who owned a private car were thest in line, trailing behind them all.


    Luo Yuan got behind the steering wheel before they departed again, pushing Wang Shishi back into Huang Jiahui¡¯sp.


    The body of the little girl had just started to develop, yet she was not innocent by any means. It was embarrassing for her to sit on hisp when some unwanted incident might ur at any moment. When he thought about their previous embarrassing moment, his head started to ache. He did not know what the little girl had thought.


    The traffic was so long that it extended for a few kilometers, like a long worm crawling slowly on the road.


    As they entered the highway, their speed gradually increased.


    After about thirty minutes of driving, they had finally driven out of Donghu City and their surroundings gradually became more rural.


    They did not know when it had started, but the whole highway seemed to have been reconstructed, and an approximately 50m wide concrete istion belt had been built. The other side of the istion belt looked like a separate world, one covered by greenery.


    Luo Yuan looked at both sides while he drove, his heart filling with fear. Those nts were no longer mere weeds like they used to be in the old days. They had formed a whole jungle. While they drove through it, people felt like they were driving into a deep dark forest.


    If Luo Yuan had not seen for himself, he would have thought that he was dreaming.


    These nts seemed to have grown too fast.


    It all seemed very dangerous as the istion belt looked rough and dried blood stains could be seen everywhere. Luo Yuan even saw an animal corpse, which looked like a thin sheet of paper after being crushed repeatedly by the cars on the highway.


    All that aside though, one could still sense the hidden danger by the steel concrete defenses and the rapid firing guns and heavy machine guns perched on top of them every kilometer.


    Huang Jiahui looked at both sides and said worriedly, ¡°What were those top rank officials thinking? Why are they letting the forest grow instead of burning it? Those green beetles might havee from this area!¡±


    Luo Yuan smiled bitterly. ¡°If they could, they would have already burned it. I think that they are no longer able to!¡±


    ¡°Why? Didn¡¯t they burn it a few times overst time?¡± Huang Jiahui asked doubtfully.


    ¡°Yeah, but that wasst time, when the situation was still under control. Large amounts of oil were being imported from the biggest producers in the world. But now international trading has stopped, and relying on only the few oil fields left in our country has already proved insufficient. What else they could use to burn these nts when they grow so fast?¡±


    Huang Jiahui could not ept the truth. ¡°Then we can no longer do anything to these nts?¡± she said absently.


    ¡°If we don¡¯t have oil, we can use gas to burn them!¡± Wang Shishi could not help but interrupt.


    Thisme joke was so good that it had both Luo Yuan and Huang Jiahuiughing. That dissipated their depression for a while.


    Wang Shishi was confused. When Huang Jiahui exined, she blushed.


    ¡°Of course there are some other methods, too. We could use alcohol if we don¡¯t have oil. The best raw material for producing alcohol is these nts, which are now in abundance. If we produce arge enough amount of alcohol, we could rece oil by the end of the day. But it all depends on what the government is nning on doing.¡±


    The cars in front suddenly stopped.


    Luo Yuan used the emergency brake. At first, he had thought nothing of it. idents weremon when it came to such big groups of cars. He thought that they would soon be moving again, but then he noticed amotion up front, followed by the familiar sound of leather being torn off.


    ¡°Boom!¡±


    He twisted his body out of the car and saw a military helicopter rolling sideways and dropping from the sky. A few secondster, it slumped down on the istion belt and exploded, producing a strong me.


    More than ten rapid firing guns were firing all at once, forming a long red-colored line. Their target was hundreds of mutated big ck birds which had appeared in the sky. Some of them were shot down. ck feathers fell from the sky like rain, one of themnding on their car.


    Luo Yuan was speechless for a while before he finally grabbed his Zhanmadao and got out of the car. As he did, he yelled, ¡°Everybody get out of the car now!¡±


    It was not safe to hide inside a car. It limited one¡¯s movement and when danger finally came, they were not able to do anything to avoid it.


    Luo Yuan picked up the feather. It was about a meter in length, its surface was smooth and soft, and it was so light that he felt like he wasn¡¯t holding anything in his hand.


    ¡°ck owl tail feather¡±


    ¡°Use: Material¡±


    ¡°Rarity: Blue¡±


    ¡°Weight: 10g¡±


    ¡°Evaluation: This is the feather of a ck owl. It¡¯s tough and light, and has some weak


    wind properties.¡±


    Blue again!


    As Luo Yuan looked at the feather, he became even more stressed.


    He had been staying in the city, so he did not know how much the organisms outside it had evolved. He¡¯d thought that blue level organisms would be very rare, but he had not expected toe across so many of them in only a few days.


    It made total sense, though. After all, the city was human territory and mutated animals would be killed on sight. That¡¯s why it was rare toe across a light blue level organism, let alone a blue level one. The probability was even lower than winning the lottery.


    That¡¯s when he noticed the part about the wind properties.


    If he remembered correctly, it was his second time seeing a description like that. The first one had been that old yellow dog at Zhao Yali¡¯s house, which had seemed to have fire properties. This time it was wind properties.


    He raised his eyebrows slightly. Mutated animals with elemental properties were very rare. He had onlye across two of them. Other organisms, such as the guard rank green beetle or the king ratsnake, which had made an unforgettable impression on him, had had no elemental properties whatsoever.


    Could it be that these were the two types of mutated organisms?


    Huang Jiahui got out of the car. She took a look at the sky and asked in rm, ¡°Will we be alright? Shall I take out the rifle?¡±


    After some thought, Luo Yuan said, ¡°No, it¡¯s alright. The rifle will not be effective on this type of animal. Besides, the army is up front. If they knew that we have rifle, who knows what would happen.¡±


    ¡°How do you know it won¡¯t be effective?¡±


    Huang Jiahui was looking at him doubtfully, so he passed her the feather before he went on, ¡°This is the feather of a mutated bird. It has strong flexibility, so if lots of them are stacked together, bullets will not prate them no matter how close the distance. You will only piss the bird off.¡±


    People had started to open their car doors and look at the sky nervously. They were scared that the birds would attack them.


    But they needn¡¯t have worried. The ck owls were distracted by the rapid firing guns and the military helicopters. They couldn¡¯t care less about the crowd watching from the ground.


    One by one, the owls were being shot down. After a few minutes, the remaining owls finally started to get scared. They gave a few shrill screams, fluttered their wings and flew away quickly from the area.


    Luo Yuan had managed to collect five feathers before he got back into the driver¡¯s seat.


    ¡°Why are you collecting the feathers?¡± Huang Jiahui asked.


    ¡°Who knows, maybe I can get some money for them,¡± he said with a vague smile. Actually he was thinking of using them to perform the fusion technique. Though he had not thought what he would fuse yet, a feather with wind properties had to be a rare material. It would be a waste if he hadn¡¯t collected some.


    ¡°This can can get you money?¡± Huang Jiahui said in disbelief.


    ¡°Who knows? Didn¡¯t you see others collecting them too? Besides, if you sew them together, you can make a bullet-proof vest. Soon enough, lots of people will want to buy one.¡±


    Immediately Huang Jiahui felt regretful. There had been lots of feathers falling at the time, so if she had wanted to, she would have definitely picked up a few. She did not think that they were worth any money, but she wanted to make a bullet-proof vest like the one Luo Yuan had mentioned. She had wanted one ever since she had found out that Luo Yuan was wearing that green bullet-proof vest he treasured so much. However, it was toote for her to collect any as most had already been collected by others.


    The cars started to move again after a minute.


    They were attacked a few more times along the way. It was not from the air though, and some of the attacks were averted easily before they could even reach the istion belt. The few animals that managed to make their way to the highway were all killed by the army.


    Looking at those suicide attacks, Luo Yuan didn¡¯t think these animals were controlled by a powerful superior organism.


    After about four and a half hours, they finally arrived at Hedong City.


    The city, which used to be a leisure destination during its heyday, was now being heavily-guarded. Starting from the highway, the defense construction covered the whole of Hedong City, plus the rural viges nearby. Many vehicles were bustling and hustling at the construction site.


    When the cars reached the Hedong City highway entrance, they were stopped. The army was allowed to continue, but the rest of the vehicles were blocked by armed policemen standing by the roadside.


    ¡°Wee to Hedong City. I am Fangxiao, the Central Team Captain of the West District of the Hedong City Police Force. Now, everyone please get out of your cars to go through the necessary registration process and security check!¡± a policeman was shouting through a loudspeaker.


    Luo Yuan¡¯s face darkened as he and Huang Jiahui looked at each other. They had a rifle in their car and if the police checked, they would be caught red-handed.


    But apparently, they were not the only ones in possession of contraband. In fact, there were plenty of other people, and soon enough some of them rushed forward.


    ¡°Who are you to have us register and go through a security check?¡± a car owner yelled angrily as he got out of his car.


    ¡°That¡¯s right! If we lost something, where would we look for it?¡± another car owner shouted.


    ¡°All the officials are corrupted! The world had gone to sh*t!¡±


    As many people had been doing the same illegal thing, it would not do any good to punish them all, despite the fact that this was thew. Besides, this group of people was not made up of regr citizens, but rich people who all had friends in the high ranks. As a result, they were much bolder.


    ¡°My dear brothers and sisters, please don¡¯t misunderstand us. We will just carry out the standard x-ray security check to prevent the entrance of any contraband that may affect the stability of Hedong City. Weapons such as guns, bows and crossbows must be handed in!¡± Fangxiao said loudly. He was sweating all over his face. If anything went wrong, he was sure to lose his job.


    As soon as he finished speaking, everyone started shouting in outrage. After experiencing the copse of society and getting attacked by arge group of insects, they hadpletely lost all faith in the government. Therefore, weapons were the only thing they could rely on to protect themselves.


    Several people lost their self-control and went so far as to take out their guns. It looked like the situation was about to get out of control.

 Chapter 41: Apart

    Chapter 41: Apart


    Trantor: Editor:


    The policemen were surrounded by a big crowd of refugees from Donghu City. Fang Xiao felt anxious. He knew the first group of people would be tough to handle, and he did not dare make a rush decision. He called to ask his superior for advice, however, the instructions he received were not what he had expected. He cursed silently. He could not change a thing.


    He took the loudspeaker and shouted as loud as he could, "My dearest friends, please do not act on your impulses. Regardless of the rules and regtions you used to follow in Donghu City, it¡¯s illegal to own a gun here. All guns must be surrendered when you enter Hedong City. However, you can still keep your knives and other weapons respectively."


    He suddenly stopped shouting for a few seconds and nced across the crowd before concluding, ¡°If you can¡¯t ept these conditions, we will not allow you to enter Hedong City!¡±


    The crowd stopped and gradually calmed down. As history had proved, citizens would never oppose government officials if they could avoid any unnecessary punishment. Since the police were willing topromise, the foreigners were willing to tolerate their culture and rules as well.


    ¡°All those weapons came from the police! It¡¯s difficult for me to believe every citizen in Hedong City follows the rules," a guy beside Luo Yuan said sarcastically while he crossed his arms in front of his chest.


    ¡°Can¡¯t you see? If we don¡¯t surrender our weapons, how will they be able to sell them again? Forget it, I¡¯ll just see it as paying tax,¡± another guymented, joining the conversation for fun.


    Huang Jiahui was getting more and more upset as she continued to listen. She had not confirmed whether this was the truth, but she did believe that it was.


    ¡°Inspection is starting! Please return to your cars, remain calm and do not act on your impulses. I repeat, please remain calm...,¡± Fang Xiao kept shouting. On his signal, a group of policemen started going around with a small X-ray machine.


    ¡°Go back to your seat and give me the rifle and the gun,¡± Luo Yuan told Huang Jiahui, pulling her arm.


    She shook his hand off and said, ¡°No way! Why do we need to surrender?¡±


    Luo Yuan sounded annoyed as he said, ¡°Why? Why won¡¯t you just surrender the weapons? I¡¯m not going to risk my life for you.¡±


    Huang Jiahui knew she had pissed him off and she reluctantly walked back to the car. She handed him the rifle and the gun, and then returned to the passenger seat that she shared with Wang Shi Shi.


    Wang Shi Shi felt anxious as she saw both of them remain silent. She then asked carefully, "Sister Huang, I remember you telling me that you were a cop. Every policeman has a gun, so it should be fine for us to keep one, right?"


    Huang Jiahui still looked upset. ¡°I¡¯m no longer a cop,¡± she said. Suddenly, she recalled something and added, ¡°Oh yeah! My file is still in the Public Security Bureau. It hasn¡¯t been removed, so that means I¡¯m still a cop!¡±


    Luo Yuan asked, ¡°So? That would only be useful if you still wanted to be a cop.¡±


    Huang Jiahui felt slightly relieved that Luo Yuan was willing to talk to her again, but she was still upset. ¡°Why not?¡± she said. ¡°There are whole armies guarding Hedong City. I think it¡¯s safer here. Besides, being a cop is better than working anywhere else. The benefits are good!¡±


    ¡°Alright, it¡¯s up to you.¡± Luo Yuan did not want to continue that conversation. Everyone had their own path to follow and they needed to take full responsibility for it.


    Huang Jiahui was upset and intentionally said, "Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ll take care of you when I go back to working for the police." She thought Luo Yuan would say something sarcastic again. Surprisingly, he did not.


    "Just take good care of yourself,¡± he said. ¡°Hedong City is not as safe as it used to be. Oh right! Would you like to contact your husband and daughter? They are both here, right?¡± Luo Yuan asked considerately.


    Huang Jiahui hesitated. She did not want to talk to her husband because they did not love each other anymore. However, she decided to call when she thought of her daughter, who was still staying with him.


    ¡°Hi, who is this?¡± A low pitch voice came from the other end.


    Huang Jiahui took a deep breath and answered, ¡°It¡¯s me, Huang Jiahui. I¡¯m calling from a friend¡¯s phone. Where are you? I¡¯m in Hedong City. I called you earlier but it didn¡¯t go through. There are still a few colleagues of mine in Donghu City. I¡¯ll check with them and arrange for you toe over with the second group of citizens.¡±


    Her husband said, ¡°It¡¯s okay, I¡¯m in Hedong City now.¡±


    ¡°Is our daughter with you?¡± Huang Jiahui asked coldly.


    ¡°Does that mean you¡¯re at the highway junction? Where are you now? I¡¯ming over,¡± his voice became slightly agitated.


    Huang Jiahui looked at Luo Yuan for a while, but he was not paying attention to the conversation. She hesitated before she said, "Alright. Please bring our daughter along. I¡¯m inside a Santana 2000 next to a silver Benz.¡±


    About 10 minutester, they saw a man in a uniform walk towards them holding a little girl in his arms. The girl looked about five or six years old. Judging by his uniform and the badges on his cor, the man had to be a Squadron Leader. He was also the person who had been on the phone just now. He looked smart and virtuous, but his eyes were very fierce and that made him look violent.


    ¡°Mommy! Mommy!¡± Once the little girl saw Huang Jiahui, she began to wave.


    Huang Jiahui teared up from the excitement. She quickly put down Wang Shi Shi and got out of the car. She took the little girl in her arms and said, ¡°Ning Ning! Mommy is here! I missed you so much! How are you? How has your stay with daddy been?¡± Huang Jiahui asked.


    The little girl peeped at her father and replied, ¡°It was great!¡±


    Yu Gaohui noticed Luo Yuan sitting in the driver¡¯s seat. He frowned and said, "Jiahui, who is this? Care to introduce us?¡±


    ¡°This is Luo Yuan. He is my friend,¡± Huang Jiahui replied calmly.


    Luo Yuan got out of the car, extended his hand with a smile and said, ¡°Hi. We¡¯re just friends, nothing else.¡± Luo Yuan knew that these types of men were dangerous, especially when they were given authority and power. He didn¡¯t have to offend her husband by giving him the wrong impression.


    Huang Jiahui was stunned and anxious. The two men stared at each other for a moment. Yu Gaohui suddenly smiled and said, ¡°I want to thank you on behalf of Jiahui. Our family will always remember your help.¡±


    Luo Yuan smiled. He was amazed by the man¡¯s courtesy and good manners.


    Yu Gaohui looked at Huang Jiahui as he said, ¡°Jiahui, mom and dad are both in the car. They were so happy to hear from you. Could you pleasee and see them?" Both of his parents had always been very kind to Huang Jiahui, They treated her as their own daughter. If it were not for them, Huang Jiahui and Yu Gaohui would have gotten divorced way earlier. She hesitated before finally agreeing. She turned around and looked at Luo Yuan while she walked away. As he watched her, Luo Yuan suddenly felt as though he was going to lose her.


    Finally, the inspectors reached their car. They confiscated his gun and rifle, and then proceeded to the next car. They did not bother asking where he had gotten them from. Shortly thereafter, everyone was asked to register themselves in a temporarily built iron room.


    ¡°Chen Guohua, did you use to own a tradingpany?¡± an officer asked while looking at a notebook.


    ¡°Yes, sir,¡± a middle-aged man answered.


    ¡°You have ounts at Commercial Bank, Agricultural Bank, and Donghu City Bank. Your total savings amount to thirty three million, is that right?¡± the officer asked again.


    The middle-aged man blinked before he answered carefully, ¡°Yes, sir.¡±


    ¡°How many employees you did you have during your peak time?¡±


    The man began to sweat but he answered honestly, ¡°Two hundred!¡±


    ¡°Great! I hope you can build a factory again as soon as possible!¡± the officer said.


    ¡°Build a factory?¡± The man looked confused.


    ¡°A military factory. We will start a bullet manufacturing business tomorrow. I hope you can get everything ready for it,¡± the officer exined.


    ¡°But.. but...¡± the man seemed to want to say something, but he was not given a chance to.


    ¡°Next!¡± the officer shouted without looking at him. The man stood up and left with a miserable expression.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, we will provide all the equipment and send a few experienced technicians to your factory. I hope yourpany can produce certified barrel bombs," the officer told him.


    "But I was in the real estate industry. I have zero experience in the metal manufacturing industry," the man tried to exin.


    "This is not a big issue. Don¡¯t worry about it... Next!" the officer said. "What¡¯s your name?"


    "Luo Yuan," Luo Yuan answered calmly.


    The officer checked his notebook and realized his name was not on the list. He frowned and asked Luo Yuan, "Did someone bring you here?"


    "Yes," Luo Yuan answered.


    "What¡¯s your educational background, upation and working experience?" the officer asked him in one breath.


    "I have a single license in International Trade and one year of working experience," Luo Yuan replied.


    "Next!"

 Chapter 42: Rent

    Chapter 42: Rent


    Trantor: Editor:


    Luo Yuan walked out of the registration office feeling embarrassed. There were several pretty waitresses with long seductive legs standing by the exit. They looked at him for a while before they shifted their gaze away. Luo Yuan smiled and then quickly walked to his car with Wang Shishi, who had been waiting for him outside. He took out his phone and noticed that it was running out of battery. He wanted to call Wang Xiaguang. He wanted to see her, but apparently she had used hisst bit of battery to call her husband.


    Luo Yuan was a bit upset as he put his phone back into his pocket. It seemed that they would catch up another time. Wang Shishi and Luo Yuan waited in the car for an hour, but Huang Jiahui did not return. Luo Yuan did not want to wait any longer. He was sure she would note back. He started the car engine and drove towards the city center.


    Hedong City was different from Donghu City. The whole town was filled with a strange vitality. This was not his first time there, but it was not longer the leisure destination it used to be. There used to be a very crowdedmercial shopping street, which now had be a giant industrial area. There were too many different kinds of machines and mechanical noises, and people could imagine how hot it was there even though they could not see the worksite.


    He passed several of those worksites along the way. There were not many people on the street, but surprisingly that did not make them feel anxious or insecure. They just felt like this was the quiet before the storm. He entered a shop and an attendant came up to wee him. "My name is Chen Baoqiang. Would you like to rent or buy a house?" the attendant asked.


    He offered Luo Yuan a cup of tea, but he declined. "I¡¯d like to rent a house with two rooms and a living room. Do you have anything like that?" Luo Yuan asked.


    "Sure we do. Our agency has data on more than twenty units. Would you like to see the properties now?" Chen Baoqiang seemed quite pushy and desperate. Luo Yuan nodded in agreement.


    ¡°Alright, could you wait for a moment?¡± Chen Baoqiang looked excited. He grabbed a contract from the office and started to lock the ce down.


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong? Are you the only employee working here?¡± Luo Yuan felt strange watching the agent lock the entire office.


    ¡°Hehe, that¡¯s embarrassing. I¡¯m actually the owner of the agency,¡± he said as he smiled. ¡°You know how it is now. We used to have many employees, but they¡¯ve all been sent home. We¡¯re not making a lot of sales. There are lots of vacant units. I¡¯m barely earning enough to meet my daily needs.¡±


    Luo Yuan seemed to sympathize with him. "Oh, is there any electricity in the residential area?"


    "Are you new here? We used to have electricity, but it was cut five days ago," Chen Baoqiang said as shook his head. He then went on to exin, "All small residential areas are the same. The industrial area is the number one priority for power supply."


    "There is a nuclear power nt at Hedong Bay, right beside Hedong city. Howe there is no electricity?" Luo Yuan asked suspiciously. The nuclear power nt at Hedong Bay had been the first power nt in Jiangnan Province when Luo Yuan had paid his first visit there.


    "It¡¯s just a small one, it can¡¯t generate enough power. It definitely can¡¯t produce enough power for the whole of Hedong City. Part of the power supply is produced from hydroelectricity from The Three Gorges Dam. But I guess something must be wrong with the dam as there has been no electricitytely.¡±


    Luo Yuan knew that if there was something wrong with The Three Gorges Dam, it could have a destructive impact on the whole city. In other words, the most developed and sophisticated province in China would have no electricity for its daily operations. He felt anxious. If thergest power station in China was not functioning properly, then other power nts could be affected as well. Anyway, this was all just specting. He stopped thinking about it right away.


    Chen Baoqiang did not have a car, so Wang Shishi had to sit on Luo Yuan¡¯sp again. Chen Baoqiang looked at Wang Shishi, who was being shy, and asked, ¡°Is this your sister? She¡¯s beautiful!¡±


    After consuming blue ranked meats for a few days, Wang Shishi looked more energetic and pretty than ever. ¡°Yes,¡± Luo Yuan responded before he asked, ¡°How much longer to the house?¡±


    Chen Baoqiang was very observant and he knew that he had crossed a line. He stopped talking about Wang Shishi and told Luo Yuan, ¡°Just take a turn at the end of this road.¡±


    After a few more minutes of driving, they entered a middle ss residential area. Suddenly, they heard a gunshot. Apparently, it was the sound of a machine gun. Luo Yuan got shocked and stepped on the brakes. Chen Baoqiang got out of the car and looked up at the sky. When he had calmed down, he said, "Don¡¯t worry, someone was trying to get the birds. They missed. You¡¯ll get used to it eventually."


    Luo Yuan opened the window to check and saw a few birds flying in the distance. All he could see was several tiny dots. He was worried. He felt that the area wasn¡¯t that safe.


    Luo Yuan checked out the house, which was located on the third floor of the building. It was a safe height, and the renovation was rtively decent. However, he found the electrical appliances wasteful since they were not going to be able to use them. He went to the kitchen and was surprised to discover that there were a gas and water supply. After going through a terrible time in Donghu City, he would be contented as long as he found a safe ce with a water and gas supply to stay. Unfortunately, some issues came up when they were about to sign the contract. "Do you only ept food stamps here?" Luo Yuan asked.


    Chen Baoqiang exined, ¡°Our money is depreciating every day. Hardly anybody uses it now. I suggest that you exchange it for food stamps at the bank as soon as possible. Otherwise, it will be very difficult for you to make any purchases."


    Luo Yuan frowned. He had not expect to have to deal with food stamps. He had only heard some old folks talking about it. He asked, "What¡¯s the current exchange rate between money and food stamps?"


    "Yesterday it was CNY23 for 500 grams worth of food stamps, but I think it will rise even more soon. Of course, you can also trade your food to get food stamps as well," Chen Baoqiang suggested as he had noticed that they had lots of food in the trunk.


    Luo Yuan did not want to pay using the food he had. He tried toe up with a solution, and finally said, "How about this. I¡¯ll pay you with money now, taking into ount the current exchange rate, and perhaps you could exchange it at the bank? I really can¡¯t make it to the bank today."


    "If you arefortable with it, why not?" Chen Baoqiang said happily. "Let me calcte the total amount payable. It¡¯s CNY 14,000 for six months of rental plus a one-month deposit."


    That was a good deal considering the rate he got would have been really low even before this chaos. Nobody could suppress the real estate prices during peaceful times, but they fell drastically during hard times. Luo Yuan had expected this, so he wasn¡¯t surprised. He had withdrawn a lot of money from his bank ount before the chaos, and he still had about CNY 100,000 in savings in his bank ount, which would be more than enough to pay the bills.


    Luo Yuan sat down on the couch after Chen Baoqiang left. He felt rxed and he enjoyed the quiet. ¡°What a good feeling!¡± After all, no one liked a hazardous life when it might lead to their own death. After resting for a while, he stood up and asked Wang Shishi, ¡°Which room do you want?¡±


    She had looked depressed ever since Huang Jiahui had left them. ¡°I¡¯ll just take the smaller room on the left,¡± she said. After a while, she asked, ¡°Is Sister Huang really noting back? What if she is waiting for us there?¡±


    Luo Yuan remained silent. When she noticed his expression, Wang Shishi stopped asking.


    After a while, Luo Yuan started moving all their belongings from the car into the house. Wang Shishi tried to help, but Luo Yuan pushed her away. He was feeling frustrated. When he was finished, he took a shower, but he still felt empty. He put on his clothes, took out a crumpled pack of cigarettes and lit one up.


    After a while, he put down the cigarette and told Wang Shishi, ¡°You stay here. I¡¯m going out for a bit.¡±


    He rushed out of the house before she could respond. He got into the car and revved up the elerator until it produced a ck cloud of exhaust smoke. He drove towards the junction of the residential area. He didn¡¯t know what he was doing. Perhaps he was trying to figure something out.


    He sped up from time to time. The sun was going down and it was almost evening. The refugee registration had already ended and after such long hours of work, the ce seemed deserted. Even the iron shelves that had been built especially for the registration were gone. Luo Yuan looked around the ce and felt disappointed. However, just as he was about to drive off, he noticed someone squatting down in the distance. He frowned and pushed on the elerator. The Santana 2000 produced a loud noise. It was a really old car.


    As the car stopped, Luo Yuan shouted out the window, ¡°Stop squatting there and just get in!¡±


    Huang Jiahui looked shocked as she raised her teary eyes. She was shivering and she seemed agitated. She felt happy and mad at the same time. ¡°Why are you here?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯ste already. Wang Shishi and I are waiting for you to prepare dinner. Hurry up!¡± Luo Yuan replied.


    It was hard for Huang Jiahui to be touched by that. What Luo Yuan had just said simply drove away any sentimental feeling she might be having. She went up to the driver¡¯s window and grabbed his shirt. ¡°Do you know how many hours I¡¯ve been waiting here? Do you know how hopeless I¡¯ve felt? I¡¯ve lost my daughter! I¡¯ve lost everything! I¡¯m not leaving again, even if you push me away! You¡¯re such a jerk!¡±


    Luo Yuan looked at her with imaginary question marks above his head. Huang Jiahui kissed him square on the lips.

 Chapter 43: Expertise

    Chapter 43: Expertise


    Trantor: Editor:


    Luo Yuan could not pass up a good piece of meat when it was close enough to taste. He remained still for a moment, and then began to move aggressively. He could not control his desire anymore. In the end, he pulled Huang Jiahui into the car, where their actions got even more aggressive. However, Huang Jiahui stopped him at the critical moment and told him that Wang Shi Shi was waiting for her at home. Besides, it was very dangerous for them to behave like this in a forest. Although her excuses were not convincing enough, Luo Yuan chose to be a gentleman and stopped. He withdrew his wet hand from her panties.


    They didn¡¯t have to rush as they would get to spend more time together at night. However, he had forgotten that women were emotional creatures. He had also underestimated Huang Jiahui¡¯s rationality when she calmed herself down. After dinner, Luo Yuan tried to hint to Huang Jiahui a couple of times that he was still excited from their earlier encounter. However, Huang Jiahui pretended that nothing had happened before and entered the room along with Wang Shi Shi.


    Luo Yuan watched her shut the door. The poor guy wanted to call Huang Jiahui but in the end he stopped himself and controlled his desire for sex. He went back to his room feeling hopeless. Heforted himself by thinking that they would get another chance in the future. He sighed and then concentrated on improving his knife skills. People tended to be more productive when they were not in love. Luo Yuan had managed to upgrade his knife skill to Level 15 by 11 p.m., after just a few hours of training. He could have advanced to Level 20 if he had assigned the 5 technique points to his knife skills.


    Although he knew it would better to add the technique points at ater stage, he decided to assign the 5 points to his knife skill after all. He could not resist the urge. Besides, he also wanted to know what would happen when his skill reached Level 20. He went ahead and assigned all 5 points to his knife skill. Suddenly, a wave of knowledge filled him and he felt something gush into his brain, making him feel a little dizzy.


    A dark red cockroach was hiding beneath the bed, trying to get some food, when it suddenly got shocked. Its antennas started moving vigorously and it quickly crawled towards the door. However, it was only halfway there when it stopped. Its body had hardened and it could not move anymore. Luo Yuan¡¯s energy had even prated the wall and spread into Huang Jiahui¡¯s room. The two of them were sleeping, but they had difficulty breathing and were sweating profusely as if they were having a horrible nightmare.


    The energy faded with time and Luo Yuan¡¯s eyes got clearer, two light beams appearing at thest moment before disappearing again. ¡°Beep! Sensory perception +1!¡± He had recovered in a second, which made him really excited. He wanted to scream, but he did not. He was a considerate neighbor after all. He had not expected a sensory perception upgrade when he had assigned the technique points to the knife skill.


    He closed his eyes slowly and realized that the range of his sensory perception had improved. He could now detect changes within a 10-meter radius from where he stood. He could even sense Huang Jiahui and Wang Shi Shi, who were sleeping next door. Unfortunately, he could only see their shadows and not any other body details. Anyway, that wasn¡¯t that important. His sensory perception used to be weak, however, after the upgrade, he could tell the difference even with the naked eye.


    From certain aspects, sensory perception provided an overall control as well as motion detection. The eyes of the frog were a very good example. A frog¡¯s sensory perception focused on motion instead of on inanimate objects. His attention was drawn by moving objects, such as someone moving their hands or talking, or something being blown away by the wind. It was a very special power, as well as a useful technique.


    While one could say that eyesight and sensory perception were simr, the two of them had entirely different functions. They did not affect each other but they did work together. Luo Yuan even suspected that this was a natural power human beings had acquired through evolution. From now onwards, no human or animal could get closer than 10 meters to him.


    For example, when Luo Yuan suddenly moved, his knife shone in the dark and the cockroach that had been trying to escape was killed before it had even managed to move a meter. Strangely, the tile under the cockroach looked perfectly fine. Luo Yuan had only used this technique when he had dissected the big snake. He had been wanting to concentrate and gather his energy for quite a while. Now though, it would be too easy for him. Of course, he would need to practice more to familiarize himself with this new skill.


    He opened up the properties panel and noted that some changes had been made. When the knife skill had gotten upgraded to Level 20, there had been some changes then too. For instance, his knife skill had changed to ¡°Knife Expertise: 0¡±.


    Based on the information on his mind, he guessed that when the knife skill reached an expert level, it would be different than the normal knife skill. It had already begun to involve a power that was seemingly the most useless one in the properties panel, and that was ¡°Determination¡±. Previously, Luo Yuan had assumed that ¡°Determination¡± was only meant to help him remain calm regardless of what situation he encountered. Basically, he thought his 13-point Determination would be more than enough. However, he had not expected it to turn out to be so important for the knife skill.


    While he yed with his knife, he wondered what the difference between the normal knife skill and knife expertise was, how powerful it would be, and whether it could be used to kill blue rank creatures. He closed his eyes and felt the magical changes. One minuteter, he reopened them and took several deep breaths. Then he closed them again. After 10 minutes, he got frustrated and scratched his head.


    Half an hourter, he looked out the window and realized that it was almost dawn. The night had moved on from the earlier excitement to the present excitement, and finally given way to depression. He realized that he could not achieve a state in which he would have no desires. Even if he closed his eyes, there were too many things and ideas inside his head, and that made him feel extremely frustrated. The most important thing was his sensory perception, which would allow him to detect almost anything. He was distracted and the inside of his head was a mess even when he closed his eyes. He sat down at the edge of his bed helplessly. He rubbed his eyes and a few minutester he felt calmer.


    This wasn¡¯t about talent. He was an adult and he had to be more mature after getting a shower of knowledge and information. Besides, this was the first time he had tried to explore this technique. It was impossible for him to be totally aware even if he had all the knowledge he needed. He had a few ways to achieve that, though. Luo Yuan recalled that meditation associated with yoga and the monks could help calm down a person¡¯s mind. Too bad he had no inte connection, or he could have checked that online.

 Chapter 44: Aversion

    Chapter 44: Aversion


    Trantor: Editor:


    Luo Yuan felt very energetic despite the fact that he had not slept the entire night. After breakfast, he took some money with him and set out to explore the district. Soon enough, he had found the location of every single food market in the district. There was always a big crowd inside food markets, but theyout was arranged to fit all the stalls perfectly. Luo Yuan entered the market to check it out, and he discovered that there was a purchasing limit there just like in Donghu City. However, the purchasing limit was a lot higher than the one in Donghu City. Plus, identity cards were not required and everyone could purchase up to 25 kilos of food.


    Apparently, there was no shortage of food in Hedong City, which was probably due to certain policies that had been established to provide the capital with arge quantity of food supplies. Of course, the main reason was the fact that thergest granary of the military base in the province was located in the city. The whole market was brimming with the awful smell of food packaging. Some of the dried food had been in storage for more than 10 years. Previously, all this food had been used to produce fodder, but now it had be the kind of food that everyone struggled to get their hands on. Five hundred grams of food stamps were equivalent to five hundred grams of food, and the price of fresh food was 1.5 times higher than the price of canned food.


    ording to the information on the posters inside the food market, this amount of food could sustain three million people for a year. Of course, there was the possibility that the government-issued posters were not telling the truth. However, in the worst case scenario, it would still be possible to sustain three million people for half a year. Luo Yuan was surprised to see there was even a stall selling maize. He was amazed by the size of the fresh corn, which was quite different because it had mutated. Each corncob was about 65cm long and each corn kernel was just as big. It smelled so good it made people drool. However, there were more people looking at it than actually buying it.


    Luo Yuan squeezed through the crowd to check the price on it. He was shocked. One had to pay 2,500 grams of food stamps for 500 grams of corn, and it was mandatory to buy a whole corncob. Each corncob weighed about 3 kilos, which was equivalent to 15 kilos of dry food. Daily food expenses already cut away a big portion of the average citizen ie. No one could afford to buy such expensive corn. Apparently, this kind of corn was new to the market and most people questioned its selling price as they thought it should not be that high. It didn¡¯t make any sense considering corn was easy to nt, especially during that period of time when it was growing taller and wasn¡¯t affected by weeds anymore. Most people actually thought maize would soon rece paddies and be the main food source.


    In the end, the official operations manager had gotten so annoyed by the crowd¡¯s questions that he said, ¡°Indeed, corn stalks grow very quickly and can grow up to three or four meters tall. Maize is also the only nt that can grow in almost any type of soil. However, what you aren¡¯t aware of is its low pollination and fertilization probability. A corn nt can only grow one corncob and most of them don¡¯t even seed at that. Anyway, this is just the first batch of corn. The scientists in the Ministry of Agriculture are trying to modify the seed, and the price will go down when the quantity increases.¡±


    After listening to what the manager had said, Luo Yuan realized that he had not seen any nt bearing fruit or flowers ever since the mutation had begun.


    Survival and reproduction were rted to genes and there used to be no conflict between the two in the past as reproduction was a process necessary for survival. However, all living things were undergoing evolution and every single species had to find a way to survive. In order to obtain apetitive advantage, they had to sacrifice a lot of energy and put on hold the fertilization or pollination process. Simrly, when a new employee entered a verypetitivepany, the first thing that came to mind was how to survive and remain in thepany. Only after they had achieved that, did anyone start to think about a promotion or a raise.


    When he left, Luo Yuan walked to a second wet market about 10 meters away from the first one. Vegetables were the core products there. The prices were quite affordable and the sizes rtively big. There were many vegetables which were about 4 kilos in weight, but those with intricate smallted veins on the leaves did not taste good and were difficult to swallow. The quantity of the meat was rtively smaller. There was mutated pork, chicken, duck and a few other animals. Luo Yuan secretly identified the different kinds of meat and discovered that all of them were white ranked meat. None of them was light blue. All kinds of meat were very expensive, costing around 3000 grams of food stamps for 500 grams.


    He actually wanted to buy some, but he could only walk around as he did not have any food stamps. He walked out of the market and went straight to the bank. It would be tough to live in Hedong City without any food stamps, but Luo Yuan did not n on exchanging all his money for them. He realized that all food stamps there were being issued by Hedong City and could not be used in other ces. Therefore, even if his money was depreciating, that was still better than what would happen if some kind of tragedy befell Hedong City and caused all food stamps to be worthless. In the end, he exchanged 1000 kilos of food stamps for CNY 46,000. Now he had less than CNY 80,000 left in his bank ount.


    He thought the food stamps plus the food he had stored up should be enough to sustain them for a long period of time. There was some kind ofmotion when Luo Yuan walked out of the bank. There was a big group of people outside who looked like refugees. As they walked in his direction, he noticed that there were several blood stains on their shirts. A few of them looked extremely depressed and teary-eyed while the rest looked anxious and grateful.


    "Who are those people?" Luo Yuan asked a middle-aged man who seemed to be watching them too.


    "They are refugees from Donghu City," the middle-aged man replied, looking disgusted. Apparently, he was not happy as he went on, "Seems like they got attacked on the highway and some of them died."


    "This is just the second batch. I heard there will be a third and fourth oneing. I can¡¯t imagine what life will be like in theing days," a guy in spectacles who looked like a university student joined the conversation.


    "I think they really shouldn¡¯t help them. There are so many people in the province. Is the government going to move all of them to Hedong City?" a woman said as she stared at the refugees.


    Luo Yuan could understand their concern. It was like a poor suffering family hearing that there would be several strangersing to their house to stay and eat for free for an unknown period of time. It was normal for them to feel appalled and insecure. However, even though Luo Yuan understood how they felt, he was still quite mad to hear them say that they wanted the refugees to die. After all, he was also a refugee from Donghu City.


    "I¡¯m also a Donghu City citizen!" Luo Yuan said, ring at the people around him. Since his knife skill was at expert level, he looked even scarier. That made things worse as he was not able to fully control and master his emotions. A few people nearby looked very pale while others looked extremely frightened. One of them, who had a heart condition, touched his chest and fell to the ground.


    The onlookers shouted, ¡°Murder! Help! Help!¡±


    ¡°Help! Officer! Someone has been killed here!¡±


    ¡°Catch him!¡±


    Some people responded quickly by starting to shout cruel words, but no one dared try to catch him. Luo Yuan was stunned. He had not expected that to happen. A few security guards were made aware of the incident, but they seemed hesitant to check it out. Luo Yuan quickly squeezed into the crowd to avoid getting into trouble. He managed to escape in less than a minute, and he headed straight home. He was worried that he might get arrested. When he got home and entered the living room, he found some fresh meat and vegetables on the table along with a big cob of corn.


    "You¡¯re back!" Huang Jiahui had heard him and immediatelye out of the kitchen wearing an apron.


    "Did you buy these?" Luo Yuan asked while he pointed at the groceries on the table.


    "Of course I did!" Huang Jiahui replied.


    "I meant, howe you still have money? I totally forgot that you have a bank card. By the way, how much money do you have left?¡± Luo Yuan asked as he smiled awkwardly.


    "My ount still has about 1.7 million. I just withdrew 100,000 to exchange it for food stamps. Why?" Huang Jiahui asked him.


    Luo Yuan was quite surprised. He had not expected Huang Jiahui to have so much in savings. However, when he thought about the chaotic situation earlier, he said, "I think it might be better for you to withdraw all your money from the bank. I¡¯m afraid you might no longer be able to withdraw it in the near future."


    Huang Jiahui seemed worried by this possibility. She frowned and said, "Withdrawing money doesn¡¯t seem safe either. Money depreciates faster than gold and antiques. Maybe we can still exchange money for gold at the bank."


    Huang Jiahui was more knowledgeable than Luo Yuan, who was actually quite youngpared to her. She had immediatelye up with a solution to preserve her money¡¯s value.


    "Shall we go out? It¡¯s still early for breakfast," Huang Jiahui said as she lingered around the house.


    "Maybe another day. I got into some trouble earlier and I don¡¯t think it¡¯s safe for me to go out yet."


    Luo Yuan smiled awkwardly again as he realized he had crossed the line outside the bank earlier. He doubted the guy could have survived his chest pain.

 Chapter 45: Foundation

    Chapter 45: Foundation


    Trantor: Editor:


    Huang Jiahui asked him what had happened. Luo Yuan thought he should exin to her, so he told her the whole story. Huang Jiahui got angry when he mentioned how the citizens in Hedong City had treated the people from Donghu City.


    ¡°Do they even have the right toin? The citizens from Donghu City would not have been in this state if the army had protected them. All these people are relying on the state army and the dry food that¡¯s supposed go to the survivors! And now they¡¯re trying to bully us and make it look like they¡¯re being charitable?"


    That was what the average citizen from Donghu City was going to think.


    The conflict between Hedong City and Donghu City was not something new. Their economies were rtively simr and their GDPs were also very close. However, the difference between the two cities was that Hedong City acted as the administrative capital of a province, where most of the important ministry and government offices were located. On the other hand, Donghu City was just an average city with an administrative division somewhere between a province and a county. This fact caused the citizens of both cities several dilemmas. Citizens in Donghu City were jealous of the people in Hedong City, but sometimes they also looked down on them because the citizens in Hedong City were not very friendly towards people from Donghu City.


    As a citizen of Donghu city, Luo Yuan agreed with what Huang Jiahui had just said, but he was also worried. He frowned and said seriously, ¡°I think that¡¯s enough for now. Let¡¯s not talk about it anymore. There are too many people speaking nonsense. It¡¯s best that we keep this between us so we can avoid any unnecessary arguments. Anyway, this is Hedong City, so we should try to blend in andpromise every once in a while.¡±


    Huang Jiahui answered, ¡°I¡¯m not stupid. I just won¡¯t say it publicly.¡±


    ¡°Good for you then. I have a feeling that this chaos willst for quite a while. It¡¯s best not to get involved.¡± Luo Yuan realized he had been back for quite a while already before he asked, ¡°Where¡¯s Shishi?¡±


    ¡°She went down to y,¡± Huang Jiahui said.


    Suddenly, he got an idea and slowly walked towards Huang Jiahui with a sly grin on his face. Huang Jiahui did not know what his intentions were, so she got panicked. ¡°What? What are you doing?¡± she asked.


    ¡°Someone has a very short memory, huh? Don¡¯t you think you owe me an exnation about yesterday?¡± Luo Yuan said in a flirty tone. He felt upset when he thought about her innocent act the previous day.


    ¡°What kind of an exnation do I owe you? I have no idea what you¡¯re talking about,¡± Huang Jiahui lied again as her cheeks blushed.


    She immediately turned around and tried to leave. Just as she was about to take her first step though, she felt a strong big arm catch her. Her entire body was turned around, and her face was suddenly extremely close to Luo Yuan¡¯s. Huang Jiahui felt flustered. Her heart beat very fast.


    ¡°What do you want? Can we talk about itter?¡± she asked.


    ¡°Finally, you admit it. But how can I trust you again when I was cheated justst night?¡± Luo Yuan said flirtily. He did not wait for her to answer. He just lowered his head and kissed her juicy lips.


    Huang Jiahui whimpered as she struggled to get free. She clenched her jaw and tried to punch him while her whole body shook. However, her resistance onlysted for a few seconds before their tongues began to chase after one another. She felt really confused. She had been staying apart from her husband for a few years and had been abstaining the whole time. Her body was very sensitive, but she was beginning to feel horny as Luo Yuan seduced her. In the end, she just hugged him and started kissing him desperately. They were both getting more and more excited. Luo Yuan pushed her against the wall and locked her in his arms. He then took off her T-shirt and bra, and dropped them both on the floor.


    Luo Yuan buried his head in her naked chest while he tried to pull down her jeans with one hand.


    ¡°Wait! Not here!¡± Huang Jiahui gasped. Her hands though were still wrapped around his head, pulling him closer to her chest. Soon, her panties had dropped to her ankles. ¡°Luo Yuan, you¡¯re a jerk! Are you listening to me? Ohhh......¡± She did not manage to finish her sentence. Instead, she moaned, driven crazy by her orgasm.


    Huang Jiahui¡¯s body was hot. There was no fat on her thighs or her waist, her breasts were smooth and soft, and her round buttocks made her bum look like a ripe cherry. Luo Yuan was aroused by what he saw and touched. He turned her around and pressed her against the wall so she could hold onto it for support.


    Luo Yuan moved his mouth close to her ear and gasped, "I¡¯m going inside now."


    Then he squeezed into her before she could respond.


    Huang Jiahui felt like she was losing her mind. Her eyes had turned blurry, and she did not even know what was going on. Luo Yuan took a deep breath, amazed by the strong stimtion of his pration.


    ¡°Wait. Wang Shi Shi ising back."


    "Ahhhh!¡± Huang Jiahui moaned in a very high pitch, bing slightly conscious of the sudden pain of a foreign object prating her body. "I don¡¯t care, nothing in life is a coincidence."


    Although she felt a little insecure, she did not want to stop, especially considering Luo Yuan was moving at a speed that she was quite enjoying. She covered her mouth so she would not moan out loud. Luo Yuan found that rather sexy and seductive. Her face was rosy and hot, and her body became weaker as her hands shook while she tried to hold on to the wall. If Luo Yuan had not been holding her, she would have fallen on the floor.


    Both of them were gasping as the living room filled with the smell of sex. Suddenly, they heard the sound of footsteps followed by a key being inserted into the keyhole. Both their bodies tensed up.


    ¡°Oh no! That¡¯s Wang Shi Shi!¡±


    The strong stimtion and feeling of shame made her face turn red as her entire body shook involuntarily. Her vagina began to contract, bringing the two of them to the peak of orgasm. She moaned and slid down onto the floor. Luo Yuan followed her movement as he struggled to stay standing.


    Wang Shi Shi had not entered the house as she seemed to have heard the noise. Huang Jiahui felt relieved as she stared at Luo Yuan angrily for a second. She was confused, mad and shy at the same time. She did not know how she would have exined this to Wang Shi Shi. She quickly picked up her clothes, rushed back to her own room and mmed the door. Luo Yuan just smiled. He did not know how else to respond.


    He put on his clothes and after a few minutes yelled, ¡°Come in!¡±


    Wang Shi Shi entered the house with rosy cheeks, looking like she was the one who had done something naughty. She peeped at Luo Yuan and suddenly said, ¡°Brother Luo!¡±


    Luo Yuan was stunned. He did not know what to say.


    Huang Jiahui tried to appear calm when she came out of her room. She stared at Luo Yuan again and lifted the groceries off the table while she said, ¡°Shishi,e help me wash the vegetables.¡±


    ¡°Alright,¡± Wang Shishi responded. She looked at the puddle of sweat at the scene curiously before she followed Huang Jiahui into the kitchen.


    There were many refugees from Donghu City entering Hedong City in the following days, which caused some serious turmoil. Crimes like fighting, robbery, and rape were somon in the city, they were as frequent people breathing. Even the area where Luo Yuan was staying experienced lots of fighting incidents, the worst fight causing more than ten people to die and ten to get injured. Both parties had owned weapons such as knives and guns.


    There were several times when Luo Yuan had almost gotten into a fight himself, but he had tried really hard to remain calm. Soldiers had been sent to Hedong City and the government had implemented quite a few new policies in order to control the situation. There were marketing trucks with loudspeakers driving around the city for about ten days. Job vacancy posters were stered everywhere in an effort to reduce the conflict between the two cities, as well as to make full use of the surplus of manpower.


    People in Hedong City had obtained a huge amount of resources and equipment from Donghu City, and all of it was used to set up factories. Several factories were built in a short period of time under the governor¡¯s centralization system. The government wanted to get advantage of the many abandoned buildings left by the chaos. There was another big project running at the same time, which aimed at converting the biggest national park of Hedong City into a giant worksite. The forest had been burnt a few months ago and Pingyue Lake had also been dried out in just ten days of big scale construction.


    There were many construction trucks and heavy vehicles lining up to enter the worksite every day, causing serious noise pollution. Luo Yuan sneaked into the worksite to check it out and realized that the whole site was actually a huge pit. There were countless one-meter diameter 10-meter long iron pirs being inserted into the ground. The whole worksite had a 10-meter deep surface area of 10 square kilometers. He had no idea what those people were trying to build. He wanted to continue his investigation, but he had to stop. The worksite was guarded heavily by wire fences and soldiers.

 Chapter 46: Into the Wild

    Chapter 46: Into the Wild


    Trantor: Editor:


    Truthfully, things were no safer in Hedong City.


    Every few days, machine guns and fighter jets could be heard firing all over town. The city¡¯s defensive measures might have guarded it well against ground attacks, but they were certainly no good against high-speed birds and flying insects. If one could get used to the flying invaders and explosive shoot-downs though, then everything else would seem more or less normal to them.


    Since the beginning of time, humans have always been able to adapt easily. From natural disasters to world wars, it shoulde as no surprise that people would get used to hearing gunfire and bombs explode.


    Luo Yuan sat on his bed with his legs crossed and his eyes closed, taking deep breaths in order to rx. He exhaled.


    ¡°Oh, hurry up and massage my legs. They¡¯re numb already!¡± he told Huang Jiahui suddenly, breaking the short-lived tranquility.


    ¡°Why are you always like this? Why can¡¯t I get some sleep?¡± she said as she turned her back to him.


    They discreetly made love several times and were still continuing to do so.


    ¡°There¡¯s not much time left, it¡¯s almost daybreak!¡± he joked as hey next to her, wrapping her up in his warm embrace. He gently slid his hands under her shirt and caressed her tender breasts. He held them in his hands and rhythmically squeezed them, fondling her hard nipples with his forefingers.


    He felt the tension leave her body as she gasped with desire. ¡°Didn¡¯t you have enoughst night?¡± she said as she bit her lower lip.


    ¡°But that wasst night, it¡¯s morning now,¡± he whispered in her ear as he breathed in the scent of her body.


    ¡°Stop fooling around! Wang Shishi will be waking up soon. We don¡¯t want her to hear us,¡± she said as she grabbed hold of his hands. ¡°I¡¯m not as shameless as you are.¡±


    Luo Yuanughed and hesitated. He was thinking back to the night before when he had realized that Wang Shishi had been eavesdropping through the door. He had kept quiet about it because it had aroused him further to know that they were being watched. He had thrusted harder into Huang Jiahui, and she¡¯d moaned and arched her back ecstatically as he¡¯de inside of her.


    He snapped out of his thoughts. He knew how wrong it was. ¡°Alright,ter at night then!¡±


    ¡°You savage!¡± she eximed before she went back to sleep.


    He frowned as he waited for the numbness in his legs to go away. When it did, he got up and got dressed.


    Meditating was actually quite effortless. All one had to do was remain still and quiet. Crossing one¡¯s legs was optional, but clearing one¡¯s mind was a must. As a matter of fact, the position of a person¡¯s body was hardly the most important factor in meditation. It didn¡¯t matter if you were lying down or standing up. The choreography only instructed someone to cross their legs and sit still, all as a mental exercise to prompt and facilitate the state of a clear mind.


    Luo Yuan prefered to lie down, as that made it easier for him to fall asleep and ignore the numbness in his legs. No one could really tell if meditation was good or bad, but if it helped clear the tangle of a troubled mind and calm the heart, that was all that mattered. If only mastering the art of the sword was just as easy.


    Luo Yuan practiced his swordsmanship for an hour while the girls had their beauty sleep. After breakfast, he left almost immediately for the market. He sat by the market¡¯s entrance holding a dark owl feather and a dated newspaper with the words ¡°BUYING AT ANY PRICE¡± written on it in chalk.


    Luo Yuan¡¯s initial experiment with the dark owl feather had not turned out so well. He had wanted to see what the results would be if he merged the properties of the feather with his sword or bullet proof vest, but unfortunately the feather had vanished into thin air.


    ¡°Merging Failed¡±


    Had he not split the feather into tiny pieces before the experiment, it might not have been just the feather that would have been destroyed. His sword might have broken in the process as well, and that was something his poor heart wouldn¡¯t have been able to bear.


    He tried again, and this time he was more cautious. He cut a small scale off his vest and attempted to merge it with another piece of feather, but it was to no avail. Both materials were destroyed in the process. Luo Yuan thought that it would be a waste to simply dispose of the feathers, so he decided to experiment with other materials. He thought maybe blue rank materials were not meant to be merged together through alchemy.


    He discovered that the dark owl feather could bebined effortlessly with everyday items like a simple kitchen knife. It didn¡¯t just improve the material properties, but also slightly increased their speed, a fact that surprised Luo Yuan. The rarity level, however, was limited to a basic white since the amount of feathers he used in thebination was limited. It did surprise Huang Jiahui how smoothly he was able to wield the kitchen knife that night, though.


    Even if all the feathers could be used for was a mere speed improvement, Luo Yuan was still not going to let them go to waste. Pants, shoes, clothes and any other avable equipment had to be upgraded. However, he was aware that the rarity of the equipment would remain in white if he used just a single feather. That was when it hit him ¨C he would need more feathers, a lot more of them.


    The marketce was the most crowded in the morning when civilians habitually went grocery shopping before they headed off to work. The entrance was where the crowd began to form. Luo Yuan didn¡¯t have to wait too long for his first curious inquirer to appear.


    It was a middle-aged man who asked him, ¡°Why are you looking to buy feathers here at the marketce? What can you do with them anyway?¡±


    Luo Yuan looked at the man squatting down in front of him. ¡°I¡¯m making bulletproof equipment with it. I¡¯ll pay you a good deal if you have any!¡±


    The man nodded as he said, ¡°No doubt the equipment will be sturdy, but you¡¯re going to need a lot of feathers just to make a single piece.¡±


    ¡°To make something truly bulletproof, I shall need at least three to fouryers, so approximately thirty four feathers.¡±


    ¡°That much?¡± the man mumbled.


    Luo Yuanughed. Judging by the man¡¯s reaction, he was bound to have some feathers at hand. Otherwise, he wouldn¡¯t be asking so many questions.


    ¡°I wouldn¡¯t be buying them at any price if I didn¡¯t need a lot of them.¡±


    The man hesitated for a moment. ¡°Well, I have a few at hand, but I¡¯d like to hear how much you¡¯re willing to pay first.¡±


    ¡°If my calctions are correct, a military bulletproof vest would cost a 100-gram rice coupon. How about I pay you a 3-gram rice coupon per feather?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s way too low! You can¡¯tpare conventional bulletproof equipment to biologically enhanced equipment,¡± the man said as he shook his head. ¡°Biological equipment might be in limited supply, but I¡¯ve heard that it is much better in all aspectspared to conventional equipment! Three grams is definitely too little. How about a 5-gram rice coupon per feather?¡±


    The two of them bargained for several minutes, as neither wanted to end up on the losing side of the deal. Finally, they reached an agreement, setting the price at a 4.5-gram rice coupon per feather. The middle-aged man was more than delighted to settle at 4.5 and he ran out to bring the feathers. While he waited, Luo Yuan seeded in making a second deal, so by noon he had bought a total of thirty dark owl feathers. Just as he was about to leave, a man suddenly stopped in front of him.


    He was tall andrge in built, so big that his presence alone was enough to intimidate someone. He stood there and looked at Luo Yuan, his stern face looking confused.


    ¡°Boss Luo? Is that you?¡±


    Luo Yuan looked up at the man. He looked a bit familiar but he couldn¡¯t quite recall who it was. Then suddenly he smiled.


    ¡°Qian DakuiI! Long time no see! When did you get here?¡±


    ¡°I was supposed to be on the third group, but I was detained for a while for starting a fight in Hedong City, so I just got here recently.¡± He spoke in an obnoxiously loud volume that prompted many looks from the people around them. Most of them would have beaten him if it wasn¡¯t for his size.


    ¡°Have you got any of these? I¡¯m looking for dark owl feathers.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, I¡¯ve got some alright. I saw a bird get shot down by one of them machine guns in the outskirts. I¡¯m sure it¡¯s these same feathers, but they must be rotten by now. Do you still want them?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, of course! Where can I find them?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s a very dangerous ce. I stumbled upon them while I was running for my life! But it shouldn¡¯t be a problem for Boss Luo, of course!¡± he said, bursting intoughter. He knew what Luo Yuan was capable of. He had seen him effortlessly kill an armed man using only his sword.


    ¡°Wait a minute. You¡¯ve been into the wild? I thought the army was guarding the exits,¡± Luo Yuan said. He was certain that the borders of Hedong City were being heavily guarded by the military.


    ¡°Guarding my ass! We do all their dirty work for them! We hunt down the food and then they buy it from us for nothing. They even give us the weapons to do it! Where do you think the city gets its food supply from?¡±


    Luo Yuan knew what Qian Dakui was insinuating. Watching him got Luo Yuan excited about hunting, not to mention that he was also tempted by the idea of sessfully casting his own set of blue rank equipment. He wondered how many feathers a single ck owl could provide him.


    ¡°Alright, I¡¯m in. Just tell me when and where.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s the spirit! How about tomorrow morning? Let¡¯s meet at the marketce and I¡¯ll introduce you to myrades.¡±


    ¡°Sounds like a n!¡± Luo Yuan nodded in agreement.


    They talked for a little longer, and then left the marketce without exchanging any contact information.

 Chapter 47: New Equipment

    Chapter 47: New Equipment


    Trantor: Editor:


    Luo Yuan was carrying his groceries in a bup sack and walking back home when he saw a man and a womaning out of his apartment. He watched them walk away before he went into the kitchen. After setting the groceries on the table, he asked Huang Jiahui, ¡°Who were those people?"


    ¡°You¡¯re back!¡± she eximed as she was finishing mopping the floor. ¡°Oh, they¡¯re members of themunity. They just dropped by some documents that we need to fill in. They wanted to discuss re-enrolling children for sses.¡±


    ¡°sses?¡± Luo Yuan shook his head in disbelief.


    ¡°I don¡¯t want to go to school!¡± Wang Shishi threw a tantrum, tossing around on the couch in denial. After being with the two of them for so long, she was starting to be more open around them, especially around Luo Yuan.


    ¡°So what will you be doing then?¡± Huang Jiahui countered while she put the groceries away. ¡°Now that the situation has been stabilized, you¡¯ll have to head out into society eventually and you¡¯re gonna need a degree to get a decent job. Besides, learning is not that bad.¡±


    Once Huang Jiahui was out of sight, Wang Shishi rushed stealthily to sit next to Luo Yuan. She wrapped herself around his arm, silently begging him with her puppy eyes.


    Luo Yuan took her side, ¡°I think we should wait it out. I mean, there¡¯s no need to rush back into all of this yet. Besides, she¡¯s still young. It wouldn¡¯t make much of a difference if she enrolled a year or twoter.¡±


    ¡°THANK YOU, BROTHER LUO! YOU¡¯RE THE BEST!¡± Wang Shishi screamed while she jumped up and down in joy.


    ¡°Okay, fine. It¡¯s none of my business anyway,¡± Huang Jiahui replied from the kitchen.


    Luo Yuan looked at Wang Shishi and they both giggled childishly. Suddenly Wang Shishi blushed, as if she had recalled something.


    ¡°Well, I¡¯ve got some stuff to do,¡± Luo Yuan said as he carried the bup sack into his room.


    As he closed the bedroom door, Luo Yuan was filled with an unexpected feeling of excitement. He quickly unloaded the dark owl feathers onto the study table and rushed to retrieve some clothes from his wardrobe for the experiment. He picked a pair of track pants.


    Injuring one¡¯s legs in the wild was a matter of life or death; hence, it was imperative to be equipped with an enhanced pair of pants. He chose a pair of pants first as his upper body would be protected by the bulletproof vest.


    He took a deep breath. Holding the pants in one hand and a feather in the other, he began chanting silently while carefully bringing the two items into contact. The feather started to heat up as he finished the incantation. It gradually softened, and then turned into dust once it came into contact with the pants. The process of transfiguration never ceased to amaze him, no matter how often he performed it. He picked up another piece and continued transfiguring the feathers one by one, merging them in one with the track pants.


    The colour of the track pants gradually changed from light blue to ck, the colour of the dark owl feathers. To measure the changes in the track pants, he cast an evaluation spell after every sessful transfiguration. The pants reached a rarity level of light blue after the eighth feather and wereter upgraded to a rarity of blue after the twenty-eighth feather.


    Despite the fact that he had underestimated the cost required for the transfiguration, Luo Yuan was still very excited by its sess ¨C the feathers on the track pants alone had cost him a 200-gram rice coupon. He decided to stopbining the remaining feathers with the track pants. From his experience transfiguring his sword and vest, he had learned that once a piece of equipment had reached a rarity of blue, it was not worth transfiguring any more. Its rarity would remain the same, and there would only be a slight improvement in terms of its properties.


    ¡°I¡¯m in no hurry. Besides, if Qian Dakui is really telling the truth, I¡¯ll have plenty more of these feathers to transfigure tomorrow!¡±


    ¡°Agile Feathered Track Pants¡±


    ¡°Materials: Dark Owl Feathers, Nylon¡±


    ¡°Rarity: Blue¡±


    ¡°Defense: 12-15¡±


    ¡°Additional Effects: Speed +3¡±


    ¡°Minimum Requirements: None¡±


    ¡°Evaluation: Agile track pants with enhanced defense against swords and bullets, and improved aerodynamics that reduce wind resistance¡±


    Luo Yuan checked the track pants properties and noticed that despite their rarity of blue, they were still notparable to his snakeskin bulletproof vest. The vest, while also blue in rarity, had a considerably more prominent advantage. Nevertheless, the enhanced track pants were light and soft, and their fabric had turned into a light-absorbing shade of ebony, which woulde in handy duringbat. Most importantly, they would enable him to maneuver swiftly without having to fight against the force physics, or more specifically against wind resistance.


    Seeing that he had twelve feathers left, Luo Yuan decided to transfigure his military boots as well.


    ¡°Agile Military Boots¡±


    ¡°Materials: Dark Owl Feathers, Leather, Rubber¡±


    ¡°Rarity: Light Blue¡±


    ¡°Weight: 0.5 kg¡±


    ¡°Defense: 9-11¡±


    ¡°Additional Effects: Speed +2¡±


    ¡°Minimum Requirements: None¡±


    ¡°Evaluation: An agile pair of military boots with improved aerodynamics that reduce wind resistance¡±


    When Luo Yuan arrived at the market entrance the next morning, Qian Dakui was already there waiting for him. Two other men were with him, one of them a slightly fat and short middle-aged man with a cleanplexion and smiling eyes, and the other a lean, tanned man with thin lips. Their armour was in unexpected shades of bright colour, and the car parked beside them was shaped like a loaf of bread.


    ¡°Goodness, am Ite?¡± Luo Yuan asked apologetically.


    Qian Dakuiughed, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, brother, we just got here. Allow me to introduce you to Yang Dawei and Zhang Cao, both old friends of mine.¡± He turned to the two men while he pointed at Luo Yuan. ¡°We¡¯ve all been to Chengdu¡¯s Disposal Site, so this man requires no introduction. I¡¯m sure you know Brother Luo?¡±


    The two men looked very rmed when they saw Luo Yuan. They were just realizing why Qian Dakui had refused to tell them who the surprise new member was. It was the man who had killed Brother Zhou. The news of the incident had only recently began to circte among their inner circle as they had previously been too busy dealing with the green beetle invasion.


    ¡°We¡¯ve heard so much about you. Pleasure to make your acquaintance!¡± Yang Dawei greeted with a smile.


    ¡°Hello, nice to meet you,¡± Zhang Chao smiled stiffly.


    Luo Yuanughed, ¡°I¡¯m surprised we¡¯ve all been to the Disposal Site. Never toote to make an acquaintance. Don¡¯t call me Brother Luo, though. I¡¯m not worthy of such a title! Just Luo will do.¡±


    The two nervous men sighed in relief, and the ice broke. The party of four hopped inside the vehicle and set out on their excavation. Luo Yuan and Yang Dawei sat in the backseat and talked quite a lot. Apparently, there were lots of people from the Hedong District setting out into the wild, especially refugees from Donghu City. It hadn¡¯t taken long for the people from Donghu City to join in the hunting arrangement. They had caught up real quick with the locals. Although it was not spoken of, Luo Yuan was certain that there had been many incidents of conflict between the two parties while they hunted. He knew enough to know that he should be more worried about the people from Hedong City.


    About an hour and a halfter, the car reached the outskirts of the city, where fields of grains and trees as tall as skyscrapers spread as far as the eye could see. Luo Yuan stared out the window and finally recognized what was indeed a cornfield. Despite how densely the field was covered with corn nts, not a single cob of corn could be seen. He thought that maybe they were all covered by the green parts of the nt, but he had never realized how dire the nt production was until this very moment.


    The ntation might have been a great defensive measure on its own, but the city had also built outposts within every few corners as an extra measure. Each outpost was upied by seven or eight fully uniformed soldiers patrolling their designed areas for any potential danger. After driving through the fields and several dested cities in between, the car finally stopped in front of a heavily guarded Defense Report Centre.

 Chapter 48: Petrified

    Chapter 48: Petrified


    Trantor: Editor:


    This ce is hardly a Defense Report Centre. It¡¯s a freaking military camp.


    From what Luo Yuan could see, four towers, one hundred meters tall each, had been erected at each corner of the encampment, which was surrounded by porcupine-like iron-spikes. Approximately every ten minutes, a fighter jet would boom across the sky and patrol the area for any potential danger.


    It was pretty obvious that the encampment was the city¡¯s frontline defense against the monsters ¨C it looked like the surface of the moon, what with all the bomb-made craters in the area. The scent of gunpowder and smoke perfumed the atmosphere, a foreshadowing of danger, a warning that a battle could ur at any given time.


    With every routine thundering of the fighter jet, came a noticeablemotion within the woods. No one could be certain if it was the recoiling of the wind, or monsters reacting to the sound of the fighter jet in terror. Looking beyond the horizon, Luo Yuan could not help but dread a potential monster stampede.


    ¡°The city¡¯s got about ten of these frontline defense encampments. This is the nearest one,¡± Qian Dakui said aloud, unfazed by the sight. ¡°Alright, man, let¡¯s get some technical stuff taken care of and then go rent ourselves some weapons!¡±


    Luo Yuan snapped out of his reverie. ¡°They¡¯ve got all kinds of weapons?¡±


    ¡°Well, as long as you can carry them, of course! And there are plenty of provision coupons to spare!¡± Yang Dawei said while he pretended to count invisible money with his hands. ¡°Pistols, shotguns, machine guns, hand grenades... You name it, they¡¯ve got it! They know that you have to have a death wish to head out there unarmed.¡±


    They got out of the car and Qian Dakui opened the trunk, revealing an assortment of melee weapons. With a businesslike motion, Zhao Cao got himself a crossbow and a loaded quiver before effortlessly sheathing a military bay in his belt. Yang Dawei took a kukri while Qian Dakui took a dagger and proceeded to close the trunk.


    Qian Dakui looked at Luo Yuan¡¯s peculiar expression and awkwardly exined, ¡°Don¡¯t look at me like that! I¡¯d take my signature shield if I could, but I¡¯m a gunman now. I can¡¯t afford to weigh myself down with any excess weaponry.¡±


    ¡°Why are you exining yourself? I wasn¡¯tughing at you!¡±


    As Luo Yuan patted Qian Dakui on the shoulder, a car drove into the encampment and parked right next to their car. Five men got out the vehicleughing out loud, and looked across at them. Qian Dakui¡¯s face suddenly changed. He and one of the men nced at each other as they walked away ¨C neither of them wanted to start a fight inside a military encampment.


    ¡°Who are those men?¡± Luo Yuan asked.


    Qian Dakui remained silent, his expression somber.


    Yang Dawei walked beside Luo Yuan and answered in a whisper, ¡°We don¡¯t really know who they are, just that they are from Hedong City and that we once got into a fight with them.¡±


    Luo Yuan could tell that the trio had not been on the winning side of the fight, so he decided against asking any further questions.


    Before they were allowed to enter the central building of the encampment, they had to go through a checkpoint. After they were given the all-clear, they entered the lobby of a torn building that might have once been a bank, except that now its walls and foundation were exposed to the elements. The men from Hedong City were at the counter, getting their paperwork done.


    As they were approaching the counter, one of them red and made a slit-throat gesture while his friendughed out loud. Qian Dakui¡¯s face reddened and he grinded his teeth in disgust. Luo Yuan was worried that they might start a fight but to his surprise, Qian Dakui took a deep breath and looked the other way. The atmosphere was tense, but it wasn¡¯t just Qian Dakui. Luo Yuan noticed that Zhang Cao and Yang Dawei seemed equally provoked, their faces dark while they held themselves back, a mixture of anger and fear in their eyes.


    He still found the tension between the two parties peculiar, so he observed the men from Hedong City some more. While he was looking at them, one of the men noticed and smirked at him. Luo Yuan was impressed that this stranger had sensed his covert observation. He was certain that he was the one that had been disturbing Qian Dakui¡¯s party.


    This can¡¯t be right. He looks too average to exert so much terror, his aura isn¡¯t even that intimidating! He¡¯s just so... normal. You wouldn¡¯t even notice him in a crowd. It¡¯s pretty damn obvious that he¡¯s not the alpha of the pack. He looks more like a sidekick. Curiouser, and curiouser indeed.


    Luo Yuan wrinkled his forehead, deep in thought.


    When the five men finished their paperwork and left the area, only then did Qian Dakui & Co. exhale a sigh of relief and go back to their easygoing personas. Luo Yuan followed Qian Dakui into an office next to the ammunition warehouse. A middle-aged, somewhat corpulent man was lounging in the middle of the office. He was dressed in a military uniform, but looked more like a businessman. He greeted the neers with a smile.


    ¡°What do you need?¡±


    Yang Dawei, who was in charge of logistics, asked Luo Yuan if he needed any weapons, but he politely declined. He exined that his own swords were all he needed and that he wasn¡¯t very good with a gun anyway.


    Yang Dawei looked at Qian Dakui before he turned back to the officer, ¡°Just the usual, Officer Huang. We¡¯ll have a ¡¯56 machine gun, an ¡¯88 shotgun, and a grenadeuncher. I don¡¯t suppose there¡¯s been any raise in prices?


    ¡°Still the same old price for the moment. We¡¯re expecting a bit of a raise as the military is spending more than they used to,¡± the officer replied without looking up. He punched a few numbers on the calctor before he added, ¡°The deposits will cost you a 2000-gram rice coupon. Do you need ammunition?¡±


    Yang Dawei¡¯s expression turned to disbelief at the prices, but he knew that there wasn¡¯t anything they could do about it. ¡°We¡¯ll take twenty prators, a thousandmon pistol bullets, five grenades rounds, and eight hand grenades.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯ll be a 6850-gram rice coupon.¡±


    Yang Dawei took out a wallet and wasted no time in paying. That was when the officer looked up and grinned, ¡°I don¡¯t suppose you¡¯ll be needing a mortar?¡±

 Chapter 49: Invisible

    Chapter 49: Invisible


    Trantor: Editor:


    ¡°Did you actually think we¡¯re useless?¡± Qian Dakui said while sitting in his seat. He did not want to get out of the car.


    Zhang Chao and Yang Dawei were stunned. They did not know how to respond.


    Qian Dakui did not wait for Luo Yuan to respond though, he just sighed before he added, ¡°You¡¯re a product of evolution, right?¡±


    ¡°Do you mean there¡¯s an evolved survivor among the five of them?¡± Luo Yuan was shocked. He suddenly looked very serious.


    ¡°Yes! The guy who was walking in the back of the group is an evolved survivor.¡±


    Qian Dakui stopped for a second. It seemed difficult for him to talk about this. ¡°Actually his capabilities are just slightly higher than ordinary people¡¯s, but his superpower is frightful. He can make himself invisible!¡±


    Invisible? Luo Yuan frowned. He was not aware that evolved survivors could have that ability.


    ¡°A while ago, citizens of Hedong City and Donghu City got into a terrible fight that caused many severe injuries and deaths. The people from Hedong City suggested a negotiation half-way into the battle, and we didn¡¯t want the battle to go on either, so we signed an agreement without much consideration. However, not a momentter, more than 10 people died just out of the blue. Perhaps everyone would be dead now if we hadn¡¯t scared that guy with our guns!¡±


    ¡°Then why do you still want toe? Aren¡¯t you afraid that he mighte back and attack you?¡± Luo Yuan asked curiously. He did not really understand them, nor did he believe that helping him find the dead bird¡¯s body was their only motive.


    Qian Dakui suddenly looked awkward. Luo Yuan might not have a lot of social experience, but Qian Dakui was even worse. He was incapable of hiding his emotions. Luo Yuan knew he was not telling the truth to him. He looked at Qian Dakui and asked, "So, are you going to point a gun at me?"


    Zhang Chao looked panicked and slowly moved his hand to the short knife in his boot while Yang Dawei touched the handle of his knife. They could not hide from Luo Yuan anymore.


    As Luo Yuan stared at them, they instantly turned pale and drops of sweat started forming on their foreheads. Qian Dakui looked just as frightened. He hadn¡¯t been this scared even when he was facing gigantic mutated beasts. He quickly said, ¡°Everybody, don¡¯t move! Brother Luo, please don¡¯t misunderstand. I didn¡¯t expect us to bump into them.¡±


    Luo Yuan looked even more serious.


    Qian Dakui knew he could not hide it anymore so he said, ¡°Alright, I have an idea. We have been resting for a few days since the fight. We actually wanted to try and make some more money in other ces, but when you mentioned the feathers, I thought we should stay.¡±


    Luo Yuan knew something was wrong if Qian Dakui was trying to pressure him. Although he was notfortable with it, it did not make him angry. He said, ¡°That¡¯s fine, all I want to know is if you really have the feathers.¡±


    ¡°Of course! Why would I lie to you?¡± Qian Dakui said immediately, sounding regretful.


    ¡°That¡¯s good then,¡± Luo Yuan said.


    Everyone felt relieved. They realized they had all been sweating just from that short conversation. ¡°Brother Luo, I guess you¡¯re an evolved survivor too?¡± Qian Dakui asked hesitantly.


    Luo Yuan looked stunned as he nodded his head. That was a good way for him to hide his special abilities. Zhang Chao and Yang Dawei exchanged a look, both of them looking amazed, while Qian Dakui had an ¡°It¡¯s true, huh¡± expression on his face.


    Luo Yuan changed the topic, ¡°Alright, now what? Where should we go?¡±


    He opened the door and got out of the car. ¡°Since we have a lot of time on our hands, how about we look for the body of the mutated bird?¡± Qian Dakui suggested.


    ¡°That¡¯s a good idea. Let me use the washroom first.¡±


    He walked towards a burned tree and stopped right under it. He smiled and touched the handle of his knife with his hand. A green light shed and then disappeared as blood spilled out. There was the sound of someone moaning in pain. Suddenly, a person slowly appeared up ahead and walked towards Luo Yuan. He was covering his abdomen with his hands as blood dripped from his wound. He looked pale as he said, ¡°That¡¯s impossible! How did you see me?¡±


    It was the man who had smiled at Luo Yuan earlier. However, now his smile seemed to have been reced by fear and madness. Qian Dakui and the others looked shocked as they quickly drew their weapons out and stayed on alert. "Just a small trick," Luo Yuan said slowly. "If you tell me where all your buddies are, I might consider letting you go."


    Luo Yuan had looked around the ce earlier, but had not noticed anything strange about it. Apparently, his partners were not there. Invisibility was just a small trick for Luo Yuan. It was enough to trick his eyes, but not his senses. Luo Yuan had noticed the man when he was about 10 meters away. He could have killed him if he¡¯d wanted to, but he decided to get more information out of him. To him, a man who couldn¡¯t use chemical weapons was not a threat. However, ordinary people owning modern weapons were extremely dangerous. Luo Yuan needed to know where all those people were in order to kill them. He had already initiated the fight, and he did not n on getting killed while he was hunting in the forest.


    ¡°Impossible! It was just a coincidence. You can¡¯t possibly have seen me! You were just lucky.¡± He did not seem to have been listening to what Luo Yuan had said.


    Apparently, he was so overconfident he was willing to risk his own life. Zhang Chao held his sniper rifle as a warning while Qian Dakui and Yang Dawei walked towards him. They seemed shocked as they looked at the man who had haunted their dreams. Yang Dawei said, ¡°It¡¯s him! The evolved survivor?¡±


    The man looked at them arrogantly as he regained his confidence. He then looked at Luo Yuan andughed like a maniac, ¡°I haven¡¯t suffered a severe injury like this since I survived the evolution. Anyway, you won¡¯t be so lucky next time!¡±


    The next second, the man had disappeared.


    Bang!


    Zhang Chao fired, but he missed because of the people blocking him. Luo Yuan smiled coldly as he stepped confidently on the ground and leaped over 10 meters ahead of them in an instant.


    The Zhanmadao sliced across something invisible, producing a green sh before an arm flew into the air. The man appeared again, falling to the ground. He was in severe pain and suffering from massive blood loss. He looked very pale, but he was strong and did not make any sound except for a single cry of pain. Luo Yuan said angrily, ¡°Your trick is useless against me, so stop testing my patience! Tell me where your friends are!¡±


    ¡°The first time could be a coincidence, but the second one probably isn¡¯t. You really can see me, or sense me.¡± The man looked at Luo Yuan helplessly as he added, ¡°I can tell you where they are, but I want to know how you can see me!¡±


    Luo Yuan could sense that the man was stubborn and he knew it would be useless to say no. ¡°Alright,¡± he said.


    ¡°Our captain was not happy with Donghu citizens, so he sent me here to kill you. If you follow the small road for 3 kilometers, then you will find them. Good luck to you!¡±


    ¡°How do I know that what you just said is true? You could be trying to lead me into the habitat of a mutated beast,¡± Luo Yuan said as he smiled.


    ¡°I don¡¯t need to lie to you!¡± the man said, looking mad. ¡°Those are not my buddies, they¡¯re just myrades. Evolution might have gifted me with invisibility, but my speed and power are just like anybody else¡¯s. I help them kill humans and they help me kill mutated beasts. It¡¯s a fair trade.¡±


    "Alright, I believe you. You can go now." Luo Yuan could see that the man was extremely arrogant and he kind of liked him for that. He had already lost an arm and had a cut on his abdomen. He¡¯d be lucky to survive.


    Yang Dawei wanted to stop him, but he did not say anything when he saw the calm expression on Luo Yuan¡¯s face.


    ¡°You¡¯re not going to kill me?¡± The man looked touched.


    ¡°You¡¯re no threat to me,¡± Luo Yuan said. ¡°Plus, I can see you thanks to my senses!¡±


    ¡°An instinct?¡± The man looked confused while his body shook. He had not expected the ability that he had been so proud of to be so easily beaten.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go!¡± Luo Yuan turned around and told Qian Dakui.


    Zhang Chao hesitated for a moment, but when he saw Qian Dakui shake his head, he released the buckle and stood up with his sniper rifle. Luo Yuan had heard the sound of flowing water when they¡¯d first arrived at the entrance of the forest. He turned around and saw the man use his left arm to slit his own throat with a short knife. Luo Yuan looked at him as he fell to the ground. Then he turned around again.


    When something you¡¯re so proud of is deemed worthless by others, you suddenly find your life to be meaningless. That was an extremely stubborn person and the first evolved survivor Luo Yuan had met. The white clouds were spread evenly across the sky like scales on a fish. Beneath them was a borderless forest, so green and livelypared to the sky above.


    It was a new forest grown from farnd in just a few months time. Although it could not bepared to older forests that had already existed for thousand years, it was already on that scale. Big trees with meter-wide trunks were prettymon. In other words, this forest was lusher and more active than the older ones. The farnd had already been covered, and the footprints of farmers on it would never be found again.


    There was a grayyer of humus on the ground that felt soft and loose when you stepped on it. It was the result of grass being defeated by natural evolution. However, some grass had managed to survive it by adapting to the dense environment and limited sunlight, and evolving into climbing nts that grew up big trees to absorb the sunlight and nutrients. There were several people walking carefully down the small road.

 Chapter 50: Leeches

    Chapter 50: Leeches


    Trantor: Editor:


    Zhang Chao pulled the trigger and fired. There was a light, soft sound, and a badger-like mutated beast got shot on its head and fell silently to the ground. They stepped over its body and moved forward, leaving it lying dead by the side of the road.


    ¡°Primary mutated animals are worthless. Half a kilo of meat can only buy you one kilo of food stamps. If we can¡¯t find any secondary level animals, we might be facing a loss if we use too many bullets on the trip there and back,¡± Luo Yuan said.


    Qian Dakui knew that this was Luo Yuan¡¯s first time there. To make up for the rift in their friendship, he whispered, ¡°Secondary level mutated animals are worth more money. Half a kilo of meat can buy you 15 kilos of food stamps, and this is not even a set price. You can probably get a higher price in the ck market. You could get up to 50 kilos of food stamps. But each person can only trade 1.5 kilos of meat. The rest is taken by the military base.¡±


    ¡°Primary mutated animals?¡± Luo Yuan asked uncertainly.


    ¡°This is ording to the military base. The mutated rats you killed in Donghu city were ssified as primary mutants, and the King Rat was a secondary level mutant. The military base has a special of examining the animals,¡± Qian Dakui exined.


    ording to the system examination, animals that ranked white had to be primary level and the ones that ranked light blue were secondary level. Luo Yuan nodded. Usually light blue rank animals were bigger in size. Even the small ones weighed more than 50 kilos, and the big ones could weigh a few hundreds, some maybe even a ton. If they were lucky enough to hunt a secondary level mutant, it would be more than enough to cover the expenses of their weapons and bullets. In fact, profit was proportional to the risk. Blue rank mutants would definitely be worth a lot more than that.


    ¡°Wait! Don¡¯t move!¡± Zhang Chao, who was walking in the far back, shouted.


    Luo Yuan immediately stopped and checked his surroundings carefully, but he didn¡¯t notice anything strange. He felt uncertain. Zhang Chao took out his short army knife and walked over quickly. He cut down one of the leaves in front of Luo Yuan. He saw something moving when the leaf fell to the ground. That was not a leaf. It was a green worm, though it looked very simr to its surrounding leaves. It was difficult to tell the difference if they did not pay close attention.


    ¡°Damn it! It¡¯s a mutated leech!¡± Yang Dawei shouted as he checked it out properly. Then he rushed to the front and sliced the leech in two.


    Blood flew freely from its body. Yang Dawei did not look relieved though. He turned to Qian Dakui and asked him, ¡°Please check if there are any on my back!¡±


    Qian Dakui looked frightened as he opened Yang Dawei¡¯s shirt to check. ¡°No, nothing. Everyone check your bodies!¡± he said before he checked his pants as well.


    Although Luo Yuan had his doubts, he realized that something was wrong when he saw his friends¡¯ reactions. He used his senses to check his entire body, but did not sense anything different. They checked on each other as well.


    ¡°Nothing,¡± Zhang Chao sighed as he tied his pants tightly.


    ¡°I am safe too,¡± said Qian Dakui before he looked at Luo Yuan and asked, ¡°Brother Luo, don¡¯t you want to check too?¡±


    Luo Yuan shook his head and said, ¡°No, I would sense it.¡±


    Qian Dakui didn¡¯t ask any further. He remembered how he had easily noticed the invisible man. He was aware that Luo Yuan was a man with powers beyond his imagination.


    ¡°Thank god we realized it in time,¡± Yang Dawei said, looking grateful. ¡°Can¡¯t believe there are mutated leeches. I can¡¯t imagine what would happen if it had gotten into our bodies.¡±


    Luo Yuan was slightly nervous when he asked, ¡°They can do that?¡±


    Yang Dawei nodded. He looked scared as he exined, ¡°Once theytch onto your skin, they only need a few minutes to enter your body through the wound. The scariest thing is, you won¡¯t feel anything throughout the process, and once it absorbs enough blood from your body, it willy eggs.You will get very skinny and die in less than a day from blood loss. Then the mutated leech will squeeze out of your body." He slowly lowered his voice and added, "One of our friends actually died from such an attack. We left that area, but we didn¡¯t expect to see any here."


    Luo Yuan felt extremely ufortable while he listened. He had not expected that blood-sucking leeches would have already be so terrifying.


    ¡°Are we still going over there?¡± Zhang Chao asked.


    Yang Dawei looked very nervous. Qian Dakui looked at Luo Yuan for a second, but Luo Yuan did not object. He said, ¡°I believe they will be in other ces too, so we¡¯ll have to be more careful. Let¡¯s go.¡±


    Although it was Luo Yuan who had killed the invisible man, hisrades would certainly being after Qian Dakui, Zhang Chao, and Yang Dawei. They probably would not stop pursuing them if they found out that the invisible man was dead. It was definitely better to kill them before they sought revenge. Zhang Chao nodded and followed, holding his sniper rifle. Yang Dawei hesitated before he sighed and joined the group.


    All of them stayed alert and checked carefully every single branch along the way. They found several mutated leeches in just a few hundred meters of journey. They also came across the dried corpse of an animal by the roadside, which only served to increase their fear.


    "Shhh!¡± Qian Dakui pushed the branches away and brought his index finger to his lips, gesturing for them to be quiet.


    Several people were sitting on the ground around a clear area. One of them was lying down weakly, looking very pale. Luo Yuan looked at them through the gaps between the branches and realized they were the other four men from Hedong City. He thought his senses might be fooling him. He sensed that the guy who was lying down had be a lot skinnier, his originally round face bing very thin and narrow.


    ¡°I think there are leeches inside his body. He can¡¯t survive for long. It¡¯s three more to go,¡± Yang Dawei said softly, sounding quite happy. He took out a grenade and installed theuncher.


    ¡°Wait! There are too many branches, they will block it. Get closer!¡± Qian Dakui advised, stopping him. Yang Dawei nodded and moved forward with his rifle. They walked slightly farther before they stopped again. Suddenly, the four people on the ground seemed to sense that something was wrong. They quickly turned and looked in the direction of Qian Dakui¡¯s group.


    They shouted, ¡°Run! It¡¯s the people from Donghu City!¡±


    Bang!


    They had even not finished their sentence when Zhang Chao fired his sniper rifle. One of them was shot into pieces while a grenade exploded farther ahead.


    ¡°Damn! I missed!¡± Yang Dawei shouted madly. He was frustrated with himself because he had not practiced enough. It was difficult for ordinary people to master heavy weapons. Qian Dakui fired his old machine gun. After a short fight, only two of their opponents were left. They quickly took cover and began to fire again. Bullets were flying all around.


    Both parties were amateurs and most of their shots did not find their targets. Luo Yuan thought their skills were actually close to his level. Besides the guy who had gotten shot by Zhang Chao, no one else had gotten injured after more than ten minutes of firing.


    ¡°F*ck! You sneaked up on us and attacked us! You f*cking Donghu people! We¡¯re going to kill you today!" their opponents cursed while they fought.


    "You motherf*ckers! You¡¯re about to die and yet you¡¯re still lying, huh?¡± Yang Dawei cursed right back.


    The next moment, a bomb exploded further up front, causing a huge barrage. ¡°They have a mortar! Dawei! Don¡¯t save the grenade! Attack!¡± Qian Dakui almost jumped up when he saw their opponents using heavy weapons.


    Luo Yuan leaned on the ground, frustrated by the sounds of bombs and gunfire. The naked human eye normally had a buffering time that acted as protection to prevent a brain overload. The average image differentiating speed was 24 frames per second. In other words, if youpleted a motion in less than a second, your eyes would not notice it. The speed of bullets was 700-800 meters per second on average, and they could travel 30-40 meters in 1/24 seconds, which the naked eye could not capture.


    However, this was not a problem for Luo Yuan¡¯s sixth sense. Although it was simr to eyesight, it was not an organ of the body and it was not connected with any nerves or blood vessels. It extended from his consciousness, meaning that he could somehow see things as he sensed them. No matter how fast a bullet could travel, it would leave a blurred image on his brain. His sixth sense was highly sensitive to moving objects, so Luo Yuan could actually see every single bullet traveling through the air.


    Once or twice was bearable. However, that was almost 20 minutes of fighting. There were more than 100 bullets flying across the battlefield and his attention was forced to switch between them. Sometimes, when there were too many bullets flying at the same time, his attention was split so many ways that it drove him crazy. He suddenly felt his nose itch and he touched it. He looked at his hand and was shocked to see that it was covered in blood.


    Just as he was about to retreat, he suddenly got shocked and he felt his head exploded. His attention was too focused, something that had never happened to him before. He could sense a small dot being fired toward his head. His head subconsciously leaned to the side before he could even think of moving. At the same time, a hot st of energy passed by his ears, leaving behind a burning smell. Luo Yuan turned very pale and he had some difficulty breathing. He could feel his heart beating wildly.


    His expression was one of disbelief. He wondered whether he had just managed to dodge a bullet.

 Chapter 51: Lake

    Chapter 51: Lake


    Trantor: Editor:


    His excitement was immediately followed by a severe pain in his head. It felt like he was being burned by a hot wire, and he was sweating from the pain of it. Blood was gushing out from his nostrils. It was normal for a human brain to shut down sometimes. Even a machine could break down after being overworked for a long period of time, and avoiding the bullet had tested the limits of Luo Yuan¡¯s brain. He was afraid that it might explode if he had to avoid any more attacks like that.


    Bullets were still flying everywhere. Luo Yuan¡¯s forehead was drenched in sweat as he sighed.


    "Damn!"


    He covered his nose, but blood kept dripping between the gaps of his fingers. It felt like his brain was shaking and turning into glue. He did not feel like he was conscious anymore. Luo Yuan did not know whether those two people were going to die, but he knew he was certainly going to if they kept on firing. His sixth sense was like a double-edged sword. It made his mind stronger, but it was also a burden. And he could not bear that burden in his current physical condition.


    He closed his eyes tightly, but he could still sense where the bullets wereing from. He was like a volcano about to erupt and the urge of killing was getting stronger in his mind.


    ¡°I can¡¯t wait anymore. Why not take the risk if I¡¯m going to die anyway?¡±


    He took a deep breath and picked up his Zhanmadao before jumping in front of Qian Dakui and his buddies. One of his legsnded on the ground and his body moved forward at a high speed as if he was on a spring. He had already left his rational side behind. He increased his speed, and the wind around him became gradually warmer at the same time that his body was surrounded by a strong energy.


    The scene around him seemed to be moving in reverse. If someone had been calcting his speed, they would have realized that it had reached 100 meters in 8 seconds. However, he was in a forest and there were a lot of branches around, not to mention the bumpy ground. Had he been in any other environment, he probably would have been able to go even faster.


    ¡°Damn! Someone ising! He seems very fast!¡± a young guy with long hair shouted.


    ¡°Fire, you idiot! It¡¯s the evolution survivor! Kill him!¡± a 30 year-old man scolded him. He looked shocked as he quickly ced a bomb inside the mortar.


    Boom!


    Unfortunately, the mortar was not a gun. Although it was easy to operate, several factors contributed to hitting the target. Only professionals could master it. Usually normal people would just fire before they could even identify the location of their target. The man held the mortar and spun around, firing when he had passed by his target. The bomb exploded somewhere behind Luo Yuan. It had not even burned a hair on Luo Yuan¡¯s head.


    The guy with the long hair had used up all the bullets in his rifle. ¡°Quickly, pass me a grenade!¡± he said as he threw the rifle aside.


    ¡°F*ck you! Get one yourself!¡± the middle-aged man cursed, clearly mad at him. His palm was sweaty as he picked up a grenade and put his finger through the ring.


    Luo Yuan was as fast as a ghost. The branches in the forest did not affect his speed anymore. Initially, he had been 100 meters away from the two men, but it had taken just a moment for him to catch up. Now he was a mere 10 meters away from them. His killing instinct felt locked inside that time capsule, making him feel extremely ufortable.


    "Run!" The thought had crept into his mind and filled his heart. Luo Yuan stared at the young man, who was still looking for the grenade, and thought silently, "Don¡¯t me me. me yourself for being stupid."


    The young man had not realized that Luo Yuan was so close. He had taken a grenade out of his bag and was about to stand up. It was very hard for him to breath and his heart felt like it was cramping. He raised his head. Suddenly, his pupils contracted at the same time that his hair was blown back by a strong wind.


    "F*ck!¡±


    A green beam shed and then disappeared. The young man felt like he was flying before he had even managed to finish his word. His vision kept spinning, and he saw blood gushing out like a fountain from a corpse without a head.


    Luo Yuan shook his sword out and blood began to drip down its semi-transparent de. He picked up the rifle the young man had thrown away, plus some bullets. He inserted the bullets into the rifle while he watched the middle-aged man run farther away. He pulled the trigger and fired.


    He hit the man on his third shot. The man was wearing a bulletproof jacket though, so he only staggered shortly before he kept running like crazy.


    Luo Yuan took a deep breath. A sudden inspiration struck him. When he aimed at his target again, the man¡¯s brain exploded like a watermelon. He continued to run for a few steps before he fell to the ground.


    "Beep!"


    "After a short period of training, you have mastered the basic gun skill!"


    Luo Yuan was stunned. He had only tried using a gun a few times. He¡¯d barely even fired more than twenty shots. He certainly had not expected to master the skill in such a short period of time. He opened up the status panel.


    ¡°Knife expertise: 0¡±


    ¡°Guns: 1¡±


    It was a surprise. After all, the men from Hedong City had been just a group of useless bullies. Their bullets had not even gotten near him. The funny thing was, Luo Yuan had almost died because of them. He was starting to get a little arrogant after escaping those bullets. His shooting skills were no better than theirs after all. Anyway, had they been in a different environment, Luo Yuan was confident that he could have made some good shots. He also had the special ability to move at a high speed, which had made it hard for the men to focus. They had been so panicked, they had just fired around randomly.


    ¡°Brother Luo, you¡¯re awesome! You killed the two of them by yourself!¡± Qian Dakui said, walking up behind him a momentter.


    They all stopped smiling when Luo Yuan turned around.


    ¡°Are you injured?¡± Yang Dawei asked.


    They were so busy fighting that none of them had realized that Luo Yuan was bleeding. They were surprised to see it now. Luo Yuan looked horrible. His face and shirt were drenched in blood which,bined with the fact that he seemed to be struggling to stand still, made them think that he was severely injured.


    "It¡¯s nothing, don¡¯t worry." Luo Yuan shook his head. He looked pale, but calm.


    Everyone respected him for being able to act so normal while he was injured. None of them could have done the same. Luo Yuan wiped his nose. He was relieved when he realized that he was not bleeding anymore. He found a bottle of mineral water and washed his face. They all watched him, surprised to see his face clean. They were even more stunned to notice a headless corpse lying by the side of the road. Luo Yuan knew what they were looking at but he did not bother to exin. He turned to the corpse that had been attacked by the mutated leeches. It was not moving at all.


    Luo Yuan wasn¡¯t sure if the man had been lucky or unlucky that he hadn¡¯t been injured during the battle.¡°What about this one? Should I kill him?¡± he asked.


    ¡°No!¡± Yang Dawei rushed to stop him. ¡°It¡¯s no use trying to kill him with a knife. The eggs inside his body must already have hatched. If you kill him, the leeches wille out through the blood flow and we will be in big trouble!"


    "What about burning him then? That will burn all the mutated leeches inside his body too," Qian Dakui suggested.


    "That¡¯s not a bad idea," Luo Yuan agreed with him.


    They made a pile of dried grass and branches and moved the corpse on top of it. However, just as they were about to light the fire, they noticed something strange about the corpse. A long moving object wasing out of the base of the dead man¡¯s neck. There were only two in the beginning, but the body soon became packed with them. They were the size of chopsticks and about an inch in length, and they gradually covered every part of the dead body. Luo Yuan felt extremely ufortable looking at them.


    ¡°Dawei, hurry up! Light up the grass!¡± Qian Dakui shouted, looking pale.


    Yang Dawei swallowed some saliva and lit up the pile of dried grass. Everyone had thought that the man was dead, however, when the mes got near the corpse, the man opened his eyes and began to struggle. He was too weak and he stopped after a few seconds. His clothes and hair were burning and turning into ashes. His struggling got weaker as his eyeballs became dry and cracked. The mutated leeches that were about toe out, squeezed back into the dead body to escape the high temperature. They could avoid the fire but they could not escape the burning mes that were going to turn the corpse into ashes.


    An hourter, Luo Yuan¡¯s stomach still felt upset. He was chopping off a branch when he asked, ¡°How long now?¡±


    Qian Dakui envied his Zhanmadao. He was very curious about the sword. It did not look like gold or jade, but it was very sharp. All it took was one cut for it to take own a whole branch, or even a tree. He had never seen Luo Yuan try to cut the same branch twice.


    Qian Dakui looked at his watch and, after estimating the time of arrival, he replied, ¡°We are close. About 30 more minutes to go.¡±


    Luo Yuan looked very excited, but also doubtful. ¡°Do you think it will still be there?¡± he asked. ¡°It was so long ago. Perhaps somebody else might have taken it.¡±


    ¡°Chances are low. It¡¯s considered a very dangerous ce so people hardly ever go there. We came across it by ident. It¡¯s only a smallke, but there are many secondary mutants there, even some tertiary ones. We only took a look and then ran away fast. The feather you¡¯re looking for is just beside theke.¡±


    Qian Dakui and his friends looked very serious. Tertiary meant blue rank. Luo Yuan knew that blue rank animals were not easy to handle. He was not confident that he could defeat a blue rank animal despite the fact he was more skilled and powerful, and had more sophisticated equipment nowpared to when he had killed the guard rank green beetles.

 Chapter 52: Speed Kill

    Chapter 52: Speed Kill


    Trantor: Editor:


    The group was crouching amongst the bushes, trying not to move. After a long while, Qian Dakui raised his head to check their surroundings before quickly moving back into a crouching position.


    ¡°Brother Luo, it¡¯s right there!¡± he said in a serious tone while he lowered his voice.


    The leaves around them were hard and thorny. After about ten meters of crawling, every exposed part of Qian Dakui¡¯s body was covered in bleeding scratches.


    They had finally reached the highest point in the whole area. Luo Yuan stood up on his tiptoes and granced at a spot about a hundred meters away from where they were standing.


    There was a veryrgeke there. Because of the water source, nts around theke were a lot lusher; some of them had even evolved to grow aerial roots, not unlike those of a banyan tree, that sank deep into the waters.


    Severalrge mutated beasts were drinking from theke, their ears perked up to monitor their surroundings. Suddenly, a huge yellow-green beast creeped over. Its form faintly resembled that of a lizard and its heavy body left an imprint on the soft ground with each step it took.


    Tail included, the mutated lizard was about 6 meters long. It was covered inyers of yellow-green scales, each scalerge as a fist and featuring a ck intricate pattern that looked like growth rings. The pattern seemed to have a life of its own. Whenever the scales moved, it followed the lizard¡¯s movement as if it was a radial gradient with a ck center.


    What made it different from other lizards was the fact that its head had no scales. Instead, it had wrinkled brownish-ck skin like an old tree bark, and facial features that resembled those of a mammal.


    Once the mutated lizard got to the bank, chaos ensued. Every mutated beast in the vicinity ran for its life. The lizard raised its head and growled in content. Its long steel-like tail wiggled as it leaned down to enjoy a drink from theke.


    The ck feathers on the owl¡¯s skeletal remains by theke had been scattered around, painting the corpse¡¯s surroundings ck.


    Luo Yuan crouched back down, his heart thumping as he looked at the other three men, ¡°I¡¯m going. What about you guys?¡±


    Qian Dakui shared a look with the other two before he said awkwardly, ¡°We brought you here, but we¡¯re going somewhere else to hunt. It¡¯s not that we¡¯re not loyal to you, we just really can¡¯t afford to remain here any longer.¡±


    Luo Yuan had expected this as it was indeed too dangerous a ce to be. They were mere acquaintances. There was no need for them to put their lives on the line, even if it would be for personal gain. ¡°Alright,¡± he said. ¡°I still have to thank you. Hope to see you all again.¡±


    While Qian Dakui did not believe that Luo Yuan would turn hostile over such a small matter, he was still very much relieved when thetter did not object. Waving his hand, he replied, ¡°It was nothing, Brother Luo. Tit for tat. We hope you won¡¯t hold a grudge anymore after this. We¡¯ll leave the seized weapons and ammunition to you, but you should use them while you¡¯re here. They¡¯ll all be confiscated if you bring them back to the base!¡±


    Zhang Dawei unfastened a backpack and left it on the ground as Luo Yuan nodded in answer.


    ¡°We shall take our leave now. Take care.¡±


    The trio withdrew cautiously. When they were about 25 meters away, they straightened up and quickly left the dangerous zone.


    Once they were gone, Luo Yuan checked the contents of the bag ¨C five highly explosive bombs, a stun grenade, a sniper rifle, twelve HEAT warheads1 and hundreds ofmon ammunition.


    Previously, upon Luo Yuan¡¯s request, they had only been carrying a rifle and ammo as bringing along too many things would have only been burden. Most of the weapons, including the mortars, had been left behind.


    Luo Yuan remained in a reclining position, intending to collect the feathers after the mutated lizard had left.


    After a short while, the lizard had quenched its thirst, yet it was obvious that it was not keen on leaving. Maybe the environment was toofortable, because the lizard headed to a tree by thekeside, observed its surroundings for a few seconds, and then took a nap under the tree¡¯s shade.


    Luo Yuan waited for another half an hour, but quickly lost his patience.


    ¡°You¡¯re the one with the death wish! Don¡¯t me it on me!¡± Had it been only him and his machete, he would have hesitated, but now that he had so many weapons, he was sure he could kill a blue rank creature.


    Judging by the fact that the beast¡¯s presence had sent all other creatures helter-skelter and that its oppressing aura was still present even as it simplyy down, Luo Yuan thought he had guessed correctly. This was indeed a blue rank mutated beast.


    He picked up the rifle and loaded the HEAT warheads one by one before moving to lock the lizard¡¯s position through the rifle scope.


    Just as his killing instinct surfaced, a system notification rang.


    ¡°Level E Mission unlocked, Kill Rampage Lizard, 30 minutes time limit, ept/Decline?¡±


    ¡°ept.¡±


    Luo Yuan felt a little hyped. He was sure he¡¯d level up after this battle.


    He took a deep breath before he aimed at the lizard¡¯s closed eyes through the rifle scope. A HEAT warhead would probably only cause it minor damage because blue rank creature defense was immensely high. If he wanted to kill it with the sniper rifle, he could only aim where its defense was the weakest ¨C on its eyes.


    Pondering all this seemed to work, as Luo Yuan calmed down after he took several deep breaths. A few secondster, he pulled the trigger.


    The creature¡¯s danger instinct was a lot stronger than a human¡¯s. Just as the trigger was pulled, the Rampage Lizard opened its eyes and lifted its head in alert as if sensing something.


    Bang!


    Following the low sound of the rifle, a small pool of blood sttered on the animal¡¯s back.


    ¡°O!¡±


    Its howl was long and haunting, tinged with a thirst for blood.


    It got up immediately and let out a threatening growl, its sapphire blue eyes turning crimson red and its long thorny tail swishing around. In an instant, it had pinpointed Luo Yuan¡¯s location.


    Charging towards him, the lizard looked like a heavy tank running through a battlefield, knocking down any trees that stood on its way. Its advance forcefully cleared a wide path as trees fell around it like weeds.


    Luo Yuan threw the rifle aside and stood up. His shooting skill was hopeless anyway, so he had nothing to regret.


    ¡°Looks like we have to end things the old-fashioned way,¡± he mumbled to himself as the lizard approached with deafening stomps. ¡°But these are not bad either. They can save me a lot of energy if I use them wisely!¡± He took out two grenades and threw them after pulling the pins.


    Then he crouched andunched himself towards the Rampage Lizard.


    He had exceptional control over space and his own body, so both grenades formed a beautiful throwing arc before they dropped and exploded urately in front of the lizard. A blinding white light and a ball of fire rose at the same time while Luo Yuan squinted his eyes. He did not slow down.


    The stun grenade and explosive bomb had both exploded.


    ¡°O!¡±


    The Rampage Lizard lost its bnce as its eyes were blinded by the bright light. Its heavy body bulldozed through the trees along the way, following the momentum of the highly explosive bomb.


    Luo Yuan was already by its side.


    His high-level knife skill had not only awarded him an exceptional knife technique, but it had also gifted him with multiple techniques and ways to exert his force. One of them was high-intensity explosive motion.


    His veins protruded and he suddenly seemed to grow an inch taller. Face shed, he elerated his steps, generating enough force to match a typhoon, while dust and fallen leaves rolled around him like a wave.


    His bloodshot eyes locked in on the Rampage Lizard¡¯s throat as a chilling, murderous aura radiated from him, freezing the air all around.


    A jade green light shed across the air as he approached the lizard, wielding his knife within the blink of an eye.


    A sh of the machete.


    A sh through the throat.


    Luo Yuan did not stop until he was about ten meters away. Dropping to the ground, he huffed and puffed, sweating profusely as his protruding veins vanished at once.


    A white rank mutated beast would have easily killed him now. The short-lived battle had exhausted all his remaining 11-point Energy.


    He supported himself by holding on to his knees, his stare not wavering from the dying Rampage Lizard.


    It was struggling to stand up, growling hoarsely as blood spurted from its throat like apressed fountain. The gradual loss of blood made its struggle weaken until its legs finally gave out and it fell to the ground.


    A few secondster, a series of system notifications rang.


    ¡°Level E Mission: Kill Rampage Lizard, Completed.


    Completion Time: 1 minute 15 seconds


    Mission Rating: Excellent.¡±


    ¡°Rewarded Basic: EXP 1600!¡±


    ¡°Excellent Rating: EXP +1600!¡±


    ¡°You have leveled up and been rewarded with 1 Attribute Point and 5 Skill Points. You are now at Level 6!¡±


    ¡°Your Energy and Damage have received substantial recovery!¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve finally leveled up.¡± Luo Yuan was delighted as he felt his weak state recover instantaneously. The addition of 3200 EXP to his previous EXP of 4100/4800 had been more than enough for him to level up.


    However, his excitement subsided a little as he thought of the 9600 EXP that was required for the next level up. It seemed that leveling up would only get harder in the future. Plus, because of the shitty system, once a higher-level difficulty mission had beenpleted, a lower-level difficulty mission was never assigned again.


    When he hadpleted his mission of killing a guard beetle, a simr mission had not appeared again no matter how many regr green beetles he had wiped out. The mission difficulty level had only increased after that.


    Calming himself down, he opened up the attributes window.


    Character: Luo Yuan


    Profession: Hunter


    Level: 6


    Experience: 2500/9600


    Attributes ¨C


    Strength: 12 (10)


    Dexterity: 12 (10)


    Physique: 11 (10)


    Intelligence: 13 (10)


    Sensory Perception:12 (10)


    Willpower: 13 (10)


    Skills: Science 16, Math 14, Chinese 19, English 16, Finance 17,


    Arithmetic 9, Dancing 1, Drawing 3, Gaming 6, Negotiating 9, Socializing 7, Cooking 3, Driving 1,


    Hand-to-Hand Combat 4, Specialist Knife Skill 0,


    Gun Skill: 1


    Unique Skills: Identification, Synthesis


    Unassigned AP: 1


    Unassigned SP: 5


    Upleted Mission: None


    Luo Yuan hesitated in distributing his AP, not sure whether to assign it to Physique or Dexterity. It had be apparent that he could notst in a battle any longer than one minute. If he had charged in high intensity explosive motion, the duration would have been even shorter. If the enemy came in greater numbers or he had to engage in a longer battle, he would be in grave danger.


    If he were to strengthen his Dexterity, he would probablyst an even shorter amount of time. If he strengthened his Physique though, the increase in his attributes brought about by the level-up would seem insignificant, most likely allowing him tost a little longer in a battle.


    This was a double-edged word. However, Luo Yuan, who believed in short-lived battles, decided to add his AP to Dexterity. As for his Physique, he would think about itter. Maybe he could increase it through some high-intensity training.


    Following the subsiding of a warm flow inside his body, Luo Yuan once again had the illusion that the world had be slower. A 13-point Dexterity would mean that his reflexes would get quicker than the average person by 3.375 times. That included his vision.


    If there were still television programs or movies, he would have tragically realized that he could now only see separate pictures in motion instead of aplete motion picture.


    Trantor Notes


    1 High-explosive anti-tank (HEAT) warheads are a type of shaped charge explosive that uses the Munroe effect to prate armor. The warhead functions by having the explosive charge melt a metal liner to form a high-velocity superstic jet.

 Chapter 53: Dramatized

    Chapter 53: Dramatized


    Trantor: Editor:


    Luo Yuan tried running and realized that his speed had only increased around two times, partly constrained by the limitations of his own energy.


    However, he would still have seemed incredibly fast to an average person. They¡¯d only be able to see a blurry shadow if he were to wield his knife or sh through something.


    As expected, his Physique could not keep up with his advanced speed. His muscles ached and he huffed in exhaustion after only shing around ten times or so.


    Luo Yuan smiled wryly as he held on to his knife and approached the Rampage Lizard.


    Even dead, the huge beast still gave out an oppressing aura that seemed to silence its surroundingspletely. No other living creature made a sound.


    The highly explosive bomb had burnt through the lizard¡¯s stomach and blood was trickling from it. However, when Luo Yuan wiped away the burned skin, he was surprised to see that they were merely superficial injuries. The bomb could do nothing to destroy the beast¡¯s defense.}


    He forcefully pulled on one of its scales, and it made a crisp jade-like sound. It was sturdy, yet flexible, and showed no signs of breaking even after Luo Yuan had brutally pulled it to a 90 degree angle.


    ¡°Not too bad a material!¡± Luo Yuan praised, remaining calm. He was no more in the pathetic state he had been in; his blue rank equipment almost covered him from head to toe. He used Identification, and quickly grew disinterested as he discovered that there was nothing special about the scales.


    He unscaled the lizard by drawing a line across the middle of its stomach, baring its coarse-like skin and dissecting the corpse.


    Once the stomach had been dissected, showcasing the animal¡¯s innards, he was able to spot the heart. It was as big as a coconut. He cut it off immediately using his machete.


    ¡°Let¡¯s hope I evolve this time. I¡¯m gonna get as twisted as theye if this goes on for much longer.¡± He stared at the heart bitterly before finally, reluctantly taking a bite out of it.


    The wave of nausea did not dy his ingestion of the organ. He ate the whole heart in just a matter of minutes.


    The results were simr to thest few times. There were no additional benefits other than some excessive sweating and extra ecstasy.


    Luo Yuan was slightly disappointed. He sighed as he resumed dissecting the animal.


    He beheaded the Rampage Lizard with care, following the lines of the skull for fear of damaging his machete.


    After struggling for a long time, he was finally able to slide the lizard¡¯s brain, which weighed about 2.4 kilograms, into a stic bag he¡¯d found in his pocket.


    He knew that the essence of the huge beasty within its brain and heart, especially within its brain. He had only eaten the King Rat¡¯s brain the other time, and his Sensory Perception had improved significantly.


    Huang Jiahui and Wang Shishi had both eaten a significant amount of flesh, but it had done nothing much to increase their strength. They would not even have noticed the change, had Luo Yuan not pointed it out. It was evident that there was a huge difference between the brain and the flesh.


    Luo Yuan tied the stic bag and threw it aside as he began to observe parts of the beast¡¯s body selectively. He chopped off both its hind legs, which were the most fleshy.


    The Rampage Lizard¡¯s hind legs were around 1.5 meters long, each of them weighing more than a hundred of catties, which equaled to a 100 kilograms in total.


    Luo Yuan hoisted them without feeling much strain, but he could not bring along any more. His weak Physique would not allow him tost long, even though his Strength could handle the weight.


    He went over to thekeside to collect the ck owl¡¯s feathers.


    A few ck beetles the size of a human palm left the ivory white skeleton and escaped into the bushes in fear.


    Luo Yuan noticed that there were about seven bullets under the skeleton. He guessed that the owl had either been killed by a nearby base or by fighter jet flying in the sky.


    The feathers were everywhere. It took Luo Yuan a good ten minutes to collect them all. He gathered around 700 ¨C 800 of them, which was well beyond his expectations. Of course, not all feathers were two feet long. Most of them were semiplumes. There were only seven tail feathers about two meters in length.


    Luo Yuan chopped down a rattan that he found nearby and tied the feathers into a bundle.


    Just as Luo Yuan was preparing to leave, the sound of water flowing came not far from him, at the same time that a rustling sound was heard from the surrounding forest.


    Luo Yuan sensed the change in atmosphere and looked towards the center of theke in suspense. Pupils contracted, he saw a gigantic shadow serpentine forward at an incredible speed, forming a long line on the surface of theke.


    Hundreds of mutated fish in various sizes flopped out of theke in fear while the serpentining shadow headed in Luo Yuan¡¯s direction. Luo Yuan quickly got up, holding onto the handle of his knife.


    As the shadow approached thekeside, its body slowly floated upwards until a malicious head the size of a millstone broke the surface, water pouring down its smooth scales.


    Luo Yuan held in his breath.


    This was a gigantic mutated snake. The one he had seen in Gaotang Town paled inparison to this one. Its vertical, elliptical pupils possessed the chilling gaze that was characteristic of a cold-blooded creature.


    Other than its pupils, form and scales though, nothing else about the beast resembled a snake.


    Its mouth was elongated like a crocodile¡¯s, baring a set of sharp, jagged teeth that looked exceptionally ferocious. There was also a small bump on its head and to Luo Yuan¡¯s surprise, itsrge nostrils were fuming white mist.


    All these formed an eerie, yet mysteriously valiant scene for Luo Yuan.


    ¡°Level E+ Mission unlocked, Kill Dragon Snake. 30 minutes time limit, ept/Reject?¡±


    ¡°F*ck! Level E+ Mission.¡± Luo Yuan came back to his senses as a chill ran down his spine.


    He immediately rejected the mission and ran for his life.


    A Level E+ Mission meant that the creature was blue rank. Considering Luo Yuan¡¯s capabilities at the time, there was no chance of winning at all. He probably would not even be able to break its defense.


    His upgraded Dexterity surfaced at once, his surroundings flowing backwards in a blur as he shot more than 20 meters forward within just a few breaths¡¯ time.


    He huffed and looked back, noticing that the dragon snake was indeed serpentining towards him. However, it it did not seem to be in any hurry. It was trailing behind himzily as if going on a pic.


    His heart calmed down slightly. The beast was clearly not after him. It was just attracted by the copper scent of the Rampage Lizard¡¯s blood. It would probably still have eaten him for dessert though, if he had lingered around long though.


    On that note, Luo Yuan changed direction at once.


    Indeed, the dragon snake had stopped tailing him and was heading straight towards the lizard¡¯s corpse.


    Taking a relieved breath, he quickly ran back towards the spot where he had first observed theke in hiding. However, a sense of dissatisfaction rose in him as he watched the snake feast on the lizard¡¯s corpse.


    He had ced all his haul near the dead animal, thinking that the ck owl¡¯s skeleton was not far from it and he could easily see anyone approaching from there. Now all of it would be gone. The gigantic snake would surely not leave anything behind for him.


    His eyes glinted as theynded on the four remaining bombs inside the backpack.


    ¡°I¡¯m leaving with a bang.¡±


    He tied up the four bombs with a tough leaf and used another leaf to string together the triggering pins.


    Luo Yuan collected everything he wanted under his left arm, and checked to see if anything had been left behind before standing up again. He felt that his energy had been replenished.


    He pulled all four pins at once and threw the bundled bombs. The moment the bundle left his hand, he knew he had thrown it off target, but he didn¡¯t have the time to give it much thought. He just turned and ran.


    After waiting for an estimated amount of time, he turned to take a look back and his eyeballs almost dropped out of his head.


    The bundled had passed the snake¡¯s body and continued flying towards its back. If nothing had intercepted it, the bombs¡¯ explosive range would probably only have reached the snake¡¯s tail.


    Perhaps the action had immensely offended the dragon snake¡¯s dignity though, because the creature suddenly interrupted its meal and swallowed the bundle with a swish of its head.


    Luo Yuan was beyond shocked. His mouth was hanging open and he seemed to have forgotten how to run.


    The next moment, a dull boom was heard.


    The dragon snake¡¯s stomach expanded and its gigantic body jumped slightly in ricochet. The jounce had the snake puffing smoke on the ground as it raised its head and howled in pain, thrashing about in agony.


    Those were highly explosive bombs, not just average fireworks. However strong the creature¡¯s defense was on the outside, its insides were still made of flesh and blood. Even Luo Yuan could feel a pang of pain for it. He doubted there would even be an organ left intact after the detonation.


    ¡°It can¡¯t possibly survive such a serious injury, no matter how strong it is. What a pity, I should¡¯ve epted the mission!¡± Luo Yuan thought regrettably.


    However, regardless of how active his imagination was, he would never have imagined such a dramatic plot twist. He still felt like he was in a dream.


    The dragon snake thrashed endlessly, emitting anguished cries. Its evolved vocal cords belted out bright, resonant sounds that reached Luo Yuan¡¯s ears, even though he was a hundred meters away.


    Just as Luo Yuan thought it was meeting its death, the snake stopped struggling and lifted its head several meters into the air, gazing around in a murderous re.


    It did a round check, but did not manage to find the culprit. With an enraged growl, it quickly serpentined back into the water, disappearing as several crimson swirls surfaced on theke.


    ¡°It ran off just like that?¡± Luo Yuan mumbled to himself in disbelief. He stood up after quite a while and looked at the calmke.


    He stared at it in a daze, thinking that a gigantic corpse would probably surface not too longter. He wanted nothing to do with that, though. He would never dare swim across theke. As and creature, the water was far more dangerous for him than the forest.


    He took a long look before he headed back.


    The dragon snake had already ingested half the Rampage Lizard¡¯s corpse. While the hind legs he had chopped off had remained untouched, he was crestfallen to see the stic bag that contained the brain.


    It looked like it had been squashed by something heavy. Not one bit of the lizard¡¯s brain inside it could be salvaged.


    ¡°What¡¯s this?¡±


    He had found a half-buried scale beside the stic bag. One that did not look like it belonged to the lizard.

 Chapter 54: Freezing

    Chapter 54: Freezing


    Trantor: Editor:


    ¡°What¡¯s this?¡± Luo Yuan had found a half-buried scale beside the stic bag. One that did not look like it belonged to the lizard.


    He pulled the scale out and saw that it was the size of a ping pong ball, smooth and shiny, with a blue sheen. It looked like an unpolluted spring amidst an old forest. It remained untainted despite the fact that it had been half-buried in sand.


    What was even more amazing, was that Luo Yuan could feel a refreshing coolness radiating from it as he held it in his hand. Looking at the familiar scale, he suddenly thought, ¡°It couldn¡¯t be a dragon snake scale, could it?¡±


    The more he looked at it, the more familiar it felt, so he decided to use Identification:


    ¡°Dragon Snake Scale¡±


    ¡°Usage: Material¡±


    ¡°Rarity: Blue¡±


    ¡°Weight: 10.3g¡±


    ¡°Comments: This is a scale shed by a molting dragon snake. It possesses mild Cold Energy properties.¡±


    Luo Yuan¡¯s heart thumped, his previous worries vanishing in an instant. That scale alone was worth just as much, if not more, than a whole Rampage Lizard.


    This meant that his machete could level up again. To a warrior like him, a sharp weapon was of utmost importance. From a certain point of view, having a good weapon would increase a person¡¯sbat skills in several aspects.


    Even though he had reached Level 12 and had added 2 points to all his attributes, he could only run when faced with a dragon snake. He would probably never be able to break its defense in a battle.


    Furthermore, this scale was all the more valuable because it held attribute abilities. He would not swap it for ten Rampage Lizards.


    Luo Yuan felt shaken. Afraid that he might have been mistaken, he tried using Identification once more, looking at it in detail this time. He realized that it had a different description for the dragon snake¡¯s Cold Energy attributepared to the ck owl¡¯s attribute.


    One was ¡°mild¡± while the other was ¡°weak¡±. Those few letters made a world of difference. The energy this scale contained was obviously much higher than the ck owl¡¯s.


    ¡°If I found one, then it must have shed more,¡± Luo Yuan thought, his eyes glinting as he began searching for more scales nearby.


    Indeed, in a few minutes he had found a second one under a fallen tree.


    The next few hours, Luo Yuan searched the whole area, finding a lot of loot. He had discovered a total of 16 scales and an organ the size of a pineapple lying by the dragon snake.


    He turned the organ over and sideways, yet he could not determine which part of the animal¡¯s innards it used to be prior to the explosion. He had to use Identification to determine that it was part of the dragon snake¡¯s liver.


    The effect was still the same as that of blue and light blue rank flesh. It only slightly increased his body¡¯s attributes. It would seem that blue rank creature flesh would all have the same insignificant effect on increasing human physical potential.


    Maybe it was because the system had categorized all levels of blue creatures as blue rank. While the levels differed, the quality remained the same. Even if the quantity consumed was increased, the effect on the human body would still be limited. Consuming even more of it after reaching the limit would at most improve the body¡¯s potential by a little.


    Luo Yuan did not synthesize. Instead, he collected his things, intending to leave the ce right away.


    The dragon snake had left its scent there earlier and no other mutated beasts dared approach. However, the scent would not havested long anyway. In addition to the smell of the blood, the sense of intimidation would also weaken over time.


    Ruffling sounds could be heard around the forest. The threatening aura that had been surrounding the area was wearing off. Considering his weak Physique, even if the animals that approached were light blue or white rank, how many could he really kill?


    Besides, it was not Luo Yuan¡¯s style to engage in battles without benefits.


    He left the area speedily, returning once again to the small path he had used when he had first entered the forest.


    Luo Yuan stopped by a shaded, well-concealed spot to synthesize the materials at hand.


    He wasn¡¯t impatient. He was just worried that the base would confiscate the materials. His worry was not unfounded either. He had heard several times now that the military was collecting raw materials from living creatures. The middle-aged man who had sold him the ck owl¡¯s feathers the previous day had also mentioned a bio-bulletproof vest. This only proved the military¡¯s emphasis on bio-materials.


    Furthermore, blue rank creatures were not average creatures. It would not be farfetched to say that the military would very rarely get to meet one, and they would never pass up a material left behind by such a creature.


    To avoid any crazy assumptions and unwanted branching plots, it would be safer to just synthesize everything now.


    In order to prevent an ident, Luo Yuan took out of his pocket a HEAT warhead he had prepared for the experiment and synthesized it with a ck owl¡¯s feather. Then he synthesized the finished product once more using two scales, confirming that such a synthesis was possible.


    Luo Yuan put the synthesized warhead aside and began to synthesize his machete. A thought suddenly came to him, and he picked up the warhead again. He was actually rather disappointed in the Type 88 rifle. The warhead had been mped down by the lizard¡¯s muscle after going through its scales. It had not even inflicted a serious injury.


    It was fine to shoot a person with, but had proved useless against a mutated beast, especially one that was blue rank or higher. This was not just due to its narrow muzzle and insufficient velocity. The malleability of the bullet¡¯s alloy steel was also to me.


    When he had found the bullet, it had already been squashed into a round disk. If he were able to use it again after leveling up to blue rank, the effect would probably be vastly different.


    Only experimenting would tell though.


    Luo Yuan shoved the bullet into his pocket and began synthesizing the machete.


    Through the use of several scales, the machete transformed again. The earlier synthesized green beetle material was slowly chased away, jade green powder gradually seeping out and slipping down, following the machete¡¯s smooth handle.


    When the thirteenth scale had turned into a hole-filled residue, the machete finally evolved to blue rank. Looking at thest remaining scale, Luo Yuan hesitated before using it to synthesize the machete too.


    ¡°Chilling Machete¡±


    ¡°Material: Alloy, Dragon Snake Scales¡±


    ¡°Rarity: Blue¡±


    ¡°Weight: 4.3kg¡±


    ¡°Attack: 25 ¨C 29¡±


    ¡°Additional Effect: Attack Speed +1


    ¡°Additional Effect 2: Freezing, reduces temperature to -30¡ãC immediately, Cooldown Time: 24 hours;


    Trigger Condition: Specialist Knife Skill;


    Current State: Activated¡±


    ¡°Equipment Requirements: Strength 11 Points¡±


    ¡°Comments: This is a machete that will chill any enemy!¡±


    ¡°Sharp Machete¡± had be ¡°Chilling Machete¡± while its attack power had increased by 5 points and an additional effect had appeared ¨C freezing, a powerful and special ability.


    Looking at the effect trigger condition, he had a bad premonition. Holding onto the cool machete handle, he sliced off a thick branch like it was tofu, shing at it in concentration.


    He leaned forward to touch the cut.


    Indeed, other than a mild coolness, it did not feel frozen at all. It seemed that he would need to increase his Willpower and fully master the Specialist Knife Skill before he could trigger the Freezing effect.


    It would not be long now. He had already faintly felt the sense of focusing his mind onto a single goal when he had killed the Rampage Lizard earlier. When the de had shed through its throat, it had felt like there was no obstacle. The slice had been smooth and precise.


    Luo Yuan went on to synthesize both his boots and jacket to blue rank until they could not be synthesized any more. They were all Speed +3 equipment now.


    Then he found the car left behind by the five men from Hedong City and drove it back to the base.


    After a meticulous check by two patrolling guards, he was let inside.


    The sun was setting now, so the base looked far merrierpared to its deserted state in the morning, when most of the hunters had returned from the forest.


    Under the supervision of a soldier, Luo Yuan moved both the lizard¡¯s hind legs to one of the warehouses. Very quickly, someone came by and sliced a piece of meat off to check it.


    ¡°That¡¯s it?¡± The soldier locked his expressionless gaze on him and warned him, ¡°You don¡¯t look familiar, this must be your first time. You¡¯d be punished severely if we found out that you kept something for private use. You could even be confined for a few days depending on the seriousness of your offense!¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s all here!¡± Luo Yuan replied emotionlessly.


    ¡°It¡¯s third level meat!¡± the soldier who was checking the flesh said, lifting his head. His breathing seemed to have quickened.


    It was not every day that one came across third level meat, even someone in his line of work. This level of creature had already evolved to a certain level of intelligence. After that time when the base had just been built and some third level creatures hade wandering to their deaths, they had rarely been seen anymore.


    ¡°You killed this?¡± A hint of surprise and suspicion shed across the soldier¡¯s otherwise expressionless face. ¡°What weapon did you use? I remember your pass, you did not rent any weapons!¡±


    ¡°I think I have the right to refuse to answer that question, don¡¯t I?¡± Luo Yuan replied, sounding a little upset.


    The soldier¡¯s face soured immediately. Hunters were always sucking up to him and bribing him in hopes that he would be lenient in his check. That had been the norm. Who knew he would meet such a reckless neophyte that day.


    He got closer to Luo Yuan and sneered, ¡°Indeed, you have the right not to answer, but for the sake of this base and its safety, I¡¯ll search your carter. I suspect that you¡¯re in private possession of ammunition!¡±


    Luo Yuan was stunned. He looked at him and smiled before replying in the same low voice, ¡°I think you¡¯ve forgotten something. You and I both know that I don¡¯t have any firearms in my possession, so how do you think I hunted this third level beast?¡±


    Something seemed to be dawning on the soldier as his face paled.


    Luo Yuan went on, ¡°I heard that the military¡¯s recruiting evolved humans and the pay¡¯s not that bad. You¡¯re using me of private possession of ammunition and breaking the base¡¯s rules, but what do you think would happen if you reported this? Let¡¯s take a guess! Private possession of firearms! Very well! It¡¯s not too big nor too small an offense, but I¡¯d still be arrested and have to state my identity. I¡¯d be recruited into the military without a second thought. And then maybe, you¡¯d suddenly find me in a position higher than yours. By then, some of the superiors might find themselves wanting to please us evolved civilians and chase away some ck sheep. What do you think of that?¡±


    The soldier¡¯s face went from pale as a sheet to flushed red. He did not utter a single word for a long time.

 Chapter 55: Earthworm

    Chapter 55: Earthworm


    Trantor: Editor:


    ¡°Third level mutated meat. It¡¯s 80 catties of food stamps per one catty of meat, and you can keep five catties for yourself,¡± a plump supervisor in a military uniform said with a smile while two soldiers weighed the meat.


    It would be foolish to think that there was no business talent in the military. They had to raise most of their funds themselves before the mutation, so they were willing to engage in any profitable business. There was also a lot of smuggling was going on in the military since soldiers could afford to be bolder than most people. There were also soldiers who had bribed their way into the armed forces, thus making corruption in the military amon phenomenon.


    Luo Yuan was slightly surprised. He had not expected blue rank creature meat to sell for such a high price, but he dismissed that thought promptly. Rare things were usually more precious, and this meat¡¯s value was far more superior than that of light blue rank meat. Its price would probably be inted even further when the military resold it.


    It was indeed a profitable business.


    Luo Yuan did not have a lot of options. He had earned a total of 18,500 catties of food stamps plus the five catties of meat he had saved for himself. This was the first time he felt like making money was easy.


    There was also a routine check. Under Luo Yuan¡¯s imposing gaze, the soldierpleted a rough check before he ran away, breaking out in cold sweat. Luo Yuan¡¯s hiding tactic was not that clever. He had simply stuffed everything under the car seat. After all, a car could only be so big, and its hiding spots were limited. Besides, his loot was not small in size. It could easily be spotted if one checked with a little more discipline. The soldier though had feignedplete ignorance.


    Beforeing to the base, he had already thought of all possible countermeasures, including bribery. His threat though had been more than enough to force the soldier into cooperating. He had not expected it to work so well, but in the end he did not have to use any of the countermeasures he had prepared.


    ¡°If only I¡¯d known, I¡¯d have hidden more things!¡± Luo Yuan sighed. He¡¯d been worried that he would not be able to bluff his way out of the check if he¡¯d kept too many things, so he¡¯d only hidden the dragon snake¡¯s innards and the remaining ck owl feathers. The thought filled him with regret.


    At least there would still be more chances in the future.


    Luo Yuan stuffed the lizard¡¯s meat into his rucksack and left the base in his van.


    When he got to the entrance of the residential area, he sensed that something was not right. There was a faint pungent smelling from the area. He drove on and saw a crowd of people up ahead. They looked like they were watching some sort of drama to unfold.


    Feeling curious, Luo Yuan parked his car nearby and got out while holding on to his rucksack. Scanning the area, he saw that Huang Jiahui and Wang Shishi were both there. He went over to them, nudged Huang Jiahui¡¯s arm and asked, ¡°What¡¯s going on here?¡±


    Huang Jiahui snapped her head back when she heard his voice, ¡°Oh, you¡¯re back?¡±


    ¡°What are you guys doing crowding over here? What¡¯s happened?¡± Luo Yuan asked again.


    ¡°There¡¯s arge earthworm drilling holes in the area, and someone fell into one of them!¡± Wang Shishi answered without waiting for further questions.


    ¡°Are they safe now?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know. People said that they heard a cry, but there were no more signs of life after that. The holes are very deep. A few brave people have tried checking them out with shlights, but the light couldn¡¯t reach the bottom,¡± Huang Jiahui said, sounding bothered. After experiencing the hopelessness of the worm tide, she appreciated the current peace and stability more than anyone.


    ¡°You two don¡¯t get too close, it might be dangerous. I¡¯ll go check it out!¡± he said hurriedly.


    ¡°Be careful.¡± Huang Jiahui knew Luo Yuan¡¯s capabilities so she did not try to stop him.


    He nodded and squeezed forcefully his way through the crowd despite theints around him. His expression changed after he took a look. There were about seven holes half a meter in diameter drilled into thend in front of him. Their walls were shiny and slick. The earlier pungent smell had indeede from these tunnels.


    ¡°He was just walking in front of me and just like that, he disappeared. I thought my eyes were ying tricks on me, so I blinked, and there was this huge hole in the ground.¡± A young man beside him was talking animatedly, his face flushing red as he got near the climax of the story, ¡°It¡¯s that one over there. The rest of the holes appearedter on. I was so scared when its head popped out after it drilled thatst hole. I think it¡¯s a mutated earthworm, but what could it have eaten to be so big?¡±


    His animated storytelling had attracted a crowd of listeners.


    Two military jeeps pulled up and a team of eight armed policemen in full protective gear got out of the cars and walked over briskly. Luo Yuan noticed that two of them were holding military grade methrowers.


    The squad leader spoke through a hailer with a serious expression, ¡°It¡¯s very dangerous here. Everyone move 100 meters away!¡±


    The crowd buzzed and dispersed at once. Some people ran towards the outskirts of the residential area, but most of them stayed close enough to watch from afar. Luo Yuan pulled both Huang Jiahui and Wang Shishi into the car and didn¡¯t stop until they were 200 meters away.


    The police squad had already isted the zone with yellow tape while snipers and heavy machine gunners were climbing nearby buildings to get to their firing points. It was evident from their apple-pie order that the policemen were used to such operations.


    When everyone was in position, two policemen moved towards the openings of the holes cautiously, holding grenades.


    The atmosphere became charged at once. There was pin-drop silence all around as some people withdrew even further, unable to bear the tension.


    Boom! Boom! Boom!


    Dull booms were heard as the third crate copsed under the grenade¡¯s detonation. The ground quaked suddenly and a mound appeared, a sliver of something huge popping out the next moment.


    A purple snake-like creature around 7-8 meters long wiggled into the air, causing fear and panic to everyone watching. Screams were heard from the crowd while most people were stunned motionless.


    Judging by the creature¡¯s form, it had to be an earthworm magnified hundreds of thousands of times. Slick liquid dropped from its smooth skin, turning the sand into mud once it touched the ground. Everyone looked nauseous.


    The surrounding policemen had an entirely different mentality though. They were only stunned for a short moment before the snipers began firing.


    The earthworm was quickly shot to pieces.


    Heavy machine guns and methrowers joined the battle as bullets rained on the earthworm.


    Thepressed methrower was a sight to behold. Two streams of me assaulted the earthworm, causing it to catch fire at once. It seemed that it wasn¡¯t that dangerous after all. It did not even struggle before sumbing to its death.


    In barely two minutes time, the exposed part of the earthworm was lying motionless.


    Several armed officers dropped their weapons and hopped on the jeeps. The squad leader signaled and two men drove while another two took out ropes and hooked one end on the jeeps and the other on the earthworm¡¯s body, intending to pull the worm out of the hole.


    They had only pulled around two meters of the earthworm out when it ended in a bloody wound.


    This section of the worm¡¯s body was around 10 meters long, but for an earthworm about half a meter in girth, this length did not even constitute one-third of its body. An officer ran towards the hole to check. His expression suddenly changed.


    The armed policemen threw another handful of grenades into the holes, yet there was no reaction. After hustling for about an hour without managing to force the mutated earthworm out, the squad of eight reminded the residents to report any problems and left.


    Luo Yuan, Huang Jiahui and Wang Shishi had also gone home.


    Huang Jiahui sighed and mumbled, ¡°If there¡¯s a problem here, then I don¡¯t know where else it¡¯s safe anymore.¡±


    Luo Yuan dropped his rucksack and lit a cigarette. ¡°Now that the residential area is not safe, it¡¯s best if you two stay at home for a few days. Especially you, Wang Shishi. Don¡¯t go out to y anymore.¡±


    ¡°Isn¡¯t that earthworm dead?¡± Wang Shishi asked curiously.


    Luo Yuan shook his head, ¡°Earthworms are really strong. They won¡¯t die even if they¡¯ve been hacked into several pieces. They might even grow into several earthworms. At least that¡¯s the case with normal earthworms, I can¡¯t even imagine what a mutated earthworm would do. We¡¯re not sure yet if this creature will eat humans, so we have to be careful.¡±


    ¡°Okay,¡± Wang Shishi replied obediently.


    Huang Jiahui seemed to be in deep thought. When she came back to her senses, she said, ¡°What about groceries? We still have to eat.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about that, I¡¯ll take care of it,¡± Luo Yuan said.


    ¡°You should be more cautious, too,¡± Huang Jiahui said hesitantly. She was well aware that even though Luo Yuan was very nice, he could also be very stubborn.


    Luo Yuan seemed to think for a while before he answered, ¡°If the earthworm issue is not solved within a few days, we¡¯ll move somewhere else. We have two cars now anyway, so it¡¯ll be easier to move.¡±


    Huang Jiahui grumbled, ¡°Right, thanks for reminding me. Why did you get another car? We already have one here. It might be a bit old, but it works just fine. It¡¯s wasteful to buy another one. Do you still have enough money left?¡±


    ¡°I did not buy this car,¡± Luo Yuan exined.


    ¡°You stole this one, too? What if the owner finds us?¡± Huang Jiahui asked, lowering her voice.


    Luo Yuan did not want the two of them to worry, so he said, ¡°Don¡¯t worry. Somebody had dumped it. It¡¯d be a waste to leave it there, so I drove it over.¡±


    ¡°Brother Luo, how did you know that someone had dumped it? What if they had just parked it there?¡± Wang Shishi said, pursing her lips.


    ¡°Right. Aren¡¯t you smart,¡± Luo Yuan scolded.


    Huang Jiahui wanted to lecture him, but she gave up on the idea. After all, she had been forced to steal a car herself .

 Chapter 56: Mutation

    Chapter 56: Mutation


    Trantor: Editor:


    ¡°Sister Huang, look! Brother Luo has also bought some new clothes.¡± Wang Shishi looked like an excited puppy. ¡°Look how good he looks in them!¡±


    Huang Jiahui shifted her gaze towards Luo Yuan. She would not have noticed if Wang Shishi hadn¡¯t pointed it out. She was still distracted by the image of that mutated earthworm in the residential area earlier.


    ck jacket, ck pants, ck shoes, a total ck outfit. There were thousands of shades, but none of them could match the ck color of the ck owl¡¯s feathers ¨C a deep, mysterious, attractive shade of ck. Combined with Luo Yuan¡¯s fair, rosyplexion, his tall height and hisid-back yet edgy attitude, the ck color further highlighted his handsome look and gave him a mysterious aura.


    Huang Jiahui¡¯s gaze wandered before focusing again after a while. Suddenly, she gave an unfriendly hum, ¡°Shishi, can I sleep with you tonight?¡±


    Wang Shishi blinked. ¡°Sure, I love falling asleep hugging Sister Huang!¡±


    Huang Jiahui turned her head and fumed silently. Clothes were very expensive in stores now that raw materials were in shortage. Plus, neither of them had a job. One million might have seemed like a lot at first, but it wasn¡¯t going tost long. If they converted it all to food stamps, they would only have 70 ¨C 80 thousand.


    Luo Yuan was a meat lover, and their daily food expenses were already more than 30 catties of food stamps. Huang Jiahui had never bought any clothes in order to save money. She had even intended to sew patches on some of her old torn clothes. Who knew he would buy clothes for himself without batting an eye. She felt wronged just thinking about it.


    Luo Yuan seemed to have noticed as he smiled wryly, ¡°Would you both believe me if I said I didn¡¯t buy these clothes either?¡±


    ¡°Sure, why not. They must have been dumped by someone else and you just happened to pick them up!¡± Huang Jiahui said in disdain while she side-eyed him.


    She was thinking, ¡°Do I look like an idiot to you? I¡¯d have taken your word for the car. Lots of cars are being treated like junk these days anyway. But clothes, especially this new... People would never just throw them away.¡±


    Luo Yuan thought for a bit. He felt that he had nothing to hide anymore. It would also be a great excuse for him. ¡°Actually, I¡¯m evolved!¡± he said.


    His words struck them like a lightning. Wang Shishi screamed in ecstasy while Huang Jiahui was barely able to keep her cool.


    After a while, Huang Jiahui regained herposure and realized that what Luo Yuan had said waspletely irrelevant. ¡°What does you being evolved have to do with you buying clothes?¡± she asked with a straight face.


    ¡°You know that evolved people have strange abilities. Some werepletely useless so I felt too embarrassed to talk about it.¡± Luo Yuan kept talking nonsense, ¡°My ability is useless, I can just synthesize different materials into things. You remember those ck feathers, right? I synthesized them into my clothes so they couldn¡¯t be prated by regr bullets. I still have some of those feathers left, I could synthesize some clothes for you guys, too.¡±


    Huang Jiahui looked at his clothes suspiciously and realized that they were indeed the same clothes he had been wearing before. They only looked brand new because of their weird sense of beauty. Her suspicion went away at once as she eximed, ¡°Why didn¡¯t you say so earlier? This is not something bad. You don¡¯t have to hide it from us, we won¡¯t expose your secret.¡±


    She didn¡¯t look worried at all as she looked at Luo Yuan. She knew that while his ability could not help them in battle, he alone would still be more useful than 10 battle-gifted evolved humans put together. Once he was discovered by the government or the military, he would immediately be recruited. She wasn¡¯t sure whether that would be good or bad.


    She spoke to Wang Shishi seriously, ¡°Shishi, you mustn¡¯t tell anyone about this, okay?¡±


    ¡°I won¡¯t!¡± Wang Shishi promised. She could differentiate between good and bad. She had already grown up.


    Luo Yuanughed, ¡°You guys don¡¯t have to be jealous. I was just luckier. Everyone has a chance to evolve.¡± As he said this, Luo Yuan took the Rampage Lizard¡¯s meat and bloody innards out of his rucksack. ¡°Wash these. We¡¯ll eat them tonight!¡±


    Huang Jiahui did not pay much attention at first. She thought that he¡¯d just gone to the market on his way back. She was about to head to the kitchen with the meat when she asked, ¡°Should I marinate them so we can have them tomorrow? I¡¯ve already bought food for dinner.¡±


    Luo Yuan stopped her instantly, ¡°Don¡¯t. That¡¯s not normal meat. It¡¯s like the green beetles we hadst time. It could make you evolve. Wash it and slice it. We¡¯ll try it outter.¡±


    Huang Jiahui and Wang Shishi felt disgusted just hearing him.


    Huang Jiahui gritted her teeth, ¡°Okay, I¡¯ll clean it up. Hopefully we¡¯ll really evolve this time, because I¡¯m not eating it ever again!¡±


    She carried the meat into the kitchen, but came out soon after with a frown on her face. ¡°This meat is too tough, I can¡¯t cut it. Lend me your machete. And what¡¯s that bloody lump? It¡¯s already turned into goo.¡±


    ¡°That goo is liver. It¡¯s the good stuff. If it were to be sold, people would probably buy it for 1,000 catties of food stamps per catty!¡± Luo Yuan said with a smile as he handed her his machete.


    Huang Jiahui looked a little skeptical, ¡°Really? That thing is that expensive?¡±


    ¡°How much does a catty of meat cost in the market now?¡± Luo Yuan directed the question back at her.


    ¡°About 5 ¨C 6 dors per catty, but it¡¯s getting even cheaper these days,¡± Huang Jiahui replied.


    ¡°That¡¯s just first level mutated meat. Second level meat is resold for 30 catties of food stamps per catty while third level costs 80 catties of food stamps. How much do you think the resale value of fourth level meat would be?¡± Luo Yuan asked.


    ¡°That would depend on supply and demand. If fourth level mutated beasts were rare, then people would buy their meat no matter how expensive it was,¡± Huang Jiahui pondered, finally understanding. ¡°Are you saying that this is fourth level beast meat?¡±


    Luo Yuan nodded his head and Huang Jiahui covered her gaping mouth.


    ¡°Then... then we¡¯ll be eating away thousands of dors a day!¡± Wang Shishi was shocked.


    ¡°Something like that. But both of you would probably get nose bleeds if you had too much of it,¡± Luo Yuanughed.


    ¡°What¡¯s the level of the big green beetles we ate the other day?¡±


    Luo Yuan entertained their curiosity, ¡°Regr green beetles are second level, guard rank green beetles are third level.¡±


    Wang Shishi looked dumbfounded as she asked, ¡°What kind of a creature is fourth level? You must have seen it. Right, Brother Luo?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s better that you don¡¯t know. You might have nightmares!¡±


    Luo Yuan could still feel fear as he thought about the dragon snake. It was as if the creature existed in a mythical world.


    Of course, dragon snakes were in no way rted to mythical dragons. The system typically identified mutated beasts by the names given to them by the authorities, but judging by how the authorities had also named the creature a dragon snake, it was evident that they had found a resemnce between the dragon snake and the mythical creature.


    Huang Jiahui had already been suspicious when Luo Yuan had brought third and fourth level meat that could not be found in the market. The fact that Luo Yuan had nowe across a fourth level creature made her even more sure of her assumption. Her voice trembled as she asked, ¡°Did you go into the woods?¡±


    Luo Yuan hesitated before meeting her eyes and nodding.


    Huang Jiahui wanted to ask him not to go on an adventure in the woods again, but meeting his assertive gaze, her words turned into a sigh. She was suddenly worried that Luo Yuan might not return home anymore after leaving for the day.


    Flustered, Huang Jiahui covered it up by saying, ¡°I¡¯m going to the kitchen!¡±


    She left before she had even finished her words.


    Luo Yuan understood after a moment.


    Ever since he had been to the woods and escaped death, the pressure had been building on him to level up quickly to get prepared for the worst. He had already met a blue rank creature by just wandering around the outskirts of the woods. If the area spread over the whole Jiangnan Province, or the whole country even, the number of these creatures out there would probably be inconceivable.


    What was more, there could already be creatures that had mutated even further.


    Although Hedong City was peaceful, it was like an isted ind facing the woods that extended beyond the horizon. Anyone could predict that the city would be in grave danger down the line. Its technology could not keep up with the world¡¯s mutation. It might even deteriorate because of it. The city¡¯s downfall was only a matter of time.


    It was better to be a dog in times of peace than a man in times of chaos.


    If he could, Luo Yuan would go back to leading a 9 to 5 life like he used to before, and not struggle to survive each day like he was now.


    Huang Jiahui came to the living room carrying two tes, her eyes rimmed red like she had been crying.


    Luo Yuan took a nce at her and said, ¡°Do you know what the biggest food supply for mutated beasts is?¡±


    Without waiting for an answer, he went on, ¡°It¡¯s humans. The world has about 60 ¨C 70 billions of poption. Of course it might be less than a third of that now, but the number is stillrge. To a beast, a city looks like a giant food container. Once they can ovee its outer defense, they can have all the goodies inside. Hedong City is much safer because the military is here, but other ces have probably fallen just like Donghu City. Mutated beasts will only continue to evolve and evolution doesn¡¯t seem to be ending any time soon. Their domain will only expand over time, and if humans don¡¯t have another tech boom soon, we will only be able to survive by mutating just like the beasts. I hope this time both of you can evolve!¡±


    Luo Yuan¡¯s calming voice wasced with a chill. Both girls were bothered by it. They had already chosen to ignore the chaos taking ce outside and leave the memory of living in the dark like alley rats behind them. They¡¯d been living in peace for some time now.


    The atmosphere in the living room seemed to be charged at once.


    Perhaps the green beetle meat had been more disgusting, or perhaps it was because they were experienced this time around but, even though they kept frowning as they ate, none of them puked.


    Barely a minute after eating though, Wang Shishi imed to have a headache.


    Luo Yuan was not really concerned in the beginning. A headache was nothing to worry about after all. However, Wang Shishi¡¯s face flushed redder as her headache got more painful before she finally fainted and fell to the floor. Just as Luo Yuan was about to lift her up, he suddenly felt goosebumps all over his body.

 Chapter 57: Breakthrough

    Chapter 57: Breakthrough


    Trantor: Editor:


    Huang Jiahui panicked as she saw Wang Shishi faint. Putting down her chopsticks, she briskly walked over. ¡°Should we call an ambnce? She just fainted out of the blue.¡±


    ¡°Hold up! Don¡¯te near!¡± Luo Yuan quickly stopped the approaching Jiahui. He noticed that her hair too was floating as she walked over.


    Huang Jiahui noticed the oddity of the situation and was shocked when she touched her hair. It took her a while to respond, ¡°What¡¯s happening? Why is our hair floating?¡± She seemed to have thought of something as she asked, ¡°Is it possible that Shishi has evolved?¡±


    Luo Yuan ced Wang Shishi down on the floor gently and nodded, ¡°I¡¯m afraid so! Let¡¯s move back a little. I can feel the energy increasing incessantly. We don¡¯t want anyone to get injured.¡±


    Both of them moved a few meters back, but their eyes never left Wang Shishi who was still lying on the floor.


    An invisible energy seemed to surround her as the air around her looked fuzzy. As the energy got stronger, the chopsticks on the table were the first to start floating in the air. The tes followed.


    A few minutester, the chairs started rocking before slowly hovering into the air.


    The energy spread gradually until it reached the two of them.


    Luo Yuan felt a little lighter too and was surprised to feel himself float upwards. His hair stood straight as if he¡¯d been electrocuted, the pulling sensation on his scalp actually hurting. Looking at Huang Jiahui, who seemed even more pained, he quickly said, ¡°Don¡¯t stay in here, head outside!¡±


    Huang Jiahui knew she could not help much by staying so she agreed, ¡°Alright, be careful!¡±


    She looked pale as she moved towards the door, staying close to the wall. The moment she touched the doorknob though, the unusual phenomenon disappeared.


    Everything that had been floating in mid-air dropped in an instant, tes and vases shattering as random objects and garbage were scattered all over the living room.


    With a groan, Wang Shishi slowly regained her senses. When she opened her eyes, she was shocked to see the mess around the room. She turned to Huang Jiahui and Luo Yuan, who were standing further away, and asked, ¡°What happened? Why am I lying on the floor?¡±


    ¡°You don¡¯t remember?¡± Huang Jiahui asked curiously, relieved that she had returned to normal.


    Wang Shishi could only remember her awful headache before she had cked out. Shaking her head, she asked Luo Yuan, ¡°Brother Luo, what happened?¡±


    ¡°Nothing important. I have news for you though, both good and bad. Which ones do you want to hear first?¡± Luo Yuan replied with a smile.


    Wang Shishi looked anxious as she hesitated, ¡°I guess... the bad ones?¡±


    ¡°The bad news is you¡¯re cleaning up all this mess in the living room tonight!¡± Luo Yuanughed.


    Wang Shishi sighed in relief. ¡°What about the good news?¡± she asked, pursing her lips.


    ¡°The good news is you¡¯re the one who caused all this mess, which means you¡¯ve sessfully evolved!¡± Luo Yuan said.


    Wang Shishi was stunned. Noticing Huang Jiahui¡¯s envious gaze, she suddenly felt delighted and lost her ability to form coherent sentences, ¡°Brother Luo, you mean I... I¡¯m now... I¡¯m evolved?¡±


    She still looked doubtful, as if the two of them could have been mistaken. ¡°But I don¡¯t feel anything different.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯ll have to figure it out slowly,¡± Luo Yuan exined patiently. ¡°Try to focus all your attention. Your ability should be maniption, something like telekinesis in movies!¡±


    ¡°Telekinesis? That¡¯s awesome! It¡¯s my favorite one,¡± Wang Shishi spoke excitedly. She hurriedly stared at the piece of a ceramic te and mumbled inaudibly, yet the piece remained unmoving. Ten seconds passed.


    ¡°Don¡¯t get too excited and don¡¯t mumble to yourself. Focus your energy. Use your willpower to move what you want moved. Give it another try,¡± Luo Yuan said as he spotted the problem.


    ¡°Mm,¡± Wang Shishi answered with a flushed face. She took a few deep breaths with her eyes closed before opening them again to stare at the piece of ceramic. This time, it floated shakily.


    However, it dropped instantly when Wang Shishi grinned happily and lost her focus.


    She did not seem to mind though, and only continued to try with newfound excitement. Chopsticks, teacups, tes, books, even chairs began to float around, although that seemed to be the limit of her ability. Luo Yuan guessed that she could only manipte objects no heavier than 10 kilograms and he was a little disappointed. However, that was only the beginning. She would probably have plenty of room for improvement.


    After a few minutes, her face suddenly paled and with a stagger of her body, a te dropped and shattered into pieces.


    ¡°Are you alright?¡± Huang Jiahui asked at once.


    ¡°Just a small headache,¡± Wang Shishi said weakly.


    Huang Jiahui looked at Luo Yuan. ¡°Will she be alright like this?¡±


    ¡°Shouldn¡¯t be a big deal. She should be fine after she gets some rest,¡± Luo Yuan replied as he thought about it. He was inwardly guessing that her ability would most likely have to do with the ability to sense things.


    Wang Shishi did recover and she felt better after a while, but she dared not try it again.


    Although Huang Jiahui did not seem to mind that Wang Shishi and Luo Yuan were both evolved, her jealousy was revealed when it was time to go to bed.


    ¡°Both of you have already evolved. Why is it only me who has not?¡± Huang Jiahui asked disappointedly as she got out of shower.


    ¡°You can¡¯t rush it. It¡¯s like a lottery, it¡¯s all based on luck. We can¡¯t change the fact that you¡¯re unlucky,¡± Luo Yuan said weakly. He was also jealous of the girl, who had evolved after only eating mutated meat twice. It was true thatparison was the thief of joy. Just luck itself was enough to frustrate someone to no end.


    ¡°Bullshit me all you want,¡± Huang Jiahui said as she sat by the bed and pinched Luo Yuan. Then she added, ¡°Do you think it¡¯s rted to someone¡¯s physique? Some people will never evolve.¡±


    She looked really anxious now. She had not cared much about evolving before because nobody else had either, but now that both Luo Yuan and Wang Shishi had evolved, she suddenly felt the pressure built inside her.


    Luo Yuan was not sure what the answer to her question was. All he could do wasfort her, ¡°I already told you, it¡¯s all about chance, and chances in this case are slim. It¡¯s all a matter of luck. Eat more next time, and you¡¯ll evolve soon enough.¡±


    Huang Jiahui looked visibly deted at the idea of having to eat more of that disgusting meat.


    ¡°Oh right, you sleep first. I won¡¯t be sleeping tonight,¡± Luo Yuan suddenly said as he thought of something.


    ¡°What is it?¡± Huang Jiahui asked, standing up.


    ¡°Inspiration. I¡¯m gonna meditate tonight,¡± was his reply.


    ¡°You¡¯re not obsessed, right? What¡¯s the use of meditation? Are you gonna meditate your way to immortality?¡± Huang Jiahui scoffed.


    ¡°Maybe,¡± Luo Yuan murmured to himself. An image of the dragon snake shed across his mind.


    After the battle in the morning, he seemed to have had some sort of realization. Combining this with his memories, he had a premonition that that day would be breakthrough day. In order to prevent anything bizarre happening and avoid disturbing the girls¡¯ sleep, he got out of the house and headed to the residential area.


    It was not even 8 p.m., yet the residential area was deserted. Nobody would daree out at night after themotion with the mutated earthworm in the morning. He didn¡¯t need to worry about being disturbed.


    Plus, it would be unfortunate for the light blue rank earthworm to make an appearance since Luo Yuan could easily finish it off.


    He chose a secluded spot and stopped there.


    The ce used to be a park, but now there were only stumps where the trees used to be before they had been chopped off that very morning. Luo Yuan picked a stump about half a meter in diameter and sat down on it cross-legged.


    Within a few breaths¡¯ time, he had already calmed down, his mind cleared of all sorts of thoughts.


    About ten minutester, his eyes suddenly opened A weak ray of light shed through the night as his eyes turned murderous, an intimidating aura spreading from him. He stared straight ahead unblinkingly as if a great enemy was standing there.


    The night sounds of crickets and creatures all seemed to vanish as pin-drop silence surrounded him.


    He was thoroughly focused, nothing but the enemy in front of him upying his mind.


    The grave aura around him grew stronger, the veins protruding on his machete-holding arm, an invisible energy slowly growing within him. As the energy reached its peak, a crisp slicing sound apanied by a faint blue light sliced through the night air.


    His eyes widened.


    ¡°This is the feeling!¡±


    Focusing his willpower had been the charm. In other words, it had increased his concentration and allowed him to be immersed in that particr matter.


    It was usual for all sorts of thoughts or environmental factors to interrupt when amon person attempted to focus their concentration,. What might have looked likeplete concentration would usually be miles away from a clear mind. However, this was not something a person could have control over.


    That was also true for Luo Yuan.


    The only exception was when there was a life-threatening danger. Then all thoughts would automatically merge into one to fight the enemy. When a person¡¯s mind was focused, the strength of their willpower would shine through¨C an illusion turning into reality.


    Although Luo Yuan could not exactly face a grave enemy, he could self-hypnotize and picture an enemy as he tried to focus all his thoughts.


    Once he had mastered this, the rest would be just history.


    About ten minutester, he opened his eyes once again and shed his machete through the air. A ray of light shed, lingering before disappearing again. The light was faint and looked like the shiny reflection of an extremely thinyer of frost while the de of the machete looked like it had been coated with ayer of mist not unlike green smoke. It looked beautifully mythical.


    With each try, focusing his willpower became easier. The light lingered longer as well. The longest was only half a second, yet it was enough to thrill Luo Yuan. Half a second was considered long during a battle as his speed would allow him to make at least 5 or 6 shes to end the fight.


    The light essence was spectacrly sharp, too. It looked like it could slice through anything, but it could only be sustained by his willpower.


    To experiment, he grabbed a branch and tried to chop through a lump of basalt in the park. As the branch hit the lump of basalt, fear rose in him and his concentration broke into pieces.


    It took him more than an hour to beat this inexplicable fear, but eventually his consciousness returned to normal.


    This made Luo Yuan realize that he could not perform this routine often. It would be extremely restraining as his willpower would alter his reality. Considering his 13-point Willpower, he was still not at a stage where he could use it freely.

 Chapter 58: Regulations

    Chapter 58: Regtions


    Trantor: Editor:


    Luo Yuan¡¯s ¡°Specialist Knife Skill: 0¡± on the Attribute Board had be ¡°Specialist Knife Skill: 1¡± the previous night. The side-effects were equally great though.


    Restlessness, breaking out in cold sweat, the asional anxiety, even fear of the mutated earthworm he had not been scared of previously ¨C Luo Yuan knew that this was not normal, but he was unable to control his emotions. He had exhausted too much of his willpower the previous night.


    Given his current condition, he had to give up going into the woods that day.


    ¡°Are you okay?¡± Huang Jiahui asked as she looked at him suspiciously during breakfast. ¡°You look weird.¡±


    ¡°Just a bit tired from theck of sleep,¡± Luo Yuanughed dryly and switched the topic, turning to Wang Shishi, ¡°Do you still have a headache, Shishi?¡±


    ¡°I was okay when I woke up, but I couldn¡¯t help but test my power again this morning. I think it got a little got stronger, but my head aches again now,¡± Wang Shishi spoke in excitement, her frown disappearing.


    ¡°Don¡¯t use your power too often. Who knows how it might affect your body,¡± Huang Jiahui said.


    Even though she spoke calmly, her tone was stillced with a tinge of mockery. Wang Shishi looked unhappy as she listened to her. She pursed her lips in defiance, but kept quiet.


    It was easy for youngsters like Wang Shishi to lose their level-headedness and be arrogant once they acquired powers. While Wang Shishi did not show it, there was definitely the telltale sign.


    Without waiting for Huang Jiahui to speak, Luo Yuan said strictly, ¡°Shishi, I know it¡¯s very exciting to acquire the power of telekinesis, but you have to use it moderately. You¡¯re still young and your body is not fully developed yet. You need to go slow to avoid getting hurt.


    Wang Shishi immediately changed her attitude upon seeing Luo Yuan¡¯s strict face, ¡°Got it!¡±


    Luo Yuan softened as well, ¡°Come to my room after the meal. I have something to tell you.¡±


    ¡°Okay!¡± Wang Shishi agreed timidly, nervousness shing through her expression. She did not know what Luo Yuan wanted to say to her.


    After breakfast, Wang Shishi hesitantly followed Luo Yuan into his bedroom.


    Luo Yuan closed the door and sat by the bed. There were no chairs in the room.


    ¡°You sit down too.¡±


    ¡°Okay,¡± Wang Shishi obeyed.


    ¡°Do you know why I wanted to talk to you in private?¡± Luo Yuan said.


    Wang Shishi blinked in worry as she said softly, ¡°I don¡¯t.¡±


    ¡°You feel different than normal people after evolving, don¡¯t you?¡± Luo Yuan asked, looking at her.


    Wang Shishi avoided his gaze. ¡°No!¡±


    ¡°I can see it. It¡¯s not obvious, but it¡¯s there.¡±


    Looking at his disappointed face, Wang Shishi panicked. Fat tears rolled down her face as she rushed to exin, ¡°Brother Luo, I was just a little upset. I wasn¡¯t doing it on purpose.¡±


    ¡°Why were you upset?¡±


    ¡°I think Sister Huang was wrong. Her tone was also weird. I was angry, but I didn¡¯t say anything!¡± Wang Shishi spoke like she had been wronged.


    Now that Luo Yuan thought about it, he felt that he was indeed a little insensitive. A slightly more sensitive person would have recognized Huang Jiahui¡¯s mocking tone. Wang Shishi had already been rational by keeping quiet, so he gently advised, ¡°I know Sister Huang was also wrong, but you have to understand what a normal person feels towards an evolved person. Especially when both of you used to be normal before. Don¡¯t provoke her by showing off in front of her. Learn to remain low-key. She¡¯ll be back to normal soon. If you want to show off, thene at me, okay?¡±


    Wang Shishiughed at this as her face brightened. ¡°Okay.¡±


    After Wang Shishi had left the room, Luo Yuan pulled an unwilling Huang Jiahui inside and spent a while readjusting her thoughts, killing any budding ideas of jealousy.


    The weather was rather gloomy.


    There were not many people in the residential area that day. Luo Yuan strolled around the area and discovered a few extra holes. Two of them had mounds of soil that looked like earthworm poop. He looked into one of the holes, but it was pitch ck. So much so, it looked like an endless abyss.


    Soon he could not stand the stench anymore. He had to dry heave for a while before he felt slightly better.


    He came across more people when he got out of the residential area and headed into a barbershop.


    It had been almost three months since thest time he had trimmed his hair. It almost covered his eyes now, and that kind of length was inconvenient whe he was fighting.


    The few posters of beautiful women on the barbershop¡¯s wall had all turned yellow, and one of the ss doors had a big hole in it ¨C that kind of damage wasmon after the mutation had started. Business was not bad, though. There were about 7 ¨C 8 people waiting there when he entered.


    Luo Yuan sat on the couch and grabbed that day¡¯s newspaper from the magazine stand. However, the chitchat next to him caught his attention before he could even start reading.


    ¡°... he killed a whole team of armed policemen. Finally, several armed forces cars came and surrounded him,¡± a fat middle-aged man said in a low voice.


    ¡°What happened to the guy?¡± an old man asked curiously.


    The middle-aged man sounded impressed as he said, ¡°He was amazing, he managed to escape in the end! He was so fast it looked like he was flying. He must have gotten injured, though. I saw lots of blood at the scene.¡±


    ¡°Those evolved people are great. I wonder how they manage to evolve,¡± a young man in a yellow shirt said enviously.


    ¡°Probably naturally like the mutated beasts. We can only me our luck,¡± the middle-aged man said regrettably. ¡°Who knows, maybe we could evolve too in the future.¡±


    ¡°What were you guys talking about just now?¡± Luo Yuan asked as he¡¯d only heard half the story. ¡°Howe there was conflict between an evolved man and the military?¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re staying in Shuitang¡¯s Block 12, right?¡± the middle-aged man asked with a smile.


    ¡°You know me?¡± Luo Yuan was shocked.


    ¡°We live on the same block. Maybe you hadn¡¯t noticed, but I live on the 4th floor.¡± The man seemed a little embarrassed as he exined, ¡°I used to sell insurance. I usually notice the neighbors, it¡¯s a habit.¡±


    That made everyone aroundugh.


    ¡°We were talking about the evolved man from Lianhua Residential Area who resisted recruitment. It resulted in conflict,¡± the middle-aged man finally answered Luo Yuan¡¯s question.


    ¡°I thought I¡¯d heard gunshots in the morning. Why the sudden recruitment?¡± Luo Yuan asked, not giving anything away.


    ¡°Didn¡¯t you read in the newspaper yesterday about the standard regtions on evolved people? All evolved people have to register and obey all arrangements made by the government. It¡¯s too dangerous for normal people if these people stay here!¡± the middle-aged man exined.


    Luo Yuan noticed the tacit expression on everyone else¡¯s face.


    Normal people both feared and admired the powers of evolved people. Nobody wanted people like that around them.


    Luo Yuan had only gotten to Hedong City recently, so he had not interacted much with other people. The same went for Huang Jiahui. That was why he had not kept up with thetest news. He wanted to rush home right away and warn Wang Shishi not to expose her power.


    He fought the impulse, though. It would only create suspicion if he left and headed home all of a sudden. He had to not show any signs. Things were not that urgent yet.

 Chapter 59: Acute Disease

    Chapter 59: Acute Disease


    Trantor: Editor:


    Once he looked at the newspaper, Luo Yuan realized that there were articles about evolved people in every other page. Judging by what he read, things did not look good for the evolved.


    Hedong City had been on a high-pressure policy ever since the world had started mutating, but there were still robberies happening from time to time. They only seemed to increase in time as a big portion of audacious evolved people got involved in murders and rapes, even killings of policemen and men of the armed forces.


    As social security issues magnified, the government lost its patience and decided topletely wipe out these kind of people.


    At least that¡¯s what he had deduced from reading the newspaper, and it didn¡¯t seem like reality was far off.


    Luo Yuan put down the newspaper. His heart felt a little heavier.


    Others would never believe that he wasn¡¯t an evolved person and the police would definitelye knocking on his door when people realized that he was different. This made him worry because there was a real evolved person in the house. It was not that he did not approve of the government¡¯s recruitment policy or that he was worried about being dissected for scientific purposes¨C only an otaku woulde up with something that ridiculous.


    He just didn¡¯t want to lose his freedom.


    The various regtions and unspoken rules made working in government sectors suffocating. This was also why he had never attended any civil service examination even though it would have been a piece of cake for his 13-point Intelligence.


    Using his ability, he could survive without getting recruited. There was no need for him tomit himself to the government.


    The fat middle-aged man did not leave right away after his haircut. Instead, he sat down next to Luo Yuan and spoke to him like they were close friends, ¡°Let¡¯s leave together when you¡¯re done. That mutated earthworm scares me. We can have each other¡¯s back.¡±


    ¡°Why did youe out at all if you¡¯re scared?¡± Luo Yuan was curious about his attitude. If he was that afraid, then why had he left his house in the first ce?


    ¡°I didn¡¯t want to, but we don¡¯t have any rice left at home anymore. I couldn¡¯t let my wife and children starve!¡± The man rubbed his belly as he smiled wryly, ¡°I just went out rashly. I thought there¡¯d be nothing to be afraid of. It¡¯s just an earthworm after all. But to be honest, I dare not go back now.¡±


    This was when Luo Yuan noticed the bag of rice next to the couch.


    ¡°Right, so why did youe out?¡± The man had to be telling the truth about working in insurance. He sure could talk a lot.


    ¡°If it doesn¡¯t even have a mouth, how can it possibly eat a person?¡± Luo Yuan quipped.


    The man agreed, ¡°Yeah, I don¡¯t know what there is to be scared of. The residential area was deserted the whole morning.¡±


    While they chatted, Luo Yuan found out that the man¡¯s name was Huang Wei, and that both him and his wife were jobless.


    Even though Hedong City was still an industrial area, the number and size of its factories could neverpare to those before the mutation. The unemployment rate in Hedong City was higher than 70%. Most people were losing their jobs.


    Luo Yuan¡¯s neighborhood was still a middle to high ie residential area, and most people were of a certain financial status, so they could still survive without a job. However, there were also people who didn¡¯t have a lot of savings, and even people in debt who had to depend on relief food to get through the day.


    It was almost ten by the time Luo Yuan had gotten his haircut.


    Just as he was stepping out of the barbershop, a ck insect about the size of a fist flew right past him.


    Luo Yuan instinctively grabbed it and the insect was crushed inside his hand. He wasn¡¯t sure if that was because of his strength or because the insect had been too fragile. Opening his palm, he found a slimy substance on it together with the insect¡¯s carcass. He frowned in disgust.


    ¡°What is it?¡± Huang Wei asked curiously.


    ¡°Not sure. Just a bug. Wonder where it came from,¡± Luo Yuan said carelessly.


    Bugs like that weremon these days, even at home. He had killed multiple cockroaches the size of a palm in his own bedroom and had be immune to them. They seemed to have disappeared after his Sensory Perception had leveled up anyway.


    ¡°I have to spray insecticide every day at home, but it¡¯spletely useless. I actually found a ¡®stringed money¡¯ about a meter long the other day while I was spring cleaning. What a scare! It took me so long to kill it.¡± He was obviously still feeling the aftershock.


    ¡°Stringed money?¡± Luo Yuan asked curiously. He had never heard that name before.


    ¡°It¡¯s also called a house centipede. It¡¯s simr to a regr centipede. You must have seen it before. Maybe your house has them too,¡± Huang Wei smirked.


    As they were talking, a second insect flew by and Luo Yuan finally got a good look at it. ¡°This looks like a mosquito.¡±


    Huang Wei paled. ¡°You can see that it¡¯s a mosquito?¡±


    ¡°My vision has always been good. It¡¯s a bitrge, but I¡¯m sure it¡¯s a mosquito,¡± Luo Yuan said, his facepletely serious. With his 13-point Dexterity, his eyes were like a high speed camera. The mosquito had been flying fast, but not fast enough to escape his eyes.


    Luo Yuan could not believe it. Like all other insects, mosquitoes had also mutated, but their size was never thisrge. They were usually only about the size of a nail. Plus, it was easy to spot them, so most of them were killed on sight. This meant that mosquitoes had almost be extinct in Hedong City. Who would have known he¡¯d see two of them that day, let alone that they¡¯d be so muchrger in size.


    ¡°What¡¯s happening over there?¡± Huang Wei eximed.


    A crowd had formed down the road. Between its gaps, a middle-aged woman could be vaguely seen having a seizure on the ground. Luo Yuan walked over briskly, a bad feeling bubbling up inside him.


    He and Huang Wei squeezed through the crowd, Luo Yuan¡¯s expression darkening when he saw the woman. She was swollen beyond human capacity. Her skin was almost translucent from expanding so much and she was foaming at the mouth ¨C it was a frightening sight.


    ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡± Huang Wei asked the bystanders in shock.


    ¡°You¡¯ll have to ask him, I cameter,¡± said someone, pointing to another man.


    ¡°Watch what you¡¯re saying. She was just walking in front of me and then she fell down just like that and started convulsing. A lot of people saw it too,¡± a middle-aged man pleaded innocence, afraid he would get in trouble.


    The woman¡¯s breathing quickened and got harder as she panted like a wind box. Realizing that she was near death, Luo Yuan shouted towards the crowd, ¡°Is anyone here a doctor?¡±


    Seeing nobodye forward, a young man said hesitantly, ¡°I haven¡¯t gotten my medical degree, I can only perform some first aid.¡±


    ¡°Whatever, just look after her. I¡¯ll go get my car and drive her to the hospital before it¡¯s toote.¡±


    ¡°Alright!¡± the young man agreed.


    Luo Yuan sprinted towards the residential area, trying to keep his speed as normal as possible. Then he got into his van and drove over.


    ¡°Coming through!¡± Luo Yuan squeezed through the crowd once again. When he got down from the van, he realized that the woman was lying motionless. The medical student stood aside forlornly as he saw Luo Yuan approach, ¡°She¡¯s dead,¡± he said, ¡°There¡¯s no heartbeat and she¡¯s not breathing.¡±


    ¡°So fast? Did you find out what was wrong with her?¡± Luo Yuan was surprised.


    The student shook his head, ¡°Maybe some acute disease, but I¡¯ve never read about such symptoms.¡±


    ¡°Man down!¡± someone eximed.


    Someone in the crowd had fallen to the ground in a fit of spasms. At first, he was able to moan, but when his body started to swell, he lost his voice and foamed at the mouth with wide eyes.


    The crowd buzzed, panic filling the atmosphere.


    ¡°It¡¯s contagious, get away!¡± somebody advised before running away quickly.


    The crowd dispersed at once as everyone¡¯s expression darkened and turned scared. The medical student, who had touched the woman earlier, went pale as a sheet and ran away like crazy.

 Chapter 60: Critical Situation

    Chapter 60: Critical Situation


    Trantor: Editor:


    Jumping to conclusions was simply human nature. Once a contagious disease had been mentioned, scenarios of sanitizing, quarantine, and even death immediately filled people¡¯s minds. Sometimes fear could be scarier than the actual threat.


    Within just a few seconds, there was no one in sight. Luo Yuan was left standing there with a frown on his face.


    He was not afraid of contracting the disease, but he had seen a mutated mosquito hovering near the man¡¯s back when he¡¯d copsed. He walked towards the struggling, dying man and turned his body over to take a look at his back, ignoring any disgust he was feeling.


    A purplish red bump the size of a fist had formed on his already swollen neck. A stream of ck blood slowly flowed out of a red dot in the middle of the bump.


    ¡°It looks poisonous!¡± Luo Yuan¡¯s face turned grim.


    These mosquitoes were obviously not like the mutated mosquitoes in Hedong City. They had probablye from the woods, which would exin how they¡¯d appeared all of a sudden. The military could handlerger beasts, but they would never have noticed, or even managed to control, insects the size of a fist. The whole defense of Hedong City was like a sieve to these tiny creatures ¨C it could not prevent them from getting in.


    Plus, they were too poisonous, which did not match the principle of evolution. No creature, even those at the top end of the food chain, would waste food by poisoning their victim. This would devastate the whole food chain and all species would eventually be extinct. Nature was self-bncing; once one of its links was destroyed, it would cause a chain reaction that would result in devastating repercussions.


    It would make sense if the mosquitoes hade from the woods though. Then the poison would only be deadly towards humans. If their prey was a mutated beast, the effect would most likely be simr to a human being bitten by a regr mosquito. However, humans were not mutated beasts, they were too fragile. Poison that would only cause a numbing sensation to mutated beasts could be lethal against humans.


    A piercing scream came from afar as a chilling breeze blew past Luo Yuan.


    He woke up from his trance, got into his van and drove towards the nearby food market.


    At first, there were still people running around helter-skelter, but within a few minutes of driving he could only see bodies on the ground, some of them still struggling while they seized and moaned.


    He avoided the bodies carefully along the way. Along several kilometers of journey Luo Yuan came across no less than a hundred bodies.


    The van came to a halt in front of the food market.


    The guards were just about to close the doors when Luo Yuan jumped off his van and shouted, ¡°Hold up! I want to buy some rice!¡±


    ¡°We¡¯re closing, buy it tomorrow!¡± a gangly, rather dark-skinned guard said. He looked worried as he signaled for the guards around him to pull down the roller shutter.


    Luo Yuan elerated, holding up the steel t forcefully before the guards could shut the roller shutterpletely. ¡°Come on, Brothers. This will only take a few minutes. If you¡¯re fast, maybe even less than a minute.¡±


    ¡°What are you doing?¡± The tall, thin guard had been caught off guard. One moment the guy was getting off his car and the next he was already holding up the roller shutter.


    ¡°There isn¡¯t enough food at home anymore, what with the things happening outside. You guys should know. Without food, my whole family¡¯s gonna die of starvation.¡± The guards were armed, and Luo Yuan did not want to cause any trouble, so he took a stack of 100 catties of food stamps out of his pocket and thrust them through the gap of the roller shutter without even looking, ¡°Please make an exception, Brothers.¡±


    The gangly guard picked up the stack of food stamps and counted them ¨C there were 18 of them in total. It would be a lie to say that he was not affected.


    He might be working for the government but he was just extra personnel. Of course there were some side-benefits but it wasn¡¯t much. It was barely enough for him not to starve. He had never seen this much money, but he hesitated, thinking of the mysterious deaths outside.


    ¡°Sir!¡± an older guard could not help but voice out when he saw his team leader hesitate. Money made the world go round. That was how the saying went.


    The gangly guard came back to his senses once he saw the wishful expression on his subordinates¡¯ faces. ¡°How much do you want?¡±


    Luo Yuan did not want to appear greedy, ¡°Five packs of 50-catty new food.¡±


    The guards¡¯ eyes shone. Two hundred and fifty catties of food would cost at most 375 catties of food stamps; the leftover 1400 food stamps would all be theirs.


    ¡°You guys bring some packs over, quickly!¡± the gangly guard ordered. The market operated on a quota basis, but anyce managed by humans always had its loopholes. They were the market¡¯s guards after all. As long as the request wasn¡¯t too big, they still had certain privileges.


    ¡°Yes, sir!¡±


    Several buff guards rushed to the warehouse and brought the five packs over, pushing them towards Luo Yuan through the gap under the door.


    Luo Yuan dragged the food to the side when he saw that they were about to close the door. ¡°Wait!¡±


    The gangly guard was immediately on alert. He quietly pulled out his pistol while the others followed suit. ¡°We¡¯ve already given you the food, what else do you want?¡± he asked in a low voice.


    Luo Yuan could sense everything that was happening behind the roller shutter; he pulled out another 6 pieces of 100 catties of food stamps and passed them through the gap generously, ¡°Don¡¯t misunderstand me, my friends. It was my pleasure working with you. I hope there¡¯s a next time.¡±


    Under the circumstances, nobody knew when the crisis was going to end. If the situation got more critical, this amount of food would not suffice. While these guards were not powerful figures, they could make a hell of a difference during hard times.


    The gangly guard was obviously stunned by the amount of money handed over. He had never dealt with such a situation in his job, but he reacted fast, ¡°Sure, I definitely consider you a friend. My name¡¯s Zhou Feng. Come find me next time you want to buy food.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m Luo Yuan. See you next time.¡±


    Luo Yuan shouldered one of the gunny sacks and carried two more packs of food towards the van.


    He was stronger than the average person by 2.25 times. If an average person could carry 75 catties, Luo Yuan could carry around 170 kilograms, which equaled 340 catties. Five packs of food only weighed 250 catties, which was nothing for him.


    Luo Yuan headed to the wet market. It was already closed and nobody was willing to open the doors for Luo Yuan, no matter how hard he tried to persuade them. The people inside had obviously been frightened by the deaths outside.


    Luo Yuan could break in if he wished, but he was not ready to face the repercussions. Armed guards aside, even if he did manage toe out of the wet market unharmed, he would still attract the attention of the Hedong City Agency of Violence, and that made him think twice.


    Luo Yuan drove back to the residential area and carried the food up to the third floor. A strong sour stench weed him when he opened the door.


    ¡°Why are you sote?¡± Huang Jiahui looked relieved to see Luo Yuan unharmed as she closed the door quickly. ¡°I heard there was a malignant infectious disease spreading outside and a lot of people died.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, it¡¯s not infectious.¡± He carried all five packs of food into the storeroom as he added, ¡°The virus¡¯ structure is simple and it could mutate on its own. This wave of mutation has a very limited effect on it.¡±


    Huang Jiahui thought about it and instantly knew that he was right ¨C flu viruses were constantly changing, sometimes up to a few times a year, but they did not have much of an influence on anything.


    ¡°Oh, I forgot! Have you both closed the windows?¡± Luo Yuan asked quickly.


    ¡°Yeah, we closed them a while ago. Stuffed the gaps with clothes too.¡±


    ¡°No need for that. The people outside died from mutated mosquito bites. It¡¯s fine to leave a couple of gaps.¡±


    Huang Jiahui felt goosebumps all over her body as she heard about the mutated mosquitoes. She had seen them before. They wererge in size and once they bit you, a huge extremely itchy bump formed on your skin. She had seen people in the residential area scratch their skin to the point of bleeding after getting bitten. She was a little curious about it. ¡°Getting bitten itches like crazy, but it¡¯s not lethal, is it?¡± she asked.


    Luo Yuan exined what he had seen outside. Huang Jiahui looked stunned as she stood therepletely motionless. Her face had turned pale.


    Luo Yuan did not say anything else. They checked their inventory and walked around the house, checking each corner to make sure that no mutated mosquitoes had made their way in. Then he said seriously, ¡°This issue won¡¯t be solved overnight. We have enough food, but there aren¡¯t many portions of rice left. All portions will be cut in half from today onwards. We should be able tost another ten days or so.¡±


    Wang Shishi walked out of the kitchen holding a bottle of vinegar. As her fingers moved, vinegar shot out from the bottle into the air, turning into tiny droplets. Gravity seemed to have no effect on them. She exined in a soft voice, ¡°I¡¯m not showing off. We don¡¯t have a sprayer, so Sister Huang asked me to do this!¡±


    The next moment, the drops exploded into mist.


    The sour stench inside the house be even stronger.


    ¡°Stop, don¡¯t spray anymore,¡± Luo Yuan stopped her with a pained look.


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± Wang Shishi looked confused.


    During the SARS outbreak, somebody had spread the rumor that vinegar could act as a disinfectant, and from then on, the public always thought of vinegar first anytime they were faced with a simr situation.


    ¡°I¡¯ll exinter. Stop spritzing, it smells horrible. Come over here!¡±

 Chapter 61: Discarding the Corpse

    Chapter 61: Discarding the Corpse


    Trantor: Editor:


    Hurried knocks came from the door, ¡°Open the door! Please! Help my wife! Please!¡±


    Luo Yuan exchanged a nce with Huang Jiahui before standing up to take a look through the peephole. It was their neighbor who stayed directly opposite them who was knocking. They were not really friends but knew of each other¡¯s existence. His face was filled with fear and a hint of uneasiness.


    Luo Yuan guessed that his wife was probably bitten by a mutated mosquito. She would not survive it but they were neighbors after all so he had to at least go take a look. He opened the door with some hesitation and asked, ¡°What happened?¡±


    The man frantically said, ¡°Hurry, hurry to my house, my wife can¡¯tst much longer. I don¡¯t know what happened, she was mopping the kitchen and suddenly fell down.¡±


    He turned towards Huang Jiahui, ¡°Close the door first. I¡¯ll go over and have a look.¡±


    ¡°Okay, return quickly,¡± Huang Jiahui replied worriedly.


    Luo Yuan kept quiet and only nodded his head.


    The man paced back and forth anxiously and said to Luo Yuan, ¡°She¡¯s in the kitchen, please follow me quickly.¡±


    Luo Yuan followed him to his house and into the kitchen. However, as the man neared the kitchen, he slowed down as if waiting for Luo Yuan to go ahead of him.


    Luo Yuan took a look at him and felt that it was normal for a person to react this way when facing a possibly infected patient but they were spouses after all. Now that he did not even dare go near his wife, Luo Yuan¡¯s perception of the man became tainted even though he understood his rational.


    As he entered the kitchen and saw the woman. She was indeed bitten by a mutated mosquito but after such dy, she had already passed away. The woman was beautiful and Luo Yuan would usually check her out when they met. However, she was swollen to the point of disfigurement now.


    The mutated mosquito had obviouslye from window in the kitchen as it was open and Luo Yuan saw that it was resting on the ceiling with its stomach full from all her blood. It appeared dark red in color.


    The man was saddened when he saw his partner lying dead on the floor, covering his mouth as he looked anguished but still did not dare to approach her.


    Luo Yuan looked at the agonized man and said fittingly, ¡°My condolences, I¡¯ll take my leave.¡±


    ¡°Wait!¡±


    Luo Yuan was called after only a few steps, he turned and asked, ¡°What else is there?¡±


    The man looked hesitant after calling him, he was biting his tongue and he could not speak.


    Luo Yuan knew what he was thinking, ¡°You don¡¯t have to worry, this is not an infectious disease. The culprit is that mutated mosquito on the ceiling. You¡¯ll be okay after killing it.¡±


    The man was shocked and speechless, raising his head to look at the mosquito and subconsciously taking a few steps back.


    He saw that the window was still open and rushed to close it.


    ¡°I¡¯ll leave first then¡± Luo Yuan said.


    ¡°Wait! I... I can¡¯t kill it. Can you help me kill it?¡± The man called for Luo Yuan once again, earnestly asking him for help.


    Although Luo Yuan only disliked him in the beginning, he was now disgusted by the man! It is true that he is stronger and killing such mosquitoes was effortless to him but the man could not possibly know that he was stronger as he is just another normal person in the man¡¯s eyes. Shifting his own risk to another person, what was more a stranger, this guy was really something.


    Luo Yuan thought about it and let it go. The man¡¯s wife just died, he should not hold any grudges against somebody like this. He nodded his head, ¡°Alright, pass me the broom.¡±


    ¡°Sure! Sure! Thank you so much!¡± The man thanked him profusely and walked out of the kitchen to fetch the broom.


    After Luo Yuan received the broom from him, he climbed up the cab as the ceiling was a little high. The mosquito, being full from all the blood, was extremely slow in reacting and had only wanted to fly away when the broom neared it but it was toote. With a p, the ceiling was left with a st of blood.


    ¡°Thank you so much. If it wasn¡¯t for you, I wouldn¡¯t know what to do.¡± The man breathed a sigh of relief and said sincerely.


    ¡°Save the courtesy. If there¡¯s nothing else, I¡¯m leaving.¡± Luo Yuan jumped off the cab and said, dusting off his hands.


    ¡°I still want to ask for another favor.¡± The man quickly said seeing that Luo Yuan wanted to leave.


    Luo Yuan halted his step, intending to see what else the guy could ask for.


    The man said mournfully, ¡°Huiqin died so horribly. I want to keep her longer with me but I can¡¯t have her here any longer. In this current weather, her body would start to rot and smell within half a day...¡±


    Luo Yuan looked at his absolute heartbroken face but could not tell how much sincerity was actually in his words. He cut in and asked, ¡°You mean...?¡±


    The man said awkwardly, ¡°I...can you help me carry her body downstairs?¡±


    Luo Yuan gave up on the man and said emotionlessly, ¡°If you¡¯ve got no guts to go down, I can¡¯t say anything. It¡¯s only normal for people to be afraid of the mutated mosquitoes. But she¡¯s your wife after all. You want to discard her body right after her death and want me to do it for you. Do I look like an idiot to you?¡±


    Luo Yuan turned to leave after his words, not bothering to give a second nce towards the man.


    The man was shocked, embarrassment and humiliation washed over him. He opened his mouth to speak but realized that Luo Yuan was long gone.


    Huang Jiahui was washing the rice in the kitchen as Luo Yuan returned and went in to wash his hands.


    ¡°What¡¯s going on opposite us?¡± Huang Jiahui asked.


    ¡°Nothing much. I¡¯m just disgusted! Let¡¯s not talk about him!¡± Luo Yuan said while shaking his head.


    Huang Jiahui stopped asking after seeing his response.


    Not long after, Luo Yuan¡¯s sensitive hearing picked up a dull thud from outside. It sounded like something heavy had dropped. His expression changed slightly, and he thought to himself that the man could not have thrown his wife¡¯s corpse from the third floor.


    The dishes from this afternoon were much simpler to clean. A small te of pickled mustard and two salted eggs. These were bought by Luo Yuan before the mutation had happened. He had stocked up a lot of non-perishable items like these and still had some leftover.


    The mutated meat Luo Yuan brought home yesterday was marinated but considering that difficult days like these would not end quickly, now was not the time to eat it.


    They used to have a good portion of meat and fish in their meals but they did not have much appetite for the moment. Wang Shishi even stopped eating after only a few mouthfuls.


    A jeep stopped by their residential area that evening. Two armed police covered in protective gear from head to toe came down with methrowers on their backs and two trails of fire which were about ten meters long zed through the empty spaces around Shuitang. Luo Yuan could see numerous mutated mosquitoes falling from midair as their wings were burnt by the fire.


    The methrowers could onlyst so long though and after about ten minutes, the gas on the backs of the policemen ran out. They still had not finished clearing the residential area. If they wanted to ¡®spring clean¡¯ the whole Hedong City, the amount of gas needed would be an astronomical figure. If all the gas in Hedong City were to be spent here, it is possible that it would still not be enough.

 Chapter 62: Food Insufficiency

    Chapter 62: Food Insufficiency


    Trantor: Editor:


    It was already seven days after the appearance of the mutated mosquitoes but the situation was not getting any better. The whole city was like a ghost town and nobody could be seen on the streets.


    ¡°Mom, I¡¯m very hungry!¡± A fat kid of about five years old said pitifully.


    ¡°Be good, my little Yu, and wait a little longer as it is not dinner time yet!¡± Yu¡¯s mom responded.


    ¡°But I didn¡¯t eat any rice during lunch! I¡¯m so hungry that my stomach hurts!¡± The little boy, Yu, said bitterly while he was ying with his remote-control car which had now run out of battery.


    The eyes of little Yu¡¯s mom turned red and she looked at Huang Wei. He sighed and nodded saying, ¡°alright, go cook then. We¡¯ll sleep earlier tonight.¡±


    ¡°Oh! Finally, I can eat!¡± Little Yu threw the remote-control car aside and jumped for joy.


    Little Yu¡¯s mom sighed, stood up, walked to the almost empty rice bag and scooped a small cup of rice. Then, after some thought, she poured half of it back before she went to wash it in the kitchen. After she put the rice on the wok, she added in threerge bowls of water, started the gas, and began cooking.


    After half an hour, she scooped three bowls of porridge and put them on the table. She weakly uttered, ¡°it¡¯s time to eat.¡±


    As Huang Wei and his son walked over, he noticed the porridge on the table was as clear as water. He asked in surprise: ¡°Do we not have any rice left?¡±


    ¡°We only have about five scoops left and we don¡¯t know how long this situation willst.¡± Little Yu¡¯s mother sighed heavily while she replied and continued, ¡°We should save as much as we can now.¡±


    Huang Wei nodded in disappointment. Fortunately, they had bought a packet of rice weighing about 20 catties prior to the incident. They thought the chaos would end soon but instead the number of mutated mosquitoes increased every day.


    Other than the first few meals of rice the three of them managed to have at the beginning, they had been eating porridge every day. Even a person with a strong body cannot survive over a long period of time solely on porridge. It was only the fifth day so far, but only their son was still about the same size. Both of them had clearly lost weight. Sadly, their rice grains were also depleting soon.


    Little Yu was slurping the porridge and had forgotten all about his toy. Even for a kid who is very particr about food, he enjoys anything edible when he is starving.


    As he looked at his son who was gulping down the porridge which was still hot, he kept silent for a while and said, ¡°I¡¯ll try to borrow some food from Mr. Wang opposite us!¡±


    ¡°Do they still have rice?¡± Little Yu¡¯s mom asked.


    ¡°They should have since they managed to buy a lot before the incident. I think they¡¯d still have some. I¡¯m also quite close to Mr. Wang. If we can¡¯t borrow, maybe we can buy some even though the price is high.¡± Huang Weiforted them though he himself was not certain. After all, it was not the good old days and food today was more expensive than gold as it was more scarce and necessary for survival. Nobody would lend food to you unless you are their rtive or their friend.


    He and Mr. Wang actually just got to know each other as he used to sell him insurance. Mr. Wang might be annoyed with him now since he had lost all his money in insurance now that there are no insurancepanies around anymore. Huang Wei was weighing the personal gains and losses as he thought more about when he wanted to request for help.


    He blew gently towards the porridge to cool it down before quickly swallowing it into his stomach. As he ate, he felt even hungrier. His stomach was growling and rumbling with pain. He touched his disappearing belly which he used to try hard to lose, stood up slowly and said: ¡°I¡¯ll go opposite and ask.¡±


    He walked to the wardrobe to put on a raincoat and a pair of boots. Then, after some thought, he wore a helmet as well although he was unsure if it could protect him from the mosquitoes.


    ¡°Please be careful. Come back quickly!¡± Little Yu¡¯s mom said worriedly.


    ¡°It will be alright. The government¡¯s campaign vehicle said that those mutated mosquitoes can¡¯t bite through a raincoat.¡± Huang Wei smile insincerely, took a deep breath, opened the door and closed it as fast as he could.


    He looked around the corridor carefully and when he found that there were no mutated mosquitoes, he walked quickly to the house opposite his and knocked on the door gently saying, ¡°Mr. Wang, are you home?¡±


    After about 10 seconds, a reply came from the inside, ¡°Who is it?¡±


    ¡°Mr. Wang, it¡¯s me, Huang Wei from the opposite you!¡± he quickly replied.


    ¡°Why aren¡¯t you apanying your wife and son at home? Aren¡¯t you afraid of being bitten to death by those mutated mosquitoes?¡± Mr. Wang said with a teasing tone but he did not seem to want to open the door.


    Huang Wei was lost for words. After hesitating for a few seconds, he found the courage to say, ¡°I was forced to... We no longer have rice and we have been eating porridge for a few consecutive days. I¡¯m here to buy some rice from you. At a good price of course.¡±


    Mr. Wang¡¯s wife suddenly entered the conversation and she asked in a low voice, ¡°What does that Huang Wei want from you?¡±


    ¡°He said he wants to buy some rice, shall we sell him some?¡± Mr. Wang whispered.


    ¡°Why should we? We don¡¯t have enough ourselves. Who knows how many days such conditions willst? If we don¡¯t have rice by that time, what shall we eat?¡±


    They argued for a while and Huang Wei anticipated bad news.


    ¡°Huang Wei, I understand that you won¡¯t borrow rice from us if you don¡¯t really need it but we don¡¯t have much rice too as we have four family members who need to eat every day. I¡¯m sorry, why don¡¯t you try to ask someone else? I¡¯m so sorry!¡± Mr. Wang said embarrassedly.


    ¡°Oh, it¡¯s alright, it¡¯s alright. I understand that you have your problems as well.¡± Huang Wei said insincerely again.


    He stood there for a while, sighed and walked back to his house. As he was about to take out the keys to open the door, he heard the conversation inside and stopped moving.


    ¡°When will dade back with borrowed rice?¡± His son asked in a clear voice.


    ¡°Soon, then we can have a nice meal.¡±


    ¡°Can I have the rice instead of porridge?¡± his son asked with hope.


    ¡°Sure!¡± his wife paused and continued, ¡°but only for a meal.¡±


    ¡°Oh, that¡¯s great! But why isn¡¯t dad home yet?¡±


    He slowly squatted down while leaning against the wall and sighed. Then, he stood up abruptly and went upstairs. He did not believe that out of the many people in this building, nobody would sell him some.


    ¡°150, 151, 152...¡±


    Luo Yuan was doing push-ups in the living room and his speed was so fast that he can do about 5 push-ups a second. Sweat was dripping down his back and his fair skin appeared to be coated with ayer of oil. He still kept going like a wless speedy yet urate machine.


    His back muscles were like the two wings, contracting and rxing along with his actions which also pulled other long and narrow muscles together forming a dense musclework.


    Wang Shishi was standing at the corner and watched Luo Yuan secretly. As she was in her adolescent period, she was curious but felt shy. Additionally, the sounds which asionally came from Luo Yuan¡¯s bedroom further intensified her curiosity. She took a deep breath, rolled her eyes, and walked into the living room boldly to Luo Yuan¡¯s side while trying to act normally.


    At that moment, Luo Yuan stopped. He was panting heavily, grabbed a towel to wipe his sweat away and wanted to take a bath.


    ¡°Brother Luo, aren¡¯t you doing push-ups anymore?¡± Wang Shishi stared at Luo Yuan¡¯s body and acted like she was surprised.


    ¡°No!¡± Luo Yuan was panting so heavily that he could not speak. This high intensity training tested his stamina and he was already exhausted in less than a minute. However, considering he went from 170 fast push-ups at the beginning to 200 times now, he has already shown a slight improvement.


    The best training method for him was to do short distance sprints which will lead to heavy panting like a dog after a few seconds. However, it was still daytime and someone would notice him even though there weren¡¯t any people on the street. Thus, he dared not practice sprinting on the street or he might be seen as a mutated person and get into trouble.


    His stamina was the restraining factor to all his status points. His body was like a machine with a w since it could only work at full power for less than a minute, thus limiting his abilities. Because of this, it did not matter to him whether it was day or night, as long as his physical strength recovers he will continue training his stamina.


    Though the mutated mosquitoes outside threatened the life of normal people, they were not able to go near a person who had already mastered sword fighting. Once he entered the state ofbat, his surrounding would be very quiet and all the insects would retreat. asionally, some unlucky mutated mosquitoes might go too near andter find themselves lying on the floor.


    After sessfully controlling his powers before, he basically spent his nights outside every day. Even though the zing light from the de of the Zhanmadao was surprisingly powerful, it could not help much in actual battles due to his current constraints because nobody would give you enough time to focus your power in an intense battle!


    Though he managed to kill the huge lizard, it was mainly down to luck. After all, it was dizzy and fell on the floor as it was hit by the high explosive bomb and grenade which gave Luo Yuan a good opportunity to attack it. However, if it could dodge Luo Yuan¡¯s attacks, his rhythm would be interrupted and he would not able to focus anymore.


    Therefore, what Luo Yuan needed to do was to shorten the time taken to focus from more than 10 seconds down to only a second so that he can control his power at any time. However, maybe this was all wishful thinking. Luo Yuan felt disappointed with the results of his training even though he had been practicing for a few days.

 Chapter 63: The Sequela

    Chapter 63: The Sequ


    Trantor: Editor:


    ¡°What smells so good? What¡¯s sister Huang cooking in the kitchen?¡± Luo Yuan asked.


    ¡°Lean meat porridge with century eggs because the meat is too salty! She added too much saltst time when she was preserving it.¡± Wang Shishi replied.


    ¡°Oh, she added in the level three mutated animal¡¯s meat? No wonder it smells so good!¡± Luo Yuan said.


    Huang Jiahui¡¯s culinary skills were notparable to Zhao Yali¡¯s. Huang Jiahui was only familiar with cooking edible dishes. As he thought of Zhao Yali, he felt sad as he did not know what had happened to her. She probably might have....


    ¡°Brother Luo, as we still have some time before we have our meal, can you please do me a favor?¡± Wang Shishi asked sweetly.


    ¡°What is it?¡± Luo Yuan recovered from his thoughts and asked.


    Wang Shishi had a nce at the kitchen and whispered to Luo Yuan, ¡°I won¡¯t tell you until youe to my room!¡±


    Luo Yuan did not suspect anything odd and nodded his head in agreement. It was the first time he entered her room. It looked very ordinary as there weren¡¯t many things avable to fulfill a youngdy¡¯s hobby at this point in time. The decorations were about the same as what they had when they initially rented the house. There was only an additional grey colored bear at the head of the bed and nobody knows where she got it from.


    After Luo Yuan entered the room, Wang Shishi closed the door in a guilty manner. As she lowered her head trying to disguise her embarrassment, she walked towards her closet and opened it. When she stood up, she was holding a white and a pink brassiere.


    When Luo Yuan saw what she was holding, his heart pounded and he felt awkward.


    Wang Shishi was no longer the little girl he first met. During this period, she had grown about 5 inches taller and her body had also started to grow. Though her breasts were notrge enough yet, it was getting more noticeable that she had matured into a youngdy.


    Wang Shishi nced at Luo Yuan and whispered shyly, ¡°I have worn these brassieres for about half a month but it has started to wear off. It¡¯s a waste of money to buy a new one. Can you please help me fix them?¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry. We can afford to buy new ones. Besides, your... umm... the shape is not fixed yet. It will still grow and we will have to change it again at that time.¡±


    ¡°The quality of a purchased one is iparable with the specially made one. I used to touch sister Huang¡¯s, it was so smooth and had good aeration which made it feel sofortable. I like the color ck. Can you help me make one?¡± Wang Shishi said with a hint of jealousy.


    Luo Yuan was having a headache as he did not know how to reject her.


    After they knew Luo Yuan was an evolved person, he had made a set of blue level clothes for them. But Huang Jiahui received more than Wang Shishi as she also received two extra white level brasseries. How could any fabric bepared to a blue level mutated animal¡¯s feather? Luo Yuan only used one or two feathers to make them and after that Huang Jiahui never wore other brasseries anymore. He did not think that Wang Shishi would want them too.


    ¡°This seems to be inappropriate. After all, these are your private things, how can I touch them?¡± Luo Yuan finally thought of a reason.


    ¡°Brother Luo, I don¡¯t mind and why should you?¡± Wang Shishi braced herself, stared directly into Luo Yuan¡¯s eyes and said, ¡°I won¡¯t tell sister Huang.¡±


    ¡°She¡¯ll find out eventually even if you don¡¯t tell. Unless you stop drying your clothes from now on!¡± Luo Yuan smiled wryly.


    ¡°Otherwise what can I do? Should I beg sister Huang?¡± Wang Shishi smirked as she saw Luo Yuan felt embarrassed.


    ¡°Alright, just give it to me then!¡± Luo Yuan did not want to make a fool of himself.


    Wang Shishi chuckled and handed her brassieres over to Luo Yuan. He hurriedly put them into his pocket and wanted to leave the room.


    Wang Shishi uttered again, ¡°Don¡¯t go yet, I still have underwear! Brother Luo, please also help me to improve them. Please!¡±


    Since Luo Yuan already agreed to help, he did not reject her. He crumpled up the two underwear and put them into his other pocket. He then briskly walked out from Wang Shishi bedroom.


    As Luo Yuan entered his bedroom, he felt relieved. He took out the brassieres and underwear from his pockets. The white underwear of hers looked tiny and seemed to have a fresh and soft fragrant.


    He felt as though he was somehow a pervert so he put down the underwear and walked to his closet. He opened one of the drawers which was about half-filled with the feathers of a ck owl. As he had already used up quite a lot of feathers, there were now only a few left. Most of the feathers were obtained from the tail of the owl.


    He chose some of the shorter feathers but when he wanted to stand up, he heard a sound. It was the sound of his bedroom door being opened. To his sensitive ears, it sounded like an explosion!


    He shrugged and quickly stood up. As he rushed to his bed, the bedroom door was pushed open and a shadow came in.


    At that very moment, Luo Yuan¡¯s hands were moving so fast that it became blur for a while and when it became clear again, the underwear on the bed had already disappeared ¡°magically¡±.


    Huang Jiahui¡¯s hair was blown slightly by the wind. Normally, she would realize something strange in the room as she used to be a police. However, she was not being observant at that moment. Huang Jiahui quickly closed the door and blushingly walked over to Luo Yuan. She sat by his side and then bashfully, she grabbed Luo Yuan.


    With her obvious hint, if Luo Yuan still did not understand what she was up to, his 13-point Intelligence would have to have been added to a dog. But Luo Yuan knew that Wang Shishi¡¯s undergarments were hiding under the quilt. He would feel ashamed and even embarrassed if they were found by Huang Jiahui. Furthermore, he would never able to exin to her what happened. So, he said, ¡°Not now. Wang Shishi is not asleep yet. Furthermore, we are having dinner soon. Let¡¯s talk about itter.¡±


    ¡°But you are leavingter tonight. Tell me, how many days have you been out?¡± Huang Jiahui said with discontent.


    As Luo Yuan went out every night, both of them were not on the same bed for more than a week. She had her suspicions that Luo Yuan went out to find another woman instead of practicing his knife skills.


    ¡°Howe Wang Shishi isn¡¯t asleep yet?¡± Luo Yuan suddenly said as he had run out of ideas.


    She became more dubious as Luo Yuan kept looking for a reason to avoid the situation. After all he was quite passionate at first and he wanted it almost every night. She needed to beg him for him to stop. If he had not found a new sweetheart, he would not be so cold and keep rejecting her offer.


    ¡°It¡¯s alright if she hears!¡± Huang Jiahui¡¯s doubts within her made her ready to risk everything. She pushed Luo Yuan down, rode on his body and forcibly removed his pants while she said coldly, ¡°It isn¡¯t her first time hearing us. And I won¡¯t be surprised even you went to sleep with her. You¡¯ll still have to do it today even if you don¡¯t want to!¡±


    Recently, Wang Shishi had kept tempting and luring Luo Yuan. Though she tried to cover up her act, it was too immature to conceal from a mature and experienced woman. Furthermore, Huang Jiahui is proficient in criminal psychology.


    Luo Yuan innocently looked at his pants being pulled down and his energized ¡°little thing¡± sprung out! He could not help it and said, ¡°Can you please not nder a good man? How can I do that to Wang Shishi who isn¡¯t even 14 yet?¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t think that I don¡¯t understand what you men are thinking! Don¡¯t you men like young and youthful bodies?¡± Huang Jiahui thought of her unfortunate family and teased. Her actions also started bing more aggressive.


    As Luo Yuan thought of some indecent scenes, his ¡°little buddy¡± extended slightly and seemed to get even more excited. Then, he said with a stern voice, ¡°Those men are losers! They are crazy! You can¡¯t just judge every man like this. I prefer a mature woman!¡±


    Huang Jiahui looked at him with her watery eyes and suddenly she bent over him and licked the the tip of his lower body lightly.


    Luo Yuan drew a cold breath and a shiver ran down his spine. He uttered faintly, ¡°Don¡¯t!¡±


    Seeing the response from Luo Yuan, she seemed to be more determined. She smiled charmingly and wrapped her sultry lips around his ¡°little buddy¡±.


    In just a few seconds, Luo Yuan¡¯s ¡°little buddy¡± was throbbing. He struggled for a while but soon ejacted!


    It was toote for Huang Jiahui to react and she was forced to swallow most of the semen. Some even choked her. She kept coughing until tears came out of her eyes. She rushed to the washroom and came out a few minutes after. She asked dubiously, ¡°Why was it so fast?¡±


    ¡°I...¡± Luo Yuan was speechless.


    That was the reason why he did not want to sleep with Huang Jiahui. It was too difficult to exin.


    In actual fact, it was because of his agility. Since his agility reached 13-points, his neural reflexes were also enhanced. Thus, he had faster speed, better eyesight and sharper hearing. His skin had also be very sensitive.


    Even in a confined environment, his skin can feel the slightest of changes in the air particles. Something which would cause only slight pain to a normal person would be amplified to him and his ¡°little buddy¡± is the most sensitive region for a man. Even when there was some friction against his underwear during exercise, it would already affect it tremendously. Huang Jiahui was so aggressive that it was impossible for Luo Yuan to hold back. As soon as he rxed, he ejacted.


    When Luo Yuan wanted to simply make up a reason, there was a sudden knock on the door outside!

 Chapter 64: The Collapsing Social Order

    Chapter 64: The Copsing Social Order


    Trantor: Editor:


    ¡°It seems that somebody¡¯s here. I¡¯ll go get the door!¡± Luo Yuan said. He stood up, pulled up his pants quickly and walked out of the bedroom while Huang Jiahui stared in confusion at him.


    Luo Yuan opened the door and was shocked: ¡°You are...Huang Wei?¡±


    No one can me Luo Yuan for second-guessing because Huang Wei¡¯s appearance had changed so drastically. A week ago, he was a fat guy but now he had the body of a model, the only exception being his pale face that made him look very weak.


    Huang Wei did not think that Luo Yuan would just open the door for him without checking first. He had been begging all the other neighbors and it was his first time enduring such a shameful situation. Though he did not see any mutated mosquitoes at the corridor, he still went into the living room quickly to avoid causing any trouble to Luo Yuan. He took off his helmet and tried to offer a smile, ¡°Yes, yes! We had our hair cut together. I¡¯m surprised that your memory is so good!¡±


    ¡°What do you need?¡± Luo Yuan closed the door and asked directly although he had already guessed what he wanted.


    Huang Jiahui came out from the bedroom and her face was still blushing slightly. She took a look at Huang Wei and asked Luo Yuan, ¡°Your friend?¡±


    ¡°I met him a few days ago. This is Huang Wei, our neighbor who¡¯s staying upstairs!¡± Luo Yuan then pointed at Huang Jiahui and introduced her, ¡°This is my girlfriend, Huang Jiahui!¡±


    It was the first-time Luo Yuan introduced her as his girlfriend. Huang Jiahui was so excited that she grinned, ¡°Since you¡¯re Luo Yuan¡¯s friend, just make yourself at home. Have you eaten? Would you like to have a meal with us? I¡¯m sorry that we don¡¯t have much to offer, we just have some porridge.¡±


    ¡°No, it¡¯s okay. Thank you very much!¡± Huang Wei was overwhelmed by the unexpected politeness. His eyebrows were now rxed but as he heard that they were also eating porridge, he was slightly disheartened.


    Apparently, they did not have much food too. He was hesitant but as he thought of his starving wife and son awaiting his return with rice, he sighed deeply and said with guilt, ¡°I...sigh... I came here today wanting to buy some rice from you as our rice is finishing soon. Money is not a problem. Five to ten times more expensive than normal is alright with me. If you¡¯re not satisfied, I can pay more too!¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t mention it!¡± Huang Jiahui smiled while replying politely.


    Luo Yuan was afraid that Huang Jianhui would overpromise out of courtesy so he interrupted her and asked, ¡°How much do you want?¡±


    Huang Wei was shocked and relieved. His lips were trembling slightly and when he recovered, he uttered: ¡°I don¡¯t want too much. I am only looking to buy about 10 to 20 catties.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯ll be very inconvenient for us if I sell you 20 catties.¡± Luo Yuan replied even though he found it difficult to say. Then, he nodded and said, ¡°Make it 15 catties then. I¡¯m not a person who takes advantage of others as everyone has their own times of trouble too. Regarding the price, just pay me ording to the original price. Jiahui, please go to the storeroom and take out 15 catties of rice!¡±


    Huang Wei briefly reflected on the situation at hand right now. A person who he just met once seemed to be better than a neighbor who he had known for years. Unsurprisingly, he was very grateful and touched.


    Huang Jiahui was in a state of shock. She took a few steps and asked curiously, ¡°15 catties?¡±


    Huang Jiahui thought she might have heard it wrongly. Were they not friends? Besides the fact that he was still asking forpensation, the amount of rice he offered made him look stingy. Though she was not certain, there was at least 700 catties of rice grains in the storeroom. She herself would have been reluctant to give 100 catties but she did not mind giving about 50 catties to Huang Wei.


    ¡°What are you doing!?¡± Luo Yuan reacted in frustration and said, ¡°go and take it quickly!¡±


    As Huang Wei did not know the inside story, he felt touched and guilty because he was troubling his neighbors to buy rice. Therefore, he uttered, ¡°It¡¯s alright. As you aren¡¯t having a lot of food as well, you may just give me 10 catties.¡±


    ¡°How many days can you survive with only 10 catties of rice? Don¡¯t worry, we have enough food!¡± Luo Yuan waved his hands and then winked at Huang Jiahui privately.


    Huang Wei felt Luo Yuan was very generous and he was so ecstatic that he was lost for words.


    The main difference between a youngdy and a mature woman is that a mature woman is good at reading faces. Though she could be dissatisfied or doubtful at the time, she will definitely honor the man in front of others. Huang Jiahui hesitated and walked into the storeroom. After a minute, she carried a bag of rice and came over.


    The bag of rice was apparently not 15 catties but actually about 19 catties. Luo Yuan knew it as soon as he got hold of it but he did not mind and passed it directly to Huang Wei. He then exined, ¡°These are all new grains. Forget about the small change, just give me 20 catties worth of food coupons will do.¡±


    As Huang Wei received it, he felt that the bag was very heavy. His eyes became red and he thanked Luo Yuan sincerely. He gave 50 catties worth of food coupons and did not even wait for the change and left abruptly.


    Luo Yuan did not offer to give him more food not because he was stingy but if he helped too much, it might backfire. After all, human beings are alwaysplicated.


    In fact, if you take out some rice to help people a little, they would not think that you are stingy but instead consider you generous. They will appreciate your help. However, if you give more than expected, their thoughts would change and they will feel that it is natural to receive your help. Then, if you stopped helpingter, they would feel angry instead.


    Being too generous can bring problems as well. Perhaps not directly from Huang Wei but others who got to know that he had so much food. They might be suspicious and have some bad intentions.


    Of course, Luo Yuan was not really concerned about the life of others but he was afraid of what would happen if he rejected Huang Wei. Even if Luo Yuan did not care, he had to go out almost every night to train and both Huang Jiahui and Wang Shishi would be in danger if someone invaded their house at that time.


    Although Wang Shishi was also an evolved person and nobody would be able to go near them if she used her abilities along with simple weapons such as kitchen knife, it was not about her strength but also her ability to focus as focus is important in battle. ording to Wang Shishi¡¯s current mental age and strength, she might not able to fully unleash her energy if she were in danger.


    The current stabilization was because of the extended effect of the social order. This was the main reason why most people in the building were still staying calm. However, if such situations persisted, the effect would be gradually diluted. If more and more people continued to suffer from starvation and fear, Luo Yuan could not even begin to imagine what would happen at that time.


    Unfortunately, Luo Yuan¡¯s suspicions were proven right!


    During the fourth noon, when Luo Yuan was having his lunch, he heard somebody cry for help upstairs which was followed with a mix of screams and shouts. The back-and-forth screaming continued on-and-off for about a minute before it eventually stopped.


    That situation seemed to have ignited something because riots started happening in the building.


    The brief smell of dead corpses and blood was filling the air. Luo Yuan could smell it even from his home. So far, nobody came to their unit yet but it would happen sooner orter.


    Luo Yuan still went out every night to practice his knife skills. It seemed as if he did not have the slightest concern about the crisis at all.


    During the day, he also started to train Wang Shishi on utilizing her powers.


    He got a wrench from the storeroom, sliced off the two ends with his Zhanmadao and left it with only the handle. Then, he sharpened the tips to convert it into a weapon of about 20cm long simr to a flying shuttle.


    He intended to train Wang Shishi to be stronger because softhearted people can barely survive during crises like these. She is like a wolf who has never seen blood. Such wolves can never survive to be an adult.


    When she knew that brother Luo wanted her to protect sister Huang at night, she was very excited and agreed instantly. She also moved into Luo Yuan¡¯s bedroom that particr night. That gave Luo Yuan some relief in his heart because he would no longer have to look at Huang Jiahui with remorse for not protecting her.

 Chapter 65: Disappointment and Desperation

    Chapter 65: Disappointment and Desperation


    Trantor: Editor:


    Liu Ming was rummaging through cigarette butts in the ashtray and finally picked up a slightly longer cigarette butt, lighted it up and took a puff hastily. The tobo smoke upied his lungs for a few seconds before he blew out a cloud of smoke. He managed to inhale only twice before the cigarette had burnt itself to the tip of its filter. After that, he reluctantly threw it away and started rummaging through the ashtray again.


    His young and beautiful wife, Huang Yuying took the ashtray away from him and uttered, ¡°Don¡¯t smoke again. You are making the house smell.¡±


    Liu Ming snorted, ¡°We will die eventually. Why are you trying to keep me from enjoying my life before I die?¡±


    ¡°Why are you speaking this way? Aren¡¯t we still alive and well?¡± Huang Yuying said sourly.


    ¡°Well!? How could the little food you got be enough? Don¡¯t they like you? Why did you only manage to get so little? Even if each one of them gave you only a little, it wouldn¡¯t weigh only a catty, right? Are you not satisfying them enough?¡± Liu Ming teased.


    As he gazed at his beautiful and elegant wife, he thought of her fair body which used to only belong to him. Unfortunately, that body has now been tainted by a few men, and his heart was broken.


    ¡°Liu Ming, you bastard!¡± Huang Yuying¡¯s eyes turned red as she was hurt by his words.


    ¡°Did I say anything wrong?¡± Liu Ming was furious and said coldly, ¡°F*king b*tch, how did you feel when you got f*cked by those three guys?¡±


    ¡°I was aroused. Are you satisfied now?¡± Huang Yuying screamed.


    ¡°p!¡±


    Liu Ming¡¯s anger was ignited. He stood up and pped her heavily, ¡°Asshole, I¡¯ll let you have your fun.¡±


    Huang Yuying felt so painful and dizzy. She covered her face and looked at him in shock. When she recovered, she groaned, ¡°I absolutely regret being your wife. If you¡¯re so brave, why don¡¯t you go and beat them instead? Isn¡¯t it useless to p me?¡±


    As soon as Liu Ming pped her, he felt guilty. He knew he could not me her because he would have been killed if it was not for her sacrifice, humiliating herself just to protect him that night. Moreover, he also had to rely on his wife¡¯s body to continue to survive.


    ¡°I...¡± He wanted to apologize but he thought of his own pride as a man and uttered something else instead, ¡°I...I¡¯ll definitely kill them in the future!¡±


    While looking at her husband uttering brave words, Huang Yuying¡¯s mood suddenly turned cold and she stopped crying. She stood up abruptly.


    ¡°What are you going to do?¡± Liu Ming said nervously.


    ¡°Put on make-up. What else can I do?¡± Huang Yuying said indifferently. Then, she continued, ¡°they should being soon.¡±


    Liu Ming opened his mouth but he did not manage to say anything. As he looked at his wife entering the toilet, he pulled his hair in frustration and sighed.


    Then, Huang Yuying came out. She was wearing a blue colored long dress and her fair legs were exposed. She appeared to be more gorgeous with her light makeup and Liu Ming was stunned as he has not seen his wife so beautiful ever since their marriage.


    Huang Yuying sat on the sofa and adjusted her dress but just as she sat down,ughter of the men could be heard from outside.


    Huang Yuying stood up nervously while Liu Ming¡¯s face was pale. Then, there was a loud knock at the door.


    ¡°I¡¯ll kick the door open if you don¡¯t open the door.¡±


    ¡°Why aren¡¯t you going to open the door?¡± Liu Ming remarked even though Huang Yuying was already getting to her feet.


    She was shocked and nced at Liu Ming disappointedly. She seemed to have made a decision at that point. She smiled widely, walked gracefully to the door and opened the door.


    The three men were wearing a raincoat and safety helmet. They entered the unit quickly and took off their raincoats.


    ¡°Sh*t, why are you so slow?¡± A ferocious young man was groping her and remarked unhappily.


    ¡°Brother Yu, I...I went to the toilet just now.¡± Huang Yuying was blushing and said timidly.


    ¡°My dear, have you cleaned yourself? You did not have sex with your weak husband today, right?¡± brother Yuughed, held her head and kissed at her sultry lips.


    ¡°No, he did not dare to.¡± After the argument earlier, she became more daring and said tteringly.


    The three of them were shocked and then burst outughing.


    Liu Ming¡¯s face obviously became sour. He lowered his head and remained silent. However, his heart felt as though it had been bitten by a poisonous snake and was very painful.


    Brother Yu could not wait, he unbuckled his belt and released his little buddy saying, ¡°It¡¯s suffocating, hurry up.¡±


    Though she waspletely disappointed with her husband, she did not want to satisfy other men in front of him. She blushed and said tenderly, ¡°brother Yu, let¡¯s go to the bedroom. It¡¯s morefortable to do it on the bed!¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s do it here. Come, my dear, hurry up.¡± He said eagerly.


    ¡°Brothers, you help yourselves... I... I¡¯ll not disturb you. I¡¯ll wait in the guest room.¡± Liu Ming could no longer see his wife being humiliated, so he stood up and gave a forced smile.


    ¡°Going away?¡± one of the guys asked. ¡°Don¡¯t. Watch us!¡± he added.


    Huang Yuying chuckled reluctantly, ¡°What¡¯s this?¡±


    ¡°We¡¯ll only be excited when your husband is looking. And you¡¯ll feel the difference.¡± Brother Yu swayed his little buddy andughed out loud, ¡°Come along, be quick!¡±


    Huang Yuying sighed and got down on her knees.


    ......


    Liu Ming was clenching his fist tightly and his eyes were bloodshot. As he was watching his wife moan like a prostitute, his heart was pounding.


    Was that his wife? The wife who used to be loving, gentle, kind and morally pure?


    No... she... she was definitely a prostitute!


    He could not stop himself from secretly ncing towards the bottom of the sofa where a knife was hidden. He had been checking it a few times but each time he had the courage, he thought of the consequences of failing and then decided not to act.


    Ever since he was young, he has never got into a fight, not to mention murder. It did note as a surprise that he did not take any action until the end.


    Huang Yuying lied on the floor weakly, and by then tears had already rolled down her cheeks.


    ¡°It¡¯s fun to y with a youngdy. She¡¯s more fun than the girl this morning!¡± Thest man got up from her body, shook his little buddy which had be tired andmented.


    Huang Yuying sat up slowly and said calmly, ¡°Brother Yu, I don¡¯t want to live here anymore. I want to follow you. Would you please bring me along!?¡±


    Liu Ming raised his head suddenly and stared at her as he thought he heard her wrongly.


    ¡°Why?¡± Brother Yu was shocked too when he heard what Huang Yuying had said and thus he asked.


    ¡°I don¡¯t want to live together with a useless person.¡± Huang Yuying touched her face which was pped earlier and nced at Liu Ming disappointedly. ¡°Provided you give me food, I¡¯ll go with you¡± she said.


    Brother Yu squatted down and touched her lips. Huang Yuying responded by wrapping his finger with her lips, licked lightly with her tongue and looked at him seductively. He was attracted, of course, and said, ¡°Okay, since we arecking a cook, you maye with us!¡±


    ¡°Thank you, brother Yu!¡± Huang Yuying smiled flirtatiously.


    ¡°Brothers, my wife must be more fortunate to go with you than I am but before you leave, can you please donate some food to me? Otherwise, I¡¯ll probably starve to death here.¡± Liu Ming uttered worriedly.


    At that moment, he did not care about his wife anymore. Since his wife had already openly betrayed him, he thought he should not miss her anymore. Furthermore, his wife wanted to leave him and he could not stop her. Thus, he wanted to make the most of the opportunity and begged for some food.


    Huang Yuying shivered slightly. Though she wanted to beg them to give Liu Ming some food at the beginning, she had be indifferent and did not even want to look at him towards the end!


    The three men burst outughing and replied, ¡°You are really the worst man ever. It would be better if we fed the dog than fed you. Let¡¯s go brother Yu!¡±


    And, they left.


    When the door was closed Huang Yuying turned and looked at him. Her eyes were cold and indifferent like she was looking at a stranger!


    Liu Ming sat on the sofa and stared nkly. After a few minutes, he suddenly smirked.


    ¡°You are leaving me to die... son of a b*tch! Hahaha...I¡¯ll won¡¯t let you live peacefully.¡±


    He stood up numbly, walked slowly into the kitchen and with a furious face, he muttered, ¡°If you want me to die, let¡¯s die together.¡±


    He switched on the gas, gazed at the burning me andughed hysterically. Then, he took a bottle of cooking oil, opened the cover and poured it all over the floor. He also took a piece of newspaper, burned it and threw it on the floor.

 Chapter 66: Leaving

    Chapter 66: Leaving


    Trantor: Editor:


    It was before 4 o¡¯clock in the evening when the apartment was set on fire. Luo Yuan was getting ready to have his dinner when he smelled smoke. Without realizing what was happening yet, there was a loud explosion from downstairs.


    The whole building shook, dust fell from the ceiling and thus the dishes on the table were covered with ayer of dust.


    Both Huang Jiahui and Wang Shishi were so scared that their faces turned pale and their chopsticks fell on the floor.


    ¡°What is happening outside?¡± Huang Jiahui asked anxiously.


    ¡°Let me take a look!¡± Luo Yuan replied. Before he reached the staircase, he saw dense ck smoke rising from a red me downstairs. It seemed that the explosion was due to a gas pipe that burst.


    Luo Yuan felt suffocated and coughed continuously. He quickly stepped back and shut the door.


    Looking at both Huang Jiahui and Wang Shishi who were frightened, he said, ¡°There¡¯s a fire downstairs and I¡¯m afraid that the building may be burnt down soon. Hurry up and follow me, we have to leave.¡±


    ¡°Argh, why is there a fire all of a sudden? Who¡¯s so mean?¡± Huang Jiahui distractedly stood up and continued, ¡°I¡¯ll go grab some clothes and a luggage bag.¡±


    ¡°Quickly, the fire has already engulfed the third floor.¡± Luo Yuan said worriedly.


    ¡°Argh!¡± Wang Shishi and Huang Jiahui were both so nervous that they were sweating. They quickly ran towards their bedrooms.


    Luo Yuan turned around anxiously and walked towards the window. He smashed it open and went to the storeroom to get a big bag of rice and threw it down. After he threw down two bags, he felt that the temperature of the apartment was excessively hot so he decided to stop.


    He then went into Wang Shishi¡¯s bedroom and noticed that she was still packing her clothes. He said, ¡°Don¡¯t waste your time. Go, get a nket to cover your head and follow me downstairs.¡±


    Without waiting for Wang Shishi¡¯s response, Luo Yuan walked directly to his own bedroom and told Huang Jiahui the same thing.


    Huang Jiahui put her things down reluctantly and took a nket. Then, her hands suddenly stopped moving and she asked, ¡°What about you?¡±


    Due to the hot weather, each bedroom only had one nket. As the only nket in the room was given to Huang Jiahui, it meant that Luo Yuan needed to endure the burning me without any protection. ¡°I am an evolved person thus the fire cannot hurt me.¡±


    Due to the limited time, Luo Yuan was not able to contemte the effects of his special abilities. His body had suddenly appeared as several shadows as he speedily kept some important things inside his bag and held the bag in his hand.


    Huang Jiahui was shocked when she saw Luo Yuan¡¯s abnormally fast speed.


    When they reached the door of the bedroom, Wang Shishi had also nervously run out with her nket. At that moment, the whole house was already filled with the thick smoke which had a strong choking effect.


    They dashed to the main door and quickly opened it to escape but the hot dense smoke gusted to their face due to the difference in air pressure. It was so suffocating that they coughed until they shed tears.


    ¡°What can we do? What can we do? We can¡¯t go down!¡± Huang Jiahui said while trembling in fear.


    During a fire, it was not the high temperature that was fatal. Instead, it was the emission of poisonous gases which was dangerous to our lives. Most victims die due to poisonous gases rather than the burning me.


    Under such conditions, they were unable to go downstairs. Despite Luo Yuan¡¯s super speed and abilities, he found it highly risky to save both Huang Jiahui and Wang Shishi as they could both suffocate to death from the smoke.


    Luo Yuan was worried. Suddenly, an idea struck him and he asked Wang Shishi, ¡°Can you use your telekinesis to blow away the smoke?¡±


    ¡°Brother Luo, I¡¯ll try!¡± Though Wang Shishi was coughing and tearing, she raised her head and replied.


    After several days of training, her telekinesis had be a natural ability. It was as easy as controlling her limbs. When she started to exert her power, the smoke in the surrounding seemed to be swept away by an invisible power. They felt relieved.


    ¡°Well done!¡± Luo Yuan praised.


    Seeing that she could help brother Luo, Wang Shishi smiled and was proud of herself.


    ¡°Let us try to go downstairs. Since her telekinesis can keep away the smoke, maybe it can keep the burning me away too.¡± Luo Yuan said.


    They went to the second floor. The upper part of staircase only had dense smoke but when they turned into a corner, a strong burning me was right in front of them. If Wang Shishi had not maintained her telekinesis, all three of them might have been burnt alive.


    Although Wang Shishi could split up the mes, there was nothing she could do about the extremely high temperature. With a temperature of more than 100 degree Celsius, the extreme heat caused their hair to curl up.


    In light of this, they retreated back to the third floor.


    ¡°The temperature is too high, we cannot go down.¡± Huang Jiahui touched her red-hot face and said disappointedly.


    ¡°We still need to find a way. Another gas pipe may explode againter.¡± Luo Yuan said impatiently. He continued, ¡°Now, there¡¯s only one way. Shishi, give me your nket.¡±


    Wang Shishi has aplicated rtionship with Luo Yuan. He seemed like a brother to her because he was so kind and caring towards her. However, because she was still very young, she was easily influenced by what she saw and heard. Sometimes, she would imagine that she was sister Huang and she would daydream of every single bashful scene she had with Brother Luo. In every moment, she trusted him like nobody else. She passed the nket to Luo Yuan directly without any hesitation.


    Luo Yuan took possession of the nket, covered her and hugged her in his arms.


    Wang Shishi screamed in shock. However, she realized that her body was in contact with Luo Yuan¡¯s, though separated by the nket. She started blushing and had forgotten about the danger outside.


    Then, without asking, Luo Yuan took Huang Jiahui¡¯s nket as well and covered her up. He carried her on his shoulder even though she was screaming andining.


    ¡°Let go of me!¡± Huang Jiahui yelled. She felt sad and tried to speak even though she felt choked, ¡°You cannot carry me, just take Wang Shishi and go, it¡¯s alright.¡±


    ¡°Shut up.¡± Luo Yuan was blunt in the heat of the moment. ¡°Wang Shishi, please help me push away the smoke and the burning me. I¡¯ll start running.¡± Luo Yuan said.


    ¡°Got it, brother Luo. Shishi is ready.¡± Wang Shishi suddenly felt so weak but she pulled herself together and answered with a sweet and soft voice.


    Luo Yuan took a deep breath and dashed downstairs.


    Fortunately, both of them were slim and the sum of their weights were less than 100kg. Though they were light and easy for Luo Yuan to carry, his body had be very heavy. He passed about five flights of stairs and each step he took made a heavy tremor that made people wonder if the staircase would copse.


    ¡°Shishi, watch out!¡± Luo Yuan shouted when they were about to reach the second floor.


    ¡°Oh!¡± Wang Shishi gave an acknowledging reply and pushed her telekinesis to her limit. The surrounding mes seemed to get ¡°scared¡± and gave way. Some of the gravel and ashes were also swept away.


    The second floor waspletely burnt by now. The wall was cracked, the air was hot and the temperature had already increased up to more than 100 degree Celsius. The marble floor especially, had ckened and was fragile under the extremely high temperature. A gentle step on the floor was enough to break it. Furthermore, if Luo Yuan¡¯s shoes were not blue level, it would have melted by now.


    Their shoes and clothes helped protect them from the fire. However, Luo Yuan¡¯s body hair was quickly curling under the high temperature and his skin was also burning with pain. Along the way, he did not breathe as he was afraid that his lungs would be burnt by the hot air as well.


    He ran desperately. Due to the burden of the two people with him, his speed was simr to that of a normal person. As it was not far to sprint from the third floor to the first floor, Luo Yuan took only about ten seconds to get there.


    He put down both Huang Jiahui and Wang Shishi and panted heavily.


    The two struggled to free themselves from their nkets and they were finding it so difficult to breathe that their faces were very red. Then, they looked at Luo Yuan who was extremely fatigued and seriously burnt that he looked like a cooked crab. Huang Jiahui felt bad when she looked at Luo Yuan but during that time Wang Shishi tiptoed and bravely kissed Luo Yuan¡¯s face. With a soft voice, she said, ¡°brother Luo, Shishi was so scared just now.¡±


    ¡°Did both of you get burned?¡± Though Luo Yuan was still in shock, he recovered quickly and asked.


    ¡°No!¡± Wang Shishi answered quickly.


    She stared at Luo Yuan with her watery eyes and felt that the kiss was not enough for her. Her heart was throbbing fast, her face was blushing and excitedly, she thought to herself, ¡°Finally I can kiss him. I wanted to kiss him on the lips but unfortunately, I wasn¡¯t daring enough. I should not continue to be like this, after all, brother Luo is mine too, not only sister Huang¡¯s.¡±


    Huang Jiahui felt ufortable and cast a furtive nce at Wang Shishi. But she said nothing because of the situation they were facing.


    ¡°Then let¡¯s go and look for a ce to stay.¡± Luo Yuan said.


    ¡°Where can we go?¡± Huang Jiahui asked doubtfully.


    ¡°Anywhere!¡± Luo Yuan looked towards the nearby residential building.


    ¡°Do you mean other buildings? What if they don¡¯t let us?¡± Huang Jiahui said worriedly.


    ¡°They¡¯ll have to!¡± Luo Yuan took out the Zhanmadao from his bag, smile slyly and said, ¡°Please help me with my bag. Let¡¯s go over there and have a look. I threw down two big bags of rice just now. After we find a ce to stay, we should be able to survive for a few days.¡±


    It was a longsting war between human beings and nature. The dead silent town had given a chance for the greens to grow wild. It was only about ten days but the greenery had already covered the entire deste city.


    The district was covered with greens and weeds that had already grown to a meter tall. There were some trees around and they stood out among the weeds while they were trying to spread their branches and leaves to fight for their own space. Somewhere in front, there were also unknown vines growing towards the upper part of a building which covered the entire building tightly like a green jacket.


    Luo Yuan walked to the right side of the building and found that the two big bags of rice had disappeared. As he looked to his left and right, he saw that there were four people in raincoats not far from them and two of them were carrying bags of rice towards a nearby residential building.

 Chapter 67: Villa

    Chapter 67: Vi


    Trantor: Editor:


    Luo Yuan let Wang Shishi stay behind with Huang Jiahui to protect her. After all, she had some special powers even though they weren¡¯t strong. She might not be able to fight gigantic beasts but small organisms like mosquitoes are manageable. He kept repeating some important reminders to her and then left them abruptly.


    ¡°Wait!¡± Luo Yuan shouted from the back of the four of them. ¡°Hi, I¡¯m sorry. The two bags of rice are mine¡± he said.


    The four of them stopped moving. Luo Yuan could not see their faces clearly as they were all wearing helmets. However, he could still identify that three of them were male and one of them was female. One of the guys who looked bigger in size was trying to test Luo Yuan so he intentionally yed with the knife in his hand. However, Luo Yuan continued towards them calmly.


    From Luo Yuan¡¯s response, the thug realized that he was not a weak person. He suddenly spoke politely, "Oh, you are staying in the same building as me? I can¡¯t believe we are neighbors! But... I guess the two bags of rice shouldn¡¯t be yours, right? Actually, I took it from downstairs. I will give it back to you if you can prove to me that the bags of rice belong to you. If you can¡¯t prove it, then I¡¯d say you¡¯re probably trying to take advantages of us!"


    Luo Yuan found it ridiculous andughed, ¡°Haha. I don¡¯t need to prove anything to you. If I say it¡¯s mine, then it is mine!¡±


    ¡°Damn! Are you an idiot!?¡±


    ¡°Brother Yu, shall we just kill him?¡±


    One of the thugs almost attacked Luo Yuan but a bigger thug stopped him. He had an instinct that the guy in front of him was not someone he should challenge as he could already feel the tension between them even when he was standing quite a distance away. However, he understood that he could not lose his face after a few days of bullying. He was actually the leader amongst the four of them and he was brave enough to do anything. He had initiated all their crimes such as murder, robbery, and raping which allowed him to umte all his power and influence to be their leader. But the power he had was weak and easy to ruin.


    ¡°Hey friend, that¡¯s not the right thing to do!¡± Brother Yu looked upset with his follower but he forced himself to smile and said, ¡°We are not weak people. Just take one if you want, otherwise, forget about it and get lost!¡±


    Luo Yuan turned around and looked at Huang Jiahui who was still waiting and said, "I¡¯m in a hurry, I don¡¯t have much time to argue with you. I¡¯ll say it onest time, just leave it here and get lost!" The other two guys remained silent as they knew it was not a good idea to continue to argue with Luo Yuan. Other than the fact he was totally fine without any protection in a ce full of mutated mosquitoes, his calm and stable expression was enough to scare them away. The two guys looked at Brother Yu for instructions.


    Brother Yu felt awkward as he could feel the gazes from his two followers. He ced his hand on his knife but released it again. He could see Luo Yuan was extremely impatient with them and understood that he could slowly build his reputation again if he loses it, but he could not be reborned if he was killed.


    When he was about to say something polite, Huang Yuying suddenly talked to Luo Yuan, ¡°Hi brother, you look quite young. Don¡¯t risk your life here.¡±


    And then she begged the head of the thugs gently and said, ¡°Brother Yu, please calm down. Can you please forgive him? He is just a lunatic and he is really bad atmunicating. Just give him a small punishment.¡±


    The other two people were stunned and looked at Brother Yu again. He seemed to lose his cool as he would be embarrassed now if he let Luo Yuan go freely. He did not believe they could not kill Luo Yuan as he had three members in his team and Luo Yuan was alone. He hated Huang Yuying so badly at that point and could not wait to kill her for putting him in this situation. He stared at her and said, ¡°You b*tch! Shut up! Why are you interrupting us guys talking!?¡±


    He then took out his knife and said, ¡°F*ck you! You think you can steal from me!? Brothers! Let¡¯s kill him!¡±


    Brother Yu rushed towards Luo Yuan while the other two were still hesitating. They eventually took out their weapons and followed their leader. Luo Yuan did not know whether the girl was retarded or wanted him to die. Brother Yu was about to surrender but now he has lodged an attack with his gang. Luo Yuan would not have wasted so much time arguing with them in the first ce if he could predict this as the end result!


    Luo Yuan drew his knife out from its sheath and a shapeless energy was widespread around him which caused Brother Yu and his two followers to feel exhausted after just a short distance of running. They even encountered some breathing difficulties causing them to almost fall to the ground. Brother Yu wanted to p himself as he was beginning to regret his actions. He thought Luo Yuan could be killed with assistance from his followers but he now knows that Luo Yuan is a fierce shark.


    When he was about to beg him for forgiveness, his vision became blurred and could not see Luo Yuan anymore. He was shocked and kept looking for him nervously but in the next second, he felt coldness at his throat. His body walked a few steps without a head and then fell onto a big puddle of blood. The other two guys had not noticed it until the warm blood sttered onto their faces. They were frightened but that feeling soon disappeared.


    Two more dead bodies were added to the puddle of blood after a few seconds. Luo Yuan did not like to kill but he has changed now that Hedong city is going to copse and there are not many people walking on the street anymore. It was not a big deal to kill a few people. Luo Yuan sheathed his knife, looked at thedy who just peed in her pants, and then walked towards the rice bags. Luo Yuan ced the two bags on his shoulder and then walked towards Huang Jiahui and Wang Shishi.


    ¡°Wait! Can you bring me along? I¡¯m willing to do anything for you as long as you provide meals for me.¡± Thedy shouted.


    Luo Yuan stopped for a second and said without turning back, ¡°You should be grateful that I didn¡¯t kill you. You almost got me into trouble and no one will say a word if I kill you! Go find someone else!¡±


    Huang Yuying felt hopeless and her face looked pale. She cried out loud when she recalled her recent suffering. Luo Yuan smiled and continued to walk away. She then cried even louder but Luo Yuan just frowned after that as he did not n to go back since there are just too many poor people around and he could not save them all. Besides, thedy did not leave a good impression on him.


    Wang Shishi looked pale as she could not ept that the three of them became corpses in just a few seconds. She simply could not recover even after a long period which made Luo Yuan continue shaking his head.


    ¡°Why are you killing people again? You really don¡¯t take thew seriously anymore? You really think murdering is like your daily chore now?¡± Huang Jiahui walked towards Luo Yuan and scolded him in frustration. However, after a while, she caringly asked him, ¡°Are you alright? We should go soon, we will be in trouble if someone sees us.¡±


    Luo Yuan was pleased with himself as he felt there was nothing to be afraid of. It was just a few people with knives who were not a threat to him. However, he was fond of Huang Jiahui showing care for him so he smiled and said, ¡°These people can¡¯t hurt me, let¡¯s find a house!¡±


    ¡°Alright, but please don¡¯t simply kill people again. Just talk nicely, we can just pay more if necessary.¡± Huang Jiahui reminded him.


    Luo Yuan nodded. He was focusing on the vi in the district. Vis are usually big and spacious and most importantly, they are stronger than apartments. It is also anded property which makes it easier to escape if there is a fire.


    ¡°Thedy is following us!¡± Wang Shishi noticed her as was walking behind them and she suddenly asked, ¡°Is sheing after Brother Luo?¡±


    Luo Yuan turned around and saw that thedy was following them in the distance. But she stopped when she saw Luo Yuan staring at her. ¡°It¡¯s alright, let¡¯s go!¡± Luo Yuan said.


    Luo Yuan killed a few more mutated mosquitoes along the journey and after about 15 minutes, they arrived in front of a vi.

 Chapter 68: An Eccentric Corpse

    Chapter 68: An entric Corpse


    Trantor: Editor:


    The vis here were definitely not of the premium kind but it is still considered as a detached vi. ording to the previous rental rate, these vis cost about 6-7 million which Luo Yuan could never afford to own. There was a thickyer of dust umted in front of the vi and there were a few footprints left behind from their footsteps. It seems that the owner of the vi has not stepped out of the house for a very long time. Luo Yuan hinted to Huang Jiahui to knock on the door. Peoplemonly think females are weak and gentle and hence they stay less alert. Hence, females are more suitable to be the middle person formunication with a stranger. Huang Jiahui went over and knocked on the door. She then shouted a few times but no one answered.


    ¡°Is this an empty house?¡± Huang Jiahui asked uncertainly.


    ¡°Probably!¡± Luo Yuan put his ear on the door and focused on listening. He did not hear any movement in the house and then said, ¡°Shishi, could you check and see whether you can open the door?¡±


    ¡°Brother Luo, let me try.¡± Wang Shishi replied gently.


    Other than failing to adapt to the corpses at the beginning, Wang Shishi has been quite positive since she escaped from the fire ident earlier. It was not because of the discovery of her super power but rather because she found herself to be more useful. She began by pushing smoke away, blocking mes, and then now even unlocking the door. She managed to help Luo Yuan at a critical moment which made her feel that she is an important person.


    After using her power, the door was unlocked and opened slowly. A choking and awful smell had spread around the house. Luo Yuan covered his nose and walked into the house first. Sometimes, it is not a good thing to have amplified senses as he felt extremely disgusted but Huang Jiahui and Wang Shishi did not feel anything.


    ¡°It¡¯s true! Nobody stays here! There is a lot of dust on the floor!¡± Huang Jiahui checked and said.


    ¡°Does that mean the house is ours?¡± Wang Shishi asked excitedly. She looked around and sat on the genuine leather couch in the living room.


    ¡°This is not ours, we need to go if the house owner returns.¡± Huang Jiahui smiled as she liked the house as well.


    ¡°Such a nice house, I guess the owner had some ident. Brother Luo, what do you think?¡±


    ¡°Indeed. In fact I think the corpse is still here!¡± Luo Yuan nodded. He was worried something might happen if he leaves. He then said, ¡°Both of you stay here, let me check it out!¡±


    Both of them were shocked. Wang Shishi could not smile anymore and turned pale. Ghosts and corpses are the scariest things to her.


    ¡°It probably wasn¡¯t a mosquito sting right?¡± Huang Jiahui said anxiously, ¡°Please be more careful.¡±


    Luo Yuan nodded and took his Zhanmadao. He then started checking all the rooms. Luo Yuan could sense everything within a 10 meters radius but the vi was about 200 square meters. Basically, it was difficult for him to check, especially because the walls in the house reduced his uracy. He could only see one room clearly at a time but the rest were blurred and he needed to be checked one by one.


    There were two bedrooms, a kitchen, and two bathrooms on the first floor. Luo Yuan walked around but he did not notice anything. He then moved to the second floor but he still did not see anything abnormal. In the end, he went to check the attic. Other than groceries, he did not see any signs of the corpse.


    ¡°I¡¯ve checked all the rooms but still couldn¡¯t find anything. I have no idea where the corpse is located.¡± Luo Yuan shook his head and continued, ¡°But the choking smell proves that the corpse is here. I¡¯m sure it is here!¡±


    Huang Jiahui knew he has special powers so she did not doubt him. Although she did not smell anything awful, she is still afraid to sleep together with a corpse in the same house at night. She suddenly thought of something and said, ¡°I¡¯ve heard that rich people like to build a chamber underground, do you think there is one here?¡±


    Luo Yuan was inspired! He knew that his vision could only prate 50 cm underground. Anything below that will only appear as a dark image. Therefore, he would not notice anything underground if he did not pay attention to it. Huang Jiahui stopped him when he was about to go to the underground chamber. She said, ¡°Thatdy has been crying outside for a long time. It is quite pitiful. Should we let here in?¡±


    ¡°Thedy was a member of those bad people. Brother Luo just killed them, she mighte for revenge!¡± Wang Shishi spoke with her instincts. She then frowned and said, ¡°How could we let her in, we should chase her away!¡±


    They did not expect her to follow them over such a long distance. Luo Yuan was fine to give her some food, but he did not want to let a strangere in. He frowned and said, ¡°Just leave her alone, she will go when the sky is dark.¡±


    Huang Jiahui doubted what Wang Shishi had said as she could not believe the weakdy was still intending to get revenge when she could not even walk properly and is still crying. However, since she met Luo Yuan she has been less opinionated. Luo Yuan got back to the first floor and was wandering around the living room, bedroom, and kitchen but he still could not find anything. A normal underground chamber would usually not be deeper than 50 cm underground but apparently the one in the house was a lot deeper than that.


    The only ce left without inspection was the bathroom. Luo Yuan frowned again as he entered the bathroom because there was no exhaust fan inside and the bathroom was filled with a strong and choking stench. He tried to identify the smell and realized the smell of corpse was stronger in the bathroompared to other ces in the house. He was sure the corpse was just somewhere in the bathroom. The bathroom was separated into twopartments by a thin ss partition. The outer chamber consisted of a toilet seat, dresser and a big mirror which was almost the same size as the wall. The inner chamber has an empty bathtub with a few oil paintings of human bodies hung on the wall. Suddenly, Luo Yuan noticed the right side of the bathroom was wider than the other parts. It was 1.2 meters wide.


    He felt suspicious and tried to use his senses to check. He realized the interior of the cement was hollow and the wardrobe was just a cover. In fact, there was a dark space behind the wardrobe. Finally, he found it! Luo Yuan was delighted and quickly opened the wardrobe. He realized there was a gap in the wardrobe and he pushed the board once. He heard something open and he found a path which led to a dark staircase. At the same time, the awful smell grew stronger. His heart was beating faster as he felt very excited from his discovery.


    The wardrobe was only about 1.5 meters in height so Luo Yuan bent down a little and squeezed into the wardrobe. He walked down the staircase and arrived at a space about 10 square meters in size. It was very dark and he could not even see his own fingers. However, he detected that this space was actually a storeroom with a lot of resources such as rice, flour, biscuits, can foods, cooking oil, clothes, medicines, coal, petrol, and he even found a coal generator. He also found a safe box on the wall, but he had no idea what was inside it. Luo Yuan was very happy as he scanned through the ce. He knew all those resources were prepared by the owner before all the chaos started. Rich people generally prioritize their own life more than ordinary people and they prepare well for challenges when most people are simply enjoying their life.


    Luo Yuan did not check in detail regarding the resources as it was more important to find the corpse first. He continued going further into the storeroom. He was shocked by the scene in front of him even though he had psychologically prepared himself before entering the underground chamber. There were a lot of bones all over the floor. If he organized and counted the bones, it should be sufficient to make four full sets. The thing which freaked him out was that there was a corpse beside a pile of bones. The corpse was dark green in color and its clothes were shabby. However, its entire body was still in good condition as he could not see any sign of rotting. Luo Yuan focused his attention and realized the corpse was still breathing very slowly.


    ¡°What the heck! Is this a ghost!!?¡± Luo Yuan was horrified and his right hand was holding his knife tightly as he kept watching the corpse. This was a really strange phenomenon. The worst thing was that he found a mutant in the chamber as well. He tried to check any other possible living things around the chamber, but the result came back negative. The corpse and him were the only living things in there!


    The atmosphere in the chamber became rather strange. He hesitated and then slowly moved forward. He suddenly stopped as he realized the living corpse began to breathe faster as it seemed to be triggered by something. Its heart was beating vigorously, and its eyelids were flickering. Suddenly, it opened its eyes!! It was a pair of horrible eyes which did not seem to be able to see anything. Its pupils were erging and upied its entire eyeballs. Its body was very stiff which restricted its motion. It struggled to stand up and produced some weird sounds from its throat. Its mouth opened widely and exposed its yellowish teeth with a lot of saliva dripping out. It was truly disgusting.


    ¡°What the hell is this!?¡± Luo Yuan looked distressed as he was certain this was not a human!


    The living corpse started walking slowly towards Luo Yuan but then suddenly increased its speed!

 Chapter 69: Enchanted Worm

    Chapter 69: Enchanted Worm


    Trantor: Editor:


    Luo Yuan was frightened!


    Fortunately, the speed of the zombie was too slow for him. The zombie groaned even before it could reach Luo Yuan as its forelimbs were detached from its shoulders. A normal human would have cried or screamed if they suffered that severity of pain. Even if they are strong, they would at least show some reaction on their face. However, the zombie did not give any response and it continued to ¡°rush¡± towards Luo Yuan. Even though Luo Yuan was in shock, he did not get distracted. He bent down and cut through the zombie¡¯s knees.


    Immediately after that, when the zombie was about to lift its left leg, both its legs copsed and it fell to the ground. Again, there was no expression on its face even though there was a lot of blood gushing out from its wound. It basically did not feel anything. The only thing the zombie was left with was its ability to eat. However, Luo Yuan noticed that its blood was still fresh and bright red in color which was no differentpared to the blood of a normal human being. It groaned softly and squirmed like a worm towards Luo Yuan.


    Luo Yuan finally knew where all the bones came from! The zombie had eaten those people and threw their bones aside. Blood kept gushing out from the wounds of its arms and legs which formed a big puddle of blood. The blood was overflowing and began to travel to the food nearby. Luo Yuan definitely did not want the resources to be contaminated by the zombie¡¯s blood so he became very focused and determined. He was surrounded by an aura of strong energy and the air in the surrounding area became still as his Zhanmadao released a beam of light.


    He gripped the knife and slowly touched the blood with its de. Suddenly, there were a lot of mists forming out of nowhere and the temperature in the chamber decreased drastically. The blood which was in contact with the de was covered by a thinyer of ice. In the next second, the puddle of blood was frozen. The cold energy was still spreading around the chamber and reached the body of the zombie. It kept struggling but began to slow down and eventually was not able to move. The ¡®cooling effect¡¯ of the Zhanmadao was amazing! Although Luo Yuan had already seen it a few times, he still thought it was unreal as the power of his knife was beyond his imagination.


    Luo Yuan was worried that the zombie was still alive so he stabbed his knife through its skull and dug inside its brain to ensure it waspletely damaged. Only then did he withdraw his knife. Although he did not consume much energy to kill the zombie, he was not relieved.


    Everything became abnormal sincest December. The nts and animals were growing abnormally and now even humans are facing the same problem. He did not know whether there was only one zombie or if there are more wandering in different ces around Hedong city. The zombie looked weak to him, but normal people probably could not handle that kind of mutant. Apparently, the monster had been starved for a long time which weakened its power. It would have been a disaster if it was at its optimal level. Besides that, the monster looked exactly like a normal human other than for its eyes. This could easily confuse people. Those who bump into the monster would not even be aware of it and if all the zombies came to Hedong city at the same time, it will be disastrous to everyone.


    Luo Yuan shook his head to stop himself from thinking too much. In most ways he is just a normal person and he cannot do much by overthinking. He found a shovel in the storeroom along with a few boxes of resources and started to clean. Luckily the blood was frozen which made it easier. He was avoiding any skin contact with the blood of the monster at all cost. Nobody knows how the monster was formed and it would be horrendous if he got infected. He figured that the virus could not be airborne as everyone would have died by now if that were the case.


    After he cleaned the blood, he put all the limbs of the zombie into a box. He then took out another big box but while he was attempting to move the corpse into it with the shovel, he realized the corpse made some odd sounds. He also noticed that the corpse¡¯s face was moving and his mouth began to open wider and wider. Suddenly, a white worm which looked like a centipede crawled out from its mouth!


    Its body was long about 10cm in length and 2mm wide. There were numerous tiny legs on both sides of its body. It seemed to know it was in danger and quickly ran to the corner. Luo Yuan was stunned for a moment and then picked up his knife. He rushed over and sliced the worm. It was split into two pieces but still jumped to escape. The worm was powerful and it could jump up to 1 meter in height. Luo Yuan looked at it and smiled. He then sliced one half of its body in the air and cut off its head. It struggled for a moment but finally died.


    Luo Yuan used his identification power:


    ¡°Enchanted worm¡±


    ¡°Function: Ingredient¡±


    ¡°Rarity: White¡±


    ¡°Weight: 10 grams¡±


    "Comment: This is a substance which can increase excitement."


    ¡°Enchanted worm!? The zombie was controlled by the worm?¡±


    Luo Yuan did not dare to neglect its power even though it is just an organism from the white category. This is because grades were a poor measure of its power since its host also determined how much power it couldmand. If the host is a strong creature, then the worm will be stronger. It was a parasite in the body of a normal human which made it easier to be killed. However, if the worm were living in a blue level mutant, that would be a very different battle. There is the possibility that he might not be able to kill it.


    In some ways, the worm could even strengthen the power of its host which is a very scary thought to Luo Yuan. He knew some of the mutants are extremely dangerous even if they are small. Just like the mutated leeches earlier and now the enchanted worm. However, he was amazed by thement as the worm was basically likened to drugs. He hesitated but then decided to keep the worm.


    Drugs were getting moremon during this chaotic period and many people discovered its pleasures. Perhaps, the tiny worm would cost as much as a beast from the blue category. Luo Yuan found a handbook, tore off a page and then wrapped the worm. He proceeded to continue cleaning the area. After about 15 minutes, he walked out of the underground chamber with the boxes. Luo Yuan noticed that thedy was still sitting outside the house. She quickly stood up when she saw Luo Yuan walking towards her and her jaw dropped as she did not know what to say.


    Luo Yuan looked at her suspiciously. He could see that her eyes were swollen like a peach and he was surprised she was still here even though the sky was almost dark. He did not say anything as he did not believe she would still be there when the sky turnedpletely dark. Luo Yuan passed by her and quickly threw the boxes into the bushes.


    After throwing the boxes away, Luo Yuan checked the entire house again to avoid overlooking some other weird creatures. He had killed more than 10 cockroaches and flies, as well as a few ants in the furniture. Other than that, he also kept seven snails which were as big as a fist. After identification, he learned that all the small insects he killed can be cooked. It could be quite delicious if the chef is skillful.


    Suddenly, he recalled the safe box in the chamber underground which he had not checked. He returned to the chamber and thought to himself, ¡°Hopefully the things inside are not bank passbooks or something simr.¡° He pulled out his Zhanmadao and inserted the de into the gap of the box. It was weak and broke after a few strikes from the Zhanmadao.

 Chapter 70: Help Seeker

    Chapter 70: Help Seeker


    Trantor: Editor:


    There were three property grants, a few passbooks, as well as some important documents and contracts in the safe box. However, those things are worthless to Luo Yuan. The first thing he targeted was a few stacks of food stamps which were valued at 50 kg each. He would have about 50,000 kg or more worth of food stamps if each stack were 5,000 kg! Besides that, there were seven Olympic Gold medals in the box and each weighed 100 grams. These are very valuable but the highlight in the safe box was the handgun which is a rare treasure of the nation- Desert Eagle.


    Even though the prohibition policies for weapons in Hedong city is much stricter than in Donghu city, they no longer applied in the current situation. A person with good connections will find it easy to get a gun and the government is fine with it as long as people do not keep unting it publicly. However, the handgun in the safe box did not seem to be purchased from the underground market before the mutation incident.


    Luo Yuan held the Desert Eagle in his palm and it almost fell. The gun weighed about 2 kg and hosted arge diameter bullet. If he could obtain better bullets, it might even be able to shoot through a tank! However, only professionals or those who have undergone training could master the Desert Eagle as the recoil momentum could hurt or even break the arm of the user.


    Luo Yuan checked the safe box again and realized there were eight boxes of bullets inside. He suspected that the owner was probably not a good person. He yed with the gun for a while and put it into his pocket after locking the safe. He wanted to give it to Huang Jiahui as he knew she would be able to master it with her qualified shooting skills.


    Huang Jiahui¡¯s energy has improved after consuming a lot of nutritious meats over a period time. She is stronger than many men and should be able to easily handle the Desert Eagle. Luo Yuan left the gold medals and food stamps in the safe box at the entrance of the chamber which was hidden in the dark and is quite difficult to notice. It was better to just leave it in the safe box than keeping it elsewhere. Luo Yuan also found a torchlight and kept it in his pocket as he left the chamber with three cans of food. Luo Yuan told Huang Jiahui and Wang Shishi about his discovery in the chamber, which they were very excited to learn.


    ¡°Is there really so much food!?¡± Huang Jiahui grabbed his arm excitedly and asked.


    Since the outbreak, food has be very valuable. It is now even more valuable than money and gold. Huang Jiahui was initially quite depressed as she lost a lot of food in the fire ident earlier. She did not expect to get the food back but this is even more than what she had earlier!


    ¡°I didn¡¯t actually count, but it should be around 20 bags and each were about 50 kg. Besides that, there is flour, canned food, instant noodles, biscuits, and preserved vegetables. There were also some other groceries in the storeroom. I guess it is enough to sustain us for a year!¡± Luo Yuan said happily.


    ¡°Then we are rich! It can be traded for a lot of money right?¡± Wang Shishi asked stupidly. ¡°You want to sell it?¡± Luo Yuan asked out of shock.


    Although Wang Shishi did not have much life experience, she knew there are things which money could not buy. She replied gently, ¡°No way! I want a lot of food! It would be great if it is enough to sustain me until myst breath! Then I don¡¯t have to worry anymore.¡±


    Wang Shishi then turned her attention to the three cans of food. She suddenly said, ¡°Wow! It¡¯s imported can food, must be expensive!¡±


    She could not wait to check it out. "Seafood, meat, and fruits! Brother Luo, I want the canned food with cherries inside! Can I? Please? I can¡¯t remember when was thest time I had cherries.¡±


    Luo Yuan looked at her greedy face, but felt bad and said, ¡°Alright! Eat all you want today!¡±


    Huang Jiahui smiled ecstatically. Almost all females like eating fruits but it was not polite for her to ask for it like how Wang Shishi did just now. ¡°Oh! I almost forgot to prepare the meal, I¡¯m going now.¡± Huang Jiahui was simply too happy.


    There was a fire ident when theyst had their meal and everyone was busy trying to escape. Only now did they start feeling hungry.


    "Just forget about it. I don¡¯t think it is convenient to cook in the dark. Just heat the canned food for dinner." Luo Yuan said as he observed that the sky was already dark.


    ¡°Awesome!¡± Wang Shishi cheered happily. A proper meal is never attractive to girls at her age. Junk food will always be preferred instead!


    Huang Jiahui nodded her head and picked a few cans of beef and seafood and then entered the kitchen. ¡°Oh wait, here is a torchlight.¡± Luo Yuan took out the torchlight from his pocket and passed it to Huang Jiahui.


    Huang Yuying wrapped herself tightly with her raincoat. She felt the joys in the house were strange and awkward to her. Teardrops rolled down to her cheeks as she recalled the painful memories she had over thest few days. The three guys who had been killed by Luo Yuan had broke into her house and grabbed all her food. Even though her husband was mad, he did not dare to protest and only kept on begging them to stop. The weak characteristics of her husband enhanced the power of those three bastards. They were attracted by her appearance as well as her fair body. She tried her best to resist but one of them threatened to kill her husband if she did notply.


    She was locked down on the bed while watching her husband who did not dare to look at her. She hesitated for a moment butter obeyed hopelessly. That was a horrible nightmare for her. The three bastards took turns to prate her until she felt numb. She only knew someone was lying on top of her and she was forced to do several shameful actions. When she woke up, she saw her husband, who had quit smoking for many years, smoking in the living room.


    Both of them remained silent for a moment when she came out from the room and then cried in each other¡¯s arms. Her husband cried and said he will not me her and he will love her forever. None of them had good sleep that night and both of them hugged each other and talked through the night. During the dawn, he told her he will definitely protect her if the three bastards came back again. She was touched but she could not stop crying.


    The next day, the same thing happened again. Her husband stood up for her a few times but got punched very brutally and then he went back to the guest room while Huang Yuying was dragged to the master room and got raped once again. She was so disappointed. She felt cold as she did not understand why her husband was not protesting and protecting her. She was ready to die at that moment. She was not afraid of death as long as they could die together.


    She hated her husband and herself. She med herself for marrying a weak man. Finding an ideal man who is polite, gentle, passionate and romantic, were all hopeless thoughts. It was beautiful but fragile. On the third day, the ps and hurtful words from her husband made her give up. She did not miss anything between them anymore and decided to give her best to the three bastards in front of her husband as she was desperate and hopeless.


    She acted on her impulse as requested to follow the three of them. There was an explosion in her apartment and she was shocked to find out that her unit had been blown up. She was dragged by one of the gang members in the chaos and followed the three bastards. She was lucky to bump into their ¡°neighbour¡± and she decided to incite him to kill the three bastards when she realized they were actually scared of Luo Yuan.


    She hated her husband but she hated the three bastards even more. She is a smart woman and studied all of their personalities and characteristics in just a few days. She knew Brother Yu prioritized his reputation and she intentionally tried to make him feel embarrassed so that he would challenge Luo Yuan. However, she did not expect such an awful and horrible scene when the three bastards were easily killed by Luo Yuan!


    Huang Yuying should have been happy when her n of revenge seeded. However, she did not have a ce to stay. When she saw Luo Yuan about to leave, she quickly begged him to bring her along even though she was afraid of him. She was even ready to seduce him. After a few days of sexual activities, she became more aggressivepared tost time. She thought it was better to be raped by one guy than a few guys. However, the thing which shocked her is the fact that Luo Yuan rejected her. Only then did she realize she had made a big mistake. She used him and almost caused him to die. If he were a normal person, he would have been killed and no one would forgive that kind of mistake.


    She had second thoughts about following them as she noticed his calm reaction even after killing a few people. Murder did not look like a serious matter to Luo Yuan. It became apparent to her that this was not the first time he killed. She believed it would not be a surprise if he returned to kill her as well. If the three bastards are the hyenas of the grasnd then Luo Yuan will be the mighty male lion. Her mind told her to stay away from that kind of dangerous person but her body involuntarily followed them the whole way.


    Suddenly, she was disturbed by some weird sounds from the bushes which caught her attention. The vi was surrounded by a lot of greenery and the nearest bushes were just two meters away from her. The bushes were swaying in the dark and she thought there was a mutated beast hiding there. She began to shiver, but after a while, she realized it was the wind which made the sound! She curled her body as she felt scared and cold. She licked her dry lips and felt that her stomach was growling when she smelled the cooked meat through the gaps of the door. She had not eaten anything since lunch and the porridge she ate earlier had probably been fully digested by now.


    Suddenly, something covered her helmet and she shivered again under the moonlight. The dark object immediately flew up and disappeared when she shrugged it off. She had not had enough time to recover when the object fell on her shoes again.


    "Mu...mutated mosquito!!"


    Her brain was nk and her entire body went stiff. She was in a state of shock and she struggled to get up to her feet. She dashed to their door and knocked on it vigorously, "Help! Help me! Please! Help!"

 Chapter 71: Endless Battle

    Chapter 71: Endless Battle


    Trantor: Editor:


    There was no one inside. Huang Yuying almost copsed, her teeth rubbing on the inside her mouth as she screamed in panic, "I¡¯m begging you! Please open the door! Please!"


    Amid her hopelessness, she heard the doorknob turn. The sound of the door being unlocked was like music to her ears, like a light of hope in the darkness. The door was opened, but just as she was about to step in, she found a young man blocking the entrance, looking at her coldly. She stopped and shivered as she looked into his eyes. She suddenly seemed to have forgotten about the scary mutated mosquitoes.


    ¡°I... Outside.¡± Huang Yuying didn¡¯t know what to say. Her brain had gone nk.


    ¡°Come in,¡± Luo Yuan suddenly said.


    ¡°I... Oh, thank you, thank you so much.¡± Huang Yuying did not know how else to respond, so she thanked him excitedly.


    She lowered her chin as she entered the house anxiously. There were two people there watching her and judging her.


    ¡°Sit down and help yourself. We can talk after dinner,¡± Luo Yuan said as he frowned.


    Huang Yuying nodded and took off her helmet. She moved a chair close to the dining table and sat down carefully. Luo Yuan had not realized she was so pretty until she had taken off her helmet. He was amazed. She was not pretty in a slutty way. She was beautiful. Wang Shishi watched her carefully. The fact that the neer looked better than Huang Jiahui made her sense some danger. Luo Yuan turned his gaze away and went to the washroom. He opened his hand and realized there was a squashed mutated mosquito on his palm. He washed it away in disgust. When he came back from the washroom, he found Huang Jiahui chatting with Huang Yuying.


    ¡°Which department were you in?¡± Huang Jiahui asked as she smiled.


    ¡°I was teaching History in Year 9,¡± Huang Yuying replied, putting down her chopsticks.


    ¡°Then why did you join those bullies? You don¡¯t look like a bad person,¡± Huang Jiahui said honestly. She really did not think that Huang Yuying was evil.


    ¡°I did not have a choice,¡± Huang Yuying smiled awkwardly.


    Huang Jiahui seemed to understand and stopped asking. She just sighed and said, ¡°There¡¯s been some chaos in our area recently. Most of the pretty girls have gotten into trouble. Actually, we should consider ourselves lucky just to be alive under the circumstances. We thought Hedong City would be more stable and safe when we first arrived here. We really did not expect things to change so drastically.¡±


    She started to get worried as she thought about the chaos noting to an end. She did not know where she would go if a war like the one in Donghu City broke out there.


    "Oh, are you from Donghu City too? My mother also lives in Donghu City. Actually, in a nearby vige.¡± Huang Yuying started to sob again as she talked, ¡°We have lost contact since allmunications broke down. I have no idea how she¡¯s doing.¡±


    Huang Jiahui did not know how tofort her. She could only sigh. A momentter, she asked her, ¡°Does that mean you have no rtives in Hedong City? What about your husband? I thought you were married.¡±


    Huang Yuying looked heartbroken as tears started gushing out of her eyes. Everyone knew what had happened to her, even though she hadn¡¯t said anything. Luo Yuan returned to his seat. His ears were sensitive and he had actually heard most of the conversation. Although he was not happy with her earlier actions, he still felt sympathy towards her. He said, "You still have rtives here, right? I¡¯ll take you to them tomorrow."


    Huang Yuying had not expected Luo Yuan to offer. She looked surprised. She was about to stand up when she felt that something was wrong. She wiped her tears away quickly and said, ¡°No, not anymore. My father-inw lives nearby, but I don¡¯t want to go there. I can¡¯t face him.¡±


    She was crying again. After a moment, she pushed her chair back and stood up. Luo Yuan was shocked. He wondered what was she going to do when she suddenly knelt down and said, ¡°Please, let me to stay with you. I¡¯ll do anything you ask.¡±


    Luo Yuan stood up awkwardly and moved to the side. Huang Jiahui could not bear to watch the scene. She quickly pulled Huang Yuying up, saying, "It¡¯s alright, it¡¯s alright. We promise, just get up. The house does not belong to us, but we have some extra food. You can stay as long as you want."


    ¡°If Jiahui agrees, you can stay with us. But there is nothing free in this world. Starting tomorrow, all meals and house chores will be your responsibility.¡± Luo Yuan knew not to reject her request when he saw the look Huang Jiahui was giving him. Plus, there was a lot of food in the underground chamber. It was more than enough to feed them all.


    ¡°Of course! I¡¯ll do my best!¡± Huang Yuying said, looking excited. "Thank you, Sister Huang. Thank you so much!"


    She did not know Luo Yuan¡¯s name, so she stopped talking even though she did not look like she had finished her words.


    ¡°I¡¯m Luo Yuan,¡± Luo Yuan said.


    "Thank you, Brother Luo."


    Wang Shishi was not happy. She thought Huang Yuying looked older than Luo Yuan, yet she still addressed him as Brother Luo.


    Huang Yuying started cleaning the dining table after dinner, even though Huang Jiahui told her not to. In the end, they cleaned it together. Then it was time for Huang Yuying to choose a room. There were four bedrooms in the house, one master bedroom and three guest bedrooms on the first and second floor. Luo Yuan and Huang Jiahui naturally had taken the master bedroom on the second floor, and Wang Shishi had taken the guest bedroom on the same floor. Huang Yuying decided to stay in the guest bedroom on the first floor.


    Even though it was just a guest room, the room was quite spacious and cozy. The walls were light orange and there were many advanced home appliances, although they only served as decoration. The only imperfection was the dust. The room was quite dirty and the nket on the bed smelled.


    When the three of them left, Huang Yuying closed the door and sat on the edge of the bed in the dark. She felt like she was dreaming. She could stay with them after all. A few minutester, she entered the bathroom in the dark. Her long dress dropped from her smooth shoulders, exposing her bruised body. She hated her body so much. She turned on the shower and scrubbed herself, wanting to wash away the dirty marks left by those three bastards.


    After a while, she stopped. Her entire body was red from scrubbing and she had scrubbed her pubic area so hard it hurt. She walked a few steps before she frowned. She touched her pubic area and realized there was blood. Somehow, she felt relieved. She looked for some tissue under the light of the moon and pressed it against her wounds. She lied down on the bed and looked at the ceiling in the dark. She suddenly felt safe as she listened to the weird buzzing and chirping sounds of the birds and insects outside.


    ¡°Fantastic!¡± she thought. She suddenly felt extremely sleepy. She slowly closed her eyes and drifted off to sleep.

 Chapter 72: Pesticide

    Chapter 72: Pesticide


    Trantor: Editor:


    ¡°Physique +1¡±


    Luo Yuan had just woken up and begun to stretch when the system beeped. He leaped with joy as he read the notification. Physique was an attribute he had never upgraded using his attribute points ¨C his physical training had finally paid off.


    Physique was the only one out of the three core attributes that did not reflect one¡¯sbat skills; he had always known it would be a bad investment to improve his physique using his attribute points, which was why he had distributed them to other attributes, such as Strength and Dexterity, thus weakening his physique and affecting his physical efficiency. This was why he had terrible stamina, and why he had never been able tost long in physically strenuous activities like sports.


    Physical training had always been a slow process for him. Ever since his physique had achieved 11 points two years ago, it had remained stagnant. He had even considered investing some attribute points in it if it did not improve by his next level up.


    I shouldn¡¯t be so surprised. I have been training for so long, it¡¯s about damn time my physique points increased!


    There had been a severe imbnce in his attributes after he had increased his Dexterity, which had caused a certain strain on his physique ¨C his stamina had been unable to keep up. After going through an intense period of physical training, Luo Yuan had been able to push his potential and finally improve his physique. Unfortunately, an attribute improved by personal training did not carry as much weight; at 12 points he felt no better than he had at 11.


    Luo Yuan got dressed and checked his watch, seeing it was nearly ten in the morning. Huang Jiahui had already woken up a while ago and left him some clean clothes by his bed. He washed up and walked into the major spring cleaning taking ce downstairs.


    ¡°About time you woke up, sleepyhead!¡± Wang Shishi said as Luo Yuan walked down the stairs.


    He smiled, failing to mask the pain on his face. He was drained fromst night, exhausted beyond any battle fatigue. He still felt the ache and soreness all over his body. The horrific experience was still lingering on his mind, but he realized his oversensitivity might not be such a bad thing. How else would he experience such pleasure during coitus?


    Huang Yuying stopped mopping the floor and hesitantly greeted him with a smile, ¡°Brother Luo!¡±


    She was dressed in Huang Jiahui¡¯s clothes ¨C it was a good fit as the two of them had a simr built. Luo Yuan would have thought she was Huang Jiahui if she hadn¡¯t lifted her head.


    He nodded and asked, ¡°Where¡¯s Jiahui?¡±


    ¡°Oh...She¡¯s on the first floor cleaning the windows of the washroom... I¡¯ve left porridge in a food container... It¡¯s still warm if you want to have it now!¡±


    He acknowledged her remark as he walked past her.


    Huang Yuying exhaled and wiped the sweat that was breaking on her forehead. It still stressed her out to speak to Luo Yuan, even if it was from a distance.


    Realizing that he could be of no help with the cleaning, Luo Yuan walked into the kitchen and opened the food container. It was a rich breakfast ¨C a bowl of porridge, half a salted egg and a dish of reheated luncheon meat. He had just finished the porridge when there was a loud knock on the front door.


    ¡°Open the door! We¡¯re from the City Council Safety Committee! We¡¯ve got an urgent notice!¡¯


    His face changed as he rushed to answer the door. Two men in protective gear were standing by the entrance, looking suspiciously like soldiers. They quickly rushed indoors as Luo Yuan frantically closed the door, pretending to be afraid of the mutant mosquitoes outside.


    The two men circled the living room. One of them lifted a stack of documents as he eyed Luo Yuan suspiciously. He looked at a printed photo, seeming doubtful as he asked, ¡°Are you a tenant here in this unit?¡±


    ¡°Yes, sir. Is there some kind of problem?¡± Luo Yuan replied.


    ¡°The photo on the deed does not look like you.¡± The man spoke softly and arrogantly like a typical government officer. ¡°Are you Zhao Jianfeng?¡±


    Luo Yuan was surprised by the question. Thousands of neurons started firing inside his brain.


    This can¡¯t be right. I¡¯ve seen the deed in the basement ¨C even if it was just a nce my genius 13-point Intelligence would have registered it urately. The name on the deed was definitely not Zhao Jianfeng!


    He looked at the officer¡¯s face through the protective gear and saw the mockery there ¨C Luo Yuan understood what was going on. He remained calm, hoping the doubt would not show on his face. ¡°Zhao Jianfeng? You must be mistaken, sir. My name is Zhou Jianfeng, not Zhao.¡±


    The officer¡¯s eyes widened as he pretended to review the data in his hand. ¡°My apologies. I have indeed misread it.¡± However that did not make the officer look any less suspicious, especially when he noticed the younger of the two girls standing at a distance looking rather anxious.


    Wang Shishi had never experienced such an encounter. She was shaking like she had been caught shoplifting.


    ¡°Ma¡¯am, could you step over here for a moment, please? I am an officer of the City Council Safety Committee and I need you to confirm some information.¡± He gestured for Wang Shishi, who was shrinking at the far corner.


    She panicked, beads of sweat dripping down her messy hair as her face reddened. She stood still, not knowing what to do.


    Luo Yuan broke the silence, trying to handle the situation, ¡°Sir, if there¡¯s any problem, please just say it directly. I don¡¯t believe you¡¯vee all the way here just to check the deed.¡±


    The second officer moved past his colleague and looked Luo Yuan in the eye before he finally spoke,¡°Excuse me, Comrade. What are you saying? Hedong City is no longer safe ¨C innocent civilians are being ughtered, homes are being broken into ¨C it is imperative that we fortify the city safety measures! We as government officials would definitely not wrongly use an innocent person, nor would we ever let a criminal roam free. It hase to our attention that this house might not be yours, and that you might have murdered its rightful owner.¡±


    If killing could have solved this, I would have already sliced these bloody bastards to bits! But these are not some random people that I can just kill ¨C it¡¯s way too risky and we can¡¯t afford the consequences. As soon as I kill them, reinforcements will surround the whole area. We could potentially escape from the gap upstairs, but considering how tight the space is, we woudn¡¯t be able to take enough provisions with us. It¡¯s pretty obvious that these two are not here just to investigate a petty lodging matter. As long as the mutated mosquitoes are not eliminated, the government is basically bruised, battered and burdened by the pressure of it all. The only logical exnation is that they¡¯re here to take advantage of civilians and create problems where there are none.


    Luo Yuan smiled, and spoke slowly afterposing his thoughts, ¡°Why, officers, how could this house belong to somebody else? You best start talking sense. I may not know what the purpose of your visit is, but I sure know how society works.¡±


    Then he turned to the girls, ¡°Shishi, go to my bedroom and bring the food stamps from my desk.¡±


    ¡°O-okay!¡± Wang Shishi dropped the broom and ran frantically up the stairs. A few minutester, she returned with two stacks of food stamps. The amount took Luo Yuan aback ¨C she¡¯d brought along all of her and Huang Jiahui¡¯s savings too.


    Luo Yuan took the food stamps from Wang Shishi, trying to keep his calm and imagine that he was just feeding stray dogs. After several rounds of acting hesitant about epting the bribe, in the end the officers took the food stamps, which somehow disgusted Luo Yuan even more.


    After epting the money, the officers¡¯ faces lightened up and the first man spoke again, ¡°We apologize about the misunderstanding, and how strict we might havee off. This district is bing more and more problematic. Just a piece of advice- you best get things in order with the Housing Ministry; they will eventuallye after you.¡±


    ¡°Alright. Thanks, officers. d that everything is sorted out,¡± Luo Yuan said with a grin.


    ¡°Oh, before we forget, there¡¯s one more thing we¡¯re supposed to inform you about. Tomorrow at 10 a.m. the City Council will exterminate the mutated mosquitoes by spraying a newly-developed pesticide that was proven to be effective in theb. It should be harmless to the human body as long as you don¡¯t inhale too much of it. During that time, you are all required to stay indoors. Also, to avoid any potential cases of allergic reactions and mass hysteria, each civilian will receive a free anti-toxic mask from the city council.¡±


    After asking Luo Yuan the number of tenants in the house, the officers handed him four paper boxes.

 Chapter 73: The Wriggling Corrosive Earthworm

    Chapter 73: The Wriggling Corrosive Earthworm


    Trantor: Editor:


    When the officers left, Luo Yuan picked up one of the boxes and examined the anti-toxic mask inside.


    My God, the pesticide must be severely toxic for them to resort to this kind of protective measure.


    A chemical cocktail strong enough to kill off mutated mosquitoes had to be equally deadly to humans; as the mosquitoes had evolved, their vitality and resistance to poison had also evolved by hundreds, or even a thousand times. Unless a gene-altering medicine had been developed, it was safe to say that the pesticide the officers had imed to be harmless to civilians wasplete bullshit. However, even the best biomedicalboratory would not have been able to engineer a mosquito-gene-altering medicine in such short notice ¨C everything was just theoretical.


    ¡°Brother Luo, did I bring out too much money?¡± Wang Shishi asked, finallying to her senses. She still couldn¡¯t believe that, in her fear and haste, she had brought out most of their money, leaving nothing but small change and a few strips of gold for them. It terrified her even more that Luo Yuan was being so quiet.


    Luo Yuan didn¡¯t know how to react, but he couldn¡¯t help but feel sorry for Wang Shishi, who seemed to be weighed down by the guilt of what she had done. ¡°Nah, It¡¯s alright. We can earn back that money!¡±


    Twenty thousand may have sounded like a lot but in fact, it equaled only about two rounds of frence hunting. Plus, they still had ten stacks of food stamps locked inside the safe in the basement. Still, twenty thousand might not have been much, but it wasn¡¯t an amount worth spending on a bribe. Luo Yuan couldn¡¯tpletely put the me on Wang Shishi though. Any civilian would have been obedient in the face government exerted violence ¨C even a university student would have soiled their pants. After all, she was just a fourteen year-old girl.


    Wang Shishi sighed in relief. Luo Yuan had not given her an earful, but she still couldn¡¯t help but ache. She had just given away most of their savings for a minor bribe.


    ......


    9:50 a.m. ¨C the rm shrieked, waking the civilians of Hedong City from the silence of slumber. Fighter jets began circling the sky above the city. As time slowly crawled to 10:00 a.m., most people had already awakened.


    The rumbling of jet engines outside drew closer, vigorously thundering the air particles and making the windows vibrate to the point of nearly shattering. Luo Yuan peeked through the window and saw arge bomber jet flying in their direction; judging by how dangerously close it was to the peak of the nearest high-rise, he estimated that the jet¡¯s altitude was no more than 300 meters. After making a routine circle above, its wingtips began pumping pesticide. Thick pumps of white gas descended from above. In almost an instant, the whole city was covered in a thick fog, visibility diminishing rapidly.


    Even though he was wearing the anti-toxic mask, the pungent smell of chemicals still managed to pierce Luo Yuan¡¯s nose. They spent the whole morning covering all door and window gaps with wet cloths, but it was not effective in keeping the fog out.


    Huang Jiahui looked at Luo Yuan, insecurity showing in her eyes. He held her hand and felt how moist her palm had gotten.


    He noticed the visibility in the house was not too bad, and asked in a muffled voice, ¡°Hey, are you alright? This slight exposure shouldn¡¯t be too harmful to us.¡±


    Wang Shishi, on the other hand, did not look shaken. She seemed quite excited by the mist looming outside. Her young body allowed her to tolerate the gas slightly longer than the other two; she¡¯d decided to wait until the air thickened before wearing the mask. Then she realized acting calm probably hadn¡¯t been such a great idea ¨C seeing Luo Yuan holding Huang Jiahui¡¯s hand made her feel jealous. She regretted not acting scared and missing the opportunity to share the same intimacy with him.


    She reached out to hold Luo Yuan¡¯s other hand as her heart raced.


    The bomber jet would not stop circling the sky. It kept releasing pesticide from above as the fog covered their whole window. Even with Luo Yuan¡¯s eyesight, he could only see about 7-8 meters high.


    Turbid yellow liquid started coagting on the windowpane and slowly dripping bit by bit, leaving behind trails of sodium-coloured stains. A mutated mosquito the size of a child¡¯s fist flew by in a drunken-like trance. It moved in slow random motion before eventually bumping into the window.


    The windows were made of high-quality ss ¨C other than the dark stains left by the condensation, most parts were rtively undamaged. However, due to the constant vibration the wet clothes stuffed into the gaps started falling out and the fog began to creep inside.


    Luo Yuan ran quickly to reseal the gaps. That¡¯s when the earth started shaking.


    ¡°What the... Is that an earthquake?¡±


    All was silent as the earth began to shake. The only sound was the muffled sound of their breathing through the mask. The earthquake seemed peculiar and sporadic with its timing ¨C one moment everything was still and the next the earth was shaking once again. The look on Luo Yuan¡¯s face changed. Heter heard that it wasn¡¯t just the earth, but the sound of nts being torn apart as well. He paid attention to the sound and was certain that it was no earthquake, but a monster moving in the area. He couldn¡¯t hear the monster¡¯s cries, but he estimated it to be no more than 100 meters away.


    Concrete started falling off buildings following the explosive noise ¨C it was as loud as buildings copsing. The sound of trees falling drew closer as the monster headed in their direction. Oblivious to the impending horror, Huang Jiahui was petrified ¨C she just stood there shaking, her teeth grinding. She may have been confident of the rtionship between her and Luo Yuan but at times like these, she couldn¡¯t help but fear that he might go and leave her behind.


    ¡°Brother Luo, what¡¯s happening?¡± Wong Shishi had lost any sliver of calmness she had in her.


    ¡°Something¡¯sing. We have to get to the basement. GO! NOW!¡±


    He grabbed a shlight and opened the door as they ran as fast as they could.


    ¡°Follow me!¡± Luo Yuan walked into the washroom and pushed aside the wardrobe to reveal a hatch on the floor leading to the basement. He handed the shlight to Wang Shishi, ¡°You two get to the basement.¡±


    Wang Shishi was the first to walk down the steps while Huang Jiahui followed her. She hesitated. One look at his eyes and she knew ¨C he had no intention of following them.


    ¡°It¡¯s so dark in here, why aren¡¯t youing down with us?¡± Huang Jiahui shouted from the basement. She noticed that Huang Yuying had already made her way there.


    ¡°You stay put, I¡¯m going to take a look!¡±


    ¡°Are you crazy? The air is reeking with poisonous gas! You will die! Luo Yuan, PLEASE! WAIT! COME BACK!¡± she shouted with tears in her eyes.


    ¡°There is a monstering this way and if the vi gets destroyed we will all die! Don¡¯t worry, my body is stronger than the average man¡¯s. A slight exposure to the pesticide won¡¯t kill me!¡±


    ¡°You don¡¯t know that! What if the monster is just passing by?¡± Huang Jiahui cried.


    ¡°I don¡¯t believe in luck. Stop asking me to stay! You know you¡¯re only pissing me off!¡±


    Huang Jiahui was stunned, the words caught in her throat.


    ¡°Brother Luo, I... I want toe with you!¡± Wang Shishi said. She believed that her body might able to suppress the effects of the pesticide, so she offered to aid Luo Yuan.


    ¡°What? Aren¡¯t you afraid?¡±


    ¡°Of course not! As long as Brother Luo is with me, I¡¯m not afraid of anything!¡±


    Luo Yuan wasn¡¯t sure what to think but he knew there wasn¡¯t much time to lose. ¡°Alright then! It would be helpful to have your powers to assist me.¡±


    He figured it would be good practice for her as well. Despite how weak her powers may be, she was still able to move about 20 kilos. All she needed was to deliver a lethal attack. Considering how special her powers were, in some ways she could potentially be stronger than Luo Yuan, although obviously not in terms of brute force.


    She won¡¯t learn anything unless she engages inbat!


    ¡°Initiating E-Grade Mission: Kill the Corrosive Earthworm¡±


    ¡°Mission Duration: 3 hours¡±


    ¡°ept / Decline¡±


    ¡°A BLUE RANK MONSTER?!¡±

 Chapter 74: Mud

    Chapter 74: Mud


    Trantor: Editor:


    Luo Yuan¡¯s heart sank. He had predicted that the corrosive earthworm would be the same mutated earthworm he had encountered earlier ¨C big in size but not particrly aggressive despite its unbearable stench. However, it was still a light-blue rank monster.


    But that was in the past ¨C about a month ago! Clearly this earthworm has evolved. Anyway, I better see it with my own eyes.


    Wang Shishi struggled to get out of the basement, her face filled with both excitement and horror. Luo Yuan was in no mood to wait for her. He walked to the door as she carefully stepped out of the hatch and ran to catch up with him.


    Huang Jiahui heard their footsteps soften as they walked away. She formed a fist with her hand.


    EVOLVE ALREADY!


    When Luo Yuan opened the door, they were greeted by a gush of white fog. However, the fog couldn¡¯t reach them as an invisible dome had been projected, shielding them from the mist. The mist before them was thick and it haunted the area with an eerie crawl, blocking Luo Yuan¡¯s sight.


    Judging by its breath, this is definitely a blue rank monster, which means it must be immune to the toxins of the pesticide. Come to think of it, the pesticide might have been a catalyst to the species¡¯ evolution. It might have even triggered its rise to the surface. If I could describe its mysterious breath with one word, it would have to be ¡°oppressive¡±, because damn could this thing suffocate a person!


    Every living organism was constantly exerting a specific power of maic energy ¨C therger they were, the stronger the maic force they exerted. When a human came into contact with arger living organism, the stronger maic force was capable of putting the human under a state of oppressed confusion.


    Considering he had already yed two blue rank monsters, the physical and mental oppression was the least of Luo Yuan¡¯s worries. However, that was not true for Wang Shishi.


    Any trace of excitement had been washed away by her overwhelming fear ¨C they hadn¡¯t gotten far, yet she was already breaking into cold sweat. She would have run away, but she knew that Luo Yuan needed her there to shield him from the mist. She started trembling and unconsciously moved closer to Luo Yuan, who kept walking forward cautiously.


    Suddenly, a colossal silhouette towered over them, its shadow covering them as it zoomed high through the mist. It seemed to be momentarily suspended in mid-air before it began falling.


    The earth shook vigorously as buildings and trees fell, raining shrapnel all around Luo Yuan and Wang Shishi.


    Luo Yuan stopped in his tracks and looked back at Wang Shishi. ¡°You stay right here. Don¡¯t go anywhere. I¡¯ll go take a look.¡±


    ¡°Bu-bbbbut. What about you?¡±


    ¡°The toxins won¡¯t hurt me for a few minutes. You wait right here and be ready to shield me when I return.¡± He took a few deep breaths and ran into the open space, holding his breath.


    Luo Yuan had always had a very sharp perception of the environment, and he had caught sight of something strange when the shrapnel had shot past the shield ¨C it had seemed to be liquified. He tried to recall the monster¡¯s system name. It was still an earthworm, but it had intense corrosive abilities and that was not something to joke about. He worried that it would prove extremely difficult to protect Wang Shishi and avoid the earthworm¡¯s slime at the same time.


    The mist was getting thicker ¨C his skin had already started getting moist within the short time that had passed since leaving Wang Shishi¡¯s protective shield. The intensity of the pesticide¡¯s chemicals had him itching.


    I must finish this A.S.A.P! I can¡¯t risk being exposed for too long.


    He felt the irritation on his skin and bit down the urge to scratch himself. He hastened his pace, gripping tightly the hilt of his sword. Within seconds, he had arrived on the peak of a hill, leaving a trail through the mist as he ran swiftly.


    A hundred meters in six seconds. That¡¯s a new record!


    His scabbard began glowing blindingly¨C the earthworm had to be nearby. The environment started growing violently, rocks and tree branches raining from above as the earthworm elerated towards him. The distance between them got shorter.


    In a split second, his senses picked up its humongous presence. They were less than ten meters apart, charging at each other with no intention of slowing down.


    Ten meters... five... ONE!


    As they collided, Luo Yuan struggled to reach for his weapon.


    A ray of blue light shed through the mist.\


    The earthworm continued charging at Luo Yuan, wriggling like a thundering whip on the ground. The air grew more dense around him. His clothes fluttered aggressively as a gust of wind blew right at him, pushing him back. Luo Yuan remained unfazed and focused.


    That¡¯s when an unexpected mutation started taking ce.


    A visible crack split the earthworm right in the middle of its torso, tearing it further apart as it kept moving. The earthworm was cut into two equal parts, creating two earthworms with t-ended tails that glowed blue as they begun releasing white fumes. The surrounding oxygen became thin and the toxins started crystallizing in midair.


    Sodium-colored mollusk started forming on the earthworms¡¯ wounds, hardening almost instantly and slowing down the two creatures. Their tails hit the ground and shattered the mollusks into tiny pieces of crystals which began morphing into more earthworms.


    An earthworm can survive as long as the slightest segment of its body survives. It can¡¯t be killed by slicing and dicing. I guess the best way for me to defeat it is to use my sword¡¯s freezing ability.


    The earthworms kept secreting extremely corrosive blue slime¨C one drip on the ground and the earth sizzled, forming a sticky form of molten mud. Rocks and trees alike shrivelled when they came into contact with the slime, melting and bing one with the molten mud pile. It didn¡¯t take long for a molten swamp to start forming around the earthworms as they wriggled in sporadic motions, eventually slowing down thanks to the crystallized surface of the swamp that was shattered within moments.


    F*ck! The sword¡¯s freezing ability can¡¯t seem to crystalize this blue rank beast entirely!


    Wait, what the...


    ¡°ARE YOU TRYING TO ESCAPE?¡±


    The molten swamp grew wider and wider as one segment of the earthworm¡¯s body began drilling into the ground.

 Chapter 75: Disfigurement

    Chapter 75: Disfigurement


    Trantor: Editor:


    Luo Yuan nced across the area as he kicked a heavy rock. The rock flew about 7-8 meters away and fell into a wallow, causing mud to ssh around. He kept kicking rocks until he suddenly rushed forward and stepped on a big rock, lifting himself up to get closer to the corrosive earthworm. The Zhanmadao prated silently the shiny, sticky body of the earthworm. Luo Yuan pulled the sword out before the earthworm had enough time to react, leaving a 2-meter wound on its body.


    The worm had a very low IQ and was too distracted by the intense pain to try to escape. It was like an eel in the ashes. It kept jumping around crazily, its movements sshing mud everywhere. Luo Yuan tried to step back while the earthworm struggled, but he still got mud on himself. He felt itchy, and his face and the back of his hand hurt slightly. He instinctively touched his face and realized it was full of blood and pus. His scalp felt numb and he was sure his face had been disfigured, even though he did not have a mirror to check. He wiped his face and cursed, "Damn it!"


    He kept on cursing, the thought of his disfigured face making him angry. Since the mutation outbreak had happened, he¡¯d never gotten such a bad injury, even though he¡¯s gotten into a lot of fights. It had been quite dangerous, but he had always been the winner and he¡¯d suffered minor injuries at worst. He had won most of the battles, so he was extremely mad to get injured now. His anger turned into motivation to kill.


    The intention made his entire body shake. The Zhanmadao began to shine as it slowly became brighter. The mist in the air coagted immediately, high pressure upying a big part of the area. The corrosive earthworms nearby seemed to be able to sense him and had all stopped jumping around. They justy down anxiously as their bodies began to shake.


    ¡°Knife expertise +1¡±


    There was a system notification sound, but Luo Yuan did not seem to hear it. He began to walk towards the worm while he watched it. His footsteps were strong and firm, and his face was full of blood. He looked like a monster crawling out of the hell. It felt like the two of them had exchanged identities. Luo Yuan had be the beast, while the worm had be a small, harmless reptile.


    Luo Yuan took a few steps forward before he began to increase his speed. It only took a few leaps for him to reach the worm. His sword released a beam of blue light and this time he could literally feel its force. The de sliced across the body of the worm like it wasn¡¯t even there. Luo Yuan pulled the sword back and cut through the worm¡¯s 10-meter body. The earthworm was shaking in fear. It seemed to have forgotten how to escape and just let Luo Yuan chop it.


    In fact, a blue rank creature would not simply allow someone to hurt them without a fight. No matter how big it was though, the worm was still a powerless Nematoda1. These organisms were like bigputers with very basic operating systems. You could control them as long as you had the ability to hack them. The corrosive earthworm was fully controlled by Luo Yuan as its body became a shell without a soul. Luo Yuan kept cutting it, even after the knife had stopped shining.


    It was toote for the earthworm to realize why its brain had gone nk. Its body had already been cut into numerous pieces and its internal organs were flowing out under the pressure of its thoracic cavity. The air was filled with an awful, choking smell. The worm twisted a few times until it stopped struggling. The massive blood loss was making it weaker. No matter how strong it was, it couldn¡¯t survive under the circumstances. A few minutester, the system beeped.


    ¡°E+ Level Mission: Killing Corrosive Earthworm, Completed!¡±


    ¡°Duration: 10 minutes and 36 seconds¡±


    ¡°Mission Rating: Pass!¡±


    ¡°Basic Experience Reward 1600!¡±


    ¡°Average Evaluation, Experience Reward +0!¡±


    Luo Yuan was relieved when he heard the sound of the system. His furious energy immediately faded away. Suddenly, the awful stench of the dead worm made him puke. When he stopped retching, he got up from the ground and looked at the worm¡¯s parts. He felt horrified. He could not believe that it had just let him kill it without even trying to escape.


    He suddenly seemed to remember something. He touched his face and realized there were several holes with blood on it. It was horrible. He could even put his finger into the holes. His face was extremely itchy. He could not bear it and just started scratching his skin. The more he scratched, the itchier he got. He got frustrated and scratched even harder. He even scratched some of his skin off while he kept bleeding. Fear crept into his head as he lost control of his mind. He was unable to control his emotions anymore. He began to run around like crazy.


    ¡°Luo Yuan! Where are you?¡± Suddenly, he heard Huang Jiahui¡¯s voice.


    Luo Yuan was surprised and happy at the same time. ¡°I¡¯m here! Please,e over here!¡±


    A momentter, Huang Jiahui drove over in the Desert Eagle, along with Huang Yuying and Wang Shishi, who both looked terrified. Huang Jiahui had only stayed in the underground chamber for a few minutes before she¡¯d begun to feel worried. After a short hesitation, she couldn¡¯t wait anymore and decided to go find Luo Yuan. Huang Yuying tried to stop her, but she failed, so she was forced to follow her. She was aware of her own situation. It was clear that all her effort to gain their trust would be wasted if she stayed in the chamber. Everyone would shun her. Perhaps not even Huang Jiahui would help her anymore. Nobody would keep around someone who only cared about themselves in a critical situation. What reason did she have to stay safe while everyone was out, trying their best to make things work?


    Although Huang Jiahui was scared and she really did not want to go out, she¡¯d much rather take that risk rather than get abandoned again. She walked very fast until she finally found Luo Yuan in the mist. She was shocked at how pitiful he looked. ¡°What happened to your face?¡± she asked. Wang Shishi screamed upon she seeing him.


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong with my face?¡± Luo Yuan asked, grabbing Huang Jiahui¡¯s hand. Their reaction made him nervous.


    ¡°It¡¯s full of blood!¡± Huang Jiahui said anxiously.


    ¡°Am I disfigured?¡± Luo Yuan asked nervously. He looked close to tears.


    ¡°I¡¯m not sure, there¡¯s poisonous mist everywhere. Let¡¯s get back home first.¡± Huang Jiahui helped him up and supported him. She felt that something was wrong with Luo Yuan. Although people usually tended to get super nervous about their faces getting disfigured, Luo Yuan was not that kind of person. The way he¡¯d reacted had reminded her of an extremely vain woman.


    Huang Yuying wanted tough, but she did not dare to. Although Luo Yuan looked quite hideous with all that blood on his face, she would not have felt any less nervous if he¡¯d looked like a normal person. She hesitated for a moment before she moved forward to help him. A high-pitch sound prated the sky like a car honk being pressed continuously. Suddenly, a strong wind blew above their heads as something fell down from the sky.The four of them raised their heads to check and saw a me traveling down the sky through the mist, sting somewhere in the distance.


    ¡°A bomb!¡±


    A gigantic mass of red smoke rose up with an extremely loud sound and caused the ground to shake. They could hear the roaring sound of beasts. Luo Yuan turned pale while his entire body shook.


    Trantor Notes


    1 The nematodes or roundworms constitute the phylum Nematoda. They are a diverse animal phylum inhabiting a broad range of environments.

 Chapter 76: Beast Attack

    Chapter 76: Beast Attack


    Trantor: Editor:


    The whole city was covered by the thick smoke, and so was the military base. The military defense power had dropped to its lowest point. If a big group of beasts were to attack the city, there wouldn¡¯t be enough manpower to defend it. Luo Yuan¡¯s brain was nk from fear.


    ¡°Is that a bomb that exploded over there?¡± Huang Jiahui asked after a few minutes of stunned silence.


    ¡°I think so,¡± Huang Yuying said. She looked lost too.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go! Don¡¯t look anymore. Let¡¯s go back!¡± Luo Yuan said, jumping back into action.


    The four of them felt cold as they quickly headed back to the vi, following the route they had taken there. They could hear the roars of beasts at the same time that the ground was shaking like there was an earthquake going on. Their house was in the West District, about 25 kilometers away from the outskirts of the city. They could still hear the roars clearly despite the distance. Apparently, the mutated beasts had entered the city. They could also hear the sound of shooting and minor bombing activities, but no one could tell whether it was working in the haze of it all. The four of them quickly entered the vi and shut the door.


    They felt relieved. The house provided them protection and security, even though they knew it was not the safest way to defend against a mutated beast attack. Wang Shishi looked very pale. She kept shaking, and she would surely have fallen down on the floor, had she not been leaning against the wall. Luo Yuan did not look any better. His determination was lower than average and his condition was worse than Wang Shishi¡¯s. He looked in pain, and asionally anxious and afraid. He was about to have an emotional breakdown.


    ¡°Hurry up! Please get some water!¡± Huang Jiahui told Huang Yuying as she began to take his shirt off.


    ¡°Sure!¡± Huang Yuying replied nervously before she rushed to the kitchen.


    Luo Yuan¡¯s shirt was made of blue rank ck owl feathers and the material was shiny and waterproof. Liquid had never prated it, even though Luo Yuan had spilled mud on it several times. There was not a single piece of dirt on it. His skin, however, was another story. Huang Yuying brought water from the kitchen. Huang Jiahui took the cloth from the pail and helped Luo Yuan wipe away the blood and dirt carefully. She inhaled a mouthful of cool air to calm herself down. He looked terrible.


    His entire face was terribly injured. There were holes and blood all over it. Corrosive mud covered almost all of the holes. Huang Jiahui was able to see his flesh after wiping off all the pus. She could even see his bones through some of the holes. Luo Yuan was still bleeding. She helped him clean up, the water inside the pail slowly turning red in the process. Luo Yuan howled in pain. Huang Jiahui could not hold her tears back anymore. She stopped wiping for a few minutes. When she lifted the cloth, Wang Shishi also forgot about her fear and started sobbing in the corner. They had changed the water several times. Suddenly, they heard the sound of an explosion along with the furious roars of beasts. All of them looked hopeless as their faces turned pale.


    ¡°What should we do? The beasts areing, we are going to die! I don¡¯t want to die, I haven¡¯t even had sex yet! I don¡¯t want to die!¡± Wang Shishi said anxiously.


    ¡°Don¡¯t be afraid, we will be fine! Remember how dangerous it was in Donghu City? We still survived! This time will be the same. We will survive, we just need to think positive!¡± Huang Jiahui said as she took Wang Shishi into her arms with teary eyes.


    ¡°Yes! We won¡¯t die. There are so many people in Hedong City, we can¡¯t be that unlucky. The house is strong, we will be fine,¡± Huang Yuying whispered. She was trying tofort herself more than Wang Shishi.


    Luo Yuan got up from the floor and said loudly, "Let¡¯s go to the underground chamber! The space is smaller, but it¡¯s stronger and there¡¯s also a lot of food. As long as there is venttion, we can survive there for a few months, even if the house copses."


    Luo Yuan would not have made such a decision, had he been his usual determined self. He was the kind of person who took control of his destiny and did not sumb fate. However, he was really afraid and was not in control of his emotions anymore. All he wanted was to get somece safe. He took his knife and ran down towards the underground chamber. The rest of them quickly followed him. When the door was shut, they were left in the dark. Huang Jiahui found her torchlight and switched it on. The white light shined bright in the dark, providing somefort. Wang Shishi had clutched Luo Yuan¡¯s arm the moment they¡¯d gotten there and had not let go since. They all sat down in the corner.


    The roaring sounds were getting clearer as the cement on the walls and ceiling kept dropping on their heads. They heard the sound of bricks falling on the outside as well as the screams of someone dying. Nobody knew who started shaking first, but it soon became contagious. All of them cuddled close together. At the beginning, they¡¯d tried to talk andfort each other, but no one was bothering anymore. They were too afraid that the beasts would hear them. In the end, they switched off the torchlight. The room filled with the sound of their heavy breathing.


    Luo Yuan closed his eyes and meditated like he used to do, trying to focus his mind. He knew it was not normal for him to behave like that, so he decided to meditate and seek the peace inside his heart. Luckily he had a few months of practice and could reach that state of mind. Although this time was a lot more difficult than usual, he was able to slowly regain his focus.


    Boom!


    The chamber started shaking vigorously. The three women covered their mouths. They were too worried the beasts would hear them. They were all afraid. Luo Yuan suddenly opened his eyes and thought, ¡°Damn! The house is copsing, the beasts areing in.¡±


    The sound of heavy footsteps was drawing closer along with the sounds of objects falling and breaking. They could hear someone banging and stomping around, and the sound of partitions copsing. The beast was gigantic. Luo Yuan estimated that it was about 3 meters tall and 7-8 meters long, and weighed about 20 tons. Every single step it took caused dust to drop from the ceiling as the building shook vigorously. The house seemed quite strong though. Had it been a condominium, there would have been cracks and gaps in the walls and it might have already copsed. There was not even a single crack in the underground chamber. The beast was sniffing as it tried to find the trail of its prey.


    No one dared move or make a single sound, but they all kept shaking. The stressful power of the blue rank organism nearly made them faint. After a while, they heard the sound of water dripping and inhaled the choking smell of urine. Luo Yuan was holding his knife tightly. The system beeped again but he did not bother checking it.


    He was still in a recovering stage, both physically and mentally, and he had several minor injuries on his body. He was not confident that he could kill a blue rank beast. After all, humans were physically weaker than mutants. He was taking a huge risk every single time he fought against a blue rank animal. Unless he wanted to die, he could not afford any mistakes. He could not just rush out and kill the beast. That might draw the attention of other beasts nearby. The only way to protect everyone was to stay inside the chamber. Hopefully, the beast would not smell their scent and would leave the house as soon as possible.

 Chapter 77: The Great War

    Chapter 77: The Great War


    Trantor: Editor:


    As time went by, everyone was relieved to hear the sound of footsteps fade away. After the beast left, they ally on the ground like exhausted construction workers. They could still hear roars from the outside as well as the sound of bomb explosions and humans screaming. All that noise was like a heavy dark cloud pressing down on them. Luo Yuan continued to meditate. It was horribly quiet in the chamber and the bombing sounds were getting louder and more frequent. They heard the sound of fighting jets passing by and the hustle and bustle of the city. The frequency of the battles was getting higher. Luo Yuan could even smell the smoke of guns.


    ¡°The army has focused their attacks and increased the frequency. They even brought out the fighting jets. The poisonous mist must be gone,¡± Luo Yuan whispered before he opened his eyes and looked around seriously.


    He thought the war had toe to an end soon if the poisonous mist was gone and the army had began to attack. In fact, the war continued from morning till evening. and did not stop until night time. Apparently, the situation was worse than he had imagined. Fighting at night was not as effective. It only caused more injuries and deaths. However, Hedong City was too important to the province. Most factories had moved there because other ces in the province had been in ruins since the mutation outbreak. Hedong City had be the new heavy industry and scientific study center in just a few months. The entire Jiangnan Province would be evacuated if Hedong City was conquered and the whole province would be taken over by green forest.


    There was a lot of food in the chamber, but everyone seemed to have lost their appetite. They had a snack and then squeezed back in the corner together. The chamber became darker during the night. Luo Yuan¡¯s face felt itchy. He touched it with his hand and realized there were a lot more holes on it. It had been almost twelve hours since the morning. The blood on his wounds had coagted, and he felt a slight pain whenever he touched it. Any normal person would be worried about getting disfigured. Luo Yuan felt mad and upset every time he thought about the volcanic craters on his face.


    ¡°Do you think it will end tomorrow?¡± Wang Shishi asked uncertainly as she opened her eyes wide in the dark.


    ¡°Don¡¯t be afraid, Shishi. The army is fighting the mutants, I think everything will be alright by tomorrow. There are about 100,000 soldiers based in Hedong City, 200,000 if we add the veterans who were recruited again. The defense system was weak because of the mist, but now that the mist is gone, it will be easier to kill them,¡± Huang Jiahui whispered.


    ¡°Brother Luo, Sister Huang, is that true?¡±


    Luo Yuan remained silent for a second. Then he said, ¡°Yes. Perhaps it will all be over when we wake up tomorrow morning.¡±


    It would really end so soon? Luo Yuan did not know why, but he had a bad instinct. He did not believe that it was a coincidence that the beasts had attacked the city during all this chaos. The probability was rtively low. It seemed like someone had been behind this. While the mutants grew stronger, their intelligence became higher as well. Luo Yuan had bumped into several mutated beasts before and realized their intelligence was a lot more advanced than that of regr mutants. They still had the intelligence of beasts though, which was why it was difficult to determine whether biological conflict was possible. He suspected that the beasts¡¯ mutated genes could break the restrictions of their intelligence and turn them into highly intelligent beasts, or even give them the power to control a whole group of mutated beasts. Luo Yuan shivered involuntarily at the thought. It would be really horrible if that turned out to be true.


    Creatures with simr intelligence to human beings were a lot scarier than just physically superior, gigantic mutants. In millions of years of history, human beings had managed to upy the top of the food chain on the earth, and had even left the earth to explore others nearby. The key to all those breakthroughs was not their size or physical strength, but their intelligence. It might not be something tangible, but it was still the core element and motivation for human development and evolution. A new highly-intelligent species would be a threat to the human race. Wang Shishi calmed down when she heard Luo Yuan¡¯s words. Luo Yuan sighed. There were too many things on his mind. The bombing sounds started fading at midnight.


    The next morning, Luo Yuan opened his eyes and moved his arms and legs. He listened to the bombing sounds outside and realized it was getting more serious than ever. The choking smoke of the bombs and guns carried the awful smell of blood. The girls slowly woke up and heard the turmoil outside. Their rosy cheeks instantly turned pale. After a while, Luo Yuan got up and said, ¡°Let¡¯s check it out.¡±


    ¡°Please be careful!¡± Huang Jiahui spoke after a short silence.


    Luo Yuan nodded and stepped out the chamber holding his knife. A big wave of heat greeted him as soon as he opened the trapdoor. He frowned as he walked out of the bathroom. The entire house had been terribly damaged. It looked like a Grade 12 typhoon had just passed by. There were deep, big footprints on the rocks and limestones as well as several big holes in the walls. The pir in the living room, which was about half a meter in diameter, had snapped and formed an idental V as it supported the house. Besides that, there were numerous big cracks on the ceiling, some of them the size of a fist. However, Luo Yuan did not pay much attention to the mess.


    He saw a lot of destroyed buildings as he peeped through the holes caused by the beast¡¯s attack. There were ck clouds gushing up from the ground, apanied by red mes and bombing sounds. He looked towards the direction of the districts and saw an upside down, dented, scraped tank with its belt spinning continuously in the air.


    Suddenly a 5-meter tall rhino-like beast came out of the back of a building. It walked a few steps before it was suddenly attacked by a fighting jet. Blood gushed out from its body as it roared hopelessly before it slumped down on the ground. Its entire body was shaking. When the battle ended, the fighting jets flew past the sky above the district. Suddenly, they got hit by a huge rock thrown from a tall corporate office building. The jets exploded into the air.


    A gigantic red gori was standing on the rooftop of the corporate building. It jumped onto the ground from the burning building, creating a deep crater on the road. It kept beating its chest like a big drum. The gori was about 10 meters tall with a body of red fur. It looked like it was on fire while it walked down the street. Luo Yuan took a deep breath and stepped back instinctively. Even though the gori was a few miles away, he was still terrified. It had to be a blue or even higher rank creature.


    A woman with blood stains on her body rushed out from the corporate building. She immediately got frightened by the scary scene in front of her and fell to the ground. A strong wind blew across the street as the woman was captured inside a huge palm and stuffed into a big dark oral cavity. Luo Yuan could hear the woman¡¯s hopeless screams. At that moment, two fighting jets came, aimed at the gori and started firing non-stop.


    The beast covered its eyes with its huge palm and let the fighting jets attack its body. Barrage appeared around it as the gori kept stepping back. It roared extremely loudly before it finally came to a stop. The next second, a cluster of open-air missiles were released. They hit the gori and exploded.

 Chapter 78: Wealth from the War

    Chapter 78: Wealth from the War


    Trantor: Editor:


    The strong force of the explosion spread and caused the buildings nearby to shake vigorously. Broken ss dropped from their windows. A very loud roar came from the burning mes. Luo Yuan was about to rx when he saw a blurry gigantic shadow walk out of the mes. It shook its body and suddenly the mes were gone. It seemed to be injured. There was a big ck hole on its chest, and blood kept gushing out of the wound, turning the street into a big bloody puddle.


    The wound was not deep, which actually made Luo Yuan feel nervous. It was not even half a meter deep, which meant that it was hard to prate the beast¡¯s body.The beast was about 2 meters thick, so the hole was a small woundpared to its size. He could not believe the missiles that could prate strong heavy tanks could not damage mere flesh and blood. Luo Yuan held his knife tightly as he turned pale. He was shocked to discover there was such a legendary creature living on earth. It seemed to go against the rules of nature.


    The gori¡¯s head had to be hurt because the creature kept hitting it. It seemed to have totally forgotten that there were two fighting jets still lingering above its head. It took a few steps before a missile was suddenly released and hit its body again. It was followed by a second one and a third one. Mushroom-like clouds formed on the ground after the explosion. An eight-story building nearby did not survive the multiple explosion assault and copsed. The two fighting jets that were still lingering above the gori flew away. The area became temporarily quiet.


    Luo Yuan continued to wait for a while. His heart beat fast as he realized that the battle was over. Blood was gushing up to his face as his body felt agitated. A corpse from a blue or higher rank animal was very rare and valuable. Luo Yuan had been fortunate enough to get a few scales from a giant snake, which he had used to upgrade his knife.


    Besides, blue rank flesh and blood were much more effective for evolution than other mutated organisms. They were extremely attractive to Luo Yuan, who wanted to evolve. Just a bit of the beast¡¯s blood and flesh would be more than enough. This was an opportunity he could not pass up. Although he might not be regret for the rest of his life, he would still be depressed for a few days if he missed it. He observed his surroundings for a short while and then squeezed out from a hole by curving his body. He was moving at a high speed, but he was light and did not make any sound when hended. His 13-point Dexterity made him move as efficiently as a cat. Every once in awhile, he stopped to check whether he should proceed. The district had be a very dangerous ce.


    He saw many dead mutants along the way, but most of them were white or light blue rank. He only saw one blue rank corpse and it was an amphibian. Half of its body had been bombed, but it seemed to be very strong. It was still alive and struggling to run away. Luo Yuan did not get any closer to it. He already knew there was a bigger blue rank corpse waiting for him. Therefore, this blue rank mutant was of no interest to him.


    After a few minutes, he was out of the district. He noticed that the buildings on both sides of the road were full of cracks and there were shards of ss and stones scattered all over the street. Suddenly, he found something that looked like a split intestine by the roadside, next to a pile of crushed flesh. His excitement was reced by fear. He did not know how many people had lost their lives during the battle and he had no idea how many people would survive the war. He could not even tell whether humans would win this battle. He could still hear the beasts roaring somewhere in the distance. The beasts¡¯ roars, the uprising barrage and the flying fighting jets meant that the beasts were still on their way to enter the city.


    Luo Yuan took a deep breath and suppressed the fear inside him. He quickly picked up his pace. He knew it would not be safe for him to stay around long. Another group of beasts would being soon and he needed to take the opportunity and collect the meat and flesh he wanted. If he missed it, he might not get another chance, or even be able to escape from the district. After a few minutes, he finally found the big corpse lying on the street. He realized a 12-storey building had copsed and the dead body hadnded there after falling through its tower. The tower was still full of smoke. Strong explosions had destroyed the whole area. There was no street intact anymore.


    When he reached the giant corpse, Luo Yuan suddenly found it difficult to breathe. He felt like a big rock was pressing down on his chest. He had only felt that kind of stress when he¡¯d been standing in front of the giant snake. However, this was the first time he was standing so close to a gigantic gori. Its body was huge. It was about 3 meters tall, even while ity on its side. Its big muscles, sharp fangs, and rough palms looked intimidating. What was incredible though, was the gori¡¯s fur. It looked perfectly fine under the high temperature of the fire, and even seemed to move when the wind blew on it.


    The regions that were not covered by fur were extremely rough, withyers of ovepping scales. Or maybe that was dead skin. The scales were the size of longan fruit, but their shape resembled a tiny pyramid with different patterns. There were two wounds on the gori¡¯s body, a small one and arger one. The big wound was the one created by the missiles. Apparently, two missiles had prated the exact same spot, forming a wound about the size of a round dining table. Most of the organs inside its thoracic cavity were gone.


    Luo Yuan did not lose time. He quickly pulled out the Zhanmadao and jumped on the beast¡¯s palm. It took him a few leaps before he got up to its chest. It was a challenge for him to stand on its body while the gori¡¯s heart was still beating. Its body had not gonepletely stiff yet, and its skin was still soft and stic. What freaked him out was the sudden twitching movements caused by internal nerve stimtion. He took a deep breath and controlled his own heartbeat before he slit its throat with the Zhanmadao. Since the Zhanmadao had been upgraded to dark blue level, there was nothing it could not break. Even steel was like wet y against it. However, he found it difficult to move the sword once it had prated the skin. It felt like the de had been wedged between the beast¡¯s muscles.


    He had expected that. Luo Yuan pulled out his sword and cut on the same spot again, this time harder than thest. He continued to repeat the same strikes, each one faster and more urate than the previous ones. Hepleted about 30 strikes in just five seconds. The beast¡¯s entire neck had been chopped into two. The white bones of the gori were exposed to the air but sadly, the Zhanmadao could not continue its job. The collision of the de and the bones would produce a high-pitch sound. Luo Yuan decided to stop as he was too worried about his sword getting damaged. Suddenly, a strong energy came out of his body and the de of the Zhanmadao instantly shone.


    He realized the sword could agglomerate energy faster than ever and was way shinier thanst time. He had no time to think about it further. He lifted the sword in the air and gathered all his energy, using every single bit of it to strike the gori¡¯s neck again. A loud sound came from the gori while its neck was broken. Luo Yuan felt his brain go nk for a second as his limbs went numb. He did not dare look at the beast any longer. He just grabbed the fur on its skull and dragged the heavy skull all the way back home.

 Chapter 79: Flaming Cloud

    Chapter 79: ming Cloud


    Trantor: Editor:


    Luo Yuan spent about 15 minutes trying to drag the skull back to the house. The skull was too big to fit through the entrance of the chamber, so he had to leave it in the living room. Apparently, the Zhanmadao was not suitable for skull dissecting. It was not a heavy weapon and its de was too thin and weak for strong, hard objects like bones. Of course, it could use its power to do that, but it was too dangerous. It could burn out at any time under such dangerous circumstances.


    He found an ax inside the house, put it on the neck bone of the gori, and started to cast a spell. The brightness on the bone immediately faded and became a dull white. It looked like it had just been oxidized. Several tiny pores appeared on its surface. At the same time, the temperature of the ax started to increase and it began to burn his hand.


    Although the ax was covered by ayer of red paint, underneath thatyer it had be very smooth and shiny. No one would believe it was an ax unless they had seen it evolve themselves. Most people would think that it was jade carved into the shape of an ax. Luo Yuan picked up the ax and realized it had gotten heavier. The weight was just perfect for him.


    ¡®Strong Skeleton Axe.¡¯


    ¡®Material: Alloy, Gori Bone.¡¯


    ¡®Rarity: Dark Blue. ¡®


    ¡®Weight: 5.3kg.¡¯


    ¡®Power: 32-35¡¯


    ¡®Complementary property 1: Attack Speed -1¡¯


    ¡®Complementary property 2: Explosive Attack. The strongest attack power. Cooldown time: 24 hours.¡¯


    ¡®Equipment Requirements: 11-point Power¡¯


    ¡®Comments: This is a very powerful ax!¡¯


    The characteristics of the ax had be scarier after it had evolved. It had even surpassed in power the Zhanmadao. Although its firstplementary property was a bit disappointing, Luo Yuan was amazed by the second one. The key was that it didn¡¯t have many restrictions. For example, the Zhanmadao required knife expertise for someone to use it. Of course, the only downside was that he could only rely on his fate for the ax to attack explosively. However, the ax had already been a very powerful weapon even before it had reached this optimum stage.


    The diameter of the skull was about 1.2 or 1.3 meters, which was sufficient to produce 4-5 strong weapons. However, that was not the first time he had thought about that. He lifted the ax and chopped down the skull, producing a strong, high-pitch sound as flesh and blood spilled all over the ce.


    When Luo Yuan had hit it about ten times, a light shed across. His face suddenly turned red as the image of a roaring mad gori crept into his mind. He suddenly felt extremely mad and furious. He opened his mouth involuntarily and roared like a gori.


    His body shook a little as a strong energy was released from it. Suddenly, his muscles began to expand, and so did his veins and arteries. He instantly became tall and huge, and his eyes turned red. The soul of the gori seemed to be possessing his body. He felt extremely furious as he lifted the ax with both his hands and chopped down the skull once again. There was a big crack on its surface and after that second hit, it broke.


    Bang! Bang! Bang!


    The living room filled with noise as he seemed to have no other way to release his madness. After a while, he slowly became more rational and his anger subsided. He thought there would be some side effects from the evolution, but fortunately, he was not exhausted. He felt rxed andfortable, just like he did after taking a hot shower. The depression and frustration he had felt previously were all gone as well. The explosive attack did not seem to rely on his own power but on the ax itself.


    Luo Yuan picked up the ax and checked it out. He noticed two big cracks on it, which meant its power had been almost fully consumed. Luo Yuan had expected this. However, the axe was not broken, even though it had collided with a simr object several times. The entire skull of the gori was destroyed. Luo Yuan found some seble bags in the kitchen and poured the cerebral fluids and the mashed brain into one of them. He realized there were more than 10 bags on the floor when he was done.


    He brought all the bags to the underground chamber. He noticed the women look at him curiously as he was about to close the door. He hesitated, and then shook his head with a sad expression. He remained silent as he opened up the bag with the mashed brain. He put the mashed brain into a pot and its awful smell immediately took over the entire chamber. Huang Jiahui got up from the ground with a pained expression. She was going to use mineral water to wash a few empty cans left over from theirst dinner.


    ¡°No, don¡¯t use the mineral water! There is no water supply anymore, try not to use our drinking water,¡± Luo Yuan stopped her.


    He had checked on the water and gas supply when he had gone to the kitchen earlier, and realized there was no water and gas anymore. The two cartons of mineral water in the underground chamber were their only source of drinking water. Her hand that was about to twist the bottle cap stopped immediately. She slowly put down the bottle and said, ¡°Luo Yuan, don¡¯t lie to us. How bad is the situation outside?¡±


    Luo Yuan shook his head and said, ¡°It¡¯s terrible. The beasts are entering the city and they do not seem to be slowing down. I think the battle will go on tomorrow, maybe even the day after tomorrow. The only question now is whether humans have enough bullets to kill all the beasts.¡±


    Everyone turned even paler than before. Luo Yuan grabbed the bag with the mashed brain and poured it into four cans. He then took one of the cans and slowly drank it. The awful smell of the mashed brain formed a strangebination with the leftover food from the can, but he did not register it at all. Huang Jiahui also took one. She closed her eyes and held her breath before she swallowed it quickly. Then she poured some more into her can.


    Wang Shishi hesitated. She had a suffering expression on her face, but she drank it quickly as well. Huang Yuying felt extremely ufortable watching the three of them drink that awful red liquid. It certainly did not look like food. She asked curiously, ¡°What¡¯s this?¡±


    Luo Yuan looked at her for a second before he said, ¡°Fresh mashed brain of a mutated beast. It¡¯s good for you if you drink it.¡±


    Luo Yuan did not think very highly of her. She was making an effort and being nice to all of them though, so he tolerated her existence. Anyway, she had joined them now, so it would not be nice to just boycott her. Plus, it was no longer a secret that the flesh and blood of mutants were the key to evolution. Those smart enough had already known about it. However, even though many knew the secret, there were only a few people who had managed to evolve. It had nothing to do with the wealth or status, it was just pure luck. Huang Yuying looked shocked and her face became very pale when she realised that this was the brain of a beast. She immediately covered her mouth to prevent herself from vomiting.


    Huang Jihui looked at poor Huang Yuying and recalled eating that awful thing for the first time. She put down her can and said, ¡°It¡¯s okay. Don¡¯t smell or don¡¯t taste it. Just swallow it when you put it into your mouth.¡±


    Regardless of how kind she had used to be, going through a horrible experience had made her stronger. Luo Yuan and Huang Jiahui¡¯s advice reminded her of the rumors. She knew the importance of power and strength, especially when justice could not protect her. She did not hesitate any longer. She just took a can of mashed brain and drank it. When she was done, she looked really sick and she remained silent. Luo Yuan looked at her and thought she was a brave one. Only brave people would be able to survive through this chaos. Then he looked at Wang Shishi, who was puking, and shook his head in disappointment.


    Luo Yuan was the only one who didn¡¯t feel like his body was burning. The rest of them felt dizzy and had a terrible headache. Luckily, Luo Yuan had exined to them the side effects of eating the mashed brain. Otherwise, they would have been in a lot more pain. In fact, it felt a lot worsepared to the time Luo Yuan had eaten the brain of the mutated Rat King. Except Huang Jia Hui, the two other girls were crying and screaming like nobody was watching. About 30 minutester, they started to feel better.


    Luo Yuan sighed. He could not see any sign of evolution on them or himself. It had not worked. The probability of evolution was too low. However, they did not seem to be depressed. They actually looked quite excited. Wang Shishi kept jumping up and down. Luo Yuan suddenly said, ¡°Shishi, let¡¯s try your power!¡±


    Wang Shishi nodded excitedly. Several cans of food flew into the air when she pointed her finger at them. They kept moving faster and faster until she closed her eyes and a strong wind appeared in the chamber. The other two girls could not resist its force and stood aside. Wang Shishi attempted to move something heavier. She aimed at a box of wine and began to chant. The box began to move and then flew into the air. She knew she could do better. She moved a box of Coca-Cs, and then a box of Sprites. Last but not least, she lifted a box of mineral water bottles. There was a total of four boxes of wine and drinks spinning around her. Unfortunately, her speed got a lot slower. She began to sweat after a few rounds of spinning and quickly put down the stuff. Huang Jiahui and Huang Yuying were amazed. They sighed instantly when Wang Shishi could not continue. Half of their excitement was gone.


    "These things exceed the limit of the weight she had been able handle, so at least she has upgraded her power. Now I know that concentration and sensory perception are rted, maybe even the evolution of sensory perception. Even if they are not, sensory perception has to be a factor.¡± He instantly felt inspired.


    ¡°Are you alright?¡± Luo Yuan asked when he noticed Wang Shishi holding her head.


    "Oh, I overused my strength and feel a little bit of a headache now," Wang Shishi replied as she smiled sweetly at Luo Yuan. She did not look like she was having a headache.


    ¡°Pass me your shuttle, I¡¯ll help you modify it,¡± Luo Yuan said as he remembered the giant skull outside.


    ¡°Brother Luo, could you make a nicer one? Thest one was really ugly,¡± Wang Shishi said excitedly.


    ¡°Looks don¡¯t matter, what matters is functionality. Even if I make it nicer, it will just be a toy in your hands,¡± Luo Yuan lectured her.


    Wang Shishi quickly lowered her chin and stopped talking.


    ¡°Huang Jiahui, could you pass me the bullets you have?¡±


    Huang Jiahui nodded excitedly. She took out a few boxes of bullets from her pocket together with the Desert Eagle. She removed all the bullets and passed them to Luo Yuan. There were many materials, including dark blue rank bullets, which could easily kill mutants lower than dark blue rank. They could be killed with one shot if the killer aimed at their weakest point. However, an experiment was necessary in order to prove it. If it worked, Luo Yuan nned on upgrading all the bullets to dark blue rank for Huang Jiahui. That way, she might be able to perform better at the critical moment.


    It was overwhelming for him to fight alone and it would be extremely dangerous if they bumped into a group of mutants. Initially, he had wanted to modify some clothes, but in the end he gave up that thought. He knew the gori¡¯s skull would not be suitable for that. Using identification, he discovered that the gori did not have any specific properties. Although it could be used to make clothes, its protection was rtively low. His speed would be lowered if he lost the wind properties, which meant that his power would be diminished. They only needed enough protection to prevent the bullets from prating their bodies.


    In fact, there was no way to avoid an attack by a dark blue rank mutated beast. Even though the powerful clothes would not break, the human body would not be able to withstand such an attack. Thus, why not modify the bullets and the weapons? Luo Yuan walked out from the underground chamber and realized the temperature outside was even higher than before. He felt depressed and proceeded to check it out. He looked out through the big hole in the wall and was stunned for a while.


    The sky had be red and barrage rose from the ground. The whole area looked like a sea of fire. Huge mes were swallowing everything in sight, and towers were burning and copsing under the high temperature. Everything in the vicinity had been destroyed.


    ¡°A thermobaric bomb?¡± Luo Yuan said slowly as he shivered.

 Chapter 80: Survival

    Chapter 80: Survival


    Trantor: Editor:


    Threerge bombers were still dropping fuel-air bombs endlessly into the sea of fire, waves of mes rising and spreading. The waves from the explosions were never-ending as they sted into the clouds.


    Within a minute, the three bombers had already dropped nearly a hundred fuel-air bombs, sting everything within several kilometers¡¯ radius into a sea of me. Their destructive force was akin to a mini nuclear bomb.


    Fuel-air bombs were also called ¡°Asian Nuclears¡±. It was inhumane to use such a sting mechanism against living targets. Those killed by them died either of suffocation or high temperature. As the human race progressed, such explosives had been banned by the United Nations, much like biochemical weapons. It felt surreal to see them used again that day.


    Hedong City had always had a stable environment. It had never experienced any serious threats. Due to the recent increase in poption, the vige near the defense works had been evacuated, and the outskirts, which were only marginally safe, had been flooded with people.


    Even if the outskirts had been upied by mutated beasts by now, there was probably still arge number of survivors.


    Luo Yuan¡¯s face was pale as a sheet. It was clear to him that the military would never make such vicious attacks if they had a choice. Everyone knew that the public outcry after a war had the ability to drown anyone.


    Had Hedong City been forced into a corner?


    Despite the fact that he was strong enough to battle a blue level mutated beast, he felt as desperate and as lost as anyone at that moment. His own strength seemed insignificant in this ferocious situation. Once Hedong City had fallen...


    Luo Yuan watched in stupor for a moment before he turned towards the huge skull. He took a few steps, but tripped on a pile of mud. His machete flung out of his hand.


    He stood up and picked it up, his hands shaking and his body trembling. He had stayed strong because he had not felt hopeless, but when faced with the possibility of no hope, no one could remain unaffected.


    He took a deep breath and forced himself to stay calm.


    He retrieved a synthesized dark blue level bullet and pushed it into the barrel. He aimed at a wall and pulled the trigger.


    Bang!


    A hole appeared on the wall after a deafening sound.


    Luo Yuan went over to check. The hole was almost the same size as the bullet, which meant that the bullet had gone through the wall smoothly. The collision had not changed its shape. He nodded his head. He could go on synthesizing.


    A few minutester, white-jade colored bullets had formed a pile on the ground.


    He only stood up after he had synthesized Wang Shishi¡¯s shuttle to dark blue level.


    He had to do something. He could not bear this any longer. As he looked far away into the distance, the hesitant expression on his face was reced by determination.


    The world had gotten dangerous and unfamiliar. There was no longer an absolute safe ce to hide. Instead of finding hiding spots or hiding in dark corners and waiting for death, it seemed logical to try his luck once again.


    This threat could very well be his chance. Blue level mutated beasts, which were usually hard to find, were everywhere now, some of them so severely injured they were drawing theirst breaths.


    As long as he could trigger a mission.


    It had always been a mystery to him how the system chose to assign certain missions. It never seemed to assign one without reason.


    After all this time, Luo Yuan had began to notice a vague pattern. His assumption was finally confirmed. After the mutation had started, most of his missions had been rted to killing mutated beasts.


    Whether the system was some sort of developed technology or mysterious force, it still had to abide by the bnce of energy. Each upgrade of energy into his body after leveling up must have originated from somewhere.


    Before the mutation, missions were a few months apart and as his level increased, the time period between them had gotten shorter. He had inferred that the power wasing from himself as his appetite had increased significantly during that period; other than his own exertion, he guessed that part of his strength was used by the system for his level up.


    Missions had been assigned far more frequently after the mutation, and it was a big possibility that some of the mutated beasts¡¯ special powers had been absorbed by the system. The reason behind the system¡¯s frequent missions were the strong mutated beasts that were around.


    Assigning missions was just a tactic. The evolution of the host was the real motive here; and to evolve, the host needed to continuously absorb energy.


    He go a roll of tape and taped the cuffs of his pants shut. The outside seemed like the wild, filled with strange, dangerous mutated beasts ¨C any recklessness could result in his death. He was not ready to head out. He did not feel calm enough yet.


    He sat down on a decided spot and drew a light circle on the carpet with his machete, cutting the piece off easily.


    He began to wipe the de, again and again. With each wipe, his heart calmed and his breathing slowed. When his pulse had be faint, he stood up slowly.


    He left the house briskly without a sound. The mutated frog by the entrance of the residential areay motionless on the ground. If its body had not been convulsing from time to time, people would have thought that it was dead.


    Luo Yuan approached it soundlessly and stabbed the machete into its head quick as lightning, twisting the de. The pain made the mutated frog momentarily regain its consciousness before dying. Luo Yuan had already retreated several meters away before it could make ast attack. He left the outskirts of the residential area without giving the frog a second nce.


    Arge mutated boar was taking crippled steps down the street. Its body was filled with holes from the machine guns, its ck fur dyed crimson red with blood as the beast moaned and cried. Two white clouds huffed from its nostrils as its green fist-sized eyes looked around warily.


    Suddenly, a ss window on the third floor of a nearby building cracked open. Among the ss shatters, there was a ck shadow. A blue ray shed and the next moment a de sliced through the beast¡¯s head.


    The shadownded on the floor and sprang towards somewhere in the distance.


    That¡¯s when the mutated beast reacted. It stopped angrily and turned its head in search of the human who had dared challenge it. Its head slid off its neck slowly, blood spraying out in jets under the pressure.


    A little farther away, Luo Yuan was leaning against the junction of a wall, breathing heavily.


    ¡°This is the tenth blue level mutated beast and the third E Level Mission already! It¡¯s been too long for this craziness! I should be able to level up once Iplete another mission!¡± The smirk on the corners of Luo Yuan¡¯s mouth went away as soon as it had appeared.


    Perhaps it was the injuries he had already sustained by the mutated beasts, but no matter how well he had performed, all three missions of his had only been graded as ¡®Average¡¯. However, they had also awarded him 4800 EXP. In addition to what he¡¯d already had, his EXP was now 8900/9600, only 700 EXP until his next level up.


    A few minutester, the boar sumbed to its death. He approached it cautiously and began gulping down the blood dripping down its headless neck.


    The slightly salty copper blood had a hint of sweetness, a taste he had gotten used to after consuming it several times. He could even differentiate between the different types of beasts now.


    His body boiled in crimson as he gulped down the fresh blood, his depleted energy recovering in an instant. It was hisst resort for recovering his energy as mutated beasts possessed plenty of active energy that normal foodcked.


    Had it not been for this, his energy would never havested him that long during a battle. Even if the battle was only a few seconds long, fully unleashing his power and strength was still a huge burden on his weak body.


    He was slightly disappointed that he had not evolved, even after drinking so much blood from mutated beasts. He could only me his bad luck for it.


    After a while, his energy had reached its peak once again. He picked up his machete and walked down the street with light steps.


    Ten minutester, he suddenly stopped and changed direction, walking hurriedly towards another street.

 Chapter 81: The Golden-Winged Roc

    Chapter 81: The Golden-Winged Roc


    Trantor: Editor:


    His steps quickened until he almost ended up sprinting.


    He didn¡¯t need to lift his head to feel that he was being hunted by a mutated creature from above. A strong sense of danger made his scalp feel numb.


    Luckily he was not in a spaciousnd, but inside a city. The high-rise buildings around him blocked the huge bird¡¯s vision, preventing it from attacking right away.


    As he sprinted, Luo Yuan raised his head to take a look. It was indeed a gigantic creature, muchrger than the ck Owl he had encounteredst time. The creature spreading its wings was like a golden cloud hovering over the city.


    It circled the air, looking for the best time to attack; its sharp eyes were watching the area like a cold hawk.


    This was an uninjured mutated beast. Maybe it had been singled out from the battlefield, or had juste from another region. The system notification informed him that it was a Golden-Winged Roc, an energetic blue level mutated beast.


    This was why Luo Yuan was sprinting down the street. The Golden-Winged Roc was his prey, but so was he to the roc. If it had been a dark blue level creature, he would have rushed into one of the buildings to hide.


    Even so, Luo Yuan still felt an overwhelming sense of pressure.


    That would not have been the case if it had been a blue levelnd creature; blue level beasts had always caused him a certain amount of pressure, but that did not include flying creatures. If Luo Yuan had to pinpoint which type of mutated beasts was the trickiest to handle, it would undoubtedly be flying mutated creatures. Flying creatures would always be more superior tond creatures, and most of the time they were really hard to fight.


    Most importantly, Luo Yuan had never faced a flying creature and had zero experience against them.


    He did not want to retreat though. This was a rare chance for him to level up by killing it. It would save him so much more time and effort than finding an injured mutated beast, which would not even guarantee a level up. It was more tempting to just do it and be done with it.


    Besides, this was a blue level mutated beast.


    He kept recalling how an eagle would catch a hare in nature, reying the familiar scene in slow motion in his head again and again. Gradually, he slowed down and came to a stop in the middle of an empty shopping square.


    Running would not only be useless, but also a waste of energy. When it came to this kind of creature, all one had to do was wait in anticipation.


    The empty squarecked any disturbances. It was the best battlefield for both him and the Golden-Winged Roc.


    He took a deep breath and looked at the sky.


    Its golden wings, which were some ten meters wide, shone under the sunlight. While its circling speed got faster and faster, the diameter of the circles got smaller and smaller until finally, it retracted its wings to its sides and shot downwards. A secondter, a boom was heard from the sky.


    Its speed had broken the sound barrier, and a vapor cone had formed in midair. The strong sound waves shattered the windows on the nearby buildings.


    ¡°It¡¯sing!¡± Luo Yuan was startled, his gaze unwavering from the fast approaching giant bird while his hands grasped the handle of his machete. Adrenaline rushed in him as his heart thumped wildly.


    His 13-point Dexterity was like a high speed camera. It caught the movement of the giant bird, yet it seemed pointless as the bird¡¯s speed was too fast, almost bullet-like.


    A long vapor cone had formed in the air, caused by its frightening speed. Sand and stones danced around as a strong wind blew before the bird had evene close to the ground. Luo Yuan¡¯s skin felt like it was being pierced by knives.


    The aggressive momentum made him want to run, but he understood well enough that it was not feasible anymore. His speed would never surpass the roc¡¯s, even if the nearest building was only less than a hundred meters away. He was unusually calm under the circumstances, and could not help but squint as his clothes pped around in the wind.


    100 meters, 50 meters, 20 meters... A pair of grey ws not unlike old tree roots extended from its stomach as sharp nails shed like daggers. These ws could not doubt prate steel boards.


    They looked like they were about to pierce through his body when Luo Yuan suddenly closed his eyes. He felt the roc¡¯s movement clear as day. There was nothing but its ws on his mind.


    If he could avoid bullets, then he could avoid a giant bird too. It wasn¡¯t faster than a bullet after all.


    His body tilted unconsciously, and a long sound pierced the air as he withdrew his machete; a cold shine shed like lightning as the de soundlessly shed through the tough ws, detaching them from the roc¡¯s body.


    Before the roc could feel any pain and react, Luo Yuan made his move again.


    With a step strong enough to crush the square¡¯s sidewalk, his shoulder collided against the roc¡¯s stomach.


    Strength was a flexible attribute, unlike attributes like Intelligence or Dexterity that had almost zero flexibility; the average human strength and the strength of people who had undergone professional training differed vastly. There were famous wrestlers much stronger than Luo Yuan, but being 2.25 times stronger than average was not bad either.


    The roc had seemed gigantic at first, but that had been mainly due to its wings. It was only about 3 meters tall without them. The roc was still in midair when it was thrown 5 ¨C 6 meters away upon the brutal collision. It fell to the ground, where ity on its back.


    The bird cried sharply, making Luo Yuan¡¯s eardrums thrum.


    It seemed to have finallye to its senses ¨C this was not just food, this was a scary beast. The paining from its severed ws and natural danger instincts made it struggle wildly, its wings pping and producing a strong wind.


    Luo Yuan was not going to give it a chance to escape now that it was already on the ground.


    Crouching and creeping, using both his arms and legs, he run like an arrow against the direction of the wind.


    The 5-meter distance was closed within a breath but just as he reached it, the desperate Golden-Winged Roc pped its wings forcefully. The rapid collision between its feathers and the sidewalk created a several-meter high spark and an atmospheric pressure hemisphere. Even a marble table nearby had been blown away by the force. Just a touch of that force would be enough to blend flesh and blood into a gory mess.


    Although Luo Yuan had been prepared, his breath was still caught. He dared not slow down though. He went ahead and shed one of the roc¡¯s wings off with his machete. While he had managed to avoid a direct attack, he was still blown about ten meters away by the strong current of air.


    He felt some moisture in his throat before he started puking blood.


    Licking his blood-stained lips, he wiped them carelessly on his sleeve and looked at the feetless roc with the one remaining wing. A chilling smirk formed on his face.


    Birds without ws and wings obviously had reduced capabilities, but Luo Yuan was still cautious. His fragile body was always reminding him that he could never be too wary when battling mutated beasts. If he wasn¡¯t careful, he would get killed.


    His gaze turned cold as he walked towards the roc, exuding a strong aura.


    The roc was clearly disturbed by his aura. It cried and pped its remaining wing continuously, but it was useless. Itsck of bnce prevented it from flying. All it could do was roll around on the square.


    To prevent any additional problems from cropping up, Luo Yuan picked up his pace and dashed over.


    He pulled out his machete and shed through horizontally.


    Another wing fell down.


    He rolled to the side to avoid the iing current of wind before his machete went for the Golden-Winged Roc¡¯s stomach. The dark blue level weapon stabbed through without obstruction and the de twisted inside the roc¡¯s guts, following Luo Yuan¡¯s rolling motion and inflicting a spectacr wound.


    The agonizing pain triggered the bird¡¯s bestiality, its sharp beaking at him relentlessly. A bird¡¯s peck was akin to a snake¡¯s - extremely fast and unperceivable to the naked eye ¨C one of the most lethal attacks, especially whening from a blue level beast.


    A deafening boom was heard.


    Luo Yuan had barely enough time to tilt his body before he heard a second boom. A hole about the size of a skull appeared beside him. Sand and stones sprayed outwards, pricking his back that was already drenched in sweat from fear.


    Pecking sounds came endlessly from his back. Luo Yuan had managed to escape unscathed with a few rolls thanks to the restricted movement of the roc.


    He wisely decided to temporarily hide and just watch the Golden-Winged Roc, which was slowly approaching its death.


    About ten minutester, the massive blood loss and twisted guts, as well as its excessive earlier movements, had weakened the roc considerably. As ity listlessly on the ground, its eyes lost their shine and its eyelids sagged.


    Just to be safe, Luo Yuan took out the Desert Eagle and pulled the trigger lightly as he aimed at the bird¡¯s head.


    Its body trembled for some time before all signs of life disappeared. The synthesized dark blue level bullet had gone through its brain easily.

 Chapter 82: Sympathy

    Chapter 82: Sympathy


    Trantor: Editor:


    The mission had only been graded as ¡®Good¡¯, but it was enough. After thepleted mission notification, system notifications kept ringing continuously.


    Character: Luo Yuan


    Profession: Hunter


    Level: 7


    Experience: 1900


    Attributes:-


    Strength: 12 (10)


    Dexterity: 13 (10)


    Physique: 12 (10)


    Intelligence: 13 (10)


    Sensory Perception: 13 (10)


    Willpower: 13 (10)


    Skills: Science 16, Math 14, Mandarin 19, English 16, Finance 17,


    Arithmetic 9, Dancing 1, Drawing 3, Gaming 6, Persuasion 9,


    Socializing 7, Cooking 3, Driving 1, Hand-to-Hand Combat 4,


    Excellent Knife Skill: 2, Gun Skill: 1


    Special Skills: Identification, Synthesis


    Unassigned AP: 1


    Unassigned SP: 10


    Iplete Mission: None


    Luo Yuan was once again in a dilemma about assigning his AP. It was different now, because there was nowhere absolutely safe. The city would soon be upied by mutated beasts. He was not facing just one or two beasts now. He might not even have enough time to take a breath between battles.


    To put it simply, he needed to have the strength to run when facing a mutated beast he could not beat. He could not afford to be out of breath after just a few steps.


    After some thought, he decided to assign all his AP to Physique.


    The next moment, a heated flow filled him as his skin turned red and sweat drenched his entire body. Within a few seconds, he felt as if he was being burned. His face began to feel numb. It was the kind of numbness that felt like countless ants were biting him. He scratched his face lightly, only to see kes of skine off.


    These were newly formed scabs from the previous day, and they still had dark red blood on them. He touched where he had scratched earlier and felt the smooth skin.


    When the heat had subsided, he immediately checked the back of his hand where he had been burned earlier. The scabs had all ked like a snake¡¯s scales, falling off once his hand brushed across them lightly. The uneven surface disappeared and was reced by normal skin. He had recovered from all his injuries. Plus, his skin seemed smoother and fairer than before, glowing shiny like jade.


    Even his scars had vanished during the heated flow.


    He touched his skin, and the surface was smooth with an additional feeling of resilience. To test his assumption, he picked up a sharp stone and cut the back of his hand forcefully. Before, that much strength would definitely have caused a deep, bleeding gash.


    The back of his hand hurt, even though only ayer of outer skin had been scraped off. When he removed the stone for inspection, there wasn¡¯t even the slightest bit of blood to be seen.


    He was surprised, but also a little curious. Why did working out not have that kind of effect?


    Before this, Luo Yuan¡¯s Physique had onlye from working out. Nothing as strange as this had happened, other than an increase in his stamina.


    Luo Yuan thought about it and came to a conclusion. The strength he¡¯d gained from working out had to be temporary strength, much like a long-distance runner¡¯s. If he stopped working out, his strength would have decreased considerably, and been reduced back to an average person¡¯s in three years¡¯ time.


    From a certain perspective, the strength and physique of a long distance runner were not that much different from an average person¡¯s. Even if the runner had gone through excruciating training to get a little stronger than the average person, his physique would still not have changed. It was a totally different case with the system though. It increased the body¡¯s attributes from within the cells, which exined why fixed attributes like Intelligence could be increased.


    Luo Yuan guessed that this had not just increased his strength, but also other things like the resilience of his skin, his ability to self-heal, even his age.


    He tightened his fist and felt endless energy running through his body. He was delighted. He would not have to hesitate anymore during a battle in the future.


    He looked at his 10 collected AP. His knife skill had already reached Excellent. The effect of practicing was no longer obvious. He had noted no significant improvement after practicing for half a month. He did not hesitate in adding all his AP to his knife skill. Times were grim, and any extra capability was an additional assurance of safety.


    Countless knowledge flooded his brain in only a moment.


    His eyes turned foggy as a frightening aura exuded from him. Even the air seemed to tense. A few secondster, he reopened his eyes, and the pair of them shed out of nowhere. He extracted his machete, and the knife shone with a mist-like effect, its glow covering the whole de.


    As his aura got stronger, the shine of the de got stronger as well, bing visible even in broad daylight. The shine had gotten almost an inch longer, the air around it hissing as if it was being sliced.


    Luo Yuan smiled lightly. The glow grew weak in an instant, leaving behind only a thinyer. He drew a stroke across the ground.


    It didn¡¯t make a sound.


    The next second, the ground was split open in a smooth straight line.


    Going from Excellent Knife Skill 2 to Excellent Knife Skill 12 had not just made the de¡¯s glow stronger, but it had also allowed Luo Yuan to use it without depleting much of his Willpower.


    Before Luo Yuan left, he drank a few more mouthfuls of the Golden-Winged Roc¡¯s blood. Nothing changed.


    He was not disappointed. He¡¯d already gotten used to it.


    Evolving was an extra perk for him, the system was his foundation.


    Even if he did not be an evolved person, he believed he still would not be any weaker than the lucky people who did.


    The battle in the distance was still ongoing, but there were less bombers in the sky. There was only 30 ¨C 40 of them now, when it had been over a hundred the previous day. Arge number of mutated beasts circled around in the sky, and a few bombers fell from time to time. It looked like the mutated beasts were winning.


    As Luo Yuan passed down the street, several heavy military trucks drove by fast, a grey cloth covering their backs, which were filled up to a mound. Luo Yuan wondered what was inside as he nced at them. The soldiers driving them looked passive and spiritless.


    Noticing Luo Yuan, one of them turned his head to look at him, his gaze tinged with sympathy and pity.


    Luo Yuan took a long look at the heavy trucks driving away, his mind reying the soldier¡¯s expression. He had a bad feeling about it, yet nothing came to him, no matter how long he pondered it. He went on his way. About ten minutester, he came to a halting stop before a food market. He looked at it dumbfoundedly.


    The metal gates were open wide, and the inside of the market was empty, like a robbery had just taken ce. He walked inside in disbelief. The huge warehouse had been cleared of its contents, leaving only a few grains of rice in the inventory. He suddenly thought of the heavy trucks he¡¯d just seen. His face paled.


    He stood there for a few minutes stunned, losing all his spirit.


    His mind was working in overdrive.


    ¡°Why was the food moved?¡±


    ¡°What did that soldier¡¯s gaze mean?¡±


    ¡°Where are the trucks going?¡±


    Luo Yuan dared not think about the answers to the first and second question. It would only make him feel hopeless. As for the third question, he had nothing. If the military was leaving Hedong City, they could only do it through the only lifeline left ¨C the highway.


    What about Hedong City and its hundreds of thousands of people, though? What would happen to them once the military left?


    ¡°Impossible. This can¡¯t be real,¡± Luo Yuan mumbled to himself, his face draining of any color.


    Despite his willpower, once he thought about the fall of the city, and the millions of its residents bing mutated beast food, he felt goosebumps rising, He shuddered involuntarily.


    The people had always relied on and been emboldened by the military. As long as the military was there, there was still hope, no matter how grim things looked. Even when the wave of mutated beasts had entered the city, Luo Yuan had still maintained a sliver of hope, because the military had still been fighting endlessly.


    Indeed, his capabilities were spectacr ¨C each of his 13-point attributes slowly detaching him from human physical boundaries towards evolution. However, regardless of how strong a person was, unless they broke a certain barrier, they would be no stronger than an average person under the circumstances.

 Chapter 83: The Underground Base

    Chapter 83: The Underground Base


    Trantor: Editor:


    A shadow was running across the deserted street.


    The fallen building and the mes nearby formed a perfect apocalypse scene.


    Luo Yuan had nowhere to go in his anger. He could only keep running. The street was deserted, forming a grey miserable picture. He crossed street after street as he headed to the grocery store in his residential area. It took him more than ten minutes, even though he¡¯d picked up his pace. His eyes squinted when he saw the situation at the store.


    There were eight heavy trucks by its entrance, and several dozens of soldiers moving bags of food outside relentlessly.


    ¡°Thank god, they haven¡¯t left,¡± Luo Yuan muttered to himself. The expression on his face was gloomy.


    After looking at it for a while, he walked towards the store.


    He¡¯d barely walked a hundred meters when some of the soldiers turned in his direction in alert. One of them waved his hand and hollered, ¡°Hold up! The store has been taken over by the military! Nobody is allowed here!¡±


    Luo Yuan did not stop.


    ¡°Last warning! If you move forward, we¡¯ll fire!¡±


    The soldier turned serious while the rest of them tightened their grasp on their weapons.


    Luo Yuan stopped, making the soldiers think he¡¯d given up, before he quickened his steps and sprinted in their direction. His speed was so high, all they saw was his shadow.


    ¡°F*ck, he¡¯s evolved! Fire!¡± a Second Lieutenant ordered when he saw his incredible speed.


    If this had been a peaceful time, the soldiers might have hesitated upon hearing the order, but these men had just returned from the battlefield. Bullets rained down on Luo Yuan as they did what they¡¯d been told to.


    The bullets swept up sand and stones as they hit the ground, but none of them hit Luo Yuan.


    It was not that the soldiers had terrible aim. They were actually not bad after having been through so many battles. It was just that Luo Yuan could sense all the fired bullets. He could endure the exertion now that his Physique had gotten stronger and he did not get nosebleeds as easily as he¡¯d used to. He was like a rootless duckweed, dodging bullets left and right as they grazed past him.


    The Second Lieutenant grew worried. Watching him get near, he raised his hand and hollered, ¡°Everyone stop firing!¡±


    The firing ceased at once.


    This was how the strong got treated. One had to be strong to earn a conversation. Otherwise, Luo Yuan would have been fired to death before he had even gotten near.


    ¡°Are you evolved?¡± the Second Lieutenant asked lowly.


    Luo Yuan stopped and nodded. He had already sensed that he was being targeted from three different directions following the Second Lieutenant¡¯s signal. He checked those directions without batting an eye.


    Noticing Luo Yuan¡¯s action, the Second Lieutenant was startled. ¡°I¡¯ve seen people like you in the first special force, but I have never met anyone as strong as you. If it¡¯s the food you¡¯re after, it belongs to the government. You¡¯re delusional if you think you can walk away from here with so much as one bag! Over our dead bodies!¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not after the food!¡± Luo Yuan stared coldly at the Second Lieutenant for a while before he added in a raspy voice, ¡°I just want to know where you¡¯re taking it!¡±


    ¡°This is confidential military information. You have no right to know!¡± The Second Lieutenant said.


    ¡°Are you preparing to pull back?¡± Luo Yuan asked.


    ¡°That¡¯s confidential military information!¡± the Second Lieutenant forced the words out as he broke out into a sweat.


    Luo Yuan grew wary as he took in the ashamed expression on the soldiers¡¯ faces. He walked forward and said agitatedly, ¡°Where are you going? When? Tell me!¡±


    The Second Lieutenant took a step back, still not saying a word.


    ¡°You can¡¯t even tell me that much? Humans are made of flesh and blood. Are you all really going to watch Hedong City fall without lifting a finger? There are millions of people, millions of innocent souls! Give everyone a way out!¡± Luo Yuan said emotionally.


    The dozens of soldiers moving the food had alreadye up to them by now. It was quiet all around. After a while, a soldier suddenly took off his helmet and threw it to the ground, ¡°Sir, just tell him. We¡¯re alreadymitting a sin for the next dozens of generations by doing this, why care about f*cking confidentiality?¡±


    ¡°Shut up!¡± the Second Lieutenant scolded.


    ¡°Sir, we¡¯re all people¡¯s soldiers. We should be finding a way out for them!¡± another soldier expressed his thoughts.


    ¡°Sir, tell him. My parents are still in my hometown. I don¡¯t even know how they are, but if they knew, they¡¯d agree with me... We¡¯re not any different just because we¡¯re wearing a military uniform; it¡¯ll be hard to see our parents again after leaving home...,¡± a dark-skinned soldier sang as he spoke.


    A lot of soldiers followed suit, singing in low voices, some of them with red eyes as they thought about their parents¡¯ unknown fate back at home.


    ¡°Are all of you free? Have you finished moving the food? Who said you could rest? Keep moving the food!¡± the Second Lieutenant hollered. He knew that he could not allow this mood to spread among the toon. These soldiers had been under a huge amount of pressure ever since hearing the huge death tolls the previous day. If they broke down, the consequences would be unimaginable. There could even be a mutiny.


    Nobody moved in the toon. A few soldiers halted when they saw that nobody else was moving.


    The air seemed to have frozen.


    The Second Lieutenant maintained a straight face. After a while, he sighed and told Luo Yuan quietly, ¡°We would not have been able tost any longer... All we could do was retreat to the underground base temporarily!¡±


    ¡°Where¡¯s the underground base?¡± Luo Yuan rushed to ask.


    ¡°In the Lanshan Area, arge site not too far from here. It could host about a million people once the construction ispleted, but time has been tight and the war broke out suddenly. Only one third of the area has beenpleted yet. Hopefully, you¡¯ll be able to sneak in. It¡¯s at 12 a.m. tonight!¡±


    ¡°Of course it¡¯s there!¡± Luo Yuan suddenly came to a realization. He remembered the construction site not far away from the residential area. The construction had never stopped ever since it had started, other than for thest few days. Construction vehicles had kept buzzing even when the mutated mosquitoes had been raging. It was all because they¡¯d been building an underground base.


    ¡°If you agree to military recruitment, you can follow us back now and can bring up to two family members with you!¡± the Second Lieutenant suggested.


    ¡°Only two?¡± Luo Yuan asked.


    ¡°The space is limited. This is already a special treatment for evolved people!¡±


    Luo Yuan remained silent for a while. In the end, he shook his head, ¡°I need to think about it. I¡¯ll take my leave now, thank you.¡±


    ¡°No need to thank me, I didn¡¯t tell you anything. It¡¯s best that you forget everything you¡¯ve heard. Just keep it in mind,¡± the Second Lieutenant said coldly as he turned away.


    Luo Yuan nodded and walked away shakily.


    ¡°Why are you back sote?¡± Huang Jiahui asked as she passed Luo Yuan a bottle of water.


    Looking at Huang Jiahui¡¯s worried expression, Luo Yuan said softly, ¡°I went outside to check on things.¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s going on outside?¡± her hopeful face held a hint of unease.


    Luo Yuan opened his mouth, but the words got stuck in his throat.


    ¡°The bombing has quieted down. Are the mutated beasts almost wiped out in the city?¡± Wang Shishi asked softly.


    Luo Yuan looked at her young face. He remained quiet for a moment before he said slowly, ¡°All of you are leaving with me tonight. We can¡¯t stay here anymore. The military can¡¯t hold the beasts out and they¡¯re retreating into the underground base. We¡¯ll join them!¡±


    Everyone was stunned. After a long while, Huang Jiahui asked sadly, ¡°What about the food here?¡±


    ¡°Just leave it, no one¡¯s gonna steal it. When the situation gets better, we can stille back and get it,¡± Luo Yuan said,


    ¡°Brother Luo, can everyone go to the underground base?¡± Huang Yueying asked timidly. She had been quiet all this time.


    Luo Yuan took a nce at her. The sensitive woman had already sensed that something was wrong. Even though it would be cruel, there were only two ces. If he had to choose, he could only give her up.


    Luo Yuan did not say it out loud. People could do unthinkable things if they lost hope. Instead, he said, ¡°No, there¡¯s a quota. I can bring you all along because I¡¯m evolved.¡±


    Huang Yueying nodded and cast her eyes down. Her body trembled slightly.

 Chapter 84: Exposed

    Chapter 84: Exposed


    Trantor: Editor:


    After drinking, Luo Yuan leaned against the wall and looked aimlessly at the ceiling. He did not move at all.


    The future was as bleak as this dark basement. There was not a sliver of light to be seen.


    As the sun set, the sky began getting darker.


    They had a rathervish dinner and then began preparing to leave for the underground base.


    Luo Yuan went out to get the car, but returned empty-handed after several minutes. His face looked upset.


    ¡°Why didn¡¯t you drive the car up to the front door?¡± Huang Jiahui asked while she packed her clothes.


    ¡°The 4WD was squashed by a crumbling wall and the antique car has been stolen,¡± Luo Yuan said. ¡°Looks like we have to walk there.¡±


    ¡°That thief should be shot to death!¡± Huang Jiahui said with spite as she threw her clothes.


    ¡°Forget it, it¡¯s not like we didn¡¯t steal it too.¡±


    ¡°Can¡¯t we get another car?¡±


    Luo Yuan lit a cigarette and took a long drag. ¡°We wouldn¡¯t have the keys, even if we found one. The underground base is not too far from here. Let¡¯s just walk.¡±


    ¡°Not like there¡¯s anything else we can do,¡± she said and sighed.


    She pushed the clothes in and zipped the bag, then filled the Desert Eagle with the synthesized jade-white bullets Luo Yuan had given her and slotted the pistol on her hip. She hesitated before asking, ¡°Should we pack some food?¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s not. We don¡¯t have a car anymore, it¡¯ll be too heavy,¡± Luo Yuan said, shaking his head. After thinking about it, he added, ¡°Bring some water and condensed biscuits, just in case.¡±


    He turned and saw Wang Shishi happily hugging a bear the size of a person. ¡°Put that thing down! Get a backpack from the second floor and fill it with food stamps and gold bars from the bedroom and the safe in the basement!¡±


    ¡°Brother Luo, I... I can carry this!¡± Wang Shishi said with a pout. This Disney bear had been in her bedroom and was much better than the one she¡¯d had at home. She had liked it ever since she hadid eyes on it.


    Luo Yuan frowned, ready tosh out at her.


    Huang Jiahui quickly advised, ¡°Shishi, it¡¯s not safe to bring this along. Put it down, you¡¯ll get another one in the future.¡±


    Wang Shishi jutted her lips before mming the bear down with red eyes and stomping her way up the stairs.


    Luo Yuan sighed. He knew that Wang Shishi had always liked soft toys. Before moving to the mansion, a dirty bear had always been sitting on her bed. She could only sleep hugging one of those at night.


    Sometimes, when Luo Yuan came back from practicing his machete in the early mornings, he would find Wang Shishi crying in fits in her sleep.


    This sudden apocalypse had brought a far more serious psychological trauma to Wang Shishi than it seemed. After all, she was still a teenage girl who had yet to grow up. There was no way she could bear all the trauma brought by the world, no matter how tough she was.


    The apocalypse did not allow room for romanticism, nor toleration for sympathy. There was only elimination due to failure to adjust. Maybe life now would seem like heaven years down the road.


    Luo Yuan stopped thinking and checked the weather outside. It was a full moon tonight, and it was bright and clear even without a shlight. As for the bombings in the distance, they too had be less frequent as the night fell.


    He checked the Rado watch he had found inside this house. It was 9 p.m. on Lunar New Year¡¯s eve, apparently.


    This timest year, he was watching the Spring Festival G in his rented room, thinking about where to eat the next day, but this year, he was worrying about surviving. Nobody could imagine the crazy changes the world could bring.


    Luo Yuan headed to the living room. Wang Shishi had already returned with a backpack on her back. Looking at her throwing a tantrum, Luo Yuan tapped her shoulder and passed her the synthesized shuttle. ¡°This is yourpanion. Your best and most loyalpanion!¡±


    Wang Shishi took the shuttle and nodded, seeming to understand the notion behind it.


    Noticing that they were done packing, Luo Yuan checked the time and said, ¡°The underground base opens at 12 a.m. but we should head out now, just in case something happens along the way. Jiahui, you carry the box with the clothes. Huang Yueying, you carry the box with the food. I¡¯ll be on the lookout. Let¡¯s go!¡±


    Huang Yueying shuddered, her face a little pasty.


    Since Luo Yuan had decided to take them to the underground base, she had thought that the way he looked at her had be a little strange. It had made her anxious the whole afternoon and that anxiety had finally peaked now that Luo Yuan had asked her to carry the box of food.


    Food, clothes, and money held a different value to everyone during this apocalyptic era. To those with power, money came first as they didn¡¯t have to worry about food or warmth; normal people ced food first, because they needed it in order to survive.


    Luo Yuan was not powerful nor influential, but he was a strong, evolved person. He could easily obtain food or mutated beast meat. Despite the military control at the underground base, he would still be important as an evolved person and would not have to worry about food. He would be okay even if that food were to be gone.


    So, was this arrangement intentional? Regardless, it only proved her insignificance to Luo Yuan. It was a pity that she had been there for such a short period of time. Despite the fact that she had performed well, it still had not changed the bad impression she had made on Luo Yuan.


    Now that they were leaving, she had to make a decision. She built up the courage and said through gritted teeth, ¡°Brother Luo, can youe to my room? I have something to discuss with you.¡±


    ¡°What is it? Can¡¯t you say it here?¡± Luo Yuan asked, curious.


    Both Huang Jiahui and Wang Shishi looked over at her suspiciously. Their gazed made her break out in cold sweat.


    ¡°It¡¯s about the underground base. I have some intel.¡± Her hands clutched the hem of her clothes, the veins popping out on the back of her hands.


    Luo Yuan got serious. He had only recently moved to Hedong City and had no connections, thus he didn¡¯t know much. Huang Yueying, on the other hand, was local and had been staying in the area for a long time. He was not suspecting a thing as he told the other two girls to wait.


    Huang Yueying¡¯s heart thumped wildly as she opened the door to her bedroom, closing it immediately after Luo Yuan had stepped in.


    Just as Luo Yuan was about to ask her what she wanted to tell him, Huang Yueying squatted down and reached out to pull down the zipper of his pants. She was, after all, a demure married woman. Her seduction tactic was direct andcked any coyness.


    ¡°What are you doing?¡± Luo Yuan asked in a hushed voice as he took a step back.


    Huang Yueying remembered how Luo Yuan had killed people without batting an eye. Her mind went nk as she trembled, ¡°I... I...¡±


    ¡°Is there anything else that you want? If not, I¡¯m leaving,¡± Luo Yuan said emotionlessly.


    Huang Yueying had not expected things to go this way. Her face turned pale as she clung onto him. ¡°No, don¡¯t go.¡±


    Luo Yuan looked at Huang Yueying, who was both begging and fawning. She looked like a frightened pigeon ready to copse any time now. He sighed inwardly, but still made himself say, ¡°This did not happen. We can¡¯t stay here any longer, let¡¯s go.¡±


    Huang Yueying nodded uneasily and forced a smile, Her smile troubled Luo Yuan.


    The two of them came out of the room. Wang Shishi¡¯s eyes travelled back and forth between them, but of course, herck of experience did not allow her to read anything. They both looked calm and collected. Huang Jiahui though, appeared thoughtful.


    Luo Yuan and the girls walked out of the residential area cautiously. The bombings had stopped, leaving the growls of the mutated beasts to fill the air.


    Large shadows flew across their heads from time to time, the wind they produced making rubbish and dust dance around. The ruined buildings on both sides of the road cast crooked shadows under the bright moonlight. Some people were rushing down the street in pairs or threes while the four of them lugged their belongings with hastened steps. The street was eerily quiet. No one was speaking.


    Cars drove by, some of them stopping to pick up people, but most of them just zooming away.


    Half an hourter, the crowd seemed to grow as they got closer to the construction site. The sixne street was full of people.


    Those who had driven there could no longer move forward with their cars and got off to retrieve their luggage from the back of their cars while they cursed, unable to wait any longer.


    Luo Yuan frowned as he took in the scene. They still had more than two hours to go. It was only 10 p.m. If the Second Lieutenant had not lied, then it was not even close to the time the underground base was to open.


    ¡°What¡¯s up?¡± Huang Jiahui asked anxiously as she took in Luo Yuan¡¯s worried expression.


    Luo Yuan said quietly, ¡°It¡¯s still far from the given time, yet there¡¯s already so many people waiting. This is very strange.¡±


    ¡°You never told us, how many people can the underground base host?¡± Huang Jiahui asked worriedly.


    Luo Yuan hesitated before he said in her ear, ¡°Three hundred thousand!¡±


    Huang Jiahui¡¯s hand flew to her mouth, her face losing its color. Three hundred thousand slots? What would this mean for the 4 ¨C 5 million people in the city? She dared not imagine. Sympathy was a luxury in this apocalyptic era. She quickly pondered the problem, ¡°This should be confidential, otherwise the consequences would be unthinkable. Do you think the secret¡¯s been exposed?¡±


    ¡°I hope I¡¯m wrong!¡± Luo Yuan shook his head.


    Nothing in this world waspletely confidential, let alone a life-and-death matter.


    Conscience and morality had always been ingrained in everyone living in a structured society. Even the worst of criminals were restrained by those shackles. Humans were social animals. Everyone had someone they could not leave behind; choosing was a torturous decision for people because in this case, it also meant discarding somebody else.


    When maintaining secrecy was so hard, breaching confidentiality was only logical.


    Friends had other friends, and rtives had more rtives; secrets no longer remained secrets under such circumstances.

 Chapter 85: Stars

    Chapter 85: Stars


    Trantor: Editor:


    The incandescentmp illuminated the enclosed meeting room bright as a day. Under its strikingly bright light, an emergency meeting was being held.


    A dozen of the most influential people in Hedong City watched the huge screen in front of them with serious faces. The screen showed the entrance of the base, where several hundreds of soldiers formed a wall holding riot shields and barely keeping the order of the chaos currently ensuing there.


    The Quartz clock on the wall ticked. As the seconds passed, the atmosphere in the meeting room got tense.


    Some people were already sweating.


    ¡°How many people are already in the underground base?¡± a middle-aged man chairing the meeting finally asked in a low voice after several minutes.


    ¡°Thirty five thousand soldiers, plus various technicians, scientific researchers, base investors and rtives of these people. The approximate total is 180,000 people. There¡¯s another 20,000 plus soldiers who are rushing over from the outskirts of the city afterpleting their duties. Based on the base¡¯s capacity, we can still take in about 100,000 people,¡± a skinny middle-aged man said softly, lifting his head after scribbling something inside his notebook.


    ¡°Can¡¯t we make more space?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not that easy. ording to our calctions, 300,000 is already our maximum capacity. Maybe if we clear out some unnecessary inventory warehouses, we might be able to fit another 150,000.¡±


    ¡°We¡¯re out of time. ording to the intel from the 8th battalion, mutated beasts from the outskirts are already pouring into Hedong City. They¡¯ll be here soon enough. Our explosives are not enough to defend the base for more than a few hours. Unless we use nuclears and wipe out everything in the woods!¡± a military man with Lieutenant General pinned to his shoulder said grimly.


    The discussion got heated after his words.


    The chairman looked rmed as he unconsciously tapped the table with his index finger.


    If nuclear weapons were detonated, not only could reformation after the war speed up significantly, but they would also be able to clear any additional issues that might crop up and ensure the survival of Hedong City¡¯srge poption. They could even return to thend without having to move into the underground base first.


    Global nuclear weapons restrictions were barely enforced at times like these, and detonation of nuclear weapons was getting more and moremon. ording to the satellite indication, countries around the world had detonated near to a hundred atomic bombs within just half a year¡¯s time. Among them were the USA with 12 bombs, Russia with 21 bombs, France with 6 bombs, the UK with 8 bombs, India with 15 bombs, Pakistan with 6 bombs, Israel with 3 bombs, Japan with 2 bombs, Germany with 1 bomb, and China with 11 bombs.


    Although an atomic bomb detonation was no longer a controversy, it still stressed him to have to detonate one in his own city.


    This was not just any missile after all, nor was it a smaller scale atomic bomb like the one detonated in Hiroshima. It was a weapon of massive destruction, and any slight deviation of the guided missile would cost several millions of innocent lives. Even this high-defense underground base would be destroyed.


    The tense atmosphere in the meeting room thickened. Some people were already breaking out in cold sweat.


    ¡°Then let¡¯s vote!¡±


    ¡°What are you doing?¡± Wang Shishi eximed, ring at a perverted-looking man behind her.


    ¡°Little girl, I only came into slight contact with you. Look at how crowded it is here, I can¡¯t help it. You can touch me back if you want,¡± the man teased, showing his yellow teeth.


    Wang Shishi was rendered speechless by the man¡¯s shameless talk.


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± Luo Yuan squeezed over and asked as he heard themotion.


    ¡°He... he touched my butt!¡± Wang Shishi huffed as she pointed at the man. Recognizing her savior, she clung tightly onto Luo Yuan¡¯s arm.


    Luo Yuan looked at the perverse man, who was still smiling and smirking, and instantly knew he was a twisted scoundrel. He wanted to teach the bastard a lesson, but he looked at the timid expression on Wang Shishi¡¯s face and changed his mind, ¡°You should stand up for yourself. If you can¡¯t, then you might as well pretend nothing happened.¡±


    Huang Jiahui had not noticed what had just happened, so she turned her head to ask, ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡±


    ¡°Shishi got bullied. Don¡¯t get involved, though. Let her solve it herself,¡± Luo Yuan stopped her.


    ¡°Oh, now you want to teach me a lesson? Aren¡¯t you being too overbearing? It¡¯s so crowded here! Who hasn¡¯t gotten squeezed or had their feet stepped on? Be reasonable, you guys!¡± the man smiled smugly as he hollered. He had seen that there were a lot of people around.


    Those who were watching did not know what had actually happened and pped along merrily. ¡°Yeah, it¡¯s too crowded here! Some touching is unavoidable, just endure it. I also had my butt touched a few times!¡±


    ¡°You cow, only the blind would want to touch you. Or was it your gay friend, now?


    ¡°F*ck off!¡±


    These people didn¡¯t have a bad intention, they were just watching for the sake of fun.


    Seeing that the crowd was on his side, the man got even cockier. His eyes never left Wang Shishi¡¯s chest, which angered the girl to no end.


    Luo Yuan shook his head, ¡°Forget it, he¡¯s right. You can¡¯t me anyone about this happening here. Let¡¯s go!¡±


    The spectators suddenly looked at him in disdain. It was one thing to tell someone up to stand up for themselves, but it was another to be cowardly. The fight might not have been serious, but cowering was not a manly thing to do.


    ¡°Brother Luo, I understand what you mean. I¡¯m not going to be bullied by some motherf*cker,¡± Wang Shishi said loudly.


    ¡°Motherf*cker?¡± Luo Yuan was shocked.


    Before he could react, Wang Shishi had already charged over with a loud cry and stomped on the man. Despite the fact that a woman¡¯s physique was naturally weaker than a man¡¯s, Wang Shishi was much stronger than the average man. Her strength had reached 11 points after consuming mutated meat for so long. Thanks to that unexpected element, the scrawny man was kicked down in an instant.


    ¡°You b*tch, you dared touch my butt!¡± Wang Shishi continued scolding him as she kicked him.


    ¡°Try touching me again!¡± A kicknded brutally on his crotch, and the man curled up in pain as he cried out.


    Wang Shishi squatted down and grabbed the man¡¯s hair, loud ps resounding in the air as she said loudly, ¡°Still want to touch me? Feels great to touch me, doesn¡¯t it? Touch me, motherf*cker! Come on, touch me...¡±


    Luo Yuan was dumbfounded. He felt like he was meeting Wang Shishi for the first time. Was this even the same person?


    In fact, Wang Shishi had never been a timid girl. Her first day in kindergarten, she had scratched a boy¡¯s face for snatching her toys; she was the third sister among what their junior high used to call the ¡®eight sisters¡¯, the one who blocked people in the toilets, scaring both girls and boys away. It was when Luo Yuan had taken her under his wing that she¡¯d started to put up the girly act, afraid that she would make a bad impression on him. She had kept faking it till they all had believed it.


    In the end, the man was begging in tears, snot running down his face.


    Huang Jiahui finally pulled her up, ¡°Shishi, stop. He¡¯s learned his lesson.¡±


    ¡°Motherf...¡± Wang Shishi forced the rest of the word down her throat as she finally came back to her senses. Stealing a nce at Luo Yuan, she asked Huang Jiahui, ¡°Sister Huang, I... did I go overboard?¡±


    ¡°This kind of pervert needs to be taught a lesson he can remember. See if he dares do it again!¡± Huang Jiahui then added, ¡°But I¡¯d rather if you didn¡¯t cuss!¡±


    ¡°I couldn¡¯t help it,¡± Wang Shishiughed dryly as she stole nces at Luo Yuan, secretly relieved that he did not look upset.


    The man seemed to have learned his lesson as he got up and disappeared in the crowd without saying a word. The crowd realized there was nothing worth watching anymore and dispersed.


    The four of them continued squeezing to the front, more people crowding as they got closer to the construction site.


    Looking at the sea of people, Luo Yuan got worried. If some sort of riot were to happen, it would be sure to cause lots of deaths. He subconsciously looked at the sky. Large birds were circling around under the moonlight.


    As Luo Yuan turned his eyes away, he suddenly realized that the birds were anxious. Their flight pattern was irregr and they emitted strange noises. The same strange growls came from the mutated beasts in the distance.


    These growls sounded anxious and irritated, as if the birds were sensing a grave danger.


    Unconsciously, he turned his eyes towards the north. A star was producing a weak light in the faraway sky. He quickly realized that this was not just any star. The light got brighter as his left eyelid twitched, goosebumps rising on his skin. His heart thumped hard.


    He stared at the star that kept getting brighter and brighter. His body was frozen like a statue.


    Luo Yuan came back to his senses after a while, and quickly pulled Wang Shishi and Huang Jiahui to him, saying in a low voice, ¡°Come with me at once!

 Chapter 86: Sun

    Chapter 86: Sun


    Trantor: Editor:


    Huang Yuying had no idea of what was going on but she felt chills down her spine when she saw the uneasiness on Luo Yuan¡¯s face. She hurriedly followed them without a second thought.


    Luo Yuan forced his way outwards pulling the two girls along. He felt increasingly oppressed, and the anxieties in his heart made him want to scream and shout. He pushed forcefully through the crowd and received verbal abuse from others there though he seemed not to hear any of it.


    He quickly crossed to the side of the street and observed his surroundings. In a second, he sprinted towards the front of a shopping mall. Big buildings like this would normally be built with an underground parking lot, but before he could reach it his body began to tremble.


    Not only was he shaking, the whole world seemed to be shaking as well!


    The noise on the street quickly died away as the crowd became silent. Everybody stood still as they tried to look in the distance. The expressions on their faces quickly changed and their jaws dropped from the absolute horror!!!


    Luo Yuan and hispanions could not help but stop and cast their gaze towards the distance as well. An enormous sun with a blinding glow gradually rose in the distance, quickly diminishing the darkness.


    ¡°Atom...Bomb!!!¡± Luo Yuan screamed even though he initially struggled to get the words out through his parched lips.


    It was difficult to describe the scene. It was so magnificent and dazzling, yet Luo Yuan only felt more distressed and worried.


    The light quickly diminished as the ¡°sun¡± rose thousands of meters high. An unexpected yet familiar mushroom shaped cloud formed in the sky, as fissile products which amassed from the detonation poured down heavily. Then suddenly within seconds, Boom! A deafening sound struck like a violent thunder.


    The whole city continued to shake, as the earth was trembling and engulfing the damaged buildings to the ground.


    Strong winds swept throughout the city, filling their vision with only dirt and dust. Shortly after, the people came to their senses on what had just taken ce. Screams filled the air and they began to run for their lives in every direction. The crowd pushed and pulled, hastily trying to escape by stepping over each other causing those who had fallen to perish.


    A picture of pure chaos could be painted from the screams for help alone and the fear of despair that filled the city.


    Luckily, Luo Yuan and hispanions hid by the side of the streets, safe from the riot that had just broke out.


    Just as Luo Yuan felt fortunate that the atomic detonation did not bring too much damage other than the panic from the crowd (as it urred several dozen kilometres away), he saw another star falling...followed by a third.


    Three mushroom clouds dominated the dark sky like three giant fists.


    Wang Shishi hid behind Luo Yuan shaking in fear, the high spirits she had from before had vanished. Huang Jiahui was no better; she was also trembling in fear as she held on to Luo Yuan¡¯s hands tightly. As for Huang Yuying, she would have certainly copsed to the floor if not for her body leaning against the wall.


    ¡°The radiation has already reached us. Quickly, get inside.¡± Huang Jiahui suddenly cried out.


    Luo Yuan mumbled, ¡°Radiation? What about radiation? Even if gic deterioration urs, it¡¯s in the future!¡±


    Huang Jiahui was stunned for a second butter began to rx. It was true, what about radiation. People living in this apocalyptic era could not afford to be this fragile. It was fortunate enough to not have died immediately from the atomic detonation. As for the future, they would just have to deal with it what lies ahead. She then asked, ¡°So are we still headed to the basement?¡±


    ¡°Yes, since we¡¯re already here, we should just go and check it out!¡± Luo Yuan sighed as he spoke.


    The sound of diesel engines could be heard from afar, at this instant most the crowd had already retreated to the sides of the street. Armored vehicles and transport trucks sped pass one after another. None of these vehicles were intact, in fact one of the tanks even had a footprint several dozen centimetres deep.


    An army of soldiers were seen sitting on the transport truck. They were motionless, with a grim expression. It was difficult to imagine what they had just been through.


    The streets had been covered with bodies from the stampede yet these vehicles showed no signs of stopping. Perhaps these soldiers could no longer feel remorse towards the bodies thaty before them anymore. These men had probably seen hundreds or even a thousand times more corpses and had be numb.


    The vehicles drove over the bodies, further crushing them into stters of crimson red.


    Huang Jiahui and the other twodies turned away and puked from the sight before them. Luo Yuan was not looking any better but he realized that the soldiers looked indifferent, unaffected even.


    He could notice that they were no longer the troops during the peaceful period. Compared to the first time he had saw them in Donghu City, they had be much more terrifying. Their willpower would have probably surpassed those who had experienced WWII, as their enemy was far more frightening and cruel than any human being.


    These soldiers were cold like machines, indifferent towards life and death. Perhaps their frightened expressions would only surface the moment death came upon them.


    The row of vehicles hade and passed after ten minutes.


    The crowd in front suddenly began to scramble.


    ¡°The doors are opened!¡±


    ¡°The doors are finally opened! So many soldiers havee out!¡±


    Luo Yuan stood on tiptoe but still could not see what was happening near the gate as it was swarmed with people in front.


    The crowd was at a standstill as if some problems were urring ahead of them. Suddenly, a cheer could be heard in front after two hours had passed and the crowd began moving slowly.


    Luo Yuan let out a sigh of relief, squeezing through the crowd while pulling along the other two girls. It involved a lot of effort as the girls were also holding onto their luggage. If it were not for both the woman¡¯s considerable strength, they probably could not even move an inch forward. Just a few minutester, they were already sweating profusely.


    Luo Yuan turned and realized that they had lost Huang Yuying, who was possibly squeezed away by the crowd.


    He apologised in his heart and continued pushing forward. Huang Jiahui and Wang Shishi made no sound even as Luo Yuan had gripped their arms with force as they both understood that one misstep could mean death.


    The city was filled with radiation. In addition to the mutated beasts attacks, staying here would certainly lead to their deaths.


    Cries from the mutated beasts could be heard outside as screams began to burst from the people at the back. Luo Yuan felt himself being pushed towards the front forcefully.


    ¡°Ah!!!¡± Wang Shishi screamed as she was shoved to the ground. The horror had unleashed all of her telekic powers but it was small inparison to the massive crowd.


    Suddenly, a blue ray could be seen! Blood spurted as a person¡¯s leg was severed. He fell to the ground and countless of feet then stepped on him.


    Luo Yuan immediately pulled Wang Shishi up and took her luggage as he reminded her, ¡°Be careful, don¡¯t fall again.¡±


    ¡°Mm, mm!¡± Wang Shishi was terrified, nodding and grabbing onto Luo Yuan.


    ¡°You didn¡¯t get stepped on, did you?¡± Huang Jiahui looked at Wang Shishi and asked.


    ¡°No, Brother Luo pulled me up just in time,¡± Wang Shishi said as she shook her head.


    As they spoke, the beast¡¯s growls grew nearer and the horrified screams from the crowd grew louder. Suddenly, something sshed onto the back of Luo Yuan¡¯s neck prompting him to check it with his hand. He quickly nced at his palm and it was filled with blood.


    Some hundreds of meters away, a 3-story tall dinosaur-like mutated beast was running among the sea of people. Even though it seemed that it had no intention of killing, each step it took squashed the tightly knitted sea of people into mud pies.


    Perhaps it was too excited from seeing so much food. It looked more like it was ying than hunting a prey.


    A few minutes had passed and it got bored of ying and stopped to chomp down a human.


    A woman who was right next to the unfortunate victim was petrified, frozen on the spot as the people around her ran for their lives.


    With the appearance of this beast, more beasts approached within minutes.


    Screams and cries could be heard all around, the strong copper stench of blood made the ce seem like a ughterhouse!

 Chapter 87: Suicide

    Chapter 87: Suicide


    Trantor: Editor:


    ¡°Brother Luo, itsing!¡± Wang Shishi screamed, as her face turned pale.


    ¡°Hold on tightly to my hand!¡± Luo Yuan said intently, he too was anxious as he watched the approaching beast, while pushing his way towards the front of the crowd. He could not do anything regardless of his strong powers in such a crowded ce.


    Desperation had surrounded the people and outcries rang loud in their ears.


    The crowd stood motionless for a moment as if possessed by another higher energy before the struggle of pushes came from the front and the back. Some people who were trapped in the middle puked blood from the sheer force on them. Hopeless curses came faintly from the front.


    The worst had happened.


    ¡°They¡¯ve opened fire, how can they open fire?¡± Huang Jiahui¡¯s pale face was a mixture of fright and disbelief.


    ¡°What about us?¡± Wang Shishi asked in a worried voice.


    Luo Yuan waspletely upset, spitting out the words, ¡°We can¡¯t go there anymore, let¡¯s go back. Leave your luggage, we need to go towards the buildings from the side.¡±


    ¡°No! All our money is here, what would we do if we lost it all?¡± Huang Jiahui said unwillingly.


    ¡°All our clothes are here as well!¡± Wang Shishi too followed.


    ¡°We can find clothes again, and with regards to money, you probably can¡¯t find a ce to spend it anymore in the future,¡± Luo Yuan said.


    Huang Jiahui was traumatized as her hands let go of the luggage.


    Three of them forced their way to the side but after a few steps, the beast was already approaching them. Its gigantic body was rolling down the hill, brushing people aside.


    Without waiting for Luo Yuan¡¯s order, Huang Jiahui had already retrieved her gun and pulled the trigger.


    ¡°Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!¡±


    A few white bullets flew out from the gun¡¯s muzzle. This was probably a light blue level beast as it could not withstand the attacks of the synthesized bullets. The bullets went through its body swiftly, leaving only bullet holes behind.


    One of the bullets went right into its eyes, bringing it to its death.


    Due to its momentum, it still moved a few steps before finally copsing onto the ground.


    Shock shed through Huang Jiahui¡¯s face as she subconsciously counted the number of bullets left in her pocket.


    ¡°Quick!¡± Luo Yuan pulled a dazed Huang Jiahui along.


    A few minutester, Luo Yuan squeezed them into a nearby building. It used to be a supermarket as racks were ced neatly inside but they werepletely empty. The supermarket was shut down a long time ago by the looks of it.


    People poured inside, with more and more starting toe through the door.


    Even if it was not safe here, it was still better than being outside.


    Luo Yuan moved to the inner most corners and sat Wang Shishi down. He felt his pocket and took out a squashed packet of cigarettes. He lit one up.


    ¡°Can I have one?¡± A fair-skinned middle-aged man beside them asked as he saw Luo Yuan smoking.


    Luo Yuan nodded and tossed over a cigarette.


    ¡°Sorry, I don¡¯t have a lighter too,¡± he said awkwardly.


    Luo Yuan tossed the lighter over as well.


    The middle-aged man lighted his cigarette with his trembling hands, taking in a deep breath, followed by violent coughs- an obvious sign that he is not a smoker. Yet he kept on smoking like an addict who had been long deprived and started sobbing.


    He cried for a while before wiping his tears off his face and said grimly, ¡°Thanks for your cigarette!¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re wee,¡± Luo Yuan said gently.


    ¡°I¡¯m embarrassed but I don¡¯t care anymore. My son just died from the stampede just now. I saw his ribs shattered as it was stepped on. Blood poured out from his mouth as he was shouting ¡°Dad, it hurts, save me!¡± But I could only watch helplessly. I couldn¡¯t have done anything by then.


    He sobbed again as his lips quivered, ¡°I...I couldn¡¯t even bring his body along as people were already pushing me to the side...He¡¯s only six... He¡¯s a very good boy who didn¡¯t throw any fits even when he was starving,¡± The man said brokenly, pausing continuously in between his words.


    Luo Yuan sighed but remained quiet.


    ¡°I heard from some people that arge dugout was built here so I rushed over. Who knew that in the process of looking for a safer ce...it had killed him and he died...It¡¯s good too, since he no longer needs to suffer through this pain anymore. And I¡¯ll be there with him soon so he won¡¯t be lonely down there!¡± Heughed humorlessly, ¡°I should go now, otherwise my child won¡¯t be able to find meter.¡±


    Luo Yuan turned, shocked, ¡°You?¡±


    ¡°Thank you for listening to me. Don¡¯t persuade me. I¡¯m not crazy, this world has gone crazy. I¡¯m helpless, I can¡¯t survive. Death will free me. Rather than starving to death or bing the food for the mutated beasts, I can die an easy death now.¡± He shook his head, with hopelessness all over his face.


    As he spoke, he took a dagger out and stabbed it into his heart. He frowned, as his face was filled with pain as he gritted his teeth and pulled the dagger out. Blood gushed out from his wound.


    Wang Shishi covered her mouth in horror.


    Luo Yuan sighed in remorse. He could have stopped him frommitting suicide but he did not because just like the man had said, death would be freeing him under such circumstances.


    ¡°I feel like my body is floating... It¡¯s so light. It¡¯s great. Taotao, wait for me.¡± His eyes closed as he finished talking, and his body fell against the wall softly with a smile on his face.


    ¡°Hopefully we won¡¯t end up like this one day!¡± Huang Jiahui said hoarsely, the man¡¯s suicide shocked her to her core.


    Luo Yuan pulled Huang Jiahui into his embrace, hugging her tightly and spoke softly in her ear, ¡°Such a day won¡¯te.¡±


    The walls of the supermarket began to quake and crumble; a mutated beast was emerging from the gravels and the people began to move back out of fear.


    Luo Yuan stood up, ¡°Let¡¯s go, we should leave and find another ce.¡±


    He stabbed his machete into the wall and carved a circle. He then kicked it apart, forming a hole in the wall around a meter wide. He lowered his body and squeezed through it. Wang Shishi and Huang Jiahui followed him closely from behind.


    A few people around them trailed behind to observe the scene.


    The back of the supermarket had a wide road that was not crowded. A ck python with a girth about the size of a bucket¡¯s circumference was meandering forward several dozen meters in front, scaring everyone on the street.


    Even though the swarm of people made it more difficult to escape, they provided a good distraction for the mutated beasts. As the python swallowed one of the passersby, Luo Yuan and his girls crossed the street swiftly and managed to move into the office tower. He did not hesitate and quickly made another hole with his machete in order to enter the tower.


    Perhaps it was the confidence in how they moved which steered people to continuously tag along the way. Unfortunately, some were left behind as they could not keep up. Half an hourter, about ten people were left tailing Luo Yuan. Maybe the crowd gathering at the underground base had attracted the mutated beast¡¯s attention and slowly declined in number as the group of people following Luo Yuan got further away from the underground base.


    He stopped for a breather as they ran into a hotel basement parking seeing that the coast was clear.


    ¡°Friend, where are you guys going?¡± A tall and skinny man had asked after catching his breath.


    Luo Yuan realized that he had nowhere to go other than returning to the mansion but the passage towards the mansion required him to pass the underground base which was currently infested with mutated beasts. Now would certainly not be the right time to return, so he said, ¡°Wherever that is safe, any good suggestions?¡±


    The man let his disappointment show, ¡°I am not from here and have not stayed here long either. I don¡¯t know where would be safer. Hedong City has a dugout though. I guess we will be safe as long as we manage to find the dugout nearby.¡±


    ¡°I know where it is!¡± A woman whose face was bloodied suddenly spoke.

 Chapter 88: Coercion

    Chapter 88: Coercion


    Trantor: Editor:


    ¡°93 Jiangbei Road, my oldpany was near there!¡± The woman continued.


    ¡°I think it is there too. It used to be open for quite a whilest time, I recall visiting it once,¡± A man spoke.


    ¡°It¡¯s not far from here. Walk along the front road towards the east until you reach the northern intersection, that¡¯s where Jiangbei Road is. It¡¯s only a few kilometers away, let¡¯s leave now!¡± A plump man said with conviction.


    Yet no one bothered, everyone was looking at Luo Yuan. The man notably felt awkward from being ignored.


    Perhaps that man may have been a manager or a boss before but during times like this, nobody cared how rich and influential he used to be.


    While Luo Yuan had not shown any extraordinary powers along the way, he had been exceptionally calm throughout the half an hour run, pulling the two girls along with him without showing any panic even when the mutated beasts lurked nearby.


    He could feel everyone staring at him. Luo Yuan, after keeping silent for some time, spoke. ¡°Since the dugout is nearby, we should go there. We should leave after a ten minute break!¡±


    Everyone sat down quietly. The plump man who had spoken out earlier sat down next to Wang Shishi, with a happy smile, ¡°I¡¯m Huo Dong, how do I address you, brother?¡±


    Wang Shishi moved herself closer to Luo Yuan with despise towards that man.


    Luo Yuan tapped her hand lightly, turned to him and said. ¡°Call me Luo Yuan!¡±


    Huo Dong then continued, ¡°What a fine young man you are, Brother Luo! If it were the ancient times you would have definitely been a valiant warrior. You will definitely be someone great some day!¡± He then looked at Wang Shishi and praised, ¡°Even your younger sister is such a beauty, and her future husband would be a lucky man!¡±


    Wang Shishi¡¯s face flushed, stealing a peek at Luo Yuan as she responded with a smile, ¡°I¡¯m not his younger sister.¡±


    It would be an endless conversation once you reply to these kinds of people; words of ttery and sweet-talk were second nature to them. Huo Dong indeed continued with his conversation, ¡°Excuse my poor eyesight. Then you must be his missus. Only Brother Luo could match such a missus¡¯ beauty. This beauty must also be your missus too. Brother Luo, you are so lucky!¡±


    Luo Yuan looked at him with a smile until the man was leftughing.


    ¡°Sigh, I can¡¯t be as calm and collected as you Brother Luo. Laugh at me all you want but I¡¯ll tremble uncontrobly if I don¡¯t divert my attention by talking.¡± Huo Dong lifted his head and sniffled before saying hopelessly, ¡°I¡¯m afraid that I won¡¯t live to see the sun tomorrow, even if I were to survive tonight. I might die in the next second. Even if we managed to reach the dugout, it¡¯s not going to be safe for long now that the military is gone and Hedong City is infested with mutated beasts. Besides having no food, we might not even find clean water. We will only end up starving to death if we can¡¯t find weapons to kill the mutated beasts.¡±


    His raspy voice echoed in the basement parking, oppressing the atmosphere as some people began to sob quietly.


    ¡°The military was retreating in a hurry, there must be some weapons left behind in the battlefield!¡± Someone suggested.


    ¡°Sure, there might be plenty of weapons there but who would dare to go near such a dangerous ce? Even if we did manage to get our hands on them, how many people would we have sacrificed?¡± Huo Dong retorted.


    ¡°Why ignore what is nearby? The military factory is in the industrial area. There should be loads of firearms and even cannons there. The People¡¯s Armed Forces are also located nearby. It¡¯s full of outdated weapons which were not up to military standard. There must be tons of those left there now.¡±


    The team departed that night.


    The street was now empty, it¡¯s surface stained with blood. A slender leg probably from a young woman could be seen lying on the road, twitching from time to time though its owner was nowhere to be found.


    The pungent copper stench of blood in the air irritated everyone¡¯s nose; some of them had to stop to vomit.


    Luo Yuan face had turned slightly pale; he was feeling nauseous despite being used to scenes like this.


    A few minutester, Luo Yuan halted. Somethingrge was lying by the roadside several hundred meters in front of him. From its figure, it was a centipede of about 5 ¨C 6 meters long with a yellowish gold crust. Its legs were glittering under the moonlight, lining on the sides of its body. It rested quietly with a bulging stomach; something seemed to still be squirming underneath it.


    This was a bloated mutated beast. Other than the humans that it could find in the city, there was nothing else it could feast on.


    Thinking of what could have been inside that bloated body; Luo Yuan held a tight grip on his machete and increased his speed.


    ¡°Be careful! There is a beast in front of us, run!¡± Luo Yuan could see much better than normal people. Plus, it was night time, so the group could only see therge creature resting ahead after moving another 40 ¨C 50 meters forward.


    All hell broke loose as everyone began to scramble for their lives. Death awaited those who would end up face to face with a mutated beast without any weapons. Only Luo Yuan and a few others stayed put.


    Luo Yuan was not surprised. Other than depending on his luck and ability to run faster than everyone else, normal people had nothing they could use to face the beasts.


    The centipede raised its snake like head as it sensed movements nearby. Colorful spots marked its red head as they sparkled in the dark. The shimmery colors had only meant that this creature was incredibly venomous.


    It nced around, ready to act, but continued to lie down again when it could not sense any danger. It did not even catch a glimpse of Luo Yuan who was nearby.


    Luo Yuan, who had intended to kill it while it was bloated, hesitantly paused.


    It would be dangerous and stupid to determine a mutated beast¡¯s strength by its level. This beast that was exuding a light blue level aura but clearly could not fit into the usual description of a light blue level beast!


    ¡°Bro...Brother Luo, should we find another way around?¡± Wang Shishi stuttered as she took in the sight of such arge beast.


    Luo Yuan¡¯s eyes shined as he heard Wang Shishi¡¯s voice. Venom was a threat to him but not to Wang Shishi who could multitask and had telekinesis. This beast was a great fit to train her. He thought about it and told Wang Shishi, ¡°This beast is yours.¡±


    Wang Shishi¡¯s eyes widened as she pointed to herself, ¡°Me?¡±


    ¡°This is only a second level mutated beast. You are evolved and even have telekinesis. Don¡¯t tell me you can¡¯t even handle this?¡± Luo Yuan tried to provoke her.


    ¡°B...But, I...¡± Wang Shishi was ttered by thepliment but was still discouraged by the sheer size of the beast in front of them.


    ¡°No buts... this is actually much simpler than you think. You only need to shoot the shuttle into its head and twirl it around inside. I¡¯ll be on the lookout from the side. I won¡¯t let you be harmed.¡± Luo Yuan cut in coldly as he saw that Wang Shishi was still uncertain.


    ¡°I¡¯m scared, I can¡¯t do this, I...I¡¯ll be eaten.¡± She replied.


    ¡°Luo Yuan, don¡¯t force her. Shishi is still young.¡± Huang Jiahui said, as she felt pity towards the terrified Wang Shishi.


    ¡°Shut up! The beast won¡¯t decide not to eat her just because she is still young. I don¡¯t n to take care of a burden. If you can¡¯t even do this, don¡¯t follow me anymore,¡± Luo Yuan said coldly. This is a cruel world lurking with danger. Any strong powers would be useless with a weak mind; survival would be impossible in such a hellish world where danger lurked. He could only force change unto Wang Shishi since she had refused to change!


    Wang Shishi shuddered, her heart felt as if it was broken into pieces. She looked at Luo Yuan in disbelief, unable to ept the fact that he had just said such words.


    Huang Jiahui looked at Luo Yuan anxiously but he kept a straight face without even looking back at her. After being together for so long, she knew how he was, usually gentle and friendly but he would never budge after he had made his decision.


    Since Huang Jiahui could not persuade Luo Yuan, she could only helpfort Wang Shishi, ¡°Shishi, don¡¯t be afraid. Your Brother Luo only wants to build up your courage, he won¡¯t harm you.¡±


    Wang Shishi lowered her head in dismay, thinking about how she had tried to be brave and shielded a person from poisonous mist just yesterday... yet now was treated this way. The more she thought about it, the more wronged she felt, tears then followed and poured heavily out of her eyes.


    She lifted her head and said in tears, ¡°Fine, I¡¯ll go. Nobody cares if I die anyway. I¡¯ll just go and get myself killed.¡±


    She said defiantly while biting her lips as she moved forward step by step. Her eyes kept stealing nces at Luo Yuan.


    She was utterly disappointed to see Luo Yuan unmoved, tears were still rolling down her cheeks. After a while, she wiped them away and took a white-jade colored two-ended shuttle out of her pocket.


    Luo Yuan¡¯s gaze followed her closely, wanting to call her back several times now but he held it in. This was a necessary first step for her survival in this wretched world. Maybe he could still protect her now but not forever.


    Because even he himself felt bleak thinking about the future, like a small boat flowing along the currents of the ocean, always worrying if it would capsize from a sudden wave. The helplessness was always with him; struggle was adamant if one wanted to survive.


    ¡°If you can¡¯t even protect yourself, who else would protect you? Shishi, you must always depend on yourself instead of someone else!¡± he said.

 Chapter 89: Rejection

    Chapter 89: Rejection


    Trantor: Editor:


    Wang Shishi¡¯s body trembled as she approached the mutated centipede. Her flying shuttle hovered over her head ready to attack. Her face noticeably went paler and she was grinding her teeth out of anxiety.


    The next second, she used her telekinesis to catapult the shuttle towards the centipede.


    The mutated beast sensed an impending danger and wanted to evade it but was too slow. The shuttle pierced through its head in the blink of an eye! It prated through its seemingly hard crust easily.


    The centipede¡¯s body shuddered as it began to struggle but it was useless as the injury to its head was lethal. Even so, this gigantic creature¡¯s unconscious attacks before its death were still formidable.


    Its huge body rolled around on the street while it was struggling, causing the ground to tremor. Pink venom was released from its mouth which had a faint sweet smell apanying it.


    Wang Shishi waspletely freaked out by what had happened! She had been standing at the same spot dumbfounded and forgot to continue attacking. She had even forgotten to retract her flying shuttle.


    ¡°Shishi, run!¡± Luo Yuan shouted.


    Only then did Wang Shishie back to her senses and run back towards them. She hugged Luo Yuan and weeped in his embrace. She was clearly petrified and had just realized the intimidation posed by mutated beasts¡¯ when she was right in front of the centipede. Its gigantic size and eerie colors had scared her.


    ¡°Alright, alright, stop crying. The beast is dead,¡± Luo Yuan patted her back gently andforted her.


    Wang Shishi raised her face full of tears and asked, ¡°Dead? Did I kill it?¡±


    ¡°Turn and look for yourself,¡± Luo Yuan said smiling.


    Wang Shishi turned around and was surprised to see that the beast was already dead on the ground. She was in disbelief! ¡°I...I killed it!¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t forget that you¡¯re evolved, Shishi. You¡¯re different from normal people now. Killing a second level mutated beasts should be an easy feat for you,¡± Luo Yuan said to her in an attempt to start changing her mindset.


    ¡°I¡¯m so impressed with myself!¡± Wang Shishi murmured.


    ¡°You¡¯ve always been impressive, and maybe you will be better than me soon.¡± Luo Yuan continued building her courage. ¡°Telekinesis has always been one of the strongest powers in movies!¡± He added.


    Wang Shishi was still very young. She smiled upon hearing all thesepliments.


    ¡°Still scared now?¡± Luo Yuan followed up.


    ¡°Not anymore!¡± Wang Shishi said confidently.


    ¡°Then you can let go of me now or Huang Jiahui¡¯s gonna be jealous,¡± Luo Yuan teased.


    ¡°What nonsense? Since when was I jealous,¡± Huang Jiahui quickly defended herself.


    Only then did Wang Shishi realize that she was still hugging Luo Yuan with her breasts resting against his chest. She quickly took a few steps back but her face was already flushed in embarrassment. ¡°Brother Luo, I¡¯m going to ignore you if you keep saying things like that.¡± She added.


    The people who had run away earlier did not go too far and were watching the scene from where they were hiding. They came out of hiding once the mutated beast was killed. The few of them who stood nearer to the scene saw how Wang Shishi killed the mutated beast, and soon everyone knew about it.


    ¡°Brother Luo, is this youngdy evolved?¡± Huo Dong asked in surprise.


    Luo Yuan nodded. This could not be hidden anymore and there was no need to hide the fact now.


    Everyone¡¯s faces were different now. Their expressions were a mixture of envy and wary. To the public, evolved people had only existed like legends. Nobody had really seen them even though they had heard a lot about them. The news of this fragile pretty youngdy being an evolved person came as a surprise to them.


    ¡°And you?¡± Huo Dong asked again.


    ¡°Me too!¡± Luo Yuan answered.


    It was suddenly silent.


    Luo Yuan pulled Wang Shishi over and said, ¡°There¡¯s still some distance to go, let¡¯s move.¡±


    Everyone nodded. They appeared the same on the surface but Luo Yuan was now someone with a higher status.


    As they approached the dead centipede, Luo Yuan asked Wang Shishi, ¡°Can you find the flying shuttle?¡±


    He had only made her one shuttle. If she lost this one, she would not be able to get a new weapon any time soon.


    ¡°I think I can sense where it is...¡± Wang Shishi said and closed her eyes to focus. Suddenly, the flying shuttle floated above the ground and hovered over her head.


    ¡°What did you mean by you can sense it?¡± Luo Yuan questioned.


    Wang Shishi thought about it and said vaguely, ¡°I don¡¯t know either. Maybe because I¡¯ve used it so much, I feel connected to the shuttle. There was once when I misced it but eventually realized I could sense it before going to sleep that night. It¡¯s like there¡¯s a string between us... I can feel it if it¡¯s not too far from me.¡±


    Luo Yuan was skeptical. Telekinesis should be a subgroup of Sensory evolutions ording to what he understood. If telekinesis had such effects, maybe he could try it out to see if Sensory evolution had the same effect.


    He did not think too deep into it for the moment as the team continued to jog forward after Wang Shishi pocketed her shuttle.


    The journey was smooth and they did not encounter anymore mutated beasts. Some ten minutester, they arrived at a nondescript 3-story building. ¡°Hedong City¡¯s 3rd Dugout¡± were the words written in gold on the building.


    Everyone looked dejected when they saw the entrance. A sturdy looking steel door which looked at least ten centimeters thick stood in their path.


    ¡°Someone¡¯s been here before,¡± a man said in a low voice.


    Luo Yuan nodded. ¡°Knock the door first!¡± He said to him.


    Their hearts turned heavy. One by one they entered through the security door. Following Luo Yuan¡¯s instructions, a young man picked up a brick and threw it against the door. A dull thud was heard which indicated to them the incredible thickness of the door.


    ¡°Is anyone there? Open the door, please!¡±


    With Luo Yuan¡¯s enhanced hearing ability, he heard whisperings from the other side of the door that quickly quietened down.


    The young man repeatedly knocked on the door with the brick and shouted for someone to open it. An impatient voice finally came from the other side after a minute and said, ¡°It¡¯s full here. Go somewhere else.¡±


    ¡°Open the door, there are only a few of us. It will make do if we squeezed a little,¡± a skinny man shouted.


    ¡°Yeah, be kind and let us in.¡± Other members added.


    ¡°Are you done? I said we can¡¯t fit anymore in here. It¡¯s useless however much you beg. Use this time to go to other dugouts,¡± the voice from the other side yelled in reply.


    The young man who knocked the door was obviously ill-tempered. He mmed the brick against the steel door and yelled, ¡°F*ck you! This dugout is not your home! A dugout that can house up to tens of thousands of people. It¡¯s not possible that it cannot fit the few of us. Open the door!¡±


    ¡°You selfish idiot! Don¡¯t think I don¡¯t know what you guys are thinking! All of you will end up in hell one day.¡±


    ¡°What can you do if I don¡¯t open this door? Bite me?¡± the voice on the other side replied.


    Both sides were now arguing with each other through the shut steel door.


    ¡°Step aside... Let me.¡± Luo Yuan suddenly said with a serious face.

 Chapter 90: Scapegoat

    Chapter 90: Scapegoat


    Trantor: Editor:


    Luo Yuan dashed towards the door with his sabre in hand. He stabbed the tip of his sabre through the metal door which was three to four inches thick but was no match for his dark blue level weapon. It pierced through the door as easily as a hot knife cutting through butter. Uproar could be heard on the other side.


    ¡°Open the door or I will tear it down.¡± Luo Yuan demanded in a stern voice.


    ¡°OKAY! PLEASE! STOP! WE¡¯LL OPEN IT!¡±


    Luo Yuan backed away from the door and it slowly creaked open to them. A terrified group of people were watching helplessly as Luo Yuan and his followers walked in. A few men on the inside were armed with pistols and two of them even had rifles.


    The leader, a tall and well-built man, had a scar that ran from the gap between his eyebrows to the tip of his lip. He was a terrifying looking man. He observed the sabre that Luo Yuan was holding and spoke, ¡°Okay, man. We let you in, so you gotta follow the rules now, alright? If you¡¯re gonna cause any trouble, don¡¯t say that I never told you the rules.¡±


    The crowd behind Luo Yuan was quiet at the sight of their guns. Even the young man who was furiously pounding on the door moments ago kept quiet.


    ¡°I love rules. They are what that distinguishes us from animals.¡± Luo Yuan smiled in reply.


    His body released an intimidating aura that could easily scare light blue level mutants let alone a group of normal human beings who have all involuntarily spaced out. The leader was petrified, his face was pale and sweat was dripping from the tip of his forehead. He couldn¡¯t move and gulped while trying to speak. Then, the aura dissipated.


    ¡°And, as for not opening the door, well, I understand the situation so I won¡¯t go into that any further. I mean, we don¡¯t know if the people outside are friends or foe, right?¡± Luo Yuan added.


    The crowd sighed in relief and came to realize that they were drenched in their own sweat. Some of them were even shaking. They looked at Luo Yuan as if they¡¯d seen a ghost. They then snapped out of their momentary daze and quickly followed Luo Yuan who had already made his way down the stairs. Scarface kept reaching for his pistol in the holster on his waist. He was undecided and confused as to what would be his next move but he eventually decided not to act because he knew that if he dared to pull out his gun, it wouldn¡¯t be his opponent who would be dead. He instantly knew that this is no typical man... this man is much more terrifying than the mutants in the wild and could probably outfight all the men in here with his fists alone.


    Luo Yuan reached the bottom of the stairs to find a corridor filled with tents. Despite howte it was (around 2 am) the sound of mutants and monsters¡¯ howling through the night could be heard. They were terrifying. Parents were lulling their children, young couples were holding tightly to each other, no one dared to take more than a nce at Luo Yuan and the crowd.


    ¡°How many people are there?¡± he asked.


    ¡°A few hundred, give or take. People from the neighboring viges came to seek refuge when the explosions started yesterday.¡± Scarface reluctantly replied him from behind.


    Luo Yuan nodded in acknowledgment, surprised by how crowded the ce actually is. ¡°Are there sufficient provisions?¡±


    ¡°Most bring their own provisions, three to five days¡¯ worth. I¡¯m afraid we won¡¯t be able to provide if it¡¯s any longer than that.¡± Scarface hesitated a moment before asking, ¡°What is it like now...out... there?¡±


    Luo Yuan walked on without replying.


    Huo Dong decided to speak on behalf of Luo Yuan, ¡°We didn¡¯t want to say this but honestly, Hedong City has fallen and the military has retreated to the underground facilities after the mutants invaded. Jiangnan is also done for. We¡¯ve got no backup and no miracles. I¡¯m afraid we¡¯ll be staying here for quite some time.¡±


    Several women in the crowd began wailing, intensifying the already gloomy situation.


    Luo Yuan spoke again, ¡°I need two tents, have you got any left?¡±


    ¡°Of course! I¡¯ll have my men bring it to you.¡± Scarface waved and a skinny chimp-like man ran into the crowd and prompted an outrage.


    ¡°WHAT THE F*CK ARE YOU DOING? You can¡¯t do this! This is MY TENT! You¡¯re robbing me! STOP IT YOU A*SHOLE!¡± a woman raged.


    ¡°You shut your mouth, woman! You should be grateful that we would want anything from the likes of you. Here¡¯s some provision-tickets, my boss is buying your tents!¡± the skinny man grabbed a handful of the tickets and hurled it at the woman¡¯s face.


    ¡°How dare you hit me, YOU F*CKING BASTARD! YOU DON¡¯T MAKE NO F*CKING SENSE! F*CK YOU!¡±


    The man next to the woman, presumably her husband, stared in disbelief. He gently tugged his wife and whispered, ¡°It¡¯s okay, honey. Just let them have the tent. We can¡¯t afford to start an argument here. Okay?¡±


    She shoved his hand aside, turned and assaulted him, ¡°JUST A TENT? HAVE YOU LOST YOUR F*CKING BALLS? I only married you because everyone else said you were kind and honest. Back then, I didn¡¯t want to say much because that¡¯s the kind of man that everybody wanted to marry. BUT NOW? We¡¯re being pushed around, our home has been taken away from us, and YOU¡¯RE NOT EVEN MAD? Have you even thought about where we are supposed to sleep without a tent?!¡±


    ¡°C¡¯mon, honey. There¡¯s no point bringing my personality into it. We¡¯re outnumbered here. Even if you did want to fight back, they¡¯ve got guns! We can¡¯t fight against that. Just let it go. The tents are just materialistic goods that we can do without anyway. Stop fighting against them. Let it go.¡± The husband replied.


    She didn¡¯t know what else to say or do, so she sat on the ground in despair. She cried.


    People were standing around them, spectating, but no one dared to stand too close. Frustrated by his failed acquisition, the skinny man drew a metal baton from his back and marched towards the crying woman.


    Huang Jiahui could not stand it anymore and pinched Luo Yuan¡¯s arm. He sighed at what had transpired, knowing that he¡¯s not that cold-blooded. ¡°STOP!¡± He yelled.


    The skinny man shuddered and stopped in his footsteps. He turned to look at Luo Yuan.


    Luo Yuan looked conflictingly at the couple. He couldn¡¯t stand what was happening as he too hade from a civilized society and in this case, he was the one at fault.


    ¡°Come back and just leave them be. It¡¯s not right to harm innocent people. Just give me two of your tents!¡± Luo Yuan told Scarface.


    Scarface froze, resisting the urge to shout back at Luo Yuan to tell him it is unfair for him to bully them.


    ¡°So? Do you have it or not?¡± Luo Yuan asked again.


    ¡°Why of course. Of course we do!¡±


    ¡°Then why are you still standing there? Bring them over. NOW!¡± Luo Yuan demanded.


    Scarface reluctantly ordered, ¡°Xiao Cao! Luo Ping! Bring two of our tents here for this man now!¡± As a leader, it is only natural that he would not personally deliver the tents. He has men to do his dirty work.


    ¡°Roger that, boss Hao!¡± they both replied.


    The two selected men, embarrassed, left unwillingly and returned shortly with two tents. Under the instruction of Scarface, they set up the tents in a vacant corridor.


    ¡°You smoke?¡± Luo Yuan took out a wrinkled cigarette and asked. Ever since the change, his addiction has been getting worse. He takes a smoke at every chance he can get during stressful situations.


    Scarface nodded and Luo Yuan gave him a cigarette. He refrained from sharing it with the others as this is his only box left.


    ¡°What¡¯s your name?¡± Luo Yuan asked as he lit his cigarette.


    ¡°Su Jianhao but people here call me Boss Hao.¡± He inhaled deeply and gently puffed.


    ¡°If you¡¯re nning to kill me, I¡¯d suggest you do it at night.¡± Luo Yuan said and then paused as he looked around and pointed, ¡°This spot right here. It¡¯s a good spot. It¡¯s a great spot for a stealthy entrance. Moreover, the straight pathway means there is nowhere to run or hide. All you need is a gun and a good aim. Would you like me to demonstrate?¡±


    Su Jianhao panicked and tried to run from his seat but it was toote as a dark blue level de was already resting on his throat. He had no choice but to sit back down. His face was discolored, and the hand he used to hold the cigarette began to shake. The chilly sensation on his throat functioned as a reminder that if he tried to move, the de would cut right through without hesitation.


    His throat moved as he gulped, ¡°But, sir. I...I think you¡¯ve misunderstood my intentions.¡±


    One of Su Jianhao¡¯s men saw what was happening and pulled out his pistol, ¡°WHAT ARE YOU DOING? Put down your weapon or...¡± Schink!


    Before the man could finish his sentence, Scarface noticed that his captor had gone out of his sight, and within a second, blood sttered all over his body. He looked at hisrade gripping tightly on his own throat but was unable to cover the wound that kept bleeding profusely. He fell to the ground and he eventually died.


    Su Jianhao was in shock- his mouth was wide open, his heart was pounding in his chest, and his eyes were tearing.


    ¡°If anyone tries to pull a gun at me again, that would be their end.¡± Luo Yuan threatened as the air around them seemed to have turned chilly. Another follower of Su Jianhao¡¯s who was present surrendered. He put his gun down on the ground and his hands were up in the air. He was too afraid to move.


    The kill happened so fast that it was barely visible to the naked eye. It took him no more than a second to kill and return to his initial position. Wang Shishi was shocked by what she just witnessed and held back a scream with her hands covering her mouth. Huang Jiahui sighed as she held her tightly.


    ¡°Good boy. Now, where were we?¡± Luo Yuan giggled.


    ¡°Mm-mmmisunderstanding. Th-thi-this was just a big misunderstanding. I never had the intention to kill any of you. I SWEAR!¡± Su Jianhao struggled to speak calmly as he remained petrified. As the de drew closer to his skin he realized that he had never felt death so close to him before. He was drenched in his own sweat and almost wet his trousers.


    ¡°Misunderstanding ¨C schmisunderstanding. If you have a death wish, all you have to do is ask and I¡¯ll kindly oblige by gently moving my de. I suppose you know what you should and shouldn¡¯t do. You have only once chance and you clearly only live once. It¡¯s all up to you, got it?¡±


    ¡°Y-yy-yes sir¡± Scarface replied.


    ¡°Very well. Take the body away and clean up the damn mess before you leave. DON¡¯T forget to bring us our breakfast tomorrow.¡± Luo Yuan instructed as the tents had been set up.


    ¡°Yes sir!¡± he replied again.


    After the mess was cleaned up, Su Jianhao and his men left ¨C only the group that followed Luo Yuan stayed behind.


    ¡°I knew from the very beginning that they weren¡¯t good people! They think themselves kings within these walls! You¡¯ve made one of their men a scapegoat now. We might have to be careful tonight. Since we won¡¯t be able to sleep, we¡¯ll stay up and take watch of the entrance.¡± Huo Dong suggested aloud.


    ¡°Yeah, the day¡¯s almost breaking and we won¡¯t be sleeping much anyway! Let¡¯s just take watch for a night.¡± Someone in the crowd agreed.


    In an apocalypse, power is everything. As Luo Yuan had now demonstrated his abilities, many had begun to follow him.


    ¡°I understand your concern for me but there are more families out there that could use your help.¡± Luo Yuan replied.


    ¡°As you wish, Brother Luo. We¡¯ll leave you to rest for the night.¡±

 Chapter 91: Night Chatter

    Chapter 91: Night Chatter


    Trantor: Editor:


    Why aren¡¯t there any mattresses in these tents? Then again, the weather has been quite hot recently ¨C some nights the temperature can get to as high as twenty degrees. We probably would not feel cold without nkets anyway. Hmm and the flooring of the tent...it¡¯s spongy...and it feels quite soft! How lucky.


    ¡°Hey, they¡¯re both the same. Which tent would you prefer?¡± he turned and asked Wang Shishi.


    ¡°Umm...I¡¯m scared to sleep alone tonight...Do you mind if I slept in the same tent together with the two of you?¡± Wang Shishi was still traumatized from what had happened recently.


    Luo Yuan and Huang Jiahui looked at each other and came to an agreement. ¡°Sure.¡±


    It was a night filled with too much gore for a youngdy that even Huang Jiahui would have had nightmares. What more could they expect from an inexperienced girl like Wang Shishi? If they left her to sleep alone, the umted stress would most likely have broken her.


    The trio walked together into the tent and Luo Yuan zipped the entrance closed.


    Huang Jiahui made sure to check that her pistol was close to her before she lied down to sleep. She assumed that Wang Shishi would be sleeping next to her and decided to leave some space but she was wrong ¨C Wang Shishi was in fact sleeping on the other side, cuddling very closely to Luo Yuan. She felt a little frustrated but decided to let it go as she could see Wang Shishi was trembling helplessly. As long as we¡¯re all safe and alive, she thought.


    ¡°Brother Luo, would those baddies attempt to kill us in our sleep?¡± Wang Shishi whispered into Luo Yuan¡¯s ear as she was struggling to fall asleep.


    ¡°Well, if they had anymon sense, they would certainly avoiding to us. Besides, they also need to sleep. You can sleep safe and sound tonight.¡± He replied.


    ¡°You...deliberately killed that man, didn¡¯t you?¡± Huang Jiahui questioned Luo Yuan hesitantly. Wang Shishi¡¯s eyes began to widen after hearing that question.


    He kept silent for a moment before replying, ¡°When you were a cop, were you ever afraid when confronting a criminal?¡±


    ¡°Of course not!¡± Huang Jiahui replied instantly.


    ¡°The reason was because you always had a gun with you; it helps amplify your courage and strength which indirectly makes you feel more authoritative and overpowering.


    Those men had more than one gun and from the looks of it none of them were good men. Even if I didn¡¯t want to, I had to kill that man as a warning just in case any of them dared to challenge us.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s a person¡¯s life! You should have just punished him instead of kill him.¡±


    ¡°Did you even think about what would have happened, if they deemed us weaker than them?¡±


    ¡°Well...perhaps you could have just cut off one of his limbs instead...¡± she abruptly stopped mid-sentence, surprised by what she had just said.


    ¡°Haha! That would have been worse than death. In our current situation, it would have been better if he died than lived and endure being tortured.¡± He replied.


    Wang Shishi could not stand it any longer, ¡°Sister Huang, please STOP going against Brother Luo! He was just trying to keep us safe! If it weren¡¯t for him, we would both be DEAD by now!¡±


    Huang Jiahui was taken aback by the usation, ¡°Oh? Why don¡¯t you help our dear Brother Luo then? Weren¡¯t you upset with him just now, and said you hated him?¡±


    ¡°Well...I WAS angry and depressed when I said that! But I am well aware that he means well.¡±


    ¡°Oh, stop being such a kiss ¨C ass!¡±


    ¡°I¡¯M NOT KISSING HIS ASS. I know that Brother Luo IS a nice person okay!¡±


    Luo Yuan felt ted listening to the twodies bickering away, even though he was really tired and could feel his eyelids gradually grow heavier. He had gone out the whole day without getting any rest; he wasn¡¯t only physically tired but mentally exhausted as well. As he began to rx, the exhaustion through his body erupted like a volcano.


    He began to snore and slowly their voices became softer and softer.


    ¡°Brother Luo, have you fallen asleep already?¡±


    ¡°He must have beenpletely worn out. He was out the whole day, although we have no idea what he was doing... it must have been taxing. We should let him rest.¡± Huang Jiahui whispered quietly. She felt much safer seeing that even in his sleep, he held on to the hilt of his sabre tightly.


    She may have sounded harsh earlier but she knew deep inside that Wang Shishi was right- without him, they wouldn¡¯t have made it this far.


    Inside the other path which was down through the tunnel is the living quarters of Su Jianhao. The location was roughly separated by loose nks ¨C there you could find a couch, coffee table and ten men huddling around the quarters. It was filled with can drinks, chips, alcohol, and cigarette butts all over the floor. The air was densely polluted with smoke, which made it difficult to even open one¡¯s eyes.


    Su Jianhao was sitting on the couch; he felt gloomy and couldn¡¯t bring himself to stop smoking. He had been subconsciously reaching for his throat several times, unable to forget the de that had sent chills down his spine.


    ¡°Brother Hao... Please! Let me send a few men to get rid of those arrogant bastards.¡± One of his curly-haired adolescent men stood up and spoke in outrage.


    ¡°Don¡¯t be reckless, Xiao Hu. Sit down and just do as Brother Hao says.¡± A brutal- looking middle-aged man replied, he then turns to Su Jianhao, ¡°Brother Hao. We can¡¯t just sit here and do nothing! PLEASE SAY SOMETHING!¡±


    Su Jianhao took a deep huff of the cigarette and threw the butt to the ground as he raised his head. Only ten minutes of work had passed but he looked as if he hadn¡¯t been sleeping for nights. He finally spoke, ¡°Y¡¯all been following me for almost seven to eight years now... even the shortest would be about four to five. Y¡¯all should know well what kind of man I am. I am as angered by Guo Zi¡¯s death as much as the rest of you and maybe even more outraged than you can imagine. He had died...because of me. I want to slice that bastard into pieces but anger won¡¯t solve the problem. He outwits every single one of us. We can¡¯t take the risk, at least not yet. That prick is an evolved man. He has elerated speed and I¡¯m afraid our guns will do us no good against him. Don¡¯t forget that he has be aware of us now.¡±


    ¡°Evolved man?!¡± his men gasped.


    Most of the men who are evolved are part of the military program, but there are a few that roam among themoners. They keep a low-profile due to various circumstances. Should any of you pass by an evolved man, you would not be aware of their presence. That is why the evolved men are seen as an urban legend in the eyes of themoners ¨C it is more likely to hear about them than to ever get the chance to encounter any of them.


    ¡°That little prick is a ruthless man ¨C he won¡¯t hesitate to take a life or two. Y¡¯all best not do anything stupid to provoke him, y¡¯all got to be smart. BE NICE, treat him like royalty, give him anything he wants, and send him a few of our best women. We need to gain a bit of his trust before we n to ambush him. HUANG! You¡¯re a detailed man. We¡¯ll leave the ass-kissery to you.


    ¡°Roger that, Brother Hao. I know exactly what to do.¡± The middle-aged man replied.


    His men all sighed in relief after having heard what their leader had in mind. Luo Yuan has left a deep wound in their impressions ¨C cold, cruel and unmerciful. They felt safer not having to go against the ¡°devil¡±... at least not yet.


    Suddenly, the door broke open. The men were all taken aback; some of them quickly armed themselves with their weapons. It was the wife of their boss, so they calmed down.


    ¡°WHY ARE YOU GENTLEMEN STILL AWAKE?! It¡¯s almost two in the morning! SU JIANHAO! Our child is sick with high fever and you¡¯re not doing anything about it! AND STOP SMOKING THAT PIECE OF SHIT, YOU¡¯RE BOUND TO GET LUNG CANCER. DISMISS YOUR BLOODY ASSEMBLY NOW!¡±


    ¡°Yes, ma¡¯am!¡± all the men obeyed.


    Su Jianhao stood up and waved his right hand, ¡°You heard thedy, go and get some sleep! Huang, I trust you know what to do tomorrow.¡±


    The middle-aged man nodded in response as the men quickly scattered back to their own quarters.

 Chapter 92: Radiation

    Chapter 92: Radiation


    Trantor: Editor:


    Luo Yuan was startled from his slumber by noises from outside the tent. He instinctively gripped the handle of his sabre and slowly opened his eyes. He tried to gently maneuver his way out between the limbs of the twodies but they were instantly woken by his not so gentle movements.


    ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡± Huang Jiahui was rmed and grabbed hold of her pistol.


    ¡°No no no. It¡¯s nothing. Go back to sleep. I¡¯m just going to take a look outside¡± he said as he unzipped the tent and walked towards the noise.


    There was an argument happening and it was loud even though the people tried to lower their voices.


    ¡°You¡¯re letting us eat this crap?!¡±


    ¡°How is it supposed to fill our hunger? The porridge is so thin I can see my own reflection!¡±


    ¡°Get yo leader¡¯s ass here right now! I don¡¯t believe y¡¯all have insufficient provision for the few of us here. Are you trying to piss off our Boss Luo?¡±


    ¡°Calm down, fellow brethren. Please try to understand. Yes, we do have sufficient provisions but that doesn¡¯t mean we can afford to splurge it all at once. We don¡¯t know how long we¡¯ll be in here ¨C we can¡¯t just feast luxuriously now and worry about itter.¡± A middle-aged man exined while trying to offer a bitter smile. His exnation did calm the outrage as the crowd contemted the possibility of provision deficiency.


    Before he could continue justifying theck of food provided, the middle-aged man was muted at the sight of Luo Yuan walking over with his murderous weapon. He froze.


    ¡°Boss Luo!¡±


    ¡°Oh...Boss Luo. You¡¯re awake. I¡¯m so sorry to have disturbed you.¡± The middle-aged man apologized generously with a big smile and a low bow.


    Luo Yuan recognized that this was one of Su Jianhao¡¯s henchmen, who seemed skilled with false pleasantries and honeyed words ¨C definitely not a person to simply underestimate.


    He frowned as he walked towards the big pot and saw how thin and transparent the porridge was ¨C so thin he could see the bottom of the pot, and so little that each person would only have a single serving that could hardly fill their hunger. There was a dish of stir-fried vegetables that was equally minimal ced right next to the pot. He examined it with a spat and left it as it was.


    The middle-aged man¡¯s name is Huang Zhongchan. He attempted to repeat his rehearsed lines about curbing the possibility of provision deficiency but failed as he looked at Luo Yuan. His forehead wrinkled, his heart was beating quickly against his chest and his palms were sweaty and he felt like he released buckets of sweat. He couldn¡¯t help but be reminded of what Luo Yuan was capable of ¨C the monster seems calm now but for how long? Had he known Luo Yuan would show up he would have decided against delivering the food on his own, but it is now toote.


    Luo Yuan looked at Huang Zhongchan, not saying a word, scaring him pale and he could hardly smile. He did wait for Luo Yuan to speak, ¡°I...I¡¯ll take this back and bring a fresh pot of rice instead.¡±


    Luo Yuan could see the fear in Huang Zhongchan¡¯s eyes. He was amazed by fear he could impose on others by killing a man. He replied, ¡°Well? Why are you still here? GET TO IT THEN.¡±


    Huang Zhongchan sighed in relief that he wasn¡¯t about to be ughtered. He quickly summoned two otherckeys to have the pot of porridge removed and then hurried away.


    It didn¡¯t take long for a fresh pot of rice to arrive. This time, a proper meal was prepared ¨C even more so than the meals they had when they were still at the vi. He did not eat together with the men but instead took his food and walked into the tunnel.


    When he returned to the tent, thedies had awaken from their sleep and were brushing their teeth with a small basin of water that was brought over.


    ¡°How much drinking water do we have left?¡± he asked. They had identally dropped their luggage while they were trying to escape the day before. The only things they have left are those that were in their backpacks, which isn¡¯t much.


    ¡°Last I checked we had five bottles of water and some vacuum-sealed biscuits left. The rest are just money and some strips of gold...which I¡¯m afraid are useless to us here.¡± Huang Jiahui answered.


    ¡°Get rid of the provision tickets. They have no value anymore. Let¡¯s keep the water and biscuits as our emergency provision.¡± He frowned again as he felt the earth tremor lightly, ¡°It¡¯s not safe for us here. We need to get out as soon as we can.¡±


    ¡°BUT WHY, Brother Luo? Isn¡¯t it safer here, under the solid bunker where no monsters can intrude?¡± Wang Shishi quickly interjected, surprised by how soon he had nned for them to leave.


    ¡°Do we really have to leave?¡± Huang Jiahui added calmly.


    He nodded and said, ¡°No matter how safe it may seem, this is still an iplete underground bunker. The provisions they¡¯ve prepared are clearly not enough. The refugees may have brought their own provision but that¡¯s only sufficient for three to five days, any longer and a riot is bound to break out. I may not have starved myself but I can imagine how crazy a whole bunker of starving men would be. How about we leave after a few days of good rest?¡±


    ¡°But...where can we go?¡± the girls asked.


    ¡°We could return to the vi first as we have enough food and supplies prepared that canst us for about a year or maybe even more. And besides, maybe by then these monsters would have left the area due to theck of food.¡±


    Wang Shishi had to resist the urge to vomit after hearing him describe the monsters eating the other humans in such a casual manner.


    ¡°Would the people here die?¡± Huang Jiahui couldn¡¯t help but ask, worried about the lives of the innocent and the suffering.


    Luo Yuan understood her sentiments, so he sighed and responded, ¡°Compared to the people on the outside? They¡¯re quite lucky to be alive for the time being. If it¡¯s about ten or thirty or forty people, I might be able to help them out but I¡¯ve estimated that there are about a thousand or more of them here. Even if we did supply them the entire vi¡¯s provisions, how many days would we all survive? Don¡¯t think too much into it, eat.¡±


    He brought out his bowl of rice but any appetite he had left was now gone. He took a few mouthfuls and just left the food as it is, feeling surprisingly guilty. He understood that this sort of survivor¡¯s guilt can be quite dangerous. He also understands that he¡¯d have to risk his own life going out hunting monsters for food to feed so many people. He¡¯ll have to wait and see if anyone wants to follow them when they leave, then and maybe only then, will he decide if he can save any of them.


    Luo Yuan woke up the next morning finding that many people could not stop vomiting and running to the toilet. Their skin began to itch and rashes covered their bodies. Many also came down with severe fever. By the afternoon, even Huang Jiahui started to fall ill, weak to the bones, unable to move.


    He initially thought it was an epidemic, causing mass hysteria in the underground bunker. One of the things that theyck most these days is medical supplies. Any epidemic could prove to be deadly to the diminishing poption especially when they are not able to tell whether their illness is the result of gic mutations ¨C of which they would have no vine or antidote to fight against.


    A young man determined that this was the side-effect of being exposed to severe radiation. He was a doctor but one thatcked medical supplies to aid the fallen men and women. He couldn¡¯t do much but to ask Luo Yuan to fetch some salt water for the sick to drink.


    Luo Yuan may not be a doctor but he was a science major back in university and he knew that iodized salt contained potassium iodide which functions to prevent the radiation from further entering the veins but does not protect the body from other kinds of radiation such as nuclear radiation. However, they have no other options.


    Several hours after drinking the salt water, Huang Jiahui miraculously recovered. He wasn¡¯t sure if it was the salt or her body¡¯s natural healing that helped her recover from the illness. Unfortunately, on the second day, three men died from the exposure to the radiation. On the third day, most of the sick had recovered almostpletely. The doctor couldn¡¯t help but be surprised by this miracle.


    Luo Yuan was certain that the human body had not gone through the same mutation as the beasts and monsters they encountered but it has nheless improved. What was once considered as a deadly radiation may no longer be as lethal as it was before the apocalypse ¨C just as how Luo Yuan and Wang Shishi¡¯s bodies were hardly affected by the radiation.

 Chapter 93: Choice

    Chapter 93: Choice


    Trantor: Editor:


    Luo Yuan punched the air relentlessly, which produced sounds like fireworks!


    Sun Xiaowu who was standing at the passage entrance was watching the incredibly fast punches from Luo Yuan with eagerness; he then swallowed and passed a towel to Luo Yuan when he stopped huffing.


    ¡°What happened outside? What was causing all the noise?¡± he asked as Luo Yuan wiped his sweat with the towel he received.


    This young man who had smashed the door out of anger earlier seemed to really admire Luo Yuan, he was aggressive and brute, but he was a simple man. Ever since he witnessed what Luo Yuan was capable of, he was enthusiastically trying to befriend Luo Yuan. Luo Yuan did not reject his friendship; instead, he tasked him to collect information.


    ¡°Someone passed away again. Those people who were starving are ruthless for a mouthful of food... recently a baby was stampeded on when they were fighting, it was terrible.¡± Sun Xiaowu spoke softly and continued, ¡°But nobody dares to provoke us, a lot of people have been avoiding us after what they had witnessed.¡±


    It has only been five days since Luo Yuan entered the dugout. With the depletion of food, irritable anxiety began to permeate the once peaceful dugout. Injuries and death were an everyday urrence and the stench of dposing corpses filled the air.


    ¡°What about Su Jianhao and his gang?¡± Luo Yuan asked.


    ¡°There has been no news from them, perhaps they are afraid. Other than Huang Chongshan and a few others, I haven¡¯t seen anyone else the past few days. I¡¯ve also collected the information you asked for... Su Jianhao used to be the boss of the Xingan Gang in Hedong City¡¯s Anpu Area but he gradually turned the gang legal a few years ago. I heard that he had killed a few people before.¡±


    Luo Yuan nodded and after some thought lifted his head and spoke, ¡°Tell the people outside who want to follow me that we will departter this afternoon.¡±


    ¡°We¡¯re leaving this dugout?¡± Sun Xiaowu asked rmingly.


    He nodded and took a sip from his bottle before resuming his workout. He had said what was needed to be said. It was up to them if they could discern the situation or wanted to listen.


    The strong gust of the wind from Luo Yuan¡¯s punches made Sun Xiaowu¡¯s clothes flutter. He slowly calmed down after looking at Luo Yuan who was inhumanely strong, ¡°I understand, I will go and inform the others now.¡±


    Luo Yuan did not say anything else as he continued punching.


    ¡°Why are we leaving? It¡¯s dangerous to be outside. The man-eating mutated beasts are everywhere. We finally made it to this dugout, why are we going out again?¡± A young woman asked anxiously.


    ¡°Yeah, Xiaowu, please talk to Boss Luo. Why take the risk? The conditions here are bad but at least we are safe. Where will we go once we leave? What will we eat?¡±


    ¡°Why can¡¯t you understand that the food here is limited? A lot of people are already beginning to starve! We need to leave here sooner orter, why not now?¡± Sun Xiaowu said loudly.


    ¡°I understand this logic but I don¡¯t n to go out anymore. I have heart problems; I won¡¯t be able to withstand the environment outside. Actually, what would we do when we leave? Maybe we will die as soon as we leave. If I remain here I may survive for a few more days, that itself is enough for me to stay.¡± A middle-aged man sighed in reply.


    Everyone could understand the situation easily. It was just that if one had to choose between temporary enjoyment and a future filled with danger, most of the people would lean towards the former. The future was uncertain, only the present was real. He really did not want to leave. This ce was almost like heavenpared to the world outside. His heart thumped faster just from the thought of that gory night.


    ¡°I¡¯m not leaving either. I¡¯m fat and won¡¯t able about to run fast. I¡¯ll only slow you all down if I follow¡± a plump middle-aged man shook his head after being in a daze.


    ¡°If Boss Luo can guarantee our safety, we will leave,¡± a young man in a blue tracksuit responded in a soft voice.


    Before Sun Xiaowu could say anything, Huo Dong who wanted to stand out sneered loudly, ¡°Very funny, no one is begging you to leave. Who do you think you are to Boss Luo? Did you give him money or save his life? We can still breathe and have something to eat now thanks to Boss Luo. It¡¯s fine if you don¡¯t n to repay his kindness but don¡¯t drag him behind, you¡¯re so ungrateful!¡±


    ¡°Please don¡¯t distort the trust... it¡¯s up to you to kiss someone¡¯s feet but don¡¯t use me as your stepping stone. Since Boss Luo is asking us to leave, he should at least be responsible for our safety. Otherwise, who would follow him?¡± He defended himself and flustered while despising gazended on him from all around.


    ¡°Ren Qi, are you able to kill mutated beasts or humans? Look at you, fair-skinned and young, you probably couldn¡¯t even kill a chicken! What can you do besides selling your ass? Trash like you regard yourself too highly,¡± Huo Dong Sneered. He initially had the intention to entertain but he was really angered now that he met such an unreasonable person.


    The man named Ren Qi was furious and charged forward but was tripped by god knows who and fell to the ground. Everyone around him scattered and not one soul was willing to lend him a hand.


    A girl hesitantly walked over to help him but was pushed away. She almost slipped as she staggered a few steps back. Her eyes started to get filled with tears.


    ¡°Ning Xiaoran, I don¡¯t need your fake sympathy. Does every one of you see me as a joke? Just you wait, all of you will regret this,¡± he angrily stared at everyone around him as if he wanted to remember every single person before he shoved aside those watching and left.


    Luo Yuan wiped his machete and sheathed it back into its scabbard.


    His possessions were scarce... only a tent and a backpack.


    Luo Yuan had initially wanted to leave the tent behind but thought that it mighte in handy in case of emergencies and so he packed it along.


    The tent looked big but once folded, it was only the size of a duffel bag. It was light and did not hinder his movements. Besides, the distance would be short if everything went smoothly. It would take at most 2 ¨C 3 hours to reach Jingyue residential area.


    Some 20 ¨C 30 came together but only 5 left in unison now.


    Other than Huo Dong, Sun Xiaowu and 30-year-old Chen Xianfeng who was rather expressionless, there were also two other women. From Luo Yuan¡¯s memory, one of them was thedy who reminded them about this dugout earlier. She was pretty judging from Sun Xiaowu¡¯s passing nces. The other one looked young, about 18 ¨C 19 years old, and was quiet and small like a student.


    Everyone was watching them with mixed emotions; their stares had a hint of sympathy.


    ¡°Only these few?¡± Luo Yuan asked.


    ¡°Most of them didn¡¯t want to leave,¡± Huo Dong said.


    Luo Yuan scanned the crowd as they tried to avoid his gaze. He sighed inwardly thinking, everyone has their own choice. Who would know who was right and wrong? Perhaps staying here was the best choice for them.


    ¡°You pick your own road, now let¡¯s leave!¡± Luo Yuan inhaled deeply and said.


    The crowd sent them away. For some, their hearts faintly regretted the decision to stay.


    Su Jianhao¡¯s brows were locked together. He was basically smoking cigarette after cigarette. Within a few days, he became thin and seemed to have aged several years. Every day he was woken up by nightmares, constantly feeling the chill down his throat. It was driving him nuts. He didn¡¯t even dare to go out. To the people outside, he would say it was because his son had a strange high fever; but on the inside, he was really scared and did not dare to meet the man.


    If it had been in his old days, he would have stood up against Luo Yuan without hesitation. Everyone would have been afraid when the name ¡®Lunatic Hao¡¯ from Xingan Gang was mentionedst time.


    The aggression and bravery from his youth had been washed away by age, especially since he had gone legal for several years now, being as businessman-like as he could be. He knew how to calcte gains and loss, and discerned when to tolerate or retreat.


    Suddenly, the doors were pushed open with a bang! Su Jianhao almost jumped with a twitch, but seeing that it was only Huang Chongshan, he said unhappily, ¡°How many times have I told you... knock before youe in.¡±


    ¡°They left...They finally...¡± Huang Chongshan could not even register what he had just said, his body was trembling from excitement and suddenly he realized the implications of his words. He swallowed the other half of his sentence and took a breather before saying, ¡°They finally...ran, do we chase after them?¡±


    ¡°Left?¡± Su Jianhao was surprised, and continued, ¡°Theye and go as they wish! These scums must have enjoyed themselves the past few days, eh? A dozen of them must have already died by now, right? Discarding their bodies all over the ce and making the dugout smell so bad. If I wasn¡¯t so busy with my things recently, I¡¯d have gone against them.¡±


    A dozen? But he only killed one person, Huang Chongshan thought. His boss seems to have gotten it wrong. Yet from his many years of experience being Su Jianhao¡¯s right wing man, Huang Chongshan knew him inside out. He knew that he should only go along with the words that were spoken and smiled, ¡°Brother Hao, you should have stood out earlier. Then we will see who would dare to defy you and I¡¯ll shoot them down.¡±


    ¡°Right, so who wanted to leave? They must have guts for not being afraid to be eaten by the beasts,¡± Su Jianhao calmed down after venting and said calmly.


    ¡°It¡¯s the murderous devil, he just left.¡±


    ¡°Murderous devil...¡± Su Jianhao was stunned before suddenly standing, the ashes from the cigarette in his hand began to scatter, ¡°The murderous devil you mean, That Luo something?¡±


    ¡°Boss Luo... that Luo Yuan guy, he just left.¡± Huang Chongshan said once more in agitation.


    ¡°His reaction was pretty fast,¡± Su Jianhao¡¯s eyebrows raised as he sneered and took a long drag from his cigarette.


    In an instant, Huang Chongshan could feel the return of the old Brother Hao. He was filled with high spirits and his interlocking brows smoothened. Even the wrinkles between his eyes were radiating with joy. The gloomy cloud that had been looming over him these recent days was gone in the blink of an eye. Huang Chongshan quickly retracted his gaze, lowering his head slightly to conceal what he was thinking.


    ¡°How long has he been gone?¡± Su Jianhao asked.


    ¡°About ten minutes ago, I was the one who opened the door for him.¡± Huang Chongshan said smiling as he borated once more, worried that his boss would misunderstand, ¡°Initially, the Luo...loser was about to break the lock with his sharp knife.¡±


    ¡°Forget it, I don¡¯t me you guys. No use throwing your lives away for such petty things.¡± Su Jianhao said generously.


    ¡°Thank you for your consideration, Brother Hao. Some of them didn¡¯t leave with him though. Should we still continue to send them meals after this?¡± Huang Chongshan asked.


    ¡°Send them meals? Are you f*king stupid? Do you think my food drops from heaven!?¡± Su Jianhao said furiously,¡± I¡¯m d they didn¡¯t leave... I want them to vomit whatever food they¡¯ve eaten from me, especially the rice we provided them.¡±


    Of course, he had only sent them meals before when the murderous devil was still here as he posed a big threat. Now that the devil has left, if he continued to provide food for them, that would only show that he, Su Jianhao, was utterly scared of the devil. That would not sit well with those who had been following him. Without enforcing authority, they would no longer stay loyal to him. He would not only stop providing meals to them but also get payback.


    ¡°I understand.¡± Huang Chongshan understood more than what was being said, ¡°Do you want me to call them over?¡±


    ¡°No, that would be regarding them too highly. Let them starve for a few more days. They can go and steal the food if they don¡¯t get to eat. There are too many people here anyway; we can clear a bunch of them through this. After that, we will finish off those who don¡¯t obey us by seizing their food. By then, we will be in total control of this dugout. In this era, whoever has the food is the boss... unless you n to die from starvation,¡± Su Jianhao said coldly.


    ¡°Would this end up getting out of hand?¡± Even Huang Chongshan who had experienced dark days before could still feel chills just thinking about the number of deaths that was bound to happen.


    ¡°What¡¯s there for us to be afraid of when we have guns? The society is wretched now. Nobody would care even if everyone here dies,¡± Su Jianhao said indifferently.

 Chapter 94: Territory

    Chapter 94: Territory


    Trantor: Editor:


    A building had copsed right across the street which blocked the way. Luo Yuan observed the surroundings from the intersection. Gritting his teeth, he decided to go down another route.


    The whole city had fallen beyond recognition within just a few days. Crumbled and damaged buildings were everywhere. Layers of dust covered the roads while human skeletons piled up around the roadside. A few pieces of torn clothes that were stained with dried blood could be seen fluttering in the wind.


    Just as Lou Yuan and his group were walking past the skeletons, a colony of ck beetles the size of a fingernail scattered out from the pile of skeletons and were gone in the blink of an eye.


    A few low level mutated beasts passed by and some had stopped with the intention to hunt as their bloodshot eyes locked on to the group of humans.


    An indescribable stench of rotting flesh permeated through the entire city.


    It was a picture of absolute destion!


    If not for the howls from the beasts that could be heard further away, this ce would certainly have been a ghost town.


    Luckily, during their journey, Lou Yuan did note across a singlerge creature- though that did not mean they no longer existed. A territorial aura was emitted a few blocks away. It was obvious that these creatures had divided their territories within the past few days. An oppressive atmosphere could be felt everywhere, making everyone want to just take off and run purely on instinct.


    Yet because it was still some distance away, normal people could not sense it. Their senses were too weak. Among the group, only Wang Shishi could feel a hint of the aura that was emitted.


    Luo Yuan would certainly have avoided this route if he had any other choice but this beast¡¯s territory was toorge, ranging from about 5 - 6 kilometer squared. If they wanted to avoid this area it would make for a far more winding route. Furthermore, the neighboring beasts would not be any better.


    If Luo Yuan were to be categorized ording to the mutated beast¡¯s levels, he would only rank as light blue. With the aid of his weapon andbat skills, he could certainly battle against blue level creatures.


    It was very risky for a light blue level creature to enter a blue level creature¡¯s territory but the meditation that he had practiced was not for nothing. He could already master the maniption of his own willpower especially after mastering his ¡®Knife Skills¡¯.


    He did his best to contain his thoughts that were held deep in his heart, afraid to expose himself to the beasts. Wang Shishi was not afraid of these creatures as long as Luo Yuan was by her side. She cast her telekinesis powers and her shuttle immediately hovered over her head.


    "Don¡¯t do anything!" Luo Yuan immediately stopped her in a quiet voice. "We should cross this ce as quick as possible" he added.


    "What¡¯s up?" Huang Jiahui asked and suddenly noticed that beads of sweat were already dotting Luo Yuan¡¯s forehead. She began to tremble as she realised Luo Yuan must have discovered something frightening to summon this type of reaction.


    "Boss Luo, please don¡¯t scare me" Huo Dong said with forced a smile, attempting to lighten the mood but his voice was also trembling.


    Luo Yuan looked at everyone with a grim face, "I¡¯m sorry to tell all of you that an intimidating beast lurks around here. Even for me, running away is the only option! Everyone, please be quiet. We should quickly leave this area."


    "Then... Then why didn¡¯t we go the other way round?" Ning Xiaoran stuttered, this girl who was normally quiet was obviously horrified by the tensed situation.


    "All beasts have their own territories. This might be the most dangerous area but it is also the safest route. Did any of you notice that there are low level mutated beasts all around? We¡¯re probably considered simr if not lower rank than these creatures to the beast. If we¡¯re lucky, maybe we won¡¯t even attract its attention," another female spoke from the group.


    Luo Yuan was a little impressed. He could see that she was also afraid but could still maintain a clear mind even when she was scared.


    After she felt Luo Yuan¡¯s gaze, Cao Ling could not help but straighten her back.


    Cao Ling used to be a nning department manager. Her capabilities and social skills were great seeing that she could join thepany¡¯s higher management team from just a normal employee within five years after graduation despite fiercepetition. Most importantly, she always stood out during crucial moments which left a good impression on the higher management.


    Being a female during an apocalypse was a direct weakness- she had weak strength, slow speed and was not evolved. However, thepetitive pressures she had felt before the apocalypse could match what she was feeling now. She would even sacrifice her body in order to survive.


    Luo Yuan who had two women with him seemed to look decent and respected females. That was enough for Cao Ling. Rtionships were considered a luxury for females her age. If it were not for the apocalypse, she would probably have gone on a blind date and gotten married in haste.


    Sun Xiaowu did not want to be shadowed, especially by a woman this pretty. Heughed dryly, "Hopefully the beast would be full from feasting and wouldn¡¯t want to have us as dessert."


    "I should just follow the boss as I¡¯m sure he wouldn¡¯t let me get harmed," Chen Xianfengughed stiffly as he felt for the dagger by his hips which we had picked up along the way. Someone had probably left it behind amidst the chaos that had urred.


    "Since nobody has any objections, let¡¯s keep going." Luo Yuan said after everyone was done speaking.


    The streets became eerily quiet, only their footsteps and breathing could be heard. Suddenly, Luo Yuan raised his hand to give a signal. The group stopped at once as they watched Luo Yuan slowly tilt his head to listen to something. Everyone gazed at him nervously not knowing what would happen next.


    Suddenly, he turned and ran! A few secondster, he slid into an alley and elerated his speed.


    Nobody understood what was happening but no one asked as everything was happening in silence.


    After a short time had passed, a dull rhythmic thud could be hearding closer to them from a distance. The sound grew louder and louder and soon, the buildings nearby began to crumble and copse under the quake.


    Ning Xiaoran turned and saw a faint figure of a ferocious andrge creature amidst the dust. She could even make out the ck spikes and deformed wings on its back.


    "God!" She let out a wail and quickly covered her mouth, afraid that she made too much noise. Fear quickly filled her heart, her limbs grew weak and she was about to copse onto the ground.


    "I mustn¡¯t be afraid, I don¡¯t want to die, Xiaoran, you can do this!" She bit her lips and quickly regained her energy as she sprinted towards the group that had already left her behind.


    They ran for several minutes and finally entered the alley. Luo Yuan checked the surroundings warily and closed his eyes. When he opened them, he gave everyone who was nervous a calm smile and said, "It left! It should be hunting for food. We should be safe for now, at least for this part of the journey."


    Everyone was exhausted. It was obvious that they were out of breath and could no longer run. Their energy had depleted much quicker under the influence of fear. Luo Yuan looked at his watch and allowed them to have a 5-minute break since it was still early.


    The group quickly took a breather and let out a sigh of relief as they copsed onto the ground. Ning Xiaoran, who felt as if she had just escaped death, sobbed for a while before wiping her tears away feeling embarrassed. Her clothes were old, covered with dirt and grime. In addition to the blood on her lips, her face was covered in stains from her actions earlier.


    Huang Jiahui chuckled lightly and took a moist towel out from her bag, passing it to her and said, "Wipe your face."


    ¡°Thank you, thank you!¡± Ning Xiaoran hurriedly stood up to receive the towel and thanked her.


    ¡°This is my towel.¡± Wang Shishi said as she began to behave as the child she was- murmuring unhappily seeing that Huang Jiahui had mistakenly given away her towel.


    Ning Xiaoran had sharp hearing and was quick to thank Wang Shishi which caught her off guard and made her blush.


    Luo Yuanughed but immediately changed his expression as he pulled his machete out. A maroon-colored lump fell onto the ground after only a strike from his de but that thing was not dead yet! The two halves of its body began to twitch. It looked like an ant with a pair of transparent wings.


    ¡°This looks like a mutated ant.¡± Huang Dong went over as he saw it still struggling, ¡°This thing has a pretty strong vitality as it didn¡¯t die even after it was sliced in half.¡±


    As he spoke, he subconsciously raised his foot to stomp it.


    Luo Yuan did not care much but soon found that Huo Dong was all red. He was stomping on the ant forcefully but was not able to squash it as the ant¡¯s crust was incredibly tough.


    Luo Yuan was thinking of something as he raised his voice, ¡°Lift your leg.¡±


    Huo Dong quicklyplied and raised his leg. The ant¡¯s stinger was stuck on the sole of his shoe and almost pierced through it. If it had not been for his shoe¡¯s insoles, the ant would have probably gotten his foot.


    Huo Dong flung his foot around yet the other half of the ant¡¯s body seems to be stuck on his shoes. He quickly asked Luo Yuan for help, ¡°Boss...Boss Luo, can you please help me get it off?!¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t move.¡± Luo Yuan said quietly.


    Huo Dong halted his frantic actions and before he was ready, the sole of his shoes together with the other half of the ant was sliced off.


    Luo Yuan turned the sliced sole over with the tip of his machete. ¡°The creature¡¯s stinger probably contained a strong venom. If you don¡¯t want your foot to rot away, it¡¯s best to throw your shoes away. Also, don¡¯t touch these creatures with any part of your body next time,¡± Luo Yuan warned him.


    Huo Dong was freaked out to the point where his face had turned white as he quickly removed his shoes and threw them far away.

 Chapter 95: Accident

    Chapter 95: ident


    Trantor: Editor:


    ¡°Friends outside, where are you all going? Can you bring us along?¡± A movement nearby caught everyone¡¯s attention as the window to the building beside them opened and the figure of a person appeared.


    Everyone looked at Luo Yuan which gave him a headache. ¡°How many of you are there?¡± he asked.


    It was fine if there were only a few people. Luo Yuan would only reject them if there were too many of them. His ce was small with limited inventory.


    ¡°Two! Just two of us. It¡¯s too dangerous here, I want to leave with you all. We can watch out for each other if there are more of us,¡± the man quickly said.


    ¡°Thene quickly. We¡¯re leaving.¡± Luo Yuan replied.


    ¡°Okay, okay. Right away,¡± the man was beyond delighted and disappeared promptly from the window.


    In a brief moment, they came down.


    They were a man and a woman in their thirties carrying a handful of bags. They looked like they were spouses and were covered inyers of clothes. Each of them had a pan hanging in front of their chests. The man who spoke earlier even had an iron bar in his hand. They seemed like they had been ready by the looks of it.


    Wang Shishi could not help but chuckle at their rather funny appearance.


    ¡°I¡¯m Zhao Dagang. This is my wife, Jin Meili. How do I address you all?¡± Zhao Dagang breathed a sigh of relief and asked gratefully.


    The team introduced themselves. These two people were very lucky as they had never encountered any danger even since the apocalypse. They had even stayed at home safely during the wave of beasts that attacked five days ago.


    ¡°Where are you guys going?¡± Zhao Dagang asked.


    ¡°Jingyue Residential Area, where I used to stay.¡± Luo Yuan replied.


    ¡°Why there? I remember there¡¯s a dugout nearby. We thought you guys would be headed there actually. If that is the case, isn¡¯t it better for us to stay in our own house? Sigh, wasted our effort for nothing,¡± Zhao Dagang¡¯s wife, Jin Meili, suddenly said. This made the atmosphere awkward.


    Sun Xiaowu was furious listening to what she had to say. It was maddening to see her simply disregarding their kindness. He would have charged over to p her if not for Luo Yuan who remained still.


    Zhao Dagang was feeling awkward as well but did not say anything. It would seem that he thought the same.


    Luo Yuan frowned and paused for a moment before he smiled and said, ¡°You¡¯re right too, the dugout is indeed safer.¡±


    ¡°Then let us go to the dugout!¡± Jin Meili did not seem to sense the lingering awkwardness as she continued saying, ¡°It¡¯s spacious and filled with people. The defense is strong too. Listen to me, you guys are going to die if you go back to Jingyue.¡±


    Wang Shishi could not hold it in any longer and retorted, ¡°It¡¯s none of your business where we are going, busy body.¡±


    ¡°Youngdy, how can you not see that I¡¯m only thinking of what is best for all of you. It¡¯s only for your own good,¡± Jin Meili replied with disbelief.


    ¡°Enough.¡± Zhao Dagang said and pulled her sleeve, not wanting to make things worse.


    ¡°I can¡¯t even talk now¡± she replied. Jin Meili then flung her arm as she red at him.


    Luo Yuan initially thought that they might have looked too docile to them even though they were carrying knives and guns but he had finally realized now that they were just simple-minded.


    ¡°Alright, there¡¯s no use bickering. If you guys are going to the dugout, my advice would be not to go there because we just came out from one. That¡¯s that. Now, if you guys are still going to the dugout or returning home, or even following us, it¡¯s up to you. It¡¯s gettingte, we still have some distance to cover, we¡¯ll take our leave!¡± Luo Yuan turned to leave, not wanting to be involved any longer.


    Both of them stayed rooted.


    ¡°Are we going or not?¡± Jin Meili asked.


    ¡°Where to?¡± Zhao Dagang grabbed Jin Meili¡¯s hand so they could run if needed as he began to be aware of the surrounding as the team left.


    ¡°The dugout of course¡± Jin Meili said righteously.


    ¡°Go? Go your ass! You go if you want to die. Maybe you would be dragged away by mutated beasts halfway there.¡± Zhao Dagang was still rational. He had been observing the surrounding these few days. There were low level beasts everywhere. He did not think he would be able to make it to the dugout by himself.


    ¡°Then why are they alright?¡± Jin Meili questioned.


    ¡°They have knives and guns, of course they¡¯re not scared. I only have this useless iron bar, you really think I¡¯m Superman?¡± Zhao Dagang said as he was annoyed. He began to think- even if they were not going to the dugout, it was still safer than them staying at home since there would be more people to lookout for each other.


    ¡°Why didn¡¯t you say this earlier!?¡± Jin Meili stomped her feet and pinched her man.


    ¡°I...¡±


    Footsteps were heard from behind the team after just a few minutes of walking.


    Luo Yuan and his team turned and saw both Zhao Dagang and his wifeing over.


    ¡°Hold up, just now... I¡¯m so sorry for just now. My...my wife is bad with words, I apologize. We want to follow you guys!¡± Zhao Dagang said apologetically.


    ¡®Why didn¡¯t you guys go to the dugout?¡± Sun Xiaowu who is young and rash replied in a sarcastic manner.


    Jin Meili was flushed in embarrassment, her mouth was twitching as if ready to say something but nothing came out after Zhao Dagang signaled her with his eyes.


    ¡°Then just follow us since you¡¯re already here,¡± Luo Yuan did not mind. It was only human nature to want to gain more and avoid loss anyway. Besides, the woman meant no harm.


    ¡°Great, great, thank you, thank you!¡± Zhao Dagang thanked him profusely.


    They had been taking the long route so it was already near nightfall when they reached Jingyue Residential Area. Other than a light blue beast for Wang Shishi¡¯s training, their journey had been otherwise safe and smooth.


    However, just that one adventure was enough to scare everyone- especially Zhao Dagang and Jin Meili who got intimidated by Wang Shishi seeing how she had killed the beast. Who would have known that this docile youngdy was an evolved person.


    Jingyue Residential Area looked more forlorn than when Luo Yuan had left. Most of the houses had already copsed yet surprisingly, the mansion he had been staying at looked the same from the outside.


    ¡°We¡¯re finally home!¡± Wang Shishi cheered happily and ran into the mansion.


    Huang Jiahui, who had been almost expressionless was now rxed too. A joyful smile could be seen on her face.


    The team entered the mansion and observed the new surroundings they were in. It was not exactly homely as the inside seemed to have been destroyed by beasts (it was, in fact), the pir in the middle had already copsed and the steel fixture in the cement was exposed. Cracks "decorated" the walls and the whole property looked like it was not far from copsing.


    Luo Yuan checked around and frowned when he saw a lot of unfamiliar footprints on the floor. They seem fresh... probably one or two days old judging from how distinct they looked.


    "Did someonee in?" he thought to himself.


    Huang Jiahui noticed it too and exchanged a look with Luo Yuan. He then hurried to the bathroom leading to the basement.


    Opening the concealed door to the basement, Luo Yuan walked in and Huang Jiahui followed with a torch.


    ¡°Damn it!¡± Luo Yuan cursed. Most of the racks were empty, and the floor was in a mess as rice was scattered all around. Only two bags of the most crucial food remained- one and a half boxes of mineral water, two boxes of Sprite and Coke, three to four boxes of canned food, a box ofpressed biscuits and three boxes of wine. About a third of their daily necessities were missing.


    Huang Jiahui covered her mouth as she dropped to the floor saying, ¡°How is this possible?¡±


    Luo Yuan did not care much about food, they could still rece it with mutated meat after all, but there was only one and a half boxes of mineral water left. He remembered clearly that drinking water and other beverages lined half the wall in here before they left but only these few were left now.


    The whole city was contaminated by radiation now and so was the water source outside. While the actual severity is unknown, Luo Yuan suspected that normal people would not be able to drink it. He dared not try even with a 13-point Physique.


    ¡°Don¡¯t let me know who it is!¡± Luo Yuan grinded his teeth while replying.


    ¡°I think it¡¯s Huang Yuying.¡± Huang Jiahui sighed and continued, ¡°She knows this basement, she¡¯s the biggest suspect. If she didn¡¯t die from the wave of beasts, she would definitely return here.¡±


    It would have to be Huang Yuying if they had to point fingers. She had even brought people over to move most of the things away.


    ¡°It should be her!¡± Luo Yuan agreed after some thought.


    ¡°Seems like she¡¯s not totally cruel though, at least she left something for us.¡± Huang Jiahui replied with a forced smile. She was upset as someone she had saved had turned around to stab her in the back. Of course she would feel hurt.


    ¡°I don¡¯t think so. They probably could not manage to move everything at once. She¡¯ll return after some time,¡± Luo Yuan said coldly.


    ¡°Are you going to kill her?¡± Huang Jiahui quickly asked.


    Luo Yuan did not know what to do with her either. Logically, Huang Yuying did nothing wrong. After all, she would have thought that they had gone to the underground base and would never return. It was understandable that she would take these items as they would have belonged to no one.


    Luo Yuan was silent as he thought of this and said, ¡°I¡¯ll give her a chance.¡±


    ¡°Huang Yuying...she¡¯s not that bad really. She couldn¡¯t have known that we¡¯d return. Let¡¯s go back up, I still have to prepare dinner,¡± Huang Jiahui said as she stood up and squeezed Luo Yuan¡¯s hand before picking up some canned food and walked towards the stairs.


    Luo Yuan knew what she meant and nodded, following her up.


    People were already cleaning the ce outside, some swept while others mopped the floor.


    ¡°Sister Huang, where¡¯s the rice? I¡¯ll cook!¡± Cao Ling put down the mop and told Huang Jiahui.


    ¡°I...I can help too!¡± Ning Xiaoran said with a flushed face.


    Zhao Dagang promptly used his eyes to signal his wife who also walked over albeit a little more reluctantly.


    Huang Jiahui was stunned at first but then smiled and said, ¡°Then let¡¯s go together. What can you guys make?¡±


    ¡°I can cut vegetables, make soup, and be an assistant.¡±


    ¡°I can make the usual home-cooked dishes as long as there are ingredients.¡±


    The few women chatted as they moved to the kitchen.


    ¡°Boss, this ce is too damaged. Why don¡¯t we move somewhere else? I saw a few mansions around here that are still well kept,¡± Huo Dong passed a cigarette over and wanted to light it for Luo Yuan.


    There was arge hole in the wall on the first floor and it was only a matter of time before this hazardous house copsed.


    Luo Yuan was not used to being treated this way. He waved his hand as if to reject the help offered to him. He lighted his cigarette with his own lighter and said after a puff, ¡°Indeed we should. But it¡¯ste today. We¡¯ll talk about it tomorrow.¡±


    Empty houses were everywhere now. One with a basement would not be difficult to find either. A lot of rich people loved having basements and wine cers in their homes, especially during the period right before the apocalypse.


    Everyone worked hard to clean the ce. Other than the areas that were already wrecked, the ce looked brand new.


    After they cleaned a huge marble table covered in cracks from being smashed by cement from the ceiling, dinner was served. The women¡¯s hardbor produced a pot of mixed stew which was basically canned meat and vegetables that were thrown in and cooked together.


    The taste was delightful though. The pot of stew waspletely clean by the end.


    After dinner, Huang Jiahui gave up on cleaning as the few women once again fought to clean the utensils.


    Luo Yuan arranged for everyone to sleep in the basement after some thought as it was dangerous outside. However, he had still separated the three of them from the others to prevent the two girls from feeling awkward. He set up a tent and three of them slept together.


    They were used to sleeping together now after so many days, even Huang Jiahui felt that it was normal. Though it could also have been her subconsciously trying to ignore her issues with Wang Shishi.


    Wang Shishi had clung herself onto Luo Yuan just as he entered the tent, pushing her lips near his ears and said, ¡°Why are all the things gone? Even the racks are empty. It must be Huang Yuying who took them, right?¡±


    Luo Yuan was a little shocked, not because she guessed that it was Huang Yuying but rather because she had whispered it to him instead of shouting it out loud just now.


    ¡°I¡¯m correct, right?¡± Wang Shishi spoke excitedly in the dark, with her leg wound on Luo Yuan. ¡°I already felt that she wasn¡¯t a nice person from the beginning. She looks like a vixen who only knows how to seduce men. She isn¡¯t some saint.¡±


    ¡°Must looking like a vixen be rted to being a bad person?¡± Luo Yuan thought, not understanding her logic.


    ¡°Huang Yuying had a tough life.¡± Huang Jiahui added and sighed from the other side.


    ¡°Those who are pitiful must also have their detestable sides¡± Wang Shishi retorted and blew a gust of hot air against Luo Yuan¡¯s neck with a slight tremble.


    Luo Yuan knew something was odd. Wang Shishi¡¯s body was warm and she kept puffing warm breaths of air; her chest slid against his arm lightly and her body writhed from time to time. If he did not pay attention, he would not have noticed.


    Even in the dark, Luo Yuan could feel that her skin was red like a cooked shrimp. Her sighs got more erratic and what was more unbelievable was that the two women were still bickering softly throughout the night.


    Trembles in one of their voices were getting more obvious, however.


    Luo Yuan¡¯s eyes were wide open even in the dark though his body was not moving at all. After a while, Wang Shishi¡¯s body gave a strong shudder. Only then did he brace himself to say, ¡°Alright, it¡¯s veryte already. Don¡¯t talk anymore. Sleep!¡±


    As he spoke, he pulled his arm away from the warm softness and turned towards Huang Jiahui to sleep.


    The night was quiet just like the surrounding.

 Chapter 96: Strange

    Chapter 96: Strange


    Trantor: Editor:


    In the middle of the night, Luo Yuan suddenly felt palpitations.


    His eyes blinked open, but he remained still. He was perplexed. The palpitations came and went simply, as if it was all an illusion.


    He listened to the movement on the outside in alert. The dull growls of the beasts could be heard far in the distance, so the palpitations couldn¡¯t have been caused by them. Other than the growls, he could not sense anything else.


    ¡°Could it really be an illusion?¡±


    He was puzzled as he looked at Huang Jiahui and Wang Shishi, who seemed to be happy in dreand.


    As sleep came to him again, Luo Yuan surrendered to it once more, his grip on the machete handle tightening.


    Nothing happened throughout the night.


    The next morning, they all woke up one after the other. The weather looked gloomy, like it was about to rain.


    After lunch, Luo Yuan decided to check around to see if there were any dangerous beasts in the area. They did intend to stay there for a long time after all.


    The nts had grown a lot lusher in just five days time. The park had be a green grasnd, the height of the grass reaching Luo Yuan¡¯s chest. The smaller trees were wider in girth, forming a canopy with their lush leaves.


    Following the bestial wave, nature seemed to be growing wildly without any human interference, wiping the signs of mankind quickly.


    Luo Yuan thought this ce would turn into a jungle soon without the influence of an external force.


    He walked forward in the bushes, gripping his machete warily. Various sounds came from his surroundings, an obvious indicator of the bountiful mutated creatures there.


    Suddenly, a beetle with yellow and ck stripes shot toward him like an arrow.


    With a sh of the de, the beetle let out a strange cry andnded on the ground in two halves.


    This had been the fifteenth ambush Luo Yuan had encountered.


    A soft wind blew, making the bushes sway with a faint sound. Considering the amount of danger lurking in the area, Luo Yuan felt that there was another attack brewing.


    ¡°These nts cannot stay if we want to stay here.¡±


    Luo Yuan remembered that there had been a lot of diesel in the basement. Huang Yueying had not touched it when she had moved the supplies, so he could use it to burn these nts.


    Suddenly, he felt like he had stepped on something hard. It was a human skull, but instead of the usual white color, this one was ck. The person it had belonged to had probably been poisoned to death. The contents of a suitcase were scattered around the skeleton. He could see some torn clothes. One of them looked like it had belonged to a child.


    Saddened, Luo Yuan pushed the bushes aside and realized that there was more than one skeleton there. He saw a corpse every few steps he took. Some were the usual ivory color, others were ck, some of them were even blue. It was the unusual colors that gave him chills.


    Heaven knew how many people had died in the area.


    Luo Yuan picked up a sealed mineral water bottle to bring back, but stopped midway there. Tiny worms had infested the water. The worms were miniscule, almost invisible to the naked eye. They were as long as earthworms. Goosebumps rose on his skin as he checked the cap. There was a tiny hole in it.


    Luo Yuan threw it far away.


    Danger lurked in this ce. He could not help but remain on alert.


    As long as he was being careful, the beasts would not evene near him.


    Half an hourter, Luo Yuan was out of the bushes and had reached the residential area.


    More than half of the residential area had been destroyed. Less than 30% of the buildings remained. Large footprints were indented on the cement floor and dirty blood from nearby skeletons stained it. Parts of those skeletons had been crushed under the footprints.


    The only thing missing was dposing bodies. Any bodies must have already been eaten by the mutated insects and other low level creatures within half an hour¡¯s time.


    The remaining buildings were scattered amidst the ruins. Other than a few better-preserved mansions, most of the high-rise buildings were covered in cracks. The least damaged building was in fact near the park.


    A gigantic locust tree stood beside it. Its trunk was so big, it would take three men to link their arms around it. Its several-dozen-meter tall branches formed thergest canopy shading the mansion. Even from afar, Luo Yuan could already smell the soothing fragrance of the tree. It made him feel inexplicably jolly. All he wanted was to keep smelling it.


    A smile etched itself onto his face.


    ¡°Here it is. Once the grass around has been cleared, we can move in.¡±


    As Luo Yuan reached the mansion, the fragrance got stronger. What was different about it though, was that the strong scent did not feel overpowering. Instead, it calmed and soothed the tension within his body.


    The main door to the mansion was wide open.


    A few palm-sized mutated cockroaches scattered to the corners in fright when Luo Yuan stepped in.


    He saw a wedding photo covered in dust in the living room. A middle-aged groom with a beer belly and a young pretty bride were smiling while they embraced each other.


    Other than the dust, everything inside the house seemed to be intact. The owners must have left in a hurry. Luo Yuan saw a few moldy dishes still ced on the table. There were also two half-eaten bowls of rice. Obviously they had been eating right before they had to leave.


    Luo Yuan felt a vague premonition, as if he was missing something. The thought hade out of the blue. He entertained it for a while before he finally gave up on it.


    This mansion was evenrger than the one they had been staying at. There was a total of three floors and five bedrooms, a gym, a study, a piano room and a basement right under a storeroom. What startled Luo Yuan was that there was a bedroom in the basement with a waterbed in it. The bedside table was full of adult toys and things Luo Yuan had never seen before.


    The closet opposite it was open, housing all sorts of uniforms and lingerie.


    Other than that, there was nothing else.


    Luo Yuan found five bags of rice and some limited supplies in the kitchen cab. It was still better than nothing. They could scavenge the nearby houses for more supplies.


    When Luo Yuan left the mansion, it was drizzling outside. The rain did not seem like it was going to stop anytime soon, foiling Luo Yuan¡¯s n to burn the field in the afternoon.


    Luo Yuan threw down a white level mutated beast. The group gathered around in curiosity.


    It was a mutated mouse, but it looked different than the ones they¡¯d seen in Donghu City. Its body had mutated again, but this time in another direction. It was slender and its tail was much shorter, ck shiny scales covering it. The skull seemed to have grown wider and its nose looked more stereoscopic. Its teeth were crisscrossing, looking rather frightening.


    It was untimely that the beast had rushed over and bumped into Luo Yuan while he was heading back. He had sliced off half its head. It would be an extra dish for lunch.


    ¡°Don¡¯t catch a cold,¡± Huang Jiahui grumbled as she passed a towel over.


    Luo Yuan smiled. His physique had been intrinsically different ever since the system had added a point to it. Perhaps even his genes had changed. The light rain could do no harm to him, but he didn¡¯t bother to exin.


    Luo Yuan dried his hair with the towel. He did not need to change his clothes. The surface of the ck-owl-feather synthesized clothes was coated with ayer of oil and water, and it was dustproof like a bird¡¯s feathers. All it took was a few shakes and he was dry again, even after being dipped in water.


    ¡°How are things outside?¡± Huang Jiahui asked, looking at Luo Yuan.


    Everyone perked up their ears.


    After thinking carefully, Luo Yuan said, ¡°Other than some poisonous low-level beasts, there¡¯s not much danger. But it¡¯s better not to go out before the field in the park has been cleared.¡±


    That was true for him. If it were them going out, no one would probably be able to survive other than Wang Shishi.


    Luo Yuan kept the truth from them though. It would only bring their spirits down.


    After lunch, Luo Yuan went to the empty space in front of the mansion to practice with his machete. There was nothing else he could do considering it was still raining. He had slightly calmed down after going around the ce, his mood gradually rxing as his knife skill got smoother. He could easily concentrate his willpower now, even a little faster than usual.


    His eyes turned dark and deep as a visible glow surrounded the de of the machete.


    After the AP addition, Luo Yuan¡¯s knife skill had already began to be legendary.


    The glow of the de was different than the one described in novels, but its power was not any weaker. The only difference was that the glow in novels depleted Qi while his glow consumed willpower.


    He was exuding an aura even stronger than the one he had showed intentionally in the dugout. Anyone watching him would suddenly find themselves feeling suffocated, their faces draining of any color as their breathing got heavier. Once they regained their senses, they would retreat quickly. When they dared take a look at Luo Yuan again, their expression would turn to terror.


    Luo Yuan kept his mind empty of any thoughts, feeling his willpower grow through his machete as he practiced.


    Before the raindrops could evennd on the de, they were diced back into atoms. Luo Yuan¡¯s willpower depleted little by little each time the raindrops were diced, but the intensity of the depletion was nothingpared to when his machetended on beasts or metals.


    Soon his hair had gotten wet again.


    Luo Yuan frowned as he stopped.


    ¡°Still can¡¯t do it!¡± He shook his head. The de glow that had permeated the machete from de to handle when he had killed the mutated earthworm could not be reproduced again, no matter how much he practiced or battled. It was as if a thin line separated him and that realm. He was so near, yet so far.


    ¡°I was really angry. My mind was nk. I don¡¯t even know what I was doing.¡± He closed his eyes as he recalled the situation back then.


    ¡°No, my mind can¡¯t have been nk... That would mean no thoughts, a rxation of willpower. How can willpower be concentrated in such a rxed state? It can¡¯t possibly have affected reality.¡±


    If he were to parallelize willpower with a country, an average person¡¯s willpower would be like a country with no purpose or organization; a slightly concentrated willpower would be like a democratic country, a sole government with a purpose, but lots of different voices; an even more focused willpower would be like a sovereign state, a powerful government with a sole vision, all its people uniting to realize it. A country like that would make even stronger countries afraid as its strength would be in its unity, and it could be released ten to a hundred fold during a war.


    Taoist practice ced importance on untainted, virgin-like hearts and pure behavior. People with simple minds thought less and would always seed no matter what they did, because they were focused on what they were doing. Sessful people were always a little bit obsessed.


    ¡°It was anger, a burning fury that blinded everything else and focused my willpower like never before,¡± Luo Yuan reached an epiphany as he recalled the situation carefully.


    However, knowing and doing were two entirely different things. Just because someone wanted to be enraged, it did not mean that they could achieve it.


    Luo Yuan let his feelings simmer, but they stillckedpared to the fury he had felt the other day. The de glowed slightly brighter, but it was still far from what he wanted.


    He knew he was being impatient. He already knew what the right method was, so he could achieve it if he practiced enough.


    Luo Yuan suddenly felt like he was being watched. He felt goosebumps on his skin, and he turned around just in time to catch a faint shadow sh away.


    In an instant, he was already heading the way the shadow had disappeared.

 Chapter 97: Enchanted

    Chapter 97: Enchanted


    Trantor: Editor:


    Luo Yuan returned a few minutester, visibly disturbed. He had searched through the whole residential area, but he had not found anything.


    ¡°Did you all see a person standing there just now?¡± he asked everyone.


    ¡°No, my eyes were only on you, Boss,¡± Sun Xiaowu said, looking embarrassed.


    The others shook their heads too.


    ¡°Boss, could you maybe have been mistaken?¡± Huo Dong asked carefully, beginning to get nervous.


    Was he really mistaken? Luo Yuan was not sure. The shadow had disappeared within the blink of an eye. His 13-point Dexterity was faster than normal people¡¯s by 3.3 times. Unless that person had supersonic speed, his eyes would have caught them. Yet they hadn¡¯t.


    Luo Yuan thought back to the palpitationsst night, his expression bing serious. If it had been illusion, it was strange to have it happen twice in such a short period of time.


    ¡°Maybe I¡¯ve really been mistaken,¡± Luo Yuan said without letting anything show. Telling them about this would not be of much help. It would only add to their fear.


    He cut short his practice at the mansion, and asked Huang Jiahui to be on alert and open fire as a warning if anything seemed to be wrong. He went out again twice, but made no new discoveries.


    He carefully searched the whole Jingyue Residential Area onest time, going through every room in the crumbling buildings. What spooked him was that there were no survivors in the whole area. There weren¡¯t even dead bodies.


    Most of the houses¡¯ interior was still neat and tidy, showing no sign that the owners had left in a rush. Important resources, like food, had all been left behind.


    This was not normal at all. The whole residential area was exuding a strange aura.


    When he returned to the mansion, Cao Ling approached him hastily, avoiding everybody else, and whispered, ¡°Did you see Ning Xiaoran?¡±


    Luo Yuan was shocked. ¡°What happened?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know what¡¯s going on. She was here just now. I asked her to throw the garbage away, but she hasn¡¯t returned yet. It¡¯s been almost half an hour. You just came back from outside. Did you see her?¡±


    ¡°Did you go through the rooms?¡± Luo Yuan asked calmly.


    ¡°I¡¯ve already searched everywhere. I even looked in the basement, but I can¡¯t find her. It¡¯s so dangerous outside. She couldn¡¯t have gone out, could she?¡± Cao Ling said anxiously, pure terror showing on her face.


    ¡°Did you mention this to anyone else?¡± Luo Yuan asked.


    Cao Ling looked hesitant as she said, ¡°Not yet, I can¡¯t have them go out there alone and risk their lives for Ning Xiaoran!¡±


    They were outsiders after all, and could notpare to Luo Yuan¡¯s own women. If the news had spread and Wang Shishi or Huang Jiahui were to go out and look for Ning Xiaoran, the rest of them would be held ountable if anything happened to them.


    Luo Yuan nodded appreciatively and praised, ¡°You did well. Don¡¯t tell anyone else, I don¡¯t want them to panic. I¡¯ll go look for her now.¡± Luo Yuan stood up, holding his machete.


    ¡°Ning Xiaoran won¡¯t be harmed, will she?¡± Cao Ling asked worriedly.


    Luo Yuan kept quiet and went outside with quick steps.


    It was rainy and gloomy. The sky was already getting dark despite the fact that it wasn¡¯t even 5 p.m.


    ¡°Ning Xiaoran!¡±


    ¡°Where are you, Ning Xiaoran?¡±


    Luo Yuan shouted as he walked, his footsteps promptly concealed by watery mud. The residential area was still considerablyrge and there were buildings and nts all over the ce, blocking his sight.


    He would not be able to find anyone this way, not anytime soon. In fact, he had already given up hope. He knew how dangerous it was outside. It was half an hour since Ning Xiaoran had disappeared. It would be a miracle if he could even find a trace of her body.


    He could only leave things to fate now.


    Luo Yuan had been searching for nearly ten minutes. He was about to give up, when suddenly he saw a shoe stuck in the mud.


    It was a woman¡¯s sneaker. It looked like it had just gotten stuck. The mud around it was still fresh. Luo Yuan thought it looked familiar.


    ¡°It belongs to Ning Xiaoran!¡±


    He lifted his head in rm. She must have walked through the bushes beside it. They looked like they had been walked on.


    Luo Yuan had not expected the usually timid and quiet girl to be so bold. Did she not know that bushes hid all sorts of mutated creatures?


    The rain got heavier as thunder roared.


    Luo Yuan quickly followed the tracks on the bushes. He finally found something when he passed by a crumbled building.


    A figure dressed in a beige jacket was slowly walking towards the front under the rain.


    Her steps were wobbly. She fell to the ground a few times, but each time she stood back up and kept walking forward.


    Luo Yuan picked up his pace and was behind her within a second. His grasp on the machete tightened. He could sense that something wrong. How could a weak woman, who had already fallen a few times, still be safe when she¡¯d been outside for half an hour? This sounded strange to him.


    ¡°Where are you going, Ning Xiaoran?¡±


    Ning Xiaoran continued moving forward as if she had not heard him.


    Luo Yuan was startled and his grip tightened even more.


    The rain got heavier. The sky waspletely dark by now and lightning stroke, offering flitting rays of light.


    Luo Yuan followed her for a little longer, but in the end decided not to linger around. He could feel a strong sense of iing danger. He would regret it if the mansion was attacked and he was not there.


    He stepped in front of her and saw that she lookedpletely dazed. She did not even seem to realize that he was standing in front of her.


    This was not an expression of a normal person. Luo Yuan narrowed his eyes and slowly pulled out his machete.


    His urge to kill got stronger as Ning Xiaoran got nearer. A frightening aura came out of him as the air around them felt restless. Low-level beasts nearby ran helter-skelter as if sensing their impending deaths.


    Just as Luo Yuan was ready to strike, Ning Xiaoran spasmed and her eyes rolled back into her head.


    Life seemed toe back to her pupils as she moaned. Even though they still looked a little dazed, they did not look as hollow as they had earlier.


    Luo Yuan controlled his murdering instinct, but he did not rx. His eyes followed her. He was ready to attack if anything went wrong.


    ¡°Oh! Brother Luo?¡± Ning Xiaoran seemed to have woken up from a dream as she looked at Luo Yuan with a shocked expression. Her face was already flushing red before she had even finished her sentence.


    Then she noticed their surroundings and said nervously, ¡°I... Why am I outside?¡±


    ¡°You don¡¯t remember walking here alone?¡± Luo Yuan asked.


    ¡°Me, alone?¡± Ning Xiaoran¡¯s jaw dropped.


    ¡°You¡¯ve already been out here for half an hour. If I didn¡¯te searching for you, you probably would have been eaten by the beasts. Try to remember how you came here,¡± Luo Yuan asked. He would not be able to drop this matter unless he got to the bottom of it.


    Ning Xiaoran was close to tears. She was scared and cold, her body trembling like a frightened pigeon, ¡°I... I don¡¯t know, I don¡¯t know how I ended up here.¡±


    ¡°Calm down first. Think carefully. What were you doing before this?¡± Luo Yuan guided her.


    ¡°I... I think I was throwing away the garbage. I was throwing it out door, but I felt that it was not... not so nice to dump it by the door. It¡¯s not too dangerous to go a few steps further. Then... then I can¡¯t remember,¡± Ning Xiaoran stuttered.


    Luo Yuan thought this was ridiculous, but noticing Ning Xiaoran¡¯s trembling body, he decided that it was not a pressing matter. ¡°It¡¯ste,¡± he said. ¡°Let¡¯s go back first. Think about it carefully againter, but don¡¯t tell anyone about it yet.¡±


    ¡°I... I understand,¡± Ning Xiaoran nodded and looked around nervously. She was terrified.


    Luo Yuan turned around to leave. Ning Xiaoran followed hurriedly, clutching onto the corner of his clothes after a short hesitation. Her face flushed crimson.


    About ten minutester, the two of them arrived at the mansion.


    Dinner was already served, but no one had eaten because Luo Yuan was not home yet. They were sitting on the couch chatting. They all stood up together when they saw him return.


    ¡°Why did Ning Xiaoran follow him out? I was just asking where she was,¡± Huang Jiahui said, looking shocked. She seemed a little upset, her hands tightening around the hem of her clothes. Her mind must have jumped to a different conclusion, seeing the two of theme in huddling like that.


    Wang Shishi hummed coldly as she looked away.


    ¡°We¡¯ll talk about thister. Jiahui, find something for Ning Xiaoran to change into. Cao Ling, go make some ginger soup in the kitchen. We still have ginger, right?¡± Luo Yuan asked.


    Cao Ling quickly stood up. ¡°Yes, of course!¡±


    Huang Jiahui hurried to get a change of clothes as she took in Ning Xiaoran¡¯s purple lips. The girl was obviously freezing.


    Zhao Dagang nudged Jin Meili. She red at him and stood up unwillingly. ¡°Do you need a towel?¡±


    Zhao Dagang was speechless. This was a no brainer. She should have known what to do.


    Jin Meili waited for Luo Yuan to nod before she ran to the bathroom and brought him a towel.


    Luo Yuan waved his hand, ¡°Give it to Ning Xiaoran.¡±


    Wang Shishi was at her wit¡¯s end. Jealousy flooded her. She felt like someone had just snatched away her favorite toy. Luo Yuan, though, could not spare any attention for Wang Shishi right now. His mind was on Ning Xiaoran and how her consciousness had been manipted.


    A system notification suddenly rang in his head,


    ¡°Level E Mission: Find and Eliminate the Reason Behind the Disappearance of the Poption of the Jingyue Residential Area,


    Time: 3 days. Reject/ept.¡±


    Just like he had thought. There was indeed something wrong.


    For some reason, Luo Yuan felt relieved. A Level E Mission meant that there had to be a blue level beast around, and he had already killed a few of them.


    He knew the mission was going to be difficult, but at least it was not hopeless. There should not be a problem as long as he was careful.


    This was probably the reason why there were no other higher level beasts iming such arge area despite the fact that it was a deserted territory


    .


    The question was, where was this beast now?


    He had turned the whole Jingyue Residential Area upside down earlier, but he had not found anything. The hardest part of the mission was obviously finding enemy. He would fail if the beast remained unseen.


    Luo Yuan epted the mission without a second thought. It was safer therepared to other dark blue level beast territories. If he could not survive there, then how could he keep trying to make it through the apocalypse?


    Ning Xiaoran changed and had a bowl of ginger soup, her face finally radiating warmth as she sweated. It seemed like she was not going to catch a cold after all.


    The atmosphere was a little charged during dinner. Everyone knew it was not normal for Ning Xiaoran to go out, but they were smart enough not to question her about it.


    After dinner, Luo Yuan lit a cigarette and said meaningfully, ¡°Everyone be more careful tonight.¡±


    Luo Yuan had not said it out loud, but the underlying meaning was clear and it terrified everyone.


    Cao Ling was putting up a tough front, but her pale face reflected the fear she was feeling. She looked at Ning Xiaoran, thinking of her disappearance that had yet to be answered.


    The only one who had remained calm was Huang Jiahui.


    Luo Yuan sighed as he took in everyone¡¯s reactions. He could not me them. They were normal people after all. Courage only came with capability. If Luo Yuan did not have the system, he would most likely feel like them too. Huang Jiahui used to be in the police force at least, and had gotten used to all sorts of things happening after being with Luo Yuan for so long. They had managed to survive a few times now despiteing face to face with death.

 Chapter 98: The Haunted Tree

    Chapter 98: The Haunted Tree


    Trantor: Editor:


    The night was silent.


    In the basement, Luo Yuan was lying in a sleeping bag with his eyes tightly closed.


    Huang Jiahui was tossing and turning. She could not fall asleep, so she decided to just give up. She sat up in her sleeping bag and whispered,¡°Please say something. What¡¯s happening?¡±


    Luo Yuan suddenly opened his eyes, ¡°Shhh, keep quiet. Something is moving.¡±


    Huang Jiahui was about to ask what it was when she heard something moving around in the basement too. She held her breath while her heart beat fast. The basement was very dark and she was still in her sleeping bag, so she was not able to see what was happening.


    When Luo Yuan opened up his sleeping bag, she saw a shadow stand up somewhere in the back, near where they were sleeping. Its movement was quite stiff and its steps were unsteady. It was such a strange, dark scene. It gave Huang Jiahui goosebumps.


    She covered her mouth tight, but her eyes reflected her fear.


    She nervously took out her handgun, but she was stopped by Luo Yuan, ¡°Don¡¯t shoot, it¡¯s Ning Xiaoran.¡±


    Huang Jiahui was relieved, but what Luo Yuan said afterwards made her almost scream in fear.


    ¡°She seems to be controlled by something. Don¡¯t disturb her. Let¡¯s see where she¡¯s going,¡± Luo Yuan said calmly. He could not find the mutated animals, so he wanted to lure them out. If he followed Ning Xiaoran, then he believed he would eventually catch the culprit.


    Ning Xiaoran seemed to be able to see in the dark. Although she was moving slowly, she was urately avoiding all obstacles. Step by step, she walked towards the staircase of the basement, her heavy steps very clear in the dark.


    ¡°There¡¯s another one.¡± Just as Ning Xiaoran was about to walk out of the basement, another shadow stood up staggeringly. It was Huo Dong.


    The whole basement was rather gloomy and cold. It was horrifying. As Ning Xiaoran opened the basement trapdoor, more shadows, one by one, stood up staggeringly and walked out of the basement.


    Wang Shishi, who was already asleep, was no exception. She stood up with empty eyes. She looked like she was sleepwalking and that frightened Huang Jiahui, who kept holding onto Luo Yuan.


    A mystery can be the most terrifying thing. Most people are not afraid of bullets, but they¡¯re terrified of ghosts. That¡¯s a fact.


    Luo Yuan held Wang Shishi¡¯s arm and thought of the method he had used to wake Ning Xiaoran up. He used his aura to stimte her. ¡°Ahh!¡± She screamed and awakened.


    Her eyes looked sleepy. Apparently, she was not aware of what was going on. As she saw both Luo Yuan and Huang Jiahui sitting on the sleeping bag, she asked doubtfully, ¡°Is it dawn already? I just had a nightmare. It was so frightening!¡±


    ¡°No, it¡¯s not dawn yet. But please don¡¯t sleep anymore, it¡¯s too dangerous. If you see anyone else fall asleep, please wake them up and wait for me!¡± Luo Yuan said solemnly.


    Wang Shishi suddenly thought of what Luo Yuan had said during dinner. She was so afraid that her face want pale. She nodded stiffly.


    ¡°You be careful, too!¡± Huang Jiahui said worriedly. She knew she could not do much to help.


    ¡°It¡¯s nothing, don¡¯t worry,¡± Luo Yuan said lightly before he took his Zhanmadao and walked out.


    Luo Yuan left the house and followed the shadows walking in front carefully.


    He looked at his watch and realized it was already 1.30 a.m. The dark clouds made the area look gloomier, but the rain had stopped. The ground was still wet and a faint fragrance filled the air.


    Though it was very dark, it was not a problem for Luo Yuan. His strong body allowed him to see with a faint light, and his sensory perception helped him move around easily even in a darker area.


    They tottered and staggered forward in a straight line. The road was the same one Ning Xiaoran had taken earlier during the day.


    Several mutated insects with a fluorescent light were flying around like ghosts of fire, and there was some movement along the tussocks from time to time, but there were no mutated beasts attacking the people up front. It seemed like their bodies had a special, unique mark that prevented mutated beasts from getting too close.


    They might have walked for 10 or 30 minutes when they reached the location where Luo Yuan had found Ning Xiaoran. None of them stopped, though.


    Suddenly, Luo Yuan saw a light shadow appear out of nowhere in the distance. She was wearing a dress and she had long hair. Her shadow seemed to be slightly transparent and she was moving around in the tussocks like she was weightless. He could see clearly that her feet were not touching the ground. She was flying.


    A chill went up his spine and spread to his whole body as his aura was released uncontrobly.


    The woman seemed to have felt Luo Yuan as she turned her head around suddenly. Her transparent yet eerie face looked mysteriously beautiful. She smirked, but her smile looked terrifying.


    Then she disappeared just as suddenly as she¡¯d appeared a moment ago.


    Luo Yuan was shocked. He looked around, but he could no longer see her. She had just vanished.


    ¡°What¡¯s happening? What was that?¡± Luo Yuan looked serious. He had been an atheist all his life and what he had just seen was iprehensible to him.


    ¡°A spirit? An evolved person? Or was she the one who made all the survivors in the region disappear?¡±


    Luo Yuan had nevere across such a situation before and he hesitated. However, when he saw that the people in front were unaffected and still walking forward, he decided to follow them.


    A mist rose up from the tussocks, and his surroundings suddenly became even more eerie and horrifying.


    As he kept going, more spirits appeared. Other than human spirits, there were also some spirits of mutated beasts floating around, but none of them dared go near him. It was like he had something on his body that prevented them from getting too close.


    Some of these spirits appeared to be more solid, while others were so dim and weak he thought they could be dispersed by the wind at any time.


    The air was filled with a strong fragrance, which smelled quite familiar to him.


    He held his knife as he walked forward vigntly. He felt that he was quite familiar with the surroundings; he looked around and realized that he was near the location of the house he¡¯d wanted to move in.


    He felt like he had telepathy as he looked at the locust tree that framed the vi.


    The huge locust tree was standing in the dark, unmoving. Its fragrance was stronger than it was during the day. He realized that the tree was huge, about two to three timesrger than normal trees. Even at the end of the world, such growing speed was still abnormal.


    Luo Yuan realized there were almost no mutated beasts in the area. There wasn¡¯t even the chirping sound of insects. It was all suspiciously quiet.


    He suddenly recalled something that had happened during his high school years. He used to stay at his grandma¡¯s house, located in a vige, for a period of time. It was very remote and the transportation was not developed. Though it was already the twenty-first century, the region was still stuck in the 80¡¯s and 90¡¯s.


    He remembered that the residents there did not nt locust trees and would chop them down if any of them grew. There was a myth that said that the spirit of the people who passed away would be living inside the locust tree and would not be able to reincarnate. That¡¯s why they called locust trees ghost trees. He had alwaysughed at that, thinking it was just a foolish superstition.


    Now that he had seen the spirits for himself though, he realized it was true.


    As all living creatures mutated, many of them became simr to creatures depicted in myths. He had already seen a mutated beast that looked like a dragon and an enormous orangutan that looked like King Kong.


    Thus, it was not beyond his imagination that the spirits would live in the mutated locust tree.


    The surrounding mist was getting denser. It looked like a living thing.


    He noticed that as they got closer to the locust tree, the number of spirits in the area gradually increased. Luo Yuan realized that he could not put this off any longer. He walked faster until he caught up with the rest and knocked them on the back of their necks. They all slumped to the ground. Suddenly, a high-pitched scream pierced his mind, turning it nk as he stumbled. He recovered quickly.


    Suddenly, the spirits seemed to have received some sort of signal as all of them started flowing around like waves of water.


    When he recovered, he smirked coldly and exerted his aura. An almost transparent shadow that seemed like the spirit of a mutated beast tried to get near him, but was blown away by a strong wind and dispersed into tiny sparks before disappearing into the air.


    Luo Yuan was uncertain at first, but he wasn¡¯t anymore when he saw the impact caused by his aura. After all, these things could only tackle normal people, not him. They were not evenparable to low-level mutated beasts.


    Under the attack of the aura, even solid spirits did notst long. Their delusive bodies seemed to be blown away by the strong wind, forming intense ripples and bing dimmer and dimmer, until they burst open like balloons.


    Step by step, Luo Yuan walked forward while his aura became stronger. With each step he took, there were about 10 or more spirits bursting open into the air and forming numerous sparks.


    A few spirits that were almost humanly solid came closer to Luo Yuan as his aura did not affect them as much. Their horribly distorted faces seemed very eerie in the dark, and the surrounding air was distorted, causing various delusions.


    When these spirits got near him, he stabbed them abruptly with his knife.


    The spirits were stunned, but their faces reflected a surprising relief before they copsed and burst into bright sparks.


    Luo Yuan¡¯s body swayed and he felt dizzy. He realized that it had been only a few strikes, and yet he had used up one-tenth of his Willpower. He had not used much of his Willpower even when he had been hacking a blue level mutated beast.


    In fact, all novels, videos and scriptures of Taoism stated that spirits with a great feeling of resentment became avenging spirits and that resentment was actually rted to Willpower. As a result, fighting against spirits was a fight of Willpower. That was why so much of his Willpower had been used up.


    Although Luo Yuan had a 13-point Willpower, soldiers struggling to survive might have a stronger one. Because he could highly focus his willpower, his knife was like a piece of iron being beaten repeatedly to form a steel knife. As a result, it was a lethal weapon that allowed him to kill those spirits with a higher willpower by just one strike.


    Fortunately, there were not many such spirits. Luo Yuan only had to kill about 8 of them before he was done. However, his willpower had beenrgely consumed.


    The battle hadsted just for a few minutes, but the number of spirits had gradually decreased.


    Just when Luo Yuan was feeling relieved, the ground suddenly started shaking like an earthquake was taking ce. The rumbling, ear-splitting sound was like a tremendous thunder, and a dpidated building nearby copsed.


    The quake was so intense that Luo Yuan was not able to stand straight.


    ¡°Oh no!¡± He was shocked as his body moved forward involuntarily.


    Meanwhile, thend seemed to have exploded and an enormous amount of mudstones and water drops went sttering in all directions. Suddenly, a twisting thick ck root was pulled out of the ground and swept towards Luo Yuan.


    Apparently this locust tree was not just able to raise and drive away spirits; it had a very strong attacking ability too, and its ability to conceal its power was much better than the corrosive earthworm¡¯s. If Luo Yuan had not reacted fast, he would have lost his life.


    After he avoided the attack, he sprinted towards the locust tree, his fast zigzag movement ttening the tussocks nearby.


    He moved like an agile cat, running and jumping from time to time. With the help of his sensory perception, he seemed to be able to predict the tree¡¯s moves and avoided them before he got hit. Explosive power was radiating from within his body as if he had an endless energy supply. His 13-point Physique allowed him tost longer during a battle.


    The ground was covered with bones. The closer he got to the locust tree, the more bones there were. Most people in the district must have been killed by this locust tree.


    Luo Yuan was quite cold-blooded; he did not feel any sympathy for the lives of strangers. However, he considered the effects of anger and consciously let himself be hypnotized and be furious.


    A bright, sheer light suddenly appeared on the de of the Zhanmadao and covered its whole length like a me.


    Though he could not control it, maybe it was his subconscious controlling his willpower, because this type of light was different than the previous one. It looked defensive instead of lethal. The grass in the surrounding area was flicked away by an invisible, resilient power.


    The surface of the earth kept shaking until the locust tree staggeringly rose up. It looked like a tree-man depicted in a western myth as a vague face formed on the coarse bark of its trunk.

 Chapter 99: The Heart of the Locust Tree

    Chapter 99: The Heart of the Locust Tree


    Trantor: Editor:


    The locust tree was enormous, and so was its rootwork.


    When the roots were pulled up from the ground, they covered an area of more than 100 square meters. Other than the few taproots still in the ground, itswork of roots looked like numerous tentacles waving and dancing in the air.


    Luo Yuan was infuriated. Without hesitating, he took his knife out and sprinted towards the region of the roots. Suddenly, the roots reacted like a giant snake having its tail stepped on, and violently attacked Luo Yuan.


    A fierce wind was howling, sandy soil was sttering all around and several giant rocks were rolling everywhere.


    The force was so strong that any normal person not smashed into meat by the roots would have been killed by the pebbles shooting intensively in all directions.


    Luo Yuan was hit by a few of them, but they were repelled by a sheer willpower membrane stretching across the surface of his skin.


    His willpower membrane looked dimmer than the shiny de. It was even thinner than soap bubbles. If it wasn¡¯t for the darkness of the night, it would not be observable with the naked eye. It seemed very fragile, but it became only slightly dimmer when hit by the high-speed pebbles, and then recovered instantly.


    Luo Yuan though was too busy fighting to notice the changes. His eyes looked fierce as heunched himself forward and jumped swiftly within the empty space between the roots, swishing his Zhanmadao.


    The roots were cut instantly by the sharp de. One by one, the big heavy roots slumped behind him and twisted.


    Step by step, Luo Yuan walked forward, chopping off more roots as he gradually got closer to the tree trunk.


    Perhaps the locust tree could sense the danger, because it suddenly seemed to be fiery and restless. It waved its leftover roots hard and attacked him wildly, but its reduced number of roots did not allow the tree to maintain its stability, and it swayed left and right while its huge canopy rustled.


    The eyes on the trunk of the locust tree seemed to crack slightly. They seemed like tightly closed eyes suddenly opening as they shone faintly.


    Luo Yuan¡¯s heart suddenly throbbed, and he could no longer maintain his anger. He could feel the danger, but he could not avoid it, and he ended up turning cataleptic on the spot.


    Suddenly, a soundless wave hit his body like an invisible ripple, causing his willpower membrane to shatter. His mind became nk and he lost his senses.


    He gradually woke up after a while.


    He looked around vigntly and retreated immediately out of the dangerous region of the locust tree.


    Then he turned and looked at the locust tree in surprise.


    It was not moving. It seemed that it had used up all its energy during itsst attack. Numerous roots were wiggling slowly into the earth, but their speed was visibly weaker.


    The tree¡¯s green leaves had turned yellowish as they fell from the sky. The locust tree seemed to have be terribly ill in a short period of time.


    As he watched it, Luo Yuan felt both relieved and afraid.


    It was too dangerous. How could he have been so reckless? Had he lost his senses?


    As he thought of the attack, he realized he had not even been careful.


    It seemed that anger could help increase his fighting strength, but it shut out both wisdom and cautiousness, which were essential for any man during dire times. As a result, he had found himself in an extremely dangerous situation. Had he not been lucky, he might have be muddy flesh while his spirit would have be a servant of the locust tree.


    As the mutated nt could only move slowly, all he would need was a tank of gasoline to solve the problem once and for all.


    As he thought about it, he still felt a lingering fear.


    Was that an actual attack? It felt like a direct attack to my spirit. Even the willpower membrane on my skin was not able to block it. It struck directly into my mind. My brain is still in a daze, Luo Yuan thought to himself.


    He had seen the spirits and he now believed in their existence.


    His nostrils felt itchy, and when he touched them with his hands, he found blood on them. Later, he would also discover that his ears and eyes were bleeding too.


    He was shocked. He tried to walk a few steps carefully, and when he saw that he could move normally and that he had not lost his sight or hearing, he felt slightly relieved.


    He rested for a while before he looked at the locust tree again. ¡°I should get it over with now.¡±


    The giant locust tree seemed to have felt Luo Yuan¡¯s malicious gaze. It shivered and slowly pulled its roots out again, but it was visibly weak.


    Luo Yuan smirked as he walked forward step by step. A few roots nearby moved weakly before finally giving up.


    The vague face in the middle of the trunk took an imploring expression while the tree canopy rustled.


    Luo Yuan took out his Zhanmadao, sprinted towards the trunk and hacked at it hard.


    The dark blue level Zhanmadao was exceptionally sharp and cut through the trunk smoothly as if it was tofu.


    The trunk jolted violently and the roots were aroused by its impending death, twitching wildly. Some of them seemed like they wanted to strike back, but they were chopped off immediately. Luo Yuan did not dare drag this out. He wanted to prevent any idents.


    As the Zhanmadao kept hacking, the huge locust tree that looked like a high-rise building finally copsed, crushing the nearby building and causing a small-scale earthquake.


    About ten secondster, a series of system notifications rang.


    ¡°Level E Mission: Look for and exterminate the cause of the missing residents of the Jingyue District, Completed. Completion Time: 7 hours 36 minutes; Mission Rating: Good!¡±


    ¡°Rewarded Basic EXP 1,600!¡±


    ¡°Comment: Ordinary, EXP +800!¡±


    ¡°EXP: 4,300/19,200!¡±


    Luo Yuan looked at the EXP and sighed. He needed more than that to level up. The EXP he¡¯d just gotten wasn¡¯t much.


    It was getting harder and harder to level up. In order to reach level 8, he needed toplete at least six Level E Missions, even if he got good mission ratings in all of them. If the target was of dark blue level though...


    He quickly dismissed that dangerous thought. He could lose his life.


    It was already arduous enough to face a blue level mutated beast. He could get severely injured, even more so if he fought against a dark blue level overlord. As he thought of the dark blue level mutated beasts he had met, he felt pins and needles on his skin.


    Luo Yuan wanted to go back home and sleep when he saw something glow in the trunk of the copsed locust tree.


    He doubtfully walked over and discovered that the light source originated from a location deep into the middle part of the trunk. The wood tissue there was harder than on the rest of the trunk. The other parts of the trunk he could have chopped off straight away, but not this one. He was curious as he carefully dug with his knife.


    The tissue was very hard, but it was not a problem for the dark blue level Zhanmadao. As Luo Yuan scraped off the wood tissue, he found a green crystal the size of a pigeon egg inside.


    The crystal was perfectly round in shape with a mysterious pattern carved in a darker color on the surface, like a beautifully carved green jade.


    It was so green, it felt a living thing. It emitted a glimmering green light among its dark surroundings.


    When Luo Yuan held it, he felt calm; his spirit felt nourished, like he was soaking in warm water, and his dazed mind felt refreshed.


    As he noticed the difference, he immediately realized that this was something special, and he used his identification skill.


    ¡°The Heart of a Haunted Locust Tree¡±


    ¡°Rarity: Blue¡±


    ¡°Weight: 100g¡±


    ¡°Material: An active spirit crystal¡±


    ¡°Attached abilities: Willpower +1, Sensory Perception +1¡±


    ¡°Comments: This is a very rare active crystal and its value is very high. Provided you bring it along with you, it can speedily recover your Willpower and Sensory Perception.¡±


    The message was simple, but Luo Yuan had to read it a few times.


    He realized that his Sensory Perception had been enhanced as its range had expanded from 20 m2 to 30 m,2 and his ability to sense minor things, such as the movement of grass, more clearly and in greater detail had increased.


    He could not feel the changes in his Willpower though, because it had beenrgely used up just now. However, he was no longer losing control of it.


    Luo Yuan felt ted. Though he tried to suppress his joy, he could not hold back his smile.


    He had been meditating for a long time, so it did not take him long to bepletely calm.


    He suddenly remembered that there were several people lying somewhere outside. This had been an emergency, so he¡¯d had no choice but to make them faint. He had been attacked by the spirits, so he could not have taken care of them. Hopefully, they had been lucky enough to survive.


    Luo Yuan walked there briskly and saw the shadows lying on the ground. Maybe it was because of the intense fight, but the low-level mutated beasts in the area had avoided this region, and thus they had all been safe.


    Luo Yuan woke them up. When they came back from their daze and realized that they were not in the familiar basement but in the dark wilderness, all of them except Ning Xiaoran, who had already experienced this during the day, became extremely frightened. Some women even screamed.


    Luo Yuan was ufortable as he said coldly, ¡°Look at what you have done! You¡¯re lucky to have survived this far, but you will not be lucky forever. Today, you were lucky because I followed you here. If I hadn¡¯t, you guys would have been eaten by mutated beasts by now. Fight your fear. If you can¡¯t, then you might as well justmit suicide. Living is more gruesome than dying these days.¡±


    Luo Yuan would not be as gentle with them as he was with Wang Shishi. After all, he was not some charity organization and he had no obligation to help them. In fact, he did not expect these people to help him, but he had helped them because of the morality he felt in life-and-death situations.


    He didn¡¯t want them to hold him back though. For example, that day they had all been enchanted by the haunted locust tree when they could have just strengthened their willpower slightly and defended themselves easily from the invisible attack.


    Even an evolved person like Wang Shishi had been influenced.


    However, he realized that Wang Shishi was not an adult. She was not mature yet, so he could forgive her that.


    These adults were the same; they were not too weak, but thefortable life they had led before these hard times had corroded their body and mind. If they continued to perform so poorly, he would have to be cruel and kick them out.


    Nobody dared utter a word as they heard Luo Yuan¡¯s cold voice.

 Chapter 100: Courage

    Chapter 100: Courage


    Trantor: Editor:


    Huo Dong¡¯s head was wrapped in a white towel and his neck was covered with a sleeve, like an Arab. He used his slightly shivering hands to tighten his pant legs with rope, jumped up and down, and then checked again.


    He had never been this prudent in his life.


    He touched his shirt and pants and when he felt the toughness and coarseness under his hands, he felt slightly calmer. These clothes had been strengthened by the superpower of boss Luo Yuan and had be invincible. They couldn¡¯t be destroyed even if they were bitten by a first level mutated beast non-stop for half an hour.


    He had not tested them yet though, and he wished that he would never get a chance to.


    He took out thest pack of Yellow Crane Tower 19161. He wanted to ease his stress by smoking, but he realized that there were only five cigarettes left. He had given a few to Luo Yuan, but he had never given any to anyone else because he thought that no one else would be able to help him. In fact, he despised them all.


    Before the apocalypse, he used to be the boss of an agency. Though he could not bepared to a millionaire, he still ranked higher than white cor employees.


    He hesitated, but in the end he gave everyone one generously. After all, this was not the time to be stingy. The operation would be very dangerous. If anything were to happen to him, he might get help if he had a good rtionship with everyone.


    Dumbly, Cheng Xianfeng epted the cigarette and smelled it greedily. He touched his pocket and slowly took out a lighter, lighting up the cigarette and sucking a mouthful of smoke. After a while, he blew the smoke out. He was intoxicated.


    Huo Dong glimpsed at Chen Xianfeng, smiling awkwardly as he said, ¡°We¡¯re all facing the same danger now, so let¡¯s help each other out.¡±


    Sun Xiaowu said casually, ¡°Of course! If anyone is in danger, we have to help them. If anyone dares run away, I won¡¯t be forgiving them.¡±


    ¡°I agree. Even if we don¡¯t mind, I don¡¯t think our boss will let that pass,¡± Zhao Gang said at once.


    As Huo Dong thought of Luo Yuan¡¯s cold attitude that night, he shivered in fear and quickly dropped his selfish n.


    Cheng Xianfeng, on the other hand, was squatting on the ground, smoking quietly.


    When they were done smoking, they took a spear made from a triangle-shaped iron they¡¯d found on the shelfs and a gasoline sprinkling can, and walked out of the vi in silent agreement.


    The grass did not just obstruct the view, but also nourished mutated beasts, which made it very dangerous for the people staying nearby. Luo Yuan and the others wanted to stay there, so they had to take care of this issue first. However, the park area in the district was toorge and they could not clean it all, even if they used all the gasoline they had. Plus, if they did not clean and maintain the area on a daily basis, the grass would grow back quickly and cover everything.


    Besides, as they did not have enough gasoline or human resources, Luo Yuan decided to clear just the grass surrounding the vi. Instead of doing it himself, he decided to let the neers do it.


    They would not grow up if they didn¡¯t experience any danger. Plus, he did not want to feed them for doing nothing. If they could not even face such a small danger, he would be thoroughly disappointed. Fortunately, they still had some courage left, or at least they were wise enough to agree without hesitation.


    Luo Yuan wanted to let the women join the mission too, but he was stopped by Huang Jiahui, so he let them off.


    Women were weak in nature. Some did not even dare kill a chicken. If he let them join, they would not be going to have an adventure, but tomit suicide. He didn¡¯t have a choice but to give up his original n.


    On the second floor of the old vi, Luo Yuan was watching the group of them through the broken window.


    The four of them appeared to be absurdly prudent. Each time the wind blew, they got frightened and their faces turned pale as a sheet. It was interesting to watch them at first, but soon Luo Yuan got bored.


    ¡°Soon we¡¯ll be out of water,¡± Huang Jiahui, who was standing nearby, said abruptly.


    ¡°Why is it gone so fast?¡± Luo Yuan responded with surprise.


    ¡°Other than face washing, teeth brushing and food washing, for which we use the water left over from the water heater, we use mineral water for all the cooking. Plus, each of us consumes one bottle of mineral water a day. No matter how much we save, we still need about half a box of mineral water. We can only survive like this for a few days,¡± Huang Jiahui said worriedly.


    ¡°How many are there left?¡±


    ¡°About half is left in the box,¡± Huang Jiahui replied.


    Looking outside, Luo Yuan said,¡°I¡¯ll figure it out. I¡¯ll go outter in the evening. Maybe I can get some mineral water from the deserted houses.¡±


    Huang Jiahui hesitated for a while before she said, ¡°What I wanted to say is, why we don¡¯t leave here? After all, the water in the area has been polluted. Even if we can find some mineral water, we will finish it all soon enough. Plus, Hedong City has been abandonedpletely. We will not get any support anymore. With so few inhabitants, the whole city will soon be a jungle. Are we going to spend our whole lives here?¡±


    Luo Yuan was silent for some time. ¡°Where do you think it¡¯s safe for us to go then?¡±


    ¡°The Capital City!¡± Huang Jiahui spitted out the three words.


    ¡°That¡¯s about 1,000 kilometers away from here!¡± Luo Yuan maintained his calm as he added, ¡°We don¡¯t know what dangers we might face along the way. Besides, do you think we can still use the highway? It will take us a few days to walk there, and we can¡¯t be certain that we will be safe throughout the way!¡±


    ¡°But we won¡¯t be safe for long here either!¡±


    ¡°At least we¡¯re safe for now.¡± Luo Yuan suddenly paused. His argument was sound, but it did not conceal his weakness. He felt like those people who chose to stay in the bomb shelter and ignore the danger in Hedong City in favor of a temporary peace.


    The sound of Wang Shishi shouting interrupted their argument.


    ¡°It¡¯s burning! And there¡¯re lots of mutated beasts! How many mutated beasts are actually hiding in the grasnd?¡± Wang Shishi kept shouting, not noticing the pale faces of the other women.


    Jing Meili was clenching both her hands tightly until her knuckles had turned white. As she saw numerous mutated beasts run in all directions, some of them rushing towards Zhao Gang, she trembled with fear. She closed her eyes and murmured to herself.


    Luo Yuan had sharp senses, so he could hear her praying to Buddha.


    ¡°Sun Xiaowu has been bitten!¡± Ning Xiaran shouted, her eyes filled with fear.


    Luo Yuan looked out the window and saw Sun Xiaowu lying on the ground while an insect the size of a dog bit his pant leg. Sun Xiaowu looked anxious. He was stabbing around madly with his spear, but he missed every time. His pants became wet as he peed himself.


    The others hesitated for a while before they rushed to help him with their spears.


    They were stabbing blindly, none of them managing to aim right. After all, they had never practiced how to use a spear before. They were also afraid of being stabbed by others, and so they dared not use much force while stabbing. As a result, after quite a long time, they still had not managed to kill the mutated insect. It was Cheng Xianfeng who used the spear like a stick to smash the insect and finally managed to save Sun Xiaowu.


    Before they could feel relieved though, a burned mutated rat rushed towards them, jumping high and aiming with his teeth towards Zhao Gang¡¯s throat.


    Zhao Gang was shocked and instinctively used his hand to block it. The mutated rat ended up biting his arm and pushing down Zhao Gang, whose limbs had already gone numb. Zhao Gang cried and swished his arm around, but the mutated rat was too ferocious to give up.


    ¡°Zhao Gang got bitten too!¡± Ning Xiaoran shouted again.


    ¡°Are you doing a live show?¡± Luo Yuan stared at her. Ning Xiaoran was so afraid that she quickly shut her mouth.


    Hearing that Zhao Gang had gotten injured, Jing Meili opened her eyes. When she saw Zhao Gang pinned to the ground by the mutated rat, she was so stupefied she almost fainted. When she recovered, she begged Luo Yuan, ¡°Brother Luo, please, please go save Zhao Gang!¡±


    Luo Yuan sighed and shook his head, ¡°They can only save themselves. If they can¡¯t even face such a small danger, it¡¯s useless. They might live today, but they won¡¯t survive for long.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, the mutated rats can¡¯t bite through Zhao Gang¡¯s clothes. He¡¯ll be alright.¡± Huang Jiahui knew that Luo Yuan had synthesized the clothes. In fact, they were not normal clothes anymore, but body armor. It only looked like the man was in danger.


    Jing Meili shook her head desperately, suddenly going down on her knees and kowtowing. Soon the floor was painted with her blood. ¡°Brother Luo, I know that you are a good man. Please help him. We¡¯ll repay you next time. We¡¯ll do anything.¡±


    Luo Yuan was moved. Just as he was about to agree, the situation outside changed.


    Sun Xiaowu who had just been saved, was both embarrassed and angry by his actions. As he saw Zhao Gang get bitten, he flung himself forward and choked the mutated rat without hesitation.


    Amid the ughtering atmosphere, Huo Dong also forgot about his fear. He grabbed his spear and rushed over with a shout. His spear stabbed into the mutated rat¡¯s stomach, the others¡¯ spears following suit.


    ¡°Stand up, it¡¯s alright. Zhao Gang has been saved,¡± Huang Jiahui said, walking up to Jing Meili to help her up.


    Jing Meili raised her head excitedly. Her forehead was bloody and her face was covered in blood and tears. She looked outside doubtfully and saw that Zhao Gang had already stood up and the mutated rat had been thrown aside, its body full of holes.


    She wiped her tears away. She was so excited that she was both crying andughing at the same time.


    As Luo Yuan watched the scene, he felt slightly touched.


    After experienced this battle, which to Luo Yuan was a battle for kids, the temperament of these people seemed to change. Maybe it was the protective ability of their clothes or perhaps the fact that they had seen blood, but they became steadier when facing mutated beasts.


    Each battle thereafter ended very quickly. Sometimes they did not even need each others¡¯ help anymore.


    Low-rank mutated beasts were not very strong, provided they were not some kind of weird mutated beast. With enough courage, a normal person without any training could kill them easily.


    With their increased efficiency, it only took them half a day to clear the grass an 100 m2 area.


    The amount of gasoline they used was also less than they¡¯d expected. They only used about eight 25-liter tanks.


    In fact, it was the windy conditions that assisted in spreading the fire to more than a 10-meter range.


    At the end of the day, every one of them was injured, but most of them had only suffered minor injuries. Cheng Xianfeng had the most serious injury. Two fingers on his left hand had been bitten off, but although he was in agony, he kept silent. Zhao Gang had also gotten his arm bitten, but he was lucky enough to only get bruises. It was just his muscles that had been injured. He would only need to rest for a few days.


    Their clothes were all synthesized using the bark of the locust tree, and they were coarse, hard,pact, and difficult to fold. They looked like a thinyer of armor when they put them on. As all the clothes were blue rank equipment, they were suitable for clumsy, normal people who had not had any training before. They would help them defend themselves if they got bitten.


    Trantor Notes


    1 Yellow Crane Tower 1916, a famous cigarette brand in China

 Chapter 101: Light

    Chapter 101: Light


    Trantor: Editor:


    Although the men had experienced the anxiousness and excitement ofnd clearing, they did not seem to be able to rest in the evening.


    After they enjoyed their lunch, they started to move into their new house.


    Nobody wouldin about having too many things during such dire times. Even a broken chair could be useful as it could be used as firewood. However, they realized that they had too many possessions when they started moving them.


    Beds, quilts, furniture, grains, clothes, gasoline, electric generators, spices, woks, bowls... Carrying everything drained both their energy and time.


    When they moved it all into the new house, it was around dusk.


    Everyone was delighted, but the neers even more so, because they no longer had to squeeze in with the rest of them. Men had it better than women because they didn¡¯t experience some of the inconveniences and embarrassments that women did. Women had to avoid others just to go to the bathroom.


    The new house wasrger than their old one. The empty rooms were enough so two could share one bedroom while a few lucky ones could have a whole room to themselves.


    Luo Yuan got the master bedroom. The wedding picture of the previous owners had been thrown in the dustbin, the bedroom had been cleaned and the original quilt had been reced with a quilt they had brought from their old house.


    That wasn¡¯t because the quilt used to belong to a dead man. After all, everyone was familiar with death by now. If death had been a taboo, they might not have been able to eat those mutated beasts in the city as none of them had ever eaten a man before.


    Although they had finished moving into their new home, their job was far from done. The whole vi had been preserved perfectly after an attack from arge group of mutated beasts, but all the windows had been broken, so the house was not safe to inhabit yet. Of course Luo Yuan did not expect the vi to protect them fromrge-sized mutated beasts, but at least prevent smaller dangerous creatures, such as mutated mosquitoes, from entering.


    He searched throughout the district and by a stroke of luck, he found a few packs of cement in a small storeroom in an underground parking area. He, Huo Dong and the others collected some bricks, mixed the cement with water and filled the windows, the holes, the air-conditioning pipes and thempck absorbers.


    When they filled in thest window, the whole house suddenly became as dark as an ancient building, the only natural light source being the open door.


    The house might have been dark, but they all felt secure. Lastly, Luo Yuan moved the electric generator to the basement and started it. The generator produced a loud noise, and suddenly the whole vi was lit up.


    He had started the electric generator in the basement because he had thought that perhaps the previous owner of the house had an unusual hobby and had designed his basement area to be soundproof. As expected, when he closed the door, most of the noise was muffled.


    Meanwhile, in the living room, there was so much excitement that a lot of them were crying out in joy. It had felt like that they¡¯d gone back to the old days when they saw the bright white lights turn on.


    Luo Yuan smiled while he looked at everyone in excitement. Even the most demure person could not have controlled their emotions during such a time. They had never expected that they would see the lights on again, just like they had never expected that the lights, which they had taken for granted in the old days, would move them so deeply that day.


    ¡°I want to charge my cell phone.¡± Ning Xiaoran wiped her tears away. She looked like she had just thought of something, and she started rummaging through her pockets, but she could not find her phone. Maybe she had lost it somewhere. She was so worried, she looked close to tears.


    ¡°You can use mine!¡± Cao Linforted her while she took her own cell phone out of her pocket, found a plug to charge it, and pressed the switch-on button.


    ¡°Yes, yes!¡± Ning Xiaoran twisted the corner of her shirt while she nodded thankfully. Her eyes were staring at the cell phone, which turned on with a melodious sound.


    Soon, the others took out their cell phones too, charging and turning them on.


    They were all silent, their excitement reced by worry and depression.


    ¡°Why don¡¯t you go charge your phone?¡± Luo Yuan asked Huang Jiahui.


    ¡°No, it¡¯s alright.¡± Huang Jiahui gave him a forced smile. ¡°Actually, I could no longer make calls, even before my battery ran out.¡±


    ¡°Brother Luo, could you please lend me your phone? I want to call my parents. Hopefully, I can still reach them,¡± Wang Shishi, who was standing beside them, suddenly requested. Her little face was somber, as if she was trying to remain calm.


    As he looked at this little girl, who was not even 14 years old yet, Luo Yuan felt touched. ¡°Wait, let me get my phone from upstairs.¡±


    Luo Yuan ran to the master bedroom on the second floor, rummaged around and found his cell phone and a charger inside the folder where he¡¯d put misceneous things. Then he walked down to the first floor, charged the cell phone and turned it on. He tried tofort Wang Shishi, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, everything will be alright soon.¡±


    ¡°Brother Luo, you don¡¯t have tofort me. I¡¯m not holding out much hope anyway. It wouldn¡¯t have taken them so long to look for me if....¡± Wang Shishi did not finish her sentence. She could no longer control her emotions. She just burst into uncontroble tears. The rest of her sentence was reced by the sound of her weeping.


    ¡°There¡¯s no signal anymore,¡± Cao Lin said seriously as she stared at her phone. Immediately, Ning Xiaoran¡¯s face turned pale and she sat down on the sofa helplessly while Huo Dong put down his cell phone and sighed in disappointment. The atmosphere had be oppressive.


    Luo Yuan looked at his phone until it finally turned on; there was no signal at all, but there was an unread message. Considering the phone could not receive messages without a signal, obviously it had received the message when the battery was not yetpletely empty and had turned off automatically before he¡¯d had time to read it.


    Surprisingly, the message was from Huang Xiaguang. Luo Yuan took a deep breath and read the message word by word. It took him a few minutes to read it, even though it was quite short.


    ¡°Luo Yuan,e find us if you¡¯re still in Hedong City. My dad and his friends have built a small underground station. I know that you don¡¯t like relying on others, but safety is more important than pride. If you can¡¯t find a good hiding ce, you cane to ours. The address is Dongguang Area, Anxie Noble District 18.¡±


    After hisst meeting with Huang Xiaguang at Donghu Park, he had never seen her again. After he had rejected her affections repeatedly, he had hurt her deeply and their rtionship had gradually cooled until they had eventually lost contact. Luo Yuan had forgotten about her gradually, so he had not expected that she would still be concerned about his safety.


    It was Huang Xiaguang though, who had taken the initiative to notify Luo Yuan so that he could manage to leave Donghu City with the first group of people. Though Luo Yuan could be cold-blooded while facing his enemies, he was still capable of emotion.


    ¡°Anxie Noble District 18. It doesn¡¯t sound far from here,¡± Luo Yuan said to himself.


    Everyone was rtively quiet during dinner. They seemed to have something on their minds and they did not eat much.


    In order to save on the diesel, Luo Yuan turned off the electric generator before they went to bed and switched the shlight on his phone.


    As soon as he walked into the bedroom, Huang Jiahui shut the door like a thief. When she turned to him, her face was blushing. She was breathing fast, her eyes were moistened, and she looked hot and seductive.


    Luo Yuan could not help but be turned on by such an obvious signal. He had not had sex for a long time and he was excited. Plus, after his Physique had been enhanced by the AP, his body attributes had been bnced, and he could now fully control himself. He just couldn¡¯t wait to test his skill in bed again.


    If it wasn¡¯t for Wang Shishi, who kept sleeping in the same room with them, he would not have resisted.


    They did not speak, they just embraced each other and kissed passionately. Luo Yuan¡¯s hands quickly moved to her chest and rubbed her bosom, kneading it into various shapes. Their breathing got quicker and Luo Yuan could no longer hold back. He pressed her against the wall, untied her belt impatiently and took off hers pants along with her underwear. Then he turned her around and let her lean against the wall.


    ¡°Bed!¡± Huang Jiahui turned, her voice trembling as her face burned hot.


    ¡°Let¡¯s do it here,¡± Luo Yuan insisted.


    Under the light of the cell phone¡¯s shlight, her butt was white and plump like a full moon. Luo Yuan enjoyed it rubbing it, letting his fingers run over it again and again. After consuming high-rank mutated beasts for such a long time, Huang Jiahui¡¯s skin had be delicate and smooth like silk.


    Her whole body was blushing and it felt extremely hot.


    Luo Yuan stroke her for a while, until he could not resist anymore. Then he untied his belt, took out his member and slowly inserted it.


    He took a deep breath and slowly breathed out again.


    It was not just Huang Jiahui¡¯s skin that was boiling hot, she was hot inside too; obviously she had been abstaining for a long time. When his member was in, Huang Jiahui started moaning in pleasure while her insides started to contract and twist. She had to be very aroused.


    As Luo Yuan gradually moved faster, Huang Jiahui could not support her body anymore. Her hands that had been holding the wall started to slide down.


    ¡°I can¡¯t, I can¡¯t do it anymore...¡± Huang Jiahui¡¯s hair was disheveled, her forehead was covered in sweat and her voice was sobbing.


    Luo Yuan opened his eyes wide, tightly holding and supporting her soft white butt. His speed got faster as his stomach and her butt hit against each other intensely.


    Huang Jiahui knew that Luo Yuan was almost there so she said, ¡°These days are safe!¡±


    Luo Yuan growled, hugged Huang Jiahui tightly and held her butt still.


    As they were enjoying the aftertaste of their arousal, there was a sudden knock on the door.


    ¡°Brother Luo, Sister Huang, I can¡¯t sleep. I want to sleep with you.¡±


    Luo Yuan was annoyed and wondered why he had not realized earlier how inappropriate it was for all of them to sleep together.


    When he had first met Wang Shishi, she had still been a kid, and thus he had viewed her as one. What had happened the previous night though had made him realize that Wang Shishi was no longer a kid. She was mature, at least mentally. It was not right for them to sleep together anymore.


    Most importantly, it was what Huang Jiahui would have wanted. He tried his best to advise her, ¡°Didn¡¯t you use to sleep alone before? You¡¯ll get used to it again after a few days.¡±


    ¡°But if I don¡¯t hug you while I sleep, I¡¯ll have nightmares!¡± Wang Shishi said tenderly as she pursed her lips. Her voice sounded upset like she had somehow been wronged.


    Luo Yuan felt almost soft-hearted, but he had to be strict with her. ¡°Don¡¯t look for excuses. Be a good girl and go back to sleep.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m missing my mom and dad.¡± Wang Shishi had finally decided to y her trump card.


    Luo Yuan and Huang Jiahui looked at each other. Huang Jiahui suddenly sighed and said, ¡°Just let her in!¡±


    Then she took a piece of tissue and wiped her private parts. After she had properly cleaned up, she went over and opened the door.

 Chapter 102: The Battle Beast

    Chapter 102: The Battle Beast


    Trantor: Editor:


    Lately, the weather seemed to be getting hotter and it would only rain every few days.


    If they went by the old calendar, it would already have been spring. Ever since the world had started to mutate, winter had ended in the blink of an eye.


    ¡°This is the Beijing People¡¯s Radio Station, this is the Beijing People¡¯s Radio Station! We are broadcasting to the survivors around the world... As of today, we can no longer receive any signal from Africa or Australia. On the other hand, the signal from most regions in South America, part of Europe and South East Asia is intermittent; the conditions are rather worrying...¡±


    ¡°...This is a war between humans and nature. The survival of mankind is being greatly challenged and the conditions are getting worse. Under the leadership of the government, China has builtrge defense stations in Beijing, Tibet, Qinghai, Urumqi and Ta Makan, and is changing its war strategy. If any survivors hear this news, please spread it. Reporting again...¡±


    ¡°Now reporting the international news. America and Canada have officially signed an ad hoc agreement on war strategy to develop an ice field on the northern part of Canada. This agreement also means that other than the few important local military bases, the whole poption of America will be moved.¡±


    ¡°Russia¡¯s capital, Moscow, discovered a constant high-energy source whichsted for 6 minutes and 15 seconds before it disappeared oddly this morning from satellite images. Moscow is currently temporarily out of contact...¡±


    ¡°ording to the news we received from Japan, the vice president, Yamamoto Ichirou, who visited China on February 27, was killed when a ne crushed on the surface of the sea...¡±


    Listening to the sounds transmitted from the cellphone¡¯s radio receiver, Luo Yuan became serious.


    It had been a short winter and human beings had been retreating towards the hignds, the desert and the ice fields, where humans and most living things could not have survived during the old days. Apparently, the situation was worse than Luo Yuan had imagined.


    Suddenly, a heavy tremor came from outside.


    ¡°I was worried I wouldn¡¯t find you, but now you¡¯re here!¡± Luo Yuan raised his eyebrows and removed the earphones. He put his cellphone on the table, grabbed his Zhanmadao and rushed out of the house as everyone looked at him uneasily.


    He strode quickly, each stride about 3 meters long, until he reached the origin of the tremor after a few minutes.


    It was a huge beast that looked like a lizard. It was 3 meters tall and about 6 meters long, tail included. Its body was emerald green and its head had a spiral-shaped ck taper horn that was not mature yet. It was very small in size, barely half a foot long, and looked weirdpared to its otherwiserge body.


    The huge beast had been lingering near the district for two days. It had been hesitating, but that day it had finally decided to move closer.


    It breathed heavily and asionally jetted out white mist. Its ferocious giant ws tramped impatiently as it howled defiantly.


    The previous day, Luo Yuan had found the reaction of the huge beast strange, but now he finally understood. This district had originally been upied by the haunted locust tree. All the mutated beasts in the area had possessed about the same kind of strength, so peace had been possible to maintain.


    After the haunted locust tree had been chopped off by Luo Yuan though, its breaths had be weaker, and the mutated beasts nearby had started to expand their territory.


    This was the first mutated beast toe over.


    For a blue rank mutated beast that had recently been chased out of its territory, it was very lucky to find an unupied territory in this city.


    The abject mutated beast¡¯s body was filled with various wounds and many of its scales had dropped off. Some were recent wounds, and its body was still bleeding from them. Apparently, stray life was not easy.


    However, the beast was very vignt and seemed extremely prudent. He was sure that it would retreat as soon as it sensed that something was wrong. Besides, it was very fast too. Luo Yuan had wanted to kill it the previous day but it had run away before he was able to do anything about it.


    Maybe it was its strategy to survive by wandering and hunting around the territories of other mutated beasts.


    Luo Yuan had been worrying that he would fail his mission, but it hade back again.


    In order to avoid frightening the beast off once again, Luo Yuan creeped on the ground while he slowly moved forward. He even minimized his body aura, just to be safe.


    After howling a few times, the beast stopped. It looked like it was observing its surroundings. After a few seconds, it seemed slightly relieved and walked forward into the district.


    It howled towards the sky excitedly. All of a sudden, it seemed to intuitively sense the danger. The prism-shaped scale on its tail was slightly open, forming a sawtooth-like shape while its body lowered, its tusk exposed slightly as it gave a warning howl and retreated.


    It seemed to have felt something and suddenly turned back. That¡¯s when it noticed a small creature heading its way fast. It did not understand and could not believe that these little creatures, which had be its only food sourcetely, could bring such an immense feeling of danger.


    It seemed offended and angry. It even forgot the feeling of danger it had just experienced.


    It howled, moving its four limbs wildly and sprinting towards the small creature as the earth around it rumbled.


    While it rushed over, it thought that the creature would be like those it had met previously. It expected it to copse to the ground shaken, but hopefully not excrete. The beast was not particrly picky about food, but the taste was just not as good.


    The creature ran very fast.


    The beast had limited intelligence, so just at the thought that the little creature had entered its range of attack, it stretched out its neck and bit in that general direction. A stone nearby was crushed into powder.


    It instinctively felt that something was wrong as it did not feel the fragrant, sweet taste of blood flowing down its throat. Before it could react, it felt something cool on its front w and thought it saw a creature slip through while it was still in a state of stupor.


    Its broken w was so painful that the beast howled loudly.


    As it dropped off, arge amount of blood burst like a spring from the wound.


    Luo Yuan¡¯s eyes lookedpletely ruthless. With the help of the heart of the haunted locust tree, his 14-point Willpower allowed him to protect himself without relying on anger to form an invisible light membrane on his skin. As the air on the surface of the membrane was slightly twisted, he appeared unreal and vague if seen from afar.


    The light of the Zhanmadao had also grown about a foot long, and made the sword tougher and sharper.


    After Luo Yuan had chopped off the front w of the huge beast, he did not stop moving. He flexibly slid under its stomach, vertically raising up his Zhanmadao, and taking a few quick steps so that the de cut through the beast¡¯s tough skin, tearing it like a cloth. A big wound formed from the beast¡¯s chest to its stomach.


    Unfortunately, the beast was too tall and he had only torn open its skin surface because he¡¯d had to lower his center of gravity in order to run faster and maintain his body bnce. Otherwise, the giant beast would have been killed.


    Before it could howl again, Luo Yuan moved briskly from under its stomach.


    Luo Yuan¡¯s actions were dazzling. It was only the first round, but the giant beast was already severely injured.


    The fight was not over yet, though. Walking on tiptoe, Luo Yuan stepped on its giant leg the size of a bucket and, using both his hands, he flipped and stood up on the back of the giant beast. He could control his strength to a micro extent. Combined with his high-speed reflective neurons, Luo Yuan could step into the air and walk for about five steps. He could climb about three meters high on a smooth wall, let alone on this giant beast with the numerous scars and a skin surface as coarse as sandpaper.


    The beast finally felt the danger and howled in fury as it shook its body violently, trying to shake him off.


    It felt like an earthquake, and any normal person would have fallen.


    Luo Yuan remained calm though, lowering his body and shifting his center of gravity in sync with the quake. His body was as stable as a tree with strong taproots into the ground.


    Suddenly, a sharp hissing sound came from the back. Luo Yuan had predicted it and he quickly stepped backward, moving aside slightly while he swung his knife sideways and upwards, cutting the giant beast¡¯s sawtooth-like tail into two.


    He lost his energy bnce for a while, and he swayed before taking a deep breath and slowly stepping forward, gradually increasing his speed. Although he was still stumbling at first, his body became more stable as he moved forward.


    It took Luo Yuan only a few seconds to reach the beast¡¯s head. It could not shake him off, no matter how hard it tried.


    Luo Yuan raised his Zhanmadao, which had a sharp light on its edge, and emitted a strong aura that unexpectedly suppressed the terrifying beast.


    He could feel its body start to shiver. Just as Luo Yuan was about to kill it with his knife and take some of its meat back to the vi though, the giant beast reacted oddly.


    It suddenlyy down with its head close to the ground and whimpered for mercy. Under the oppressing fear of death, it had stopped resisting, like a weak prey surrendering itself to its opponent.


    Luo Yuan was shocked. He had never thought that a mutated beast could have such a reaction. He had never seen such a thing.


    He hesitated and jumped down from its head. Meanwhile, he looked at the beast vigntly while he thought of ten different methods of counteracting.


    In fact, Luo Yuan was not worried about the beast. After all, he had just chopped off part of its leg and half its tail, and there was a severe wound on its stomach, so it could hardly run away.


    The beast was not moving, but its shivers became more intense as it seemed to sense Luo Yuan¡¯s gaze.


    ¡°Maybe it¡¯s surrendering?¡± Luo Yuan said to himself while he rubbed his chin.


    ¡°It seems to have totally given up. Shall I just kill it?¡± Luo Yuan couldn¡¯t decide. If the mutated beast had kept resisting, Luo Yuan would have killed it off right away, but under the circumstances, he felt uneasy killing it.


    Yet, he was reluctant. Double the EXP would be deducted if he failed the mission. He would need toplete at least two E Level Missions topensate for the lost EXP. Worst case scenario, he would need toplete three.


    ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll just kill it. After all, there¡¯s no morality between humans and mutated beasts. Besides, killing a mutated beast would save thousands of human lives. There would be one less mutated beast eating humans.¡± After Luo Yuan weighed the pros and cons, he no longer hesitated.


    There was a light on the de of Zhanmadao as he walked towards the giant beast.


    The beast seemed to feel its imminent death; it shivered intensely while it shrunk into its own body. Once someone had lost the courage to fight, it was difficult to get it back. Both humans and mutated beasts were alike that way.


    The giant beast had given up the fight and was only waiting for its death.


    Suddenly, there was a system notification.


    ¡°The blue rank creature Giant Jungle Lizard has paid obeisance to you, Keep as a battle beast, Decline/ ept?¡±


    Luo Yuan was shocked for a while. He thought he must have been mistaken. When he recovered from the shock, he epted the request and the body of the Giant Jungle Lizard started to shake while its head swayed.


    He opened his attribute table and discovered that there was a new option for battle beasts at the bottom. The drop-down box had an attribute table exclusively for battle beasts, too.


    ¡°Battle Beast: Giant Jungle Lizard¡±


    ¡°Level: 0 (Blue)¡±


    Attributes:-


    Strength: 18 (10)


    Dexterity: 12 (10)


    Physique: 17 (10)


    Intelligence: 3 (10)


    Sensory Perception: 4 (10)


    Willpower: 11(10)


    EXP: 0/2400


    Skills: Pouncing and Biting 14, Tail Attack 15, Field Survival 18


    Special Abilities: Instinct for Danger


    Condition: Weak


    Loyalty: 55 (May rebel or run away if less than 50, Maximum 100)


    Unassigned AP: 0


    Unassigned SP: 5


    Its attributes were indeed valiant. 18 points of Strength were almost 7.5 times higher than his and 16 times higher than a normal person¡¯s. Its Physique was 3.3 times higher than Luo Yuan¡¯s and 10 times higher than a normal person¡¯s. Its Dexterity was lower, but it was still much stronger than the average person¡¯s. Of course, that was excluding its secondary attributes.


    It seemed that the beast could level up just like him. However, Luo Yuan wondered why it needed more EXP than Luo Yuan in order to level up. When he considered the size of its body though, it made sense.


    Frankly, he was not clear on how the EXP system worked: Was it based on body size? On separate attributes? Or was it based on overall attributes? Luo Yuan¡¯s overall attributes surprisingly reached 76 points. Although the Giant Jungle Lizard¡¯s separate attributes were great, its overall attributes reached only 65 points, which was only 5 points higher than average. Luo Yuan guessed that the system might judge based on overall sophisticated factors, which would involve a moreplicated form.


    However, he did not remain excited for long as he heard the failed mission notification ring.


    ¡°Level E Mission: Kill Giant Jungle Lizard failed, deducting double the basic rewarded EXP, Total 3,200 points.¡±


    Fortunately, Luo Yuan had more than enough EXP, so he did not have to worry about downgrading.

 Chapter 103: Chaos

    Chapter 103: Chaos


    Trantor: Editor:


    The loss Luo Yuan had suffered was rtively smaller than what he had gained. After bing his follower, the mutated lizard got up, its body no longer shaking. However, it did not dare go near him. Apparently, it was still scared of Luo Yuan, but that was to be expected. Considering he had just defeated it, its attitude was good enough already. The lizard stepped back when Luo Yuan walked towards it. It only took one step back, and then stopped moving. It just stood there, puffing in frustration. Luo Yuan tried to signal for the lizard to squat down, but apparently, it did not understand his instructions, because all it did was look at him.


    He shook his head helplessly before climbing onto its back. It was very wide, but not everyone could have sat on top of it. Its scales were shiny and slippery, and looked like they were coated with ayer of oil. He had to be very careful even though the lizard was staying still. Once it started moving and shaking, any normal person would slide off its back, and if it started running, they would fall instantly.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go to the district!¡± Luo Yuan said as he patted the lizard¡¯s back.


    The giant lizard did not respond. Luo Yuan tapped on it harder, until it finally turned around and looked at Luo Yuan innocently, its big eyes looking anxious. Luo Yuan pointed at the entrance of the district, but the lizard did not move. Apparently, he had overestimated its intelligence, which seemed to be lower than a dog¡¯s. Luo Yuan stood up helplessly and walked onto its head. He kept signing and jumped onto the ground every once in a while to do a demonstration. The lizard finally understood what ¡®Go¡¯ and ¡®Stop¡¯ meant after half an hour.


    It finally moved, walkingmely. One of its legs was injured and it had to keep it curled up. It could only rely on its other three legs to move, and it looked pitiful.


    ¡°Walk that way!¡± Luo Yuan kicked it hard on the head. The lizard¡¯s head shook and it turned around.


    ¡°Slightly to the right!¡± Luo Yuan said, kicking the right side of its face.


    He kept kicking its head until the lizard began to feel frustrated. It was puffing furiously.


    The system immediately sent a warning message, ¡°The loyalty of the lizard has decreased by one point due to unreasonable abuse.¡±


    Luo Yuan was stunned. He could not believe that the lizard could still protest when it was so severely injured. Despite the fact that its loyalty had gone down, he still believed that he could defeat it. He gave it a few kicks again, but the lizard did not seem to feel a thing. His kicks were too weak for the lizard¡¯s 18-point body. Luo Yuan got mad and naturally focused all his energy on his foot before kicking its head again.The lizard suddenly shook its body vigorously and moaned sadly. It went numb and copsed to the ground before Luo Yuan could react.


    ¡°Is it still alive?¡± Luo Yuan was shocked and he quickly jumped down from its back to check.


    The lizard was still alive, but there seemed to be something wrong with its head. It struggled to stand up, but failed. After a minute it got up again, but its body kept shaking and its eyes looked frightened.


    ¡°The loyalty of the lizard has increased by 10 points due to your abuse!¡±


    Luo Yuan felt enlightened. The message had been exactly the same as the previous one, but the result was the total opposite. The first one had been about the decrease of loyalty, while the second one had been about the drastic rise of loyalty. He finally understood the structure between mutants and the gap of power between them. That was the key to beating them, not structural power or sentiment. Apparently, his powerful attack had banished thest bit of protest left within the lizard. All this inspiration crept into his head as he shifted his focus to watch the reaction of the lizard after that powerful kick.


    Apparently, the the kick had not been as weak as he had thought. Otherwise, the lizard would not have fallen to the ground. He realized its head was fine, other than the injuries it had already suffered. Ironically, determination was one of the most mysterious elements of the body. Luo Yuan had not managed to master it himself and could only use it passively. He did not even know how its defense system worked exactly. Until now, there had been two conditions under which his determination had taken over. The first one had been whenever he was chopping something with his knife, and the second one when the defense appeared on the surface of his body.


    Theoretically, both were the same thing, so the result should have been simr. However, the two oues were totally different. This time, he was not damaging something really tough or defending something, but he had still discovered a new power. There had been no sign or warning before it had happened, it had just appeared randomly. What the heck was determination? Luo Yuan had checked all the properties on the panel when he¡¯d first gotten the system. ording to the definition of the term, ¡®determination¡¯ was the subjective reflection of human beings based on their behavior.


    From a psychological perspective, determination was the process of humans consciously setting goals and adjusting their actions ordingly by oveing difficulties in order to achieve those goals. The first definition emphasized on physical actions while the second one emphasized on a psychological interpretation.


    "If Ibine them, determination is the result of behavior and reaction of the spirit," Luo Yuan whispered to himself.


    Suddenly, he was inspired as he remembered a famous religious quote, ¡°God said, ¡®Let there be light,¡¯ and there was light.¡±


    He recited it silently a few times before his forehead began to rx.


    ¡°Determination! That¡¯s the power of determination! God¡¯s determination created light!¡±


    "I was wrong! Apparently, determination is not a specific energy, but the reflection of spiritual energy. If I were to name it, I¡¯d call it ¡®chaos¡¯. It does not have any properties itself, but it can be transformed into various properties."


    ¡°Of course my determination is notparable to the great spiritual energy of God. But what were those reflections I had previously?¡±


    When he¡¯d raised his knife while facing his enemies, the fear in him had made him want to chop down everything, so he had.


    When determination spread, although his subjective consciousness had no opinion, his subconscious was still in a state of defense. It was not the violent power that created a powerful defense anymore.


    ¡°Then what about this time?¡± Luo Yuan frowned in deep thought as he tried to figure everything out.


    "I definitely don¡¯t want to kill my battle beast. My conscious and subconscious would not do anything that would hurt others without any benefit. Living things always make a decision based on the amount of benefits to themselves. Regardless of psychology or biology, they tend to behave in the way that is most beneficial to them. So, I won¡¯t kill it."


    ¡°This wasn¡¯t about defense anyway. Although I don¡¯t want to kill it, I still wanted to teach it a lesson, which means that this power was enough to hurt it, but not kill it. It was just enough to destroy any intention it had to protest.¡±


    Of course, it was meaningless to continue struggling to understand the meaning of determination. Determination changed depending on the intentions of the mind, and humans achieved their goals when their determination grew stronger. It had the power to create a new life or lead one to death. It could make almost every goale true. Luo Yuan felt enlightened. He stopped thinking and looked at the terrified lizard. He felt rxed as he jumped on its back once again.


    It took Luo Yuan and the lizard a long time to return to the vi because they got lost on the way. When they finally got there, the lizardy down on the space in front of the vi. It looked like a giant hill, and the ground shook when it walked back to the vi, making everyone inside anxious and afraid. Its appearance had caused an intense fear in the women, but they had been amazed when they saw Luo Yuan standing on top of it. Huang Jiahui would have shot the lizard if Luo Yuan had not been smiling. No one dared get closer. Even Huang Jiahui only looked at it from afar.


    Luo Yuan jumped down from the lizard and walked towards her. She looked anxious as she silently cursed Luo Yuan and his recklessness. Although the lizard looked obedient, it could still attack Luo Yuan from the back. If it really attacked him, then... Huang Jiahui immediately turned pale at the thought. She quickly pulled out her gun and aimed at the lizard, ready to shoot anytime if it suddenly attacked him.


    The lizard was sensitive to danger and it immediately sensed it when Huang Jiahui aimed at it with her handgun. In fact, the bullets she had in her gun were dark blue rank, which meant they were very powerful. Blue level animals had zero defensive power against dark blue bullets. A less powerful animal could be defeated by the bullets if it got shot at its weakest point. Unfortunately, she did not have many of them left.This was just a handgun after all. She would not need to be worried about dark blue animals if she had a machine gun.


    The lizard sensed the danger and immediately curled up its tail, forming a serrated circle while it puffed, vaporing out of its nose furiously. Huang Jiahui panicked when she saw that the lizard was ready to attack. Her hand that was holding the gun was shaking. She was about to fire.


    Suddenly, Luo Yuan turned around and snorted. A strong energy was released from his body, making the lizard step back. He waved at Huang Jiahui, signaling for her to rx. Huang Jiahui looked panicked as she walked quickly towards Luo Yuan. She hugged him tightly and kept punching his back to vent her anxiety as she cried, ¡°Why are you being so reckless? You had me so worried!¡±


    She was terrified. There was a moment when she had thought that she would follow Luo Yuan if he died. She loved him wholeheartedly. They have been through so many ups and downs together for such a long time.


    "Why were you worried? I defeated it and made it my battle beast. Don¡¯t go closer though, its intelligence is really low. I¡¯ll need some time to train it first," Luo Yuan said without thinking, earning a few more punches from her.


    Luo Yuan promised her that he would be more careful when going close to the lizard. He did not really need to worry about the lizard attacking him from the back. He could easily sense its movement as long as it was within his sensory perception range. Besides, the lizard would not betray him while its loyalty remained above 50 points. He was quite confident with the information provided by the system. Anyway, it was difficult for him to exin, and he believed that women would not want to hear that kind of exnation. In fact, an honest promise was the best solution for a woman who cared about his safety.


    "Why did you call it a battle beast?" Huang Jiahui asked doubtfully.


    Luo Yuan was having a headache. The name had been provided by the system, so he thought of an alternative way to exin, ¡°Actually, all it took was a pat. It was like keeping a dog or cat.¡±


    Huang Jiahui looked at the scary lizard doubtfully and realized that no matter how hard she tried, she could notpare it to a cute dog or a cat.


    ¡°Does it eat humans?¡± Huang Jiahui asked anxiously.


    "Rx! It¡¯s usually very obedient," Luo Yuan said andughed.


    It definitely used to eat humans before, but he would not let it eat them anymore. The beasty down in front of the vi and licked its wounds. It was totally a different beast from the one he had met earlier. Huang Jiahui looked at it for quite a while before reluctantly epting his exnation. Wang Shishi had been hesitated so far, but now she seemed willing to go closer. She peeped at the beast secretly with a little excitement before she asked with a stammer, "Brother Luo, can I... can I also ride on it like you did?"


    "Its intelligence level is quite simr to dogs. You can¡¯t, because it doesn¡¯t know you yet, but it should be fine after a while, when it begins to recognize you," Luo Yuan exined as heughed.


    ¡°Is it real?¡± Wang Shishi looked enlightened as she smiled. She seemed to be fantasizing about riding the beast in the city.

 Chapter 104: Light

    Chapter 104: Light


    Trantor: Editor:


    The main impact of the lizard was that everyone now tended to avoid looking Luo Yuan in the eye. They were afraid of him, but also respected him. During lunch, Luo Yuan had asked Ning Xiaoran where her hometown was, and she had stood up abruptly and answered anxiously. Luo Yuan had felt strange and he had turned to Huo Dong, the cheerleader among the group. He had also acted weird, which had made Luo Yuan lose any interest in talking to him. In fact, the impact of that incident was actually much greater than Luo Yuan could imagine.


    Although the lizard looked quite pitiful with one of its forelimbs severely injured and a big wound on its chest, its giant size still scared everyone away. Even though they were just looking at it from afar, their legs still went numb. They pictured themselves fighting the lizard in their dreams, and most of the time they had nightmares.


    Apparently, Luo Yuan was scarier than the lizard, because he was the one who had defeated it. Everyone knew he was the one who had made the wounds on its body, and no one could rx standing beside such a crazy, reckless man.


    Up to that point, everyone had thought that Luo Yuan was just strong. They had never seen him fight. They had only ever seen him kill a person. Most of the battles were taken over by Wang Shishi, and many of them actually thought Wang Shishi was more powerful than Luo Yuan. After all, he only killed humans while Wang Shishi killed mutants.


    It was amon phenomenon among the women, and they would usually gossip and argue about it. However, the arguments had stopped ever since the lizard had gotten there. Luo Yuany down on the deck chair outside after lunch. He had closed his eyes slightly and was enjoying the warm sunshine, feeling a little sleepy. He was still thinking about the issue of Determination and future development.


    The system did not provide much information about Determination, except for a few messages. He sensed that Determination would grow stronger in time and even override all the other properties. However, his main concern was that he didn¡¯t know how to develop his Determination power. It was too slow for him to upgrade by using the system as every single level required double the amount of the previous level¡¯s experience value. However, his physical strength could not cope with the growth and slowed down his upgrade.


    He was able to fight blue level animals even though he was at Level 6. Up until now he had been powerful enough to fight blue rank animals, even when he had upgraded to Level 7. He had no confidence that he could fight dark blue rank animals though. Self-training seemed to be the only strategy he could try. His Flexibility had to be the most important property in upgrading his Determination. Maybe Sensory Perception would be beneficial to the upgrade too.


    He realized that Sensitivity was very important as well as the stronger the Sensitivity, the easier he could defeat mutants. Sometimes, it was difficult for the naked eye to catch the attacks of mutants, and he needed assistance from Sensitivity to make a decision. Of course, Dexterity was also very important as it helped him escape when he could not defeat a mutant. Physique was very important for escaping as it would not work if he was weak. If his energy level was high, it would generate an explosive motion in a short distance.


    Luo Yuan felt a slight headache and stopped thinking. All the properties seemed to be important. Basically, he could only neglect Intelligence because he knew it would only be useful in peaceful times. During such a chaotic period, the useful properties would be those able to enhance him or help him fight.


    ¡°Damn it! Just forget about it! I better think of how to upgrade my Determination.¡± Luo Yuan threw away his cigarette and enjoyed his rest, closing his eyes and rocking the deck chair.


    The lizard immediately stood up when it saw Luo Yuan fall asleep. It began to wander around the ce carefully and run around happily. Not getting any response from Luo Yuan, it started running further and roaring, the animals nearby responding to it. Luo Yuan opened his eyes slightly and looked at the lizard¡¯s strange actions. He guessed that it was trying to mark its territory.


    The roarssted for almost half an hour before they stopped. The smaller mutants in the district were in trouble as the starved lizard began to hunt for food. Even though one of its legs was gone, that did not affect its hunting abilities. In ancient times, when a dinosaur got injured on the legs, it could only wait for death. However, that was not the case with those mutants as there were huge differences created by the biological evolution of the living organisms.


    Besides, there were only white level animals in the districts, which was two levels lower than the lizard. Most of the weaker mutants had already fallen to the ground when they saw the lizard heading their way. Even if they wanted to escape, they would just simply run without direction and crush into rocks.


    The lizard was not fussy about food as it has been starved for quite a while. Basically, it stuffed everything it saw into its mouth, even the poisonous animals. It spent about two hours filling its stomach until its tummy looked like a big ball.


    That was the advantage of iming a territory. Basically, it did not need to worry about food or the risk of food hunting. The self-defense concept of herbivores did not apply to carnivores. A pride of lions only hunted on their specific territory. If another male lion happened to pass by, then it had to expect a battle and get ready for it.


    The giant lizard was so bloated, its wound had cracked open again. Blood was dripping down from the wound but the lizard did not seem to care. Ity down in the bushes near the vi and began to snore. Both the beast and its master rxed till the evening. Luo Yuan had not managed to figure out anything, even though he had spent the whole afternoon thinking about it. Determination was the evolution of spirit, so it would be useless if he used the wrong method.


    Later that night, Luo Yuan told the girls about his concern. He actually thought Huang Jiahui would not have any good ideas, but he was wrong. She easily solved his problem by saying, "It¡¯s easy, just do something you¡¯re not willing to do. For example, quit smoking!¡±


    She was actually joking, she did not think Luo Yuan would really do that. She knew quitting smoking was really tough for men as her father still had not managed to quit, even though her mother had been arguing with him about it for more than 10 years.


    Luo Yuan nodded seriously, surprising her. He said, ¡°Anything else?¡±


    ¡°Take a cold shower during winter!¡± Wang Shishi joined their conversation.


    "Not a good idea," Luo Yuan said. A cold shower was not challenging enough, and therefore could not train his Determination. Besides, winter those days was a lot like summer.


    ¡°Give up alcohol?¡± Wang Shishi asked.


    ¡°Have you ever even seen me drink?¡± Luo Yuanughed.


    ¡°No. Oh! How about quitting sex?¡± Wang Shishi suddenly said.


    The room became silent. Luo Yuan felt Huang Jiahui secretly pinch his arm and quickly said, "That¡¯s a necessity, next!"


    "Watch a horror movie in the dark!" Wang Shishi said excitedly. She liked to watch horror movies, but she always covered her eyes until the end of the movie once she heard a weird sound.


    ¡°Fear!¡± Luo Yuan whispered to himself, feeling inspired. Wang Shishi had unknowingly given him a hint. Determination was the action or ability to ovee fear, to do something one was not willing or brave enough to do. Fighting one¡¯s fears could upgrade Determination faster than quitting smoking which would take a long period of time.


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong? You¡¯re acting a bit strange,¡± Huang Jiahui said doubtfully. She thought Luo Yuan was acting weird, which made her feel insecure.


    ¡°I¡¯m fine, don¡¯t think too much.¡± Luo Yuan thought it would be good for both of them to understand the importance of Determination so he said, ¡°I just realized that Determination is something magical. It can help make thingse true.¡±


    Luo Yuan looked at the confused expression on Huang Jiahui¡¯s face and said jokingly, ¡°For example, if I want the room to be bright, there will be light!¡±


    ¡°You ain¡¯t God, stop joking and go to sleep.¡± Huang Jiahui could not take it anymore.


    ¡°Brother Luo is going to be God!¡± Wang Shishi shouted, kicking the nket on the bed.


    ¡°Fine, but don¡¯t be shockedter.¡± Luo Yuan was a little mad. He took a deep breath and calmed himself instantly. Then he focused his attention and released a volume of energy strong enough to move all the objects in the room.


    Huang Jiahui and Wang Shishi were stunned. They could not believe what they were seeing.


    They heard Luo Yuan talking loudly to his energy.


    ¡°I said, I want light!¡±


    Thest word was still lingering in the air when a bright light appeared in the dark and slowly lightened up every single corner of the room. It looked as bright as during daytime.


    Huang Jiahui and Wang Shishi found it unbelievable. The scene felt simr to the arrival of God. The brightnesssted for about 30 seconds until Luo Yuan had consumed half his Determination. Then it slowly became darker until it eventually faded away.


    The room was silent. After a while, Huang Jiahui asked, ¡°It was some kind of magic trick, right? Where are the props?¡±


    ¡°Brother Luo, was it just magic?¡± Wang Shishi had thought it was real and felt slightly disappointed.


    Luo Yuan had been shocked by his power as well. He had not expected the light to appear. Although it had onlysted for 30 seconds and had not damaged anything in the room, it had amazed him more than the time he had seen the Zhanmadao shine.


    ¡°Let me check it out and find the props.¡± Wang Shishi thought he had admitted to it being a trick as he had not said anything to contradict them. She took his phone to use the shlight and jumped down from the bed to search.


    ¡°Shishi, you don¡¯t need to search, you won¡¯t find anything. It was the power of Determination!¡± Luo Yuan stopped her as he recovered from the shock. Then he stretched out his finger and drew in the air. There was a small light on his fingertip, getting brighter and brighter until it formed a ball of light.


    Huang Jiahui extended her hand idly and tried to touch the light unconsciously, as if she wanted to feel it. ¡°Howe I can¡¯t feel the warmth?¡±


    ¡°Oh, you want some heat? That can be arranged.¡± Luo Yuan said, doing his best to maintain the calmness inside his soul.


    She had just finished her words when she felt the light heat up. The temperature rose rapidly until mes appeared on the surface of the light ball. Even though she did not have any direct contact, she could still feel the heat. What amazed her was that Luo Yuan was not affected by it at all. He still looked perfectly calm. Huang Jiahui did not notice the thinyer of Determination preventing the heat from hurting her.

 Chapter 105: Early War

    Chapter 105: Early War


    Trantor: Editor:


    Wang Shishi dropped the phone on the floor. She hesitated before she said, ¡°Brother Luo, are... are you immortal?¡±


    ¡°What do you mean by immortal? Have you met anyone who is immortal?¡± Luo Yuan asked curiously. He thought Wang Shishi might have seen someone with that kind of power.


    Although he seemed to be able to focus his Determination on his body and gather his energy on his sword without any intensive training, he knew that that was actually because of the assistance of the system, which had imnted some memories and experience inside him. It was only a matter of time before he could fully master it, considering he already had the memories in his mind. Abat yer would be a very good example of that. Even if a yer fell sick for a long time and became very weak, they could get back into shape when they recovered, as long as they had not suffered any memory loss.


    Wang Shishi acted like Luo Yuan was an alien. She twitched her lips and said, ¡°How could you not know about the immortals? Have you never read an online novel before? There are several types of immortals. They practice to use their energy, strengthen their fundamental skills, and gather all their energy and upgrade it. They also... They live forever. They can visit both heaven and hell, and kill anybody in just the blink of an eye.¡±


    She was waving her hands bossily while she talked. Luo Yuan was stunned and did not know how to reply. Apparently, Wang Shishi did not want to let it go as she kept looking at Luo Yuan and asking, ¡°Brother Luo, are you really an immortal? Could you help me try to join you?¡±


    Luo Yuan was stunned. He wondered whether she had studied so much that she could no longer differentiate between reality and fairy tales. He was about to exin, but suddenly he changed his mind and said, ¡°Wait! Shishi, could you try your power? Try to lift the vase in the corner!¡±


    The vase which had been made during the time between the Ming and Qing Dynasty was about a child¡¯s height and around 10kg in weight. It was an invaluable antique during peaceful times, but it was worth nothing now. It had to be worth less than a bottle of water. Wang Shishi was confused, but she followed his instructions. She tried to focus her attention. She could handle it very well. She had never stopped practicing. The vase floated into the air silently after a few seconds.


    ¡°Now use your concentration to break the vase!¡± Luo Yuan said.


    Wang Shishi was trying not to get distracted. She just nodded. She had never thought of using her concentration that way. She looked at the vase for a long time, and it began to shake vigorously. Although the ceramic looked fragile, it was actually quite hard to break. Even a young adult could not break it with their bare hands. It was definitely tough for Wang Shishi¡¯s limited concentration power.


    No matter how hard she tried, she could not break it. Wang Shishi clenched her fists tightly while her face turned bright red. Her eyes were as big as the eyes of a goldfish. She was staring at the vase in the air like it was the man who had killed her family.


    ¡°Could she identally hurt herself?¡± Huang Jiahui looked worried as she saw Wang Shishi trying her best.


    Luo Yuan waved at Huang Jiahui, signaling her not to distract Wang Shishi. Her eyes were getting shinier. The best way to gather the power of concentration was to umte emotions of hatred and anger. Wang Shishi had discovered it all by herself. Her face seemed to be bleeding and she was biting on her cheeks to endure the pain, but she did not see any sign of the vase breaking.


    Just as Luo Yuan was about to tell her to stop, the vase produced a cracking sound. Both of them noticed several cracks on the surface of the vase, which only increased in number, until suddenly the vase exploded. Pieces of ceramic fell on the thick carpet. Luo Yuan noticed that all the broken pieces were the same size. Apparently, the way Wang Shishi applied her concentration power was very bnced. He was amazed by that. This power was beyond Wang Shishi¡¯s limits. It was almost powerful enough to break an 100 kg object.


    Luo Yuan took a deep breath. If Wang Shishi could master this power properly, she could even defeat him, considering he weighed only around 80 kg. It would not even be a tough battle as she could easily lift him up into the air. His physique would be useless against her concentration power. In some ways, it seemed to be quite easy to gather the power of Determination, but he did not actually feel that Wang Shishi was talented enough to achieve that. Was Determination perhaps simr to the power of concentration? Or was it just rted to it?


    Wang Shishi was spinning before she slumped down on the carpet. She seemed to be dizzy. After a while, she asked excitedly, ¡°Master, do I have what it takes to be an immortal?¡±


    Luo Yuan kept shaking his head while heughed.


    Wang Shishi looked disappointed as she said, ¡°Brother Luo, wasn¡¯t it a test?¡±


    ¡°You think too much. I¡¯ve told you, that¡¯s the effect of Determination,¡± Luo Yuan said, ¡°Didn¡¯t you notice that your Determination enhanced your power?¡±


    Wang Shishi seemed to recall something as she said uncertainly, "I think so. Sometimes I can move heavier objects when I stare at them longer or when I¡¯m feeling furious. Is that considered Determination?"


    ¡°It¡¯s not that simple. You¡¯re still new, but you could try to meditate to ovee your desires,¡± Luo Yuan advised her.


    "Do you mean like yoga? I¡¯ve registered for a yoga ss before. I heard that some Indians could even float in the air once they reached a certain level of yoga." Wang Shishi said excitedly.


    Luo Yuan had heard about it before as well and had also seen it on Baidu. However, he was not sure whether the images had been edited by photoshop, or it had been some kind of magic trick. Anyway, he did not believe it. Just as he was about to tell her that those rumors were fake, he recalled the mysterious power of Determination. He suddenly felt uncertain. It was actually possible to achieve such a thing if someone had a very strong Determination. It could even be an easy task for Wang Shishi if she was willing to practice with discipline.


    He encouraged her by saying, ¡°As long as you can master focusing your Determination, you can also fly at a lower altitude, not just float in the air.¡±


    Wang Shishi was so excited, she could not wait to start meditating.


    Huang Jiahui felt awkward and depressed listening to their conversation. She could not join their discussion every time they talked about superpowers. She felt left out.


    ¡°When can I be one of them, an evolutionary survivor?¡± she thought excitedly as she grabbed her nket tight.


    Luo Yuan noticed that something was wrong with Huang Jiahui. He knew what she was thinking, so he told her, ¡°Actually, you can do it as well. Everyone can focus their Determination, but normal people usually need more time to master it. Your Determination is stronger than Wang Shishi¡¯s, though. You could do what I did just now once you focus your concentration power.¡±


    It was obvious that this was meant tofort her. If it was that easy, there would have been more people with superpowers. There had been no such reports, though.


    However, Huang Jiahui was still tempted to try, and she sought advice from Wang Shishi about meditation. The two of them kept talking excitedly before they began to conduct some experiments. They stayed up the whole night, only stopping when Luo Yuan suggested to sleep in another room. The next morning, Luo Yuan walked towards the bushes where the lizard had slept the previous night.


    The lizard sensed the movement and immediately opened its eyes. It quickly got up from the ground when it realized that Luo Yuan was standing beside it. Luo Yuan was shocked to find a huge change in the physical condition of the lizard. The wound on its chest was healing and the scars on its body were fading. Its injured leg was recovering as well, but he was not as sure about that.


    He quickly switched on the status panel and realized that the lizard had gone from a severely injured state to a weak state in only one night. Hence, it would be possible for its leg to recover after only a few days. He was really amazed by its recovery speed. The 17-point Physique of the lizard was really scary. It seemed that most of its wounds would heal as long as it did not die right away.


    Leg injury aside, Luo Yuan found that the lizard looked wellpared to the previous day, when he had just met it. Initially, he had been worried about whether the lizard would attack Huang Jiahui and the rest of them. Now, that seemed like an unnecessary worry. He quickly jumped on its back and tapped it hard to order it, ¡°Go!¡±


    The lizard finally remembered some signs and instructions after going through some ¡®intensive training¡¯ with Luo Yuan the previous day. It moved naturally forward, obeying his order. There had been many mutants around the area when the lizard had marked its territory, thus he did not have to worry about searching for them.


    Besides wanting to make up for his loss, Luo Yuan also wanted to use his Determination as an experiment. The lizard had grown smarter. After taking a few wrong turns, it now knew where its master wanted to go.


    However, it only walked for a minute before it began to feel frustrated. They suddenly heard a high-pitch sound that sounded like a warning. The fights over territory were always cruel. The lizard would have escapedst time, but now it was walking forward forcefully after being frightened by Luo Yuan. It moved at a very slow pace, though. A rumbling sound came from far away. It sounded like a giant beast was rushing towards them.


    Luo Yuan jumped down from the lizard and checked their surroundings. He realized they were on themercial street near his district. There used to be many small shops there before, but now almost all the buildings had copsed. He chose a building that looked well-maintained and cut off the grill. He went up to its third floor and hid near a window.


    "Beep!" The system sent him a mission again. He had already gotten used to their frequency.


    ¡°E Level Mission, Kill a Giant Hedgehog. Duration: Three days. ept/Decline?¡±


    Luo Yuan epted it silently. He took a deep breath and gathered all his energy as he waited for the beast. The lizard looked towards the direction where Luo Yuan had run, and then slowly stepped back. It did not intend to fight at all. The street was damaged once again when the beast rushed there. Luo Yuan peeped from the building and quickly returned to his hiding ce to avoid being spotted by the beast. The beast though was too busy to bother with Luo Yuan. It only cared about the lizard that had entered its territory. It roared angrily at it.


    It was a ck beast with a fat body and a small head. Its scalp was gone and had been reced by something that looked like thorns. There were many intersected iron teeth inside its mouth and two white fangs outside it. Saliva was dripping down from its mouth. It had a pair of blue eyes and looked terribly disgusting. The worst thing was its fur though, which looked like a bunch ofnces vertically projecting out of its body. When Luo Yuan rted it to the name provided by the system, he realized that the beast¡¯s fur was not for disy purposes only.

 Chapter 106: The Homeless Man

    Chapter 106: The Homeless Man


    Trantor: Editor:


    The lizard roared back at the beast so loud, Luo Yuan could feel the vibrations. Both beasts roared at each other for a while before they began to fight. The lizard was not in optimum fighting condition as its leg was still wounded. It was turned upside down as the hedgehog bit down on its neck until it drew blood.


    Luo Yuan knew that this was not a serious injury. The neck of lizard was covered by numerous scales, so although it bled, it was only a small wound.


    The lizard roared louder as it kept struggling. It scratched the concrete ground and got up to fight back. Many of the buildings nearby had copsed during the battle. Even the building Luo Yuan was hiding inside had almost copsed.


    Luo Yuan wanted to jump down from the window to stop them when he saw theming closer to his building. Suddenly, he sensed someone opening the door quietly with a kitchen knife and rush towards him.


    ¡°Fuck you!¡±


    He almost killed him, but he tried to hold himself back. He turned around and kicked the man on the chest. The man flew away andnded on the floor, holding onto the kitchen knife. Luo Yuan felt strange. It had been like kicking a rubber tire instead of a human body. Besides, the power he had used to kick the man had been enough to move a 200 kg object. Any normal person would had been severely injured by now, but he was not. The man got up in a second.


    That was definitely not a normal human. He looked terrible with his messy hair, dirty face and torn clothes. He probably had not bathed for a couple weeks judging by his awful, disgusting smell. Actually, Luo Yuan thought that there were homeless people that looked nicer than this man.


    The man got up, looked at Luo Yuan angrily, and said, ¡°You guys are too much! Why the hell did you bring the mutants here and destroy my house? I¡¯d rather die than join you!¡±


    Luo Yuan was miserable, but he did not really care about what the man had said. ¡°You¡¯ve misunderstood.¡±


    ¡°I know you brought those beasts here. Are you a psycho? You really are too much! All this just because you want me to join your organization? Don¡¯t mess with my house, let¡¯s just fight!¡± the man kept cursing. He did not seem to believe Luo Yuan.


    Luo Yuan looked out the window anxiously and saw that the beasts had already gone away. He had lost his chance to attack. He got frustrated and said, ¡°I¡¯m too busy to exin, and you really think too much!¡±


    Luo Yuan rushed across the room and kicked the door down.


    The man had not paid enough attention and Luo Yuan had damaged his house. He got mad and rushed toward Luo Yuan with the kitchen knife. He was about to kill Luo Yuan, but when he reached the door, he was shocked. There was a big hole on the wall, but Luo Yuan was gone.


    He was holding onto his kitchen kitchen as he shivered. ¡°I, I¡¯m going to fuck your whole family! I¡¯ll kill you!¡± he said.


    He looked out of the big hole inside his house.


    ¡°F*ck you, man! How can you run so fast?¡± He was watching Luo Yuan run in a certain direction. Then he looked down to the ground. He felt a bit dizzy as he realized he was about two to three floors high. He still jumped down. He waspletely mad.


    Hended on the ground and then quickly got up again. The beasts were gone, but he could still hear the sound of them fighting in the distance.The street has been damaged once again during the battle.


    When Luo Yuan finally found the beasts, he realized that the lizard was close to copsing. Its neck had been severely injured. He could see a big wound on it as the lizardy down on the ground and moaned.


    It was full of wounds. There were many bleeding holes on its body. It looked like it had been poked by the hedgehog. The hedgehog did not look good either. Its shoulder was torn, one of it legs was bleeding and its tail was broken. However, those would only be minor injuries as long as both mutants managed to stay alive.


    The man was running down the street with his kitchen knife when he finally found Luo Yuan. He whispered to himself, ¡°Damn! I¡¯ve finally found you! You just wait!¡±


    Suddenly, the man blinked. Luo Yuan was gone again. He quickly ran to follow him. He heard the beasts roaring and felt a strong wind carrying an awful smell of blood. The building was shaking and copsed within a few seconds. The man shivered as he realized he was in big trouble. A beast was jumping around, and he saw someone holding a weird-colored sword shing at it.


    There was blood and flesh all over the ce. Internal organs flew out of the beast and dropped on the ground as it walked. In the end, Luo Yuan took a huge leap and aimed his sword at the weak neck of the hedgehog. The beast roared as blood gushed out like a fountain.


    Luo Yuannded back on the ground and sheathed his sword. He knew the man was still following him, but he did not care. He believed the man wouldn¡¯t cause him any more trouble now. The headless hedgehog struggled to walk for a while before it finally fell to the ground.


    ¡°E-Level Mission, Killing a Hedgehog: Completed!¡±


    ¡°Missionpleted in 12 minutes¡±


    ¡°Rating: Good!¡±


    ¡°Identity: Luo Yuan¡±


    ¡°Completion: 70%¡±


    ¡°Reward Basic Experience Value 2,400*70%¡±


    ¡°Average Evaluation, Experience Value +1,200*70%¡±


    ¡°Experience: 3,620/19,200!¡±


    ¡°Battle Beast: Jungle Lizard¡±


    ¡°Completion: 30%¡±


    ¡°Reward Basic Experience Value 2,400*30%¡±


    ¡°Average Evaluation, Experience Value +1,200*30%¡±


    ¡°Experience: 1,080/2,400!¡±


    Luo Yuan looked through the information on the status panel. He had expected his experience value to be distributed to his battle beast. However, things went the other way around and his experience value had increased from 1,600 points to 2,400 points. He was surprised to see that. Luo Yuan was ready to collect the internal organs when he suddenly saw the lizard roar and struggle to get up. It was moving slowly in a certain direction, which only confused Luo Yuan. He suddenly felt shocked.


    The hedgehog had curled up and all the thorns on its back were standing straight. It looked ready to attack. In the blink of an eye, its thorns were released in every direction. Luo Yuan was standing nearby. Suddenly, a flow of information crept into his mind. His head hurt. A thorn flew past his right ear, injuring him, while another one flew towards his chest.


    The speed of the thorns was too fast, faster even than bullets. The buffering time was also very short. It was extremely dangerous for him. He quickly pulled out his knife and tried to block the thorns.


    ¡°Knife Skill +!¡±


    ¡°Finally, this is the end!¡±


    Luo Yuan checked around the ce and realized there were many holes on the ground, some of them really deep ones The lizard was trying to escape, but it ended up getting poked at several ces on its body too. Compared to its earlier injuries though, the thorns were just minor injuries.


    The man seemed to have been the most unlucky. He wasying down in a pool of blood, his face pale as a sheet. A thorn had prated a building and pierced through his shoulder. Luo Yuan sighed. He had not expected to hurt an innocent person. He would have put him in a trance if he had known. Suddenly, the man felt the pain and moaned. Then he rushed towards the hedgehog and ate its flesh and blood.


    Luo Yuan was confused by the man¡¯s behavior. However, in a few minutes time, he saw his wound healing and his flesh grow back. It was shocking.


    ¡°F*ck! Is he even human? His recovery power is faster than the lizard¡¯s!¡±


    Luo Yuan was actually jealous. He knew he¡¯d have nothing to worry about if he had a recovery power like that. As long as he stayed alive and ate something, he would recover. Suddenly, the man heard the footsteps of the lizard and quickly rolled away and ran. He turned his head back to look at Luo Yuan every once in awhile while he was running. Eventually, he slowed down his speed and hid behind a building to rest.


    The lizard struggled to crawl toward the hedgehog, finally slumping down on its dead body. It tried to bite the hedgehog¡¯s belly, but it was too weak to pierce its skin. In the end, it just leaned on its chest and licked the blood dripping down from its neck. Luo Yuan sighed as he looked at the lizard. He pulled out his sword and pierced through the hedgehog¡¯s belly. He made a big cut, all the internal organs flowing out from the wound. Then he stepped back while the lizard looked at him gratefully.


    ¡°Loyalty +1¡±


    Luo Yuan looked at the system message speechless. The lizard had been severely injured and had suffered excessive blood loss, but that did not seem to affect its appetite. After 15 minutes, all the internal organs of the hedgehog were gone, but that was still not enough. Luo Yuan had to cut some more for the lizard. It consumed a total of about 50 kilos of flesh and blood. It only stopped when its belly was as big as a ball. It looked better and was finally able to open its eyes.


    Luo Yuan started to cut down the meat and pack it. He had the lizard carry it as it weighed about 500 kg. It was not for the people in the house, but for the lizard itself. It had been very helpful throughout the battle, or at least had provided him with a good shield.


    Luo Yuan tapped on its leg and the lizard struggled for a moment, trying very hard to get up. Luo Yuan realized he was being really mean to his battle beast, but he forgot about it the next second.

 Chapter 107: Mutual Alliance

    Chapter 107: Mutual Alliance


    Trantor: Editor: EndlessFantasy Trantion


    ¡°Wait!¡±


    Just as Luo Yuan was about to leave, the man called out to him. Luo Yuan frowned and turned around. ¡°What do you want?¡± he asked.


    The man stared at the lizard, but held his position.


    ¡°You... you just destroyed my house!¡± The man looked awkward, as if he did not know how to continue. Then he said, ¡°What I mean is, I have no ce to stay.¡±


    Luo Yuan knew what he meant, and he asked, ¡°You¡¯re not afraid that I¡¯m from the organization?¡±


    The man scratched his muddy scalp andughed as he said, ¡°They¡¯re not nearly as powerful as you.¡±


    Luo Yuan asked curiously, ¡°What is this organization you mentioned earlier? Are there a lot of powerful people in it?"


    ¡°It¡¯s some crap called Mutual Alliance. There are some evolved survivors in it, but the majority is still normal people,¡± tha man exined. ¡°They have been giving me a lot of trouble. That¡¯s why I thought you were one of them,¡± he added.


    ¡°If they¡¯ve invited you, why don¡¯t you join them? Surely, It¡¯d better than fighting alone?¡± Luo Yuan asked.


    The man¡¯s mouth twitched as he said, ¡°They¡¯re the all same. They¡¯re hiding like me.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t try to mess with me, I want the truth.¡±


    The man looked awkward and hesitated for a while. After a moment, he decided to tell him, ¡°Fine! Laugh all you want, but the leader of that stupid alliance slept with my girlfriend!¡±


    He looked agitated as he talked about it.


    ¡°It was around the time that the mutation outbreak hit our country. She kept crying and said she wanted to go back to her hometown. In the end, she never returned, and I thought she was dead. I almostmitted suicide. I couldn¡¯t believe it when I saw her in the arms of another guy a few days ago. Luckily, she could not recognize me anymore. Otherwise, I¡¯m not sure what would I have done. How embarrassing would it be If I epted their invitation?¡±


    ¡°The smell of blood is too strong, I¡¯m worried it will attract bigger animals. What do you need to bring? Hurry up, we need to go!¡± Luo Yuan finally allowed him toe with after verifying his background.


    ¡°I¡¯ve got nothing valuable, we can go anytime.¡± The man rxed. He now knew he would not have to worry about finding food and water. He could rely on Luo Yuan¡¯s and the lizard¡¯s powers.


    "Do you want toe up here?" Luo Yuan asked, his mouth twitching. Since the lizard was already carrying so many things on its back, an extra human would make no difference.


    The man quickly shook his head. He could not even go near the lizard. ¡°I think I¡¯ll just run, I¡¯m kind of used to it.¡± Then he asked, ¡°It¡¯s not too far, right?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not, but are you really fit enough to run?¡± Luo Yuan looked at his pale face. He doubted the man had any energy left.


    ¡°I¡¯m fine. I used to run back when I was in school, this journey is nothing,¡± heughed.


    ¡°Fine.¡± Luo Yuan did not to ask anything else.


    He just jumped onto the back of the lizard and tapped on it. The lizard began to move. It was only able to walk slowly, and it formed a long bloodprint along the road as it passed.


    The man was fine at the beginning, but he started to feel exhausted after a minute of running.


    Although he had a very strong recovery power, he could not have fully recovered in such a short time. He began to feel dizzy and numb.


    He did not dare stop though, as he was worried that Luo Yuan would abandon him. He was afraid of being eaten by the other mutants, so he continued to run. After a while, the lizard finally entered the district, and a littleter the vi. The man suddenly fell to the ground. He did not have the energy to get up again. Everyone in the vi had alreadye out of the house.


    ¡°Brother Luo, who is this?¡± Huo Dong asked curiously.


    Luo Yuan moved some of the meat off the back of the lizard. It was about 50 kg. He then threw the rest to the lizard. He walked towards the man and looked at him. Heughed when saw the man trying to get up. ¡°I bumped into him along the way. He¡¯s probably dehydrated. Someone help him, please.¡±


    Everyone looked at each other, but no one seemed willing to move. In the end, Sun Xiaowu went up to him to help him.


    Huang Jiahui brought a bottle of mineral water to him and said, ¡°Drink it.¡±


    He took a few sips, and then put on the lid as he said, ¡°Thanks. Thank you so much. I¡¯m Lin Xiaoji.¡±


    ¡°We are all survivors, we are just trying to help each other. Could you take a shower first? Then we can eat something in about half an hour,¡± Huang Jiahui said. She just could not stand the dirt.


    Although she talked indirectly, the man still understood what she meant. He replied, ¡°Sure! Of course!¡±


    There was a big tank on the rooftop with a lot of water stored inside. Although it was not drinkable, it could be used to bathe or wash clothes. When he came out of the shower, they all realized that Lin Xiaoji was quite young. He admitted that he was a university student. The university had closed since the mutation outbreak, but he had decided to stay in the city. He had not expected that things would be so bad in town.


    ¡°You can stay here with us, but we don¡¯t have en empty room. I hope you don¡¯t mind sharing with Huo Dong,¡± Luo Yuan said. Although there was another empty room, it belonged to Wang Shishi. She would need to return to her room one day. The three of them were staying together, but there were some days when Luo Yuan and Huang Jiahui wanted to be alone.


    Although Huo Dong was not happy with the arrangement, he had to agree.


    ¡°Also, I need to tell you that everyone here is equal. Please don¡¯t try to show off,¡± Luo Yuan warned him. He did not know him well enough yet.


    Everyone looked at him in shock.


    Lin Xiaoji naturally puffed out his chest and said, ¡°I won¡¯t bully them.¡±


    Luo Yuan knew what he was thinking. Almost all evolved survivors acted that way as they felt that it was a special achievement. Sometimes he also had the same feeling, but he was good at hiding it. After a while, Huang Jiahui came out of the kitchen with a big te of raw meat.


    ¡°I¡¯m sure all of you envy those people with superpowers. The key to getting superpowers is actually a well-known secret. Most of you have heard about it already,¡± Luo Yuan said.


    After Huang Jiahui put down the te, Luo Yuan put a piece of meat into his mouth using a pair of chopsticks and swallowed it. Except for the internal organs, the rest of the meat of tertiary mutants was as hard as cow skin, so he could only swallow it.


    He put down his chopsticks and said, ¡°The meat of mutated beasts above secondary level is essential for evolution. This is tertiary mutant meat. That¡¯s all. Help yourselves, please.¡±


    During that chaotic period, even girls were trying to train themselves to be strong. Luo Yuan got up from his chair and walked out of the house. He did not want to watch the disgusting scene of people eating raw meat for the first time. Indeed, many of them vomited, and the whole living room was full of the awful smell. A few minutester, someone screamed and Huang Jiahui rushed out of the house to call Luo Yuan.


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± Luo Yuan asked.


    ¡°Ning Xiaoran fainted, and her body feels very hot," Huang Jiahui replied.


    ¡°Let me see.¡± Luo Yuan was shocked.


    He was depressed as he was the one who had eaten the most meat, but he had yet to evolve. Anyway, this was a good thing. It was better to have one more evolved survivor rather than an extra burden.

 Chapter 108: Shock

    Chapter 108: Shock


    Trantor: Editor: EndlessFantasy Trantion


    Luo Yuan walked into the living room and saw that Ning Xiaoran had been moved onto the couch. Her entire body was as red as a cooked prawn, which looked quite simr to Wang Shishi¡¯s condition when she had evolved.


    "Don¡¯t get too close to her. Step back a little and be careful,¡± Luo Yuan said. Every single evolution was a gamble. No one knew what kind of superpower they would develop, and he was trying to prevent any unnecessary idents.


    Everyone quickly stepped back with a confused expression. After an hour, Ning Xiaoran was still in aa. Luo Yuan began to get worried as he remembered that Wang Shishi had not taken such a long time to evolve. He walked up to her and ced his hand on her forehead. He was shocked to discover that her body temperature was extremely high. It was probably around 60-degrees Celsius. That kind of temperature was enough to cook meat.


    Luo Yuan sighed and shook his head. Then he said softly, ¡°Her body temperature is a lot higher than normal. She probably won¡¯tst long. Get ready to cremate her.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s impossible! She was perfectly fine just now!¡± Cao Lin looked panicked. There were tears in her eyes. The two of them were roommates. She was very close to Ning Xiaoran and she could not believe she was going to die soon.


    ¡°Perhaps, there might be a miracle?¡± Huang Jiahui said, feeling sad. Then she added, ¡°Anyway, we don¡¯t know the evolution process well enough yet. Her case could be different than Wang Shishi¡¯s, right?¡±


    "I hope so!" Luo Yuan nodded, putting his hand into his pocket. He realized that he had thrown away all his cigarettes this morning in order to practise his Determination. Huo Dong quickly offered him one, but he declined. Then he turned around and asked Lin Xiaoji, ¡°When did you evolve?¡±


    Lin Xiaoji tried to remember as he said, ¡°It was a few days ago, during the chaos in the central district. I had been starving for days and had begun to feel dizzy. Basically, I ate whatever I could find. I even ate the cotton inside my quilt. Honestly, it was f*cking disgusting, I couldn¡¯t sh*t for days afterwards.¡±


    The women looked at him and frowned.


    Lin Xiaoji did not notice their gazes as he continued, ¡°I was quite lucky that day. A mutated beast had been shot by a fighting jet and died right in front of my building. I was going to die soon too, so I went out of the house and brought some meat home. I swallowed it right away. I fell asleep afterward, and was an evolved survivor when I woke up."


    Luo Yuan did not know what to say. He thought Lin Xiaojie had been too lucky.


    ¡°Ning Xiaoran¡¯s eyes are moving!¡± Cao Lin realized Ning Xiaoran¡¯s eyes were moving while Luo Yuan and Lin Xiaoji were talking. She was so surprised, she forgot about Luo Yuan¡¯s advice and rushed to her side and held her hand.


    Luo Yuan wanted to stop her, but it was toote. Cao Lin was shocked by an electric current as soon as her fingers came into contact with Ning Xiaoran¡¯s skin. She immediately stepped back. Luckily, Luo Yuan was there to support her, otherwise, she would have fallen to the floor and gotten embarrassed. The current did not stop, but ran into Luo Yuan¡¯s body through Cao Lin¡¯s skin. His heartbeat fluctuated for a few seconds and then only slowly went back to normal.


    ¡°What kind of power is this? A shockwave? It doesn¡¯t seem like it,¡± Luo Yuan thought as he tried to feel and understand the power.


    ¡°Are you alright, Cao Lin? Did you get hurt?¡± the women asked Cao Lin as they saw her shocked expression.


    Cao Lin ced her hand on her chest and said with a pained expression, "I¡¯m not sure, I feel like my heart is going to break. It¡¯s horrible, I thought I was going to die!"


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, let¡¯s get you some water. Don¡¯t move, let me check if you¡¯re injured.¡± Huang Jiahui brought her a chair and gave her a cup of water.


    Cao Lin took a few sips and rested for a while. She got slightly better, but she got anxious again when she looked at Ning Xiaoran.


    A momentter, Ning Xiaoran slowly opened her eyes. She got up from the couch and asked miserably, ¡°What, what happened to me? Why am I lying down?¡±


    ¡°Congrattions Ning Xiaoran! You have evolved!¡± Luo Yuan said with a smile as he walked towards her.


    Ning Xiaoran was stunned. ¡°I, I¡¯ve evolved?¡± she said uncertainly.


    Luo Yuan nodded. She still could not believe it and she turned to look at the rest of them. She realized their gazes had gotten very different and strange in a such short time. They looked alert, envious, and enthusiastic at the same time. Some of them were trying to keep a distance from her. Even her closest friend was looking at her in alert.


    She felt extremely insecure and quickly touched her face and asked, ¡°Do I look ugly now?¡±


    "You¡¯re still beautiful. Nothing has changed." People would be scared of her powers after her evolution, but that was a price she would have to pay. Luo Yuan did not exin as much to her. He believed she would understand sooner orter.


    Ning Xiaoran looked shy and quickly lowered her chin, avoiding to look at him.


    Luo Yuan changed the topic and asked, ¡°Can you control your power?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know what my power is,¡± Ning Xiaoran said softly. She was still confused and did not know what her evolved power was.


    Luo Yuan took a ss from the table and filled it with some water. Then he said, ¡°Try to hold the ss and increase your strength gradually. Feel the changes inside your body.¡±


    Ning Xiaoran naturally held the ss tightly. She suddenly felt a warm energy circting inside her body and rush towards the ss. The water inside the ss began to boil and rose up to 30-40 cm in height. Ning Xiaoran got shocked and dropped her hand instinctively, causing the ss to fall.


    Luo Yuan was able to catch it in time and hand it back to her. He said patiently, "This is your power. It¡¯s like your limbs, you shouldn¡¯t be afraid to understand and control it. Try again."


    Ning Xiaoran took a deep breath and held the ss in her hand once more.


    ¡°Try slowly. Increase the strength gradually and then keep it in check,¡± Luo Yuan said. Ning Xiaoran¡¯s power was stronger than he had imagined. No matter how strong the mutated beasts could be, their internal organs were weak. She could easily kill them using her power.


    The water was boiling again, but much slower this time. It took about 10 seconds for the boiling to subside.


    Luo Yuan nodded and said, ¡°Your power is still weak, you can¡¯t even kill primary level beasts. You should practice more when you have the time. It could help you upgrade your power. Don¡¯t waste your talent.¡±


    Ning Xiaoran kept nodding her head and looking at Luo Yuan, admiring him. He was always so handsome with his fair skin and his power to provide security during such a chaotic period. Innocent girls could not resist him.


    Everyone could sense that Luo Yuan was treating Ning Xiaoran differently. Those who had not evolved were not happy as they knew she had been promoted to Wang Shishi and Huang Jiahui¡¯s level. If anything happened, Luo Yuan would definitely save her first. She was more useful and valuable now, and they all envied her.


    Later in the afternoon, Ning Xiaoran felt like everyone was trying to avoid her. They even refused to ept her help. She was depressed because she felt like she was being isted by the group. She was not sure whether her evolution had been a gift or a curse.


    Luo Yuan noticed and asked to talk to her. He said, ¡°Many people are afraid of people who own a gun, but they are more afraid of a gun in the hands of someone who doesn¡¯t know how to use it. That¡¯s very dangerous, because he or she might hurt someone identally. You must learn how to control your power. Look at Wang Shishi. Her mind power is as dangerous as yours, but she had mastered it. That¡¯s why people aren¡¯t as afraid of her as they are of you. You need to master your power if you want things to go back to normal.¡±


    Ning Xiaoran kept nodding her head, inspired.


    ¡°Other than controlling your power, you need to learn how to use it. This ce will not be safe forever. We could be in danger anytime soon. You need to learn how to protect yourself. If you want to reach your maximum power, you need to get close to your goal.¡±


    Ning Xiaoran was frightened and she said anxiously, ¡°But... but I¡¯ve never practiced before.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I can teach you.¡±


    Luo Yuan¡¯s Free Combat skill was only at 5 points, but it was enough to teach an elementary student like her.


    ¡°Alright,¡± responded Ning Xiaoran, biting her pink lips.


    "Let¡¯s start with the stance, which is the basic principle of martial arts. It helps strengthen your legs and improve your body stability. If you can¡¯t take a stable stance, you will fall easily and your power will be affected. You¡¯re a beginner, so let¡¯s start with ten minutes today and increase by five minutes every day.¡±


    Stance was very important to people who learned martial arts, and those who had a strong stance were more powerful than those who did not. Luo Yuan showed her the correct way to take a proper stance. Ning Xiaoran was shy as there was a lot of skin contact between her and Luo Yuan throughout the practice.


    ¡°Brother Luo, could you teach me as well?¡± Lin Xiaoji asked as he watched them from the doorway.


    ¡°Come and join us then. Start with the stance practice.¡±


    Huo Dong and the rest were too shy to ask.


    Luo Yuan realized this and said, ¡°Let¡¯s all learn together. Please ask Wang Shishi toe as well.¡±


    Although Wang Shishi possessed the power of telekinesis, some physical training would also be beneficial to her as it would help strengthen her Determination. Everyone got excited and Sun Xiaowu quickly fetched Wang Shishi. Everyone had seen Luo Yuan¡¯s power and most importantly his knife skill, which was amazing. Even if they could only manage to learn a little from his skills, it would still be useful.

 Chapter 109: Sophomore

    Chapter 109: Sophomore


    Trantor: Editor: EndlessFantasy Trantion


    Ning Xiaoran began to shake even before Wang Shishi had gotten there. It was obvious that she could not stand it anymore. She was suffering. Luo Yuan looked at his watch and frowned. He had overestimated her physical condition, but he had not expected that she would not evenst 30 seconds.


    Luo Yuan became very serious and said, ¡°Keep it up, nine more minutes to go!¡±


    Ning Xiaoran looked frightened and her eyes were full of tears. Finally, Wang Shishi arrived. She had heard from Sun Xiaowu about the lessons and she said excitedly, ¡°Brother Luo, I heard that you¡¯re teaching us martial arts! Although I¡¯d prefer a sword, a knife is quite cool too. You must teach me until I reach your level!¡±


    Luo Yuan looked at her excited face and said, ¡°You won¡¯t be smilingter.¡±


    "Ms. Wang, the sword is the weakest among the weapons. During ancient times, people used it as an ornament or a prop during religious ceremonies. It¡¯s not powerful enough to kill a mutated beast. The best weapon would be a knife," Lin Xiaoji argued.


    Wang Shishi twitched her nose and asked, ¡°Then why did the ancient heroes use swords?¡±


    ¡°Stop believing what you read in novels.¡± Lin Xiaoji could not stand her naivity.


    ¡°You... You¡¯re too much!¡± Wang Shishi was speechless. She felt really annoyed.


    ¡°Enough! The discussion is over. Since all of you want to learn, start with the stance. However, both of your physical conditions are better than Ning Xiaoran¡¯s, so my expectations will be higher. Twenty minutes for you. If you get up before I tell you to, then please pack your stuff and leave! I don¡¯t trainzy people,¡± Luo Yuan said emotionlessly. If theycked the determination, it would be wasteful to feed them during such chaotic times.


    Everyone was frightened of Luo Yuan and they suddenly became very serious.


    Wang Shishi was not happy with what he had said, and she asked him, ¡°What about me?¡±


    ¡°You?¡± Luo Yuan looked at her for a second and said, ¡°That applies to you too.¡±


    Wang Shishi pursed her mouth. She had just wanted to know how important she was to him. However, Luo Yuan had been too straightforward and he had hurt her feelings.


    ¡°What are you waiting for? Do it now!¡± Luo Yuan said, ring at Wang Shishi.


    Everyone looked at each other and quickly did the stance practice. Only Wang Shishi was still left standing there.


    ¡°I¡¯m not going to do it!¡± Wang Shishi said, clearly upset.


    "If you¡¯re not even willing to put in the effort for the basic training, then how are you going to learn martial arts? Just leave!" Luo Yuan said sarcastically. He felt that he had been too lenient with herst time and that was why she was acting out now.


    Wang Shishi was mad. She knew that everyone was judging her behind the back. Her eyes were full of tears as she said, ¡°I, I hate you!¡±


    Suddenly, she ran away with tears rolling down her cheeks. Luo Yuan was very mad, but he did not bother checking on her. He knew she would not run away for long. He expected her toe back soon. He was disappointed as it would be really wasteful for her if she was not willing to discover and strengthen her talents. Since he had upgraded to Level 7, his power had been growing very slowly, but his stress level had risen drastically. Although things were peaceful now, no one knew how long it wouldst. The stress made him be less patient and get mad easier.


    No one dared say anything or even take a deep breath as they noticed Luo Yuan¡¯s furious expression. Ning Xiaoran had reached her limit and her legs were shaking vigorously, sweat rolling down her pale forehead. She was trying to endure as she was also worried about pissing him off. After a minute, Huo Dong could not continue anymore. He was almost 50 years old with a beer belly after all. A momentter, Zhao Gang and Sun Xiaowu quit as well. After another two minutes, Chen Xianfeng and Lin Xiaoji had reached their limit as well.


    Although Lin Xiaoji was an evolved survivor, he was still new to it and he had not managed to maintain a proper energy level due to starvation. Luo Yuan looked at his watch and realized that none of them hadsted three minutes. Their physical condition was too poor and there was a big gap between them and himself, even worse than the gap between him and Huang Jiahui and Wang Shishi. The two of them had eaten quite a lot of good meat from strong mutated beasts and their physical condition was about 10-11 points, which was actually lower than men.


    Luo Yuan did not have the interest to continue. He was starting to worry.


    ¡°It¡¯s been five minutes. Why hasn¡¯t Wang Shishie back yet?"


    They had gone through many ups and downs since the mutation outbreak, and Huang Jiahui and Wang Shishi had already be his closest family. It was impossible for him to just ignore her. He kept looking at his watch, and his heart was not in it anymore. Had she really run away? What if...? Girls always took jokes too seriously, especially during their puberty. He felt slightly regretful that he¡¯d talked to her that way in front of everyone. He had gotten more frustrated than before.


    In the end, Luo Yuan decided to check on her. He was really worried about her. He turned to Chen Xianfeng and said, ¡°Please help me test them. I¡¯m going out for a short while. Let me know who can do what when I get back.¡±


    Chen Xianfeng was the most reliable person among the group and he would be the best person to do the evaluation. He did not say anything, he just nodded instead. Luo Yuan took his knife out and wandered around the district, assuming Wang Shishi would not leave the area. Indeed, a few minutester, he heard someone crying somewhere in the distance.


    Luo Yuan felt relieved as he quickly ran in the direction of the sound. He reached a 7-storey residence building, one of the few buildings that looked safe. He opened the grill and ran up to the fifth floor. The door of Unit 501 was open wide and Wang Shishi was squatting down in the living room, crying. She was crying like nobody was watching. She did not notice Luo Yuan standing there for quite a while.


    ¡°Shishi, let¡¯s go home,¡± Luo Yuan said.


    When Wang Shishi heard his voice, she immediately stood up and wiped away her tears. ¡°Why are you here?¡± she said arrogantly. ¡°Just leave me alone! Didn¡¯t you say you¡¯d kick me out if I couldn¡¯t do the stance for 20 minutes? Well, now I¡¯ve left, so why are you here?¡±


    Luo Yuan sighed, feeling her anger. He walked into the living room, wiped away the dust on the couch and sat down.


    Wang Shishi was still crying. She was so mad at Luo Yuan for walking into the house and sitting down like he owned the ce. She pulled him up and said, ¡°This is my house now! You¡¯re not wee here! Please leave!¡±


    ¡°I can¡¯t even sit down for a while?¡± Luo Yuan said.


    ¡°No! Get up now, get up!¡± Wang Shishi kept dragging his arm, but soon she got exhausted.


    She got even madder and said, ¡°You always bully me and scold me in front of everyone! I hate you! I hate you! You want to kick me out? Sure! I¡¯ll leave! I¡¯m noting back anymore!¡± she started crying again as she recalled the pain and insult.


    Luo Yuan sighed as he looked at her sad, crying face. He asked, ¡°What do you want me to do so you will return home with me?¡±


    ¡°Apologize!¡± Wang Shishi said as she turned around.


    Luo Yuanpromised and said, ¡°Fine. I shouldn¡¯t have scolded you. I will not scold you in front of everyone ever again.¡±


    ¡°You think it¡¯s that easy?¡± Wang Shishi said, raising her chin arrogantly.


    ¡°I¡¯ve already apologized, what else do you want from me?¡± Luo Yuan said.


    ¡°I, I want you to kiss me,¡± Wang Shishi said softly.


    ¡°No way!¡± Luo Yuan said, rejecting her directly. ¡°How could you even think of that? You¡¯re still so young.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not! I can do whatever Sister Huang can do.¡± Wang Shishi grabbed his hand and ced it on her boobs with blushing cheeks.


    Luo Yuan felt his hand boiling and quickly pulled it back. ¡°But... but you¡¯re not even 14 yet! How could you?¡±


    Luo Yuan did not know how to respond. Wang Shishi raised her chin slightly and said, ¡°It¡¯s March now, I¡¯m already 14. I really don¡¯t know whether I¡¯ll survive till adolescence. I just want to know what kissing feels like.¡±


    Wang Shishi closed her eyes and raised her chin, taking rapid, shallow breaths. Luo Yuan was attracted to her juicy lips, smooth skin and pretty features. His heart was pumping faster than usual, but he was still rational enough to control his urges and say, ¡°No.¡±


    Just as he was about to say something, Wang Shishi stopped him by pushing her lips against his and squeezing her tongue into his mouth. Luo Yuan¡¯s eyes opened wide in shock. He could not believe it. He was confused and he wasn¡¯t sure whether he should push her away. Her lips were soft and sweet, and her tongue was like a little fish trying to escape. Wang Shishi leaned on his body helplessly, her smooth breasts pressing against his chest. Luo Yuan could feel her full, round breasts.


    They embraced each other until Wang Shishi could not breathe properly anymore. Her lips had be juicier because of the kiss, which made Luo Yuan lose his mind. Wang Shishi lowered her chin, blushing.


    ¡°Am I... am I a bad girl?¡± she asked anxiously.


    ¡°No, you¡¯re an innocent girl,¡± Luo Yuanforted her.


    ¡°Can we still stay together like this?¡± Wang Shishi said with open eyes as she raised he head. That was enough to satisfy a young girl.


    ¡°Yes.¡± Luo Yuan sighed. He needed to take responsibility after making certain mistakes.


    Wang Shishi was very happy. She looked like she had just took a sip of honey water upon hearing his answer.

 Chapter 110: Downsizing

    Chapter 110: Downsizing


    Trantor: Editor: EndlessFantasy Trantion


    Half an hourter, Wang Shishi was finally willing to go back home. She was leaning on his arm all along the journey with a sweet smile on her face. She had given her heart to Luo Yuan and she wished they would never be separated. However, as they got closer to the vi, Wang Shishi started feeling nervous and guilty. She finally let go of his arm. Luo Yuan was relieved. He had not been able toe up with a way to exin this to Huang Jiahui.


    The two of them had not exactly been in love. They were more like sex partners, but they had gotten used to each other¡¯spany after going through so many ups and downs together. He did not want to hurt her feelings if he could help it. Things had happened too fast, and Luo Yuan had not had enough time to get prepared. It was an exciting experience to enjoy the obsessive love of a young girl, but it was also a huge headache.


    ¡°Let¡¯s see what we can do,¡± Luo Yuan thought with a sigh.


    Suddenly, he heard someone in the vi scream and a woman cry.


    ¡°What¡¯s going on inside? Is it...?¡± Luo Yuan asked Wang Shishi with a worried expression. ¡°There¡¯s something wrong. I¡¯m going to check first, you take care of yourself.¡±


    Wang Shishi had also heard the scream. Although she wished that Luo Yuan would stay with her longer, she did not ask him to. She said, ¡°Brother Luo, go quickly. I¡¯ll be fine.¡±


    Luo Yuan nodded. It couldn¡¯t be that big of a problem or the lizard would have sent him a warning. He quickly rushed to the vi and found everyone gathered at the empty space in front of the house. Zhao Gang was rolling around on the floor, screaming. Jin Meili was crying in Huang Jiahui¡¯s arms.


    Luo Yuan rushed to them and asked what had happened to Zhao Gang.


    ¡°We have no idea. We were resting by the entrance after training, and suddenly he said he had a stomachache. Then he fell on the floor and started rolling around non-stop,¡± Huo Dong quickly exined.


    Zhao Gang¡¯s face was twitching and pale, sweat dripping down his forehead. He looked like he was in severe pain, and blood had begun to flow out of his nose and mouth. It was obvious he would notst for long. Everyone kept shouting and stepping back.


    ¡°Let me go! Let go!¡± Jin Meili looked very pale. She kept struggling in Huang Jiahui¡¯s arms, but she was too weak to get free.


    She seemed to have lost her mind and started to curse Luo Yuan, "You! You killed him! You forced him to train! Otherwise, he wouldn¡¯t be like this! All of you! None of you are willing to save him! You will never lead a good life!"


    Luo Yuan did not respond. He did not want to seem harsh. He knew they were a loving couple. She had almost copsed just watching her husband suffer from pain. However, that did not mean that other people would not be harsh with her either. Cao Lin suddenly rushed up to Jin Meili and pped her. ¡°Shut up!¡± she shouted at her.


    ¡°How dare you!¡± Jin Meili was stunned. She covered her face and tried to scratch Cao Lin, but Cao Lin avoided her sessfully.


    ¡°So what? All of them were doing the same training, but none of the others are feeling sick! It was an ident. Please control yourself. We owe you nothing!¡± Cao Lin said.


    ¡°Both of you shut up!¡± Luo Yuan shouted.


    Cao Lin was clearly upset, but she did not speak another word. Jin Meili looked like she wanted to say something, but she did not dare talk either. She hade back to her senses after being pped by Cao Lin. Luo Yuan walked towards Zhao Gang and realized he was getting weaker. He had stopped struggling. His breathing was weak and he sounded like something had been stuck in his throat. Blood kepting out of his nose and mouth. He was going to die soon.


    Jin Meili began to cry again while she watched him. Luo Yuan carefully flipped his body over with his knife instead of his hands. He wanted to see whether there was any wound. Zhao Gang did not seem to have been bitten or stung by mutants. His blood was the usual red.


    Luo Yuan asked everyone doubtfully, ¡°What did he eat just now?¡±


    ¡°Not sure. He was with us all the while. He did not eat anything besides lunch. Oh, he did drink water after the training,¡± Huo Dong said.


    ¡°Water? What kind of water?¡± Luo Yuan asked.


    ¡°Mineral water,¡± Huo Dong said.


    Everyone ate the same food and the mineral water was vacuum sealed, thus it should not have been a contributing factor. Luo Yuan got up from the ground and checked their surroundings once again, but he did not find anything strange. He nced across the water bottles on the floor and realized there was a bottle of a different brand. He immediately felt suspicious. Although he had been collecting different brands of mineral water, it was strange that this was the only different brand among the lot.


    ¡°Whose water bottle is that?¡±


    ¡°Zhao Gang¡¯s,¡± said Sun Xiaowu.


    Everyone had their own water. Most of the mineral water in the district have been collected by them during the past few days. There had been a total of about 50 cartons of mineral water from different brands. Huang Jiahui distributed one to each person every morning.


    ¡°Jiahui, did you distribute the same carton of water today?¡± Luo Yuan asked.


    Huang Jiahui looked confused as well. ¡°I¡¯ve been distributing the Farmer¡¯s brand mineral water for the past few days. I¡¯m not familiar with this brand."


    He suddenly recalled something and quickly looked at the water bottle. ¡°Indeed!¡± He was shocked.


    He could see many semi-transparent worms swimming in the water. The worms were tiny and their color was simr to the water, which made it difficult to notice them. He also discovered a tiny hole on the bottle cap which looked very familiar to him. Lin Xiaoji took the water bottle from Luo Yuan and looked at the water. He immediately dropped the bottle and stepped back. ¡°Why are there worms inside?¡± he asked.


    A few of them walked closer to check it out and then quickly stepped back. Jin Meili looked shocked. She was idling and shivering at the same time. Luo Yuan asked in a very serious tone, ¡°Jin Meili, where did this water bottlee from?¡±


    ¡°I, I picked it up,¡± she replied.


    ¡°Where did you pick it up?¡±


    ¡°It, it was the night I was sleepwalking!¡± Jin Meili kept crying from the guilt. ¡°I didn¡¯t know there were worms inside it. I wouldn¡¯t have taken it if I knew. I didn¡¯t know it would kill him!" Jin Meili looked very regretful.


    Luo Yuan sighed as he watched her cry. He had not expected the water bottle she had brought back to kill anyone. Fortunately, everyone had their own water bottles. Suddenly, Zhao Gang¡¯s body shook once and he farted very loudly. His pants were wet and an awful smell came from his body. His eyes were wide open and staring at the sky. His body shook, but there was no sign of breathing anymore. Wang Shishi covered her mouth in shock as she watched the scene.


    Luo Yuan felt depressed. He could not believe that someone he had just talked a while ago was dead. He remained silent for a while before he said, ¡°Sun Xiaowu, you guys go get some firewood for the cremation. We can¡¯t keep the dead body for long.¡±


    The parasite worms woulde out of the dead host body to look for a new host. It would be toote if they hadn¡¯t burnt the body by that time. Jin Meili was crying and trying to stop them, but no one bothered with her. In order to prevent the haunted tree from growing, Luo Yuan had had to chop most of the trees in the district and cut them into firewood.


    ¡°Go see him onest time,¡± Luo Yuan said to Jin Meili.


    Jin Meili looked at her husband and cried out loudly.


    ¡°Take him away,¡± Luo Yuan told everyone after waiting a while.


    Other than Luo Yuan, there were four men at the scene. Lin Xiaoji was very arrogant, and he did not move. Huo Dong looked at Sun Xiaowu and Chen Xianfeng anxiously. Suddenly, Chen Xianfeng got a cloth and wrapped up the legs of the corpse. Huo Dong followed.


    Sun Xiaowu wanted to go initially, but he did not as he was afraid of both the worms and the corpse. Huo Dong and Chen Xianfeng moved the corpse onto the firewood. The burning mes swallowed it in just a few minutes. Everyone remained silent and stood far away while they watched. Jin Meili was still crying from the guilt.

 Chapter 111: Crisis

    Chapter 111: Crisis


    Trantor: Editor: EndlessFantasy Trantion


    ¡°It was me! I¡¯m the murderer! I killed him!¡± Jin Meili gushed frantically in a state of panic. She would have copsed to the ground, if not for Huang Jiahui¡¯s firm grip onto her. Luo Yuan turned around and said to Jin Meili, ¡°My deepest condolences.¡±


    Jin Meili shook her head slowly with regret. In despair, Luo Yuan came to realize how fragile a life could be, that even a tiny creature could rob the life of a human being.


    Luo Yuan and the rest decided to check on all the foods and drinks in the underground chamber for fear of any imminent danger. They were shocked as some of their provisions were torn, with worms squirming amongst their instant noodles and rice. Luo Yuan even found a few colorful worms, which were about half a meter long.


    All those resources were collected from the wastnd, which they have brought to the chamber without so much as a thorough check. He was grateful it wasn¡¯t toote. Most importantly, only one person drank the water and none of them had consumed the contaminated food. Otherwise, he would not have survived this at all, even with his 13-point physical condition. Luo Yuan and his people discarded all the infected food from the chamber and burned it in front of the vi.


    Only a third of the food in the chamber was burned, as Luo Yuan did not want to take the risk. Of course, he could very well identify how safe the food was with the power he had, but it drained a significant amount of energy, and a very bad headache could very well follow, should he exert his mind too often.


    Jin Meili locked herself in the room the whole day, refusing to evene out even when it was already time for dinner. Huang Jiahui knocked on her door but there was no response. Suddenly, Luo Yuan caught a whiff of the smell of blood in the house and instantly knew something was amiss. He quickly turned the doorknob but realized it was locked from the inside.


    ¡°Is she...?¡± Huang Jiahui said worryingly. She kept knocking the door, ¡°Jin Meili, open the door! Open the door, please!¡±


    ¡°Stop knocking. Give me some space.¡± He knew the stench of the blood came from the room.


    Everyone else at the dinner table also had an uncanny feeling about the situation at present. Luo Yuan kicked the door open, to be greeted by the pungent stench of blood. Huang Jiahui quickly ran into the room. She did not see anyone inside and immediately ran into the bathroom to have a look. She saw Jin Meili motionless in the bathtub with a pale face; her shirt soaked with blood.


    Huang Jiahui touched her forehead and realized her body was cold and stiff. She shook her head and said, ¡°She passed away two hours ago. Sigh...¡±


    That was the second time Luo Yuan witnessed a suicide. The first one was the middle-aged man who had lost their son to the deadly tramples of a giant beast. He had seen many people losing their lives in different ways, but a suicide was the worst one of all. Everyone looked around for her will; it was wet and crumpled. In the will, Jin Meili apologized sincerely for her rudeness and requested them to sprinkle her ashes with Zhao Gang¡¯s.


    Everyone was consumed with sorrow; Ning Xiaoran and Wang Shishi had also burst into tears. A few of thedies wept in unison, as they did not expect such a tragedy to happen. None of them had any appetite left for dinner. A few of them moved her corpse to the empty space and lit up the fire again. None of them could have imagined that they would lose two members in just a short span of a day.


    During bedtime, Wang Shishi asked to return to her room. Huang Jiahui was surprised, while Luo Yuan understood. Luo Yuan felt relieved and Huang Jiahui was ted.


    ¡°What do you think of her decision? Did you tell her anything?¡± Huang Jiahui recalled Wang Shishi¡¯s odd actions and asked, in doubt.


    ¡°I didn¡¯t say much; she is a smart girl. I simply exined it to her and she understood well.¡± Luo Yuan replied.


    Huang Jiahui hit him; her face flushed with anger, ¡°How could you say such things to her? She¡¯s still young!¡±


    ¡°Young? Kids nowadays are much smarter than we are,¡± Luo Yuan said.


    ¡°Regardless, you shouldn¡¯t have even said that! How am I going to face her now?¡± said Huang Jiahui furiously, while throwing a punch at him.


    ¡°Just forget it. It will pass¡± Luo Yuan replied.


    ¡°Fine, I¡¯m not going to talk about it anymore.¡± She was still fuming with anger. At that very moment, she suddenly thought of Zhao Gang and Jin Meili, and sighed, ¡°Life is too fragile, you would never know what lies ahead of us. I really didn¡¯t expect her to take her own life¡±.


    ¡°It might be a relief for all the pain she was going through. Let¡¯s sleep, shall we?¡± Luo Yuan said.


    Luo Yuan opened his eyes in the dark and listened to the roars outside. Thoughts ran through his mind, ¡°I must stay alive!¡±.


    The chameleon¡¯s recovery progressed impressively after consuming the meat of the dark blue level mutated beast. Half of his injuries recovered overnight. Luo Yuan had stopped abusing the chameleon, and trained it every day instead. The second day, the injured leg of the chameleon had fully recovered and it became more energetic as the days went by. They had won a few battles, but those were the ones that mattered the most. The chameleon had been upgraded by two more levels but Luo Yuan was only at the brink of being upgraded. He added the extra two points to its dexterity to be 14 points.


    Although only two points were added, it gave the chameleon double the power. Luo Yuan assigned the 10 technique points to its tail and bite, to a now 19-point biting and a tail attack that was upgraded from 15 points to ¡®Tail Attack Expertise: 0!¡¯.


    His assignment strategy had turned the chameleon a very powerful, deadly creature. Its tail could slice a human or animal into two! They had encountered a dark blue level mutated beast before and it was shed into two pieces even before it managed to struggle away. If Luo Yuan ran into a chameleon like this a while ago, he knew in a second that he would have note out alive. Luo Yuan had been on a killing streak of all the giant and powerful beasts nearby, and there were only a few super powerful beasts left, that he was hesitant to strike.


    The battles over thest few days had brought them to the point of exhaustion. The chameleon sustained some injuries and needed more time to recover in order to take on another good fight. He realized both of them were depressed and frustrated for a few days now. They could hear the vicious growls from the dark blue level mutated beasts in the near distance and at that very moment, he could foresee a stronger beast from the city,ing their way. It was toote!

 Chapter 112: Indifferent

    Chapter 112: Indifferent


    Trantor: Editor: EndlessFantasy Trantion


    Huo Dong was awake at the break of dawn and found Luo Yuan sitting outside the house as he opened the main door. Luo Yuan looked very calm with his eyes closed; his clothes were damp from sitting outdoors the whole night. The de of the Zhanmadao which pierced into the ground, looked rather impressive under the rays of the morning sun.


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± asked his curious roommate, Sun Xiaowu, who was also up early.


    ¡°Brother Luo is practicing outside, we better not disturb him.¡± Huo Dong said, despite noticing that there something could be wrong.


    All the mutated beasts seemed to have eaten an aphrodisiac, as they were roaring and made a cacophony of loud noises over thest few days. Apparently, there were some major changes in the mutated beasts and the way Luo Yuan behaved seemed to prove his spections right. Initially, Sun Xiaowu wanted to go outside for a breath of fresh air but he dared not, when he knew that Lu Yuan was outside. He was afraid of Luo Yuan and tried his best to avoid him.


    ¡°As dedicated and hardworking as Brother Luo is towards his training, it¡¯s no wonder he¡¯s so powerful!¡± Sun Xiaowu whispered while peeping through the gap.


    ¡°I can¡¯t be too sure, you can ask him if you want in on his secret,¡± Huo Dong smiled.


    ¡°He won¡¯t impart his knowledge unto me... not even if I ask him to¡± said Sun Xiaowu, trying to conjure excuses as he secretly did not dare to approach Luo Yuan.


    ¡°Brother Luo is not that kind of person, in fact, he is teaching us martial arts at present.¡± exined Huo Dong, fearing to criticize Luo Yuan, lest he overheard.


    ¡°Nonsense. All we ever did was to practice the stance over thest few days, nothing else.¡± Sun Xiaowu whispered.


    ¡°We are still learning the basic techniques... there are much more toeter. Besides, Wang Shishi is also learning with us.¡± Huo Dong was trying to advise him, but deep down, he actually thought that Sun Xiaowu was being too impatient.


    ¡°Who knows what she has done for him? They are sleeping on the same bed, after all!¡± Sun Xiaowu eximed with jealousy.


    ¡°Shhh! Watch your mouth, it won¡¯t do you any good.¡± Huo Dong frowned and took a step back.


    Sun Xiaowu refused to listen to his advice and shot a re at Huo Dong before retorting, ¡°I was just joking! Why do you have to be so serious?¡±


    Huo Dong yawned and adjourned to his room. Coincidentally, Lin Xiaoji came out from his room and yawned as well. He then looked at Sun Xiaowu for a second and then sat down on the couch without so much as a mere acknowledgement.


    ¡°What are you actually trying to show off here? You¡¯re just lucky to even have the chance to evolve,¡± thoughts ran through Sun Xiaowu¡¯s mind when suddenly, Luo Yuan burst his bubble and entered the room, shooting a re towards his direction.


    Gradually, the rest began to emerge from their bedroom.


    Lin Xiaoji was trying to challenge Wang Shishi by being sarcastic to her. Unfortunately, he ended up floating in the air and was frightened by Wang Shishi¡¯s shuttle. He then approached Ning Xiaoran as he wanted to know how powerful she was. Initially, Ning Xiaoran rejected his challenge, as she was worried that she might hurt him unintentionally.


    In the end, he did im to have rapid recovery power, which managed to convince Ning Xiaoran to finally agree to unleash her power on him.


    Lin Xiaoji did not expect her to have such a tremendous improvement in her skills in such a short period of time. He was flung across the air, some 4-5 meters away. Ning Xiaoran felt very guilty and burst into tears at the mere thought of what she did to him.


    Luo Yuan suddenly beckoned Wang Shishi and Huang Jiahui toe into the master room on the second floor.


    ¡°You have been acting strange since yesterday and you hadn¡¯t even had a good night¡¯s rest. I thought you told me you could meditate anywhere you wanted to?¡± said a worried Huang Jiahui, before he pursued the matter, ¡°What¡¯s wrong? Is there something that you can¡¯t even tell us?¡±


    ¡°Brother Luo, what happened?¡± Wang Shishi asked.


    "It¡¯s no use even if I did choose to tell you; it¡¯s not as easy as you think, this time around. We are all in danger." Luo Yuan sighed.


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong!?¡± eximed Huang Jiahui, in a state of panic.


    ¡°The mutants are undergoing a new evolution process, as many of the dark blue mutated beasts have been acting extremely wild and vicious as ofte. Some of them had even left their territories to kill those blue mutated beasts; one of which is just nearby¡±.


    Huang Jiahui looked pale. She grabbed his arm and asked, ¡°What do you want to do? Please, don¡¯t be reckless. We won¡¯t even be able to satiate him, should they kill us. Can we hide somewhere else for a few days?¡±


    Luo Yuan shook his head and said, ¡°We can¡¯t do that now as we have a war beast with us. It¡¯s too gigantic.¡±


    ¡°Can we let the war beast go?¡± a tearful Wang Shihi suggested.


    ¡°We could escape if we let the war beast go, but the district would still be unsafe. Besides, it is too difficult to get another war beast and it¡¯s an even more ridiculous idea to let it go.¡±


    The atmosphere in the room was tense. With tears in her eyes, Wang Shishi said, ¡°I won¡¯t let you take such a risk! I just want you to be safe!¡±


    Huang Jiahui too, was begging Luo Yuan with teary eyes, ¡°Let¡¯s run away, we could go to the western region... to Tibet, or to the dessert. I¡¯ve heard that they have built a new city there. Can we live a peaceful life there instead?¡±


    Luo Yuan was touched, but he shook his head and said, "It¡¯s toote, I can feel the dark blue mutated beasting closer and closer. Besides, it will be very long journey to the west and we would not know how dangerous it could be. We will definitely incapable of reaching our destination without a powerful team. Just stop persuading, would you? I¡¯ve made up my mind. I may not evene back safely..."


    Huang Jiahui quickly covered his mouth, with tears streaming down her cheeks.


    "Don¡¯t say anything stupid like that, I won¡¯t know what to do with my life if you don¡¯t return."


    Wang Shishi could not stop crying. She was still young, and death was definitely something too much for her to handle. She did not even know if she would be brave enough to face it, should it ever happen. Her world woulde crashing down in its entirety, if she ever loses him.


    Luo Yuan moved her hand away and held it tight.


    ¡°You must stay alive. Wang Shishi, you must remember to kill all of them in the house if I don¡¯te back, do not pity them. Then, hide in the underground chamber, as the food would be enough for the two of you to survive for another 3-4 years. After that, let¡¯s leave it to fate to decide.


    The twodies had now be his closest family; he will do anything for them to survive. He would have killed all the other people in the house, if he were not hoping for a miracle. Wang Shishi and Huang Jiahui kept nodding their head, while sobbing.


    ¡°I want to follow you!¡± demanded Wang Shishi bravely, as she wiped away her tears.


    "I have a gun, I want to go too!" Huang Jiahui said.


    ¡°Your power is still at a very weak point, you would be a distraction if you were toe along. Stop trying to reason with me. Stay here and await my return.¡±


    Luo Yuan gazed at them lovingly, before turning around as he walked towards the door. Both of thedies fell to the ground helplessly upon hearing the door close.

 Chapter 113: Horror

    Chapter 113: Horror


    Trantor: Editor: EndlessFantasy Trantion


    Luo Yuan rode atop his giant lizard. After catching a glimpse of the crowd beneath him, he turned his back nonchntly. He patted the back of his mighty pet and away they went, leaving the district.


    The giant lizard was agile, and as quick as lighting. Regardless of its massive size, its pace was nimble and quick. In less than a minute, they were already out of the district.


    In just a few days, all the scars on the giant lizard have already healed. The scales that were peeling have also begun its regrowth to a now shiny and vibrant green. Unlike the miserable look it had when they first met, there was no sight of any remaining scars left.


    However,pared to its initial gargantuous size, it has somehow shrunk, which could possibly make it appear fragile and weak. Still, only Luo Yuan knew how impressive his giant lizard¡¯sbat ability was!


    His agility had increased by two points. The higher the agility, the faster the speed. Now, the giant lizard is able to move twice as fast. The very moment its speed was unleashed, it could render even a dark blue level mutated beast shuddering in fear.


    Nevertheless, it still wasn¡¯t a good idea for Luo Yuan to fight the dark blue level mutated beast. Although his giant lizard was as swift as lightning, the dark blue level mutated beast was still capable of overpowering it. Not only will it dominate in terms of strength and size, its god-like speed would certainly be a threat, not to mention its ultimate defense skill too. Luo Yuan truly did not stand a chance even with his giant lizard¡¯s attack against the dark blue level mutated beast.


    Its primary ability is to suppress its enemies, followed by shes of lightning strikes.


    Due to his past, he still could not gather enough courage to take on such a threatening creature. Not even in this wildest imagination, could he ever! On top of theck of courage, it would still be a near impossible feat to defeat it. So far, Luo Yuan had only met the dark blue level mutated beast twice. The first was a Snake, and the other was a Giant King Kong. Its impressive defense skills could intimidate anyone; sending shivers down their spines.


    One would need all the body strength in the world just to ughter the corpse of a dark blue level mutated beast, let alone a live one. Without an attack skill, it would be pointless to level up.


    When weaponry proved futile, the power of one¡¯s determination can be a good alternative. Luo Yuan¡¯s Will and Sensory Perception both increased when he managed to obtain the heart of Gui Huai. Yet, he still feels that it does not suffice. To take down the defense of the threatening creature, one must use up massive Will. 14 points of Will would stand no chance against a brutal fight like this.


    A few days ago, the dark blue level mutated beast began evolving again, to the point of realization of how cruel the world could ever be. The immense pressure is a result of said evolution. Any creaturegging behind in their evolution will be eliminated, or eventually bing an inferior part of the food chain, as opposed to the superior ones, who would be stronger and will dominate.


    Due to the dog-eat-dog nature of these merciless battles, the world has now be an enormous hunting ground. Should one ever be left behind in the process of evolution, one should expect to end up as another beast¡¯s chow.


    Will is the self-cultivation of heart, as well as the change of mentality. Thus, after a night¡¯s worth of of meditation, he managed to raise his Will.


    15 points of Will ¨C the highest skillset he possesses, along with his powerful strength was his source of confidence.


    Suddenly, the giant lizard suddenly stopped moving. Its tail tightened, and its scales rolled up instantly, forming sharp points. It howled in angst, and stomps its feet repetitively. Luo Yuan then noticed the uncanny, pin-drop silence in the district. It was in total silence, with only so much as a few soft roarsing from the distance.


    ¡°This is too abnormal!¡±


    Luo Yuan started to seriously observe his surroundings. However, there was no motion in sight at all.


    A gentle breeze swept by. From the top of a nearby dpidated building, a few shards of broken ss can be heard falling to the ground, shattering upon impact.


    Cold sweat trickled down his forehead. He tightened his grip on his knife.


    Slowly but surely, his giant lizard started to move backwards. Luo Yuan could feel the muscles of its back tightening. This is more than enough to indicate that the dark blue level mutated beast was close by.


    The strange part was, he wasn¡¯t able to catch even the slightest notion of its presence. It was only natural that no matter how carefully a huge creature moves, a sound would follow. Oddly enough, no sounds were heard at all.


    ¡°It can¡¯t be in the sky, can it?!¡± Luo Yuan nces towards the sky, but there was still nothing in in sight!


    ¡°No, there must be something I missed.¡±, he muttered to himself,ced with confusion. All the stress started to consume him.


    Luo Yuan suddenly recalled the corroded earthworm he ran into previously. He could still feel his heart palpitating in fear.


    ¡°Oh no, it could be underground!¡±


    Luo Yuan quickly jumped down from the back of his giant lizard. He immediately felt a slight tremor the very moment his feet touched the ground. All of a sudden, the shaking became more and more vigorous; approximately approaching a magnitude of either 7 or 8 on the Richter scale. All the streets began to crack one by one, forming innumerable bottomless cracks.


    Luo Yuan could feel his heart palpitating haphazardly and he could hardly breathe. As he remained rooted to the ground, he started feeling terrified. His body was still trembling even after fleeing four or five meters away. A loud booming noise filled the air followed by an insane amount of rocks breaking their way out from the ground.


    Facing a plotted attack like this, Luo Yuan had no way to escape.


    Seven or eight concrete rocks mmed onto his back rapidly, signifying the start of a battle. The tremendous force hurled his body towards the air and smashed it onto the wall of the adjacent building. The wall shattered upon impact.


    He shook his head and struggled to stand up. At that very moment, he felt as though his body was failing. A funny taste arose at the back of his throat and not long after, blood began to spurt out from his mouth.


    He nced at the pieces of bulletproof suits on the ground, and fear began to creeping up on him. Everything just happened so unexpectedly, that he had no time to concentrate nor umte his Will. Had he not have worn the bulletproof suit when he was mmed by the rocks, he would already be found dead with severe injuries.


    With no time to check nor dress his wounds and injuries, Luo Yuan quickly shifted his nce onto the street.


    The giant lizard has not been swallowed alive. At this critical moment, it stood in the middle of the street and howled in fury. Fear could also be heardcing its every howl. Most of its scales have been smashed, and stained by fresh blood. It was obviously injured during the explosion of rocks.


    A huge hole the size of more than half the street had appeared in the middle of the road. That terrifying mutated beast seemed to have vanished into thin air.


    Luo Yuan looked very intense and serious; beads of sweat could be seen trickling down his forehead. Despite sensing the tremor from the ground, he tried to umte more of his Will. His flesh began to be protected by a thinyer of Will, which resembles a sheen of light, unseen to the naked eye.


    Luo Yuan noticed a small corridor along every floor of the nearby office buildings. The corridor was only adequate for one person to pass through, but he had an idea. Summoning all his strength, he jumped and grabbed onto one of the corridor railings, approximately four meters high. He flipped over and stood on the corridor. He then proceeded to jump up to third floor and stopped at the fourth floor.


    He stayed close to the wall while staring at the street intensely.


    After a while, the building started to shake vigorously again, and a copse seemed imminent within mere seconds. Luo Yuan¡¯s body began to sink, but his feet remained rooted to the ground. He braced himself by stabilizing his body, holding onto the handle of his weapon.


    The pitiful giant lizard paced uneasily and spun round and round, on the spot. As the tremor started to get stronger, it jumped to the side. Suddenly a loud booming noise pierced through the air.


    Luo Yuan opened his eyes in horror and stared into the open.


    Broken rocks were being hurled across the sky in all directions. Suddenly, a mouth as big as a train coach drilled out from the ground beneath them.


    Gigantic, and menacingly sharp & pointed teeth dominated that monstrous mouth. There were about seven or eight rows of teeth made up of hundreds of smaller teeth in each row. It had an uncanny resemnce of a meat grinder. Anything that was in its way would possibly end up as a pile of minced meat.


    As the rest of its body was hidden underground, Luo Yuan could not estimate the exact location of the beast. That meat-grinding mouth plus its elusive ability made a greatbo that could even force any dark blue level mutated beast to step back in fear.


    Luo Yuan hesitated for a second, and the mutated beast drilled back underground once again in preparation for its next round of attack. Luo Yuan could only manage to catch a glimpse of the mutated beast for a split second.


    ¡°If this continues, we wouldn¡¯t even stand a chance!¡± Luo Yuan felt hopeless. ¡°If we don¡¯t seed in luring it toe out from the ground, we can only back off at the moment.¡±


    Whilst deep in thoughts, the giant lizard had dodged another attack. However, its abdomen couldn¡¯t escape and sustained injuries after being hit by concrete mud, weighing a few hundred kilograms. It wailed in pain as blood began to flow out, rendering it almost immobile.


    Luo Yuan¡¯s heartbeat raced as he witnessed the scene.


    The mutated beast that ambushed them from underground kept attacking, relentlessly.


    It was getting harder and harder for the giant lizard to dodge, as its body was hit by rocks each time it tried. Every step was staggered, but the giant lizard was smart enough to know where to hide, before the mutated beast drills out from the ground.


    The innate ability of the giant lizard is its urate sense of danger. This attack was proven capable enough to battle a regr mutated beast.


    In a short period of time, the streets were destroyed thoroughly. The roads wereden with holes. Some of the holes were so big that they beganbine to be even bigger holes that perforated the street.


    The giant lizard that sessfully dodged all its attacks finally began to test the patience of the underground mutated beast.


    The concrete foundation of the city was damaged beyond measure, with spider-web cracks spreading across the city. A few nearby buildings shook vigorously, and copsed, resulting in billows of thick smoke, which engulfed the city with dust.


    A long, ck worm more than ten meters in length drilled out from the ground, breaking through the smoke and dust.


    It looked like a gigantic cricket, covered by a ck, metal exoskeleton with many feet. These feet came in more than a hundred pairs, and appeared to be short and tiny. Its body was also covered by spiral threads which aids in reducing resistance when it drills the ground; for faster drilling speed.


    The atmosphere was still and horrifying, even by its mere presence.


    The giant lizard was stunned by its demeanor and backed off. Its stiff body was now trembling with fear. In its haste, it identally steps on one of the cracks on the ground and almost fell to its death.


    That mutated beast growls and started moving towards the giant lizard swiftly. At this rate, an ordinary human could only see a quick shadow and the dust that remained. This was made possible by the innumerable feet of the beast that moved in a structured and uniform order, which helped it bolt around stealthily at lightning speed.


    It sped like an express train; huge rocks and buildings proved to be neither an obstacle nor barricade, as it collided forcefully into everything that came in its way.


    ¡°How frightening!¡±


    The giant lizard could feel that this battle wasing to an end. It finally got over its fear and let out loud growls while swinging its tail in the air. The spins of its tail sped up in rapid movement and formed a de-like air force. All the nearby buildings were destroyed by the force of the tornadoing from its tail.


    ¡°This is the power of a ¡°tail whip¡±!¡±

 Chapter 114: Strange Condition

    Chapter 114: Strange Condition


    Trantor: Editor: EndlessFantasy Trantion


    ¡°Mission E+: Kill the Thousand-Tentacle Crypt Worm; Time Frame: 3 days! ept/Decline?¡±


    The mission message was finally there. Luo Yuan hesitated shortly before he pressed the ept button. Up to that point, there had been nothing he¡¯d had to be afraid of or run away from.


    He pulled out his Zhanmadao slowly, took a deep breath and jumped down from the fourth floor.


    Something unbelievable happened.


    He broke thews of physics, his bodynding on the ground as light as a feather. The second hended, he stomped on thend and his body vanished from the ground. When he appeared again, he was about five metres away from where he had justnded. He bowed forward a little, and disappeared with rapid footsteps.


    The Thousand-Tentacle Crypt Worm rushed all the way towards the giant lizard like nobody¡¯s business. It was not scared of the mutant creature. Not in the slightest. It opened its huge mouth and bit the lizard unceremoniously.


    The lizard was far from ready for this. It howled loudly and crashed on its side, its body twisting into a big arc.


    Its almost four-meter long serrated tail swung across the air, making an ear-splitting noise.


    The Thousands-Tentacle Crypt Worm had no time to react to the lizard¡¯s sudden attack. It probably had not expected the giant lizard to fight back at all.


    A loud noise could be heard as the lizard whipped its tail to smack the crypt worm on the head. The weight of the tail was impossible to calcte. It made the air inte and caused an explosive storm.


    The lizard¡¯s whip of a tail tossed the crypt worm several meters away. The worm kept rolling as itnded on ground. Its snake-shaped body twisted while it rolled. The crust of its head had cracked after it had gotten hit by the tail. Dull red liquid could be seen flowing out.


    The fight had stimted the giant lizard. It had already forgotten about its fear. It quickly rushed toward the crypt worm and bit its neck, its mouth wide open.


    Creatures the size of dinosaurs had quite an astonishing bite. Even a dark blue level mutated beast like the Thousand-Tentacle Crypt Worm could not defend itself against that strong attacking skill. It was like the sound of a drill cutting through a steel board. The crypt worm¡¯s head had been torn open by the giant lizard¡¯s teeth, blood flowing out.


    The Thousand-Tentacle Crypt Worm growled angrily, and rolled away scared, trying to escape from the giant lizard.


    The worm was shocked and scared as it stared at the lizard with its degenerating blue eyes. It had never expected such a low-level mutated beast to be so tenacious, and yet it was losing the fight.


    That painful lesson had taught it to be serious and treat the lizard as an equal rival.


    The oppressed atmosphere made it hard to breathe. The giant lizard growled in a low voice as it kept circling around the Thousand-Tentacle Worm. After a few seconds, it could no longer stand the pressure. It leapt, aiming for the wound around the worm¡¯s neck.


    The Thousand-Tentacles Crypt Worm suddenly opened its big mouth, producing a horrible suction. The sucked-up air formed an air swirl around the area, numerous stones shooting over the worm¡¯s mouth. The swirling motion even made several hundred-kilo rocks roll.


    The giant lizard weighed over ten tons. Had it not been moving, the suction would not have affected it at all. However, at the time, it had been running fast.


    During such an intense fight, even the tiniest mistake could cause death, let alone such a big one.


    The giant lizard did not make any attempt to escape as the huge mouth moved towards it. The Thousand-Tentacle Worm¡¯s mouth was almost the same size as the giant lizard¡¯s body, its strength even more terrifying. If the lizard got bitten, no matter how indomitable its health, it would die.


    The Thousand-Tentacle Crypt Worm had never expected such an obscure creature to get closer.


    Luo Yuan pulled out his sword, the de immediately producing a shiny mist that could be seen clearly under the scorching sun. The sharp de extended three more inches beyond its tip.


    His face was flushing and his eyes bloodshot. Dull green was pulsing in his neck, just like the roots of old trees twisting together. His muscles started to twitch. As he ran rapidly, his body seemed to expand in size.


    After a few steps, he stomped heavily. The concrete ground turned into powder within a second. Then Luo Yuan took a leap and chopped the Thousand-Tentacle Worm from head to tail.


    The reflection of the light looked a lot like lightning. It went off just as it had appeared.


    The worm had been cut by the sharp de, red blood, flesh and dull green internal organs flowing out. It had almost been cut in half.


    The Thousand-Tentacle Worm had not expected to suffer such a bad injury while it pounced toward the giant lizard. It had no time to swallow its prey as it raised its upper body and roared angrily.


    Luo Yuan pulled out his knife fast and sneaked into a nearby building, demolishing a wall as he dashed in. For time-saving purposes, he did not even use his sword. He just made a hole using his body.


    As gravel and dust fell all around him, they were flicked away by his Will. Luo Yuan had ovee all obstacles by taking that initiative. He could not bear a massive loss of determination at that crucial moment.


    The Thousand-Tentacles Worm¡¯s hatred had been turned on him. It lifted its body and scanned all around, using its fiery blue eyes, but it could not even locate Luo Yuan¡¯s shadow.


    The giant lizard started regaining its consciousness. It quickly looked for a chance to attack, but after the lesson it had just gotten, it did not dare bite the crypt worm again. It plotted to use its Tail Whip instead. Even a dark blue level mutated beast could not withstand its phenomenal Tail Whip. Not waiting for the worm to turn over, its crystal-like blue eyes took position in the sky.


    The Thousand-Tentacle Worm could sense the strong danger. However, when it struggled to turn over, it was already toote. There was the sh of a knife, and then the worm howled in pain. The pain provoked its instinct to kick, but kicking in the air would only make a loud noise.


    It would be fatal, even if it was just an unconscious counterattack. Luo Yuan, who hadn¡¯tnded on the ground yet, turned pale. He had just had that thought when his body was teleported a few meters into the air.


    For those with low Will, the thoughts in their hearts were just in thoughts. On the other hand, thoughts in the hearts of people with high Will directed their actions. As for those who had highly cohesive Will, their Will was their biggest strength.


    In short, Will could be defined as the heart¡¯s thoughts. If one¡¯s Will was strong enough, any thought or wish could be granted.


    Luo Yuan¡¯s Will was still far from making his every wishe true. However, small things like teleporting or reducing hisnding momentum were still possible for him.


    The Thousand-Tentacle Worm had suffered a big wound. Dull red blood was spurting out like a high-pressure fountain while internal organs flowed out of its body. Its intense struggle made the buildings in the area copse, producing smoke and dust in a several-kilometer radius.


    As soon as Luo Yuannded on the ground, he rushed towards the worm. However, the giant lizard reacted faster, following its instinct and taking advantage of the situation to attack its weak rival. The lizard ran towards it quickly and gripped the internal organs of the Thousand-Tentacle Worm. Not even looking at the organ it had bitten, it started tearing it until the the organ got longer and longer.


    The crypt worm was paralyzed. Its neck had been broken, so it could not turn its head around to bite the giant lizard, no matter how hard it tried. The lower half of its body had already been paralyzed. It tried hard to move, but it couldn¡¯t. All it could do was just stare at the giant lizard while the beast kept pulling at its organs.


    The worm howled in sorrow, its big mouth showing its outrageous ability once again. It inhaled a massive amount of air. The wound around its neck seemed to have been transformed into an air vent and started spurting wind out. Numerous internal organs were spurted out as the worm vomited blood, approaching its end.


    This was the moment Luo Yuan had been waiting for. Considering his weight, if he got sucked in, he¡¯d have no chance of escaping. Even his Will would not be able to save him. He skipped through the wastnd, moving forward like a cat before he dashed toward the Thousand-Tentacle Worm¡¯s head.


    Luo Yuan held his sword and shed along the way as he ran. He cut more than ten tentacles off the beast¡¯s head. The worm tried to drill into the ground before it finally copsed.


    It didn¡¯t have the strength to fight back anymore. All it could do was move its head a tiny bit.


    To avoid any more unexpected incidents, Luo Yuan did not waste time. He jumped up to crypt worm¡¯s head, took a deep breath and raised his sword.


    Realizing it was at the threshold of death, the crypt worm began to struggle. It shook its head hard, trying to shake off the creature on its head. Luo Yuan though would not move an inch.


    ¡°Go to hell!¡± he yelled.


    A light shed as he stabbed its head with his sword.


    The worm¡¯s skull was extremely hard, and the fact that Luo Yuan had used more than half of his Will during the fight made the stabbing even more challenging. He cut three points into the skull before he could hardly continue anymore.


    ¡°Just break already!¡±


    Luo Yuan roared angrily, squeezing his muscles once again. Blood dripped from his skin in beads. His Will coagted and gave the sword a trace of light. The sharp de cut into the Thousand-Tentacle Worm¡¯s dense bones in an instant. Luo Yuan shed from its brain all the way to its jaw.


    The worm shook, its head falling to the ground with a loud noise.


    Luo Yuan gasped, holding his position, the sword still in his hands. The flush on his face slowly faded away, his muscles returning to their original size. The energy in his body dropped rapidly. Suddenly, he felt like he was about to copse.


    His hands were trembling, and he did not even have the energy to pull out the sword.


    The loss of Will made him feel even worse. His uneasiness increased as fear grew inside his heart, bumping and crashing against its every corner like a horse tied loosely.


    He could not hold on anymore. He fell on the crypt worm.


    His body started getting hot. At first, Luo Yuan was not concerned about it. He thought it might be some kind of sequ due to exhaustion. As time passed though, his body became hotter and hotter, his blood reaching a boiling point. He felt like there was a fire burning inside his body, and he started to get dizzy. Something was wrong. He struggled to stand up, but he realized he had no strength at all. He was not in control of his body anymore. It would not listen to him at all.


    A sudden sleepiness hit him, his eyelids getting heavy. The massive loss of Will did not allow him to hold on anymore.


    Just as Luo Yuan was about to fall asleep, a mission aplishment message popped up.


    ¡°Mission E+, Kill the Thousand-Tentacle Crypt Worm: Aplished. Mission Completion Time: 5 minutes 35 seconds, Mission Evaluation: Excellent!¡±


    ¡°Character: Luo Yuan¡±


    ¡°Mission Progress: 80%¡±


    ¡°Basic Experience Reward +4,800*80%!¡±


    ¡°Evaluation: Excellent, Experience +4,800*80%¡±


    ¡°Experience: 3,400/38,400!¡±


    Battle Beast: Giant Jungle Lizard


    ¡°Mission Progress: 20%¡±


    ¡°Basic Experience Reward +4,800*20%!¡±


    Evaluation: Average, Experience +4,800*20%!¡±


    ¡°Experience: 2,600/4,800!¡±


    ¡°You have leveled up! You have been rewarded one attribute point and five skill points. Your current level is Level 8!¡±


    ¡°Your energy and injuries will be recovered!¡±

 Chapter 115: The Return

    Chapter 115: The Return


    Trantor: Editor: EndlessFantasy Trantion


    Luo Yuan was about to lose consciousness when his spirit was elevated, and he started slowly regaining his strength. His Will had increased as well. He tried hard to lift his heavy eyelids and stand up.


    However, what worried Luo Yuan was that strange feeling in his body that did not seem to go away. Instead, it became more serious as time passed. He could feel fire burning inside his body. He thought he might self-ignite soon if it did not stop.


    ¡°Could it be venom?¡±


    Watching the giant lizard devour the Thousand-Tentacle Crypt Worm¡¯s organs, he knew that the answer was no. If the crypt worm had been venomous, no matter how strong the giant lizard was, it would have had some sort of reaction after swallowing so much of its flesh and blood.


    He suppressed his fear and checked his own body carefully. His back hurt after getting hit by arge rock, but other than that he did not have any serious injuries. The disgusting smelling from the mutated beast¡¯s brain matter was by far the worst of it.


    While Luo Yuan had been hacking open the beast¡¯s skull, he had not bothered avoiding the brain matter, and he had ended up getting some all over his face.


    The fact that he was getting weaker was getting his nerves. Suddenly, he thought of his attribute point, and quickly opened up the Attributes Panel.


    ¡°I have no choice, I can only add my attribute point to Physique. I hope a 14-point Physique can help me get through this.¡±


    Just as Luo Yuan was trying to distribute the point, the system sent him a new message.


    ¡°Warning! Warning! System analysis: A strong foreign gene has invaded your body, causing your genes to have an adverse reaction.¡±


    ¡°Right now you are evolving. There is a risk of failure, which might result in a gic breakdown.¡±


    ¡°Please choose a safe ce to fall asleep. Estimated evolution time is 10 to 30 minutes.¡±


    Luo Yuan¡¯s expression was incredulous. He did not know whether he should be surprised, or worried.


    If he failed to evolve, he might die. Actually, he had no choice. Once the evolution started, it couldn¡¯t be stopped. His survival or death depended solely on his destiny. Luo Yuan had to ept it, whether he wanted to or not.


    He looked around him. This was obviously not a safe ce. There was a dead mutated beast around, a dark blue level one, to be specific. It was an irresistible temptation that would soon lure a lot predators. Even dark blue level mutated beasts could show up.


    He had to find a safe ce.


    The human genes and mutated beast genes inside him were having an intense war, destroying all his cells. The war involved every aspect, including but not limited to the gic one, eventually using up all the strength he had umted through upgrading his level. Luo Yuan felt another round of exhaustion. His eyelids became heavier.


    He understood that this was his body¡¯s self-defense. A gic war was an intangible, invisible war, but nevertheless a brutal one. Every inch of territory counted. Any depletion of any property could be the key to the oue of the war. Through sleeping, depletion could be reduced to the bare minimum and the supplementary energy could be used in the war. He needed to find a safe ce to sleep. He looked left and right, his eyes shining when he saw the giant lizard. He hurriedly jumped down from the head of the worm. His legs were so weak, he almost slipped. This only made him more nervous. He dragged his feet towards the giant lizard, using all his strength to climb onto its back.


    ¡°Back to the residential area!¡± Luo Yuan shouted in a hoarse voice. He patted the lizard¡¯s back and leaned over it. Soon, he lost his senses.


    Although the giant lizard did not have a high IQ, after such a long, systematic, violent training, certain words that had been used frequently had already been engraved onto its poor brain.


    After hearing Luo Yuan¡¯s voice, the lizard stopped what it was doing, and inclined its head a bit, as if it were listening. Looking at all the internal organs it had pulled out, it hesitated.


    The next moment, it opened its mouth, straightened its neck and swallowed thest piece.


    It still deeply respected Luo Yuan. Even though it was reluctant to leave, it walked back to the residential area.


    Where was Hu Fei? Why had so few people managed to escape? A slightly tanned, tall, muscr man was looking at the people in front of him, They had originally been more than fifty, yet now there were only about ten left. His face turned dark.


    ¡°Hei Ge, everyone just blindly escaped this time. No one knows where Hu Fei has run off to. Nobody expected this level of mutated beast toe over here. It¡¯s really hard to find resources now. Everything¡¯s gone!¡± a man wearing a mutated-beast leather jacket said, sounding broken-hearted. His face looked like it had been corroded. Small craters could be seen all over it, and there were several areas where even his bones were visible. He looked quite hideous.


    ¡°Our resources might be gone, but we¡¯ll find new ones. What¡¯s important now is finding somewhere safe to stay,¡± a horse-faced man said in a husky voice.


    ¡°We definitely have to find a safe ce. It¡¯s too dangerous here. Any of us could die. Ma Lian, can you suggest somewhere we can go?¡± Hei Ge said as he nodded.


    ¡°Do you think I have safe ces up my sleeve?¡± MaLian shook his head. Suddenly he seemed to remember something, and turned to a woman in the crowd. ¡°Hey, you! Where was the ce you took us tost time?¡±


    A woman with filthy hair raised her head. She was wearing a ragged dress that failed to cover most of her body. Her snowy, white skin was exposed, and there were some dried stains on her blouse. She smelled really bad from head to toe. Noticing that there was someone looking at her, she said eagerly, ¡°Big Brother, I am Huang Yuying.¡±


    ¡°You wish to get beaten again, is that it?¡± MaLian nced at her and squeezed her breast hard.


    That part of her body was really sensitive to getting pinched. Huang Yuying turned pale from the pain of it. Nevertheless, she still managed a stiff, charming smile. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Big Brother. It was Jingyue District. I used to live there.¡±


    ¡°Damn, she never washes. My hand stinks now!¡± Ma Lian sniffed his palm and wiped it on the wet towel he kept in his pants. ¡°Yes, Jingyue District. I remember it. There were things there that we didn¡¯t move. We won¡¯t run out of food anytime soon. Maybe we can hide over there for now?¡± MaLian addressed the crowd.


    ¡°Wouldn¡¯t it be dangerous? How about the shelter?¡± said a disfigured young man.


    ¡°The shelter is too far,¡± said a middle-aged man in a suit holding a rifle. He shook his head calmly and added, ¡°Those men are too savage. I¡¯ve heard it from people who escaped from them. They said that they eat human flesh. They¡¯re not easy to deal with. They could betray us.¡±


    Hei Ge frowned and seemed to think for a while before saying, ¡°Let¡¯s go to Jingyue District then. It should be a safe journey. We¡¯ll use melee weapons to deal with high-level mutated beasts.¡±


    ¡°We¡¯ve been there before. It should be fine!¡± said the disfigured young man.


    ¡°Better safe than sorry.¡± HeiGe stared at him, holding a white knife made of mutated-beast teeth.


    Several men turned in the other direction and walked towards the road. The rest of them followed quickly. Most of the people were women, all of them looking numb, like they had somehow lost their sanity. Huang Yuying touched her breast, which had gotten bruised from squeezing, before following the crowd towards the Jingyue District.


    Other than meeting a couple of low-level mutated beasts, the whole journey was smooth. Within thirty minutes, they arrived at Jingyue District.


    ¡°This is not good. Is that a footprint?¡± the man in the suit bent down and inspected the footprint in the mud. His expression became nervous as he said, ¡°It¡¯s still fresh. No more than a day old. It¡¯s dangerous here, we have to leave right away!¡±


    ¡°Are you sure?¡± Hei Ge asked seriously.


    ¡°You know I was an anti-smuggling officer at the Yunnam border. There was forest everywhere there. My judgment is never wrong.¡± The middle-aged man in the suit looked at the ground as he walked up and down. ¡°There are a lot of messy footprints around here. Some are really old, but others are fresh. What we know for sure is that this is a busy road. The beast that made the most recent footprint must have just left here. I think it wille back sooner orter. It could actually be back any moment now.¡±


    It had not been easy getting there, and now they had to leave again. They didn¡¯t even know where would they go next. Hei Ge did not seem to want to give up. ¡°Can you tell what level of mutated beast it was?¡± he asked hopefully.


    If it was just an average one, why not take the risk and try to kill it? Level two mutated beasts could be killed with a rifle. Level three were a bit harder to kill, though. Last time, they¡¯d had to sacrifice more than ten men to kill a severely injured level three mutated beast. An evolved person had died during that fight, and Deng Chao¡¯s face had been disfigured. Theirck of experience had been a contributing factor. Some of them had been facing a creature like that for the first time in their lives.


    The man in the suit shook his head. ¡°It¡¯s impossible to tell. Judging by its footprint though, we can assume that it weighs more than ten tons, and is about four to five meters long, tail not included. Based on its size, it could be a level three mutated beast.¡±


    The crowd sighed, the expression on their faces hopeless.


    ¡°Let¡¯s call go, Hei Ge. It¡¯s too dangerous here, we have to go somewhere else,¡± said Ma Lian, whose face was white as paper.


    Suddenly, the man in the suit asked in a very suspicious tone, ¡°Howe there¡¯s a man¡¯s footprint here?¡±


    Everyone looked over. They could see several fresh human footprints beside the big footprint of the mutated beast.


    ¡°Could there still be humans in the area?¡± the disfigured young man called Deng Chao asked uncertainly.


    Suddenly, the ground shook slightly. Before they could react, an enormous creature appeared at the corner of the street.


    There was a lustre of jade to its green scales, and its head was full of crescent-shaped, sharp spurs. It suddenly lifted its head and red at them.


    Everyone felt their head tingle. Those who had evolved remained calm, but the ordinary humans among them had a mental breakdown. Some of them couldn¡¯t stand it and ran away. The team lost half its men in the blink of an eye.


    Cold sweat started dripping down the foreheads of the fellow evolved people. Hei Ge gulped unconsciously, feeling the pressure in his heart. The mutated beast was way too big, and it had zero injuries. It couldn¡¯t bepared to the severely injured mutated beast they had fought previously. He quickly looked left and right.


    His heart sank as he realized they were standing on a straight road. The nearest crossing was a few hundreds meters away. The buildings on Commercial Street near them were rtively short and if they hid there, the beast would find them in no time. There was no ce for them to hide. He looked at the entrance of the district and shouted, ¡°We¡¯ve got no choice! Just head in and leave the rest to fate!¡±


    Huang Yuying had turned dreadfully pale. She had to use all her strength to run and keep up with everyone else. This small district, where she had made a lot of memories, had now be a hazardous ce. As the quake behind them got bigger, the beast got closer to them. Despair was all she could feel.


    ¡°Is there someone over there?¡± Ma Lian shouted suddenly, an incredulous look on his face.


    They could see a few men and women standing together in a empty field far away. They looked like they were waiting for someone.


    Huang Yuying was stunned as she looked at them absent-mindedly. Her legs moved habitually, like a machine¡¯s. As she looked at their familiar faces, her heart flooded with mixed feelings.

 Chapter 116: Evolving Ability

    Chapter 116: Evolving Ability


    Trantor: Editor: EndlessFantasy Trantion


    Huang Jiahui and the others had been too distracted by the motion of the giant lizard to notice that there was a bunch of people running towards them.


    A slight of worry could be seen on Huang Jiahui¡¯s face as she prayed silently.


    At first, it had only been her and Wang Shishi waiting outside. However, the others had noticed the expression on their faces. Both Huang Jiahui and Wang Shishi held a higher position in the house. It was their roof they were staying under after all. Even the blind would have noticed that Luo Yuan and his women had been behaving strange all day. After Luo Yuan had left, the two of them had remained anxious the whole morning. They did not seem able to sit down. Some of them sensed that there was something going on, so everyone hade out.


    As the motion got stronger, they could see the figure of the giant lizard from afar.


    Huang Jiahui looked carefully, stunned. She grabbed Wang Shishi¡¯s arm tight and mumbled, ¡°Shishi, I¡¯m not sure my eyes are working. You take a look and see if Luo Yuan is up there.¡±


    The giant lizard was five meters tall. Luo Yuan was lying on its back, his body blocked by the giant lizard¡¯s head. They could not see anything.


    ¡°I... I don¡¯t know.¡± As Wang Shishi watched, she started getting nervous as well.


    Cao Lin was there too, the astonishment in her heart ever the same. She peeped at the others, but they did not look any better than her.


    Luo Yuan was their protector. Even if doomsday came around, he would still maintain the peace of this small ce. She did not dare imagine what their future would look like without him. Her whole world turned dark. There was not even the slightest spark of life.


    Suddenly, she noticed a bunch of people running towards them in panic.


    Staying in afortable safe zone for so long had made her vignce decrease. She had forgotten about the warning. She only realized that something was wrong when the other side aimed their rifles in their direction.


    ¡°Cooperate if you don¡¯t want to die! Hurry up and take us somewhere safe!¡± Hei Ge shouted. He guessed that there had to be some secret hideout for these people to have survived around a mutated beast for so long. That was why he had run towards them without hesitation.


    Huo Dong and the other men froze in the face of this unexpected situation. They did not answer the question.


    Hei Ge was very nervous. He almost copsed as he watched the giant lizard get closer. He raised his pistol. ¡°Damn, does nobody talk around here?¡±


    ¡°What do you want? This is not some ce you can act in such an uncivilized manner.¡± Lin Xiaoji had gotten mad. He had to hold his emotions back all the time, but he was not going to anymore. Not when a stranger was being so rude to him.


    ¡°How dare you talk back to me? Do you think I won¡¯t fire?¡± Anxiety, fear, anger, irritation- all kinds of negative emotions surged in his heart, driving him out of his mind. Even his face looked twisted.


    Bang! Bang! Bang!


    He raised his pistol, and started pulling the trigger until he ran out of bullets. Then he still kept shooting on with the empty gun.


    Lin Xiaoji lowered his head to his chest. He saw fresh blood on his shirt before he fell to the ground.


    Wang Shishi screamed in shock.


    The gunshots had awakened Huang Jiahui, who had been passed out. She tried to grab the pistol on her waist, but she felt a cold, sharp object poke her in the back while a voice said, ¡°Just don¡¯t move. If you do, I will use my knife. Take us somewhere safe! Fast!¡±


    Luo Yuan¡¯s absence had made Huang Jiahui so desperate, she thought maybe death would not be such a bad idea.


    Huang Yuying, who was also there, noticed that Huang Jiahui did not seem to care at all, and quickly shouted, ¡°No, Sister Huang!¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s you?¡± Huang Jiahui heard her familiar voice and turned around with a frown. There was fire in her eyes now. ¡°You brought these men here? I took pity on youst time, but I never thought you¡¯d be such an ungrateful person!¡±


    ¡°I... I¡¯m not!¡± Huang Yuying was panicked. She wanted to exin, but she didn¡¯t have the time to. All these men hade there because of her. She was also the one who had taken people to raid the supplies of the old house. No matter what she said, it would be hard to make them trust her.


    Hei Ge was so angry, he felt like his head was about to explode. Why was nobody listening to him? Did he look too kind? Didn¡¯t they see that he had guns and knives? Weren¡¯t they scared of dying?


    Alright, he would grant their wish. Just as he was about to reload his gun, somebody stopped him.


    ¡°Hei Ge, don¡¯t waste time on these people. Who cares if they don¡¯t want to leave? We can get to the vi first!¡± said the man in the suit.


    Hei Ge held back his temper and nodded. He looked at the crowd and quickly headed into the vi. Huang Yuying hesitated for a while. Everybody was too nervous to care about her.


    ¡°There must be a safe ce somewhere in here. Everyone scatter and search. Hurry up!¡± said Hei Ge after rushing into the vi.


    The house was not very big, and there were a lot of people searching through it. It did not take them long to discover the entrance to the basement. Everyone entered it quickly, astonished by the amount of supplies inside it.


    ¡°There¡¯s so much food! It must be more than one hundred packs. It¡¯s enough to sustain us for half a year,¡± said Ma Lian in surprise. ¡°Dried pork slices? Mineral water? Damn, they even have an electric generator! What are they doing, generating electricity?¡±


    ¡°Shit, they really are generating electricity. It¡¯s connected to a cable,¡± the young man with the scars shouted.


    ¡°Damn, can you see all this? We¡¯ll have plenty of time to observe it in the future. Now, don¡¯t speak, everyone. Stay silent. If the mutated beast finds us, then everything will be over,¡± Hei Ge said angrily.


    Everyone felt scared as the basement suddenly became quiet. That was when they realized that there were no soundsing from outside. They looked at each other with puzzled expressions.


    The giant lizard stopped at a grass field a few hundreds meters away from the vi, just like it always used to. It looked at the crowd indifferently before it closed its eyes and started snoring.


    ¡°Brother Luo, it¡¯s Brother Luo! He¡¯s on the back of the lizard!¡± screamed Wang Shishi.


    Huang Jiashi stared at the back of the giant lizard and saw Luo Yuan lying there motionless. Her happiness turned fast into worry. ¡°He¡¯s injured! I don¡¯t know if it¡¯s serious or not. Wait here, I need to go and find out!¡±


    Cao Lin was scared, but she still held Huang Jiahui back. ¡°Don¡¯t go, you will startle the lizard.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t stop me!¡± Huang Jiahui said as she turned around. ¡°Do it again, and we won¡¯t be friends anymore.¡±


    Cao Lin loosened her arms unconsciously. When she got her senses back, Huang Jiahui was already running towards the lizard.


    ¡°Wang Xiaojie, hurry up and stop her. Only you can do it!¡± said Cao Lin. If anything happened to Huang Jiahui and Luo Yuan awakened, they would all be screwed.


    Wang Shishi shook her head, her eyes full of tears. ¡°I want to go and see as well!¡±


    She wiped off her tears as she cried and ran towards the giant lizard.


    Everyone stared at each other in astonishment. They was nothing they could do. They couldn¡¯t offend Luo Yuan or his women.


    Traditional Chinese culture relied on hierarchy. It was important to learn how to be a better person before you could do anything. Pleasing others was something every adult going into society had to know. Displeasing someone that your fate depended on was definitely something to avoid.


    ¡°How? Should we go, too?¡± Huo Dong hesitated.


    ¡°Brother Luo saved all our lives. I have no way to repay him, even my life is not enough. I want to go too!¡± Ning Xiaoran said with red eyes.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go together!¡± concluded Chen Xianfeng.


    No once could say no under the circumstances, regardless of how unwilling they were to go.


    ¡°I... I need to take care of Lin Xiaoji,¡± Sun Xiaowu said in terror. His face turned red as everyone looked at him oddly.


    Huo Dong smirked. Sun Xiaowu and Lin Xiaoji had never had a close rtionship. They never even talked to each other, yet now Sun Xiaowu was saying that he wanted to take care of him. The man had gotten so many shots, even an evolved person would have died. There was nothing to be done to help him.


    Lin Xiaoji had been with them for a really short period of time. He had showed zero emotion and he had been very arrogant. Other than the evolved people, he had treated everybody else like they were invisible. He had been lying over there for so long, yet nobody had actually gone to check whether he was really dead or not.


    Huo Dong did not want to offend anyone, but Cao Lin was not afraid to do it. She sarcastically said, ¡°He is already dead, how would you take care of him? Couldn¡¯t youe up with a better excuse to flee? Aren¡¯t you talented at bragging! You always talk about how you used to fight in high school. Where are your guts now?¡±


    All this while, Sun Xiaowu had been admiring this intellectual beauty. He had always made an extra effort to please her whenever he could. Now, the woman he liked was insulting him in such a sarcastic, merciless way. His face turned red as his blood boiled. Young men don¡¯t like to lose face. Once he got her out of his mind, he didn¡¯t care about anything at all. Disrespectful words that he would not have dared say normally, now flew freely out of his mouth.


    ¡°What if I don¡¯t want to go? You can¡¯t drag me there to die with you, Luo Yuan might be strong, but it¡¯s only because he was lucky enough to evolve. So what? He¡¯s still injured now. You want to go lick his ass again?¡±


    ¡°Shut up!¡± Cao Lin did not look good.


    ¡°I¡¯m not going to!¡± Sun Xiaowu knew there was no return. ¡°He¡¯s just an evolved person. Why do you need to try and please him all the time? I think you just can¡¯t wait to have sex with him. One day, I will also evolve. You guys just wait!¡±


    Cao Lin¡¯s face kept switching between red and white. Her lips started bleeding from her biting them non-stop.


    Suddenly, Chen Xianfeng ran towards him and kicked him to the ground. Sun Xiaowu scowled as he tried to get up. Before he could though, he got his chest kicked a few more times. He started crying as he covered his head.


    ¡°Damn it, just beat me to death if you dare,¡± Sun Xiaowu shouted, standing up unsteadily.


    Cao Lin walked up to him and pped him. ¡°If you don¡¯t want to die. just get out!¡±


    The p seemed to bring Sun Xiaowu back to his senses. He looked around, and saw everyone looking back at him distantly. Even Ning Xiaoran, who no one dared offend, had a poker face on. She looked at him like he was a stranger.


    Her emotionless expression made him feel cold and dizzy.


    What had he said? How could he have said something like that? He managed a stiff smile, trying to diffuse the situation. ¡°I... I don¡¯t know what...¡±


    ¡°Why don¡¯t you just leave?¡± Bullying someone who was at disadvantage was poor form. Huo Dong sneered, ¡°Do you want us to break your legs, too?¡±


    Sun Xiaowu could not control his emotions. He knew that he could no longer stay there. He looked at Luo Yuan in the distance. Nobody knew whether he was alive or not. He thought of that bunch of fierce people, and he smiled as he said, ¡°Fine, I will leave. I will leave! I hope you don¡¯t regret this.¡±


    He grinned and pointed at the crowd. He slowly backed off and dashed towards the vi. Soon, he¡¯d gone through the doorway.


    Everyone¡¯s expression changed at the same time.


    Sun Xiaowu knew everything about the area. Nobody knew whether Luo Yuan was dead or alive. Once Sun Xiaowu leaked information, the consequences would be unimaginable. Judging by the way he had acted just now, that kind of scenario seemed unavoidable.


    ¡°Damn it, we should not have just let him go like that!¡± Huo Dong said angrily.


    They were just stepping out of theirfort zone. They were still not used to murdering people, but they had never expected their soft hearts to bring such consequences.


    ¡°With the giant lizard here, those people won¡¯t dare do anything,¡± Cao Lin tried tofort them and herself. ¡°Let¡¯s go and see how Brother Luo is. If he makes it, he will control the lizard and everything will be alright. Let¡¯s go and find out.¡±


    By this time, Huang Jiahui was already in front of the giant lizard. The closer she got to it, the bigger the lizard looked. Although it was lying on the ground, it was still three meters high and about seven meters long. It looked like a thick wall.


    Normally, Huang Jiahui would not have dared go near it. She felt so stressed, it got harder to breath as she got closer to the beast. She only cared about Luo Yuan¡¯s safety. She did not care about anyone else.


    The giant lizard felt the creatures nearby and raised its transparent eyelids, exposing its huge cold eyes. It saw two small creatures approaching from the side and closed its eyes once again.


    These creatures used to be its main food source. Its poor brain couldn¡¯t remember how much of them it had eaten in its life. If it hadn¡¯t been lucky enough to meet that creature and obey him, it would probably still be eating these kind of creatures.


    For the giant lizard, this type of food was nothing. Their flesh was too soft and loose, almost tasteless. It didn¡¯t feel full no matter how many of them it ate. It would only eat them when it had no other choice. It had no interest in this kind of food anymore.


    No matter how hungry it was, it dared not eat them. After suffering several punishments, its poor brain finally knew this much¨C do not mess with these creatures, no matter how weak they look.


    The two of them were shocked when the giant lizard opened its eyes. They sweated non-stop and almost slid down to the ground.


    ¡°It¡¯s nothing, it¡¯s nothing! The giant lizard recognizes us!¡± Huang Jiahui said as she patted her own chest.


    ¡°Luo... Brother Luo had mentioned to me that the lizard won¡¯t eat humans. We could even sit on it and y,¡± Wang Shishi muttered. She had almost been shocked to death. For a moment, she had thought she would really die. She still felt scared, and her body shivered non-stop.


    ¡°Yeah, Luo Yuan also mentioned that the giant lizard is very gentle,¡± said Huang Jiahui.


    The two of themforted each other and regained the courage to move forward once again.


    After a few minutes, Huang Jiahui touched the giant lizard¡¯s scales. She was trembling like crazy. ¡°It¡¯s too slippery. There is no ce for us to ce our feet while we climb. It¡¯s impossible.¡±


    ¡°What if I bring him down using telekinesis?¡± said Wang Shishi.


    Wang Jiahui was quiet for a while. There was no other way, she had to make a decision. ¡°Give it a try, but be careful. Don¡¯t let him fall.¡±


    When Wang Shishi started using her power, the giant lizard reacted by lifting its eyelids. Realizing that the power was not a threat to it, it closed its eyes again.


    The two of them used all their energy to move Luo Yuan down and set him on the ground carefully. In less than a minute, both of their backs were wet.


    Meanwhile, the others had also walked over. Despite the fact that the giant lizard was not attacking them, everyone held their breath. They were too scared that they would alert the beast.


    ¡°I used to be a nurse. I know some basic first aid. Let me take a look, Sister Huang,¡± said Ning Xiaoran softly.


    Huang Jiahui nodded and moved to make space for Ning Xiaoran.


    Ning Xiaoran blushed as she took off Luo Yuan¡¯s clothes. Everyone gasped in astonishment when they saw that the bulletproof vest was full of holes.


    Huang Jiahui covered her mouth and turned her head away. Tears were rolling down on her cheeks.


    Ning Xiaoran¡¯s eyes were also red. She had to use all her might to take off the heavy bulletproof vest, revealing Luo Yuan¡¯s strong upper body. His tenuous flesh stretched tight as he inhaled and exhaled like a precise machine, exuding a sense of strength and grace. Even the men could not help but stare.


    Ning Xiaoran took a deep breath and softly pressed against his chest with her petite hands. When she turned him over, she saw that he had ck and purple bruises all over his back.


    She covered her mouth in fear. She carefully touched his back as she said, ¡°Brother Luo must have spit up blood earlier. His back must have been hit by something heavy. It didn¡¯t break, but he must have spiked a fever. His internal organs might have been injured.


    ¡°What can we do?¡± cried Wang Shishi.


    ¡°There is no medical equipment or medicine here. His survival depends solely on his luck.¡±


    ¡°No, Luo Yuan has suffered more serious injuries before. He always makes it, this time will be no different.¡± Huang Jiahui was having a small breakdown. She rushed towards Luo Yuan and held his hand. ¡°Luo Yuan, please wake up. You will be alright.¡±


    Wang Shishi was crying so hard, she couldn¡¯t seem to catch her breath.


    Huo Dong silently picked up a piece of the scale bulletproof vest. He tried to break it, but he could not even make the slightest tear. He had to use all his strength just to bend the piece a little.


    His heart trembled. If such hard protective gear had been damaged, he could not imagine what kind of attack Luo Yuan had suffered this time. It was already a miracle that he was not dead.


    Just when everyone thought that Luo Yuan would not make it, Huang Jiahui suddenly felt him move his hand slightly. The next moment, she saw Luo Yuan slowly open his eyes and sit up.


    He looked right and left, and then looked at everyone and calmly said, ¡°I did not expect to be here when I woke up. I¡¯m fine, you can all go.¡±


    He stood up under everyone¡¯s ssy looks. Huang Jiahui and Wang Shishi felt like idiots. Just now they had been crying like there was no tomorrow, and Luo Yuan had just stood up like nothing had happened.


    ¡°Really? You¡¯re fine? What about your back?¡± Huang Jiahui said suspiciously. She thought that maybe Luo Yuan was just pretending to be fine.


    ¡°I¡¯m aware of my injuries. They¡¯re just surface wounds, it¡¯s no big deal,¡± Luo Yuan said while he picked up his clothes and put them on.


    It was the truth. The injury on his back might look serious to others, but the system upgrade had included a recovery function. He had already healed most of the way. The rest would just depend on his self-healing skill. He would most likely have fully recovered in a few days¡¯ time.


    He suddenly felt a slight change on his face. He closed his eyes and felt a mysterious feeling flow through his body as he stepped on the ground. He could feel thend below his feet blending with him and the pulse of the ground beating.

 Chapter 117: Come Murder With Me

    Chapter 117: Come Murder With Me


    Trantor: Editor: EndlessFantasy Trantion


    The feeling was amazing, yet unrealistic at the same time.


    Luo Yuan pulled up the attributes panel silently.


    ¡°Character: Luo Yuan¡±


    ¡°Career: Hunter¡±


    ¡°Level: 8¡±


    ¡°Experience: 3,400/38,400¡±


    ¡°Attributes:-¡±


    ¡°Strength: 12 (10)¡±


    ¡°Dexterity: 13 (10)¡±


    ¡°Physique: 13+3 (10)¡±


    ¡°Intelligence: 13 (10)¡±


    ¡°Sensory Perception: 13+1 (10)¡±


    ¡°Will: 14+1 (10)¡±


    ¡°Skills: Physics 16, Math 14, Mandarin 19, English 16, Finance 17,


    Calction 9, Dancing 1, Drawing 3, Gaming 6, Negotiating 9,


    Socializing 7, Cooking 3, Driving 1, Hand-to-hand Combat 5,


    Knife Skill: 13, Shooting Skill: 1¡±


    ¡°Unique Skills: Identification, Synthesizing¡±


    ¡°Battle Beast: Giant Jungle Lizard (Level 3)¡±


    ¡°Innate Abilities: Earth Stomp (Level 3)¡±


    ¡°Unassigned Property Points: 1¡±


    ¡°Unassigned Skill Points: 5¡±


    ¡°Iplete Missions: None¡±


    Luo Yuan noticed that the attributes panel had an additional option just like the giant lizard¡¯s innate ability.


    He selected the innate ability sub-option.


    ¡°Earth Stomp¡±


    ¡°Level: 3 (Rted to Sensory Perception and Strength)¡±


    ¡°Effect: Regional Attack, Chance of Dizziness; Strength+3 (Rted to Level)¡±


    ¡°Element: Earth¡±


    ¡°Remarks: Do not leave the ground. The ground is your friend. You will never feel tired as long as both of your legs are on the ground; you can always feel its pulse. Human strength is limited, but the universe¡¯s strength is limitless. With the Earth¡¯s strength on your side, you will never lose a fight!¡±


    ¡°This evolution is way too powerful!¡±


    He could feel everything on the ground within a distance of fifty meters from where he was standing. There was some sort of connection between him and the Earth. He could not reach at a further distance, though. The distance seemed to depend on his Sensory Perception.


    The pulse of the Earth made him feel confused. The vibration was tooplex. It felt disorganized, like different kinds of chaos all mixed together. However, there was a subtle pattern. He guessed that the endless waves interfered with one another, somehow mixing together.


    He could only experiment to discover the fixed pattern.


    He opened his eyes with joy on his face. Even if the strength of the attack was weak, the three extra points of Strength were more than enough to make him happy.


    It was a pity that his Physique could not significantly improve his actual Strength. Within such a short period of time, this kind of Physique would be a waste. There would be an advantage in his next upgrade though. His Physique would be put aside to increase his Strength and Dexterity in the future.


    Nevertheless, there was no need to rush. An evolved human¡¯s Physique was special. It seemed to break the limitations of normal humans. During this time, Sun Xiaowu and Ning Xiaoran had improved a lot. Luo Yuan could not figure out what Sun Xiaowu¡¯s ability was, but it mainly affected his Physique. As for Ning Xiaoran, Luo Yuan estimated that her Strength had already surpassed 11 points.


    This was not because they had been consuming blue rank mutated beast flesh. Although massive consumption could elevate Physique up to 11 points, that only applied to men. The majority of women were between 10 and 11 points. Wang Shishi and Huang Jiahui both fell within that range.


    This could only be exined by the special physique of evolved people.


    Of course, Wang Shishi was also evolved, but maybe evolved people had different reactions to sub-attributes, and that was why her body was no different than ordinary people¡¯s.


    Luo Yuan decided to undergo intense training to see if he could break his own limits. Only then would he be able to solve his attribute problem.


    ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡± asked Huang Jiahui, who was still worried. She looked at him nkly as he stood there motionless. She thought his wounds might still hurt.


    Luo Yuan came back to his senses. He only realized he had been standing there for a while when he saw Huang Jiahui¡¯s anxious face. He reassured her by saying, ¡°Just thinking about something.¡±


    He realized everyone was looking at him from afar uneasily. They did not dare get closer. Luo Yuan asked doubtfully, ¡°Was it Huang Yuying?¡±


    Huang Jiahui remained silent, her face expressionless.


    It was Wang Shishi who said angrily, ¡°That shameless woman! Last time she stole our food, and now she brought a group of people and took our house. They killed Lin Xiaoji too!¡±


    ¡°What happened here?¡± Luo Yuan addressed his question to Huang Jiahui. He did not trust Wang Shishi¡¯s words.


    Huang Jiahui told him about the incident from beginning to end.


    When he heard about Sun Xiaowu¡¯s betrayal, his face sank. He had thought that Sun Xiaowu was quite nice. He never would have thought that he would turn out to be like that. At such a critical time, not only had he not helped them, but he had talked nonsense and aligned himself with the enemy.


    ¡°How many men do they have? Any evolved people?¡± asked Luo Yuan calmly.


    The calmer Luo Yuan was, the more pressure the others felt. They could all sense his anger and urge to kill.


    ¡°They did not show their abilities. We were surrounded before we knew it.¡± Huang Jiahui looked embarrassed. Her reaction had been awful. She had not demonstrated the least bit of awareness or vignce. Had the others not been scared of the giant lizard, the consequences would have been far worse than they could imagine. She felt terrified.


    ¡°Is Huang Yuying one of them?¡± asked Luo Yuan.


    Huang Jiahui hesitated a little before she nodded.


    Luo Yuan¡¯s expression was terrifying. As he walked up to Huang Yuying, some of them turned away. They dared not witness the ruthless scene. Huang Jiahui wanted to say something, but in the end she didn¡¯t.


    Huang Yuying had aged a lot in such a short time. Her body was full of stains and bruises, and she looked like she had not had a bath in days. Her dress was full of holes and failed to cover her seductive body.


    Watching Luo Yuan walk towards her, she shivered like a scared bird. She seemed to remember the bloody scene when Luo Yuan had killed a number of enemies.


    ¡°What can you say for yourself?¡± asked Luo Yuan.


    Huang Yuying was unexpectedly calm as she said, ¡°Kill me if you want. I¡¯m tired of living. I told them to take the food. So what? You were all gone, why couldn¡¯t I have some? What did I do wrong?¡±


    He had no words. Huang Yuying had done nothing wrong in that case. They had already abandoned those supplies. It was just that he had not expected that he would not be able enter the underground base and would have to return there once again.


    Judging by how she looked, despite the fact that she had provided the food supplies, she still had not been treated well. All her exposed body parts were bruised, and there were scars on her that looked like they¡¯d been made by cigarettes. Luo Yuan could not imagine had she had been through. In this wild world, humanity was hard to find and brutality had gotten out of control. Beauty was no longer a blessing from above, but a curse from the Devil.


    Luo Yuan looked at Huang Yuying, who looked hopeless, and he shook his head as he said calmly, ¡°What you have done makes me really mad, but it¡¯s not a reason to kill you. I can tell just by looking at you that you had nothing to do with Lin Xiaoji¡¯s death.¡±


    Huang Yuying had not expected Luo Yuan to let her off that easily. She felt relieved. Who would want to die given a different choice? Luo Yuan turned around to leave. Huang Yuying hesitated a bit before she shouted, ¡°Wait, they have three evolved people! I¡¯ve only seen one use his power. He can produce rays of light. The one holding the gun is very strong as well. Be careful, will you?¡±


    Luo Yuan nodded. Just as he was about to walk away, he suddenly turned around and said, ¡°If you¡¯re not happy staying with them, you cane back!¡±


    To Luo Yuan, one more person meant one more mouth to feed. However, for Huang Yuying this was like a lightning in her dark soul, brightening up her whole world.


    She was shocked. She covered her mouth as tears flowed nonstop down her cheeks, falling one by one on the ground. Luo Yuan¡¯s words had touched her. Her throat felt like it was blocked by something as she cried soundlessly.


    When Luo Yuan was ten meters away, she squatted down and cried her heart out, making everyone feel sympathy towards her.


    Lin Xiaojiy on the ground motionless, his clothes soaked in fresh blood.


    Luo Yuan looked at him for a while before he picked up a bullet squeezed out of his body. He suddenly kicked the corpse and said, ¡°Get up, stop pretending!¡±


    The corpse remained unmoving.


    Luo Yuan grinned. ¡°Do you want me to stab you again?¡±


    Lin Xiaoji opened his tightly closed eyes, and stood up awkwardly.


    He had never expected those men to be so violent. After getting shot a few times, he had started to regret speaking out. No matter how strong his self-healing ability, if he got shot in the head or got injured too badly, he would still die. Afraid as he was, he had pretended to be dead.


    Everyone¡¯s eyes widened in surprise. Wang Shishi stared at him. ¡°You just pretended to die?¡±


    After a while, Lin Xiaoji blushed and said, ¡°Indeed, I... I fainted just now.¡±


    Luo Yuan looked truly unsatisfied with his actions. His eyes focused on him as he slowly said, ¡°I¡¯ll let it go this time, but make sure there is no next time. Deserters will be executed by shooting.¡±


    Lin Xiaoji¡¯s face turned red and his heart beat fast. He was terrified by Luo Yuan¡¯s threat.


    Luo Yuan knew that the man had very high self-esteem. He didn¡¯t think he¡¯d make such a stupid mistake again, so he decided to forgive him this time.


    Luo Yuan¡¯s acute senses noticed something shaking by the entrance of vi. His face changed as his body vanished. His speed burst to the maximum. He crossed more than ten meters in just a breath¡¯s time.


    There was a man trying to spot the giant lizard through a crack between the door and the frame. He heard the crisp sound of a knife, and sensed something blue that had to be the cold de of the knife rapidly magnifying before his eyes. Before he got a chance to react, Luo Yuan thrust the knife directly into his brow, pushing it out the back of his head.


    Everyone watched as the man fell to the ground through the door crack.


    Luo Yuan slowly pulled out his knife, blood spilling all over the ground. He looked at the door, unable to hold back his killing urge anymore.


    Huang Jiahui still felt embarrassed about her earlier reaction. When she saw Luo Yuan ready for murder, she quickly volunteered in an effort to prove herself to him, ¡°Do you need help?¡±


    Luo Yuan wanted to decline, but when he thought of his people getting surrounded without a chance to fight back, he hesitated.


    Not every normal humancked the ability to revolt. They had three evolvers, but Huang Jiahui was great at shooting. She could handle a blue rank mutated beast. It wasn¡¯t like she did not have the ability to revolt. At least in theory. Reality had proved quite different. Although, to be fair, she had probably just gotten nervous after seeing him faint.


    Regardless of the reasons of their strength, if they did not possess even the basic awareness, they wouldn¡¯t be able to survive in the future. It was time for them to see blood.


    ¡°Wang Shishi wille with me inside. You, Ning Xiaoran and Lin Xiaoji will guard the entrance to prevent anyone from escaping. Be careful!¡±


    Huang Jiahui looked at Wang Shishi and nodded.


    ¡°Shishi, are you scared?¡± asked Luo Yuan.


    ¡°I¡¯m not!¡± Fear had flooded Wang Shishi¡¯s heart, but she still managed to gather her courage.


    ¡°I¡¯m talking about murdering people.¡± Luo Yuan was serious.


    ¡°I¡¯m not... scared,¡± Wang Shishi hesitated.


    ¡°Louder!¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not scared!¡± shouted Wang Shishi.


    ¡°Good,e with me. Stay behind me.¡± Luo Yuan looked at Wang Shishi¡¯s tiny face. It was full of fear and excitement, her expression a mix of the two emotions. He did not feel so good all of a sudden. She was just fourteen years old. She should not be worrying about anything, much less be forced to kill people.

 Chapter 118: Cruel Slaughtering

    Chapter 118: Cruel ughtering


    Trantor: Editor: EndlessFantasy Trantion


    Surprisingly, it was a woman that was found dead by the door. Her face was covered with dust. Luo Yuan could only identify her gender based on the size of her chest. She was lying on her back, her eyes popping out like she had died with a grievance.


    Luo Yuan stepped over the body, but Wang Shishi was not brave enough. She skirted around it as if the woman would suddenly jump up. She was holding the sharp shuttle tightly in her hand while she used her telekinesis.


    Luo Yuan walked into the living room. With his sensory perception, no one could escape or hide from him.


    He signaled for Wang Shishi to stay in the living room. Wang Shishi nodded nervously and sprinted to a corner, where she couldunch a surprise attack if anyone entered the living room from the storeroom. Luo Yuan nodded, pleased to discover that she was not that stupid after all.


    He entered the storeroom and stood somewhere close to the wall.


    The basement only had one exit. Therefore, he did not have to take the risk of breaking in. None of them could escape provided that he stayed exactly where he was.


    Luo Yuan was no longer unfamiliar with evolved people. After all, he had three evolved people with him and he had evolved as well. Evolved people though had all kinds of abilities, some of them kind of odd.


    Some were strong while others were weak. Lin Xiaoji was weak as his ability could not be used to attack, but only to protect himself. Wang Shishi, on the other hand, was very strong. If she demonstrated her full power, even Luo Yuan would have to retreat temporarily.


    However, Wang Shishi was quitezy and thuscked the necessary practice. If he came across an evolved person who practiced hard every day, even Luo Yuan could lose the fight. Therefore, he was very cautious. Cautiousness had be second nature to him since the beginning of that dangerous time.


    The people in the storeroom were having an intense argument.


    ¡°F*ck, it¡¯s been 5 minutes. Why is she not back yet? Could she have run away?¡± Ma Lian said impatiently as he looked at his watch in the dark.


    Brother Hei was walking around irritably. He looked kind of ufortable. He suddenly turned and red at the man who had rebelled against his people. He walked up to him, grabbed his cor, pushed him against the wall and said ferociously, ¡°You brat, are you messing with us? If you dare lie, I¡¯ll show you what the life of the living dead feels like!¡±


    ¡°Boss, how could I ever mess with you? I told you the truth.¡± Sun Xiaowu was in so much pain that his voice sounded croaky. ¡°That mutated beast is really controlled by the leader of the group, Luo Yuan. We stand a good chance now that he¡¯s fainted. If he wakes up, though...¡±


    Sun Xiaowu started to say something, but he could not continue.


    ¡°What if he wakes up?¡± Brother Hei snorted.


    ¡°He... he would kill us all!¡± Sun Xiaowu stammered. He was truly afraid of Luo Yuan. Even the idea of facing him made him anxious. If these people were strong enough, they would not have gone into hiding as soon as they¡¯d seen the giant lizard.


    They reacted like they¡¯d heard something funny. They all burst outughing.


    ¡°I knew you wouldn¡¯t believe me!¡± Sun Xiawu became very worried. They were not taking him seriously. If Luo Yuan was still alive, he would eventually kill him.


    He suddenly became very daring. He pushed brother Hei away and walked briskly towards the dried meat hanging from the ceiling. He tremblingly pointed at it and shouted, ¡°What do you think these are? They are the inner organs of a third rank mutated beast, just like the giant lizard outside. Just the day before yesterday, Luo Yuan removed inner organs from three different animals. What¡¯s so funny? You can¡¯t even deal with the giant lizard outside! Is this really funny to you?¡±


    A heavy p on the face made him fall him to the floor.


    ¡°Watch your mouth,¡± the guy with the scar said sharply.


    Theughing stopped. The whole basement had gone silent.


    Brother Hei became very serious. He walked briskly to the wall, put his ear on it and listened quietly for a while before he punched the wall. There was a loud sound, and the thick cemented wall cracked.


    ¡°Shall we send someone out to check again?¡± Ma Lian suggested.


    There were two men and one woman left. Their faces looked terrified. They were all shivering and trying hard to shrink against the wall.


    Brother Hei nodded.


    Ma Lian pulled up the weak woman. She was struggling hard, begging for forgiveness while she sobbed. Mucus and tears were dripping all over her face. Ma Lian kicked her ferociously, grabbing her hair tightly and hitting her head hard against the floor.


    The woman struggled at first, but she gradually stopped. A mixture of bone scraps and fresh blood had spilled out onto the floor.


    ¡°Enough, she¡¯s dead!¡± Brother Hei growled hoarsely. He sounded annoyed.


    ¡°It¡¯s her own fault!¡± Ma Lian murmured, releasing his hands. He looked at the scratches made by her nails and kicked the body a few times to vent his anger.


    Sun Xiawu was lying on the floor while he watched. He was frightened. He suddenly regretted acting on impulse. If he hadn¡¯t, he wouldn¡¯t have been there now, feeling afraid.


    ¡°That¡¯s what happens when you don¡¯t do as you¡¯re told,¡± Ma Lian said coldly, looking at one of the men. ¡°Your turn now.¡±


    The man looked scared, but having watched that woman die, he dared not speak a single word. He grabbed a gun, stood up and walked towards the staircase that led to the first floor.


    He opened the trapdoor and walked out carefully before he closed it again, bending down.


    He had yet to stand up straight when a strong palm pressed against his mouth and a clear bone-cracking sound was heard. He looked upwards in relief as he felt his body being pulled to the corner quickly. His sight gradually entered permanent darkness.


    ¡°Did you hear something just now?¡± the man in the suit said seriously as he leaned against the wall.


    ¡°It sounded like something being dragged,¡± the man with the scar said uncertainly.


    ¡°F*ck, someone must be in the storeroom,¡± Brother Hei said angrily.


    He grabbed Sun Xiaowu and pped him on the face hard. ¡°Other than that Luo Yuan, are there any more evolved people?¡±


    Sun Xiaowu felt dizzy. The right side of his face was swelling. After a while, he spit out a couple of bloody teeth and replied fearfully, ¡°Yes, Boss, there are three of them!¡±


    ¡°Three?¡± Brother Hei glowered in anger. ¡°F*ck! Why didn¡¯t you say so earlier?¡±


    ¡°I... because... because the rest of them are not a threatpared to Luo Yuan!¡± Sun Xiaowu said quickly, afraid of being beaten again.


    Brother Hei was enraged. He pointed his handgun at Sun Xiaowu¡¯s forehead. ¡°F*ck you, you son of a bitch. If you don¡¯t tell me everything this time, I¡¯ll shoot you.¡±


    ¡°Boss... don¡¯t shoot, don¡¯t shoot! I¡¯ll tell you everything!¡± Sun Xiaowu peed in his pants, scared of the gun pointing at him. ¡°You have killed one of them, but there¡¯s also a young woman wearing a yellow shirt. I¡¯m not sure what power she has, but she can fly away when she gets attacked. The strongest one is a young girl. Her ability is simr to telekinesis in movies, and her weapon is a shuttle. I saw her kill a second rank mutated beast once.¡±


    Brother Hei and the others regretted not killing them all. They certainly would have if they¡¯d known earlier.


    ¡°So, there are two women outside?¡± The man in the suit said abruptly. He was the only calm person in the room. ¡°Since nobody can control the mutated beast other than Luo Yuan, all we need to do is deal with those two women. The location we¡¯re in now is not favorable to us, though. If they¡¯re cruel and willing to give up the avable supplies here, they could use fire or poison to attack or block the exit. We need to get out of here as soon as possible.¡±


    Brother Hei nodded and calmed down gradually. He had the impression that the two women and their abilities were not as powerful as the young woman in ck. Although they were evolved too, they were not that strong.


    ¡°We shall go out now without any further dy,¡± Brother Hei said seriously, taking a de sharpened from a mutated beast¡¯s w. ¡°Please be careful.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s just a couple of women, what is there to be scared of?¡± Ma Lian smiled lewdly. ¡°Too bad evolved people are dangerous, or we could capture them and take good care of them. Those two women look pretty good, especially the young woman in ck. Her butt is big and round, I¡¯d really like to hold it in my hands while I f*ck her.¡±


    ¡°Shut up, you and your f*cking fantasies,¡± Brother Hei scolded as he stared at him.


    Ma Lian shut his mouth, looking ashamed.


    ¡°You, and you! You two go first! Fast!¡± Brother Hei said with a nasty grin on his face while he pointed his gun at Sun Xiaowu and the other man.


    Sun Xiawu felt frightened as he stood up. His eyes shed with animosity and he lowered his head to prevent them from seeing it.


    Brother Hei suddenly signaled for them to be silent. Then he turned towards the man in the suit and pointed at the trapdoor. The man in the suit got his meaning and nodded his head.


    The trapdoor on the ceiling of the storeroom was suddenly hit by bullets. About 10 bullets ricocheted in the narrow space of the storeroom. Luo Yuan had already retreated out of the storeroom when they took out their guns. He leant his back against the wall outside the storeroom as he slowly drew out his Zhanmadao.


    Using his sensory perception, Luo Yuan knew exactly what they were doing. Their information was inurate, so they had no chance of winning.


    They finally came out. The two people that served as bait were carefully followed by four more men. Luo Yuan realized that one of them had a different kind of coordination. He could sense it with his sensory perception. The distance between them was about a meter, but he had to be the person who could control light.


    However, he did not know what type of abilities the other two possessed.


    When he sensed the four of them walk out of the door, he moved. As he stepped on his tiptoes, his body shot like an arrow towards the tall man with the dark skin. He knew this man was the leader of the group and had to be the strongest among them. If he managed to kill him, the rest would be just a piece of cake.


    He had not expected that the man would be sensitive to danger. He rolled before Luo Yuan could get near him and avoided his fatal attack.


    ¡°Uh,¡± Luo Yuan murmured, changing direction and pointing his Zhaomadao quickly towards the man¡¯s throat.


    The man responded quickly by stepping on the wall of the corridor and moving backwards, yet he could not avoid the hitpletely.


    The Zhanmadao peeled through his scalp and cut off a part of his hair about the size of a palm. Blood oozed out from the wound.


    ¡°Attack! Faster!¡± Brother Hei shouted in fear as he retreated, holding his bone knife.


    The rest reacted quickly, the man in the suit starting to fire. While bullets shot out of the gun, small stones spattered from the walls.


    The person with the scar suddenly expanded his body and became a muscr giant. He howled, and the ground began to shake slightly as he strode over.


    Luo Yuan¡¯s body suddenly turned vague, looking like numerous shadows gathered at the same ce. Several bullets went passed him but did not hit him. After he¡¯d used up his bullets, Luo Yuan snorted and sprinted, grazing the guy with the scar with his sword.


    The man jerked back and his muscr arms suddenly dropped. He lowered his head to look at his chest. His shirt, which had be tighter because of the expanded muscles, had a cut on it, and arge amount of blood oozed out from the wound. He was terrified. His body nted and he half-slumped against the wall while a great howl echoed throughout the vi.


    When Sun Xiaowu saw Luo Yuan, he freaked out. Realizing he was not targeting him, he ran for life as fast as his legs could carry him.


    As he reached the living room, a shuttle flew over him at bullet speed andnded right in front of him. When he saw Wang Shishi staring at him, his legs turned to jelly and he slumped down onto the floor, crying, ¡°Don¡¯t kill me, please don¡¯t kill me.¡±


    ¡°You traitor, begging is useless,¡± Wang Shishi said as she tried to avoid eye contact with him.


    If it had been Huo Dong, he would have known that Wang Shishi looked strong on the outside, but was a softie inside. She would probably have let him go if he¡¯d won her affection. However, Sun Xiaowu was not Huo Dong, and he did not know how to read bodynguage. Instead of begging for mercy, he cursed, ¡°You son of a bitch! If I be a ghost, I¡¯lle back and haunt both you and Luo Yuan! You will both suffer!¡±


    ¡°You... you¡¯re going to die!¡± He had not just cursed Wang Shishi, but also Brother Luo. Wang Shishi was so angry she trembled and the shuttle exploded with a bang, breaking through the sound barrier. In just a second, Sun Xiaowu¡¯s head had burst into pieces and brain juice had sttered in all directions.


    Wang Shishi¡¯s face turned pale as she was covered in blood. She suddenly felt her stomach contract violently, and she had to lean against the wall and retch while tears spilled down her face.


    Luo Yuan, on the other hand, had almost put an end to his fight.


    When the man in the suit had used up all his bullets, he threw the rifle away, took out a military knife fast from his back and threw himself towards Luo Yuan.


    His speed was faster than average and after being trained intobat for a long period of time, he had rtively highbat efficiency. However, Luo Yuan was still better. He quickly took a few steps forward, swished his Zhanmadao and cut the man¡¯s military knife. Without waiting for his reaction, he swished the Zhanmadao again and had cut through the main artery on the man¡¯s neck.


    Abundant blood oozed out, painting part of the wall red.


    Although the fight had seemed long, the whole battle had actually taken only about 10 seconds.


    ¡°Ma Lian, run!¡± Brother Hei hissed. He hadpletely lost his confidence in the face of Luo Yuan. He had expected a fight, not aplete massacre.


    Deng Chao was very strong, but he was uncertain that he could win the fight. After all, Luo Yuan could easily kill people who were strong and highlypetent. Zhou Zhongming was a member of the special forces; he was very capable at fighting, even better than other evolved people if he had gun, but he could not resist either. Bullets were totally useless.


    Desperation, it wasplete desperation.


    As his howl still echoed around the corridor, Ma Lian cried in anguish. There was a sh of light and a head flew up high, blood oozing out as if from a spring.


    Brother Hei could not hold back his emotions anymore and run desperately out of the there. His evolution was rted to speed, so he sprinted to save his life. Even Luo Yuan was surprised. He was caught off his guard for a moment before he ran out of the corridor.


    ¡°Wang Shishi and Huang Jiahui are in danger.¡±


    Luo Yuan¡¯s heart missed a beat as he quickly went after the man.

 Chapter 119: The Pulse of the Earth

    Chapter 119: The Pulse of the Earth


    Trantor: Editor: EndlessFantasy Trantion


    Brother Hei was running for his life. He was so afraid, he¡¯d almost gone mad. He felt the danger get closer as that guy ran after him. What drove him crazy was his opponent¡¯s speed, which was even faster than his. It was total desperation to meet a stronger enemy.


    He ran along the corridor and sprinted towards the door without looking back.


    The fear in his heart did not allow him to notice Wang Shishi, who was vomiting nearby. He could not have managed to react even if he had seen her anyway.


    Not every evolved person was like Luo Yuan, who could develop his attributes in a bnced way. Most evolved people had strong powers, but also had weak points. His speed may have been as fast as Luo Yuan¡¯s, but he did not have a high battle efficiency, apetent brain or the strong sensory perception to process therge amount of information during a high-speed fight.


    It was like a non-professional driving a racing car. He could probably race on a highway, but not be able to make a U-turn or overtake.


    In fact, after Luo Yuan had be an evolved person, he had had to reduce his speed at about 50% when he fought so his battle efficiency wouldn¡¯t decrease.


    A few stepster, Brother Hei was about to reach the door. As soon as he got out of the vi, he saw the young woman in ck semi-crouching about 30 meters away. She was holding a silver-white handgun tightly in both hands and pointing it toward him while she swayed from left and right.


    A chill suddenly shocked his spine. He glowered and growled. With the driving force of a man about to get killed, he sped up toward the young woman. He knew perfectly well that if he did not get himself a hostage to control the terrifying man behind him, he would not be able to survive.


    ¡°Jiahui, run!¡± Luo Yuan shouted in rm.


    Huang Jiahui did not seem to hear him as she remained still. Cold sweat ran down her forehead as she watched the enemy get closer fast. Her pupils contracted while she pointed the gun at the vague shadow.


    The distance between them was getting shorter very quickly.


    Thirty meters, twenty-five meters, twenty meters...


    Huang Jiahui finally pulled the trigger.


    Bang! Bang! Bang!


    The first shot missed, but the second shot grazed his arm, drawing blood, and the third one hit him right on the chest. The dark blue rank bullet had an extremely strong prating force. It got through his chest and prated a couple of walls before finally disappearing. It left quite a few holes in the vi.


    Brother Hei¡¯s body jerked, stumbled and flew into the air by the force of his speed. A ferocious look of disappointment shed across his face as he took out a handgun from his waist, raised his head and pulled the trigger in Huang Jiahui¡¯s direction.


    ¡°No!¡± Luo Yuan was shocked as he threw his Zhanmadao towards Brother Hei.


    It was toote though. A gunshot sounded out just as the Zhanmadao struck his chest.


    At such a dangerous moment, nobody would have thought that a shadow would suddenly appear and throw itself upon Huang Jianhui, letting the bullet hit their body instead. Blood sttered all around.


    It was Huang Yuying.


    Luo Yuan was shocked. He had never thought that Huang Yuying would do such a thing.


    Noticing that somebody had gotten injured, everyone ran over.


    Luo Yuan pulled his Zhanmadao out of the man¡¯s body. He was not dead yet, but blood was oozing out of his mouth and he could no longer talk. He gave Luo Yuan an imploring look, hoping that he would take pity on him and end his life fast.


    Luo Yuan swished his knife emotionlessly and finished him.


    Then he quickly rushed over to Huang Yuying, who was partially lying on the floor, her hand pressing on her stomach while blood oozed out through her fingers. They were dyed a deep red.


    Huang Jiahui was holding her hand tightly, her eyes full of tears. She felt thankful and ashamed at the same time. She kept murmuring, ¡°Please hold on! Why were you so stupid? You didn¡¯t have to save me.¡±


    Huang Yuying¡¯s face was very pale, but she gave her a forceful smile and said weakly, ¡°I... I owed this to all of you. I couldn¡¯t do much, all I could do... was this. If I die, please go to Wugou County in Shannan Province and check if my parents are still alive. My dad¡¯s name is Huang Weimin, and my mom¡¯s is...¡±


    She started spitting up blood before she could finish her sentence.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, you won¡¯t die. We¡¯ll all go together.¡± Realizing that she was going to die soon, she turned and shouted at Ning Xiaoran, ¡°Save her, quick!¡±


    She died eventually.


    Ning Xiaoran was just a nurse. She could not perform surgery. Besides, the bullet had gone through her stomach and caused profuse bleeding. Considering theck of sufficient medical supplies, it was impossible to treat such a serious injury.


    The ashes in front of the vi had yet to dpose, so a new fire was started on them.


    Life was unpredictable, especially during the apocalypse.


    Luo Yuan had not liked Huang Yuying. She had made a very bad impression on him right from the beginning. Even though she was a beautiful woman, Luo Yuan had never been nice to her. He had even had the urge to kill her. However, she had been willing to sacrifice her life to save someone she had know for less than half a month.


    Human nature wasplicated. Nobody could predict what would happen next.


    Huang Jiahui was in a bad mood after the incident. She was quiet for days and abused herself by training intensely. She held her gun horizontally for several hours on end until she was so tired, she fell asleep as soon as her head hit the pillow. Luo Yuan did not stop her or encourage her, even though he knew about it.


    After all, this was normal during such hard times. The rxing attitude that they¡¯d had so far had been abnormal.


    This battle had changed most of them, especially Wang Shishi.


    Killing a person might sound simple, but it was difficult for the soul to bear. A killer sees people differently than the average person. They despise normal people, and serial killers usually see them as animals.


    Wang Shishi was not an adult and she had not formed a stable worldview yet. Other than some fear and difort at the beginning, she got over it pretty quickly after a fewforting talks. It was faster than Luo Yuan had expected.


    What made him delighted was that, after killing a man, her willpower seemed to have been strengthened and her telekic power had be stronger. She could now carry things up to 50 kg and her shuttle could easily break the sound barrier and exert even greater power.


    Luo Yuan had not remained idle either. Ever since he had evolved, he had stopped hunting in order to practice his special ability.


    His Earth Stomp power was rted to his sensory perception and strength. Besides training his strength, Luo Yuan would spend a lot of time standing on the grass quietly and enjoying the indescribable feeling that the Earth gave him.


    Through his ability as an evolved person, he could use his sensory perception to ¡®see¡¯ into the deeper part of the Earth, which was a whole different world.


    Grass had a very developed underground rootwork and could spread up to a few square meters of space. Numerous roots intertwined together and formed an airtightwork, which provided a habitat for various bizarre mutated organisms.


    As his sensory perception kept expanding, the images in his mind gradually became more vague and unclear.


    Then strangely, he thought he felt the Earth¡¯s slow rotation that never stopped or changed.


    It was an indescribably immense power, and it left him in awe for a moment.


    After feeling it for a while, he retreated and started to specte.


    The pulse he had felt could have been described as an earthquake. He had felt the Earth shake while he had been feeling the rotation. However, he could not confirm that that¡¯s what it was, because there were various types of Earth movement besides earthquakes- tides, volcano eruptions, nuclear explosions, even the slightest vibration caused by the movement of a mutated beast.


    Furthermore, among all these quaking frequencies, some were clear and powerful while others were weak and unidentifiable. Some frequencies were consistent while others were not.


    However, Luo Yuan was guessing that there would only be one main frequency representing the Earth¡¯s real pulse. The question was how to differentiate between them.


    After a few days of experiencing this, he discovered that the pulse of the Earth was neither the clearest nor the weakest, and a small earthquake of a 2 to 3 magnitude could cover itpletely.


    He considered many possibilities. He even thought of using the 24 hours of the Earth¡¯s rotation as an interval to test the frequency of the pulse, but to no avail.


    The pulse of the Earth seemed toe from the core of the Earth. It was a faster, hidden frequency.


    Time flew while he tried toprehend the Earth. Luo Yuan looked at the time and realized that it was close to dusk. He shook his head. He had to go back, but when he raised his right foot, he felt it cling to the Earth, a terrifying power pulling him toward it tightly. His heart suddenly missed a beat and started throbbing.


    The incident shocked him and he consciously exerted all his energy. His forehead was roped with prominent veins as if he was trying to carry the whole Earth on his shoulders, yet he could only raise his foot about 2 to 3 feet high before he could no longer resist the force and stomped his right leg on the ground.


    Bang!


    There was a loud noise.


    It felt like the surface of the ground in a 50-meter radius had exploded. Numerous weeds, gravel, and some mutated organisms living underground flew up into the air. The mutated organisms burst into a bloody mist before they fell to the ground.


    After a few seconds, the loud noise of the explosion began to subside. Other than the small area where he stood, the whole area looked like it had been ploughed and the soil and weeds looked like sand mixed with some green.


    Looking at what had happened, Luo Yuan was shocked. Even a slow learner would have know what had just happened.


    ¡°Earth Stomp... This is the Earth Stomp!¡± he murmured, unable to hold back his shock.


    ¡°If low-rank mutated beasts could not resist it at all, perhaps light blue beasts would not be able to escape its power either.¡±


    The exnation provided by the system regarding the Earth Stomp power was rather vague, so he had thought that it was just a secondary power with a weak attacking power. Luo Yuan had tried his best to understand it these past few days because he thought that it could cause a certain degree of dizziness, and thus might help him attack and kill his enemies.


    However, he had not expected the third level Earth Stomp to have such a horrific attacking power. It was like an extreme meat-mincing machine.


    ¡°The dizziness effect has to apply to blue rank or dark blue rank beasts as normal beasts would have been crashed.¡±


    He was excited for a quite while before he finally calmed down, thinking, ¡°This time it was triggered by luck, but there has to be a second time. I have to find its trigger pattern.¡±


    The power was extremely strong. If he could fully master it, his strength would get even bigger and he could turn this into his best weapon.

 Chapter 120: Anxie District

    Chapter 120: Anxie District


    Trantor: Editor: EndlessFantasy Trantion


    The blood and flesh that had been all over the floor two days ago had been cleaned, but Luo Yuan could still smell its faint odor.


    Dinner had been prepared and ced on the table. Luo Yuan put down his Zhanmadao and took a seat.


    His rice bowl had been filled just in time. He was famished. He grabbed a pair of chopsticks, picked up a mutated beast internal organ and devoured it.


    These days, his appetite had been increasing thanks to his intense training. His previously stagnant strength had slowly been rising. On the whole, 13-point Energy was the human limit. Even if someone were to undergo intense training, they would still not reach that level of power.


    This had nothing to do with talent or different training techniques. It was all about body size.


    If a 75 kg man and a 150 kg man underwent the same training, their strength and power would vary greatly, and most of that difference would be because of their weight. For someone with Luo Yuan¡¯s body, 12-point Strength was pretty close to the limit, regardless of how many methods they used to surpass it.


    The reason for such growth was the evolution process.


    Shortly after he had started eating, a few sheets of paper drifted in through the open doorway.


    "The wind blew them in," Wang Shi Shi said inly.


    Luo Yuan took a look and discovered that the papers looked new, as if they had just been printed. They did not look like waste papers that had simply been wafted in by a gust of wind. Puzzled, he put down his rice bowl, walked over and picked one up. His face suddenly changed. "They¡¯re flyers!"


    ¡°What kind of flyers?¡± Huang Jiahui asked.


    ¡°Take a look!¡± Luo Yuan handed it over.


    ¡°Announcement to all Chinese citizens!


    Our fellow countrymen, the current situation is bing increasingly serious. The central government has no choice but to temporarily abandon all central-east districts within the capital and proceed to a nationwide retreat. This is the only way to preserve mankind¡¯s strength and avoid a greater loss for the future of the human race. The government is unable to dispatch any more manpower to fallen areas for search and rescue.


    If there are any lucky survivors reading these flyers, please spread the news and consider them thoroughly!


    The National Emergency Committee¡±


    Huang Jiahui read each word carefully, her face turning pale.


    Luo Yuan picked up another flyer and read it carefully. On its back was a picture of the world map, marked with a variety of colors. Most of the regions had been painted ck, and some areas had been marked with red. Only the West, with its low poption and inhabitable climate, had been marked yellow.


    The whole Jiangnan Province was ck. A fallen zone.


    As if he had suddenly thought of something, Huo Dong ran excitedly towards the doorway and shouted, ¡°A ne! The flyers must have been distributed by ne!¡±


    Luo Yuan was startled, but he quickly ran out and joined Huo Dong.


    A silver-white dot could be seen hovering in the sky while stacks of flyers were flying everywhere.


    "Here! We¡¯re here! There are survivors here!" Huo Dong shouted, waving his hands like crazy.


    Soon everyone started shouting until their voices went hoarse.


    ¡°They can¡¯t hear us, let¡¯s use smoke! Chen Xianfeng, go to the basement and bring out the diesel!" Luo Yuan shouted.


    "It¡¯s useless! What if it¡¯s an unmanned aircraft?" Huang Jiahui could not help but say.


    Everyone seemed to not have heard her. Chen Xianfeng quickly ran to the storage room and brought out a bucket of diesel. Luo Yuan took it from him, unscrewed the cap, poured arge amount onto the ground, and lit it up. When it did not produce the thick smoke that he had wanted it to, Luo Yuan shouted, "Get some wet firewood!"


    When the firewood was thrown in, a thick dark smoke started to rise.


    They stood in silence for a long time, watching the smoke billow towards the sky.


    At night, Luo Yuan tossed and turned. He just could not seem to fall asleep. The ck markings of death on the flyers kept shing in his mind, causing him stress and insomnia.


    The city had gradually been shrouded in green. As long as there was a tiny bit of soil, nts grew at an rming speed. Many areas had turned into jungle, where nts grew vigorously. Grass had also begun to emerge in between the cracks of the concrete floor.


    When Luo Yuan had been in high school, he had read an essay about a wildflower growing by a cliff. The essay had praised the perseverance of the wildflower for thriving and flourishing under such extreme conditions. At the time, the story had seemed dull, but now he found himself feeling both fear and awe.


    As soon as the green covered the whole city, the erosion of the roots would speed up the extinction of the human race, and soon the whole city would disintegrate and be ruins within a forest.


    "Why don¡¯t we head towards the West?" Huang Jiahui suddenly said.


    "Did I wake you?" Luo Yuan asked.


    "I could not fall asleep either," Huang Jiahui said, suddenly turning and hugging Luo Yuan. She ced her head on his chest before she added, "We can¡¯t keep living like this. Why don¡¯t we leave this ce?¡±


    That was the second time that Huang Jiahui had raised that topic. In their previous conversation, Luo Yuan had rejected the idea. This time he remained silent.


    After a long time, he said in a low voice, "It¡¯s very dangerous outside. People may die. Perhaps none of us will even make it half way there.¡±


    ¡°We may die, but we can¡¯t stay here forever. I don¡¯t want our future children to be raised here. As long as there is a glimmer of hope, we shouldn¡¯t give up," Huang Jiahui said softly, embracing Luo Yuan tightly.


    Luo Yuan was startled. He almost jumped up from the bed. ¡°Are you pregnant?¡±


    He had never considered having a child. He felt like a high school student whose girlfriend had just told him that she was pregnant. His first reaction was not happiness, but fear. This was all too sudden.


    After observing Luo Yuan¡¯s reaction, Huang Jiahui let out a quiet sigh.


    She knew that they were together because of sex, not love. She had been married and given birth to a child. Although she was considered a beauty, that still did not mean anything. Luo Yuan could have even the most beautiful of women at his feet. In fact, if Luo Yuan wanted to, he could go to any of the women¡¯s beds and not be turned away.


    As long as they were together, she could not ask for more. Nheless, she could not help but feel sad. She forced a smile. ¡®Look how scared you are. I said our future children.¡±


    Luo Yuan realized that he had overreacted, so he said apologetically, "I did not mean it that way. It¡¯s just that now is not a good time to get pregnant. It would be too harsh for the child. They¡¯d have to face this cruel world the minute they were born.¡±


    The idea stirred his heart. After all, they could not stay there all their lives. Sooner orter, they would have to leave. Hedong City was getting increasingly dangerous; therger mutated beasts could undergo evolution any time. Staying there might not be safe anymore.


    He closed his eyes, struggling for a moment. Then he took a deep breath and with a heavy heart, he said, "Then let¡¯s head west. We will depart in a few days.¡±


    A silhouette was running at high speed down an empty street.


    Luo Yuan jumped across a half-fallen building on the road, and kept running forward. He had been sprinting nonstop for an hour, but his 16-point Physique would not allow him to get tired. His body was at optimum condition all the time.


    Suddenly, he came to a stop. He was holding a tattered map and looking around carefully,paring the area to the picture. Variousndmarks had copsed, and several streets had been blocked. Even with the map, it was difficult to name the location. Luo Yuan stood there, looking around for a long time before confirming that this was Huayuan Street of the Dongguang District. There was still some distance to go before reaching the Anxie Gaoshang Community.


    A few days ago Luo Yuan had been so stressed, he had almost forgotten something. It was only when he was about to leave that he remembered receiving a text message from Wang Xiaguang.


    Perhaps the person that you ignored the most was the one that cared about you the most. Luo Yuan had always harbored guilt towards that girl. Before leaving Hedong City, he had finally decided to check on her.


    In order to avoid attracting a mutated beast, he had not brought his giant lizard. Instead, he hade alone.


    He suddenly realized that the situation there was very bad. This had once been an affluent area with a beautiful environment, full of parks and greenery. Although all trees had been eradicated before the fall of Hedong City, the nts were flourishing with even more vigor than before, and therge canal that snaked through the district made it even more dangerous.


    His heart gradually sank. Compared to Dongguan District, the ce that Luo Yuan stayed in seemed like a safe heaven.


    He could not pinpoint the exact level of mutated beasts, but they had to be several times more powerful than the underground worm he had encountered. He had never felt such a terrifying aura before.


    Mutated beasts had finally started to evolve, yet no one knew how many exactly had evolved in the entire Hedong City.


    Luo Yuan was affected by the strange aura. His heart got tense, and he became more careful. He kept away from the area as hepared the streets to the map. About an hourter, he finally arrived at Anxie District.


    The electric gate looked as if it had been hit by something. It had flown ten meters away and been twisted into hemp-like rolls.


    Although this had once been a high-end area, it was hardly recognizable anymore. nts were forming a dense, airtight forest, and the roars of mutated beasts could be heard in the distance. A group of mutated insects that looked like they belonged in prehistoric times was flying up and down through the woods.


    The road on the ground had been buriedpletely under the grass; there was not even the slightest trace of concrete. Except for several vine-covered high-rise apartment buildings that could still be seen towering over the woods, the rest of the buildings had beenpletely covered by trees.


    It looked more like a virgin forest than amunity park.


    Luo Yuan¡¯s heart felt heavy. He hoped that Wang Xiaguang was still alive.

 Chapter 121: Meeting Again

    Chapter 121: Meeting Again


    Trantor: Editor: EndlessFantasy Trantion


    Luo Yuan moved the tussock aside and finally found a trace of the road. The path, which was made of cobblestones and cement, had been eroded by the roots and had almost turned into soil. If the cobblestones had not still been there and the color of the disintegrated cement had not been different from the soil, he could not have distinguished the original path from thend.


    He kept chopping away the branches blocking his way while he slowly walked towards the heart of the district. Soon, he saw the first house. He could not see its number as the whole building was wrapped inyers of vines and branches, and every surface was covered in moss and lichen.


    Several ck snakes as thin as chopsticks were wreathing on the strong vines, hissing and flicking out their forked tongues.


    Luo Yuan took a look around before he stepped onto the high weeds and slowly walked towards the vi. Thanks to the oppressing aura spreading from him, the ck snakes and mutated beasts hiding around the building quickly run away. The area in a 10-meter radius around him suddenly became very quiet.


    Luo Yuan took out his Zhanmadao and chopped off the branches wrapping around the vi.


    The building was filled with cracks and the cement was dropping off. If it was not for the vines supporting it, the vi would have already copsed.


    ¡°Number 5. This is the fifth vi. Wang Xiaguang¡¯s message said that it was number 18. If the buildings are in numeric order, it should be somewhere further inside,¡± Luo Yuan thought.


    He sped up and passed by a few more buildings. The houses were all wrapped inyers of nts, their formerly luxurious exterior no longer visible. His oppressing aura was released continuously, so no mutated beast dared go near him.


    Meanwhile, he kept checking the numbers on the buildings. Two hourster, he finally found Vi Number 18.


    Luo Yuan was slightly nervous. He took a deep breath, and chopped off the vines by the entrance, revealing the copsed door. As he walked into the vi, a strong moldy smell hit him. The walls were filled with spider-like cracks, and all the wooden furniture was in a state of decay. Marble surfaces were covered by moss, and even the ceiling light fixtures had grass growing around them. The ce looked like it had not been inhabited by anyone in centuries.


    Luo Yuan used his Sensory Perception to get an urate picture of the underground condition of the vi. His heart sank.


    Nobody. There was nobody there at all.


    His 14-point Sensory Perception helped him sense everything up to a 50-meter radius, even underground. Provided that he was not blocked by any metal or ore, he could sense things up to 10 meters deep.


    As long as he used his Sensory Perception, nothing around the vi could escape his senses.


    Yet he could see nothing. There was a basement, but it was too small, and it had mainly been used as a winery. There was nothing, not even any useful supplies. It seemed that they had taken everything with them when they¡¯d left.


    Luo Yuan knew that Wang Xiaguang¡¯s message had been sent long ago, prior to the attacks fromrge groups of animals and mutated mosquitoes. Anything could have happened within such a long period of time.


    Her family was rich and they could solve most problems with money. Therefore, it would not be surprising if they¡¯d moved to some underground base.


    ¡°Hold on, something seems to be wrong.¡± Luo Yuan finally recalled that the base was not owned solely by Wang Xiaguang¡¯s dad, but had been built in coboration with a few of his friends. Therefore, it might not be under his vi, but somewhere else.


    During the apocalypse, the intion rate had been so great that most things were too expensive for people to afford, and certain types of goods had been listed as regted products as a war strategy. Therefore, the average millionaire would not be able to afford to build an underground base.


    His leg identally tripped on something. He lowered his head to take a look, and picked the object up. It was a broken picture frame. The picture inside it was blurred, but Luo Yuan could roughly recognize Wang Xiaguang.


    He thought of Wang Xiaguang¡¯s character and thest message he had received. He felt moved as he walked briskly to the second floor. With the help of his Sensory Perception, he kicked open the door of the bedroom that he thought had belonged to Wang Xiaguang. That¡¯s when he saw it. A thin, transparent stic sheet with a piece of paper inside it. It was on the table beside the bed, anchored by a paperweight.


    Luo Yuan picked it up and opened it. The wording was beautiful and neat. It was her handwriting.


    ¡°I¡¯ve waited for you for a few days, but you have neithere nor replied. I tried calling you, but I discovered that your phone has been turned off.


    How are you?


    The mutated mosquitoes have been killing a lot of peopletely. Everyone is panicked and many have decided to go to the underground base to seek refuge. My family and I are going, too. That¡¯s why I¡¯m leaving you this message, so you can still find us when youe.


    I¡¯ve been missing you so muchtely. I miss you every day. I¡¯m worried about you, and I¡¯m praying to goddess Guanyin that you¡¯re safe.


    The entrance to the base is drawn on the back of this paper. Maybe this piece of paper won¡¯tst forever, but I still wanted to write it down in hope that a miracle would happen.¡±


    After Luo Yuan finished reading, he stood there for a long time, feeling torn. Then he carefully put the letter back into the small stic sheet and took it with him.


    He picked up his Zhanmadao and rushed out.


    The entrance was under a pavilion at the central part of the district garden. However, the pavilion had turned into ruins, and it took Luo Yuan about an hour to find it between the dense bushes.


    He removed all the weeds and pebbles until a metal 1.5 meter-diameter cover was exposed. He used his Sensory Perception and discovered that there were about 100 people hiding underneath. Luo Yuan could not tell which one was Wang Xiaguang, but he believed that she was there.


    He pulled off the metal cover and a cement staircase was revealed.


    The stairs looked quite humid and there were several blood stains on them. Obviously, something had happened there.


    At the end of the 30-step long staircase, there was a thick, stainless steel door. The defense measures were quite tight. Luo Yuan sensed that there were three such doors, each 30 centimeters thick.


    He pulled out his Zhanmadao, but put it back secondster. He realized destroying their door would not be a wise move. Such an action might enrage them, especially considering the hard times they were all going through.


    Instead, he used the holder of the knife to knock on the door hard. A few minutester, there was a loud noise that sounded like two metals striking against each other, and two pairs of small speakers appeared at the door. Luo Yuan was surprised.


    ¡°How did you get here? Why are you here?¡±


    Luo Yuan realized there also had to be a hidden camera.


    ¡°I¡¯m looking for someone. I wanted to ask if Wang Xiaguang is inside. She¡¯s in her twenties, 1.65 meters tall-¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s no one like that here,¡± the man interrupted him impatiently.


    ¡°Are you sure? Maybe you don¡¯t know her. Why don¡¯t you ask someone else?¡± Luo Yuan¡¯s heart beat fast.


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong with you? I¡¯ve already told you no. Go away, we¡¯re not going to open the door,¡± the man said impatiently.


    Even though Luo Yuan wanted to stay out of trouble, he could not help but get angry. He stared at the camera ferociously as he said, ¡°I¡¯m asking again, is there someone like that in there?¡±


    The man seemed shocked. He replied after a while in a better tone, ¡°It¡¯s useless to ask again. I¡¯ve been here for a long time and I¡¯ve never heard of a woman called Wang Xiaguang.¡±


    Luo Yuan could not believe it. He dared not believe it. ¡°Open the door, I want to see it for myself,¡± he said in a low voice.


    ¡°We won¡¯t open the door, no matter what you say. Please go away,¡± the man said.


    ¡°Then I¡¯ll open it myself.¡± Luo Yuan shook his head. He had not expected that he would have to resort to violence. He took out his Zhanmadao, inserted it into the door, and cut the lock off. Then he pulled the door open by force, ready to open the second door.


    The man had thought that Luo Yuan was just joking, but when he saw him open the first door as easily as cutting tofu, he shouted, ¡°Stop, please stop! I¡¯ll get someone to open the door now!¡±


    Luo Yuan sneered. He stopped and stepped back a little.


    Ten minutester, ten men came out. As soon as the second metal door was pulled open, ten guns were pointed directly at Luo Yuan. Their leader was an arrogant, tall young guy wearing a tailored suit.


    He waspletely unarmed as he walked up to Luo Yuan and said slyly, ¡°Why don¡¯t you take the easy road to heaven instead of the difficult road to hell? Your knife looks good. I¡¯ll have it aspensation for destroying our door.¡±


    ¡°We¡¯ll talk aboutpensationter. Someone said that Wang Xiaguang is no longer here. Do you happen to know where she is?¡± Luo Yuan looked very calm despite the fact that he was surrounded by guns.


    The young man pped admiringly and said with confidence, ¡°I don¡¯t believe you are really that calm, but since you havee all the way here, I will tell you. The b*tch is dying as we speak. I¡¯ve been starving her for three days, but she¡¯s still not giving up. Why is that whole family so stubborn? It really puts me in an ufortable position.¡±


    Luo Yuan¡¯s face darkened and a terrifying aura broke out uncontrobly from him. The strong, intimidating aura twisted the air surrounding him. Everyone felt oppressed and had difficulty breathing. Cold sweat dripped down their foreheads.


    The young guy got scared, but realizing he had more men, he calmed down again. He shook his head and said, ¡°So you want to put up a fight.¡±


    With a gloomy expression, Luo Yuan walked slowly up to him while a sheeryer of Willpower membrane formed on his skin. He smirked as he said, ¡°Idiot.¡±


    Watching him walk over aggressively, the young guy shouted, ¡°Fire!¡±


    His voice was still echoing out when warm, fresh blood sshed on his face. The man nearest to him had pressed on his throat and pulled the trigger instinctively.


    Bang! Bang! Bang!


    Numerous bullets were flying around the narrow space, causing some rather unlucky men to die.


    The men¡¯s shooting uracy was very poor.


    One of them was about to shoot when he realized that Luo Yuan had disappeared from where he¡¯d been standing. Suddenly, he felt a cold breeze on his back and before he could react, he felt something cold go through his head, followed by a burning hot feeling. The most excruciating pain he had ever experienced spread through his whole body. He tried to scream in anguish, but he could not.


    Before the man could slump down on the floor, Luo Yuan had disappeared again.


    The narrow space was packed, so the men didn¡¯t have much space to move. Luo Yuan managed to decapitate five people in the blink of an eye. Blood was oozing out like a spring from the necks of the five headless bodies, frightening the rest of them.


    Each time he swished his knife, someone fell dead. After all, these were just normal people. They might have guns, but their fighting skills were a lot worse than Luo Yuan¡¯s.


    Besides, they had been hiding in the underground base, and thus had been out of contact with the outside world for a long period of time. As a result, they did not know that humans could have such abilities.


    They did not even have enough time to aim. Luo Yuan was too fast. He seemed not to stay in the same ce for more than a second after he killed each man. Extreme fear caused a mental breakdown among the men. Bullets were shooting in all directions, causing only more death on their side.


    The whole corridor looked like a ughtering chamber. Seeing his men fall one after the other, the young man¡¯s courage and confidence soon copsed like a weak building. His face turned pale as he tried desperately to run back inside.


    Luo Yuan sprinted past him, turning his knife to cut through his stomach. His intestines came out instantly. The young man screamed loudly and slumped down on the floor, trying to put his intestines back in while he screamed in anguish.


    Luo Yuan was not a cruel man, but he was infuriated.


    He glimpsed at the young man and then he turned away. He walked quickly inside, hearing agonizing screams and curses from behind him.


    The people inside the base had heard the noise outside and were all hiding in their rooms. Though some braver ones looked at Luo Yuan from their doorways, they closed the doors as soon as Luo Yuan looked back at them. He might as well have been the devil.


    The base was huge. It was a five-meter tall area of millions of square meters. An enormous effort must had been made to build it. The whole area was lit up and there were many different facilities such as an entertainment room, a library, a gym, a shooting field. There was even a dancing room and a sauna. Luo Yuan felt odd being there.


    These people were toofortable. They didn¡¯t have the slightest idea about what was going on outside.


    Luo Yuan walked past quickly. He did not feel like observing all the details. His Sensory Perception kept sensing the condition of each room. Suddenly, he walked to the front of a wooden door, took out the Zhanmadao and cut the door open.


    He pushed it and entered the room. He was shocked to find Wang Xiaguang lying on a bed motionless. She looked rather ill and her face, which had once been plump, had be very thin. When Luo Yuan realized that her chest was still moving up and down slightly, he felt relieved.


    He tried to carry her, but Wang Xiaguang sensed that someone was holding her and began to struggle intensely. She opened her eyes, stupefied.


    For a moment, she thought she was hallucinating. Everything seemed so unreal. She wanted to touch his face, but she hesitated.


    Luo Yuan felt sad as heforted her, ¡°It¡¯s alright, everything¡¯s alright.¡±


    ¡°Am I dreaming?¡± Wang Xiaguang asked. She sounded like she was talking in her sleep.


    ¡°Try pinching yourself,¡± Luo Yuan said.


    Wang Xiaguang shook her head. She stared at him as she said lightly, ¡°I heard that people hallucinate before they die. I¡¯m afraid if I realize this is a hallucination, it will end instantly.¡±


    Luo Yuan eyes were a bit moistened, but he was smiling wholeheartedly, ¡°You¡¯re so stupid. This is not a dream. It¡¯s the real meing for you.¡±


    Wang Xiaguang smiled weakly. Her eyelids were getting heavier, as if she was sleepy.


    Luo Yuan was shocked. She had not eaten anything in a long time, and struggling just now must have taken up thest bit of her energy. Luo Yuan could feel her breathing getting weaker.


    He stood up and kicked open a nearby door. A middle-aged couple screamed loudly and offered all their food before he could threaten them.


    Luo Yuan just took a bottle of water and a can of mixed congee. When he got back to the room, Wang Xiaguang was almost asleep.


    ¡°Hold on, you must not sleep. You have to eat something.¡± Luo Yuan opened the mixed congee, scooped it up with a spoon and put it into her mouth.


    She had just a few mouthfuls before she gradually fell silent. She had fallen asleep.


    Luo Yuan was very worried about her condition. She might not be able to wake up from her sleep. Normal food would definitely not have a significant effect on her body. He needed high-level mutated beast flesh, but he could not find some in such a short time.


    Then he suddenly had an idea. Maybe his blood would do. His body attributes were upgrading continuously and his body rank was supposed to be about the same as that of light blue rank mutated beasts. If he added in all his secondary attributes such as Willpower, Sensory Perception and Intelligence, his total attribute points were actually much higher than the giant lizard¡¯s.


    He was a man-shaped mutated beast.


    As he thought about that, he took out the Zhanmadao and, without hesitation, cut his wrist lightly. Blood quickly dropped onto Wang Xiaguang¡¯s cracked lips, and she swallowed it unconsciously.


    His blood was like concentrated sma, much thicker than the average man¡¯s. As a result, it would coagte easily and wounds would stop bleeding quickly.


    Luo Yuan had to cut his wrist many times, creating many wounds on his skin.


    After about ten minutes, Wang Xiaguang¡¯s cheeks gradually regained their color and her breathing stabilized. Luo Yuan was relieved.


    Suddenly, he noticed a few people standing outside the door, looking hesitant to enter.

 Chapter 122: The Mutated Man

    Chapter 122: The Mutated Man


    Trantor: Editor: EndlessFantasy Trantion


    After making sure that Wang Xiaguang was alright, Luo Yuan picked up his sword and walked out of the room.


    The five people that had arrived looked pretty old. The oldest one was 67 years old while the youngest was 34. Compared to normal people, the five of them looked considerably more mature. As they watched Luo Yuane out, the men maintained theirposure, although they still looked kind of uneasy.


    None of them had wanted toe and face the cold-blooded killer. They had been forced to. Originally, the murder of Wang Xiaguang¡¯s family had been approved by all parties, but now they would have to pay the price for it.


    "You and Wang Hongbiao are from East Lake City, right?" one of the old men asked, trying to force a warm smile.


    Luo Yuan sneered, "Cut the crap. Have youe here to die?"


    Maintaining the same expression, the old man exhaled a sigh of relief. As long as there was no violence, everything would be alright. The scariest ones were those who killed like madmen without saying anything. With a smile, he took a short, respectful bow and carefully said, "We only hoped that you would not kill innocent people. There must be some kind of misunderstanding!¡¯


    "Misunderstanding?" Luo Yuan snorted. He scanned the crowd. This group of people had to be the investors of the base.


    Although he had a few guesses about their secrets, the truth about to be revealed would still shock him.


    ¡°Yes, a misunderstanding!" the old man sighed, his eyes shing with a trace of fear. "Wang Hongbiao is our friend. Although some of us only met recently, most of us have known each other very long and have done business together before. We all know each other. Even though our friendship may not be a deep one, we still consider each other as a friend.¡±


    ¡°This small base had been in the works for a long time. It had been designed to act as an escape route for our people. We thought it was going to be a while before we truly needed it. We had not expected it to be this soon.¡±


    ¡°When we first moved here, everything was normal. However, gradually, we started to notice some weird changes in Wang Hongbiao. He fed on raw meat; at first he was discreet, but then he started to feed in front of people. His appetite grew enormous, and soon he was consuming up to several pounds of meat a day. He looked unstable, sometimes even crazy. The way he looked at people had also changed. Come to think of it, he was looking at them like they were food.¡±


    ¡°Although we felt strange, we didn¡¯t put much thought into it. We had heard the rumors about evolution, and we thought he was one of those people. As time passed, people in the base started to go missing. Their number increased as the days went by.


    ¡°One of them was the father of the man you just killed, Shen Shao Chong. People started to get worried, afraid that they would be next. When we finally performed a thorough investigation and set up surveince cameras in every corner, we found him in a bloodied bathroom, tearing apart a corpse and eating it like a crazy beast.¡±


    ¡°He had be so strong, that even bullets did not have much of an effect on him. Only when one of the dying victims identally tore through his clothes, did we see that a part of his body was covered in scales. Even though we eventually had him killed, seven to eight lives had already been lost.¡±


    It wasn¡¯t a bad story.


    When Luo Yuan heard that Wang Hongbiao had grown scales on his body, his expression changed and became doubtful. Was this a failed evolution? The idea shed across his mind as he coldly asked, "Is that your exnation?¡¯


    The old man sighed, but didn¡¯t speak.


    Even though he said nothing, Luo Yuan could guess that the hatred of the people had led them to take revenge on Wang Hongbiao¡¯s wife and daughter. Luo Yuan never underestimated the evil of human nature. Looking at the group of people, his hands tightened on his sword, ready to kill.


    The crowd held their breath as their faces turned pale and their hearts began to beat fast. A few of them had quietly reached into pockets for their handguns. Out of the corner of his eye, Luo Yuan saw several men with guns emerge, preparing for the worst.


    "How did Wang Xiaguang¡¯s mother die?" Luo Yuan suddenly said. The room went silent for a while.


    ¡°Maybe she had heard the news and didn¡¯t want to wait for us to take action. Shemitted suicide on that very night," the old man said, swallowing hard.


    ¡®Wang Xiaguang?¡±


    "We didn¡¯t touch her either. Shen Shao Chong wanted her to kneel before him, but she stubbornly refused. We had cleared the issue, so we didn¡¯t think that Shen Shao Chong would go to such extremes.¡± As a man he naturally understood what Luo Yuan had meant earlier.


    A dead person could hardly ever defend themselves. Luo Yuan knew that there had to be others involved too. They could not be as innocent as they imed to be. But what was the point in insisting on learning the truth? Killing more people? Or killing everyone in the base?


    At least Wang Xiaguang was still alive. He had never met her parents nor did their deaths cause him any sad feelings. There was nothing he could do about it. Feeling exhausted, he waved his hand. ¡°Leave now, before I kill you all.¡±


    The crowd quickly dispersed with a sigh of relief, only to realize their backs had been sweating profusely all this time.


    "Wait!" Luo Yuan suddenly called out.


    The people were surprised. Some of them nearly took off, but in the end they all remained still. Fighting back his fear, the old man, turned around and said respectfully, ¡°Young brother, if there¡¯s anything you want, please tell us. As long as we have it, it¡¯s yours. Money, gold, diamonds, food... Resources are not a problem.¡±


    Perhaps these things held great appeal for normal people, but for Luo Yuan, who was about to leave East Lake City, such useless items would only be a burden.


    All along the journey, Luo Yuan had not intended to bring much, not even food. If anything, it would not fit into his vehicle. Plus, even though they were in the city, most roads had been closed down, thus most of the things would have to be thrown away.


    "I¡¯m not interested in anything like that. Is Wang Hongbiao¡¯s body still here?" Luo Yuan asked.


    The changes on Wang Hongbiao¡¯s body had piqued his curiosity.


    The old man hesitated for a moment, ncing at the crowd reluctantly. Even if he didn¡¯t speak, one of them would. Finally, he admitted, "Yes, it¡¯s inside the freezer in theboratory.¡±


    "Theboratory?" Luo Yuan said.


    Most of the people living in this affluent district, apart from the few wealthy families, were intelligent elite from Donghu City. Apart from the few famous people sent to work in the government underground base, there were several unknown, highly-paid staff that had stayed on. Some of them were departmental staff involved in innovative experiments.


    ¡°Show me,¡± Luo Yuan said, indifferent to the crowd¡¯s fear.


    Theboratory was almost bare. There was very little equipment; most of it just test tubes and chemical agents. Even to an outsider like Luo Yuan, the facility looked poorly equipped.


    He understood why. Business trade in Hedong City had long stopped, thus most resources were being heavily regted. Even the richest citizens couldn¡¯t afford to equip a research facility.


    Until Luo Yuan¡¯s arrival a minute ago, there had been no one inside theboratory.


    A frightened researcher dressed in aboratory coat was dragged in by the crowd.


    "Where¡¯s Wang Hongbiao¡¯s body?" someone asked him.


    "In... in the freezer. I... I¡¯ll bring it out," the man stammered as he quickly walked to the freezer.


    Luo Yuan noticed that it looked like a mortuary freezer. There werebels with the names of mutated animals and lower-rank insects attached to it. No doubt, they were more easy to catch given these people¡¯s skill level.


    The researcher drew open one of the drawers, and pulled out a body wrapped it a stic bag. He proceeded to open the bag.


    The body inside it had visibly been dissected. Its chest cavity was open, and the cranial bone had been removed to reveal the grooves and folds of white and gray brain matter. What caught Luo Yuan¡¯s attention though was its chest, thighs and arms, which were covered in reptile-like scales. The kind of cold scales that made one¡¯s hair stand on end.


    Suddenly, he reached out and touched the body, a bunch of information appearing in his mind.


    ¡®Mutated Man;¡¯


    ¡®Level: Level One Mutant;¡¯


    ¡®Weight: 68 kg;¡¯


    ¡°Assessment: His genes were altered by mutated organisms during evolution. He mutated and formed a new gene sequence.¡±


    Sensing Luo Yuan¡¯s curiosity, the researcher cautiously said, "We discovered that his body had undergone a great degree of mutation. The skin had be very tough. Normal scalpels werepletely useless. We had to use a saw to dissect him. The pores had also closed up and he had experienced hair loss. His nails had be very hard. Even his visceral organs had been transformed. The intestinal microvilli had be dense and twice as long as a normal person¡¯s. As you can imagine, he digested food very fast. Also, the body had two hearts, arge one and a smaller one. His blood was flowing 1.5 times faster than the average person¡¯s.¡±


    Luo Yuan slowly withdrew his hand. From a different point of view, mutants were no longer considered human beings. Suddenly, he felt grateful that he had not turned into a mutated monster after his evolution.


    Luo Yuan looked at him and asked, "What do you study these things for?¡±


    The researcher¡¯s face went stiff and he broke out in cold sweat as he answered, "We are researching the cause of mutation in human beings. We believe that mutation is a form of evolution.¡±


    In the past, this type of experiment might have been considered evil, but in recent times it had bemon. In order to ensure the survival of the human race, countless numbers of bloody, inhumane, evil experiments had been conducted in variousboratories. Inparison to those, this was nothing.


    Luo Yuan left theboratory, picked up the sleeping Wang Xiaguang and left.


    Life there wasfortable, with sufficient resources, clean drinking water, and stocked provisions that could sustain the one hundred people living there for twenty years. Even he had considered staying, but he had eventually rejected the idea.


    Luo Yuan have seen how fast mutated nts could erode the cement. The vi outside might not evenst a month before it started to copse as the cement turned into soil. Although the defense in the base was strong, it still wouldn¡¯t be safe for long. Perhaps in a year, maybe even less than six months, the base would copse.


    Sooner orter, they would have to leave this ce, and it would be more dangerous if they left itter rather than now. Plus, after a long period offortable living, their Willpower would gradually fade until there was no such thing anymore.


    Luo Yuan closed the iron gate and took onest look before he walked away, carrying Wang Xiaguang.


    He was cautious on the road, trying to avoid the increasingly stronger mutated beasts. There were several times that he almost initiated a fight, but he was lucky enough to escape. Three hourster, he finally got back to the vi. Huang Jiahui was surprised to see Luo Yuan carrying a woman. Luo Yuan did not wait for her to ask before he said, ¡°This is my former colleague. We will travel together this time.¡±


    Cao Lin and several other people looked at each other without speaking. The atmosphere had suddenly changed.


    ¡®Is this the one you had mentioned?" Huang Jiahui suddenly remembered as she nced at Wang Xiaguang.


    Luo Yuan nodded. "Make some space for her and cook some porridge. She hasn¡¯t eaten anything in days!¡±


    "Alright!" Huang Jiahui answered in agreement before she sighed and turned away.


    She had secretly read Luo Yuan¡¯s message. Since the mutation, Luo Yuan had received few messages, most of them sent by her. Huang Jiahui was very clear on how she felt about Luo Yuan. It seemed that she had a rival now, even though Luo Yuan did not seem to be interested in her.


    Wang Shishi was pouting. She looked unhappy and uneasy. Her eyes kept circling back to Wang Xiaguang as she waited for Huang Jiahui to clean up a room for her. Watching Luo Yuan carry Wang Xiaguang over to the bed, take off her coat and carefully cover her with a nket, she finally could not hide her thoughts anymore and blurted, ¡¯Brother Luo, what is she to you?¡¯


    ¡°Didn¡¯t I just say that she was my former colleague?" Luo Yuan said without turning around.


    Wang Shi Shi pouted as she said bitterly, "That does not mean anything! You definitely seem to like her. Why else would you be so gentle to her? I thought you liked me. How could you also like someone else?¡±


    Luo Yuan¡¯s feelings for Wang Xiaguang wereplicated. Having a pretty young woman caring and thinking about you was an indescribable feeling.


    Before the apocalypse, when they had been working in the same tradingpany, Luo Yuan¡¯s good looks, likable temperament and quiet confidence coupled with his diligence had attracted the attention of a lot of young women. Wang Xiaguang had made a good impression on him, and the feeling had been mutual. However, the difference in their family status had made him decide to stay away. He did not want to depend on other people¡¯s fortune for a living.


    He had not known that the other party would be so persistent, and given the current circumstances, he did not know what to do about the situation.


    He looked troubled as he said, "Careful, don¡¯t let Jiahui hear that.¡¯


    Wang Shishi opened her mouth, but nothing came out. After a short silence, she said in a quiet voice, ¡®Let her hear, I¡¯m not scared.¡¯

 Chapter 123: Preparating for Departure

    Chapter 123: Preparating for Departure


    Trantor: Editor: EndlessFantasy Trantion


    Wang Xiaguang slowly woke up after a long night¡¯s sleep. She wondered where that strange ce that she was staying in was. It looked totally different from the room she used to stay in. She felt strange. She remembered that she has been starving for a few days and she was supposed to be feeling weak. However, she felt good. She was even able to clench her fists.


    Suddenly, she heard a very familiar voice from outside. She could not recall who it was, even though she tried extremely hard to. She put on the jacket she found on her headrest and tried to twist the doorknob. She was surprised when the door opened. A natural ray of light entered her room, and she realized that she was out of the underground base.


    She was getting more curious as she quickly sped up her footsteps. She was stunned for a moment when she saw a woman mopping the floor in the living room. Huang Jiahui smiled at her and said, ¡°Hi, I¡¯m Huang Jiahui. Are you looking for Luo Yuan? He¡¯s outside.¡±


    ¡°Hi, I¡¯m Wang Xiaguang,¡± Wang Xiaguang introduced herself as well.


    ¡°Luo Yuan told me your name. Don¡¯t be afraid. I heard that you¡¯ve been starved for days. I¡¯ve made you some porridge.¡± Huang Jiahui was trying to be nice to her, but at the same time, she was also marking her territory.


    Unfortunately, Wang Xiaguang did not seem to hear her as she quickly walked out of the house.


    Everyone had gathered outside to listen to Luo Yuan¡¯s lecture on knife skills. Luo Yuan nodded as he saw all of them paying attention to him.


    They had a variety of knives that they had collected from the district. Luo Yuan helped them modify their knives to a level powerful enough for them to kill blue level mutated beasts.


    He performed a demonstration before concluding, ¡°You mustplete all three styles in one second. You will only pass when you¡¯re able to react appropriately, no matter what animal you are facing. There¡¯s not much time left, we¡¯re leaving tomorrow. You have onest day to practice. I believe all of you understand that the journey will not be easy, and I hope you will each be able to protect yourselves.¡±


    Wang Xiaguang was looking at him from the doorway. She had never imagined that Luo Yuan would know martial arts. Luo Yuan sensed that someone was staring at him and he turned around. He was stunned for a second before he smiled. ¡°You¡¯re up. Why didn¡¯t you sleep a little longer?¡±


    Wang Xiaguang shook her head, but remained silent.


    ¡°You¡¯re still weak. Go back into the house,¡± Luo Yuan said.


    ¡°I¡¯m fine, I haven¡¯t had any fresh air in a very long time. I heard that you¡¯re leaving tomorrow. Did you mean that you¡¯re leaving this ce?¡± Wang Xiaguang asked in a very soft tone.


    Luo Yuan nodded with a serious expression. ¡°This ce is getting more dangerous. We heard that the government is migrating to the West as well, so we decided to follow.¡±


    ¡°But there are so many mutated beasts outside!¡± Wang Xiaguang said anxiously. She was not aware of his superpowers.


    Suddenly, she heard a puffing sound and saw a gigantic beast emerge from the bushes. She was beyond shocked. She had never seen such a big beast before. She looked so pale, she almost fainted. However, a warm hand quickly grabbed hers before she could faint and said, ¡°It¡¯s alright, that¡¯s my battle beast.¡±


    She felt better when she realized that everyone seemed perfectly fine with it. ¡°That¡¯s... that¡¯s your pet?¡± she asked.


    She had not seen Luo Yuan in almost 6 months and she now realized that he had be a different person. He was stronger and less friendly than he used to be, and she felt more insecure next to him. Luo Yuan nodded, but he did not say anything. He kept looking at the sky. He had noticed that there was a tiny spot there lingering for a long time. The lizard kept roaring while its body got bigger and its scales became darker. It was probably going to evolve soon.


    The tiny spot was getting closer to the Earth, forming a huge shadow on the ground. It was a giant red bird with a long glowing tail. It was aiming for the lizard. Luo Yuan quickly ran outside and looked at it. Everyone followed him. They felt like running when they looked up at the sky.


    Luo Yuan was very tense. He knew that the giant bird had to be starving. Otherwise, it would not have taken the risk to attack a huge mutated beast like the lizard. It was too overwhelming a prey for the bird.


    The sky became dark as the bird flew lower and lower toward the ground. A strong wind was blowing like a tornado. The scales of the lizard began to crack as it kept roaring towards the sky.


    ¡°Should I fire?¡± Huang Jiahui had heard the chaos and quickly run out with her handgun.


    ¡°Hold it!¡± Luo Yuan said with a serious expression. He knew it was difficult to aim at moving objects. If she did not shoot at the bird¡¯s weakest point, then it might go crazy and attack them. He realized he needed a weapon that would allow him to attack from a distance.


    The two beasts were roaring at each other, but half an hourter, the giant bird had still not attacked. It attempted to attack the lizard once, but the lizard¡¯s response was very fast. The bird hesitated before finally giving up. It flew away in a sh, pooping on the ground as it left.


    Everyone felt relieved to see it go. Suddenly, a bunch of biochemical bombs dropped from the sky. Most of themnded on the bushes where the lizard used to rest, but several alsonded around the vi. Lin Xiaoji thought things had subsided and became less alert. Suddenly, he was buried under a biochemical bomb. Luo Yuan¡¯s face twitched as he watched, and everyone became very quiet for a second.


    Suddenly, Lin Xiaoji screamed and struggled to crawl out of the feces. He wanted to talk, but he started puking instead. It smelled awful. Luo Yuan could smell it too even though he was standing far away from him. Influenced by Lin Xiaoji, everyone else started vomiting as well.


    Lin Xiaoji washed his body more than ten times that morning. He finished a whole bottle of shower gel, yet he still smelled, The bird¡¯s feces were corrosive and several parts of his skin had begun to rot. He had a lot of blisters, and his skin soon broke. Yellowish liquid flowed out of the blisters, looking particrly disgusting. Fortunately, he had a speedy recovery power.


    During lunch, Huang Jiahui had to pinch her nose closed. She looked at Lin Xiaoji like she wanted to say something, but she kept silent. A momentter, she suddenly said, ¡°Why don¡¯t you eat in the corridor?¡±


    Li Xiaoji smiled and started to retch. He immediately ran out of the house and vomited outside.


    Wang Shishi quickly covered her mouth and ran into the bathroom. The rest also started puking. Even Luo Yuan lost his appetite. After lunch, he checked the food stock once again. It would be a long, dangerous journey, so he had to n properly what they would bring as well as the quantity of food they would have to pack. However, water was the most important thing. They would have to carry some, just in case they could not find any in the forest.


    They would only bring some food, clothes, salt and medicine. In the end, he added a few bars of gold to his list, as well as a few stacks of money and several credit cards. He believed they might get the chance to use the money and the gold along the way.


    Luo Yuan modified the camping tents by using the skin of the haunted tree. It would be enough to protect them from mutated insects. He also made a few spears from the haunted tree, each weighing about 25 kg.


    He tried to throw a spear and it flew about 100 meters away and prated the ground. He did not feel tired at all as he has upgraded his Physique to 16 points already. However, the spears were not powerful enough to kill dark blue mutated beasts yet.


    He had not thought of that earlier, when the giant bird had attacked the lizard. Shooting skills took too long to master and they required a lot of bullets, which were very difficult to acquire. Spears were the best weapon to attack flying animals with as they were quite powerful and easy to use.

 Chapter 124: The Miracle of Life

    Chapter 124: The Miracle of Life


    Trantor: EndlessFantasy Trantion Editor: EndlessFantasy Trantion


    The next day, everyone got up before dawn with dark circles around their eyes. The atmosphere in the living room was depressed and everyone quietly packed their things. In actuality, most people were not willing to migrate- especially Huo Dong. He was approaching his middle age years and his physical strength as well as energy were notparable to the younger people in the group. He will most likely die halfway through the journey, however, he did not have many options. He was certain that he would die sooner without Luo Yuan as he had no superpower. He then put his backpack on his back and firmly gripped a knife in his hand.


    "I can help carry some of the things." Wang Xiaguang said embarrassingly as she was empty-handed while everyone was busy packing.


    "It¡¯s alright, you just recovered... we will help you with these." Huang Jiahui said with a smile.


    "It will be good enough if you can catch up with our speed ." Wang Shishi also joined the conversation.


    Luo Yuan stared at Wang Shishi for a second and spoke to Wang Xiaguang, "Don¡¯t worry, we will go slower on the first day. You should eat more meat so that your energy can be restored faster."


    After consuming mutated meats for two nights, Wang Xiaguang seemed to be much better but she probably needed a few more days to fully recover.


    Wang Xiaguang smiled happily as she felt Luo Yuan treated her as nicely as he did in the early days. She replied, "My physique is good, I used to exercise every morning. Do you have an extra knife?"


    "These knives are very sharp and you might hurt yourself." Luo Yuan hesitated a moment and as he wanted to protect her as a form ofpensation.


    "I¡¯ve practiced a lot in college, it shouldn¡¯t be a problem for me." Wang Xiaguang was shy after saying that to him.


    "Well, there should be a few more left in the basement. Let me check." Luo Yuan did not reject her request anymore as he thought it was good for her to have a weapon to at least protect herself if he is too busy fighting mutated beasts. He found a samurai sword and brought it up.


    Wang Xiaguang took the sword and began to familiarise with it. She tried to practice the routines which Luo Yuan showed to the others. Surprisingly, she could do it better than all of them, even though it might not be as fast or urate as what Luo Yuan had requested. Everyone was amazed.


    No one could imagine that a weak woman like her could be so skillful. Lin Xiaoji looked as though he had just met Superwoman!


    Wang Xiaguang stopped practicing after a while and asked Luo Yuan, ¡°What do you think?¡±


    ¡°eptable.¡± Luo Yuan replied.


    Wang Xiaguang frowned her nose tenderly and said, "I haven¡¯t practiced for a long time. I¡¯ll certainly beat you in the future."


    Wang Shishi twitched her lower lip to show her dissatisfaction. Brother Luo is the most powerful man in her heart and no one could everpete with him.


    "Well, you have always been the most powerful." Luo Yuan smiled and said to Wang Xiaguang. Luo Yuan loaded most of their things on the back of the lizard. He also wrapped some stuff in a canvas and tied it to the back of his loyal pet.


    Luo Yuan returned to the living room to take his backpack and Zhanmadao. As he noticed everyone was already ready, he said, "Please carry some meat with you in your backpack as we might need to leave everything else behind if it is too dangerous. Also, it is not toote to change your mind now if you want to stay here. There is a lot more food in the basement which can ensure you a worry-free life for a few months."


    Luo Yuan did not hear any objections and then said, ¡°Let¡¯s go then!¡±


    It was a cloudless day which was a good sign. As the huge body of the lizard slowly stood up, the group immediately followed from the back. The road was destroyed and only tanks could travel on it. Other than Luo Yuan, none of them hade out to the district in thest 10 days. They were shocked when they saw the condition of the roads and the copsed buildings.


    Plenty of green filled their eyes. Weeds, mosses, and vines had engulfed the entire city. The sun was shining on them but they did not feel warm at all as they were too distracted by what they were seeing. Wang Xiaguang could not believe the city had changed so much because it was still a beautiful one when she first entered. She did not expect it to be destroyed to this state in such a short time.


    Everyone walked at a slow pace to avoid the territories of mutated beasts. They had justpleted 10 km of their journey right before noon. Luo Yuan spread out a cloth on the floor and everyone had their lunch there but Lin Xiaoji naturally ate his lunch somewhere further away as he did not want to affect their appetites.


    "We are here now." Luo Yuan nodded while pointing on the map and then drew a line and continued speaking, "We are less than fifteen kilometers from the nearest highway. It will be great if we can get there before the sunset."


    "Why are we going to the highway? It is mostly farnd there and I¡¯m afraid it would have be a forest by now. It¡¯s too dangerous." Huang Jiahui said.


    "The highway is higher than normalnd and is equipped with civilian as well as military facilities. Most importantly it is built with concrete that even heavy tanks cannot destroy. Furthermore, the highways are now wider thanks to the reinforcements that took ce before the outbreak- both sides of the highway should have at least one hundred-meter-wide istion zones and every section of the road has additional fortifications. Moreover, we can rest inside the outposts.¡± Luo Yuan responded in detail.


    ¡°My guesses are that it should still be in good condition. If I¡¯m right, we can even use a car to travel along the highway if we can find a vehicle. We wouldn¡¯t get lost if we used the highway.¡± Luo Yuan continued.


    ¡°Though I am worried about the cross-sea bridge. If the bridge is broken, we might need to take the long way up." Luo Yuan added.


    "I used to travel on the cross-sea bridge. The water had dried up more than six months ago. Furthermore, now is not high-tide season so it shouldn¡¯t be a problem, right?" Cao Lin spoke.


    "I hope so." Luo Yuan replied.


    Three-quarters of the Earth is upied by water and many marine organisms are very dangerous. Fortunately they only live in the ocean, otherwise, the human race would be extinct.


    "However, this road also passes Meishan Park, right?" Cao Lin asked.


    "It¡¯s fine, my family used to stay there. The whole mountain had been sealed with cement before the outbreak." Ning Xiaoran said.


    They talked a while more to finalize the route they were going to take. After resting for another ten minutes, everyone was back on the road. They met a lot of ants on their journey. Those ants appeared ck and shiny and were about the size of a human fist. There were a lot of them and even their lizard could not do anything about it.


    Luo Yuan had no choice but to avoid them as he definitely could not handle a million big ants alone. A lot of fresh blood and bones appeared on the road after the ants were gone. Luo Yuan was grateful that they managed to escape from the ants when he saw the bones on the road. He could never forget the time when numerous green mutated bugs attacked Donghu City. It was as if The God of Death came down from the sky and destroyed the entire Donghu City in one or two days.


    Fortunately, those ants were not as dangerous or destructive as the green bugs and it was just a small episode of their journey. When the sky waspletely dark, the group was close to the highway¡¯s intersection. It was close to the suburbs but not far from the countryside. Suddenly, everyone subconsciously stopped. They were shocked when they looked ahead and noticed a giant tree standing firm and tall about seven or eight kilometers away. It was surrounded by a white fog, which reminded them of the scenes in Wondend.


    Arge plot ofnd was shaded by its huge canopy but the giant tree looked as though it had been struggling to live for a few hundred years as the scars on its trunk were visible even though they were looking at it from a distance. It must be a very strong and powerful tree as it was still standing there at the end of the world despite enduring numerous lightning strikes over the years.


    "I always thought only the banyan tree could form a forest, butpared to this giant tree, the rest are just nts." Huo Dong said.


    "Is that the biggest tree in the world?" Wang Shishi asked in a dreamy tone.


    Luo Yuan did not oppose her question as it was really considered legendary that a tree can grow to be that big in size. Luo Yuan could not identify the ranking of the giant tree but it definitely should not bepared to the Haunted Locust Tree in Hedong City. He hoped that the giant tree had simply grown to a huge size without undergoing any mutation as they needed to pass by the highway beneath its canopy.


    "Don¡¯t sigh. Find a safe ce to rest tonight and tomorrow we will continue our journey." Luo Yuan said.


    There were many abandoned buildings everywhere so it was very easy to get an empty room. However, a little more effort was needed if they wanted to get a safer ce. After some searching, they finally found a four-star hotel with a basement. The basement used to be the hotel¡¯s office withputers and printers. A thickyer of dust was covering the carpet with many dried blood stains and skeletons scattered everywhere. They also found a few rifles on the floor with a bunch of bullets. Unfortunately, all the bullets were just empty shells.


    Luo Yuan suspected that there was a terrible battle here not long ago with some mutated beasts. The ce was really dark to the point that their torchlights did not help much. Luo Yuan decided to check the ce alone to ensure it was safe enough to stay as he did not want the rest to take the risk.


    The group decided to stay in therge office space while Luo Yuan inspected the ce. None of them feltfortable as there were too many bones around the ce, however, they immediately felt grateful and rxed when Luo Yuan returned.

 Chapter 125: Skyrocketing Power

    Chapter 125: Skyrocketing Power


    Trantor: EndlessFantasy Trantion Editor: EndlessFantasy Trantion


    It was difficult to start the fire in apletely sealed room. Luo Yuan took a bite of the preserved sausage made from meats of mutated beasts and tried very hard to swallow it. They made almost 50 kg of preserved sausages as it provided a high amount of energy and was beneficial to the human body. The quantity they had was enough to sustain all of them for about two weeks.


    Huo Dong took a sausage and stuffed it into his mouth as well. Suddenly, he stopped moving as his teeth almost chipped. He quickly covered his mouth. The sausages became very hard after it cooled down and felt like coagtedtex which is extremely difficult to chew. Although Luo Yuan¡¯s teeth were stronger than normal, he too had to try very hard to chew it.


    ¡°Drink some water.¡± Huang Jiahui poured a cup of warm water for Luo Yuan.


    Luo Yuan took a sip and finally the food slid down his esophagus. He took another sausage out and started chewing again. He only stopped after he finished the fifth sausage. He began to feel warmer after the food had digested inside his stomach.


    ¡°Beep! Energy +1.¡±


    Luo Yuan was delighted, ¡°Finally, an upgrade to 13 points!¡±


    Although Luo Yuan is considered as an evolutionary survivor, he had no specific power. For example, Lin Xiaoji has the ability to recovery speedily though the other powers he had were just marginally stronger than normal people and his energy level and dexterity did not exceed 13 points. Luo Yuan did not know how many points he needed to obtain the ability to recover as quickly as Lin Xiaoji.


    Ning Xiaoran¡¯s power is rted to strength while Luo Yuan¡¯s power is rted to strength and sensitivity. His ¡¯sensitivity¡¯ had reached its optimum level and hence there has not been any significant improvementstely.


    He had stopped pushing himself to upgrade after he figured out the theory behind his powers. The reality is always different from the ideal state and 13 points seemed to be the boundary for evolution. It is possible that they could still upgrade after long periods of training, however, they do not have much time to practice. Hence, he was willing to take the risk to assign his bonus points now because the more powerful he is the safer he will be.


    Luo Yuan opened the status panel and checked on the existing property points. He decided to assign all the bonus points he had to dexterity. He kept adding property points to his dexterity but each assignment made him feel extremely ufortable. He felt everything in the world was moving very slowly.


    The worse thing about this power was that he needed to constantly slow down the speed of his speech in order to avoid any suspicious thoughts from others.


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong with you?¡± Wang Xiaguang kept looking at Luo Yuan and asked.


    ¡°I... I¡¯m fine. I was just thinking about something.¡± He realized he spoke too fast and tried to slow down.


    ¡°Something wrong with the route?¡± Huang Jiahui asked. Everyone else started looking at him.


    Luo Yuan did not expect his excuse to draw so much attention from them. He then said, "You¡¯re too nervous, we should be fine until tomorrow afternoon. Jiahui, bring the map of Hedong city.¡±


    Huang Jiahui quickly took the map from their luggage and opened it. Luo Yuan pointed on the map and said, ¡°This is the location of the giant tree and this is the area.¡±


    Luo Yuan has an amazing memory and could remember almost everything he has ever seen. He made a mark on the map and said, "Based on the map, we are going to pass the giant tree under its shade. That might be dangerous, but the journey there should be rtively safe. The giant tree is very strong beyond imagination.¡±


    Everyone was shocked when they heard Luo Yuan describe it as a ¡®giant tree¡¯ because they were still scarred by the memory of the Haunted Locust Tree earlier even though they did not actually see any bad spirits.


    "We probably need to walk an extra 30 km if we take an alternative route." Cao Lin said.


    Everyone was in fear. Huo Dong started to regret following them as he did not expect such a strong and scary creature. They could not even imagine the power of the giant tree but suspected that even a missile probably could not damage it.


    Huo Dong wanted to say something but ended up remaining silent as he knew Luo Yuan would not change his mind. If Huo Dong attempts to leave alone, he will probably by eaten by the beasts before he could even reach his next destination.


    Luo Yuan noticed that everyone was depressed so he smiled and said, ¡°That¡¯s the worst spection. The tree should be just a normal tree that grows rapidly. There are a few mutated birds lingering above the tree, so I guess their nests are there. If the mutated birds are fine, then it should be fine for us to walk under the shade.¡±


    ¡°Are there many more mutated birds?¡± Wang Shishi asked anxiously.


    ¡°If you¡¯re afraid then you should have stayed in the vi.¡± Luo Yuan said coldly.


    Wang Shishi was biting her lip and red at Luo Yuan as she hated it when he kept lecturing her publicly as it made her look like an idiot.


    There was nothing much to do after dinner and everyone decided to go to bed early. Although the office was big, they soon realized that it could not fit many tents. After some arrangements, Lin Xiaoji ended up having his own tent because nobody was willing to stay with him- he was too smelly. Ning Xiaoran was sleeping alone as well because she was afraid she would identally hurt others in her sleep. The rest were sharing.


    Huo Dong and Chen Xianfeng shared a tent, while Wang Xiaguang and Cao Lin shared another. Wang Shihi and Huang Jiahui squeezed in a tent together with Luo Yuan as usual. Wang Xiaguang could not believe that Luo Yuan was sharing a tent together with Huang Jiahui and Wang Shishi. She was rubbing the edge of her shirt while watching them enter the same tent and tears were rolling down her cheeks.


    Luo Yuan could sense what was going on but he closed his eyes and took a deep breath as the tears from Wang Xiaguang lingered in his mind. He sighed as he knew he could never be loyal to her. However, he did not want to lie to her as well. It is good for her to know the type of person he is as well.

 Chapter 126: Heaven鈥檚 Pillar Tree

    Chapter 126: Heaven¡¯s Pir Tree


    Trantor: EndlessFantasy Trantion Editor: EndlessFantasy Trantion


    The team departed again the next day when it was still dawn. Luo Yuan noticed some sadness in Wang Xiagiang¡¯s eyes as he gazed at her. She sensed his sight, looked up at him with a nce and immediately lowered her head without saying a word.


    Luo Yuan wanted to say something but hesitated, and sighed. After half an hour, the team finally went on the express highway. On the road they could see smashed heavy trucks everywhere instead of consumer cars. There were countless of materials on the road- including ingots, grains, machineries, instruments, and even plenty of guns and ammunition.


    Before the copse of humanity, this express highway was the only route connecting Hedong City with other ces. Day or night, there were a lots of trucks passing by this highway. Unfortunately, it had also being affected by the outbreak. Luo Yuan tried to gather some weapons but couldn¡¯t carry all the ammunition with him. He took only three boxes of bullets and hanged them on the giant lizard. Now everyone had a gun, they were all 95 military-type rifles. Other than that, there was even a sniper and Luo Yuan gave it to Chen Xianfeng.


    Although he might not be as capable as Luo Yuan in terms ofbat skills, at least he could help in shooting in case there¡¯s any battle. The nearer they got to the giant tree, the more amazed they felt. From the middle of the trunk onward, there were multiple giant roots that went deep into the ground. All the surrounding roads had been uplifted with its growth. Even though the building at the suburb area had already copsed, Luo Yuan could see that the giant tree was still growing.


    The team took a quick rest at noon and continued their journey. They finally entered into the shaded area of the tree when it was about 3pm. The sky waspletely eclipsed by a boundless number of green leaves. This was the world of birds! There were countlessrge and small mutated birds inhabiting the giant tree and they were tweeting away endlessly. The air was so fresh that everyone felt revitalised.


    This was definitely a fairnd to stay in, if only there were no mutated birds, snakes and all different kinds of weird creatures that lived in the giant tree. None of them had the mood to enjoy the beautiful scenery as they noticed that this was almost an independent ecosystem that housed countless of mutated creatures living therein.


    The ground was covered with feathers and excrements as well as skeletons of mutated beasts. Luo Yuan could find almost any grade of materials there. He picked up a few two meter long light blue feathers. After bing an evolved human, he could vaguely feel the power of the property, like how thick the earth is and how moist the water is.


    ?¡°Tail feather of a Storm Bird¡±


    ¡°Rarity: dark blue.¡±


    ¡°Weight: 3 grams¡±


    ¡°Additional Capacity: Bncing airflow.¡±


    ¡°Evaluation: The Storm Bird is a peculiar variant of creatures which naturally hates storms. Whenever storms appear, you can always see it chasing it away. It has the natural ability to quell storms, and this ability is fully embodied in its feathers. It only requires a small amount of wind energy.¡±


    Excitement could be seen on Luo Yuan¡¯s face. Aside from his saber, all his other equipments were still in the light blue rank. He wanted an upgrade for so long but had never found the right materials. Unexpectedly, he has found it now! Luo Yuan paid more attention to the feathers on the ground and found a few more simr ones. He managed to find several other blue-level feathers, but there was only one with properties he desired out of the six feathers found. Luo Yuan still collected it though it was a fire series material. As the west was located in the teau, the air was so thin and the temperature during the day and night were extremely cold. Adding this feather into quilt or underwear could help keep them warm.


    "Look, there is a fruit over there." Cao Lin suddenly whispered with excitement.


    Luo Yuan raised his head and saw a fruit the size of a head hiding in theyers of leaves. Its surface was abination of green and red which looked very attractive. Apparently the fruit had been noticed by someone else as there was a gigantic green mutated bird standing like a stone on branches not far away. Its eyes were half-closed, staring at the fruit over and over again while paying attention to its surrounding.


    Since the outbreak, Luo Yuan rarely saw any nts or trees with fruits or food. Even the former artificially cultivated corn had an unfavorable production rate. On this the giant tree, he could hardly see any other fruits except for this one. Of course there might be some hidden ones in the leaves, however, in Luo Yuan observation, if this fruit could be noticed by such a powerful creature it must be very precious.


    Luo Yuan was already thinking of how to retrieve the fruit but he soon changed his mind. The gigantic bird was obviously not easy to deal with, especially now that there are so many ordinary humans with him. If he started a battle, many people might be sacrificed especially people whom he cared about like Huang Jiahui, Wang Xiaguang and Wang Shishi. If any of them became casualties it would hurt him. At this time he was shocked to discover that the fruit suddenly ripened at an incredible rate- from half green, quickly turning into pure red with a special scent released into the air.


    "Don¡¯t look at it anymore, keep walking to the shelter in front." Luo Yuan instructed with a heavy heart. He knew that this fruit would cause a lot of trouble with such a heavy fragrance, and he estimated that it would soon attract other mutated creatures. He also noticed that his giant lizard was also attracted and kept staring at the fruit up above its head.


    In fact, the scent affected even ordinary humans. Everyone was attracted and had the desire to taste it. At this time, suddenly, a red and yellow giant bird flew towards the fruit. The next moment, they could hear a sharp pitch from the two giant birds which were fighting with each other. Only then did they get to their senses and rush to the shelter in front.


    After running for a while, Luo Yuan realized that his giant lizard was not following them and still looking up at the fruit. He quickly ran back angrily. At this moment, there was a notification from the task system: "F-Level mission, seize the fruit of the Heaven¡¯s Pir Tree."


    "Damn it!" Luo Yuan cursed with a bad feeling.


    As he expected, the battle between the two giant birds was too intense. It caused the ripened fruit to fall down from the tree. The giant birds were not fast enough and could only watch it fall helplessly. They attempted to catch it but it was toote. The giant lizard was very excited and ran frantically towards the fruit. In an instant, it had swallowed the entire fruit!


    Since the fruit had already been eaten, Luo Yuan could not help but ept the task given by the system. The next moment, a taskpletion notification came into the system. This was the fastest taskpletion ever, but to Luo Yuan, he knew that the task had not even started. The blue-ss green giant bird that had been waiting beside the fruit for long time was furious! It gave up on its previous opponent and targeted the lizard instead.


    The giant lizard growled repeatedly and prepared for the fight. In the past, it had fought almost every day with other mutated creatures and had already umted a lot of battle experience. It did not panic even. The moment when the giant bird tried to strike it, the lizard moved its body and sessfully dodged the attack.


    ?


    ¡°BANGGGGGG¡±


    The giant bird caught nothing but made a 2 meters long dent on the road. Luo Yuan did not have enough time to check on the system notification but noticed that the giant bird had not gotten up yet. He quickly picked up several spears and moved forward at lightning speed. In just one second, his speed had reached its peak. When the giant bird was trying to get back up again, he lifted a short spear, and with all his might, threw it at the giant bird! At this moment, Luo Yuan was 15 times more powerful in term of speed, strength and agility than the average person- almost like Superman. With this powerful force, the short spear that had hit the giant bird caused it to fly a few meters away. It was startled and growled angrily. It quickly fanned its wings repeatedly in an attempt to fly up again.


    But what came the next was another short spear which hit it. Luo Yuan threw the short spears one after another without any pauses. By the fourth one, the giant bird could not bnce itself anymore and fell to the ground heavily. Luo Yuan was surprised because he knew that the short spears were sharp enough to pierce through even a rhino with thick skin. However, this blue-ss mutant bird, although it looked exhausted and had lost a few feathers, had no visible wounds on its body. It fanned its wings crazily and tried to fly again but was toote.


    The giant lizard moved at a high speed towards the bird, bit on its slim neck, tore its throat and did not give the giant bird any opportunity to counterattack. It was always a fact that, no matter how strong the flying creatures were, when they fought with the ground creatures, once they fell on thend, it meant their death approached. Even though the giant lizard was still one level lower than the giant bird, it was winning the battle. The neck of the giant bird was now broken. It struggled, but failed to get up.


    A few secondster, the giant bird¡¯s head waspletely ripped off by the lizard. Blood sttered everywhere. Luo Yuan could hardly see any wounds on the lizard apart from a few scratches on its chest. Unexpectedly, it was unhurt from the battle. The other red and yellow giant bird which fought with the green giant bird earlier had been hovering in the sky when the battle was ongoing but now it fled the area when it witnessed what had happened.


    This battle was unexpectedly smooth and did not take even half a minute with the help from a mutated creature. This time, the giant lizard had no interest in the bird¡¯s flesh. It walked to one side, and growled several times. Its eyes sparkled and it seemed abnormally excited with overflowing energy. In fact, only now did Luo Yuan recall that the giant lizard had swallowed a fruit from the Heaven¡¯s Pir Tree. Although he was unsure of the power of the fruit, he was certain that all these unusual reactions from the lizard were triggered by this fruit.


    He opened the property panel and found that the lizard had leveled up. After this fight it gained almost 8 experience points. Luo Yuan looked at its status and a word appeared that was out of Luo Yuan¡¯s expectation.


    "Evolving..."


    Luo Yuan looked at the giant lizard cheerfully, and said ¡°It¡¯s finally evolving¡±!

 Chapter 127: Airflow Balancing

    Chapter 127: Airflow Bncing


    Trantor: EndlessFantasy Trantion Editor: EndlessFantasy Trantion


    After staring at the lizard for a while, Luo Yuan realised that it would take some time for it topletely evolve so he decided to divert his focus to other things first. He walked to the giant bird¡¯s carcass and noticed that a few spears had beenpletely shattered- leaving just a few good ones left. He was surprised as he did not expect that such powerful short spears which were made from the Haunted Locust Tree had actually been destroyed this easily. He thought it would at least be able to be reused.


    Luo Yuan had actually underestimated the power of his throws. A five pound short spear thrown at supersonic speed generates an inherent kic energy of around 200,000J- which is equivalent to dropping a 20,000kg object from about 10 meters. Though the giant bird had a strong level of defense, Luo Yuan noticed that all its feathers had been shredded at the spots where the spears had hit it- revealing bare skin which was full of blood.


    Luo Yuan pulled out his Zhanmadao and cut through the toughyer of skin and muscle- exposing the internal organs of the giant bird. He saw that its internal organs had been ruptured, especially those located near to its skin.


    "No wonder it fell from the sky... In addition to the effect of the short spears, the main reason was due to the serious internal injuries it already had." Luo Yuan thought.


    He suddenly felt that perhaps there was no need to synthesize the short spears anymore. In order to hurt the huge mutated creatures, a small wound seemed far less effective than a blunt hit. Furthermore, short spears are supposed to be used repeatedly to have the best effect but the quantity that Luo Yuan had was far from enough. He now had only eight left- sufficient to cope for only one or two more battles. Short spears, as a long-range weapon, are especially useful in this area full of mutated birds. Unfortunately, Luo Yuan couldn¡¯t find a suitable materials to synthesise them anymore. He decided to leave it aside first ande back to itter.


    "Luo Yuan, are you hurt?" Huang Jiahui asked as she ran to him from afar, followed by several other people.


    ¡°I am alright. We are quite lucky this time." Luo Yuan exined. This battle was the easiest one by far as he did not even sweat even though a blue ss creatures was killed.


    Several people walked in front of Luo Yuan to look at the body of the giant bird but did so with a safe distance. Though the giant bird was dead, it still scared ordinary people away. In fact, this time was better aspared to thest time when they met the mutated snake in Gaotang Town.


    Everyone looked at the truck-sized bird and remained shocked. Though they knew that Luo Yuan is very strong, they never witnessed him fighting with a mutated creature. Of course it was killed by the giant lizard, but they realized that Luo Yuan must be very powerful to be its master. There were several evolved humans other than Luo Yuan, butpared to him, they were just like ordinary people.


    Luo Yuan looked at his watch and it was already 4pm. Since the lizard was still evolving, it was not convenient for it to keep walking. Luo Yuan said, ¡°Let¡¯s stop here for today... we can rest at the shelter in front.¡±


    Huang Jiahui thought Luo Yuan was tired from the fight and agreed, "It sounds good. We have been eating dried food the whole day. Let¡¯s look for branches or wood so that we can cook soup for dinner.¡±


    ¡°You don¡¯t have to waste time looking for any. I have been observing the surroundings all the way since just now. I didn¡¯t see any suitable wood or branches." Luo Yuan remarked. He has been paying attention to these things all the way to analyze the properties of the tree, though nothing fell from it.


    "We can use the excrements on the ground." Cao Lin suggested though it was met by some disgusted faces from the rest. She quickly continued, "I meant that we can use dried guano, which should not be too smelly."


    This was the only solution as everyone wanted to have a warm dinner with soup. They agreed and started to look for dried guano despite the bad smell. In actuality, there was nothing much in the surrounding but guano. Before leaving, Luo Yuan cut out some of the internal organs from the giant bird. These were precious ingredients that he would not want to miss. Unfortunately, its head was eaten by the giant lizard. The brain of the mutated creature is the most essential and precious part- the texture is very smooth and soft so it¡¯s very delicious and simple to cook.


    The shelter was actually a small army post which was set up every few hundred meters on the highway as a defense against the mutated creatures. It has a very strong wall and thus it looked great from the outside. However, due to the thickness of the wall, it actually has very little space inside it. Luo Yuan and the group walked passed the door and noticed that there were countless palm-sized ck insects that sneaked out from inside which scared some of them. When there were no more beetles in sight, Luo Yuan walked in cautiously. There were a lot of bones and uniforms piled up and judging by the number of skeletons, it seemed like there were three people here before. He went onto the second floor and found seven other bodies. This was the number for aplete team. The four cannons were still intact and empty bullets were everywhere on the floor. There were only three unopened boxes of bullets left.


    "There is no sign of damage, so this ce must have been attacked by small creatures." Huo Dong said with a pale face.


    Luo Yuan nodded. He had a strange feeling and used his senses to constantly scan the surrounding. Suddenly, his face changed. He moved to the side of Wang Xiaguang at lighting speed, firmly holding onto something on the wall next to her. ¡°Pak pak pak¡± it sounded like something seemed to be whipping on the wall.


    "Stay away!" Luo Yuan shouted.


    Wang Xiaguang was frightened and stepped a few steps back. ¡°BANG!¡± a loud noise was heard and the shelter was shaken a little though they could not see anything. The unknown created fear and everyone was very nervous to see such a strange situation. They held their breath to prevent making any sounds. Luo Yuan pressed on the creature¡¯s body, took out his Zhanmadao and cut it, causing blood to stter on the wall.


    The mysterious creature struggled for some time, but it slowly stopped moving. It still appeared invisible. This was a mutated snake about two meters long with scaly body. It was like a chameleon which can always change its appearance ording to its environment. However, this creature was definitely more dangerous than an ordinary chameleon because it could fully integrate into its surroundings. Luo Yuan could barely sense its existence if it did not move a moment ago.


    Wang Shishi wanted to go nearer but was stopped by Luo Yuan,¡± Don¡¯te yet, there might be more inside.¡±


    Luo Yuan checked the shelter all over again and managed to discover one more inside.


    "What is this? Why is it invisible?" Huang Jiahui asked after Luo Yuan confirmed that it was safe toe in. She was frightened by the sight of the blood.


    "Do you know what is a chameleon? This is almost like a chameleon," Luo Yuan responded. No wonder every ordinary person died once they stepped into the shelter.


    Luo Yuan peeled off its skin and finally it was exposed in front of everyone. ¡°We can add these two creatures into our dinner list.¡± He did a quick analysis on them and other than the poisonous parts, the rest of its bodies were edible. Snake meat tasted the best to Luo Yuan although he grew up afraid of snakes. Cao Lin and Huang Jiahui did not have any dispute on eating them. They took the two dead snakes outside and started to prepare dinner. Huo Dong did not feelfortable staying alone with Luo Yuan so he left to help with dinner.


    Luo Yuan shook his head as he knew that this was the price to pay to be a powerful man. People tended to get scared of him even if he looked friendly and talked nicely. Luo Yuan thought for a while and started to check on the two snake skins.


    He performed an analysis:


    "Skin of Phantom Snake"


    "Rarity: Light Blue."


    "Weight: 6 grams"


    "Additional capacity: Able to integrate into the environment. Hidden."


    "Rating: Phantom snakes are born to be predators. It can instantly change its skin color to adapt to any environment and is almost impossible to see with the naked eye. All its capabilitiese from its skin."


    The ability to be stealthy was good, but unfortunately it provided a low level of defense. He would need to have shoes, pants, a cap and a jacket, along with a whole set of equipment to cover himself if he wanted to bepletely invisible and these two sets of skin were far from enough to make a full set of attire.


    Luo Yuan shook his head to snap himself out of his deep thought. There was no rush to have it done now, what was more important was to synthesize the feather from the Storm Bird. Luo Yuan put a few feathers inside his clothes. He whispered the word ¡°synthesize¡± and soon they turned into ashes. His ck clothes turned green. Luo Yuan then picked up a few more and continued synthesising them. By the time he used the third feather, his clothes hadpletely turned into a dark blue level of equipment so he stopped. He had seven feathers left and still needed them for pants and shoes.


    Luo Yuan performed an analysis on his clothes:


    "Floating Sportswear."


    "Material: Storm Bird Feathers, Nylon."


    "Rarity: Dark Blue."


    "Weight: 2kg."


    "Defense level: 14-17"


    "Additional capacity: Speed, Bnce Airflow.¡±


    "Equipment Requirements: None."


    "Evaluation: This is a buoyant magical sportswear which can provide protection against ordinary swords and bullets. It can bnce up the airflow even when you are running without the need to worry about air resistance."


    Luo Yuan felt relieved. He was worried about his ability to elerate in his new clothes so he was d that his speed will not be reduced while his other capabilities are strengthened. Though he did not know exactly how useful it was, apparently it was much better than the original one he had. He continued to synthesise his pants and shoes. After hepleted the process, the bird feathers had fully depleted. Luo Yuan felt much lighter even though the surrounding airflow was extremely calm. Even when he breathed, the air he exhaled dissipated immediately and quietly.


    He quickly tested out the clothes by moving around the room a few times at a fast speed and he could hardly feel any air resistance in the room.


    "Airflow bncing. So this is what it feels to be able to bnce airflow." Luo Yuan thought in his mind.

 Chapter 128: Abnormality

    Chapter 128: Abnormality


    Trantor: EndlessFantasy Trantion Editor: EndlessFantasy Trantion


    After dinner, Luo Yuan closed the door to the shelter and removed the bullets from all the cannons. He then he used his knife to cut a few pieces of concrete from the highway to block the bullet holes of the cannons. He had to be extra careful because he was worried that small mutated creatures would sneak in without anyone noticing. It would be a lot riskier if he did not put extra effort to seal the cannons.


    When it came to nightfall, it was almost impossible to see any light under the dense shade of Heaven¡¯s Pir Tree. The noise in the surrounding was very quiet as well. The shelter was too small to set up tents but fortunately, there were enough beds on the first floor which were left over from the army men who stayed there before. Luo Yuan carefully wiped his knife and put it on the bed.


    "Let me wash your feet." Huang Jiahui took a basin and ced it next to Luo Yuan¡¯s feet.


    "I will do it myself." Luo Yuan replied with difort and continued, "Where did you get the water from?"


    Huang Jiahui smiled and insisted. She grabbed Luo Yuan¡¯s feet, took off his shoes gently, and said, "This is the water we use to wash our face. I think it is clean and I have mixed it with some warm water."


    She put both his feet into the basin and gently scrubbed them. "Do you think we are too burdensome to you? You don¡¯t actually need to take all these risks and could have reached the West much earlier if you went without us.¡± She suddenly said.


    In fact, it scared her a lot today seeing how strong Luo Yuan was. She felt insecure and afraid that Luo Yuan might leave her alone one day in the future. Everyone heard what Huang Jiahui had said and turned to look at the two of them.


    Luo Yuan could sense her abnormal feeling towards him. He sighed and said, "No, please don¡¯t think this way. No one is burdensome here. Without you, I would not have any good meals to eat, no one to talk to, and no one to wash my feet!"


    "Today is the first time I washed your feet.¡± Huang Jiahui replied and smiled.


    "You can wash it every day.¡± Luo Yuan said firmly.


    Cao Lin, who was lying on the bed, kept tossing and turning. In fact, she was the one who felt most insecure. She was neither an evolved human nor someone who had an intimate rtionship with Luo Yuan like Huang Jiahui and Wang Xiaguang. Other than just helping with some unimportant tasks like cooking, mopping the floor and doingundry, she could not help in anything else. There was no reason for Luo Yuan to keep her in the team and protect her.


    She would do anything to let Luo Yuan care about her more. She would not hesitate to have sex with him or do something even more shameful to attract him. However, Luo Yuan never had those intentions with her and he normally does not even look at her. She found that Luo Yuan was not ascivious man, so she had given up for a long time. But today, she started to worry again and realized that she should have done that before.


    "Something is not right... I should take the initiative to be closer to him.¡± Cao Lin pondered as she touched her face and then her breasts.


    Nothing happened during the night but no one was able to sleep well. The next morning when Luo Yuan woke up and walked out from the shelter, he was stunned by what he saw. A strange mutated creature was lying near the shelter. The atmosphere that surrounded it was somewhat strange and ufortable. He almost wanted to attack this creature but he was too familiar with its scent.


    During the night, the giant lizard had undergone a tremendous change! It doubled in size and its scales turned from light green to dark green with some addedplex geometric patterns. The horns on its head almost disappeared with only the middle one still prominent though it had changed from ck to jade with a spiral shape. Luo Yuan also noticed that it had three eyes that were arranged in a triangr order. It looked very strange with some mysterious prestige. In addition, it had 4 toes instead of 3, and the color of its feet became darker with the metal texture.


    The giant lizard noticed Luo Yuan¡¯s presence and lifted its eyelid. It looked at him differently. Only after a long pause did it stand up. It was not as frightened of Luo Yuan as before and its actions seemed to be very provocative with its powerful strength and enhanced self-confidence. Luo Yuan was too excited with the changes of the lizard and was not aware of these unusual characteristics.


    Suddenly, it sneezed and white smoke was emitted from its nostrils. There were mes inside the smoke and the temperature in the surrounding had increased! Luo Yuan quickly stepped back. He opened the properties panel to check on the new properties of a giant lizard and as expected, there were tremendous changes.


    ¡°Fighting beast: Forest lizard."


    "Level: Dark Blue.¡±


    ¡°Attributes:-¡±


    ¡°Power: 2¡±


    ¡°Agility: 14¡±


    ¡°Physique: 18¡±


    ¡°Intelligence: 4¡±


    ¡°Perception: 6¡±


    ¡°Will: 2¡±


    ¡°Experience: 18036¡±


    ¡°Skills: Biting: 19; Tearing: B; Striking: tail strike; Proficiency: 0; Survival skill: 18;


    Observation; Breathing: 2¡±


    ¡°Natural ability: Sense of danger, Fire Breath¡±


    ¡°Status: Strong¡±


    ¡°Loyalty: 61 (there is risk of betrayal if less than 60; full value 100)¡±


    ¡°Unassigned attribute points: 1¡±


    ¡°Unallocated technique points: 6¡±


    In summary, its level was upgraded from blue to dark blue; its agility remained the same but its strength increased by 2. Other properties had increased by a little- tearing, striking, and observation. The rest were all newly added skills. It was not surprising to have tearing, striking and breathing skills. In the past there was not much that the giant lizard could do. It only had biting and tail striking skills. Luo Yuan never saw it use its ws to attack before. Now, its sharp ws and the horn on its head have massively evolved. It is definitely not just for decoration! The only thing that Luo Yuan could not understand was the observant skill.


    "Is it because of how I trained the lizard in the past? Or has its intelligence simply increased after evolving?" Luo Yuan thought in his mind.


    Anyway, it was a good to have a smart giant lizard. Luo Yuan did not think further after this since it already had the ability to challenge dark blue ss mutated creatures. Hence, other dark blue ss creatures should be not be a threat to it anymore. Unfortunately, the dexterity of the lizard remained the same so Luo Yuan had to manually increase it. But suddenly, Luo Yuan noticed the loyalty points and was shocked!


    "Howe it dropped below 60? It is even lower than the first time I defeated it."


    He looked up and noticed there was hostility in the giant lizard¡¯s eyes. Luo Yuan thought angrily, ¡°Luckily my prestige still has a deep impression on it... Otherwise it would have be a traitor.¡±


    "Damn, it really is a beast! Fortunately there are still some attribute points unassigned, otherwise, it would be a disaster and definitely more difficult to defeat again." He was angry and felt like he wanted to kill it but he stopped himself. He took a deep breath and tried to calm himself down. Now that the lizard had no fear towards him anymore, if he chose to ignore, it would definitely be out of his control and attack him instead. He had only two options- leave it or defeat it again.


    It would be a huge loss to him if he left it behind. The journey would be more challenging without the lizard as its gigantic size actually scared a lot of small mutated creatures away. After pondering about the benefits it would bring, he chose not to give up on it. Fortunately, its loyalty points were still within a controble range and thus it should not be too difficult to defeat it again.


    After he made his decision, Luo Yuan walked towards the giant lizard. It instinctively felt threatened by Luo Yuan¡¯s movements and growled as a warning. It still had a deep impression of how strong Luo Yuan was and thus it dared not simply start to attack him.


    But the closer Luo Yuan got to the giant creature, the more he noticed the hostility in its eyes getting stronger and its loyalty level also slowly declined.


    60.... 60......


    Luo Yuan was sweating... he was nervous. He firmly held onto his knife. In any case, if the lizard really started to attack, he had the firm intention to kill it. The creature was getting irritated and kept growling repeatedly in an attempt to scare Luo Yuan away. Due to its evolution, those growls actually generated powerful sound waves which had an effect on Luo Yuan.


    Everyone was alerted by the loud sounds of the giant lizard and rushed to check it out. Huang Jiahui almost fainted after seeing the intense scene.


    "Let¡¯s go upstairs and bring the cannon down!" Huang Jiahui suddenly got to her senses and quickly shouted.


    Huo Dong, Lin Xiaoji and Chen Xianfeng quickly ran to the second floor. The cannons were considered medium-sized weapons. Ordinary people could hardly move them, however, their strength had been increased because they had consumed mutated meat over a long period of time. This type of cannon was somewhat rare. Even Huang Jiahui as an ex-police officer, had not seen it before.


    Fortunately, it was not tooplicated to use and after brief discussions, they had set up the cannon in front of the shelter ready to shoot the giant lizard.


    "Calm down, take a deep breath." Huo Dong murmured with his hands trembling. Sweat could be seen dripping down his face.


    Luo Yuan remained calm and slowly took out of his long knife. The giant lizard felt threatened by this and breathed heavily with white smokeing out from its nostrils. It was 6-7 meters in height but Luo Yuan was only 167cm tall. It could easily tackle him down and eat him, however, it slowly moved backward. In contrast, Luo Yuan kept walking towards it with heavy footsteps. He raised his left hand and pressed on the giant lizard few times. This was a fairly familiar gesture to it as it had been suffering from pain in order to remember this gesture.


    ¡°Get down.¡± Luo Yuan ordered.


    The giant lizard looked at Luo Yuan with hesitation and stayed stationary for a while. However, it eventually slowly lowered its head and lied down on the ground. Luo Yuan could tell that its hostility level had increased even more at that point. He walked next to it and touched its head but in the next second, he punched its head hardly with his fist. Its loyalty level had dropped down to 45 from 61 by this point and it looked angry. The lizard opened its mouth to shoot a me of fire at Luo Yuan. The temperature was not too high but it was extremely powerful and the road was damaged with a one-meter burn mark.


    Nevertheless, it was dizzy again and almost fainted as Luo Yuan stood on its head with his hands tightly clutching on its horn while repeatedly punching its head over and over again. "It is toote for you to beg for forgiveness. If I don¡¯t take this chance to give you a hard lesson, you will forget about it again." After synthesizing with the Heart of the Ghost Tree, he now had a will power of 15 points. Even though the giant lizard has a strong defense, it couldn¡¯t match Luo Yuan¡¯s attacks. The lizard was getting dizzy and its body started wobbling.


    Third punch, fourth punch... Tenth punch, eleventh punch...


    When it came to the fifteenth punch, the giant lizard finally copsed. It sobbed and begged for mercy. Luo Yuan sneered and continued the punch, ¡°It is toote now to beg for mercy, if I don¡¯t do it you will forget about it in future.¡± The giant lizard tried to resist, but soon it was pressed down by Luo Yuan again. Luo Yuan did not stop punching until he realized that the lizard had no response anymore and already fainted.


    He finally stood up and felt relieved. This was a very dangerous move as it was now a dark blue level mutated creature and was very strong. Luo Yuan opened up the properties panel and found huge changes in its loyalty points- which had now increased to 75. This was a number that he had never seen before. It seemed like the lesson hadpletely wiped the wildness away.


    Luo Yuan jumped down from the lizard and noticed the cannon set up in front of the shelter. He was shocked. He knew how powerful the cannon was and luckily they did not use it otherwise they would have killed him along with the giant lizard due to their unfamiliarity with the weapon. Huang Jiahui ran to Luo Yuan with her pale face.


    Luo Yuan could feel her body trembling. It was apparent that she was too worried about him. He felt warm and patted her back and softly said, "I am alright. Don¡¯t worry."


    After a long time, Huang Jiahui finally let go off Luo Yuan. She wiped her teary eyes and said, ¡°It is your giant lizard, right? Why did it attack you just now?¡±


    "I was just trying to test its capabilities out since it has just evolved." Luo Yuanughed. It was not necessary to tell everyone the truth as it would only create fear. Huang Jiahui looked at Luo Yuan suspiciously. She felt something strange but she did not think further since Luo Yuan looked rx.


    "Don¡¯t think too much. Since everyone is awake, let¡¯s depart again once the giant lizard wakes up." Luo Yuan quickly interrupted her thinking. They walked back to the shelter.


    Huo Dong hesitated but said, ¡°Can I bring the cannon along with me?¡±


    Luo Yuan was stunned and surprised, "Are you able to carry it? It is heavy. You have to bring the bullets as well."


    Huo Dong looked at Lin Xiaoji and Chen Xianfeng and said, "Chen Xianfeng, Lin Xiaoji and myself can take turns to carry them and we will not dy the journey."


    "I can help too." Ning Xiaoran added with her reddish face. ¡°I am stronger now.¡±


    "I can help, too.¡± Cao Lin also said.


    Wang Xiaguang looked at Cao Lin in a surprised way. She was shocked with what Cao Lin had just said. Luo Yuan nced at everyone and could understand what was in their minds. To be honest, Luo Yuan never expected any help from them as they were mostly ordinary humans. He saved them and brought them along because he still had humanity in him despite his evolution. After all, he is strong enough to fight all the mutated creatures thus far and he never needed help from any of them.


    Since they offered to help, he was happy to ept their offer. He nodded his head and said, ¡°Alright, let¡¯s bring it along with us.¡±


    They quickly packed their luggage while Luo Yuan walked outside and kicked the giant lizard but it still had no response. Luo Yuan aimed at its nose and kicked it again. Finally, the lizard woke up. It was about to roar but noticed Luo Yuan standing in front of him. It quickly stood up in fear. Luo Yuan thought that it would not betray him anymore, thus he added the remaining points from yesterday to its agility. It immediately jumped to 15.


    The giant lizard seemed to sense something different from the upgrade. It roared excitedly and looked at Luo Yuan admirably. Luo Yuan had never seen this expression before so he quickly checked its loyalty points and it was now at 80! It was a breakthrough!


    The system then prompted, ¡°After a long time, finally, you own the ability to train a mutated creature¡±. On the properties panel, it showed "Skill of training mutated creature: 0" at thest line of the capabilities page.


    Luo Yuan was surprised. He never knew there was such a skill. It must be one of the reasons that there was a spike in the loyalty points of the giant lizard. However, it was somewhat useless to Luo Yuan since there was no need to retrain the lizard anymore with its current high level of loyalty. He reassigned the capability of the giant lizard by moving 5 points away from its biting skill. The system then showed: "Proficiency in biting: 0". He hesitated for a while and finally assigned the remaining 4 points to breathing skill. He could foresee that this skill would be the most powerful attack skill it had.


    Afterpletely assigning the remaining points, Luo Yuan ordered it to get down again and hung arge parcel on its neck. The poncho from before was almost torn off from yesterday¡¯s fight. Luo Yuan synthesized it with the Storm bird¡¯s feather so that it would be much more durable.


    Luo Yuan turned his head and saw Huo Dong and the gang carrying the cannon with 3 boxes of the bullets. They looked exhausted. He shook his head and offered to help, "Well, you can¡¯t walk too far carrying all these,e on, bring one of the boxes over and put it inside"


    Luo Yuan took down the parcel from the lizard¡¯s neck and opened it. Chen Xianfeng appreciated it and ran over. However, when he came closer to the giant lizard he felt uneasy, so he slowed down and walked gently toward Luo Yuan. Luo Yuan wanted to put the bullets into the parcel but he thought that it could cause a severe loss if the bullets exploded. The poncho might not be torn but all the materials inside would be destroyed. He took out another poncho and synthesized it with some extra feathers. He then hung two parcels on the neck of the giant lizard.


    The two parcels collectively weighed about 200 kg but it felt like nothing to the giant lizard as it could actually bear a weight of more than 10 tons. After two hours, they finally got out from the shade of Heaven¡¯s Pir Tree.


    Suddenly, the ground tremored. Luo Yuan looked around and found that it was not only the area around the Heaven¡¯s Pir Tree but the entire east of the city that was shaking. He could see several buildings in the distance begin to copse. Smoke and ashes surrounded the city from afar.


    It was the first time they witnessed such a strong shake with at least a magnitude of 4. The giant lizard was irritated by the tremors and the mutated birds also flew away from the Heaven¡¯s Pir Tree. They could hear mutated beasts roaring from where they were standing and there were a few gigantic mutated birds flying in the sky. Luo Yuan was worried just looking at all these scenes.


    "What just happened? What is wrong?" Luo Yuan was confused. This magnitude of tremors could not have been caused by the big tree. He felt insecure and worried seeing all these abnormalities.

 Chapter 129: The Great Migration

    Chapter 129: The Great Migration


    Trantor: EndlessFantasy Trantion Editor: EndlessFantasy Trantion


    The ground was shaking vigorously and it felt as though a thousand army men on horses were charging towards them. Countless mutated beasts were fleeing the bushes while the sky was eclipsed by a huge group of mutated birds. Luo Yuan naturally looked in the direction of the gigantic tree and was shocked by this sight.


    There were a lot of high-temperature geysers around with vapor gushing out which shot up to a few hundred meters in the air apanied by a lot of smoke. The ground tremored with a moderate frequency as a burnt smell quickly filled the air.


    ¡°It smells like someone is burning Sulphur.¡± Ning Xiaoran said uncertainly while looking at the mutated beasts moving around frantically on the ground as well as in the sky.


    ¡°Sulphur?¡± Luo Yuan was surprised when he heard the chemical being mentioned.


    ¡°Gosh! Could this be a volcano!?¡± The thought suddenly struck him as he was thinking of where the smell of Sulphur coulde from.


    Suddenly, the Heaven¡¯s Pir Tree shook vigorously for a few seconds. Luo Yuan looked at the tree and realized that all its leaves had turned yellow.


    He thought to himself, ¡°Oh no! Don¡¯t tell me it¡¯s going to copse.¡±


    ¡°Run!!! Everybody, run!!!¡± Luo Yuan immediately shouted to his team members.


    Upon Luo Yuan¡¯s instruction, everyone kept running without looking back. Most of them were still carrying their weapons with them which slowed them down as they were heavy. Wang Xiaguang was still weak and eventually stopped after a few hundred meters. She was quite far behind but fortunately Luo Yuan looked back to check if everyone was alright. He sprinted towards Wang Xiaguang and carried her on his back.


    Wang Xiaguang felt ashamed that she needed to be carried. After resting for a few minutes, she felt fit enough to continue running again and said softly, ¡°Put me down please, I can run by myself.¡±


    ¡°Stop fooling around.¡± Luo Yuan replied and smacked her buttocks with some force. Wang Xiaguang got shocked by his response and kept quiet after that.


    Within a few minutes, everyone managed to escape from Heaven¡¯s Pir Tree. Most of them were holding their knees for support and gasping for air while some of them had already sat down on the ground to rest. Luo Yuan put Wang Xiaguang down and she quickly tried to tidy up her messy hair. At this point, no one paid any attention to her.


    ¡°Aurora! This region is not supposed to have an aurora!¡± Huang Jiahui shouted in surprise. The clouds were moving rapidly apanied by a few beams of colorful lights.


    ¡°The volcano is due to erupt soon! Look! The smoke is getting darker and thicker!¡± Lin Xiaoji said this while pointing in the direction of the Heaven¡¯s Pir Tree.


    ¡°Oh f*ck! The beasts areing!¡± Huo Dong was frightened when he looked the other direction.


    There were many mutated beasts rushing towards them from the forest in the distance. They knew they could not escape from such arge scale migration.


    ¡°Let¡¯s head to the outposts!¡± Luo Yuan instructed them.


    Their exhausted bodies instantly felt refreshed under the stress of the life-threatening situation. They tried their very best to run towards the outposts, however, there was a dark blue rank mutated beast running faster than them. More and more beasts started running ahead of them and many were killed by Luo Yuan while some were stepped on by the chameleon.


    A minuteter, everyone had finally arrived at the outposts. Most of them almost copsed and Luo Yuan was also seen gasping this time. There were more than 10 mutated beasts killed by Luo Yuan within a minute and one of them was a dark blue mutated beast! Luo Yuan then checked the outposts and killed a few unknown colorful bugs.


    There were a few cannons on the second floor and most of them were well maintained with eight boxes of bullets. Luo Yuan nced through the ce and said to the men, "Each of you take a cannon and immediately fire if you see any mutated beastsing close to us! Use the bullets sparingly. Jiahui, you girls can be their assistants.¡±


    ¡°Wang Shishi, you have the most important mission here. Keep a lookout for micro-mutants." Luo Yuan said to Wang Shishi.


    Wang Shishi kept nodding her head though her body kept shaking.


    ¡°Where are you going?¡± Huang Jiahui sensed that Luo Yuan had other ns and asked anxiously.


    ¡°I¡¯m going out to be thest defense.¡± Luo Yuan replied in a serious tone.


    ¡°Be... be careful!¡± Huang Jiahui knew she could not change his mind no matter what she said.


    Luo Yuan nodded and then went down the stairs.


    ¡°Current mission: B-Level mission, block the great migration. Mission requirement: Not more than two deaths.¡±


    B-Level mission? He had never tried one before. It would seem that if F-Level missions are focused on killing dark blue mutated beasts, then B-Level missions are to kill even scarier beasts! So far Luo Yuan had not encountered any beast stronger than dark blue rank but he has experienced the horrible momentum from them which was extremely scary.


    Luo Yuan walked out from the outpost and saw many mutated beasts rushing over the border. He quickly opened his status panel and assigned all five of his technique points to ¡®knife skill¡¯. As usual, a lot of information and knowledge crept into his mind instantly. He closed his eyes and tried to absorb as much of it as he could.


    ¡°Knife Expertise: 19¡± The system sent him a notification.


    He was now just one step away from a higher phase. He slowly opened his eyes as the momentum upon him began to fade. It seemed to have ended more quickly than he expected which made him think that perhaps his new skills could not be fully utilized due to limitations from his other skills. ¡°Does this mean that I can only perform at a level equivalent to having 15 points even though my expertise is 19 points?¡±


    ¡°Boom!¡± A lot of blood gushed out from the body of a dark blue mutated beast when it got hit by the bullet from a cannon. None of them had used that kind of weapon before and they were mentally stressed at that moment. Unfortunately, their bullets would be depleted soon if they could not ovee their fear.


    Luo Yuan frowned and became very serious. A lot of the beasts came out from the forest and rushed towards him. Surprisingly, there were also two gigantic dark blue mutated beasts who emerged from the forest and they kept stomping on low ranked creatures throughout their deadly escape.

 Chapter 130: Dying

    Chapter 130: Dying


    Trantor: EndlessFantasy Trantion Editor: EndlessFantasy Trantion


    The giant lizard became frustrated and insecure. It continued roaring loudly. Fortunately, it was extremely loyal to Luo Yuan, otherwise, it would have certainly joined the huge group of beasts that escaped. Luo Yuan was feeling extremely ufortable and filled with tension as he observed the massive pack of mutated beasts.


    A huge hairless gori with an awful body scent was rushing towards Luo Yuan after it had evaded the lizard. The gori was hunting for its next meal, but it never imagined that there was something more deadly than the lizard in front of it. Right before it could grab its victim, Luo Yuan had sliced both of its ribcage and heart into two, releasing spurts of blood.


    As he gazed upon the horde of beasts, he screamed as he rushed towards them with his knife. He transformed all his fear and anxiety into hatred and began killing them swiftly. There were many different levels of beasts and most of them were dark blue rank. Thebined strength of these beasts was enough to destroy a city. However, their speed and agility could not match the knife in Luo Yuan¡¯s hand.


    Luo Yuan sliced every single beast into pieces with his knife. After the chaos had subsided, everyone looked towards the east and was shocked by what they had just witnessed. No one could imagine that one man was enough to defeat the horde of beasts. Wang Xiaguang and Huang Jiahui could only see Luo Yuan in their eyes.


    It all looked really easy for Luo Yuan. Every single kill was perfect and wless. Suddenly, a giant snake which was cut into two attempted to attack him from the back. Luo Yuan was able to sense the danger and quickly avoided its bite before ying the snake.


    The remaining beasts were smart enough to sense the danger before them and quickly escaped. Everyone felt relieved but suddenly heard a gunshot. Luo Yuan turned his head towards the front and saw another group of beastsing out from the bushes again. It was endless! Many of the white and blue rank mutated beasts were stampeded into squash meat as the beasts were all rushing to escape.


    Luo Yuan was drowning in a sea of blood as he ughtered more than 10 beasts with his knife every second. All the dead carcasses had covered up the road of the highway. Luo Yuan was sweating profusely. He was exhausted and stepped back.


    The lizard was attacked by the other beasts. The huge horde of beasts stampeded on it as it was struggling to escape. Luo Yuan was extremely frustrated watching his pet suffer as he could not save it.


    Suddenly, bullets rained from the sky and eliminated most of the beasts. When the bullets from the canons had stopped, thousands of dead carcasses could be seen scattered all over the ce.


    Luo Yuan rushed towards the remaining gigantic beasts and killed all of them. He then walked towards the lizard which was struggling to stand up. It was severely injured but the battle against the beasts was not over. Another group of mutated beasts could be seen in the distance running towards their direction and the area with the Heaven¡¯s Pir Tree was covered in smoke. Suddenly, a loud sound could be heard. There was a big crack further in front which slowly spread towards both sides of the highway and caused a bigger disorder amongst the beasts.


    Luo Yuan felt hopeless about the situation. He was extremely exhausted and started turning pale. He could see that the God of Death was waiting for him. The lizard had also lost its determination to fight.


    ¡°Run?¡±


    He suddenly thought of running away by riding on his lizard as it was possible for him to escape and join the migration. However, the circumstances of his decision would mean losing Huang Jiahui, Wang Shishi, and Wang Xiaguang as they would probably die. He was struggling with this difficult decision.


    All of a sudden, the cannons came back again just before the beasts were about to hit Luo Yuan. Blood sttered all over his face. ¡°Bloody beasts! I need to kill as many of you as I can before I die!!¡± Luo Yuan yelled with determination.


    The cannons had stopped after a while but the beasts continued approaching. Luo Yuan looked extremely pale and was having difficulty breathing with blood gushing out from his mouth. He was hit several times and was even stepped on by a dark blue mutated beast which caused his ribs to fracture. Luckily, he was able to chop off its legs before beingpletely crushed.


    The outpost was full of cracks due to the continuous attacks by the beasts. Luo Yuan could feel his lungs boiling as he was getting weaker. Suddenly, a dark blue mutated beast appeared and rushed towards him. Luo Yuan panicked, and in a split second was kicked into the air, he could hear his bones crack as he fell onto the ground. He tried to stand up, but could not as he spat out arge mouthful of blood filled with some pieces of his internal organs.


    The lizard rushed to rescue Luo Yuan and attacked the dark blue mutated beast to protect its master, who was heavily injured. Unfortunately, it was being stampeded on from the horde of beasts again. Luo Yuan was helpless as he was lying on the ground, unable to move. Wang Shishi and Huang Jiahui immediately rushed out from the outpost. Luo Yuan could not care anymore as he looked towards the sky powerlessly.


    ¡°Am I going to die soon? It may not be such a bad thing actually.¡±


    As hey on the ground and took his final breath, he slowly fell asleep as his heart slowly stopped beating. Suddenly, he could hear another heartbeat. The heartbeat wasing from underground. His soul became captivated by the sound of the heartbeat, as his heart gradually began beating again.


    ¡°Lub-dub, lub-dub, lub-dub.¡±

 Chapter 131: The Destiny of The Heavens Pillar Tree

    Chapter 131: The Destiny of The Heaven¡¯s Pir Tree


    Trantor: EndlessFantasy Trantion Editor: EndlessFantasy Trantion


    Wang Shishi felt as if the world had ended as she witnessed Luo Yuan vomit blood. She stopped thinking and rushed towards him. She was deeply hurt but was unable to cry. In that split second, Wang Shishi had forgotten about everything- fear, death, and even the beasts around her. Unfortunately for her, the beasts continued to run towards Luo Yuan who was lying on the ground. Wang Shishi was in a tensed situation and her power and emotions suddenly exploded together causing her to release a loud roar like a beast!


    ¡°Arghhhhhhh!¡±


    An immense power rushed out from her body, instantly spreading everywhere. The wave caused the surrounding sand and stones to fly into the air causing the people who had followed behind her to get injured by her power. Her shuttle came out from her pocket and was elevated up to the sky causing a high pitched sound. In a split second, the shuttle flew down towards the group of beasts and prated the head of a wolf-like creature. Its body shook for a second before falling down. The shuttle then continued its attack on the other beasts killing them one by one.


    ¡°Arghhhhhhh!!!¡±


    Wang Shishi kept screaming until her face turned pale. The shuttle continued flying at an intense speed which could not be seen by the naked eye. The dead bodies of the beasts soon formed a hill of carcasses. The remaining beasts stopped moving forward as they were afraid of Wang Shishi. In this moment, Wang Shishi had be very efficient at killing. She was even more efficient than Luo Yuan.


    Suddenly, the ground began trembling vigorously. The earthquake had interrupted her powers, causing her to fall onto the ground. Wang Shishi struggled to get back to her feet. The highway was splitting and some parts of the road had even copsed.


    The earthquake grew stronger and it felt as if the whole world was shaking at this point. Wang Shishi continued to roll on the ground as she was unable to stand up causing her skin to get injured and scratched.


    The beasts were facing difficulties as well- the earthquake caused them to stop their migration and they could only roar hopelessly. Smoke continued to fill the air and the leaves of the Heaven¡¯s Pir Tree wilted as they fell. Its trunk was shrinking too.


    Something amazing could be seen on the tree though. When its barks fell off, a newyer could be seen inside. It was as if blood could be seen flowing inside the tree itself! The flower buds were growing on the tips from where the leaves had fallen. The tree was evolving! During such a difficult time, it tried to absorb the heat from underground in order to reduce the impact of the disaster. But unfortunately, it could notpete against the power of nature.


    A very loud sound came from the sky which sounded like an explosion!


    Lava came gushing out from underground and instantly shot up thousands of meters above the sky. The opening of the volcano was just 10 meters away from the Heaven¡¯s Pir Tree and the power of the eruption was massive as it pulled out the Heaven¡¯s Pir Tree together with its roots which were a hundred meters deep into the ground.


    The highway was extremely near the Heaven¡¯s Pir Tree as well. Most of the roads had copsed, including the ce where Huang Jiahui was standing at earlier. Luckily, she was able to grab onto a steel bar and hung there, but her hand was injured and continued to bleed. Huo Dong and Ning Xiaoran fell 7-8 meters down onto a bunch of rocks. When the earthquake subsided, Huo Dong slowly stood up and realized that he did not suffer any severe injuries after checking his body. But... the rock under Ning Xiaoran was covered with blood. He quickly shouted, ¡°Ning Xiaoran! Are you alright? Wake up! Wake up, please!¡±


    Ning Xiaoran did not move at all and her face was pale. Huo Dong knew something was wrong. He took a deep breath and turned her body around. He noticed a very sharp stone had prated her head and a lot of blood wasing out.


    ¡°Wake up!!! Ning Xiaoran!!! Don¡¯t die on us!!!¡± Huo Dong was talking to himself while crying.


    Ning Xiaoran was always nice to everyone even after she became evolved. Everyone treated her like their younger sister and no one would have guessed that she would be the first one to leave them.


    Luo Yuan already had woken up before the volcano erupted but he did not move an inch even from the intense earthquake. He looked perfectly fine and his heart continued beating normally. His body was recovering slowly. He could feel his legs connected with the earth and a strong energy was transmitted through his legs which moved all around his body.


    ¡°Understanding of the Earth.¡±


    ¡°You have obtained a bonus power from the earth- it will give you endless energy and rapid recovery abilities, however, it will consume a lot from your power of sensitivity until it is fully depleted.¡±


    The sound of the system crept into his mind.


    Surprisingly, Luo Yuan wasn¡¯t excited at all. He observed his surroundings and slowly lifted his leg and let it down again. The ground shook a little but it was not the same as the earthquake. He stopped and thought of something, and repeated his action again. This time the ground did not shake. He realized the earth would not shake as long as he did not step on it following the beat of his heart which was now connected to the earth.


    He quickly rushed to Wang Shishi¡¯s who had already fainted. Thankfully, she was not injured badly. Luo Yuan carried her to an empty space and found Cao Lin and Chen Jianfeng, as well as Lin Xiaoji. Afterward, he also pulled Huang Jiahui out.


    He looked down into another affected area and noticed Huo Dong was still alive but Ning Xiaoran had passed away. However, he could not feel sad at all. He realized his emotions had faded away making him be extremely rational. He did not manage to help pull Huo Dong up as he had fallen too deep inside.


    Everyone was stunned and stared at Luo Yuan. They could not believe that 10 minutes ago he almost died and suddenly he was standing in front of them again perfectly fine. Huang Jiahui was stunned for a second, and then said, ¡°Your... your body...¡± Luo Yuan shook his head and said, ¡°I¡¯m fine. Get a wet cloth and cover your mouth. There is too much poisonous smoke here from the volcanic ashes. I¡¯m going to find the lizard.¡±


    ¡°But there is no water left.¡± Lin Xiaoji said.


    ¡°Use your urine.¡± Luo Yuan said coldly as he walked away.


    Luo Yuan found the lizard stuck in a big hole. It was struggling to climb out over the thousands of dead carcasses and kept falling back down as the walls of the hole were too steep for its heavy body.


    Luo Yuan pushed several big rocks into the big hole and the lizard used the rocks to climb out of the hole. As soon as it escaped, it remained still as it was severely injured and exhausted. Another huge volcano had erupted nearby andva continued to flow out. The sky slowly became covered with dark clouds and smoke again. The air was filled with choking volcanic ashes and the ground was quickly covered by a thickyer of ashes. The huge Heaven¡¯s Pir Tree had fallen to the ground and perished in theva.


    The beasts began to continue their migration.

 Chapter 132: The Smell of Death

    Chapter 132: The Smell of Death


    Trantor: EndlessFantasy Trantion Editor: EndlessFantasy Trantion


    Luo Yuan found a piece of ck cloth on the ground covered with dirt and blood stains. At first, he was hesitant to pick it up as it exuded a foul smell. Finally, he ignored the nauseous smell and wrapped half of his face with the cloth.


    The most deadly part of the volcanic eruption wasn¡¯t the hot and slow-movingva or the toxic gas in the air. It was actually the ashes that were falling from the sky. Because it is only a few micrometers in diameter, through respiration, the volcanic ashes could easily enter into our lungs causing difficulties in breathing which could eventually lead to death. Even though the sun was up, the entire sky turned dark and gloomy.


    Looking at the never ending wave of mutated beasts, Luo Yuan¡¯s face gradually became more ferocious. He slowly pulled out his knife from its sheath and in an instant, he sprinted and sliced up the blue level mutated beast which was about to climb onto the highway. Blood sttered all over the ce. Luo Yuan continued moving; he quickly ran towards a tiger-like creature and jumped on top of it before it even had time to react. He stabbed through its eye all the way into its skull.


    The other beasts began rolling into a ball because of the earthquake. Arge number of low-level mutated beasts were trampled on or crushed to death. The never ending wave of mutated beasts became lesser, but Luo Yuan could not rx. Some of the beasts were able to stand up and the weakest among them were the light blue level beasts. The blue level mutated beast had almost be a norm now. Even the more frightening dark blue mutated beasts can be seen everywhere.


    The rapid beating of Luo Yuan¡¯s heart supplied him with a steady amount of strength. All the wounds on his body and even his fractured bones began to heal quickly. Unfortunately, his range of perception was declining, but his energy shouldst him at least another half an hour. A lot of mutated beasts started appearing but they were all beheaded by Luo Yuan one by one. This wave of mutated beasts did not pose any threat to Luo Yuan. He even had time to gaze at the volcanoes in the distance.


    Sadly, the good times did notst long; a dark blue level mutated beast appeared. This mutated beast was strange as it looked almost like a fish but had four long sturdy legs and some fins. ck moist scales were seen on its body and long stretches of watermarks could be seen on the ground beneath its white belly. It was as though it just recently came out from the water.


    The dark blue mutated beast was huge! It was easily more than 10 meters long and eight meters tall, it was evenrger than the lizard. Due to its fish-like nature, it had big jaws on its head filled withrge steel-like teeth. However, it was clear that the beast was not familiar with walking onnd, and thus, it moved very slowly. The size of the beast was enough to easily crush Luo Yuan to death if it was able to move quickly. Luo Yuan noticed that its body and even its tail were covered in scars.


    Luo Yuan¡¯s expression became serious at that moment. He was not concerned about the huge size of the beast but was worried about the other aspects rted to its presence. The creature was obviously a fish which grew limbs that helped it walk onnd. Before this, Luo Yuan had never feared the ocean or what horrible species were inside it. To him, the ocean was the ocean, and thend was thend. They were basically two different worlds. He had never considered anything about the ocean until this creature appeared.


    The world was changing and more and more creatures were mutating. Luo Yuan began to move as he noticed the creature struggling to climb up onto the highway. He quietly sneaked close to the fish which had not fully adapted to thend. Its reaction was extremely slow and Luo Yuan was only ten meters away from it. When the fish finally noticed Luo Yuan, it was toote. Luo Yuan quickly trampled on the ground.


    ¡°Trampling of the Earth!¡± He shouted.


    Suddenly the ground began to tremor as if an explosion had urred. Solid concrete floors instantly turned to dust and severe shockwaves could be felt. However, the trampling of the earth did not have any effect on the beast. The high-frequency vibrations did not cause any dizziness to the beast at all; it only caused its body to shake. The beast suddenly stopped moving forward and Luo Yuan took this opportunity to strike. He jumped off from the ground and with his sharp de he cut through the beast¡¯s head. One-third of its head was cut, and even the brain inside was damaged.


    The beast was in unimaginable pain and its tail was struggling fiercely. Fortunately, Luo Yuan had already retreated. It was the first time he had used his power against a dark blue level mutated beast. However, in general, his power would not cause much damage to this creature. In fact, even Wang Shishi¡¯s telekinesis powers were better. During a battle, the slightest distraction could be fatal. Even the slightest pause could easily decide a battle.


    As time went on, more and more mutated beasts stacked in front of Luo Yuan. The beasts were strong as most of them struggled but had not died. Many of the beasts saw their friends ughtered and quickly ran away. Ten minutester, the wave of mutated beasts finally stoppedpletely. Luo Yuan was lucky. Until the very end of the wave, he did not face any level five mutated beasts. Apparently, the difficulty of this task was not assigned to ¡®b¡¯ unless he was going to deal with a level five mutated beast. The system seems to have the ability to predict correctly in this regard. Looking straight ahead with no mutated beast in sight, Luo Yuan felt relieved and was finally able to rx. His heartbeat returned to normal, however, the Earth began to pull away power from his body causing him to almost fall onto the ground.


    At this moment, the system prompted a message:


    B- Level tasks: blocking the beast¡¯s wave. Requirement: Only two deaths allowed. Missionpleted. Time length: 3 minutes, mission evaluation: good¡±


    ¡°Character: Luo Yuan¡±


    ¡°Completion Rate: 3%¡±


    ¡°Reward-Based Experience: 603¡±


    ¡°Evaluation: Good, experience value: 803¡±


    ¡°Total Experience: 18603400¡±


    ¡°Mutated beasts: The Forest Chameleon¡±


    ¡°Completion rate: 10%¡±


    ¡°Reward-Based Experience Points: 6010¡±


    ¡°Evaluation: Good, Experience Points 8010¡±


    ¡°Experience: 6260¡±


    His experience points increased by arge margin, but Luo Yuan was not satisfied. If he could choose, Luo Yuan would have preferred not to do this kind of mission. ¡®B ¨C level¡¯ difficulty is far beyond his limit. If it was not for his good fortune in understanding the Earth¡¯s pulse, he would have been dead by now.


    Volcanoes kept erupting in the distance which umted a thickyer of ashes on the ground. Luo Yuan could hardly stand properly at this point and Huang Jiahui quickly rushed over while coughing.


    ¡°Are you alright?¡± Huang Jiahui said as she continued coughing.


    Luo Yuan shook his head. He also had the feeling of wanting to cough as his lungs felt like they were on fire. It was difficult to endure. He noticed more and more volcanic ashes falling to the ground and said, ¡°We can¡¯t stay here! We must get out of here as soon as possible.¡±


    ¡°But...But...Ahem... ... Where can we go? The road is broken.¡± Huang Jiahui replied while coughing. She then continued, ¡°The only path left is through the jungle.¡±


    Due to the giant tree copsing, arge number of roots were pulled out from the ground causing the road to stretch and crack. Therefore, they are unable to use the path on the road.


    ¡°Most of the mutated beasts have fled, so perhaps the jungle may be safer to enter.¡± Luo Yuan replied.


    Luo Yuan noticed the outpost had disappeared. His facial expression changed when he realized that their luggage was gone. There were a lot of resources inside, but the most important ones were the tent and drinking water. There was also salt in their luggage and without any salt, over a long period of time, their bodies would be weak. He could ept if everything else had disappeared but the salt was vital for their survival.


    He quickly asked, ¡°Did you find our luggage?¡±


    Huang Jiahui shook her head and said, ¡°During the earthquake...cough...cough...There was a deep crack in the ground...Everything fell into the cracks and I could not find it anymore.¡±


    ¡°Take me there and let me have a look. I might be able to retrieve it.¡± Luo Yuan was being unreasonable because the luggage was too important to him. Even if it was deep inside the cracks, he still intended to get it back.


    Luo Yuan went to observe the crack. In his desperation, he found it impossible for them to escape. The crack was huge and wide! It was dark and bottomless, so he threw a stone down to check its depth. The sound of the stone colliding with the rock walls echoed. Even though Luo Yuan has good hearing, the echoing sound grew softer and softer until he could not hear it anymore. He could not tell where the bottom was! The only way was through the jungle, but without tents or drinking water, Luo Yuan simply could not imagine what kinds of threats they would encounter next.


    He wanted to scream out loud but manage to suppress it. The crowd behind him were coughing uncontrobly to the point where Wang Xiaguang even started coughing out blood. Everyone was coughing with tearsing out of their eyes, frightened, with a strong scent of death.

 Chapter 133: Endless Forest

    Chapter 133: Endless Forest


    Trantor: EndlessFantasy Trantion Editor: EndlessFantasy Trantion


    Wang Xiaguang had lived a good life so far. She never actually encountered any mutated beasts above light blue rank and had never starved like this before. Her body was clearly the weakest among all of them- unable to adapt even though she only inhaled very little volcanic dust.


    Luo Yuan was terrified by the fact that she kept puking blood but he became enraged when he noticed all of them using dry cloths to cover their mouths. ¡°What¡¯s going on? Didn¡¯t I say to soak the cloth with water? Even if you don¡¯t have water, you should still have urine! Just look at the situation now!¡±


    Everyone regretted not listening to Luo Yuan earlier.


    ¡°Forget it. It¡¯s toote. Just use blood! We can¡¯t stay here anymore, we need to leave as soon as possible,¡± Luo Yuan ordered.


    The cecked everything but blood and bodies now. Everyone soaked their cloth with blood and covered their noses and mouths with them. The strong stench of copper was nauseating yet no one dared to let go of the cloth in order to survive. Luo Yuan did the same, tying the ends of the cloth into a knot at the back of his head.


    Wang Xiaguang gradually looked worse. Her coughs got more erratic and she could no longer stand up straight. Luo Yuan was worried beyond words! He quickly ran towards to the defeated mutated fish and gathered a few catties of blood from its wound.


    Its blood is immensely nourishing and drinkingrge amounts of it could hopefully save someone from death. Luo Yuan ignored Wang Xiaguang¡¯s protest and made her gulp down the liquid. Her cheeks finally regained some color.


    He then carried her, withstanding the agony of his barely recovered bones, and walked towards the lizard.


    After about ten minutes of rest, the lizard had gotten better. It stood up shakily upon seeing Luo Yuan. Luo Yuan made it stay down again and got up to its back with much difficulty. He then asked everyone to get on it as well.


    While all of them were initially terrified of the lizard, they did not care too much about it now. Volcanic debris rained like snow on them- each asrge as a basketball. They knew that only death awaited them if they stayed.


    It was extremely difficult for a normal person to get up on the giant lizard¡¯s back. It was about 6 meters tall when standing and even when lying down it was still about 3 meters! Its body is also smooth and slippery. If Luo Yuan did not pull them up to the lizard¡¯s back, it was possible that none of them could get on there on their own.


    The lizard¡¯s back had gotten much wider after evolving but it was still crowded after so many people had gotten on it. Plus, it was actually very slippery for them. All of them held onto each other, afraid that they would fall off.


    ¡°We¡¯re missing one person. Huo Dong is still at the copsed area,¡± Huang Jiahui pulled Luo Yuan¡¯s elbow and said anxiously.


    Luo Yuan had the intention to leave him behind as Wang Xiaguang¡¯s condition was getting worse by the second. But he could not ignore his conscience and let someone die just like that. He looked at the semis-conscious Wang Xiaguang and stroked her cheek before saying, ¡°Wait for me for another minute.¡±


    ¡°Return quick!¡± Huang Jiahui said worriedly.


    Luo Yuan nodded and sprinted towards Huo Dong.


    Huo Dong covered his nose and mouth with his sleeve and paced back and forth in the pit like a trapped beast.


    The highway was elevated byrge cement pirs which were about 5 meters tall but other than a few crumbled pirs, he had nowhere to climb. He had tried to climb up one of the pirs near to the surface but each time he got to the top, there was no ce else to climb as the pir was at least 2 meters away from the road.


    He looked at Ning Xiaoran¡¯s body and felt anxious, ¡°Will anyonee to save me?¡±


    Realizing that the wave of beasts had disappeared for a while and there were no other significant dangers, he felt abandoned by his team. He wanted to scream but he physically could not due to the volcanic ashes that entered his lungs and the trauma he was enduring.


    Hopeless, alone, anxious, and restless!


    All sorts of negativities were driving him nuts. He had not foreseen a day when he would be this weak and hopeless. Not even when we witnessed the incidents that happened earlier today.


    ¡°Maybe they all died...maybe they...already left,¡± Huo Dong spoke to himself with a pathetic smile on his face.


    Heughed and cried as tears of despair ran down his face. Just then, hurried footsteps could be heard from above. Huo Dong listened in shock and raised his head to see a familiar face greeting his eyes, ¡°Grab on to this. I¡¯ll pull you up. Hurry!¡±


    One end of a long colorful snake was thrown down by Luo Yuan.


    Huo Dong nodded his head and could feel moisture in his eyes. He grabbed on to the snake¡¯s tail tightly, ignoring the goosebumps he felt holding it.


    With some effort, Huo Dong was pulled out of the pit by Luo Yuan.


    Before the apocalypse, Huo Dong was a very sessful man. He was very diplomatic in social rtionships but rarely experienced being touched by someone even with all his life experience. Yet this time, his heart was genuinely touched.


    It was an era of information explosion before the apocalypse, and loyalty had been an unfamiliar word to most people. Huo Dong had always been respectful towards Luo Yuan but all that had been for selfish reasons. If Luo Yuan died or if he met someone stronger than Luo Yuan, he would probably leave without hesitation and guilt.


    But this time, he was ready to give his life for him.


    The lizard moved slowly due its gigantic body but its speed was still around 10 meters per second if the distance of each of its steps were taken into ount. They gradually moved further and further away from the volcano.


    Luo Yuan was inspecting something about 30 centimeters wide while sitting on the lizard¡¯s back. This was from the bark of the Heaven¡¯s Pir Tree. He found it on the way to save Huo Dong. The bark was about 20 centimeters thick and appeared to have a rough texture on its surface.


    It looked rough but was actually very smooth when touched. This small piece of wood weighed about 40 catties and was probably heavier than ordinary metal of the same size. What was even more surprising was the item¡¯s level.


    It was not blue nor light green. It was of a green rank!


    Luo Yuan did not expect the mutation to be this fast. He thought light green was already the highest level at the moment but the piece of bark he retrieved caused him to rethink.


    It was fortunate that this was just a piece of the Heaven¡¯s Pir Tree and was not the Ghost Locust Tree. If that had been the case, they would not be alive right now.


    He started to look for the tree again. Theva had almostpletely engulfed it with only some branches still visible. It was unbelievable that the branches were not on fire. They were just shrinking rapidly from the effect of theva.


    The shriveled branches were even redder than heated metal as they got smaller and smaller under the high temperature. The weird phenomena of the tree shriveling gave Luo Yuan the feeling that the tree did not actually die yet but was gathering all its essence to fight theva¡¯s high temperature. Perhaps not too longter, a new Heaven¡¯s Pir Tree would reappear at the very same spot.


    He did not bother to think too much because he would be long gone by then. Luo Yuan had onest look and turned back to his team to ask, ¡°How¡¯s Xiaguang?¡±


    ¡°Quite stable now that she¡¯s drank some of the fish¡¯s blood. But the volcanic debris that she inhaled earlier would probably give her breathing difficultiester since we can¡¯t cleanse her lungs with our situation right now,¡± Huang Jiahui said with Wang Xiaguang in her embrace.


    ¡°Maybe she¡¯ll get better as her physique gets stronger,¡± Luo Yuan said grimly.


    The body¡¯s natural defense is stronger for people with stronger physiques. This was why the giant lizard could breathe normally even when it inhaled more debris than anyone else. Luo Yuan and Lin Xiaoji were in the same position. They only felt itchiness in their lungs but it did not make them feel like coughing.


    ¡°The ashes are everywhere! When will they be gone!?¡± Wang Shishi asked weakly as sheid in Luo Yuan¡¯s embrace.


    She really performed beyond Luo Yuan¡¯s expectation this time. Wounds were everywhere on her body as her power waspletely exhausted from the fight. She also had a splitting headache.


    Luo Yuan stroked her head dearly andforted her in a soft voice, ¡°It¡¯ll all be okay when we enter the forest. Leaves have strong cleansing properties. They will suck all the dust including the volcano debris. We can breathe normally once we¡¯re inside.¡±


    Wang Shishi could feel the obvious shift of Luo Yuan¡¯s attitude. She smiled weakly and a sweet feeling filled her heart.


    Luo Yuan looked towards the front and saw an endless forest with seas of leaves that had formed an intricate web of green. It seemed unusually quiet as most of the mutated beasts had left the ce from the volcanic eruption.


    The forest rustled as wind blew around the area. The giant lizard growled valiantly and raised its head to announce its arrival when it stepped foot into the forest.

 Chapter 134: The Cave

    Chapter 134: The Cave


    Trantor: EndlessFantasy Trantion Editor: EndlessFantasy Trantion


    The light dimmed when they entered the forest. The leaves above them blocked all the sunlight, creating a chilling atmosphere.


    The forest had looked dense on the outside, but there were many paths inside it made by countless beasts walking through. No weeds or moss grew on those paths.


    There were fallen trees on both sides of the road from the earlier beast wave. Blood and bones remained on the ground, but there were no bodies in sight. Countless ferocious beetles scampered away from the bones as the giant lizard approached.


    Luo Yuan¡¯s heart grew heavy at the sight. The volcano eruption had not chased away all the creatures living in the area. Those of them who had reacted slower to the danger were still there.


    The giant lizard moved forward, following the wide path. All sorts of strange-looking trees, rattan, and colorful fungi could be seen along the way.


    Everyone looked around curiously, petrified.


    Animals had mutated in waves upon the apocalypse, all species multiplying as they mutated in all sorts of directions.


    Most of the species had been eliminated by thepetition while those who had survived continued evolving, the cycle going on and on.


    Traces of civilization could be seen everywhere on the ground, a constant reminder that this had once been human territory.


    As the lizard moved, their surroundings remained quiet, except for the asional rare mutated creature and some insects squeaking and hissing.


    Two hourster, the sky waspletely dark. When Luo Yuan checked his watch, he realized it was only 3 p.m. Usually, there would still be another 2 to 3 hours before sunset, yet now it was already dark.


    This was not just because the dense forest was blocking the light, but also because the debris from the volcano eruption had blocked the sun.


    Luo Yuan tapped the lizard¡¯s shoulder. The lizardy down, and Luo Yuan jumped off, taking the unconscious Wang Xiaguang with him.


    The rest of them mimicked him. Most of them ended up falling, their legs giving out beneath them. The dark blue lizard¡¯s aura had weakened them after riding on it for such a long time.


    Luo Yuan checked out the area with Wang Xiaguang in his arms. The ground was t and there were no traces of buildings. It had probably been a farnd before.


    Unbeknownst to them, they had already left the outskirts.


    Too bad that the map had been lost along with their luggage, making it impossible to determine where they were. They seemed to be lost, but Luo Yuan guessed that they were not far from the highway. He looked towards the north, but he could not see anything.


    Huang Jiahui stepped on a small bug that had been trying to climb onto the back of her leg. It cracked with a light firecracker noise. She retracted her leg with a frown, ¡°Are we spending the night here?¡±


    It would be difficult to stay overnight in the forest considering they had no tents and there were no abandoned buildings. They would probably die before the next sunrise if they slept without any protection. While the area looked serene, that did not mean that there was no danger. A lot of mutated insects and beasts were still in the forest. Even the smallest bug could cost their lives.


    Luo Yuan shook his head. ¡°We better find a cave to stay in for the night. Otherwise, we¡¯ll have to dig a pit, or sleep in a tree trunk!¡±


    Everyone¡¯s heart felt heavy. Their unease was written all over their tired faces.


    Sleeping in a deserted forest would have been very dangerous even before the apocalypse, let alone now. Huang Jiahui was starting to regret persuading Luo Yuan to move towards the West. It was toote to turn back now, though. Only death would be waiting for them if they headed back. The volcano was still erupting; moving on was their only hope.


    Luo Yuan retrieved his sword and walked into the forest carefully. He chopped and cleared the branches along the way easily. About ten minutester, as they were passing by a small hill, he suddenly stopped. There was a cave there, camouged by thorny vines and leaves. It was easy to overlook. There were no footprints near it. They would have totally moved on if Luo Yuan had not sensed that it was there.


    It was hard to understand animal intelligence. Animals would usually do astonishing things on instinct, following the cruelws of nature. Not doing so would mean extinction. As a result, this cave was better hidden and safer than any manmade cave.


    The entrance of the cave was only about 1.5 meters tall and 70 centimeters wide. One had to crouch to enter, but there was nothing else they could do. It was already gettingte. Their only other option was sleeping in tree trunks, which would only result in a sleepless night.


    ¡°You guys wait here. I¡¯ll go in and see,¡± Luo Yuan said.


    Not waiting for a reply, Luo Yuan crouched down and entered the cave. It was pitch ck inside, and there was also a strange scent. It smelled like fish and rotting corpses ¨C it was absolutely nauseating. The cave wall was smooth, and the inside of the cave was winding as it extended under the ground. Luo Yuan almost ran out of patience. He had to walk for several hundred meters before he discovered a space a few dozen square meters in size.


    Bones were piled right in the middle of it, but the spot was very clean. Soft, fluffy straw covered it and judging by the obvious dent in the middle, that must have been where the previous resident of the cave had rested.


    Luo Yuan announced that it was safe, and everyone entered the cave. Their exhausted faces finally broke into smiles when they saw the spacious inside under the weak light of Huo Dong¡¯s lighter.


    ¡°Yay! I can¡¯t believe we were able to find such a ce! I thought we would have to sleep in tree trunks!¡± Wang Shishi said excitedly. Her spirits were even higher than when they had first moved into the vi. As for the creepy bones and the disgusting stench, those things were nothingpared to being able to rest overnight in a safe ce.


    ¡°Tree trunks are too dangerous. Did you see all those bugs along the way? I get goosebumps just looking at them. If Boss Luo didn¡¯t beat them off, we might have gotten bitten,¡± Huo Dong said with a smile.


    ¡°It¡¯s too dark here. Huo Dong, you and Lin Xiaoji go out and find some dry leaves and branches. We¡¯ll start a fireter!¡± Luo Yuan said, indifferent to Huo Dong¡¯s pandering.


    They both walked out with their des without hesitation.


    ¡°Won¡¯t there be too much smoke if we start a fire?¡± Huang Jiahui asked when the two of them had left.


    ¡°No, there¡¯s no wind in here. The smoke will be okay if we start the fire near the entrance of the cave. It could even stop small insects froming in,¡± Luo Yuan replied before he sat down.


    As he started to rx, the pain made him break out in cold sweat. He could not take it anymore.


    ¡°Brother Luo, are you okay?¡± Cao Ling asked once she noticed that something wrong with him.


    Luo Yuan shook his head with his eyes closed. ¡°I¡¯m fine. Just let me rest for a while.¡±


    Looking at Luo Yuan¡¯s pale face, everyone felt guilty for having him lead the way. He had gotten rid of every danger along the way, but it was obvious that he had sustained some serious injuries.


    ¡°Let¡¯s keep our voices down, and let Luo Yuan sleep for a while,¡± Huang Jiahui said softly with tears in her eyes.


    ¡°I¡¯ll go out and find some food!¡± Chen Xianfeng said uneasily, noticing that he was the only man around.


    Huang Jiahui was stunned. She had not expected Chen Xianfeng to be so brave. Considering the danger, she said, ¡°Wait a bit. We¡¯ll go together when Huo Dong and Lin Xiaoji return.¡±


    Chen Xianfeng was not used to talking to beautiful women. His face flushed and he lost the ability to speak.


    Huo Dong and Lin Xiaoji returnedter with a bundle of branches each, leaving them at the front part of the cave. Lin Xiaoji had even brought a beheaded frog as big as a basket. He was holding it in his right hand.


    ¡°We got lucky, I saw the frog in the bushes. I chopped its head off fast, otherwise it would have run away,¡± Lin Xiaoji said in a bragging tone with a smile.


    ¡°Don¡¯t speak so loud, you¡¯ll wake Brother Luo,¡± Wang Shishi said in dissatisfaction. ¡°This frog is too small. There won¡¯t be much left if we divide it among everyone here.¡±


    Lin Xiaoji¡¯s expression hardened, but he did not argue with Wang Shishi. Noticing Luo Yuan, who was leaning against the wall, he asked, ¡°Has Brother Luo fallen asleep? I¡¯ll go out to find more. I can¡¯t let everyone starve!¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s too dangerous outside. Let¡¯s all go, except for Wang Shishi and Cao Ling. We can look out for each other!¡± Huang Jiahui said as she pulled out her pistol.


    ¡°Sister Huang, let mee too. I feel better already.¡± Wang Shishi stood up weakly.


    Huang Jiahui knew that Wang Shishi was good at telekinesis. They would be much safer if she followed, but thinking of Luo Yuan¡¯s safety, she rejected her offer, ¡°You can¡¯t go. You have to take care of your Brother Luo. You can handle it if there¡¯s any danger.¡±


    Wang Shishi realized this, and after her initial fear, she agreed. Luo Yuan was the most important person to her after all.


    Cao Ling wanted to speak up, but she kept quiet. She was the weakest out of them. What else could she do other than stay back?


    Wang Xiaguang woke up not too long after everyone had left. She coughed a bit and tried to sit up.


    Cao Ling went over to lend her a hand. ¡°Are you up?¡±


    ¡°Luo Yuan? Where¡¯s Luo Yuan?¡± Wang Xiaguang asked anxiously, her voice raspy. ¡°Where am I? Why is it so dark?¡±


    ¡°Brother Luo¡¯s tired, he¡¯s fallen asleep. Let¡¯s lower our voices so we don¡¯t wake him up. We¡¯re in a cave. Everyone else has gone to find food, but they¡¯ll be back soon,¡± Cao Ling answered with a sigh.


    ¡°Sister Wang, what¡¯s your rtionship with Brother Luo?¡± Wang Shishi suddenly asked.


    Wang Xiaguang was a little ufortable knowing that Wang Shishi was there too. She had heard her voice, and she tried hard to maintain a calm tone as she answered, ¡°We were colleagues, but we¡¯re very close. You look young, how old are you?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m the youngest one here, I¡¯m only fourteen!¡± Wang Shishi said smugly.


    Disbelief was written all over Cao Ling¡¯s face.


    Wang Xiaguang¡¯s reaction was the same. She had not expected Wang Shishi to be this young. She had thought that she was at least sixteen or seventeen, maybe even eighteen. She quickly asked, ¡°Does Luo Yuan know you¡¯re this young?¡±


    Wang Shishi was not stupid. She knew what she meant and she said without a care, ¡°Brother Luo knew it all along. So what? I like him!¡±


    ¡°How could he?¡± Wang Xiaguang said to herself, unable to believe it. The image she had of Luo Yuan was copsing.


    Luo Yuan had only been resting his eyes. He could not take it anymore, so he coughed. His face was a little flustered, but luckily no one could see, otherwise his image would be hurt. He changed the topic, addressing Wang Xiaguang, ¡°You¡¯re awake! Are you feeling any better?¡±


    Wang Xiaguang turned around. She didn¡¯t want to acknowledge him, but she did not feel right ignoring him either. Finally, she said quietly, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯m much better!¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re too weak. Drink some more high-level beast bloodter, will you? You should be fine after a few days,¡± Luo Yuan said, looking concerned.


    ¡°Brother Luo, don¡¯t you want to sleep? Did we wake you?¡± Wang Shishi was jealous. She didn¡¯t like watching Luo Yuan talk to Wang Xiaguang the moment he woke up, so she changed the topic again.


    Luo Yuan med her in his heart. It was her fault he¡¯d had to wake up. He red at her, but Wang Shishi didn¡¯t notice. Then he said, ¡°I wasn¡¯t sleeping anyway. How are you now, still having a headache?¡±


    ¡°Much better already, but my head is still pulsing like it¡¯s about to explode. Why don¡¯t you massage it for me?¡± Wang Shishi spoke in her sweet voice. She looked like she wanted to show off to someone.


    Luo Yuan noticed Wang Xiaguang¡¯s upset expression, but just as he was about to get angry, he was reminded of how Wang Shishi had risked everything to save him. His voice softened, ¡°You want someone injured so badly to massage you? Cao Ling, you massage her, please!¡±


    Cao Ling stood up obediently.


    Wang Shishi had forgotten about Luo Yuan¡¯s injuries. She quickly said, ¡°Sister Cao, there¡¯s no need. I¡¯m okay.¡±


    Hearing that Luo Yuan was injured, Wang Xiaguang felt both pain and worry. She bit her lips in an effort not to say anything.


    Soon, everyone came back. Other than Chen Xiafeng, who was carrying something wrapped in a couple of leaves, everyone else carried nothing but bundles of firewood.


    Huo Dong lit up the dry leaves and added some firewood, illuminating the cave in an instant.


    ¡°You didn¡¯t find anything to eat?¡± Luo Yuan asked.


    ¡°You¡¯re awake!¡± Huang Jiahui said in concern before she sighed, ¡°There aren¡¯t many animals out there. There¡¯s nothing edible, except bugs. We found some cocoons on some trees, but we don¡¯t know if they¡¯re safe to eat.¡±


    ¡°Let me have a look at them,¡± Luo Yuan said.


    Chen Xianfeng quickly passed the contents of his hands over. There was a total of nine cocoons of the same insect. Each of them was the size of a palm, and their surface had someplex pattern. Luo Yuan took one and extracted a scary-looking pupa with his sword.


    He used Identification discreetly before he said, ¡°They¡¯re totally edible. Nothing to worry about. Hand the frog over, too,¡± he said. Extra caution was always necessary when dealing with food.


    He used Identification once more, and shook his head. ¡°You can¡¯t eat this. Your body will go numb. Throw it away!¡±


    Everyone was surprised. Luckily, they had not eaten it yet, or who knew what could have happened. They thought Luo Yuan could identify food toxins, so they did not suspect a thing. Only Lin Xiaoji looked a little upset. After all, the food he had caught with so much effort had turned out to be poisonous.

 Chapter 135: Maggots

    Chapter 135: Maggots


    Trantor: EndlessFantasy Trantion Editor: EndlessFantasy Trantion


    Cao Ling was woken up by the cold in the middle of the night. The cave was pitch ck when she opened her eyes. Only some sparks were left among the ashes.


    The loud roar of lightning and thunder came from outside as cold, moist wind blew through the cave¡¯s entrance. Judging by the sweet moisture in the air, it had to be raining.


    She was cold and hungry, her body trembling even though she was hugging a bundle of straw.


    She could not stand it anymore. She got up carefully to start another fire.


    It was quiet inside the cave as everyone was fast asleep from the day¡¯s exhaustion. Even Wang Shishi was snoring lightly.


    After searching in the dark for a while, she finally found the lighter beside the bonfire.


    The me shed in the wind, producing an eerie feeling. She squatted down to light the fire, hands trembling. She tried not to look anywhere, lest she should see something scary.


    The light and heat from the fire seemed to bring a huge sense offort to her. She sighed in relief, watching the fire grow brighter as she added more firewood.


    The cave became bright as day, everyone curling up against the straws like homeless people to keep themselves warm.


    Cao Ling¡¯s frozen body slowly regained feeling under the fire¡¯s warmth. She felt itchy and scratched her arm subconsciously, only to realize that she was scratching her wound when it started to hurt.


    Under the light of the fire, she saw something white wriggling on her wound. She thought her eyes had to be fooling her. Her heart tightened as she willed herself to look again.


    Countless maggots were wriggling around the wound. It wasn¡¯t just her arm. There were maggots everywhere that she had wounds. On her calves, knees, elbows, even on the back of her hands.


    She feltpletely disgusted. Suddenly, as if thinking of something, she touched her face. It felt slick as the pads of her fingers touched a soft maggot.


    No longer able to hold back, she screamed as loud as she could.


    Everyone woke up with a start, hands going straight to their weapons as they stood up.


    ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡± Luo Yuan jumped up and checked around, not finding anything unusual.


    Cao Long could not stop screaming, her hands waving in the air as her body trembled like a sieve.


    Luo Yuan walked over and pped her hard. ¡°Calm down! What¡¯s going on?¡±


    The pain brought Cao Ling temporarily back to her senses, but the fear still remained on her face as she stuttered, ¡°Maggots, maggots everywhere. I¡¯m dying! Save me, Brother Luo, save me!¡±


    Luo Yuan pulled her hand over and checked the back of it with his sharp eyes, sucking in a deep breath as he got goosebumps too. ¡°How can there be so many maggots?¡±


    Everyone crowded over, frightened by the sight. Suddenly, they were all checking their own wounds, women¡¯s screams filling the air. Even the men¡¯s faces turned a pasty white.


    Other than Luo Yuan and Lin Xiaoji, everyone had maggots on their wounds. Wang Xiaguang had the most as maggots filled her whole wound, their wriggling motion nauseating her.


    Huang Jiahui and Wang Shishi were not any better. Their faces were pale as they screamed.


    ¡°Calm down! Everyone calm down now!¡± Luo Yuan shouted.


    Huang Jiahui had not sustained as many injuries and her Physique had not been bad to begin with, so she had the smallest number of maggots. She quickly calmed down and said anxiously, ¡°How could this be? We¡¯ve been injured before, but our wounds were usually fine!¡±


    ¡°Maybe we got in contact with the insects¡¯ eggs when we passed through the forest,¡± Luo Yuan guessed.


    ¡°The forest is too dangerous. I don¡¯t want to stay here anymore. I¡¯d rather die by the volcano debris than let maggots grow all over me!¡± Wang Shishi shouted, tears spilling from her eyes as she dared not touch her wounds.


    ¡°Don¡¯t talk like that. When the volcano debris subsides, we will return to the highway. Let¡¯s deal with this first. We need to take care of the maggots now, before they get more dangerous,¡± Luo Yuan said seriously. The maggots had already grown to the size of chopsticks, and it wasn¡¯t even midnight yet. Who knew what would be of them if they let this go on any longer. Hopefully, they would not wriggle into any other orifices, or else...


    Luo Yuan dared not imagine a stomach filled with them, maggots bursting out of it.


    Huo Dong gritted his teeth and poked his finger into his wound. A disgusting slick feeling greeted his finger as he got goosebumps. The shallow wound was deeply rotten, almost engulfing his whole finger. Maggot after maggot, each about 5 centimeters long, were pulled out of his wound and thrown into the fire, the worms cracking loudly as they burned.


    Almost a dozen maggots were pulled out of a wound the size of a ping pong ball. The flesh in the wound was like a honeb, some of the holes a faint white color. There were obviously still some maggots deeper inside.


    Hopelessness shed across Huo Dong¡¯s face as he broke down and hit his wound. Blood and white pus sttered out as arge area around the wound deted. The inside seemed to have been eaten away.


    Everyone watching turned pale. They all felt chilled to the bone.


    Luo Yuan¡¯s expression changed. He could not keep his calm anymore. He quickly took a hold of Wang Xiaguang and ced her on the straw just as she was about to copse. Her wounds were mainly on her back and calf. The wound on her calf was only the size of a palm, but the surface on her back wasrger. Because it was on her back, she could not even see the severity of it.


    Luo Yuan felt heavy-hearted. His fingers tried pressing lightly around the calf wound, but the skin dented before much pressure could be applied, the action making the maggots inside wriggle.


    Wang Xiaguangy motionless on the straw, her eyes looking up at him hopelessly as she asked in a trembling voice, ¡°Am I going to die?¡±


    ¡°No, you won¡¯t. I saved you, I¡¯m not going to let you die,¡± Luo Yuan said decidedly, ¡°I need the sword.¡±


    ¡°What are you going to do?¡± Wang Xiaguang asked hurriedly.


    ¡°The maggots are not deep yet. You¡¯ll be okay as long as the flesh is cut off,¡± Luo Yuan replied.


    ¡°But then I won¡¯t be able to walk!¡± Wang Xiaguang said.


    ¡°I¡¯m not chopping off the whole leg. You¡¯ll just be limping a little,¡± Luo Yuan said after remaining silent for a while. He didn¡¯t tell her about her back, because he didn¡¯t want her to lose all hope.


    ¡°No. Even if I can still walk, I will need to rest a lot. I don¡¯t want to be a burden.¡± Wang Xiaguang bit her lips, tears streaming down her cheeks as she shook her head. ¡°I¡¯m afraid I can¡¯te to the West with you anymore. I should¡¯ve died anyway. I should¡¯ve died the night my mothermitted suicide!¡±


    Her parents¡¯ deaths and the distance between her and Luo Yuan had already made her want to give up. The condition of her body was only thest straw.


    Luo Yuan looked at her soulless eyes, a sight all too familiar for him. He had seen it from two different people, both of whom hadmitted suicide in the end. He was upset. ¡°You¡¯re not a burden. Even if your legs were chopped, I¡¯d still take care of you. You¡¯re still young, there¡¯s a lot of things you have yet to experience. The West is a peaceful ce. Our adventure will be over once we get there. We¡¯ll be able to live normally. You must persevere.¡±


    Wang Xiaguang¡¯s dull eyes suddenly shone, her pale face flushing a little. ¡°You¡¯re saying you¡¯ll take care of me forever?¡±


    Luo Yuan realized that Wang Xiaguang had misunderstood, but he could only go along with it now. ¡°You must keep living. Don¡¯t be scared. It¡¯ll be okay after the initial pain.¡±


    Wang Xiaguang¡¯s face paled again. ¡°Then be quick!¡±


    ¡°Shout if you¡¯re in pain!¡±


    Luo Yuan pulled his sword out and traced it over the wound on her calf repeatedly, his palms sweating. His usually steady hands were now trembling. Just as he was about to dig the de in, he thought of something. ¡°Lin Xiaoji, can you bring the frog over?¡±


    The frog¡¯s flesh and blood had a numbing effect, but it was not poisonous. It was the best kind of anesthesia. Luo Yuan suddenly felt grateful that he had not wanted to movest night, and that everyone else had been too concerned about their safety to go out and throw it away. Otherwise, Wang Xiaguang would have had to take the pain now.


    Lin Xiaoji quickly brought the frog over.


    Luo Yuan opened its stomach. Half a night after dying, its blood had already began to curdle. He did not need much, only a few drops. He picked up a straw and dipped it with some blood, dropping the droplets onto the wound.


    Suddenly, something unexpected happened.


    The maggots seemed to have felt the impending danger, and started wriggling out of the wound in an erratic movement. Soon, the wound was clear. Even the maggots that had wriggled into other orifices hade out.


    Luo Yuan was both stunned and thrilled.


    The atmosphere suddenly became merry as everyone dropped the frog¡¯s blood carefully onto their wounds.


    This particr frog seemed to be the maggots¡¯ natural enemy. As they came out of the wounds in an effort to escape, everyone either stomped on them in anger or threw them into the fire. A burning smell filled the air, but no one cared.


    When they were done venting, the women¡¯s mood went down the drain again. Even Huang Jiahui had be quiet. Although the maggots were gone, they had left them with several disgusting wounds that they could not bear to look at. They were afraid that the wounds might leave terrible scars on their skin.

 Chapter 136: Absorbing Life

    Chapter 136: Absorbing Life


    Trantor: EndlessFantasy Trantion Editor: EndlessFantasy Trantion


    The night was dark.


    Lightning stroke and thunder roared in the sky while it rained cats and dogs.


    Large raindrops fell on the leaves, making endless noise. They sounded like hurried knocks.


    Luo Yuan was drenched as soon as he got out of the cave. The giant lizardy quietly in the rain, water dripping down its smooth scales and forming a small pond where ity.


    Luo Yuan took a nce at the lizard sleeping soundly under the storm before he charged into the rain. He ran through the forest until he came across arge rock. His sword smashed it in quick strokes, the rock bing 40 ¨C 50 centimeters in diameter.


    Then he chopped arge tree and dug into a section of its trunk, making a simple wooden bucket.


    The rain got heavier, raindrops beating down on his face and making opening his eyes a real challenge. He took off his clothes, allowing the storm to wash his battered body. It had been two days since he hadst showered, and his body was already smelling of dried sweat and blood.


    As he showered, the wooden bucket was filled with rainwater. Luo Yuan put on his clothes again and returned to the cave, carrying the bucket of water and the stone ball.


    The fire in the cave burned bright. Nobody had gone back to sleep, even though dawn had yet toe. Even weak Wang Xiaguang was staring at the ceiling nkly. The atmosphere was dull and silent.


    Luo Yuan took off his clothes again to shake the water off. The garment was now synthesized with Storm Bird¡¯s feathers, so it dried extremely fast, leaving behind no sign that it had ever been in the rain. Luo Yuan put everything on again and cut the stone ball into two pieces. He dug out the inside part to make arge wok, and then ced it above the fire, pouring water inside it.


    Huang Jiahui and Cao Ling took over the task, washing all the clothes that they could find.


    The me licked the bottom of the stone wok greedily, boiling the water within minutes. Huang Jiahui boiled all the clothes for several minutes to disinfect them.


    When she took them out, the water had turned ck.


    Huo Dong poured it outside the cave and boiled another pot to wash the clothes until they were white.


    Everyone washed their wounds carefully with them, scrubbing the fabric clean and repeating the process. Lin Xiaoji had to bring fresh water five more times before everyone had finally cleaned their bleeding wounds and wrapped them up.


    Considering theck of medicine during that apocalyptic era, unless the most basic hygienic standards were met, there would be countless deaths.


    Wang Xiaguang was the weakest among them. She could not even stand or take care of her own wounds. Huang Jiahui didn¡¯t want Luo Yuan to help her, so she did it herself.


    After she wiped down Wang Xiaguang and bandaged her wounds, she realized that the girl was shaking. Her lips were a freezing purple color, the back of her clothes was damp, and the straw under her was also wet.


    Huang Jiahui flipped the straw. The soil underneath was so damp, it had almost turned into mud. She quickly brought more straw over and put it under her.


    Wang Xiaguang looked at the hustling Wang Jiahui. ¡°Thank you!¡±


    Huang Jiahui sighed. Her feelings were mixed. She turned to the corner and poured a bowl of blood Luo Yuan had gathered earlier, handing it to Wang Xiaguang to drink. ¡°Thank Luo Yuan. He asked me to take care of you,¡± she said softly.


    Wang Xiaguang¡¯s cold body warmed up. She looked better after drinking the dark blue level blood. She looked at Huang Jiahui in confusion. ¡°Thank you, anyway.¡±


    Huang Jiahui paused for a moment before she walked away.


    Moving forward was impossible under the heavy rain. Plus, most of them were injured.


    Luo Yuan was only feeling slightly better than the previous day. His body still protested in pain every time he moved too much.


    Rain dropped down from the walls of the cave and into the wooden bucket, making an irritating sound.


    The cave was getting damper, watering in from everywhere as the ground turned muddy.


    Luo Yuan had inspected the whole cave carefully, but except for a few spots, it seemed to be safe over all. The inside of the cave was not bad, and neither was its location. The soil inside was sticky though, so it did not copse as easily.


    However, this was only one of their problems ¨C they were running out of firewood quickly.


    The forest was cold and damp. The weather remained rainy, and moist wind kept blowing into the cave. Most of them would never have survived if not for the fire. They had not eaten much the whole day, so everyone was famished.


    Lin Xiaoji went out once, but he did not bring back anything. The insects had long gone into hiding to find shelter from the weather. It would be extremely hard to find their hiding spots considering their survival skills in the wild.


    Luo Yuan did not move. He was not their babysitter after all. It was impossible to do everything by himself, and it was not that dangerous outside anyway. It was the perfect time for them to train.


    Seeing that Luo Yuan showed no intention of moving, the rest of the men went out in search of food. Around noon, they finally discovered some insect eggs the size of chicken eggs.


    The women seemed to have linked the eggs to the maggots, because they paled once again. Cao Ling and Huang Jiahui ignored their disgust and washed the eggs before cooking them in the stone pot. Some of the eggs began to hatch under the rising water temperature, but they were promptly killed as it rose even higher.


    During the apocalypse, the perseverance of mankind was no longer the same as before. Everyone ate the eggs despite feeling nauseated. Even Wang Shishi finished hers. In fact, they all realized that the eggs did not taste bad once they tried them. They were almost pure protein. Because they were mutated beast eggs, the flesh was chewy and hard to bite.


    Food was as scarce as before, but they were not as hungry anymore.


    Luo Yuan toyed with the Heaven Pir Tree bark hesitantly. No matter how much mutation it went through, the tree bark still consisted of nt fiber, meaning that it was neither flexible nor tough. It was obviously not a very good material for sharp weapons. Its best function was defense.


    However, Luo Yuan thought it would be a waste not to try to synthesize it with the sword.


    This was Luo Yuan¡¯s first timeing into contact with such a high-level material. It was possible that he would not get a second chance anytime soon.


    Besides, the sword was getting blunter. It depleted too much of his Willpower whenever he fought against a dark blue level creature, let alone an even more powerful one.


    Synthesizing the bark into his sword would probably not increase its sharpness, but it would at least make it more powerful than a dark blue level sword.


    Simply put, it was a question of attacking or defending himself.


    Luo Yuan thought about it long and hard, and ultimately decided to synthesize it into the sword.


    No matter how strong the protection of his clothes was, it would not have much of an effect against mutated beasts. On the other hand, a strong attacking power would bring more immediate results.


    ¡°Heaven Pir Tree¡±


    ¡°Rarity: Green¡±


    ¡°Weight: 21kg¡±


    ¡°Ability: Energy Absorption¡±


    ¡°Remarks: The Heaven Pir Tree is a magical being. It can absorb any kind of energy, including life energy, and grow rapidly, regardless of the circumstances. Its surface is tough and its defense is strong. It can absorb a certain amount of energy, and it is a high-level protective material.¡±


    Luo Yuan used Identification once more before he synthesized the bark with his sword under everyone¡¯s watchful eyes.


    His ability to synthesize mutated materials into weapons and clothes was no longer a secret. Everyone just assumed it was an ability Luo Yuan had because he was an evolved person, so he did not need to hide it anymore.


    Luo Yuan mumbled a quiet ¡®Synthesize¡¯, and the tree bark gradually turned a lighter color.


    It took far longer than usual to synthesize. Luo Yuan stared at the sword seriously as its dark blue color slowly faded away. Ayer of fine dark blue dust floated around the handle as the whole sword burned.


    Vapor buzzed wherever the sword was touched by the soil.


    Everyone watched the process without blinking, disbelief written all over their faces. No one dared make a sound, afraid to disturb Luo Yuan.


    The whole process took about half an hour. Under everyone¡¯s astonished gaze, the Heaven Pir Tree bark turned into dust. Luo Yuan blew the dark blue dust on the sword away, revealing a ck sword.


    Its ck color seemed to be able to absorb light. Even the fire dimmed a little near the de, giving it a mysterious aura.


    Luo Yuan lifted the sword, trying out the feel of it. It was three times as heavy, but it was still manageable with his 13-point Strength. He held the sword with both his hands and shed through the air a few times.


    The air buzzed from the friction of his high speed.


    He was moving so fast, nobody saw his arms move. They were already used to it, but their hearts still surged in wonder.


    Luo Yuan stopped, panic shing across his face. He took a deep breath and used Identification on the sword.


    ¡°Life Harvesting Sword¡±


    ¡°Material: Alloy, Heaven Pir Tree Bark¡±


    ¡°Rarity: Green¡±


    ¡°Weight: 15kg¡±


    ¡°Attack: 30 ¨C 34¡±


    ¡°Special Effect 1: Attacking Speed +1¡±


    ¡°Special Effect 2: Life Absorption (Passive), absorbs a certain amount of active energy from the attacker and replenishes the energy of the holder of the sword.¡±


    ¡°Equipment Requirements: 14-point Strength¡±


    ¡°Remarks: This is a Life Harvesting Sword. It will bring you endless energy when you kill your enemy.¡±


    Luo Yuan was delighted. His guess had been right. The sword¡¯s attacking power had only increased by 5 points. That was aplete mismatch to its green level statuspared to the sword¡¯s previous level-up pattern. It should have been light green level instead.


    Luo Yuan had expected it though. The 5-point increase had already exceeded his expectations.


    What made him happy was the life-absorbing ability that had reced its useless freezing ability. If what he had read was true, this would be an unbelievable ability. He would always be able to recover from his injuries as long as he had an enemy.


    Too bad that he could not find any beast outside, otherwise he would have tested the Identification description.


    Luo Yuan yed with the sword a little more before finally putting it away longingly.

 Chapter 137: Dawn

    Chapter 137: Dawn


    Trantor: EndlessFantasy Trantion Editor: EndlessFantasy Trantion


    The debris from the volcano eruption poured continuously down on the area.


    By evening, the umted water in the forest had flooded the cave, so Luo Yuan and the gang had to move once again.


    The forest was a t ne. At such short notice, all Luo Yuan could do was pick arge tree and carve a hole with his sword big enough enough for them to fit in.


    Everyone was drenched and freezing. Wang Xiaguang who was already weak because of her injuries, had spiked a high fever by nightfall. Not even dark blue level blood could bring it down.


    Luo Yuan was beyond worried, but there was nothing else he could do. He could only leave things to God and Wang Xiaguang herself.


    The irritating pitter-patter of the raindrops seemed to never end. Everyone had curled up in the innermost corner of the damp, dark tree trunk, and were watching the neverending darkness outside with nk expressions.


    Huang Jiahui hugged Wang Xiaguang tightly, her face pale and cold from sharing her body heat with her.


    She did not understand her own actions. She wasn¡¯t sure if she was taking a precaution for Luo Yuan or was actually feeling pity for the girl. Maybe it was a bit of both.


    Luo Yuan squatted by the entrance, watching the ferocious flood in a trance. His bones had nearly recovered. Other than some pain in his internal injuries, he felt alright.


    However, his mood was not any better. The amount of pressure on him felt suffocating.


    The hardships outside could neverpare to theforts of home.


    He was already feeling the wear and tear after only a few dozen kilometers. The continuous struggles along the way had brought down the high spirits he¡¯d originally had when they¡¯d left, leaving him both mentally and physically exhausted.


    Ning Xiaoran had already passed away. Who would be next? Wang Xiaguang?


    If she could not hold on and make it through the day, then perhaps... He got an immensely anxious feeling just thinking about it.


    ¡°Luo Yuan,e quick! She doesn¡¯t look good!¡± Huang Jiahui called for him anxiously.


    Shocked, Luo Yuan quickly turned and felt her forehead. ¡°Why is she getting hotter?¡±


    Wang Xiaguang was red like a cooked shrimp, her body burning at a temperature higher than 40 degrees Celsius and trembling nonstop.


    ¡°Where¡¯s the blood? Let her drink some blood,¡± Luo Yuan said hurriedly.


    ¡°There¡¯s no more left. It was finished half an hour ago,¡± Huang Jiahui said worriedly, ¡°Her wounds are already cankering. It¡¯s probably because of the rain.¡±


    Luo Yuan paced back and forth restlessly, finally speaking after a while, ¡°Clean her wounds again right away. I¡¯ll go get more blood.¡±


    Huang Jiahui pulled on his shirt at once, unease shing in her eyes. ¡°It¡¯s raining heavily outside. It¡¯s flooded everywhere! What are you going to do? There¡¯s no more beasts around, let alone high-level ones!¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about me, I¡¯m not going anywhere. The lizard is also a fourth level beast. It¡¯s blood will do. You take care of Wang Xiaguang, I¡¯ll be back right away,¡± Luo Yuan said before he jumped out into the rain.


    The water reached his thighs as he carefully maneuvered himself forward, sensing the situation in the water.


    The giant lizard was not able to sleep like the previous day. It was rather distressed as it had never experienced such a flood. As it saw Luo Yuan heading over, it cried pitifully, delighted to see him. How could it have known that its heartless owner was not there see to it, but to retrieve its blood?


    Luo Yuan approached the lizard and felt around its foot for a crescent-shaped wound that had barely recovered two days ago. The scales there had not grown back yet. Luo Yuan inspected it for a minute before he shed open the wound once more with his sword.


    Blood gushed out from the wound and into the bucket he was holding.


    Feeling the pain, the lizard fidgeted before turning its head around and staring at Luo Yuan. It looked like it was feeling wronged and confused.


    Luo Yuan did not even lift his head. He was too concentrated on retrieving the blood.


    The muscle on the lizard¡¯s leg contracted on instinct in an effort stop the bleeding after a while. Luo Yuan impatiently shed the wound open again, cutting a gash several dozen centimeters deep.


    The lizard let out a wail, but remained unmoving, too afraid of Luo Yuan to resist.


    Faintly, he felt a weak warmth flowing into his body. It was so weak, it was almost unnoticeable. He thought it was an illusion at first, but he felt it more distinctly the second time.


    ¡°Life absorption! This is life absorbtion. Damn it, how could I forget?¡± Luo Yuan pped himself harshly, immensely frustrated. ¡°If I¡¯d thought of it earlier, Wang Xiaoguang would not have had to suffer so much. There¡¯s still time, though.¡±


    Luo Yuan forgot all about collecting the blood. Carrying the half-full bucket, he rushed towards the huge tree.


    ¡°You got the blood?¡± Huang Jiahui breathed a sigh of relief upon seeing Luo Yuan.


    Luo Yuan nodded and put down the wooden bucket. He observed the tree hole, which was about three meters wide and three meters deep. He had almost emptied the middle of the tree. Trees like this had been rare before the apocalypse, but they were amon sight now.


    Luo Yuan stabbed his sword into the tree, feeling an even weaker warmth flowing into his body through the handle. No wonder he had not felt it when he¡¯d been digging into the middle of the tree trunk earlier. The weak flow had been too insignificant to notice if he was not focused.


    Even though the effect seemed miniscule to him, it would probably be sufficient for a normal person like Wang Xiaguang.


    He thrust the sword deeper inside while he told Huang Jiahui, ¡°Move Wang Xiaguang over. Let her hold the handle.¡±


    Huang Jiahui looked at Luo Yuan in confusion, but she did exactly what he had asked her to. ¡°She¡¯s running a really high fever. Why do you want her to hold that cold handle?¡±


    The good thing about Huang Jiahui was that she could distinguish right from wrong clearly and she had absolute faith in Luo Yuan. Even when she was utterly confused, she would only ask questions after doing what she¡¯d been told.


    Everyone else was also looking at Luo Yuan with the same puzzled expression.


    Luo Yuan brushed them off, ¡°Let¡¯s see if it works. I¡¯ll think of something else if it doesn¡¯t.¡±


    Huang Jiahui assumed it was some superstitious custom from Luo Yuan¡¯s hometown. He was just doing anything and everything in his power to save Wang Xiaguang. She let Wang Xiaguang gulp down a few mouthfuls of blood and hugged her tightly.


    ¡°Brother Luo, when will the rain stop?¡± Wang Shishi asked weakly after a while. Herrge eyes were bloodshot. She was no longer the high-spirited girl that she once was.


    Luo Yuan looked at Wang Shishi and sighed. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, it will probably stop by tomorrow morning,¡± he tried tofort her.


    Wang Shishi forced a smile as a hint of disappointment shed across her eyes. ¡°I miss our house,¡± she said softly.


    Everyone¡¯s expression turned solemn. It was true. Maybe they should not havee out at all. It was better to live feebly counting down each day than to live adventurously with lurking danger everywhere they looked. Life was too fragile for normal people. It was fragile to the point that a small ident in the wild could cause them to die. No one dared state this out loud, even though they were thinking about it.


    Luo Yuan looked at the unconscious Wang Xiaguang, speaking after some time, ¡°It¡¯ll be fine once we¡¯re past the hard days.¡±


    Wang Shishi grabbed Luo Yuan¡¯s hand and ced it on her face. She snuggled against it gently, not saying a word.


    ¡°Quick, look! Her wounds are healing!¡± Huang Jiahui suddenly eximed ten minutester, breaking the passive mood.


    Luo Yuan pulled his hand away from Wang Shishi and looked at Wang Xiaguang¡¯s calf. The wound seemed to have decreased in size as it began to scab. It was no longer filled with pus. Luo Yuan felt her forehead. While it was still hot, her temperature was no longer burning.


    At least her life had been saved, Luo Yuan sighed in relief. It seemed that it had really worked.


    Huo Dong and the other men turned around before Luo Yuan lifted Wang Xiaguang¡¯s shirt and gently untied her bandage. It seemed that herrgest wounds were also getting better.


    ¡°How can she be recovering so fast?¡± Cao Ling asked in bewilderment. She rushed to exin what she had meant before there was a misunderstanding, ¡°I mean, her recovery is not normal. It¡¯s impossible for someone to heal like that on their own.¡±


    ¡°Maybe she has evolved!¡± Huang Jiahui said excitedly without thinking. The fact that Wang Xiaguang was her love rival had long been forgotten after taking care of her for so long.


    ¡°Stop your wild guesses. It¡¯s because of the sword. It changed after I synthesized the tree bark into it. It seems like it can absorb energy from other living things to heal injuries. I¡¯ve only just confirmed it now,¡± Luo Yuan exined everything. The sword could heal any one of them in the future.


    The women¡¯s eyes radiated with an astonishing glow.


    Even Wang Shishi, who had looked lifeless until then, was glowing.


    Cao Ling subconsciously touched her hideous left cheek, looking eager.


    Huang Jiahui¡¯s eyes also glowed with excitement, her gaze burning with passion.


    The attention women paid to their looks was something no man could understand. Especially when it came to these women, who had already been beautiful to begin with. The wounds and scars left behind by the maggots had been a huge blow for them.


    Luo Yuan¡¯s words were like the first ray of dawn after a long night. It had ignited the dying fire in their hearts.


    The oppressive atmosphere was gone in an instant, the tight tree hole filling with joy.


    Everyone witnessed the miracle of Wang Xiaguang¡¯s calf wound bing smaller and smaller, until all that was left was a dark-colored scab. As the fever subsided, the girl woke up. After four hours, the scab came off, revealing fresh, rosy skin.


    Seven hourster, therge wound on her back had also healedpletely.


    It was 3 a.m., but no one was feeling sleepy. Excitement was written all over their faces as rareughs and jokes filled the air.


    What made them even happier was that the rain had finally stopped.

 Chapter 138: Nuclear Explosion Aftermath

    Chapter 138: Nuclear Explosion Aftermath


    Trantor: EndlessFantasy Trantion Editor: EndlessFantasy Trantion


    The rain stopped, but the flood did not subside as fast.


    Danger might still be lurking under the dirty waters, so it was clear that they could not make a move just yet. However, everyone¡¯s mood seemed to have brightened along with the weather. Even Luo Yuan did not seem as distant, and he surprisingly took the initiative to go find some food.


    Actually, there were still many sources of food in the flooded forest as long as you paid attention and could tell what was poisonous.


    Luo Yuan found all sorts of weed tubers, some tree juice as sweet as cow milk, random wild fruit and even arge fish.


    It had both surprised and delighted him.


    He was surprised because the flood had connected all the rivers andkes, making the water extremely dangerous, and he was delighted because this light blue level fish was gigantic. It could probablyst them until the flood subsided.


    Luo Yuan dragged the big fish back to the tree hole. The tree was depleted of its energy, its leaves turning yellow in one night.


    He had to chop the fish into several parts as it was toorge to fit into the hole.


    Realizing that he had returned, everyone came out to help. They carried and stacked the parts in a corner, forming a one-meter high stack of meat. Luo Yuan kept the fish skin as it was much thinner and flexible than mutated beast skin, and it was suitable for carrying water or other things.


    Huang Jiahui and Cao Ling collected the remaining firewood and started a fire. They were not worried about burning the whole tree down as the hole was still damp from the rain.


    Huo Dong carved some stakes from the tree and used them to grill the fish. The smell and sound of the fish cooking in the fire filled the tree with an appetizing aroma.


    Huang Jiahui gave everyone about a ss worth of tree juice and saved the rest.


    The refreshing taste of the juice had everyone sipping it preciously instead of gulping it down. The weed tubers tasted good too, their rough texture allowing them to be eaten like rice or fruit.


    Everyone stuffed themselves after starving for so long. Even Wang Shishi, who ate the least, had three times her usual portion.


    Luo Yuan had more than 10 catties of fish, making up for not eating the past few days. Considering his exceptional physique, he could not be considered a normal person anymore. He could stay in good spirits without eating for days, but could also consume a few days¡¯ worth of food in one sitting.


    As the days passed, everyone¡¯s injuries recovered substantially.


    After the third day, the flood had finally subsided, leaving mud everywhere. Some piranha-looking mutated fish were pping somewhere in the distance, making ast effort to survive.


    Huang Jiahui obsessively checked their luggage again and again, only stopping after she¡¯d made sure nothing had been left behind.


    They actually did not have much to bring along ¨C several dozen catties of tree juice in fish skin, about a dozen of fish jerky, half a catty per piece, three lighters, personal weapons and bullets, and some clean, worn-out clothes that not even beggars would want to wear.


    That was everything.


    Luo Yuan was carrying in his rucksack about a dozen short stakes that he had made recently. Before jumping off the tree hole, he pulled out the sword, which had been stabbed into the tree.


    The rest of them got on the giant lizard,ying down cautiously on the carpet on its back.


    They had not beenpletely idle the past few days. The lizard¡¯s back was now covered with a simple carpet made of rattan skin, so they didn¡¯t have to be afraid of slipping off it.


    With a low growl, the lizard got up and started moving forward slowly.


    Flying insects were everywhere as water umted in ces while the flood subsided. These insects were smaller than rice, but flew in colonies, looking like mist in the air. They dared not go near Luo Yuan, but they were still killed if they flew too slow.


    Luo Yuan had noticed the same thing when they had still been in the tree hole. They had left a tiny hole by the entrance because they¡¯d been concerned about insufficient oxygen supply, but not one insect had flown in during the day or night.


    The insects were not trying to avoid him or the giant lizard, but his sword.


    Since the sword had evolved to green level, the de exuded a faint dominance that took a lingering physical form.


    However, the dominance was still very weak. Normal people could only feel it once it was honed and razor-sharp, but it was different with insects. That kind of weak dominance was-life threatening to them considering their small size, so normal insects dared not go near it.


    After half an hour, the trees started to lessen, giving way to the sky. It was still gloomy. Clouds were hovering above, and the sun would probably remain hidden for days as the volcano eruption had brought along copious amounts of debris.


    However, that did not stop them from feeling ecstatic.


    ¡°We¡¯re finally leaving,¡± Huo Dong said in excitement.


    ¡°I think we¡¯ll be out of the forest in less than ten minutes,¡± Cao Ling added with a smile.


    ¡°I have to find a bed and a nket, and get a good night¡¯s sleep. The cold kept me awake every night,¡± Wang Shishi said in her sweet, spoiled voice.


    Huang Jiahui smiled quietly. The young girl had suffered these past few days ¨C sleeping outside like in prehistoric times and not brushing her teeth for several days in a row. Thankfully, all this was about to end. The defense fortifications along the highway would have nkets, beds and all sorts of personal hygiene items.


    They chatted all along the way, but their smiles were about to be wiped off their faces.


    The trees grew less dense as they walked deeper into the forest, but they also got stranger. Their trunks were twisted and had a lot less leaves than normal trees. Most of the leaves had wilted too, making the trees look like abnormal, deformed creatures.


    Skeletons of mutated beasts could be seen along the way, most of them were half-buried in the mud. However, as they moved on, the small skeletons were reced by bigger ones.


    It seemed that something had happened there.


    Luo Yuan, who was bolder than everyone else, was not surprised or disturbed as easily. As long as no creatures above light green level appeared, he had nothing to be afraid of. He did not stop the lizard from moving forward, even though he did feel a little strange. This route was the closest to the highway. If they went around this area, they would have to walk a lot more to reach it.


    About ten minutester, the trees started to lean in a certain direction. The sight of wilted trees increased, and only a couple of living ones were left. Even those looked strange, though. They had no leaves, and their branches looked like ghostly ws struggling in the air.


    Death seemed to permeate the air as their surroundings became eerily quiet. Not even the hissing or squeaking of insects could be heard. Everyone felt like they were on the way to Hell.


    The giant lizard was also disturbed. Its nostrils red with smoke, and it seemed reluctant to move forward.


    Huang Jiahui suddenly eximed in a shaking voice, ¡°Hold up! Let¡¯s go back. This is where the nuclears exploded.¡±


    Luo Yuan looked shocked. ¡°What do you mean?¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t you remember? Several atomic bombs were detonated in the wilderness around Hedong City. I¡¯m afraid this is where they exploded,¡± Huang Jiahui said anxiously.


    The blood suddenly drained from everyone¡¯s faces as they looked around them in fear.


    No wonder it was so quiet. The nts were growing in odd shapes because this was where the atomic bombs had been detonated. It was possible that arge amount of radiation still remained in the area. Luo Yuan tapped the lizard¡¯s head immediately and signaled for it to head back the way they hade from.


    ¡°We¡¯ve been here for so long. Will anything happen to us?¡± Wang Shishi asked worriedly. The photos of deformed humans that she had seen in school had left a deep impression on her.


    ¡°No, our bodies are much stronger than before. Besides, we¡¯ve only been here for about ten minutes. We¡¯ll be fine,¡± Huang Jiahui said. It was more tofort herself than anyone else. ¡°See, aren¡¯t some of the trees still alive?¡±


    ¡°But they look so strange. Have they mutated?¡± Wang Shishi asked uneasily.


    Huang Jiahui was silent for a bit before saying, ¡°No, they were already mutated nts.¡±


    Suddenly, Wang Xiaguang¡¯s body jerked and she almost fell off the lizard. Luo Yuan grabbed her quickly and asked, ¡°Are you alright?¡±


    Wang Xiaguang shook her head, replying in a trembling voice, ¡°I¡¯m just a bit dizzy.¡±


    ¡°Me too. I feel like vomiting,¡± Wang Shishi said softly, her hand clutching onto Luo Yuan¡¯s clothes.


    Everyone looked troubled. They all felt the same way.


    ¡°Hold on a little longer, we¡¯ll be out of here soon.¡± Luo Yuan looked at everyone, feeling his heart get heavy. It would seem that other than himself and Lin Xiaoji, everyone else had been affected by the radiation. Even Wang Shishi was experiencing the symptoms.


    This time the radiation was different thanst time. In that case, it had been several dozen kilometers away, the amount of it insignificantly low, so normal people were able to get over it easily. This time it was too close.


    The vitality of mutated nts was exceptionally strong, so radiation could not do much harm to them. Such wide range of death could only mean that they had been extremely close to the center of the nuclear explosion.


    ¡°Brother Luo, can you help me break a branch here?¡± Cao Ling suddenly said, looking at the strange trees.


    ¡°What do you want the branch for?¡± Luo Yuan asked.


    ¡°These trees don¡¯t have leaves. The radiation looks really serious, and there¡¯s no other living organisms around. These kind of nts don¡¯t use living things as a food source, so chances are they¡¯ve absorbed the radiation,¡± Cao Ling exined, looking slightly excited.


    ¡°It could be possible. There¡¯s this saying that says, ¡®Wherever there are poisonous worms, there must also be a cure,¡¯¡± Huo Dong cut in, feeling a sliver of hope.


    Luo Yuan looked at the oddly-shaped trees and thought that Cao Ling¡¯s hypothesis might be right. He quickly said, ¡°You guys wait here. Let me go check it out.¡±


    He jumped off the lizard¡¯s back and briskly walked towards one of the trees.

 Chapter 139: Sea Bridge

    Chapter 139: Sea Bridge


    Trantor: EndlessFantasy Trantion Editor: EndlessFantasy Trantion


    The tree was not big, about 7 ¨C 8 meters tall and less than half a meter wide. It was bald and looked malnourished. What made Luo Yuan noticed it was that its bark was oddly smooth and wless, akin to human skin.


    While he thought it would not be dangerous, he was still cautious in approaching the tree, his dominance exuded from clutching his machete, stealthily.


    Until Luo Yuan got closer, the strange tree did not seem to move.


    ¡°It seems like this tree was affected by the radiation... but it¡¯s still a normal tree.¡±, thought Luo Yuan, as he rxed. He chose a branch to hop on, and chopped it off effortlessly.


    At that very moment, Luo Yuan seemed to feel that the tree quivered in pain, calmed itself down quickly.


    Luo Yuan hopped off the tree for a closer look and observed it meticulously.


    The tree was motionless, like a how a normal nt would be. He would have been baffled if the chopped branch was wriggling around like an injured snake now.


    This was actually rather normal. It was natural of living creatures to avoid harm. Even though Luo Yuanid low, the aura he exuded was much like that of a dark blue level mutated beast. A Level Light Blue tree would never provoke such a human-form mutated beast unless it wanted to face its doom. If its senses were sensitive enough, it would probably notice a genuine dark blue level giant lizard nearby. That could be considered an overlord of most of the mutated beasts.


    This was also the reason it had been quiet and peaceful along their way. It was impossible for their journey to be this serene, regardless of how scarce the living creatures were left, post-radiation.


    ¡°Didn¡¯t expect nts to y dead too,¡± Luo Yuan thought, but let the tree go as he did not want to cause any more trouble.


    As he picked up the branch, it seemed to have been provoked and wanted to coil itself around Luo Yuan¡¯s hand. With a grunt, he shook it harshly, causing the branch to spasm. Luo Yuan unleashed Identification and was taken aback with his observation.


    ¡°Branch of Radiation Tree¡±


    ¡°Rarity: Light Blue¡±


    ¡°Weight: 3¡±


    ¡°Equipped Ability: Absorbs radiation from its surroundings.¡±


    ¡°Comment: Radiation Trees usually lives in areas of nuclear radiation, causing the tree to mutate for survival. They use radiation as food and sometimes eats mutated creatures. Its attack power is extremely strong, but its juice is the best raw anti-radiation ingredient mostly used for medical purposes.¡±


    Luo Yuan dare not dy any further, and returned as everyone had been exposed to the radiation.


    ¡°This branch isn¡¯t poisonous, is it?¡±, said Wang Shishi, disgusted, looking at the twitching branch.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, it¡¯s not. Everyone will be okay after drinking the squeezed juiceter,¡± Luo Yuan replied.


    ¡°It¡¯s too scary, can¡¯t believe that even nts can move,¡± said Cao Ling, afraid.


    ¡°Hehe, women should like this best, wouldn¡¯t they?¡±, teased Huo Dong inappropriately, losing all sense of tactfulness.


    The menughed in tacit knowledge, even Luo Yuan too, had chuckled in unison.


    Not only did Huang Jiahui and Cao Ling who had experienced such situation before, were flustered, even Wang Shishi who was just a young girl flushed. Huang Jiahui red at him, ¡°No jokes like this next time.¡±


    The rest of the females too, red at him.


    Huo Dong shut his mouth in obedience and apologized profusely as he could not afford to offend thedies.


    Luo Yuan then had Wang Jiahui take out a few wooden bowls as they forcefully twisted the branch. Everyone drank a small bowl of the red juice that was squeezed out, Luo Yuan included, as he was afraid his body would sumb to radiation too.


    The juice was not as bad as he thought. It was bittersweet, with a light herbal aroma, capable of lifting one¡¯s spirits after consumption.


    The effect was immediate. Wang Xiaguang was healing well, while the rest of them with fewer symptomspletely recovered.


    To avoid any remaining radiation in their bodies, Luo Yuan hacked a few branches off and kept them in his rucksack for emergencies, leaving the ce right after getting on top of the lizard.


    Due to the wide area affected by the radiation, the group had to make dozens of unecessary kilometers in their journey, but the gigantic size of the lizard enabled it to reach 4 ¨C 5 meters with each stride. Its 15-point Dexterity allowed it to reach 20 ¨C 30 meters per second even in the thickets of the forest. Even then, the speed was already slowed down as Luo Yuan was worried that everyone would fall off should it move too fast.


    Thus, they had already arrived at the highway by 2pm despite taking a longer route.


    It was several dozen kilometers away from the Heaven Pir¡¯s Tree; the surface of the road was still intact.


    As they got onto the highway, they turned back to see a several hundred-meter tall volcano standing in the distance, with thick smoke billowing out. No buildings were saved from the destruction around the radius of over 10 kilometers; the area was nketed by coagtingva.


    That included a small part of Hedong City.


    Words would not do justice, in describing the force of mother nature.


    Everyone was dumbfounded, unable to recover from the daze.


    ¡°Will it erupt again?¡± Huang Jiahui suddenly asked, looking at the dense smoke.


    ¡°It¡¯s an active volcano but it might take much longer before erupting again. But that¡¯s uncertain too. Maybe it¡¯ll erupt again next time,¡± Luo Yuan answered.


    ¡°Wouldn¡¯t Hedong City be very dangerous if the volcano were to erupt again? Apart from the survivors, there are still hundreds of thousands of people living in the underground base,¡± said Huang Jiahui, her face losing its color.


    ¡°Sister Huang, life and death have been destined. We can¡¯t even protect ourselves, so why even care about others so much?¡± Cao Ling asked. She was triggered with the mere mention of the underground base. She had nned to go there but was takem away before she could even see the gate, thus having only ill-feelings about the ce.


    Not only Cao Ling, the rest of them felt indifferent too.


    ¡°My daughter might be inside.¡± said Huang Jiahui solemnly after a while, ¡°I thought she would be very safe... looks like not even the underground base is free from harm.¡±


    Her ex-husband was the leader of the armed forces; he would be in priority, regardless of defense power or job position. This was why she made her daughter follow her ex-husband, thinking it would be much safer for her.


    Everyone was sombre.


    Intense sadness shed across Huo Dong¡¯s face, as his 8-year-old son was separated from him during the chaos too. He did not have much hope, given that a little kid would hardly be able to survive the chaotic situation. But deep down, he still hoped that his son would¡¯ve somehow stayed alive.


    ¡°Nobody knows when they would meet their doom in this apocalypse. Maybe today, maybe tomorrow... us included. So don¡¯t get too caught up on this. At least they¡¯re in a safer ce now,pared to us.¡± Luo Yuan hugged Huang Jiahui, and assured her gently, ¡°Your daughter will too be fine, let¡¯s go.¡±


    Huang Jiahui nodded but turned her head back from time to time, her expression indecipherable.


    The giant lizard moved much faster as it got onto the highway, unleashing the high dexterity attribute as its speed picked up.


    The surrounding blurred out of their line of vision as the wind blew against them.


    Everyone grabbed on tight to the carpet nervously. Wang Shishi clung onto Luo Yuan¡¯s elbow, terrified of being flung away.


    They had finally arrived at the sea bridge before the sky had darkened.


    Luo Yuan stopped the lizard and frowned, looking into the distance, ¡°Damn it, we still won¡¯t be able to pass. Looks like we have to go around it again.¡±


    The sea bridge that used to look like a long dragon was crooked andden with cracks now. The coarse cables hung onto the structure, as somerge pieces of cement were suspended. Even the abutment that served as the bridge¡¯s pir,id horizontal in a mess.


    Due to the low tide, there were lots of ne surfaces except for a few lower spots that still contained sea water. Moss grew sparingly under the bridge, possibly forming a forest soon with time.


    Luo Yuan¡¯s heart felt heavier when he saw arge footprint on the sea bed even from afar. This was obviously left by dangerous ocean creatures.


    Fortunately, they had left with the low tide, as he could see none of them now.


    ¡°If we go the other way round, we can only use the provincial highway. That would be an additional several hundreds of kilometers, and we¡¯d have to through a forest. We don¡¯t even know if there¡¯s still a route there.¡± said Huang Jiahui pensively, ¡°Can we go beneath it?¡±


    ¡°The sea bed is too soft... I¡¯m worried if it could be a deep swamp instead. It¡¯d be bad if we were to sink into it,¡± said Luo Yuan thoughtfully. He was only afraid of running into swamps, as he would be helpless, should one of them had sunk.


    ¡°No need to think about it now. The sky is getting darker, we¡¯ll talk about it tomorrow,¡± Luo Yuan continued, after looking at the overcast sky.


    As the sea bridge was across the ocean, it was more dangerous than thend, so the defense was much tougherpared to the highway. Enormous fortifications were built on both sides of the sea bridge¡¯s entrance.


    3 rusty tanks were parked at the gate and there were another 2 multi-barrel rocketunchers behind the gate. The pile of rocketunchers were 3 meters long each, and gave an impressive deterrence.


    In addition to the multiple cannons, Luo Yuan guessed that it would be enough to defend even a beastly wave.


    Luo Yuan made the lizard stop at the entrance and went into the fortification. The first floor was the control center; it was a mess inside with documents and cigarette ashes scattered around. The people seemed to have left in a hurry as he noticed a photo frame, which was such a personal item, was left behind.


    Luo Yuan turned and went into another office. The stench of a rotting corpse greeted him as he pushed the door open.


    A sea of ck beetles escaped in a rush, frightened by Luo Yuan.


    A skeleton wearing a major¡¯s uniform sat was seen sitting on the chair of the office. Its skull had fallen to the floor, a circr hole was on its temple and a pistolid where the arm hung ¨C a sign of suicide.


    Did something strange happen here?

 Chapter 140: Survivors

    Chapter 140: Survivors


    Trantor: EndlessFantasy Trantion Editor: EndlessFantasy Trantion


    ¡°There¡¯s an arsenal in the basement.¡± Huo Dong and the others ran over to report, as Luo Yuan looked around, ¡°But most of the items have been moved, 7 of the cannons ced at the embrasures were taken away too.¡±


    Luo Yuan followed them into the basement, the spacious arsenal waspletely emptied. Other than few dozens ofrge rocket missiles still neatly ced by the corner, not even a box of bullets was left.


    ¡°Who do you think moved these?¡± Luo Yuan asked.


    ¡°It shouldn¡¯t be the soldiers here. If they wanted to move them, they would¡¯ve driven the few tanks away too instead of leaving them there. The only possibility is that there could still be survivors nearby,¡± said Huo Dong said.


    Everyone was delighted.


    ¡°There are still survivors?¡± said Luo Yuan, shocked.


    It had been uninhabited this entire time, other than some nts and mutated beasts. Destion and hopelessness were in their minds, as the ce had given the illusion that all human traces had been wiped out. With that assumption, everyone seemed to breathe easily.


    ¡°Should be around here, I guess.¡± Huo Dong said, ¡°It¡¯s near the sea here so it¡¯s all saline soil. nts are lesser here than out there too. We should be safer here than anywhere else.¡±


    ¡°But they¡¯re too inconsiderate; they didn¡¯t leave anything at all! Even nkets and towels were all taken,¡± Wang Shishi pouted, muttering discontently.


    Luo Yuan frowned a little. They had almost nothing now since all their belongings were gone. They had initially wanted to replenish the ones here but it seemed like nothing was left.


    ¡°Found any salt?¡± Luo Yuan asked.


    Salt is not only a seasoning, but a necessaryponent to the human body as sodium and chloride helps to control fluid bnce for the functioning of muscles and nerves.


    They had not had any salt intake for thest 5 days. Although they did drink a few mouthfuls of mutated blood each day, the amount of sodium in the blood could neverpare to the one in salt. Even Luo Yuan felt easily fatigued recently. If they could not find any salt any time soon, he probably would not be able tost any longer too.


    ¡°No, we searched everywhere.¡± Huang Jiahui shook her head, ¡°If we¡¯d known, we would¡¯ve searched for them along the way.¡±


    ¡°We were rushing earlier. It¡¯s just salt, nobody noticed. Who would¡¯ve known it would be so hard to find even a bag of it now. I¡¯ll go over to the opposite base, maybe there¡¯s some there,¡± Luo Yuan said, sighing.


    Less than a minutester, he returned. It was just the same where he went, everything had been cleared.


    Huang Jiahui sighed, ¡°We¡¯ve been out of it for so many days, one more day makes no difference. I guess the stations nearby would have been cleared too. Let¡¯s resume the search tomorrow.¡±


    ¡°We can only do that now. Luckily it¡¯s all sea water here. We¡¯ll just boil them to get salt if everything else fails,¡± Luo Yuan said, shaking his head.


    The group finished having dinner before nightfall; no one had much appetite since there wasn¡¯t any salt. They chose an enclosed room after that, and slept off after dusting it andying down the bed boards.


    Even though the conditions were extremely bare, with not even nkets avable, the square room seemed luxurious,pared to the damp and cold tree hole in the forest.


    A peaceful night passed, as everyone finally got to have a good night¡¯s sleep.


    The weather was still gloomy the next day. The aftermath of the volcano eruption would not seem to clear up anytime soon, imminent of grey skies for a good, long while.


    Luo Yuan had been sitting at the door since the break of dawn, wiping off imaginary dust from his machete with a cloth, while staring intently at it.


    After such a long time of using the machete along with his willpower, his will had more or less left its mark on the de, forming a faint, invisible connection between them. Holding the machete in his hand now almost felt like it was an extension of his own arm.


    It sounded mysterious, but it was also amon case. You form an inexplicable bond with the things you use often. A lot of experienced technicians would have their own set of tools that they do not simply exchange for another, unless they were forced to. If they ever had to change it, the new set would feel foreign in their hands. One¡¯s will could easily mark itself on tools that has been used for a long time. While the situation with his machete was much weaker inparison, unnoticeable even, the connection did indeed exist.


    Luo Yuan kept his machete back to its scabbard after a while, thinking to depart now as everyone else should have been done packing.


    Just as he wanted to move, he heard voices of people talking in the distance. He looked towards its direction after getting over the initial shock.


    On the sea bed under the sea bridge, 7 men were walking carefully and talking very softly. Their conversation was rather inaudible, as he was too far away.


    They had various cold weapons and explosives with them. They looked like they were hunting, as the 5 men in front continuously poked the mud with their spears, while another 2 rifle-armed men were on the lookout. Luo Yuan could feel the tension, even from a few kilometers away.


    Their luck was not bad. They witnessed an aggressive struggle in the mud after several minutes, as a man who managed to stab the beast¡¯s body was flung away by its tail. He stood up quickly with his mouth bleeding, but retreated soon after.


    Gunshots fired quickly as the 2 men pulled the triggers aiming at the mud. The beast was shot as the mud was slowly stained red.


    They either did not have much bullets or were trying to save them, as the gunshots stopped after a few seconds.


    The rest of the men went in as a substitute, brutally stabbing their spears into the struggling ball of mud, while some people were flung away by the force.


    These men were ruthless, as their attacks never stopped. The struggle in the mud gradually got weaker and weaker.


    A few minutester, the mud waspletely devoid of movement. A eel-like mutated beast about 4 meters long surfaced after the men dug around the mud.


    One of the men stabbed his spear forcefully through the beast¡¯s body and all of them carried the body back without wasting any time. They disappearing into the forest in a sh.


    Huang Jiahui who walked over, saw Luo Yuan ncing downwards, and asked curiously, ¡°What¡¯s up?¡±


    ¡°I saw people down there just now, not a small number of them too,¡± Luo Yuan said.


    Huang Jiahui eximed in disbelief, ¡°There are people down there? The tide will being soon, how can they still be there?¡±


    ¡°This ce is the sea bed and the tide ebbed not too long ago. Of course it¡¯s safer staying here rather than out there,¡± Luo Yuan said nonchalently, seeing that the ce had less ntspared to other ces, ¡°You guys wait up, let me go see what¡¯s up. If it¡¯s within walking distance, we can pass through this seabed. If not, we could at least go home with some salt.¡±


    ¡°Do you need another few people to go with you? If they¡¯ve taken all the weapons here, they should have plenty there. I don¡¯t believe in people turning heartless in an apocalypse, but we should still take precaution,¡± said Huang Jiahui worriedly. She was less na?ve now that she had been through so much.


    The destruction of societal structure has made everyone unscrupulous. The pressure to survive a further-decaying humanity, was intense.


    ¡°It¡¯s only gonna be troublesome with too many people. Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ll return in a sh,¡± Luo Yuan said. With his capabilities now, he would not get hurt unless it was a heavy rain of bullets. Even then, he would only be lightly wounded with the defense of his clothes. He could still escape. If he had too many people with him, he might cause animosity instead.


    Huang Jiahui knew how Luo Yuan was, so she could only ask him to be careful.


    Luo Yuan nodded and jumped off from the bridge¡¯s rails some ten meters from the ground. With his will, he slowly floated down like a feather, with his feet already stepping on solid ground the very next moment.


    Huang Jiahui only came back to her senses from watching him, when Luo Yuan turned to wave at her.


    The route was not an easy one. It was filled with soft mud and pits. Luo Yuan¡¯s shoes and pants were stained with mud within a blink of an eye. He shook his heavy shoes, flinging the mud away.


    After a while of having his legs in the mud, Luo Yuan finally arrived where the group of men hunted. There were a long trail of footprints extending to the inner part of the forest, an clear indication of their whereabouts.


    The nts were sparse and short, their average height barely 3 meters. They resembled more of a thicket instead of a forest, by the current standards.


    Luo Yuan followed the footprints and arrived at a small vige, after about half an hour.


    All the trees within several hundred meters¡¯ radius were chopped down, several dozens of various colored tents were ced in the middle. What shocked Luo Yuan was that there were a lot of people here, who seemed merry. They all wore torn clothes but their faces were painted with all sorts of pigments, concealing what they really looked like.


    These pigments must have certain effects. Otherwise, no one would paint such pungent substances on themselves. Luo Yuan could even smell the scent, far from where he stood.


    Luo Yuan was further taken aback, when he sensed a strong aura.


    He continued walking and soon discovered arge creature by the corner of the vige, ¡°A dark blue level mutated beast! There¡¯s a dark blue level mutated beast here!¡±


    It was a fiery red lion-like beast butrger and more valiant than a lion. Even while it was lying down, it was about 3 meters tall. Its fiery fur danced in the breeze like a ball of mes.


    It was extremely sharp; its ears were twitching and standing up as its eyes opened to look towards Luo Yuan, as he approached it.


    Luo Yuan¡¯s hand went to the handle of his machete gently, as he moved back slowly.


    He did not want to start any battles. This beast was obviously someone¡¯s pet. It would be disaster to the whole vige, if it ever got killed or hurt.


    The creature did not attack right away. Confusion seemed to sh across its eyes as it stared intently at Luo Yuan, without further reaction.


    Suddenly, its tail wagged joyfully, as the hostility in its eyes vanished.


    Under Luo Yuan¡¯s cautious gaze, the creature moved towards a tent on the left and stopped at the entrance. Its head lowering into the tent as it howled a little. Not long after, a woman with the same painted face followed the beast out.

 Chapter 141: Meeting Zhao Yali Again

    Chapter 141: Meeting Zhao Yali Again


    Trantor: EndlessFantasy Trantion Editor: EndlessFantasy Trantion


    The woman wore severalyers of torn clothes, also colored with the pigments, covering herself up securely. She held a pistol and murmured as she walked, ¡°Lao Huang, it¡¯s so dangerous outside. Why did you ask me toe out? If there¡¯s nothing important, I¡¯ll beat you up.¡±


    Luo Yuan felt a sense of d¨¦j¨¤ vu, as he witnessed the scene.


    The woman was just a little taller than the beast¡¯s calf. It could have stomped on her by ident, yet its tongue hung and its tail wagged as it lowered itself to pander to her, under her nagging.


    The beast stopped and howled towards where Luo Yuan was.


    The woman¡¯s gaze followed andnded on Luo Yuan. She was stunned, not even noticing that her pistol had fallen on the ground as her lips quivered, ¡°Xiao Yuan.¡±


    Nobody called him Xiao Yuan anymore now, not even the oldest Huo Dong in his group. The familiar voice put Luo Yuan in a state of trance; unsure as he uttered, ¡°Sister Yali?¡±


    The woman was none other than Zhao Yali. She was beyond shaken, ¡°You¡¯re still alive?¡±


    She had imagined their reunion countless of times, but her imagination had gradually shattered with the increasing cruelty of the apocalypse. She even felt that he had died alongside the others, who were killed by the mutated beasts.


    She passed Donghu City with the refugees before, but the once-vibrant city had turned into a slum, even Hedong City had fallen. She no longer carried any hope; her memory of Luo Yuan fading with time. Who would have known that she would actually meet him on such an ordinary afternoon.


    Looking at Luo Yuan who was just as striking as he was pre-apocalypse, and the clean clothes on him, she was at a loss of words, her hands smoothing her dirty tangled hair, before tugging at her stained wrinkled clothes to straighten them.


    Luo Yuan went a few steps forward and was equally shaken, ¡°It¡¯s really you. What about uncle and aunty?¡±


    ¡°The fifth day after you left, dad and Lao Huang went to the farnd to find food again but didn¡¯t return after a long time. Mum was worried and went to find them. By the afternoon, Lao Huang dragged two bodies back, both poisoned to death by worms,¡± Zhao Yali said with a sob.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry,¡± Luo Yuan sighed.


    ¡°It¡¯s nothing, it¡¯s been a long time now,¡± Zhao Yali wiped her eyes, smudging the pigments on her face.


    It pained Luo Yuan, as he extended his hands in attempt to grab hers, but she pulled out gently, turning her head, ¡°Don¡¯t be like this.¡±


    Luo Yuan had thought that she was just a little not used to it, given that they had not met for so long, and attempted again but was cut off by a deep voice.


    ¡°Yali, who¡¯s this?¡±


    A man holding a spear ran over to Zhao Yali¡¯s side, without a care for Lao Huang. Lao Huang¡¯s tail wagged again, obviously familiar with the man.


    Listening to how the man had addressed Zhao Yali so intimately, Luo Yuan had a bad feeling about this.


    Zhao Yali was caught off guard, ¡°He¡¯s my friend in Donghu Cityst time, we just met again.¡±


    Her gaze then avoided Luo Yuan, ¡°Xiao Yuan, this is my boyfriend, Zhu Hao.¡±


    The man seemed to have missed the scene earlier as he smiled, ¡°It¡¯s such coincidence that you¡¯ve found this ce. We¡¯re pretty hidden. Since you¡¯re Yali¡¯s friend, you¡¯re my friend too. If you have nowhere to go, stay here. It¡¯s pretty barren and you have to struggle in the mud to get here, but nothing is more important than safety at times like this.¡±


    Luo Yuan was irked, forcing a smile with a few deep breaths, ¡°Thanks, but I won¡¯t stay here for long. I came over just to see if this was a passable route. It was only by chance that I met Sister Yali.¡±


    He should have known earlier that with Zhao Yali¡¯s good looks, even if she was ugly, as long as Lao Huang was with her, it would be impossible to not have any suitors. In this extreme era of hunger for power and safety, no man without the least ambition would miss seizing the opportunity of acquiring a dark blue level creature.


    Both of them had a fling in the past. Even if there were feelings involved, they had faded with time too.


    Zhu Hao had a good built. It could be seen that he was not bad looking even with a full face of pigments. Besides, his voice was in a rich baritone, and he spoke in a gentleman-like manner. His status would definitely not be low in this survivor¡¯s camp. Woman like Zhao Yali who was gentle and a little unsure of herself, would never be able to resist him as long as he put away his pride or status to court her.


    ¡°That¡¯s good too. We can¡¯t stay here for long anyway. The tide ising soon, we¡¯ll have to find a new ce by then. But isn¡¯t it too rushed to leave so fast? Stay for lunch, you can catch up with Yali since you both haven¡¯t met in such a long time,¡± Zhu Hao smiled.


    His smile seemed sincere to Luo Yuan, with not a hint of discontent traceable. Luo Yuan was sure that he himself would not be able to act the same. This man was not an easy person. Yet, only a man like that could survive in this harsh world now.


    Thinking about it, he did not want to stay any longer and said shaking his head, ¡°It¡¯s alright, my friends are still waiting for me. I¡¯ll leave after asking about the route here.¡±


    Zhu Hao was relieved but Zhao Yali cut him just as he was about to speak, ¡°You should leave after a meal together. Aren¡¯t you happy to see me again? If you¡¯re worried about your friends, ask them all over.¡±


    Luo Yuan could not reject her invitation, finally nodding after looking at her imploring gaze, ¡°Okay, I¡¯ll ask them over.¡±


    Looking at Luo Yuan¡¯s retreating back, Zhu Hao turned and spoke to Zhao Yali, ¡°We just caught arge eel. I¡¯ll ask them to prepare it. Would you like toe help?¡±


    Zhao Yali did not seem like herself, apologizing after some time, ¡°I¡¯m a little tired, let me rest for a bit. Call me when Xiao Yuan¡¯s here.¡±


    Then she left for her tent.


    Zhu Hao¡¯s expression darkened immediately. Anyone who was not blind could see the odd tension between them. They would probably have each other in a passionate embrace had he not rushed over in time.


    He had been abstaining from sex to court Zhao Yali, rejecting a few women who had offered themselves to him and showing great concern for her along their way of fleeing, even being subservient to please her. After all the effort he had put in, he did not expect this obstacle out of nowhere when he was so close to seeding.


    He stared at Luo Yuan as he walked away for some time, before finally turning to leave as well.


    It was already two hourster when Luo Yuan andpany arrived.


    To prevent unnecessary panic, Luo Yuan did not bring the lizard along. Even their luggage was left where they were.


    The campsite was filled with garbage; an inexplicable stench permeating the air. A skinny woman in torn clothes pulled down her pants and started to pee in front of everyone.


    A few men eyed her fair exposed buttocks and dragged her into a nearby tent before she could even finish peeing. Along the way, her bed-games and the men¡¯s teasing chides was clearly audible to everyone¡¯s ears.


    Huang Jiahui who had not been too happy, became even more upset watching the scene.


    A lot of people were digging the mud by the vige¡¯s side in search of food.


    A bony man fell in spasm in the midst of digging, people around him moving away with a sh of terror on their otherwise emotionless face, but that was all. Nobody screamed nor ran away, everyone resumed digging around the mud, after looking at him and avoiding the spot.


    Apart from being shaken with what they saw, the group was grateful to have followed Luo Yuan. Had it not been for him, they would end up being one of these people.


    There were more than a hundred people in the camp, but the difference was stark even when both sides were survivors. Perhaps it was the shortage of food, causing most of the survivors here to be pale faced and dull eyed, with not an ounce of energy left in them.


    There was still a handful of healthy-looking ones but these were mostlyprising strong men and beautiful women.


    Luo Yuan knew that a status quo would always exist regardless of era. It used to be intelligence, now it was strength. Only the stronger ones would live better in apocalypse and acquire more resources, be it food or women.


    A muscr youth came to get them soon enough. He looked at Luo Yuan challengingly but his eyes shifted its focus upon seeing the women.


    They were too cleanpared to the women in the camp. Their clean clothes, immacte appearance and decent features stood out like a sore thumb here, especially Wang Shishi ¨C her delicate face was akin to that of a painting; her soft skin radiating like baster.


    Wang Shishi retorted with offense, ¡°What are you looking at?¡±


    The youth smiled thoughtfully, ¡°Everyone, follow me.¡±


    The group followed him to the front of the biggest tent, and he stopped, ¡°Weapons are not allowed in here. You have to pass them all to me, I hope you would kindly co-operate.¡±


    ¡°So many of you are scared of the few of us?¡± said Lin Xiaoji, vexed.


    The youth smirked, ¡°This is where we hold meetings. No one is allowed to bring any weapons in here. A rule is a rule; no one is exempted.¡±


    ¡°Since when did your rules ever apply to us?,¡± questioned Cao Ling.


    Luo Yuan hesitated and then said, ¡°Forget it. We¡¯re guests, it¡¯s not nice to bring weapons. Pass them to him.¡±


    He then passed over his machete.


    The youth¡¯s face changed just as he got hold of it. The heavy weight of the machete made him hold it with both his hands quickly.


    Astonishment ran through his face as he stared at Luo Yuan, who had been effortlessly carrying the machete single-handedly all along.


    Everyone followed suit, since Luo Yuan had already passed up his own weapon, and the group then walked into the tent.


    nk covered the base of the tent, and a thickyer of carpet covered the wood but it was still a little damp.


    A round table was ced in the middle with 7 people already around it, Zhu Hao sitting at the leading position but Zhao Yali was nowhere in sight.

 Chapter 142: Bottom Line

    Chapter 142: Bottom Line


    Trantor: EndlessFantasy Trantion Editor: EndlessFantasy Trantion


    The table was empty without so much as a morsel of food. Anyone could feel the hostility within the gaze on Luo Yuan and friends, when they entered. Luo Yuan then had the realization that this would probably be a Hongmen banquet1.


    ¡°Have a seat, everyone. Dishes will be served soon. There are no outsiders here, Yali¡¯s not here too. There¡¯s something I¡¯d like to rify first or I¡¯m afraid that this meal will be hard to swallow,¡± Zhu Hao said, with a lit cigarette. He did not have to disguise his dislike since Zhao Yali was not here.


    ¡°So troublesome... to even have a meal. What did you want to say?¡± Luo Yuan smirked as he moved towards the table. With a stretch of his hand, a hole was dug in the solid wood table as he slowly ced the wood pieces on the table.


    The wordless deterrence achieved its effect, but Zhu Hao suddenly let out a loudugh, ¡°Gutsy. But you have to understand that this is my territory. I know you¡¯re not weak either since you were able to make your way here and attend the banquet without fear... but just to remind you, I already have a few machine guns aiming towards this tent ever since you got in. If you dare try anything funny, I¡¯m afraid you won¡¯t be able to leave,¡± Zhu Hao said lightly as he stepped on the cigarette he puffed and lit another one with a slight shudder.


    Everyone looked at Luo Yuan in panic, but was assured when his expression remained stoic.


    Luo Yuan tapped the table lightly and said coldly after some time, ¡°Tell me about it.¡±


    ¡°Alright,¡± Zhu Hao subconsciously let out a breath he did not know he was holding. He did not know why he would always felt a little out of breath whenever he faced Luo Yuan, as if he was facing a mutated beast instead of a human. He had been trying to dominate the situation since they entered, but it was obvious that he did not seed.


    ¡°Let¡¯s each mind our own business, I don¡¯t want toplicate matters too. Zhao Yali is now my girlfriend, so please leave immediately after lunch. Ultimately, she¡¯s only a beautiful woman. If you need, I can give you a few more who are prettier. But to this survivor¡¯s camp, she¡¯s akin to a protector god. So don¡¯t you worry, I¡¯ll take good care of her.¡±


    Zhu Hao was undoubtedly a smart man, he knew when and what to give and take. He knew what he needed and worked to acquire it. Zhao Yali was not only a woman, but a force of deterrence to him.


    Luo Yuan¡¯s arrival had caused him a sense of crisis. Anyone who was not blind could see that Zhao Yali still had feelings for the man. If it were a normal woman, he could just send her as a sign of friendship, but it was different with Zhao Yali. Having her would mean having a fourth level beast.


    This beast was too important to him and to this campsite. The most crucial reason this site could remain so safe was because of this beast¡¯s existence. He had to keep it here regardless of circumstances; and to keep it here means keeping Zhao Yali here. He had especially crafted 2 solutions before this banquet ¨C they could either do it the hard way or the easy way, but he must send him away as soon as possible.


    Luo Yuan was irked. He was not someone who cannot be reasoned with, and Zhao Yali was already someone else¡¯s girlfriend. By right, he should have given up, but for some reason, he was extremely unsettled, as though a a ball of fire burned silently in him.


    He kept quiet for a while then said raising his head slowly, ¡°And if I don¡¯t agree?¡±


    Surviving was already difficult with the unpredictable danger in the era of apocalypse when you could die anytime, so he saw no reason to live so cautiously.


    Zhu Hao¡¯s subordinates¡¯ hands immediately went to their pistols, the air seemed frozen in ce with the impending battle.


    ¡°This is not giving me face, she¡¯s my woman now,¡± Zhu Hao sneered.


    His words stung Luo Yuan deeply, his face darkening, as his eyes bored holes into Zhu Hao. A threatening aura exuded from him as the air became restless, even the wood pieces on the table seemed to begin floating.


    The youth guarding by the entrance suddenly realized that the ck machete beside him shook intensely, as if wanting toe out from its scabbard. He pressed on it with shock yet the de did not stop quaking.


    There was a pin-drop silence in the tent


    Cold sweat trickled down the foreheads of Zhu Hao and his gang, their hands on the pistols stoned like statues. Instinct told them that chaos would entail with any rash action.


    Zhu Hao finally knew why he was so breathless facing Luo Yuan. He was too powerful, so much so that with just his gaze, nobody dared to move. He could possibly kill everyone here in a sh too, if he wished to.


    ¡°Luo Yuan, enough,¡± Huang Jiahui suddenly voiced out, she did not look happy. Luo Yuan had crossed the line this time. She could close an eye when Luo Yuan killed people, but he should only kill those who deserved it, not simply murdering as he wished, especially not for someone else¡¯s girlfriend.


    The threatening aura slowly dissipated. Luo Yuan stood up solemnly after a while, ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡±


    His voice wasced with endless exhaustion, everyone could feel his depressing mood.


    Zhu Hao wanted to end things with some pleasantries, but realized that his words seemed to be stuck in his throat.


    Just as Luo Yuan was ready to leave, a loud growl came from the camp, deafening everyone.


    ¡°It¡¯s a giant dog,¡± one of Zhu Hao¡¯s subordinates shouted.


    Before the first growl ended, another growl came from a distance; with both beasts engaging in apetition.


    ¡°Roar!¡±


    ¡°Oww!¡±


    Luo Yuan¡¯s expression changed, he briskly walked out of the tent and had already picked up his machete before the youth guarding the entrance could react. Zhu Hao and gang followed him out after some hesitation.


    The trees in front fell, as a huge beast revealed itself.


    Everyone around fled screaming, knocking over some of the tents.


    ¡°Giant lizard¡¯s here,¡± Wang Shishi said happily.


    The lizard came following Luo Yuan¡¯s scent since he did not return after so long.


    Lao Huang guarded at the entrance of the campsite, its red fur blowing luxuriously with the wind, as a transparentyer of red me hovered above its fur. It growled angrily at the lizard, but Zhao Yali was nowhere to be seen, possibly already in hiding.


    Luo Yuan noticed the cannons set around nearby were already shifting their aims towards the lizard. He quickly grabbed Zhu Hao by his side and growled, ¡°Order them to stop at once.¡±


    Everything had happened too fast. Zhu Hao who was still confused finally understood now that these people too, had a fourth level beast. He nodded his head, afraid that Luo Yuan would kill him, and shouted loudly, ¡°Everyone hold your horses, everyone stop!¡±


    It was impossible for anyone to have heard his order in this nerve-wracking situation, so cannons fired almost immediately, but thankfully, none of the people operating them were professionals as the first round of fire missed.


    Yet it still frightened the lizard, its scales spiking and movement picked up to speed towards Lao Huang.


    Even Luo Yuan could not catch the lizard¡¯s sudden movement.


    Its 15-point Dexterity (Luo Yuan¡¯s was 14 points) blurred its movement from everyone¡¯s eyes. Within a blink, it had knocked into Lao Huang sending it flying. Lao Huang rolled with the momentum, with its high heat fur burning the mud.


    Before it could stop rolling, the lizard charged again, its ws dug into Lao Huang¡¯s body as it opened its mouth, aiming at the dog¡¯s throat.


    Although both beasts were dark blue level mutated beasts, the giant lizard was still much stronger than Lao Huang due to its AP. Both of them were on different levels ¨C the lizard¡¯s speed alone could only dominate Lao Huang.


    ¡°Everyone stop,¡± Luo Yuan roared breaking out in cold sweat.


    Hearing his familiar voice, the giant lizard halted its movement in reflex. Its head cocked to one side as it looked around, w still stepping on Lao Huang. Lao Huang was wailing, its body frozen in ce.


    Someone nearby prepared to fire the cannon again. With a brisk movement, Luo Yuan had already chopped the cannon about a dozen meters away into halves, frightening the person into a stun.


    Zhu Hao noticed Luo Yuan¡¯s incredible speed and quickly ordered everyone to stop.


    Finally, everyone stopped in their tracks, but s, the campsite was already a mess.


    Lao Huang¡¯s wails finally made Zhao Yali charge towards where they were from her tent.


    ¡°Make your beast let go of Lao Huang now, you bastard. You¡¯re hurting it,¡± Zhao Yali grabbed Luo Yuan¡¯s clothes, angrily shouting like she has gone mad.


    Luo Yuan did not disclose any emotion and shouted, ¡°Giant lizard,e back!¡±


    The lizard loosened its grip and turned toe over, causing the ground to tremble with every step. Those standing near Luo Yuan scattered away once again.


    Zhao Yali let go of Luo Yuan in an instance, and rushed over to Lao Huang.


    Even though Lao Huang had already mutated, its canine personality remained. With a pitiful wail, it got up and hid behind Zhao Yali to lick its wounds.


    The stark contrast of its size and action was hrious but no one was able tough at the moment.


    Huang Jiahui had been exceptionally calm. She realized that Zhu Hao who had gone to inform Zhao Yali of the situation was now blended into the crowd and was loudly instructing his subordinates.


    She looked at the silent Luo Yuan and the puzzled crowd, and seemed to realize something and raised her pistol to aim it towards Zhu Hao who was further away.


    Trantor Notes


    1 A feast or meeting set up as a trap for the invited party.

 Chapter 143: Abducting

    Chapter 143: Abducting


    Trantor: EndlessFantasy Trantion Editor: EndlessFantasy Trantion


    ¡°Zhidong, get someone into my tent. There¡¯s still a cannon there. Zhao Wu, you and the others blend into the crowd the with guns but don¡¯t shoot unless absolutely needed,¡± Zhu Hao instructed quickly.


    He was a dominant person; never the type to leave his fate in the hands of others and always had a backup n in mind. But no matter how strong a person was, he would have his own set of weaknesses, like everyone else around him.


    He asked while carefully analysing the situation with Luo Yuan, ¡°How many grenades do we have left?¡±


    ¡°I didn¡¯t...didn¡¯t count, but there¡¯s still about 15 boxes left,¡± said one of his men, after much thought.


    As they had cleared all military weapons from the fortifications around them, shortage of firearms and weapons were no longer an issue.


    ¡°How many times have I told you to record all the weapons with individual serial numbers? Never mind, we¡¯ll talk about this next time...¡±


    He looked towards Luo Yuan again, now stricken with panic. A tinum pistol was aimed at him, not moving the trigger. His back was drenched in sweat; his arm pulling one of his subordinates closer instinctively.


    It was useless.


    The gun had fired, a dark blue level bullet catapulted through the air and shot through the body without any obstacles, embedding a hole right through his forehead.


    Zhu Hao¡¯s eyes widened with disbelief, sumbing to the ground, shuddering.


    Up to the point of his death, he could not understand why the person who killed him was not Luo Yuan, not three of his useless men, but the woman who stopped Luo Yuan from killing loudly earlier.


    Luo Yuan turned over, looking at Huang Jiahui in shock, feeling touched, ¡°You...¡±


    ¡°No more time to lose, bring the woman with you, and run,¡± Huang Jiahui said without emotions, pulling the trigger continuously at the few men around Zhu Hao.


    Zhu Hao¡¯s death caused another bout of chaos in the campsite, which was just regaining its peace. A few men with a much quicker reflex action had already brandished their pistols, some running towards the cannons.


    Luo Yuan was rmed but he immediately reacted. He made the lizard crouch a little lower and shouted, ¡°Everyone get onto the lizard, we¡¯re leaving this ce.¡±


    The group snapped out of their bewilderment, and did as they were told.


    Immediately after, Luo Yuan was already charging towards someone who was just about to fire his pistol, and ughtered him into half. Without dying, he then advanced towards another gunman on the left. The man did not even have a chance to react as he lost all consciousness with a sh of Luo Yan¡¯s de.


    With a turn of events, Luo Yuan no longer restrained himself from ughtering another.


    Letting loose of his 14-point Dexterity, not a single soul with their guns out survived in those few short seconds. Ultimately, everyone was scared and naturally kept their guns in their pockets.


    Luo Yuan turned to see that everyone was already on the lizard, except Huang Jiahui, who was still shooting away.


    ¡°Leave quickly, I¡¯ll catch up,¡± Luo Yuan shouted.


    Huang Jiahui did not decline as she knew Luo Yuan¡¯s capabilities very well. She retreated step by step, before turning to run towards the lizard. In a sh, Luo Yuan hacked an elerating bullet aimed towards Huang Jiahui into half, with the help of Sensory Perception.


    Before he least expected it, Luo Yuan picked up a stone and threw it towards the gunman but his poor excuse of a long-distance aim had the stone shooting past the person¡¯s ear instead, but that too, was enough to scare him half to death.


    In Zhu Hao¡¯s tent, a machine gun was propped up, the long bullets forming a small golden hill as the muzzle aimed towards Luo Yuan from the hole of the tent. Both machine gunners witnessed the situation outside with bated breaths and cold sweat dripping off their foreheads, while watching the increasing number of deaths.


    ¡°When do we fire?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know...We might die if we fire... and if we don¡¯t, then it¡¯s guaranteed we won¡¯t die. Which one do you choose?¡±


    ¡°I want to stay alive,¡± the person stuttered, after some hesitation.


    ¡°Me too.¡±


    Zhao Yali was already scared, dumbfounded by the gory scene in the campsite, only reacting with a scream when she was thrown onto the back of the lizard.


    Feeling its master¡¯s fear, Lao Huang was enraged, wanting to charge over but once it saw Zhao Yali on the lizard¡¯s back, it stopped in its tracks. The earlier battle had left an impact on him.


    Luo Yuan retreated with caution and jumped onto the lizard promptly. The lizard seemed to have noticed Luo Yuan¡¯s impatience with his forceful tap, as it growled lowly in obedience before running away.


    Lao Huang paced the ground restlessly while seeing its owner getting further and further away from him but decided to follow suit, without much thought. It roared at the lizard along the way, its voice echoing long and deep, reverberating through the air.


    A soft, gentle breeze blew by.


    Zhao Yali sat on the back of the lizard with a straight face.


    Wang Shishi pouted, keeping the ball in her court, and ignoring Luo Yuan. Huang Jiahui lowered her head in silence; she wasn¡¯t in the best of moods either. Wang Xiaguang who was beside her looked equally upset.


    The tension kept everyone silent but Huo Dong and the others were filled with curiosity to gossip, despite being well-aware that is was not the appropriate time.


    The giant lizard sloshed its way through the mud, calf-deep. Luo Yuan did not realize that it had chosen to go through the seabed, but since the mud was not too deep, he decided against asking the lizard to detour.


    Luo Yuan looked at the grey clouds above and sighed softly. He had killed a lot of people since the dawn of apocalypse, but not one had caused him to be this restless like today¡¯s, not even when he had murdered for the first time.


    He would always be able to find an excuse for himself each time he killed someone, but this time round, he was at a loss.


    He had no reason and no right to me Huang Jiahui too. It would be a lie to say that he was not the least bit delighted when Huang Jiahui murdered Zhu Hao earlier. No man would not want to eliminate theirpetition in the name of love; a universal truth for as long as one was a man.


    Huang Jiahui did not state anything explicitly, but he knew she did it for him. She was part of the police force, thud her sense of justice would always be much stronger than Luo Yuan¡¯s insincere kindness. Although she had stopped him from killing another, but she would kill for him the very next moment.


    ¡°You¡¯re so stupid,¡± Luo Yuan could not help but to utter, looking at Huang Jiahui.


    Huang Jiahui kept quiet for a bit before she turned and said, ¡°I don¡¯t want to see you dead because of a woman.¡±


    With her character, the light ridicule in front of everyone was enough to decipher her extreme discontent.


    Zhao Yali remained emotionless at the side, as if it she wasn¡¯t the subject of their conversation.


    Luo Yuanughed dryly and diverted the topic to loosen the mood, ¡°It¡¯s already noon now and we haven¡¯t eaten. They wouldn¡¯t be chasing after us now. Why don¡¯t we continue our journey after eating?¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s eat first then,¡± Huang Jiahui knew she couldn¡¯t pressure him too much especially when Zhao Yali was around. So, she relented. Besides, everyone had not had a bite since morning.


    The lizard halted as the group slid off its back. Zhao Yali lost her bearings as she got down, but pushed Luo Yuan¡¯s hands away when he tried to help. She deliberately slowed her pace and ran towards Lao Huang once Luo Yuan¡¯s attention was off her.


    As he saw Zhao Yali run away just as he was putting down the luggage, he pursued her, rather unhappily.


    Zhao Yali could not help but beckoned her pet as she saw him chasing her, ¡°Lao Huang, pick me up quickly.¡±


    The creature stood up right away when it heard her voice, encouraging the woman to run without looking back.


    Too bad Luo Yuan had already caught up with her just as she spoke.


    Lao Huang hesitated and paced around for a while, and decided not to go any closer, as he was still afraid of the lizard.


    ¡°Let go of me, you monster,¡± Zhao Yali punched Luo Yuan violently.


    ¡°Where are you going?¡±


    Her struggles were like mere scratches to Luo Yuan, as he could effortlessly drag her back.


    ¡°I¡¯m going back to the campsite, I won¡¯t leave with you, even if I die.¡± Zhao Yali struggled again, but could not free herself, ¡°You¡¯re hurting me, let go, let go of me!¡±


    ¡°If you dare go back there, I¡¯ll kill everyone else there,¡± Luo Yuan threatened her as he let her go.


    ¡°You, you murderer. You¡¯re crazy.¡± Zhao Yali shook in anger, feeling threatened. Consumed by guilt, she sobbed, ¡°Why are you doing this to me? I¡¯ve been living just fine. Just as I met you, you killed my boyfriend and taken so many other lives. How could you do that?¡±


    Luo Yuan did not rify that he was not the one responsible behind Zhu Hao¡¯s assassination, but the sobbing Zhao Yali brought him to say gently, ¡°Because you¡¯re mine.¡±


    She looked at Luo Yuan in despise, ¡°Then why didn¡¯t youe for me much earlier? You¡¯re abducting me only now, when I¡¯ve finally forgotten about you? What do you think I am?¡±


    Luo Yuan had nothing to retort. Heughed dryly, ¡°Stop it. We¡¯ll talk about thister. Everyone¡¯s waiting. Let¡¯s have something to eat first.¡±


    After that, he tried pulling Zhao Yali closer, but was cast away by her again.


    Zhao Yali wiped her tears away, smudging the pigments on her face and headed back reluctantly, not running away anymore.


    Zhao Yali and Zhu Hao just started courting, so they had not developed deep feelings for each other yet. What she was furious about was how Luo Yuan could just bring himself to kill him out of a sudden. After all, Zhu Hao did treat her well and took good care of her. However choosy she was, she would still harbour feelings for him, even after a long time.

 Chapter 144: Ocean-like River

    Chapter 144: Ocean-like River


    Trantor: EndlessFantasy Trantion Editor: EndlessFantasy Trantion


    When both of them returned, Huo Dong had already lit the fire.


    When arge piece of fish skin was spread open, pieces of grilled fish jerky were ced on it.


    Huang Jiahui had no expression, as if not overhearing their argument, she calmly poured everyone wooden cups of tree juice and offered it to Zhao Yali, ¡°Try this.¡±


    Zhao Yali was gentle and courteous, she would throw tantrums at people she was familiar with, but would never show any unpleasant emotions in front of others. She quickly thanked her.


    Holding the cup, she took a sip before a bigger gulp, in silence.


    Wang Shishi was not as calm. Her Brother Luo was too much of a womanizer. His women came and left one after another, threatening her presence.


    She could not stop ring at Zhao Yali, most of the pigments on the woman¡¯s face had already been washed off by her tears, revealing her actual face. The more she looked at her, the more familiar she felt Zhao Yali was. Not caring about her hostility anymore, she asked in shock, ¡°Didn¡¯t you stay right across my house before?¡±


    Zhao Yali was stunned. She did not expect to have someone who would recognize here other than Luo Yuan. She looked at Wang Shishi carefully, but the girl had already changed so much, so it didn¡¯t ring a bell.


    ¡°I lived right across the street from where you lived, we used to meet often.¡± Wang Shishi exined, as she saw her confusion.


    Zhao Yali gave some thought and was surprised when fragments of her memory came back, ¡°You¡¯ve grown so much now, and you¡¯re now with Luo Yuan.¡±


    ¡°My parents are not here anymore, so I¡¯ve been following Brother Luo since.¡±


    Zhao Yali sighed as she thought of her family, drinking the tree juice silently, holding the wooden cup and worrying about the future.


    Seeing that everyone started to converse with one another and that the atmosphere was no longer as tensed, Cao Ling could not help but to voice her curiosity, ¡°What¡¯s that on your face? I see everyone in the camp with their faces painted with the same pigment.¡±


    Zhao Yali flushed a little, ¡°It¡¯s juice from a type of tree, to keep the insects at bay, but the effect isn¡¯t really good.¡±


    Other than Luo Yuan and Wang Shishi, everyone¡¯s eyes lit up. Although the juice¡¯s smell was horrible and looked unsightly painted on one¡¯s face, mere aesthetics were nothingpared to staying alive. Cao Ling quickly asked, ¡°What type of nt is it?¡±


    Zhao Yali felt a little awkward, ¡°I¡¯m not too sure. These were...found by Zhu Hao and the others.¡±


    She had always been timid. Ever since she got to the campsite, she had never been out to the dangerous forest, so there was no way she could ever know which nt the juice came from.


    Disappointment shed across everyone¡¯s face. Out of so many mutated nts, it would be akin to finding needle in a haystack to locate the correct nt.


    Luo Yuan chose not to participate in the women¡¯s conversation, as he brought a wooden bucket further away. The ce was mostly lownds, so the seawater that collected in the pits after the tide ebbed contained a lot of salt, especially after being exposed to the rays of the sun.


    The water pits had whirlpools in them, making the water murky when Luo Yuan approached them. Regardless, he picked one that was slightly cleaner and returned with a bucketful of water.


    Huang Jiahui and Cao Lingyered a few pieces of cloth together to filter the dirty water seeing that the salt was ready to be boiled, but those cloth were not meant for filtering. The water was still rather muddy, but they could only make do with it.


    Propping the stone pot up properly, the water boiled quickly with the strong fire, leaving nothing but salt after it had evaporated.


    These salt were not white like the ones in their supplies before the apocalypse, but rather, a grayish off-white coloured one.


    ¡°There are too much impurities in the salt, I think it¡¯s gonna be very bitter,¡± Huo Dong said.


    ¡°It¡¯ll still be better than having none, I could eat 50 grams of it,¡± said Lin Xiaoji, as he licked his cracked lips. Anything he ate had always been tasteless without salt consumption for such a long time, hence he couldn¡¯t care less if the salt was bitter.


    All the water evaporated quickly as the salt crystals formed at the bottom of the pot, but it looked nothing like the salt that was sold in the stores.


    Everyone quickly had a tasted, the salt was bitter and full of sand; not even dogs would eat it back in the pre-apocalypse days. But now, everyone seemed to enjoy it. Those who had never experienced this dire situation would never know how drastic it was not to consume salt for a long time. Some of them had even grabbed a handful of it and chewed it like candy, swallowing everything, including the sand.


    Excluding Zhao Yali, everyone had a lot of the salt since as they were deprived from it for days. In the end, they emptied the tree juice as well, from being too thirsty.


    After the meal, they wrapped the remaining salt up and departed once more after packing.


    Large carcasses were seen on the seabed along the way. These ocean creatures that were yet to mutate enough to survive onnd, had all died when the tide was low. Luo Yuan saw one of the carcasses that was at least 30 meters long and 8 ¨C 9 meters tall. The skeletonid on the seabed like a small mound.


    He went over to check it out and realized that this was not a dark blue level creature, yet its size was muchrger thannd creatures, like the giant lizard. He was afraid that with its size alone, even normal light green levelnd creatures would be powerless against it.


    Luo Yuan thought it onlyprised a shallow seabed, but as they approached the middle of the sea bridge, the shallow beds were covered with seawater, with various sizes ofkes everywhere.


    Initially, they could still avoid it but thekes got bigger and bigger. When they could finally see the other side, their path was hindered by a longke a few kilometers wide.


    Luo Yuan looked around but even with his eyesight, he could not spot the end of theke; it seemed to have turned into the size of an ocean.


    ¡°This river is too wide, should we turn back?¡± asked Huang Jiahui, in low spirits.


    ¡°We¡¯ve walked this far, it¡¯ll be such a waste to turn back now.¡± said an exasperated Huo Dong, with a long face, ¡°It¡¯s already 3pm. The sky will turn dark soon. It¡¯s all mud here, so it¡¯s gonna be hard to dig any holes. Sleeping out here is too dangerous too.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, the water should not be too deep. I guess it would go as far as 3 ¨C 4 meters deep, but it shouldn¡¯t be a problem for the giant lizard,¡± Lin Xiaoji said too.


    It would be too disheartening to turn back now, when they had walked so far and the destination was already in sight.


    One factor that deterred him was about sleeping in open-air, and the other was the dangers of the sea. Luo Yuan was a little hesitant. Hoping that the water would probably not be home to any strong mutated creatures, he decided, ¡°Let¡¯s go into the water first. If it¡¯s too deep, then we¡¯ll turn back.¡±


    Nobody objected, since Luo Yuan had already decided so.


    The giant lizard went into the water carefully, growling from time to time in attempt to scare away the approaching mutated fishes.


    The water got deeper and deeper after some ten minutes, its level reaching the lizard¡¯s thighs now.


    The water sometimes had ripples on its surface, as if being pierced by a high-speed arrow, at times there were sshes up to a few meters high, and other times, blood seeped out from the bottom of the sea. Threats were hiding behind every corner, with the sshes sttering on everyone a few times now.


    Naturally, the group paled in fear. Zhao Yali had already forgotten her feud with Luo Yuan, as she clung timidly onto his arm.

 Chapter 145: Flying

    Chapter 145: Flying


    Trantor: EndlessFantasy Trantion Editor: EndlessFantasy Trantion


    ¡°Ahhhhhhh!¡± Huang Jiahui let out a shrill scream.


    Her right hand was pping her left brutally, something was trying to probe into the back of her hand.


    Luo Yuan quickly grabbed her hand and saw a small ck worm about a chopstick¡¯s girth probing itself into her skin. It would not let go no matter how hard Huang Jiahui hit it.


    This creature obviously came from the ssh of seawater just now. His face darkened immensely, not expecting the sea to have parasites like this lurking, as he squeezed hard onto the worm in mere seconds.


    The parasite was smooth and slick, surprisingly forceful when it twisted and turned, despite its size. Luo Yuan would probably have lost his grip if he was caught off-guard. He then ripped the parasite out with brute force.


    The worm was flung off Huang Jiahui¡¯s hand and blood gushed out from the wound like a burst pipe. Luo Yuan realized that the parasite had already prated about 10 centimeters deep into the back of her hand.


    The whole worm was about a foot long, wriggling intensively on Luo Yuan¡¯s hand as its head wrapped itself around the hand as though preparing to probe into his skin.


    Luo Yuan squashed the worm brutally into half and threw it back into the sea.


    ¡°There are creatures in the sea everyone, please be careful.¡± said Luo Yuan seriously, ¡°Try not to open your mouths and don¡¯t get distracted by anything; protect yourselves well.¡±


    This kind of parasite was the hardest to handle. There would still be some time to react if it went into the skin but if it made its way into the mouth, nose or ears, it would be difficult to save the victim. Thankfully Luo Yuan noticed that there was not much of these creatures in the sea, as they were probably lurking in the depths of the water.


    Luo Yuan stared long and hard at the sea, there was only one of those worms but he spotted plenty of sharp-teethed mutated fishes. They were not afraid of the lizard¡¯s dark blue level aura at all, as they were surrounding them and lingering.


    Everyone nodded their heads obediently.


    ¡°Wang Shishi, use your telekinesis, try not to let the water ssh in,¡± Luo Yuan continued.


    ¡°Got it,¡± Wang Shishi did not hesitate to form a sphere of protection with her telekinesis.


    Luo Yuan then rxed a little and asked Huang Jiahui who was already bandaging her wound, ¡°You alright?¡±


    ¡°It didn¡¯t get into my arteries, thankfully. I¡¯m okay, don¡¯t you worry,¡± Huang Jiahui said. She was not fragile, and this wound was certainly not a big deal to her.


    ¡°Protect yourself carefully,¡± said a concerned Luo Yuan.


    Huang Jiahui nodded, feeling the warmth from his concern.


    Luo Yuan noticed that Wang Shishi had been casting telekinesis all along and shook his head. She was powerful and usually makes a profound impact, making her the most important person after Luo Yuan in this group.


    Yet, she severelycked training and did not know how to conserve her energy in battles. At her current level, she would not be able to keep up for long at the rate she is using telekinesis.


    ¡°Very good work, but don¡¯t keep casting it. Wait until the water starts sshing before using your telekic energy, do I make myself clear?¡± Luo Yuan first praised her effort then asked.


    Wang Shishi hesitated before nodding, ¡°I¡¯ll try.¡±


    The telekic sphere disappeared as the girl gripped onto her shirt, fully concentrating and observing her surroundings. Immediately after, a whirlpool appeared on the left of the sea and a big fish about several meters long, leapt out from the water, with sttering droplets of water everywhere.


    Wang Shishi hurriedly casted telekinesis, but was still half a beat slower, and the droplets had already drenched everyone.


    Luo Yuan immediately brandished his machete, shing a few small silver fishes in the air and then with a turn, flung the bodies away with its de. These silver fishes were piranha-like, with sharp, criss-crossed teeth¨C posing great danger even when they were sliced in half.


    His movements were quick, with more than a dozen strikes within just a second. Before everyone could recover from shock, he already spoke, ¡°Move on.¡±


    Wang Shishi¡¯s fists clenched tightly, she nodded and focused even more on her surroundings.


    She initially casted her telekinesis but her reaction was still dyed. As time passed, she could already handle the situation without Luo Yuan¡¯s help.


    With safer circumstances, Zhao Yali became more rxed as well. She looked at her ex-neighbor astonished; this timid girl in front of her was actually a powerful, evolved person now.


    They did not have a single evolved person in their campsite. She heard everything about them from Zhu Hao, so the topic had always been mysterious to her. She would not have expected to ever meet one here.


    What surprised her even more was Luo Yuan himself


    He had be much stronger than before now that she had not seen him in a long time. She could still see how Luo Yuan wielded his machete during battlesst time but now, she could not catch even a tiny glimpse of anything, as if he had not moved at all.


    She then turned to look at Lao Huang. The dog had followed them but was not looking at the sea, anxious, not daring to go in.


    Zhao Yali felt a pinch in her heart, she knew Lao Huang exuded mes, so it must be afraid of water. Would it not follow her at all?


    Just as she thought about it, Lao Huang seemed to have made up its mind as it pushed its limbs forward and charged into the sea.


    She grabbed onto Luo Yuan¡¯s, overwhelmed by a turmoil of feelings.


    Luo Yuan thought she was still afraid andforted her, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, we¡¯ll pass this river soon.¡±


    When Zhao Yali understood the situation, she red daggers at him, giving him the silent treatment.


    If it were not for him, Lao Huang would not have to take such a risk to cross the waters. She wouldn¡¯t even have to face such fears as well, and would still be staying happily in the campsite.


    Luo Yuan was a little confused by her reaction, but suddenly, his expression changed.


    Even though Zhao Yali was sulking, she had been paying close attention to Luo Yuan. Seeing his sudden pale face and his body quivering, she could care less about her fit and asked, ¡°What¡¯s up with you?¡±


    Zhao Yali¡¯s voice made everyone shifted their gaze to Luo Yuan.


    Huang Jiahui saw that he seemed much more lethargic than before and was shaken, ¡°Luo Yuan, are the old injuries affecting you?¡±


    Just before this, Luo Yuan could feel a mysterious force being sucked away from him rapidly. He could not feel the earth¡¯s energy anymore so his body was experiencing some sort of exhaustion from the rapid depletion of energy.


    This was the first time it happened. Usually, he could feel endless energy from the earth no matter if he was at the top of a tall building or jumping in the air.


    He noticed that the water level had risen to the lizard¡¯s stomach now; the depth more than 3 meters. Maybe the seawater had blocked the earth so his evolved ability hadpletely disappeared.


    He opened the attributes panel and indeed, Earth Stomp was greyed and his energy level went back to its original value. He took a deep breath to gradually adapt to this ¡®weak¡¯ state.


    Luo Yuan shook his head and said in a low voice, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯m fine.¡±


    He did not bother exining. His evolved ability was his biggest secret after the system, especially one that possessed such weakness. It was better to have less people in the know. Huang Jiahui and Wang Shishi would never betray him but it was hard to tell for the rest.


    Seeing Luo Yuan¡¯s colors returned, Huang Jiahui was a bit more relieved and turned to me herself, ¡°It¡¯s all our fault. Let¡¯s rest for a few days when we reach Jiaping City.¡±


    Just as Luo Yuan wanted to speak, one of the lizard¡¯s feet got caught in a muddy pit and it tripped towards the left.


    ¡°Be careful!¡± Luo Yuan shouted.


    But it was toote. Everyone fell into the water with a scream. Luo Yuan managed to pull Zhao Yali and Huang Jiahui who were by his side, but three of them including Wang Shishi, had already fallen into the water, save for Huo Dong, Lin Xiaoji and Wang Xiaguang.


    It was a mess, everyone was screaming and frantic sshes ensued.


    Luo Yuan jumped into the water and threw Chen Xianfeng, who was the nearest, onto the lizard¡¯s back, the instant he grabbed him.


    Cao Ling was terrified. She could not swim and could only struggle helplessly in the water before she started to drown.


    ¡°Help me! I can¡¯t make it!¡± Cao Ling struggled.


    ¡°Quick, grab my hand!¡± Zhao Yali held onto Huang Jiahui¡¯s waist tightly as thetter shouted extending half of her body out towards the sea.


    Just as Cao Ling was about to react, her body sank, her screams were silenced by the water rushing into her mouth, making her feel faintish.


    Luo Yuan looked at Wang Shishi, who was using telekinesis to hinder the water from drowning her, and swam towards Cao Ling, assuming the girl could still manage on her own.


    He did not have experience saving people from water, so he was dragged down just as he approached Cao Ling, who clung on him instinctively.


    If he were to be a normal person, both of them would be dead by now instead of him saving her; his strength was extreme and reaction was quick. He dived into the water and pried her limbs away from himself, before tossing her onto the lizard.


    He did not dare to dy any further, and turned to save Wang Shishi, but was stunned by what he saw.


    Wang Shishi was screaming in fear of losing control of her telekinesis now. The water was pushed away, forming a 2-meter-diameter dry area as a miracle happened.


    Her body slowly rose into the air and out of the water.


    The sea below quaked as the water waspressed into a concave some few meters wide by the telekic energy, forming a magical view as her body blurred and her screams sounding more and more distant.


    She left the water and rose higher.

 Chapter 146: Ingenious Use

    Chapter 146: Ingenious Use


    Trantor: EndlessFantasy Trantion Editor: EndlessFantasy Trantion


    Wang Shishi rose higher and higher, finally stopping after she was 5 ¨C 6 meters away from the sea.


    Harsh winds blew around her as the surface of the sea tremored intensely, scaring the mutated creatures away.


    Everyone looked on in shock, even Luo Yuan had momentarily forgotten to keep swimming.


    Even though Luo Yuan had long predicted that one could hover about in the air when the telekinesis was strong enough to sustain one¡¯s body weight, he was still astonished and envious when he saw it happening right before his very own eyes.


    What surprised him even more was the speed of her improvement. Wang Shishi was about an average weight of 40 ¨C 45 kilograms. A few months ago, she could still barely move a 10 kilogram object but she could now hold her own body up.


    The speed of improvement of his ability was even faster than his own.


    Of course, this strength was unleashed under desperation, but with practice, she could achieve this again easily, in the future.


    At that moment, Wang Shishi trembled midair, losing traction of her telekinesis, and began to fall.


    Her eyes were shut tight, face pasty white, already unconscious.


    Luo Yuan had been noticing her condition so before she could fall into the water, he was already charging towards her like a bolting arrow, to her rescue.


    He dared not stay long in the water, and swam towards the lizard immediately after getting Wang Shishi.


    Huang Jiahui had long been waiting anxiously, quickly pulling Luo Yuan up when he got close.


    ¡°How is she?¡± Luo Yuan ced Wang Shishi down gently and asked about the now-unconscious Cao Ling.


    Cao Lingid motionless on the lizard¡¯s back, everyone discreetly maintaining an odd distance with her, as if holding back from something.


    ¡°She opened her eyes once and said that her stomach hurts.¡± Huang Jiahui said worriedly, ¡°... and fainted again after a while.¡±


    ¡°Move over, let me take a look.¡± He quickly moved closer to her.


    His face was grim; already conjuring bad premonitions. There were no more clean water sources ever since the apocalypse. Even crystal clear spring water would have countless of microscopic worms or parasite eggs. Drinking them directly was no better thanmitting suicide.


    He quickly pulled up Cao Ling¡¯s shirt, as something seemed to be wriggling under her soft skin.


    Luo Yuan tried sensing the situation in her body but it was as if some mysterious force was repelling his senses.


    Cao Ling¡¯s face became paler as her body went into spasm. He dared not hesitate, pressing on her stomach in efforts to expel water, but the worst was yet toe.


    Just as he exerted some force, her body curled up in pain, throwing up blood as her face flushed.


    Countless of small wiry worms were wriggling in that pool of blood she threw up, bring a bout of disgust to everyone.


    Luo Yuan looked at the crimson pool and knew that she was not going to make it.


    He gripped his machete but slowly loosened his grasp. If he had dissected her stomach, she would probably perish faster in her current condition.


    Beads of cold sweat dotted his forehead.


    ¡°How can we remedy this?¡± Huang Jiahui asked anxiously, ¡°Or use your machete to absorb life ¨C¡±


    Luo Yuan shook his head grimly, ¡°This might allow her to stay alive longer but the ending is still the same, it will only prolong her suffering. Let me think, you take a look at Wang Shishi to see if she drank any water.¡±


    Huang Jiahui nodded and turned to check on Wang Shishi, suppressing her sadness.


    Wang Xiaguang was already taking care of Wang Shishi and she forced a smile, ¡°I¡¯ve checked once. Luckily she¡¯s alright, her lips are not wet from the seawater. She may have fainted, but but not from this.¡±


    Huang Jiahui was a little more relieved when she saw that Chen Xianfeng was alright too, at least two of them were fine.


    Luo Yuan looked at Cao Ling who was going through periodic spasms, pping the lizard¡¯s back in frustration.


    The giant lizard roared feeling wronged, its body trembled once.


    As he raised his hand, he suddenly had an epiphany.


    Will.


    If there were to be something that had the power to kill the parasites in one¡¯s body, yet not cause harm to a person, it could only be Will. The magical thing about Will was that it triggers ording to one¡¯s intention. When attacking an enemy, Will will increase the fatality of the attack, but when under attack, Will will increase one¡¯s defense.


    It could be light and it could also be heat. Will could exist in any form ¨C this was mankind¡¯s most magical energy.


    He did not know if it would be effective, but there was only one way to find out.


    Closing and opening his eyes, a faint glow visible even in broad daylight appeared in his hands. They pressed down on Cao Ling¡¯s stomach slowly.


    Just as the contact was made, an invisible wave went through her body as it froze, as they watched her frowns softening.


    Luo Yuan came out of using Will and touched her stomach. It was quiet without the earlier wriggling, as the parasites in thetest blood she puked were all dead now.


    He checked her body again; her heartbeats were irregr, breathing haphazardly as blood kept gushing out from her mouth. There must have been severe internal bleeding.


    She was in a critical state, as the parasites must have pierced her organs.


    Huo Dong shook his head passively. While he did not know what the glow in Luo Yuan¡¯s hands were, he understood that her injury was fatal, even if it were to be pre-apocalypse.


    ¡°Luo Yuan...¡± Huang Jiahui could not help but beckoned him.


    Luo Yuan seemed to not have heard her, as his hands glowed again when he raised them. The glow this time was a little different; it was dense like clouds and morphing into different shapes in his palms.


    He then pressed his glowing hands on her stomach again.


    Luo Yuan realized that the feeling waspletely differentpared to the previous one. It had been to attack and destruct earlier, so he did not feel the existence of life, but this time, he felt the resistance.


    The human body¡¯s defense was like a balloon. It would be effortless to burst it with a poke of a needle poke but difficult for water to even seep through it.


    However, Luo Yuan¡¯s Will was far stronger than Cao Ling¡¯s, so her body could not put up a fight but the depletion of will was shockingly fast; its effect slow, on the contrary.


    A quarter of his Will was consumed within just a second, when he could usuallyst 7 ¨C 8 seconds with the same amount of Will in battles. Of course, the amount of time was calcted by adding both attacks and defense using Will. If he had only needed to maintain his Will¡¯s concentration, he could easilyst more than an hour.


    In fact, as long as he did not use it, the depletion of Will was extremely little, almost to none.


    Two secondster, Luo Yuan stopped. It was not a safe time to deplete all his Will yet, in case of unexpected battles.


    He looked at Cao Ling, her internal bleeding stopped, but only temporarily. She would still be in critical danger if she did not get help soon.


    Luo Yuan stood up, dusting his hands. The giant lizard had already crossed the middle of the ocean-like river, with the water bing shallower, as the bank was nearer than ever.


    They would arrive in another ten minutes, and only then, would he think of another solution.


    Everyone witnessed Cao Ling¡¯s recovery. Other than Huang Jiahui who had seen Luo Yuan using his Will, everyone else was swept by a mix of shock, confusion, and respect towards how he healed her.


    ¡°Boss, was that an internal force just now?¡± Huo Dong thought about it for a long time before asking. He could not hold it in any longer as he had been meaning to ask this for a long time now.


    Of course, apart from asking, he was hopeful too.


    It would be the legendary internal force. If it could be passed around, he too, could protect himself well in this era of apocalypse.


    Luo Yuan looked at everyone¡¯s eager gaze. Other than Huang Jiahui who was hiding her smile, even Zhao Yali came closer ¨C the temptation of internal force.


    He chuckled, shaked his head and exined, ¡°It¡¯s not some internal force, at least not by what I¡¯ve seen. Nothing too magical. It¡¯s just the effects of Will. You will all understand when you¡¯re able to focus all your Will on something too.¡±


    Luo Yuan stopped exining, seeing as nobody believed him. It was hard to exin anyway. People who had seen that glow from his Will would assume it was an internal force.


    Luo Yuan sometimes suspected that internal force was actually just another name for the moment when people focused their Will hard, after repeated self-meditation.


    He checked on Wang Shishi again, and found out that she had only fainted from over-exertion of telekinesis, so he did not wake her up.


    Luo Yuan then kept an eye on the surroundings along the way. Finally, the giant lizard safely crossed the river without running into any other dangers.


    They could finally rx; frowns turning into smiles as they were now less than 6 kilometers away from passing the sea bridge.


    Adhering to Luo Yuan¡¯s urge, the lizard picked up its pace and sessfully arrived the fortification on the other side before nightfall.

 Chapter 147: DNA Damage

    Chapter 147: DNA Damage


    Trantor: EndlessFantasy Trantion Editor: EndlessFantasy Trantion


    The fortification was exactly the same as those they had seen previously.


    However, Luo Yuan signaled everyone to stop once they entered. Though in reality, they would not dare enter without Luo Yuan instructing them to do so.


    Cobwebs were everywhere inside, especially in the nooks and crannies. There were even several dozens of pupa-shaped objects wrapped entirely in spider webs, some of them taking the shape of obvious human forms.


    Luo Yuan tried stepping on the cobweb on the ground, realizing that they were extremely sticky. An average person would never be able to get out of it despite being just his legs stuck. He figured he would not be able to escape if his body happened to be stuck on the web too.


    Entering hastily might cost him his life so he quickly adjourned to the foyer. The giant lizard was then summoned.


    The lizard was much smarter after its evolution; one of its skills included ¡®Observation¡¯, that reflected a higher level intelligence. With periodical training, it could now understand most of two-wordedmands.


    Like ¡®Spit fire¡¯.


    The lizard shook its head a little and opened its mouth, spitting an impactful stream of fire against the foyer.


    ¡°Boom!¡±


    It sounded like the fortification it was hit by a bomb, as it quaked a little. The fire even reached as far as over 2 meters out of the embrasure.


    The giant lizard was not actually a fire element mutated beast like Lao Huang. Inparison, it could not spit fire as well as thetter. What it managed to spit was the mmable gas from its body, so when arge amount of such gas was released into aparatively sealed space, the effect was much more devastating than it would be in the wild ¨C something Luo Yuan did not expect.


    The me then ignited the explosives stored upstairs and detonated a second explosion. Luckily there were not many explosives, so the explosion was not as destructive. Should rocket missiles be among the explosives, the fortification would probably be crumbled to dust by now.


    Even so, it had already frightened Luo Yuan.


    ¡°Waaaaaaaaah!¡± Countless of shrill cries like ones from babies¡¯ was heard, as a few mutated spiders covered in mes escaped through the door, meeting their deaths when the giant lizard stomped on them. The one it missed was sliced into two by Luo Yuan as well.


    A minuteter, the noise came to a halt. A pit about 2 meters deep appeared in the foyer, still smoking from heat.


    The initial white cobwebs were all burnt, piles of mutated beasts¡¯ and humans¡¯ skeleton were scattered around.


    The ce was burnt ck; a few work tables and the door was still burning. The smell of burnt protein came from the inside. About a dozen spiders that did not escapeid on the floor burnt; their bodies almost cooked but their strong vitality kept them struggling from perishing straight away.


    Luo Yuan wanted to end them all but had a change of thought.


    Cao Ling was still in a critical state. These spiders could be a great source of life energy and would save him some effort.


    Not only the first floor, but the whole fortification waspletely burnt. Luo Yuan checked the whole building to find that the lizard had outdone itself with an impressive burn, zing all the resources. But at least the things inside the basement was safe, as there was a metal door.


    Luo Yuan chopped the door to the basement open, to be greeted by a fully-stocked arsenal.


    Boxes after boxes of cannon shellsy stacked in the arsenal. Just from standing outside, Luo Yuan could already see about a hundred boxes of them. He estimated that there would be more than 300 boxes if he could count what was inside too. There were also plenty of rifle bullets ¨C about a dozen boxes of them, another several dozen boxes of various grenades, and several hundred of rocket missiles. On the other side of the arsenal were 7 cannons, 5 heavy sniper rifles and a dozen other rifles. The amount of weapons was sufficient for them to hold out through a small-scale war.


    The others had already arrived carrying Cao Ling and Wang Shishi, and were dumbfounded when they saw the arsenal.


    Ordinary people would have never had the chance to admire such weapons in a well-stocked arsenal. Although they had been to a simr arsenal, all the weapons there had already been moved away, save the rocket missiles and unlike this one that was filled to the brim with weapons and explosives.


    ¡°Fuck, how many things have those people at the campsite taken?¡± cursed Lin Xiaoji.


    Huo Dong could no longer keep himself together. He went to the rack and picked up the heavy sniper rifle then yed with another rifle while saying excitedly, ¡°Not much, I reckon. This ce seems to have just been restocked, otherwise, the arsenal wouldn¡¯t be this full. I¡¯ve no idea what caused everyone to retreat.¡±


    The rest of the men went over to y with the firearms as well, seeing that Huo Dong was already there. Their faces wore the same eerie expression. The need for weapons had already hit an unhealthy level for people in this era. The ability to end anyone¡¯s life with a gun, was a great temptation.


    ¡°Luo Yuan, it¡¯ll be toote if we drag on.¡± Huang Jiahui reminded, looking at Cao Ling who was getting paler on the floor.


    She already seemed deathlike after so much dys and would probably die soon if no one came to her aid.


    ¡°Stop ying, we¡¯ll have time for thatter.¡± Luo Yuan quickly said, ¡°Everyone, leave now. Pick a room and clean it up. I¡¯ll treat Cao Ling at once.¡±


    Explosives were everywhere. A small spark could ignite a massive explosion; it was far too dangerous to linger around much longer.


    Luo Yuan carried Cao Ling from the basement to a room on the second floor. Putting her down gently, he carried the biggest spider from the first floor back to the room, after breaking off all its limbs.


    Everyone took a few steps back as the mutated spider looked terrifying, a ck colored human face grew on its back, as if it was carved there. The features on its face were distinct and life-like, even the sharp teeth in its mouth could be seen clearly. The human face had its eyes shut and seemed to be in agony.


    They thought it was a camouge as it was not a rare urrence by nature, but when Luo Yuan stabbed his machete into the spider¡¯s body, the face opened its mouth and revealed criss-crossed teeth, with a shrill cry like that of a baby¡¯s, resounding in the room.


    Bloodshot eyes opened following the cry, the gaze filled with vengeance and agony. Everyone had goosebumps, feeling like all hell has frozen over.


    Luo Yuan grunted loudly, a hint of Willcing his voice. The group shuddered and came back to their senses, horrified when they realized what happened.


    Luo Yuan witnessed the same thing in the foyer earlier. This spider was thergest among the others. While its body only about a meter, it was a Blue level mutated beast.


    Its powers were special too, conjuring illusions like the Ghost Locust previously. Too bad it met a ruthless giant lizard and died without putting up a fight, due to the lizard¡¯s me.


    There were no mission indication though. Blue level mutated beasts could not make the system react anymore now. With his speedy increase in capabilities, leveling up would be much harder in the future.


    A noticeable heat could be felt from the machete¡¯s handle as the de stabbed into the spider¡¯s body. The energy was far stronger than the Light Blue level tree before this; the effect more prominent as well. Luo Yuan too, felt like his spirits were lifted, with all exhaustion devoid from his body.


    He dared not stall and thrusted the handle into Cao Ling¡¯s hand.


    Initially, her body did not react at all. A few minutester, her ghastly pale face slowly regained some life and turned rosy pink.


    Her body then started to seem flushed; her breath quickened, and her wet hair was steaming hot.


    The energy from a Blue level mutated beast¡¯s life was too overpowering for a normal person. Although the spider was close to the brink of death, it was still too much for Cao Ling.


    Huang Jiahui touched her head but retracted her hand quickly. Cao Ling¡¯s forehead was burning at shocking 40 ¨C 50 degrees Celsius. She asked worriedly, ¡°Will she be okay like that?¡±


    Luo Yuan shook his head. He did not know if problems would rear its ugly head if this went on. Theoretically, she was absorbing some life energy, so she should be alright. To be safe, he stopped the energy supply.


    Cao Ling¡¯s temperature gradually returned to normal as her breath stabilized after the energy supply was cut off. Other than still looking a little pasty, she seemed much better than before.


    Looking at the spider now, it waspletely dead after it had its life sucked out. What made Luo Yuan notice the spider was the wound which he recognized was from his machete.


    A copious amount of reddish yellow pus appeared around the wound, the crust near the wound seemed to have eroded as well, losing its initial shine.


    Luo Yuan was curious. He knocked the crust with the back of his machete, and the supposedly hard crust was now so delicate, a forming a hole with his slightly forceful knock.


    He continued knocking, widening the hole to reveal rotten flesh inside. He stirred the insides with a wooden stick, and realized that all the flesh had lost its firmness, as it turned into pus-mixed blood easily, with only just a few stirs.


    He suddenly thought of a term, ¡°DNA damage¡±.


    It was Luo Yuan¡¯s first time. The huge tree before this could replenish its own energy with its roots, so its life was notpletely sucked away even though it had already been a few days. Only its leaves wilted when they left, and there was no sign of DNA damage.

 Chapter 148: Sound of Water

    Chapter 148: Sound of Water


    Trantor: EndlessFantasy Trantion Editor: EndlessFantasy Trantion


    Luo Yuan secretly assessed apletely corroded external bone.


    ¡°Unknown cement material;¡±


    ¡°Rarity: Grey ¡±


    ¡°Weight: 1.5kg¡±


    ¡°Remarks: This is a very rare mineral; important construction material;¡±


    This extremely horrifying evaluation made Luo Yuan gasp. Not only has its external bone dropped from a blue level to a grey level, its original organic state has now became inorganic.


    Luo Yuan never thought that this life absorbing ability could be so domineering. For him, being able to absorb life was just an ability that was quite convenient but for a mutated beast, it acts as an extreme attack.


    But s, this kind of attack was not very helpful for him as his style ofbat was to fight fast and end it fast, killing everything in mere seconds. The speed of the ability was not as fast as he would like. Most of the time, the mutated beast had already been defeated, but he had yet to absorb much of its energy yet.


    The sky turned dark very soon so they had their dinner early. The sky started turning dark before five. Cao Lin woke up in the midst of it. Although she was still weak, but she slowly stood up and walked.


    A little excited, she thanked Luo Yuan profusely. If Luo Yuan had not stopped her, she would¡¯ve already kneeled down in gratitude. She managed to escape death this time around. Having been given the chance to live after escaping from the brink of death, it was all thanks to Luo Yuan.


    This heart-warming scene, touched everyone¡¯s heart.


    Before heading off to bed, Luo Yuan let Cao Lin absorb life energy once again. Her condition progressively improved and before long, she could start eating again.


    The day had fully turned into dusk by now.


    Zhao Yali tossed and turned, unable to fall asleep. As the door was already burnt, it was left ajar. With every tiny squeak of a sounding from outside, she was scared stiff. Paranoid, she kept feeling that there was a pair of eyes staring at her menacingly, in the dark.


    She had the urge to pee in her pants due to her nervousness, which she could not hold in any longer. Both her legs were fidgeting non-stop.


    She had no idea where Lao Huang had gone as well. When they sleep, Lao Huang is usually at her doorstep, so she did not have to worry about anything. But this time, Lao Huang was clearly not anywhere near her.


    She got up and looked at Luo Yuan whoy close to her in the dark. He was clutching his knife and was sleeping soundly, with audible snores throughout the night.


    ¡°You are really a pig. I can¡¯t wait for you to die in your sleep.¡± she thought with hatred.


    She braced herself, stood up and nced at the door of the ck hole. It felt to her as if something terrifying or a hideous mutated creature would jump out through the door any second. She was scared stiff; her face turned pale white.


    ¡°It¡¯s all dark. I shouldn¡¯t worry that others would see me like this. I shouldn¡¯t be embarrassed.¡± said Zhao Yali as she grinded her teeth. Lacking guts, she dared not go outside. She looked at the corner of the room and sneakily walked over. Her dire urge to pee at this point of time made her lose control of herself. Just when she was about to pull down her pants, she suddenly heard a voice and was shocked, almost peeing her pants in the process.


    ¡°It¡¯s reallyte. What are you doing over there?¡± Luo Yuan said softly. Having experienced dangerous trials and tribtions over a long period of time, he had no choice but to be a light sleeper; the slightest motion could wake him up immediately.


    When she heard Luo Yuan¡¯s voice, Zhao Yali was relieved but her face was a bashful bright red. She coyly said: ¡°Why do you care about what I¡¯m doing?¡±


    In the dark, Luo Yuan could see both of her legs were all knotted up, and suddenly, he understood. He felt slightly awkward but said: ¡°Let¡¯s go outside... there will be an odor here. Next time, just wake me up if there is anything you need.¡±


    Zhao Yali softened. Her face blushed all of a sudden. If there was a hole in the ground right now she would have buried herself there and then. Reluctantly, she said: ¡°Who says I want to ... here?¡±


    Luo Yuan did not bother about her being so firm in her speech. He got up and walked out. Zhao Yali hesitated for a while, bit her teeth and followed suit.


    The two, one walking in front with the other at the back, reached the first floor.


    ¡°Back off a little bit, will you?¡± Zhao Yali snapped coldly.


    Luo Yuan yawned, and took a few steps back.


    Zhao Yali held her pants and turned to peek at him once again. It was totally dark ¨C not the slightest glimmer of light in sight. She had no idea where Luo Yuan backed away to. She panicked, trembled, and said: ¡°Luo Yuan......e closer a little, would you?¡±


    Luo Yuan had to move forward a few steps again. Zhao Yali could see Luo Yuan¡¯s figure vaguely standing a short distance away from her and calmed down. It was so dark, he wouldn¡¯t even be able to see anything. With that thought in mind, she could no longer hold her pee in anymore. Just as she pulled her pants down, a sound akin to a torrential flow was heard, as she had obviously held in her pee for quite some time now.


    She let out a gasp, but without her knowledge, she waspletely exposed under Luo Yuan¡¯s fiery sight.


    Luo Yuan¡¯s capabilities had exceeded the limitations of a normal human being. He already had improved vision for a long time now. For normal humans, it would be pitch ck but he could see everything clearly.


    Her snow-white buttocks were round and firm, making Luo Yuan¡¯s heart beat a little faster.


    After they went out, he never quite found the chance to get intimate with Huang Jiahui. He had held back his desires for quite a few days now. Even more so with his vigorous and energetic spirit, he had a much higher drive than an ordinary human. When he saw her in such apromising position, he couldn¡¯t help but to start breathing heavily.


    Zhao Yali had just finished easing herself. Before she could pull up her pants, Luo Yuan embraced her from the back. She was shocked and almost screamed. But as soon as she realized it was Luo Yuan, she struggled and said angrily: ¡°What are you doing? Let go of me or i¡¯ll start shouting!¡±


    She lowered down her voice as she instructed Luo Yuan, as it was obvious that she did not want anyone else to be eavesdropping.


    ¡°Go ahead and shout if you want. Everyone knows you are my woman.¡± Luo Yuan turned her body towards himself, and said it like a rascal.


    ¡°You jerk! It was a long time ago.¡± Zhao Yali turned her face away and warned him sternly, ¡°Don¡¯t you dare touch me, get out of my way.¡±


    She would not forgive Luo Yuan so easily. Having a record of murdering so many people, no guilt was felt. He did not even apologize to her properly. Besides, he had always said that he had feelings for her, but he still had unresolved and casual rtionships with several other women, especially with that Huang Jiahui, it was very suspicious.


    But just as she warned him, Luo Yuan¡¯s lips violently pressed against hers.


    Zhao Yali bit her teeth tightly, not allowing his tongue into her mouth. Her hand moved downwards, and forcefully pinched Luo Yuan¡¯s waist, trying to get him to back off. But s, his flesh was firm, just like rubber. After she held on to her pinch for a while, she had no strength to keep pinching him anymore.


    She almost went ballistic. She moved on to using her hands to desperately push against Luo Yuan¡¯s chest. Unfortunately, her strength had no effect on Luo Yuan.


    When she was struggling, her pants had already fell to the floor, revealing her snowy white legs. Luo Yuan lifted her light body up and positioned her on the wall of the hall.


    ¡°You jerk, let go of me or I¡¯ll start biting!¡± Zhao Yali finally got to open her mouth, as she grinded her teeth and threatened him. Her plump breasts bounced up and down, as she panted heavily.


    Luo Yuan totally ignored her powerless threats.


    At that point, her hair was already in a mess, her charming face blushed a shade of red. Hot passion ignited in Luo Yuan¡¯s heart as he looked at her. Next, he slipped his hand into her shirt, moving towards her bosoms. The two pinkish bunnies moved about in his hands. A strong sense of dizziness consumed her body. She even forgot to struggle anymore.


    Luo Yuan took off his pants. Finally, he asked: ¡°Did you have sex with him?¡±


    ¡°He is my boyfriend, we have already... numerous times already.¡± Zhao Yali regained her senses.


    Luo Yuan coldly snorted and prated her.


    Zhao Yali panted loudly, and quickly covered her mouth. One hand powerlessly pinching everywhere in an attempt to strike back but she only got weaker and weaker.


    When Luo Yuan first prated her, he was still gentle. But very soon, it escted into faster, deeper thrusts. Zhao Yali covered her mouth as tight as she could but ended up moaning shamefully.


    Luo Yuan asked again: ¡°Did you, or did you not?¡±


    ¡°I did...¡± said a reluctant Zhao Yali.


    How dare she acted so stubborn with him? Luo Yuan¡¯s force became faster and faster, thrusting in and out like a high-speed engine. Zhao Yali stared at him with her fatigued eyes, her hands tightly closing her mouth, yet her seductive moans couldn¡¯t stop. After a few seconds, she let out a scream and nked out as her body twitched violently... she then fell down to the ground.


    ¡°This is all your fault. We were definitely heard by everyone. How do I face the others next time?¡± said a grumpy Zhao Yali, as she came back to her senses.


    ¡°It¡¯s okay if they heard it, as everyone knows about our rtionship anyway.¡±


    Luo Yuan felt slightly ufortable. They were so loud, everyone upstairs were definitely able to hear it, for sure. But he couldn¡¯t care much, as he had to settle things with Zhao Yali first.


    ¡°You¡¯re such a jerk. You forced yourself on me! If there was cop nearby, I would definitely report you.¡± said Zhao Yali, brimming with hatred. Just when she thought of the awkward stares from the rest, she felt even more bitter.


    She touched her private parts and said ¡°It is all sticky down there. How am I supposed to clean off anything without so much as a light?¡±


    ¡°Just use your panty and wipe it up. We¡¯ll boil some water tomorrow morning.¡± Luo Yuan chuckled and said.


    She had no choice but to do so. Zhao Yali pulled up her undergarments and wiped up as much as she can. Both of them felt slightly guilty, and sneaked back to the room on the second floor.


    The room was silent. They did not know if they were only pretending to sleep, or if they were genuinely fast asleep. Luo Yuan knew that Huang Jiahui was definitely not asleep. Her eyshes were twitching, her breaths were chaotic... clearly, her heart was not at ease.


    Luo Yuan¡¯s heart was slightly guilty. Looking at Zhao Yaliying down, he wanted to walk towards Huang Jiahui.


    Suddenly, he heard a ssh of watering from out outside. The sound gradually became louder and louder, and it seemed something was getting closer to them. The giant lizard that was outside seemed to have sensed some unease, as it kept growling.


    Luo Yuan¡¯s heart stopped in its tracks.


    Huang Jiahui heard the giant lizard¡¯s warning, and felt ufortable. She could not bother to be jealous anymore and sat up right away: ¡°Is something out there?¡±


    ¡°Stay here first, all of you. I¡¯ll go and check it out. But don¡¯t fall asleep yet, if you don¡¯t want to be caught off guard and be rushing like a maniac.¡± Luo Yuan thought and said, ¡°The sound is still far away. It won¡¯t be affecting us anytime soon.¡±


    ¡°Be careful.¡± Huang Jiahui said.


    Luo Yuan nodded. He took his Zhanmadao and walked out of the room rapidly.


    The giant lizard stomped on the spot. Its nose was fuming with green smoke, seemingly irritated. Luo Yuan looked over the Bay Bridge. Though it was not the season for floods yet, it was time for the appearance of the mutated beast. He thought to himself, and decided to leave the giant lizard on the ground. He adjourned to check it out for himself.


    The giant lizard was aggressive and brutal. What was capable of causing it such annoyance could only be a more superior creature. But this time around, he only went to check out what was happening, not forbat as it would not only be of no help but may even lead to unnecessary risks.


    Luo Yuan asked the giant lizard to stay silent to avoid attracting any giant beasts. After that, he took a step forward and dashed towards the Bay Bridge.

 Chapter 149: Spawn of the Giant Archelon

    Chapter 149: Spawn of the Giant Archelon


    Trantor: EndlessFantasy Trantion Editor: EndlessFantasy Trantion


    The night view was silent like still water.


    On the edge of the Bay Bridge, the sea breeze was blowing hard, and swept in a humid smell.


    Sounds of water could be heard from afar. It used to be much more serene, but now, it has be turbulent. It was akin to a massive tidepping towards their direction. Then, it started to drizzle.


    Luo Yuan touched his face; it felt a bit moist.


    After a few minutes, he could vaguely see a gigantic shadow. It dashed across the sea at top speed, which gave rise to a few meters of tidal waves.


    The deep blue sea was far from being capable at concealing its body. Its four rock-like limbs were moving swiftly in the water. As it charged towards them rapidly, a few kilometers of seawater around it started to get more and more erratic. The sea water violently sshed up against the coast.


    When it got really close, Luo Yuan could finally see it clearly.


    Unlike the giant lizard, its mutation was not as serious. Luo Yuan recognized its origins with just one look. No doubt, it was a mutated archelon1, albeit a veryrge one. It was thirty to forty meters in diameter. His giant lizard paled inparison.


    It was a dull grey archelon; its shell was full of rough formations of sharp, jagged edges. The spikes were glistening in the dark. Compared to an average archelon, its neck was much longer and thicker. Its head looked mutated and crooked teeth filled its wide mouth, making it a hideous sight to behold. This archelon definitely looked horrifying aspared to ordinary archelons.


    Luo Yuan held his breath, nced once and quickly looked away, clearly ufortable. Although this creature was still far away, he could feel a sense of difort, as he turned to see where his giant lizard was. It was at least a few hundreds meters away.


    It was already hiding in a corner. It could be an assumption, but he could actually feel the giant lizard quivering in fear.


    ¡°Honggg!¡± suddenly there was a loud noiseing from afar.


    The Bay Bridge shook violently. Its steel cables that were as thick as an adult man¡¯s arm twisted under the immense force, giving out to the force with a screeching sound. As the steel cables continued to snap one after another, they iled across the night sky and before long, more than a dozen sections of the Bay Bridge crumbled like a stack of dominos.


    Luo Yuan¡¯s heart skipped a beat. He could not care less about the vigorous shaking of the bridge. He quickly held onto a guardrail that was also shaking vigorously, and looked towards the bottom. A veryrge pier was also knocked down effortlessly by the giant beast. It was reduced to a rubble now as it crashed into pieces.


    He was bewildered. Bay Bridge was a very strong and solid structure. An ordinary ship would never be able to wreck the whole thing, let alone tear it down. Unless of course it was arge ship that weighed ten thousand tonnes that crashed into the bridge at top speed, nothing else would evene close to destroying it.


    Previously, he thought it was a light green level creature. But now, he was unsure.


    Luo Yuan didn¡¯t understand much about sea creatures. He had no idea about the situation at present as well but what he could confirm was that the sea creatures¡¯ abilities were much more powerful than those ofnd creatures. Competition amongst the sea creatures was more intense too.


    In the final days of China, with the exception of specially protected area and primeval forests,rge creatures were very rare They did not even habitate the viges, let alone the city centre. Back in the 17th & 18th century, wolves, wild boars and medium sized creatures still existed in the mountainous area. However, just before the end they had all disappeared, not even a trace of their shadows could be seen. Even rabbits could hardly be found as well.


    Only domestic animals and pets were able to survive in the country. Large quantities of mutations were ughtered even before the dawn of the apocalypse. Most of therge beasts were actually mutated from the smaller creatures. Even humans had to slowly retreat in defeat what more therger species of marine life.


    After the giant archelon swam across the Bay Bridge, it never stopped and continued moving forward.


    It eventually disappeared from his line of vision after a few minutes. Luo Yuan let out a sigh of relief. Thankfully it had left or else he would only be able to evacuate at midnight.


    He touched his forehead and without realizing it, his forehead was already drenched in sweat. His body felt a little weak while his face was bitter with thoughts. Even standing near a creature of this level without engaging inbat was torture enough. He wondered what the others who were several hundred meters away in the defensive fortifications would feel. It probably wouldn¡¯t stray far from what he was feeling.


    However, he had some questions running through his mind. Sea creatures were from the sea. Why on earth is this monster here?


    It was the monsoon season after all, and this was the ocean. But most of the regions here were mudts. Even the biggest ocean couldn¡¯t possibly be home to such a huge creature.


    ording to the theory of evolution, the first creatures to walk thend from the ocean were the weaker ones who were chased away after losing in a fight but from the looks of it, it shouldn¡¯t have any trouble surviving in the ocean. It should not have even feltpelled to escape tond.


    Curiosity got the better of him, and motivated him to go and take a look.


    He looked at the time. It was not even one o¡¯clock in the wee hours of the morning yet. He hesitated for a while, but knowing that the creature was now far away, it should no longer be dangerous. He then dashed back to shore.


    The coast of the Bay Bridge had almost became a forest but since thend was both saline and alkaline, the undergrowth seemed to be quite scarce. Firefly-looking insects that were about the size of a fist were prancing about in the forest. Some lightly glowing nts that were located in the near distance added a ssh of color to the lustrous and dazzling view.


    Luo Yuan was running at top speed in the forest. He ran as fast as lighting. His agility knows no boundaries. The trees on his left and right fell backwards due to the force of his speed.


    After half an hour, he climbed up a big tree to get a bird¡¯s eye view of the surrounding and its vicinity.


    The sky that was full of dark clouds, hardly revealed the full moon.


    The distance from where he stood and the giant archelon was only under three kilometers. It was already about to leave the sea. Under the chilly night, it climbed back to the mudts. There was a pin-drop silence. All creatures were trying their best to hide themselves during this tense situation. The sound of crickets that was heard every night was not heard tonight because of the immense fear.


    Luo Yuan held his breath, and did not move a muscle.


    The giant archelon walked up to a higher ground and stopped in its tracks. The big and hideous head turned and looked around, almost as if it was keeping a watch. When its eyes turned towards Luo Yuan¡¯s direction, it slightly paused its movements.


    Being stared by its fiery eyes in the dark, Luo Yuan felt as if his head was about to burst. His heartbeat stopped and he almost turned and ran away.


    Fortunately, it quickly diverted its nce and continued looking around towards other directions.


    Luo Yuan¡¯s chest expanded and contracted heavily. He had used all his effort to suppress the fear in his heart.


    At that moment, he clearly sensed that he had been identified by the giant archelon. His methods of of hiding was useless in front of this creature. However, it seemed like it did not mind his existence. Maybe he was only an insignificant speck in the archelon¡¯s eyes.


    When Luo Yuan did not know whether he should leave or stay, the giant archelon started digging with its four limbs like a powerful excavator. Thend very soon became a forty to fifty meter wide hole, with the depth of the hole unbeknownst to all. After a few minutes, it stopped digging.


    It leaned towards the hole, without moving. Its tail tightly stuck to the mouth of the hole.


    Did it mean....


    Luo Yuan¡¯s heart moved. As expected, a turn of events verified his prediction. The giant archelon whimpered in low spirits. That voice wasced with some pain. After some time, it slowly stood up and continued digging. With the remnants of mud and sand, it covered back the hole well.


    After it settled the deed, it did not leave immediately. It continued to look around. This time, it did so even more carefully. Back and forth, it took a few minutes to look around. Under Luo Yuan¡¯s anxious gaze, it slowly moved back to the sea. It looked very weak; it was limping.


    If it was a normal light green level creature, it could have been the perfect chance. However, facing this sea creature with a level he could not identify, he was incapable to even conjure the thought.


    It walked towards the sea. Under the glistening moonlight, it swiftly moved towards the direction it came from, and disappeared eventually.


    Luo Yuan was still hiding on top of the tree without moving. After half an hour, when the coast was clear, he jumped down from the tree and rushed towards the shore.


    After a few minutes, he walked towards the high ground. Despite the departure of the giant archelon, its breath was still left there. But this powerless breath had no effect on Luo Yuan, who possessed 15 points of Will.


    The hole was as big as three basketball courts in total, with its depth still unknown. Luo Yuan stood on the ground and awakened his senses. A sudden ray of happiness filled his heart. It came here all the way out from the sea, only toy its eggs!


    But s, there was only one egg. This was entirely normal. As nature has it, a stronger creature would be less likely to seed in reproduction. On the other hand, weaker creatures had noplications reproducing. If it reproduced like archelons before the apocalypse,ying hundreds of eggs each time, it would upy the entire ocean.


    Unfortunately, he did not have any suitable tools. Knives were okay for killing, but not for digging. He could only use his bare hands.


    He hung his knives on the side, standing at the middle of the muddy soil and started digging with his very own hands.


    Itprised of only soft and muddy soil; needing little to no effort to dig through. In addition to that, as the giant archelon came toy its egg, the mutated creatures in the sand escaped from the area as they sensed its vicious breath. Those that did not make it into hiding were also paralyzed because of its breath. After a few moments, he realized that he wasn¡¯t even thinking the creatures as there were none around him that posed a threat.


    However, the egg was buried too deep. Approximately twenty meters in depth, he was afraid that if he tried to dig it out tonight, he wouldn¡¯t be able to sleep.


    However, he obviously overestimated his digging ability.


    It is be impossible to dig a hole over twenty metres deep especially with this kind of soft, mud t. If we did anyway, it would just copse and cover itself up. The egg was over two meters in height, its outermostyer seemed to be wrapped by a thick, transparent substance. Its size exceeded five meters in length. If the hole he dug was too small, not only will it copse, the egg would not be able to be taken out as well.


    This wouldn¡¯t have been done without a strategy. He can only replicate the size of the hole that the giant archelon dug. No doubt, it was a good progress.


    Luo Yuan had only been digging for half an hour, and he was already feeling a bit dejected. Looking at that one meter wide and half meter deep hole, he could only smile bitterly in his heart. He may have to dig for three days and three nights to get to the egg but if it rained in between, he would have to start all over again.


    Suddenly, his expression changed.


    He must have gone bonkers! Why must he dig it up all by himself? Didn¡¯t he have the giant lizard at his disposal? Although it can¡¯t bepared to the giant archelon, but with the giant lizard it wouldn¡¯t take too long either.


    Trantor Notes


    1 Archelon (from Greek ¦Á¦Ñ¦Ö¦Å¦Ë?¦Í meaning ruler turtle) is a genus of extinct sea turtles, thergest genus of sea turtles that has ever been documented, and the second-heaviest turtles documented behind Stupendemys.

 Chapter 150: Process to deal with

    Chapter 150: Process to deal with


    Trantor: EndlessFantasy Trantion Editor: EndlessFantasy Trantion


    Not long after that, Luo Yuan came back with the giant lizard.


    Under Luo Yuan¡¯s instruction, the giant lizard began to dig a hole rapidly. Massive amounts of mud was hurled backwards in rapid session. The hole that had been closed by the giant archelon, was dug open once again.


    Even so, it took two hours before he could see the huge egg. Luo Yuan was afraid that the giant lizard was going to eat it, like how it ate the fruit of the Sky¡¯s Tree, so he hurriedly asked it to back off.


    Luo Yuan slid down the walls of the mud hole and walked all the way to the bottom. The giant lizard¡¯s work was clearly not meticulous enough, as it only managed to expose the upper half of the huge egg. The other half of the egg was still covered with mud. After Luo Yuan finished the job, only then could the huge egg be seen in its entirety.


    This was a two meter tall, over one meter wide huge oval egg. This does not even include its thick colorless transparent gelyer, about half a meter thick, yet. Aspared to an ordinary egg, its outermostter hadplex patterns, bringing a sense of mystery.


    The outermost gelyer looked very smooth and silky, and was soft to the touch. It was very bouncy, just like rubber. Luo Yuan tried to cut it by using his zhanmadao but the gelyer was imprable. The more strength he exerted, the harder the gel bounced back. It was an arduous task to even cut it up with his Will.


    With this, it¡¯s no wonder the archelon did not have a worry in the world and did not mind leaving its egg here. Only unless one¡¯s ability was above the light green level, thisyer of gel would be more than enough to prevent most creatures from harming it. Light green level creatures can rarely be found in the whole Jiangnan Province anyway. Aspared to the highly dangerous ocean, thend was no doubt the best ce for ocean creatures to reproduce for the future and safety of their new generation.


    Luo Yuan did not manage to break it on the spot. This egg was very heavy, and weighed more than one ton. Even after removing the gel, it would not weigh less than one ton. Despite his thirteen points of strength, he could barely move it, let alone yank it out to the surface of ground from above a twenty meter deep, muddy hole. His amount of strength was not enough to push it out what more dragging it for about seven to eight kilometers to the defensive site. The whole journey was full of pits and potholes. Even if he sessfully managed to push it all the way to his destination, it would take him at least a good seven or eight hours.


    With that protectiveyer of gel, he would not need to worry about the giant lizard snatching or gobbling the egg up. Even if it did managed to get the egg into its mouth, it would still be unable to bite it.


    The poor giant lizard had to be put to work again. It bit the huge egg and rushed back. Unless there was nothing to do, not assigning the lizard any work is silly.


    By the time Luo Yuan got back to the defensive site, the sky was already darkening. After the giant lizard put down the huge egg, and he chased it aside.


    When Luo Yuan got back previously, he had already told everyone about this. After they heard that the giant beast was here to give birth, and that he would be moving the huge egg back, how could they possibly sleep with such news? Everyone had ran out when they heard a sound.


    They walked out. Once they saw the huge egg, all of them was taken by surprise.


    ¡°This is the egg. It¡¯s so enormous! Definitely taller than every one of us.¡± Huang Jiahui said in amazement.


    ¡°I reckon even a dinosaur egg wouldn¡¯t be as huge.¡± Huo Yuan also said in bewilderment. He touched its outer gelyer out of curiosity and was surprised, ¡°How could it still be so cold?¡±


    Then, everyone followed suit and touched it. All of them were busy discussing the matter. They were very excited; even Zhao Yali who was feeling uneasy, could not control her curiosity and touched it as well.


    Both Wang Shishi¡¯s eyes were gleaming. She was already jealous of the fact that Luo Yuan had a giant lizard as a pet earlier. Now, that they had one more egg, she quickly pulled the corner of his shirt, and fawningly said: ¡°Brother Luo, gift me this egg, okay?¡±


    Everyone apart from Zhao Yali, who already had Lao Huang, everyone else¡¯s smile faded. This was a mutated beast¡¯s egg, what more an egg with a terrifying ability. Everyone understood what it meant. Once it hatched, it could do whatever it wanted in the future.


    ¡°You don¡¯t have to look any further. This egg is too huge, nobody knows when will it hatch. Even when it hatches, we would never know if it can ever be tamed. Bringing it along with us in our journey would be far too dangerous.¡± Luo Yuan muttered himself and shook his head.


    Mutated beasts are not just any creatures that can be easily tamed. These mutated beasts were born brutal. How the giant lizard was able to be tamed was because of the painful lesson it learnt! Should its ability evolve again, it would have the tendency to betray them once more. For Lao Huang, it was a special case. Its ex-host had left an indelible impact. Canines are generally more loyal, they are less inclined to betray their owners. Even if it was mutated, its good behaviour was passed down by generation after generation of ancestors.


    If it was a normal creature, Luo Yuan would have brought it along, albeit with caution. But, the egg was too scary. The moment it hatches, it would already be a young green level creature.


    ¡°Can¡¯t we just eat it as food?¡± Huang Jiahui said surprisingly, ¡°Let¡¯s not waste this chance.¡±


    ¡°Waste? This is not a waste at all. This is an eggid by a sixth level creature. If I¡¯m not mistaken, it will bring a lot benefit to all of you, if you were to consume it.¡± Luo Yuan said in a deep voice. Even a blue level creature was already sufficient to improve their capabilities, let alone green level ones. Luo Yuan guessed that a green level creature¡¯s flesh could at least raise some abilities up to twelve points.


    ¡°Sixth level...¡± Everyone sighed. For them, level three was already a nightmare. The giant lizard was also only a level four. Level six was something almost unimaginable.


    In fact, its benefits did not stop there. Apart from what Luo Yuan already mentioned, its outer gelyer and even the eggshell were all valuable resources. The gel, with its durable bouncy substance, was best used for making bulletproof suits. Even without additional abilities, the bouncy substance alone could yield very high buffering powers when under attack. It was capable of reducing injuries to the bare minimum.


    After his snake scale bulletproof vest broke, Luo Yuan¡¯s defense had decreased a lot. This was apparent during thest beast attack, he did not only sustained serious injuries; he almost died there.


    There were already a few bulletproof suits in the weapon warehouse. It was not like they werecking of any materials, it just seemed befitting to make a brand new one.


    As for the eggshell, it could be the perfect weapon. His zhanmadao was actually amalgamated with the tree bark of the Sky¡¯s Tree. It was not able to amalgamate with other materials of the same grade. Besides, being able to absorb life energy was too important. If it was not necessary, Luo Yuan would not see a need for change, however, it can be built for someone else.


    For instance, Wang Shishi¡¯s flying shuttle, as well as some bullets.


    Thinking of the sniper rifle in the weapon warehouse, an epiphany shed through Luo Yuan¡¯s mind. He could use a heavy sniper rifle, to shoot out green level bullets. How strong was its power?


    Next, Luo Yuan used his Will, and with a knife, he circted the outermost gelyer of the huge egg. He cut it carefully. Once he cut a small hole, apressed smell slowly diffused into air. People who were surrounding him were repulsed, and backed off far away. They were suffocated and turned pale.


    As the gelpletely fell off from the egg leaving it no longer suppressing its contents, its smellpletely leaked out. As a green level creature, even as just a tiny egg, the smell it emitted was much more pungent than that of a giant lizard.


    Even Luo Yuan¡¯s heart raced, as though crushed by a stone.


    The smell was almost the same as the giant archelon, albeit slightly weaker, it still had its simrities.


    Frustration and impulse filled the Giant Lizard¡¯s lightbulb-like eyes. It stared at the huge egg without blinking. Its instincts could sense that if it were to eat the egg, it would be very beneficial for itself. As time passed, its eyes soon turned red with desire, and it drooled greedily.


    Luo Yuan suddenly shifted its focus onto the egg too, as he experienced signs of himself spiralling out of control. His body was itching to have a go as well.


    His heart turned cold. It seems that the huge egg was immensely tempting. He was far beyond rational by now, and decided not to stand there any longer.


    He quickly reprimanded it loudly. After hearing Luo Yuan¡¯s voice, the giant lizard slowly got back to its senses. It shook its big head, snorted in angst and reluctantly stepped back.


    He opened the properties panel with an uneasy look on his face. He found that the loyalty of Giant Lizard had dropped dramatically, from a peak of 80 to 70.


    ¡°Little Yuan, what happened to the giant lizard?¡± Zhao Yali was a bit shocked and asked nervously.


    The giant lizard was too fierce. Lao Huang appeared to be tamer inparison. It never behaved that way in front of her.


    ¡°Luo Yuan¡¯s face sunk, he forcefully smiled, ¡°Nothing, it will be okay after some time.¡±


    It would be better if he did not say anything. Everyone became more nervous after hearing what he said. Anyone could also see that Luo Yuan was trying too hard to convince them, especially with the fact that the giant lizard had a bad track record.


    Luo Yuan kept staring at the properties panel. He could only be relieved after he found that the loyalty had no changes after it hit 68 points. Suddenly he realized that he has no remedy for a giant lizard who was out of control.


    Without realizing, the ability of the giant lizard had already surpassed him by leaps and bounds. With only fifteen points of agility, it could already pummel him to the ground. He had to slow the giant lizard¡¯s evolution progress down. Else, once it starts to betray him, he would not even have any methods of damage control.

 Chapter 151: Lucky One

    Chapter 151: Lucky One


    Trantor: EndlessFantasy Trantion Editor: EndlessFantasy Trantion


    ¡°Delivery liquid of Archelon;¡±


    ¡°Rarity: Green¡±


    ¡°Weight: 35kg¡±


    ¡°Additional ability: Massive absorption of physical and strength attacks;¡±


    ¡°Remarks: This is a special cogen secreted by the archelon in the process ofying eggs. It is to protect their eggs from external harm during the incubation, and ensure theye to the earth safely, with noplications.¡±


    Luo Yuan picked up a small piece, assessed it for a short while, and his face lit up with joy. This piece does not only absorb physical attacks, it could also be assimted with strength attacks. It was more wonderful than what he initially thought. Indeed, it deserves to be a green level material. He still did not know what the effect of this egg was, making him look forward to finding out what it could do.


    ¡°Hurry, get me a wooden barrel.¡± Luo Yuan held his knife and said.


    Very soon, someone brought a wooden barrel for him.


    That enormous egg was way too big to fit in that wooden barrel. But, Luo Yuan certainly did not n to pour out all the liquid contained within the egg. For an enormous egg like this, it was alright to have some of it go to waste.


    The energy content of the green ranked food was extraordinary. For ordinary people, just consuming a little of it was enough to keep them satiated for an entire day. Conservatively, this enormous egg could feed everyone for a month! There might even be leftovers, provided that the condition did not deteriorate.


    Luo Yuan raised the point of the knife. He focused his Will at the tip of the knife and it let out a dim glow. At the very next moment, he stabbed it straight into the egg shell.


    He could feel a strong resistance. His Will was depleted just as quick as running water would flow out of a container. Fortunately, the eggshell was not very thick. Luo Yuan held on for a while, exerted his energy a little, and the tip of the knife made it into the egg. Luo Yuan continued his efforts and after a few seconds, the eggshell had been punctured with a small hole, approximately 5-centimeters in size.


    The eggshell was seven or eight centimeters thick. It was verypact and hard. Other than its three-millimeter outermostyer thatprised a rough material, the rest was almost transparent. The whole thing shone with a jade-like kind of light. Instead of calling it an eggshell, it could pass off as shards of crystal.


    In fact, he was totally thinking too much. Because even when the eggshell was now broken, there was no eggwhite flowing out. Luo Yuan cut a piece from inside. The egg liquid on the tip of knife was so crystal clear, wobbled like jelly, and emitted a strange smell, but not a bad one.


    Luo Yuan secretly used an appraisal technique:


    ¡°Egg white of Archelon¡±


    ¡°Purpose: Food supply¡±


    ¡°Rarity: Green¡±


    ¡°Weight: 10¡±


    ¡°Effect: 1. Slightly improves the human physique, 2. Slightly improves human strength, 3. Slightly increases human agility, 4. Chance for human evolution, 5. Chance to harness a technique to breathe underwater.¡±


    ¡°Remark: It is a superfood. Compared to its tenacious flesh after growing up, the egg white that was still in the form of an infant is more delicious and easy to consume. It consists of a massive amount of strength, improving the human physique and may even induce evolution.


    Despite Luo Yuan having predicted all this, he was still shocked by its effect. If memory served him right, blue level food usually had a disadvantage to the human body. This time however, it had a small probability to evolve and even a chance at harnessing the ability to breathe underwater.It doesn¡¯t seem like an evolutionary ability or it would have been listed individually.


    After that, he swallowed the egg white.


    The egg white was cool and refreshing, It eased smoothly all the way down his throat. Compared to bloody meat and flesh, the egg white was so much more superior in terms of its texture. An explosive fiery feeling rose in his stomach as soon as he swallowed the egg white. Very soon, that feeling spread through his entire body, there was like a fire burning in his body. His body temperature rose all the way up, and his stomach was bloated. He also felt strangely hyperactive. Even his Will was recovering rapidly.


    Since his properties were raised dramatically, the blue level food was sub-par to him now. It had been a long time since hest felt a burning sensation all over his body.


    ¡°Luo Yuan, is there a problem?¡± Huang Jiahui asked, with her face flushed red.


    A scorching hot breath puffed through his mouth. Heughed and said, ¡°Nothing¡¯s wrong, the effect of this egg white was too strong. Don¡¯t eat too much in one go. If we¡¯re lucky, there may be one more evolution that may happen among us.¡±


    Huo Dong could hardly conceal his excitement after he heard how serious Luo Yuan said this. Evolution, who wouldn¡¯t want themselves to evolve. Look at Luo Yuan and Wang Shishi, they have terrifying abilities and as time passes, the gap between their abilities kept increasing, soon they would be superman.


    Anxious and uneasy feelings were torturing him every day. For evolved humans, an ordinary human like him was a total burden. Not only can they be of no help but they would also dy progress. Luo Yuan only bought them along out of sympathy but harsh reality is that this kind of sympathy will one day run out. It is likely that he could not even wait for that time toe.


    Evolve, this time it has to happen!


    Luo Yuan looked at the desire in those eyes and his heart sank. This journey was too dangerous. If they did not sessfully evolve, they may fall after the other before they could even reach the West. Hopefully, there will be more evolutions this time.


    Luo Yuan scooped the egg white up once again and cut them into pieces. Other than Lin Xiaoji who got a bit more, the rest of them all had only a few grams of it. The effect of green level food was too overwhelming for ordinary humans. They should not take too much.


    Despite having consumed only a little, Wang Xiaguang and Zhao Yali started having serious nosebleeds. The condition of the others were better but not by much. Their skin got so red that it seemed as if they had juste out of a battle.


    Suddenly, Chen Xianfeng fainted without a sign, shocking everyone.


    Aside from Zhao Yali and Wang Xiaguang who were greatly concerned because they have not witnessed such a thing before, the expressions on Huo Dong¡¯s and the others¡¯ faces wereced with difort. Possibly admiration with a slight hint of jealousy; it was hard to decipher how they actually felt.


    ¡°Sighhh¡±, Huo Dong sighed lightly. Even after consuming the egg white, the excitement could hardly ovee his gloom. He walked to the door, searched for a while, and found a cigarette that had been smoked halfway. Just when he about to light the cigarette, someone patted him on the shoulder. It was Lin Xiaoji.


    ¡°Any more cigarettes?¡± He asked.


    Huo Dong was surprised. Lin Xiaoji was an introvert and always seemed arrogant. He rarely talked to him, but today he took the initiative and tried to get a cigarette from him. He froze for a moment beforeing to his senses again saying, ¡°I only have a cigarette butt, do you want it?¡±


    Huo Dong saw Lin Xiaoji hesitating but in the end he nodded in agreement.


    This person simply does not know how to act like a decent human being, making little to no effort to even appear decent. It¡¯s no wonder his rtionship with thedies was so bad. He sighed to himself and found some creased tobo in his pocket. From there, he groped for a slightly longer cigarette butt and passed it to him along with a lighter. He had nothing to say but still, he tried to keep the conversation alive and said ¡°Nowadays, it is hard to even find cigarettes. I usually smoke a puff or two before putting it out, just to satisfy my craving.¡±


    Lin Xiaoji lit the cigarette and took a deep puff. He was choking and coughed uncontrobly. He instantly threw it on the floor and stepped on it to put it off. Huo Dong saw him doing this and felt it was such a waste. After a while, he sighed and softly said, ¡°I would¡¯ve never expected Chen Xianfeng to evolve, such a lucky s*it.¡±


    ¡°Aren¡¯t you an evolved character too?¡± Huo Dong asked, astonished.


    ¡°My kind of evolved ability is totally useless. Other than healing myself, I am no different than an ordinary human. How can I be considered as an evolved human?. This world is so unfair.¡± he said with dissatisfaction, looking as if he was defeated. He was an arrogant person and being an evolved human supported his aura. Although he had been under the shadow of Luo Yuan all this time, he still maintained an arrogant outlook in front of ordinary people. He would have never thought that this time, even the obscure Chen Xiaofeng could be an evolved human, how could he not feel defeated?


    Huo Dong squinted and evil arose in his heart. ¡°You¡¯re already an evolved human, yet you stillin about it being unfair. Who should we, the ordinary people go to then?¡± He realized there and then that Chen Xianfeng bing an evolved human put his heart and mind at unrest.


    Nevertheless, he was still a cunning person and knew that these words could only be spoken in the heart. He took a deep puff and said in a whisper, ¡°Fairness? Where do we find fairness in this world? The fact that we¡¯re now alive while others are not is already the biggest injustice. We should be counting our lucky stars for still being alive today, don¡¯t tell me you¡¯re still longing to have powers like Boss Luo?¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t you want it?¡± Lin Xiaoji responded by asking.


    Huo Dong remained silent for a while, took a deep puff, then carefully put out the cigarette butt and put it into his cigarette box. He stood up and said, ¡°Yes, of course, I want it but I clearly know that there is no one who can attain the highest level with a single step. All powerful abilities must be trained.¡±


    After that, he did not care about Lin Xiaoji¡¯s face. He stood up and went back into the room. He saw Luo Yuan who was slitting the eggshell slowly using the knife. Suddenly, he recalled something Luo Yuan said yesterday, ¡°There is no internal power, at least not that I know of. It is not incredible either, it is just the function of Will. You will all understand when you can muster all your Will.¡±


    Everyone has Will. If one is able to attain such an ability by just concentrating their Will, their strength will definitely not be worse off evenpared to an evolved human.


    Since he could not be an evolved human, he would first learn to concentrate his Will.


    Huo Dong secretly held his fist. Looking at Chen Xianfeng who was still lying down, he steeled his heart.

 Chapter 152: Failed Evolution

    Chapter 152: Failed Evolution


    Trantor: EndlessFantasy Trantion Editor: EndlessFantasy Trantion


    ¡°What happened to him? Luo Yuan, hurry! Come and see!¡± Huang Jiahui¡¯s voice had a tinge of fear, interrupting Luo Yuan who was slicing a hardboiled egg.


    His heartbeat became a little erratic. Luo Yuan kept his knife back into its sheath and hastened there. Looking at Chen Xianfeng¡¯s body, he had a bad feeling.


    Chen Xianfeng¡¯s condition did not seem right. He was having uncontroble muscle spasms. His hair was falling off bunch by bunch. Even his nails were growing unnaturally fast and did not resemble those of a human¡¯s anymore. The tips were pointed and glowing in ck with a metallic lustre, looking extremely sharp. What was more horrifying was that his flesh started to grow a rough, hornedyer, that covered his whole body like an armor.


    ¡°It¡¯s dangerous here. Everybody, back off!¡± Luo Yuan did not hesitate with hismand.


    Even if he had notmanded so, everyone had already moved four or five meters away.


    ¡°Didn¡¯t he evolve? How could this happen?¡± Zhao Yali carefully took a look at Chen Xianfeng and asked.


    ¡°I¡¯m not so sure. It seems that evolving has a certain fail rate. Chen Xianfeng probably failed to evolve.¡± Luo Yuan said. He realized this abnormal phenomenon resembled the corpse of Wang Xiaguang¡¯s father that he saw in theboratory previously.


    The crowd was amazed, but did not look too amused. Looking at Chen Xianfeng¡¯s condition, they suddenly did not know if they were lucky enough to not have to experience bing an evolved human.


    ¡°What happens if an evolutions fail?¡± Cao Lin suddenly asked.


    Luo Yuan nced at her and said, ¡°If the condition is severe, it may cause death because of the gic breakdown. Else, he may be stuck being neither human nor beast. The final oue of whether he is able to keep his human nature and form is all dependent on his Will now.¡±


    Wang Xiaguang¡¯s father was like that. At first, everything was still normal. He still continued living with his wife. Nobody noticed anything strange. However, as time passed, the nature of the beast within him started affected him more and more. He eventually started devouring humans but throughout the entire ordeal, he has never harmed his wife and daughter proving once and for all that with strong Will, the beastly instincts could be ovee.


    But, Chen Xianfeng¡¯s evolution was more aggressivepared to Wang Xiaguang¡¯s father. All changes werepleted rapidly in a short period of time unlike her father whose condition worsened over time. What would be of her was something he was unable to determine.


    ¡°Is there nothing we can do?¡± Huang Jiahui eyes teared up.


    The rest harboured a heavy feeling in their hearts as well. Although Chen Xianfeng was a man of a few words and his presence was insignificant to others, having spent so much time together made them feel a certain connection to him.


    ¡°This is a fight on the gic level. No treatment would be of help. He can only depend on himself.¡± Luo Yuan understood her feeling, but there is no way he can stop a change on the gic level.


    Then, his bones started exploding like firecrackers. Muscles all over his body were also expanding rapidly, bulging beneath his shirt. It seemed as if he has broken the barriers of human growth as his body grew taller by more than twenty centimeters within a few minutes, showing no signs of slowing down.


    Luo Yuan¡¯s expression changed. He will perish if this continues. The human body is only capable of so much and would not be able to cope with growth at such an intense level. It this does not stop, his body could break down anytime soon.


    Ordinary food no longer had the ability to keep him nourished as his body depleted it faster than it could be replenished. The only way for him to stay alive would be to continue eating highly nutritious food.


    Luo Yuan hesitated for a few seconds before rushing towards the huge egg. This may aggravate his condition and possibly even cause him to lose his mind when he awakes. However, as long as there was a glimmer of hope that he would be alright, Luo Yuan refused to give up.


    He took out his knife and dug up a big piece of egg white, opened his mouth and fed it to him. Then, he took a pack of tree sap and fed it to him as well.


    The piece of egg was much bigger than the one Luo Yuan ate earlier. The nourishment from that piece of egg white was no joke, even Luo Yuan would be worried of getting a nosebleed from that big a piece. If an ordinary person were to eat it, it would certainly end up with them burning to death. However, at the rate Chen Xianfeng is growing, this did not apply to him.


    As the egg white was put into his mouth, his originally pale white face became a glowing bright red, but faded just as it appeared. At the same time, his body growth sped up even more.


    His shirt was clinging tightly against his body, akin to an adult wearing children¡¯s clothing. It restricted his movements ufortably. Luo Yuan was prepared to cut his clothes with a knife, ¡°Shikk!¡± the clothes came undone and revealed frightening, abnormal muscles.


    Luo Yuan sighed. Although the level of his clothes were not high, it was still of blue level. Even with his thirteen points of strength, all his efforts to tear it off was all in vain as it would require more than fifteen points to get the job done.


    The growth due to his evolution is just amazing!


    Chen Xianfeng¡¯s skin had totally changed. It was covered with a thick, hornedyer, just like a suit of armor. His chest expanded and contracted while his nostrils shot out streams of steam. Due to the cells in his body that were furiously breaking down and regenerating at the same time, his body temperature had already gone up to 70 degrees Celsius. Luo Yuan could feel the heat blowing towards his direction, even though he was standing a few meters away.


    After a minute, his growth slowed down and his breaths were staggered due to his depleted energy. Luo Yuan hesitated for a while and walked in front of the huge egg.


    ¡°Luo Yuan......!¡± Huang Jiahui couldn¡¯t help but to shout, looking very pale.


    Luo Yuan turned back and looked at the crowd. He notice the unease on everyone¡¯s face. He remained silent for a moment and slowly said, ¡°This is thest time. All of you, back off further away¡±


    Of course he knew it was very dangerous. He noticed that the breath of Chen Xianfeng is close to that of a blue level mutated beast¡¯s. If he swallowed the egg white again, he could very well reach a dark blue level immediately. If that happens, it would be a burden even to Luo Yuan.


    At the very least however, if he did not even attempt but immediately gave up, Chen Xianfeng would have no chance of ever waking up. Besides, Luo Yuan was curious to see the extent of Chen Xianfeng¡¯s evolution.


    As he was fed the egg white, his growth sped up once again. Two point five meters, two point seven meters, three meters. As he reached three meters, his growth stopped once more but this time his breathing was steady while his body temperature decreased slowly.


    Luo Yuan knew he would eventually regain consciousness, his hand pressing silently against the handle of his zhanmadao.


    As everyone stood at the doorway watching from afar, the atmosphere in the hall became tense.


    Slightly more than ten secondster, Chen Xianfeng¡¯s heavy eyelids twitched and opened to reveal his now green eyes. Looking at the ceiling, his pupils contracted and dted several times until he could focus clearly.


    As he slowly sat up, he had a confused look on his face. Zhao Yali covered her mouth, trying her level best not to scream as she saw him. At over three meters high, he looked like a giant. Even sitting down he was the same height as an upright Luo Yuan.


    Chen Xianfeng suddenly noticed Luo Yuan, who was nearby. He was clearly stunned as his vision was made inurate by his staggering height. He tried opening his mouth to speak but what came out was a husky, deep voice.


    He looked at his body before trembling in fear. ¡°Ahhhhhhh!¡± he roared in pain and stood up furiously.


    Clearly, he has not adapted to his new body. His newfound power made him copse just as soon as he stood up. His body fell clumsily onto a burnt office table nearby, breaking it down to mere dust and smoke flying in all directions.


    He attempted to stand once again, but fell down nheless.


    After repeatedly trying several times, he finally showed just how strong his new body could be. Unleashing all his strength he roared continuously and punched the ground with all his might. Innumerable rocks flew everywhere as his fistsnded on the ground one after the other, smashing thend beneath him. Even the defensive camp started quivering.


    ¡°Honggg, honggg, hongg....¡±


    After several seconds passed, the ground near the defensive camp site had a half meter deep hole dug out by his fist. A few exposed concrete iron bars that were as thick as two fingers were also twisted by his amazing strength.


    He suddenly stopped hammering and turned his gaze to Luo Yuan. His eyes giving off a brutal, violent glimmer. He stood up shakily and roared like the beast he seemed to be.


    ¡°Chen Xianfeng, do you want me to wake you up?¡± Luo Yuan suddenly rebuked.


    The cold voice wasced with an intent to kill. It made Chen Xianfenge to his senses, leaving behind the beastly, animalistic emotions that took over just a few seconds ago. Luo Yuan had made asting impression on him that reduced him to shivers. Instinctively, he backed off and his eyes turned back to normal.


    ¡°I......I......What happened to me?¡± stammered Chen Xianfeng in an apprehensive voice.


    As he opened his mouth, Luo Yuan immediately noticed his tongue had branched into two. His canine teeth also grew much bigger. One way or the other, he was no longer human.


    Seeing as he has somewhate to his senses, Luo Yuan heaved a sigh of relief. However, he kept his grip tightly on his knife as he answered him, ¡°You¡¯ve failed to evolve but your body had already undergone some changes. You were lucky to survive but can you hold on to your senses?


    ¡°I.....don¡¯t......don¡¯t know¡± He shook his head in agony, and said ¡°very......frustrated, but ...I ... can......hold on.¡±


    Watching at Chen Xianfeng trying to take control of his senses, the rest had finally dared toe closer. Chen Xianfeng nervously looked at the crowd in an aggressive manner. His vision was slightly blurred and he was clenching his fist subconsciously.


    Luo Yuan was shocked when he saw how the changes in his gics due to the evolution had adversely influenced his temper.


    ¡°Chen Xianfeng, can you still recognize us?¡± Huo Dong asked in fear.


    ¡°I......can......recognize... all...¡±Chen Xianfeng said in a suppressed voice. His eyes casting violent nces every now and then. His face was very agitated as well. Nevertheless, he kept it well under control.


    ¡°It¡¯s great that you were able to recover. Although you had only semi-evolved, your abilities have be much stronger. As long as you¡¯ve managed to survive, there is nothing more to ask for. You have to keep going, you must be strong.¡± Cao Lin encouraged him.


    ¡°Yeah, your strength was amazing. I thought the building was going to copse.¡± Wang Shishi added on. She was not afraid. Instead, she was only staring at him out of curiousity.


    Everyone hastened tofort him until Luo Yuan stepped in to stop them.


    He noticed that Chen Xianfeng¡¯s fidgeting became more and more apparent. He was obviously irritated with everyone preaching at him, almost unable to control his emotions.


    ¡°He needs a quiet environment. Leave him be for awhile.¡± Luo Yuan said.

 Chapter 153: Stay

    Chapter 153: Stay


    Trantor: EndlessFantasy Trantion Editor: EndlessFantasy Trantion


    Chen Xianfeng staggered as he left his room. At first, he could not stand steadily, but soon his movements became smoother. He walked out to the garden and took a few steps before he started running. The faster he ran, the more hideous his face looked. Finally, he let out a loud, weird growl from his mouth.


    Hearing his beast-like growl from a distance, everyone in the hall went quiet. Their thoughts wereplicated to say the least.


    ¡°He is too dangerous...¡± Cao Lin said, her head bowed down. She dared not look at the others.


    Although she had not said it outright, her meaning was obvious. No normal person would want to live around a ticking bomb. Judging by his actions just now, his emotions were very unstable. If Luo Yuan wasn¡¯t there, he would have already lost control.


    ¡°Yeah, his eyes looked just like a beast¡¯s,¡± Zhao Yali said anxiously.


    ¡°But he is still our friend,¡± Huang Jiahui said in a low voice after hesitating for a while. She knew that Zhao Yali was right. Chen Xiangfeng was indeed very dangerous now. Maybe his temporary soft-hearted will had caused irreparable damage. However, she did not have the heart to give up on him.


    ¡°He has already changed. He is no longer the Chen Xianfeng we knew. You heard Brother Luo, his condition might be more serious in the future. Letting him stay with us would not be safe. Plus, he may have a better life if we let him go,¡± Cao Lin said, biting her lips.


    Luo Yuan was also struggling to make a decision. The power of of the growth from his evolution was terrifying to say the least. Within a short period of time, Chen Xianfeng had already grown from an ordinary person to a dark blue level human. The giant archelon¡¯s genes that had entered his body hasn¡¯t shown its full potential yet, but the archelon¡¯s power could already be seen.


    If Chen Xianfeng could sessfully control the ruthless emotions running through his body, he could grow into a very formidable ally in the future.


    To be honest though, Luo Yuan was not very optimistic.


    Even if the beast genes did not affect one¡¯s rationality, it was still a challenge for a normal human¡¯s temperament to suddenly get so much stronger. That much strength will definitely arouse destructive intentions and corrode one¡¯s rationality, making them act willfully. To add insult to injury, Chen Xianfeng¡¯s body had been possessed by green level mutated beast genes.


    Chen Xianfeng used to bear all duties by himself withoutint. No matter how tired or dirty he was, he would never say a word. It would be really cold and heartless to just give up on him like that. Luo Yuan remained silent for a while before he said, ¡°Let¡¯s observe him for a few more days. I will watch him. If he loses control of his emotions, then we will have to let him go.¡±


    If he really loses control, then Luo Yuan could not be med for it.


    This had all happened too suddenly, forcing them to dy their original n to depart.


    Nevertheless, there was nothing they could do. Massive egg yolks were divided by the women and smoked into cubes, which were wrapped tightly in cleaned fish skin. This kind of food was no doubt a precious strategic resource. Despite its small size, the amount of heat it contained was sufficient to sustain anyone for a day, excluding Luo Yuan and Chen Xianfeng. If it was stored well, it could be preserved for more than half a year.


    The gelyer of the eggshell had been used to synthesize Luo Yuan¡¯s bulletproof vest. Because there had been a sufficient amount, Luo Yuan had synthesized five bulletproof vests in total. Except for a dark blue level one, the rest were all green level.


    The new bulletproof vest had a crystal-like, semi-transparent colour. Its surface had a fibre texture to it and it was much lighter. The metal tes inside it had been mixed with the gelyer and formed a new, lighter substance.


    The softness of the bulletproof vest was moderate, neither too hard, nor too soft. Its strong rebounding ability could be felt by applying just a little bit of pressure.


    Compared to the previous snake scale bulletproof vest, the properties of the current vests were amazing. There was noparison.


    ¡°Energy Absorption Bulletproof Vest¡±


    ¡°Materials: Giant Archelon delivery liquid, nylon fibre, metal tes¡±


    ¡°Rarity: Green¡±


    ¡°Weight: 1kg¡±


    ¡°Defense: 35-39¡±


    ¡°Special Effect: Attack Absorption (Physical)


    ¡°Special Effect 2: Rebounce (Immediate springback after any attack)


    ¡°Remarks: This is no doubt a highly protective bulletproof vest. Although its special effects may seem simple, all kinds of power will be reflected on it. It can resist any attack, from bullets to cannonballs. Its only disadvantage is that whenever it absorbs an attack, it starts heating up. Of course,pared to its strong protection, this weakness is not even worth mentioning.


    To test the effects of the bulletproof vest, Luo Yuan walked to an empty area and let Huang Jiahui shoot him with dark blue level bullets. All the bullets bounced away. Other than a slight vibration, he could feel no pain at all.


    After he wiped off the ck dots on the bulletproof vest, its surface became as smooth as new. The bullets had not left any marks, and its temperature had not increased much either. Obviously, that kind of attack did not affect the vest much, hence the low level of heat.


    Wang Shishi¡¯s Flying Shuttle was also upgraded using the eggshells. Its level of sharpness had already exceeded Luo Yuan¡¯s zhanmadao. The rest of the eggshells had been synthesized into heavy caliber sniper bullets and normal handgun bullets. If anyone got hit by these bullets other than light green level creatures, they would be filled with holes.


    After the synthesization, the whole team¡¯s attacking ability had improved in quality. As they consumed more green level food, everyone¡¯s body qualities would increase rapidly.


    Chen Xianfeng didn¡¯te back the whole morning or in the afternoon. Everybody was secretly relieved, thinking that he had left quietly. At night though, when everyone was about to go to bed, he suddenly came back limping.


    It seemed like he had been fighting with some kind of creature. His whole body was bloody and gravely injured. There were several profound scars on his chest, the flesh there all twisted. The most severe injuries were on his thighs and arms. The skin and flesh there was all torn off, his white bones almost visible.


    However, after venting his anger, his eyes seemed to have be calmer. They did not have that suppressed brutality in them anymore.


    He did not enter the hall directly. He stopped at the doorway first. Luo Yuan was standing there, looking at him without moving.


    After a while, Chen Xianfeng started feeling ufortable under Luo Yuan¡¯s gaze and backed off a little.


    ¡°You must be aware of your own condition. You could lose control any second. Letting you stay with us is too dangerous,¡± Luo Yuan suddenly said. ¡°Until you can control yourself, you will have to maintain more than twenty meters distance from everyone.


    Chen Xianfeng¡¯s eyes shed with a trace of fury. When it subsided he said, ¡°I... I will sleep outside.¡±


    The changes in his expression had all been noted by Luo Yuan. He sighed. Chen Xianfeng¡¯s temperament had undergone a dramatic changepared to his old self. He got angry easily, and he was brutal and arrogant. He was no longer the sincere person he had used to be. Luo Yuan looked at him seriously and warned him, ¡°It¡¯s good that you know. Don¡¯t do anything that might cause a misunderstanding, or nobody will be able save you.¡±


    ¡°Understood,¡± Cheng Xianfeng said, looking depressed. He could sense Luo Yuan¡¯s gaze this time, so he lowered his head slightly, trying to hide the expression on his face.


    The night went by without any incident.


    The next morning, when Luo Yuan opened the door, Chen Xianfeng, who was squatting at the corner of the garden, stood up unconsciously. His hand was holding a bone that was almost two meters long. There was fresh blood and flesh on it.


    It was a thighbone belonging to a mutated beast. One of its sides was extremely huge and looked like a lot a hammer. He did not have that bone during the day. Obviously, he had gone out against night.


    He still had blood on his mouth. The wounds on his body were more than the previous day, and his old wounds had almost healed. Even the blood on his torn arm and thigh was encrusted, the wounds seeming to have shrunk more than half in size. He would probably fully recover in few days¡¯ time.


    His self-healing ability was shocking.


    When he saw Luo Yuan, he unnaturally avoided eye contact. The hand that was holding the bone became tighter, betraying his nervousness.


    Luo Yuan stared at him for a while before turning his eyes away.


    Very soon, everyone got up and started to pack their luggage.


    They had lots of food, weapons and cartridges. Somewhere along the way, they had also acquired three heavy sniper rifles. Other than that, everyone had each taken a handgun and a box of synthesized bullets. If Luo Yuan had not been objected, they would have taken the cannon machine gun as well.


    No matter how powerful it was, the effort it would take to move it was too much. Plus, none of them knew how to operate it, and the number of bullets needed for each shot wa astonishing. If they did not bring enough bullets, it would be pretty much useless. Besides, synthesized bullets were more powerful than cannon machine gun bullets. It was better if they did not bring it along.


    Luo Yuan checked the luggage once again and used fish skin to wrap the food cubes. He checked the package again, going out to find some tree leaves that emitted a stimting scent. He rubbed the tree leaves before wrapping it again. He wrapped and wrapped, until he could no longer smell that unique aromaing out.


    The giant lizard was very sensitive to this type of high-level food. He could not guarantee that its instincts would not take over again upon smelling it and directly lead to another breach of loyalty.


    Luo Yuan carefully tied all the luggage on the Giant Lizard¡¯s back. The lizard moved slightly, but kept quiet. Itsrge crystal-clear eyes had be tame once again. He found it weird, so he opened up the properties panel. He seemed to have overestimated the Giant Lizard¡¯s grudge-bearing ability. After a quiet night, the Giant Lizard¡¯s loyalty had recovered substantially. It could not reach the peak 80 points it had once been, yet it had risen back to 78 points.


    It was a lot like a kid whose candy has been snatched by their parents. Although they would scream and cry momentarily, after some time, they wouldpletely forget about their earlier grief. The Giant Lizard¡¯s IQ was the same as a one or two year-old kid¡¯s.


    However, after thinking about it for a while, Luo Yuan found himself not caring anymore. When everyone had climbed up onto the lizard¡¯s back, Luo Yuanmanded it, and the giant lizard started taking big strides forward. Behind it, a giant was trotting along, following it from a distance.


    An hourter, they came across a hidden city in the forest.

 Chapter 154: Supermarket

    Chapter 154: Supermarket


    Trantor: EndlessFantasy Trantion Editor: EndlessFantasy Trantion


    Luo Yuan already knew from the map that Jia Ping City was a submerged area. It could be said that the whole Jiangnan Province had almost no non-submerged areas. Judging by what he had seen with his own eyes, the city had obviously been submerged way earlier than he had imagined.


    From the entrance of the highway to the city, the original road was no longer visible. Ayer of thirty to forty centimeters of mutated moss had firmly blocked the road.


    On top of the moss, were fully-grown spores about the size of strawberries. While Luo Yuan and others were passing by, those spores seemed to get scared and cracked one after the other, bursting into yellowish clouds of smoke.


    Fortunately, although the moss was sticky and irritating, it was not poisonous. Otherwise, it would have been difficult to step into any part of the city.


    This ce had almost be a heritage of what civilization used to be. In only half a year, a great quantity of nts had taken over the city, and the few remaining buildings had been packed with numerous, closely arranged vines. These vines were like huge anacondas, coiling around the whole building and gathered at the rooftop, forming a purple ball of fifty to sixty meters in diameter. It looked majestic but gave everyone the chills.


    As Luo Yuan and the others went forward, they heard the sound of water all around them. Everywhere they passed there were innumerable, weird mutated creatures popping out from the moss and running to escape. There were some small bugs too, but they also kept their distance from them.


    One had to see it with their own eyes to get a sense of the danger lurking there. In between the moss, there was almost an independentmunity of creatures. Luo Yuan estimated that each square was inhabited by no less than ten different species. Some of them were ferocious and colourful - clearly not harmless.


    There were very few survivors. Even evolved humans would have trouble surviving there. They wouldn¡¯t even be able to go hunting without dying within a few steps of walking distance.


    ¡°I¡¯ve been here before. Wu Mei Supermarket is located just down the road. Maybe we can go and have a look,¡± Wang Xiaguang suddenly said.


    ¡°This is supposed to be Tian Ping road. There is indeed a supermarket,¡± Cao Lin said.


    They all almost came to a stop.


    No matter how strong their Will was, they were still human. Looking at the countless escaping creatures under their feet, they could not help but feel itchy. They dared not travel further in. Although they had not encountered any danger or strong creatures along the way, this city seemed very gloomy. It felt like it was cursed. Even Luo Yuan did not feelfortable there.


    He took a nce at the Giant Lizard and realized it did not look uneasy at all. He felt slightly relieved.


    They were standing before a four-storey tall building, or, as it would be more appropriate to call it, a ten-meter tall botanical garden. Its original look had changed long ago. If Huang Xiaguang had not told them so, they would never have guessed that it used to be a supermarket.


    ¡°Go and have a look,¡± Luo Yuan nodded. There was only one purpose foring to the city this time, and that was to get supplies.


    Since the attack from the beast on the highway, almost all their supplies had been gone. They were very close to bing savages. They had no sleeping bags, toothpaste, or clothes to change into. The few ragged clothes they had were their only important resource. They treated them with care and used them in a variety of ways.


    The previous night, when Cao Lin had gotted her period, the ragged cloths had provided a new function.


    The women did not like living in such poverty. Even Luo Yuan could barely stand it anymore.


    Fortunately, the clothes they were wearing were synthesized, and they could not break. Otherwise, they would have already been walking around naked like savages.


    After walking more than ten meters, Luo Yuan reached a dense nt. He had estimated that that was where the doorway should be. He pulled out his sword and cleaved the thick nt. What he found behind it though was not the doorway, but a corroded wall.


    Luo Yuan was toozy to look for the real door. Instead, he just dug a small, one-meter diameter hole into the wall. He let the others wait outside and asked them to be careful as he went in.


    As soon as he entered, a strong mouldy smell hit his nose, and he held his breath.


    It waspletely dark inside. The floor was greasy, making him feel like he was standing in mud, and his feet made squeaking noises as he walked. Through the dim light of the hole in the wall, Luo Yuan scanned the whole ce once quickly.


    There were no mutated beasts. Just countless shelves lying in a mess on the floor. Most of them were empty, but some of them still had some goods on them. There were also more discarded goods on the floor.


    Luo Yuan noticed that there were more than ten sets of human bones on the floor. This meant that a fight must have taken ce there.


    He did not rush. He found a staircase and went up to the second floor.


    The first floor had stored food, but the second floor stored daily use goods. Obviously, living goods did not have as much value as food. The resources there were way more than on the first floor, yet the human skeletons were more as well. There was almost one hundred of them.


    Luo Yuan noticed that there were bullet-shaped holes in them. He shook his head, unable to imagine what had happened.


    Jia Ping City was an unremarkable city. Its strategic location was nothingpared to Donghu City. The government¡¯s limited armed forces obviously could not afford to protect such a small city. Maybe when the mutation had started, the city had already been submerged. That¡¯s what he could tell from the state of the supermarket and the goods in it.


    After Hedong City had fallen, the supermarket must have run a temporary warfare rationing system. The supermarket, as arge cargo trading tform, must have closed due tock of supplies and been turned into a military workshop. It must have only functioned as a supermarket during the early phases of the mutation outbreak.


    All these thoughts passed through his mind in just a second. Then, he found an almost broken, corroded trolley, and started putting daily use goods in it. Toothpaste, towels, shampoo, bras, panties... He just took everything he saw. Anything without a package had already rotted, and anything in metallic packaging was full of rust.


    Luo Yuan wanted to find a steel pan, but no matter how hard he tried, he could not find the perfect one. In the end, he just gave up. They would continue to use the stone pan.


    Very soon, the trolley was full. Luo Yuan found a second one and started filling it to the brim.


    He had loaded three trolleys before he walked to third floor. He found clothes and sports equipment there. Several cotton and wool based clothes had already dposed, but nylon and chemical fibre remained in perfect condition. Luo Yuan had no interest in choosing. He just stuffed everything that looked intact into the trolley. At the sports equipment section, he finally found a field camp tent.


    Luo Yuan was over the moon.


    Squeezing and sleeping together was too ufortable. Not only did they not have any personal space, but the exposure outside also made them extremely insecure. In his opinion, those tiny, insignificant bugs were more threatening than mutated beasts.


    At least mutated beasts wererge in size, and they were able to spot their movement. Tiny bugs, on the other hand, came unnoticed and made it impossible for him to stop them.


    Although the sword could prevent tiny bugs froming near, the world was big and mysterious. He wasn¡¯t confident that the sword could frighten all kinds of bugs. On the other hand, a field camp tent could protect them from all bugs, provided that it underwent some synthesizing.


    However, there weren¡¯t much leftover tents left. Luo Yuan searched some more, but he only found two.


    Two tents would definitely not be enough. Especially considering one of them was for kids. Even Wang Shishi could not sleep in it. It was totally useless.


    Luo Yuan noticed that there was also a fourth floor, and he walked up to it.


    The metal gate on the fourth floor was closed tightly. Based on the mottled writing on it, it would be safe to say that this was a store. The door lock had been broken by others and left on the door. Luo Yuan pushed the door, but it seemed like there was something blocking it from the inside, because it would not move at all.


    Luo Yuan cut the door into many pieces using his sword. He realized it was being blocked by more than ten sandbags stacked together in front of it. No wonder it could not be pushed open.


    Luo Yuan patiently tossed the sandbags away one by one.


    His 13-point Strength was terrifying. The one-hundred-kilogram sandbags felt like nothing in his hand. They were all effortlessly tossed more than ten meters away, producing a dull bang sound.


    Suddenly, the sound of shelves falling down came from afar.


    Luo Yuan stopped what he was doing and vigorously looked toward the direction the sound hade from. He saw several pairs of oily green eyes in the dark.

 Chapter 155: Call for Help

    Chapter 155: Call for Help


    Trantor: EndlessFantasy Trantion Editor: EndlessFantasy Trantion


    Pairs of frightened, yet desparate eyes...


    These was a group of lucky survivors staying there. It was not a small number either; there were even more of them hiding in that dark corner. Luo Yuan could not see clearly, and it was too dark for them to know what hade in through the doorway.


    All they could do was hold their breath and be vignt. Luo Yuan saw their teeth chattering in anxiety. The sound could be heard clearly amid the silent atmosphere. There was no need to be scared. It was so dark there, that hiding was useless.


    ¡°I¡¯m human. Don¡¯t be panic, everyone!¡±


    Luo Yuan¡¯s unexpected voice caused amotion among the group. Many of them stood up as if they¡¯d been relieved of a burden. Some even started to shout merrily.


    ¡°Don¡¯t go, you will die!¡±


    ¡°Shut up, don¡¯t make noise!¡±


    Soon, there were people raising their voices and scolding. Although their tone was strict, a slight shiver could be heard in their condemning voices.


    Chaos ensued when the others heard it. A few of them started to move forward, but quickly rushed back. Their faces betrayed their indescribable fear as the crowd¡¯s shivering became more intense.


    Luo Yuan¡¯s heart shed with a trace of uncertainty. They must have met rascals before. During the apocalypse, there were no rules. People like that were everywhere. To avoid any unnecessary trouble, he hurriedly said, ¡°Please don¡¯t panic. I have no bad intentions. I¡¯m just looking for something in the supermarket.¡±


    The crowd remained silent. Other than the sound of their breathing, shivering and the sound of their chattering teeth, nothing else could be heard.


    Luo Yuan wanted tough, but he could not. Maybe that was how normal humans behaved during the apocalypse. They were scared and nervous, and the only thing they could was just wait to die. Without the system, he probably would not be any better either. He sighed and said straightaway, ¡°Really, there¡¯s no need to be scared. I only need a few tents. Can I trade them for something?¡±


    If they still did not say a word , he would just find them by himself.


    The crowd continued to remain quiet, until finally there were some whispering sounds. Some of them seemed to be having a discussion before suddenly a strong shlight shed towards him, scanning his body a few times from top to bottom. The strong, dazzling light made Luo Yuan close his eyes slightly. Nevertheless, he still let them inspect him.


    The crowd seemed relieved, and the nervous atmosphere seemed to dissolve after a while.


    A man, who had to be their leader, got out of the crowd and looked at the broken door. He was scowling, but he kept his anger in check as he asked carefully, ¡°Where do youe from? What¡¯s the situation like outside?¡±


    Through the dim light, Luo Yuan noticed that their skin was very white, asionally even transparent. It was obvious that they had not been in the sunlight for a very long time. However, they did notck any kind of living resources in there. There were plenty of food supplies as well. None of them seemed to be underfed.


    ¡°I¡¯m from Hedong City. I just happened to pass by here, looking for some resources, but everything is submerged out there, and by the time I arrived here, the area had already turned into a forest,¡± Luo Yuan said.


    Amotion rose among the crowd, but no one dared speak. Clearly, the man had a very high prestige there.


    ¡°How is that possible?¡± he asked in shock. ¡°How did you get here?¡±


    ¡°By luck. There were a few dangerous incidents along the way that almost cost me my life.¡± Luo Yuan knew that no matter how he exined it to them, they would not understand. He might as well just say as little as possible.


    ¡°You are really lucky. We have tents here. You don¡¯t need to trade them with anything. We don¡¯t care. Just leave as soon as you have them. We want to close the door already,¡± the man said coldly. Then he asked a few of his men to find the tents using their shlights.


    ¡°Can you give me a few shlights as well?¡±


    ¡°Yes, but just two, plus one box of batteries. We don¡¯t have much. Don¡¯t be greedy.¡± Although the man¡¯s attitude was cold, he did not decline his request. Maybe he knew Luo Yuan could not havee there alone from Hedong City.


    ¡°How long have you all been staying here?¡±


    ¡°More than five months. We have forgotten how long exactly,¡± the man said coldly.


    ¡°Don¡¯t you want to leave?¡± Luo Yuan asked. Staying there was equal to waiting for death. Even if they did not run out of food, it would all rot eventually, and by that time, the only option they would have left would be death.


    ¡°Leave? Are you kidding?¡± The man chuckled and said, ¡°Unless you want to die, I advise you to leave Jia Ping City.¡±


    There seemed to be a hidden meaning behind his words. Luo Yuan recalled the strange response of the group earlier, and his heart was moved as he said, ¡°Have you encountered any dangers before?¡±


    Everyone¡¯s faces changed all of a sudden.


    The man¡¯s expression shed with a gleam of fear. He seemed to struggle as he said in a hoarse voice, ¡°Don¡¯t ask. You really don¡¯t want to know. Take my advice or leave it, it¡¯s up to you.¡±


    Luo Yuan did not get angry. He was curious about why their expression had changed as soon as they had heard, and what it was that had happened they did not even want to mention.


    There were resources everywhere in the store, but it didn¡¯t take them long to find the ce where they stored the tents. They took about five tents and dumped them in front of Luo Yuan.


    ¡°Get what you want and get out fast.¡±


    As soon as the man had finished his words, he led the crowd to the back of the store, where they hid themselves in total darkness.


    Luo Yuan¡¯s head was filled with questions, and his brows were wrinkled. Finally, he let out a sigh, chose four perfect tents and walked out of the fourth floor store.


    He did not care about these people¡¯s warning. He been through great ordeals to get where he was now. There were no mutated creature that he had note across. Considering his ability now, neither dark blue level creatures nor light green level creatures could be his rival.


    An extremely dangerous creature for ordinary humans was nothing for him.


    However, his heart was still slightly uneasy. No matter what he did, he could not let it go.


    Jia Ping City was too quiet. The creatures there seemed to be sleeping deeply. All along the way, he had not seen any even remotely strong creature, not even a sign of one. This was really strange for a submerged region.


    Anyone who achieved their purpose there could leave the city straightaway. No matter how dangerous it was, they would not be affected.


    Luo Yuan carried the supplies as he walked out of the nt-covered supermarket. Noticing that he was back, everybody was silently relieved. The women started checking out what Luo Yuan had brought in excitement.


    As Luo Yuan looked at the hole he had made, he could not help but feel sorry. The nts on the outside of the supermarket were somehow protecting the survivors inside from some kind of danger. Now that he had made that hole, their protection would be gone. All he could do was try his best to cover it.


    He turned to Chen Xianfeng, who was standing far away, and said, ¡°There were some survivors inside. Go and move some big rocks here. Lets help them fill the hole.¡±


    ¡°There are humans here?¡± Zhao Yali said in astonishment. ¡°Don¡¯t they want to follow us?¡±


    ¡°For them, it might be more dangerous toe out,¡± Huo Dong said. ¡°It¡¯s better for them to drift along, and count the days as they live each one.¡±


    Luo Yuan¡¯s heart was heavy. The arrival of the apocalypse had turned humans from the owners of the city into rats inside a drain. The survivors left in this ghost city were less than ten thousand.


    Chen Xianfeng obeyed Luo Yuan¡¯s order and started towards the nearby area without speaking a word.


    There were copsed buildings everywhere. Although there were few big rocks, concrete mud stones were in abundance.


    Soon, he was moving a one-meter diameter, five-ton concrete mud stone, pushing it forward with heavy steps. Luo Yuan could only hope to have such strength. His strength had increased to an unbelievable extent after his mutation.


    He put down the concrete mud heavily, letting out a loud sigh, before he quickly blocked the hole and stood beside it indifferently.


    Luo Yuan used vines to cover it. He pped his palms and inspected it carefully. You could not tell that there was a hole there. Plus after a few days, when the nts regrow and cover the exposed area, it would all be back to its original state.


    Meanwhile, Huang Jiahui and the others had carefully divided the supplies and packed them inside hiking bags to carry them.


    They had learned their lesson after losing their suppliesst time, so they were not going to put all their eggs in the same basket. Although that might have been easier, once a problem arose, the whole team would be condemned.


    ¡°Help, help!¡±


    Suddenly, Luo Yuan paused and concentrated, trying to listen. From a distance they could hear the faint sound of someone calling for help. It made him feel strange.


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± Huang Jiahui felt curious as she noticed Luo Yuan¡¯s expression.


    ¡°Somebody is calling for help. It sounds like they¡¯re somewhere nearby. Don¡¯t you hear it?¡± Luo Yuan asked suspiciously.


    Everyone looked confused as they shook their heads. Only Chen Xianfeng¡¯s expression seemed unsure.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go check it out,¡± Luo Yuan said.


    Everyone took their luggage and walked towards the source of the sound.


    As they turned a corner on the street, the call for help suddenly became clear. Now everyone else could hear it too.


    The shouts were obviouslying from a woman. The voice was very sharp and prative.


    They kept walking for a while.


    ¡°Wait.¡± Cao Lin¡¯s face changed as she asked, ¡°How long has she been shouting?¡±


    ¡°We¡¯ve been walking for more than a minute,¡± Lin Xiaoji said as he counted. His face looked worried.


    Luo Yuan realized that too. This shout for help was too weird. Normal humans could not keep screaming while calling for help. Plus, the voice sounded forced. In such a dangerous situation, screaming out loud like this would attract more mutated beasts and speed up her death. It would serve no purpose. And yet, this woman was still alive and had the energy to shout loudly.


    In their opinion, this call for help sounded very robotic. Each time was like a repeat of the previous one. There were no changes in intonation, and there was none of the fear or desperation normal people felt when facing danger.


    A chilling feeling rose from the bottom of their hearts. Even Luo Yuan¡¯s heart felt it.


    Wang Shishi unconsciously pulled at Luo Yuan¡¯s shirt. Normally she was the one who was afraid of this kind of thing the most. Regardless of how strong she was, it still did not cure her fear of ghosts.


    From a psychological perspective, aggressive beasts could never be as scary as ghosts. Realistic creatures could be destroyed, but the fear of fantastic beasts could never be conquered. It was the unknown that made people the most afraid.


    ¡°Why don¡¯t we go back?¡± Cao Lin asked carefully as she flinched.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go and have a look first. I want to know what is ying this trick.¡± Luo Yuan¡¯s face was very serious. Whatever that thing was, if it dared draw them in, then it had to be prepared to pay the consequences.


    ¡°Damn, it can¡¯t be a female ghost, can it?¡± Huo Dong joked with a very stiff expression. The call for help was getting clearer, as if that thing was walking towards them.


    ¡°Do you want to die?¡± Wang Shishi said in hatred as she stared at him.


    ¡°Where on earth are there ghosts? It must be a mutated creature,¡± Luo Yuan said steadily.


    To some degree, Luo Yuan had be everyone¡¯s pir. Looking at him and his calm expression, everyone automatically felt more courageous. Although they were still nervous, their expressions had changed for the better.

 Chapter 156: The Wicked Woman

    Chapter 156: The Wicked Woman


    Trantor: EndlessFantasy Trantion Editor: EndlessFantasy Trantion


    The strange call for help sounded kind of ethereal on the empty street. The dead silence gave everyone goosebumps.


    This was definitely not a victim.


    As the sound got closer, the group turned another corner, and suddenly found a woman standing alone in the middle of the moss-filled street.


    The woman or creature was standing lively in the middle of the road,pletely naked. She had snowy white, soft skin, a perfect figure, straight long thighs, and very long hair. Her ck smooth hair hang all the way down to her plump ass, somehow not matching the extreme circumstances of the apocalypse.


    If not for her hands, they would have mistaken her for a real human, a beautiful woman who could make one¡¯s blood boil.


    However, from a short distance of thirty meters, everyone could clearly see her overly long fingernails. They were about five or six centimeters long. The nails of normal humans would start to bend and roll up when they exceeded one centimeter. However, the woman¡¯s nails were strangely straight and sharp, just like daggers.


    As they got closer to her, she seemed to sense something, and her call for help stopped abruptly. Her head twisted slightly without a warning, and she suddenly turned and looked in their direction.


    There was a wicked, yet drowsy smile on her face as her eyes looked over at them slow-wittedly. They did not seem capable of emotional changes. They looked just like a puppet¡¯s eyes.


    The abnormal phenomenon had everyone watching it trembling. Zhao Yali, who had always been timid, suddenly paled. Her body started shaking and she almost fell to the ground.


    Huang Jiahui held the gun in her hand tighter.


    The Giant Lizard, on the other hand, looked very calm. It wasn¡¯t moving at all. Maybe it just wasn¡¯t used to seeing things like that.


    The woman looked straight at them for quite a while, but did not do anything. It looked like she was considering something. That smile on her face still hung there wickedly.


    After they¡¯d been confronting each for a few seconds, something strange happened. The woman suddenly raised her head, opened her mouth and screamed without making a sound. At first, Luo Yuan thought it was some kind of sonic wave attack, but other than everyone feeling a suppression on their chests, there was nothing unusual about it.


    Luo Yuan felt a little off, like something invisible and dangerous was approaching.


    He believed in his own instincts though, so he made a fast decision and shouted at Huang Jiahui, ¡°Fire!¡±


    Huang Jiahui hesitated shortly before she pulled the trigger. A well-trained gunner like her could not miss from such a short distance. The bullet shot through the woman¡¯s skull, leaving a bloody hole on her head.


    Everyone held their breath.


    No matter what creature this was, as long as it was vertebrate, its skull was its killing point. Once that was destroyed, it had almost no chance of survival. However, the woman seemed to be unaware of the gunshot as she continued to shout soundlessly. Huang Jiahui¡¯s face turned pale as she watched her. She kept pulling the trigger.


    The woman¡¯s head already looked like a beehive. Sometimes it was not a good thing if the pration of the bullet that was too strong. If Huang Jiahui had been using a normal,rge bullet, just one shot would have been enough to blow the creature¡¯s head off. However, synthesized bullets could only leave two parallel holes. By the time Huang Jiahui was out of bullets, the woman¡¯s head still stood right there. There were just a few small holes in it.


    Brain matter mixed with blood slowly flowed out of the holes. Atst, the creature could not stand anymore. Her body shook as if she was drunk, and she turned around on the spot, her mouth opening and closing, the soundless sonic wave going on and off.


    Suddenly, she fell to the ground, her limbs still struggling non-stop. She kept standing up and falling down again.


    Her strong vitality shocked everyone.


    Out of the blue, the Giant Lizard suddenly snorted and raised its head.


    Luo Yuan noticed the Giant Lizard¡¯s unease. His heart turned cold with an obscure instinct as he hurriedly said, ¡°This is not normal. We have to leave this ce right now.¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± Wang Shishi asked curiously. She did not seem to understand.


    ¡°It¡¯s too dangerous here. Fast, grab all the luggage. I will exinter!¡±


    The Giant Lizard started to get irritated and kept stomping its four limbs anxiously. Anyone would be able to sense the danger getting closer.


    Luo Yuan ordered the lizard to lie down, but the beast was in a state of rage and would not listen to him. The scales all over its body had rolled up into a serrated shape, its huge, long tail swaying nonstop in the sky. Its wrinkled lips revealed its dreadfully messy teeth while the lizard growled with a thunder-like sound.


    Lao Huang, who was neither friendly nor aloof to the team, was also trotting along behind them. It had red fur filled with some kind of transparent, light red me. The moss on the road turned into smoked char after being stepped on by it. It stopped more than one hundred meters from the Giant Lizard. It kept an eye on the beast while it looked at Zhao Yali and turned its head in concentration to stare in the distance.


    Looking at Lao Huang¡¯s horrifying behaviour, Zhao Yali, who had been excited and ready to shout, turned pale and shut her mouth.


    The two beasts seemed ready for a fight, yet they were not each other¡¯s opponent.


    The suppressed atmosphere diffused among the team. Everyone¡¯s heart felt like it was being pressed by a huge rock. Nobody spoke anymore. Even Luo Yuan could feel the strong pressure.


    From a distance, they heard bright voices. A few secondster, there was a sound like a dull thunder rolling in the sky. The sound moved towards them like waves in the sea. It felt like there were countless creatures running towards them from every direction.


    ¡°Current Mission: B Level Mission, Escape to the sky, Mission Goal: Save at least four people.¡±


    A system message suddenly appeared in his mind. Luo Yuan was finally presented with a big chance. A chilling feeling rose from the bottom of his heart and spread all over his body.


    He was not just worried about the B Level Mission. If it was any normal mission, Luo Yuan would not have been this nervous. Considering his abilities now though, he could notplete a B Level Mission.


    What was making him more nervous though, was that this kind of mission set survival as a goal. It did not look easy. In fact, it was the hardest kind of mission, and the most dangerous and uncertain mission difficulty level. Plus, he could reject normal missions. Even if he rejected this mission though, they would still not be able to escape.


    He had only experienced this kind of situation once, during the beast attack on the highway. That mission had been almost ny percent gone. lt would have taken only one mistake for the whole group to be wiped out. If he had not discovered his evolving ability by ident, he would have died right then and there.


    The only fortunate thingpared to that incident on the highway, was that his level had been upgraded in the meantime, and his abilities had changed drastically. Not just his, but the Giant Lizard¡¯s as well. Lao Huang¡¯s ability had also reached a dark blue level and Chen Xianfeng could definitely withstand a fight, so maybe this time would not be like thest.


    Luo Yuan felt relieved at the thought.


    ¡°Don¡¯t stand at the crossroads. Move to the street in front,¡± he told everyone as he observed the terrain.


    The crossroads was essible from all directions. It provided them with a wide field of vision, but at the same time it also ran the risk of getting attacked from all directions. When it came to beast attacks, the less chance there was to get into a fight, the safer it would be for them.


    Soon, everyone had upied the intersection of the road. There were tall buildings on both sides of the street. Although some were copsed, the lower floors all remained intact. Luo Yuan cleaved the nts on the exterior of a building and broke a man-sized hole into it for emergency purposes. Just in case they encountered some kind of danger and needed a ce to hide.


    The building had been corroded severely and could not withstand more than a few hits. Once it fell down, there would be no way to escape. Otherwise, Luo Yuan would have just hidden inside it.


    A box of bullets was thrown on the ground. Lin Xiaoji and Huo Dong put down their rifle guns and blocked the street. Wang Xiaguang was also holding a handgun and aiming with perfect posture. Her performance was very steady. She was even better than the rest.


    Zhao Yali had wanted to hide, but when she saw the other women all raising their guns, she hesitated and took out a gun as well. Her hands kept trembling, and she forgot to pull the safety. Her performance was the pr opposite of Wang Xiaguang¡¯s.


    Luo Yuan sighed. He knew Wang Xiaguang looked soft on the outside, but her personality was very strong, and she was extremely loyal. Once she had decided to do something, even bulls could not hold her back. Her independent personality and overall toughness made people think that she did depend on others. From this perspective, she was not like Zhao Yali at all.


    Luo Yuan did not have a lot of feelings for Wang Xiaguang, but he liked Zhao Yali. Men always liked soft, loveable women. Zhao Yali¡¯s soft personality always made him feel more masculine.


    Luo Yuan¡¯s mind shed, his consciousness highly keyed up. He looked at Chen Xianfeng seriously and said, ¡°You stand outside and block the beasts.¡±


    Chen Xianfeng growled in agitation. Huo Dong, who was standing beside him, got scared and backed off a few steps. Only when he realized Chen Xianfeng had just screamed and made no further motion, did he move back to his original position.


    Luo Yuan noted that he had not said no, but he had not said anything else either. He turned and faced Wang Shishi. ¡°Shishi, you have the strongest ability here. I want you to stay behind. Don¡¯t take any action yet, just protect everyone else.¡±


    Looking at Luo Yuan¡¯s dignified gaze, Wang Shishi finally felt Brother Luo pay some attention to her again. She nodded heavily, a serious expression forming on her tiny face.


    Suddenly, the motion from afar became louder, and the ground started to shake slightly. The Giant Lizard and Lao Huang slowly stepped back, moving towards the noise. As the two of them got close to each other, the Giant Lizard growled deeply in warning. However, Lao Huang¡¯s attention was diverted. It did not seem to care as much.


    A few secondster, several creatures started to appear sporadically.


    It was really strange. Instead of mutated creatures, most of the creatures were human, and all of them were naked. Male, female, old and young. There was even a three year-old kid. Everyone¡¯s facial expression was the same. That ever unchanging drowsy smile and nk gaze making their heads almost burst.


    ¡°What¡¯s going on? Why are they all like that?¡± Zhao Yali said as she shivered. Her body was shaking like a sieve. The gun in her hand fell to the ground, the scene before her eyes almost causing her a mental breakdown.


    This wasn¡¯t just one or two people, but ten; plus, there were a lot old people and children among them. They were no longer human. Their actions were as swift and brisk as some agile mutated beast¡¯s. They did not differ much from one.


    The people walking at the front stopped suddenly, not moving at all. Those at the back followed them and stopped as well.


    Luo Yuan¡¯s face changed. An idea suddenly shed through his mind and he made a signal at Huo Dong.


    Huo Dong nodded nervously. He raised the rifle, aimed at one of them and pulled the trigger with force.


    The rifle produced a loud noise, much like a raging thunder in the sky, and its strong recoiling power paralyzed Huo Dong¡¯s arm. The bullet cut a man into half, but that was not the end of it. It kept moving, separating five men¡¯s upper bodies from their lower bodies as they stood in a row. It only stopped when it finally drilled into a building.


    Luo Yuan was impressed by the rifle¡¯s power, but this was not the time to think about it.


    He noticed that after the shot, the group only remained in chaos for a short moment before everything returned to normal. The people who had been hit by the bullet were still struggling in the middle of the street. A woman who had lost her lower body was using her everyst bit of strength to turn herself around and sit on the ground. She still had that drowsy smile on her face even though she was bleeding and her organs were all over the road.


    It felt like the street had been muted. No howls of pain, no attacks, not even a single reaction. The people who had been hit by the bullet were still trying to stand up, but they looked like they were dead.


    There were more and more humans and mutants heading their way. The crossroads had been blocked and there was nothing to do about it. The humans and mutants seemed to be controlled by an invisible force.


    There were few powerful mutants among them. Except for the humans, all the remaining creatures were no taller than five or six meters. The longest one was a gorgeous twenty-meter long colourful, snake-like creature no higher than a dark blue level.


    How did Luo Yuan feel about this?


    He thought it was no wonder that the city was so peaceful. There was no strong, powerful creature there. After all, these creatures were not living things. They were just puppets.


    ¡°There are mutants behind us, too. We¡¯ve been surrounded,¡± said Cao Lin suddenly in a taut, high-pitched voice.


    Luo Yuan turned around and took a look. Before they had realized it, the several-hundred-meter long street had been filled with countless mutants.


    ¡°We have to go. The longer we stay, the more danger we¡¯ll be in. We must break through,¡± said Luo Yuan with a dignified expression.

 Chapter 157: Trust

    Chapter 157: Trust


    Trantor: EndlessFantasy Trantion Editor: EndlessFantasy Trantion


    Huo Dong and Chen Xianfeng held their rifles in their hands frantically.


    Everyone else looked scared too. They had no way to calm down. ¦©n this situation, anyone who was not having a mental breakdown would be considered brave.


    Luo Yuan nced at the direction of beasts, who maintained their lineup, ready for an attack. He took a deep breath, pulled out his zhanmadao and said, ¡°Everyone just follow me. Whether we live or we die will depend on fate. If you wanna stay alive, follow me closely.¡±


    Then Luo Yuan shouted at the Giant Lizard. The beast was still in a violent, agitated mood, and acted as if it hadn¡¯t heard Luo Yuan.


    Luo Yuan did not care so much. He could only rely on it, hoping it would follow himter.


    Next, he drilled a hole into the nearby building. It waspletely dark inside. Luo Yuan turned on his shlight and tossed another one to Huang Jiahui, telling her softly, ¡°Be careful.¡±


    Huang Jiahui nodded in determination.


    There were cracks everywhere on the walls inside, and many parts had already copsed. The building looked like it could not even survive a tremor.


    Of course Luo Yuan did not n on hiding in there. He quickly went to the wall on the opposite side, and started cutting another hole. When sunlight fell through the hole to the ce where they stood, the crowd could not help but inhale in fear.


    The street out there was still packed with a great number of beasts.


    Everybody got so scared, they backed off.


    ¡°Everywhere. They¡¯re everywhere. We should not havee here,¡± Lin Xiaoji said exasperatedly. The rifle in his hand could not stop shaking. ¡°This time we¡¯re doomed.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t give me that s*it right now. Just kill yourself if you¡¯re scared,¡± Huo Dong scolded him irritatedly.


    ¡°Who¡¯s afraid to die? I survived when I was living all by myself. You¡¯re the one who keeps eating without working!¡± Lin Xiaoji shouted stubbornly.


    ¡°When did I eat without working? Chen Xianfeng and I do all the hard work. Don¡¯t think that just because you¡¯ve evolved, you¡¯re any better than us. I¡¯ve disliked you right from the beginning.¡± Under such intense pressure, Huo Dong had also started shouting, scolding Lin Xiaoji with a red face and hoarse throat.


    Chen Xianfeng growled unpleasantly as he stared at Lin Xiaoji fiercely.


    Huang Jiahui had suggested that they look for resources in the city, and everyone else had agreed. As Lin Xiaoji mentioned this, Huang Jiahui could not help but blush.


    ¡°Everyone shut up.¡± Luo Yuan had noticed what was happening. He intentionally looked at Lin Xiaoji and chided him coldly, ¡°What are you making so much noise for? If you don¡¯t want to stay here, then leave. We don¡¯t need you.¡±


    Lin Xiaoji¡¯s whole body shivered as if a bucket of cold water had been poured down his head. His face was turned white as he said, ¡°I... I did not mean, I...¡±


    Luo Yuan knew that Lin Xiaoji was mentally exhausted and he had not meant to say that. However, this behavior had to be stubbed out before it got worse. After all, no decision could be implemented without his agreement. Acting at will all the time could cause group dispersion.


    ¡°Everyone check your own weapons. We will kill our way out. I don¡¯t believe that every street is upied,¡± Luo Yuan briefed them while he looked at the entrance of the hole. The beasts had not moved at all. It was good timing.


    He moved like an ape, going through the entrance of the hole. Then he swung his Zhanmadao and a feline mutated beast was cut into two.


    His speed was very fast, and his sword gleamed like lightning, blood sputtering all around. Broken limbs and flesh could be seen everywhere.


    ¡°Hurry, hurry! Follow me!¡± Huang Jiahui shouted.


    The thick moss was covered with fresh, dense blood. Walking on it felt like walking on mud. It emitted a very strong smell.


    Zhao Yali¡¯s gastric acid surged in her stomach while she ran in panic behind Wang Shishi. The scenarios running through her mind made her have one hell of a hallucination. Suddenly, she felt something soft under her feet. She looked carefully and gasped in shock. It was a part of arge intestine still steaming hot gas.


    She got so scared, her face turned pale and she quickly stepped back. She was out of control, and her ankle tightened as a palm tightly grabbed her calf. It was an arm that had fallen off a body. Obviously, it had not gonepletely stiff yet. That¡¯s why when something had gone near it, it¡¯d had the reflex reaction to hold it.


    Zhao Yali could no longer suppress the screams in her throat. She kept kicking hysterically, but she still could not get rid of the palm, which was holding her ankle tightly.


    Hearing her, Luo Yuan turned back to see what was going on. ¡°Wang Shishi, go help her,¡± he said.


    Wang Shishi responded reluctantly. Zhao Yali was her love rival after all. Although she did not wish her dead, watching her act like a fool was something Wang Shishi was enjoying. However, she dared not disobey Luo Yuan¡¯s orders. Immediately, she threw the shuttle over the top of the head and stabbed the arm in a rush.


    The vibration of the shuttle turned the blood and flesh both into mist. It took as long as a breath for the whole arm to disappear.


    Zhao Yali screamed out in shock again. Blood was stained all over her head and face, making her look pitiful.


    Wang Shishi sneered silently. She had done it on purpose.


    At this critical moment, an ident suddenly urred. The beasts seemed to receive a certain signal. The puppets that had originally been standing still suddenly started moving.


    Both sides of mutated beasts gushed towards them like turbulent waves.


    Luo Yuan¡¯s face changed. In the blink of an eye, he had cut several mutated beasts into two. He turned back and shouted, ¡°Shishi, beware of getting surrounded. Everyone else quickly follow me!¡±


    Before he had finished his speech, he was already rushing towards the frontline of the beasts with his sword. A ray shed, and blood spurted towards the sky. Considering his abilities, this kind of weak mutated beasts were no danger to him. In his eyes, this wasn¡¯t all that different from chopping piles of wood. This time though, the beast attack was too much. They were almost like a crowd. He was able to cut three or four mutated beasts. As he moved five steps forward, about fifty mutated beasts died from his hand.


    When quantity surpassed quality, even ants could kill an elephant by biting it. If the battle site had been more spacious and someone had beenmanding the mutated beasts, they could have surrounded them. In that case, unless Luo Yuan could fly, he would have most certainly died.


    Humans are not machines that are made to move forever. Their energy could get depleted, their endurance could be drained and their Will be broken. Regardless of how strong one was, facing a legion of enemies that moved like the ocean tide was a waste of their strength.


    On the other hand, Wang Shishi had also started to attack. Her green level flying shuttle moved rapidly back and forth like a loom in the sky, forming a sonic boom. Sometimes, before the flying shuttle could even get close to them, the heads on the other side would explode like bombs under the pressure of the sonic boom.


    The beasts hadpletely stopped fighting the attack. The area in a circumference of five meters had be a vacuum of beasts.


    Since the terrifying experience at the sea river that had revealed her telekinesis, Wang Shishi¡¯s ability had gotten stronger. Although she had not officially reached a level where she could fly, she was still better by leaps and boundspared to the past. Plus, if one were toparebat skills, her overpowering,bo telekinesis attack was way stronger than Luo Yuan¡¯s.


    Of course, the only weakness of telekinesis was its low consistency. It could only be used for a few minutes at the most.


    For now though, that would be sufficient enough.


    The street was barely over twenty meters, so Luo Yuan only had to walk for about three minutes. His whole body was soaked in blood. Even his waterproof, oily shirt was covered in sticky, fresh blood.


    He had once again broken in through the front of the building. Everyone went in with him. They had not even gotten to rest for a few seconds when the wall was broken down by the beasts. It copsed right away, but luckily, Luo Yuan¡¯s eyes and actions were fast. He tossed the few people standing near the wall far away. However, Chen Xianfeng had dodged toote and gotten crushed.


    Chen Xianfeng had already gone crazy after being stimted by fresh blood, and now he had gotten pounded by a copsing wall as well. He could not hold back anymore. Using both hands, he caught a middle-aged man who hade in first, and forcefully tore him into two. Then he simply grabbed another one and used them like a wooden stick, smashing at the beasts nonstop.


    Chen Xianfeng still seemed unsatisfied. He howled angrily while he crumbled skulls with his bare hands. His big palms grabbed another human and kept swinging without getting tired.


    Everyone had seen a lot of blood, but they were still not prepared for Chen Xianfeng¡¯s beast-like attack.


    Luo Yuan saw the beasts and thought they could note within such a short period of time. He bit on his lip and said, ¡°We will proceed.¡±


    Luo Yuan was full of regret. He was regretting leaving the cannons behind to make their load lighter. If they had the two cannons now, plus an adequate numbers of bullets, no matter how many beasts there were, they could still have blocked them easily. There was no use being regretful now, though.


    ¡°It looks like there used to be a basement here,¡± Wang Xiaguang said suddenly. ¡°There is a minus floor number on the lift.¡±


    Luo Yuan immediately felt energized as he walked over in a hurry. The entrance of the lift was twisted and full of rusty spots. Obviously, it could not be used anymore.


    ¡°The safety exit is here.¡± Huo Dong had found the staircase.


    The middle of the staircase was already broken, but they were on the ground floor, so they only needed to jump down one or two meters. Even Zhao Yali did not hesitate in jumping. The basement was full of water and covered in yellow and green fungi of all sizes. They were not just on the ground, the fungi grew on the walls, too. Inside the basement, there was a weird, stinky fish smell.


    Luo Yuan secretly identified the fungi and realized there were a lot of poisonous ones among them. There were even some toxic ones. He had no idea whether the air was poisoned or not, though. He could only leave that up to fate. However, he noticed the presence of bugs and tiny creatures. Although most of them were poisonous, at least they made him feel more optimistic.


    This had to be the hotel shop. Luo Yuan kicked a decaying door, and discovered that the racks inside were full of hotel goods.


    He swept the goods on the racks aside, and dragged the racks out and put them under the staircase. Of course, this would not block the beasts¡¯ attack, but it would effectively slowed them down if they tried to burst in. It was better than nothing.


    Everyone helped hurriedly, moving all the racks to pile them up against the staircase fast.


    Suddenly, Chen Xianfeng gasped and jumped down. His body was already full of scars, and the flesh on his chest was almost torn out. He looked close to dying as he panted for breath, his eyes all red.


    ¡°You guys do not trust me... You all... want me to die,¡± he growled angrily. He scanned everyone with his brutal gaze. After quite a while, he found a dark corner and sat down.


    Everyone had gottenpletely quiet.

 Chapter 158: Horrible Creatures

    Chapter 158: Horrible Creatures


    Trantor: EndlessFantasy Trantion Editor: EndlessFantasy Trantion


    Chen Xianfeng¡¯s anger and usations were totally understandable. Everyone, including Luo Yuan, had been intentionally neglecting his safety in that particr situation by letting him continue to block the mutants. They didn¡¯t even let him know when the group had retreated, because everyone had been subconsciously wanting to kick him off the team.


    It was human nature for people to want to avoid the bad and stick with the good. Even Luo Yuan was vignt around Chen Xianfeng.


    After all, he was not alone. There were people that he wanted to protect, andpanions who he trusted. In fact, it was kind of irresponsible for him to allow such a dangerous person to stay with them. The reason he had allowed Chen Xianfeng to stay on the team was hardly his humanity or the casual friendship that they had built in the past few months. He still did not acknowledge him as apanion.


    "We thought you¡¯d leave in time. We¡¯ve talked about it very loudly before, we thought that you¡¯d been listening," Cao Lin said awkwardly.


    Since Chen Xianfeng had mutated, his temperament had changed. His IQ had not decreased, though. In fact, it had increased, so it was pretty hard to fool him.


    "Don¡¯t lie to me... You all did that intentionally. You know I can¡¯t hear anything when I¡¯m at that mad state." Chen Xianfeng suddenly stood up and red at Cao Lin, baring his fangs.


    He was about three meters tall, and looked like a thick wall. He could scare everyone, especially when he looked as grim as now. Cao Lin could not help but turn pale. She took a few steps backwards and fell down on the floor. Everybody else was on alert too.


    "Sit down!" Luo Yuan warned him when he realized that Chen Xianfeng was about to go mad again.


    Chen Xianfeng did not move. He was staring at Luo Yuan fiercely, looking even more ferocious.


    Luo Yuan pulled out his Zhanmadao, and said calmly, ¡°I said, sit down!¡±


    His voice was not particrly loud or calm, but it had an indefinite power. No one doubted there would be consequences if they disobeyed him.


    Everyone held their breath, watching all this nervously. They could not stand it. They somehow had been expecting something else.


    Luo Yuan stared at Chen Xianfeng, intending to kill him, Chen Xianfeng was terrified. No matter how arrogant he was, the fact Luo Yuan was invincible still deeply impressed him.


    Chen Xianfeng body muscles were getting tighter. His fists rattled, and his sharp nails pierced his skin, making him bleed. After a long while, he finally lowered his head and hid his hatred, stepping back and sitting down again.


    "If you recall, I told you before that if you were not in control of yourself, you would need to leave. You should be clear about the situation just now. If we called you here, these would be the only two possibilities. Either you would be your normal self and everyone would be safe, or you would be out of control, and you know what would happen then. I would not let you live in that case," Luo Yuan exined calmly, trying to alter the usations made by Chen Xianfeng.


    He did not want to kill him, but he also could not let him maintain that feeling of hatred. Not if he wanted to avoid any unnecessary problems.


    Chen Xianfeng heard him and shivered. He knew perfectly well that if he went mad, Luo Yuan would definitely kill him. Now he understood why no one had tried to remind him to retreat. His feelings of rage dissipated considerably after his reflection.


    After a while, they heard a noise from outside. A bunch of mutated beasts were trying toe in.


    Luo Yuan stood up holding his sword, and walked to the door.


    The mutated beasts jumped from the staircase, but were blocked by the racks, stacking up behind them like a mountain.


    Huo Dong, who had followed Luo Yuan, aimed at the mutated beasts and shot. Blood sted everywhere as everyone else started to shoot as well.


    Luo Yuan frowned. If they continued shooting this way, they would ran out of bullets. Plus, it was a waste to use synthetic bullets to attack such low-level mutated beasts.


    "Save your bullets from now on,¡± he said quickly. ¡°Don¡¯t shoot, use a knife."


    Most of the mutated beasts were of a white level. Only a few of them were from a light blue or blue level. On top of that, there were too many shelves constraining their movement. Based on their physical condition, it was not difficult to attack them with a knife.


    However, everyone looked worried when Luo Yuanmanded them not to use their guns. Attacking with a gun from a distance waspletely different than fighting close with a knife.


    "You have nothing to afraid of. These low-level mutated beasts can¡¯t even break the defense of your synthetic clothes. It¡¯s easy to kill them as long as you are extra careful and protect your heads. And don¡¯t worry, I¡¯m also here to help if anything happens.¡±


    Huo Dong knew that once Luo Yuan had made a decision, he would not change his mind. Thus, he was the first one to support his idea in an effort to impress him. "Yes! Finally, my knife is going to taste some blood!"


    A few people chuckled, and it helped relieve the tension a bit. However, after a few seconds, everyone tensed up again.


    Cao Lin took out her knife when she saw everyone holding theirs, but quietly stepped back a little.


    When they had left Hedong City, Luo Yuan had collected a bunch of sharp weapons, and everyone had gotten one except for Zhao Yali.


    "Shishi, you don¡¯t have to do that." Luo Yuan saw Wang Shishi taking her knife out and tried to stop her. ¡°You just keep an eye on our surroundings and get some rest."


    She had been trying to train to be braver, but she was exhausted after several attacks with her telekinesis. She really needed some time to rest.


    Wang Shishi felt relieved as she put her knife back into its sheath.


    Suddenly, a man who was being held back suddenly broke through the shelve barriers. He was very fast. In just a few seconds, he had already reached the front of the group. Huo Dong, who was standing there, was not prepared and got hit pretty hard.


    Everyone was in shock. A few of the women even screamed, but it was to no avail. The next second, the man opened his mouth, which was full of sharp teeth, and tried to bite Huo Dong¡¯s throat.


    Just as Huo Dong¡¯ mind went nk and he started to feel hopeless, he heard the sound of bones breaking, and felt blood sttering on his face. The mutated man¡¯s head had been broken by a strong hand.


    Huo Dong¡¯s heart was beating very fast, and his face looked pale. When he got over the initial shock, he realized it was Chen Xianfeng who had saved his life.


    Everyone was surprised. After saving his life, Chen Xianfeng had gone back and sat in the corner quietly without looking at Huo Dong.


    Luo Yuan put down his knife. Suddenly, he noticed that there was something sneaking out of the brain of the mutated man and scrambling away at a fast speed.


    It was a 10-centimeter white worm that looked like a centipede. Both sides of its body were covered by fine legs.


    Luo Yuan quickly remembered what it was.


    ¡°I see. No wonder all these mutated beasts and men look numb. They were all being controlled by this worm.¡±


    Luo Yuan had seen it before. It was the tentacle crypt worm. It was not a strong creature, but it specialized in living parasitically in other creatures¡¯ brains and controlling the hosts through their central nervous system.


    When he realized that the worm was trying to escape, he quickly ran forward and stepped on it to kill it.


    Suddenly, something strange happened. All the mutated beasts grew restless, and turned around and aimed at Luo Yuan. They moved at a faster speed until Luo Yuan could feel countless mutated beasts heading towards him.


    Luo Yuan realized something in shock. The tentacle crypt worms were not working individually. They were linked with each other like a bigwork. Each tentacle crypt worm was a link, and together they formed an invisible, yet strong chain.


    They were indeed horrible creatures. Amid the currentpetitive environment, they tended to grow as a group of high intelligence creatures by giving up independent life. They were intelligent enough to protect themselves, and it would be extremely destructive to the world if they were to reproduce on arger scale.

 Chapter 159: Critical

    Chapter 159: Critical


    Trantor: EndlessFantasy Trantion Editor: EndlessFantasy Trantion


    Luo Yuan looked a bit uneasy.


    The most special characteristic of creatures who lived in a group was their intelligence and ability to build amunity.


    This was not unusual in nature. For example, ants were able to organize their marching route, build aplex nest,unchrge-scale raids, and execute other amazing actions.


    In fact, ants were not particrly intelligent. They were low-level creatures, just like all other insects. However, arge number of ants together could often aplish incredible things.


    They did not need amander to order the soldier ants, and there was no boss to monitor the workers. The queen ant was only responsible for reproducing. Even if there were 60,000 ants in the colony, they did not need to be managed to carry out everyday operations. What they relied on, was the numerous interactions between individuals. They just followed simple rules to form a unique, amazing collective intelligence.


    Tiny creatures such as ants were not dangerous to humans. However, when it came to a parasite, and especially a parasitic worm that had mutated, a whole group of them could produce a powerful attack if they were to fight other creatures using their close connection with each other.


    There were a lot of bumping noisesing from the staircase. The shelves had started to distort, and the mutated beasts had begun to cross over the shelves and rush towards them.


    Everyone was worried, and they subconsciously stepped back a little.


    Without any obstruction, the mutated beasts could now move forward fast and easy. The mutated human beasts were agiler than normal humans. They could cross the 7-8 meter long passage in just a few seconds.


    No one would have expected that Wang Xiaguang would be the first one to attack. She shouted softly and instantly moved forward, holding the knife in both her hands. She aimed at one of the mutated beasts and chopped it without hesitation. In the past, she had used to practice kendo, and the martial art foundations still remained, although it had been a long time since she hadst practised.


    In a sh, the head of the mutated beast was split into two, and blood sshed onto her face, somehow making her look both strange and beautiful.


    Everyone had an excellent quality knife in their hands. Although they were not as good as Luo Yuan¡¯s, the knives were all blue level weapons, so it was not difficult for them to deal with white level mutated beasts.


    Wang Xiaguang was tense, but she did not feel ufortable. On the contrary, the bloody scene in front of her made her kind of excited. She cautiously stepped back and aimed before she cut in half another mutated beast that had sneaked up on her from behind.


    Everyone felt motivated by Wang Xiaguang¡¯s performance. They had never expected those horrible mutated beasts to be so useless and easy to kill. Wang Xiaguang was the weakest among them, after all.


    "We¡¯ve got nothing to fear! Let¡¯s do this together!" Huang Jiahui shouted loudly and started towards the mutated beasts with her knife.


    Everyone, including the timid Cao Lin, followed with their knives in hand.


    Only Luo Yuan, Wang Shishi, Zhao Yali and Chen Xianfeng, who were all badly injured, stood aside.


    Zhao Yali felt awkward and ufortable as she hid in the back while everyone else fought in front. She could feel Wang Shishi¡¯s contempt without even looking at her.


    "Well," Wang Shishi gave Zhao Yali a contemptuous snort as she stared at her.


    Zhao Yali¡¯s face instantly flushed. She felt ashamed. She wanted the ground to open up and swallow her.


    The number of mutated beasts was getting bigger. There had only been a few initially, but in less than half a minute the whole passageway had been entirely upied by them.


    However, the passage was only two meters wide, so it could not fit all the mutated beasts. Besides, there were more and more carcasses on the ground, making it increasingly difficult for the beasts to move forward.


    While everyone was fighting intensely, Luo Yuan closed his eyes.


    He could feel the chaos growing outside as he heard Lao Huang and the giant lizard¡¯s depressing roars from time to time. Apparently, they were having an intense battle. This time, it was not a normal mutation. The beasts had a certain order and group wisdom. Plus, they were low-level parasites. The giant lizard might not be able tost for long if they attacked it continuously.


    All along the way, it was the lizard¡¯s deterrence that had helped the group avoid getting attacked. The lizard¡¯s strength was a powerful weapon. It would be a big waste if he had to give it up. However, there were too many mutated beasts outside. There was no chance of survival for him if he rushed out to help. Unless he could enter into the frequency of the Earth Stomp again.


    It had been a coincidence when he had entered into the same frequency as the Earth during thest battle. He could never do it again. That had been a special case. His internal organs and sternum had all been broken, his heart had almost stopped beating, and he had almost died.


    In other words, he would have been dead if he had not managed to connect with the Earth. Since then, Luo Yuan had been specting that the phenomenon might be rted to the heartbeat. A human could only enter into the Earth frequency when their heartbeat reached a certain low rate, such as five or six beats a minute.


    One¡¯s heartbeat was never stable. The main function of the heart was to supply blood and deliver nutrients to the whole body. The greater the energy consumption, the faster the heartbeat. The slower and calmer the body was, the slower the heartbeat would be as well.


    If he could slow down his breathing and keep it that way, he might be able to slow down his heartbeat.


    That would not be enough, though. He tried very hard to think of another helpful strategy. He realized death might be an important factor, but he could not go looking for death. It was too risky.


    Then he thought of his Will. Undoubtedly, determination was a mysterious force. He had known right from the beginning that Will was not just used to control external parameters. It could be used freely to control the human body as well. Every time he increased his Will, his Strength was easier to control. Now he was able to control every single one of his muscles. Whenever he was injured, he was able to close the wound and stop the bleeding.


    He could do all this naturally.


    ¡°What would happen if I were to concentrate all my Will?¡±


    Luo Yuan¡¯s heart pumped faster at the thought. He had never tried that before.


    He began to meditate, and his Will was concentrated instantly.


    This time though, there was nothing abnormal about it. There was no sh or light appearing around him. It was as if nothing had happened, except for the dense mist surrounding him.


    In just a moment, his emotions fluctuated and his concentrated Will suddenly copsed.


    He was shocked and amazed. It was an unprecedented, bizarre experience. He had never felt the real presence of his flesh. He seemed to be in control of everything inside his body.


    He breathed deeply, and tried to calm down and gather his Will again.


    He could feel the densework of fibers in his muscles, the hardness and density of his bones, his blood flowing like a river, and his internal organs moving. Last but not least, he could feel his heart pumping hard.


    He could not see it, but he could outline every single inch of his body in his mind.


    He felt it for a while, but he did not dare waste any more time. The situation was already very critical outside. The giant lizard was roaring fiercely again and again. This had to be itsst defense against the mutated beasts.


    He quickly switched his attention toward his heart. He could not exin why, but he had a feeling that he could control it.


    The idea shed through his mind as he felt his heartbeat get slower. It was a whole process. It felt like when someone was trying to stop a big, fast-moving object using a small force. He felt kind of helpless.


    He was happy with the result, though.


    He tried to control his emotions so that his Will would not copse again as his heartbeat got lower and lower.


    After a few minutes, he started to lose his Strength and his face turned pale.


    The situation had be more critical. There were several dangerous fights taking ce at the same time, and Wang Shishi was too busy watching her surroundings. Zhao Yali was the only one who noticed that Luo Yuan had almost fainted and quickly ran towards him to hold him up.


    "Luo Yuan, are you alright? Please, you¡¯re scaring me!" Zhao Yali said in a tearful voice, her face looking worried.


    Luo Yuan signed to indicate that he was fine. His heartbeat had already been reduced to ten times per minute. He was experiencing a serious shortage of blood transmission, and his overall abilities had hit rock bottom. However, he was still able to hold on for a short period of time thanks to his physical fitness.


    The mutated creatures kepting at them, and the number of carcasses on the floor kept rising. The space where they could fight was limited, and everyone had been forced to move back.


    The ceiling started to fall, some parts beginning to copse. The roof and the wall on both sides were cracking. The building itself had already been seriously corroded, and the attack from the mutated beasts had only elerated the destruction process.


    It could notst any longer.


    Everyone had been injured lightly. Their clothes were tough enough to protect them from an attack by low-level mutated beasts.


    Still, they were all exhausted.


    They had just been learning to fight, so they were still new to energy allocation. They used their full power in every attack, and inbination with their tension and fear, their energy consumption was multiplied. Without Wang Shishi¡¯s help and support, they would¡¯ve been killed by the mutated beasts. They werepletely exhausted after only a few minutes of fighting.


    Suddenly, the wall along the passageway came crashing down. Without the support of the wall, the ceiling copsed as well.


    A bunch of mutated beasts fell down from the higher floors. The situation had just gotten worse.

 Chapter 160: Breakthrough

    Chapter 160: Breakthrough


    Trantor: EndlessFantasy Trantion Editor: EndlessFantasy Trantion


    The tower was shaking because of the continuous beast attacks, the cement falling and hitting their heads. Meanwhile, there were more and more cracks on the ceiling, the mutated beasts also getting crashed by the huge rocks. No one knew when the tower was going to copse and fall on them all.


    ¡°Luo Yuan, what we can do? We can¡¯t stay here anymore, we have to leave!¡± Huang Jiahui screamed out in fear.


    ¡°Little Yuan is getting weaker!¡± Zhao Yali shouted in tears. ¡°Can anyone check on him?¡±


    Everyone was shocked. Huang Jiahui was too distracted and almost got bitten by a mutant. She shouted, ¡°Wang Shishi, leave this to us! You go check on Luo Yuan!¡±


    Wang Shishi had been distracted as well, but she turned around right away and rushed towards Luo Yuan. He was leaning against the wall, his face pale. His heart only beat 7-8 times per minute now. Normal people would have already died, but he was only physically weak.


    ¡°Brother Luo, how are you feeling?¡±


    Luo Yuan tried his best to wave. He did not have enough energy to speak. However, Wang Shishi did not understand and kept crying. She thought Luo Yuan was going to die. ¡°What happened to him?¡± she said. ¡°He was totally fine just now. You really didn¡¯t see anything?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know, I really have no idea,¡± Zhao Yali replied. She looked pale and she was crying as well.


    Luo Yuan twitched his mouth, feeling helpless. He continued to control his heartbeat, until suddenly his body shook and his heart started pumping wildly. After a while, he managed to slowly stand up.


    ¡°I¡¯m fine, I told you that I¡¯m fine.¡±


    Both women were surprised, but their eyes were still full of tears. Luo Yuan looked energized, his pale face turning rosy again.


    ¡°Understanding the Earth Stomp. You¡¯re obtaining extra earth energy as a supportive, special trait of longsting energy. In other words, you will not feel exhausted anymore. Secondary Power: Fast Recovery. Sensitivity power will be consumed throughout the recovery process until it is over.¡±


    He looked very calm, as if he had been drained of any emotions. He nced across the space and began to walk towards the beasts, slowly increasing his speed.


    ¡°Move!¡± Luo Yuan shouted.


    His voice was so powerful, they could still hear its echo a few seconds after he had spoken. Everyone naturally made way for him despite the fact that they were fighting the beasts. It only took Luo Yuan a few steps to reach the beasts and start to kill them. The scene was full of blood, and flesh was flying everywhere.


    His special power allowed him to fully perform without having to consider his physical strength. He could give out a minimum of around 20 strikes per second, and most of the mutated beasts were chopped more than 10 times before they died. He was moving at a very fast pace, creating a path through the beasts to escape.


    ¡°Everyone follow me! Let¡¯s get out of here!¡±


    They all were relieved that Luo Yuan had recovered. They quickly picked up their weapons and bullets, and followed him. After a few minutes of running, they finally reached the staircase. However, the staircase was almost detached from the building. The beasts had been stepping on it for too long. Some of the beasts began to jump down from the higher floors. The first floor was fully upied by them.


    ¡°Shishi, take care of the mutants up there!¡± Luo Yuan said as he red up at them.


    ¡°Yes, Brother Luo,¡± Wang Shishi replied.


    The flying shuttle was travelling through the air, and the next second a very long bloodprint had appeared on the floor as the shuttle prated a row of beasts. After a few shots with it, all the mutated beasts had been turned into corpses and Wang Shishi had turned pale. She had finished almost all her energy.


    Luo Yuan did not dare dy the attack. He realized that she could not continue anymore, so he shouted, ¡°Hold on to your weapons! We can use guns now!¡±


    As soon as he had finished talking, he grabbed Huo Dong and threw him up to the first floor. Without any mental preparation, Huo Dong flew into the air, screaming out loud. He thought he would fall hard on the floor, but he didn¡¯t. He only rolled a few times beforending without any injuries. In fact, Luo Yuan had already mastered his power and was able to use it any way he wanted.


    Huo Dong immediately got his idea and took out his sniper gun and began to fire. A momentter, Lin Xiaoji was thrown up to the first floor as well, followed by Huang Jiahui and Wang Xiaguang. Finally, the battle subsided a little as there were more people upstairs and more bullets being used.


    All the bullets had been modified into green level bullets, which were very powerful in pration. Each bullet could prate around 10 mutated beasts with a single shot. Luo Yuan threw Zhao Yali up to the first floor and then jumped up to meet them. He was stunned when he faced the scene there, and he was not one to be stunned easily.


    The first floor had no roof anymore and most of the walls had copsed. It was already a miracle that the tower was still standing. They could see that the streets outside were upied by countless mutated beasts. Suddenly, Luo Yuan pulled Cao Lin back before a huge, several tons heavy piece of concrete fell on the spot where she had just been standing. The concrete hit the ground, creating a big hole on the first floor. Cao Lin was frightened. She would have been smashed if Luo Yuan had not pulled her away.


    Things would only get more dangerous if they stayed there, so Luo Yuan said decisively, ¡°Everyone get your weapons and follow me!¡±


    Luo Yuan frowned as he noticed Zhao Yali¡¯s empty hands. "Does anyone have an extra gun to give her?" he asked.


    ¡°Use mine,¡± Wang Xiaguang said generously. ¡°I can use my knife.¡±


    Luo Yuan looked at her for a second and realized there was a thick blood clot on her smooth skin. She looked more determined and strongerpared to thest few days. Huo Dong, Lin Xiaoji and Cao Lin had changed as well. They were going to be qualified survivors if they managed to survive these battles. That¡¯s right, not warriors, but qualified survivors. Zhao Yali carefully took the gun from Wang Xiaguang.


    ¡°Just stick by meter,¡± Wang Xiaguang said sympathetically.


    Zhao Yali looked at her gratefully and nodded, ¡°Thank you so much.¡±


    They formed a team with Luo Yuan as their leader and rushed towards the beasts. Unless they were in a big group, the beasts were not a threat to Luo Yuan as they were slower than his attacking speed. As long as Luo Yuan had unlimited energy, they were nothing to be afraid of.


    After a few minutes, they ran out of the tower and saw a lot more mutated beasts. Wang Shishi almost copsed. She has been using too much of her power and her head was in extreme pain. Her nose and ears were also bleeding non-stop. Everyone would be in danger without her help. It would be really overwhelming to only rely on Luo Yuan. He quickly checked their surroundings and spotted the vines on a nearby building.


    Most of the buildings there were decrepit houses, easy to copse if the beasts hit them. It was better to climb up the building rather than hide inside the house as most of the mutated beasts could not climb.


    ¡°Shishi, don¡¯t fall asleep. We¡¯re heading to that house.¡±


    Wang Shishi looked very pale and weak. She nodded as her body staggered. Huang Jiahui was saddened by her condition. Wang Shishi fainted, but luckily Luo Yuan caught her before the mutated beasts could get to her. Everyone felt more stressed without Wang Shishi, but they tried their best to fight. They almost died trying to escape, and everyone was injured by the end.

 Chapter 161: Progress

    Chapter 161: Progress


    Trantor: EndlessFantasy Trantion Editor: EndlessFantasy Trantion


    There were a lot of vines dropping down from the building. Most of them climbed quickly like they were monkeys in their previous lives. Thanks to the improvement in their physical strength, even Zhao Yali managed to catch up although she had hardly had any physical exercise. It was not a very tall building, so they managed to climb to the rooftop in less than a minute.


    Huang Jiahui took out her gun and took aim at several beasts on the ground. She shot a few of them as she told Luo Yuan, ¡°Hurry up!¡±


    Luo Yuan nodded and killed a few of the beasts nearby before putting his knife away. Then he grabbed a vine and climbed the building using one hand, while he used the other one to carry Wang Shishi. Apparently, his speed was not affected by the extra weight. A few mutated beasts tried to attack him, but they did not seed because they could not climb. Luo Yuan finally reached the rooftop, put Wang Shishi down and left her to Huang Jiahui.


    The vines were growing all over the ce on the rooftop making it seem like a mini forest. Luo Yuan walked around to check if it was safe and killed a few other mutants. Then he looked down at the ground and realized only a couple of mutated beasts were trying to climb using the vines. He assumed the everybody else could kill them easily.


    ¡°It¡¯s a safe ce to stay. All of you wait here, I¡¯ll be back soon,¡± Luo Yuan said.


    ¡°Where are you going?¡± Huang Jiahui asked.


    ¡°I¡¯m going to check on the giant lizard and the mutated dog. It¡¯ll just take a short while, I¡¯ll be back,¡± Luo Yuan said.


    ¡°You take care then,¡± Huang Jihui replied. She knew Luo Yuan could handle it.


    Luo Yuan nodded and looked at the mutated beasts on the ground. He jumped down without hesitation. Stepping on the head of a mutated beast that looked like a giant dog caused its neck to snap with a loud cracking sound immediately. He jumped several more times until he managed to escape.


    The enchanted worm seemed to have another idea, though. A mutated beast suddenly roared, and all the mutated beasts quickly moved away to make way for it. The beast was glowing like the northern lights. Luo Yuan suddenly felt the danger as he was about tond, and quickly used his Will to slow down his movement so he would stop 4-5 meters away from the mutated beast.


    Luo Yuan realized the bright me was very scary. It had even managed to kill a few other mutated beasts which had not escaped in time. Several enchanted worms came out of the noses of the carcasses and tried to slither away. Luo Yuan stepped back, frightened by the scene. Although he was physically strong, he might not be able to handle their poison and also realized several mutated beasts were trying to move in his direction. He would have a hard time if they all attacked him together.


    He naturally reached into his backpack to get the spears, but he suddenly stopped. He tried to calcte the distance from the building where his people were waiting. Knowing they would not be affected, the capiries under his skin immediately appeared and extended to his neck. His blood was boiling inside his body as he slowly lifted his foot from the ground. Apparently, he was attracting the energy of the Earth, because the ground had begun to shake.


    Suddenly, he stepped on the ground again and a force swept across it. The ground exploded, creating a powerful vibration and causing all the concrete to fly up into the sky. Most of the mutated beasts had been thrown upwards; their bodies were torn off before they even fell back to the ground. Tons of blood dripped down like rain, and all the buildings nearby copsed.


    Most of the creatures were white and light blue level. None of them was blue rank. All the mutated beasts in the affected region were dead, including the enchanted worms.


    Luo Yuan had not killed any of the worms earlier on purpose because he had felt that they were too tiny to bother. However, a few hundred of them had died at once under the power of the Earth Stomp.


    Suddenly, a bunch of mutated beasts was rushing towards him. If someone had been standing on a tall building, they might have been able to see the group of mutated beasts around the giant lizard and Lao Huang leaving and changing their direction.


    ¡°Great migration? I¡¯m not afraid!¡± Luo Yuan shouted as he threw away the intestine hanging on his shoulder.


    He rushed towards the beasts with his Zhanmadao, leaping naturally into the air. Suddenly, the ground cracked, and stones went flying everywhere. There were five giant, earthworm-like creatures with huge mouths emerging from the ground, trying to bite through thin air. The earthworms attempted to return underground to prepare for another attack, but unfortunately, Luo Yuan cut through their soft bodies as hended.


    He was on alert again, grateful that the enchanted worms did not control the flying creatures. However, he realized he was wrong as he saw bugs and mutated birds flying towards him. Luckily, it looked like a manageable numberpared to the mutated beasts on the ground. They were flying very fast, though. The next second they were already above his head.


    He was worried about Huang Jiahui and the others, and he turned around to check the sky above the building. He realized the creatures were not flying towards the rooftop, but they were all ready to attack him along with the beasts on the ground.


    Several gray-colored birds began to attack Luo Yuan right after he killed an earthworm. Apparently, they were more aggressive than the mutated beasts on the around him. He had no way to escape. Countless mutated beasts surrounded him. The only thing he could do was kill them at a very high speed, leaving an infinite number of bird carcasses on the ground.


    However, even though he had been trying his best to kill them, there were still several mutated birds poking at his body. The green level bulletproof vest protected him, and all the birds who attacked him got smashed into flesh and blood.


    The birds had evolved extremely, their beaks constituting two-thirds of their body. That helped reduce air resistance and increase the momentum of their attack. One would die if they got hit by the birds without any protection.


    Luo Yuan kept stepping back, leaving many footprints on the ground. Suddenly, he could not move anymore. He was prevented by the earthworms he had just cut. The beasts ran away, and a creature that looked like a unicorn rushed toward him and hit him in the chest. Luo Yuan flew backward, falling on the beasts.


    The Earth began to shake again, the Earth Stomp turning all the carcasses into ashes. Luo Yuan began to gasp. He was exhausted after using the Earth Stomp two times in a row. He stood on top of a waste area to check his surroundings and realized there were even more mutated beastsing.


    The enchanted worms did not seem to be afraid. They were still rushing towards him. He realized that he could not keep using the same strategy anymore. Five Earth Stomps was his limit. He would need to find another solution.

 Chapter 162: Transformation

    Chapter 162: Transformation


    Trantor: EndlessFantasy Trantion Editor: EndlessFantasy Trantion


    The whole street was upied by a huge group of mutated beasts that had spread at a distance of 4-5 kilometers. Based on that observation, Luo Yuan estimated that there were more than 500,000 mutated beasts. The thought made everyone feel hopeless. They were too weak to fight the huge group of beasts.


    Of course, Luo Yuan could not handle all the beasts, but he could try to escape. However, everyone else would die if he did. An intense energy slowly prated his feet and refreshed his body, but it was not sufficient to fully restore his energy. He needed about 2-3 hours to recover fully, but he had no time to rest.


    Luo Yuan was trying to endure attacks from many different directions. He was grateful that the mutated beasts were quite big. Their size made them easier to handlepared to the smaller mutants.


    However, he did not dare jump like he used to anymore. The sky was full of mutated birds, making it hard for him to move. If he jumped too high into the air, he would be prey for the birds. He could not think of any other solution except finding the giant lizard as soon as possible.


    The roaring sounds of the giant lizard and Lao Huang were getting weaker. Luo Yuan could sense their fear and hopelessness, but he was calm enough to continue killing the beasts. Countless mutated beasts were cut into two when they came near him.


    ¡°Your knife skill has been upgraded after a period of intensive training.¡±


    Suddenly, the system beeped again. Luo Yuan felt everything be different. It felt so easy to kill as if his motions were no longer restricted.


    He realized the air would begin to circte every time he was about to attack. He knew he was lucky, and he realized things went even smoother when one had some good luck. Those without good luck needed to put in a lot more effort to achieve their goals. He also realized he could use the nature¡¯s energy to change the environment when his knife skill reached a certain level of expertise.


    Unfortunately, his power was still too weak to make a huge impact on the environment. His speed was getting faster than ever, but Luo Yuan believed he could improve and get even stronger in the future.


    He suddenly realized everything had begun to slow down. He noticed that the mutated beasts were moving slower and the enchanted worms were having trouble controlling them.


    It was not a big deal for mammals, but it was a big deal for birds. If their motions were forced to slow down abruptly, they would fall to the ground and die. Many mutated birds had been rushing towards Luo Yuan before an energy akin to an unseen hand suddenly pulled at them, and they fell onto the huge group of mutated beasts at a high momentum.


    One of the blue mutated beasts collided with a bird and they exploded together. The whole group of beasts and birds exploded, their flesh going everywhere.


    Luo Yuan felt relieved. The falling birds had helped diffuse the situation. He looked at the scene and suddenly felt inspired. He could not believe that the enormous impact he had just made was just a small upgrade of his Knife Skill. He silently opened up the status panel and realized that ¡°Knife Expertise: 19¡± had be ¡°Knife Specialist: 0¡±. That exins why he felt different. He had just leveled up.


    No matter how powerful the enchanted worm was, without a host, it was still a tiny useless worm that anyone could kill. It had been difficult to kill the worms earlier because they had been using their hosts as a shield. However, things were different now that Luo Yuan had be powerful enough to destroy the hosts.


    Luo Yuan visualized a stronger energy inside his body. His surroundings heated up like an oven and things began to get disfigured. A deadly energy suddenly upied the whole atmosphere.


    Under the influence of Luo Yuan¡¯s power, the mutated beasts were moving slower than ever. Some of them had even stopped moving because they were too close to him. They hardly had any time to react as he walked in front of them. Luo Yuan pushed a man-like creature lightly, and it fell to the ground like a corpse. There was an increasing number of mutated beasts rushing towards Luo Yuan. They all looked enchanted as they stopped moving.


    The scene was eerie. Wherever Luo Yuan passed, the mutated beasts would stop moving and fall to the ground. Several mutated beasts were hit by the beastsing from the back, and a thickyer of dark flesh was formed. Luo Yuan did not even need to kill them with his bare hands. The mutated beasts just fell dead as he passed by.

 Chapter 163: Retreat

    Chapter 163: Retreat


    Trantor: EndlessFantasy Trantion Editor: EndlessFantasy Trantion


    There was a strange energy around Luo Yuan. If one could see souls, then they might have been able to see Luo Yuan¡¯s soul that was as bright as the sun and the souls of the enchanted worms that were like fireflies.


    Luo Yuan was moving between the mutated beasts, leaving a huge number of carcasses on the ground as he took his leave. He ran as quickly as he could and reached his destination in less than ten minutes. It was a hill made of countless corpses. Many mutated beasts were trying to climb the hill, but they were all being pulled by a strong force. Most of the beasts fell back to the ground disfigured.


    The hill was more than ten meters high. There were several hills like that at different spots. It was not difficult to imagine how many mutated beasts the giant lizard and Lao Huang had killed. Luo Yuan could not see them because the hills were blocking them. He could only hear the weak roars of the giant lizard. There was no sound from Lao Huang.


    Luo Yuan increased his speed and pulled out his Zhanmadao again to kill the mutated beasts blocking his way. He was like a light bulb in the darkness, as bright as the sun. The mutated beasts that had been attacking the giant lizard began to attack Luo Yuan. However, they were all dead before they could even get near him.


    The giant lizard seemed to know that Luo Yuan was there, and it roared a little louder in surprise. It got up from the ground, several corpses hanging from its body. It was severely injured and bleeding from most ces.


    It gasped as blood gushed out from all the wounds on its body. The giant lizard only managed to stand for a short while before it fell back on the ground again. There were a few more mutated beasts hanging from its body, still trying to bite it. However, the giant lizard was a dark blue mutated beast. It was too strong to be hurt by a blue mutated beast.


    Luo Yuan rushed up to the giant lizard and killed all the mutated beasts hanging from it. Most of the beasts were already dead when Luo Yuan got to them. The giant lizard tried its best to look at Luo Yuan for a second before it fell asleep.


    ¡°Loyalty.¡±


    The system beeped again. Luo Yuan looked at the giant lizard, and then took out two food cubes made from Archelon eggs. The giant lizard was sensitive to smell. As soon as it got a whiff of the food, it opened its eyes. However, it did not act as crazy as it used to. It just looked at Luo Yuan, and then ate the food on his palm when he nodded.


    The food cubes were high in energy, and the giant lizard felt much better after less than thirty seconds. Its body stopped shaking, and the muscles around its wounds began to shrink. It was not bleeding much anymore either. Luo Yuan continued to look for Lao Huang, who seemed to have gone missing.


    It was important to find it, dead or alive. Its carcass would be a good source of power. Luo Yuan was very rational because of the effect of the Earth Stomp.


    After searching for a while, he finally found something. It was a bunch of red furs. It was fluffy and shiny, but it felt cold to the touch.


    He used his identification power on it.


    ¡°ming Dog Fur¡±


    ¡°Function: Material¡±


    ¡°Element: Fire¡±


    ¡°Rarity: Dark Blue¡±


    ¡°Weight: 10 grams.¡±


    ¡°Complementary Function: Heat Absorption¡±


    ¡°Remarks: The ming Dog is a smart, spiritual creature of the fire element. It has all the characteristics of a dog, except that its fur can act as a natural cooler. It can absorb heat based on the temperature difference between the fur and the atmosphere.¡±


    The fur belonged to Lao Huang, which meant that it had to be somewhere nearby. Luo Yuan continued to scan through the carcasses on the ground. After searching for a while, he finally found Lao Huang. He could not scan it, but he was sure it was still alive. Luo Yuan walked in its direction, pushing away carcasses one by one.


    He managed to find its body after a minute. Lao Huang¡¯s condition was worse than the giant lizard¡¯s. It was full of blood, and it was not moving at all. Most people would have just thought it was dead, but Luo Yuan could feel its body temperature and its weak heartbeat. It looked pitiful. One of its legs was broken, and its tail was missing. The worst thing was that part of its skin had been torn off. Luo Yuan could see the bones in most parts of its body. It was a miracle that it was still alive after suffering such injuries.


    Luo Yuan quickly took out all the food cubes and stuffed them into Lao Huang¡¯s mouth. Then he found a stiff mutated beast and twisted its neck. The neck broke, tons of blood gushing out from the big wound. Luo Yuan stuffed the mutated beast into Lao Huang¡¯s mouth, hoping that the blood would help push the food cubes into its stomach and speed up digestion. Its survival was depending solely on fate.


    Suddenly, Luo Yuan realized that other than the few hundred beasts nearby, the rest of the group of beasts was gone. They hade and left without a sign. The sky andnd had be peaceful once again. The only thing left was the many carcasses all over the area. Luo Yuan waited for another ten minutes until the system beeped again. He finally confirmed that the beasts were gone and weren¡¯ting back.


    The enchanted worms seemed to have their weak point too. When they were facingrge-scale death, it was natural for them to retreat. Luo Yuan felt relieved and slowly withdrew from the Earth Stomp. He started feeling dizzy, but he managed to stand still. He discovered that his whole body hurt from exhaustion.


    It was finally over. Not caring about the dirt, Luo Yuan sat down on the ground. After resting for a few minutes, he opened up the status panel to check the mission information.


    ¡°Current Mission: B-Level Mission, Escape.¡±


    ¡°Mission Requirement: A minimum of four people have to escape sessfully.¡±


    ¡°Mission Completed.¡±


    ¡°Time of Completion: 3 hours and 30 minutes.¡±


    ¡°Mission Evaluation: Excellent.¡±


    ¡°Character: Luo Yuan¡±


    ¡°Completion: 6%¡±


    ¡°Reward Basic Experience Value 606!


    ¡°Excellent Evaluation, Experience Value 606!¡±


    ¡°Experience: 2,603,400¡±


    ¡°Battle Beast: Forest Giant Lizard¡±


    ¡°Completion: 40%¡±


    ¡°Reward Basic Experience Value 6,040!¡±


    ¡°Good Evaluation, Experience Value 6,040!¡±


    ¡°Experience: 93,660¡±


    Luo Yuan looked at the experience points and realized he had less than 9,000 points to go to upgrade to Level 9 while the giant lizard only had a few hundred points to go. If he were lucky, he would only need toplete another B- Level Mission or two lower level tasks before upgrading.


    He looked at the giant lizard and Lao Huang. He did not think they could upgrade within such a short time. They could not even move yet. Apparently, they would need to stay in the city for a few more days. It was a good thing that the beasts were gone because they were too weak to fight again anytime soon.


    The most important thing now was bringing everyone together and finding a safer ce to stay.

 Chapter 164: Recovery

    Chapter 164: Recovery


    Trantor: EndlessFantasy Trantion Editor: EndlessFantasy Trantion


    Lao Huang had miraculously survived, but its condition was not good. Most parts of its flesh were gone, and some of its internal organs had been injured. Luo Yuan could even see the bones underneath its skin. If he hadn¡¯t prepared some nutritious food cubes for Lao Huang, it would have already died. Still, it could not stand up again within such a short period.


    While the giant lizard was slightly better than Lao Huang, based on Luo Yuan¡¯s judgment, neither battle beast could go on a long journey for the time being. Thus, they were forced to stay and rest in Jiaping City for some time. They found the train station very quickly. The station did not just act as the main point of the city transportation. It was also an excellent shelter during wartime. It was a lot stronger and safer than other buildings, which were already corroded.


    When they reached the entrance, they smelled a strong, awful stenching from inside. There were plenty of corpses in the station. Apparently, a lot of survivors had been staying there before they turned into the skeletons on the floor. Since they were going to stay there for some time, they could not live with that awful smell every day. After checking their surroundings, the first thing they had to do was throw away all the corpses and skeletons in the station.


    They acted very fast. After half an hour, all the bodies and skeletons were gone. The awful smell remained in the station due to inadequate venttion, but they began to get used to it after a while. In fact, they were lucky to even to find such a reliable, safe shelter during wartime. Zhao Yali tried her best to ovee her fear and quickly sat down in the corner right after she finished cleaning. She was shivering. Luo Yuan sighed as he watched her reaction.


    ¡°Yali, are you alright?¡± he asked as he walked towards her.


    ¡°I¡¯m all right,¡± Zhao Yali said, taking a deep breath.


    Luo Yuan remained silent. After a moment, he said, ¡°You¡¯ll be fine sooner orter.¡±


    Zhao Yali cried softly when she heard him. She said, ¡°But... but I¡¯m scared. I thought I was going to die. Lao Huang is going to leave me. I¡¯ve always been a coward, I used not even to be able to look at a dead person, but I just threw away all those skeletons by myself. I¡¯m afraid people will judge me.¡±


    Zhao Yali shivered helplessly, and began to talk nonsense, ¡°I know I shouldn¡¯t me you, but I still hate you. Why are you bringing me along? I¡¯m just an ordinary person. I¡¯m not as strong as Wang Xiaguang or Huang Jiahui, let alone Wang Shishi. I just want to live a regr life as long as I can, not try to escape from beasts on a daily basis.¡±


    Luo Yuan sighed. He understood that it had been a long, tough journey. He had been through a lot of serious battles himself. Zhao Yali was only an ordinary person, and her life was very fragile. However, Luo Yuan also knew it would be more dangerous if they stopped moving. The beasts would only get stronger as time passed, and they would not be able to survive without a mutual alliance. They would only be safe when they reached the west region.


    However, that seemed to be too much for Zhao Yali. It was all unreal to her, and the journey was far too long.


    Luo Yuan sighed and said, ¡°You¡¯re right, I was probably too selfish. I shouldn¡¯t have dragged you into this risky n. We will be staying here longer this time. If you don¡¯t want toe with us, then I¡¯ll send you back home. No one will hurt you as long as Lao Huang is with you.¡±


    Zhao Yali had stopped sobbing. She looked at Luo Yuan and realized he had changed a lot. He was no longer the young man that she had known. Unfriendly, cold and unfamiliar, she no longer felt the intimacy she had felt long ago between the both of them. During the next few days, none of them saw any mutated beasts or insects.


    Luo Yuan walked around the city a few times during that period to ensure their safety. There were a few regr mutated beasts, but he had not encountered any mutated beasts controlled by tentacle crypt worms. Apparently, the tentacle crypt worms had learned their lesson during their earlier battle and did not dare go near Luo Yuan anymore. Perhaps, they had already left the city.


    There was nothing else left, other than a few tiny bugs and regr mutated beasts. It seemed that the tentacle crypt worms had sessfully conquered the entire city because there was nothing left there after their departure. Luo Yuan felt scared as he recalled the battle scene. He felt grateful that he had managed to upgrade his Knife Expertise to Knife Specialist. Had he not, they might not have been able to escape, and the giant lizard and Lao Huang would probably not have been able to survive.


    Luo Yuan knew that once he released his full power, those blue level mutated beasts would lose the ability to attack and kneel before him. The stronger ones would turn around and run away, while the weaker ones, such as light blue mutated beasts, would begin feeling dizzy and throwing up right before they died. White level mutated beasts would be too weak to escape. They would all die instantly.


    Luo Yuan was delighted by his discovery. He would not have to worry about small mutants anymore. Besides, this would be a useful power during a battle against giant beasts. On the other hand, he was thankful that he had not continued the trial and error method inside the train station, or most of them would have died.


    However, he also realized that he would have to pay a higher price for that kind of power. Luo Yuan had noticed that as he grew stronger, his consumption of Sensitivity and Will increased as well. Sometimes, he even felt tired and dizzy, and his head started to hurt.


    Of course, those side effects were trivialpared to the power he had gained. After all, he would only need to use that power if they bumped into a big group of mutated beasts again. He would master it and strengthen his Will and Sensitivity by practicing more.


    Sub-attributes like Intelligence, Sensitivity, and Will manifested in mysterious ways, and Luo Yuan found it tough to understand their connection fully. He could only guess that the three of them were rted to some uncertain biology of the soul. So far, there was no substantial evidence which could prove the existence of a soul. All there was, was human spection and imagination.


    However, the system was able to update its information on sub-attributes by using data analysis. Also, there was a lot more information provided regarding the forecast and strengthened power for each mission hepleted. Luo Yuan was assuming that the system was something beyond human civilization as he was not aware of any theory which could currently justify the existence of the system. Based on the information that he had, people would not even have those powers after 50 or 100 years. Anyway, it was not like his spections would make any difference in the current situation.

 Chapter 165: Testing Poisons

    Chapter 165: Testing Poisons


    Trantor: EndlessFantasy Trantion Editor: EndlessFantasy Trantion


    In a couple of days, there was an awful rotten smell flowing in the air, attracting several mutated flies. Each fly was as big as a frog, and they all had green skin and produced a deafening, noisy sound when they flew. If that were all they could do, then it would not have been that big of a deal. Sound pollution was not that dangerous after all.


    However, that kind of mutant was attracted to wounds and could absorb a bigger volume of blood than its body size. The human skin could not resist such an attack. If one got stung, one might lose a few hundred milliliters of blood. Still, the flies did not pose such a significant threat to them, considering they had spent almost a month in the forest.


    A group of survivors was carefully walking down the moss-covered street. Their clothes were shabby, and their hair and face were filthy. There were many scars with ck bloodstains on their bodies, and some of their wounds were still bleeding, pus dripping out of them. The most disgusting thing about them were the worms crawling on their injuries.


    They were leaning on each other, trying their best to move forward. A very buff, tan guy, was walking ahead of the team. He looked highly alert as he kept checking their surroundings.


    Suddenly, he felt something strange on his arm and hit it without even checking to see what it was. A big fly had been smashed, lying in a small puddle of blood on his palm. Dexterity was crucial for anyone living in the forest. If one didn¡¯t react fast, they would die.


    The man was acting slightly slower as he realized the blood on his palm was his. He frowned and lifted the fly up into the air. He checked it, but he did not notice anything special about it. It did not seem to be venomous either. He looked further up front and realized there were a lot more of them. He had hesitated for a while before he stuffed the fly into his mouth.


    The team had run out of food a day ago. All the dried meat they had kept had been finished, and starvation had taken the lives of three people¡¯s lives. If the insects were edible, then they would have finally found some food. If there was an excess of them, they could sustain them for the next few days. Finding a food source was crucial during the end of the world. Although there were many mutated beasts around, they could not directly attack the stronger ones, and even the weaker ones had be trickier to hunt these days. They would need to put in a lot of effort to catch a few. However, the team was big, and many of them were injured. One beast would not be enough to feed so many mouths.


    Besides, not all living things were edible. Some species could be harmful to the human body. One needed experience and good judgment. However, sometimes survival knowledge was not entirely reliable. Some creatures looked harmless but were venomous. The only way to tell was to examine them one by one. If they were lucky, they might only get a stomachache for a few days. If the creatures were venomous though, they could die. So far, five members of the team had died of food poisoning.


    Besides, it was not safe to test the food by eating the creatures. They had found that there were too many different species after the evolution. It felt like a powerful catalyst had been added to the world, and most living things had entered an uncontroble situation and evolved into thousands of different kinds of creatures.


    ¡°It¡¯s my turn,¡± a pale man walking in the back said.


    Sweat was dripping down his forehead and his nose. One of his legs was damp with his blood, and he had a big wound on one of his thighs. It seemed like his main blood vessels were broken, and he left arge blood print on the ground as he walked. He could hardly move without anyone helping him.


    As he saw the young man hesitate, he smiled helplessly and said, "We can¡¯t break the rules. I know I won¡¯t be able to make it. It won¡¯t benefit anyone if you insist on dragging me along. Let me test the poison. I can¡¯t even move anymore. Let me at least do something for you before I die."


    "Don¡¯t give up, Qian Cheng! We will not give up on any of our friends from Three Camps! Not till death does us part," a guy quickly told Qian Cheng as he sensed his intention to die.


    ¡°Commander, I know my condition. I don¡¯t want to make things worse. Let me stay here. I really can¡¯t take it anymore.¡± The man smiled and struggled away from his friend before slumping down on the ground.


    "Let me have it. Don¡¯t let me die hungry," the man said with a smile. He had seen many of his friends leave them and was no longer afraid of death.


    ¡°Let him have it,¡± themander ordered with a wave.


    The tan man twitched his lips but remained silent. He had gotten used to this a long time ago. It had already happened to the team several times. Those who could not take it had died ormitted suicide. Qian Cheng took the mutated fly from the tan man and stuffed it into his mouth. He tried very hard to chew it and swallowed it.


    He seemed to get worse after eating the fly. Sweat was dripping like water down his face. He waved his hand as he saw someone trying to check on him. He did not want them to go near him.


    Ten minutester, he was not feeling anything. ¡°It¡¯s edible. It¡¯s not venomous,¡± he told his team members before he fell to the ground again.


    He had consumed hisst bit of energy. Suddenly, there was a big puddle of blood under his body. A warrior tried to check his pulse but kept shaking his head. The whole team immediately went silent.


    ¡°Keep walking! We are just 100 kilometers away from Shanghai. We would probably get there in a day if we were walking at a reasonable pace. We might be moving slower now, but based on our current speed, we can still reach it in three or four days¡¯ time. We¡¯re already here. We must get there no matter what!¡± themander said seriously.


    He knew that they would not be able to arrive there in such a short time. The route they were taking was not as advanced as it used to be before the mutation outbreak. There were dangers in the forest, and they could die if they were not careful enough. Plus, their physical condition was not as good as it used to be anymore. Most of them had several injuries and wounds on their bodies. Some of them could even die in their sleep.


    In fact, themander would be grateful if he managed to bring the team to Shanghai in half a month. However, reality was cruel. He knew it was almost impossible as they had lost contact with the main team since the great migration. There had been about 200 members on the first day, and now there were only about ten team members left. Some of the warriors had not even frowned when they¡¯d lost their arms in the battlefield, but they had secretlymitted suicide, no longer able to stand the long journey and the severe injuries. The team gave no response to themander. They were all feeling hopeless.


    Suddenly, someone sensed something strange and shouted, ¡°Commander! There¡¯s something wrong here. It¡¯s too quiet.¡±


    Everyone quickly came to a stop. It dawned upon the team that there have not been any encounters with giant mutated beasts along the journey. It was indeed strange. How peculiar.

 Chapter 166: Excitement

    Chapter 166: Excitement


    Trantor: EndlessFantasy Trantion Editor: EndlessFantasy Trantion


    Even a territory littered with powerful mutated beasts would not be as quiet as their current location. Aside from the tiny flies, there was nothing else. Based on past experiences, the only exnation for the silence was that they were on a radioactive site. However, they realized there were a lot of nts in the area. Apparently, their initial theory had been wrong.


    ¡°Commander, it looks strange. Shall we go back?¡± someone asked desperately.


    Everyone gathered, looking very depressed. Themander looked at them for a second and realized that the scene felt familiar. He knew there would be a few more peoplemitting suicide soon. They had been relying on their will to sustain them until now. Once they gave up, they would all kill themselves.


    ¡°We can¡¯t go back anymore,¡± he said. ¡°We need to keep moving. There¡¯s no way back! Move!¡±


    ¡°I¡¯d rather die than return,¡± another man said.


    ¡°I¡¯d rather die on the journey.¡± someone else mumbled.


    Everyone looked numb. The team was walking at a very slow pace. Suddenly, one of the team members fell to the ground, struggling to get back up. He had no more energy. Everyone could smell an awful scenting from his body. One of the team members tore his shirt off, only to discover that his chest had started to rot. Several worms were crawling in and around his wounds.


    After a while, the team resumed walking. The further the team went, the more flies they could see. A single mutated fly was not scary. Anyone could kill it. However, a group of mutated flies could be very dangerous. Everyone had been paying a lot of attention, but many of them had still not been able to escape the call of death. The flies had sucked their blood until they died.


    Themander looked at the few remaining members of the team and sighed. He began to feel hopeless. He knew it would be difficult for them to defeat the mutated flies. Suddenly, someone noticed something strange.


    "There¡¯s a carcass up ahead. It¡¯s still fresh. It¡¯s yet to be a skeleton."


    Maintaining a carcass for extended periods of time was hard. The rate of dposition was very fast even if no animals were trying to eat the flesh. Worms and bacteria helped dpose the carcasses. In other words, any carcass would go rotten in less than three days.


    ¡°There¡¯s a bullet hole. Someone has been here.¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s also a bullet shell.¡±


    ¡°The beast is about three meters tall and had been killed with a knife. It must have been someone very powerful, or someone that owned an excellent knife,¡± someone said in an incredulous tone.


    The soldiers found more carcasses as they moved on. There was a hill of carcasses blocking the street, emitting an intense, awful smell. As they walked on, they saw a lot more mutated flies and were forced to stop moving forward. Finally, they found a building they where they could seek shelter.


    ¡°Everyonee here. Let¡¯s have a meeting,¡± themander said after performing a safety inspection of the building.


    ¡°We can now confirm that there were several survivors from a battle that must have taken ce a few days ago. Based on the carcasses we have seen, it must have been a big group of survivors,¡± one of them said.


    ¡°These men didn¡¯t have many weapons. I could not find many shells, and knives made most of the wounds on the carcasses. We can¡¯t confirm whether all the mutated beasts were killed by this group, though. If that¡¯s the case, then it must have been a group of powerful soldiers,¡± another man said.


    Everyone took a deep breath, looking a lot more energetic than before. They thought it would have taken 2,000 - 6,000 soldiers with tanks and cannons to kill a few hundred dark blue mutated beasts.


    ¡°If they did not have many bullets, that means a lot of them must have been evolved humans.¡±


    ¡°Evolved men do not possess that kind of power. Although I¡¯ve never met one, a few experienced generals would be enough to kill any beast if they had a sufficient amount of weapons,¡± someone else said.


    ¡°Evolved men are not as weak as that. A short period of training would be sufficient for them to take down a soldier who has been training for five to six years," themander said, shaking his head.


    His status afforded him more knowledge than the rest of the men. If evolved humans were as weak as they thought, the government and army would not have conducted an inspection as fast as they did. They were trying to maintain the social order as well as draw the line. There was even a task force at his military base formed exclusively by evolved humans. Most of them had be senior generals or mayors as soon as they had joined the army, and their sry was much better than his.


    ¡°Stop analyzing such useless things. They just killed all the beasts in the city, so they must still be somewhere in the area, or nning to make Jiaping City their base. We have to find them and treat our friends. toon Wang, give me the map!¡±


    He thought the survivors were going to make this city their base because he did not know anything about the tentacle crypt worm. A man with a big scar on his face took a map out of a stic bag and opened it carefully. It was a 1.5-meter long, 1.5-meter wide map of Jiangnan Province. They could see the main roads of Jiaping City.


    ¡°Based on the current critical situation, they must be residing at the bomb shelter, an underground tunnel or the defense worksite. However, Jiaping City fell a while ago, so there are only two possibilities. Besides, the carcasses are here, so they must be somewhere nearby,¡± he said before he drew a circle on the map.


    ¡°But there are three train stations and a shelter,¡± someone said gloomily.


    ¡°Then we will search them one by one. It¡¯s better than simply going somewhere else," themander said. "All of you with severe injuries will stay here. The rest will split into four groups. Each team will go to one of the locations we mentioned. If you don¡¯t see anyone, retreat immediately. If you find them, ask for assistance. Please be sincere. We are seeking their help after all. We will join their army if they ask us to."


    If this had been before the end of the world, many of them would have protested. Military discipline was as important to the men as their lives. No one would dare do anything even remotely close to treachery. However, no one said a word about it now.


    ¡°That¡¯s the final n. We will depart in half an hour. Now rest!¡± themander said, looking slightly excited.

 Chapter 167: Sorting Out

    Chapter 167: Sorting Out


    Trantor: EndlessFantasy Trantion Editor: EndlessFantasy Trantion


    It had been three peaceful days.


    It was undoubtedly an enjoyable time for Luo Yuan and the rest of the survivors. They could finally get some sleep and not need to worry about the weather the next day or getting attacked by mutated beasts. Most importantly, they did not have to worry about losing their lives.


    Jiaping City had been cleaned up and was temporarily safe. It would take ten to fifteen days for mutated beasts from other areas toe and conquer it.


    The situation also allowed Luo Yuan some private time to think and sort out his abilities.


    He was sitting cross-legged far from the team, in front of the subway station. He closed his eyes, and his ck Zhanmadao was on the concrete floor right in front of him.


    An invincible power surrounded the sword. Any ordinary human would feel it at first nce. Even some mutated flies nearby dared note closer.


    Suddenly, something amazing happened.


    The Zhanmadao started to quiver. At first, Luo Yuan thought that he was hallucinating, but as time passed, it trembled more and more, producing a buzzing vibration. This was caused by the high-frequency vibration of the knife.


    It kept quivering until Luo Yuan suddenly opened his eyes.


    Then the buzzing sound stopped.


    Luo Yuan stood up and pulled out the Zhanmadao. He looked at it carefully with joy in his eyes.


    This was a phenomenon that he had only recently discovered. The more he used the knife, the better it performed. It felt like the knife was the extension of his body, a continuation of his blood. This was not just an illusion; it was happening.


    No matter where the knife was, he could sense it. Even if he asked Huang Jiahui to hide it from him in a ce far away, as far as four to five hundred meters, Luo Yuan would still be able to sense its presence.


    Of course, Wang Shishi had a simr ability. Her telekinesis did not just afford her the ability to sense the Zhanmadao; she was also able to control the sword. However, Luo Yuan was ecstatic to be in control of such an ability. He was not like Wang Shishi, who possessed that power by nature, but an additional ability would at the very least help him survive in a cruel world.


    Luo Yuan was guessing that it was rted to his Will, and not his Intuition because he had been enhancing the Zhanmadao with his Will. It had even left a mark on the sword and created a link between the Zhanmadao and his body.


    Even if one were holding two identical knives, they would still be able to tell which one was theirs when it was in their hand. Anything that they used frequently would bear a sense of familiarity.


    The feeling was even clearer for someone like Luo Yuan, who was able to concentrate his Will and mark his belongings.


    During that time, Luo Yuan had been sorting out his abilities. To some extent, he could not be considered a human being anymore. His strength and abilities were way beyond ordinary, his exceptional body performance showing that he had already evolved into a different species.


    His lung capacity was seven to eight timesrger than ordinary people¡¯s. He could hold his breath for half an hour, and he could eat ten days¡¯ worth of meals in one day. He was still able to maintain his stamina, even if he had not eaten in a few days. He could see a bird a kilometer away, and his nose was like a dog¡¯s. He could smell a variety of subtle smells in the air and even sense the moist density of the air to predict the weather.


    These were just the abilities brought by his physical attributes.


    His Intelligence gave him high-speedputing power, his Intuition gave him a second viewing angle as well as dynamic tracking capabilities, and his Will could make all his wishese true.


    It might not sound as terrifying if these abilities were used individually. However, when they were all used at the same time, it was the greatest power of all. The key was handling and integrating these abilities to create the most efficientbination. In fact, Luo Yuan had felt uncoordinated since he¡¯d left Hedong City. He had gotten all these capabilities through the system attribution in a short time, instead of earning them by training and practicing. As a result, they had not been used correctly. Also, he was tense all the time, so he had not gotten the chance to adapt to his new capabilities, which had caused inuracy when estimating the strength he needed to use during a battle. Fortunately, he had sessfully survived all battles thanks to his luck and physical capabilities, but this had also made Luo Yuan treat this issue with seriousness.


    He was just like a machine with the most advanced technology. Despite their advanced functions, machines still needed to be precise to carry out their tasks. They same theory also applied to humans.


    If a man did not know how high he could jump, how fast he could run, or how strong he had to be to break his chopsticks, how could one expect him to excel at fighting? He was even more dangerous than someone who was not aware of their abilities.


    In short, hisck of coordination was to me.


    What could he do about that, though? Only practice would help.


    Therefore, the past few days Luo Yuan had dedicated a lot of time every day to perform basic exercises, including a variety of high-intensity exercises and Zhanmadao practice. Other than that, what Luo Yuan had done the most was try tai-chi with the elders.


    Huang Jiahui had taught him how to do it. Although it was just the basic form of tai-chi, which was harmless and just helped keep one fit and in good health, it waspletely different in Luo Yuan¡¯s case.


    For him, mastering one was equivalent to mastering everything.


    Luo Yuan was already an expert in using a knife, and the knife skill was an extended skill for boxing. So, as Luo Yuan improved his knife skill, his boxing skill improved along with it. Even though he had never trained in boxing before, when his knife skill reached the expert level, his boxing skill would be over ten points as well.


    He became an expert at tai-chi within a very short period.


    Just in three days of training, Luo Yuan had already mastered the essence of tai-chi. At the same time, his boxing skill had increased to 19 points, just one point away from being a professional. He now looked no different than someone who had been boxing for more than ten years.


    He was not sure if this skill would help him in battle until he used it in a real fight. However, the slow movement of tai-chi was very useful in helping him coordinate and control his strength.


    Suddenly, Luo Yuan frowned and shouted emotionally, "Who¡¯s out there?"


    There was a figure camouged by a vine crouching at a corner not far from the subway station. If it were not for Luo Yuan¡¯s Intuition sensing their breathing, he wouldn¡¯t have been aware of their presence.


    The person did not move. They seemed hesitant, but after a while, they pushed the camouge away and slowly stood up. The man¡¯s body shook a bit, perhaps because of the poor blood cirction in his body after lying down for so long.


    He walked step by step towards the station entrance, ncing at the pile of bones in front of it. Some were human bones while others belonged to mutated beasts. A few of them were still bloody and fresh. The dark subway station looked just like the cave of the devil.


    There was nothing else he could do but make thisst attempt.


    He gritted his teeth and walked into the station.


    Luo Yuan was shocked as he looked at the man. He was dressed in rags, covered in dirt and blood, and his hair was so filthy, it had bugs living inside it. Judging by his appearance, it was difficult to identify him.


    Luo Yuan had met a lot of survivors, but none of them had been as dirty as this man.


    Beggars looked cleaner than him.


    Luo Yuan nced at him, the man¡¯s stance finally giving him a small clue. "Are you a soldier?¡± he asked. ¡°Or did you use to be one? Why are you here?"


    The man felt pressured by Luo Yuan. Despite being an expert at the knife skill, Luo Yuan was still not able to camouge his power. It had hit the man head on.


    His body shook a bit as he said, "Yes, I am a soldier, but I¡¯ve been separated from my team. There are still a bunch of my mates out there half-dead. Our Commander was hoping that...,¡± he suddenly paused, not knowing how to address Luo Yuan. An idea popped in his mind as he continued, ¡°He was hoping that Boss could save us and take us along."


    "Save you? How many of you are there?" Luo Yuan asked as his heart beat fast.


    "Thirteen, maybe less," the soldier answered.


    "Less?" Luo Yuan asked curiously.


    "Before we separated to look for survivors, there were fourteen of us." The soldier looked calm, but his voice trembled a little. One of his mates was gone forever.


    Luo Yuan¡¯s facial expression changed slightly. He suddenly recalled something and asked, ¡°Where are youing from?"


    ¡°Hedong City. We were separated when the mutation hit the city. There were hundreds of us in the team initially, but only a few of us are left now. Please help us... We are all soldiers. We¡¯re good in battle, we won¡¯t bring any trouble to you," said the soldier. Noticing that Luo Yuan was not responding to him, he suddenly kneeled down and bowed, his head hitting the floor hard.


    "Bang... Bang... Bang...!"


    Luo Yuan was shocked and immediately pulled the man up. His forehead was bloody, but the soldier still looked calm. Luo Yuan nodded and said, ¡°I never said no. Please draw a map of the location for me on the ground.¡±


    The soldier was very excited. He kept thanking Luo Yuan as he quickly took a stone and started to draw on the ground.


    Luo Yuan looked at the map. It was only two or three kilometers away from the subway station. He asked a few more questions and then addressed the people behind him, who had alreadye over after watching the scene, "You stay here. I¡¯m going with this man. I¡¯ll be right back."


    He gave Huang Jiahui and Wang Shishi a wink, and the women nodded to show their understanding.


    Although the soldier did not seem to be lying, he still had to remain on alert and be extra careful around him.

 Chapter 168: Battalion Commander Zhou

    Chapter 168: Battalion Commander Zhou


    Trantor: EndlessFantasy Trantion Editor: EndlessFantasy Trantion


    Luo Yuan whistled as soon as he stepped out of the gate. The soldier was initially confused butter widened his eyes and took a few steps back. His hand automatically crept towards his dagger at his hip.


    The ground quaked a little when arge object the size of a small hill could be seen from around 100 meters away. The object was a gigantic beast- approximately a dozen meters long and 6 meters tall. Scars and wounds were spotted all over its body, and its bloodied flesh made it look very intimidating. It grunted while its head pointed towards the sky and smoke that was some ten meters long came out with some sparks.


    The beast was agile, it shook its head and sprinted over quickly. It was hard to describe, but the scene resembled a high-speed train approaching 200 ¨C 300 kilometers per hour!


    The soldier turned pale. He only had a simr experience once, and that image will be forever scarred in his mind. It was during the beast wave when their battalion faced beasts like the one in front of him now. A fourth level beast managed to enter their fortification from a careless mistake and had killed eight soldiers. This was on top of turning over two tanks and causing chaos that increased the death toll to more than fifty people. In the end, it met its doom at the hands of a few machine guns.


    To the soldier, the appearance of such a beast was akin to seeing death itself. However, the calmness of Luo Yuan and his signaling whistle earlier had the solder thinking. Even though he was a nervous wreck, he managed to stay rooted without fleeing or attacking and said with much difficulty, ¡°You...¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry. I see that it¡¯s a bit far from here to where you guys rested. Walking will take too much time, why not ride my lizard?¡± Luo Yuan said with a smile. Just as he finished, the giant lizard had already slowed down and arrived in front of Luo Yuan. After three days of rest and light green level food, in addition to its incredible self-healing ability, it was already feeling much better despite not looking like it.


    The lizard leaned towards Luo Yuan¡¯s chest and snuggled against him - looking exactly like a yful puppy. However, the scene looked anything but cute to an ordinary person. Luo Yuan tapped the lizard¡¯s back and hopped on it. He then spoke to the soldier, ¡°Come up too.¡± The soldier gritted his teeth and nodded.


    ¡°It must be true that a soldier who has returned from the battlefield is not as easily frightened of mutated beastpared to ordinary people,¡± Luo Yuan thought. However, when he pulled the soldier up, he realized that the man had frozen like a statue with his muscles tensed like a rock.


    Luo Yuan felt like he had aplished his purpose. Was the distance that far? Not exactly! They would have arrived within 15 minutes if they just walked. There was no need to bring the lizard along. His sole purpose for doing so was to intimidate the soldier. No knives or guns could do that better than the massive creature in his possession.


    Integrating a group into another group, particrly when a smaller group would absorb arger group was hard to do without a strong leader. Strong not in the sense of attitude but rather their capabilities to lead. It was especially so when the other party consists of battalion soldiers - a group that was so highly disciplined and spirited was the hardest to get along with. Luo Yuan neither expected nor imagined that he could have thempletely on his side. He only hoped that they would not cause his group any trouble.


    Although the giant lizard did not run, the journey had only taken them 3 minutes. The soldier almost fell when he hopped off the creature. His legs were giving up on him. Luo Yuan looked at the entrance without any intention of going in. He said, ¡°Go let your mates know and ask them all toe out.¡± The soldier either had a quiet personality or was too shy to speak to strangers. He nodded stiffly and went into the crumbled building instantly.


    Luo Yuan waited in silence as he leaned on the lizard¡¯s back. Within a few minutes, an unkempt middle-aged man who looked like the leader came out from a hole in the building followed by five other people who looked the same. They looked closely at the gigantic beast as they walked towards Luo Yuan. Although they seemed to have mentally prepared for it, their halted steps showed that they were still fearful. To conceal their fear, they decided to walk over briskly.


    ¡°Hello, nice to meet you. I¡¯m Zhou Yicheng, the battalionmander of this battalion. May I know your name?¡± The middle-aged man said with a forced smile. He looked like he had put in a lot of effort to smile, but maybe the muscles he needed had not been used for a long time as his gesture was incredibly stiff.


    ¡°It¡¯s Luo. Battalion Commander Zhou, let¡¯s skip the pleasantries. I¡¯ve heard that you guys intend to join us?¡± Luo Yuan spoke directly. The middle-aged man was taken aback by his directness and sighed, ¡°Yes. There¡¯s nothing to be ashamed of. We¡¯ve exhausted all our resources here. There¡¯s nothing else for us to do but to wait for our deaths. I¡¯m the battalionmander; I don¡¯t want myrades to die with me, so please take us in.¡±


    ¡°Nothing to worry about, Battalion Commander Zhou. Survivors are rare these days. We¡¯ll help out if we can but our team doesn¡¯t have a lot of people- there are even a few girls with us. To prevent unnecessary friction and misunderstanding in the future, there¡¯s something I must say first.¡± Luo Yuan said coldly.


    The man and the soldiers sneaked another nce at the lizard. The former smiled forcefully as he said helplessly, ¡°Please, speak.¡± Luo Yuan went right ahead, ¡°I believe your soldiers have high integrity and discipline. Since you guys intend to join us, I only have one condition - that is for you and your team to be disciplined and follow orders. If you can¡¯t do that, you can go back to where you came from. Do you think you and your team can you do that, Battalion Commander Zhou?¡± Luo Yuan directed the question to themander but was looking at all of them as well.


    Zhou Yicheng closed his eyes and opened them a momentter. In an exhausted manner, he said, ¡°This is what we should do. I understand.¡± He took a deep breath and turned towards the other soldiers to speak, ¡°We¡¯ve alreadye this far... Everyone¡¯s tried their best. From this moment on... I¡¯m no longer your battalionmander, and you¡¯re all not soldiers anymore. You hear?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    The replies were scattered. Some were firm while some sounded hesitant. Some of the soldiers even shed some tears. Luo Yuan took in the reactions. It did not matter whether they were genuine or acting. Regardless of their answers, how they acted in the future was far more important.


    He turned towards Zhou Yicheng and asked, ¡°I thought there were about a dozen of you? Why are there only 6?¡±


    ¡°Five of us are injured, and there are another two who have yet to return,¡± Zhou Yicheng said bitterly.


    ¡°Injured?¡± Luo Yuan asked.


    Zhou Yicheng¡¯s expression saddened as he knew that an injured member would be aplete burden to a surviving group. He could not gauge the attitude behind Luo Yuan¡¯s tone and quickly said, ¡°They can still walk. They¡¯re the best soldiers! As long as... they rest for some time.¡±


    ¡°I think you¡¯ve misunderstood me. Bring out the injured members. I can heal them when we return to our temporary shelter,¡± Luo Yuan said knowing what was on Zhou Yicheng¡¯s mind.


    ¡°That¡¯s wonderful!¡± Zhou Yicheng was ecstatic.


    The other soldiers were delighted as well, and a few of the impatient ones were already going into the building to retrieve their injuredrades.


    ¡°As for the pair who has yet to return, give me their coordinates. I¡¯ll go look for them,¡± Luo Yuan continued.


    ¡°Okay, great.¡± Zhou Yicheng was surprised and said, ¡°Bring the map over quickly.¡±


    Luo Yuan went out on his lizard but when he returned he only brought one person as the other had already died.


    When he delivered the news, there was no extreme reaction other than silence. It was toomon for them who have struggled in conditions no different from hell and survived.


    The team departed quickly.


    There was a total of 13 people- Luo Yuan and the 12 remaining survivors. This was nothing for the lizard as everyone fitted nicely on its broad back. Half an hourter, they made it back.


    All the injured members were immediately carried inside the subway station.


    ¡°Prepare plenty of food and hot water. Is Chen Xianfeng not back yet?¡± Luo Yuan spoke while walking.


    ¡°He¡¯ll most probably be back before lunch,¡± Cao Lin answered.


    ¡°Mm... let me know when you see him.¡± Luo Yuan then turned and spoke to Zhou Yicheng, ¡°Everything is limited here but if you notice anythingcking or unsatisfactory do let me know.¡±


    Zhou Yicheng sighed and said, ¡°Sorry for the trouble.¡±


    Luo Yuan waved, ¡°You¡¯re not taking me as one of your own if you remain so courteous. You can only do greater things once you¡¯re all well fed and rested. Besides, there¡¯s something I¡¯d like to mention first. This area is just our temporary shelter. We¡¯ll depart again after five to six days. At that point, you guys can decide whether you prefer to stay or leave with us.¡±


    Zhou Yicheng quickly asked, ¡°Brother...Brother Luo, where you are heading to?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s getting more and more dangerous here, especially since Jiangnan Province is near to the sea. The earlier we leave, the better the chances we have at surviving.¡± Luo Yuan then thought about the turtle and got into a trance. He had always had a bad premonition. The ocean made up 70% of the earth, and the amount of living creatures it contained would far exceed those onnd. In addition to the length of time since the outbreak, they would have long evolved into much stronger entities inparison to those onnd. Once these creatures, or even just a small portion of them, moved towards thend, the ecology of thend would be destroyed without a doubt.


    He snapped out of the trance and continued, ¡°To the northwest, around Tamakan. We¡¯ve heard that they are reconstructing that area so it should be safer there.¡± Zhou Yicheng did not reveal anything, but he asked, ¡°Which route are you taking?¡±


    ¡°We¡¯ll take the state highway through Jiaping passing Anhui Province and Beihu Province. The deeper inside it is, the safer it will be.¡± Luo Yuan had thought long and hard after staring at the map. Zhou Yicheng seemed to want to speak but hesitated. After a while, he decided to talk, ¡°Why not through Hucheng City?¡±


    Luo Yuan was startled. He realized from Zhou Yicheng¡¯s tone that he seemed to be hiding something. Luo Yuan said, ¡°Is there anything you are not telling me? Or is there something you know?¡± Zhou Yicheng suddenly felt as though the sky had darkened and the air around him thickened. Breathing seemed to be a chore, and his heart lost a beat. What is happening? His steeled resolve allowed him to stay calm. His eyes were ncing around but could not notice a trace of strangeness. By now, his vision darkened, which was a sign that he was about to faint. Just as he felt like he was losing consciousness, the feeling disappeared all of a sudden, just like how it hade. ¡°I¡¯m sorry. I still can¡¯t control my aura.¡± Luo Yuan said apologetically. It had happened quite a few times now in the past few days which made most people afraid to go near him.


    Zhou Yicheng could not respond. He was gulping for oxygen like a fish out of water. He finally recovered after some time and said. ¡°It¡¯s alright. I¡¯m at fault for not being clear. This is not considered confidential now anyway.¡± There was nothing else Zhou Yicheng could say. Whether the episode earlier was a threat or simply Luo Yuan losing control, he ought to behave ordingly being under someone else¡¯s shelter. He arranged his words and spoke slowly, ¡°You should know that the reconstruction area is China¡¯sst resort and final base to counterattack.¡±


    Luo Yuan nodded. Of course he understood. Countless of simr incidents had happened throughout history, and this was the result of exchanging space for time. The only difference between now and then is that the enemy used to be humans instead of mutated beasts.


    ¡°Yeah, this is the government¡¯s n but everything happened too quickly. Who knew that the situation would worsen at such a rapid speed? There¡¯s no time to prepare at all.¡± Zhou Yicheng said. He then continued, ¡°ording to what I know, despite a significant amount of construction work being done there, they have onlypleted phase 1 and 2. Sourcing for suchrge quantities of equipment and raw materials needed was not an easy task.


    Hucheng City is the country¡¯s center for finance and technology. Its status is unparalleled in the whole of China. It is seen as invaluable since it developedbs containing a lot of advanced equipment. The country simply cannot and will not give it up. There are a few of such cities, and none of them have given uppletely.


    ¡°How do you know? This type of information is highly ssified. Its exposure could leave all survivors mad.¡± Luo Yuan asked.


    ¡°One of the people in-charge of Hucheng City is my friend in military school. He coded the message to me but that phone is destroyed now.¡± Zhou Yicheng changed his expression and told Luo Yuan seriously, ¡°Send us to Hucheng City. I¡¯ll bring you guys to the reconstruction area. A few additional people on arge aircraft would not be a problem.¡±

 Chapter 169: Goal

    Chapter 169: Goal


    Trantor: EndlessFantasy Trantion Editor: EndlessFantasy Trantion


    ¡°Mission: Level B Mission, send a group of soldiers to Hucheng City¡¯s secret military base; Mission Requirement: Number of soldiers including Zhou Yicheng must not be less than 6 people; Time: 1 week.¡±


    The system¡¯s notification rang in Luo Yuan¡¯s mind. He was a little stunned, not expecting the system to suddenly give out a mission.


    He thought about it carefully. Zhou Yicheng did not look like he was lying about the fact that Hucheng City still had a secret military base. If Zhou Yicheng did not navigate them, they would not be able to find the base so he must stay alive.


    The odd thing was the number of people required to be kept alive was rather lenient as there were 12 soldiers present. Level B missions were usually not too dangerous to Luo Yuan. He was quite excited to take the risk in exchange for a favor. It was worth it in his opinion. The only uncertainty was whether or not Zhou Yicheng would follow through on his promise. It was hard to tell, and the mission notification had no information on that. Should he follow his previous n or take this risk?


    Luo Yuan made his decision after a quick thought.


    Hucheng City was nearby Jiaping- within 100 kilometers. This was a rare opportunity and he had to grasp onto it no matter how slim the chances might be. Even if it does not work out, he would only lose a couple of days on his journey.


    As for danger, there was nowhere that was not dangerous right now. Therefore, Luo Yuan was confident enough to ept a Level B mission.


    Zhou Yicheng stared at Luo Yuan nervously. Thetter¡¯s eyebrows were locked in a frown as he tried to maintain a straight face. Zhou Yicheng could not even guess his thoughts. When Luo Yuan¡¯s frown softened, it was more obvious that he had made his decision. Zhou Yicheng was instantly on edge.


    ¡°How sure are you?¡± Luo Yuan looked at him as he asked and then rified, ¡°I mean the part about having all of us on the ne.¡±


    He spoke slowly and tried to say it in a calm tone, but it brought a massive amount of pressure to Zhou Yicheng. What should have quicklye out of his mouth remained stuck in his throat. He thought over his words with care and finally said, ¡°Honestly, not one bit. I haven¡¯t contacted my friend in a long time; I don¡¯t even know if he¡¯s still on duty. And even if he¡¯s still in the military, I¡¯m not sure if he can persuade anyone. Also, this is extremely confidential, and we can¡¯t just enter even though we¡¯re on the same side... So, I¡¯m not sure at all. It¡¯s up to you whether you¡¯re willing to take the risk. I can only say that I¡¯ll try my best and won¡¯t let you guys be ill-treated.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t they also save survivors?¡± Luo Yuan asked.


    Zhou Yicheng was shocked and took a wrinkled cigarette out from his pocket. He only started speaking after puffing the cigarette lightly, ¡°The reconstruction area has long been built. Those who have heard of it would have heard of it ages ago. In addition to the massive migration by the country¡¯s organizations, there¡¯s at least one to two million people if not three to four million there. Those with high potential and talents made up most of the poption there too. Food, necessities, work, resources, defense, etc. The government would already be having a hard time. If I¡¯m politically incorrect, I would say the reconstruction area does notck ordinary people. Of course, if all of you here are evolved people, there¡¯s probably 50 ¨C 60% hope, but I don¡¯t think that¡¯s possible.¡±


    China has too many people. Tamakan¡¯s resources and space could never amodate for so many people. Luo Yuan thought about it and finally sighed in reply, ¡°This is just your assumption. I¡¯ll try as long as there¡¯s a slight chance.¡±


    ¡°You agree with the n then?¡± Zhou Yicheng was more than excited. Luo Yuan nodded and replied, ¡°This trip will be dangerous. You guys need to recover quickly and make some preparations. What weapons do you all need?¡±


    ¡°Are there guns? As long as there are guns we are good. My warriors have alle back from blood-soaked battlefields. I would not go so far as to call them sniper gods but they¡¯re close. We¡¯ve gone from more than four hundred people what we have left today. They¡¯re all sharpshooters,¡± Zhou Yicheng spoke. His eyes were moist when he got to the end.


    Although Luo Yuan had heard about it once, he was still shaken to hear about the hardships these soldiers had experienced. To be able to survive under such harsh conditions was incredible. Even their determination alone was enough to impress Luo Yuan. Those with weaker wills would havemitted suicide by now. Huang Jiahui and Huo Dong¡¯s experiences were nothingpared to theirs.


    ¡°There are guns but not here. They¡¯re in the nearby fortification. Rifles, machine guns, snipers... I can get them all. If you guys can drive tanks, there¡¯s also one over there but I don¡¯t rmend it since the journey is mostly through the forest,¡± Luo Yuan said.


    ¡°We¡¯re not afraid of anything if we have these weapons.¡± Zhou Yicheng said in appreciation.


    Then came amotion.


    ¡°Shit, mutated beast!¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s a mutated human.¡±


    ¡°Everyone hide, quick!¡±


    The soldiers all withdrew - some rolled to corners and most of them already had daggers in their hands ready to attack.


    A human form creature about 10 feet tall filled with cuticles all over its body stepped into the subway station¡¯s foyer. It almost had nothing human about it left, especially its face. Its cuticles seemed to serve as an armor to protect it.


    To outsiders, Chen Xianfeng looked like a huge threat! His right hand held a skeletal bone that was about 2 meters long and had the width of a human thigh. It was still stained with blood and brain mush. His left hand dragged a three meter long and one-meter tall rodent-like creature. He looked exactly like a giant who had returned to his home after hunting.


    Seeming to be disturbed by the situation, Chen Xianfeng¡¯s green eyes scanned the unfamiliar faces. His vicious, sharp teeth were bared for all to see and he looked like he was going to go berserk at any moment. But just as he was getting more restless, Luo Yuan¡¯s voice felt like a bucket of iced water poured down on him. Chen Xianfeng instantly took a few steps back and lowered his head.


    ¡°Chen Xianfeng, calm down. Put the food down,¡± Luo Yuan said.


    Chen Xianfeng grunted in agreement and left the foyer.


    ¡°Brother Luo, this...this is?¡± Zhou Yicheng asked in shock.


    ¡°The result of failed mutation. Thankfully, his ability to reason remains.¡± Luo Yuan seemed to notice that Zhou Yicheng¡¯s was thinking about something as he continued, ¡°He won¡¯t harm anyone with me around. He¡¯s really strong and we used to be on the same team. We¡¯ll see how it goes.¡±


    Zhou Yicheng then swallowed his thoughts. Luo Yuan left a deep impression on him in just half an hour of them getting along. He was straightforward and no-nonsense. One could feel involuntarily pressured and submissive even when he is just speaking casually. Even the head of military did not impose such oppressive energy. If he could, he would not want to go near him at all.


    ¡°This person was undoubtedly the heart of this group- the ultimate center of its heart. A formidable hero who emerged out of the chaotic times.¡± Zhou Yicheng wondered inwardly. Arge volume of water was boiled at that point. Jiaping City was a water vige; streams were everywhere so water was not scarce at all. Huo Dong, Lin Xiaoji, and the few soldiers were carefully rinsing the injured members¡¯ wounds.


    Most of these wounds were old injuries- abscesses and maggots had already grown in most of them. Huo Dong and Lin Xiaoji frowned and felt nauseous, not knowing how or where to begin. One of the soldiers was disgruntled and said, ¡°Let¡¯s do it. Do you guys have a knife?¡±


    ¡°Yes, yes,¡± Huo Dong was a little abashed. He quickly pulled out his dagger and passed it over.


    The soldier then heated the de of the dagger in the fire and told the injured member to hold his breath. Thetter nodded, ¡°Come at me, the pain¡¯s just momentary.¡± The soldier took a deep breath and poked the dagger lightly into the wound, slicing off the rotten flesh around it carefully. The action was gentle and smooth and only stopped when fresh red blood trickled down. The wound had now be a big hole, deep enough to see the injured soldier¡¯s bones. He turned to Huo Dong and asked for some bullets.


    ¡°Are these enough?¡± Huo Dong asked as he passed over a bunch.


    ¡°The more, the better. We have a lot of injured members here.¡±


    Huo Dong then took out another bunch of bullets.


    The soldier noticed that Huo Dong¡¯s bullets were made of a weird material but did notment.


    The following scene was bloodcurdling. After some time, the injured soldier grunted and straightened his body, his forehead dotted withrge droplets of sweat but he did not faint.


    ¡°Great, go on.¡±


    The soldier¡¯s hand did not stop treating each abscess. Each cut was apanied by a suppressed grunt as the injured soldier¡¯s body was adorned with another deep hole.


    Huo Dong realized that his body already had a lot of simr holes- each of them looking like a baby¡¯s mouth. Huo Dong thought about it and asked, ¡°Don¡¯t you all have bullets?¡±


    ¡°We do but not many. We can¡¯t waste them here. We have to use them in critical situations,¡± the soldier answered without hesitation.


    Huo Dong sucked in a cold breath and walked away pulling a stunned Lin Xiaoji with him. He then said, ¡°Are they machines? They can still walk with such serious injuries. I¡¯ve seen fearless ones but I¡¯ve never seen anything like this!¡± Lin Xiaoji was also shocked and replied, ¡°Yeah, I heard they came from Hedong City as well. It¡¯s hard to imagine them being able to walk until here. I¡¯ve also heard that a lot have died. They¡¯re all really capable though.¡± Huo Dong sighed. It was already really difficult for him toe to this stage, flirting with death so many times now. But, he still owed his life to Boss Luo. He then asked, ¡°What about the soldiers?¡± Lin Xiaoji continued his story, ¡°There were a few hundred I guess. It¡¯s a battalion, it¡¯s gonna be several hundred regardless. But perhaps not all of them are as capable. If they were without guns, maybe they¡¯d be wiped out within a second.¡±


    Huo Dong stared at Lin Xiaoji who looked serious. Huo Dong was trying to see if Lix Xioaji was just making up stories but the more Huo Dong looked at him, the more repulsive he felt.


    ¡°What are you two doing sitting there? Come help!¡± Cao Lin shouted.


    ¡°I¡¯m going to help,¡± Huo Dong dusted his butt and walked towards them.


    The beast was skinned and its stomach cut open and emptied. After some simple rinsing and cutting, everything along with its innards was thrown into the stone pot. The water was already boiling so cooked flesh and fatty parts could be seen floating. The aroma was enough to make anyone salivate. On instinct, all the soldiers looked towards the pot and gulped. Even Zhou Yicheng did the same.


    ¡°The food smells so good,¡± a soldier could not help but utter.


    ¡°I think...I can drink a pot of soup tonight. The kind of big pot made from stone,¡± another soldier said while licking his lips.


    ¡°Oh please, I can eat as much as there is!¡± another soldier said.


    ¡°Everyone, control yourselves...,¡± a soldier reminded hisrades.


    ¡°Should I add the food cubes?¡± Wang Xiaguang asked as she stirred the pot¡¯s contents.


    ¡°We don¡¯t have much left... but never mind, let¡¯s add a little. Not too much, one-third is enough. Too much might end up harming them,¡± Huang Jiahui thought and said. They were left with 17 cubes now since the two beasts were being fed with green level food these few days.


    These were precious resources and could save lives in critical situations. The consumption of each cube was made after much consideration but these people were too weak, they would notst the journey if they were not being nourished.


    ¡°I¡¯ll go get it!¡± Wang Shishi left what she was doing and skipped towards the bag containing the cubes in a hidden corner. She took a cube out and sliced a piece about a finger¡¯s size with a dagger before stuffing it into her mouth, looking like a content cat.


    Honestly, these food cubes did not have much texture to them but they had some magic that kept pulling one back to eat it. Also, the warmth it brought was as good as thefort one felt after taking a hot shower. This was the best tidbit for girls like her in this era without junk food.


    She quickly proceeded to cut one-third of the cube and returned.


    An indescribable aroma permeated the atmosphere around them once the small food cube was dropped into the pot. It smelled simr to the scent earlier yet it was different as it exuded a tempting fragrance that put people on edge. The few soldiers could not hold back anymore and crowded around the pot.

 Chapter 170: Sea Level

    Chapter 170: Sea Level


    Trantor: EndlessFantasy Trantion Editor: EndlessFantasy Trantion


    The soldiers reluctantly returned to where they had initially been sitting after being chided by Zhou Yicheng, but their eyes never left the big pot.


    Zhou Yicheng was rather embarrassed and remarked softly, ¡°These rascals...¡±


    Luo Yuanughed and said, ¡°It looks like you guys are starving, but please wait a bit longer. The rice is still not ready. Besides, all of you can take this time to tidy up.¡±


    Zhou Yicheng quickly understood what Luo Yuan meant upon a quick nce at his appearance as well as hispanions. They looked like beggars who rolled in mud. The worst part is that they all carried a strong stench with them. It was even to the point that they would find it difficult to swallow if they were to eat around people like them.


    The soldiers abruptly went to clean themselves with the hot water that was prepared.


    Amidst their shower, Chen Xianfeng came back with two small beasts and stayed in a corner. He was watching everything with his highly perceptive eyes. No one paid attention to him though, except for the soldiers, since the rest were used to him after so many days.


    Going back to the food... Luo Yuan said there was rice, but it wasn¡¯t rice grains or wheat flour. Those were either depleted or extinct in this era. The rice he was referring to was a type of mutated nt. Nobody knew what it was but it was round and the size of basketballs which had an exterior as hard as a shell along with thick roots. This was just its budding state though. Once grown, the shell would crack and grow into a small tree about 5 meters tall within a night. This was a result of survival of the fittest¨C the miracle of evolution in a race to continue the nt¡¯s lineage under harsh circumstances.


    For it to grow into a 5-meter tall tree overnight, the ball-sized nt must contain a significant amount of starch, vitamins, and minerals. That was why it weighed almost 15 kilograms despite its size. Husking the shell of the nt would result in a ball that couldst Luo Yuan and the gang up to 6 days. If it were properly preserved, its freshness couldst up to a week. Besides, its texture was not too bad. It was smooth and sticky with a pleasant fragrance. Luo Yuan had umted lots of it once they discovered the nt. Too bad the nt was scarce and hard to find, so he only managed to find 12 of them after a long search.


    ¡°Rice¡± was ready soon enough and the soldiers devoured the food. They had been starving for a long time. Luo Yuan suspected that the soldiers would have eaten a lot more if not for the limited amount of food avable. Not a grain of rice nor a drop of soup was left after just a few short minutes. The appetites of the injured soldiers were not affected by their injuries. Due to this, Luo Yuan only managed to get a small bowl of rice. The women wereughing at his utterly dejected expression.


    After the meal, the soldiers looked as though they were high on drugs or alcohol. They had consumed way too much food. Their bodies were malnourished and would have probably already given up on them if not for their sheer determination. The nutritious mutated food they just ate was akin toing across an oasis in the desert.


    Zhou Yicheng and hisrades could not understand their drowsiness. They assumed that they were sleep deprived for so long and could now finally rx. In a matter of moments, their heads were on the table, fast asleep and snoring.


    Looking at the ufortable postures of the soldiers, Luo Yuan made the others give some of their tents up to allow the soldiers to have a better rest. He then took a food cube and went out of the subway station.


    A long walk and a small tremorter, the giant lizard appeared in front of Luo Yuan.


    The lizard seemed to be taken aback when Luo Yuan threw his food cube at it, but it quickly stretched out its neck and caught the cube, swallowing without bothering to chew it. It was very excited to see Luo Yuan, and as usual, it snuggled its head in Luo Yuan¡¯s chest.


    Luo Yuan smiled and hopped onto the lizard. The creature sprinted into the distance under his instruction. The food cube was precious but time was even more so at this stage. The time set toplete the mission was a week. It was not exactly a long journey- only around 100 kilometers, but the soldiers needed to recover. Their two beasts as well! The giant lizard was doing better with at least 60% of its abilities now restored, but Lao Huang was still seriously injured with a severe limp. Furthermore, the unpredictable dangers along the journey could cause all sorts of dys to the mission.


    The faster their pet beasts can recover, the stronger their defense will be during the mission. Therefore, this was not the time to be stingy on the food cubes. The giant lizard¡¯s loyalty was now over the moon after being regrly fed food cubes by Luo Yuan. Although this could easily change at any time, it was undeniable that the lizard had be more obedient.


    The giant lizard sprinted and howled across the city! Since there was no threat to it here anymore, it instinctively announced its authority... until Luo Yuan pped it! The lizard then sadly shut its mouth.


    The fortification at the sea bridge was 30 ¨C 40 kilometers away from Jiaping City, but it was already in sight after some ten minutes of sprinting on the lizard. Luo Yuan suddenly felt the lizard slowing down as its steps got heavier. Immediately, he was alerted.


    Luo Yuan observed his surroundings and noticed the strong wind and salty moisture in the air. The ground looked damp with traces of water seen asionally.


    ¡°Traces of water?¡±


    Luo Yuan was bewildered as it had not been raining.


    He pped the lizard again, and it stopped at once. Luo Yuan hopped off and studied the cement ground closely. Sands and stones were all around, but there was ayer of grayish white particles on their surface.


    ¡°It¡¯s sea salt.¡± He thought to himself after tasting some.


    He walked forward slowly with a face that was getting more and more serious over time. Some shell creatures appeared further in front. There wererge ones like houses and small ones the size of fingernails. Some in striking colors and others were in. Some were even dull like rocks. They were not only on the highway, but they were also in the farnd and forest.


    As he moved forward, the numbers of creatures, he could see increased.


    Suddenly, a sound came from the highway,


    ¡° Cha ¨C cha ¨C cha.¡±


    Three fierce looking crabs each the size of a water tank sped towards Luo Yuan from a corner. Not waiting for Luo Yuan to pull out his Zhanmadao, his giant lizard already leaped ahead andnded in front of the crabs. These crabs seemed to becking in the intelligence department as they began attacking without even analyzing their surroundings first.


    With its mouth wide open, the lizard easily caught one of the crabs and crushed it with its jaws, swallowing it along with its shell. Just as the other two wanted to flee, the lizard pinned one down with its ws and crushed it. It used its fire breath to attack the other one which was about to escape.


    ¡°Hong!¡±


    The me had a shape of a mushroom cloud and made a hole in the ground, burning the crab into ashes. Although the lizard had done well, Luo Yuan frowned. He pretty much understood the lizard¡¯s behavior now that both of them had spent more time together. It was fine if the lizard attacked the three light blue to blue level crabs regrly but spewing fire was its least used attack because of arge amount of damage it had on itself. Each time it used this attack, it needed a few days to recover, so it was rarely used unless they faced a great enemy.


    The lizard was acting strangely. It seemed rather anxious and too easily agitated. The only exnation for this behavior was that there was something else causing the lizard anxiety. Luo Yuan tapped the lizard¡¯s back tofort it and had it stay down to rest.


    The lizard had not recovered from the battle. If there were a problem right now, it would certainly be an issue to them. Luo Yuan stayed down and ran towards the front. His actions were light and fast and seemed to be in a rhythm ¨C looking like an agile leopard.


    He avoided many shells that looked harmless, as well as some strange looking creatures. Mutated shells creatures were no longer the helpless things they were pre-apocalypse. Their movements were quick now in addition to their strong defense. Battling them was difficult, especially when some could even spit corrosive acid.


    Some shells hide actual danger underneath them. Luo Yuan noticed that one of the shells was open and out came a colorful sea snake that was extremely venomous! Fortunately, these could not cause much harm to Luo Yuan due to his evolved state. The further he got, the stronger the sea breeze and the harsher the waves. If he remembered correctly, there were no waves at all in thest few days. It seemed unlikely that the salt water under the sea bridge could cause such waves and affect the moisture in the air so drastically.


    After 10 minutes, he was finally a little relieved when he got to the fortification. The structure was on the high ground, so the seawater had yet to seep in. Otherwise, all their weapons would have been useless by now. Luo Yuan did not enter right away but decided to go further forward.


    A few minutester, he arrived at the edge of the sea bridge. The bridge was more damaged nowpared to a few days before. The parts of the sea werepletely wrecked, with only a pier still standing strong in lonesome. However, he was not paying attention to this.


    A borderless ocean greeted his eyes. Whatid at the other end seemed like a mirage now under the effects of the water vapor. This bay that was parched a few days ago but is now full of seawater. Suddenly, arge whirlpool appeared in the water as arge shadow paddled across the surface. Luo Yuan subconsciously took a few steps back. When he got out of his daze, the beast was gone without a trace, leaving his forehead drenched in sweat.


    Although it was just a glimpse, the aura it brought was enough to cause palpitations. He dared not go nearer anymore, withdrawing several hundred meters away. He held onto the steel railing of the bridge and looked downwards, unable to suppress his curiosity. If his memory had not failed him, this should have been arge piece of salinend and not the sea that was less than 3 meters below the bridge. Luo Yuan did some calctions and realized that the coastline had to have pushed in at least 7 kilometers for this to happen.


    The viges and hotels in his memories were engulfed by the seawater now. This bay was usually dry pre-apocalypse. Even during the few months of high tide, the water would only form a shallowyer, nothing close to the situation today. Moreover, factoring in the current time of year, high tide has not even begun so why was there such a phenomena?


    Unless...


    Luo Yuan suddenly thought of something and was horrified by his realization.


    ¡°Sea level... the sea level has risen! Damn it!¡± Luo Yuan mumbled to himself.


    The global mutation and warming first affected the living creatures, and now it has reached the ice in north and south poles. Over time, they would only keep increasing until the cier formed a new bnce with the current temperature.


    The increase in sea level could only bring serious side effects. Most of the coastal areas would be part of the ocean. Jiangnan Province was averagely five to six meters above sea level, and this was including the mountains and hilly areas. The altitude would be lower if it were just tnd. Within a few years, the whole province would most probably be part of the ocean, leaving behind only a few deserted inds. As for Hucheng, its altitude is even lower with an average of 4 meters. Other than Dajinshan, most of the areas left were less than 4 meters above sea level. It seemed that these would no longer exist for long now.

 Chapter 171: Resolved

    Chapter 171: Resolved


    Trantor: EndlessFantasy Trantion Editor: EndlessFantasy Trantion


    Luo Yuan sincerely believed that they were already in hell, but the truth is that whatid before his eyes proved to be much worse. He could not imagine what the future would be like upon gazing into the distance. With the coastlineing inwards, numerous survivor bases built around the coastal area would be engulfed in water, leading to the inevitable deaths of its upants. This much, he understood- the living environment for humankind would only get worse from here onward.


    He went back to the fortification with sadness in his thoughts, copsing into a corner with some force. He looked lost in thought, but his mind was empty. Luo Yuan looked up and noticed the sky had darkened. He snapped himself out of his trance and quickly tried to think of what to do next.


    ¡°Can¡¯t wait no more. We have to leave here as soon as possible. Probably have to depart first thing tomorrow morning.¡±


    For some reason, he had a premonition that the ce would be immensely dangerous if they did not leave soon. He stood up and rummaged for the required firearms. Luo Yuan retrieved two sniper rifles, 18 rifles, along with a few boxes of grenades and bullets. He even found a dozenbat suits in the closet. The soldiers¡¯ uniforms were ripped and worn out, so these were very handy.


    With a whistle, the lizard came to him at the entrance looking troubled. It was grunting continuously. Luo Yuanforted it and went out to chop a rattan. Skinning the bark off to make some strong ropes, he tied the few boxes into a bundle and hung them onto the lizard¡¯s back.


    When Luo Yuan got onto the lizard, it ran like a fleeing prey before its owner even gave out amand. Under the setting sun, Luo Yuan turned and looked towards the damaged sea bridge thinking this was probably thest time he would see it.


    However, he suddenly stopped the lizard when they passed one of the streets. He jumped off and went to the side of a building. Pushing away some rattan which revealed a huge rock. Of course, it was easy for him to move the rock, so he pushed it away to enter a hole that was about a meter tall. The building was a supermarket, the one he had gone to a few days earlier which still had a group of survivors. Now that the bay was no longer existent, Luo Yuan felt obliged to notify them as a fellow survivor. This action was basic morality- the value that Luo Yuan held close to his heart.


    It was up to them if they chose to listen or not. Luo Yuan was no longer affected by life and death after being through so much. He hurriedly got to the fourth floor where the survivors were hiding. The steel door that Luo Yuan damaged previously was already reced with a new one.


    He knocked on the door and asked, ¡°Is there anyone here?¡±


    His voice echoed in the quiet, empty supermarket.


    ¡°Don¡¯t be nervous, if you recognize my voice, I came here a few days ago,¡± Luo Yuan continued.


    After what felt like a long 10 seconds, there was finally a reply.


    ¡°Damn it, shut up. What do you want? Have you not taken enough? We have nothing else!¡± A person said in a suppressed voice, his toneced with anger and anxiety. The man continued, ¡°You¡¯re too loud! It¡¯ll cause us trouble! Everyone will die because of you!¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t talk to him! He¡¯s bad luck. If he didn¡¯te in the other time, Xiaofeng wouldn¡¯t have died. If he dares toe in, we¡¯ll fight him!¡± Another person spoke in agitation followed by noises ofmotion from the rest.


    ¡°That was him looking for death himself! Acting boldly and wanting to go out to have a look. Look what¡¯s happened!¡± Another person said.


    ¡°It¡¯s still him! If he didn¡¯te in, would Xiaofeng go out thinking it¡¯s already safe? It¡¯s all him, him him him!¡± Another raspy voice said.


    ¡°Quiet! Quiet! Are you guys only gonna stop when the deviles?¡± Another person responded.


    An argument broke out inside. Nobody knew that it was safe outside now, but even if they did, they would probably note out. The fear of death had made them prefer the dark store and spoilt food rather thaning out and having a look for themselves.


    Luo Yuan then became a bit hesitant, not sure if he should tell them the brutal truth. Perhaps ignorance was bliss, and they already knew they could not stay alive for long and were lying to themselves as having enough food was already a problem.


    After much hesitation, Luo Yuan did not let the cat out of the bag. He merely brushed it off and warned them that it was getting more dangerous outside. He also added that he was leaving tomorrow and if anyone wanted to follow him they could meet him at Lanting subway station at 7 am.


    Luo Yuan then elevated himself onto the lizard¡¯s back once more and sighed. He was uncertain of the number of peopleing, but he was almost certain that the biggest possibility was that not a single one would show up.


    ¡°Why is he not back yet?¡± Huang Jiahui was getting anxious.


    She looked at her watch, and it was already 5 pm! Luo Yuan had gone out since noon. She kept trying to prevent herself from thinking that something bad might have happened to Luo Yuan. She talked herself into believing that he would be okay since there weren¡¯t many beasts in Jiaping City now and Luo Yuan was very good at protecting himself.


    ¡°He should being back anytime now... maybe he got dyed by something,¡± Wang Xiaguangforted Huang Jiahui even though she was looking equally anxious.


    ¡°Should I go look for him?¡± Wang Shishi asked.


    Huang Jiahui hesitated and shook her head, ¡°Never mind, it¡¯s almost nightfall.¡±


    Zhao Yali did not speak, but her hands had an iron grip on her clothes.


    The soldiers were still sleeping soundly with loud snores that echoed one another. They would probably not be able to wake up until the next day. The physical and mental exhaustion they endured required long hours of sleep to ovee.


    The sky was progressively getting darker, and soon it was pitch ck aside from the light from the fire in the subway station.


    ¡°Why don¡¯t we eat first?¡± Lin Xiaoji asked while patting his already growling stomach. Their meal had been ready for some time now, and the rich cogen in the mutated meat would coagte quickly and be hard to chew without healthy, strong teeth.


    ¡°If you¡¯re starving, eat first. We¡¯ll wait.¡± Huang Jiahui spoke softly.


    ¡°Then forget it,¡± Lin Xiaoji said. He had no guts to eat alone even though he had already been given permission.


    Time passed slowly, and finally, heavy footsteps were heard faintly in the distance. The sound got clearer as the ground quaked then stopped when it was near.


    Huang Jiahui breathed a sigh of relief and stood up.


    ¡°It¡¯s the lizard¡¯s footsteps. Brother Luo is back!¡± Wang Shishi chirped.


    ¡°I¡¯ll go reheat the dishes,¡± Cao Lin said joyfully.


    Just as she finished speaking, Luo Yuan had already appeared at the subway station.


    ¡°Why are you sote?¡± Huang Jiahui chided.


    ¡°Some stuff came up.¡± Luo Yuan replied hastily and spoke to Huo Dong and Lin Xiaoji, ¡°Don¡¯t eat yet, move the firearms from the entrance here first.¡±


    Huang Jiahui was still the one who understood him best, and as usual, she caught on immediately, ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡±


    ¡°Sea bridge... The water level has risen a lot. I don¡¯t know the actual situation, but I don¡¯t have a good feeling about it. We can¡¯t stay here anymore. We depart to Hucheng tomorrow,¡± Luo Yuan said.


    ¡°Will it be too rushed? Lao Huang hasn¡¯t recovered.¡± Wang Xiaguang spoke looking at the worried Zhao Yali.


    ¡°I¡¯m concerned that it¡¯ll be toote if we don¡¯t leave tomorrow.¡± Luo Yuan sighed in reply.


    Everyone was rmed by this information. Things must have been severe judging from Luo Yuan¡¯s expressions and words.


    Luo Yuan looked at Zhao Yali who looked hesitant to speak. He told her gently, ¡°You don¡¯t have to worry about Lao Huang. I¡¯ll feed it food cubes tonight, and it should be able to walk by tomorrow.¡±


    The dinner was quiet with different thoughts running through everyone¡¯s mind.


    Thefort they experienced over thest three days had cleansed their gory and cruel memories. Thinking about having to go through new challenges and putting their lives at stake once more had everyone feeling particrly blue.


    Zhao Yali cleaned the utensils quietly after their meal. She had been keeping to herself other than asionally speaking to Wang Xiaguang. She felt out of ce here. Luo Yuan observed her movements, and the familiarity of it brought back memories of when they rented a house together before the apocalypse happened.


    She was somebody else¡¯s fianc¨¦ then. Each time she wiped the table during the summer, her unintended exposure of her fair skin would make Luo Yuan¡¯s heart beat faster. People thought she was too delicate, but it was only her being timid. She could clean the house to a sparkling state every day and make delicious meals, mastering each house chore to perfection. She was not used to holding a knife though, and her cuts often ruined the mutated meat. She was not used to firing guns either, and her bullet holes were often bloody and blunt. She was but an ordinary woman who took everything life threw her way with a tinge of naivety.


    Luo Yuan sighed, asking her to head out with him after she finished wiping the table. Zhao Yali hesitated before following him out. Her expression remained cold as she asked, ¡°What do you want?¡± Since the conflict, Luo Yuan had been cold and had not spoken to her for a long time. It made her bitter, and she resented him for it.


    ¡°I have something to tell you.¡± Luo Yuan did not know where to start. He thought for a while and said, ¡°I said the tide¡¯s risen at the sea bridge just now, but it¡¯s much worse in reality. The ce had already be a borderless ocean. I don¡¯t know where the survivor group you were with had gone to but from the looks of it, I don¡¯t think it ended well for them.¡±


    Zhao Yali covered her mouth in shock. ¡°My condolences if there¡¯s someone you know or were close to.¡± Luo Yuanforted her. ¡°There¡¯s nowhere else you can go now.¡± He added quietly in his heart.

 Chapter 172: Deterioration

    Chapter 172: Deterioration


    Trantor: EndlessFantasy Trantion Editor: EndlessFantasy Trantion


    When Luo Yuan and Zhao Yali came back, the rest were already preparing to sleep. They still had three additional tents after giving two to the soldiers which were more than enough to amodate the team of 8.


    Chen Xianfeng was excluded, unfortunately, since no tent could fit him.


    Before sleeping, Luo Yuan went to the corner with the food cubes and stood there pondering for a long time. Finally, he carried almost all the cubes outside, leaving only three behind. Under the moonlight, Lao Huang was seen curled up. Even after three days, itsyer of fur was still very thin. It still had some obvious wounds, but these were no longer the bloody sight they used to be.


    Hearing Luo Yuan¡¯s footsteps, Lao Huang¡¯s tensed muscles slowly rxed. It lifted its eyelids to reveal a pair of shiny eyes but then slowly closed them again. It looked like a dying old dog. Luo Yuan went to him and opened the package containing the food cubes. Just as the smell floated to it, its eyes reopened like a pair of bright bulbs! It struggled to stand, but its broken tail wagged with joy. Luo Yuan chuckled slightly and thought, "Not even mutation could change a dog¡¯s behavior."


    He threw ten cubes to Lao Huang, and his heart ached at the amount he invested as the energy from a food cube was enough to sustain everyone in the group aside Luo Yuan and Chen Xianfeng (as well as the soldiers), for a full day. On top of that, the high amounts of active energy it contained were highly nutritious and could give a boost any living creature.


    Other than the first day where Lao Huang subconsciously devoured so many food cubes, it only got to eat three over thest two days. Luo Yuan hoped they could help Lao Huang recover. It quickly ate the cubes along with the sand and stones around them. He then turned towards another direction and noticed that the lizard and Lao Huang did not stay in the same area as mutated creatures were far more territorialpared to humans. Two of the beasts were at least a kilometer apart.


    When he returned, the package he brought with him was empty. The moon was covered by the clouds tonight, leaving a faint glow. Luo Yuan looked at the sky and sniffed the air. The moisture level was extraordinarily high tonight. He was worried that the weather might be bad the next day. Rain would not only slow them down but dampen their spirits as well. It would cause unnecessary trouble and danger would usually follow. It would be even worse if it were stormy as they had to go through the forest. Luo Yuan had no other resort and could only act ordingly.


    Their journey might have to be dyed if it was stormy tomorrow. He frowned and sighed at the thought of this.


    Entering the subway station, Luo Yuan intentionally stepped on the ground a little harder to silently notify everyone that he was back. He knew that a lot of them could not sleep peacefully without him around. Not just those close to him, Huo Dong and the rest too. The level of alertness in each survivor was unimaginable. Everyone senses were enhanced by the situation.


    Luo Yuan sat in meditation alone at the subway station¡¯s entrance as per usual. If he slept near the others with his current conditions, everyone would have been haunted by nightmares. If he could barely control his aura when he was awake, he certainly could not do anything about it when he was asleep. A slight shift in his mood could change his aurapletely, especially if he had dreams. It would be worse if they were nightmares. All this was because Luo Yuan still could notpletely control his strength after the recent level ups he experienced.


    Aura was mystical indeed but what it was made of was nothing else but strong Will and Sense ¨C Will was for strength while Sense was required to support that strength. Those with weak Will would still look inferior when they put on a tough front, but those with strong Will would create a field of pressure around them even if they stoodpletely still. Therefore, controlling one¡¯s Will meant controlling their aura and meditation was the best method that Luo Yuan could think of to achieve just that. Of course, without the necessary skills to control it, his aura would be unrefined, and its aggressiveness would only be for show making his knife skills the perfect cure to refine his aura.


    The night passed serenely and the next day, Luo Yuan who was half asleep in his meditative state, opened his eyes feeling palpitations. The surroundings were silent and only insects could be heard. The sky had yet to brighten as it was only 4 am. The night had been unexpectedly moist, and his hair felt wet. He wiped his face dry of the moisture and looked at the sky. Gloomy clouds present were a sign of heavy rain.


    He stood up and straightened his slightly numb legs. He then proceeded to walk towards a nearby building with his Zhanmadao. It could be seen that the building was a high-ss office tower pre-apocalypse since it was still 12 stories high when part of it had already crumbled. This was the highest vantage around.


    The inside of the building was severely damaged though, with a lot of the cement gone along with a few twisted steel fixtures visibly poking out. All these did not hinder Luo Yuan from entering. Where there were no stairs, he jumped; where there was no floor, he ran along the wall. Using steel fixtures and broken parts of the building, he went through the entire building quickly.


    His 14-point Dexterity allowed him to treat the building like a parkour yground- with movements that exceeded the agility of a monkey was more gentle than a cat. Less than 2 minutester, he was already at the top of the building looking towards the horizon. The sky was still dark that even with Luo Yuan¡¯s vision, he could not see much in the distance. He waited patiently for the sun toe up but still could not spot anything unusual, making him question himself about the palpitations earlier.


    Luo Yuan returned without an answer. When he got back, everyone else except the soldiers who were still in a deep sleep was already awake and packing their things.


    ¡°Should we wake them up?¡± Huang Jiahui asked.


    Luo Yuan looked at the time and said, ¡°It¡¯s only 5 am now, we will leave at 7. Let them sleep for another hour!¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s up with your neck?¡± Luo Yuan asked once he noticed some pale swelling on her neck when Huang Jiahui turned around.


    ¡°I just wanted to mention it. Water seemed to seep in here. The tent was wet when I woke up,¡± Huang Jiahui said while frowning as she touched her neck.


    ¡°Where? Let me have a look,¡± Luo Yuan quickly said.


    The tent was already packed, so Luo Yuan went to where Huang Jiahui had her tent assembledst night, and without having to look closely, he could see that the area had already been drenched with a pool of water. Maybe the floor was cracked, so the water seeped through here as the other spots were dry.


    He tasted some of the water with his index finger. It was seawater! He realized that his previous assumptions were wrong. Some of the lower grounds were already affected by the high tide. If it were the peak of flood season, the tide would have already engulfed the entire Jiangnan Province. The time it would take for this to happen would not be long. The best case scenario would be half a month, and if it was the worst case scenario, it could be merely a few days.


    Then came Huo Dong... His voice wasced with fear and hopelessness, ¡°Boss Luo,e quickly. Look what¡¯s outside!¡± Luo Yuan¡¯s heart almost flipped! He quickly went out with his Zhanmadao with the rest of the group trailing behind him. He subconsciously took a deep breath when he looked upwards. From where he was standing, it looked as though countless of ck dots covered the sky and formed a ck b flying over from the far front. It covered almost half of the skies above.


    The sheer amount of the many dots was causing numbness to his head. These were flying creatures, and they were not even of the same breed or species. There were birds, insects and even beasts that mutated with wings. Some of them were probably prey to others but right now, all of them were flying in the same direction. The volume of their loud chirps got louder as they got nearer to where Luo Yuan and his team had assembled. These noises were strung out, sounding like they were wailing loudly.


    They were fleeing.


    Half an hourter, the ck dots in the sky passed the subway station - leaving a floor full of feces that disturbed many people. Luo Yuan said grimly, ¡°We can¡¯t wait anymore. Wake everyone up, we leave immediately after eating.¡± If the area in front was flooded, this flight of fleeing creatures could very well be just the first wave judging from their speed. It meant that Luo Yuan and his entire team would have to face the next wave of beasts. They had to leave as soon as possible or face death.


    The soldiers were all called up. Most of their energy was restored now that they had slept for over 10 hours. They looked much better than the previous day, with color returning to their faces. To save time and quicken their journey, Luo Yuan gathered everyone and briefed them about his analysis as well as the brutal truth they had to face. Everyone¡¯s expressions changed as they listened intently.

 Chapter 173: Departure

    Chapter 173: Departure


    Trantor: EndlessFantasy Trantion Editor: EndlessFantasy Trantion


    ¡°I¡¯ve brought back firearms and new clothes, distribute themter,¡± Luo Yuan told Zhou Yicheng. Thetter agreed instantly and turned to go towards the weapons.


    ¡°Hold up... How¡¯s the recovery of your injured members?¡± Luo Yuan halted him.


    ¡°They are much better now. Most of their wounds have already formed scabs. They¡¯ll be fine as long as their wounds don¡¯te in contact with water,¡± Zhou Yicheng replied after thinking.


    ¡°I¡¯m afraid it¡¯s gonna rain today,¡± Luo Yuan shook his head in reply.


    ¡°I can only hope they push through then.¡± Zhou Yicheng replied and continued. ¡°Time waits for no man.¡±


    Luo Yuan said nothing when in actuality, he had a better solution for their wounds¨C life absorbency using his Zhanmadao. It was pretty useless in battles, but an immediate effect could be seen on these types of external wounds if they held his weapon. However, this was one of his secrets and the soldiers were not fated to be on his side yet. Furthermore, they had to part ways when they eventually arrive at the military base.


    An excellent de, especially one that could cut steel like soil and carried magical powers, would spur greed. Besides, things would change then. They would side as they had a favor to ask for. No matter how strong he was, he would be helpless under such circumstances.


    It was not that he was unwilling to part with his weapon, but as a swordsman, the Zhanmadao was already part of him. He knew the Zhanmadao¡¯s every secret and the de was akin to an extension of his arm under the immersion of his Will. It would be dangerous for him to lose the Zhanmadao in the apocalypse as his capabilities would be hindered as well. Luo Yuan sighed as he knew he had to act ordingly.


    He went out to check on Lao Huang. Compared to yesterday, its recovery was noticeable. The scabs wereing off to reveal fresh skin, and it was walking around so at least there would be no problems for it to walkter. Meals had already been prepared when Luo Yuan returned.


    They were about to depart after a quick bite, but a few kids suddenly appeared at the entrance. These were three bony children not unlike those African refugees are seen on TV- their cheeks sunken and eyes hollowed. The oldest ones looked about 13 while the youngest one looked about 11 or 12. Their skin was covered in dust, but it could be seen that they were fair. They looked at everyone timidly- the smallest one even clung onto one of the older kids. Their eyes remained squinted as tears rolled down their faces. Their tear tracks were very evident on their dirty faces.


    ¡°Who are you and why are you here?¡± Wang Shishi asked bossily seeing that they were children.


    ¡°Some...somebody asked me toe here.¡± The tallest one, who is also the boldest one, forced the words out, ¡°They said we could find food here.¡±


    Luo Yuan had a good idea where they were from now. He signaled Wang Shishi to stop asking questions and instead asked the children, ¡°Why are there only three of you? Where are the rest?¡±


    ¡°They don¡¯t want toe. Those people only sent us. The other option would be starving us to death,¡± the boy toughened up and said with hatred evident in his eyes.


    Luo Yuan sighed inwardly. It seemed that those people had little food remaining; chasing these orphaned kids away would have to be thest resort to save some food.


    ¡°Those bastards!¡± Huang Jiahui muttered. ¡°Come here. What are your names?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m Deng Wei, thank you big sister,¡± the boy who spoke earlier said sweetly.


    ¡°I¡¯m Chong Chuqiang, thank you too big sister.¡±


    ¡°Chen...Chen Jiayi, thank you.¡± The kid who had her head lowered all the time lifted her head briefly before lowering it again.


    ¡°Shishi, bring them something to eat.¡± Luo Yuan knew Wang Shishi had the habit of munching on tidbits and would always keep something in her bag. Her mouth never stopped chewing when they had nothing to do.


    ¡°Okay.¡± Wang Shishi hummed in reply and opened her bag to pass some meat jerky about the size of chicken eggs. ¡°This meat is very hard, and you can only eat it by tearing them into small pieces.¡±


    No one appreciated her friendly reminder as they were all famished. The kids quickly munched on the jerkies once they got their hands on them then swallowed the meat whole when they realized they could not chew them. They almost choked themselves.


    ¡°Okay, let¡¯s go!¡± Luo Yuan said and looked at the time. He then whistled.


    The giant lizard appeared in front of everyone in an instant, scaring the children for a moment. The tallest, Deng Wei, almost lost his footing while the smallest girl was almost in tears again but kept it in, gripping onto Chong Chuqiang who was next to her.


    Huang Jiahui noticed their reaction and went over tofort them, ¡°Don¡¯t be scared. This lizard is our pet.¡±


    ¡°It...it won¡¯t eat people?¡± Deng Wei asked in stutters.


    ¡°Hmph, the giant lizard is very friendly. It never eats people. We¡¯ll be riding on its backter.¡± Wang Shishi boasted when she saw them scared.


    ¡°Its...its back?¡± Deng Wei asked, while noticeably about to cry. He continued, ¡°Can I not ride on it?¡±


    ¡°Of course not. Unless you can run faster than the lizard.¡± Wang Shishi pouted. These children were timid. They had been living in the dark supermarket all along and probably had never seen even the lowest level of mutated beasts, so it only made sense that they felt as if they were in hell when they faced such a situation. However, this was not the end. They went through the terror again when Chen Xianfeng came back. After some time, the children finally recovered a little from the trauma when they were dragged onto the lizard¡¯s back by Huo Dong. This scene would probably be etched in their minds until the day they die.


    The team finally departed. It was a little crowded on the lizard¡¯s back with more than 20 people on it. One could easily slip off if not careful. Because Lao Huang was still rather weak, Luo Yuan made the lizard walk at a slow pace.


    Not an hourter, rain started trickling down on them. The group had been prepared for it, so they moved forward without stopping. The further they got from Jiaping City, the harder the roads were to walk on as most of the roads already became part of the forest.


    The trek only got better when they got to the highway near noon. Amidst the journey, another wave of escaping flying creatures flew by, stirring fear in their hearts but also instilled a sense of urgency in everyone. They could no longer think about lunch with the hurry they were in, but they were forced to stop less than an hourter.


    The in front of them was broken. The highway had crumbled and the damage was several hundred meters long. Nothing could be seen beyond that due to the limited vision they had from the effects of the rain. However, everyone expected that it would probably be worse if not the same.


    Luo Yuan analyzed the situation and then instructed his team, ¡°Let¡¯s rest at the fortification in front. We leave after eating.¡±


    The rain did not stop and by the looks of it, it would only get heavier. Water had already seeped into the fortification and the wooden beds were all damp. After some searching, Huo Dong found a decayed wooden mop handle to start a fire.


    Luo Yuan went out and came back with two low-level beasts. The women prepared them for cooking and threw them into the pot. The fire danced from the strong wind as the three children leaned as closely as possible to the fire but that could not stop them quivering from the cold. Being polite, they made no noise.


    Huang Jiahui stroked their heads and realized they were feverish. Their bodies were weaker than ordinary people due to malnutrition and it would be a surprise if they did not fall ill from being under the rain.


    Huang Jiahui signaled something to Luo Yuan and he nodded.


    She then took a food cube out from her bag and cut one-fifth of it into the pot after some thought. Not a momentter, the strong aroma permeated the air again as the soldiers were once again attracted to the cooking pot. Zhou Yicheng and his battalion knew something was weird about the food cube but they did not bring it up.


    Luo Yuan checked the map and sighed again. There was no better route than the one they were on. Other routes like the state highway was probably a forest covered with mutated nts by now. After lunch, the three children looked much better with their fever subsiding. In fact, they looked rather high-spirited, probably from the food cube.


    Luo Yuan decided that they should depart at once seeing that everyone had recovered.


    Soon, the copsed area was 6 ¨C 7 meters away from them with dense bushes under it. From above, pieces of cement and rusty steel fixtures could still be seen. These were signs that the copse happened recently and it certainly wasn¡¯t good news.


    It meant that if the fall were not of natural causes, the real cause would not be far from them. He looked downwards and jumped after a short hesitation. He had been prepared for danger when they departed and there was no choice now anyway. It was simple; if they did not advance, they die.

 Chapter 174: Tiger Headed Flood Dragon

    Chapter 174: Tiger Headed Flood Dragon


    Trantor: Editor:


    The soldiers were amazed as they watched Luo Yuan jump down from such an incredible height. They even witnessed himnding on a b of cement and walking away without a limp or scratch.


    The creatures in the surrounding area were affected by the sheer force of the Zhanmadao and fled the area. Those that were too slow froze and dropped to the ground. Without even trying, Luo Yuan had sessfully scared away most of the low-level beasts in the vicinity.


    The bushes around the area were quite short since they had emerged from the ground that was previously covered in cement. However, they all looked healthy and strong as if they had been growing for years.


    There was only one type of rattan, and it was rare to find. The nt was fine like chopsticks and had scale-like patterns growing on it. It was incredibly tough and did not break even when Luo Yuan pulled on it with great force. It could surely withstand the full weight of a human body.


    Luo Yuan gathered some of the rattan and chopped them using his Zhanmadao before tying them together to form a rope about 10 meters long. Luo Yuan checked the rope and decided to make another knot on the weakest link before pulling on it again to check for safety. He then tied one end to a rock and threw the other end towards the highway.


    ¡°Climb down the rope and be careful.¡± Luo Yuan said.


    The children went down first. They were tied to the rope and were lowered slowly towards Luo Yuan. Then, Huang Jiahui and the other women went down. They were followed by Huo Dong and the rest. Thest toe down were the soldiers.


    Luo Yuan secretly counted the time taken toplete the whole process. He started counting from the moment Huang Jiahui grabbed onto the rope to the second Chen Xianfengnded. They took a good half an hour toplete the descent. However, the soldiers had more people. Most of them were already weak, and some of them were still injured, yet they were faster in their descent; taking less than three minutes. This emphasized the difference between the highly disciplined soldiers and Luo Yuan¡¯s group of amateurs.


    Regardless of their abilities, they were unrivaled in both discipline and obedience. As the physique of these soldiers improves, their attack power which came from their training would increase several folds. However, Luo Yuan was only an ordinary citizen before the apocalypse. Forming a group was never his intention. He only wanted to save as many lives as he could. It was more practical for him to level up his abilities than to hope for the group to increase their attacking powers from being disciplined. If the next ce they went to were better, perhaps they would not need to suffer like this anymore.


    Luo Yuan noticed the lizard pop its head to look down. He quickly urged everyone to move away seeing that it was going to jump. Space was created in an instant as everyone quickly scrambled away. The group observed in fear as the lizardnded onto the ground with a loud thump. Its gigantic size cracked the cement and caused a minor tremor.


    ¡°Brother Luo, how did you manage to get your hands on this pet? I might want to own one too in the future.¡± Zhou Yicheng asked in astonishment. If the military could have an army of war beasts, it would no doubt be of great help in their current situation.


    ¡°Challenge it and win!¡± Luo Yuan turned towards him and said. He then continued, ¡°Clever beasts fear death. However, you could also cultivate it from young. The best would be mutated beasts that evolved from dogs as they are intelligent and loyal. I assume the military already have trained canines. Experience in this matter could be very useful if they evolve.¡±


    Luo Yuan already knew what Zhou Yicheng was thinking; he did not n to keep it a secret as there was no such need. If he could notice, the country would have been able to notice it too. Besides, it was evident as Zhou Yichengughed to cover-up feelings exposed by Luo Yuan¡¯s gaze. He said, ¡°Military canines would be hopeless for me. If I see a dog, I would feel like eating it, and the dogs would want to bite me whenever they see me.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s better not to talk about this again.¡± Luo Yuan suddenly uttered.


    ¡°Why?¡± Zhou Yicheng asked.


    ¡°We have a dog here.¡± Luo Yuan replied.


    Just as he finished, Lao Huang jumped down! It unintentionally nced at Zhou Yicheng and growled fiercely.


    ¡°You consider this a dog?¡± Zhou Yicheng stuttered, his ears were numb from the loud growl.


    The pressure that came from such a beast was intense. In reality, Lao Huang was already far from being a dog after the mutation. Inparison to dogs, its mouth and nose were much wider. Even the proportion of its facial features was adjusted; its limbs were sturdier and stronger, and its muscr and thick body looked nothing like a canine¡¯s. If it still had its fiery fur, Lao Huang would look more like a lion than a canine. A super lion, in fact!


    ¡°Battalion Commander, there is something up there,¡± a soldier seemed to have discovered something. Zhou Yicheng quickly ran over, and Luo Yuan followed.


    It was half of a bridge pier, lying in the bushes. Ordinary people would probably not pay much attention to it, but various clues could be seen in the eyes of a professional. The soldier quickly said after noticing everyone had gathered, ¡°I suspect...I suspect that a mutated beast did this. Its body should be long, like a snake.¡±


    Luo Yuan carefully observed and touched the surface. His expression changed, and he became serious. The force necessary to break a 2-meter-diameter pier would have toe from an extraordinary beast. Even the giant lizard might have to run into the pier a few times to break it, and that was already assuming it could break the bridge pier in the first ce.


    He immediately spoke, ¡°Find out if the other piers have been damaged simrly.¡±


    The soldiers looked at Zhou Yicheng and did not move. They did not want to upset their leader even though Luo Yuan was very intimidating. Zhou Yiching urged them, ¡°Brother Luo¡¯s order is my order, go now!¡±


    Luo Yuan waved his hands as if he was not bothered by such petty things like this. Soon, new piers were found. There were 6 of them in the area. Excluding two that were broken from the pressure, the rest all had simr patterns on them.


    Luo Yuan hesitated for a minute but decided to continue moving forward. The second copsed bridge pier was only a few hundred meters away; the party would arrive within minutes. Their hearts sank when they noticed the same pattern that they previously found on the piers.


    He did not bother to check anymore as he was getting familiar with what had happened. He was almost sure that they were all destroyed by the same beast. They were fortunate not to have met any danger along the way- not even a light blue or blue level beasts appeared. It seems that all the mutated beasts in the region had long fled.


    This only made Luo Yuan more cautious; his heart was pounding faster as they got nearer to thest chasm. Right at this moment, the giant lizard shook its head in anxiety, and its steps became hesitant; Lao Huang even took a few steps back, making threatening howls.


    Luo Yuan immediately had the lizardy low and had everyone calm down.


    The impending danger had everyone high on alert. Huo Dong and the others were no longer the rookies they had been. They prepared themselves for battle with weapons in their hands despite the fear in their hearts. Even Zhao Yali was holding her pistol


    After a long wait, nothing seemed to happen.


    ¡°Brother Luo, why has it not appeared yet?¡± Wang Shishi could not help but ask in a soft voice after waiting for over 10 minutes.


    ¡°Don¡¯t divert your attention.¡± Luo Yuan red at her and spoke, ¡°Stay here and keep your eyes peeled. I will go over and check.¡±


    He sprinted and disappeared before Huang Jiahui could stop him.


    Within a few minutes, he returned with something that looked like an unusually long mutated beast in his hands. It was about a meter wide while its length could not be estimated since they could not see it clearly with the bushes blocking their view. Everyone was shocked by what they saw. The kids became paralyzed with fear, but when they observed carefully, it was only skin.


    Luo Yuan tossed the skin onto the ground - it was extremely light. The lizard stepped back at first but went nearer to sniff it; its front w came forward to stomp on it. Luo Yuan quickly chased it away after he noticed how it was spoiling the skin.


    ¡°Brother Luo, could those marks be due to the creature that left this skin behind? Cao Lin dared not go near it. Even if it was just skin, it exuded an aura that caused fear and frenzy in her heart.


    ¡°It must be. Otherwise, it wouldn¡¯t have broken so many piers. This beast was probably a snake; it would have been a jiao in ancient times.¡± Huo Dong was rattled too,ing forward for a closer look but quickly taking steps back when he thought the snakeskin came alive. He said, ¡°Oh it¡¯s spooky, looks exactly like a living thing.¡±


    Huo Dong was right; this was a Flood Dragon. Flood Dragons were creatures that came from myths; the Chinese rted it to a dragon whenever it was mentioned. The word appeared in ancient times but it was a dragon-snake hybrid; a snake nheless.


    This time, it was a Flood Dragon. The name was, ¡®Tiger-Headed Flood Dragon.¡¯


    ¡°Skin of the Tiger-Headed Flood Dragon¡±


    ¡°Rarity: Light Green¡±


    ¡°Weight: 30 kg¡±


    ¡°Attribute: None¡±


    ¡°Additional Abilities: Weak Dragon Aura, Force Offset¡±


    ¡°Remarks: The Tiger-Headed Flood Dragon is a natural overlord onnd at the top of the food chain. Even its molted skin emits a weak dragon aura to proim its power. Any attacksnding it will be weakened three-fold due to the skin¡¯s Force Offset ability.¡±

 Chapter 175: Big Trouble

    Chapter 175: Big Trouble


    Trantor: Editor:


    Luo Yuan tried to cut the molted Flood Dragon skin with his Zhanmadao but could not even pierce it. He noticed that the de would just slip off the skin whenever force was applied. However, once he used he utilized the inherent power of his Zhanmadao, even the defense of the skin could not prevent the de from prating it.


    Huo Dong and the rest were dumbfounded by the skin¡¯s ability to protect itself. They knew that in addition to Luo Yuan¡¯s Agility and Earth Stomp ability, he also possessed another mysterious power that he used tobine materials of different objects. The skin possessed a unique kind of defense. They knew what type of de the Zhanmadao was. It could cut through steel like it was tofu, yet it could not even slice or pierce the Flood Dragon¡¯s skin. This skin would make the best material for armor, and Luo Yuan could synthesize it without much difficulty.


    Most of them were still wearing the tough jacket made from the Haunted Locust Tree from Hedong City. After numerous battles, their jackets were torn and worn out; scratches and cracks appeared in several spots. They could only stare in envy at the semi-transparent bulletproof tops that Luo Yuan and the other women were adorned with. The membranous fluid from the turtle used to make the semi-transparent tops was limited. Luo Yuan could only make five bulletproof tops, and only one of them was ssified to be a dark blue level armor. Luo Yuan was no saint; only a few women in his team was allowed to wear it. Unfortunately, Cao Lin had been excluded.


    In the past, nobody dared say anything as they knew their rtionship with Luo Yuan was not as good as those women. However, now that Luo Yuan has obtained such arge piece of Flood Dragon skin, Huo Dong and Lin Xiaoji seemed to be hopeful. With sufficient materials, Luo Yuan might be able to synthesize enough tops for everyone including them. Both of them stared at Luo Yuan as they observed him rolling the Flood Dragon¡¯s skin into a bundle and tucking it away in his bag.


    Lin Xiaoji had many questions in his mind and could not wait to ask them, but Huo Dong pulled him back forcefully and gave him a stare along with a warning in a hushed voice, ¡°They¡¯re on different sides than us; be careful what you say.¡± Being chastised without reason, especially by Huo Dong; Lin Xiaoji was furious. Just as he was about to retort, Luo Yuan¡¯s stared at him, and all of his words seemed to have disappeared along with his anger.


    Huo Dong let out a sigh of relief in his heart. The boy was incredibly dense as he had never stepped foot into society before. Boss Luo has always acted generously, almost like a saint; but it would be a fatal error to mistake him for one. Huo Dong had witnessed more than ten killings by Boss Luo thus far. After a while, even he did not feel much guilt anymore from killing people; which was probably more so for Boss Luo. If any of Luo Yuan¡¯s limits were challenged, he would certainly be vicious and kill anyone who got in his way. His limits would probably include the women who were traveling with him, his world views or matters which he feels the need to keep a secret as well as his privacy. Huo Dong giggled sarcastically and said to himself, ¡°Why am I always cleaning this idiot¡¯s mess?¡±


    The journey ahead was unexpectedly smooth; no danger had presented itself other than a few low-level beasts. ¡°At this rate, we should be able to reach Hucheng City before nightfall.¡± Zhou Yicheng said after some rough calctions. The lizard had picked up its speed after they got onto the highway, so it was traveling at approximately 30 kilometers per hour making the journey a breeze.


    ¡°Hopefully.¡± Luo Yuan replied as he looked at both sides of the highway. The torrential rain had subsided momentarily but soon continued to pour down heavily. The rivers became clogged, flooding the surrounding areas. Within just a few minutes, the water was already half a foot deep; the world was slowly turning into an ocean.


    If the flood here were already this severe, Hucheng City would be much worse by now. The poor disposal management of rubbish and corpses would cause the city¡¯s sewage system to stop functioning. In fact, if the rain did not stop by tomorrow, the entire city would be submerged in water at this time tomorrow.


    The children were well-behaved throughout the journey. They didn¡¯t cry or throw any tantrums. Even the youngest, Chen Jiayi, was quiet. The sheer brutality of the apocalypse had forced them to cope with the current harsh conditions despite their young age. This type of difort was nothingpared to their misery when they were starving in the supermarket.


    ¡°Little Yuan, can we stop for a bit? I would like to find something to shade them from the rain.¡± Wang Xiaguang asked Luo Yuan as she felt sympathetic for the small children.


    ¡°Big sister, we don¡¯t need it. We don¡¯t feel cold at all.¡±


    ¡°The food we ate in the afternoon is still warm in our tummies!¡±


    Deng Wei and Chong Chuqiang said immediately. The children were afraid that these people would chase them away for wasting their food and only being a burden. The meal they had eaten had been the most memorable meal of their life. They had never been as full as they were today ever since the apocalypse had begun. If they were chased away for being useless, they would probably never have a chance like this again.


    ¡°Hold it in for another two hours, we¡¯ll rest for the night once we reach Hucheng City,¡± Luo Yuan said after looking at the time.


    ¡°They¡¯re still so young, how do you expect them to endure it when they¡¯ve just caught a fever in the afternoon?¡± Wang Xiaguang snapped when she noticed Luo Yuan being so cold.


    ¡°It won¡¯t take much longer,¡± Huang Jiahui added.


    Zhao Yali kept quiet, but her facial expression showed her dissatisfaction with Luo Yuan¡¯s decision as well. Fear could be seen all over the children¡¯s faces as they watched the adults argue over them. Chen Jiayi could no longer hold in her tears but dared not make any noise, so she cried silently.


    ¡°Alright, we¡¯ll stop for a short while,¡± Luo Yuan said helplessly.


    He did not mean to be cold. He had experienced a simr reaction from Wang Shishi before. Wang Shishi felt insecure and was afraid of being dumped as well. She had been so eager to help to secure her ce that she even snatched Huang Jiahui¡¯s house chores to be of some help. Luo Yuan could not help but giggle thinking about it now. Luo Yuan knew that too much concern for the kids would only burden them mentally and make them feel even more insecure. Sufficient amounts of hardship andbor would allow them to feel much better by contributing. Of course, he could not have said this in front of the kids.


    When the giant lizard stopped, Luo Yuan took out an extra piece of fish skin from his luggage. Wang Xiaguang snatched it from him angrily and carefully ced it over the children¡¯s heads but failed to notice that the children only became even more uneasy.


    ¡°There¡¯s supposed to be a bridge in front,¡± Huo Dong suddenly said.


    ¡°Did you say bridge?¡± Luo Yuan asked to make sure.


    ¡°I used to pass by this road frequently when I was still working. I could even find it with my eyes closed.¡± Huo Dong replied as he came to realize that the sea bridge was already ruined and the same thing might have happened to the bridge he was talking about earlier.


    ¡°There¡¯s a river here!¡± Zhou Yicheng said after looking at the map shielded in stic carefully. The river was small, and if they did not pay close attention, nobody would have noticed a small bridge that stretched across it. It posed a serious problem now especially when there is a flood. Luo Yuan closed his eyes to think. He opened them soon after and said, ¡°Hopefully it¡¯s still intact, or we will be facing big troubles ahead.¡±

 Chapter 176: Fury

    Chapter 176: Fury


    Trantor: Editor:


    Suddenly, a shadow appeared in the water under the highway. Turbulence soon followed as the murky water turned red with blood oozing to the top.


    ¡°It couldn¡¯t be a fish, could it?¡± A soldier asked in shock.


    ¡°It should be. We came across something simr thest time there was heavy rain. The river must have overflowed now so there could be plenty of fishes in the puddles,¡± Huo Dong said numbly.


    ¡°It was about half a month ago, wasn¡¯t it? Luckily, we were on the hill then, but we still lost about ten people.¡± Zhou Yicheng said, his face carried a mixture of expressions. The other soldiers¡¯ eyes were red, and they quickly wiped them. Due to the rain, no one could tell if those were tears or raindrops.


    Zhao Yali gripped onto her clothes tightly. Her face turned pale as she listened. No one said anything more after that.


    Huang Jiahui looked at Luo Yuan wiping his Zhanmadao lightly with a piece of mutated skin. He kept repeating this action again and again. She knew it was a sign that he was nervous. After being together for so long, she had be very familiar with his actions. She sighed and put her arm around his. Luo Yuan turned andforted her in a gentle voice when he took in her worried expression, ¡°Everything will be alright.¡±


    The lizard continued advancing for another 10 minutes before it slowly came to a stop. As expected the bridge was damaged, and the only trace of its existence were the steel cables lying helplessly in the river. It was not exactly urate to call it a river since the riverbank was long gone now. The puddles and river had merged to form a murky sea.


    Luo Yuan suddenly spoke after standing at the edge of the broken bridge for a while, ¡°Bring over the rattan.¡± Zhou Yicheng took the rattan and came over saying, ¡°Rivers around this width are usually around three meters deep, but with the flood, this river¡¯s probably five to six meters deep now.¡±


    ¡°Hopefully it doesn¡¯t exceed 6 meters, or the water would cover the lizard¡¯s back,¡± Luo Yuan said grimly. As he spoke, he threw the end of the rattan tied with a rock into the middle of the river and pulled. He was trying to estimate the angle it created to determine the depth of the water.


    He did a rough estimation and felt his heart sink. He then tested it a few times around different spots, but after every attempt at calcting the depth, his expression got darker. Based on his attempts at measuring its depth, although the river looked narrow, it was incredibly deep. The deepest end probably reached 6.6 meters, and the shallowest end was around 4.8 meters. The highest point of the lizard was only 6.3 meters while its lowest point was 5.9 meters. This meant they would be submerged in the water during certain parts of the trek through the river.


    Zhou Yicheng was not as good as Luo Yuan in estimating the depth, so he asked anxiously as he saw his dark expression, ¡°How is it?¡±


    ¡°Not good. The water is rather deep. It¡¯ll be quite dangerous for us.¡± Luo Yuan then exined the issue between the height of the lizard¡¯s back and the depth of the river.


    Zhou Yicheng was familiar with the dangers that lurked in the water, but he said, ¡°It won¡¯t be any safer if we switched to another route. Besides, we¡¯re so close to Hucheng already. Let¡¯s take this risk.¡± Both Luo Yuan and Zhou Yicheng briefed the group about the situation. No one protested despite the depressing atmosphere.


    Seeing such low spirits, Zhou Yicheng suggested, ¡°Let¡¯s sing a song before we depart.¡±


    ¡°Battalion Commander, forget it. We¡¯ve been singing these songs all the way,¡± a soldier said.


    ¡°I don¡¯t want to sing those old songs either, let¡¯s sing something nice!¡± Another soldier said after licking his lips.


    ¡°What is this? Are you guys still soldiers? Sing! We must sing! We must show our spirit in singing! Show our military spirit!¡± Zhou Yicheng bellowed and continued, ¡°Let¡¯s sing ¡®Soldiers Belong to the Battlefield¡¯ for them!¡±


    Then he began singing:


    ¡°There¡¯s an unspoken rule; warriors belonged to the battlefield,


    Tigers should stride amidst forests; dragons should turn ocean around,


    Who¡¯s without a father, who¡¯s without a mother...¡±


    Zhou Yicheng was quite bad at singing. His voice was rough, and he was a little tone-deaf. He was singing alone but before long, the other soldiers began to follow his tune. More and more slowly chorused and in the end, even Huo Dong and Lin Xiaoji were humming to the song.


    Luo Yuan watched silently but felt touched.


    These warriors were not evolved humans. They were nothing if not slightly stronger than ordinary people, yet their fighting spirit remained even when most of their battalionrades had died. It was impressive to see the sheer determination they have despite their weakened bodies.


    ¡°Hopefully not too many dieter,¡± Luo Yuan thought.


    Luo Yuan had the giant lizard and Lao Huang jump in first. Both the creatures made a big ssh. Most of the beasts underwater were frightened by these two gigantic creatures and swam for their lives.


    Luo Yuan then hopped onto the lizard¡¯s back. He then tied a rope to the lizard¡¯s neck to have everyone slide down. Ten minutester, only Chen Xianfeng was left. Luo Yuan untangled the rattan rope and looked at the former hesitantly.


    Chen Xianfeng stood by the highway with his eyes staring at Luo Yuan. Anyone could see that he was nervous and frightened. If he did not ride the lizard, he might perish in the river.


    When and creature got into the water, its abilities would weaken. Furthermore, he could not swim. There was no other choice but death that awaits him if he entered the water alone.


    ¡°There¡¯s something I¡¯ve been meaning to say, but I don¡¯t know where to start.¡± Luo Yuan said as he sighed.


    Chen Xianfeng looked rmed but grunted after a while and said, ¡°Speak.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve never told you the goal of this trip, but we¡¯re going to a secret military base this time. You should know that you¡¯d never be able to enter like this. You¡¯d either be killed straight away or locked in ab. Every meeting is destined to see us part ways, and it won¡¯t end well for you if you follow us. Leave.. leave this ce and leave Jiangnan Province. It¡¯ll keep you alive longer, I hope.¡± Luo Yuan exined.


    Chen Xianfeng was stunned! He looked at Luo Yuan, and then the rest of the crew with disbelief. The rest of the group could not look him in his eyes. He gradually came to understand what Luo Yuan was telling him and thought maybe he should havee to the same conclusion a long time ago. His expression noticeably changed the next minute. The violence inside him could no longer be suppressed as his fear towards Luo Yuan disappeared. He screamed, ¡°YOU...LIED TO...ME!¡±


    ¡°You...all...lied to me.¡±


    ¡°You...all...lied to me!!!¡±


    Then he turned and ran. His untamed growls echoed in the air.


    Even after a while, Chen Xianfeng¡¯s voice still seemed to echo in their ears. While they felt bad, they were relieved at the same time. Not everyone could look past Chen Xianfeng¡¯s scary looks, enormous size and vtile emotions like Luo Yuan did. If it were not for Luo Yuan, he might have already eaten some of the crew.


    ¡°I¡¯ve heard that human mutation goes deep into the genes. It¡¯s impossible to stop with current medical knowledge, and it would only get worse with time. It¡¯s good for everyone that he leave as early as possible.¡± Zhou Yicheng tried tofort everyone seeing how their mood was affected by this incident.


    ¡°Let¡¯s not talk about this. Prepare to depart!¡± Luo Yuan shook his head, evidently trying to shake away the emotions running through his head. This decision was one he made long ago, but he didn¡¯t expect it to have happened in this manner.


    As his voice echoed, everyone seemed to feel like a bucket of cold water had been poured over their heads. They certainly felt guilty but what lies ahead was scary as hell. Huo Dong held onto the handle of his knife and did breathing exercises repeatedly. Zhao Yali and the three children¡¯s faces went white.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry; it¡¯s only about ten meters ahead. It¡¯ll pass soon.¡± Luo Yuan looked at the people who were tensed up andforted them. He then spoke to Wang Shishi, ¡°You pay attention too, don¡¯t be distracted.¡±


    Wang Shishi nodded obediently.


    ¡°Sit tight and let¡¯s go!¡± Luo Yuan announced after everything was set.


    The giant lizard moved slowly, with the current pounding against it heavily. Just as Huo Dong opened his mouth to speak, a drop of water sttered into it, triggering him to spit a few times. Once bitten twice shy, nobody wanted toe across the same thing after experiencing the terror of the parasites in the seawater by the bridge.


    ¡°Eh, why is the water salty?¡± he then asked in reaction.


    ¡°Could be due to the sea. Maybe there are sea creatures here too.¡± Cao Lin said with a somber expression.


    ¡°Don¡¯t distract yourselves. We¡¯re crossing the river now. Hang on tight and don¡¯t get thrown off.¡± Luo Yuan reminded them.


    There was a carpet woven with rattan on the lizard¡¯s back, so it was easy to grip onto to stabilize their bodies. Else, the lizard¡¯s back would be tough to stay seated on no matter how slow it moved.


    Everyone grabbed onto the carpet without a word.


    Soon, the lizard entered the river with a slight stumble. The women screamed at the top of their lungs but were not flung off since they were prepared.


    Right then, Luo Yuan felt weak, no longer feeling the earth¡¯s energy.


    From his experience, he knew it was due to his own evolved ability being blocked by the water as his Physique attribute returned to its original value. He took a deep breath, trying to adjust to the ¡®weak¡¯ state slowly.


    Luo Yuan pulled his Zhanmadao out and observed the water with undivided attention. The river flowed violently, whirlpool after whirlpool appearing around the lizard as it moved.


    Fortunately, the river was a bit small, so it was unable to containrger sized beasts but that did not mean those smaller ones were harmless. If anything, they were harder to see, especially now that the river was connected to the ocean. There were probably creatures from the ocean that swam against the current to this very river.


    Luo Yuan¡¯s senses weakened immensely in the murky water. While he could usually sense things within a 50-meter radius in the air, he could only sense things within a five-meter radius, and it was not clear. The distance could not evenpare to when he detected underground basements onnd but of course, that was partly due to his Earth Stomp ability.


    The lizard¡¯s steps became irregr. Its eyes were staring into the murky water from time to time as it got restless.


    ¡°Ow!¡± It suddenly roared without warning as its body shook.


    The loud sound caused ripples to break out across the water while deafening everyone else. Even Luo Yuan lost his hearing for a moment.


    ¡°What¡¯s up!?¡± Lin Xiaoji asked loudly; his face filled with fear.

 Chapter 177: Bloody

    Chapter 177: Bloody


    Trantor: Editor:


    Countless shadows were seen heading towards them under the water.


    The copper scent of blood circted the river attracting various beasts. It was from the lizard; whose scales were yet to grow in many parts of its body as its wounds had yet to heal fully. It could not withstand these sharp-toothed fishes¡¯ attacks.


    Luo Yuan had not thought of how to relieve the situation. The giant lizard was already growling from the pain it suffered, and on top of that, it is and creature¡¯s instinct to be fearful of water, so it increased its speed without hesitation. Getting to the other side of the river was its goal.


    Its sheer size divided the river into two halves like a small hill, causing some ten-meter-tall sshes. Luo Yuan¡¯s heart jumped as he quickly ordered it to stop. But how could it have obeyed though? With its mind already paralyzed with fear as it rushed towards the other side of the river!


    Everything was happening too fast to process- a ferocious wave was alreadying their way before they could even react. The color noticeably drained from their faces.


    ¡°Careful!¡± Luo Yuan could only get a word out of his mouth before he too was swallowed by the wave. In the nick of time, Luo Yuan could only manage to grab a soldier who was about to be washed away and Chong Chuqiang who was near him. After the wave had subsided, he was dumbfounded to find half the group already wiped off the lizard¡¯s back.


    His team was alright, thanks to their physique with each of them having reached 12 points. They sat in the center, so they were saferpared to the others. They even managed to protect the other two children. As for the group of recovering soldiers though, most of them were washed off the lizard by now.


    ¡°Zhou Yicheng!!! Has anyone seen Zhou Yicheng!?¡± Luo Yuan quickly asked when he could no longer see the man.


    ¡°He has been swept away too.¡± Huang Jiahui said with a pale face.


    ¡°What?¡± Luo Yuan quickly looked towards the river. He could see a few soldiers swimming over with all their might, but Zhou Yicheng was nowhere to be seen. The lizard did not slow down though, which made Luo Yuan kick it with all his might out of anger! When it dawned on the lizard that it had made a mistake, the creature stopped.


    Luo Yuan was frantic! Not only was Zhou Yicheng key topleting his mission, but he was also the only point of contact between him and the secret military base. Failing the mission would at most cost him some EXP and slow down his level up progress, but without Zhou Yicheng, he would never be able to find the base even if he turned Hucheng City inside out!


    It was not that he did not ask about the location before, it¡¯s just that Zhou Yicheng had his lips sealed. Therefore, if Zhou Yicheng perished, so would his hope of entering the reconstruction area. Now that the sea level was rising even further, waves of beasts would being in his direction since the mutated beasts would migrate to highernd. By then, even if he survived, everyone else might not.


    Since his parents passed away, he lost contact with most of his rtives. Huang Jiahui and Wang Shishi were his only family now, and he would be devastated to lose any of them. If he could leave and go back to a normal society, he would rather live poorly than to live his life as if every day was hisst. Therefore, he must find Zhou Yicheng.


    ¡°Da-da-da!!!¡±


    A rifle¡¯s firing woke Luo Yuan up from his thoughts. ¡°Faster! Swim faster!¡± a few soldiers shouted in panic as they opened fire towards the water. Seven to eight meters in front of them was a soldier swimming forward with all his might. Something was tailing him, and it felt like the shadow of death. Suddenly, he stopped swimming and looked at everyone hopelessly. Analyzing quickly, he then changed direction and began to swim away from them, not wanting to bring danger to hisrades.


    Before he managed to swim even half a meterter, blood gushed out from beneath; staining the murky river red. The blood seemed to have triggered something in the river as the water nearby stirred in turbulence. Fresh blood squirted out from the soldier¡¯s mouth and a mutated fish leaped out of the water and bit his shoulder. The half-meter long fish with a big head had a mouthful of sharp teeth, crushing the fallen soldier¡¯s shoulder with just one bite. Then, with its developed fins, it clung onto the soldier¡¯s arm and began chewing into his chest! Blood spurted everywhere!


    As the fishes gathered around the victim, another soldier nearby was attacked too. Bullets fired endlessly as Huang Jiahui and Huo Dong tried to help. Still, nothing could save the soldier. Wang Shishi even tried using her flying shuttle to rescue them, but she almost lost control over the shuttle when it got into the water, putting a stop to her attempts.


    The soldiers died cruel deaths one by one. The group watched the bloody scene in horror but the remaining soldiers were calm. Other than a despaired look, no one had much reaction to the gory scene. Perhaps they had been through enough to be numbed by it.


    More than ten seconds passed as Luo Yuan stared at the river thinking of its danger. Nothing good coulde out of it if he dragged this on so he said, ¡°You guys look out for each other, I¡¯m going to find him.¡±


    Then, without so much of a nce at Huang Jiahui and the rest of the crew, he dove into the water with the Zhanmadao in between his teeth. His eyes were useless in the dirty water so he could only rely on his senses to feel his surroundings. He reached the bottom of the river in an instant with his speed. The water weeds were dense, dancing along with the ebb and flow of the current, flowing towards his legs as he stood up.


    With a wave of the Zhanmadao, he chopped the weeds off quickly. They looked like they were still alive though, wriggling before flowing away with the current. Looking at the strange water weeds, Luo Yuan suddenly had a sliver of hope. He figured that Zhou Yicheng was probably entangled in these weeds instead of having been swept away by the currents. However, he realized there was a downside to saving him underwater; his speed, while he was using his Zhanmadao, was less than a third of his usual speed and his abilities were also weakened seven-fold.


    Therefore, he did not want to stay long in the river so he swam around to find his target as quickly as he could. There were plenty of creatures in the water, most of them traveling in schools. Some fierce carnivorous fishes swam towards him once he was in sight. Without thinking, he allowed his aura to permeate the water. It was as if a tuning fork was ced under the water, producing a high-frequency vibration.


    Fishes around fled instinctively as if struck by lightning. A frown was visible between Luo Yuan¡¯s brows as his aura was immensely weaker underwater. These were low-level fishes, and they should have died from his aura alone if this happened onnd. Furthermore, the area of effect was reduced to about five to six meters, just like his senses.


    He would be in an extremely dangerous position if there were blue or dark blue level beasts nearby. He could only pray that he would note across any of them until he gets out of the water. He searched around carefully using his senses and suddenly felt a vaguely human form urging him to swim over.


    It was indeed Zhou Yicheng but he was already wrapped inyers of water weeds. He was hardly moving as his body was tightly constrained. If the military map had not been floating beside him, he would not even be sure certain it was Zhou Yicheng as even his head was tangled in the water weeds.


    Luo Yuan¡¯s arrival seemed to spur the water weeds to head in his direction, not knowing what awaited them. A few shes of his deter and all the water weeds were cleared. Luo Yuan could not assess Zhou Yicheng¡¯s condition though. Perhaps he fainted from the many attacks or loss of breath. Not wanting to waste any time, he grabbed the man and swam towards the surface without pulling the weeds off him.


    What greeted him when he arrived at the surface made him gasp in shock. The spilled blood had now attractedrger beasts to the vicinity. Water tracks ran through the river¡¯s surface at a fast speed. The surface of the water now looked like a boiling pot of porridge.


    Were it not for the lizard¡¯s continuous growls andrge size; the mutated fishes would have jumped on them by now. As for Lao Huang, it was already on the other side of the river having fled in fear long ago.


    Luo Yuan quickly swam towards the lizard. Huang Jiahui, who saw him, was happily surprised. But her positive emotion was short-lived and she soon shouted, ¡°Careful!¡±

 Chapter 178: Walking on Water

    Chapter 178: Walking on Water


    Trantor: Editor:


    Luo Yuan did not need to turn around to know what had happened. He had heard Huang Jiahui¡¯s warning.


    Flexing his arms, he tossed Zhou Yicheng towards the giant lizard, the mannding urately near the creature after crossing 7 ¨C 8 meters of distance in the air.


    ¡°Pull him up and clean away the water weeds,¡± Luo Yuan spoke calmly as if the mutated fishing for him was a piece of meat waiting to be devoured.


    His words calmed Huang Jiahui and everyone else, who were watching.


    The current became violent, causing Luo Yuan to sway. His senses told him that there was a seven to eight meter long fishing at him like a speeding train, splitting the water in the river.


    Had they been onnd, the creature could have easily been killed with a sh of his de.


    There was not much he could do in the water, though. He was anxious to be facing such a creature, but he knew his anxiety would only burden himself and everyone else.


    The mutated fish was swift. It wasing at Luo Yuan with its mouth wide open, its sharp teeth within a breath¡¯s distance from him.


    Luo Yuan finally made his move.


    He trod through the water rapidly, a current forming underneath his legs by his speed. It suddenly felt as if he was stepping on solid ground.


    With his arms also moving in strokes, he leaped out of the water unexpectedly, jumping more than three meters into the air.


    Once he was out of the water, there was no more resistance. He felt free as a bird.


    Meanwhile, the fish chased him, watching its food escape into the air.


    It almost made Luo Yuan chuckle.


    It wanted to die.


    Luo Yuan was more reserved in the water because it made him a lot weaker. Killing the fish might result in an injury, but they were mid-air now, so he was no longer the prey.


    The fish was too slow in Luo Yuan¡¯s eyes.


    His body hovered mid-air, the Zhanmadao in his right hand shing through the fish¡¯s mouth and splitting its jaws into two.


    This was not the end, though.


    Luo Yuan¡¯s arms moved briskly, intense ck rays striking like lightning as pieces of the fish dropped into the water like dumplings, painting arge area of the river red.


    Grey clouds gathered around as rain started to pour.


    Luo Yuan had hovered rather long mid-air, borrowing force from his de¡¯s high-frequency movement. He only fell when the fish had been diced, and even then, his descent was slow; somewhat simr to a feathernding on the ground.


    He suddenly thought of something.


    He had always held onto the principle of wishesing true, slowing himself down by sheer Will when he jumped off somewhere high. He believed that he could fly freely once his Will got strong enough.


    It sounded simr to telekinesis, except telekinesis felt more like another limb on one¡¯s body after evolving; a limb different from other organs or parts of the body. It could manipte weapons and generate energy from nothing. It could even support the body in flight when it got powerful enough, but there was also the problem of distance ¨C telekinesis¡¯ effective distance, to be precise.


    Just like an arm supporting the body, it could not exceed the arm¡¯s reach, allowing only low-height flight.


    Will was different. It was a matter of the heart. What the heart wanted, it could get. As long as one had Will that was sufficiently powerful, one could fly as high or as far as they wished.


    Of course, Luo Yuan¡¯s Will was not powerful enough yet to fulfill his dream of flying. It could only allow him to reduce his weight andnd effortlessly.


    He could not fly yet, but could he run on water?


    Water had a certain buoyancy and tension of its own. If one could stay afloat by treading through, then with sufficient speed and strength, running on water might also be possible. Besides, judging by his earlier leap, water andnd would probably feel the same for him with 14-points in Dexterity.


    He had yet to try it out because the water had been too dangerous. Now that he thought of it though, he felt rather eager to do it.


    As he concentrated his Will, the faintest glow started radiating from his body. His foot went into the water, a ssh exploding on the surface as his body bounced a meter high.


    ¡°Too much power,¡± he thought.


    He went softer on the second step.


    Too light. He nearly sunk.


    After several shaky steps in his initial attempts and several adjustments, he managed to walk on water, as if strolling around in a park. He was so fast; he left ripples behind him.


    The scene defied logic.


    His people were used to him always performing some miracle and were less shocked by it, but this was the soldiers¡¯ first time. They were so shaken; they could not help but fear Luo Yuan a little more.


    The fish¡¯s carcass and the rich scent of its blood had attracted other creatures that lived in the water.


    They went in one after the other, losing all rationality and ending up biting each other.


    Waves tore through the river, the already murky waters turning muddy.


    Taking advantage of the opportunity, Luo Yuan ordered the lizard to move quickly.


    Perhaps the bigger beasts had scared the mutated fish away, because no other fish came near them, not even at the deepest part of the river, where the water came up to Luo Yuan¡¯s stomach. They all reached the other side safely.


    When they got back on the highway, everyone sighed in relief.


    Their situation was still bad. Four of the soldiers had died, and Zhou Yicheng was unconscious.


    ¡°How is he?¡± Luo Yuan asked, looking at the man.


    The soldiers had taken care of him.


    The water weeds had been cleared away, and his clothes had been taken off to cover him from the rain. However, his eyes were shut tight, and he was breathing shallowly. Luo Yuan saw tiny red dots on his exposed skin, a reddish-yellow pus flowing out as a soldier kept wiping it away. His eyes were rimmed red.


    The soldier¡¯s mouth moved with a sigh, but he kept quiet.


    ¡°Not very good. The water weeds had some soft thorns, and they were already attached to him when he was found,¡± Cao Ling answered.


    The water weeds had long been thrown away by the group, so Luo Yuan could not determine what they were, but it was possible that the carnivorous weeds could inject venom that might affect one¡¯s digestive or nervous system.


    The pus looked somewhat simr to dissolved traces of fat and protein. The man would not have been able to survive the night if he had not been treated in time.


    Luo Yuan sighed. ¡°We¡¯ll rest here tonight and leave tomorrow.¡±


    The giant lizard stopped in front of an outpost.


    It was evident that survivors had stayed there before as there were garbage and traces of ashes everywhere. The most obvious sign were the clear footprints covered in thick dust. It would seem that thest survivors there had left a long time ago.


    Huo Dong and Lin Xiaoji began wiping out the mutated beasts still inside with their knives.


    They could already handle regr beasts on their own, without Luo Yuan¡¯s help.


    Huo Dong pulled the decayed cotton sheets up, a dozen of bugs the size of a fist running helter-skelter. Pieces of cloth had blocked all possible exits, so they had nowhere to go. Huo Dong stepped on them and walked to the bed frame. ¡°At least it¡¯s not wet.¡±


    He chopped the steel bars around the bed and took out the wooden board.


    This would be their firewood for cooking dinner.


    Lin Xiaoji beside him was doing the same thing when he asked hesitantly, ¡°I¡¯ve heard that we might be sent to the reconstruction area in the Northwest when we arrive at the secret military base. What¡¯s your n?¡±


    ¡°n?¡± the question caught Huo Dong off guard, his actions slowing down. Realizing that he had never thought about it, he said, ¡°Me? I¡¯ll just see how it goes, I guess. You¡¯re evolved, though. The government will surely recruit you. You¡¯ll be much better off than most of us.¡±


    He was rather envious, but he knew it was all based on luck.


    ¡°The government hires evolved people for dangerous jobs anyway. What¡¯s the differencepared to now?¡± Lin Xiaoji sighed. ¡°I want to find a job and live like an average person. Don¡¯t tell anyone that I¡¯m evolved. I¡¯ll tell them when it¡¯s the right time.¡±


    ¡°Do you think Boss Luo¡¯s powers will cause a buzz when we get there?¡± Huo Dong asked, a thought blossoming in his mind.


    ¡°I think it¡¯s unlikely. China is a big country with many people. He¡¯d just be another evolved person there. Look at Wang Shishi. She¡¯s not that far from Luo Yuan, maybe even a bit better than him. Too bad my ability is crap,¡± Lin Xiaojiined as he touched the wooden board.


    ¡°It¡¯s a good thing your ability is weak. Otherwise, you¡¯d be flying already.¡± Huo Dong thought silently.

 Chapter 179: Mastery

    Chapter 179: Mastery


    Trantor: Editor:


    The soldiers gathered around Zhou Yicheng quietly, the unconscious man looking as good as gone. Within a short time, he had gotten much skinnier ¨C his cheekbones were protruding, and his cheeks had sunken. He seemed to be losing flesh and blood rapidly, his pulse weakening.


    More pus seeped from his body at a faster rate. It was not just the tiny holes made by the thorns that leaked. It seemed that every pore on his body was leaking pus. He looked as if he was decaying as pus pooled under his body. It gave out a stench, not unlike that of a dposed corpse.


    The atmosphere was depressing. Some of the soldiers had tears in their eyes.


    There was a big number of people around Zhou Yicheng, so Huang Jiahui watched from afar, her eyes flitting to the door from time to time. The man¡¯s only hope of survival now was Luo Yuan. She could only pray that he¡¯d be in time.


    A whileter, heavy footsteps came from outside along with the sound of a big object being dragged on the ground.


    Everyone looked delighted.


    Luo Yuan appeared at the door, arge canine-looking beast about 4 meters long in his hands.


    The creature looked like it weighed a ton, yet Luo Yuan held it like it weighed nothing. It did not even look injured. Judging by the air puffing from its nostrils, it was still very much alive.


    ¡°Find a room and move him there. Unless you want him to die,¡± Luo Yuan said as soon as he came in, looking at the soldiers.


    The soldiers stood up in excitement. ¡°You can save our Commander?¡±


    Soldiers were the most stubborn people in the world, especially these die-hard veterans. If Luo Yuan had not been evolved or disyed his abilities to the soldiers, it would have taken a while to persuade them. Now though, they all trusted him at his word.


    ¡°I can¡¯t guarantee anything, but there might be a chance,¡± Luo Yuan said. He dared not promise them anything. Life absorbing properties were useful, but they could only strengthen the defense of one¡¯s body, not heal venom. It would all still depend on Zhou Yicheng.


    ¡°As long as there¡¯s hope, we trust you,¡± a soldier said quickly.


    After cleaning up a little, the soldiers moved Zhou Yicheng into one of the many rooms of the outpost.


    ¡°Everyone out,¡± Luo Yuan ordered as he entered the room, carrying the beast. He tossed it on the floor, and the creature jerked instinctively but remained unconscious.


    The soldiers left after feeling the slight quake of the floor.


    Luo Yuan did not close the door. One look at Zhou Yicheng was enough to know that the man was at the threshold of death. His skin was blotchy with blood spots. It looked like it was about to melt off.


    Without dy, he stabbed his Zhanmadao into the beast¡¯s neck, pressing its head.


    The agony woke the beast up as it growled angrily, subconsciously trying to turn over, only to realize that it had lost all feeling below its neck.


    Its roar turned into a wail, the sound stopping altogether when Luo Yuan knocked it unconscious using his Will.


    There was silence once more as the beast spasmed.


    Luo Yuan pulled Zhou Yicheng¡¯s stiff fingers apart to make him hold the de¡¯s handle. The rest would be up to the man himself.


    Meanwhile, Luo Yuan sat in a meditating position and considered the inspiration he¡¯d had when he¡¯d been hunting just now.


    He was extremely familiar with the Zhanmadao by now. He could feel its every inch in his mind clearly and sense every tiny crack on it even with his eyes closed.


    Touching the sword gave him the illusion of touching his skin.


    One could say that he was far more familiar with the Zhanmadao than with his body.


    He could control most of his muscles, but he was still hopeless at manipting the functions of his internal organs and the flow of his blood, even more so at controlling his hormone secretion and the growth of his cells.


    Of course, he could forcefully use his Will to affect the function of his internal organs slightly, but that would take a long time and would not help him in mastering his power. It would be just like a deaf person using a hearing aid ¨C they may hear sounds, but they were still deaf.


    Luo Yuan had not noticed it earlier. Maybe it was due to him being a swordsman, but the system¡¯s knowledge on that subject was messy. It was not until he had held the Zhanmadao and felt like it was connected to his soul that he had gotten the idea.


    If he could master an inanimate object like the Zhanmadao, there was no reason why he could not do the same with his body, which was a part of him.


    Moreover, he realized that his mastery of his body increased with each Will level-up, but it was still passive, depending only on his Will rising.


    His capabilities had long exceeded the period where he could grow by working out himself. It was difficult enough increasing by even one AP, and the APs resulting from leveling up were insufficient to distribute as each attribute had its importance ¨C Will was naturally thest thing in Luo Yuan¡¯s mind.


    He was aware that it was because of the immersion of his Will that he could connect so well with the Zhanmadao. If he proactively immersed himself in his Will, would he get simr results on his body and speed up his mastery of it?


    All these were mere hypotheses that needed to be tested.


    His eyes seemed to shine brighter as his attention was entirely focused on his body.


    His dense, web-like muscr fibers, hard yetplex bone structure, gushing blood and all sorts of organs pulsed to form an intricate system. Although he had seen this once before when he had tried to manipte his heartbeat by attempting to use the Earth Stomp, he still was out of breath as he watched it this time.


    His organs were magnified more than ten times before his eyes, but the magnification did not stop there. Bending his body to his Will, the magnification increased until he could see even the tiniest of blood vessels.


    That was the limit of the magnification. The depletion of his senses was much faster than usual as well.


    Luo Yuan remained in that state, scanning his whole body inch by inch with his Will. The depletion of his Will was as rapid as if he was fighting.


    He was not rmed by it. Though Will was something mysterious, it was still a kind of force that would deplete as you use it. At the moment, if he were to gather his Will on the de, it could probablyst between thirty minutes to an hour if it was not used to cut or sh. The duration could be even longer in a vacuum, without the interruption of air particles.


    If it was exhausted, it meant his Will had to be working on something else. He did not know what exactly, but he was sure it would be effective.


    He tried his hardest to maintain the calmness in his heart, setting out on a journey of self-discovery.


    Now that he had gotten a good look at it, he realized that he had a lot of bruises on his body. Some of his blood vessels had blood clots while old injuries had not healed properly. This was the effect of unbnced attributes, the consequence of overexertion.


    While these were all minor issues, if he did nothing about them, they could turn out to be a great hindrance to his capabilities.

 Chapter 180: Danger

    Chapter 180: Danger


    Trantor: Editor:


    As thoughts passed through his mind, his blood vessels unclogged themselves one after the other. However, there was nothing he could do for vessels that had healed incorrectly. If Luo Yuan wanted to repair his injured muscles, it could only be done by breaking his muscle fibers and reconnecting them.


    However, Will could not be used to harm one¡¯s body as the human body would subconsciously protect itself. Unless he hypnotized himself, it could not be done. Even then, it would have to be a deep hypnosis.


    Luo Yuan knew nothing about this, so he put it off until next time.


    Less than five minutester, when he felt that his Will had depleted by half, he snapped out of it. Depleted amounts of Will would heavily damage his conscious state and his capabilities ¨C an undoubtedly risky thing to do during such dangerous times.


    As the shine in his eyes faded away, he slowly stood up.


    He felt unusually light, perhaps because of his unclogged vessels. He tested his muscle movement, but he did not feel any improvement.


    He was not disappointed, though. Improvement had always been a gradual process; he¡¯d be weirded out if it happened too suddenly. Besides, he was already feeling better than ever.


    He turned and looked at Zhou Yicheng. The man was still unconscious and pale, but in a much better state than before. He looked alive at least, breathing regrly as pus stopped seeping out. He was on the way to a full recovery.


    The most critical moment had passed. The life force of the dark blue level beast had dragged him back from death¡¯s grip.


    Luo Yuan sighed in relief. He looked at the beast with a turn of his head and noticed that it was dying.


    ¡°Water, water,¡± Zhou Yicheng murmured, his parched lips moving although his eyes were shut tight.


    There was no water where they were, and Luo Yuan was toozy to ask the others to send some up, so he brutally shed the beast¡¯s throat open with the dagger by his hip, and fresh blood gushed out from the cut, not unlike a fountain.


    Zhou Yicheng instinctively gulped the blood down, his cheeks flushing with the amount of blood he consumed.


    Barely thirty secondster, his stomach was bloated as blood refluxed out his mouth. Luo Yuan dropped the beast back on the floor and put the Zhanmadao¡¯s handle back into the man¡¯s hand.


    After such extreme amounts of torture, the mutated beast finally sumbed to its injuries.


    Its life force did not end after it died. It continued being absorbed for a long time, finally disappearing after half an hour. The beast¡¯s carcass did not harden like usual corpses but became softer instead.


    Luo Yuan went back down, carrying the dead beast. The soldiers quickly surrounded him.


    ¡°How¡¯s the Battalion Commander?¡± Their faces looked anxious.


    ¡°It¡¯s nothing serious; he¡¯s pretty much stable now. Go up and see,¡± Luo Yuan said.


    The soldiers did exactly that, rushing up to where Luo Yuan was before.


    ¡°Clean this. We¡¯ll have it for dinner tonight.¡± Luo Yuan shook his head with a smile as he tossed the beast down.


    ¡°Is it still edible?¡± Huang Jiahui asked, pointing at the creature.


    ¡°Should be.¡± Luo Yuan was not sure either. Absorbing life was pretty literal, but the definition of life was kind of vague. The most basic form of life was made of protein and nucleic acid, but thebination of both could not be called life; otherwise, dead bodies would be ssified as living things as well. That was the reason why life remained the biggest mystery in science.


    When they skinned the beast though, everyone held their breath as the body seemed to have dposed on the inside. Its tendons had snapped, and its flesh clung to its skin. The tissue broke off easily when Huo Dong gave it a light tug. It looked like minced meat when he pinched it.


    Everyone exchanged a look of disbelief. The flesh of mutated beasts was tough. Not even Luo Yuan was able to press it into minced meat.


    When they put the meat into boiling water, it dissolvedpletely, leaving a pot of murky soup. The soup was nd and tasteless, with a sandy texture.


    Luo Yuan suspected that the beast¡¯s DNA had been damaged. It was clearly inedible, so he went out to hunt once more. It was early enough.


    Nightfall came quickly, and the weather turned gloomy. Everyone went to sleep soon after dinner, while there was still light.


    Luo Yuan sat by the door like usual.


    His thoughts agitated him, making it difficult for him to meditate. This was a rare urrence following a level-up. Usually, he was able to find his peace within minutes, but that night he was still restless after three hours.


    He stood up half an hourter and gave up.


    It was still raining outside, and the next day would most likely be the same. Just as Luo Yuan was about to find a corner and finally head off into a slumber, a small shadow came out of the tent. Noticing him, it went back inside in fear.


    After a whole minute, the shadow sneaked out once more, hesitating as it looked at Luo Yuan¡¯s back.


    Luo Yuan chuckled. He had already sensed that she had been rolling around in the tent, unable to fall asleep.


    ¡°Howe you¡¯re not asleep? What is it?¡± he asked gently as he turned around.


    ¡°I... I need to pee,¡± Chen Jiayi stuttered in reply. She had not expected Luo Yuan to turn around so suddenly.


    ¡°Then go quickly. Any corner will do. It¡¯s not dangerous here,¡± Luo Yuan said.


    ¡°Oh.¡± Chen Jiayi seemed to need to pee as she ran to the nearest corner immediately. Not long afterward, she returned. As she walked to the tent, Luo Yuan called out to her, ¡°Come over, let¡¯s chat.¡±


    Chen Jiayi did not know what Luo Yuan wanted to talk to her about. Her expression seemed worried as she dragged her steps, trembling like a frightened rabbit.


    ¡°Are you that scared of me?¡± Luo Yuan asked with a smile.


    ¡°N... No,¡± Chen Jiayi answered quickly, lowering her head. Her hands were wrenching the hem of her clothes.


    ¡°Then lift your head up. You won¡¯t survive the apocalypse much longer being this timid. The first thing you need to do is ovee your fears,¡± Luo Yuan said a bit more seriously. Being this timid would do her no good. Even Wang Shishi was not as shy as she used to be anymore.


    ¡°I... I... Uncle, I will be brave.¡± Chen Jiayi lifted her head at once, her face paling as her trembles became violent. Tears threatened to fall from her eyes.


    Luo Yuan had not expected to scare her so much with just a few words. He waved her away as he said, ¡°We¡¯ll see how you behave. Now go back to sleep, and don¡¯t toss and turn. We have to leave early tomorrow morning.¡±


    Luo Yuan¡¯s words had apparently put an enormous amount of pressure on young Chen Jiayi as she walked back uneasily, tears flowing profusely down her cheeks. She stood by the entrance of the tent for a bit before she suddenly walked back over to Luo Yuan.


    Luo Yuan looked at the girl questioningly. ¡°What is it?¡±


    ¡°I... It¡¯s not that I can¡¯t sleep, I... I just sense danger.¡± Chen Jiayi forced herself to lift her head up, revealing her tear-stricken face.


    ¡°Don¡¯t scare yourself. Just go to sleep.¡± Luo Yuan did not get her meaning at first. When he did though, his smile disappeared. ¡°You mean you can sense danger?¡±


    ¡°Y... yes. Very, very big danger.¡± The girl did not know how to describe it. She just kept gesturing with her hands as she said worriedly, ¡°It¡¯s... approaching quickly.¡±


    Luo Yuan paced around, his heart sinking. The more he thought about it; the more things seemed out of ce. Maybe that was why he couldn¡¯t find peace. ¡°Are you evolved?¡±


    ¡°I... I don¡¯t know.¡± The girl took a few steps back, shocked by Luo Yuan¡¯s serious expression.


    ¡°Are you usually able to sense threats?¡± Luo Yuan asked, guessing that the girl was evolved, but she did not know it.


    ¡°Plenty of threats, big and small. But not as big as today. Not even like this afternoon,¡± Chen Jiayi replied with a sob.


    Luo Yuany on the ground immediately and listened quietly. Suddenly he shouted loudly, ¡°Everyone wake up! We¡¯re leaving in five minutes!¡±

 Chapter 181: Against Time

    Chapter 181: Against Time


    Trantor: Editor:


    During the apocalypse, humankind was more alert than ever. Most people slept with their clothes on and their weapons by their side, prepared for battle at any time, and they would wake up by even the slightest movement, let alone Luo Yuan¡¯s shout.


    The group leaped out of sleep. They did not show a single sign of fatigue though they had just woken up. Grabbing hold of their weapons, they rushed out of their tents.


    ¡°Brother Luo, what¡¯s going on?¡± Wang Shishi asked frantically.


    ¡°I¡¯ll exin everything on the way out,¡± Luo Yuan said quickly. He paced anxiously as the faint sense of danger got stronger. Seeing that they were still packing their tents, he shouted, ¡°There¡¯s no time! Leave everything behind except your weapons! We have to go!¡±


    Everyone¡¯s hearts sank as the feeling that something bad was about to happen dawned upon them.


    They reluctantly put down the things they were packing and left of the outpost quickly.


    The giant lizard and Lao Huang were already pacing around on edge. The beasts may not be as intelligent as humans but their instincts never failed them. The two creatures clearly felt the danger that was heading towards them.


    The lizardid low upon hearing Luo Yuan¡¯s order, the man hopping onto it with Chen Jiayi in his arms, and pulling everyone up right away.


    On hismand, the lizard ran. It picked up its speed as it sprinted through the raindrops as if there was an invisible danger chasing it in the dark.


    ¡°Hang on tight, so you don¡¯t get flung off!¡± Luo Yuan shouted, pulling the unconscious Zhou Yicheng to his side and pressing his hand on him. The man immediately stopped moving as if an invisible force had enveloped him.


    No one had needed Luo Yuan to remind them. The group was already keeping their bodies low, their hands gripping the carpet tight. The lizard¡¯s back was more spacious now that four people were gone, but it was still not wide enough for them toy downpletely, so they could onlyy as low as possible to try and reduce the air resistance. They still felt as if they could be flung off at any time, though.


    The giant lizard was naturally not an animal that you could ride on; riding it while it ran felt like you were riding a rollercoaster. That, in addition to the wind blowing against them, made even the soldiers look pale.


    It was only their third time riding the lizard, so they were still not used to such a mode of transportation. They could barely hold on as the lizard jogged; it was running so fast, that it made them feel nauseous.


    The soldiers¡¯ bodies were tense, and they looked like they were about to throw up. No one dared to make a move as the lizard moved erratically. Falling off from six meters would at best cause them paralysis, if not death.


    The only one not moving at all was Luo Yuan. He sat still as if he was sitting on the ground, one arm holding Chen Jiayi while cing his other hand on Zhou Yicheng. He was not holding onto anything to keep himself from falling off. Strangely, no matter how the lizard moved during the trip, he still looked as if he was glued to the lizard¡¯s back. Only Chen Jiayi, who was in Luo Yuan¡¯s embrace, could feel his muscles tense and rx.


    The strong wind messed up his hair as he stared into the endless darkness with a thoughtful expression.


    Chen Jiayi looked up at Luo Yuan. The warmth on her back gave her a strong sense of security, despite the fact that up until recently she had been afraid of this man.


    Along the way, an injured soldier was almost flung off when he lost his grip on the carpet. If it were not for Luo Yuan, who had reacted quickly, the man would have died.


    Under the current circumstances, if someone did fall off, Luo Yuan would have to leave them behind. He would not put everyone in danger just for any individual.


    Seconds and minutes passed. Barely ten minutester, Luo Yuan felt a slight vibration; there was a faint, yet intense buzzing sound in the air, as if all the small noises merged into one.


    In the darkness, there seemed to be countless running beasts that were charging towards them.


    Fifteen minutester, the vibration got stronger. Even ordinary people could feel it now.


    The giant lizard sped up a few times but had to slow down to its initial speed at Luo Yuan¡¯smand.


    The lizard¡¯s Dexterity was a point higher than Luo Yuan¡¯s. Its 15-point Dexterity and its gigantic size could move at a blinding speed if it decided to unleash its full potential. If the road was a smooth, straight line, the lizard¡¯s could sprint at speeds up to 400 kilometers per hour at short distances.


    Even if it were to jog through long distances, it could still speed itself up to 200 kilometers per hour; guaranteeing its escape from the wave of beasts tailing them.


    However, that kind of speed, along with the air resistance and jostling, would have everyone except Luo Yuan falling off. Even Luo Huang, which was still recovering, would be left behind. Thus, Luo Yuan could only be patient and go slow, no matter how impatient he was feeling.


    Time is especially precious at the moment as everyone tensed up in preparation for the iing attack.


    A loud boom was heard from about two kilometers away, followed by the sound of cement copsing.


    ¡°It¡¯s the highway,¡± was the thought running through everyone¡¯s heads. They knew there were no buildings around. The only thing that could be copsing was the highway.


    ¡°Careful,¡± Luo Yuan suddenly said. His eyes seemed to glow like a cat¡¯s in the dark. The night vision that was a result of his evolution and strong physique enabled him to see far away clearly. He slowly took out a short spear from the sack on his back before passing Chen Jiayi and Zhou Yicheng to Huo Dong and Lin Xiaoji who were beside him before standing upright on the lizard¡¯s body.


    The unknown danger had everyone breaking out in goosebumps, their gazes instinctively turning towards the darkness. Everyone but Lin Xiaoji could only see a few meters in front of them as they heard the buzzing sound approaching from afar.


    It was a strange insect as big as a small van, with a green scaled back. Two pairs of tiny mismatched wings pped fast as it jumped. Its stomach was ink-ck, with a clean cut in the middle. Luo Yuan could not see what was inside because it was too dark, but it did not look like a decoration.


    It wasrge, but it moved swiftly, its strong hind legs and wings allowing it to jump several dozen meters high and about a hundred meters far.


    Considering the lizard¡¯s current speed, it would catch them within ten seconds.


    Whatplicated the situation was that there were more than twenty of those insects.


    Most of them were underneath the highway. Only six of the insects were on it, but Luo Yuan was not sure if the other insects would join in the battle, should he attack one of them.


    Sweat dotted his forehead as his heart beat violently, nerves and excitement boiling in his blood.


    Closer. They were getting closer.


    The mutated insects did not avoid the humans. Instead, they flew right through them. Everyone had felt a strong gust of wind before an insectnded about ten meters in front of the lizard. Soon it jumped again, disappearing from view.


    Then the second and the third one followed...


    Luo Yuan was slightly relieved, but his relief was once again short-lived.


    The fourth insect made obvious pauses between its leaps, unlike the others that moved without a pause. It seemed like it was calcting something.


    Although it went on its way not too long afterward, its leaps had changed significantly ¨C some were longer while others were much shorter. It kept adjusting its hopping distance. A short timeter, it paused slightly before leaping into the air with more force.


    Luo Yuan looked up. The insect was at the highest point of its jump and came down full force, pping its wings. This action was something the previous insects had not done; it was a clear sign of a predator hunting its prey. Once Luo Yuan realized where the insect wouldnd, its target became clear ¨C it was the already exhausted Lao Huang.


    The long journey had roused the insect¡¯s appetite, and it had chosen Lao Huang because it was still in recovery.


    With gravity on its side, the insect elerated like an iing missile.


    By the time Lao Huang sensed the danger, it was already toote. The insect spread its limbs, its steel, curtain-like legs covering almost eighteen square meters as their sharp ends shined with a deadly gleam.


    Before it got close, the cut in the middle of its stomach opened to reveal two rows of sharp ck teeth ¨C it was the insect¡¯s mouth. Once it reached its prey¡¯s back, it would tear its flesh and bite into its spine, shattering it into pieces.


    The insect¡¯s attack was impulsive, its movement light and fast. Lao Huang hadn¡¯t any time to react.


    Luo Yuan moved in the nick of time.


    His left leg slowly slid forward as his right onended with tremendous force; his spine rolled like that of a snake¡¯s, the veins on his right hand that was holding the short spear popped out like they were tree roots. His whole body seemed to expand before he thrust the short spear into the air.


    The speed made everyone¡¯s ears hurt. No one could see what had happened. They could only pray that Luo Yuan had eliminated the unknown danger.


    Compared to the first time he had done this, Luo Yuan had improved. The powerful recoil had even the lizard stumbling in its steps.


    There was no chance of missing considering the target¡¯s sheer size and Luo Yuan¡¯s 9-point throwing uracy. In the blink of an eye, the short spear glided through the air at supersonic speed and collided with the insect, flying about ten meters away andnding harshly by the roadside.


    The blue level spear exploded into pieces upon the impact, the explosion causing a half-meter diameter wound on the insect.


    The insect struggled to stand, copsing again after a few steps. After repeated struggles, it finally wailed pathetically before surrendering.


    The extent of the damage was nothingpared to its body, and the wound was not lethal either. What put the final nail in the insect was the internal injury that it sustained during the high-speed collision. Nothing could save the insect, especially when its internal organs had turned to mush. Not even an extremely powerful one could survive this.

 Chapter 182: Seconds Ticking

    Chapter 182: Seconds Ticking


    Trantor: Editor:


    The insect¡¯s shrill wails echoed in the night like fingernails scraping over a piece of ss.


    As if some message was transmitted, two insects that were following behind leaped towards the heavily injured member, their antennae rotating rapidly.


    Those further away leaped over as well, the number of insects increasing.


    Luo Yuan observed the scene, his expression darkening as he realized the insects already far ahead wereing back.


    The crisp buzzing sound they made could be heard everywhere. The same species of insects seemed to be gathering there from all around the area.


    Their cries rang through the night endlessly, as if they weremunicating.


    These particr insects had developed a sort of intelligence after they mutated and formed a colony. This phenomenon, which usually only urred among mammals, could now be seen among low-level insects.


    Luo Yuan decided that they could no longer wait. The longer this dragged on, the more dangerous it would be. Once there was a certain number of insects, considering their agility, even he would be at risk.


    He retrieved another short spear from his backpack, and after taking a step with his right foot, he threw the spear at the speed of lightning.


    Before its swooshing sound could even fade, a second one followed and then a third.


    The short spears thrust through the air, exceeding the speed of sound. Another insect who was near the injured one was hit before it could even react, its tough exterior was crushed upon colliding with the spear. The force pushed it about twenty meters away, scratches forming on the cement from the violent friction.


    Seeing the sudden attack, a third insect tried to flee. However, before its body could leave the ground, another spear came,nding on its hind leg, breaking the limb and injuring its soft stomach.


    A fourth spear, a fifth... a sixth.


    Luo Yuan acted quickly and smoothly. All the others could see was just a blurry image of his body before they heard an explosion. The loud sound hurt their ears, making them feel nauseated.


    It was a pity that, other than the second and third attack, no other spears had found their target.


    Firstly, the insects were too far, and the spears lost speed as they traveled through the rain. Secondly, the insects were already on alert, thus taking away their element of surprise.


    Luo Yuan gave up throwing and just held a short spear in his hand, prepared to attack.


    The action itself garnered a sense of authority. The insects that charged over only buzzed from afar as a sign of provocation, but dared note any closer. The lizard kept running; the insects followed it for a short period before fleeing in another direction when they realized that they would not achieve anything that way.


    Luo Yuan breathed a sigh of relief, finally feeling the burning pain in the muscles of his arm and back rxing.


    He frowned. His valiant attacks earlier had not been without sacrifice.


    Thrusting spears was unlike wielding a sword. The force came directly from the body¡¯s movement. The bigger the movement, the more power the short spear would generate. To generate the most significant impact, he had to put all his strength into each thrust.


    In addition to his insufficient Dexterity and Strength, he was also suffering from exhaustion.


    Usually, such a small injury would heal itself after a good night¡¯s sleep. However, after the great beast migration, there seemed to be threats everywhere. These insects were not the fastest in the wave of beasts. There would be more following soon.


    Of course, he could still fight despite his injury, but it would greatly affect his performance.


    He was feeling the bane of his attribute incoordination now. He would have to distribute his AP to Strength at the next level-up, or else he would suffer even more.


    Just as he was pondering this, he suddenly thought of something else and told the others, ¡°You guys keep an eye out. Let me rest for a bit.¡±


    The group possessed some degree of night vision thanks to the improvement in their Physique. While their vision was not as sharp as his, it was still better than that of ordinary humans.


    ¡°You rest, Boss Luo. I¡¯ll be on the lookout over here. Miss Wang is on the other side, you don¡¯t need to worry about a thing,¡± Huo Dong replied quickly.


    Wang Shishi felt ttered as she said with confidence, ¡°Yes, Brother Luo. Don¡¯t worry, there¡¯s still me.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll watch out too,¡± Huang Jiahui said, although she looked worried.


    Luo Yuan nodded. Sitting down cross-legged, he quickly focused his Will as a gleam shed before his eyes.


    He wasted no time in directing his gaze toward his injured arm. Arge bruise could be seen on his muscles. The blood vessels around it were clogged up, and some of the muscr fibers were torn as well.


    This was only a small part of his right arm, yet it hadpletely hampered the movement in his arm.


    Luo Yuan quickly scanned the area and went to work. Using what he experienced in previous days, he used his Will and unclogged his blood vessels before targeting the bruise. The bruise vanished as if a mysterious force had swept it away.


    These two steps were the simplest and did not consume much Will.


    The third step, though, was a crucial one and the hardest one to pull off. Luo Yuan concentrated once more and began his first attempt at it.


    Suddenly, he realized it was much easier than he had anticipated.


    What was Will after all? It was the heart, the materialization of the spirit, a wishing true.


    As he thought of what he wanted, the torn muscr fibers began wriggling on their own and connected to one another. After some itching, they all healed perfectly.


    It had taken only a few seconds.


    Luo Yuan could not help feeling ecstatic. He could barely keep his cool, and he had to stop as he struggled to calm himself down. He looked over his arm, connecting all the torn fibers using his Will and healing himself.


    The whole process took less than a few minutes, and all his torn muscles recovered to how they had been initially.


    He opened his eyes and swung his arm around, realizing that the pain hadpletely disappeared as he regained his strength, seemingly stronger than before.


    This was fantastic. Despite the dangerous circumstances, a thrill still ran through his heart.


    Self-healing had its cons. The more injuries one sustained, the more dislocated muscles there would be. If there were cracked or broken bones, it would be even worse. No matter how perfectly the bones healed, there would still be a dislocation to a certain degree, and as the number of injuries increased, his strength would continue to weaken.


    However, his Will could now make up for all these drawbacks. Suddenly, he thought about all the ills from his old injuries. Had this not been a crisis, he would have liked to self-mutte.


    ¡°You¡¯re awake already? Why not rest a little longer?¡± Huang Jiahui asked worriedly once she saw Luo Yuan opening his eyes.


    ¡°I¡¯m fine.¡± Luo Yuan held her hand, smiling as he shook his head.


    No other words were needed. They had already formed a tacit understanding after being together for so long. Seeing Luo Yuan¡¯s state, Huang Jiahui¡¯s troubled heart was finally at peace.


    Zhao Yali took in the scene wordlessly, her heart feeling like something heavy had been dropped on it.


    Meanwhile, Zhou Yicheng woke up with a moan, coughing as he took in a gulp of cold air as soon as he opened his mouth.


    The man caught his breath and asked, ¡°Where am I? Why am I not dead yet?¡±


    ¡°Our team leader, Luo Yuan, saved you. We¡¯re on our way to Hucheng City now. You must hang in there, Battalion Commander. We¡¯ll be there soon,¡± a soldier said carefully as he looked at Luo Yuan.


    ¡°I¡¯m alright. I¡¯m feeling much better. Brother Luo, I¡¯ll spare you any words of gratitude. I¡¯ll always remember what you did for me,¡± Zhou Yicheng told Luo Yuan sincerely as he breathed harshly.


    ¡°Don¡¯t mention it. Too bad more people couldn¡¯t be saved,¡± Luo Yuan said with a sigh.


    With a start, Zhou Yicheng said bitterly, ¡°No one is to me for that. Who... who¡¯s still here? Call out your names.¡±


    ¡°Xie Qiliang, here.¡±


    ¡°Xue Liancheng, here.¡±


    ¡°Li Shaodie, still alive.¡±


    ¡°Bai Shangfeng, here.¡±


    ¡°Wang Weilin, ready to charge at any time.¡±


    ¡°Zhou Bin, here.¡±


    ¡°Zhu Dazhuang, here. I still want to avenge my fallenrades.¡±


    Zhou Yicheng listened quietly and then gritted his teeth as he spoke with determination, ¡°All of you listen to me. Hang on with all you¡¯ve got. Hope is right in front of us. Don¡¯t fall during thest leg of our journey. I¡¯m keeping my promise. I will survive, and so will you.¡±

 Chapter 183: Mystery

    Chapter 183: Mystery


    Trantor: Editor:


    The appearance of the insects was only the beginning. Many other mutated beasts started to appear sporadically.


    These mutated beasts were either huge and terrifying, or daft and docile. However, they all had one thing inmon. They run very fast, so they could remain ahead.


    They were either sprinting in the wild or the istion belt, but very rarely would any of them pass by the giant lizard. Most of the time, the beasts went about their business, not bothering one another.


    After all, the giant lizard was neither weak nor gentle. Its enormous size and the exerting aura of its nearly light green level were strong enough to deter all other beasts, especially the most docile ones, and the herbivores. When they saw the lizard from afar, they would all quickly change direction to avoid running into it.


    The current beast migration covered arge area, including almost all parts of the coast, the beasts heading in all directions. Considering the size of the migration area, the density of this wave of beasts was considerably lower and thus could not bepared to the previous wave of beasts. Therefore, they could now have their pick of a safer destination to migrate to.


    Of course, those beasts that dared follow or even provoke them usually had terrifying abilities. Such an example was the insects, which most likely were of a dark blue rank.


    By then, the tremors had gotten incredibly strong. The cracking sounds of the broken trees and branches as well as the howling of the mutated beasts could be seen and heard from everywhere. As more mutated beasts rushed to the area, the tussocks on both sides of the road were in a state of turmoil, and the local mutated beasts fled in disorder, the air filling with a raw smell.


    The atmosphere was rather oppressive, and the darkness further encouraged it. Everyone felt their hearts throbbing, which almost drove them out of their minds. They wanted to get out of there as soon as possible.


    However, the giant lizard slowed down after only about ten minutes of crawling.


    ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡±


    ¡°It seems that there is a giant rock up ahead blocking the way,¡± Lin Xiaoji said.


    ¡°F*ck, it¡¯s andslide,¡± Huo Dong could not help swearing when he took a closer look. He looked depressed.


    ¡°What can we do? If we change our course, we¡¯ll have to go around this mountain,¡± Wang Xiaguang said, going as white as a sheet.


    ¡°Wait here while I go check it out.¡± Luo Yuan had frowned before he jumped off the giant lizard. Mountains from all sides surrounded the road, and the highway went past the mountains horizontally.


    For the safety of the transportation system during the apocalypse, both sides of the road have had the hillsides cemented and were supposed to be strong and stable. However, one of the mountain peaks had copsed for unknown reasons, and the fallen stones were currently blocking the entire highway.


    What was worse, a huge rock about 20 meters tall had fallen right in the middle of the road and covered almost all of it.


    Most mountains in the Jiangnan District were low in elevation, and thus could only be called hills. If the whole mountain had copsed, then the rock¡¯s height would have been more than 20 meters. Although the elevation of the hill might not be high, its range was not small. If they were to go around it, they would have to walk more than 10 kilometers, and the path would not be as smooth as the highway. It was a forested area, so they would have to extend their journey and would not reach Hucheng City by the next morning.


    Luo Yuan wandered around impatiently. When he saw the giant lizard, he got an idea. Maybe he could let it try to crash the giant rock and dig out a path. He checked and realized that the part of the road that was blocked was only about 30 meters long. It would be nothing for the lizard.


    Luo Yuan returned and exined his idea to the others. Then he let everyone jump off the giant lizard and get far away from there so that the spattering gravel would not hurt them.


    After instructing them to be careful, Luo Yuan led the lizard towards the giant rock.


    ¡°What does he want to do? Have that lizard crash the giant rock?¡± Zhou Yicheng said in surprise after being put on the ground.


    ¡°It¡¯s a giant lizard,¡± Wang Shishi corrected with a serious look on her face. ¡°The giant lizard is was incredibly strong. It won¡¯t be a big deal for it to crash that rock.¡±


    ¡°But... that rock is as high as a six-floor building.¡± Zhou Yicheng did not seem able to conceive it.


    ¡°It can still crash it. It can crush even bigger rocks. Its bones are harder than steel,¡± Wang Shishi exined patiently.


    ¡°Shishi, don¡¯t lose your focus. Please concentrate on the safety of our surroundings,¡± Huang Jiahui reprimanded.


    ¡°He¡¯s the one arguing with me,¡± Wang Shishiined as she nced at Zhou Yicheng.


    Zhou Yicheng awkwardly shut his mouth and stopped arguing with the stubborn girl. He felt that his alertness had been reduced, even though he had been staying with them for less than a day. Compared to evolved people, he felt that they, the soldiers, were the ones who needed protection. The soldiers seemed like ordinary people instead of warriors ready to fight at any time.


    This little girl, who was about seventeen or eighteen years old, seemed insignificant and immature, yet she was a terrifying evolved person. Though he had not seen her in battle, based on her ridiculous flying shuttle, which did not even look like a decent weapon, and the serious attitude Luo Yuan and the others treated her with, she did not seem like someone that needed protection.


    Suddenly, a loud noise interrupted Zhou Yicheng¡¯s thoughts.


    There was a cloud of dust about 10 meters ahead of them, and gravel was shooting in all directions like bullets. Fortunately, the smog dispersed quickly.


    The giant lizard had hit the rock and created arge hole about ten cubic meters in size on it. Cracks were filling the rest of its surface like spider webs. The giant lizard, however, did not look good. Its head was bleeding profusely, dying the ground red with blood, and it was shaking its head as if it was feeling dizzy.


    After the lizard had rested for a while, Luo Yuan tried to have it knock into the rock again, but the lizard whined and retreated pitifully. No matter how much Luo Yuan berated it, it dared not do it again.


    Luo Yuan was looking at the cracks on the giant rock. It looked like it was about to copse and needed only another strike or two. How could the giant lizard give up at such a critical moment?


    When Luo Yuan had first caught it, he had beaten and kicked the beast to tame it. However, the lizard had grown in strength so using violence was no longer effective. Quite the contrary, if he did use any force, its loyalty might drop and make the lizard rebel against him.


    Therefore, all Luo Yuan could do was try to tempt it. He took out a food cube from his pocket and moved it up and down before the lizard. The tempting smell caused the beast¡¯s eyes to move ordingly before Luo Yuan pointed at the giant rock.


    The lizard hesitated, but at the end of the day, the temptation of the food cube was too strong.


    It hit the rock again, whining painfully. However, its strength this time was obviously weaker than the first time. It was not effective enough. It had only created a few more cracks.


    The lizard turned and looked at Luo Yuan pitifully. It looked very miserable, its head already soaked in blood.


    However, Luo Yuan remained indifferent to its light trauma and pointed at the giant rock again.


    As the giant lizard realized that it would not get any sympathy from him, it had no choice left but to turn back and face the giant rock once again. The beast had grown smarter, though. It did not hit the giant rock like it had the first few times. Instead, it walked towards it, flexed its throat and then opened its huge mouth and shot out a burning hot me, bombarding the giant rock directly.


    Arge part was blown off the rock creating a big hole as the me was still burning fiercely. The giant rock could not withhold the stress of such a difference in temperature and finally copsed.


    Luo Yuan was a bit taken aback by the intelligence of the lizard, but he did not duel on it any further.


    He threw the food cube in front of it, and the giant lizard caught it quickly, wagging its tail.


    Suddenly, its actions became very rigid, its scales rising and its tail moving like a giant sawtooth while it growled in distress.


    There was a scream from afar that sounded like Zhao Yali.


    ¡°Something¡¯s going on.¡± Luo Yuan was shocked as he sprinted to where the rest of them were waiting.


    In the dark, some unknown beast had confronted Lao Huang.


    In fact, it was not a confrontation. Lao Huang was merely whimpering while it retreated.


    Suddenly, it was hit by something, and its enormous body started to roll intensely. The next moment, it hit the rock on the side of the highway hard, convulsed a few times, and went still. Nobody knew whether it was dead or alive.


    That¡¯s when they heard a gunshot.


    Nobody knew whether it had hit its target, as there seemed to have been nothing in its way. An intangible fear made their hearts throb, causing them to have difficulty breathing.


    ¡°What¡¯s happening? Did you see what it was?¡± Soon, Luo Yuan had reached the others, the giant lizard following him.


    As they heard Luo Yuan¡¯s voice, they all felt relieved.


    ¡°No, we didn¡¯t see anything. We were on alert as soon as we realized that Lao Huang was acting strange,¡± Wang Shishi said breathlessly, her face pale. She was obviously frightened.


    ¡°The bullet seems to have missed the target. It¡¯s as if nothing was there,¡± one of the soldiers said breathlessly. He had not met such an enemy before.


    Luo Yuan stared into the darkness, but it seemed like they were right. There was nothing there at all. And yet, he could feel a malicious intention up ahead. It made him shudder and caused his hair to stand on end. It was pure instinct. Although he could not see, Luo Yuan knew that something was out there. His heart throbbed fast. After hesitating for a moment, he said, ¡°Wait for me here. I¡¯ll go take a look.¡±


    ¡°No, maybe it ¡¯s already gone. Please don¡¯t go again,¡± Huang Jiahui said worriedly. An unseen enemy was even more frightening, and she did not want Luo Yuan to take the risk.


    ¡°Yes, Little Yuan. Please don¡¯t overexert yourself. It¡¯s too creepy, you shouldn¡¯t go over there,¡± Zhao Yali said in fear as she held onto Luo Yuan, her body shivering all over.


    ¡°Whatever it is, it¡¯s targeting us,¡± Luo Yuan said absentmindedly, ¡°Please move further back.¡±


    Luo Yuan slowly moved Zhao Yali¡¯s hands away and attempted to sense the surroundings thoroughly. He felt nothing, so he slowly pulled out his Zhanmadao and walked forward.


    Meanwhile, a terrifying aura was emanating from him, slowly growing stronger.


    The air started to get restless. The gravel on the ground was vibrating, and a mysterious power was stirring up an invisible air current.


    As Luo Yuan¡¯s fully exerted his aura, everyone retreated, their faces going white as a sheet of paper. Although they had moved more than ten meters away, they were shocked to feel their hearts still beating at a maddening pace.


    Under the exertion of the oppressive aura, the opponent could no longer hide. The scenery had twisted slightly, and Luo Yuan¡¯s Sensory Perception quickly caught it, making him act immediately. He tiptoed, crouching almost at ground level, andunched himself forward fast, like an arrow leaving the bow.


    His terrific speed produced a cyclone of dust directly behind him. The ten-meter distance was very close, and he reached it in only a second. The Zhanmadao was radiating a sharp glimmer that pierced through the air in that direction, twisting like lightning. The delusive surrounding scenery abruptly copsed, exposing a seven-meter tall giant covered in green hair.


    When Luo Yuan saw the giant, he was slightly shocked. His shock, however,sted for only a second before he quickly retrieved his knife so he could use it again.


    The ferocious face of the giant looked panicked. It seemed like it could not react to the sudden attack. Within seconds, its blood-red eyes had suddenly brightened.


    Seeing the light, Luo Yuan felt a throb in his heart. He doubted that a sheeryer of Will could defend him against this mysterious attack. Therefore, he moved and turned nimbly towards the giant¡¯s back, holding the Zhanmadao with an underhand grip and pulling as he targeted the giant¡¯s thigh.


    The skin of the giant was so tough that when the knife cut into it, it got sandwiched betweenyers of muscles, making it difficult to move it any further. However, the cut was sufficient to cause the creature pain.


    The giant howled in anguish and fear, the red light in its eyes no longer visible.


    The fight had just started. Luo Yuan moved around the giant briskly, swishing his knife around and cutting off pieces of flesh. In just a second, Luo Yuan had cut the giant more than ten times while simultaneously dodging its moves. The legs of the giant were already bleeding profusely.


    The giant was not slow, nor did it have slow reflexes. It was its body size that limited its movement. It was like a man wanting to catch a rat, but not being able to do anything.


    The giant screamed and howled fearfully while both of its legs stepped violently on the ground. Soon the highway had be bumpy and rough, gravel spattering as if the giant was trying to stomp an annoying rat to death, but to no avail.


    Finally, it tried to escape, but Luo Yuan got to it and chopped off the tendons on its legs, causing the creature to fall to its knees, shaking the ground.


    Before it was able to stand up again, Luo Yuan kicked it hard at the back of its kneecaps, and it fell back down.


    Even though it was kneeling on the ground, it was still about two meters tall. Luo Yuan trod upon its kneecap once again, his strong force preventing the giant from standing up. Luo Yuan jumped onto its back and moved to its head, holding its hair and pulling it so the giant was looking upwards before he aimed the glimmering point of the Zhanmadao at its temple.


    The next moment, he stabbed it, his sword piercing through the giant¡¯s head.


    The giant trembled intensely for a moment. The red light from its eyes hit the ground and stirred up the dust before it slumped down on the ground again, breathless.

 Chapter 184: Afterglow

    Chapter 184: Afterglow


    Trantor: Editor:


    From start to finish the whole battle had taken less than thirty seconds, yet Luo Yuan was sweating profusely as if he had juste out of a sauna.


    It might have looked like he had killed the giant effortlessly, but he had just taken advantage of its weak points. Frankly speaking, the giant had been terrifying.


    The mysterious camouging power and the attacking power of its eyes were significantly different from that of ordinary mutated beasts¡¯. It was like the giant had been able to evolve, and its ability to hide had managed to cheat Luo Yuan¡¯s Sensory Perception. Luo Yuan had never faced a simr situation before.


    After all, the theories behind Sensory Perception and the naked eye were very different. Hiding in the dark uses an optical illusion to cheat the eyes, but it could never do so against Sensory Perception. Nevertheless, he had not been able to see nor find the giant, even though it had been standing right next to him. If Luo Yuan¡¯s oppressive aura had not forced it into giving itself away, the battle would have ended before it had even started.


    As for its mysterious attacking power, although Luo Yuan had note into direct contact with it, the feeling of impending death he had felt still made him feel lingering fear as he recalled it. It had been so dangerous, that he felt like he had juste back from the threshold of death.


    As soon as the battle ended, everybody rushed over.


    ¡°Are you alright?¡± Huang Jiahui asked worriedly. When she saw Luo Yuan nod, she looked relieved. ¡°I was so scared. How on earth could such a creature even exist?¡±


    Looking both curious and afraid, Huang Jiahui sized up the giant¡¯s corpse. ¡°Is it a mutated human? It¡¯s just so... so big.¡±


    The giant¡¯s bodyy on the floor, covering an area of about seven meters, its limbs looking big and strong. It was still exuding a horrific aura, even though it was dead. Its whole body was hairy, but the hair on its head was rather thin. There was also a short, thick, dark green horn on its head, but what attracted people¡¯s attention was the polished stone ne hanging in front of its chest.


    It was an obvious sign of intelligence. Other than a mutated human, no other mutated beast would have been able to design such a thing.


    ¡°Why do I feel that it¡¯s somehow different?¡± Luo Yuan had hesitated for a short moment before adding, ¡°Now matter how mutated a person is, they should still maintain some human characteristics, just like Cheng Xianfeng does. This creature is too different from a man. It has to be a mutated beast.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re probably right.¡± Cao Lin dared not go near it, so she merely pointed at the giant¡¯s limbs as she said, ¡°Look, it only has four fingers. Its toes are the same too.¡±


    Everyone soon found more proof. The giant had six breasts, a short tail that has yet to dpose and two nostrils without any indication of a nose on its face.


    The atmosphere was chilling. Nobody said a single word, and everyone looked shocked and afraid.


    ¡°Would you go check on Zhao Yali?¡± Wang Xiaguang asked Luo Yuan, breaking the silence.


    Luo Yuan sighed and nodded as he sprinted towards her.


    Zhao Yali was squatting beside the corpse of Lao Huang, sobbing. She was touching its body, which was gradually getting colder, tears streaming down her face uncontrobly.


    Luo Yuan walked to her side and squatted down. ¡°Are... are you alright?¡± he asked softly after hesitating for a moment. He knew that Lao Huang had always been by her side since the beginning of the apocalypse. It was because of its loyalty and protection that she had safely survived to that day. She considered that beast her dearest rtive.


    Zhao Yali finally broke down. She hugged Luo Yuan and bawled, making everyone sad.


    The few women around were all moved, their eyes turning red as tears slid down their faces.


    Luo Yuan touched Lao Huang, who was already stiff. He felt uneasy as he sighed. ¡°Let¡¯s look at it for thest time. We¡¯ll bury itter.¡±


    Zhou Yicheng seemed as if he wanted to say something, but he kept his mouth shut when he noticed everyone¡¯s condition.


    Naturally, the giant lizard took care of digging a hole at the slope of the nearby hill. This time, it did not try to escape as it had before. In fact, it took the initiative to dig therge hole on the hillside, as if the death of Lao Huang had affected its emotions too. It got extraordinary quiet and did not show a single sign of impatience.


    After throwing Lao Huang into the hole and covering it with gravel, the giant lizard lowered its head and smelled the grave before it looked up and howled loudly as if it was sending Lao Huang off.


    Zhao Yali was still bawling. Lao Huang¡¯s death had hurt her deeply.


    The gravestone was a piece stone about three meters tall. After getting Zhao Yali¡¯s permission, Luo Yuan wrote, ¡°The Grave of the Loyal Lao Huang.¡±


    When it was over, the giant lizard did something that shocked everyone. It ran towards the side of the dead giant and tore open its stomach, its inner organs dropping out on the ground before the lizard gorged on them.


    The scene was so bloody that the few kids around went as white as a sheet and turned their eyes away.


    Huang Jiahui pulled at Luo Yuan. The beast had been human-shaped, so she was afraid that the giant lizard might think it was allowed to eat humans now. Luo Yuan did not stop it, though. The death of Lao Huang seemed to have greatly stimted it. When it had eaten all the inner organs, it finally stopped.


    Luo Yuan chased the lizard away and walked towards the head of the giant, cutting the small horn off its head with the sword¡¯s glimmering light. The small dark green horn had drawn Luo Yuan¡¯s attention from the moment he had seen it. Next, he dug out the giant¡¯s eyes. He thought the eyes could have unique properties considering that they could mysteriously attack others. He had no interest in the beast¡¯s bones and flesh, though.


    This wasn¡¯t because the beast had been man-shaped, and therefore taboo. After all, nobody thought of such nonsense anymore after surviving the apocalypse for so long. All things could be eaten provided that they were not human or toxic. In fact, he didn¡¯t take it because the flesh¡¯s raw smell would cause them trouble along the way, and they still needed to keep moving.


    The giant rock had been knocked off, so cleaning up the road had gotten a lot easier. Within 30 minutes, the giant lizard had opened up a path that it could walk through.


    Everyone climbed on it again and continued their journey.


    The rain had stopped, and the moonlight glimmered throughyers of dark clouds, producing a little light among the darkness.


    Traces of viges could be seen along the way. Copsed walls, broken zed tiles, and eroded bricks were hidden among the trees, flickering as the group passed by quickly. As time passed, they could see even more traces of buildings along the road. Rotting high-rise buildings were bing amon urrence.


    The sea-level was rising fast. Some lower buildings and parts of the highway were all submerged in water.


    ¡°Have we reached the suburbs yet?¡± Huo Dong said uncertainly, looking at the unrecognizable city, which was mostly submerged in water.


    ¡°It looks like we have. I used toe here before.¡± Wang Xiaguang said as she took a closer look.


    Luo Yuan stood up and looked ahead. Other than the high-rise buildings that were barely standing, the whole view was a vast expanse of white. There was water everywhere. As he wondered whether the military base was still intact, his face turned sour.


    Zhou Yicheng seemed to have guessed Luo Yuan¡¯s thoughts. He had the soldier beside him help him up as he said, ¡°We are near the sea. The military base is not located here, but at the district¡¯s highest point, the Baoshan Area. It can¡¯t have been affected by the flood yet. However, we don¡¯t have much time. Given the current situation, they must be preparing to retreat. We have to get there as soon as possible.¡±


    Luo Yuan nodded with a heavy heart.


    He took over the map from Zhou Yicheng and observed it carefully. The Baoshan Area was about 30 to 40 kilometers away from there. Fortunately, they were in an urban area and thus would not have to stop due to copses and blockage. Furthermore, the wave of beasts had already been eliminated by the flood. The journey would be difficult, but they might be able to reach their destination by the next day.


    After they had left the highway, Luo Yuan realized that the water level reached the thigh of the giant lizard. It had to be around 3 to 4 meters deep already.


    The vines beside the road were growing without anything to hamper it, but this was meant to be theirst growth spurt. As the sea level continued to rise, they would get submerged in the sea along with thergest city in the East.


    Other than some insects that were as small as grains floating on the water surface, barely any terrestrial animals could be seen. Most of them had moved to regions with higher elevation. As the giant lizard walked by, it stirred up a giant ssh, dispersing the insects, who acted as if they were afraid before they quickly gathered again somewhere else.


    As the giant lizard walked past a corner, Wang Shishi suddenly nudged Luo Yuan. ¡°Look over there.¡±


    Luo Yuan turned his head to take a look. It was a huge tree about a hundred meters high with thick branches and leaves. Other than the fact that its roots were on the surface of the water, there initially seemed to be nothing strange about it. As Luo Yuan looked at it for a longer time though, he was surprised to realize that the tree seemed to be running for its life.


    It made for a bizarre image as it pulled out its roots and staggered forward as if they were legs.


    Unfortunately, its movement was too slow. It took a few minutes for the tree to take a single step. Besides, without the supportingwork of its roots, it was swaying all over, running the risk of stumbling at any time. Nobody knew how long it had been staggering like that, but at such slow speed, it would never be able to escape.


    They all observed it in silence. As the giant lizard moved forward, the tree gradually disappeared.


    A broken thirty-floor building in the distance could not fight the corrosive sea water any longer and finally copsed. The copse produced a ten-meter high ssh on the surface of the water, its rippling effect causing even more buildings to fall.


    This incident made Luo Yuan vignt, so he had the giant lizard walk towards an area with fewer buildings.


    The buildings had been eroded down to their very foundation. Unstable as they were, a strong wind, slight quake or even a weak wave could easily destroy them.


    There was lots of garbage floating on the water surface; an empty stic water bottle was caught in an eddy and spun round and round in the water before a wave hit it and thrown somewhere far away. The salty, fishy smell of the sea breeze that permeated the atmosphere made everyone feel as if they were walking by the seashore. As Luo Yuan looked at the cluttered city, he felt that the destruction of civilization had transformed the world.


    In fact, he was right.


    None of them spoke along the way. They were just looking in silence at the afterglow of the doomed city, which had once been the most prosperous city in China.

 Chapter 185: Arrival

    Chapter 185: Arrival


    Trantor: Editor:


    They did not encounter any new dangers along the way, and Luo Yuan was slightly relieved.


    He rummaged in his pocket, taking out the things he had taken from the giant: a small dark, green horn and a pair of stic eyeballs the size of an egg.


    The small horn had a smooth surface that looked crystal clear and felt like warm jade in his hand. It looked extraordinary.


    Luo Yuan used the identification technique on it.


    ¡°Green Hidden Creature¡¯s Sharp Horn"


    ¡°Rarity: Light Green.¡±


    ¡°Weight: 500 grams¡±


    ¡°Additional Properties: 1. Absorbs various energy waves;


    2. Creates visual illusions.¡±


    ¡°Remarks: The Green Hidden Creature is a creature with low-intelligence. It is a killer in the dark, a mysterious creature not known to most people. It can hide and disappear under any circumstances, and neither ultrasonic waves nor the naked eye can detect it, all thanks to its small horn.¡±


    ¡°So that¡¯s the reason why,¡± Luo Yuan thought to himself. The reason why his Sensory Perception had not been able to detect the giant was this small horn.


    While he held the horn in his hand, he could see it with his eyes, but he could not sense it. It was rather strange, actually. Its effective range did not just include the horn itself. The horn¡¯s touch had also wrapped around his whole body, creating a dead zone within his Sensory Perception range.


    It was another method the horn used to hide. However, he had no idea how it created visual illusions. He would have to test it further to find out.


    Nevertheless, Luo Yuan was still delighted.


    He was not the only one to have Sensory Perception. Every evolved person and mutated beast had it, although some individuals or creatures¡¯ Sensory Perception might be stronger or weaker than others¡¯. The ability to hide oneself from other creatures¡¯ Sensory Perception would help a lot in assassinating or hiding from potential danger. Besides, not all mutated beasts observed using their eyes. Some of them, such as bats, used ultrasonic waves. If he encountered such a beast, he would have an advantage over it if he used that ability before the battle.


    Next, he identified the giant¡¯s eyeballs.


    ¡°Green Hidden Creature¡¯s Eyeballs¡±


    ¡°Usage: Food Ingredient¡±


    ¡°Rarity: Light Green¡±


    ¡°Weight: 100 grams¡±


    ¡°Additional Properties: 1. Slightly enhances human eyesight;


    2. Gives the eyes a certain chance to evolve.¡±


    ¡°Remarks: This is the eyeball of the Green Hidden Creature. The Green Hidden Creature can shoot deadly beams through its eyes and wipe off one¡¯s spirit. Its eyeball is also a rare medicine. Consuming it could greatly enhance your eyesight and give you a certain chance to experience an unusual evolution.¡±


    Both things had strong effects, and their value was much higher than that of regr light green level beasts.


    However, Luo Yuan was still feeling depressed. The words ¡°low-intelligence being¡± were still circling in his mind like a bone down his throat.


    This was not good news. The appearance of an intelligent species, even though it was only a low-level one, would only worsen the already dangerous conditions that the humans were facing.


    Luo Yuan¡¯s face became serious as he looked at the two eyeballs. He took one, put it in his mouth and chewed it. Some liquid burst out of the eyeball, although Luo Yuan could not describe its taste. He chewed for a while, and then swallowed before eating the second one.


    When Chen Jiayi, who had been observing Luo Yuan, watched him casually put the two giant eyeballs into his mouth and chewed them indifferently, she was shocked. Her stomach churned, and she turned around, not daring to take another look.


    Luo Yuan was not concerned about the thoughts of a little girl. After he had eaten the two eyeballs, he waited in silence for five minutes before something strange started happening to his eyes.


    It began with a warm current entering them, and then his eyes became sour and itchy as if ants were nibbling on them. Luo Yuan¡¯s vision then turned blurry as if the images before his eyes were ovepping.


    After fifteen minutes, the warm current in his eyes had reached its peak, and he started to experience a throbbing pain that felt a lot like burning mes. By now, the heart of an average person would have been filled with fear, and they would have started worrying that their eyes would get permanently damaged.


    Luo Yuan, however, was not affected at all. He just closed his eyes and left them alone.


    Half an hourter, the pain and itchiness had gone away.


    Slowly, Luo Yuan opened his eyes again.


    His surroundings had suddenly be very bright as if the light was glowing itself. The bright light gradually faded, and everything went back to normal.


    Luo Yuan felt that like the whole world was different: dust fluttered in the air while mutated fish were swimming in the cloudy waters. Suddenly, he realized for the first time that the world was colorful and beautiful, even though it was still night.


    The eyeballs had been as effective as he had expected. Luo Yuan felt that his abnormally good vision had be even better. He could now see things clearly under the dim, weak moonlight as if it was bright daylight.


    Besides, he had noticed something else too.


    The visible spectrum of the average person¡¯s naked eye was just between 380 nanometers and 780 nanometers, which was only a small portion of the electromaic spectrum.


    Therefore, during the night, without the reflection of the moon or the stars, the naked eye was pretty much useless.


    It was not true that there was no light at night. The problem was that those light wavelengths were usually smaller than 380 nanometers, and thus not visible to the human eye. In fact, if an object had any temperature, it persistently released electromaic waves. Therefore, one could use an infrared lens to observe the scenery at night.


    Also, the average person could not see high-energy lights with wavelengths higher than 780 nanometers either. That kind of light was called ultra-violet light.


    To Luo Yuan, each object now seemed to have two types of colors interwoven with each other; one was the moonlight reflected from the object while the other one was the invisible light produced by it.


    The former was stronger and more dazzling, while thetter was very weak, looking as if it could be extinguished at any time. This meant that Luo Yuan could still see things in theplete darkness, and could also identify the temperature of each object by their difference in color.


    This was actual night-vision.


    Unfortunately, he¡¯d only had two eyeballs. Perhaps his eyes could evolve even further if he got himself some more, Luo Yuan thought silently.


    Nevertheless, he knew that it would be pure luck before he woulde across a beast like this again. Plus, the giant was not a creature that he could kill easily. He could fail miserably if he were not careful.


    Although the seawater had covered more than half of Hucheng City, its depth was still shallow, so there were no stronger marine beasts around yet. The terrestrial mutated beasts had already migrated, so no forces were upying any part of Hu City.


    As a result, they did not encounter any danger along the way.


    After they had traveled for two hours, the water surface started bing smaller, and they even saw exposed ground surface.


    By that time, it was already 2 a.m. The area was so silent that they could not even hear the sounds of insects or the howling of the beasts that they had be familiar with.


    Zhou Yicheng was sitting up, holding the map and observing it. As they got closer to their destination, he grew more impatient; his breathing was faster and continuous as he murmured, ¡°Almost there, almost there... We¡¯re going home.¡±


    The soldiers were helping him carefully. Fortunately, they were not in a rush, and the speed of the giant lizard was not fast. Otherwise, Zhou Yicheng would have fallen off.


    Luo Yuan realized that his mental condition was a bit off. He grew worried as he looked at his weak body. He would probably slip off and fall if the wind blew too hard.


    Wang Shishi pursed her lips. She could not help but say, ¡°You told us that we were almost there half an hour ago. Why are you repeating it? Honestly, when are we going to get there?¡±


    ¡°Shut up,¡± Luo Yuan said, staring at her.


    Grinning, Wang Shishi turned around to show him the back of her head. If this had been before, her eyes would have probably turned red and she would have burst into tears. As her strength increased though, her fear towards Luo Yuan decreased. Scolding her like this was no longer effective. Wang Shishi did not act as cute as she used to anymore.


    ¡°This time we¡¯re really close. We¡¯ll be there soon.¡± Zhou Yicheng¡¯s mouth was trembling. His face was blushing as his fingers swiped excitedly back and forth over the map. Suddenly, he swiped too hard, leaving a few scratches on the map before he pressed on a certain ce. ¡°It¡¯s right here. This should be it. Eight more kilometers... No, five more kilometers.¡±


    As they heard him, they all got excited and worried at the same time.


    ¡°Battalion Commander Zhou, what do you think? Will they let us enter?¡± Huo Dong said carefully after a while. Most civilians were in awe of military bases, even more so of the secret military base built following the enemy¡¯s infiltration of themunity.


    ¡°They should let us in. We are the survivors after all,¡± Wang Xiaguang said uncertainly.


    ¡°Soldiers have to obey orders. Besides, they¡¯re supposed to be transporting equipment, not saving survivors. If they turn us away, what are we going to do?¡± Huang Jiahui said worriedly.


    ¡°It¡¯s still too early to discuss this. We¡¯ll cross that bridge when we get there,¡± Luo Yuan said firmly, ncing at Zhou Yicheng.


    At Luo Yuan¡¯s nce, Zhou Yicheng suddenly realized that these people were not ordinary civilians. If the military base turned them away, they could initiate a terrifying battle.


    He did think it was a possibility, but until then, he had been consciously denying the issue. He had been seriously underestimating Luo Yuan and his team¡¯s strength.


    As he thought of Luo Yuan¡¯s speed, which was so fast, he had not even been able to see his figure while he had been fighting the green giant, Zhou Yicheng started trembling.


    As they reached the road to the rural area, they could finally see the rolling hills up ahead.


    Apparently, the secret military base was located somewhere among those hills.


    It was obvious, judging by the recently built tar road and the ck tire marks on its surface.


    The defense had also been fortified by posts filled with gun tubes, which had been built at very short distance intervals.


    Spotted from afar, an enormous tube turned quickly towards the giant lizard. The soldiers had probably seen the people sitting on it and thus held their fire. However, that was still enough to make everyone¡¯s faces white as a sheet. Even Luo Yuan broke out in cold sweat; he sure did not want to be shot by a cannon.


    Soon, an army car came out from the post and stopped at a location about ten meters away from the giant lizard. Two fully-armed soldiers wearing night vision goggles jumped out of the car fast and made a hand sign, asking them to get down from the lizard.


    Luo Yuan hesitated for a while before he ordered the giant lizard to lie down so they could get off.


    ¡°Which battalion you are in, and where are youing from?¡± As they noticed the army uniforms Zhou Yicheng and some others were wearing; the soldiers became more friendly than they had been a moment ago.


    Zhou Yicheng broke loose from the soldiers supporting him and made a precise military salute. ¡°We are survivors of the 21st Army, 18th Special Force, 312th Battalion; I am the Major and Battalion Commander, Zhou Yicheng.¡±


    ¡°We salute you, Head of ourrades!¡± the two soldiers replied solemnly with a military salute.


    ¡°Lieutenant Comrades, please don¡¯t call me head yet. It¡¯s a shame. Just Battalion Commander Zhou will do.¡± Zhou Yicheng waved his hands as he smiled bitterly. ¡°The conditions in Jiangnan Province were too miserable, and the whole 21st army waspletely broken up. We are here asking for your help.¡±


    The faces of the two soldiers became more solemn as respect flickered in their expressions. One of them said, ¡°Battalion Commander Zhou, you must be tired after such a long journey. Wee home. The others must be the survivors; it must have been hard getting here. We¡¯ll get a car to bring you in.¡±


    The whole process was unbelievably smooth, yet also right and proper. Other than requesting that the giant lizard stay somewhere down the hill, the soldiers did not say anything else. They just had them board a truck and depart towards the military base.


    The hills surrounding the area were bald. They had obviously been cleaned thoroughly repeatedly.


    The truck had been driving for less than ten minutes when the road suddenly became very wide, its foundation bing thicker. Several roads went over the hillside, supported by a massive bridge pier. The road had rough signs all the way up the hillside.


    Looking at it from there, they saw a huge hole dug out of the hillside. All the earth in it had been removed.


    However, what had attracted their attention were the unbelievably thick,rge tire marks and the surrounding, strongly fortified defense. When Luo Yuan saw the watchtowers built every 100 meters and the missilesunching trucks at the end of the road, his hair stood on end.


    ¡°This is the runway for the transport ne. You can all board the ne for the next departure,¡± a soldier on guard exined as he saw Luo Yuan and everyone else looking around curiously.

 Chapter 186: Intimidation

    Chapter 186: Intimidation


    Trantor: Editor:


    The truck soon stopped at the opening of a huge cave approximately sixty to seventy meters wide.


    All the passengers got off and followed the group into the cave. Inside it was a huge hall with dozens of heavy-duty trucks on the side, like soldiers arranged into two rows. In front of them were twelve more medium-sized tanks. The hall was roughly several thousand square meters. It felt almost as if they had arrived at a town square.


    Luo Yuan noticed that at the end of the square was a huge iron gate, but he had no idea what was behind it.


    In addition to this hall, there were five or six passageways nearby; obviously, there were other rooms in the area. The construction of the site was undoubtedly a vast project.


    Everyone looked around in interest, sizing up everything with a shocked expression.


    Truthfully,pared to the current power of the country, this was nothing. The modern machinery was highly efficient. If this had been before the apocalypse, the prefecture-level administration could have built several simr military bases in a year without affecting the localmunity. However, the mutation outbreak and the infiltration of the enemy deep within themunity had made it really difficult to guard against the beasts. The high efficacy of modern weapons, though, would not allow mankind to be so easily defeated.


    A group of soldiers led the group into one of the passageways. After several twists and turns, they finally stopped before a door guarded by a sentry.


    One of the soldiers went forward to negotiate with the man before he turned around and told Zhou Yicheng, ¡°Battalion Commander, our leader has woken up. He would like to see you, please."


    Zhou Yicheng nodded and then took a nce at Luo Yuan. When he knocked on the door, he heard a low voice say, ¡°Come in.¡± He went into the room, and the door closed once again.


    ¡°Armyrades, follow me. I will make arrangements for your food and lodging,¡± said one of the lieutenants before leading the soldiers away.


    ¡°The rest of you, follow me,¡± said a second lieutenant.


    They all followed a few military men to an office. Several soldiers were lined up against the walls in single file. Even though they were not moving at all, they exuded a deadly aura that terrified the men.


    This was undeniably to intimidate them. Except for Luo Yuan, everybody else had turned pale. Even Wang Shishi looked frightened.


    The lieutenant sized up the group before he said solemnly, ¡°The country regrets that we were not able toe to your rescue. I know you are harboring anger and resentment. Surely, many terrible things must have happened to you. Nevertheless, this was unavoidable as the country¡¯s resources are limited. Too many cities have been destroyed, so there was no way that we could have protected every inch of the country.¡±


    ¡°Everyone that has been able to get here must consider themselves extremely lucky. Given the circumstances, we are preparing to withdraw in a few days¡¯ time.¡±


    Luo Yuan¡¯s expression changed slightly. He could not help but think of the numbers of days remaining for his mission. The coincidence had him thinking.


    The eagle-eyed lieutenant swept through the crowd as he went on, "Now I will talk about some things that you need to pay attention to. There have previously been some unpleasant incidents that have critically endangered the military base, causing major damages and dyed our rescuing efforts, which is why these instructions need to be followed strictly.¡±


    ¡°Number one, you must abide by all military regtions. You shall not fight. Offenders will be expelled and those who resist will be executed.¡±


    ¡°Number two, you shall not wander around the base, except for the designated areas. There will be a warning the first time, but you will be expelled if it urs more than once.¡±


    ¡°Number three, on special asions, the military has the authority to enlist anyone.¡±


    ¡°These are our only requests for civilians. I hope that everyone can obey them. I know that some of you here must have evolved." He nced at the people among the survivors who looked conspicuous. Any survivors that were not as thin as skeletons were usually covered in sores and dressed in shabby clothes, their faces looking fatigued. Nevertheless, everyone in this group apart from the children had a rosyplexion and was neatly dressed. Compared to other survivors, they stood out like fireflies in the darkness.


    ¡°To be able to survive up till this moment, I am sure the lot of you must have some special abilities. You are acting like you are the boss here. Maybe you believe that with your skills and powers, you can do anything you want without any consequences.¡± The lieutenant¡¯s voice grew gradually harsher as a sneer formed on the corner of his mouth. ¡°I have seen a lot of people like that, people looking to cause trouble. They all have either gotten expelled or executed. Consider yourselves warned. I hope that you are not like them, so behave ordingly. "


    The officer evidently was not fond of evolved people or evolved civilians, even to the point of disgust. One could easily tell by his facial expression.


    Several of them cast a furtive nce at Luo Yuan while Huang Jiahui tightened her grip on his hand.


    Luo Yuan knew what she was thinking; he felt likeughing. Perhaps his prolonged time in a position of authority had identally given the wrong impression to the others. After all, he was no longer the hot-blooded youth he used to be, who had taken offense at even the smallest of insults. He still wanted to hitch a ride with the military back to the reconstruction area, so he could not afford to offend the officer over such a trivial matter. If there was a need to be tough, he would be tough, and if he needed to be soft, he would be soft too.


    Plus, what the officer had said was right. People had been living in total disorder and desperation for a long time. Morally deprived as they were, a lot of people¡¯s mind and spirit had gotten twisted, especially those of evolved humans. They had lost themselves in their powers and felt that they were superior to others. They regarded the rules and regtions as constraints and people as mere straws. Even Luo Yuan himself had more of less felt that way, but that had been the result of making an effort to restrain and control his powers.


    After intimidating them, the lieutenant didn¡¯t try to stimte them any further. He just led them to the dormitories and gave them two keys, one for the women¡¯s and one for the men¡¯s dormitories. As soon as he told them about the activity area, he quickly departed with his soldiers. He didn¡¯t even confiscate their weapons or luggage.


    This made Luo Yuan realize that even though the reconstructed area was theoretically a restoration of the oldmunity, it certainly was not the samemunity as before.


    The dormitory was styled like a workers dormitory, except it was a lot bigger in size. Inside it there were 24 upper and lower bunk beds, all bare and unembellished. A lot of the beds were unupied; Luo Yuan looked around and noticed that approximately fifteen or sixteen people were already staying in the room.


    Through the ss window on the door, Luo Yuan looked into the rooms one after the other. Besides the women¡¯s dormitory on the left side, all the other rooms were empty. There was not a single person in them.


    No wonder that the military base had been so lenient in epting survivors. It was because survivors in the fallen cities were bing less and less. The ability to stay alive was small to begin with, and the people who had the courage to travel all the way there were even fewer. Considering that any free space in the huge transporting vehicles was filled with equipment, taking on survivors as passengers was merely en passant.


    After the soldiers had left, a few of the men exhaled a sigh of relief.


    ¡°Did you notice that their guns looked unusual? The guns¡¯ calibers lookedrger, very different from the 95 style.¡± Huo Dong had noticed because he was frequently in contact with guns, and thus naturally more sensitive to picking up such changes.


    ¡°I caught a glimpse of them just now. The calibers had to be around 15 to 17 mm, the military must have modified them.¡± Huang Jiahui looked grim; she used to use firearms, and was more knowledgeable on the subject than Huo Dong. "The gun¡¯s recoil force must berge; a normal person wouldn¡¯t be able to use it. The force of the previous guns had probably been too small because the enemies had been humans. Regardless of the bullet size or the type of the handgun, as long as it could shoot to kill, there was no point in worrying about the bullet force. However, a 95-type diameter only has 5.8 mm and an effective range of four hundred meters. If they didn¡¯t use special bullets, they would not have much of a chance against blue level mutated beasts.¡±


    ¡°It would be great if I could get one,¡± Huo Dong eximed. He thought that kind of gun would be fun to use.


    ¡°You keep dreaming. You should consider yourself lucky that they didn¡¯t confiscate your weapon,¡± said Lin Xiaoji.


    ¡°F*ck you! You guys are so loud! Would you just let us rest?¡± a loud, angry voice called out from inside the dormitory.


    Everyone was surprised for a moment, their faces turning sour as they consciously turned to Luo Yuan.


    Luo Yuan chuckled and waved them off. "Talking so loud would definitely affect anyone trying to rest. I think we¡¯re all tired after a whole day of traveling. Let¡¯s go to sleep. If there¡¯s anything to talk about, we¡¯ll discuss it tomorrow.¡±

 Chapter 187: Acquaintance

    Chapter 187: Acquaintance


    Trantor: Editor:


    The dormitory had no lights, but the corridor was lit, so everyone was able to see.


    However, not long after entering, several people¡¯s expressions turned to dismay.


    All upper bunks were basically upied, and the lower bunks were littered with trash.


    The smelly skins, tattered cloth sacks, pots and pans, and mouldy, dirty clothes made the whole dormitory exude an unidentified, unusual odour.


    The soldiers had left the survivorspletely to themselves, without any proper management, and as a result there were no avable beds now.


    Luo Yuan had long since noticed the situation, but had chosen not to make a fuss about it. However, Huo Dong and Lin Xiaoji looked increasingly unhappy about the situation.


    Seeing that the two of them were agitated and about to start a fight, Luo Yuan quickly stopped them, saying, "Well, it¡¯s already reallyte. It would be hard tomunicate, so let¡¯s just move some stuff to the floor and get some rest.¡±


    It was not that Luo Yuan was afraid of trouble. He was just toozy to be bothered. They were mentally exhausted from the day they¡¯d had, and that inbination with his intense earlier fighting had left him tired and fatigued. He was totally ready to have the night off. Plus, causing any problems in the military base would only mean trouble for them, so it would be better to let it pass.


    At Luo Yuan word¡¯s, the two men held back their dissatisfaction. However, their seething annoyance was still evident through their rough actions.


    As the trash was put on the floor, some noise was inevitable. In the middle of the night, noises sounded particrly deafening, and were able to awaken even the most soundly asleep survivors.


    Barely a few secondster, a tall figure jumped down from an upper bunk, the man¡¯s face filled with anger as he began to spill out profanities, "F*ck you, what are you doing? My words seem to have fallen on deaf ears! You want to get beaten up, don¡¯t you?¡±


    The man who was cursing had a towering figure, slightly taller than two meters, possibly around two point two, and his entire body was ripped with muscles. Perhaps he had once been a bodybuilder. His head was shaved bald, but the uneven shaving made his scalp appear patchy.


    Apart from him, the rest of the survivors remained still. Perhaps this person was a troublemaker, or perhaps the rest of them preferred to stay out of trouble.


    Before Luo Yuan could react though, the followingical scene made Huo Dong and Lin Xiaoji¡¯s jaws drop.


    Before the apocalypse, the towering man with the aggressive, vicious attitude would have probably belonged in a prison cell. He met all the criteria for a most wanted criminal, and he would no doubt have been the best candidate for the position of a crime lord. Barely a secondter though, the man¡¯s facial expression changed dramatically. He looked almost unnatural as he said, "You... are you Brother Luo?"


    Luo Yuan looked at him in confusion. He looked rather familiar, but the memory of the man¡¯s image and the person before him were vastly different. Luo Yuan asked, "And you are?¡±


    "I am Fatty Xie!" The guy calling himself Fatty Xie scratched his head and shyly said, ¡°I¡¯m the man that ran the illegal trading business by the Hedong City dump site. Don¡¯t you remember?¡±


    ¡°You... you are Boss Xie? How did you be like this?" Although Luo Yuan was stunned by the changes in the man¡¯s appearance, there was undeniably still some resemnce to Boss Xie. However, Boss Xie had previously been only 1.70 meters tall, and so stout that he hadn¡¯t even able to run a few steps without needing to catch his breath. Now his body was two meters tall, and his muscles were as defined as a body-builder¡¯s. It really was a big transformation.


    "Please call me Fatty Xie. That¡¯s what my friends call me. If I didn¡¯t say anything, no one would even recognize me now.¡± As he said this, the man looked helpless. "I am like this is because of the evolution process. If it wasn¡¯t for these changes in my appearance, I would not even have survived this long.¡±


    Meeting someone familiar was always a pleasant urrence, especially now when they didn¡¯t even know how many of their acquaintances were still alive. Luo Yuan was no longer in a hurry to go to bed. ¡°How did you get here? When did you arrive?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s a long story. When Hedong City was attacked, I first headed to East Lake. Later, when my business friends told me that East Lake was unsafe, I followed a group of people to Hucheng City. However, Hucheng City was not able to hold off the attacks either. Besides, I was not familiar with the people or the ce. I basically had no connections, and money is of no use there. You know that I wasn¡¯t some important person. I was only doing some light trading, so I was not eligible for the first retreat mission, nor for the second one. The third mission came toote. Hucheng City had already copsed, and the mission was dyed.¡±


    ¡°That night, when I was not paying attention, my wife took our kids and jumped off a building.¡±


    ¡°I drifted around for some time, eating whatever I could find. I even ate drain rats. Every day I hid myself, until inexplicably one day I suddenly evolved. If I hadn¡¯t, I would have been inside the stomach of a mutated beast by now. About ten days ago, I saw a helicopter fly by and I followed it all the way here.¡± Fatty Xie wiped his face, spit a little phlegm, and pointed at Luo Yuan with his thick finger. ¡°But enough about me. What about you?¡±


    Although Fatty Xie was not gentle by any means, at least he was friendly. He was smiling at everyone and he had good manners. It seemed that the apocalypse had changed him a lot.


    ¡°No one wished for this. Otherwise, they would not havee here. " Luo Yuan sighed as he thought of the tragic deaths of Huang Yuying and Ning Xiaoran. Then he looked at Deng Wei and Zhong Chuqiang. The two tough children were trying hard to stay awake by the corner, despite the fact that they were yawning nonstop. Luo Yuan said, ¡°It¡¯ste now. Let¡¯s talk more tomorrow. We still have plenty of time.¡±


    "Alright, you guys can choose whichever bed you want and throw everything onto the floor. These people are a bunch of cowards. They wouldn¡¯t mess with me, even if you gave them the courage. I¡¯m going back to sleep,¡± said Fatty Xie roughly,pletely oblivious to Lin Xiaoji¡¯s disdainful face.


    He turned his body swiftly on the bed, and the metal frame suddenly gave out an agonizing groan. Fatty Xie gotfortable,pletely oblivious to everyone else¡¯sfort.


    Luo Yuan noticed that the others had not moved an inch. It was as if they had not heard anything. It seemed that he fit in really well there.


    Luo Yuan chose a rtively clean bed, threw the trash onto the floor, spread the sleeping bag, and got into bed. Suddenly, his mind and heart felt calmer. The military base gave him a sense of security. There was no need to worry about unexpected danger or remain half-asleep. Most importantly, they didn¡¯t have to worry about where they would go the next day, or whether there was anything terrible waiting for them.


    Luo Yuan did not even take a look at hispleted task. He fell into a deep sleep right away.


    The next morning, he was awakened by the noise of other people waking up. When he opened his eyes, he no longer felt sleepy. Instead, he felt surprisingly better. Just a few short hours of sleep hadpletely replenished his energy.


    ¡°Brother Luo, you¡¯re up! Let¡¯s go have breakfast together," said Fatty Xie loudly as he jumped down from his bed.


    ¡°There¡¯s breakfast?¡± Luo Yuan asked curiously.


    ¡°Of course there is. Before the apocalypse, they had stockpiledrge amounts of food here. The supplies are still not finished," said Fatty Xie casually while giving Luo Yuan a strong pat on the shoulder.


    Since the beginning of the apocalypse, no one had dared pat Luo Yuan¡¯s shoulder. He felt a little odd, but he adjusted to the change quickly. He did not shy away. He allowed Fatty Xie to put his hand on him, and slightly lowered his shoulder to diffuse the force of the impact. ¡°Haven¡¯t eaten a normal meal in a long time. I don¡¯t even remember what it tastes like. But I still have my friends with me. Let¡¯s wait until everyone is up before we go.¡±


    Surprise shed across Fatty Xie¡¯s face. Although he had not used his full force, a normal person would still have struggled under this strength. He had expected Luo Yuan to not even be able to budge, let alone shrug his pat off so casually.


    In fact, he had known right from the start that Brother Luo was no ordinary man. Otherwise, he would not have been such a popr figure within the dump sitemunity that even Fatty Xie himself would have to call him Boss Luo. Yet, Fatty Xie was not the guy that he used to be anymore. He was no longer the smiley Fatty Xie. Ever since he had evolved, his strength had increased tremendously, and his defence had gotten so abnormally strong, that even in his normal form he could still tear a third rank mutated beast apart. He had even killed a fourth rank beast when he had been in his special form. Luo Yuan¡¯s earlier skills and strength were insignificant in his eyes, which naturally gave him a contemptuous attitude.


    Fatty Xieughed raucously as he said, "Are they your little brothers and sisters?¡±


    "You could say that," Luo Yuan said casually, his attention fully focused on the mission board. The previous day, he had been too rxed and had neglected to check it. When he did this morning after he woke up, he discovered that his level had increased. Not only had he levelled up, but the giant lizard had also followed suit.


    ¡°Current Mission: B Level Mission; escort a group of soldiers to the Hucheng City secret military base¡±.


    ¡±Mission Requirement: The number of soldiers, including Zhou Yicheng, should not be lower than six.¡±


    ¡°Time Limit: One Week¡±


    ¡°Mission Status: Completed¡±


    ¡°Evaluation: Good¡±


    ¡°Character: Luo Yuan¡±


    ¡°Level of Completion: 90%¡±


    ¡°Basic Reward EXP +9,600*90%!¡±


    ¡°Evaluation: Excellent, EXP +4,800*90%!¡±


    ¡°EXP: 5,520/76,800!¡±


    ¡°Battle Beast: Giant Lizard¡±


    ¡°Level of Completion: 10%¡±


    ¡°Basic Reward EXP +9,600*10%¡±


    ¡°Evaluation: Good, EXP +4,800*10!¡±


    ¡°Experience: 1,140/19,200!¡±


    The giant lizard had not contributed much to this task, so the majority of the experience gained had gone to Luo Yuan, allowing him to level up with an excess of 5,000 points, which had made the level-up a lot smoother.


    Looking at his remaining Attribute Point and 6 Skills Points, he suddenly felt his emotions surge. Now that he had finally levelled up, his strength would increase once again.


    He looked at all his attributes; the majority were higher than 14 points. Only his 13-point Strength and Intelligence caught his attention. He nced at his Intelligence before immediately looking at his Strength. The weakness of his Strength had been evident during thest battle, consequentially affecting his 14-point Dexterity, which was not able to be fully utilized. He had always felt that this attribute was unnecessary. Therefore, he had long decided that the next increase would be in his Strength.


    Perhaps he had been contemting it for a long time, or perhaps his state of mind was more rxed that day, but Luo Yuan automatically added the points.


    Suddenly, Fatty Xie felt an oppressive aura in the room. As if by instinct, he quickly turned to Luo Yuan, who was now emanating the aura of an enormous, terrifying beast. Everyone¡¯s faces turned pale. Some people retreated carefully, while others slumped down on the floor, unintentionally soiling themselves and producing a smelly odour. The people that were still lying in bed seemed paralysed. They were unable to move their bodies. All they could do was shout.


    Being the closest to him, Fatty Xie was affected by the full force of his aura. He felt a great weight pressing down on him, and his forehead started to break out in cold sweat. Step by step, he retreated on the cement dirt beneath his feet. With every step he took, he left a heavy footprint on the floor. His whole body felt like a balloon being pierced. He was losing weight at a rapid pace. Meanwhile, his body released ayer of white substance, allowing himself to stabilize.


    When Luo Yuan finally noticed his soaring strength and the power unconsciously emanating from his body, he quickly tried to control it. It was toote, though. The scene had be chaotic. The whole room was reeking of an unpleasant odour, and everyone was looking in Luo Yuan¡¯s direction, their eyes avoiding direct eye contact as they retreated in fear.


    Fatty Xie had recovered fast. There was an unpleasant expression on his face, and his lips were trembling slightly as he stammered, ¡°Boss Luo, you hide your abilities really well, but you¡¯re still as powerful as ever. It looks like I was being too arrogant yesterday.¡±


    Fatty Xie thought that the sole purpose of that incident was to intimidate him. He didn¡¯t dare call Luo Yuan brother anymore. Instead, he went back to calling him Boss Luo. Nheless, only he alone knew what he was thinking. After the conversation, he strode out right away, too ashamed to stay in the room.


    Luo Yuan did not know what to say, so he just let him leave. He was only an acquaintance after all, so he wasn¡¯t feeling too guilty about the whole incident.


    Themotion had disturbed Huo Dong and Lin Xiaoji, who had woken up. The two children were also in a state of shock. However, they had been sleeping in the middle section of the room, so the effect on them had not been too big, unlike the effect on the people nearby, some of whom had even soiled their pants.


    After they got up, Luo Yuan went to the women¡¯s dormitory and told Huang Jiahui and the others toe out. When the whole group was assembled, they asked for directions to the cafeteria, and headed in that direction.

 Chapter 188: Training

    Chapter 188: Training


    Trantor: Editor:


    It was a shared cafeteria. Both civilians and soldiers were sharing the same space for their meals. The survivors who had been talking stopped their conversation as soon as they saw Luo Yuan enter the cafeteria, and began to whisper instead. A few of the soldiers also began talking about him. Fatty Xie was taking up a whole table by himself. The man looked really upset, and left the ce after stuffing a bun into his mouth. Luo Yuan thought he must have somehow offended everyone.


    Huo Dong sneered as he watched Fatty Xie leave. He knew those people had been trying to show of until they had found out that Luo Yuan was actually a lot more powerful than them. Now they were trying to build a bond.


    ¡°If you want some bonding time with him, better make sure your brain is stronger than his Zhanmadao,¡± Huo Dong thought.


    ¡°What¡¯s happening? I don¡¯t sense anything good here,¡± Cao Lin told Huo Dong, pulling on his shirt a little as she stepped back.


    Huo Dong shrugged and said uncertainly, ¡°I have no idea. You could check with Brother Luo.¡±


    Cao Lin red at him for a second. She was definitely not going to ask Luo Yuan such a stupid question. He had such a sensitive dignity that even standing next to him made her terrified. She had been suspecting how Huang Jiahui was able to control his temper. They got in line to collect their food, which was free of charge. It was not a luxurious breakfast, but there were buns, porridge and meat soup, which was more than enough to motivate them. The women covered their mouths as they held back their tears. The food made them too nostalgic. It brought back memories of the old days, before the mutation outbreak.


    ¡°You¡¯re the new arrivals? Have whatever you want, don¡¯t starve yourselves. Anyway, you guys don¡¯t seem to have been starving for a long time. There were a few of you who died from indigestion due to excessive food intake,¡± the military chef told Luo Yuan and his people.


    "That¡¯s sad. They must have gone through so much trouble to get here." In fact, Luo Yuan felt indifferent about those tragedies. He had simply said something just to be polite. "I¡¯d like five buns, a bowl of porridge and some soup. By the way, what time is lunch and dinner here?"


    ¡°We¡¯ve been quite busy recently and we¡¯ll still be in the uing weeks, so there¡¯s no set time for meals. It¡¯s up to you. You eat whenever you want to eat.¡±


    The man kept talking while he did his job, ¡°There are only a few days of the good times left. Things will be different after we¡¯re past the rehabilitation area. They¡¯re going to implement nned economy policies. Food supply will be based on tickets. In other words, you won¡¯t ever feel full, but you won¡¯t die either.¡±


    Finally, they got their food, split into two groups and sat down. The survivors sitting beside their table quickly finished up their food and left. Obviously, that was a side effect of the earlier incident.


    ¡°Cowards!¡± Lin Xiaoji could not bear it. He took a big bite on his bun and said, ¡°It tastes awful.¡±


    ¡°We should consider ourselves lucky to even have food,¡± Wang Xiaguang said as she recalled what the chef had said. ¡°We might not be able to have this kind of food again after we leave. By the way, what happened earlier in the morning? I heard Cao Lin and Huo Dong talking about it.¡±


    ¡°I knew that something was wrong!¡± Huang Jiahui said. She looked at Luo Yuan and then back at Huo Dong.


    Luo Yuan continued eating his food. He did not seem keen on exining. Huo Dong replied, ¡°Someone was trying to challenge Brother Luo, but ended up getting scared instead.¡±


    ¡°I thought it was something bigger.¡± Wang Shishi looked disappointed.


    ¡°What were you thinking then? Did you expect some killing to have taken ce?¡± Huang Jiahui red at her.


    ¡°Are any evolved people staying with you?¡± Huo Dong asked curiously.


    "I¡¯m not sure. We went to bed at around 3 a.m. and came here as soon as we woke up," Huang Jiahui said. Then, she looked at Luo Yuan again. He had not said a single word, and she thought that he was acting strange. He had not said anything else after talking to the chef just now.


    In fact, Luo Yuan did not have time to talk. He needed to focus on controlling his powers instead. For example, normal people did not need to control their strength while walking or staying still.


    That did not require a lot of thinking or nning on their part. Luo Yuan, however, had to adapt to his new abilities as his powers increased.


    Walking was the easiest as it did not involve a lot of muscles. Eating was the mostplicated, because he needed to calcte the strength he would need to use on his chopsticks and how much pressure he needed to apply to different parts of his arm. That was why he had no time to answer their questions.


    Luo Yuan needed to go through those experiences again every once in awhile. It was something new to him, but he already had the clues he needed in order to train. It usually took him 3 to 14 days to acquire a new ability.


    When Luo Yuan finished all his food, he began to sweat. Once he felt better, he turned to the women, ¡°All of you need to be more careful. Not every survivor is a good person.¡±


    Circumstances could change a person, especially those particr ones. It was a very quiet day, so Luo Yuan kept practicing on his Will and Sensory Perception. At the same time, he was waiting for the departure of the aircraft. Fatty Xie was not as passionate as the first time they had met anymore. He had gotten embarrassed and he always made sure to show Luo Yuan how upset he was. Luo Yuan did not give a damn about him. He only went to the training court, the cafeteria and his dormitory. Half of the training court was taken up by a shooting range and the other half was divided into training rooms, which were open to all survivors. Of course, there were some soldiers training there as well.


    The new guns were extremely powerful and could smash their targets in one shot. The bullets were 7 centimeters long, heavy, and ted with copper. They could not afford to waste them, so they would recycle them after every single shot. The soldiers who had arrived at the base with Luo Yuan would talk to him with gratitude and tell him some ssified information.


    ording to that information, Zhou Yicheng had be the new Camp Officer, although he was currently at the rehabilitation center. Apparently, the situation seemed to have subsided as everyone looked quite rxed. Luo Yuan was learning more about himself by using the training equipment in the training court. If 13-point Strength was the human limit, then 14 points definitely made him a legend.


    He could free throw 400 kg and grab 30 kg. Considering he weighed 75 kg, both achievements were far beyond the world record. Due to the space constraints, Luo Yuan could only run a short distance. He could roughly run 100 meters in three seconds.


    Three seconds was the length of time it took for aplete cycle of respiration. He didn¡¯t have to hide anymore as there was an increasing number of evolved people joining the camp. Luo Yuan had tried to keep a low profile in the past few days, because he needed to learn how to control his Strength. However, in the next few days he had started an extreme intensive training program in order to get rid of the old side effects.


    Apparently, the equipment in the training court was just for strength testing, so he had to make his own intensive training program. There were many ways to conduct intensive training. For example, he could ask both Huo Dong and Lin Xiaoji to help him train at escaping bullets, or he could tell them to hit him with an iron bar so he could control his muscle strength and protect himself that way.


    He could not avoid getting hurt. Every single time ended with him throwing up blood or having a bullet hole in his body. Any survivors or soldiers nearby got frightened and pale as they watched his training. Even Huo Dong and Lin Xiaoji were worried that they might hurt him, and felt relieved when Luo Yuan woke up the next morning feeling alright.


    Luo Yuan realized that his power had increased once again as he kept using his Will to cure his wounds after each injury. He also realized that his power had been enhanced in just a few days¡¯ time, but he was not sure what the key factor was.


    These days, he could hardly get hurt by regr guns. The bullets would just get stuck in his solid muscles once they prated his skin, and all he had to do was force the disfigured bullet out of his muscle fibers. That was the effect if he got shot from a short distance. Getting shot from a long distance was even less effective.


    During their stay there, Luo Yuan asked permission to go out to check on the giant lizard, but the request was rejected. He decided to endure their treatment of him and see what he could do once he saw Zhou Yicheng.


    A weekter, four soldiers were waiting for Luo Yuan and his people at their dormitory when they came back from the cafeteria. Fatty Xie and a dirty woman were there as well.


    ¡°Our superior wants to see you,¡± one of the soldiers said.

 Chapter 189: Recruitment

    Chapter 189: Recruitment


    Trantor: Editor:


    The officer wanted to see Luo Yuan, Wang Shihi, Fatty Xie and the dirty-looking woman. Apparently, they had been recruited to join the army. Huang Jiahui was stunned. She lookedpletely panicked.


    Luo Yuan smiled and said, ¡°Sure, but I want to talk with my friends for a minute first.¡±


    The soldier nodded in understanding and walked out with his subordinates.


    ¡°There must be something wrong outside. You guys take good care of yourselves. We¡¯ll check it out,¡± Luo Yuan said.


    ¡°You too,¡± Huang Jiahui replied. ¡°Take care, Shishi. Stick by Luo Yuan while you execute the mission. Don¡¯t just run wild,¡± Huang Jiahui said anxiously.


    Zhao Yali hesitated before she said, ¡°Don¡¯t be reckless, we¡¯ll be worrying about you.¡±


    Luo Yuan nodded. He felt moved as he patted her. Zhao Yali immediately blushed.


    ¡°Alright, let¡¯s talkter. Shishi, let¡¯s go.¡± Luo Yuan took a deep breath, acting like this was not a big deal.


    ¡°Okay.¡± Wang Shishi looked quite excited as she followed Luo Yuan.


    Wang Xiaguang felt uneasy as she looked at his retreating back and Zhao Yali¡¯s blushing face.


    A man in a colonel uniform was staring at the map of Shanghai, facing away from everyone. He turned around when he heard them enter his office.


    ¡°Hello, sir!¡± Fatty Xie said, trying to act smart.


    The man waved and said, "You¡¯re a civilian and I¡¯m a soldier. We do not belong in the same system. Addressing me by my name will do. You can call me Hu Haiyang or Colonel Hu. Please take a seat."


    He looked like an average 40 year-old man. His lips were thin, and the corners of his mouth bent downwards, which made everyone feel respect towards him without being mad. He looked very serious even when he smiled. Wang Shishi felt nervous because he was wearing an army uniform. The number of his badges was a sign of his military power.


    Luo Yuan walked to the couch with Wang Shishi and sat down. Then he said, ¡°Colonel Hu, is there anything we can help you with?¡±


    Colonel Hu looked at Luo Yuan for a second. He recalled Zhou Yicheng telling him to pay attention to Luo Yuan. "I have to tell you that you have been recruited. I hope you¡¯re ready for this,¡± he said softly.


    ¡°Since the military base is providing us with shelter and food, it¡¯s only fair that we make some kind of contribution. May I know what is going on?¡± Luo Yuan said with a nod. Although he could be selfish sometimes, he would never do anything hical. Plus, this was about the safety of the country, so it was his responsibility as a citizen.


    The rest of them were forced to agree since Luo Yuan had promised to help. Colonel Hu felt relieved. He had been really worried that they would refuse to obey and would try to negotiate with him. He did not have the time or desire to bargain with them given the situation. Of course, he could give them a lesson using military weapons, but that would be very risky for him considering Luo Yuan was in the room. He was surprised at how nervous he felt in Luo Yuan¡¯s presence.


    ¡°The situation is very bad. Our special team had a very hard battle against the mutated beasts. Half of our army is dead and injured, and some soldiers are still on the battlefield, waiting for rescue. We have insufficient manpower in the military base, because many teams are still out there trying to rescue soldiers in many different locations. We have received a report that other ces are facing difficulties as well. It seems like this was a huge, coborative attack."


    ¡°You¡¯ll be following the rest of the soldiers to your destination, Your mission is to rescue any soldiers that are still alive,¡± the Colonel said.


    ¡°I have a question. Haven¡¯t the mutated beasts migrated to the central region? Howe they¡¯re still here?¡± Luo Yuan asked, detecting the inconsistencies in Colonel Hu¡¯s words.


    ¡°It¡¯s the sea monsters this time. They are moving to thend,¡± Colonel Hu said seriously.


    The room immediately became silent. Sea monsters? That was what they had always been afraid of.


    Fatty Xie could not hold it anymore and said, ¡°Sea monsters? Are you kidding me? We might as well kill ourselves.¡±


    Perhaps he had been talking too loud, because the soldiers outside were alerted. A group of armed soldiers broke into the room and asked, "What happened, sir?"


    ¡°I¡¯m fine. Get out and close the door,¡± the Colonel said with a wave of his hand.


    Fatty Xie was in panic. He was sweating profusely. He had suddenly realized that he would die if he disobeyed any military rules, so he just shrugged and remained silent.


    ¡°I have a request,¡± Luo Yuan suddenly said.


    ¡°Tell me. I¡¯ll try my best to fulfill it,¡± Colonel Hu said. He had paid great attention to Luo Yuan¡¯s reaction when the soldiers hade in. However, he had not noticed any change in his facial expression. He thought that Luo Yuan was feeling disdain.


    He had several pages of information regarding him. It was enough for him to write a book. Some of it had been provided by Zhou Yicheng, and some from the soldiers in the military base talking about his training methods. Some even said that Luo Yuan could fly. It was evident by the reports that he was a very high rank evolved person with hardly any weaknesses.


    He had to be a 5th rank evolved man. The government did not care about regr evolved men. However, they paid high attention to those at level 5. The Colonel had not believed the reports initially, but he changed his mind now as he saw that Luo Yuan was brave enough to negotiate with him.


    He knew there was no harm in doing him a favor considering that he might need Luo Yuan¡¯s help in the future.


    "I want to bring my pet with me." Luo Yuan tried to request to bring the giant lizard along. If the Colonel refused, he would just give up. It was his only chance to go back to the rehabilitation region. If he lost the giant lizard, he could just get another one in the future.


    ¡°Your pet beast?¡± Colonel Hu frowned before asking hesitantly, ¡°How big is it?¡±


    Luo Yuan was surprised that the Colonel was even considering his request.¡±It¡¯s about 10 meters long and 6 meters tall. When it lies down, its height is only 3 meters. Do you think you can send it over?"


    "The beast is also very important to the rehabilitation region. We have three transport jets and there¡¯s a lot of space, but your pet is slightly bigger and taller than a 40-feet container. I¡¯ll get the person in charge to modify the container, but your pet must be drugged unconscious along the way in order to reduce the risk," the Colonel said.


    ¡°Of course. Thank you so much, Colonel Hu,¡± Luo Yuan thanked him sincerely. He knew it was not just any small favor, but a risky military decision.


    ¡°Any requests from you? I¡¯ll try my best to make theme true,¡± Colonel Hu said. He knew that he had to be fair to the rest of them as well.


    Fatty Xie seemed to be frightened. He remained stunned for a while. Wang Shishi was silent. She wanted to request to find her rtives when they returned to the rehabilitation region, but that was not in Colonel Hu¡¯s control, so he only promised to inform the relevant sectors. The girl remained silent after that. The military helicopter was ready to deart. The main rotor des were spinning, producing a strong wind on the ground. In a few seconds, the helicopter took off and flew away from the military base.


    There were many other people in the cabin. Besides Luo Yuan and the other evolved people, there were four soldiers, the pilot, and the co-pilot. Wang Shishi was holding onto Luo Yuan¡¯s shirt as she looked around curiously. This was her first time in a helicopter. It was not a pleasant experience though, as it was a military helicopter with a very small cabin, full of a choking fuel smell. Luo Yuan took out his Zhanmadao, picked up a cloth with oil stains and slowly wiped his sword with it to reduce his stress.


    ¡°B-Level Mission: Rescue the soldiers and their equipment.¡±


    ¡°Mission Requirement: Rescue at least 10 people and send them back to the military base safely.¡±


    ¡°Mission Time: 12 hours.¡±


    That was the reason Luo Yuan had requested to bring the giant lizard along. The risk of the mission was as high as fighting a green level mutated beast. So far, Luo Yuan had only bumped into green level mutants twice, and he had only looked at them from afar.


    The first one had been the Heaven Pir¡¯s Tree, which had been burnt by the volcanicva, and the second one had been the Archelon, which he had not even dared get close to. Each of them had been beyond his imagination. Although Luo Yuan¡¯s power had been upgraded, he still felt stressed just at the thought.


    Fortunately, he was not fighting alone anymore. He had Wang Shishi as well as two more evolved people with him. The helicopter was also a good advantage. He had noticed that there were a lot of weapons and equipment inside the cabin, such as missiles, rocket missiles, multi-tube rockets, machine guns, etc.


    Considering the power of the weapons, a normal light green mutated beast would not be able to survive an attack by them.


    ¡°I feel that something is wrong somehow. This is not a good sign,¡± Fatty Xie said with a sigh. ¡°I have a very urate instinct. This is probably a very dangerous situation,¡± he went on.


    ¡°I think you¡¯re just acting like a coward,¡± Wang Shishi said sarcastically. She knew that the bald guy did not get along well with Luo Yuan.


    Fatty Xie looked at her for a second, but he did not get mad or try to challenge her. Instead, he shook his head and said, ¡°You don¡¯t understand.¡±


    Luo Yuan put his Zhanmadao back into its sheath and looked at him for a second. He had not expected Fatty Xie to be sensitive enough to sense danger. He looked at the woman, who was still remaining silent, before he said, ¡°It¡¯s probably a very dangerous mission. I think we¡¯ll have a better chance if we tell each other about our special powers.¡±


    Fatty Xie nodded in agreement and said, "I¡¯ll go first then. I¡¯m not sure what kind of evolved power I have, but I¡¯ve realized that there are two different modes. The first is the normal mode, and the other one is the fighting mode. My bone structure changes and my skin forms ayer of hard shell. My defense power shoots up drastically. I¡¯ve even killed a dark blue mutated beast before.¡±


    Luo Yuan turned to Wang Shishi, and she arrogantly said, ¡°My power is telekinesis. I¡¯ve also killed a dark blue mutated beast before, but I can¡¯t remember how many exactly.¡±


    Fatty Xie looked at her in shock. Obviously, he could not believe that a little girl could be that powerful. Even the soldiers were looking at her with a shocked expression.


    ¡°My power is the Earth Stomp. I can release a shockwave under certain circumstances. I¡¯ve killed light green mutated beasts,¡± Luo Yuan briefly exined.


    Finally, it was the woman¡¯s turn. She kept twisting her shirt nervously, hesitating for a while before she said, "I can control the mind. I can temporarily control a light green mutated beast."


    Everyone was shocked, including Luo Yuan. The soldiers were about to pull out their guns. Mind control? That sounded like something evil. None of them had expected the woman to possess such a terrifying power. If her power continued to grow, it would certainly not be a good thing.


    "Please, don¡¯t get me wrong. I can only control living things with a low level of intelligence," the woman exined with a sigh as she noticed everyone¡¯s shock. Then she returned to her own world, going silent once again.

 Chapter 190: War

    Chapter 190: War


    Trantor: Editor:


    Her exnation was not good enough. None of them actually believed her. Luo Yuan did not believe a person could remain kind and honest after going through so many tough times in their life, especially during wartime. Just like him, most of them had notpletely revealed their powers. He had not told them that he was actually very good at using a knife, or that there was a weakness to his power.


    It was difficult to fully trust anyone, and the fact that the woman had the power to control minds only increased their fear of her. Wang Shishi naturally moved a little closer to Luo Yuan while she kept looking at the woman critically. The soldiers also kept looking at her in alert.


    The atmosphere was obviously heavy. The Colonel suddenly said, ¡°Mu Wenwen, I heard that you¡¯d been brought into the base by a team. Your performance has been quite good, which shows that you¡¯re a reliable person. Power and attitude are two different things. As long as you don¡¯t break the rules, you¡¯ll be fine.¡±


    The woman, whose name was Mu Wenwen, remained silent. She only raised her chin and looked at them, before quickly lowering it again. Her eyes were so beautiful and charming that Luo Yuan found them irresistible. He immediately warned himself when he realized that he had been captivated. That woman kept a very low profile. He had not even noticed her until the recruitment.


    That was the first time he had met someone so powerful. She was even more powerful than Wang Shishi. She was not just able to control mutated beast, but light green mutated beasts. Light green mutated beasts were horrible. Luo Yuan had only managed to kill one himself.


    As he thought of the risk of the current mission, he hesitated and asked, ¡°Ms. Mu, your power will be very helpful to us. Could you please exin some more about it so I can adjust to amodate you?¡±


    It would be really good if the woman could help him from time to time. Even if she could only control mutated beasts for a while, that would be enough for him to kill them. If she could also control a green mutated beast, then they basically would not have to worry about the mission anymore.


    Perhaps Luo Yuan had made a good impression on her, because she was actually willing to respond this time. She did not raise her head. Instead, she said softly, "Actually, I haven¡¯t fully mastered how to control light green mutated beasts. Sometimes I¡¯m not even able to do it when my emotions take over. I get distracted easily, and I can¡¯t control them for more than 30 seconds."


    Judging by her voice, she had to be around twenty or thirty years old.


    ¡°My power is quite simr to hypnosis. Many conditions need to be met. I can do it for longer if the creature I¡¯m trying to control is a dark blue mutated beast,¡± she said.


    ¡°What about a green mutated beast?¡± Luo Yuan¡¯s heartbeat became faster.


    ¡°I haven¡¯te across a green level mutated beast, but I think I wouldn¡¯t be able to control it. Mind control increases the burden on my brain. I can hardly control light green mutated beasts, and green mutated beasts must be a lot scarier. I might go into aa if I try to do that,¡± Mu Wenwen exined.


    ¡°In fact, the same applies to humans. We get more frustrated when we have moreplex problems to solve, but we are a lot stronger than mutated beasts, so you don¡¯t need to worry about me controlling your mind,¡± Mu Wenwen exined with a sigh.


    ¡°How many mutated beasts can you control?¡± Luo Yuan asked again. He was disappointed that she could not control green level mutated beasts.


    ¡°Only one at a time,¡± Mu Wenwen said.


    ¡°What about energy consumption? How many mutated beasts would you be able to control if you only needed to control them for three seconds?¡± Luo Yuan asked her as he thought about it.


    "I¡¯m not really sure, I¡¯ll have to experiment. I¡¯ve never bumped into that many light green mutated beasts before. Is that yourst question?" Mu Wenwen did not think that the current mission would be as bad as Luo Yuan thought, and she started to get irritated by his endless interrogating.


    ¡°I¡¯m just asking so we can prepare and n for the safety of others. I hope you can fully support meter on,¡± Luo Yuan said as he looked into her eyes.


    Mu Wenwen agreed softly and then went silent once again. Everyone thought that Luo Yuan was overthinking things. Light green mutated beasts were hard toe by. Even the soldiers had not seen that many of them. In fact, they had only killed seven light green mutated beasts and one green mutated beast in the past two months when they had decided to check on the area nearby to reduce any potential risk. The helicopter was moving very fast. They were going to reach their destination in about ten minutes.


    ¡°Everyone get ready and take your parachutes with,¡± the Colonel reminded them.


    ¡°The helicopter is not going tond on the ground?¡± Fatty Xie asked in shock.


    Everyone was shocked except Luo Yuan. Jumping out of a helicopter from such a high altitude was not something anyone could ept calmly.


    "This is just in case of an emergency. Get your parachutes, please. A helicopter crashed against the ground this very morning, so we need to take some safety precautions in case the sea monsters have any special powers," the Colonel said.


    Everyone felt slightly relieved, but they became nervous once again when they realized they could not see what was happening outside.


    ¡°I can see the targeted tower. The situation is under control. I¡¯m ready fornding, ready fornding,¡± the pilot said loudly.


    ¡°Hold on! There are some minor problems I need to solve,¡± the man on the other end replied.


    The helicopter was nting and shaking vigorously. They could hear the booming sound of weapons and the roars of mutated beasts.


    ¡°Problem solved. The coast is clear, I¡¯mnding now,¡± the pilot said.


    Everyone felt relieved, but Luo Yuan was still holding onto his Zhanmadao. Thirty secondster, they hadnded safely. The soldiers opened the door of the cabin and everyone disembarked quickly. The rotating des of the helicopter started spinning once again as the helicopter flew away. They looked at what was supposed to be a lobby made of ss, with a big steel frame hanging above its roof. Luo Yuan checked their surroundings.


    ¡°Hurry up! Follow me! Where is everyone?¡± the Colonel said as he rushed towards the entrance.


    Luo Yuan and the others followed him quickly. A booming sound came from afar along with a roar. Apparently, there was a very serious battle going on. The soldiers looked physically strong. They were probably stronger than Huo Dong and the rest of Luo Yuan¡¯s group. Their status was around 12 points, and they were wearing some kind of protective suits as they moved at a very high speed. Luckily, Luo Yuan was holding Wang Shishi, otherwise she might not have been able to keep up.


    Mu Wenwen¡¯s physical condition was quite good. She was following them closely, and so was Fatty Xie, who was fit enough to keep up with them.


    They were running towards another building. The ce was spacious, and ayer of cement covered the ground. It was obvious that the area had previously been a park, because they could see weeds growing at its edges. The building nearby was well-maintained. There was not much damage to it other than the ss, which was mostly broken.


    ¡°What is this ce?¡± Luo Yuan asked.


    ¡°Theputer center,¡± the Colonel said while he gasped.


    ¡°What¡¯s that?¡± Wang Shishi asked. She did not understand.


    ¡°A ce where all theputers are stored,¡± the Colonel exined.


    ¡°The rehabilitation center couldn¡¯t store theputers anymore?¡± Wang Shishi asked in disappointment.


    The Colonel did not know much about that, so he wasn¡¯t sure how to exin.


    "It used to be a global supplier. Aputer is actually a veryplicated device, so most of its parts are imported from many different countries. However, trading has now been terminated. Although there will be a new batch ofputers with a lower grade of functions, it definitely can¡¯tpete with the other ones in such a short time. In fact, all theseputers are very precious. They act as a catalyst for the growth of technology, which is much more valuable than the devices themselves," Fatty Xie exined while he ran in the back.


    He used to be the owner of a softwarepany. Although he was not an expert on the industry, he was quite familiar with it and he was very observant when it came toputers. He understood the importance ofputers to the technological development of a country.


    He had been to theputer center before for a visit. He remembered that there had been three machines supporting the programming services of the whole region. They had only run for about two minutes, but the booming sounds were already getting lighter. A few missiles passed in the sky above their heads while the armed helicopter was still flying in the air. The cannonunched the missiles, leaving two very long clouds in the sky.


    A giant, 8-meter tall monster with numerous bones and thorns on its body was roaring furiously. Suddenly, it got shot in the head by a machine gun, blood gushing out of its skull as its head exploded in less than three seconds.


    There were about 7-8 piles of carcasses on the ground. There were also two auto-cannons and three tanks, but most of them remained stationary. Every once in awhile, they would fire, but the situation was still manageable. Luo Yuan was stunned. He did not think that they needed any more assistance. They had more than enough weapons already.

 Chapter 191: Difficulties

    Chapter 191: Difficulties


    Trantor: Editor:


    A few hundred meters away there was a tower surrounded by heavy engineering machines and heavy-duty trucks with several big containers. One of its walls had been bombarded, and a giant server was still visible from the ground. Luo Yuan looked up at the tower while the soldiers tried to move the giant server into a big container by using a crane.


    Luo Yuan entered the defense base, which was made of several giant rocks. There were many medium to light weapons inside, acting as an emergency defense line.


    ¡°Xiao Fei, we¡¯re short on manpower. Why is there only a helicopter? Where are my 2-meter diameter missiles? This is not enough,¡± a guy with a smoked face and a messy beardined as he shook hands with the Colonel.


    "Buddy, you know that we have a limited supply of weapons, right? Stop thinking about the missiles. You should be grateful that you even have a helicopter. The other teams are also having a hard time, and we have no more soldiers at the military base," the Colonel said rudely as he punched the man on the arm. Obviously, the two of them had known each other for a very long time.


    ¡°Oh, I haven¡¯t introduced these evolved survivors to you. They are very powerful,¡± Xiao Fei said seriously. "Both Mr. Luo and Ms. Mu are 5th level evolved people, while Ms. Wang and Mr. Xie are 4th level.¡±


    Commander Xia quickly shook their hands and said, ¡°It¡¯s great you that were willing toe here. The servers are too important to the rehabilitation center for us to give up. However, there is something I have to tell you...¡±


    He looked hesitant, as if he was not sure whether he should tell them or not. He knew those people were arrogant, and he was worried that they might not be willing to follow the instructions.


    "Commander Xia, we are recruited, so we are now your soldiers. You don¡¯t have to say much, we know it¡¯s a dangerous mission," Luo Yuan said, noticing that the man was hesitating to share.


    The mission was a very challenging one, and they would need to have a centralized instruction system with high discipline in order to reduce any potential risk. Luo Yuan understood the importance of the servers to the rehabilitation center as well as the development of mankind.


    The captain looked delighted as he tapped Luo Yuan on the shoulder. ¡°Great! I know you have your own fighting style though, which will be a bit difficult tobine with front line soldiers. How about the reserve team? That way you can assist wherever it¡¯s the most dangerous.¡±


    ¡°Sure,¡± Luo Yuan said calmly.


    Fatty Xie did not dare protest, even though he was not happy that Luo Yuan had represented them.


    ¡°How¡¯s the situation now?¡± Xiao Fei asked.


    ¡°There was a tough battle about an hour ago, but nothing serious until now. I¡¯m afraid this won¡¯tst long though, as lots of sea monsters are moving tond,¡± Commander Xia said seriously.


    ¡°All these marine animals have nothing better to do? Why are theying tond?¡± Xiao Fei asked as he kicked a stone on the ground. ¡°What¡¯s the sea level reading at the moment?¡±


    ¡°Based on our report, the water has reached the industrial area, which is five kilometers away from here. We are not sure why. You probably did not notice the mutated algae on the surface of the seawater, but it looked like a carpet. Even the tanks couldn¡¯t move through it.¡±


    ¡°Eutrophication,¡± Luo Yuan said.


    "That¡¯s right. The nitrogen and phosphorus from all the feces, corrosive substances and daily waste have been eliminated into the sea and caused the algae to grow out of control. A lot of nkton was attracted, the big fish ate the small fish, and finally, the sea monsters joined the party," Commander Xie exined.


    Luo Yuan felt depressed. Suddenly, a huge volume of air was released by a mysterious energy, and a human shadow appeared. It was too sudden, and Luo Yuan was caught by surprise. He naturally jumped six to seven meters away into the air and pulled out his Zhanmadao. In less than a second, the Zhanmadao was ced against the throat of the mysterious man.


    If Luo Yuan had not managed to hold himself back, the man would have died. He looked as pale as a ghost, and he did not dare move an inch.


    ¡°Calm down! Calm down! He is one of our people!¡± Commander Xia said quickly. It had all happened too suddenly, so it had taken him some time to recover. ¡°Put down your sword, put it down.¡±


    Luo Yuan realized he had misunderstood. The man was in an army uniform and had some paint on his face. It was obvious that he was a soldier. Luo Yuan quickly pulled back the Zhanmadao and said awkwardly, ¡°I¡¯m sorry, I was just surprised because you appeared so suddenly. I overreacted.¡±


    "It¡¯s alright," the evolved man, called An Ying, said shyly. He looked socially awkward and frightened as he gasped.


    Everyone was curious about him. The scene they had just watched had reminded them of teleporting in movies.


    Finally, An Ying recovered and said, "Reporting, sir! There are three light green and green mutated beasts seven kilometers away heading in this direction. Please be prepared."


    Everyone looked tense. Commander Xia quickly pressed on his the walkie talkie and gave a few orders. After a moment, the helicopter flew off the ground and An Ying disappeared again, teleporting one kilometer away. After a while, he had totally disappeared.


    A few minutester, a loud sound came from afar and smoke started rising up. Apparently, there was a fierce battle going on. They could hear the conversations on the walkie talkie.


    ¡°Killed a small one. Oh no! It¡¯s spraying water! I¡¯m going to lift it now! That was lucky, I almost died man!¡±


    They could hear a man gasping on the other side. He sounded frightened as he said, ¡°You son of a bitch! I¡¯m going to kill you! Damn it!¡±


    ¡°Damn it! Five more areing! We don¡¯t have enough bullets! We need to get more from the base. We¡¯re heading back.¡±


    The helicopter flew up into the air and headed back to the military base.


    ¡°Damn it!¡± Commander Xia pressed on the walkie talkie again and said, ¡°Get all the cannons ready!¡±


    ¡°Yes, sir!¡±


    ¡°Yes, sir!¡±


    Every once in a while, they heard a roaring sound, followed by a ground vibration. After a while, two scary sea monsters slowly appeared. Their skin was greenish-ck with big yellow spots, and they looked like turtles without shells.


    They seemed to have gotten hurt by the attack of the helicopter. There was blood and holes all over their bodies. However, their injuries were not life-threatening for a beast about 20 meters long and over 10 meters tall. Finally, Luo Yuan understood why the soldiers needed their help. No bombs or bullets could hurt the beasts if the soldiers did not aim at their weakest points.


    ¡°Let theme closer! Ready, fire!!¡± Commander Xia ordered as he saw the beasts approaching. Modern cannons could shoot very far those days, even at a 10-kilometer distance, although that was not as urate. The closer the mutated beasts got, the higher possibility to kill them would be.


    Suddenly, the two auto-cannonsunched the missiles.


    Boom!


    One of the missiles hit a beast on the head, making it explode on the spot. Another missile hit the leg of the second beast, wounding it severely. The beast seemed to be in extreme pain as it rolled around on the ground.


    The bombs had been modified to be more powerful than the two 2-meter diameter missiles of the helicopter. They had killed a sea monster and injured another one with just a singleunch.


    ¡°Why did you stop firing?¡± Luo Yuan asked curiously as he saw Commander Xia not giving any more orders.


    ¡°We are short on bullets and bombs,¡± Commander Xia said with an awkward smile.


    It was dangerous everywhere, and the resources in the rehabilitation region were insufficient. Due to the high demand from all the teams, there was a limited number of bullets and bombs given to them. Theoretically, the soldiers should have gone back to the military base. However, theputer center had been safer after the mutated beasts had retreated, so they had decided to take a look around and see if there were any resources that they could bring back to the base. None of them had expected to bump into the sea monsters.


    Luo Yuan was stunned as he asked, ¡°How many are there left?¡±


    ¡°Eight 2-meter missiles and 30 mortars, plus 5 containers of machine gun bullets,¡± the Commander said.


    ¡°It should be enough. We just need to keep fighting for another 3-5 hours. It should be alright.¡± Xiao Fei looked at the worksite as he estimated the time.


    Luo Yuan did not feel right. He knew his B-Level Mission would not be that easy toplete.


    Note:


    Eutrophication is the excessive richness of nutrients in ake or other body of water, frequently due to runoff from thend, which causes a dense growth of nt life and death of animal life fromck of oxygen.

 Chapter 192: Specious

    Chapter 192: Specious


    Trantor: Editor:


    "Do you have a cigarette?" Luo Yuan asked Commander Xia. Although he had quit smoking a long time ago and was no longer addicted to it, he felt an urge to smoke that particr moment.


    Commander Xia was stunned for a moment. He hesitated a little, but in the end he took a pack of cigarettes out of his pocket. The box was much shorter than the usual one and didn¡¯t have anypany logo on it.


    Luo Yuan took a nce at it, and asked doubtfully, "Is this a special kind of cigarette?"


    Commander Xia did not deny it, "You could say that. But it¡¯s not what you¡¯re thinking. It¡¯s an internally supplied cigarette. It¡¯s not sold to outsiders. It¡¯s only for people who are under a lot of pressure or facing great danger. Do you want to try one?"


    "It sounds so high ss. I want to try one, too!" Fatty Xie said eagerly as he heard them.


    Commander Xia threw one to him. Fatty Xie caught the cigarette and sniffed it. "It¡¯s been so long since Ist smoked. I¡¯d almost forgotten what cigarettes smell like."


    Luo Yuan took one too and looked at it curiously. The cigarette was somewhat shorter and thinner. He took out his lighter from the survival kit in his pocket, lit it up and sucked it deeply into his mouth. As his body constitution had been leveling up, his lungs had also be more sensitive. He coughed loudly during the first few drags, but got used to it after that.


    He found that the cigarette tasted weird. The different vor and the smoke in his stomach caused his emotions to run a little wild. He looked at Commander Xia and asked, ¡°Is there something wrong with this cigarette?¡±


    "This is not designed for normal people. An extra ingredient has been added to stimte the mind and ignite excitement,¡± Xiao Fei exined. "In fact, you would not want to smoke it unless you¡¯re under too much pressure."


    "Is it a drug?" Wang Shishi asked curiously, her eyes blinking.


    Fatty Xie looked surprised. He studied the half-smoked cigarette, not sure whether he should throw it away or keep it.


    Commander Xia sighed. "You are not wrong, but you have nothing to worry about. It¡¯s not addictive. After several form improvements, there will not be any impact on one¡¯s health either. It will just help soldiers ovee fear and pressure, as well as enhancebat effectiveness.¡±


    ¡°Actually, this kind of thing exists in all big countries under a different name. Some call it ¡¯courage injection¡¯, others ¡¯life-saving pills¡¯, ¡¯lucky medicine¡¯ and so on. They are all the same, but people never admit it. For example, during the Gulf War before the end of the world, there was arge number of veterans suffering from depression, memory loss and distraction. Do you think it was all because they couldn¡¯t get used to life post-war? It was because they had been injected with psycho-stimnt drugs.¡±


    ¡°That year, there were more than ten wars more brutal than World War II taking ce in China. Countless soldiers were killed and countless cities were upied. Countless civilians died tragically, and some soldiers evenmitted suicide or fled. Without this thing to support them, the situation might have been even worse.¡±


    Xiao Fei had stopped smiling. "After all, soldiers are only human. We experience fear and all sorts of emotions like everyone else. There were quite a few times during nighttime patrols that I heard soldiers crying," he said with a heavy heart.


    Luo Yuan remained silent. He didn¡¯t stop smoking until he had finished the cigarette.


    Suddenly, the injured giant beast stood up. When it saw the other beast lying on the ground, it roared sadly. It immediately turned and stared at Luo Yuan and the others angrily. It started moving its huge body, walking towards them.


    "Oh, no. Commander Xia, it¡¯s heading for us."


    "Seems like we have beaten down its wife and now it wants revenge," said a soldier from Sichuan.


    "How can you be so sure? I think the dead one is the husband." The soldiers seemed to be more rxed because there was only one injured beast left.


    "Stop talking nonsense. Be more serious! No. 1 Cannon, let¡¯s give it one more shot. Be more urate this time!" Commander Xiamanded loudly through the mic.


    "Wait," Luo Yuan stopped him. "If we¡¯re running out of bullets, we should save them for an emergency. I¡¯ll take care of it.¡±


    Everyone looked at him. Even Mu Wenwen, who had been keeping her head down, looked up.


    Commander Xia hesitated. He looked at Xiao Fei, who nodded confidently, and then turned back to Luo Yuan and said with a serious expression, "Are you sure? This is not a joke."


    Luo Yuan nodded and said, "It¡¯ll just take two minutes."


    "Well... If you manage to kill this giant beast..." Commander Xia said loudly. He seemed to want to promise him something, but he did not have anything to offer. Luo Yuan was not a soldier. He remained silent for a while before finally adding, "I¡¯ll introduce my sister-inw to you."


    Wang Shishi snorted in discontent. She only looked happy again when Luo Yuan rejected the offer. All her respect and reverence had turned into love. "Brother Luo, can I go with you?" she asked sweetly.


    "No, it¡¯s just an injured beast. You stay here, and I¡¯ll be right back," Luo Yuan answered with pride as he touched her head.


    However, when he stared at the giant beast standing hundreds of meters away, his face instantly became serious. As he concentrated his Will, a halo flew before his eyes. He immersed his Will into his body, his heartbeat getting slower and slower.


    The slower it got, the weaker he felt. After five seconds, his body was shocked, and he instantly felt the wonderful sensation of his body being integrated with the Earth. There was infinite power extending from his foot and spreading throughout every cell in his body. After his Strength had increased, his Earth Stomp had automatically leveled up from three to four points. Meanwhile, his Physique had also increased from one point to four. Once he entered the pulse of the Earth, his connection with the Earth became closer, helping him absorb more power.


    The Earth was his back, the very source of his strength. When he switched to that mode, he had endless energy running through his body. He moved his foot and the rock under it exploded. In just a second, he flew out like a lightning. Everyone could feel the wind, but Luo Yuan was no longer to be seen.


    Thanks to his superhuman Physique, he sprinted forward, the wind ahead of him hitting his clothes. Their additional ability to bnce the airflow caused an air swirl to form behind him.


    "Is he an evolved human?" Commander Xia asked in shock as he looked at the scene taking ce before him.


    "I heard that he is an Earth type evolved human,¡± Xiao Fei exined. He also seemed to be in shock. "But he is too fast. I don¡¯t think even a level five evolved person could achieve that."


    "Do you think he took the genius pill?" Xiao Fei muttered.


    Fatty Xie looked serious as he stared at Luo Yuan. He knew perfectly well how strong Luo Yuan was. He would have no chance of fighting back if he got into a fight with him. He would just get killed. Wang Shishi was the only one who looked proud. She had lifted her chin slightly, as if she was the one being admired, but she was also concerned about Luo Yuan¡¯s safety.


    In just a few seconds, Luo Yuan had flown a few hundred meters away and stopped a few meters before the sea monster. The monster was more than ten meters tall and ten meters wide. Its huge body looked just like a small hill, giving off a sense of intimidation. Its size was ten timesrger than the light green level giant he had faced before. He had never met such a giant beast onnd.


    However, although its giant size gave it limitless strength, it also made it even more sluggish. It might be very flexible in the water thanks to its huge t feet, but when it came down to it, it was no better than a blue rank mutated beast. Luo Yuan felt a little relieved. He had thought that the monster was very strong, but in fact, once a sea monster moved to the shore, it was much easier to beat than he¡¯d originally thought.


    Of course, it was Luo Yuan who could beat it in all aspects. He basically had no shortage of abilities. He was fast to react, and he had the sharp weapons that could deal the most damage. The angry sea monster had barely noticed the small figure standing not far from it. In its blood-red eyes, Luo Yuan was just the strange creature who had shot its partner to death and injured it. It hadpletely lost its mind. All it wanted was to get revenge.


    He wanted to kill the creature, and then swallow it into its very stomach. The monster struggled to move its huge body while it roared angrily.


    When it got closer, Luo Yuan lifted his foot, the veins in his forehead popping out while the blood inside his body boiled. For a time, he felt as if he had lifted up the whole earth, until he used up all his strength and stepped down on the ground heavily.


    Boom!


    Suddenly the ground shook. It looked just like boiling water. The sand and rocks seemed agitated, bouncing a few meters into the air before turning into powder andnding on the ground. Even big chunks of rocks and thick trees turned into fine pieces under his tremendous power. The giant sea monster was already very sluggish, but this sudden force made it lose its bnce and fall heavily to the ground.


    There was dust everywhere within a radius of five meters, and the monster could barely see anything. There was only a small ck shadow running at lightning speed, the dust having no impact on it at all. When Luo Yuan got close enough to the sea monster, he jumped five meters into the air andnded on the beast¡¯s shoulder lightly. The monster had a pungent smell to it, and its skin was very smooth and lubricated with mucus. It was very slippery, but Luo Yuan managed to stay still.


    Once hended, he took out his Zhanmadao. The sword shined under his fully concentrated Will. Just as he was about to stab it, the monster instinctively felt the danger and reacted. It shook its body, but it could not shake Luo Yuan off. He quickly bnced on it by adjusting his center of gravity to the monster¡¯s movement. Before he could feel relief though, he saw a seven-meter wide t footing towards him.


    Before the foot could reach him, he felt a strong gust of wind. If he got hit by that giant foot, he certainly would not be having an open casket funeral.


    "Damn it!" Luo Yuan cursed.


    He instantly jumped off the monster¡¯s shoulder and fled across its throat, his Zhanmadao in his hand. He aimed at its thick throat and stabbed it, using all his strength. He made a one-meter wide wound on it, cutting off the monster¡¯s entire throat cartge.


    He fell to the ground and rolled for a while, escaping from the beast under the cover of the dust. When he was tens of meters away, the slow-moving sea monster finally roared. The sound was like air leaking out from a high-pressure pipe. Soon, the smell of blood spread out into the air.


    Fear of death hit the sea beast, which began to get crazy. It looked like it wanted to find the little insect that had hurt it. Hundreds of tons of gravel sshed up by its t feet. For a while, it was as if the sky was raining debris. Luo Yuan could not help but keep backing away. He watched from afar as slowly the movement of the sea beast got smaller and smaller. A few minutester, he heard the sound of something heavy falling. The ground shook a little before it finally quieted down.

 Chapter 193: Collapse

    Chapter 193: Copse


    Trantor: Editor:


    ¡°That¡¯s it?¡± Commander Xia asked shockingly and said, ¡°It¡¯s not even two minutes!?¡±


    ¡°Precisely. It is about 90 seconds and the battle was probably only about 20 seconds.¡± Xiao Fei said as he looked at his watch repeatedly.


    ¡°Seems like the people in the military base were real!¡± Commander Xia said. ¡°I thought that was just a marketing strategy. The world has changed and we might be eliminated soon.¡±


    ¡°Stop your jealousy! Our genes are too stable and very difficult to be mutated. Some people could evolve just from consuming a piece of flesh from a light blue level mutated beast. However, people like us might not be able to evolve even if we get injected with pure mutated blood. Also, stop dreaming about retirement, it¡¯s almost impossible now." Xiao Fei said, and then he whispered, ¡°There are wars every day in the rehabilitation region and the military department is recruiting new soldiers every moment. We might be sent to the front line as well afterpleting the current mission.¡±


    Commander Xia looked depressed. He took out a packet of cigarettes and put one into his mouth and said, ¡°Hopefully we will have a longer break after this. I haven¡¯t gone home for almost a year! I don¡¯t think my own daughter can recognize me now.¡±


    ¡°Fortunately, I didn¡¯t attend the speed dating party in the camp. Else, I¡¯ll be just like you now.¡± Xiao Fei said. He seemed to have worsened themander¡¯s situation and made him feel even more depressed. The Commander then wiped his eyes and said, ¡°Sigh, let¡¯s stop talking about it. The guy ising.¡±


    The marine monsters slowly appeared in front of them. The marine beasts must be taken seriously as even the weakest one is already dark blue level and most of them are light green level. Luo Yuan could no longer kill them alone and had to fight together with Mu Wenwen so that he could reserve some energy for a more critical time.


    She worked well with Luo Yuan and it was so easy for them to kill all the light green marine monsters. Most of them were stabbed by Luo Yuan in their brain. However, Luo Yuan realized there were some weaknesses in Mu Wenwen¡¯s powers. Most of the time, she needed a few seconds just to get ready to use her power. She would be putting herself in danger whenever she readies herself.


    She could easily kill marine monsters which usually move at a slow pace onnd but it is difficult for her to kill those which are used to living onnd. It was not rmended for her to be within 100 meters of any beasts as she would easily die if she is not careful enough. Land-type mutated beasts are as fast as Luo Yuan and due to their physical size, 100 meters is equivalent to just a few steps for them.


    Her power serves as a supportive attack only and she can hardly survive independently. Most of the marine monsters appeared alone instead of in a big group and they were moving very slowly. Thus, it was not too bad for Mu Wenwen. Wang Shishi helped asionally too and she killed a light green mutated marine monster by herself.


    Her flying shuttle was at green level after being modified using the eggshells of the Archelon. It is now sharper and stronger than Luo Yuan¡¯s Zhanmadao. The marine monster was unlucky as it slowly came up to thend with the help of its tail and a pair of fins but was immediately killed by Wang Shishi¡¯s flying shuttle.


    Fatty Xie¡¯s power was restricted by the marine monsters. He could not do anything but observe from afar. Time had passed and the sky was darkening. There were a few stacks of carcasses all over the ce and the ground was red in color. The air smelled awful due to the blood.


    Many equipments were being kept in containers as they were ready to return to the base. The soldiers and Luo Yuan finally felt rxed and they did not expect the mission to bepleted in such a short time.


    ¡°I¡¯m really grateful that you were willing toe, otherwise, we would have given up on them.¡± The Commander said.


    Luo Yuan wanted to say a few humble words but suddenly frowned as he realized his heartbeat was fluctuating.


    ¡°What happened?¡± Themander asked.


    ¡°Hold on, something is wrong.¡± Luo Yuan looked very serious and asked, ¡°Do you feel the ground shaking?¡±


    Commander Xia shook his head. Luo Yuan looked at the rest to confirm Commander Xia¡¯s answer. None of them felt anything. He was probably more sensitive to the changes underground as his power is rted to the earth. He felt something moving in the ground and it was making its way to the surface.


    ¡°I don¡¯t feel it. Do you sense something wrong?¡± Themander asked doubtfully.


    Luo Yuan did not say anything and closed his eyes to focus. Everyone looked nervous now as they believe Luo Yuan had very powerful senses and would not joke around with these sorts of things.


    ¡°Move backwards! Everyone, moves backwards!¡± Suddenly, he opened his eyes and looked very serious. He then quickly grabbed Wang Shishi and kept her in his arms. He then started running backwards frantically.


    The rest immediately sensed something and quickly stepped back, however, it was toote. The ground about 10 meters in front of them suddenly exploded! A few of the soldiers got hit in the face by sand and rocks and immediately became the corpses. In the next second, a snake-like giant silver creature rushed out from underground. Half of its upper body was floating in the air as its eyes were watching the soldiers on the ground.


    Everyone was under extreme stress from what they just witnessed. Most of them looked very pale and their limbs were numb. Luo Yuan almost stopped breathing when he saw the scene. The entire body of the monster was silver in color and very shiny under the sunlight. Its body looked long even though the lower part was curled up. There was some colorful fur at the end of its tail and there was a redb on its head like the crown of a king.


    The creature had evolved from a snake and most parts of its body looked very simr. It looked amazingly beautiful and majestic but everyone was frightened including Luo Yuan.


    The gigantic silver snake looked at Luo Yuan for a second with its clear eyes and then looked at the stacks of carcasses scattered all over. No one knows how long it has been hibernating underground but they guessed that it was attracted to the smell of blood. Everyone was still to stunned to do anything.


    Then, one of the soldiers lost his control due to extreme fear and pressed the trigger of his machine gun. Numerous 3mm bullets fired at the body of the silver snake, however, it had very little effect besides a few pieces of its scales falling to the ground.


    ¡°Damn it! Fire! Fire! Attack!!!!!!!¡± The Commander immediately ordered the soldiers to attack. He was lucky that he did not get hit by the rocks earlier, but there were several blood spots on his face from the injuries caused by the sand and mud.


    At this point, the soldiers would not stop firing even if he did not give any orders as they were so near to the God of Death that they almost peed their pants.

 Chapter 194: Unpredictable Moment

    Chapter 194: Unpredictable Moment


    Trantor: Editor:


    The guns and cannons kept firing away but this was a top level mutated beast so it did not have much effect. How fast can a snake be? Well, ording to pre-apocalyptic research, once a snake gets within a good attacking distance of its prey, it can attack and bite it in 0.1 seconds (that also includes injecting venom). Due to human limitations, it was truly difficult to capture the movements of the snake.


    As for this mutated beast, it is basically faster than an ordinary snake so it was expected that its speed was incredibly fast! Everyone felt helpless and even hopeless. In just a second, the armored vehicle which started shooting at the beast seemed to have disappearedpletely- only leaving behind a bloody and oily smell in the air. In the next second, numerous parts of the vehicle rained down from the sky and half of the vehicle was in the mouth of the giant mutated snake. The thin armor of the vehicle definitely could not withstand the snake¡¯s sharp and strong teeth which hadpletely sunk into the vehicle. It seemed inevitable that the soldiers inside the vehicle were all dead by then.


    The giant mutated snake seemed to know that the vehicle was not a living creature; it spat the vehicle out hundreds of meters away and upon hitting the ground; it exploded. As the entire scene was too crazy for them to fathom, everyone subconsciously stood still and became very quiet. Nobody dared to move to prevent the giant mutated snake from noticing them.


    The crystal clear but cold-blooded eyes of the snake started to nce through the crowd; scanning from left to right to find its next victim. Through its eyes alone; fear and horror could strike those who looked into them. The only thing on their side was the fact that the snake was no longer in optimal condition due to the series of attacks it endured moments ago. Most of its scales were shattered and its skin was slightly injured too; there was blood slowly oozing out from its body.


    The atmosphere became very depressed as everyone was hit hard by the fear of death. Suddenly, a self-propelled artillery caught everyone¡¯s attention (including the giant mutated snake) as hydraulic jet sounds were particrly clear in such a quiet environment. The snake looked at the weapon and its sharp teeth became visible. "Oh no!" Luo Yuan¡¯s heart was pounding quickly in his chest. In just a second, he saw a ck shadow fly past him with strong wind circting around it.


    The next moment, he heard a loud noise - Boooommmm! The self-propelled artillery was hit badly by a huge force. As a result, its ten-meter-long barrel was broken and its armor waspletely damaged. At the same time, a few soldiers nearby were subsequently killed as they had no chance to react when the heavy machine flew in their direction. Their bodies were crushed and blood sttered everywhere.


    The giant mutated snake did not stop there; it took notice of another self-propelled artillery and was ready to attack. Perhaps it could sense the danger and threat posed by the giant metallic monster so it lowered its head and stretched its body; its giant tail swept through the ground and all the fortifications around its vicinity were wiped away instantly; even a few boulders weighing several tons were blown away.


    Within seconds, the other heavy self-propelled artillery was hit badly and was no longer recognizable. All its parts were scattered everywhere and the remaining steel case flew a few meters away. The snake then continued to attack the remaining vehicles around the area.


    Everyone else was lying on the floor and dared not make any moves. Wang Shishi was hugged tightly in Luo Yuan¡¯s arm; her face was filled with fear and her body kept on trembling. It was rare for Luo Yuan to have a strong feeling of helplessness. If the snake were to be in front of his face right now; he would not be able to defend himself from its attacks. He was scared and for the first time, he felt like fleeing.


    However, he quickly snapped himself out of his fear. He knew well enough that he would die even faster if he attempted to run away. Looking at the entire team on the ground, the giant mutated snake seemed to jeer at them. It slowly wriggled forward, but its speed was considered fast to them.


    The snake¡¯s silvery scales reflected the light from the Sun and several soldiers could not keep their eyes off its huge body in front of them. They couldn¡¯t help much as their bodies were already weak and out of strength. The snake suddenly lowered its head, and unfortunately one of the soldiers was already in its mouth.


    Upon realizing this, he screamed hysterically and tried to struggle but very soon the screams faded and disappeared. His whole body was swallowed into its stomach in an instant. The rest of the soldiers became frantic after seeing this scene. They jumped up and began to shoot at the snake. As brave as they were, the bullets hardly inflicted any pain on the snake¡¯s body. Instead, the soldiers were swallowed into its stomach one by one.


    Fatty Xie who was very near to the scene was already prepared to fight, but this time he was totally frozen in fear. The deaths and screams in front of him drove him crazy. He noticed the sky turning darker and a strong wind blew towards him. He was stunned but immediately stood up, gathered his strength, and took a leap! He managed to escape to a ce five to six meters away. He had never been so fast before, but he suddenly felt a pain on his waist.


    "Noooo!!"


    Before he died, he seemed to hear his bones being broken and right after that, he lost his consciousness forever. Luo Yuan took a nce and immediately turned away. His face carried all sorts of negative emotions. Fatty Xie was already running very quickly! His speed was equivalent to about thirteen points, but still, he could not escape from the snake.


    Luo Yuan secretly estimated the sess rate of the team if they tried to escape, however, the result was disappointing. No matter how he calcted, they had very little hope. The snake was just too fast and no one could escape from it. It was impossible to wait for it to go away after it was full because at its current size, it would probably just be half full even if it ate everyone here.


    "Bloody hell."


    The screams of the soldiers disappeared one by one, and soon it would be their turn. Luo Yuan was anxious and a trickle of sweat slid down from his forehead. Suddenly, he noticed Commander Xia who was ten meters away from him. His head was bowed down as he attempted to camouge himself in the grass; but his hands seemed busy doing something. Luo Yuan was able to sense very quickly that his hands were holding level five explosive bombs! He was using grass to pull all the lids together.


    ¡°This is...¡± his face slightly changed as he spoke. He was stunned and hesitated for quite a while, but slowly he let go of Wang Shishi and told her softly, ¡°You stay here and be careful."


    "Luo... Brother Luo... don¡¯t go... you will die..." Wang Shishi was scared for herself and for him. She was still gripping on to Luo Yuan¡¯s clothes.


    "Don¡¯t worry, I am very powerful. I will not die easily." Luo Yuan squeezed out a smile on his face to try tofort Wang Shishi.


    Wang Shishi shook her head and did not let go of his hand. Tears rolled down her eyes as she uttered, "But... But I¡¯m still scared."


    "Don¡¯t cry. Stay here and do not move no matter what happens.¡± Luo Yuan slowly took Wang Shishi¡¯s hand away and rubbed her head softly.


    Then, Luo Yuan just turned away and tried not to look at her face full of tears. He took a deep breath and crawled towards Commander Xia slowly. He constantly heard the screams of soldiers indicating their imminent death. He tried very hard to keep his head low and did not even dare to take a nce. He simply relied on his skin and nose to sense the surrounding.


    Commander Xia¡¯s position was about seven to eight meters away from where Luo Yuan nted himself. There were two or three more soldiers nearby so he didn¡¯t look too noticeable here. This would be the best distance for him to attack; if he stayed too close he would attract the attention of the snake and lose his best opportunity.


    Suddenly, he noticed a strange phenomenon... about twenty meters away, Mu Wenwen was lying alone on the ground. There were no other soldiers around her- apparently all the soldiers in the area were already eaten by the snake. Luo Yuan disregarded her but continued to focus on the snake. His entire body was tensed to the point that the veins on his forehead had popped out. He kept low on the ground and stretched out his arms and knees, the soil on the ground was slightly moved by his foot. With this position, he could have more power to leap forward when the right opportunity arose.


    Finally, the snake stared at Commander Xia. The sight of its eyes made him shiver. He held the bombs tightly in his hand waiting for the right moment to present itself. At this point, suddenly Xiao Fei pressed and held on Commander Xia¡¯s hand. He said calmly, "There are people waiting for you to go back. Let me go before you."


    "You......" Commander Xia lips trembled as he spoke; he did not know what to say.


    Xiao Fei then picked up the mortar beside him, ced it on his shoulder, and fired. The bullet hit the unsuspecting snake which was only around ten meters away. Everything happened so quickly again but this time the snake was not aware of the attack beforehand thus it was a direct shot which hit its stomach and exploded.


    "Roarrrrrrrrrrrrr!" The giant mutated snake roared in pain! Despite how powerful it was, it had a petite body which was light; thus the explosion of the mortar made its body tilt to one side.


    "Good chance!" Luo Yuan whispered as he prepared himself to attack.


    Two big holes could be seen on the ground where he positioned his feet. He ran at lighting speed towards the giant mutated snake with his Zhanmadao hanging on his body. His eyes were fully focused on the head of the snake. He had actually never been so focused before. He gathered his will and a hazy light surrounded his entire body. It was clearly visible on this bright sunny day.


    His speed was picking up and with only two steps he leaped up into the sky. He was too fast and what everyone could see was just a myriad of dust and rocks forming a mini-tornado behind him. There was only one chance, either he would be alive or dead at the end of it. Simple as that.


    He kept his eyes sharp and after a few strides, he was already very close to the snake¡¯s head. At this time, the snake had recovered from the initial attack, and its cold eyes were ferocious. When it tried to raise its body to kill this "insect" that hurt it, Luo Yuan had reached close to it with his Zhanmadao; aiming for its jaw.


    Everyone held their breath looking at this scene as if the time had just stopped ticking. What they saw next was the jaw of the giant mutated snake raised up a few meters and at the same time a ck shadow was thrown into the distance.


    "Roarrrrrrrrr!" the giant mutated snake indicated that it was in severe pain.


    Everyone quickly stood up and some of the soldiers even began to run away. Some of the sharp-eyed people noticed that there was a knife jabbed into the snake¡¯s jaw. The knife hadpletely prated its jaw to the point where only the handle was still visible.


    Wang Shishi knew that Luo Yuan was the ck shadow thrown into the distance. She screamed loudly with fear in her mind. She disregarded the fact that the snake was still alive and quickly ran towards Luo Yuan.

 Chapter 195: Subconscious

    Chapter 195: Subconscious


    Trantor: Editor:


    Wang Shishi could not stop crying when she arrived at Luo Yuan¡¯s side. She saw how much he was suffering and it was killing her. Luo Yuan appeared severely injured and his body was as hot as boiling vapor. It looked a bit pinkish with a strong smell of blood. Apparently, the blood inside his body was circting very quickly which caused many of his capiries to burst and clot under his skin.


    Luo Yuan forced out a smile when he saw Wang Shishi rush to him. He threw up some blood and uttered, ¡°Don¡¯t... worry... I¡¯m... fine.¡±


    ¡°Help me get up.¡± Luo Yuan said.


    How could he still be fine when he was clearly in agonizing pain? Wang Shishi was crying even more at that stage but she quickly wiped away her tears and said, ¡°Wuwuuuwuuuu... You don¡¯t move.¡±


    She then sat on the ground and lifted Luo Yuan¡¯s head and shifted it to herp. He was actually fine but he was just over exhausted after using too much of his strength. The reason he vomited blood was probably due to injuries to his internal organs. Luo Yuan was having a very serious body ache and his muscles were very tight. However, that kind of injury was not really serious to him as he would recover after a few days even without receiving any treatment.


    About one minuteter, his physical strength slowly recovered. He slowly sat up and spat out some blood again which had umted in his lungs earlier. He was not used to being hugged in a little girl¡¯s arms, especially with that added piece of flesh on her chest. Her breasts were covering his face as her body was trembling in shock. He found it very arousing for some reason.


    ¡°Lie down, please.¡± Wang Shishi said as she saw Luo Yuan trying very hard to get up. She forgot to use her hand to support him as she was still crying from the nightmare that they just got out from. Luo Yuan looked at Wang Shishi and felt that her actions were both adorable and amusing. Also, the fact that she rushed to his side without being concerned of her own safety was quite heart-warming.


    He said, ¡°I¡¯m fine, I wasn¡¯t hurt. I am just very exhausted. Let¡¯s go, we need to leave this ce. Please, help me.¡±


    This was certainly not a safe ce. The giant snake was still trying to attack even though it looked like it was going to die soon. Most of the trees were damaged and the buildings nearby had copsed as well. A few giant rocks which weighed about a few tons flew past Luo Yuan¡¯s head. One would definitely die if they get hit point nk by these boulders. Of course, the probability of that urring is not that high. However, if those stones fell like rainfall it could really hurt them. Luo Yuan got hit by a few small ones earlier. Fortunately, the stones were not powerful enough to hurt Luo Yuan who is rtively strong. Otherwise, he would have died earlier.


    Despite her state of shock, Wang Shishi was still able to listen to his instructions. She wiped away her tears and helped to support Luo Yuan to his feet. She was also utilising her telekinesis power to protect him. Luo Yuan tried to get up from the ground with her aid but struggled. This time, he had used too much of his strength and his muscles were extremely sore. He felt as though his limbs were paralyzed to some extent. Luo Yuan¡¯s injuries looked more serious than the ones he got from his previous battle and he did not know whether his will could help to him to recover quickly this time. Apparently, it was not a good time to do any treatment.


    He smiled with pain and slowly walked forward. After taking a few steps, Luo Yuan was surprised that a few people were running towards him. It was Commander Xia and a few soldiers. Some of them brought the first aid carrier along with a bulletproof jacket.


    Along the way, some stones had hit a few soldiers who then fell to the ground. They quickly picked themselves up and continued running. Unfortunately, out of the blue, a soldier got hit by a huge rock while he was running and then fell on the ground and died. However, none of them stopped to check as everyone was busy running for their lives.


    ¡°Let us carry him.¡± Commander Xia and three soldiers rushed to them and said to Wang Shishi who was still gasping. The four of them were the only soldiers who survived the battle.


    Luo Yuan looked really tired with numerous wounds all over his body. He was surprised and touched by the actions of the soldiers. He would not have had any hard feelings even if they did not offer to help or just watched him walking slowly. After all, he killed the giant snake to save himself instead of rescue them. He would have run away if he could. Luo Yuan would help if he can, but he definitely would not sacrifice his life to help someone else though that will never restrict him from respecting those who are willing to sacrifice their lives to save other people.


    ¡°You, you guys...¡± Luo Yuan took a deep breath as he tried to utter something.


    "You¡¯ve saved our lives, this risk is nothingpared to what you have done for us." One of the soldiers said to Luo Yuan.


    ¡°We need to leave this ce first.¡± Commander Xia urged them.


    Luo Yuan felt guilty and nodded. He said to Wang Shishi, ¡°Shishi, please lookout for those rolling boulders and flying stones.¡±


    Her telekinesis power is actually ideal to protect them from the stones as long as the momentum was not too high. Wang Shishi nodded and a few of soldiers carried Luo Yuan and ran towards a safe ce. Luo Yuan quickly rested and hoped he could recover as soon as possible. He realized he could now focus his will properly. It was just as simple as drinking a cup of water. That was a good thing and allowed him to focus on healing.


    He initially thought it was only light injuries to his internal organs and muscles but he waspletely mistaken. Most of his muscle fibers had been torn and a significant amount of his capiries had burst; most of his internal organs were severely injured and even his bones were shattered which caused serious internal bleeding.


    A normal person would have sumbed to his injuries if they were as serious as his. At this rate, it might take more than 2 days to recover. To make things worse, he had already utilized a lot of his will earlier in the battlefield. He could only do some simple treatments based on the will he had at the moment and then he would have to wait for his will to be revitalized in order to resume. The only positive was that he was surprised that his treatment process was faster than ever. The torn muscles began to connect when his will scanned through the fibers. He was amazed and then focused on the treatment.


    The muscles were reconnected and the clogged blood in the capiries had been unclogged. Even the cracks in his bones had recovered in just a few minutes. He suddenly opened his eyes as he was shocked by what he had just experienced. He was sure that his will was revitalized and was still healing him even though it should be depleted by now. He quickly opened the status panel and realized he had overlooked a notification.


    ¡°Your will has hit the upper boundary and upgraded under the threat of death. Will +1¡±


    Luo Yuan was delighted and he was particrly attracted to the words, ¡°will has hit the upper boundary.¡±


    He was in deep thought reflecting on what had just happened. His most recent battle was definitely the most dangerous one of them all. Despite having killed many light green level mutated beasts, most of them were actually marine-based monsters which had lost some power upon rising to thend. Based on this experience, he learnt that it was actually the ground-type mutated beasts which he had to be more careful of. He was aware of his own power and ssification which is between light green and green level. A green level mutated beast could easily kill him just as easily as he could easily kill dark blue mutated beasts.


    Previously, he could simply kill the mutated beasts with his high level of dexterity but it was not enough to fight with the giant snake as he could not even follow the actions of the snake. He knew that he could not escape in time which drew him to the conclusion that his power, dexterity, as well as his physique, were weaker than the giant snake¡¯s.


    He had only a 30% chance of killing the giant snake even when it was distracted by the bombs. It was not difficult to imagine how stressed he was as he was struggling so hard to survive the battle. It was as if he entered into a different world when he met with the giant snake. Nothing else was in his eyes except the target and his blood was boiling throughout the whole process.


    The surroundings were very quiet and Luo Yuan¡¯s vision was blurry. Every single step he took consumed a lot of his energy and his body felt as if it were floating in the air.


    ¡°There must be something to do with the will.¡± He thought.


    ¡°My will is the most mysterious among the properties. I must have increased my speed and power subconsciously under the threat of death. The need to survive possibly helped with breakthroughs in my abilities and hence allowed my body to perform extremely well.¡± He wondered.


    Luo Yuan then questioned himself, ¡°But why couldn¡¯t I do that previously?¡±


    He knew it was quitemon for people to perform better during critical times even before the start of the apocalypse. For example, if a woman¡¯s son was stuck under a car, she would somehow be able to lift the car and save her son. The car is definitely heavy and under normal circumstances the woman would not be able to lift it. However, due to the anxiety and stress she was facing upon seeing her son in danger, she will try her very best to move the car by focusing all her energy and strength.


    Even a normal person could do it but Luo Yuan could not make it happen until today. There must be something else behind his powers. His will is too important to him as it could be very helpful to kill green level mutated beasts if he could master it.


    Although he almost copsed after using his will (and the fact that it only worked for a short time), it was better than waiting to die. He realized his ability to focus and concentrate on his will is actually weaker than normal people¡¯s. Even though normal people could only focus their will for short periods of time, it is very powerful. The challenging part for Luo Yuan was that this skill is not something he could easily master through practice.


    Luo Yuan soon realized that he could not hurt himself because that action is going against his subconscious ability to protect himself. In order to experience a breakthrough, Luo Yuan needs to neglect the injuries to his physical body.


    ¡°Oh! My subconscious...¡± Luo Yuan sighed. He wondered if he should learn to hypnotize himself. Although he has never tried it before, it was probably a good idea if he needed to control his will to utilize his super strong power. This was especially useful in extremely dangerous situations like the one they just encountered. Luo Yuan smiled sadly at that thought and prayed that he will never get to be in that type of dangerous situation again. Suddenly, he felt groggy. The soldiers put the carrier down on the ground but he did not get up; instead, he continued lying on top of the carrier.


    Luo Yuan has a rtively good understanding of social interactions. He knew that it would be quite bad if he immediately gets up and acts like he was totally fine once they put him down on the ground. After all, a soldier lost his life just to make sure Luo Yuan could be delivered back safely. What would the soldiers think if he just gets up from the carrier and looks like he is perfectly fine?


    Although their thoughts would not affect him much, he did not want to hurt those soldiers who tried their best to protect him along the journey by risking their lives.

 Chapter 196: Unexpected discovery

    Chapter 196: Unexpected discovery


    Trantor: Editor:


    Before their journey, there were slightly more than twenty soldiers. Now, only four soldiers remained including Commander Xia. Everyone looked gloomy and tired; sadness shed in their eyes from time to time. Although it was a norm to witness death since the outbreak, especially for these soldiers who always faced uncertainties in their life, they would still mourn for a while before they started to get busy again.


    The remaining firearms and ammunition were all kept by the soldiers; categorized into different wooden boxes one by one so that they could load them into the truck easily. A soldier then picked up a weapon and a shoe from the ground; suddenly his eyes shed a few teardrops and he secretly wiped them away. He turned and crouched down to hide his face.


    Mu Wenwen and Wang Shishi also helped within their capabilities. No one wanted to speak so it waspletely quiet and depressing. Under this atmosphere, Luo Yuan could only afford to lie down for a while. He then slowly stood up. Wang Shishi noticed him and quickly dropped the bullets in her hands and ran over; even Commander Xia and his soldiers stopped their work and looked at him in shock.


    "Brother Luo, have you recovered?¡± Wang Shishi asked in surprise.


    "Do not worry, I am getting better. I have a strong body, with such injuries I can recover very fast.¡± Luo Yuan answered and smiled. This exnation made a lot of sense. Some evolutionary humans did have amazing healing abilities; even if there was a hole in their body, they could recover speedily. Everyone was well aware of this fact.


    "It is truly good news to see your recovery; without you, we would¡¯ve died a long time ago. There is nothing much I can say except thank you. We owe you a life." Commander Xia spoke gratefully with his rough voice. He looked tired.


    "This is too much, I am also saving myself here. If I didn¡¯t kill this giant mutated snake we will all die together.¡± Luo Yuan shook his head and said. He did not want to bear this kind of gratitude for no reason, he did not deserve it.


    "Our soldiers can distinguish what is good and bad, no matter what we all know that you saved us a life." Commander Xia responded and continued, "If you have a chance to go to the redevelopment area, feel free toe and look for us whenever you encounter any difficulties. We are in the new 18th Army 11th Brigade ¨C group B. However, this is assuming we are still alive."


    Luo Yuan nodded, epting the appreciation from these soldiers. However, Commander Xia noticed that Luo Yuan did not seem to be interested in what he had just said. He then spoke again, "You¡¯ve never lived in the redevelopment area before so you might not know how tough the situation is. There are limited resources avable. For tighter regtion of key materials including meat and food, it can only be purchased through tickets. With the tight supply, a lot of people do not even have enough to eat. Because us soldiers risk our lives every day, we enjoy some small privileges. You see the bodies of these mutated sea beasts? If this happened in the redevelopment area, with so many level five types of meats, it is enough to cause chaos in the city with everyone wanting to buy it. But it is worth nothing here. In the redevelopment area, the distribution of most of the mutated meat will still be managed by the government. Thus, in order to stimte the enthusiasm of the soldiers and to encourage civilians to join the army, the government will secretly leak out resources out to the soldiers. The amount is still considerably big as most of the mutated meat sold in the ck market are sourced from the army. You should understand what I am trying to say by now."


    Luo Yuan tried to nod more convincingly now. Times have changed. Being in the army had also been a career with high risk and high ie. If he wanted to make good money, building a good rtionship with Commander Xia was definitely a good path to go. However, he had been living in the upied areas for so long that money was no longer that important to him, thus, Luo Yuan did not want to think much about it until he was back to redevelopment area.


    Commander Xia still noticed that Luo Yuan was not genuinely interested in what he had just said. In a way, he could totally understand it. Such a strong evolutionary human would definitely be appealing no matter where he went. The government would probably recruit him to do something so money was definitely not an issue to him.


    "Anyway, what is your n for this snake?" He asked Luo Yuan in an attempt to switch topic.


    It was not usual to see a level six mutated beast even in the redevelopment area. Its resources are important materials for war. Commander Xia hesitated slightly and said, "It was killed by you, so I will let you decide."


    At the moment, the body of the giant mutated snake was still moving but its movements were much milder than before. It was mainly only its tail that was still moving whereas its upper body hadpletely stopped and was lying idle on the floor.


    "I will just take a part of it and you as well as your team can have the rest." Luo Yuan shook his head and said. Besides, he could not take too much along with him.


    Then he focused his attention back to the giant mutated snake and asked the few soldiers, "Do you have a knife?"


    "Is this ok?" A soldier pulled out a foot-long knife from his boot and handed it over to Luo Yuan with respect.


    Luo Yuan took it and touched the de; he shook his head in his mind. For general use, this knife was sharp enough but it definitely could not bepared with the Zhanmadao. He guessed that it would probably not be able to prate the skin of a blue level mutated beast. However, his Zhanmadao was still inside the throat of this mutated giant snake, so this knife would be the best option for now.


    "Thanks, I will give it back to youter." Luo Yuan said casually.


    "Ah ...... You¡¯re wee, feel free to use it as needed." The soldier was not particrly talkative but answered excitedly.


    Luo Yuan wiped his face and realized the dried scar on his face had peeled off- exposing the inneryer of his skin. He held the knife in one hand and quickly walked toward the snake. Less than a minuteter, Luo Yuan was already close enough to the snake. The giant mutated snake that was so fierce ten minutes ago could not even give any response now. Luo Yuan observed the area which we stabbed the snake based on the handle which was still exposed outside its body. Apparently, his Zhanmadao has prated its head and cracked its skull.


    Luo Yuan was focused and knew he should not be careless. He held the soldier¡¯s knife firmly and walked around the snake to check on its condition. He only rxed a little when he confirmed that it had already died. To be honest, this was also the first time Luo Yuan saw such an exquisite mutated beast. Every inch of its body was filled with mysterious colors and every scale was shiny and was about the size of a football. There were also someplex patterns on it.


    Its wide mouth, red crown, and tail, had amazed Luo Yuan. Even though it was dead, its prestige still surrounded its body and made people feel pressured when they were near it. However, Luo Yuan was not afraid. He had killed it even when it was alive so now that it is dead he was more relieved.


    Luo Yuan checked again and again until he finally confirmed that the snake was definitely dead. He then tried very hard to pull out his Zhanmadao but failed. He tried again and again but it was still not moving. Only then did Luo Yuan notice that the snake barely bled and even the wound that the Zhanmadao caused it was already tightly sealed.


    "It has such a scary self-healing ability, I am afraid that the Zhanmadao has been fully integrated with the tissues of its body." Luo Yuan thought in his heart. He had to use his remaining will to tear off the muscles around the wound before he managed to pull out his Zhanmadao.


    When he held the Zhanmadao in his hand, he felt strange. He was very familiar with his weapon now and he could clearly be able to tell if the knife was lighter by even one milligram. Now, not only was the weight a lot lighter, the material seemed to have changed. He carefully looked at the Zhanmadao and his face changed. The ck synthesized Zhanmadao had now turned gray. Luo Yuan was very familiar with this color as it should be the original color of the Zhanmadao. However, just to be certain, he used his identification power to check. As expected, all the synthesized features had gone and it was back to its original form. It was undoubtedly an unpleasant shock for Luo Yuan. Apparently, all the synthesized essence had been absorbed by the giant mutated snake. This was really a scary thing but it made Luo Yuan even more excited about its meat.


    Luo Yuan ripped off two scales from its body and although they were only about two to three milliliters thick, they were extremely heavy. Each piece weighed about a kilogram. Luo Yuan tried to bend the scale but failed. Of course, he had limited strength now as a result of their battle. The durability and flexibility was undoubtedly good. The best-synthesized knife not only had to be hard but also had to be flexible or else it would be easily broken. Obviously, these scales were good material for his knife.


    The material of the Heaven¡¯s Pir Tree that he usedst time was flexible but not very hard even though it was also green level material. The Zhanmadao was still fairly good if he were to use it to fight against light green level mutated beast, but it was definitely no good for killing green level mutated beast. Luo Yuan had always been somewhat dissatisfied with it and now that he had a chance to resynthesize it, he wanted to get the best material for it. Luo Yuan chose a good spot to hide from the soldiers and started his synthesis process. In total, he used up five scales toplete the synthesis. In just a moment, a shiny brand new Zhanmadao appeared in front of him. He looked closely and noticed that the knife was not only silver in color, but there were actuallyplicated fine ck patterns on it. Luo Yuan could not wait to use his identification power to analyze it.


    "Dragon Scaled Zhanmadao"


    "Material: 6m alloy, bloody Dragon Scale"


    "Rarity: Green."


    "Weight: 14kg"


    "Attack Power: 36-51"


    "Additional Abilities 1: Attack speed 2¡±


    "Additional Abilities 2: Separate soil and water (passive), whenever it passes through soil or water it will cause them to be separated. (Slight effect)¡±


    "Equipment Requirements: Strength - 14 points"


    "Remarks: This is a mysterious Zhanmadao. It carries a mysterious force with it, although its power is weak."


    Luo Yuan was excited with his new Zhanmadao. Its attacking power and speed had significantly increased. He was curious about the two supplementary effects and the evaluation. He quickly tested them out but the results were disappointing. It really had a mysterious force that was unexinable.


    When he put the knife on the floor, the soil beside it quickly separated; leaving a foot-deep and an inch wide concave hole. However, the effect was not very good on stones as there was no effect if the target size was asrge as a fist. Luo Yuan could not think of any use for it since he would not be using it to drill the ground. It might be useful on water but there was no water at the moment so he could not test it.


    Anyway, other than all these strange capabilities, the brand new Zhanmadao was definitely better than the previous one. The only thing that concerned Luo Yuan was that the ability to absorb life had disappeared. If there was any injury in future, he had to think of another way to cure it. However, since they were going back to the redevelopment area, they might not need to risk their lives anymore.


    Subsequently, Luo Yuan started to cut off more parts of the snake. He was quite skilful nowadays at doing such jobs. To avoid any sudden twitches from the snake, Luo Yuan opened up the scales below the neck looking for a gap. Then, he gathered his will and stabbed directly into the central nervous system to destroy it. The body of the snake tensed up for a moment and remained motionless after that. Once the danger was removed, Luo Yuan started to take out the inner organs slowly.


    Its organs, gall dder, and brain, were taken away and separated into a small packages made from the snake¡¯s skin. All these wrapped packages were still moving, and one kept on bouncing. Every single bounce was one to two meters in height. There was once that it bounced five meters away.


    Luo Yuan quickly took it back again and opened it. It was the snake¡¯s heart, which was still expanding and contracting. It was still pumping even though he already took it out for ten minutes. To avoid it from moving away again, he cut it into half.


    ¡°Eh?¡±


    There was something that attracted Luo Yuan¡¯s attention. There was a red and yellow irregrly-shaped object hanging on the top of the left atrium. It looked like a stone grew in its heart.


    "What is this?"


    He used his fingers to pinch and pull it out. He realized that the heart immediately stopped beating when he took the object out. He quickly used his identification power to analyze it.


    "Active energy collector."


    "Grade: Inferior¡±


    "Weight: 0 kg"


    "Remarks: This is an inferior active energy collector which contains a lot of impurities. The active energy collector can store energy more efficiently than fats. It ismonly present in green or higher level mutated creatures. Through a lot of eating and other means of energy absorption, it can store the excess energy in it for necessary use."

 Chapter 197: Evolve

    Chapter 197: Evolve


    Trantor: Editor:


    ¡°Active Energy Enrichment.¡± Luo Yuan could not hold in his excitement any longer as he finally found something extremely valuable. The scales and heart of the snake or any other valuable part of previous mutated beasts that he had found could not match this rare treasure. Most mutated beasts possess active energy and their level will be higher as their power and active energy increase.


    That kind of energy could be directly absorbed by the human body to improve its physical strength. Based on his knowledge, it wasmon that an individual¡¯s dexterity, strength, and physical condition will be upgraded to 11 points if they consumed the meats of dark blue mutated beasts over a long period. Moreover, they could be upgraded to 12 points if they consumed the meats of light green mutated beasts in the same way. And that¡¯s just from eating normal meat.


    It¡¯s difficult for the free form of active energy to be better than the solid form of active energy. In fact, it is also very difficult for Luo Yuan to upgrade at this point as he was already so powerful. The precious meats which people see as treasure is basically just normal food to him which can only fill his stomach.


    Normal people could easily upgrade their power by eating the flesh of high-level mutated beasts. But Luo Yuan could only rely on the system and his training to upgrade himself slowly. Lately, he seems to have reached a limit and he began to feel helpless as the missions were getting more challenging but his power still remained unchanged.


    This ¡®treasure¡¯ which looked like a stone gave Luo Yuan hope. He quickly kept the energy stone into his pocket. In order to make sure he did not miss out anything else, he checked everything once again. All the internal organs were removed, the brain has been checked and even the stomach inside the snake¡¯s thoracic cavity has been dissected.


    There was only one precious stone and he could not ask for more. He wrapped everything in a huge piece of snakeskin and it was about 150 kg. The internal organs and brain weighed almost the same weight as an archelon¡¯s eggs. Luo Yuan carried the whole bunch of internal organs on his back and walked back to meet his team. Of course, he had kept his upgraded Zhanmadao into its sheath to avoid questions from the rest.


    They were done moving the things in less than half an hour. After that, a few cranes and two heavy trucks with empty container moved towards the giant snake¡¯s carcass. There were about 7-8 soldiers which jumped down from the trucks and started to dissect the giant snake with an electrical saw. They were working very quickly without hesitation.


    One of the soldiers was trying to check the snake¡¯s stomach to see if the dead soldiers had left anything inside. Unfortunately, there was nothing left as everything had already been digested. Although the carcass of the giant snake was smaller than the sea monster¡¯s, it was actually about a meter thick in diameter, around 50 meters long and 30-40 tons in weight. It would be very difficult for the two trucks to send it back if they did not pack it properly. The bones of the giant snake were extremely strong, probably stronger than most normal metals, as a few of their saws broke throughout the dissecting process. When they were done with the dissection, the cranes began to move the dissected carcass into the empty containers.


    The rescue mission had finallye to an end. Two heavy bulldozers were moving forward to push away all the rocks and trees in front to make a pathway. About 20 heavy trucks were then following from behind along with other vehicles which formed a line.


    Luo Yuan and the other survivors were seated in one of those heavy trucks. The surviving soldiers began to cry as they could not hold their emotions in anymore. Even the talkative Wang Shishi remained silent at that moment. Apparently, the ending of the battle was worse than what they could imagine.


    The entire journey was a bumpy one as the roads were terribly damaged. They finally made a stop somewhere after traveling more than an hour for about 20 km. Luo Yuan got down from the heavy truck and was shocked by the scene he faced. The military base looked like a worksite as there were more than 100 heavy trucks lined up and the containers were carried by an electroma to be moved to the safe room of the military base. They looked so tiny when they were in line with the other trucks.


    Commander Xia and a few soldiers greeted them and then jumped down from the truck. They then walked towards the military base. Luo Yuan and the other two also followed them. The big iron door in front of the military base was opened. It was very bright inside and a huge object was surrounded by many trucks. Many containers were being moved into the huge object. Upon closer observation, it was a giant dark gray transport aircraft that looked really strong and much bigger than normalmercial aircrafts. The sheer magnitude of it amazed many of them


    ¡°Such a big airne!¡± Wang Shishi was amazed and naturally stopped walking.


    ¡°This is thetest military cargo aircraft in China. Its body is 55 meters long and its height is 15.6 meters. It can carry up to 146 tons of weight. It was nned to serve the military officially in 2017, but it has to be used earlier due to the urgent need. We have been manufacturing 150 of this type of aircraft in half a year and we have ten in the military base." Commander Xia exined proudly.


    100 cargo aircrafts is not a small number. Even the US only had a few hundred cargo aircrafts in total despite being the most advanced country in manufacturing.


    These were not peaceful times and the war was with mutated beasts instead of human beings. Kindness is not allowed in battles. Everyone is a warrior and every resource has to be used to fight.


    Commander Xia and a few soldiers were lectured by someone of a higher status even though they had just arrived recently. Apparently, Luo Yuan and his friends did not look like soldiers, so the major hesitated and then got another soldier to send them back to the hostel. Luo Yuan opened the door and put down his parcel. Huang Jiahui and the rest rushed to him. Everyone felt relieved when they found out that both Luo Yuan and Wang Shishi were fine.


    Wang Shishi described their adventure which caused them to feel scared. In fact, the mission was a lot scarier than what she was able to describe but it was unnecessary to exin these things in detail to prevent them from having nightmares. Huo Dong asked about Fatty Xie as he did not see him around. Everyone sighed when they learned what happened to him on the battlefield. Life bes so fragile at the end of the world.


    Luo Yuan told them he needed some rest as he was exhausted from the battle. Many people quickly left after Huo Dong used his eyes to signal them. Luo Yuan then shut the door and took out the active energy stone he found inside the heart of the giant snake earlier. He paused for a while as it was a risk to consume it.


    No one knows the effect of eating that stone. It¡¯s possible that he would evolve just like Chen Xianfeng. Luo Yuan put it near to his nose and smelled it. It had an awful smell but he seemed to be addicted to it and it made him feel hungry and motivated.


    For safety purposes, he pulled out his Zhanmadao and cut a thin slice of it first. He finally put it into his mouth after a short hesitation. It melted in his mouth just like ordinary refined sugar. He swallowed and what was left in his oral cavity was just the awful scent. After less than 20 seconds, Luo Yuan¡¯s eyes slowly grew bigger as if he received an electric shock. He felt good and excited and it felt like every single cell in his body was trying to absorb the active energy.


    His skin turned red and his bodily temperature rose to around 60-70 degrees Celsius. However, he did not feel it at all. In fact, he felt warm andfortable like he just took a hot shower. The heatsted for about 5 minutes and then stopped. Luo Yuan recovered and checked his body but he did not feel anything wrong with it. He felt good and energetic, just like when he got his Earth Stomp ability.


    He quickly walked forward and pulled out his Zhanmadao. He practiced striking it in the air and then kept his saber back into its sheath again. He was delighted as he realized his power has been upgraded but sadly nothing changed for his dexterity and strength. After that, Luo Yuan divided the leftover energy stone into three and then put one into his mouth again.


    He experienced the same feeling again but it was five times more powerful than the previous one and itsted longer. His skin was now dark red and his nose almost puffed out smoke. His skin was getting tighter and firmer; his bones were getting stronger; and all the cells in his body were transforming.


    It was still changing when the system beeped again. ¡°Active Energy Body Consumption, Physique +1¡±.

 Chapter 198: Seeing the Giant Lizard Again

    Chapter 198: Seeing the Giant Lizard Again


    Trantor: Editor:


    The attributes points were clearly valuable.


    As soon as Luo Yuan was notified, he was absolutely delighted. He brandished his sword and tried again, only to discover that in addition to his physique, his strength had also inted. Compared to his initial condition, it achieved an almost sixfold increase.


    Seeing this, he did not hesitate but to put the remaining two into his mouth.


    Initially, Luo Yuan had thought that this time round, the sensory stimtion would be stronger. But apart from a slight reaction in the beginning, everything was calm the very next moment, with not a hint of change, as if what he just consumed was distinctively different than the one he had earlier.


    He had an inkling that his body could possibly been repleted with energy.


    It could evenst him ten days or even half a month, without food. His whole body was brimming with energy, as though with immeasurable power.


    His assumption was as good as gold, upon discovering a yellow-red spot the size of a needle in the left atrium of his heart.


    It was constantly changing, persistently growing.


    It never bothered him in the beginning. If it was not for his Will that magnified his inner vision, he would not have even noticed it in the first ce. But with the constant blood flow gushing about, the continuous growth of the small spot in question could now be detected by the naked eye. Within just a few minutes, it had now grown to the size of a soybean. No further development was observed since then.


    This particte bioactiveden enrichment was almost an exact replica of the original, but only a size smaller. With its development, the palpitation of his heart had be stronger, the blood flow seemed more intense, and his whole body was bursting with energy.


    This was it.


    In the beginning, Luo Yuan was fascinated by the mystery of particte energy enrichment; even feeling awestruck by it. After all, it bore some simrities to a few incidents that had appeared in China¡¯s myths and legends ¨C intriguing him even more. But s, after experiencing its formation within his own body, the once-mysterious urrence passed into oblivion.


    Simr to one who had consumed too much fat, the surplus of nutrients naturally forms ayer in one¡¯s body. This works the same way, only in a more efficient and orderly manner.


    Luo Yuan felt slightly disappointed. He had initially been looking forward to it, especially when his other attributes, such as Strength, would be experiencing a slight increase. Unfortunately, the final oue did not live up to his expectations.


    He looked at his sticky limbs and torso, and adjourned towards the bathroom, with two washbowls and towels in tow.


    The water supply from Hucheng City had long been disconnected, but fortunately, there was no water shortage, as the boilers provided hot water daily. Water that had not been purified by means of heating was deemed unsafe, which was the sole reason why cold water was not found in the region.


    Luo Yuan filled up two of his washbowls to the brim, before letting it cool down slightly. He then undid his bulletproof vest and clothes, and began to take a bath.


    At 78 degrees Celsius, the heat of the water did not adversely affect his body at all. The stains and blood were washed away; revealing his smooth baster skin. Luo Yuan reached for the towel to dry himself, but as he was drying himself, he paused to look at his body briefly.


    His skin had been always fair, but after experiencing a slight increase in his Physique, his skin had be even more alluring; tighter and smoother, with pores shrunken to the size of needlepoints. With a closer look, his skin now seemed wless and creamy, with a sheen simr to that of a jade.


    He had be less of an ordinary person. Luo Yuan shook his head, breaking his reverie as he continued to dry himself.


    Luo Yuan also had his clothes washed after his bath. Having its fabric synthesized from the feathers of a mutated beast, his clothes were non-absorbent and waspletely dry after several wrings, right after taking it out of water. As Luo Yuan headed back to the dormitory after getting dressed, he was greeted by the lieutenant officer that came by in the morning, already waiting at the door with another two soldiers.


    ¡°Comrade Luo Yuan, the leader hasmanded me to inform you that we will be departing this evening at 8 o¡¯clock. If you wish to bring your battle beast along, bring it in immediately,¡± said the lieutenant, once he spotted Luo Yuan.


    ¡°Thank you," said Luo Yuan.


    ¡°I am merely obeying orders,¡± said the lieutenant without so much as a crack of a smile. With a stern face, he continued, ¡°Civilians are not supposed to wander around like that, pleasee with me."


    Luo Yuan returned to the bedroom, put down the washbowls and took his Zhanmadao, before following the officer out of the military base. He noticed that almost all the containers have been moved, with only a few trucks still waiting in line. At this rate, everything would be ready in less than half an hour. Luo Yuan snapped out of his thoughts and continued to follow the lieutenant onto a wheeled armored vehicle.


    Dusk has begun to descend upon them, and the sky darkened gingerly.


    After half an hour, upon Luo Yuan¡¯s request, the armoured vehicle stopped at the foot of mountain.


    ¡°Is it here? It doesn¡¯t seem like your beast is anywhere around at all.¡± The lieutenant said.


    Luo Yuan sized up the surroundings with a nce; they had originally parted ways here. He then responded, "It could be wandering around close by."


    ¡°Should we take you around to look for it?¡± He frowned.


    ¡°No, it should not be too far from here." said Luo Yuan confidently. He ced his hand onto his lips, and blew a sharp whistle. The sound echoed endlessly between the valleys.


    Then, Luo Yuan began to wait patiently.


    One minute, two minutes, three minutes... and soon, a whole three minutes had passed, but not even a slightest movement was seen. A few soldiers could not help but to whisper among themselves.


    ¡°It¡¯s here.¡± Luo Yuan said suddenly.


    Just as the lieutenant was about to speak, he felt a slight tremor on the ground. He followed the direction of the sound and looked towards the distance, only to see a cloud of dust slowly forming, some few kilometers away. A blurry, small dot was moving at high speed towards their direction. At first nce, it seemed to only be a little spot, but as it came closer, its form had rapidly magnified.


    Moving at the speed of light, the rumbling sound could be heard from afar, akin to the sound from a high-speed rail before the apocalypse urred.


    The lieutenant inhaled a breath of cold air, and subconsciously tightened his grip on the handgun. Until he was able topose himself, he noticed that he had broken out in cold sweat. With such an incredible speed, he would be no match against the level five mutated beast.


    The giant lizard ran wildly towards them, and was more excited when it saw Luo Yuan.


    Until it was approximately ten meters from his master, it suddenly remembered its hard-earned lesson. Its body then came to an abrupt halt, akin to how a brakes of a car would. The inertia from the stopping motion of its gargantuous body brought about a huge impact to its foot, which caused the cement on the road to crack, leaving a series of potholes from where it stood.


    The lieutenant, blown by the strong gust, could not help but to stare helplessly at the cement road that they had spent so much effort and resources to build. It was now reduced to aplete mess, as if barraged with artillery. His face twitched slightly in frustration, but as they were already leaving tonight and may not return, there was no point in worrying about the road conditions now.


    The giant lizard lowered his head, and affectionately nudged Luo Yuan¡¯s chest.


    Despite its ferocious looking face, it was heart-warming and moving to watch.


    Luo Yuan looked at the giant lizard¡¯s level of loyalty, and was ovee by emotions. Despite releasing him into the wild for a few days, he had not expected that his pet¡¯s level of loyalty could possibly increase ¨C now at a staggering 87 points.


    Looking at the fresh wounds on its body, it was clearly not smooth-sailing for the giant lizard. This was why its loyalty level increased. Byparison, it truly recognized the difference between good and bad living conditions.


    With such level of loyalty, it now seemed like it would not object to any of Luo Yuan¡¯s orders. Feeling satisfied, he gave the lizard¡¯s head at pat, and instead of getting back onto the truck, he leapt onto the back of the giant lizard. Upon Luo Yuan¡¯s signal, the few dazed soldiers finally responded, started the armored vehicle and moved forward.


    At the same time, the giant lizard also began to move, as it effortlessly kept up with the team.

 Chapter 199: Boarding the Plane

    Chapter 199: Boarding the ne


    Trantor: Editor:


    After a few minutes, Luo Yuan had arrived at the military base, atop his lizard.


    As their return had long been informed, the surrounding army patrol showed no sign of unease, but from time to time, the soldier would stare towards their direction, keeping vigil.


    The lieutenant picked up the walkie-talkie and started to establish contact.


    A momentter, two heavy cranes towing an empty container each, appeared from the military base, followed by an SUV. The containers were set down, and behind it were seven to eight engineers donning safety helmets, alighting the SUV. One of them walked towards Luo Yuan.


    Luo Yuan pacified the stressed lizard as he dismounted. He briskly walked a few steps forward to greet the engineer.


    They shook hands, but thetter¡¯s eyes secretly darted towards the lizard nearby, who was emitting a rather intimidating aura. He could not resist but to gulp, forcibly calming himself and said, ¡°Hello, hello, your beast is toorge to fit into our standard containers. We must now measure its size and make the necessary adjustments to our container. Taking into ount the beast¡¯s temperament, as well as the possibility of danger, we would have to sedate it first."


    His demeanor did not bear any authoritative military disposition, but instead behaved meekly, akin to a technical staff of a factory workshop. This must mean he could have only been recently enlisted into the service.


    ¡°No problem, sorry to trouble you,¡± Luo Yuan said politely.


    ¡°No, it¡¯s no trouble at all,¡± the polite man waved it off, while opening a small tool box that was in his hand. Inside,id arge syringe with a needle, and an electric drill. "This is a specially formted sedative with a very strong effect. Even a level five mutated beast would normally be sedated for five to six hours. However, if the sedative was used for the second time, the period of its effect would be reduced progressively, after all, a mutated beast¡¯s resistance towards drugs is far too strong.¡±


    He passed a syringe needle as thick as an arm to Luo Yuan. Inside the syringe, was a light blue liquid.


    As Luo Yuan received the syringe, he took a look at it, and skeptically asked, "Is one needle enough?"


    ¡°In general, one shot is enough," the military engineer said confidently. "But it would be difficult to inject the needle through its thick skin. Normally we must use the electric drill to prate it with a fresh hole.¡±


    ¡°No, the electric drill is not necessary.¡± Luo Yuan rejected immediately. He took the syringe needle, and skeptically walked towards the giant lizard. It had a lot of wounds, some of them were fresh, and parts of its body were still oozing with fresh blood. So there was no point in making another open wound.


    Luo Yuan was worried that being too near the head would affect the future intelligence of the giant lizard, thus he chose a safer spot near the hip area, and injected without hesitation, gently pushing the liquid into its body.


    To the giant lizard, the sensation was akin to just an itch. It only gave a puzzled look at Luo Yuan before ignoring him. But very soon, it began to feel uneasy. Its body was starting to feel numb, and it was gradually losing its strength.


    After a minute, its body suddenly became weak and fell heavily onto its knees to the ground.


    It wailed incessantly, and struggled to stand up; its eyes looking up at Luo Yuan¡¯s.


    The soldier nearby started to retreat slowly, in order to avoid any imminent outburst.


    Unable to figure out why, when Luo Yuan looked into the eyes of the giant lizard, he felt ufortable. He went over and stroked the giant lizard¡¯s head, and continued to pacify it.


    Under Luo Yuan¡¯s reassurance, the giant lizard¡¯s uneasiness gradually died down, and very soon, his eyelids grew heavier and heavier. As minutes passed, it drifted off into a deep sleep.


    The group wiped off their cold sweat, and waited until the sedative unleashed its full potential, so that the giant lizard was no longer prone to react dangerously to the external environment. Afterwards, a few men began to measure the size of the lizard meticulously.


    After measurements were made, an empty container was cut open with mes, and necessary modifications soon ensued.


    Two hours had already passed when everything was ready.


    The container was evidently one sizerger after the modification, the walls had also be twoyers thicker. The container looked extremely solid, obviously with the intent of preventing the giant lizard from causing damages after it awakened.


    The unconscious giant lizard was carried by the crane into the container, and was welded shut, leaving a gap the size of a basketball, on the outside.


    ¡°Is this for breathing?¡± Luo Yuan pointed to the hole and asked. He had been observing the scene.


    ¡°This is to connect the cooling tube. When the temperature decreases to a certain degree, your battle beast would enter a state of drowsiness as its metabolism rate will decrease to its lowest. The air in the container is more than enough for the beast in its current condition, thus, there is no need to leave any air holes.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry; the beast viability is much stronger than you think. We are very experienced in this, nothing will go wrong.¡± a middle-aged military engineer said with an assuring smile, as he sensed Luo Yuan¡¯s concern.


    After listening to him, Luo Yuan finally calmed down.


    The time had just clocked in at 7.30pm when the speaker at the military base suddenly red, ¡°All the soldiers and survivors,e to the boarding hall immediately, the transport nes are about to take off......¡±


    The survivors had already received the news earlier, and after hearing the orders to assemble, they suddenly poured out of the sleeping quarters, with a look of excitement and ecstasy. Some of them were even shouting like madmen.


    Luo Yuan and hispany, were already standing by the door.


    ¡°Have you remembered to bring everything? Did you leave anything behind?¡± Luo Yuan asked.


    ¡°We have already double-checked a few times,¡± Huang Jiahui said, her face was filled with excitement.


    Not only Huang Jiahui, but all of their faces lit up with excitement, their eyes were shining brightly, the kind of brightness that resonated with hope.


    It was at this time that one started to realize how precious life was before the apocalypse. Although the condition in the reconstruction area was not ideal, and may not even have enough for any provisions, but solely for the safety of the environment, it very much won over the other factors.


    ¡°Then, let¡¯s move out!¡± said Luo Yuan.


    Luo Yuan andpany followed the crowd to the boarding hall; soldiers were already there helping to maintainw and order.


    The huge transport nes, asrge as the beast were arranged in two columns. Under the light, the dark gray metal was tinted with the colour of the dark, cold light. The runway in front of the boarding hall had long been lit with two rows of lights, extending to a few kilometers away, and was particrly visible under the dark night of the apocalypse.


    ¡°In order to ensure the safety of the transport nes, all guns and weapons must be handed over before boarding. Those who are found smuggling arson would be expelled from the military base," a captain officer said sternly.


    No one had questioned the order, thus everyone silently handed over their weapons to the soldiers. Several survivors were found to have hidden their weapons, and were caught by the soldiers. With faces full of fear, they repeatedly pleaded; some were even kneeling, begging for mercy. But it was futile to beg the soldiers, as no matter how much they struggled or resisted, one by one, all of them were pushed into the armored vehicles and were escorted out of the military base. One of them even attempted to fight back, but was instead shot dead on the spot and haphazardly tossed outside.


    Heavy penalties were deployed during turbulent times, not to mention that this was a military base.


    Everyone was shocked by the scenario. For some of the survivors that had ulterior motives, they no longer wanted to push their luck. They readily surrendered all their weapons, and even small pocket-daggers were handed over.


    Just when Luo Yuan had considered looking for an acquaintance to assist him, a soldier came over and said, ¡°You and yourpany,e with me."


    ¡°Hey Brother Luo. Here, you will be boarding this one.¡± Before managing to even take a few steps, Commander Xia was seen walking over and greeted them.

 Chapter 200: Static Electricity

    Chapter 200: Static Electricity


    Trantor: Editor:


    Commander Xia brought Luo Yuan and his team quickly towards thest transport ne, along with Mu Wenwen.


    The transport ne was a very wide one, especially on the inside. Apart from the container where the giant lizard resided, it had a refrigerator and only a few other goods. Needless to say, the whole ne seemed rather empty.


    The ne was not the least bit cosy, as it was never meant for public charter. They did not even have any basic chairs, let alone velvety soft carpets or luxurious interior d¨¦cor. The guests had nowhere to sit but on the floor. Fortunately, the inner walls had metal rails, which they could at least hold on to.


    After Commander Xia and a few soldiers brought them into the ne, they did not budge, and decided to stay put. This was due to the fact that Luo Yuan and the rest were notmon survivors, but ones with immense destructive power, who must be kept under vignt surveince. However, such intentions were not stated outright in a blunt manner, as the soldiers were mostly mere acquaintances.


    Their eyes were darting around the ne, with an initial feeling of novelty, which soon wore off. The interior was encrusted with exposed metal; filling the air with a pungent, rusty smell. The interior workmanship was no better; rough and shabby, with some parts welded carelessly, resembling a poor excuse of a twisted earthworm. Likewise, the iron flooring was not the least bit smoothened, with remnants of metallic pricks and debris on it.


    The transport ne gave them a ring impression that it was built in a hurry.


    However, this was expected, as artisans during wartime did not have the luxury of time to meticulously work through the details, and unlike more tranquil working conditions, quantity triumphed over quality


    Time was ticking slowly and soon enough, more than 10 minutes had passed.


    The engine roared from afar, and one by one, the transport nes breezed through the long runway and made its way into the air. Soon, it was their turn to adjourn.


    Their bodies swayed slightly as the nes took off. Huang Jiahui, who was beside Luo Yuan, suddenly clung onto his arm tightly and nervously. The rest were no better. They held onto the railing as tightly as they could and their bodies were tense; rigid with nervousness.


    In fact, Luo Yuan was worried too, but he didn¡¯t let it show.


    As an evolved human with innate connections to the earth, he could feel a sense of insecurity as he was lifted off the ground. Furthermore, the earth was still a world dominated by mutated beasts, who could ever guarantee that the sky was safe? It was a risky adventure for him indeed.


    When Commander Xia saw that everyone wasden with unrest, he assured, ¡°Many will have simr reactions during their first flight. Rest assured, we have taken such flights several times now. Generally, most mutated birds aren¡¯t active during the night. Even if they were, most of them would not be able to fly up to 10,000 meters high. Therefore, flying at night would usually be safest time for us all.¡±


    They heaved a sigh of relief upon hearing themander¡¯s reassuring words.


    At that very moment, their body sank with the inertia, as the heavy transport ne started to disembark from the runway and gradually heightened into the air.


    ¡°Commander, considering that you have been flying a few times now, haven¡¯t you faced any dangers before?¡± Huo Dong asked bravely, at ease upon sensing Commander Xia¡¯s rtively friendly demeanour.


    Themander hesitated before he spoke slowly, ¡°I wouldn¡¯t say it¡¯s 100% safe. After all, the current condition is no longer the same as before. Even though there aren¡¯t any flying mutated beasts in the air, it¡¯s still dangerous to fly in the sky. We had our transport nes fly back and forth, and out of five times, two nes had crashed.¡±


    When they heard what Commander Xia said, their tranquil state of mind turned turbulent once more.


    ¡°Could the transport ne¡¯s quality be responsible for those incidents?¡± asked Huo Dong, feeling tense.


    ¡°It could be, but the main reason is still the discharge of electricity at high altitudes, which seriously tampers with our electromaic waves. You¡¯ll find outter.¡± Commander Xia said, with a slightly serious face, ¡°Many newspapers are currently specting that it could be the one causing mutation and global warming. Such phenomenons were increasingly urring, at greater strengths. A year ago, the electricity discharge was almost undetectable and did not affect the various instruments in the ne at all. However, as it was now more apparent, and if it was not for the anti-electromaic interference equipments in the nes, it would cease to function entirely.¡±


    ¡°This issue has not been made known to the public yet, to prevent panic in the society. So, please keep it between us.¡±


    ¡°It was said that the violent supernova explosion hundreds of light-years away had caused a massive stir in the gxy. Besides, it had also stimted the sr activities to be increasingly active and frequent. It was likely that after the stir-up, the mutation would cease, but we don¡¯t know how long this would willst. It may take up a few years to hundreds of years.¡± His face further darkened upon finishing his sentence.


    Apart from Chen Jiayi and the other kids who were unperturbed, the faces of the other adults had turned sour.


    Luo Yuan had heard about such a theory prior to the apocalypse, but he was not concerned nor did he feel the need to question it, as he knew that there was nothing he could do. He was well-aware that the storm in the gxy would not only cause mutations, but also had the power to adversely affect the atmosphere.


    He felt conflicted inside, as the earth seemed so fragile, like an egg without its shell.


    Luo Yuan was relieved to know that the storm in the gxy was too weak to annihte life on earth instantly. However, the storm was gradually getting stronger and nobody knew when it would hit an unbearable stage for all life forms on earth. After all, human beings were akin to frogs in warm water, only that frogs were still capable of jumping out upon sensing a rise in temperature. But s, human beings can only struggle in vain, watching helplessly as danger draws closer.


    Luo Yuan suddenly felt his skin mildly tightening and his hair began to stand on its end.


    There were shocked; everyone could feel the static electricity. Their faces slightly paled in fear.


    ¡°Commander, look at the time! Why did it strike so quickly this round?¡± A soldier nced at his watch doubtfully.


    ¡°It seems like it has only been 20 minutes!¡± Commander Xia checked the time in shock, ¡°I¡¯ll check the cockpit!¡±


    Luo Yuan¡¯s heart skipped a beat while seeing themander scurrying towards the staircase. He took only a minute and returned with a solemn expression. This reduced everyone to a bundle of nerves.


    ¡°What¡¯s the situation now?¡± Luo Yuan asked.


    ¡°We are currently flying at an altitude of 7,000 meters. Previously, static electricity only urred with an altitude of 10,000 meters. It looks like its range had widened over thest few days. As the ne is about to cruise at lower levels, we should be alright. Just stay calm!¡± said themander, forcing a slip of a smile.


    ¡°Do we have any parachutes in here?¡± Lin Xiaoji asked abruptly.


    The Commander shook his head and kept silent. He was clearly not as calm as he appeared to be.


    After Lin Xiaoji got his answer, heid on the floor, crestfallen.


    The strength of the static electricity was inconsistent, causing the light in the cabin to flicker in unison. asionally, it triggered sparks in the air, which then disappeared quickly, emitting a crackling sound. A weak odor of ozone-gas then filled the air.


    The situation in the transport ne cabin appeared to be rather tense, as everyone was worried sick and their breathing had be heavier too.


    All their hair was standing stiff on its ends as a result of the static electricity, but nobody was in the mood tough. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, we¡¯ll be alright.¡± said Luo Yuan in dire attempts tofort them, upon sensing their uneasiness.


    Instead of onlyforting the others, what he really was doing was indeedforting himself too. He hated not being able to control his fate, and to surrender his life to luck. If he were to be on earth, he would at least be able to struggle out of this, instead of being incapable of doing anything but to rely on Lady Luck.


    As the clock was ticking, their heart was palpitating ording to the brightness of the light.


    Then, the light blinked a few times, exploded with a few sparks, and turned off as though signifying something. The very next moment, a series of bangs were heard and all the lights immediately extinguished, and emanated a burnt smell. The cabin was engulfed in darkness with only a few weak lights flickering in the air.


    Thedies were so frightened; they were screaming and their faces were white as sheet.


    ¡°Could you check if everything in the cockpit is alright?¡± Luo Yuan said to Commander Xia.


    ¡°I¡¯ll go now!¡± themander stood up quickly while fumbling for his torch.


    ¡°Wait a second; I want to check it out too.¡± Luo Yuan shouted.


    ¡°Ok!¡± Commander Xia nodded without any hesitation. This act was apparently against their discipline but he no longer had a care in the world now.


    They briskly walked upstairs, and opened the door of the cockpit. The light had malfunctioned there too; only leaving the instruments radiating with light, as they were still working perfectly.


    Commander Xia immediately asked, ¡°What¡¯s happening?¡±


    ¡°We¡¯re unlucky this time, as we¡¯ve ran into a strong electromaic storm. Fortunately, the destruction wasn¡¯t critical. The backup electricity still works fine, only undergoing someplications with the electrical circuit outside.¡± The co-pilot said with a shudder, ¡°But the weather conditions are not any good. The storm from the universe is somewhat intensive ¨C causing instability to the ionosphericyer above, which may affect us anytime. We are preparing to fly another 500 meters lower.¡±


    Luo Yuan looked at one of the meters on dashboard with a number showing 5000m, clearly indicating the altitude. Through the thick ss, he looked towards the sky in the distance. With his extraordinarily sharp eyes, he could see that imperceptible shes of light haphazardly lit up the pitch-ck sky, some colliding to form a thick electric arc.


    At times, a bright gleaming light would sh across the sky, causing it to glow periodically. It was, however, difficult to imagine what the view would be like at a higher altitude.


    ¡°Can¡¯t we possibly fly lower?¡± Luo Yuan asked.


    As the two pilots did not recognize his voice, they turned around and looked at Luo Yuan with utmost surprise. Withoutmenting, they emphasized, ¡°No, that would be more dangerous. The loud noise of the transport ne would provoke the mutated birds, causing them to attack.¡±


    ¡°How far is it to the nearest runway fornding?¡± Luo Yuan asked again.


    ¡°It¡¯s about 1,200 km or approximately 3 hours.¡±


    ..................


    The malfunctioned air-conditioning unit had lowered the temperature in the transport ne very quickly.


    In less than half an hour, the temperature had almost hit 0 degree Celsius. Everyone was already gasping, with visible clouds of vapor in their breaths


    Due of the initially warm temperature, they did not have much clothes on their backs. They were still able to endure the cold nheless, thanks to their rtively good physical attributes, but not much can be said about the three kids.


    They were freezing cold to a point where their lips had turned to purple, but they continued staying silent.


    Huang Jiahui felt a pang in her heart and hugged Chen Jiayi. As she felt herself shivering, she requested, ¡°Luo Yuan, get them some food!¡±


    Luo Yuan nodded, walked towards the spot where they ced their parcels to pick up about half a catty of snake heart. He then brandished his Zhanmadao to cut it up swiftly in the air, and pieces as thin as a cicada¡¯s wings fell onto a piece of the snakeskin. Then, he rolled up the snakeskin and returned to their side.


    ¡°Everyone, please have some to keep yourself warm.¡± said Luo Yuan, when he ced the snakeskin down.


    They were already used to consuming raw food. Thus, they picked up a piece and put it directly into their mouths. Mu Wenwen, who had been silent this entire time too, picked up a piece naturally.


    ¡°This belongs to that giant snake, right? I can¡¯t believe how all of you can bring yourself to stomach a raw piece of meat.¡± said Commander Xia, while sinking his teeth hard onto its strong muscle, failing to tear it apart with his incisors.


    ¡°Then, how else can we possibly eat it?¡± asked Huo Dong, swallowing it whole, without so much as chewing it at all.


    ¡°Eat it after grinding it into smaller pieces, of course! There¡¯s no way to bite into it in this form at all.¡± Commander Xia was still unable to disintegrate it after several chews and munches. Knowing his efforts were in vain, he had no choice but to follow suit and swallow it whole.


    ¡°Such luxury is not possible given the circumstances. We¡¯re already grateful to even have food to eat.¡± Luo Yuan also picked up a piece, put it into his mouth, and said with a smile.


    ¡°Yes, you are probably right!¡± Commander Xia ate a few pieces, before stopping midway, as it caused redness to his face.


    Despite having half a catty of heart being rationed to so many people, there were still about seven to eight pieces left. Luo Yuan finished the leftovers and ended up eating more than everyone else did. However, everyone¡¯s face was red and flushed, except for Luo Yuan¡¯s, which was not in any way affected.


    His heart was already saturated with the bioactive-rich nourishment; further consumption no longer yielded any reaction. In fact, he was growing increasingly ravenous, as his energy was inadvertently being absorbed by the substance.


    Zhao Yali had a look of difort in her eyes, and swayed from side to side as if experiencing intoxication. Suddenly, she fell to the side slowly. Wang Xiaguang who was beside her, noticed her unusual behaviour and tried to helped her. She touched her forehead lightly, but withdrew immediately and said in astonishment, ¡°She¡¯s evolving soon.¡±

 Chapter 201: Forced Landing

    Chapter 201: Forced Landing


    Trantor: Editor:


    Luo Yuan jumped up, scurried towards Zhao Yali, and felt her burning hot forehead. He was shocked and delighted at the same time, but more shocked than thetter because evolution was nothing but a risky game. The winner triumphs, while the loser is left stuck in a form that was neither human nor beast, losing all senses and reasoning, before finally assimting to a beast, like the misfortune that befell Chen Xianfeng. Besides, with the electromaic storm, now was not an ideal time, as it was not only threatening but had danger lurking behind every rock. If anything were to happen at all, the result would most likely be an unpredictable one.


    Luo Yuan paced the floor, but since it had already urred, there was nothing he could do about it. As she entered the stage of evolution, they can only surrender her to fate and wait patiently in silence.


    Huang Jiahui, Huo Dong and the rest were feeling uneasy as they looked at the unconscious Zhao Yali. The feeling was indescribable, after all, their mental strength, ability and hard work were all far more superior than Zhao Yali¡¯s, but she, who dared not even fire a gun, had the chance to evolve, while they were left behind. But s, they were already used to such situations, and felt better as soon as they expressed their emotions.


    ¡°Don¡¯t touch her, it¡¯s dangerous, justy her down onto the floor!¡± said Luo Yuan, when he realized that Wang Xiaguang was still holding on to Zhao Yali. ¡°She is in the midst of evolving and may subconsciously attack any time. If you aren¡¯t careful enough, you may risk danger yourself.¡±


    Wang Xiaguang nodded in silence andid her down on the floor gently.


    ¡°The static electricity seems stronger now!¡± Wang Shishi pressed her hair down and eximed. As her hands rubbed onto the strands of her hair, it ignited a series of fine sparks.


    ¡°What¡¯s happening? Aren¡¯t we already flying at lower elevation?¡± Lin Xiaoji asked nervously.


    ¡°This is probably an after-effect of the electromaic waves above, but we will be fine soon.¡± Huo Dong spoke a lot, but he could not help but to gulp a mouthful.


    As time passed, the static electricity in the air grew stronger. Even the slightest movement that rubbed against their clothes, instigated a series of sparks on their skin, hurting them as a result. The lights that had already extinguished were now blinking, creating a mysterious atmosphere.


    This tensed up the atmosphere further; even Luo Yuan looked rather glum.


    Then, a sudden loud bang, apanied by the sound of broken ss was heard before the transport ne jolted strongly. A few of them were even flung out of their spots by the enormous force, rolled a few rounds before they managed to hold onto the iron chains which were used to stabilize the goods, to stabilize themselves.


    Then, they felt their body sinking, and their heart skipped a beat. Gloom and terror were stered across their faces.


    The transport ne was ascending!


    Commander Xia staggered his way towards the cockpit, and Luo Yuan followed suit.


    As they pushed open the door, a freezing cold wind whistled through the broken hole on the left side of the ss. The hole was about the size of a basketball and was framed by spiderweb-like cracks, with fresh blood and human remains scattered around.


    ¡°Close the door, hurry!¡± the co-pilot shouted nervously. His face appeared greenish, either due to the freezing cold or his immense fear. Streaming down his head was fresh blood, with lots of ss debris cutting into his scalp. Evidently, he was injured when the ss shattered to smithereens.


    When Luo Yuan and Commander Xia saw that gaping hole, they were consumed with shock and shut the door behind them at once.


    Luo Yuan was able to pick up a burnt odor permeating the air. The effect of the hole on the ss was a secondary issue, but primarily, the critical damage was quite obviously located at the head of the ne.


    ¡°What¡¯s happening? What¡¯s happening?¡± Commander Xia was shocked and frightened, ¡°We will be arriving soon; what wicked idea do you have up your sleeves?


    ¡°You seek answers from me; whom should I seek answers from then?¡± the captain asked with a hint of sarcasm, while mming onto the steering wheel angrily.


    A shrill, inanimate voice resonated from the dashboard to warn them.


    ¡°Damn it, the gas tank is leaking.¡±


    ¡°What about the backup gas tank?¡± asked Commander Xia, stopping the argument in light of such a dangerous situation


    ¡°F*ck! From where would we have gotten the backup gas tank, we are certainly not flying around the globe! The original design had it, but it wasn¡¯t deployed because they were f*cking saving on the manufacturing costs!¡± the captain shouted, consumed by anger and fear.


    The ne kept ascending. As the altitude increased, the static electricity became stronger. The imperceptible electrical current spread to the wall, the ss, the dashboard and eventually filled the air with crackling sounds. If it was not for the circuits that had a strong ability to defend itself from the electromaic effects, it would have exploded by now.


    Seeing what was happening had caused Luo Yuan¡¯s hair to stand on its end. He then suddenly thought of something and shouted, ¡°Don¡¯t fly up any further, the static electricity would light up the gas tank and we¡¯ll all die!¡±


    Their face immediately paled to a ghastly white.


    The pilot took a deep breath to calm his overwhelming emotions, trying hard to control the ne while it began to descend. Comparing to the possible attacks at a lower altitude, self-explosion was definitely more dangerous.


    There was a pin-drop silence in the cockpit, with only whistling sounds gushing from the hole when the cold breeze blew in. The blood at the edge of the hole had begun to coagte and freeze up.


    Commander Xia consciously felt his chest where the picture of his wife and daughter was. He opened his mouth a few times but could articte no words. It was only after a few attempts, he said in a brittle voice, ¡°How far... can we fly? Are we able to arrive our destination with this amount of gas left?¡±


    ¡°The leakage is serious... we may not even be able to reach half of the distance!¡± the pilot looked at the amount of the petrol, kept silent for a while, before he shook his head in despair. ¡°As the electromaic storm may strike anytime, it is very dangerous to fly in the air with this leakage. While the gas is still sufficient, I¡¯ll try to look for a ce for a forcedndingter. Both of you can leave now!¡±


    ............


    Both Luo Yuan and Commander Xia went back to the cabin with a heavy heart.


    ¡°What¡¯s happening? I seemed to have heard you guys quarreling?¡± Huang Jiahui asked.


    Luo Yuan shook his head and said, ¡°We¡¯ve got some bad news. Please prepare yourself. As we¡¯re experiencing a serious case right now, we¡¯ll have no choice but to conduct a forcednding soon.¡±


    ¡°Commander, is this true?¡± a soldier asked in disbelief.


    Commander Xia nodded heavily while still feeling the picture on his chest, but could utter no words again.


    All was silent!


    The oppressing atmosphere left the passengers gasping.


    Shortly after, a loud bang ensued, and the metal of the transport ne clinked loudly. Even the solid walls of the cabin suddenly curved in, causing the thick iron flooring to roll-up, revealing an inch-wide gap.


    With a tremendous jolt, the iron chains that fastened the cargoes nked and sparked.


    Luo Yuan sprinted over and held onto Zhao Yali, just before they felt their bodies drop.


    ¡°Watch out!¡± he shouted nervously.


    The ne continued to decrease in altitude in an abrupt manner, and the speed seemed to be faster, making them feel as if they were floating. An extreme fear had struck them and all their faces were ghastly pale.


    The notion of time, especially at this moment, seemed to have slowed down.


    The body of Luo Yuan was roped with thick veins, his hair were standing on its end and his mental wellbeing was strained, while waiting for theing of thest moment. He also did his utmost best to sense his surroundings but he could sense only fierce wind.


    Just when everyone was in a dire state of desperation, the sudden drops gradually stopped but but when they wanted to heave a sigh of relief, Luo Yuan suddenly shouted, ¡°Hold on tight!¡±


    They were jittery, but held onto the fixed iron chains tightly.


    A loud bang soon ensued, followed by a continuous firework-like noise. The transport ne jolted, coupled with an overbearing squeaky noise, and some parts began to billow with thick smoke.


    From Luo Yuan¡¯s sensory perception, he found out that their transport ne was crashing and breaking through the trees of various sizes because of the effects of the strong inertia. The force of thending made them feel like a giant metallic monster rampaging through the forest.


    Everyone was holding onto the iron chains tightly, but they were still forcefully flung up and down violently, sustaining some injuries no less.


    The transport ne rampaged through a distance of about 500 to 600 meters before the ne¡¯s head crashed hard into a hill, and finally came to a halt!

 Chapter 202: Kunlun Mountains

    Chapter 202: Kunlun Mountains


    Trantor: Editor:


    The mixture of gravel and mud poured down, covering more than half the entire cockpit.


    Thispletely damaged the dark and heavy armored transport ne. Parts of the ne were cracked open due to the st, and the other parts had smoke billowing, imminent of a potential explosion.


    Seconds after the collision, a sharp and loud metal clink was heard and the silverish tip of a sharp de protruded and extended further. Immediately, it carved a big circle on the body of the ne, as though cutting through tofu.


    It was followed by a loud bang, and the carved circr metal was blown out to 4 to 5 meters away.


    Figures after figures jumped out from the ne one after another. These people looked worn out, and almost all of them were wounded.


    Luo Yuan handed Zhao Yali over to Wang Xiaguang, and requested them to stay away as quickly as they can. He then came back immediately with a few other soldiers. They dragged out two badly injured bodies from the craft. Lo and behold, they appeared to be the pilots!


    The huge collision hadpletely disfigured the shape of the ne, and the fallen gravels that followed had left no chance for the pilots to escape, resulting in a tragic death. If not for Luo Yuan and the soldiers who dug with their bare hands, the bodies would have not been found.


    Luo Yuan also wanted to rescue the giant lizard, but with the strength he had, he could not even move the containers. As he saw the smoke getting thicker, he had no choice but to dash out of the transport ne. The explosion of the transport ne would have not been able to kill the giant lizard, as it was still safely inside the container.


    It was still midnight, and the surroundings was nketed inplete darkness. As Luo Yuan possessed the ability of night vision, it posed no difficulty for him to see in the dark.


    From the mountains to the valleys, and along with the precipitous hill, the endless forest stretched to the horizon. It akin to taking a peek into the primitive world, with no trace of civilization.


    There was nothing else in the vicinity but a thick, endless forest.


    The dense branches and leaves formed a-like facade covering the sky, like a canopy of lush greenery.


    Huge trees were everywhere, and some of its roots were even exposed. They were thick and rough, like a giant python, stretching out from ten to hundreds of meters away. Some rattan as thick as a human thigh were even intertwined.


    Comparing to the forest in Jiangnan, which was managed by humans, the size of the trees were usually small. Unlike the ones here, which were usually enormous with dense, dark green leaves and coarse, dried barks, it gave an impression of old age, steeped in rich history.


    Anyone can see that that they were no longer in a in field, but in a pristine, and ancient forest. Even before the apocalypse, it was still a dangerous ce to go, with numerous poisonous bugs and fierce creatures everywhere, making it hard to protect themselves. With the current apocalypse, it was no wonder that survival proved to be an arduous task.


    ¡°Does anyone know where we are?¡± asked Luo Yuan, after he checked on Zhao Yali¡¯s condition. Although she was injured at the cockpit during the collision, she only suffered mild injuries, which thankfully, were non-fatal.


    ¡°I think this should be the Kunlun mountains... I¡¯m not too sure exactly, but judging from the flight routes, we shouldn¡¯t be too far away from the Reconstruction Area.¡± said Commander Xia with a gruff voice, as he shook his head. He was also injured, with blood dripping from his head, that stained almost his entire face.


    Luo Yuan looked around at his surroundings, and began to feel somewhat annoyed.


    The topographic features was a steep one, with high density of forests. Even if they were able to split the mountains and rivers apart, they would have still easily gotten lost. It seemed to be difficult to escape this.


    All of a sudden, a loud boom broke the silence. The transport ne exploded into a gush of mes, which shot up hundreds of meters through the dark sky and formed a giant, dark mushroom cloud.


    ¡°Stay here! Shishi, keep vigil, I am going to take a look,¡± said Luo Yuan as he was worried for the safety of the giant lizard.


    ¡°Pleasee back as soon as possible!¡± pleaded Wang Jiahui, nervously.


    The forest at dusk was resonating with a cacophony of noise, like sounds of insects chirping, beasts howling and sometimes, the ghostlyughter and wailing simr to those of a human being¡¯s. The darkness made them feel like they had entered hell or another dimension, reducing everyone to fear.


    Luo Yuan nodded, and dashed to the transport ne.


    A fire broke out all of a sudden but also disappeared as quickly as it appeared. Within seconds, what was left on the transport ne were just fumes of smoke.


    Thanks to the insufficient gas, the explosion was less powerful. The metal rack in the transport ne remained perfectly intact.


    Luo Yuan then climbed through the torn opening and made his way into the cabin. He then found out that some containers were ckened, while two of them were sunken from the st, resembling a deted basketball.


    Thankfully, the container that housed the giant lizard was still safely intact with only mere dents. After all, the container was specially protected by the extra protectiveyers, hence the explosion could not malform itpletely.


    Luo Yuan marched forward, brandished his Zhanmadao and cut off all the iron chains, which was used to hold and stabilize the container.


    The tip of the knife cut into the gap of the container, traced the welded part, and swiftly, he cut it open.


    Luo Yuan discovered that his giant lizard was awake, albeit its eyes partially opened, looking weak. The explosion could have most likely awaken it.


    The giant lizard acknowledged Luo Yuan¡¯s presence uponying eyes on him. It was whining weakly, as if seeking self-pity.


    Unfortunately, Luoyuan had no idea what it was trying to say. He then pat the giant lizard¡¯s enormous head, and pacified it for a while before he resumed efforts in trying to free the giant lizard. Soon after, he cut open the container and the whole body of the giant lizard was finally free.


    Sensing its freedom, it shook its head and struggled to stand up, but as soon as it managed to stand up, its weak body slumped back onto the ground. It felt depressed, looked at Luo Yuan with its droopy eyelids, while whining helplessly.


    It seems like the giant lizard still required a long time to recoverpletely. Luo Yuan looked at the time, and it showed that it was 12 o¡¯clock at midnight, which was another five or six hours to sunrise. With this little time, it wouldn¡¯t be sufficient for the giant lizard topletely recover to its best state, and snap out of its anesthetic influence.


    He hesitated for a while, went back to get the snakeskin storage bag, and picked up the giant snake¡¯s internal organs. Using a strong and sturdy string of grass, Luo Yuan tied and hung them together, which weighed about forty to fifty catties.


    When he got back to the giant lizard, the smell of the treat invigorated its senses. It tried to raise its head and struggled to open its droopy eyelids as wide as possible, trying to please Luo Yuan, despite such a ferocious face.


    To the giant lizard, these green rank mutated beasts were like top predators, superior in the food chain. Therefore, consuming its meat would bring unimaginable benefits, and might even trigger its body to evolve.


    Luo Yuan threw the internal organs towards the giant lizard, initially aiming for the sides of its mouth, but he did not expect it to reach out and fiercely chomp hard on it with its giant mouth. With its neck merely stretched out, it gulped the whole bundle of meat of forty to fifty catties, defying the fact that it was still weak prior to this.


    The moment it had finished eating, it went back to its sickly appearance, andid on the groundzily.


    Luo Yuan looked at it for a while, and quickly returned to his friend.


    It was definitely not a safe ce, especially the fact that it was an ancient forest prior to the apocalypse.


    In terms of danger, Jiangnan could be ranked as slightly dangerous, but ording to the standards here, it might even be medium to highly dangerous.


    Due to the massive disturbance by the transport ne previously, most of the creatures might have already fled, but as the time flew by, more creatures had definitely returned.


    ..................


    A pile of bonfire was burning vigorously at an open space not too far away from the transport ne.


    A mutated beast with its skin already shredded, was pierced through by a wooden stick and hung onto a simple barbeque stand to be slow-cooked.


    Golden liquefied fat was dripping onto the mes, further igniting the mes while it sizzled, spreading a rich and vorful aroma.


    That was a low rank mutated beast, which wandered into their grounds by itself, and was killed easily by Huo Dong with a sh.


    If it was a high rank mutated beast, its muscles would have shrunk and harden while it burned, rendering it unchewable for the rest, except of course, for Luo Yuan.


    They sat in a circle, talking and chatting while cautiously looking at the dark forest nearby.


    Their surroundings were flickering with shadows; the branches resembled sharp ws of monsters, swaying under the dim light as though with threatening gestures.


    It was their first time spending the night in the ancient forest, thus they could not help but to be spooked by this eerie experience.


    ¡°Guys, let¡¯s make a checklist of how many provisions we have, as we might have to live in the forest for a while,¡± said Luo Yuan indifferently.


    ¡°We don¡¯t have much things as we¡¯ll be in the Reconstruction Area, we had already thrown out most of our things.¡± Wang Jiahui said with a heavy heart, before continuing sadly, ¡°Things like towels, tents and others, are already gone!¡±


    ¡°We even threw away the salt!¡± Cao Lin added.


    Luo Yuan¡¯s face slightly darkened. Other equipment were not as important as salt, as it was needed to survive. It was a matter of life and death, as it was an ancient forest without any trace of human activities; it would be difficult to find even a pinch of salt here.


    ¡°For the time being, we can solve the problem by getting the iodine from the blood of mutated beasts. Besides, there should be some form of salt around here, if not, the creatures wouldn¡¯t be able to survive. We can find rock-salt if we pay close attention to these mutated beasts,¡± said Commander Xia, while throwing some dried sticks of wood into the bonfire after a thought. ¡°The issue of salt is temporarily solved. Also, about the issue of water, we should locate its source as soon as possible!¡±


    Luo Yuan responded, ¡°I have decided to stay here for a few days to identify the direction before we depart again!¡±


    In fact, they did not have to stay for a few days just to get their bearings right, but nobody objected. Even Commander Xia muttered softly to himself, and was silent when he saw all the soldiers looking numb.


    Losing the ne had also crushed their only hope of survival, as if they fell directly to hell from the heaven. Everyone was in despair and lost all motivation to keep going.


    Then, with a light moan, Zhao Yali opened her eyes slowly, sat up and asked, ¡°Have we reached the Construction Area? Where are we?¡±


    Luo Yuan was expressionless for a moment, and sighed, ¡°When you fainted because of your evolution, our ne crashed. How do you feel right now?¡±


    Zhao Yali was stunned, and sized up her surroundings as it took awhile for everything to sink in.


    The brutal reality had dampened her spirits. But as she had walked through the apocalypse, she had experienced something far worse than this. Her mental strength had been groomed to not be as weak as amon woman. She just shook her head gloomily, ¡°I¡¯m alright, just having a bit of a headache!¡±


    ¡°Did you just say that I have evolved?¡± She suddenly responded and asked in surprise. As she was emotionally excited, she raised her voice a few notches higher.


    Suddenly, Luo Yuan could feel like a wave had scanned or passed through his body. Thus, he looked towards the dark forest quickly, checked around in detail but to no avail. Seeing that Zhao Yali was still looking at him, he nodded.


    Zhao Yali also looked at the rest, and saw that they nodded slightly with mixed expressions.


    Only then she was convinced with what had happened. At that moment, she felt an intense surprise in her heart, which swept away all the gloom and despair she had.


    When the apocalypse began, her fianc¨¦ had died in vain, followed by her parents. Even her only andstpanion, Lao Hang, was killed in front of her. The pain of losing her loved ones had broken her heart again and again, but she was still able to stay strong. It was already the best that she could do. Others might not be able to cope with such a painful experience any better than she could. These incidents had made her feel insecure, which turned her to a more reserved person eventually. In fact, these were the people who usually hungered for power, and thrived to survive.


    The sudden rush of emotions had caused her tears to stream down her cheek slowly.

 Chapter 203: The First Night

    Chapter 203: The First Night


    Trantor: Editor:


    Zhao Yali quickly wiped her tears away and hung her head low to cover her flushed cheeks, intending to also avoid the judgemental stares from the rest.


    ¡°Do you have any superpowers now?¡± Cao Lin asked with curiosity and envy.


    Feeling pressured from all the attention she was getting, Zhao Yali didn¡¯t want to raise her head. She looked at her hands, clenched her fists and quipped, ¡°I¡¯m not too sure, but I feel a little stronger now, and there are changes to my skin.¡±


    ¡°Hmm, your skin is so much smoother now, simr to Luo Yuan¡¯s,¡± said Wang Xiaguang in shock, while grabbing onto Zhao Yali¡¯s hand.


    Zhao Yali retracted her hand immediately; she was blushing.


    Huo Dong and the rest sneakily nced at Luo Yuan, wondering what his reaction would be. But s, he had his best poker face on.


    Looking at Zhao Yali¡¯s disappointment, Luo Yuanforted her.


    ¡°This is what everyone experiences after the evolution. It is not about superpowers. Your improved strength and skin shows that your body will gradually transform, but it will take time.


    Evolution is usually well-hidden. When you¡¯re looking for it, you will never find it. But when you¡¯re not looking for it, you would chance upon it unexpectedly. It happened to me as well; not everyone is able to discover their superpowers the very moment evolution takes ce.¡±


    Zhao Yali felt a wave of relief.


    Under the burning mes, the meat was roasted to a golden brown. Huo Dong and the rest got up and removed the mutated beast from the skewer, cut it up into more than 10 servings, ced them on leaves the size of hand-fans and served to everyone.


    The roasted meat tasted nd as there was no salt, but its fragrance and tenderness made it a little more bearable.


    While Luo Yuan was chewing his food, he was paying attention to his surroundings as the forest was at its most dangerous point at night. There were many predatory mutated beasts hunting for food at this time of the day. The impact caused by the falling aircraft had made all living creatures flee from their homes, but it has been a while since that happened. With the meaty fragrance emitting from the roast, it was certainly possible to lure predators closer.


    In fact, there were pairs of devilish eyes with erratic glows surrounding them in the dark.


    At one second, they could be spotted hiding behind the trees, the next second they were creeping onto the ground, some of them even camouging themselves between the lush leaves. The pitch-ck darkness enabled the creatures to easily approach the group.


    Fortunately, the creatures were small in size, possibly due to the environmental conditions of their habitat.


    The nds in the Jiangnan province were not home for nts, as creatures were not restricted to roam around with the given space. But this was previously a deep forest before the apocalypse ¨C nts were dense and the trees were deeply rooted into the ground, forming a thick, unventted green web. If one was less superior, it was impossible for him to survive in such an environment.


    Although the creatures were small, they weren¡¯t necessarily weaker than their bigger counterparts. On the contrary, they were much stealthier and sneakier.


    These creatures were usually fast and as swift as wind, and boasted high vignce. They would disappear in a split of a second with just a slight movement, or in the presence of a bigger predator.


    Before the apocalypse, the mountains were not damaged by mes like it was in Jiangnan. Because of that, the diversity of different species here was rich as they even had a proper food chain to boot! Thepetition was cruel and intense; those that survived had already possessed survival skills of its own.


    Cao Lin noticed that the bonfire was diminishing. She stood up to dial up the fire, causing the mes to spurt a few feet high. The mutated beasts who were hiding in the dark took a few steps back with fear and hesitation in their eyes.


    This fear was carved deep in their DNAs. With recurring forest fires, the fear was passed down through generations. Although the mutated beasts were now much stronger, the fear still lived on.


    Considering the fear of fire in these creatures eyes, Luo Yuan was relieved. If all the mutated beasts were to attack them together, he would not be able to not protect everyone in his presence.


    ¡°I think the military base would send us our death notice, right? Not sure how my mother would react to that,¡± said one soldier.


    ¡°At least you still have your mother; I don¡¯t have anybody,¡± another soldier sighed.


    ¡°It has been a long time since Ist went home. It was also one of the enemy zones, perhaps no one had survived there too,¡± said another soldier.


    ¡°At least we¡¯re still alive. So many of our mates died without their bodies found... that¡¯s devastating,¡± a soldier said with pain.


    To avoid distress in the team, such topic was prohibited from popping up in conversations. As Commander Xia attempted to stop them; he couldn¡¯t help but to let out a sigh.


    Seemingly affected by the soldiers, Huang Jiahui eyes turned red as she thought of her family. She hugged Chen Jiayi, and thought of her daughter who should be around the same age in a few years time.


    The immature Zhong Chuqiang and Deng Chao felt envious of Chen Jiayi, who was in Huang Jiahui¡¯s arms. They were quick to assume that Chen Jiayi was everyone¡¯s favorite.


    As dusk descended, strong winds blew, and the howls of the wolves amplified throughout the night.


    Finally, a mutated beast lost its patience and slowly approached them with light steps as the wind blew. It had slender and light bodies like that of a deer, but with muscr limbs. It walked in silence, with their shadows barely visible, camouging itself well in the darkness.


    Even Luo Yuan did not notice its movements. Only until it was twenty meters away, had he been able to sense their approach.


    The beast paused and unleashed its final attack. The muscles of its body was fluid like mercury, and the sudden stomp caused it to move as far as twenty meters in mere seconds. Its target was Zhong Chuqiang, who was conveniently standing right in the middle.


    This was a predator¡¯s instinct, of carefully choosing those who could easily be tackled without getting themselves injured. Apart from those who were being carried, he was the weakest, making him an ideal victim.


    From charging, stomping tonding, the entire attack took less than one second. Zhong Chuqiang felt a swift of wind behind his neck, and felt nothing else apart from goosebumps. He looked down, to see sharp teeth just about to sink into his neck.


    Apart from Luo Yuan, nobody else noticed that this was happening.


    He hit the ground hard and stood up unexpectedly. Jumping over the bonfire, Luo Yuan brandished the Zhanmadao from his waist.


    The mutated beast opened its mouth filled with sharp teeth the second Luo Yuan stood up. The tip of the sword was stabbed through its chin to its upper jaw and eventually towards the back of its head. Its mouth was stuck onto the sword and it could not budge.


    The mutated beast twitched for a little while, before its pupils slowly dted.


    It was only until this point that Zhong Chuqiang noticed what had just happened. He turned around and saw the mutated beast that Luo Yuan stabbed. Looking at the twitching mutated beast, he turned pale and sat on the floor.


    Deng Chao who was just beside him was scared too, but his attention was on Luo Yuan, who he now exalted with high praise.


    Luo Yuan retracted his sword, pulled out its skin and tossed it into the bonfire. ¡°Please be careful everyone, this ce isn¡¯t safe.¡±


    Everyone was scared and drenched with sweat, as they didn¡¯t notice how near the mutated beasts were. Fortunately there was Luo Yuan, lest it could result in another loss of their teammates.


    Since then, everyone was alert to every single movement. They kept checking the back from time to time. Although there was nothing most of the time, but that was able to scare off the low-level mutated beast who attempted to even get close.


    The night descended, and when the first light began to illuminate the sky, the mutated beasts began to leave.


    Apart from Luo Yuan, everyone else was exhausted as they were not well-rested at all throughout the night. It was even more tiring than a day¡¯s worth of hardbor. It was not even time to rest yet. Everyone started to upy themselves with cooking and collecting firewood, but they dare not stray off too far.


    This forest had be extremely unpredictable and dangerous; there was nothing that they were familiar with during the apocalypse. Every step they took could be a trap. Before walking away from the forest, everyone had their pants camouged tight with leaves.


    That of course, did not include Luo Yuan.


    The forest smelled clear, albeit with a decaying scent in the morning dew.


    There was a strange creature with gold stripes in the bushes, very attentive to its surroundings, extending its head from the cave. Its ears slightly pped while listening to the noises around it. It flew up onto a branch of a tree, after making sure that it was the perfect time to move. It held the fresh buds of the leaves with its fluffy paws and gobbled them up quickly. Its speed was amazing, as within a few seconds, all the leaves on the branch were eaten up.


    Noticing Luo Yuan getting close, the creature jumped a few times on the tree with its fur all standing up, hopped into the bushes and that was thest he saw of it.


    Water vapor clouded the air, as it was located near the valley. While sniffing the moisture, Luo Yuan kept walking until he heard the sound of flowing water, from a few hundred meters away. There was a three meter-wide creek, with crystal clear water.


    Amongst the fishes he spotted, there were quite a number species in the creek, with most of them about half a meter long.


    This discovery had elevated Luo Yuan¡¯s mood. While he was nning to make a spear to catch some mutated fishes before heading back, he heard a scream from far away. It sounded like Zhao Yali. His heart pounded as he quickly made his way back. Everyone was gathered around with fear on their faces.


    Luo Yuan¡¯s heart sank.

 Chapter 204: Infrasound

    Chapter 204: Infrasound


    Trantor: Editor:


    Luo Yuan was soon relieved when he saw Zhao Yali well and fine amongst the rest. Apparently something happened to someone else out of his circle.


    All of them quickly parted when they saw Luo Yuan returned; they were relieved upon seeing him.


    Even a few soldiers reacted the same way as the rest. Luo Yuan had always been exalted, and regarded as a huge influence to the people around him.


    Luo Yuan walked closer. There was a soldier lying on the ground, still twitching, but he was already dead. His skull had been cracked open, while his brain was all smashed to mush.


    ¡°What happened?¡± Luo Yuan asked with a heavy heart.


    A soldier exined to him with grief. The victim needed to ease himself this morning, and was nning to conduct a number one in a corner. When he walked to the border of the forest, an unknown creaturended on his head. Before he could even attack the creature, it broke his skull open.


    It was Zhao Yali who discovered the fallen soldier. When the rest rushed to the scene, the creature had already escaped.


    Luo Yuan gazed towards the forest... danger doesn¡¯t seem to ever end, does it? His heart sank, as yet another life was gone. This was only the first day of their arrival, and who knows? Incidents like this might happen again. No one would ever know who could be the next victim.


    He subconsciously observed everyone, and he noticed that there was something wrong with Zhao Yali. She was trembling with fear and insecurity.


    Luo Yuan sensed something amiss. She had seen so much gory scenes and dead people along the way, so she couldn¡¯t possibly be afraid of this one incident. Could she be hiding something?


    Luo Yuan walked away from the crowd, beckoned Zhao Yali to follow him to an open space located a distance away.


    Zhao Yali¡¯s expression changed. She hesitated before proceeding to follow him, with mixed feelings.


    The both of them walked more than a hundred meters away and stopped. They figured that this would be far enough; nobody could possibly eavesdrop on their conversation.


    Luo Yuan kept quiet. He hesitated for a while and asked, ¡°What exactly happened? Are you hiding something from us?¡±


    Zhao Yali burst into tears before she could say anything.


    ¡°Little Yuan...... I think I killed someone.¡±


    What Zhao Yali said hit Luo Yuan hard. He paused to think, andforted her immediately.


    ¡°It¡¯s okay, don¡¯t worry. Tell me what happened.¡±


    He knew Zhao Yali very well. She has no problem killing animals, but ying people is something that she would never have the guts to do. Moreover, the soldier had nothing to do with her, why would she kill him for no good reason? There must be something that he doesn¡¯t know about.


    Zhao Yali narrated what happened, choking with tears.


    What she said was simr to what the other soldier said. The victim walked too close to the forest, there was a fluffy, monkey-like mutated creature thatnded on his head. Zhao Yali was collecting firewod in the area, when he heard the soldier¡¯s yells of anguish. The moment she turned to look, she saw his skull being ripped open by the creature. She couldn¡¯t help but to scream out loud upon witnessing the traumatic incident.


    What she didn¡¯t expect was how her scream formed an invisible force that hit both the mutated beast and the soldier. The soldier¡¯s brain was smashed by the force as well.


    The soldier was initially struggling to stay alive, but died instantly by the unexpected force of her voice.


    After listening to Zhao Yali¡¯s exnation, Luo Yuan was relieved. Zhao Yali was not the one to me. The soldier¡¯s skull had already been ripped open, he was already hovering on the brink of death. Even without Zhao Yali¡¯s innocent hit, he wouldn¡¯t have lived much longer. Furthermore, the mutated beast was still on his back, his life was already on the line.


    Regardless ofw or morality, Zhao Yali was not the one to be med.


    Zhao Yali felt slightly better after beingforted by Luo Yuan, but the guilt was still inevitable.


    If they were to look at this tragedy from a different perspective, this could be good news for Zhao Yali. The incident was very much like a transmission or baptism of sorts, for her. Nothing could change a person¡¯s character faster than murder could. Although this was cruel, but being in the apocalypse, only the strongest ones survive.


    Muchter, Luo Yuan was curious to find out more about Zhao Yali¡¯s superpower, so he asked her to attempt it again.


    Zhao Yali hesitated, as she was obviously still traumatized from what happened. But after being convinced by Luo Yuan, coupled with her own curiosity towards her new superpower, she agreed to put it to the test.


    Without any preparation beforehand, she screamed out loud.


    It was nothing too different from her usual scream, but there was a unique force to it.


    Luo Yuan felt the air being prated by an invisible force, and started to reverberate intensively in waves. It was quickly spread everywhere, causing the stones and fallen leaves to be hurled across the air after impacted by the force.


    It was obviously infrasound, as her vocal cord was changed during the transformation. It was now capable of create such powerful waves with ease.


    But the force was nothingpared to a five or six-tier typhoon, and its distance could only reach twenty meters away.


    ¡°Scream louder,¡± said Luo Yuan.


    Simply knowing that she now possessed a superpower, Zhao Yali was exhrated. She nodded and screamed again. This time she raised her voice an octave higher. The high-pitch scream prated through Luo Yuan¡¯s ears, and caused his head to buzz. He felt a little nauseated and took a few steps back.


    Meanwhile, the air in front of Zhao Yali vibrated was as if it was boiling with intense shock. An invisible wave spread, and in a sh, the weeds were destroyed. The only thing left was the tougher sticks, and even the roots were crushed by the wave.


    Luo Yuan was surprised, but he had his doubts.


    Although the force seemed to be strong, but its lethality was rather limited. The force may not even be able to kill a Light Blue mutated beast.


    ¡°Could you go even higher?¡± asked Luo Yuan, who felt she was far from exceeding her limit.


    Zhao Yali, very much in the moment, eagerly agreed to try again.


    This time she mustered her strength a little longer with some deep breathing, and let out a scream after one deep breath.


    Luo Yuan did not hear anything at all, but there seemed to be an explosion in the air. There was a brutal blow-up; a ring of white appeared in the near distance, that looked like very much like a missile explosion. The wave spread at the speed of light. All the rocks and bushes were critically hit, even the mossy boulders had a fewyers shredded off, from the recurring waves.


    With the continuous infrasound explosion,yers of humus on the ground were lifted. The sky was covered with flying leaves and gravels. It was quite a glorious scene to behold.


    Zhao Yali stopped and blushed; she couldn¡¯t stop. Apparently, this feat had required a lot of strength. She looked up, her red lips slightly opened. She was shocked at the scene that she had caused.


    Although Luo Yuan¡¯s power was much more impactful, Zhao Yali¡¯s infrasound had the power to affect the forest faraway. Many creatures that were hiding in the forest thought there was a catastrophe about to befall upon them, so they fled the scene.


    Even for Luo Yuan, his body could not take it. His heart was racing rapidly. He felt nauseous, and a numb sensation prated his scalp. He wasn¡¯t even standing where the force was aiming at! If he were to be attacked head-on, the impact would be much stronger, more than anyone could ever expect.


    ¡°Sister Yali, your superpower is amazing!¡± said Wang Xiaguang in excitement. Her face was pale, it was clear that she was affected by the infrasound.


    Due to the great impact, apart from the injured soldiers who stayed put, the rest ran over out of curiosity.


    Zhao Yali was embarrassed, ¡°I didn¡¯t know that the impact would be this monumental.¡±


    ¡°Congrattions! You are certainly an amazing evolutionary,¡± said Cao Lin, who didn¡¯t want to offend either party.


    Huang Jiahui congratted her as well, but with a forced smile, visibly upset that she was not the bearer of such a superpower.


    Wang Shishi wasn¡¯t impressed and didn¡¯t say a word, but she felt massively pressured inside.


    Lin Xiaoji was unhappy looking at the damage caused. As a senior evolved human, he was not fine with this at all, as his power was only slightly better than an ordinary person¡¯s. He kept everything bottled up and it was driving him crazy.


    It was a solemn procession, as they watched the cremation of the dead bodies, including the two pilots.


    After the cremation was over, the soldiers wrapped the ashes with the beast¡¯s skin and buried them together with their personal belongings.


    There was no grave nor tombstone; the handling of the dead was minimal. Perhaps it wasn¡¯t as bad as it sounded at all, considering that many fallen soldiers had been left in the wild to be eaten by mutated beasts.


    When noon approached, the giant lizard was eager toe out. The aircraft was deformed, and the door could not be opened. In order to let the giant lizard out, Luo Yuan had to cut open the back of the aircraft.


    After a good night¡¯s rest, the giant lizard was still tired and spaced out from time to time. Luo Yuan was helpless, as evidently, the anesthetic had a strong effect. Nobody would know when the giant lizard was able to fully regain its energy again.


    But since it was able to stand up, it could still be used forbour purposes.


    The most dangerous time to be in the forest was at nightfall. The fear that they had to go through in the wildst night was traumatic. It was impossible to live like that any longer, even if their bodies were made of steel.


    Therefore, a safe refuge was essential to their survival.


    The aircraft was supposed to be the best option they had as it was spacious and sturdy, even a normal mutated beast could not destroy it. But ever since the tragic collision, there were many cracks the size of two meters in diameter. Furthermore, the back of the aircraft had already been cut open to allow the giant lizard toe out. It was definitely not a ce safe enough for them to hide in, especially with such treacherous circumstances.


    Luo Yuan initially wanted to dig a cave big enough for more than 10 people, but the effort and work required for this was rather major; it could possibly take a long time to aplish. But with the help of the giant lizard, this task would be much easier.


    After discussing with the rest, Luo Yuan realised that he missed out some facts. Such a cave was not very safe, as this was a virgin forest with corrosions as deep as three to four, or even five to six meters. If they didn¡¯t dig all the way to the ypan, it would copse easily. Moreover, there was no preventive measure to this; all they could depend on was their instinct.


    They soon conjured a better idea.


    The head of the aircraft was supposed to crash onto the mountain slope. As long as they dug another five to six meters into the head, it should be able to amodate everyone.


    The cockpit was five to six meters higher than the cabin anyway. If someone were toe in, they would have to pass through a metal staircase. Also, there was a door outside the cockpit.


    What came to everyone¡¯s surprise was how the door was not damaged from the hit, and could still be locked.


    ¡°That¡¯s great! Now there won¡¯t be any creatures sneaking into the cave!¡± yelled Huo Dong with excitement.


    ¡°The only downside is that the task is major, but considering the fact that we will be able to sleep peacefully tonight, it would be well worth it,¡±ughed Commander Xia.


    Everyone was revelling in delight. They were finally relieved from their oppression and distress.


    There was nothing more important than safety, on a dooms day such as this one.

 Chapter 205: Apocalypse

    Chapter 205: Apocalypse


    Trantor: Editor:


    It was 10:30 in the morning, seven to eight hours before the sky turned dark.


    Their hours were numbered, even Huang Jiahui and the otherdies who were cooking had put down what they were doing to help carry the gravel.


    The cockpit¡¯s windshield was broken while the inside was blocked by a great amount of soil. To get through the round aircraft¡¯s head, the only option they had was to clear a path among the gravel in the cockpit, and dig from the inside.


    Luo Yuan was standing in front, and he used his sharp Zhanmadao to slice through humongous rocks that weighed tonnes, into smaller pieces weighing hundreds of kilos each. The rest quickly helped to move the rocks away.


    With Wang Shishi¡¯s capability equivalent to that of six people, she was the most efficient one. She used her telekinesis to levitate pieces of gravel and soil, forming a river on top of their heads. They went through the metal door and into the cabin, one by one.


    Her telekinesis was improving at breakneck speed. Since the bridge explosion, she was getting used to the impact and now, her telekinesis could carry things that weighed fifty kilos. Sooner orter, she would be able to fly.


    It had been an hour since the clearing of gravel, and the cabin was soon cleaned up. All that was left was an elongated rock that had pierced through the windshield. It was a humongous rock extending from the windshield to the floor, which damaged the panels and chairs, as well as leaving the metal floor deformed.


    The tricky thing was that it acted as a barricade to the head of the aircraft. So it must be removed, by hook or by crook. Luo Yuan was afraid the aircraft would copse, but now that all rocks were cleared away, it was time to get rid of this particr piece of rock.


    Luo Yuan touched the rock and found out that the smaller rocks surrounding it werepact from thepression after the critical hit. They had formed a new bnce, preventing any more rocks from falling from above. Copsing was definitely not possible now.


    ¡°Everyone, stay away from here!¡± said Luo Yuan.


    ¡°Please be careful,¡± said a worried Huang Jiahui.


    Luo Yuan nodded. Once everyone was out of the cockpit, he stared at the rock, took a deep breath and sliced it with his Zhanmadao seven to eight times. He left the cockpit right after that. His speed was astonishing ¨C from slicing, sheathing to leaving the cockpit, it only took him no more than half a second.


    A loud noise came from the aircraft after Luo Yuan left and stood outside the door. As loud as thunder, the sliced rock fell onto the metal floor and another loud noise was heard. The chairs in the cockpit were hit by the rolling rocks. Thankfully, there was no casualties as everyone had evacuated the area.


    Apart from the humongous rocks, there were no other gravel that fell. The cut left a smooth surface. Although they were tiny cracks at the edges, but the middle was t, so no more stones were able to be removed.


    Without the hindrance of the rock, Luo Yuan managed to empty the aircraft¡¯s head. Even the smallest parts in the head were sliced using the Zhanmadao. Commander Xia¡¯s face twitched as he watched from the sidelines.


    This was the most advanced aircraft, possibly worth billions before the end of the world. But even without being destroyed by Luo Yuan, many parts of the aircraft were already damaged, as the head was hit andpressed like a biscuit, with malformed internal parts.


    Especially at the top of the head, it waspletely dented to a concave shape. The head was soon chopped off by Luo Yuan using his Zhanmadao in a circr motion. The metal dropped onto the floor with a loud thud, revealing a man-sized cave.


    Although it wasn¡¯t the first time this slicing took ce, but everyone, especially a few soldiers, were still amazed by how sharp the Zhanmadao was. The rocks in the cave were crushed by the impact on the aircraft¡¯s head. With a slight touch, the crushed stones disintegrated into powder. It was as fine as flour, and sprinkled across the cave. It didn¡¯t even need any more digging. With Wang Shishi¡¯s telekinesis, the powder formed into a giant white dragon and was sent outside.


    With the removal of the crushed stones, they had more space to work with. Gravel could only be found three to four meters away. Wang Shishi¡¯s telekinesis was partially used up. Less than half an hourter, it was depleted and she had to stop. But the job she had done was simr to what everyone else had aplished collectively, as most of the crushed stones were moved by Wang Shishi. What she did even earned her apliment from Luo Yuan, which was quite rare.


    ......


    Being in this risky environment, no doubt it was extremely dangerous for them to be moving the rocks inside as they could be buried by the gravel. But the people here were anything but ordinary. Even for ordinary people, their body should be around 12 points. But their strength, reaction and speed was twice as strong as those of ordinary people. It will be equivalent if these people were to join any athleticspetition, as they would definitely break the record. Even for Wang Shishi who seemed weak, without telekinesis, she was able to run with ease with a hundred kilos of rocks in her hands. If they were to be ced in the apocalypse, many would be shocked by their abilities. But aspared to Luo Yuan, these people seemed to be mere weaklings.


    There were several copses along the way but they managed to avoid being buried. The most dangerous incident was when more than ten pieces of gravel that weighed approximately hundreds of tons, fell towards their head. Luo Yuan warned them, and they managed to run away before the gravel evennded on them. Nobody was hurt, except for one who was hit on the head but it was merely a scrape; no bandage was needed.


    As they were digging seven to eight meters deep, the gravel were nowhere to be seen but there were many, many gigantic rocks. For safety purposes, Luo Yuan digged a few meters in until he reached a rock wall.


    The task progressed faster than expected, as nobody took a break from working. Before 7pm, they were already wrapping up. The cave was now approximately ten meters deep and six meters wide. Although it was narrow, it was good enough to hide in a safe ce that could fit all of them during the apocalypse.


    Looking at the cave surrounded by walls, everyone was relieved as they could finally sleep in peace that night.


    ............


    As they walked outside, it waspletely dark. It was rather windy that night; the wind swept through the woods, creating an eerie whistling sound. Everyone was preparing to make dinner.


    ¡°Would you guys look at the sky now?¡± suggested Huo Dong, out of nowhere.


    Everyone quickly looked up, to be greeted by an aurora above their heads. It was resembled an ever-changing ribbon, giving the sky a bizarre yet alluring vibe. What caused their scalp to feel numb was the aurora that almost nketed the entire sky.


    ¡°Why would this thing appear at a ce like this?¡± Cao Lin was shocked. ¡°Maybe an earthquake ising!¡±


    No, that is impossible, maybe this is just a coincidence,¡± Wang Xiaguang said, while looking at the beautiful aurora with a trembling voice.


    Luo Yuan didn¡¯t say anything, as he knew that an aurora wasn¡¯t a good indication of anything. This was only caused by the earth¡¯s maicyer or the high-energy particle flow from the milky way triggering the ionization of the molecules. He had seen it before at the volcano; it was obviously a maic field change thest time too.


    But it was different this time round. Before the ne crashed, he had witnessed a majestic aurora, but it was much smaller and it did not cover as much of the sky as this one did. This could be the storm of the universe that Commander Xia was talking about.


    Luo Yuan looked at Commander Xia. He didn¡¯t look so good and his lips were quivering. Clearly, they shared the same thought.


    The wind was blowing more and more intensely, causing them to falter in their stance. The green carpet above the forest was shaking too, emitting an unusual rustling noise. Luckily the tree branches here were tough, or else they would have been uprooted by now.


    The strength of the wind had the same magnitude as an eighth to ninth-tier typhoon. For this to be happening in such an ind area, it was definitely something really odd.


    The aurora was spreading further at high speed, almost engulfing the entire sky. Lightning had even struck, asionally followed by thunders. As time passed, the unusual atmosphere slowly dominated the night.


    The atmosphere was intense, causing goosebumps and fear unbeknownst to all. Later on, there was an uproar in the forest, causing many creatures to scurry about aimlessly in the dark. An unknown creature that was three-meters long ran towards Luo Yuan. Consumed by fear, it had lost its mind. It eventually crashed into a tree and lost consciousness.


    Within ten minutes, the lightning was striking more frequently, as if forming an electrical web in the sky. For a second, the sky was illuminated, as bright as day.


    A shiver ran down Luo Yuan¡¯s spine. He pulled Commander Xia aside and asked, ¡°If this is really the storm of the universe, how bad would it potentially be?¡±


    Commander Xia¡¯s face turned pale. He thought about it for a little while and said, ¡°I¡¯m not too sure either, but first the ionosphere would expand, and the dissipation of the outer space¡¯s atmosphere would elerate. The atmosphericyer was discharging at arge-scale, and the earth¡¯s temperature will rise subsequently, which is what we are now experiencing.


    ¡°If it gets even worse, the atmospheric would beter destroyed by the storm, forming a hole. Anything would be inevitable after that, should the hole get bigger. All the living beings would cease to exist. The only way to survive is to hide underground in a condition that provides aplete ecosystem.¡±


    ¡°So do you mean the only thing we can do now is to pray for the storm to pass as soon as possible?¡± Huo Dong asked in desperation.


    Boom!


    A huge lightning struck a hundred-meter tall tree from approximately a hundred meters away. The tree was sliced into half and started bursting into mes.


    The lightning gave everyone a fright.


    ¡°Quick, we have to leave,¡± Luo Yuan shouted with three kids in tow, while he ran towards the aircraft. They were all scared and followed Luo Yuan, as they ran for their lives.

 Chapter 206: The Chase

    Chapter 206: The Chase


    Trantor: Editor:


    Thunder and lightning filled the sky, resembling silver snakes dancing with ring white light. Deafening loud noises travelled as far as towards the hills across the horizon. All creatures, no matter how powerful they were, seemed to be as insignificant as a tiny speck in a catastrophe as such.


    The giant lizard was restless; it was spinning on the ground and roaring from time to time. Suddenly, a lightning struck the nearby forest, causing an earth-shattering thud and a white beam of light that red into everyone¡¯s eyes. Looking at this horrific phenomenon, the giant lizards took a few steps back. The scales on its tail stood up, and it let out a few angry roars before running towards the forest helter-skelter. Its eyes were bloodshot; it hadpletely lost its mind from all the fear.


    Luo Yuan saw what happened and shouted, ¡°Go in quickly, I¡¯ll go after it¡±. Due to the effect of the anesthesia, the giant lizard was still weak and was not at the top of its game. As such, running into the forest in such a condition was a bad idea. The team could not afford to lose it as it was their main weapon. Furthermore, without the giant lizard as their mode of transport, it was impossible to leave this forest in a short period of time.


    So by hook or by crook, he had to get hold of the giant lizard. He put the kids down and went after the giant lizard with his sword.


    ¡°Luo Yuan, no! Don¡¯t go, pleasee back!¡± Huang Jiahui shouted repetitively.


    ¡°Please be quick!¡± shouted Zhao Yali and Wang Shishi with all their might. They were worried sick.


    Luo Yuan disregarded their pleas and ran forty to fifty meters into the forest within seconds. Not long after, he disappeared into the forest with the giant lizard.


    ¡°Sister Huang, it¡¯s too dangerous here, let¡¯s go in. With Boss Luo¡¯s ability, he should be back really soon,¡± said Huo Dong, ncing at the terrifying lightning.


    ¡°This brother is right, the lightning is getting more and more vicious. We should get going before it strikes us,¡± hurried Commander Xia.


    Huang Jiahui took a deep breath, suppressed her anxiety and nodded obediently. She quickly ran towards the aircraft while carrying Chen Jiayi, while Huo Dong and Commander Xia carried Deng Chao and Zhong Chuqiang respectively.


    Everyone arrived in the cave safely; they could finally feel a slight relief. Listening to the thunderstorm outside, they were d that they managed to dig out this cave or else they would had been stuck outside praying for the lightning to spare their lives.


    As time passed, Luo Yuan still had not returned. The atmosphere was tense once again. Not only Huang Jiahui and thedies were jittery, the rest were getting anxious as well. They naturally did not feel an ounce of fear when Luo Yuan was around, but when he was absent, everyone was shrouded in constant fear. Especially being in a dark cave, it seemed to pose more threats than anyone could imagine.


    ..................


    Luo Yuan ran fast, as he brushed through the trees in the forest. It was chaotic, with creatures bashing around aimlessly, and the birds and the bugs were flying haphazardly towards the sky. Some of them had been struck by lightning and burnt to ashes.


    Luo Yuan tried catching up with the giant lizard running ahead of him. He was furious! It felt like the giant lizard had fallen to a powerful aphrodisiac; its body was weak but nothing was stopping it from running erratically. Obviously it was running out of fear, and it would not stop until it arrived a point of exhaustion.


    The lightning was getting more and more intense, imminent of a heavy downpour. He was getting worried as the lightning had struck again with a sharp, ring light. The most dangerous one was just ten meters away from him. The strong static electricity gave him goosebumps; it even felt like his hair was burnt, after experiencing a stinging sensation.


    Compared to lightning speed, his +14 Agility was simr to that of ordinary people, and his response was not fast enough. Running in the forest was as if he was dancing with the devil. His heart was pounding, and he was at the edge of giving up, but he decided to bite the bullet and gave it all that he had.


    ¡°Damn it!¡± cursed Luo Yuan, while chasing after the giant lizard. He stepped hard onto a branch on the ground and bounced up like a bullet. He repeated the trick with the help of vines to bounce across the forest. It was not too hard to achieve that as the leaves were dense. There was almost no gap between them as the vines were intertwined everywhere. He did not have to worry about not being able to find a spot tond on.


    The terrain wasplicated, and the roads were rugged and slippery. He had to be extra careful with every step he took. He was not used to it at first, so he was very much behind the giant lizard. But with the help of the trees and vines, his speed was elerating as he familiarized himself with the terrain.


    After chasing for almost half an hour, Luo Yuan finally had a glimmer of hope.


    He grabbed onto a vine and swung himself into the air with the help of momentum. As he reached the highest point, he let go of the vine andnded onto the giant lizard¡¯s back. The strong force caused the giant lizard to stagger. It ran clumsily for a while, before slipping and falling into a muddy swamp.


    The giant lizard struggled to get up, and attempted to continue running. Luo Yuan punched its head with all his rage. With that willful punch, the giant lizard fell onto the ground again. The thought of risking his life from getting struck by lightning, as well as the chase thatsted for half an hour, angered Luo Yuan. He gave it a few kicks to release his temper.


    The giant lizard moaned in pain and could not get up. Luo Yuan¡¯s Will had a slight elevation a few days back, and the effect was no longer the one he had back in the days where it was only capable of causing dizziness. His punch nearly knocked the giant lizard out. It slowly struggled to stand back on its feet after a minute.


    When it had finally regained its senses, its fear had subsided. However, it still had a sense of insecurity which might trante into madness again. Luo Yuan felt much better after the punishment that he gave. He extended his hand, and the giant lizard bowed its head and came closer to him. It learnt how to do that from its extensive training. He gave it a pat on its head, before jumping onto its back, preparing for his return.


    The half an hour chase was almost thirty to forty kilometers; it was akin to running around the hills twice. He had no idea where he was, but at least he wasn¡¯tpletely lost, as the giant lizard¡¯s deep footsteps allowed him to trace its steps from where they came from.


    The giant lizard took a few steps, copsed onto the ground and could not move anymore. It was already weak before that, and the chase had depleted all its energy. Now that it had lost its hysterical strength, its body copsed. Luo Yuan frowned. He could not leave the giant lizard alone, but it was too dangerous for it to stay in the forest. Now that the storm of the universe and the atmospheric ionization was getting more and more intense, he might get struck by lightning if he was unlucky. Despite his good physique, there was no escaping that.


    Suddenly, he recalled that there was some attributes remaining for the giant lizard. Every time when its attributes increased, it was came with recovery and healing effects. Earlier, he was worried that once the giant lizard became stronger, it would not be easily tamed. He also feared that its Loyalty would decrease, or that this could even lead to betrayal. That was why he held onto the point. But considering the dire situation he was in now, he could not care less. Looking at its high level of loyalty, the chances of it betraying Luo Yuan should be slim! Moreover, its Strength was so much further ahead than it was before, and even if it had the thought of betraying him, it could use brute strength to suppress it.


    After weighing the pros and cons in his mind, he did not think much of it anymore. He opened the attribution panel and added points to its Agility.

 Chapter 207: Restless Night

    Chapter 207: Restless Night


    Trantor: Editor:


    When Luo Yuan clicked on the panel, there was a mild tremble in the giant lizard¡¯s body. Its eyes were sparkling, and the wounds on its body were instantly healed. Its scales were shiny, and even its body size had transformed slightly.


    That did notst too long. Within 10 seconds, the transformation had ended. It seemed to feel the transformation, as it shook its body and stood up. The fear in its eyes dissipated, overwhelmed by excitement and joy.


    Luo Yuan kept looking at the attribution panel.The giant lizard¡¯s current attribution was:


    ¡°Fighting beast: Forest lizard¡±


    ¡°Level: Dark Blue¡±


    ¡°Attributes: -¡±


    ¡°Power: 20¡±


    ¡°Agility: 16¡±


    ¡°Physique: 18¡±


    ¡°Intelligence: 4¡±


    ¡°Perception: 5¡±


    ¡°Will: 12¡±


    ¡°Experience: 1620/9600¡±


    ¡°Skills: Biting: 3; Tearing: 12; Striking: 8; Tail strike: 2; Survival skill: 18; Observation: 5; Breathing: 7¡±


    ¡°Natural ability: Sense of danger, fire breathing¡±


    ¡°Status: Healthy¡±


    ¡°Loyalty: 80 (Risk of betrayal if value is less than 50; full value 100)¡±


    ¡°Unassigned attribute points: 0¡±


    ¡°Unallocated technique: 5¡±


    Luo Yuan was relieved, as its Loyalty did not drop too much. It was 87 initially. Such loyalty was considered high when most of the time it was only hovering above 70. With its current condition after going through so much, from experiencing weakness to being healed, it seemed like the effect of the anesthesia was almost wearing off.


    The other skills had also improved during that period of time, where each of them had gained two to three points, especially for biting. As long as there was an increase in their attributes, the remaining five skills did not matter as much.


    The Strength of the giant lizard was now terrifying. Although it was still at a dark blue level, its attributes wereparable to those of the light green ones. Diving into details, Lao Huang who passed away was in a normal unit, while the giant lizard was in an elite unit, and is now considered to be in a hero unit. It could now take on an ordinary light green level one-on-one in a battle.


    Luo Yuan hopped onto the giant lizard, and looked up to the sky before he left. The sky was filled with an unusual phenomenon, with the lightning and auroraing together, painting a clear picture of the apocalypse. There was a pungent ozone smell in the air, and what dumbfounded them even more was a typhoon about ten kilometers in radius whirling through the sky. Numerous shes of lightning were surrounding the typhoon, as it started to spread rapidly.


    He had never experienced anything as terrifying as this. What was happening was more petrifying than all the lightnings he had seen in his life,bined. The horrific scene gave him cold feet and hands, and his head was buzzing. The giant lizard ran faster and faster aimlessly; its gigantic body kept crashing into trees and shrubs. Luo Yuan who was sitting on its back could feel its body trembling. Fortunately, Luo Yuan was guiding its way andforting it from time to time, or else it would have lost its way.


    With the lightning striking into the forest, fires broke out and smoke was billowing everywhere. The unsettling storm had made all the branches stack up into a hyper-dense forest. Fire was inevitable before the apocalypse, and once it started burning, many mountains would be burnt to ashes if it was not extinguished immediately.


    Fortunately, the forest fire didn¡¯t seem so serious. The burning onlysted for a little while before it disappeared, and the smoke was cleared soon after.


    In the apocalypse, not only animals go through evolution, but nts do as well. Facing a life-threatening fire like this, the nts had their own defense mechanism. Although they could not move, their response when put under stress was quick. When Luo Yuan passed by a nt which was struck by lightning, he noticed that it was releasing a milky-white substance to protect itself. Within a short period of time, the fire was put out and was prevented from spreading.


    Along the way, Luo Yuan was afraid that he would get struck by lightning, but fortunately, he was safe. It took him approximately 10 minutes to arrive the cave. Luo Yuan hopped off the giant lizard and started running. He stopped, turned around to look at the giant lizard. He was worried that it would go crazy again out of fear.


    What he did not expect was when the giant lizard was scratching the ground, its ws which were as thick as a giant excavator dug out soil weighing several tonnes. In a blink of eye, it had dug a deep hole. It did not stop the giant lizard from digging even more. Five minutester, the hole turned into a ten meter deep pit.


    It thenid into the pit, gathered the soil around it and swept them into the pit with its tail. It buried itself in the pit, he stayed there without moving a muscle.


    ........................


    There was not much light in the cave. Although there was lightning outside, none of the light prated through the cave. Everyone was relieved when they saw him walking into the cave.


    ¡°What is happening outside?¡± asked Commander Xia, in his husky voice.


    ¡°The thunderstorm was getting intense but thankfully, no fire had broken out in the forest yet,¡± Luo Yuan paused and said calmly. Huang Jiahui sat by his side.


    Everyone kept quiet, there was fear permeating the atmosphere.


    Huang Jiahui held Luo Yuan tightly while slightly shivering; Luo Yuan patted her hands in constion. Wang Shishi too sat by his side, held his the other arm tightly and asked,¡± Brother Luo, will we die?¡±


    ¡°Are you afraid of death?¡± Luo Yuan asked. Wang Shishi shook her head hard, and looked at Luo Yuan passionately. All her worries had gone away. ¡°Sometimes I am afraid, and sometimes I¡¯m not... but I don¡¯t feel afraid whenever I¡¯m with you,¡± she said.


    Huang Jiahui would be jealous if she heard that in the past, but at that very moment of life and death, all she did was to heave a sigh. Luo Yuan forced a smile and said, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, things are not as bad as it seems... it will soon be over. You need to know that the earth rotates every day, and as long as we get through the day, the storm of the universe would disappear from our part of the world.¡±


    Of course, those words were only tofort Wang Shishi. Anyone with an inkling of astronomical knowledge would know that no matter where one was in the world, should the storm of the universe destroy the atmosphericyer, the high energyser would scorch the earth. No living thing can even escape that.


    As time passed, the thunderstorm outside did not seem to stop, but was getting more and more intense! The lightning would asionally strike near the cave, causing them to feel the quake. There were even gravel falling from time to time. Everyone was terrified and prayed for safety, in their hearts.


    ¡°Does anyone want a cigarette?¡± Commander Xia asked, with a slight shiver. He did not look so good, and it seemed like he was trying to suppress something. Some of the guys epted the offer but Luo Yuan rejected. Commander Xia crumpled the empty cigarette box, and lighted up his cigarette with a lighter, still trembling. He took a deep puff and asked in his husky voice, ¡°Brother Luo was asking if we were afraid of death, am I correct? Do you what the conditions were like during our first mission? We didn¡¯t fight for decades, nor did we have an idea of how cruel a war could be. No matter how good the training was, we were still newbies in this. I still remember our first mission ¨C it was open burning. It was only the beginning of the apocalypse, and the entire crew was on the move. We took a ride on the truck through the hills, with the sole mission of burning the entire mountain. We were there as mobs, while I was still a deputymander.¡±


    ¡°Once the hill was on fire, countless mutated beasts fled all at once... I still have vivid memories of that scene. Do you know how many of us died? Almost half of the team did, and most of them were shot by military judges. I did not open fire at all. I was just lying on the trenches, shaking. I was afraid, my body was weak and I couldn¡¯t stand up to escape. It was a near-death experience.¡±


    ¡°I was in shock; I turned in my retirement report once I got back. Themander at that time tore my report and warned me that it should be thest time I attempted that, or else I would be treated as a fugitive who deserts his people. The punishment for deserters was a bullet in the head. He did not lie. Not long after, there was a bunch of people who were given the death sentence, followed by a major purge.¡±


    ¡°It was the first time, but there will be second and third time... Themander perished, and so did the deputymander. Soon, it was my turn to take their ce asmander. Almost every month, we had arge number of recruits joining, some of them couldn¡¯t even hold the rifle properly at their first battlefield. A few monthster, there were not many veterans left.¡±


    ¡°I was lucky that I survived. In my team, the members younger than 50 could live longer than I do. Technically, a veteran like me should not fear anything anymore, because it was considered a blessing that I¡¯m still alive today. But still, I am still afraid whenever I enter a mission, as my wife and daughter are waiting for me. I¡¯m worried that I will never see them again...¡± as Commander Xia went on, his voice choked up. He took a deep breath and looked towards to the sky without uttering a single word.


    Some of the soldiers¡¯ eyes were wet, and they started sobbing quietly.


    Luo Yuan heaved a long sigh.

 Chapter 208: Learning to Fight

    Chapter 208: Learning to Fight


    Trantor: Editor:


    The next morning, Luo Yuan and the rest walked out of the cave.


    The giant lizard had already gotten out of the pit by digging itself out, and was now sleeping near the aircraft.


    The thunderstorm was gone, and so was the aurora. The sky was as clear as polished jade, and everything was quiet. There were damaged trees and burned spots on the ground. Obviously, the thunderstorm had not been an illusion.


    Everyone was exhausted from all the tension over the past two nights. Their eyes were bloodshot, yet they seemed exhrated. Their fatigue was almostpletely gone. In fact, the lightning had started scattering away around midnight, and hadpletely disappeared by 3 a.m. No one could fall asleep until they saw it with their own eyes. They all felt relieved. They had not eaten or drunk anything in a whole day. Everyone except Luo Yuan realized how tired and hungry they were after such a busy day.


    They had not been hunting the past two days. Their only food source had been the giant snake¡¯s internal organs, and nothing was left of those anymore. There were quite a lot of dead mutated beasts nearby. Some of them had died by crashing around aimlessly, and some had been scared to death. All of them had died miserably, but surprisingly, very few had been struck by lightning.


    Luo Yuan took a stroll and brought back two low-level mutated beasts. A few women hastily prepared the food despite their exhaustion, and they all gorged themselves, not minding how hot it was. They even finished the soup. After the meal, Luo Yuan urged everyone to go to sleep while he cleaned up the ce.


    No one had as strong a physique as Luo Yuan. Ever since he had activated the energy inside his heart, he was always energetic. He could go four days without sleep and still not look tired at all.


    Luo Yuan brought the stone bowls to the creek and washed them, before strolling back to the cave. In the aftermath of the thunderstorm, the forest was quiet. The usual chirps of birds and insects were no longer to be heard. Luo Yuan sighed and jumped on top of the worn-out aircraft. He stabbed his sword into the metal, took a seat and stared at the sky. Worry was flooding his heart.


    He did not know whether the peace had been caused by the movement of the Earth, or if the universe storm had indeed ended. The Earth was too small inparison to the universe, and any living thing on the was like a tiny ant. He had noticed that the thunderstorm had caused strange changes in the weather. It was morning, and yet the temperature was already 30 degrees. That kind of temperature was typical for noon, but the sun had not even risen yet. By noon, when the sun would be high up in the sky, the temperature would rise to more than 50 degrees.


    The stir caused by the universe storm had produced a massive energy, and as a result the temperature had skyrocketed. The thunderstorm the previous night had happened in a really short time, which had had an even bigger impact on temperature.


    Luo Yuan dared not imagine what this change in temperature could bring. Would the icebergs melt? Would the sea-level rise? Wouldrge amounts ofnd disappear? Of course, this issue would not affect any mutated animals, nts, or even humans. Although humans after the apocalypse were notparable to mutated beasts, their physique was stronger than it used to be, so the higher temperature would still be tolerable for them.


    What they had to be worried about was that, ording to the study of the rehabilitation area, the universe storm had been caused by the mutation of living organisms. As a result, the massive energy that had been released could speed up evolution and worsen the living conditions for humans.


    Luo Yuan felt depressed. He sat there until noon, when Huo Dong walked out of the aircraft and snapped him out of it. The top of the aircraft was terribly hot, and the air was so steamy, that one could possibly fry an egg on the metal. Only then did Luo Yuan realize that his butt had been burning. He stood up immediately. He could feel the burn for awhile, but the pain was gone almost instantly.


    ¡°Oh my god, the weather is so hot,¡±ined Huo Dong, who was soaking in sweat. He squinted at the sun and noticed Luo Yuan hopping off the top of the aircraft. ¡°Boss Luo, what were you doing up there? Isn¡¯t it hot?¡± he teased.


    ¡°Why didn¡¯t you sleep some more?¡± Luo Yuan asked, ignoring Huo Dong¡¯s teasing.


    ¡°It¡¯s too hot in there. I felt like I was in a steamer. If I slept any more, I would probably end up getting boiled. I didn¡¯t expect it to be even hotter outside. This is ridiculous,¡± said Huo Dong while he fanned himself with his hands. It was useless. He would not stop sweating, so he quickly hid under the shade of the aircraft.


    The venttion in the cave was bad, and the space was limited. It was okay in the beginning, because there were thick rocks covering the cave, but once the heat was transferred to the rocks, the temperature inside started rising gradually. Soon, everyone got out one by one, woken up by the unbearable heat.


    ¡°The temperature was okay yesterday. Why is it so hot now? None of us could sleep,¡±ined Wang Shishi with a yawn. Her eyes looked bloodshot.


    ¡°I think the temperature in the cave is over 60 degrees,¡± said Commander Xia. His expression was solemn as he observed the unusual weather. The gigantic aircraft was almost as tall as a four-floor building. Everyone sat under its shade to avoid getting burned by the scorching sun.


    There had to be some kind of exnation about this. Most of them thought it had something to do with the thunderstorm the previous night, but none of them wanted to bring up that heavy topic.


    Luo Yuan did not join in the conversation. He was just cleaning his Zhanmadao quietly. His anxiety was gone. Deng Chao peeked at Luo Yuan from time to time. His eyes held a burning desire, and his unbelievable power and astonishing sword skill were jaw-dropping. Luo Yuan was like a god to them.


    Deng Chao had experienced many things in his life. He had seen the ugliness of people during the apocalypse, and how the strong ruled over the weak. He remembered his mother¡¯s sacrifices- how she had been raped by a couple of guys just for a few pieces of molded bread. Eventually, she had died of hemorrhage. All these dark experiences had made Deng Chao grow up fast.


    Without his mother, he¡¯d had to suck up to other adults in order to survive. Although he¡¯d had to do degrading things, it had not bothered him. The more he had to do though, the more desperate he got for power. His desire was almost sickening. It was a dream he was trying to realize. It still remained a dream, though.


    As he watched Luo Yuan clean his sword, Deng Chao had something on his mind. He¡¯d had that same thought countless times, but he had not had the courage to do anything about it. He struggled internally before he finally stood up. Biting the bullet, he walked up to Luo Yuan, trembling. He tried his best to form a pleasant smile on his young face, but his skinny body was still shaking. Mustering his courage, he said, ¡±Boss Luo, please teach me how to fight!¡±

 Chapter 209: The Three Stages

    Chapter 209: The Three Stages


    Trantor: Editor:


    Luo Yuan put his sword away, looked at Deng Chao and smiled. ¡°You want to learn how to fight?¡±


    He was as strong as a light green mutated beast by now. As much as he did not mean for things to be like that, ordinary people still felt pressured in his presence. Even Huo Dong and the other adults felt that way, let alone Deng Chao, who was just a kid.


    Sweat kept dripping down Deng Chao¡¯s forehead. In a few seconds, he was as wet as if he¡¯d been under the rain. He tried his best to force a stiff smile although his mind waspletely nk. He gulped and shook all over as he said, ¡°Yes, that¡¯s right. I want you to be my master!¡±


    ¡°Say it louder, I can¡¯t hear you!¡± said Luo Yuan, shaking his head.


    ¡°I... I want you to be my master!¡± said Deng Chao. He was so frightened of Luo Yuan that he took a few steps back.


    ¡°I still can¡¯t hear you!¡± Luo Yuan smiled.


    Wang Xiaguang could not stand the sight of poor Deng Chao, so she reminded him, ¡°How can you learn to fight when you don¡¯t even have the courage to speak up?¡±


    With Wang Xiaguang¡¯s blessing, Deng Chao shouted, ¡°I want you to be my master! I want to be stronger! I want to survive!¡±


    ¡°I want you to be my master, too!¡± shy Zhong Chuqiang said loudly, standing up too.


    Chen Jiayi wanted to do the same, but before she could stand up, Luo Yuan said, ¡°There¡¯s no need for that. If you guys really want to learn, then you¡¯ll have to put in all your effort to learn as much as you can. Everybody should learn how to use a sword. I will spend some time every day trying to teach all of you¡±.


    Given the unusual temperature that day, animal and nt evolution would definitely speed up. The situation would only get more and more dangerous. If they did not know how to defend themselves, most of them would not be able to survive long. Learning how to use a sword would not show immediate results, but at least it would give them a chance to defend themselves.


    Huo Dong looked excited. Ever since his departure from Hedong City, his journey had been a tough one. Theck of spare time had forced Boss Luo to stop his sword training. Although Huo Dong still practiced whenever he had the time, no matter how hard he tried, the result was just not the same. He had not expected Boss Luo to offer to teach them now.


    Everybody else was excited too. Huang Jiahui suggested, ¡°Since we have nothing to do now, we might as well start training!¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s a great idea!¡± Luo Yuan said. He¡¯d had the same thought as well. ¡°A well-trained person can handle two to five people attacking them at the same time. Regardless of reaction time, our strength and intuition are way ahead of ordinary people¡¯s.¡±


    ¡°If you guys put in more effort, you could achieve in three months what others would need one year of training to aplish. It is not hard to do. However, this is only the basics. What I want is for you to train your muscles to unleash the most strength possible. Huo Dong, take off your shirt and demonstrate for us briefly!¡± said Luo Yuan.


    Huo Dong stood up in excitement and took off the top part of his heavy armor. His beer belly and fat had disappeared a long time ago. He now had some nice-looking abs instead. He took a deep breath, and once he had calmed himself down, he pointed his sword in the air and swung it around fast. There was a series of whooshing sounds before Huo Dong retracted his sword and put it away.


    Lin Xiaoji could not help but chuckle. The way Huo Dong had retracted his sword was exactly like Luo Yuan. Even though he had tried to imitate him, Luo Yuan was as smooth as flowing water while Huo Dong had been clumsy as hell. It had been painful to watch him. Lin Xiaoji¡¯s chuckle made everyoneugh out loud. Some of the soldiers looked confused while Huo Dong blushed with hatred for Lin Xiaoji.


    ¡°That¡¯s enough!¡± Luo Yuan stood up and started walking while he removed his bullet-proof suit. He took off his shirt as well, revealing his upper body. His skin was as smooth as jade, his strong muscles swaying with the movement of his arms. His skin was like mercury, an impable image of strength and beauty.


    Zhao Yali and the rest of the women mumbled to themselves, blushing while they secretly checked him out. Even some of the guys found Luo Yuan¡¯s body attractive. Luo Yuan walked up to Huo Dong and said, ¡±Everyone please look carefully. The first time I swing my sword, I¡¯m going to be very slow. The second time, I will swing my sword to match Huo Dong¡¯s level of physical fitness¡±.


    He stood with his legs apart. His stance was rather simple. He took out his Zhanmadao, held it with both hands, and swung it slowly. Although he was slow, Luo Yuan still managed to amaze them with his cool, smooth movement. Everyone was dazzled by his charm. The movement made the muscles on his back stand out. The muscles of his entire back had been used for that swing.


    ¡°Now you try it, Huo Dong. Everybody please look closely and note how we use our muscles differently,¡± said Luo Yuan. Huo Dong seemed to realize something. He nodded and mimicked Luo Yuan in swinging the sword slowly. Luo Yuan stabbed the sword into the ground and asked, ¡°What did you guys notice?¡±


    ¡°His muscles are crude while yours are refined,¡± said Wang Shishi shyly. Luo Yuan was speechless. He thought it was pointless to ask the women, so he turned to Lin Xiaoji and asked him instead, ¡°What do you think?¡±


    ¡°He was stiff when he swung the sword. He only used his back muscles and very little of his psoas1 muscles. His movement did not flow. When you did it, almost your entire back was involved.¡± Although Lin Xiaoji had a low EQ, his vision was very good.


    Luo Yuan nodded. ¡°You are only half right. I did not just use my psoas and back during that swing. I also used my thighs and my hips. I used most of the muscles in my body. Drawing my strength from the ground, I held the toes of my right foot tight and bent my left knee, using all the strength in my thighs, hips and psoas. Eventually, I gathered more strength from my fingers and the muscles all over my body, forming a strong force. This is the first stage of sword training. You have to fully unleash all the strength you have inside your body.¡±


    He pulled the sword from the ground and repeated the same slow swing. Closing his eyes, he adjusted his Strength and Agility to around +12. Suddenly, he swung the sword around swiftly. There was a swooshing sound in the air, as if a piece of cloth had been ripped apart. They could almost see a silver shadow forming by the motion of the swing before Luo Yuan retracted the sword again.


    ¡°This swing is what a man with Huo Dong¡¯s body is capable of,¡± Luo Yuan said softly.


    Everyone looked shocked. Even some of the soldiers seemed stunned. They could not believe what they had just heard. Luo Yuan¡¯s speed during that swing had been way faster than Huo Dong¡¯s when he had demonstrated earlier. His speed had been twice as fast while his force could have easily killed a blue level mutated beast.


    After the initial shock, everyone got excited and could not wait to start training. Luo Yuan asked them to calm down before he said, ¡°This is only the first stage of the training. I know most of you were shocked to see a glowing off my swing. You are probably wondering if I¡¯ve had internal strength training.¡±


    Commander Xia turned serious. He had been wanting to ask that question for a long time. He had already reported this to the staff. If they had not had to go back to rehabilitation area, the military would have sent someone over to investigate. After all, this matter was not just crucial to the reconstruction, but also mankind as a whole. If legendary internal strength really did exist, it would be beneficial for humanity.


    ¡°Of course I haven¡¯t. The glow is a symbol of the second stage of sword training. There¡¯s a term in the Book of Buddhism called ¡¯The Communion of Essence, Chi and Spirit¡¯. From what I understand ¡¯essence¡¯ is the body, ¡¯chi¡¯ is the blood, and ¡¯spirit¡¯ is the Will. When these three elementse together, this glow is formed,¡± said Luo Yuan.


    With a serious expression, he swung his sword around, a brimming cloud flowing like water over the sword¡¯s body. Everyone held their breath, scared that they would blow the cloud away if they breathed too hard. Luo Yuanughed and fanned the glow away. ¡°This happens when you concentrate your Will. Or to put it simply, when you are focused.¡±


    ¡°Everyone gets distracted. Buddha said that humans have 900 thoughts in the blink of an eye. He meant that people have countless thoughts anytime, anywhere. Getting rid of those distractions is the most important factor. In my experience, daily meditation helps. A second method is hypnosis. People are the most focused when they are facing dangerous situations, because at that moment their focus is only on one thing. Using an imaginary enemy for hypnosis helps a lot, but it¡¯s even better if you have really been through a dangerous situation.¡±


    ¡°In many novels, the main character will look for a challenge or expose themselves to a dangerous situation so their power will increase faster. It¡¯s the same metaphor. However, the most crucial factor is not fearing death. There¡¯s no distinction between the first and second stage. They could basically be taught at the same time. I can¡¯t say the same for the third stage, though, because I am still exploring it.¡±

 Chapter 210: Calm

    Chapter 210: Calm


    Trantor: Editor:


    The third stage would naturally be proficiency, mastery and expertise. Proficiency in muscle coordination, mastery of Will, as well as expertise and exploration of the force field.


    Until now, Luo Yuan had still been on the verge of exploring the force field. He thought that it had something to do with feeling and perception. When one reached that stage, the effect of a system upgrade would be minimal, while the effects of proficiency, mastery and expertise would vastly differ. Usually a one point increase in skill points would have the same value in a skill upgrade, but when it came to the expert level, a skill would need atst three additional points in order to upgrade. Therefore, the upgrade would be three times as slow. If one depended on the system to breakthrough to the expert level, that would meant that they would need an additional 60 skill points. It would take 12 upgrades to get those points.


    It seemed simple but in reality, Luo Yuan was only at level eight. To be able to upgrade 12 times, a lifetime may not be enough time for him. Instead of rushing things, he would rather learn slowly along the journey. He had obtained five points from hisst upgrade, but had decided to keep them for an emergency.


    He walked towards the aircraft, pulled out his Zhanmadao and cut off a big piece of metal, letting out a sharp groan. A glow shined everywhere. He used the sword to shred the metal, leaving small metal pieces scattered all over the ground. Minutester, there were more than ten long des lying there. The material of the aircraft was excellent. It could even bepared to the Zhanmadao. If he polished it, it could easily chop off metal bars.


    ¡°Those of you who don¡¯t have a sword, please take one. Today I¡¯m going to teach you how to swing your sword as well as the correct way to use force!¡± said Luo Yuan. Luo Yuan¡¯s earlier performance had amazed everyone. Although it had just been a simple swing, it had gotten them all excited. They stood up immediately. Those who already owned a sword pulled it out, while the rest picked one up from the ground.


    ¡°The way you¡¯re holding your swords is wrong. Everyone please look at my hand! Don¡¯t just squeeze all your strength into your fingers. That would make your body stiff and make it impossible for you to gather the force that you need. However, that doesn¡¯t mean that you should hold your sword loosely. If you do, your swing will be powerless and the sword will leave your hands easily.¡±


    ¡°Before you swing your sword, your body needs to be both rxed and focused. Be prepared to release your force when you swing.¡±


    ¡°You need an imaginary enemy, and your vision needs to be sharp. You need to give out a today-is-the-day-you-die vibe to your enemy when you swing.¡±


    ¡°What are you looking at? Don¡¯t look at me, look at your target!¡±


    Wang Shishi unwillingly turned her eyes to the front.


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong with your legs? Why are they so tight? I¡¯ve said it three times already, your legs are your body¡¯s spring. If you hold them so tight, how will they be able to bounce? Your waist is too stiff, just rx!¡±


    Huang Jiahui looked unhappy.


    ¡°Why is your butt so high up? All you need to do is move your body forward a little!¡±


    Zhao Yali was blushing. She wanted the earth to open up and swallow her. Not everyone was like those protagonists in novels with impressive memory and strong athletic genes. Actually, none of them were like that. At first, Luo Yuan was very patient in correcting everyone¡¯s posture, butter on, he started to get a little impatient. These people were just hopeless. To be fair, Huo Dong, Lin Xiaoji and Wang Xiaguang had some potential. They had been training for some time and would correct themselves ording to his guidance. The rest of them, however, were as dumb as they came. They would forget his words immediately after he¡¯d said them, testing his patience.


    Wang Shishi, Zhao Yali and Mu Wenwen were driving Luo Yuan nuts. Surprisingly, the two young boys were very focused. Although their movement was painful to watch, they were still better than the three women.


    As they watched Luo Yuan get more and more impatient, everyone started to get scared. The pressure was getting intense, and they were getting even worse than before.


    ¡°Never mind. Baby steps. In our first lesson, we¡¯re going to learn how to stand!¡±


    ......


    The trainingsted from afternoon till evening. It was just one simple swing, but they could not manage to perfect it. Still, everyone had made some improvement. Wang Xiaguang and everyone else who had been doing sword training noticed an obvious improvement in their speed.


    The sun was setting, and the sky was getting dark. Luo Yuan looked at the time and said,¡±That¡¯s it for today, let¡¯s continue tomorrow!¡± Everyone was relieved. The half day of training had required their full body strength and was just starting to take its toll on them. Everyone was exhausted. They were so sore that they could not feel their bodies anymore. Some of them even had cramps on their fingertips. None of them had dared slow down throughout the training. Even soft Wang Shishi had pushed through.


    Later on, everyone started to prepare dinner. The intense training had given everyone a great appetite, and they all gorged down their food. The sky was getting dark, and the wind was blowing. Some of them looked up into the sky and started to feel upset. The chatter died away as everyone turned solemn.


    As they finished their dinner, the thing they had been most afraid of appeared in the sky. It was the aurora once again. The beautiful view gave everyone a chill. Their food suddenly tasted nd.


    ¡°Finish your food fast and head back into the cave!¡± Luo Yuan shouted.


    Everyone snapped out of it, their faces turning pale. They threw aside the bowls in their hands and ran frantically into the cave. The cave was dark, humid and constrained. None of them talked, so it was strangely silent inside. All they could hear was their heavy breathing and the sound of their hearts pounding.


    They waited patiently for almost half an hour, hearing the sound of thunder outside. This time, the thunderstorm was not as intense as the previous day. It was much more sporadic and it did notst as long. It waspletely over by midnight.


    ............


    The next five days, the auroras and thunderstorms got weaker and weaker. On the sixth day, they disappearedpletely. Although the thunderstorm was only a storm, it had caused a huge impact on the earth, the most direct effect being the rise of the temperature.


    On thest day of the thunderstorm, the temperature during the day had reached 60 degrees. In the afternoon, the entire forest had experienced a high temperature, and everyone¡¯s vision had gotten slightly distorted. A huge amount of steam had formed clumps of clouds on top of the forest. At the same time, the nts were growing and evolving every day, just like they had at the beginning of the apocalypse. The roots of the mutated nts went almost a hundred meters deep into the ground. The rise of the temperature and the evaporation of the water had not stopped the nts from growing. Quite the contrary, they looked livelier than ever.


    The trees that had been damaged by the aircraft had started growing again. In the course of five or six days, they had already grown two meters tall. If Luo Yuan did not clean the forest in time, it would be really crowded in less than a month.


    Everyone was filled with fear as they looked at the forest around them. They were smiling and talking less and less, feeling like a huge rock had been dropped on their chests. Despite their immense stress though, everyone was still striving to master the sword and get stronger.

 Chapter 211: Water

    Chapter 211: Water


    Trantor: Editor:


    In the morning, when the sky was still dark, Luo Yuan brought a big washbasin to the creek. The washbasin was made of steel and was about half a meter in diameter. It had been made using parts from the aircraft. Although Luo Yuan had made it as thin as he could, it still weighed more than 10 kilos. It could almost be used as a shield.


    Although it was still early on the morning, the temperature was already high. It was more than 30 degrees, butpared to noon, no doubt this was the coolest time of the day.


    The thunderstorm had been gone for five days, and the silent forest was regaining its liveliness. There were mutated beasts around, and the chirping sound of bugs could be heard. Compared to a few days earlier, it was a lot noisier.


    Luo Yuan walked slowly as he frowned. He held the Zhanmadao in his right hand and cut the branches along the way. The leaves were bright green and new, obviously grown overnight. Layers of dried leaves were covering the ground, which was soft and wet from the morning dew. Under the leaves, the soil was like powder.


    It had not rained in more than 10 days. That was usually normal in the west, but given the current high temperature, it could prove fatal. Strangely, the nts were still growing very fast. Maybe their roots had already been deep within the ground, and that was why they had not been affected. However, it was a different story for mutated beasts. Because of the high temperature, the water was evaporating quickly and the water level of the creek had been dropping day by day. From what Luo Yuan had observed the previous day, there would be a water shortage within the next two days if the weather remained like that. Judging by the weather now, it was definitely going to be a hot day.


    Luo Yuan arrived at the creek with a heavy heart. What he saw there was even worse than what he had imagined. Within a day, the water would bepletely gone. There had still been one foot of water the previous day, yet that day there were barely 10 centimeters of water left. There were dead fish and shrimp everywhere. The fish had probably died less than two days ago, but the high temperature had elerated their dposition. There were already maggots all over them, and some of them had been bitten by mutated beasts. The water in the creek had turned brown from the dposing carcasses, and there was a pungent stench all over caused by the maggots and mutated flies. Nobody would want to go near that water.


    Luo Yuan frowned, his face looking gloomy. There was a scary atmosphere around as countless mutated flies the size of a fist fell to the ground. Luo Yuan followed the creek in an attempt to look for cleaner water. That creek was the only source of water in the area. There were mutated creatures all around the forest. Many of them were drinking water by the creek along the way, but fled as soon as they saw Luo Yuan. The gloom on Luo Yuan¡¯s face gave off a scary, beast-like vibe. Before he even got close, the mutated creatures would run away.


    Of course there were some rebellious ones and some with very sharp teeth, which he instantly killed using his sabre. Luo Yuan carried them on his back and walked for almost half an hour. Just as he was about to give up, he finally reached a shallow pool. The water there had been isted from its source. What remained was only a small pool. It was barely more than a meter deep and as muddy as a quagmire, but he had no choice. Compared to the creek with the rotten fish, this was way better.


    Luo Yuan filled the washbasin with muddy water and left right away. Considering theck of water, this would be the ce where the animals came to drink. Although he had gotten stronger, he did not have the confidence to romp in the forest.


    He made his way back a lot faster. Although he was running on uneven ground, the water in the washbasin did not spill. In about ten minutes, he had made his way back to the campsite. The campsite was different this time, because they¡¯d wanted to avoid what had happened to themst time. The trees within a 30-meter radius from the aircraft had been chopped off, the weeds had been cleared away, and some stakes had been nted into the ground to make it firmer.


    Despite their efforts though, there were always new leaves growing from the ground the next morning. Since that was the coolest time of the day, they all practiced with their swords then. Most of the guys took off their tops and let the sweat flow down their upper bodies. They practiced repetitively withoutining. Every time they swung their swords, it sounded as if the air was being sliced.


    That day, Luo Yuan focused on the use of muscles. As long as everyone practiced the same move over and over again, it would be muscle memory and eventually, turn into instinct. As a matter of fact, considering the suffocating amount of stress, everyone was more determined than Luo Yuan had imagined. Whenever they had time, they would practice vigorously.


    Compared to 10 days ago, they had all improved. At least they were not as horrible as they had used to be. Maybe it was because of the correct use of force, but most of them had noticed changes in their physique. Their stiff, stubborn muscles had softened and been reced by more defined muscles. All of them looked like they had lost weight, and gained explosive force and strength instead.


    However, the ones Luo Yuan was the most proud of were the two kids, Deng Chao and Zhong Chuqiang. Maybe it was because of their immense insecurity, but they looked as if they did not care if they died during training. They were even gesturing and flexing their muscles when they were eating or sleeping. Although they were still very far behind Huo Dong, Wang Xiaguang and the rest, with their determination and innocence, they might be even able to achieve the glow or release the forcefield eventually.


    When Luo Yuan got back, Huang Jiahui put down her weapon, wiped off her sweat and took the washbasin from him. Looking at the water inside it, she started shaking and asked, ¡°Is there no more water out there?¡±


    ¡°I think it will all be gone in the next two days.¡± Luo Yuan shook his head before he went on, ¡°It looks like we can¡¯t count on that creek anymore. I will go into the forest in the afternoon and look for a new source of water.¡±


    They had not lowered their voices, so most people had heard what they said. They all put down their weapons and walked up to them, looking worried. When they saw the muddy water, their expression changed. It was fatal to not have water, especially under those weather conditions. Everyone had to drink a lot of water. If there was none, they would notst for more than a day. Even Luo Yuan would not be able tost longer.


    ¡°There¡¯s no need to worry,¡± Luo Yuanforted them after thinking for a while. ¡°Even if we can¡¯t find a new water source, many nts contain massive amount of waters. As long as we look carefully, I¡¯m sure we can find them.¡±


    ¡°How nice it would be if we could find that sap that we used to drink,¡± said Huo Dong.


    Wang Shishi gulped. She could still remember how amazing that sap had tasted.


    ¡°That¡¯spletely up to luck. Why don¡¯t we just dig a well?¡± asked Commander Xia.


    ¡°I don¡¯t think so, Commander. We are in the West, and water is very scarce here. We will need to dig a few dozen or even hundreds of meters deep in order to find water. Plus, we are on the mountainside. The terrain here is higher and there are only rocks below. Unless we¡¯re lucky enough to find an underground river, we won¡¯t find water until we¡¯ve dug hundreds of meters deep!¡± said a soldier.


    ¡°Why don¡¯t we collect morning dew? I remember there was a part about that in Amazon Crusoe!¡± said Cao Lin.


    ¡°I think you mean Robinson Crusoe,¡± Lin Xiaoji interrupted.


    Cao Lin blushed, but she ignored him. ¡°I noticed that the evaporation in the forest is intense, and morning dewes in big droplets. We could use leaves to collect them!¡±


    Luo Yuan¡¯s eyes brightened up. ¡°I think we could do that. We¡¯d have to cover a big area to be able to collect enough water for everyone, though. Once we¡¯re done with breakfast, let¡¯s all go to the forest to collect leaves.¡±


    ¡°Do we have to go, too?¡± Zhao Yali asked.


    ¡°Everyone has to go. We have been practicing every day. It¡¯s time we put your skill to the test. We have to leave this ce at some point after all. I can¡¯t be protecting you guys forever,¡± said Luo Yuan.


    Everyone was stunned by his words.

 Chapter 212: Excitement

    Chapter 212: Excitement


    Trantor: Editor:


    Although some of them were not willing to do what they¡¯d been told, none of them said anything. Humans were used to obeying their superiors. Superiorityy in power, wealth and primitive physical strength. In modern society, physical strength had be the most insignificant factor of superiority. It was notparable to the other two. However, during a time of apocalypse and istion, it was no doubt the most significant quality.


    Luo Yuan was the most powerful person among the team, so naturally he was their superior. It was a mutual understanding. Even the soldiers who had just joined did not have any thoughts of betrayal. It was an unwritten rule that even their own superior, Commander Xia, abode by. Their obedience was of a higher level because they were in the military.


    Luo Yuan was handling the creature he had captured earlier while the rest of them were preparing the fire. Pretty soon, breakfast was served. They sat together and ate quietly. Not many of them were talking. Everyone looked tense, and the atmosphere was heavy.


    Wei Xiaohu was chewing on a nt stalk. The nt was delicious and it exuded an indescribable fragrance, but its texture was rough. It scratched his esophagus whenever he swallowed. Still, that kind of pain was nothing for a soldier who had lived their live to the fullest. Wei Xiaohu had been in the army for half a year. He had gone through three months of training and participated in seven missions. A few of them had been major battles, so he could even be considered a veteran.


    He had joined the military as a refugee, just like many others. Hundreds of thousands of refugees fled to the rehabilitation area every month. There were both gifted people as well as weak and old civilians. Most of them were forced to enlist. Although Wei Xiaohu had finished high school and was working in a private enterprise assembly line at the time, he had still been considered just a soldier in the military. Much like an assembly line in a factory, there were countless soldiers dying and enlisting every day. Human life was merely a cheap consumable. The only difference was that they were soldiers, and not products.


    Wei Xiaohu had been lucky that the aircraft had crashed into that forest. Had it crashed into the rehabilitation area, he could have been sent on a battle mission again. Of course, he could also have be food for mutated beasts, or an insignificant dead soldier in a military staff report.


    Danger was really close, though. Wei Xiaohu peeked at Luo Yuan. Perhaps he had not noticed him, but Wei Xiaohu was looking at him with respect. Sensing someone looking at him, Luo Yuan turned in the soldier¡¯s direction. Wei Xiaohu bowed his head immediately, trying to hide by drinking his soup. When Luo Yuan turned away again, he felt relieved. His heart was pounding, and he hated himself for feeling like that. Luo Yuan was not a mutated beast. Why did he have to be afraid of him?


    Luo Yuan swallowed hisst piece of meat and put down his cutlery. When they saw him, everyone started eating faster. They finished their meal within a minute.


    ¡°Let¡¯s not waste any more time. The sun hasn¡¯t fully risen yet, and the temperature is still bearable. Let¡¯s get going!¡±


    Huang Jiahui looked at the kids and felt soft-hearted. ¡°Let Chen Jiayi and the rest stay. Wouldn¡¯t it be too dangerous for them toe?¡±


    Only Huang Jiahui and a few women close to Luo Yuan had the audacity to question him.


    Luo Yuan looked at the three kids, but they did not dare say anything. They just kept their heads low. They were all nervous except Deng Chao, who looked excited.


    Luo Yuan thought that kids were always the bravest, but they were still too young and weak. If they were to follow, they could die at any time without supervision. He nodded and said, ¡°Alright, the three of you can stay here. Hide inside the cave, and don¡¯te out. Remember to lock the cabin door.¡±


    Deng Chao and the rest nodded hard. ¡°Yes sir!¡±


    Everyone checked their sleeves and pant legs, tying them carefully again. Then they checked their daggers, firearms and other weapons again and again, until they made sure everything was ready to go.


    It had been almost a year since the apocalypse had started, so everyone had be survival experts by now. For instance, they knew that pant legs and sleeves were entrances that creatures could creep through easily, so they had to be tied at all times. Only when they were sure that a ce was safe, would they untie them so their blood could circte better. When they were ready, everyone picked up their weapons and followed Luo Yuan into the forest.


    The field and the forest were two entirely different worlds. Once they stepped inside the forest, it was as if it was already evening. The air was chilly, and they were all soaking in sweat.


    As they stepped on the soft, dry leaves, many bizarre bugs and mutated creatures fled in their wake. A few of them even tried to crawl up their legs. Some of the creatures were so colourful, it was terrifying.


    Huo Dong was walking in the back, his hand holding his sword really tight, his body stiff as a bow. His face was unusually tense, and his eyes were looking everywhere while he listened to the sounds all around them. He felt like this time Boss Luo was not as careful as he usually was. It seemed like he did not care anymore. Boss Luo would usually walk in the middle, but this time, he was walking in front and wouldn¡¯t even bother to look back.


    It seemed like they had to rely on themselves now, he thought distractedly. Suddenly, a strong throbbing feeling rose within his heart, at the same time that a strong wind blew from the back of his head. He got goosebumps.


    ¡°Here it is!¡± That thought shed through his mind like lightning. He instinctively pulled his sword out, turned around and swung it twice without thinking. All his movements were smooth, as if he¡¯d had thousands of years of training. A two-meter long, snake-like mutated beast with wings had been pierced by his sword.


    The beast¡¯s body was tough, so the sword had only managed to pierce through one quarter of it. The pain had triggered the beast¡¯s viciousness. Once itnded on the ground, it used its tail to bounce back toward him. Luckily, Huo Dong reacted fast, holding his sword and leaning back. Like a leopard ready to charge, he leapt towards the beast like an arrow. The tip of his swordnded on the soft ground like lightning.


    The strong force cut the snake-like beast into half along with the ground. It pierced it 30 to 40 centimeters deep. Seeing that the situation had been taken care of, Luo Yuan dropped his hands, which had been holding his weapon tight. The mission was just to test everybody¡¯s strength. He did not want any of them to die. Luo Yuan would still take care of them if he needed to. He might not have turned his head around along the way, but his instincts had still been on alert, paying attention to their surroundings. Given his response time, as long as the mutated creatures were not too fast, he could save the whole team in a matter of seconds.


    Everyone had felt something happening behind them and had stopped walking.


    ¡°Are you okay?¡± Cao Lin asked, turning around.


    Huo Dong swung his sword a few more times to cut off the snake¡¯s head and kill it once and for all. He stood up, his breathing a little fast as he said, ¡±I... I¡¯m okay.¡±


    His face was a little pale, but he looked excited. He had never been as smooth during training as he had been just now. He had been as smooth as flowing water. As he¡¯d swung his sword, his entire body strength had been fully concentrated and unleashed. Although the fight had made him sore all over his body, he was still happy and a lot less nervous.


    Luo Yuan noticed Huo Dong¡¯s exhaustion, so he asked everyone to take a break before they kept going. As they went deeper into the forest, there were more and more mutated creatures making an appearance. They seemed to be in constant danger. The number of the mutated creatures made their brains numb. Most of them moved at high speed and attacked them unexpectedly. They were different from the mutated beasts near the sea in that they were much more dangerous. In only 10 minutes, there had been quite a few rming incidents.


    On one particr urrence, the mutated creature had been way too strong to handle, so Luo Yuan had had to interfere and help them. The remaining incidents were handled by the rest of the group, though. As there was more and more danger, their insecurity faded away and was reced by excitement. They realized that their training the past 10 days had paid off. As long as they kept improving their strength, they would get to survive longer.

 Chapter 213: Strong Enemy Nearby

    Chapter 213: Strong Enemy Nearby


    Trantor: Editor:


    Slowly, Luo Yuan noticed something bizarre. Up to that point, Mu Wenwen had not even been attacked once. She was somewhere near the middle, yet she had not been attacked, even though Wang Xiaguang and Cao Lin who were walking in front of and behind her respectively both had been. It was as if the mutated beasts could not see her.


    He suddenly realized that he had not been paying a lot of attention to her. She barely ever took the initiative to speak and she usually preferred to be alone. She was like a gust of air, her presence was as if she was inexistent.


    He could not believe that he himself had actually ignored this rtively beautiful, extremely dangerous, evolved woman. If her abnormality had not been too obvious this time, he might not have noticed it.


    He could not help but look back at her direction a few times. She doubtfully raised her head to stare back at him. Her ck and white pupils were like clear spring water, an overwhelming temptation that captivated people. Luo Yuan took a nce at her, and dared not look again. If this was a concealment technique she was using, it was very professional.


    It was definitely not easy to do it. The human body was a veryplex force field, continuously emanating brainwaves of various frequencies. As the infrared waves caused by an electromaic field of electrochemical reaction and temperature got stronger, thisposite force field got stronger too.


    Luo Yuan was superhuman in many ways, so the strength of the force field he released was almostparable to that of light green mutated beasts. No matter how hard he tried to control it, he was still like a torch in the dark. Shiny and bright, able to be spotted at first sight, even when he was standing in a crowd. After all, brainwaves could be restrained by Will, but the intense electromaic field of electrochemical reaction and infrared waves produced by his strong body could not bepletely eliminated.


    Therefore, regardless of how hard he tried to hide or control himself, his aura stood out more than a normal person¡¯s.


    He could not understand how she did it. It might be rted to her ability. After all, such a concealment technique waspletely beyond Luo Yuan¡¯s understanding.


    Suddenly, there was amotion. Commander Xia pointed towards some tree stumps up ahead and said, ¡°Look, Brother Luo. What¡¯s happened to those trees?¡±


    Luo Yuan pulled back from his thoughts and looked in the direction the Commander was pointing at in shock.


    From where they were standing, they could see tree stumps everywhere. There were hundreds of tree stumps of simr height with no sign of being broke off. They looked like they had been chopped off with tools instead.


    Luo Yuan¡¯s expression turned grave. Before the apocalypse, such a scene would have been normal because illegal logging had been quite widespread. However, they were currently facing the apocalypse, and this was an extremely dangerous ancient forest with no trace of human activity around. Under those circumstances, it was strange to see so many tree stumps.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go and check it out!¡± Luo Yuan said.


    Soon, they reached a tree stump about 1.7 meters in diameter. Although the tree must have been veryrge, they were not astonished to see that there were plenty of it inside the ancient forest.


    New seedlings of about three to four meters had grown from the tree stumps. ording to the growth rate of nts, the trees should have been cut down a few days ago. Commander Xia walked carefully forward, chopping off any branches to expose the tree stumpspletely. When he took a closer look, he was stunned for a moment. Finally, he said with a grave expression, ¡°I¡¯m afraid this was not done by man. The de used to chop off this tree must have been about half a meter wide. The scar of the cut is too coarse, so the tool used was obviously not sharp enough. However, if it was still able to chop off such arge tree, it must have been very strong.¡±


    One needed extremely sharp tools when it came to chopping trees. People usually used axes. A weapon with a half-meter wide de could not have been used by a human.


    ¡°Is that a drag trail?¡± Huo Dong said suspiciously, pointing at a long print on the ground. ¡°What would the mutated beasts want the wood for?¡±


    ¡°Perhaps to use as firewood?¡± Lin Xiaoji said with a hollowugh.


    Nobody found it funny.


    ¡°To build nests or make weapons. Both seem usible,¡± Luo Yuan said seriously. ¡°There¡¯s one thing we know for sure. This type of creature must possess a certain level of intelligence if they know how to use tools.¡±


    Commander Xia felt his heart be gradually heavier. He responded only after a while, ¡°If they really are intelligent creatures, there must be a lot of them. This area has traces of logging, and there could be even more ahead. There must be at least of hundreds of them, possibly even more.¡±


    Everyone¡¯s faces turned pale. Although the weather was hot, they felt a chill go down their spines.


    ¡°Let¡¯s leave right away! We wouldn¡¯t want them to find us,¡± Zhao Yali said in panic.


    ¡°Alright, we¡¯ll talk about thister,¡± Luo Yuan said. He knew nothing about the abilities or the number of these mysterious creatures, so it would undoubtedly be very reckless of them if they kept going. Besides, he had a group of encumbrance with him.


    Hearing his words, everyone let out a sigh of relief.


    The team quickly turned around. On the way back, Luo Yuan picked a tree withrge leaves and collected the leaves they needed. They reached their campsite in less than ten minutes. Everyone looked worried and stressed, as if a giant stone was pressing on their hearts. Anyone would feel that stressed if they¡¯d just found out a time bomb ready to explode at any time was in the area.


    The ce was too close to them, only about half an hour¡¯s journey away. In fact, it was less than three kilometers if one were to walk in a straight line. If Luo Yuan jogged, he could get there within five minutes.


    They put the leaves inside the cave, walked to the shade and sat in a circle with their brows knitted.


    ¡°What if we leave?¡± Huang Jiahui suggested worriedly.


    ¡°And go where?¡± Luo Yuan asked, recovering from his thoughts.


    ¡°Away from here. Let¡¯s look for another ce, or leave this mountain. We have been here long enough,¡± Huang Jiahui blurted. She still yearned for a normal life and the rehabilitation area was not too far away. Perhaps they could reach it in half a month.


    ¡°I¡¯m afraid we can¡¯t do it in such a short time. The high temperature is making us sweat profusely, so we need lots of water. If we don¡¯t store enough water, we can¡¯t go anywhere,¡± Commander Xia rebutted before Luo Yuan could say anything.


    Everyone looked disappointed as signs of worry appeared on their faces.


    After Luo Yuan pondered for a while, the trace of a cold smile formed on his face. ¡°Let¡¯s not do anything rash yet. Let me check the situation out first.¡±


    Huang Jiahui seemed to want to advise him against it. Her lips moved, but in the end she just sighed. She knew perfectly well that she could not stop him.


    ........................


    The Zhanmadao shed through as arge tree fell with a loud crash.


    After the dust had settled, Luo Yuan walked up to the tree, cut the trunk in half and held it straight, swishing his Zhanmadao around continuously. Five minutester, a big section of the trunk had been turned into a heap of sticks.


    Luo Yuan picked up a stick, weighed it and used his knife to scrape off the burrs on its surface, sharpening the tip and making it even shinier. Then he carefully put it into arge leather sack. One by one, he scraped and sharpened the sticks until the sack was full. When he put the sack on his back, the ground sank slightly under his feet.


    Fortunately, the straps of the sack had been made using the skin of a mutated beast, otherwise, the sack would have been torn open by the edges of the sticks.


    Luo Yuan tried to walk for a few steps before he ran. The sack weighed about 200 kilos, but it so light that he felt as if he was not carrying anything. He finally stopped after a few tries, took out his Zhanmadao, and let it hang on his waist.


    ¡°Be careful. Don¡¯t risking back right away if it¡¯s too dangerous!¡± Huang Jiahui shouted worriedly as she watched Luo Yuan prepare to leave.


    Luo Yuan nodded, nced at the women, and walked directly into the deep forest without turning back.

 Chapter 214: Special Mission

    Chapter 214: Special Mission


    Trantor: Editor:


    Carrying the 200-kilo sack, Luo Yuan walked forward step by step. He did not run so he could save energy, but his speed was still much faster than a normal person.


    It was about noon, and the scorching sun increased the temperature, making Luo Yuan feel as if he was in a steamer, despite the fact that he was shaded byyers of trees.


    He was not sweating profusely yet. There was only a sheeryer of sweat on his forehead due to the heavy weight he was carrying. If it were not for that, given his excellent Physique, he would hardly ever sweat, even during the hottest hours of the day.


    Their camping site was not far from the logging area. Although Luo Yuan was not rushing, it only took him about 10 minutes to reach the destination.


    Soon after he got there, Luo Yuan turned serious. He was no longer in a rxed state.


    He carefully walked forward, looking more solemn as he progressed. The logging area was huge. He roughly estimated that there were already about 1,000 cut trees, each tree about two meters in diameter. Suddenly, he heard a vague noise, a heavy sound with variousplicated tones. Obviously, these were notmon mutated beasts. He knew that he was getting closer to his destination; he carefully went over the slopingnd and climbed up a giant rock at its highest point before he finally stopped.


    He could everything from up there. There was a small valley at the bottom, but it looked different from the other areas, which were covered in dense trees. The valley was barren, and there were lots of tree stumps in it.


    Further up front, there was a big heap of logs.


    It was scorching hot, yet numerousrge grey giants were carrying big heavy logs, yelled loudly and walking deep into the valley. That was obviously the log transfer station.


    The giants were about five meters tall and grey in color. They did not have much hair other than on the back of their necks, which connected the head to the caudal vertebra. The rest of their bodies werepletely smooth. Some giants had beast skins tied around their waists. Judging by theirrge bodies, those were obviously adult giants. Most of the smaller giants had nothing on them.


    The majority had various weapons hanging from their waists, obtained mostly from mutated beasts, such as ws or teeth tightened to a stick using rattan.


    Although the giants were man-like, there were also traces of a beast on them. For example, they did not have eyebrows, but they had two dark holes on their noses, andrge U-shaped mouths as well as a lip that extended to their cheeks, making gripping and tearing meat easier.


    Luo Yuan grimaced. Although he had been prepared for this, he still felt a chill go down his entire body when he faced them. It was not due to the fact that the giants¡¯ looked very strong. In fact, even if it had been a group of light green or green beasts, Luo Yuan could still have retreated and gotten away from there, and he definitely would not have felt as tense.


    However, these were notmon mutated beasts. These giants were a group of beings with a certain intelligence; they had formed a rtively primitive society and had learned the basics of utilizing tools. They might have even created their ownnguage, and their number was not small by any means. From what he could see, there were already hundreds of them, and there might be even more deep inside the valley. These giants were strong, and their intelligence level was not low either. If they reproduced at a faster rate, they might even be able to challenge the status of humans at the top of the food chain.


    Luo Yuan looked serious. Within two short months, he had already seen two kinds of intelligent species. The first encounter was only that one mutated beast, though. This was arge group. The frequency of these intelligent beasts appearing was increasing, and those were not the only ones he had seen. There might be even more out there that he hadn¡¯te across yet.


    Would civilization transmigrate? Maybe after hundreds of years, there would be a new species on the Earth, going through what human beings were currently going through.


    Luo Yuan took a deep breath and tried to suppress his thoughts as he kept observing the giants.


    These giants were extremely strong. They were so muscr that a huge, 10-ton log only required seven to eight giants to be carried easily. They also seemed to react fast and their rhythm of action was fast as well, so their Agility had to be high. He estimated a minimum of 12 to 13 points, but he was not sure if that was during a battle.


    Their weapons could be used from a short distance, but beings with high intelligence could use stones to attack, so Luo Yuan still had to be careful.


    Overall, the giants¡¯ abilities could be ranked between dark blue and light green. Provided that none of them surpassed the light green level, they would not be a threat to his safety, so he only needed to be concerned about their numbers and the fact that an attack by him could cause a chain of reactions. However, he still thought he could run away if he was unable to beat them. Considering his speed, he believed that he would not be overtaken.


    Suddenly, there was a notification sound from the system. The mission this time was a bit different than the previous one.


    ¡°E Level Special Mission: Wipe out the Grey Giant Tribe and kill all intelligent beings in it.¡±


    ¡°Tip: This is a Special Mission, so the actual difficulty has been lowered by one level.¡±


    ¡°Time Limit: None¡±


    ¡°ept/Decline?¡±


    ¡°Special mission! What¡¯s happening? Is it rted to that intelligent species?¡± Luo Yuan wondered doubtfully.


    However, he did not have any more time to ponder it. The mission had been downgraded to E-Level, and he was not sure whether an E-Level Mission was equal to light green beast difficulty, which was no longer a threat to him.


    He restrained his urge for a killing spree, put down the sack with the short spears and slowly took out one. The distance between him and the heap of logs was about 150 meters, which was a good shooting range for him. Besides, he was standing on a higher ground, so it was definitely the best ce for him to attack.


    Shooting and killing them one by one would not cause a sense of danger on the group, which might cause them to escape in all directions. Instead, it would provoke them into retaliating. He clearly understood the difficulty of this mission. He didn¡¯t just have to defeat them. He had to wipe out the entire tribe and leave no survivors behind.


    He took out a short spear and stood up. The next moment, his body moved in a blur. and the short spear in his hand was gone. From the spot where he stood, it seemed like it had exploded and caused a violent gust of wind.


    The spear produced a sonic boom as it plunged forward. In the blink of an eye, the whole spear hadnded and sunkpletely into the ground, up to its very grip. The nearest giant had been about 10 meters away.


    Missed!


    Sweat dripped down Luo Yuan¡¯s forehead as he shook his head and took out another spear.


    However, the attack had shocked the giants nearby and many of them, who had been carrying logs, dropped them, causing the logs to roll onto other giants and create amotion. More giants became vignt as they took out their weapons and repeatedly checked their surroundings.


    Bang!


    There was another loud noise.


    After slightly adjusting the force used in his muscles, Luo Yuan had finally hit his target. The giant nearest to him suddenly jolted, the short spear exploding into dust causing it to create a smoke ring on its chest as it sank quickly, transferring the terrifying force through the giant¡¯s flesh, until it exploded on its back, creating a hole the size of a washbasin.


    Such a wound could make even a 5-meter tall giant feel lethargic.


    The giant¡¯s eyes were wide, and its mouth was open, arge amount of blood oozing out as the giant fell heavily to its knees on the ground.


    The wood that Luo Yuan had chosen as a material for his short spears was not very hard. In fact, its light blue rank made it very fragile. However, when it was moving at a high speed, anything the spear hit turned into a dust made of wood due to its strong momentum, the kic energy beingpletely absorbed by the target. As a result, it didn¡¯t just have a terrifying amount of killing power, but the size of the wound it produced was also veryrge.


    There was another explosion, and a giant who was still perplexed by the sudden attack suddenly felt a pain on its leg. By the time the giant slumped down to the ground, its whole leg had already disappeared.


    Loud crashes could be heard one after the other, as if there was thunder somewhere in the distance. One by one, the giants fell down. Although Luo Yuan had slowed down on purpose to prevent the giants from escaping out of fear, he still managed to y seven giants within a mere 30 seconds.


    There were growls of anger, screams of fear and howls of pain. The scene was a total mess. Suddenly, one of the giants spotted Luo Yuan and pointed in his direction, growling like thunder.


    The surviving giants looked in that direction and saw a small silhouette standing upright on the hillside, its hand slowly pulling out a strange-looking weapon.


    The look on the giants¡¯ faces gradually became ferocious, their fiery aura spreading.


    After a letting out a howl, the giants who were still able to stand bellowed andunched themselves towards Luo Yuan. They kicked up arge amount of dust, causing the Earth to tremble slightly. There was only about a dozen of them left, but their force was like that of a stampede as they rushed over.

 Chapter 215: Brazier

    Chapter 215: Brazier


    Trantor: Editor:


    One hundred and fifty meters was not far for the giants, nor for Luo Yuan.


    Luo Yuan threw away the short spear in his hand, steadily moving his arms to make sure that his muscles were not strained or aching. His 14-point Physique had made his muscle fibers tougher, and they did not get injured as easily anymore.


    The giants kept getting closer, their loud howls buzzing in Luo Yuan¡¯s ears. He opened his eyelids slightly to look at them as they rushed over. A flicker of a cold smirk crossed his face.


    He immediately held the handle of his Zhanmadao tighter, his body suddenly bing a blur as he disrupted the surrounding airflow and disappeared from his original spot. He was carrying the Zhanmadao in his right hand, crouched like a fierce tiger, his toes stepping hard on the soft soil and stirring up dead leaves a few meters high into the air. Each step he took was about five to six meters apart as he sprinted down the hill.


    A giant with a big stick in its hand appeared, wearing a ferocious grin. Its grin split its face in half, giving it a fearsome look. As it rushed over, there was something dangling indistinctly under its skin. Before it could manage toe near though, a heavy bloody smell blew on its face.


    Luo Yuan frowned in disgust and leapt up high like a swallow, making his body smaller as he brushed past the giant. Meanwhile, the silverish-white Zhanmadao shed through the air, and the giant¡¯s ugly head shot up under the high pressure of the blood gushing out from its neck. The headless giant continued to run for a few steps before it slumped down on the ground, twitching unnaturally.


    As Luo Yuan hit the ground, he run like an agile cheetah into the group of giants and begun killing them with his Zhanmadao.


    Theirrge body size made themrger targets, and as Luo Yuan was both faster and quicker to react, they ended up getting killed gruesomely. Wherever he passed, there were amputated limbs, fresh blood and human-like howls and roars.


    Most giants did not die on the spot, because Luo Yuan was only as tall as their thighs. Therefore, most of them just had their legs amputated, the only difference being whether they had one or two legs cut off.


    Although it had been less than 10 seconds after Luo Yuan had sprinted into the group, more than 30 giants were already badly injured. On average, he had amputated about three giant legs per second. The giants had been spreading out; otherwise the number of amputated legs per second would have been even higher.


    Luo Yuan¡¯s silhouette had turned into a high-speed shadow; one moment he was at one spot, amputating a giant¡¯s head with a quick swish of his Zhanmadao, and the next moment he had disappeared to a ce about ten meters away. His sharp Zhanmadao could easily cut through the thigh muscles and bones of the giants. Any giant who tried to escape would slump down on the ground after taking a few steps as both their legs would have already been separated from their body.


    The giants were crying miserably on the hillside, the strong smell of blood attracting a lot of attention. Branches were moving about intensely, there was tumult in the tussock, and even some shadows could be seen hovering overhead.


    In 30 seconds, no giant could stand up straight anymore, and those giants who could no longer escape because their lost legs were struggling and crying in pools of blood. Miserable, sharp, loud noises were heard echoing in the valley.


    Luo Yuan was standing, fresh blood dripping down the edge of his Zhanmadao. Soon, it became as shiny as new. He panted for a few seconds before his breathing quickly became even again. After thatst point had been added to his Physique, his ability to recover had improved by leaps and bounds, bing insanely fast.


    He scanned through his surroundings, his eyes as sharp as a knife. He had scared off the giants who had been crawling on their hands, making them forget the pain and shiver in desperation instead.


    They were producing some weird sounds. Perhaps they were imploring or scolding, but neither of those things would change their final destiny. Luo Yuan quickly rushed over to kill them all. Soon, there were more headless corpses lying on the ground.


    ¡°Finallypleted the first step!¡± Luo Yuan thought silently, his face looking slightly delighted. He got back to the hilltop, picked up the sack with the short spears, put it on his back and briskly walked into the deep valley.


    After Luo Yuan hadpletely disappeared from sight, several mutated beasts surged out of the forest towards the bodies and began tearing them apart.


    ..................


    Luo Yuan met some returning giants on his way down, thus confirming that he was in the right direction. Of course, he killed them all too.


    Therger trees by the roadside had been cut off and only tree stumps had been left behind. All along the way, he had seen more than two thousand tree stumps, and the number only increased as he progressed. His face looked grave. He did not know what the giants were doing with these logs, but their number was big enough to build a small city already.


    After walking for a few kilometers, Luo Yuan reached arge cliff.. He took a closer look and saw many caves with giants in them. However, what seemed strange to him was the thick ascending smoke that saturated the air with a heavy smoky smell. Hot waves of it asionally blew on his face.


    He slowed down and hid amidst the tussock as he crept forward. After about 10 minutes, the heatwave had already be burning hot. The temperature was more than 70 degree Celsius, causing the tussocks nearby to dry up. A flicker of a doubt shed through Luo Yuan¡¯s mind, but he walked a few steps forward. When he pushed the grass aside, what he saw shocked him.


    There was a huge brazier in an open space in front of the cliff. He roughly estimated that it was about a hundred meters wide, with a raging me that asionally reached about a hundred meters into the air. Numerous giants were sweating profusely while they threw logs into the huge brazier. Their skin appeared to have been scorched by the high temperature, and their hair had curled up. However, they still looked solemn and excited.


    The high temperature was indeed a tough challenge even for the thick, rough skin of the giants; none of them could endure it for more than three rounds, so they were all reced quickly.


    The number of giants were incredible. Counting the ones standing in the open space, there were already 156 and there were countless more looking from a cliff above. It was difficult to differentiate between the giants as they all looked the same; solemn and enthusiastic.


    Luo Yuan had considered many possibilities about what the giants were using those logs for. A few examples that came to mind were that the logs had been used to build houses, make weapons for hunting, or build fences for defense. However, it had never crossed his mind that the giants had been chopping down the trees to ignite a huge brazier.


    After observing them for a while, Luo Yuan began to understand their actions. Fear of fire had been imprinted deep into the gic material of every living thing, and that fear had also turned into worship - an ancient kind of worship that all human beings had gone through.


    Besides, the brazier was not used only for religious purposes. It could also be used to prevent other mutated beasts from getting close. Therefore, that brazier had the ability to save the lives of countless giants living in that dangerous forest.


    In fact, the ability to use fire was a critical step for the development of an intelligent species.


    As Luo Yuan thought of the freshness of most of those tree stumps, he confirmed that this fire pit had not been made too long ago. Therefore, the incident that had taught the giants how to use fire must have been recent. He thought that incident must have been rted to the thunderstorm and the forest fire that had taken ce not long ago. That must have been the turning point.


    Human beings had experienced millions of years of eating raw food before they found fire during the Neolithic Period. However, it looked like those creatures had only needed a few days. Even if had taken them a long time, it would still have been less than two years. There was a huge gap between two years and millions of years. The thought that this group of intelligent creatures had progressed so fast chilled Luo Yuan. He could not imagine how they would evolve if they were to live for another few years.


    An urge to wipe off the entire group shed through his eyes as he realized that he could not spare even a single one of them.


    Still, killing them all would be extremely difficult. He carefully observed his surroundings, his eyes finallynding on the cliff and staying there.


    The cliff was about 300 meters high, and its slope very steep, almost 90 degrees. The surface had traces of it being polished, looking smooth without any holes or crevices for hands to hold on to. There was only a zigzag path extending from the bottom inner part of the cliff up to the middle of it.


    Excavating such a path from the inner part of the cliff must have been an enormous undertaking even for those powerful giants. A few giants could still be seen excavating at the top, which proved that they were nning on elongating the path.


    All the caves on the cliff had been dug along that path.


    The topography of the ce was easy to defend, but difficult to attack from. One man could hold out against tens of thousands of enemies. However, one would have no choice but to enter from the entrance of the path at the base of the cliff if they wanted to kill the giants.


    Luo Yuan frowned deeply.

 Chapter 216: Animalistic

    Chapter 216: Animalistic


    Trantor: Editor:


    It was still daylight, and some giants could still be out hunting, so it was not a good time to start the massacre. Besides, they might not be able to bear the massive casualties and fear, and try to flee in disorder. In that case, chasing after them or ambushing them would be too much trouble.


    Intelligent creatures were different than normal mutated beasts. Their wisdom allowed them to know how to use tools and have a certain degree of organization and discipline. As a result, they could still beat him, even though they were weak. A hasty attack would definitely not be a wise choice on his part.


    Luo Yuan observed the surrounding topography carefully and retreated prudently.


    After half an hour, he was back at the campsite and was getting questioned by the group, who had been eagerly waiting for news. When they heard about the existence of intelligent creatures, arge tribe with thousands of them in particr, they were shocked, and the atmosphere turned unexpectedly serious.


    Human beings were an intelligent part of the universe, and deserved the title of the overlords of the Earth. Although humans were currently losing against the rampage of the mutated beasts, they still felt proud for being the only intelligent creature on Earth. Despite the fact that mutated beasts were stronger, when it came right down to it, they were mere beasts without any intelligence. If humans persisted enough, they would eventually win the war. However, this sudden news had crushed all their pride.


    It turned out that humans were no longer the only intelligent species on the Earth.


    If a group of intelligent creatures stronger and wiser than human beings had showed up, how could humans maintain their pride? Perhaps the day of their recement was not too far.


    The news cast a chill over everyone.


    ¡°I can¡¯t believe the world has changed so much!¡± Huang Jiahui said after a while. She looked as if she was in a trance.


    The news Luo Yuan had brought had shocked them all. Although the various clues and traces they had seen along the way had somehow prepared them, the confirmation still made everyone panic.


    ¡°We must kill them all before they evolve!¡± Commander Xia suddenly said with a serious expression.


    ¡°Yes, they are too close to us. There might be a conflict at any time,¡± Huo Dong said as he tried to control his fear.


    Luo Yuan nodded slightly and said, ¡°It seems that we all have a simr idea. Let¡¯s act tonight, and kill every single one of them. Everyone has to go.¡±


    He had been pondering it on the way back and had changed his original n. If the giants tried to escape in all directions, he would not be able to kill them all, no matter how fast he was.


    Besides, they were not as weak as they used to be. They might not be able to fight one on one, but they could still work together and bring down a few of them. Wang Shishi might not be able to face green rank mutated beasts easily, but she could be a killing machine when facing blue rank mutated beasts. Her efficiency was even higher than Luo Yuan¡¯s. If she was around, he could most likelyplete the mission.


    ¡°What about the kids?¡± Huang Jiahui asked.


    ¡°We¡¯ll bring them along too. It¡¯s safer than leaving them alone in the cave.¡± Luo Yuan clearly understood Huang Jiahui¡¯s worries. ¡°You don¡¯t have to worry. You¡¯ll just take care of any of them that try to escape. It¡¯ll be very safe!¡±


    The decision had been made, and nobody dared doubt or oppose it, even if they were feeling afraid or reluctant. They did not even dare express their emotions on their faces. Luo Yuan¡¯s authority was too deeply rooted into their hearts. Even the few soldiers that had just joined the group not long ago remained silent under his gaze. They felt that he had a stronger authority than their own senior official. The anticipation of the uing battle made them feel stressed, so they tried their best to prepare.


    The apocalypse had stretched people to their limits. Even those that used to be couch potatoes had transformed into true survivors after struggling for half a year.


    ...


    Time passed by quickly, and soon the sky turned dark.


    By the open space in front of the cave, a skinned mutated beast was being roasted, emitting a tempting aroma. Liquid fat dropped on the campfire, and sparks shot up, producing cracking sounds. The glimmering lights revealed everyone¡¯s worried, fearful faces.


    ¡°It¡¯s burning!¡± Luo Yuan said.


    They all snapped out of their reverie and fumbled to take the grilled meat off the barbeque stand. Obviously, they were still unsettled by their earlier shock.


    Luo Yuan frowned, but he quickly rxed his brows. To be honest, he had also been very shocked when he¡¯d first seen those creatures. He had barely been able to control his urge to kill them. Even if there was no such mission, he would still have wanted to wipe them off. That urge seemed to havee out of nowhere and could be felt inside his bones and gic material. Perhaps it was the natural instinct of an intelligent species that had just met another intelligent species.


    Soon, they finished their dinner. Luo Yuan looked at the time and realized that it was already 7 p.m. The sky was alreadypletely dark, but he decided to wait for three more hours. At 10 p.m. sharp, he stood up, reached for his Zhanmadao and thrust it somewhere next to him.


    ¡°Put the fire out, and let¡¯s go!¡±


    The group put out the campfire, picked up their weapons silently, and got ready to go.


    Huang Jiahui picked up a long sword, bent her head to check her watch, and then walked up to Luo Yuan. ¡°It¡¯s only 10 p.m. Isn¡¯t it too early?¡± she whispered.


    It was indeed early for humans during the apocalypse; the night was still young.


    Luo Yuan shook his head. ¡°That ce is a long way from here, and we¡¯ll have to go slower because it¡¯s dark. If some kind of ident urs, we¡¯ll take even longer to get there. We need some extra time to react. Besides, those giants are not human. They should already be sleeping.¡± Luo Yuan took a look at her before he said softly, ¡°Be careful. Better stay close to Wang Shishi.¡±


    Huang Jiahui nodded as she said seriously, ¡°Don¡¯t worry about me. I will be.¡±


    ...


    The team climbed up on the giant lizard and set off.


    Roar after roars came from the distance, asionally mixing with pained cries and growls, frightening them even more. Under the shade of the dense forest leaves, the tussock appearedpletely dark. They could see pairs of glimmering lights on the shrub from afar. They were the eyes of mutated beasts hunting for prey. Therge size of the giant lizard made them hesitate to go near them, though. They just kept wandering around the area.


    At night, the forest was a more lively and dangerous ce than during the day. Most carnivores were active during the night hours. Because of the high temperature they had been experiencingtely during the day though, some herbivores had also turned nocturnal in order to adapt to the harsh environment.


    The giant lizard had to go slow, and it seemed impatient along the way. It could not help but roar a number of times. Although its roars were deafening, its size still kept them safe along the way.


    Half an hourter, the group had finally reached the valley.


    That ce was not too far from the tribe of the giants. Luo Yuan had the group dismount from the giant lizard, because its movement would be too loud. In order not to alert the giants, they left it there while the rest of them walked.


    It was very silent along the way, unexpectedly different from the atmosphere in the forest.


    Maybe it was because of the frequent appearance of the giants, but barely any mutated beasts were living in the area. As a result, they did note across any dangers along the way.


    Not long after, they saw the dim light of a fire. Its scorching heat made the temperature rise suddenly.


    Lin Xiaoji wiped his sweat off. His body waspletely covered, so the heat wave made him sweat profusely. Heined in a low voice, ¡°Aren¡¯t those mutated beasts afraid of the heat?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s a method to defend themselves. With the fire burning, no mutated beasts will daree near. Some sentries far from the military base use this method too. A burning fire is more effective than any machine guns or cannons. It seems that these mutated beasts are smarter than we expected,¡± Commander Xia said with a serious expression.


    Luo Yuan did not pay much attention to their conversation. He carefully listened to their surroundings for a while before he turned his head and said, ¡°It seems that some giants are keeping watch. I¡¯ll check the ce out first. Follow me only when I give you the signal.¡±


    Although the rest of them had not heard anything, no one doubted him. They looked shocked, and their faces had turned serious.


    ¡°Brother Luo, let mee with you and help!¡± Wang Shishi said suddenly.


    Luo Yuan hesitated. It should be safer there, so they would not have a problem without Wang Shishi. Besides, it would be really difficult to kill several giants by himself without alerting the rest of them who would still be sleeping. Luo Yuan nodded. ¡°Alright,e with me. I¡¯ll need your helpter on.¡±


    Wang Shishi nodded her head in excitement.


    They crouched as they walked forward slowly. It was getting hotter and hotter as they progressed, the heat almost burning their hair. After a while, Luo Yuan stopped and listened carefully. He pushed aside the dried grass, producing a soft rustling sound, but thankfully he did not attract any attention.


    ¡°Have you seen them? Can I see them, too?¡± Wang Shishi whispered. She was curious about how the mutated beasts looked.


    ¡°Shh!¡± Luo Yuan observed the area carefully. After a while, he turned to her and said solemnly, ¡°There¡¯s a total of 13 giants on guard. I didn¡¯t expect this many. I¡¯m afraid there might be trouble.¡±


    A group of giants was sitting on the hillside randomly, asionally checking their surroundings.


    These giants were stronger and taller than the rest. Every single one of them was about seven meters tall, and their muscles were so big that they almost tore their skin apart. Although they were sitting randomly, they were still emitting a valiant aura. These were notmon giants. They were warriors.


    Suddenly, a rustling sound was heard from somewhere not far away. A giant stood up in alert and looked around, producing some weird sounds. It sounded as if it wasmunicating with the others. Then it took a long spear the size of a bowl and walked forward carefully while the others looked around them vigntly.


    These giants were extremely careful and vignt. In fact, anyone living deep inside the forest with danger lurking in every direction would have done the same. If they did not, they would not have survived this far.


    The giant carefully walked towards the source of the sound, surprised to find a dying mutated beast there with its stomach torn open and its guts dropping all over the ce. A long trace of blood could also been seen. The most terrifying thing was that the giant did not know where it¡¯d been heading or where it hade from. It was a huge surprise, indeed.


    The giant licked its lip, revealing its two sharp tusks.


    Even for a warrior like that giant, meat was precious and rare. They could not get it daily, because they had to risk their lives to find it. However, that did not affect how alert it was. It carefully checked around the area, and when it confirmed that there was no movement around, it excitedly picked up the mutated beast by its neck and walked back to where the other giants were.


    As soon as the giants saw the mutated beast, there was an uproar. Their faces seemed to transform with happiness; one of them tore open the beast¡¯s stomach, pushed its hand in and pulled out the heart, giving it to the strongest giant in respect.


    The giant seemed very pleased. It showed a flicker of a ferocious smile as it put the heart into its mouth and bit it with its sharp teeth. As it chewed the heart, fresh blood dripped down the corner of its mouth, making it to look even more ferocious.


    Maybe this was some kind of special etiquette or sign, because as soon as the giant swallowed the heart, a feeding frenzy began. The feeding giants looked extremely intense as they tore the beast into several parts and put them into their mouths to tear and bite. One impatient giant acted like a wild beast, which only proved that, although these giants were intelligent creatures, they were still pretty animalistic.

 Chapter 217: Chaotic

    Chapter 217: Chaotic


    Trantor: Editor:


    For a normal human, a few hundred pounds of mutated beast might have been more than enough, but for a six-meter tall giant, it was only good for two or three portions. The problem was, there were 13 giants in total.


    A feeding beast was a terrifying sight, but what was even more terrifying was a group of beasts facing a shortage of food.


    At the beginning of their meal, the giants had been ferocious, yet vignt. However, as the food became less and less, their feeding became increasingly frenzied, and they ended up plundering each other. By that time, all traces of alertness had long been forgotten.


    The moonlight in the dark sky cast a red eerie glow against the foggy background.


    Suddenly, there was a gust of wind. Heaps of fallen leaves could be seen swirling around. Amid the wind, a soft sound rustling could be heard.


    The leader of the giants, who had been through countless battles and life-and-death situations, was more sensitive to danger. He felt that something was not right and instinctively lifted his head.


    His pupils contracted and focused on a small human silhouette moving at phantom-like speed towards them. At first sight, the silhouette had still been ten meters away from them, but in the blink of an eye, it was suddenly in front of them. The giant was in a state of shock, fear making its heart miss a beat.


    Just as he was preparing to roar, a blinding silver light flooded its line of sight. It opened its mouth, but no sound came out. Instantly, a streak of blood extended from its cheekbone to its chin. Blood gushed out rapidly as its entire head was split into two.


    The silhouette disappeared swiftly and reappeared near a new target. The attack just now had not slowed it down; it could easily travel four to five meters in just a single step. The intruder was dressed in ck. In the darkness, they seemed to move like a shadow; akin to an incarnation of the Grim Reaper.


    A gust of wind blew by, and the light from the sharp tip of the Zhanmadao emerged out of the shadows, piercing the be of another giant. The acute pain stunned the giant for a moment, who did not know what had hit it.


    Although it seemed like a long time had passed since the silhouette had first appeared, in reality it had only been half a second from the moment it had leapt out of the bushes. The first giant¡¯s skull had only just been detached from its torso.


    However, the rest of the giants were still unaware of this, fully immersed in their feeding frenzy as they were.


    Three, four, five giants...


    As time went by, the attacks were bing increasingly obvious. However, the strong wind and the sttering blood prevented the giants who noticed from alerting the others. The sabre would suddenly appear and slice off their skulls, or Wang Shishi¡¯s flying shuttle would pierce them.


    The first corpse had only just dropped to the ground. The giant¡¯s body weighed almost a ton, and it smashed to the ground with a dull thud. The hugemotion had finally alerted the remaining three giants.


    It was toote, though.


    The speed of the shadow suddenly increased three-fold, hitting its limits.


    The moment the first giant was about to take action, the shadow was already behind it. The giant picked up a spear, but a strike of the sharp sabre cut it in half in mid-air.


    As the second giant watched the scene, its face betrayed its fear. It was about to shout, but before it could make a sound, the sharp edge of the sabre had stabbed through its mouth to the crown of its head.


    The third giant had already been killed by the flying shuttle.


    Seeing that all the giants had been taken care of, Luo Yuan let out a sigh of relief. He turned and looked at the strange-looking, rugged cliff. A zigzag path had been carved onto the rocks, leading upwards until the edge of the cliff.


    The ughter had only just begun.


    Luo Yuan could hear light footsteps behind him. He didn¡¯t have to turn his head to know it was Wang Shishi.


    ¡°Brother Luo, these giants were really easy to defeat," said Wang Shishi. There was a trace of both excitement and disappointment in her voice. That group of giants had seemed so imposing that they¡¯d thought they¡¯d be very powerful. They had not expected them to be this easy to defeat. They¡¯d been far weaker than the beasts they¡¯de across.


    "Intelligent creatures have never been known for their brute strength... Forget about it. You head back first and bring the others over here," Luo Yuan said before he let out augh. They really took everything too seriously, and now they were facing a precarious situation, trying to hold on for dear life. There was no point in thinking too much. As long as they were alive, there was still hope. Besides, Luo Yuan did not think human beings would perish that easily.


    ¡°Oh!" Wang Shi Shi replied glumly. Brother Luo¡¯s answer had obviously been half-hearted. She hated when people treated her like a child, especially when the person doing it was Brother Luo.


    ¡°This group of giants has chosen a good ce to live, but there are two sides to everything. Although this ce is easy to hold and hard to attack, when one is overpowered, they are pretty much trapped. Unless they choose to jump off that cliff. You have to take care of all the giants thate down the cliff,¡± said Luo Yuan.


    ¡°Can we use our guns then?¡± Cao Lin said nervously.


    ¡°Yes, you can. Wait until the giants start to jump down, though. Then using a gun or not makes no difference anymore," said Luo Yuan after some thought. ¡°Well, let¡¯s get ready. I will attack in half a minute.¡±


    Suddenly, the group began to breathe fast. Their hearts were thumping non-stop, and their expressions had turned nervous. The adults looked better, because they had experienced something like this more than once. The children had turned pale, though.


    This time, no one paid any attention to them.


    Half a minute passed by in a sh. Luo Yuan took a deep breath, and then slowly exhaled. He picked up his Zhanmadao, crouched, and took a few steps before disappearing. Flexible as a cheetah, his steps were silent but unbelievably fast. He moved unhurriedly, although his speed was faster than the average sprinter. The distance was quickly reduced to mere inches, giving off an eerie feeling.


    Within a few breaths¡¯ time, Luo Yuan had disappeared towards the cliff.


    After a moment, a vague sound like a growl of pain was heard. It sounded unreal, as if it was just an illusion. Beasts could be heard growling from somewhere around the area too. Suddenly, the sound became more frequent, and the faint stench of blood filled the air gradually.


    One minute, two... Five...


    Apart from that resonating nauseating sound, there had been no other movement in the area. The group looked at each other, their initial anxiety gradually loosening up.


    Suddenly, a deafening roar was heard in the distance. Just as they¡¯d heard it though, it was quickly muffled, perhaps by Luo Yuan himself. It was already toote, though.


    Like a boiling pot of porridge, the whole cliff suddenly started to tremble. One by one, the giants gave out loud roars. From the depths of the cliff, giants could be seen rushing out. Soon, the passageway of the cliff was packed with them.


    The roars and snarling of the countless giants sounded like the low rumbling of thunder. From afar, the whole scene looked like thousands upon thousands of horses and soldiers.


    Intimidated by the sight, the group subconsciously started to retreat.


    Commander Xia, who had survived the apocalypse, had been observing the expression on everyone¡¯s faces. Realizing that their confidence had been affected, he shouted loudly, ¡°We have Luo Yuan! The giants will not be able to reach us. We will only need to handle the injured giants at worst.¡±


    Everyone rxed slightly, but their eyes were still fixed up ahead. The situation was indeed under control. The giants were arranged in a meandering line, as if they¡¯d been blocked by some invisible force. No matter how they charged at it, they were still beaten.


    Limbs were tossed in the air, blood spattered around, and the reflective ray of the sabre produced a rainbow-like image.


    One by one, the bodies of the giants fell heavily off the cliff, making a dull thud as theynded by the foot of the cliff.


    Luo Yuan¡¯s eyes were cold, and his face was expressionless. He looked a killing machine. There were several giants copsing on the ground every second.


    Along with his improving skills and increasing number of battles, his moves had also be smoother. He used less fancy tricks, and each execution was calcted by the shortest distance, maximizing the force of the attack. His style was sophisticated, perfectly fitting the ergonomics of the human body. His every move and attack was measured precisely, without the slightest error, waste or excessive use of strength. His attacksbined both strength and beauty. They were swift and fierce like a storm, yet flitting like lightning. One could barely catch a glimpse of them.


    In terms of his technique, the skill he had with his weapon had reached its peak. All he could do now was increase his strength and speed, as well as his spiritual power.


    The path excavated by the giants was about five to six meters wide, and could easily fit eight or nine giants walking side by side. The weapons they used varied. There were spears made with mutated beast teeth and stones as big as washing basins. Some giants were even holding tree logs as thick as thighs.


    Each passing minute, numerous weapons were being thrown at Luo Yuan, but each time there were giants copsing, one by one. Regardless of how loud they roared or how fiercely they attacked, they could not deter him.


    He even had some spare time to himself. While he was attacking, he was also kicking some of the bodies off the cliff to prevent them from piling up and blocking his way.


    The Earth was constantly replenishing his physical strength, so he was not feeling tired. Although the giants were brave and ferocious, and not afraid to defend themselves, their strength was nothing against his. Batch after batch of giants charged at him with an angry expression on their faces, but they were all easily torn apart before they dropped dead to the ground.


    A stream of blood mixed with crushed flesh, guts, and a disgusting foam had formed a pool and was seen slowly trickling down the path on the cliff. The strong stench of blood remained stagnant in the air.


    The killing spree had been going on for half an hour, but the number of giants had yet to reduce. They seemed to be endless. Luo Yuan gradually lost his patience and took a step back, retrieving a short spear from a fish-skin pocket and making a winding motion like the spine of a dragon. The next moment, a snapping sound was heard, and the air produced a sting sound as the short spear shot out like a sh of lightning.


    It instantly passed through the chest of a giant, leaving arge clear hole the size of a bowl in it. Then it went through a second one, a third one... The spear did not stop until it had gone through six giants.


    This spear was not same one that Luo Yuan had used during the day to blow off the targets. This one was made from blue level wood he had specifically looked for that afternoon. That kind of wood was extremely sturdy and aspact as steel. It had an incredible prating power, and was highly effective against lower and medium-sized beasts.


    Truth be told, the giants were not that weakpared to Luo Yuan. Plus, they were also armed. Their force could not match Luo Yuan¡¯s, though. That was because it was too crude. They were still using brute force, and could not even bepared to the average athlete.


    In contrast, Luo Yuan unleashed force from his entire body, from his toes to his waist and his fingertips. Even his idle left hand was moving in harmony with the rest of his body. Eighty percent of his body¡¯s muscles were working simultaneously, so his power could be unleashed fast and almost twice as hard as the giants¡¯.


    Luo Yuan¡¯s speed did not falter after the first shot. His hand was almost a blur by now. Shots were released from his hands one after the other like an automaton cannon. His killing efficiency had doubled fast, the giants falling and copsing in rows.


    In just a few seconds, the space ahead had been cleared up. Numerous giants could be seen copsing to the ground, struggling and moaning as their eyes filled with fear and despair.


    It was aplete massacre. Their fear of death and the huge casualties had finally brought the downfall of the giants. In a moment of despair, realizing they had no way to escape, some of the giants panicked and jumped off the cliff,nding heavily on the ground below and letting out deafening cries.


    Luo Yuan was forty to fifty meters above. Although the giant¡¯s build could allow them to survive the jump, the fall would still cause some serious injuries to them. Plus, there was still Wang Shishi and the others down there, so none of them would be able to escape.


    It wasplete chaos.

 Chapter 218: Curse

    Chapter 218: Curse


    Trantor: Insignia Editor: Svjohn


    The giants fell to the ground and quickly ran away from Luo Yuan in fear. Those giants who fought had been killed by Luo Yuan, and the cowardly ones that had been left were trying to escape. Unfortunately, they were like rats in a small container. There was nowhere they could go.


    In fact, the giants were quite simr to human beings. Maybe they were a new version of homo sapiens. In the end however, most of them were begging for mercy.


    However, Luo Yuan did not reserve any kind of sympathy for those creatures. Mission requirement aside, Luo Yuan could not neglect the fact that they were a group of intelligent creatures. Human beings could not allow them to exist on the Earth. Humans would not allow any creatures that could potentially threaten their status to survive. Their surrender had only sped up their death.


    Luo Yuan was covered in a thickyer of blood. His hair had been stuck in knots and none of them could see him clearly. Dark red blood was dripping along his hair, making him look like he¡¯d tripped and fallen into a puddle of blood. His Zhanmadao was still shiny and free of any blood stains, though. There were corpses all over the ground, some of them still moaning. Luo Yuan walked along the passage on the cliff and stabbed a few of them who were still alive.


    The battle hadsted for more than an hour. He massaged his forehead, feeling mentally tired. He suddenly realized something was wrong. He realized he was feeling very frustrated after killing them. It was very difficult for him to focus. Sometimes, he even had hallucinations. He¡¯d even had some when the giants had surrendered. Their fear and entreat had made him feel ufortable.


    It was not that bad when he was fighting, because he was focused on something critical at the time, but it was terrible once he was in a rxed state. It had not stopped yet. Luo Yuan knew something strange had to be happening inside his body. It felt like there was a form of energy causing changes to his soul. He leaned against the wall of the cliff and closed his eyes slightly to rest. After a while, he opened his eyes, looking very serious.


    He realized he could not concentrate his Will anymore. He was too distracted by hallucinations whenever he attempted to concentrate. He took deep breaths repeatedly to calm himself down, but to no avail. He could not focus his mind. All his thoughts were confusing him. He felt worse than he had before he had discovered his Will.


    He massaged his forehead, feeling annoyed. Subconsciously, he recalled something weird about the giants with the strange drawings on their bodies. Their physique had been normal and they¡¯d looked skinny, but there had been many essories on their bodies. Apparently, they¡¯d had some kind of hierarchy in their vige.


    As he looked at the corpses on the ground, he suddenly thought of something. "Oh, sh*t! Did they cast a spell on me?" Shocked, he realized there was a high possibility of that. Perhaps he would not have believed in such superstitions a long time ago, but he had begun to believe ever since he¡¯d realized mysterious things like the power of Will existed.


    In fact, he himself possessed the power of killing, unlike the animals nearby, who just tried their best to escape, but instead fell to the ground or died whenever he concentrated his Will.


    Those giants had not been like normal mutated beasts. They¡¯d been a group of intelligent creatures. Their Will had been strong, and they¡¯d probably had some kind of special mental power. Perhaps they had not been usually able to concentrate their Will, but had been able to concentrate it for a short time when it was the most powerful. Thus, it would note as a surprise if they¡¯d cast a spell on him.


    He could only me himself for getting cursed, He had been too careless and had underestimated them after all. Fortunately, his Will was strong enough to control himself, otherwise, he might have copsed or died.


    Although Luo Yuan spected that he had been cursed, he did not actually care much about it. He refused to continue thinking about it, and he just ignored the hallucinations. The spell would fade in time anyway, and his Will would get stronger.


    He looked through every single cave and found a few giants hiding there. Most of them were still young. He killed them all and quickly walked down the pathway after checking onest time.


    Most of the giants who had jumped off the cliff have been killed by Luo Yuan¡¯s team or died onnding. Considering that they weighed about 500 kilos, their bones would definitely have gotten fractured after jumping down from 40-50 meters high.


    It had been very easy for his team to kill them. Luo Yuan even saw a few of the kids soaked in blood. Apparently, they had helped kill the giants as well. Their expressions reminded him of African Scouts.


    ¡°We can¡¯t take care of them forever. It¡¯s hard times, and it¡¯s time for them to learn.¡± Commander Xia said quickly as he noticed Luo Yuan looking at the kids.


    Luo Yuan looked very serious. He had just finished killing numerous giants, and his expression made most of them feel terrified.


    ¡°It¡¯s good to see some blood.¡± Luo Yuan nodded. He did not really care. He believed that the strong would survive and the weak would be eliminated. Everyone had to adapt to the new reality if they wanted to stay alive.


    ¡°Brother Luo, do you want to clean the battlefield?¡± Huo Dong suggested with a smile. ¡°This is a ce where intelligent creatures lived. It¡¯s a very rare sight. Who knows, maybe we¡¯ll find something amazing.¡±


    ¡°Your call, but don¡¯t expect too much out of it. Be here in 30 minutes and we will return to the base,¡± Luo Yuan said.


    He had checked all the caves, but he had not found anything valuable except for wooden art craft. The most valuable things had been some leathers and oracles, but their quality had been rtively bad.


    "Let¡¯s go and discover a different civilization! We might get some surprises!" Huo Dong tried to motivate them when he saw no one respond.


    ¡°I¡¯m sure it¡¯s just corpses. I¡¯m out.¡± If Huang Jiahui felt disgusted by the smell of blood there, she was sure she was not going to enjoy what was up in the caves.


    ¡°I¡¯m out, too! Yuck!¡± Wang Shishi said arrogantly.


    Huo Dong felt awkward as he realized no one was willing to join him.


    Suddenly, he suggested, ¡°Actually we don¡¯t have to check out the caves. There must be a river nearby if so many giants were living here.¡±


    What he said made sense. ¡°The river should be quite near. It would have been too dangerous for them to travel far away.¡±


    Everyone suddenly felt delighted. ¡°You¡¯re right. There were a lot of them, so the water supply for their daily use must have been quite big. They would have already died if they hadn¡¯t had a steady water supply.¡±

 Chapter 219: Wisdom Tree

    Chapter 219: Wisdom Tree


    Trantor: Insignia Editor: Svjohn


    The hot weather made everyone sweat all the time, and there were so many of them that water consumption was tremendous. It was almost five to six times higher than usual. Although they had collected a few drops before by using leaves, the amount was limited and the process was very time-consuming. Plus, that water was only sufficient for survival, not for daily use.


    The high temperature made everyone very ufortable when they did not shower for a whole day. If anyone fell sick under those conditions, he or she would have to struggle to survive. It was very risky and unreliable to collect water that way. If there was any strong wind at night, or the leaves were destroyed by mutated beasts, it would be a disaster. Finding a steady source of water had be the biggest problem the team was facing.


    This time, even Luo Yuan had lost his patience. While he was walking around, he was also sniffing the air, carefully analyzing the moisture level in it. Humid air often carried a mist while dry air smelled of soil. Considering his powerful skill, it was not difficult for Luo Yuan to tell if there was mist in the air or somewhere in the distance.


    He closed his eyes, followed the airflow that contained the most concentration of humidity, and listened. Everyone looked at Luo Yuan¡¯s strange actions and expression, but no one dared disturb him. That was the first time Luo Yuan had showed his Sensory Perception skill in public. Luo Yuan was very concentrated. Even if there had been a system notification then, he would have promptly ignored it.


    "The water source should be somewhere around here. I seem to hear the sound of water!" Luo Yuan shouted loudly as he suddenly opened his eyes. His whole face had lightened up.


    He walked towards the cliff up ahead right away, everyone quickly following him. After walking along the cliff for about one hundred meters, everyone could vaguely hear the sound of flowing water. The sound was indistinct. If they didn¡¯t pay close attention, they could hardly hear it. They suddenly realized that the gap between Luo Yuan and themselves was huge. Normal people could hardly hear if someone was shouting from a hundred meters away, let alone be able to hear the soft sound of flowing water.


    They continued to walk for another ten meters. The sound of the water was getting louder. Some of them could already see the pond in the reflection of the moonlight.


    Spring water was flowing out from half a meter high from the cliff into the pond. The pond was not big. It was about three to four square feet, but the water kept flowing, and it looked very clean and clear.


    "Spring water! That¡¯s great!" Cao Lin shouted in surprise. She seemed to lose control of her emotions as her body trembled slightly.


    "It¡¯s so clean! I think it must be sweet," Zhao Yali said, also looking excited.


    These days, after the exhaustion of all water sources near the camp, everyone had been drinking sewage. When they mixed it with the soup, it was almost edible, but when they drank it directly, the water mixed with the odor of corpses and soil and tasted really disgusting. When they saw the crystal clear spring water, they were all ecstatic.


    Even Mu Wenwen, who never expressed many emotions and always lived in her own world, couldn¡¯t hide her joy and smile. The moment she expressed her feelings, the mysterious power surrounding her somehow broke. Several people looked at her subconsciously, stunned by her beauty. All this while, no one had noticed what a stunning woman Mu Wenwen was. She was slightly shocked, and seemed ufortable with the attention she was getting from everyone. She quickly changed back to her normal, expressionless face. Several of them remained stunned for a while, but were quickly distracted by something else. Luo Yuan was also distracted by this mysterious power. Suddenly, he switched his focus and saw a ck shadow somewhere in the distance. He was both shocked and surprised.


    It was a tree.


    It was an unusual sight considering that the giants had cut all the trees near their home. There had been nothing left except for some grass, so seeing a lone tree about seventy to eighty meters away was an eye-catching sight.


    The roots of the tree were thick and bulky. Most of them were exposed, and they were knotted with each other, forming the shape of a ball. They looked just like giant cobras tangled together. When Luo Yuan looked through the gap between the roots, he realized it was actually growing on a ten-meter high rock. As the roots grew, the rock cracked, but it still managed to maintain its original shape, because the roots were keeping it together.


    Compared to the tree¡¯s huge roots, its trunk was rtively small. It was about eight to nine meters high with sparse leaves, and there were several pieces of fruit hanging on its branches. After the end of the world, most nts had mutated and rarely reproduced anymore, so Luo Yuan felt curious when he saw the fruit on that tree.


    "Everyone stay here. Let me go and take a look,¡± he said.


    Apparently, it was not a normal mutated nt. He could see many bones scattered around its roots, looking creepy under the moonlight. He told Huang Jiahui and the others about what he had just seen and warned them not to go any closer, no matter what happened. Then he took the Zhanmadao with him and walked towards the tree.


    He stopped at a spot seven to eight meters away from it. The area in front of him was full of bones. Most of them were bones of mutated beasts, there were also some bones that belonged to giants. This tree looked too mysterious. Other than its roots, its trunk was also in a weird shape. It was greatly distorted, as if the entire trunk had been wrung like a towel into a spiral shape.


    Although the tree did not seem dangerous, Luo Yuan did not go closer. The nature of nts made mutated trees the most patient hunters. Most of the time, they looked just like normal nts, but when they hunted, they showed their ugliest side.


    Luo Yuan used his mind to exude a strong force field. The air seemed to have solidified, and the entire area felt oppressive. While he exuded the force field, he carefully observed the tree.


    When the de of the Zhanmadao had advanced to expert level, his momentum had gotten quite strong. Even light green level mutated beasts would have been shocked by it, but the tree didn¡¯t move. It looked just like a normal nt.


    Luo Yuan still had his doubts. He hesitated for a while before he started walking forward slowly. The bones under his foot were very fragile, and they produced a breaking sound as he stepped on them.


    His Sensory Perception was like a radar, scanning everything around him, including the tree¡¯s roots under the ground. He held the handle of the sabre tight and tensed up his muscles. His every step generated force. If the tree attacked him, he would be ready to fight back.


    Still, he was getting more doubtful as he got closer. All indications showed that the tree was harmless to humans and animals. Even when he stood in front of it and touched its trunk, the tree still did not react.


    "If this tree is really a normal nt, howe there are so many bones here?" Luo Yuan picked up a bone gently, but it was too fragile to break. "These bones are too fragile. Even a wooden stick before the mutation outbreak would have been stronger than this. Apparently, all nutrition inside it must have been lost."


    Luo Yuan used the Zhanmadao to cut down a palm-sized piece of bark from the tree. A blood-like liquid slowly flowed out while an unusual aroma spread out gradually.


    He picked up the tree bark and performed identification on it.


    "Wisdom Bark"


    "Rarity: Blue"


    ¡°Weight: 300g¡±


    "Properties: None"


    "Additional Abilities: None"


    "Remarks: This is a rare piece of Wisdom Tree bark. There is Knowledge in every wild Wisdom Tree, whose value cannot be measured. This piece of tree bark is most likely a good sample. "


    Luo Yuan was startled for a while. When he came back to his senses, he looked up at the fruit and brought one down to perform identification on it.


    "Wisdom Fruit"


    "Rarity: Blue"


    ¡°Weight: 100g¡±


    "Properties: None"


    "Additional Abilities: Wisdom Generation"


    "Remarks: This is a rare Wisdom Tree fruit that can slightly stimte brain development to generate wisdom. Valid for creatures with Intelligence level under 11.¡±


    His face darkened, and he felt heavy-hearted.


    "Why is there such a mutated tree? And this fruit? Is it natural evolution, or has it been deliberately arranged by some mysterious force?"


    In fact, Luo Yuan had always had a feeling that this mutation outbreak had been targeting mankind. Animals, insects, even nts could evolve. Only humans were unable to. It felt like there was some mysterious force trying to suppress or eliminate mankind.


    From a biological perspective, humans and other creatures were not that different. Even mice were 80% gically identical to humans and shared 99% of the same genes with them. When it came to primates, their genes were almost exactly the same as humans¡¯.


    Those days, though, primates could evolve while humans were still pretty much the same. Only a handful of individuals had been able to evolve by consuming the flesh and blood of other mutated beasts and unlocking their powers. Reality was too cruel. Mankind seemed to have been forgotten by nature. There was no evolution. All they could do was just struggle to survive.


    "I¡¯m afraid that this is being arranged by some mysterious force. Their purpose must be to support another race and rece humans," Luo Yuan thought doubtfully.


    He looked at the fruit in his hand as if it was evil. He pressed and pinched it until pink pulp was flying everywhere. The air suddenly filled with a seductive fragrance. Luo Yuan looked at the tall Wisdom Tree again before he shed out his Zhanmadao and started chopping it.


    Things had changed.


    As time passed slowly, he stood there like a stone without moving. Eventually, he slowly put the sabre back into its sheath and looked at the corpses on the ground.

 Chapter 220: Illusion and Hypnosis

    Chapter 220: Illusion and Hypnosis


    Trantor: Insignia Editor: Svjohn


    The sun slowly rose in the horizon and the fog lifted in the forest. A new day had begun.


    On a piece of open grasnd, a gigantic monster was holding a giant corpse in its mouth, walking towards the strange tree. The area around the tree was full of corpses. They were piling up like a hill, covering almost the whole tree.


    These corpses were nothing. There were even more bodies by the entrance of the cliff, waiting for the monster to move them.


    The high intensity and repetitive activity together with the high volume of the corpses were already making the violent monster impatient. asionally, it would do something to release its frustration, like tear the dead bodies apart and swallow them down to its stomach.


    Of course, it would not do that frequently. Most of the time, it was very well-behaved and carried out its daily job carefully. It had had a few bloody lessons before, but its horrible owner was not there at the moment.


    Sometimes, when the monster dropped the corpses on the ground, it would stare at the fruit on the tree as if there was something attractive about them, but it never went near them.


    The soil around the strange tree had been soaked deeply by the blood of the corpses, and the air was filled with the strong smell of blood. Some kind of translucent silk like mycelium seemed to have been awakened by the bloody smell. Since three in the morning, they had started to stretch out from the roots of the tree and wrap tightly around the corpses.


    When the silk-like mycelium started to eat the corpses, the thread on the trunk crept slightly in yellow and purple colors. From afar, it looked like the trunk was rotating.


    Inside a cave, somewhere in the middle of the cliff, there was a heavy snoring sound that sounded like it was being yed by an orchestra.


    After being busy the whole night, everyone was exhausted and had fallen asleep early.


    There was nothing much to do early in the night, but they started to get busyter. They needed to clean up their new camp and throw all the giants¡¯ corpses down from the passage of the cliff.


    In such hot weather, if they were to leave the corpses unattended, they would get smelly and rotten and attract a variety of insects and parasites. No one wanted to sleep near smelly, rotten corpses in their new camp.


    The giants were not light by any means. They were about five to six meters tall and really burly. Each of them weighed almost a ton, so it was impossible for just one person to move a body. It took at least two or more people to even push one.


    When all their hard work was over, everyone waspletely exhausted. As soon as they were done cleaning up the corpses, they immediately fell asleep. Even Luo Yuan, who had a superhuman physique, felt a little tired. However, instead of going to sleep, he opened up the system log.


    "Current Mission: D Level Special Mission: Destroy the Giant Tribe and kill all intelligent creatures in it.¡±


    ¡°Note: This is a special task. The actual difficulty has been decreased by one level.¡±


    ¡°Time Limit: None¡±


    ¡°Task Status: Completed¡±


    ¡°Evaluation: Excellent"


    ¡°Name: Luo Yuan¡±


    ¡°Completion: 100%¡±


    ¡°Basic Experience Bonus + 9,600 * 100%¡±


    ¡°Rating: Excellent, Experience + 9,600 * 100%¡±


    ¡°Experience: 5,520/153,600¡±


    ¡°Battle Beast: Giant Lizard¡±


    ¡°Completion: 0%¡±


    ¡°Basic Experience Bonus + 9,600 * 0%¡±


    ¡°Rating: None, Experience + 4,800 * 0¡±


    ¡°Experience: 1,140/19,200¡±


    ¡°You have upgraded!¡±


    Luo Yuan was stunned for a while. He was both happy and surprised. He had not expected an upgrade, but two consecutive, perfectlypleted D-level tasks had increased his experience and led directly to one. It was a pleasant surprise that even lightened the burden of the curse he had suffered.


    He hastened to open the properties panel and look at the extra attribute point and five skill points. He could not help butugh. It took him five whole minutes to calm down.


    When he finally did, he closed his eyes and scowled, his face looking slightly serious.


    ¡°In the past, whenever I upgraded, I did not seem to cause me such a big mental fluctuation. It seems like the existence of the curse is greatly affecting my Will. A part of my Will is being restricted by the curse, and once there is a trigger, my emotions get out of control."


    ¡°This issue cannot be ignored anymore. It should be resolved as soon as possible, otherwise I might end up doing something shameful in the future.¡± Luo Yuan¡¯s expression darkened as he imagined a scene where he humiliated himself in front of everyone and lost his prestige.


    He tried to stay calm and opened up the properties panel again. He looked at all the properties, but they seemed to be fairly distributed. Other than the bonus of the "Earth Stomp" and the "Heart of the Ghost Tree", his Strength, Dexterity and Physique were all 14 points. On the sub-property front, other than his Will, which was 15 points, all other properties were at 13 points. However, that was not a big issue. He already had his own ns for Intelligence. Perhaps there would be a breakthrough after that round.


    What he couldn¡¯t decide was whether to allocate his extra point to Dexterity or Will.


    Considering that he was cursed, if he allocated the point to Will, the curse would be suppressed or even dissipated. However, Will was already a very high property, and he always improved it with his personal breakthroughs.


    Thus, it seemed a bit of a waste to allocate that point to Will.


    "I would rather spend some more time cursed. If I¡¯m able to kill so many creatures, I don¡¯t believe I won¡¯t be able to break a curse." Luo Yuan smiled as he made a decision.


    He upgraded Dexterity to 15 points.


    As his body heat quickly subsided, he slowly opened his eyes. His surroundings had be more quiet. Even the sound of snoring seemed like a melody. The world suddenly seemed to move half a beat slower, as if he had entered a faster time dimension.


    He opened his palm to feel the air, and it somehow felt in closer contact with his skin. He could clearly sense that it was harder than before. It had a flowing texture to it as he squeezed slightly, letting it scatter from his fingers and fly everywhere. He suddenly seemed to be able to catch it, so that¡¯s exactly what he did.


    He clenched his fist, producing a popping sound. The air around his fist felt agitated and turbulent, as if it had just exploded because of his pinch.


    His 15-point Dexterity was 7.5 times higher than ordinary people¡¯s, The average person walked 7.5 times slower. All physical phenomena in that time dimension began to reveal their essence to him. It was as if Luo Yuan was watching a film. Everything was demonstrated in front of him in a more realistic and clear manner.


    He stood up and walked out of the cave. He did not realize that his speed was already the equivalent of an ordinary person¡¯s jogging speed.


    The world outside seemed a little strange. Dust fell slowly in front of him, the branches shook slightly in the breeze, and the thick air that surrounded him made him feel like he had jumped out of the world and was looking at everything as an outsider.


    Obviously, he would need some time to get used to the side-effects of his high Dexterity. This time the effects were stronger, so it would be even more difficult to adjust than before.


    Once Luo Yuan had slightly adapted to the feeling of his high Dexterity, he started to n how to lift the curse.


    He sat cross-legged, his eyes slightly closed, trying to get his mind to calm downpletely.


    However, even these simple actions seemed particrly difficult for him now. The curse caused all sorts of horrible hallucinations to form in his mind whenever he closed his eyes.


    Dying people screaming, ming gazes, ferocious roars... All kinds of horrible images appeared one after the other. Of course, those things had no big impact on Luo Yuan, but they seriously interfered with his peace of mind. He felt just like a man who was ready to fall asleep, but was suddenly awoken by a high pitch speaker ying beside his ears.


    Luo Yuan tried to calm down for a long time, but failed and ended up getting even more upset. If he took it too lightly, he could probably shield himself from external interferences, but the curse was deeply nted inside his soul, so calming down was not as easy as he¡¯d originally thought.


    He stood up and walked back and forth for a while. When he started to calm down, he sat down crossed-leg once again.


    He knew that this was a fight against his own spirit and Will. If he gave up, he would also lose the fight.


    He thought for a moment, but this time he did not rush. Instead, he amused himself by watching his hallucinations.


    He found that the hallucinations caused by the curse were very simple. They were mostly short-screen, the picture rather blurred and fleeting. Of course, there were also longer scenes and pictures that were rtively clear. Apparently, human Will got stronger when humans were about to die.


    The longest hallucinationsted no more than a second before it changed quickly to another one.


    In less than ten minutes, Luo Yuan had already watched them all. When he was finished, he went on to watch them a second time, a third one, a fourth one...


    Every time he watched them very carefully. By the fifth time, he had already figured out the underlyingw of these hallucinations and was able to memorize the sequence and content of each scene.


    He found that the effect of the curse was actually quite mechanical and rigid, like some sort of standard procedure.


    If the human brain was aputer, then the curse would be the virus overloading theputer. If the virus burned the motherboard, theputer, or in this case the human, would die. If the virus caused a system crash, then the human would be driven to madness. Even the smallest impact would slow down the speed of theputer and affect its performance. Luckily, Luo Yuan was strong, so he was only suffering a decline in his performance.


    He opened his eyes to rest for a while before he continued watching the hallucinations.


    He watched them a fifth time, a sixth time, a seventh time... It was like entering a magical world. He kept watching the scenes carefully, even after he had memorized them and was able to describe them in detail.


    He was getting tired, an indescribable boredom rising from the bottom of his heart.


    He did not want to watch anymore.


    The hallucinations were still ying in his mind, but he was too familiar with every scene and detail. It felt like he was being hypnotized. He was able to ignore them now. There was no fluctuation in his mind anymore, he had calmed downpletely.


    He had finally achieved peace of mind.

 Chapter 221: The Bird

    Chapter 221: The Bird


    Trantor: Insignia Editor: Svjohn


    Luo Yuan was surprised that he had made it. He was overjoyed, but he managed to calm down fast. He tried to concentrate his Will, but it was difficult for him because too many thoughts were creeping into his mind.


    Suddenly, there was a conflict between the hallucinations and the curse that made him feel as if his soul was exploding.


    Luo Yuan tried to resist it for a few seconds, but he failed and withdrew from his meditating state. He opened his eyes and gasped. When he closed them again to investigate though, he realized he had consumed a lot of his energy and the hallucinations were already fading.


    Luo Yuan thought he might need to do the same thing five or six more times in order to get rid of the curse. Perhaps it would even take a shorter time, because as the hallucinations faded, he could release a more powerful version of his Will.


    Just as he was about to continue his self-treatment, he heard a roaring sound.


    Luo Yuan had no time to think. He just grabbed his Zhanmadao and disappeared into the cave. He thought the sky looked strange as he walked out of the corridor and saw two giant green birds lingering in the sky. Their huge wings seemed to be covering the entire sky.


    The awful smell of blood and corpses had attracted the mutated beasts. There were two of them. The giant lizard looked tense and kept roaring and jumping, trying to hop or catch the birds. However, Luo Yuan knew the giant lizard well enough to know that the birds were definitely more powerful. They were able to fly after all.


    ¡°Their target has to be the corpses of the giants. We are not necessarily in danger. There are too many corpses here, though. What are we supposed to do if theye back every day? Besides, there are two pieces of wisdom fruit around. We will definitely be in danger if they eat it,¡± Luo Yuan thought.


    The mutated birds had been lingering for a long time and they seemed to be losing their patience. The bigger one suddenly shrieked, producing a high-pitch sound.


    The smaller one was still flying in the sky, looking extremely alert. Suddenly, the bigger bird pulled its wings to its sides and rushed down from the sky like an arrow released from the bow. It was obviously going for the corpses, but it had not noticed that there was a tiny shadow jumping off the cliff while it was still flying in the sky.


    "Damn it!" After jumping, Luo Yuan realized he could not concentrate his Will enough to slow down the movement of the air like he¡¯d used to.


    He quickly nced around him, trying to find something he could grab onto. He could not find anything, not even a piece of vine. There were about 60-70 meters between the ce he¡¯d jumped from and the ground. Even an iron disc would get disfigured uponnding.


    ¡°I will survive, I guess. If I don¡¯t, it will definitely be a very stupid way to die,¡± heughed at himself.


    The wind was blowing his way as he got closer to the ground. Luo Yuan, however, did not seem panicked.


    He realized hisnding speed was not that fast, and he seemed to be able to react fast.


    Ten more meters...


    He took a deep breath and adjusted his body so he couldnd vertically.


    Five meters...


    He extended his body and stretched his feet, bending his knees.


    One meter...


    Both his hands covered his head as he rxed his body muscles. Suddenly, an intense force hit his feet, and he immediately pulled them back. The force traveled to his knees, his waist and the rest of his body. He used his muscles to resist against the force, rolling several times on the ground and quickly got up and ran. He had not gotten hurt at all.


    Ever since his Dexterity had been upgraded to 15 points, he could run faster than ever. He was as fast as a train. Even the grass shook when he passed by. He could run 100 meters in just a couple of breaths.


    At the same time, the giant birdnded on the ground, its ws stabbing into the chest of one of the corpses. It was about to fly away when suddenly Luo Yuan¡¯s legs showed immense strength. He took a big leap, up to seven meters high, and quickly grabbed his spear and threw it towards the giant green bird.


    Both the spear and the chest of the bird were damaged. There was a very big hole on the creature¡¯s chest, and Luo Yuan could hear a bone-cracking sounding from the bird. It seemed like a very serious injury that could possibly lead to death.


    The bird moaned in pain and copsed on the ground hopelessly.


    The giant lizard, which had stepped back earlier, quickly rushed towards the bird and bit its neck. After a few seconds, the head and body of the bird had been split into two. The giant lizard took the bird¡¯s head and ran towards Luo Yuan. It looked like it was trying to ask for a treat for its contribution.


    The birds must have been a couple. The second one was trying toe down and save itspanion, but it flew back into the sky when the giant lizard split its partner into two.


    ¡°How stupid! I could have killed both of them!¡± Luo Yuan was mad at the lizard.


    However, when he looked at it, he realized he should not me it. It had been working quite hard recently after all, and to be fair, it was not as smart as a human.


    He raised his chin and looked up at the sky. The second bird was still lingering there, moaning in grief. It was still there even after an hour.


    Luo Yuan became furious. He knew mutated beasts took revenge, but he wished the bird had gotten its lesson, otherwise he would be in trouble in the future. It would be definitely dangerous if the bird saw him as an enemy. Actually, Luo Yuan was not afraid of the bird, but he was worried about the safety of his team members.

 Chapter 222: Salt Ores

    Chapter 222: Salt Ores


    Trantor: Insignia Editor: Svjohn


    The loud noise had woken everyone up. They quickly grabbed their weapons and rushed up to Luo Yuan. None of them felt calm when they saw the giant green bird, which was still lingering in the sky.


    ¡°What happened?¡± Huang Jiahui asked as she looked at the bird.


    ¡°I¡¯m in trouble, I killed its mate,¡± Luo Yuan told her honestly. Then he added with a very serious expression, "We have to be careful the next few days. I¡¯m worried the bird might attack us."


    Every once in a while, the bird blocked the sun with its wings as it flew in a specific pattern. The strong wind made everyone feel stressed and anxious.


    ¡°Brother Luo, do you have a solution for this?¡± Huo Dong asked carefully.


    ¡°I could kill it, but I can¡¯t do it as long as it stays in the sky.¡± Luo Yuan stopped talking for a second before he added, ¡°We could lure it down.¡±


    Perhaps the strange giant bird had been lingering around for too long and had finally lost its patience, because it suddenly lowered its entire body close to the ground and moved its wings vigorously. A very strong gust of wind was produced, and the whole area looked like it was being attacked by a typhoon. Everyone felt ufortable opening their eyes as sand and stones flew in the air.


    Just as Luo Yuan thought the giant bird was about to attack them, it suddenly flew away, turned to a tiny spot in the sky, and disappeared.


    "Finally, it went away!" Cao Lin sighed in relief.


    ¡°It can¡¯t be that easy. Like Brother Luo said, most mutants have a strong revenge instinct. Although they escape when they get injured, theye back for revenge when they recover,¡± Commander Xia said.


    ¡°Worst case scenario, we¡¯ll have to fight a big group of mutants. Some high-level mutated beasts live in groups. Please be alert. It¡¯ll be crucial in the next few days," Commander Xia said with a very serious expression.


    Although he was not physically strong, he was the most experienced frontlinemander among them.


    Luo Yuan nodded and said, "You¡¯re absolutely right. Although the possibility is low, we should always assume the worst. Please avoid going out in the uing days. Get enough water and food in advance."


    Luo Yuan never underestimated the intelligence of mutated beasts. They could always do something far beyond human expectation. Plus, as long as there was something like the Wisdom Tree in the world, Luo Yuan could not ensure that humans were more intelligent than mutants.


    Although the giant bird was about 30 meters wide when it extended both its wings, it only weighed about a couple of tons, which was about the same weight as a giant. That was the weakness of the birdspared tond animals.


    The dead bird was carried away after being chopped into numerous pieces by Luo Yuan. Luo Yuan found out it was a light green mutated beast after using identification on it. That was the first time he had collected so many high-quality feathers.


    The system seemed to be no longer attracted to that level of creature, because Luo Yuan had not heard a single beep from it. He smiled awkwardly as he realized it would be really difficult for him to upgrade now.


    Everyone was exhausted, but they knew it was very important to stay alert in the forest.


    After carrying the carcass of the giant bird, they went to the pond nearby to take water, and then poured it into the big pit the giants had dug inside the cave.


    They had enough firewood, because the giants had kept a lot stored inside the cave. The firewood was all dried up because of the hot weather, but the supply they had would be enough to sustain them until they died if they only used it for cooking.


    They had gathered everything they needed in just two hours¡¯ time. Their supplies couldst them for half a month. None of them felt uneasy, although everyone had gone through a very difficult time. Someone living in a peaceful world would never understand how much those people had struggled to stay alive during the end of the world. It was a situation that made everyone feel extremely insecure.


    Their ultimate goal was to protect themselves whenever there was something strange happening. They had already gotten used to that kind of lifestyle, and those who had not been able to adapt had died.


    Luo Yuan was the only one in the mood to look around their new home. The cave was huge. It was obvious that many giants had been living inside it.


    It was actually the biggest cave on the cliff. Apparently, the giants who had been staying there must have had a higher status than the rest. The cave was six meters tall, and its surface area was about 1,000 square meters, and was supported by 24 three-meter diameter pirs.


    There were many signs of digging and marks made by axes or other kinds of weapons. It was unbelievable that those giants, who had been born less than two years ago, had been able to build such an amazing home.


    There was some scribblings on the wall that might have been an ancientnguage or just a bunch of unfamiliar signs. None of them could understand what it was exactly, and none of them were interested in finding out.


    Other than that, Luo Yuan found lots of ancient tools made of wood and stones, as well as a few animal teeth. Most of them were from the light green level beasts, so they did not attract his attention. Unlike modern humans, that primitive civilization did not show any specialty in anything.


    ¡°Hey, look! What¡¯s this?¡± Wang Xiaguang suddenly said.


    Luo Yuan quickly walked over to her. It was a grayish rock with numerous crystals. One of its sides was smooth and shiny. Wang Xiaguang had already knocked on it with her knife before Luo Yuan could identify it. She picked up the tiny grayish rock and put it into her mouth after licking it.


    ¡°Gosh! Take it out! Are you crazy?¡± Luo Yuan was in panic as he quickly pressed on her mouth to push the crystal out.


    ¡°Let go, you¡¯re hurting me! It¡¯s salty! It¡¯s just salt!¡± Wang Xiaguang was struggling, but she refused to puke the rock out. Luo Yuan had not really used much force on her.


    ¡°What? Salt?¡± Luo Yuan said.


    He quickly squatted down and used identification.


    "A salt ore, also known as rock salt."


    ¡°Ingredients: Sodium Chloride 70%, Magnesium Chloride 15%, Calcium Chloride 11%, Calcium Carbonate 3%.¡±


    ¡°Remarks: This is a big impure rock of salt.¡±


    Some of them had already taken a piece and stuffed it into their mouths. Huang Jiahui was also one of them, even though she was usually very alert. Their actions made Luo Yuan want to try it as well.


    They had run out of salt almost a week ago. They used to get salt by drinking mutated beast blood. However, the hot weather had been making them sweat a lot and lose all the sodium in their bodies. Some of them were dehydrated and eager for salt.


    It was normal for them to behave like that upon finally finding some. They were like beggars with a loaf of bread after starving for a few days. Luo Yuan was the only one who could still control himself because he hardly sweated.

 Chapter 223: Private Training

    Chapter 223: Private Training


    Trantor: Insignia Editor:


    Without being properly purified and refined, rock salt tasted awful! It was very bitter once the salt melted in the oral cavity. They were excited to try it at first but very soon no one wanted to consume it anymore. In the afternoon, they began to start a fire for cooking. They grounded the rock salt into tiny pieces and cooked it in boiling water.


    Most of them in the group had gone to high school before and had acquired basic knowledge on the salt purification process during their? chemistry experiments. Although some did not remember the exact procedures, everyone contributed their knowledge and memory to get it done. Ayer of white salt appeared in front of them after repeated filtration and crystallization. They carefully moved the white salt into a stone bowl.


    The group was very excited with their small achievement and continued to cook until the sky turned dark. There was about 20 kg of salt made at the end of the day, which couldst for a very long time. Despite all that cooking, there was still a big piece of unprocessed rock salt leftover which could possiblyst for 4-5 years if they cooked and processed it into white salt.


    The weird giant bird did not appear throughout the day. Everyone felt relieved and they convinced themselves that the giant bird had learned not to mess with them from its dead partner.


    After having a simple dinner, Luo Yuan tried to break the curse again and hoped to release his will once more. His will is too vital for him as it ys a very important role in generating his powers. His attacking and defensive abilities would decline if he could not gather his will and that will put them in a more dangerous situation, especially in the jungle.


    Luo Yuan woke up before dawn the next day feeling slightly exhausted. He only managed to enter a meditative state once over the entire night. The only positive thing was that the curse was getting weaker and the illusions were slowly fading. Based on his own estimations, the curse would be broken naturally in another three to four days. He then looked at his watch and realized there was about two to three hours to sunrise, however, he did not feel sleepy at all as his 14-points physique was well rested. He then decided to get up.


    "Ahh!!! Who is that?" Zhao Yali was frightened as she saw a shadow nearby. She was in a simple outfit with one of her snowy white shoulders exposed. Her small mouth was slightly opened and Luo Yuan was captivated by her juicy pink lips.


    "It¡¯s me!" Luo Yuan quickly replied. She could not see him as she could not see much in the dark.


    "Why are you still awake?" Luo Yuan asked.


    "You scared me! I was wondering who it could be." Zhao Yali felt relieved as she recognized his voice. She then said, "I couldn¡¯t sleep."


    She hardly addresses him as "Little Yuan" anymore as she could not interact with him like how she used to.


    "Since we can¡¯t sleep, let¡¯s talk then." Luo Yuan said.


    "About what?" Zhao Yali asked as she felt a bit uneasy.


    "Anything." Luo Yuan thought and continued, "Let¡¯s talk about your life before this."


    Zhao Yali remained silent and the atmosphere became a bit awkward, however, she was not a tough person and hence she could not really hate a person. She was happy as she saw Luo Yuan stand awkwardly and shyly - especially since he is such a strong and well-respected person now.


    Zhao Yali was trying to reflect on the past but her mind was basically just thinking about a lot of nonsense. She hesitated and said, "Nothing interesting, it¡¯s over. Why don¡¯t you teach me how to properly use a sword? I think there are many steps that I am not doing correctly."


    "Sure!" Luo Yuan said and continued, "Let¡¯s go outside then."


    "Sure." Zhan Yali did not think too much and followed Luo Yuan out after getting her weapon in the dark. The surrounding outside was dark and she began to feel scared. She asked, "Why do we need to go so far away?"


    "Because it won¡¯t be good if we woke the rest up. We will probably be very noisy." Luo Yuan whispered.


    "I think it¡¯s far enough. If we lower our voices, I don¡¯t think they can hear us." Zhao Yali whispered softly and suddenly her face turned rosy.


    Luo Yuan looked around to make sure they were at least seven to eight meters away from the rest and then said, "Alright, let¡¯s practice here then. Show me all your basic skills first then I¡¯ll correct your mistakes."


    As she saw Luo Yuan being very calm about it, she felt relieved and said, "Alright, but please don¡¯tugh at me."


    "I won¡¯tugh if you don¡¯t do something stupid." He was trying to joke with her.


    "You¡¯re awful!" She said. Zhao Yali suddenly realized it has been a long time since theyst spoke in such a rxed manner. It has probably been 2 years, but it felt like a lifetime. She quickly recovered from her realization and began to practice.


    She was not as shy as what she had expressed earlier. Since she evolved, her power and speed have already grown stronger and faster than Lin Xiaoji¡¯s. Her strength is still developing and no one knows how strong she could be.


    Of course, there were ws in her movements and postures, as well as the ways she uses her muscles. However, she was not the only one who had these issues. It was a breakthrough for her to transform from a weakdy to a strong person. She had put in a lot of effort behind the scenes.


    Luo Yuan felt grateful to see her improvements. She began to evolve since the death of Lao Huang. However, Luo Yuan did not realize it then and he knew he did not really show her enough care and concern.


    "Alright, it¡¯s the end of your warm up. Now, show me the first posture for the first action and then remain stationary. I¡¯ll point out your ws." Luo Yuan said after seeing her practice a few times. She was even gasping a bit at that point.


    The first action was the most powerful one. It was the ¡®chopping¡¯ action. Zhao Yali lifted both of her hands with the knife and remained still.


    "Your arms must be lifted as high as possible... Higher! Only then can you fully utilize your strength to make a powerful attack!" Luo Yuan walked towards her and corrected the position of her arms while exining.


    The contact he made on her arms caused her to tremble slightly and her face turned hot. However, she just ignored those emotions as they used to have that kind of close contact before.


    "And then the waist. Your waist is too stiff and unnatural." Luo Yuan naturally touched her waist by inserting his hand into her shirt and his palm was busy exploring the surface of her skin to find the spot of muscles that she had to use.


    Her skin was so much smoother after she evolved which made Luo Yuan enjoy this lesson a lot. Zhao Yali began to feel hot and her face became even more rosy. She was a bit angry and ready to scold him but hesitated.


    Luo Yuan tried to be serious again when he realized she was about to scold him, "Yes! This part of your muscles... feel it... and then check mine."


    She bit her lip and remained silent. She looked at Luo Yuan suspiciously but he acted very seriously.


    "Your legs! You have not mastered the right standing position! That¡¯s the first step! It¡¯s so important to get the right footing and it will depend on the speed of your attack." Luo Yuan exined.


    He then squatted down and touched her thighs, "You didn¡¯t use these muscles just now, practice this againter."


    He seemed to have touched a sensitive spot and it caused her to gasp! She felt her body turning numb and said, "I¡¯m feeling tired, I¡¯m going back to rest."


    "It¡¯s not done yet." Luo Yuan replied instantly.


    At this point, Zhao Yali understood his true intentions and pushed him away. She then said, "Another day then. I¡¯m not... I¡¯m not ready today."


    Luo Yuan quickly grabbed her into his arms and said gently, "I¡¯ve already been captivated by you the first time I met you, but you were someone else¡¯s fianc¨¦ so I could not pursue you. Finally, I had the chance to spend a night with you after the apocalypse which was unforgettable. Believe it or not, you upy a special ce in my life."


    "What¡¯s so good about me? I¡¯m just a weak abandoned woman." Zhao Yali bit her lip and asked.


    "I have no idea, but you just make me want to protect you so badly." Luo Yuan continued, "You don¡¯t know how charming you are."


    "I don¡¯t believe you." Zhao Yali said.


    "I mean it. Otherwise, I wouldn¡¯t have killed so many people that day just to save you." Luo Yuan said.


    Zhao Yali was being courted and she suddenly felt that her chest was cold. She did not even realize that her shirt was already removed.


    Her face became even more rosy and she quickly grabbed her shirt which was going to fall and said, "Are you crazy? They will find out!"


    "Don¡¯t worry, we are far enough." Luo Yuan was holding his excitement and said.


    "It¡¯s embarrassing to do it here! How am I going to face them if they find out?" Zhao Yali whispered.


    "They won¡¯t hear us as long as we lower our voices." Luo Yuan tried to persuade her as he whispered into her ear. At the same time, his hand already impatiently lifted her snowy thigh up and locked it on his waist.


    Zhao Yali realized the familiarity of his words as she just said the exact thing to him earlier. However, she had no time to figure out what to do in the next second. She moaned as he began to explore her body. Her mind went nk and her soul was following the rhythm of his actions.


    The veryst bit of her rationale made her cover her mouth and what was left were deep moans in the dark.


    ...


    Zhao Yali was lying on the ground with rosy skin and she felt as though she had just finished a freebat battle.


    "Are you alright?" Luo Yuan asked.


    She red at Luo Yuan for a second and quickly put on her clothes. She noticed that there was a wet puddle on the ground with a nasty scent. She felt embarrassed and repeatedly stomped on the puddle to try to hide it.


    Luo Yuan smiled as he looked at her shy expression. He then said, "Leave it to me, the sun ising up."


    "It¡¯s all your fault! I¡¯m leaving now." Zhao Yali was mad at him for making her feel embarrassed. She quickly ran away.

 Chapter 224: Explosion

    Chapter 224: Explosion


    Trantor: Insignia Editor:


    After Luo Yuan sessfully got rid of all the traces of his sexual desires, he noticed that the sky was still dark. Thus, he did not hurry to get back. He paused for a while to reflect on what had happened and then started pacing back and forth. Suddenly, he just stopped and started doing Tai-Chi. His method is very different from ordinary Tai-Chi in terms of speed and style - his was much faster. Every movement could cause maximum destruction even though it looked smooth and graceful.


    Any normal person would not be able to capture his movements in its entirety. When his attacking speed approached its limit, Luo Yuan could feel the air in the surrounding be a viscous liquid. Each of his punches were several times more powerful than his usual ones but his vision would keep getting blurry as the air keeps on twisting and boiling. When he gradually slowed down, the surrounding air also gradually got back to normal.


    In less than a second, Luo Yuan swiftly released another punch into the air and it formed a cloud-like circle around his fist. He stirred the surrounding air and pushed it away with an invisible force. It hit a cliff nearby which caused a few rocks to scatter all over the ce. His movements were inconsistent - sometimes fast and sometimes slow. When he slowed down, it felt like a huge rock was lying on the ground and when he sped up, it was like a lightning struck the sky with a "Pop" sound.


    A couple of meters around the area where Luo Yuan was standing was covered in a thick fog. One could only vaguely see a shadow-like figure moving at a high speed and asionally some sounds could be heard.


    Swordsmanship is an extended skill of boxing - their basic way of generating force was interlinked. With his current level of abilities, even if he practiced frequently, there were no more skills to be trained as he was already ssified as proficient. The next level for him would be more rted to his will and momentum.


    There was nothing too challenging for Luo Yuan before he entered the expert level. There were basically no bottlenecks for him to practice his own version of Tai-Chi. When the sky was getting bright, Luo Yuan¡¯s practice slowly came to an end. All the leaves and dust that were previously floating in the air slowly fell to the ground, forming a circle around him.


    Of course, there was no Yin Yang pattern formed around him like in the movies, especially since what Luo Yuan was doing was not really Tai-Chi. Although what he practiced looked very simr, he had upgraded every single move through his continuous development. With his current state and power, the Tai-Chi that he practiced had be a brand-new type of kung-fu.


    In Luo Yuan¡¯s eyes, all types of pre-apocalyptic boxing had a lot of ws. The actual effect was not satisfying and the force being used was too light. Fortunately, he was already very familiar with his own body and could do a lot of self-exploration to improve his skillsets. Every single move that Luo Yuan made could easily utilize 80-90 percent of his body¡¯s muscles while a normal person would only utilize about 40-50 percent of his/her body¡¯s muscle when boxing.


    Luo Yuan wiped away the sweat from his face and went back to the cave with a fresh body and mind. Most of the people had already woken up by that time.


    "You didn¡¯t sleepst night? Come and wipe your face, it is so sweaty." Huang Jiahui came to him and handed him a towel.


    "Yes, I couldn¡¯t sleep so I just went out to do some practice. Did I wake you up?" Luo Yuan asked while wiping his face.


    "No wonder it was so noisy, I didn¡¯t really sleep." Huang Jiahui said with a smile.


    Luo Yuan was slightly stunned for a moment. He looked at her carefully but nothing seemed out of the ordinary. He was relieved and said, "Sorry, I should have practiced somewhere farther."


    "Give me the towel, I will go wash it." Huang Jiahui replied.


    Huang Jiahui retrieved the towel with a smile on her face, but when she turned and took a few steps forward, her smile had already faded. After the end of the world, her sleep had been very easily disrupted and coupled with the unfamiliar environment, she simply could not fall asleep easily. She was awake when Luo Yuan and Zhao Yali left the cave together. She even heard the soft moaning sounds from afar. She tossed and turned and could hardly fall asleep until dawn. She was still a woman despite the apocalypse and it was definitely a hard time for her to ept this fact.


    She sighed slightly but she knew that she should not care too much about it. This was not the first time he had done such things. In fact, she was the one who pushed Zhao Yali to Luo Yuan in the first ce, so she should at least act more generously. Sooner orter, she would probably be able to get used to it.


    Everyone looked much better after consuming a lot of salt and coupled with a good night¡¯s sleep, the gang was livelier than ever.


    Early in the morning, there were a few people practicing in the hallway. Luo Yuan watched them and asionally corrected and taught them. When Luo Yuan approached Zhao Yali, her face blushed slightly and she was visibly nervous. However, she pretended not to see him and tried to act like nothing had happened. She just continued to practice. She seemed to be able to feel Luo Yuan observing her every move and her actions became disrupted and messy. Her face naturally blushed again.


    Luo Yuan felt that her actions were very funny but he understood that Zhao Yali was easily affected by what other people thought of her. She felt guilty and ufortable with what had happened earlier so he did not mention anything and just walked past her.


    "Booooommmmm!!"


    Suddenly, there was a sharp sounding from somewhere outside followed by another sound which sounded very much like an explosion. Luo Yuan was shocked and quickly looked toward the direction of the sound.


    There was a huge mushroom-shaped cloud that shot up into the sky from the forest a couple of kilometers away. Due to the huge impact of the explosion, a giant tree had copsed and the soil was rolled up. When they looked down from where they stood, there was a hundred-meter-wide hole in the forest. Everyone had stopped practicing and began to be nervous and worried.


    "Was it a missile?" Huo Dong looked extremely worried. After a simr experience from Donghu City, he had a strong phobia towards any kind of missile.


    Commander Xia observed the area carefully, then shook his head and said, "I¡¯ve seen many missile explosions... this is definitely not a missile. There is no smog formation from gunpowder and no fire... it looks a bit strange, what exactly is this thing?"


    "Could it be from a mutated creature?" Cao Lin asked abruptly. Everyone was shocked and remained silent for a while.


    The incident happened about 50-60km from here. 20 seconds had now passed from the time of the explosion. When Luo Yuan heard the sound, he already noticed the smoke soaring into the sky. Thus, he was not able to figure out what had happened over there.


    Luo Yuan looked very serious as he kept staring at that nk piece ofnd. If this was done by a mutated beast, it would probably be something higher than green level.


    "Let me go and look!" Luo Yuan said with a heavy heart.


    "No, you cannot go! I forbid it! It¡¯s too dangerous." Huang Jiahui was scared and tried to stop Luo Yuan from going.


    "I agree. We do not know what just happened there. It is better to stay here and observe the situation first, maybe it was just an ident." Commander Xia also urged.


    The rest also discouraged Luo Yuan as he was the backbone of the team. If he got into trouble, the whole team would be plunged into despair and copse. No one had the confidence to survive in this crisis-ridden forest so they all tried to persuade Luo Yuan to stay.


    The voices from the team were buzzing around Luo Yuan¡¯s ears. He quickly stopped them and said, "We are too close to the incident area. It will take just a few minutes for those high-level mutated beasts to reach here. It is not safe if I don¡¯t go and check. Don¡¯t worry, I am not going to do any risky moves."


    Since Luo Yuan insisted on going, Huang Jiahui knew well enough that it was useless to persuade him anymore. She looked worried and said, "Please be careful, if there is anything wrong please return as soon as possible."


    Luo Yuan nodded his head, "You all have to stay in the cave after I leave. Do not walk around. Be prepared. Even though it looks peaceful now, if I find anything wrong I will be back and we might have to move immediately."


    Everyone heard his words and felt pressured.


    Luo Yuan went down along the wall with his saber in hand. He was running at a speed of about 50 meters per second. The surroundingndscape rapidly passed by his vision and within a few seconds, he had already entered the forest.


    He stopped running once he got in and instead chose to hop with the support of the branches and vines in the forest. He was hopping at a fast frequency, as every time hended he immediately hopped again. There was almost no pause to his rhythm and no mistakes. With his powerful dexterity, he could choose the most suitable branches to hop on, and when the branches were too far away, he would use the vines to swing from one tree to another without any dy.


    He tried to scan the surrounding with his senses. There were a few hidden dangers which he sensed and he could avoid them. For example, a snake-like creature that camouged itself in the vines; various predatory mutated trees; several colorful, poisonous and seven to eight-meter-long strange insects. The forest was full of imminent dangers.


    He felt the constraints of having a lower level of intelligence when it came to some emergency situations andplex terrain. His brain would not be able to produce a fast response and thus this had led to a speed constraint too.


    Without any idents or incidents, Luo Yuan finally arrived at the ttened area in less than seven minutes. It was a mess here; a lot of trees had copsed. The dried leaves and grass had all disappeared and all that was left was ck humus. There were only a few giant trees still standing in the area with bare trunks. It looked like they were shaved off on one side or missing a big piece of bark.


    Luo Yuan took a nce to check on the big hole. His face looked serious.

 Chapter 225: Revenge

    Chapter 225: Revenge


    Trantor: Insignia Editor: Svjohn


    Luo Yuan leaned in and tried to listen. There was nothing abnormal and not even a single buzz from the insects or chirps from the birds could be heard. Only the sound of the wind blowing against the remaining trees.


    Since there was nothing abnormal that he could see, he started walking towards the big pit. He walked very carefully until he reached the edge of the big hole. He immediately felt relieved when he found out there was nothing inside it.


    The huge pit was about 11-12 meters deep and 60-70 meters in diameter - just like a crater. Perhaps, that was what it was!


    Luo Yuan saw numerous stones at the bottom of the pit. It appeared that the stones were a big rock earlier, but it was shattered and scattered around after the explosion. He hesitated for a moment and then jumped down the pit. He touched the stones and realized it they were hot, which proved his spection was right. However, he was curious as the stones did not seem to be burnt.


    When a meteor falls to the earth, vigorous burning would ur due to the friction between the meteor and the ozoneyer. Most of the meteors would disappear from the friction and those which were left were the aerolites that were usually bigger with burn marks on them.


    He looked up to the sky doubtfully and realized there were a lot of gray clouds. He sensed that something was wrong. He found a tiny dot that appeared to be falling from the sky. At first, it was about the size of a sesame seed; then, it became about the size of a balloon! Finally, it was as big as a basketball! A light green smoke could be seen behind the "meteor".


    As the object was getting nearer and the smoke was getting thicker, it looked as though the object was on fire. Luo Yuan could easily see the patterns on the meteor now and he could smell the choking smell that surrounded it. Based on its trajectory, the meteor was going to collide near to him. He immediately responded and took a few big leaps to escape as fast as he could.


    His heart was beating so fast and his blood was circting his body at lightning speed. The strong sense of danger forced him to run faster than ever.


    He dashed past many trees and a lot of information crept into his mind but he could not analyze anything now. He could not even tell if he had been running for a second or a minute. He finally slowed down after he heard the second explosion. "Boom!"


    He held his knees and got up from the ground while he gasped repeatedly. After 30 seconds, he looked towards the direction of the explosion. He quickly climbed up to the highest tree nearby to check and realized his spection was wrong! He was scared by what he just witnessed as there was a three to four km gap between the two collision points.


    "What is actually happening? Why did both meteors crash at the same ce even though there was no sign of a meteor shower. The only two meteors tond had crashed at the same area which is just unbelievable."


    He felt suspicious and ran towards the new crater. He was surprised as both craters were simr in size and contained shattered stones that looked like pebbles.


    His expression changed and he kept staring at the sky as he hoped to find some clues. He stood at the ce where the meteors had crashed and did not even blink once.


    The sky was the territory of flying animals and it was another world when there was no intersection withnd creatures. A few small specks could be seen moving about in the sky and sometimes they moved nearer to the ground. Luo Yuan¡¯s eyesight has been upgraded since he ate the eyeballs of the Green Hidden Creature. He could roughly identify the shape and color of one of the tiny dots.


    He then calmed himself and tried to identify all of them but he did not find anything suspicious. He has been watching them for half an hour now and his eyes were tired. Just when he was about to stop, a weird tiny spot entered his vision.


    It was the mutated green bird! There was something in its ws and it was trying to fly to a higher altitude. Luo Yuan could not see it clearly as it was too far from the ground. He thought it was simply catching some food. It kept going higher into the sky until it disappeared from his vision.


    He realized that it was probably not a good sign. And soon, a tiny dot came back again and was falling from the sky!


    "F*ck!" Luo Yuan cursed as he recalled the weird giant green bird!


    "You want revenge, huh? Throwing rocks at me!?" Luo Yuan was extremely mad.


    Before the end of the world, the strongest bird could fly up to 17,000 meters in the sky. However, a light green level mutated bird can fly higher than that if it ovees its fear.


    Imagine the momentum of a giant rock being thrown from 30,000-40,000 meters up in the sky. It was almost as powerful as a small nuclear bomb. Luckily, there were many big and strong trees in the area which helped to cushion the shocks, otherwise, the entire area would have been severely damaged.


    He could not imagine the impact if the giant rock were to drop somewhere near the cave as the trees were all chopped down there and nothing could cushion the impact.


    He could only watch the "meteor" fall and pray for safety.


    The helpless feeling made him extremely frustrated. He wanted to catch the bird and kill it.


    As he watched the rock falling nearer and nearer, he did not try to escape anymore. It dropped after a few minutes and it was about 30-40 km away from him.


    At least he knew the uracy of the bird was low and that was the best news yet. Besides that, he could not do much even if he continued to stay there. He knew the frequency of the attacks which were about once every 20 minutes as the mutated bird needed to find a giant rock and fly to a high altitude to drop it again. Therefore, Luo Yuan was certain that there will be no attack before he could reach the cave.


    He was anxious and tried to find a solution while he rushed back to the cave. It was a very difficult challenge as they would all die if the rock falls on them.


    "It was difficult to find such a good ce to stay, should we move?"


    Luo Yuan was very mad as it was not even a green level mutated bird. He could easily kill a light green mutated beast if it is on the ground, however, the light green mutated bird was flying in the sky which really drove him crazy.


    Anyway, he is a rational person so he would not attack the bird before he could think of a perfect n.

 Chapter 226: Observation & Decision

    Chapter 226: Observation & Decision


    Trantor: Insignia Editor: Svjohn


    Luo Yuan told his team about the incident and everyone decided to leave the cave temporarily just as he expected. As he had requested for everyone to pack their things before he left, their luggage were already nicely packed and they quickly escaped after the fourth attack.


    The giant lizard began to move forward after receiving Luo Yuan¡¯s instruction. The further ahead they went, the more the safe cave that housed them became blur from their vision. Everyone felt a little anxious and depressed.


    It was amon trait of survivors at the end of the world. Today you find a new ce to stay and getfortable but it is possible that you are forced to leave for a safer ce tomorrow and will need to leave all your resources behind. You will need to look for the resources again when you arrive at a new ce. It is a helpless situation but they have no choice.


    The lush greenery blocked the Sun but also prevented them from checking the sky as they traveled back to their original base after 1.5 hours. Everyone felt secure again to return to a familiar ce. However, they were just 30-40 km away from the cave and that was not considered a safe spot. Despite that, none of them wanted to flee to another foreign ce with an unpredictable risk. In the end, they felt that the cave was a much safer location for them so the group decided to return.


    ...


    Three days had passed now and everyone gave up their daily activities to avoid attracting the attention of the giant bird. The weather was getting hotter and the cave was tightly sealed. It felt like a sauna due to the bad venttion. Not to mention the awful smell inside. Luckily, they brought enough water, hence they could still survive.


    They only came out to get some fresh air and eat some food. The giant bird continued to attack in intervals but it was much less frequentpared to the first day. Sometimes, there werepletely no attacks and other times it attacked vigorously.


    The giant bird seemed to be suspicious of them as they have not appeared for a long time. At the beginning, the bird used to fly 10,000 meters above the ground and hardly exposed itself. However, it started flying nearer to the groundtely and it even lingered above the cave a few hours a day. However, it did not expect Luo Yuan and the rest to be collecting data and information regarding its behavior.


    Luo Yuan was hiding in the branches of a big tree which were located about 10 km away to observe the giant bird. Of course, other than watching the giant bird, Luo Yuan also observed the Wisdom Tree. Due to the excessive nutrients from the surrounding carcasses, the Wisdom Tree was growing at an insane speed. It grew so much taller in just three days and even the color of the tree trunk had changed. Seems like it was going to evolve very soon! At the same time, the wisdom fruits began to ripen in arge scale and they had a very good fragrance.


    It was scary for a tree to be able to eat. Luo Yuan saw a few mutated beasts trying to go close to the Wisdom Tree, but they ended up being trapped and killed.


    The giant bird had finally lost its patience that day after circting the area for a while. It did not fly to a higher altitude but threw a giant rock which was about a few tons in weight towards the cliff. It realized what it was doing over the past few days made no difference. The giant rock hit the cliff with a "boom" sound and caused the wall of the cliff to crack. A giant rock rolled down the cliff and hit the walkway of another cliff which caused a big hole.


    The giant bird waited for a few minutes and then vented in frustration as it did not see anyone of them injured. It then flew away. Luo Yuan watched it go away and then jumped down from the tree when he was sure it had disappeared. Based on his experience, the bird would note back again today.


    He touched and felt the tree trunk as he has left some markings there. The sign was simr to the one he made yesterday after observing the direction the bird flew. Hepared the signs and realized the giant bird was flying in the same direction when it left over the past two days. Luo Yuan predicted that its nest is in the direction where it kept flying to. It would not fly in the same direction if it was hunting for food as the possibility of finding a new prey was too low.


    He said in his mind, "I believe the bird willnd sometimes no matter how high it flies. That¡¯s its weakness. Besides that, its nest couldn¡¯t be too far away based on the area of its activity."


    When the giant bird attacked on the first day, the frequency was about once every 20 minutes. That included the time it took to find a big rock and fly up to a high altitude to drop the rock. It also included the time it took to find a new rock which Luo Yuan assumed is somewhere near its nest. Thus, it was only 10 minutes each way and it probably found the huge rock somewhere nearby as it would not have any interest in getting a huge rock from somewhere further before it attacked.


    The mutated bird could fly very fast but it was still slower than the speed of sound. It was about two-thirds of the speed of sound which is about seven times faster than Luo Yuan. If the giant bird needed 10 minutes to reach its nest then Luo Yuan would need about 70 minutes to get there too. However, it might end up taking two hours if he took his current physical condition into ount. Also, considering that the nest might be further away than the ce where the bird found its huge rocks, then he might need even longer to find the nest.


    There was one more important thing which is that birds are always sensitive and flexible. It will be extremely difficult to kill it if he misses the chance. Luo Yuan has been keeping "The Horn of The Green Hidden Creature". He should be able to trick the giant bird with the help of the invisible capabilities from the Green Hidden Creature and light movements.


    His head was spinning while analyzing every single possibility. A four-meter long grasshopper-like insect was hiding behind a tree trunk. It silently approached Luo Yuan. Its body looked exactly like the tree trunk.


    Its sharp and furious mouth was opening and closing repeatedly while its shiny eyes were clearly reflecting Luo Yuan¡¯s image. It was attracted to Luo Yuan¡¯s flesh.


    However, the creature was being very careful as it could sense danger which made it hesitate for a while. It continued to observe patiently but it finally lost its mind as it did not want to wait any longer. Its rear limbs stomped on the tree trunk and its entire body leaped down from the branch.


    Suddenly, a beam of silver light shed when it jumped into the air. The carcass immediately dropped to the ground and was split into two.


    Luo Yuan decided to return to the base first after some deep thought. As it was still early for them to depart, they should get the necessary tools prepared and find the nest at night.


    After a while, a brave mutated beast carefully approached the carcass. Its ears were moving and its eyes were observing its surroundings. It quickly bit on the insect¡¯s head and ran away. Soon, there were more mutated beasts visiting the ce until every single bit of flesh from the carcass was eaten.


    An hourter, the entire ce was so clean that it looked like nothing had happened there.

 Chapter 227: The Big Lake

    Chapter 227: The Big Lake


    Trantor: Insignia Editor: Svjohn


    During the nightfall, the forest was filled with ayer of dense fog. A group of fist-sized mutated insects that looked like fireflies were hidden in the hazy mist. Their bodies were glowing and visible even through the fog. It attracted a lot of insects that liked to fly close to the light. Those were its preys.


    However, while they were attracting their food, they attracted the attention of their predators as well! A colorful toad was hiding quietly and its light-bulb-like purple eyes were firmly staring at the luminous fog. It looked cruel and hungry but just when it attempted to make a jump, there was a soft rushing sound that came from afar.


    At first, the sound was still very weak; however, in just a breath, it seemed to havee nearer. The toad was slightly shocked and quickly hid back into the darkness. It even buried half of its body into the soil. After the toad hid itself, the mist in the air was stirred by a strong force! All the fireflies scattered and tried to fly away. It could be vaguely seen that there was a ck shadow passing by.


    Only when the sound got softer and the ck shadowpletely disappeared did the toad slowly climb out from the soil to carefully observe its surrounding. It seemed like the scary monster had gone away so it raised its neck a bit and slowly walked ahead like the king of the new barren territory.


    Luo Yuan had departed in the evening and now the sky hadpletely turned dark. He had no idea how far away he was from the target destination. All he knew was that he had climbed over three hills, crossed five rivers, and passed through seven territories of huge mutated beasts. He could only estimate the distance based on the time spent.


    However, it was quite meaningless to calcte the distance as the danger of the cliff and theplexity of the hilly roads were far more challenging than he expected. The straight-line distance he traveled might only be 100km, but he traveled 500-600 kilometers as a detour to avoid the mutated beasts and their territories, taking more time.


    The direction to his target destination was solely based on his visual estimation. When the sky became dark, he had to rely on the coordination of the stars in the sky to make sure that he did not deviate from his original direction. Under such circumstances, making an error was inevitable. It would be fine if it was a only short distance, but for farther distances like this, Luo Yuan might end up a 100 kilometer away from his actual destination.


    In fact, he did not know where exactly the nest of giant bird was located, the only clue that he had was the giant rock that was thrown down by the bird. If the nest was not located nearby, the only thing he could do was to wait. Even though it would take a lot of time and effort, the sess rate was actually very low.


    Luo Yuan had a bad feeling so he quickened his pace and stopped at the top of the highest hill he could find within a few minutes. He was wheezing severely and looked at his watch. He found that he had run for nearly three hours! It had been very exhausting to run continuously for so long even with his strong physique.


    After resting for a few minutes, he jumped onto a huge stone on his left and looked towards the target destination to observe the terrain. Luo Yuan has good low-light vision thus even in the night he could see very clearly.


    "Eh?" Luo Yuan looked a bit surprised.


    He saw a hugeke at few kilometers away. Under the moonlight, theke was reflecting the sparkling light, and that was the destination that he wanted to head to. He was happy. The pebble he took with him would probably havee from there! In his previous route, he passed through a few rivers with a couple of pebbles, however, they were not in the same size and color that he was looking for.


    The stones that were dropped by giant bird were white in color and about four to five tons heavy; they looked like limestones and there were no simr pebbles along the rivers he passed through before. He did not want to rest any longer and was eager to reach his target destination. He used all his force to jump down from a giant rock. The slope was about seventy degrees steep and he jumped directly into the air but fell rapidly due to gravity.


    There were trees everywhere underneath him and he stepped firmly on a thick branch to support his fall. Due to the huge momentum, the branch broke instantly when his feet met it. However, that slight contact was enough support for Luo Yuan to make another leap into the sky. Every leap that he made was about 100 meters and he decided to get back on the ground after a few leaps.


    Over the past three days, he had sessfully cleared himself of the curse and his Will was not only restored, it even improved under the endurance of the curse! He could use his Will freely now and even controlled it as per what he wanted. Though the improvement was not shown in the system, it was a pleasant bonus to him. At this level, it was extremely difficult to improve his Will as it required a lot of time and special opportunities unless it was obtained by attribute points.


    After running for about another half an hour, Luo Yuan gradually slowed down. He was in a high density mutated beast area and most of the beasts here were light green level. Some were even higher than that but they were hiding in the dark. The fights here were extremely fierce, and the screams and roaring never stopped ever since Luo Yuan entered. The air was filled with a smell of blood and it made the beasts feel nauseas.


    During Luo Yuan¡¯s journey, he even witnessed two giant mythical monsters biting and tackling each other. The fierce battle caused the whole ground to tremor and many trees had copsed under the impact. The ground was stained by more fresh blood. However, Luo Yuan did not stay any longer to watch to two of them who were at least green level. The battle was too terrifying and made Luo Yuan feel pressured.


    The drought had continued for seven to eight days now and under such a high temperature, most of the rivers were getting dried up. Those tiny mutated insects could still rely on dew for a living but the huge mutated beasts would die if they could not get any sustainable source of water. Everyday there must be many mutated beasts thate here by following the moist air from the water source. To secure the territory, battles and fights were inevitable.


    The fights here were too fierce and too frequent that the entire ground was all sticky with blood. Luo Yuan felt very creeped out and shocked by the scene. This was simply a battlefield for mutated beasts and thew of jungle reflected vividly here. No wonder he did not see any strong mutated beasts along the way when he came here as most of them were already here for water.


    As he was wearing the shield from the Green Hidden Creature, he could hide from everyone. Sometimes he had to pass through a variety of powerful mutated beasts but he managed to do so without catching any of their attention. Come to think of it, even if they saw Luo Yuan, the human body was too small to fill up their stomachs, thus, they might not even have any interest in him.


    However, Luo Yuan still walked very carefully and he even tried to evade light green mutated beasts that were typically vulnerable to him. If it was possible, he did not want to start any fight. After walking for nearly an hour, he finally saw the hugeke but he was not able to see the end of theke due to the mist that surrounded theke.


    At this point, there were many mutated beasts lining along theke to drink water. Luo Yuan was surprised to see that it was extremely peaceful over here in stark contrast to the frightful scenes that he encountered before. Although there were still a few fights that urred, it was nothingpared to just now. Most of the mutated beasts seemed to restrain themselves and walk away quietly after drinking some water. Suddenly, there was an injured light green level mutated beast growling and forced its way into the line where some lower level mutated beasts were already standing at.


    Its blood trickled down from its injured thigh and soon it made the water nearby turn red. The light green level mutated beast was too busy drinking water that it did not pay much attention to the blood that trickled into theke. Some of the mutated beasts behind had moved away but it was still unaware of the strange scene that was unfolding.


    Suddenly, there was a drastic change in theke as it agitated violently. There were numerous sea snakes that were a few meters in length that jumped out from theke and attacked the light green mutated beast that was injured.


    In just a moment, Luo Yuan could see no less than 10 sea snakes attacking the wounded beast. However, the sea snakes were too small to cause any significant pain to the giant-sized light green level mutated beast. Furthermore, its wound was already in pain thus it did not feel any abnormality until a few secondter. It finally felt something was wrong and looked up uneasily.


    However, it was toote! Luo Yuan could see that more than 100 sea snakes had been eating into the wound of the beast and even into its body. It was too creepy to even look at it now. The light green mutated beast began to growl violently. However, it had no impact on the sea snakes. The snakes were strong; they seemed to stop for a second after the sound wave hit them, but continued feasting on the beast very quickly. A few sea snakes even entered its opened mouth, nose, ears and basically everywhere else they could enter!


    In theke, there was a group of sea snakes wandering towards the mutated beast. At this point, it finally decided to try to escape but it had already met its doom. It took just one step but already felt weak. Its body shook a few times and then fell into theke causing a big wave and ssh.

 Chapter 228: Abundant Treasure

    Chapter 228: Abundant Treasure


    Trantor: Insignia Editor: Svjohn


    As the giant creature fell, more and more strange fish drilled into its body. It gradually expanded as tons of those fish filled it. It was still struggling and groaning in pain.


    The area around it was empty. No mutated beasts darede close. All they did was nce in fear from a distance from time to time. As time went by, the beast¡¯s body started to shrink. The strange fish started leaving its body, and soon only its bones were left. The body became lighter until it eventually floated on the water.


    The waves slowly let it drift to the middle of theke. Soon another wave washed over the body, the giant beast¡¯s skin disappearing in the blink of an eye. The only thing left was a wide, giant whirlpool measuring several meters swirling in the middle of theke. The entire thing onlysted for a few minutes. The ten-meter long, six-meter tall, light green mutated beast had sunkpletely, leaving no remains behind.


    There was a short uproar among the beasts, but soon they went back to normal. No mutated beasts dared go near the water where the giant beast had died. Luo Yuan was hiding in the bushes, mumbling to himself, "No wonder there¡¯s not a lot of ughtering going on here. Perhaps the smell of blood attracted those terrifying, strange fish. Maybe it¡¯s an unwritten rule. If that¡¯s true, then as long as we don¡¯t do anything outrageous, this ce should be safe."


    Meanwhile, Luo Yuan had already discovered pebbles around. If he hadn¡¯t, he would have left that ce earlier. The beach a few kilometers away was filled with white pebbles, and most of them were not small either.


    Yet...


    Luo Yuan nced at the seven unique mutated beasts from afar, his eyes grim. None of the other mutated beasts dared go close to those creatures. Some of them were lone rangers and loved upying one ce, while some gathered in groups of two or three. Sometimes they stood ory on the beach, or simply drank water by the creek. Each and every one of them had an elegant, beautiful aura. Every move they made was transcendent. Everyone whoid their eyes on them knew that they were unique.


    Perhaps most green-level or higher mutated beasts within a hundred-kilometer radius were there. Luo Yuan hesitated for a while before finally biting the bullet and jumping from the tree, running towards the beasts. He was nervous at first as there was a green-level mutated beast not far away from him. Apparently, he must have been over thinking though, because his presence did not attract any attention.


    Only the strongest mutated beasts looked in his direction, but it was inly out of curiosity. They did not mean him any harm. After all, a human was a rare sight in that virgin forest. Most of the mutated beasts had never seen a human or been harmed by one. Luo Yuan, on the other had, had broken out in cold sweat. He had confidence in himself, but if that light green-level beast had been just at quasi-mythical level, then a green one would be at a mythical level.


    It would be the real deal. Although the two were just one level away, the difference in their strength was like that between Heaven and Earth. Luo Yuan might have killed a green mutated beast before, but it had only happened by chance. He had just been at the right ce at the right time. Most soldiers attracted hatred, and he had been hibernating underground, so he had not given his all. Even if he¡¯d used his entire strength to kill the giant snake, he would be end up limping and might not be able to move or fight back. Even if Luo Yuan added one point to his Dexterity and countless points to his Strength, he¡¯d still have to worry about the giant snake¡¯s terrifying attacking speed. He guessed that if the two of them were to fight again, he would most certainly end up dead.


    Luo Yuan braced himself and looked at those harmless yet superior lifeforms carefully. There was a creature that looked like a bull. It was approximately 12 meters long and six meters tall, and covered in beautiful fur. It was shinning softly under the moonlight. It had tall, thin limbs that looked very powerful, and four ws on each foot, pitch ck and sharp likezurite. It also had a pair of five-meter long, spiral-shaped golden horns on its head, that seemed to have a powerful attacking ability.


    What made the most profound impression on Luo Yuan, though, was the creature¡¯s eyes. Its eyes were watery, with an aloof superiority thatcked any aggressiveness. Although he had walked into its territory, the creature did not seem to care at all. Its size was not bigpared to the rest. If he were topare it to sea creatures, it would seem like nothing.


    Even so, Luo Yuan dared not underestimate it. Apart from special entities such as the Heaven¡¯s Pir Tree, green-level creatures were usually not big in size. It seemed like creatures of that level did not exhibit their strength through big, clumsy bodies.


    Luo Yuan thought for a bit, turning his eyes away. He dared not look anymore. He quickly passed through the creature¡¯s territory, heading towards the location where the pebbles were. In 10 minutes, he had reached his destination. There were pebbles everywhere. Some of them weighed hundreds of tons, while others were only the size of a thumb. Luo Yuan spected that there used to be a river bank there once, but as time had passed, the river had disappeared. What was left was only those pebbles, serving as evidence for the river bank¡¯s existence.


    Most of the pebbles were white or milky wilk, while some of them had a luster of jade to them. Out of curiosity, Luo Yuan picked up a milky white one the size of a fist. He noticed that the pebble turned warm when it touched his hand, and it reflected the water. There was a translucency to it when one held it under the moonlight.


    Luo Yuan realized that it was not some kind of limestone, but a natural suet jade. His feelings were mixed about it. The giant birds had been throwing jade ores. He was not sure whether he should be calling the giant birds tall, rich, handsome creatures, or spoilt brats.


    Before the apocalypse, suet jade had cost 10,000 yuan per gram. The piece he was holding in his hand would have cost at least 30,000 or 40,000 yuan per gram, while a gigantic suet jade would be worth at least 20,000,000 yuan.


    There was suet jade everywhere. At one nce, he could see at least 1,000 pieces of them. Some of them were even bigger than the one he was holding in his hand, while others weighed more than 10 tons. They were too valuable to even ce a price-tag on them.


    Unfortunately, they were worth as much as any in white stone¡¯s during the apocalypse. They were worthless. He threw the suet jade in his hand away like a piece of rock.


    ...


    "This is it!"


    Luo Yuan was looking through the pebbles when he quickly walked up to a pothole. He seemed to have a lot on his mind. This pothole was obviously the same residue as the rock taken away by the giant bird. There were simr potholes all around the area. Some of them were still damp, while some werepletely dry. It made no difference considering the soil in the area. It only took some light digging for him to discover that the soil inside the pothole was even damper. Judging by the different levels of dampness in the potholes, Luo Yuan mentally outlined the giant bird¡¯s preference in choosing rocks, trying to look for an existing pattern.

 Chapter 229: Looking for Trouble

    Chapter 229: Looking for Trouble


    Trantor: Insignia Editor: Svjohn


    Just like people yingser-tag, some animals prefered to scatter all over while others preferred to attack in one specific direction. The strange bird belonged to thetter category. Luo Yuan noticed that the bird had chosen a clear path on the giant rock. The nearer to the cave, the damper the soil in the potholes was.


    The bird¡¯s next move had to be picking up the giant rock closer to the cave. It usually chose rocks that were simr in weight, so that habit did not leave it many choices. Its scope was narrowed down even more.


    However, Luo Yuan¡¯s estimation was only rtive. Mutated birds perceived distance differently than humans. A thousand meters were a long distance for humans, but for birds it was just a few seconds away. Their cognitive scale difference was like the difference between Heaven and Earth.


    As a matter of fact, the strange bird¡¯s range of choice was approximately 1.5 kilometers in diameter. Even if the bird chose the nearest giant rock that met its requirements, that rock would be at least 100 meters away. The rocks furthest away were up to 1,000 meters away, which exceeded Luo Yuan¡¯s attacking range.


    Due to air resistance, the bigger the distance, the weaker the power of the spear would be. Once it exceeded 100 meters, the sound of speed could not keep up with it. Even though its power would still be strong, it would be harmless against the highly defensive light-green mutated beast. Luo Yuan would only get one chance. If he failed, ambushing it again would be almost impossible.


    He looked at the time. It was 1 a.m., five hours before sunrise. He had ample time to put his n into action.


    Luo Yuan was struggling to move an one-meter wide rock on his own under the moonlight. He was stumbling and soaking in sweat, his veins bulging on his forehead. He moved forward slowly, the giant rock on his back leaving a one-meter deep furrow.


    Although Luo Yuan had killed the light-green bird effortlessly, when it came to this giant rock, he felt powerless. Judging by his strength, even a vulnerable blue level creature of small or medium size would be stronger than him, let alone a light-green one.


    "How I wish the giant lizard was here." Luo Yuan could not help but think of his pet, who neverined. Distracted and tired, he slipped and fell to the ground.


    "Oh! Oh! Oh! Oh!"


    A primitive mutated creature nearby pointed at Luo Yuan, screaming and jumping. It acted as if it had discovered something epic. As a matter of fact, it had been following Luo Yuan ever since he had arrived in the area. Perhaps it thought they were the same species, but was curious about his small size.


    Luo Yuan wasn¡¯t sure whether tough or cry over the fact that he was being taunted by a mutated beast. He gave it a killing stare, but the Green Hidden Creature¡¯s shield rendered it pointless. On the contrary, it made the mutated beast, which was as strong as king kong, even more excited. It ran around Luo Yuan, making strange noises and attracting the attention of several mutated beasts, who they turned their heads to look at them.


    That mutated beast had obviously inherited ape-ish characteristics. The fact that many mutated beasts were staring at it did not make it behave itself. Quite the contrary, it seemed exhrated. It ran around crazily for a while and started moving a giant rock exactly like what Luo Yuan had been doing.


    The rock that the beast was moving was even bigger than Luo Yuan¡¯s. It had to be at least 10 tons, but that weight was nothing for a seven-meter tall beast. In a few seconds, it had managed to push the giant rock 10 meters away, without even breaking a sweat.


    At first, Luo Yuan had been curious about what the giant ape was trying to do. When it pretended to fall while pointing at Luo Yuan and screaming though, he felt as if countless alpacas were running around in his heart.


    "Sh*t!" His facial expression changed as he secretly took hold of his sword. Out of nowhere, he suddenly thought of something and let it go. "You want to y? Be my guest then!"


    His face looked dangerous as he walked towards the giant ape, who wasughing while it continued its performance. The ape had not noticed the iing danger. It was using its strong fists to beat its chest, producing a loud noise. It was showing of its strength to the mutated beasts looking.


    Luo Yuan smirked as he walked faster and faster towards it. They were less than 50 meters away now. He had a clear vision, and a few stepster, he appeared under the giant ape¡¯s feet. He twisted his waist and aimed a flying punch at the ape¡¯s calf.


    The happy ape stopped what it was doing. Its eyes popped out of its head and it let out a groan that shook the Earth. Luo Yuan had not even used all his strength. If he were to use the attack that could temporarily break the speed of sound, he could have bent a metal rod, let alone an ape¡¯s bones.


    That was just the beginning of the torture of that sneaky ape. After that first hit, Luo Yuan stomped his feet andnded behind it. He aimed carefully behind its knee and gave it a hard kick. The ape was only 0.1 second into its first groan when the second hit made it let out a short, deep moan. The sudden blow made its voice sound distorted.


    Its heavy body fell to the ground, its mouth filling with mud. It looked infuriated and ferocious, its muscles expanding and its veins bulging like cobras. There was a terrifying energy in those ridiculous muscles as the ape tried to stand up using its hands.


    Bam!


    It didn¡¯t even get a chance to stand before it was hit heavily on the head, its face plunging into the mud once again.


    Bam! Bam! Bam!


    The punches were hitting its face over and over again like raindrops. Luo Yuan added a little Will on every hit, just to give a lesson this level-two ape who¡¯d been looking for trouble. The addition was only for show, the punches were not meant to kill it.


    It was the most painful and devastating fight in the ape¡¯s life. No matter how much it struggled to fight back, it was no use. Luo Yuan¡¯s Dexterity was 15 points. Slowly but surely, the ape¡¯s head was buried deep into the ground. Only the back of its head was still visible.


    Despite its thick skin and strong will to live, it was beaten up by Luo Yuan for a full six minutes. Its head was buried deep within the ground, but the sound of its mellow groans could still be heard.


    "That¡¯s some crazy beast we have here!" Luo Yuan raised its eyebrows as he kept beating it up, adding more Will to his punches. Soon, the ape¡¯s roar became a groan. The groan did notst long before it turned into a cry of fear.


    Luo Yuan thought about it and stopped. He took a few steps back. The attack was barely over when the giant ape jumped up quickly, showing its terrifying sharp teeth and the vengeance in its eyes. It looked at Luo Yuan, who was standing in front of it, before it lunged itself at him.


    It gave him a p using its hands, which were as big as baskets.


    The ape had to be gifted. Its strength was terrifying. Even before the hit had reached Luo Yuan, a strong wind had started to blow out of nowhere. In the blink of an eye, the ape¡¯s palm mmed down on the ground. It was not even one meter into the ground, yet the Earth shook a little. That stunning attack did not make it happy, though. On the contrary, it seemed to be scared. It started shaking as it realised that that dangerous little thing in front of it had disappeared.


    Its head was the size of a round table, but it looked like a rusty machine as the ape turned around stiffly. It could see a small human standing behind it out of the corner of its eyes. Shocked, it let out a wail and ran away as fast as it could. Its courage to fight back had disappeared into thin air.


    However, it only managed to take two steps away before it felt a massive pain on its knee and copsed to the ground. Its groan went on for an hour and a half, travelling around the area and scaring all the mutated beasts away.


    ...


    The ape was squatting timidly on the ground, its eyelids drooping as its eyes stared into empty space. It also experienced the asional seizure. It was like a teenager beaten up in school. It had lost all its energy. Each time Luo Yuan looked in its direction, it would use both its hands to cover its head as it moaned. The one-hour-and-a-half long fight had turned this motion into a reflex for it.


    "Did it hurt its head?" Luo Yuan thought to himself, ncing at it. He was worried, because there had been a message from the system.


    "The Dark Blue Level Creature Raging Ape has surrendered. Would you like to keep it as your Battle Beast? Yes/No?"


    Luo Yuan had never thought that he¡¯d be able to keep another battle beast. He wasn¡¯t sure whether that hade with his evolution or if he could have done it anyway. Besides the giant lizard, he had never attempted to keep any other mutated beast, so he could not confirm either theory.


    His face betrayed his excitement. He wouldn¡¯t have been interested if this had been just any ordinary mutated beast. Even a normal dark blue creature wouldn¡¯t have been of much help. This creature was different, though. It was the size of a human, its physique was majestic, and its strength was also impressive. Judging by its performance earlier, it seemed to have a high IQ, so it would be easier tomunicate withpared to the lizard.


    It could be a better coolie than the giant lizard too, and be able to take over some of the carrying. Luo Yuan didn¡¯t need it to be in battle. As long as it was by his side, it could save him a lot of trouble.


    After he clicked "Yes", a brand new Battle Beast attributes panel opened up.


    "Battle Beast: Raging Ape"


    "Level: 0 (Dark Blue)"


    "Attributes"


    "Power: 21"


    "Dexterity: 13"


    "Physique: 20"


    "Intelligence: 8"


    "Sensory Perception: 11"


    "Will: 13"


    "Experience: 0/1,200"


    "Skills: Hammering: 15; Tearing: 16; Ramming: 8; Casting: 7; Biting: 13; Climbing: 19; Surviving: 18"


    "Natural Abilities: Naturally strong, tough skin"


    "Status: Elite"


    "Loyalty: 65 (there is a risk of betrayal if it drops lower than 50, Full Value 100)"


    "Unassigned Attribute Points: 0"


    "Unallocated Technique Points: 0"


    Luo Yuan was delighted. It was like finding treasure. If the ape had not been strong, it wouldn¡¯t have been so active among the beasts. The Raging Ape¡¯s attributes were shocking, and it had only just been caught. Maybe it was on the verge of evolving. Except for its Dexterity, the rest of its attributes were higher than the giant lizard¡¯s. Especially its Intelligence, which was a shocking 8. It was a very smart beast. Although it did not exceed human intelligence (which normally ranged from 9 to 10), its Intelligence was extraordinarily high for a mutated beast. Calling it an intelligent creature would not have been an exaggeration.


    Its sub-attributes aside though, its main attributes were just as developed. Its Strength and Physique were sky-high, and all its attributes were bnced. When it came to potential, the Raging Ape was way ahead of the giant lizard. If it evolved a few levels and improved its Dexterity, which was its weakest attribute, it would have a biggerbat capability than the giant lizard. It was such an unexpected delight.

 Chapter 230: Here It Comes

    Chapter 230: Here It Comes


    Trantor: Insignia Editor: Svjohn


    A muscle-packed giant ape as tall as a two-storey building followed timidly behind Luo Yuan. It was quite a sight. Noticing that Luo Yuan, who was walking in front of it, had suddenly stopped, the giant ape started shaking. It thought he was going to beat it up again, and it almost covered its head and squatted down. It was obviously afraid of him. It knew Luo Yuan could easily defeat it just by extending his hand. The ape had lost all desire to attack.


    There was a story behind that. In the ape¡¯s eyes, that small human was no different from the Devil. He was scarier than any mutated beast it had ever encountered. The two of them reached the rocks they¡¯d been moving earlier and stopped. Luo Yuan looked at the giant rock and pondered. He¡¯d beaten up the giant ape instead of killing, not just to teach it a lesson, but also so it would help him move this heavy rock.


    Getting to keep it as his Battle Beast had been unexpected. The only trouble now was training it to listen to him. Hand signs were a newnguage to the mutated beast. Even though it was not easy, Luo Yuan had prior experience. Although the giant lizard couldn¡¯t entirely understand all the gestures and words he used, it could still grasp some of the instructions that were used often.


    All Luo Yuan needed was sufficient time to train the ape, but time was exactly what he didn¡¯t have. He could only hope that this high-IQ beast could surprise him. Luo Yuan thought for a while, and then started teaching his new beast how to work with him.


    "Push!" he said loudly, making a rock-pushing sign. He patiently repeated the same thing a few times, looking at the giant ape in anticipation. The ape looked at Luo Yuan and then at the giant rock. It scratched its head, looking lost. At first, it was focused, but soon it became distracted. Luo Yuan shouted at it, but the ape only stopped and looked at him anxiously. It looked like it was in shock.


    Luo Yuan sighed. He was disappointed in the ape¡¯s ability to understand him. Remembering that the giant lizard had been even dumber than this though, he patiently repeated the sign again and said, "Push!" The giant ape scratched its head and looked away once again. Luo Yuan controlled his temper and tried a few more times, but the ape still wouldn¡¯t get it.


    "Weren¡¯t you mimicking how I moved that rock earlier?" Luo Yuan couldn¡¯t take it anymore. Pissed off, he walked over to the giant ape. He wanted to beat it up, but looking at his fearful eyes and shaking body, he gave up. "It¡¯s okay, perhaps beating you is useless. After all, it¡¯s unrealistic to expect to make a mutated beast listen to you in such a short period of time. The giant lizard took a week to understand my first instruction."


    Suddenly, the giant ape looked revived and started walking towards the rock. Luo Yuan saw it and shouted, "Yes, move that rock!" Listening to Luo Yuan¡¯s encouragement, the ape stood up straight and quickly walked up to the rock. Using its palms, which were as big as baskets, it leaned forward and lifted the six-ton rock. The ape looked at Luo Yuan in anticipation.


    Luo Yuan was speechless.


    His face was warm, but he managed to hide his emotions and give the ape a thumbs-up. He finally understood why the ape hadn¡¯t been able to get his instructions and why it had been looking around instead of moving the rock. It had not been distracted. Asking it to look for a rock simr to its size had been ridiculous as it could carry a rock like that easily using its bare hands. Luo Yuan¡¯s instructions had made it feel lost.


    What the giant ape did next surprised Luo Yuan even more. The intelligence of the primitive mutated beast had exceeded his expectations. The ape could understand basic hand signs really fast, and could grasp those that were slightlyplicated by repeating them after Luo Yuan.


    Its performance was simr to a human¡¯s. Perhaps given a little more time and patience, it could even understand spokennguage. Eight Intelligence points weren¡¯t low by any means. Some mentally handicapped humans were basically on the same level. Luo Yuan was afraid of intelligent creatures, but the giant ape did not bother him. Intelligent creatures in organized civilizations with infinite potential were a threat to humans, but an individual ape couldn¡¯t do them any harm.


    With the help of the strong, giant ape, Luo Yuan managed to gather all simr rocks in the area in one ce in less than two hours. To be safe, he even expanded the range to five kilometers. The time was almost 5 a.m., and a dim orange-yellow light started to shine in the dark. The rise of the sun made the temperature rise as well. The beasts were slowly leaving the forest. The beach was empty, but there was still some noise around.


    When the first ray of sun appeared in the east, countless giant birds flew from the nearby forest. Suddenly, the sky turned ck with birds spreading their 20-meter long wings. Even Luo Yuan was stunned by the scene.


    One of them was extraordinarily big with 100-meter long wings. It had colorful feathers on its back and fur as white as snow on its abdomen. It was like the king of all birds. None of them dared fly within three kilometers¡¯ distance of it. The huge bird flew low above Luo Yuan¡¯s head, giving off a strong sense of oppression. Luo Yuan almost felt like running away.


    It was the biggest bird he had ever seen in his life. Perhaps it could carry a rock weighing even 1,000 tons. When it was far away from Luo Yuan and invisible to the naked eye, Luo Yuan realised his back was soaking wet. The giant ape beside him looked even worse. It was shaking on the ground.


    Luo Yuan did not dare stay out in the open. He walked to the center of the rocks and buried himself in the sand. He only left his eyes and nose uncovered. Enlightened, the ape dug a hole using its hands and buried itself like Luo Yuan had just done. The only difference was that it buried its eyes and nose as well. Luo Yuan was worried that the sand would go into its nose when it breathed, but apparently he shouldn¡¯t have worried. Half an hour had passed, and the ape had not even moved. The sand was nothing to it.


    Initially, Luo Yuan had wanted to chase the giant ape away because he had been afraid that it might affect his hunting journey, but looking at how good it was at hiding, he did not mind it anymore. Time was passing, and the sun was shining. The temperature on the beach was gradually rising, and the air seemed distorted with steam. The sand had already reached 80 degrees. Luo Yuan believed that if he ced an egg in it, it would be cooked instantly.


    He felt like he was being cooked himself. His body was boiling hot. He didn¡¯t have to look to know that he was red. His +14 Physique was useless. His body was only getting hotter and hotter. Even the energy enrichment agent in his heart was burning out, the body restoration function not working.


    Sweat dripped down his body like water, a sizzling, wet sound surrounding him. Looking at the noon sun, he licked his dry lips. The tip of his tongue was filled with sand. His vision was getting blurry, and his brain would stop functioning anytime now. The only thing keeping him together was his Will, but he felt like he was reaching his limits.


    "Isn¡¯t iting? If that¡¯s the case, I will have to wait for next time," he thought to himself. Although he could hold up to two hours, by that time he would have lost all his strength. He thought he would wait for another 10 minutes before giving up.


    Suddenly, he saw a green shadow fly by with the corner of his eye. It aimed at a giant rock and pluged its body forward like an arrow. The target was near, and everything happened unexpectedly. Luo Yuan cleared his mind and held on tight to the spear buried next to him in the sand. His eyes were half-closed to avoid looking at the creature. He didn¡¯t want the strange bird to sense what was happening. Luo Yuan adjusted his body quietly. His knees werepletely bent, his hands were ced on the sand, and his muscles were tense.


    The atmosphere had be unbearable.

 Chapter 231: The Return

    Chapter 231: The Return


    Trantor: Insignia Editor: Svjohn


    Suddenly, the sky turned dark.


    A strange bird the size of an aircraft flew down from the sky at the speed of light. It was as if a mountain was copsing, and an eight-degree typhoon had broken out. The sand was dancing in the air, and dust filled the area. It was like a sandstorm, visibility bing impossible at a hundred meters away.


    The strange bird used its metal-sharp ws to grab a giant rock.


    500 meters, 300 meters, 200 meters...


    "Just a little more!" Luo Yuan¡¯s heart was pounding. He had been waiting for the right time, but what he hadn¡¯t noticed was that the wind had blown away the sand he had been buried in. He waspletely exposed. A thinyer of sand was nothing to such a strong wind.


    The bird¡¯s vision was outstanding, a mutated bird¡¯s vision even more so. Suddenly, the strange bird plunging towards him had a seizure and let out a frightened scream. Its flying course changed as well. It seemed like its fear of Luo Yuan had been deeply engraved. Noticing him waiting there to ambush it, the bird didn¡¯t darend anymore. It screamed and pped its wings aggressively as if it was going to fly away.


    Luo Yuan knew he was in a pickle. Looking at the bird¡¯s strange behavior, he realized that it had noticed him. It was useless to hide anymore, so he made up his mind. He pressed the sand hard with his hands, and the beach exploded. A blurry shadow emerged within the sandstorm. As soon as Luo Yuannded on the ground, he ran towards the strange bird like an arrow.


    He used his entire body strength, putting all he had into the steps, one after another, explosive steps were taken towards the bird. The sand beneath his feet was sshing around, leaving deep potholes behind him. He squinted as he ran to avoid getting sand in his eyes. As he watched the strange bird stop and attempt to fly away, Luo Yuan was unexpectedly calm.


    The 80-meter distance was nothing for him. He reached it almost instantly. On hisst step, hended softly on a three-meter tall rock and jumped. He used all his strength in that jump. The strange bird was 100 meters in the air, elerating its flying speed to 200 meters per second. As Luo Yuan jumped into the sky, he felt as if he had just woken up from a nap. He was asfortable as if he was stretching his body. The shadow of his body would disappear sometimes. When it became clear again, his body was folded together.


    Suddenly, there was a loud sound, and the spear disappeared from Luo Yuan¡¯s hand at a speed that made it invisible to the naked eye. There was only a white cloud left in its ce. Just as the spear disappeared, the strange bird let out a devastating scream. It was just 0.3 seconds away. Countless feathers were flowing down from the sky. The bird couldn¡¯t control itself as it groaned and flew away clumsily.


    Luo Yuan didn¡¯t hesitate. As soon as hended on the ground, he started chasing after the bird. The bird was flying high and low, as if it was going to fall anytime. At the same time though, it didn¡¯t seem like it was going tond anytime soon.


    After chasing it for a few kilometers, Luo Yuan felt helpless and stopped, watching the bird fly away from sight. He was depressed. He had risked his life for a whole night to chase it and had been burning himself the entire morning, only to miss it. Judging by the bird¡¯s flying pattern though, it must have been hurt bad and barely be holding it together. One thing was for sure. It would not being back anytime soon.


    Maybe if it was unlucky, it would die of its injuries wherever it was that it was heading. Competition was cruel during the apocalypse. A badly injured mutated bird would definitely be a target for others. Its chances of survival were slim.


    By now, the only thing Luo Yuan could do was be optimistic. He touched his injured arm as he walked towards the ce he hade from. Looking at the giant ape hiding peacefully at the beach, he was tempted to beat it up and take his anger out on it. He thought about it again and gave up on the thought, though.


    He should not push his own mistakes on somebody else. After all, it was his own carelessness that had not let him notice the wind exposing him, and had resulted in him failing to capture the bird. He contemted his behavior ever since the apocalypse had started. He realized that ever since he had be stronger, he had stopped using his brain. He often used violence to solve everything. He was not as cautious as he had been before. Violence had be the most straightforward and efficient way for him to take care of things.


    Just like a spoiled brat, he would not spend a long time or put his heart into a courtship, but use his money to get what he wanted instead. Whether it was money or personal strength, he was still depending on a certain kind of power. When one got used to the benefits of power, they got hooked. However, once power couldn¡¯t solve a problem, it led to them getting hurt or even dying.


    This served as a lesson for him. He rubbed the space between his brows and stood up. He stepped on the ground where the giant ape was hiding and shouted, "Let¡¯s go back!"


    It was almost evening when Luo Yuan arrived at the campsite. As the giant ape was approaching, the giant lizard could smell that there was a stranger invading its territory. It started roaring, and the ape did the same. The sound was so strong that it hurt Luo Yuan¡¯s ears as he sat on the giant ape¡¯s shoulders. The beast hesitated in moving forward, but Luo Yuan gave it a punch and it unwillingly walked towards the campsite, where the giant lizard was.


    Once they saw each other, the two beasts instantly went into battle mode. There could only be one beast around. If two beasts of equal power met, a battle was inevitable. Unless one of them was losing, neither party would run away.


    Of course, Luo Yuan wouldn¡¯t allow anything like that to happen. He shouted at both of them. Hearing his familiar voice, the giant lizard realized that its master was sitting on the strange mutated beast¡¯s shoulder. Stunned, it let out a cry. It was sad that its master had found a new pet.


    The giant ape was afraid of Luo Yuan and squatted quietly in a corner after getting shouted at. It red at the giant lizard from time to time, as if it was nning something.


    "Howe there¡¯s no oneing out even after all this shouting?" Luo Yuan found it strange. He had a bad feeling about it.

 Chapter 232: The Incident

    Chapter 232: The Incident


    Trantor: Insignia Editor: Svjohn


    Luo Yuan¡¯s sensitive senses allowed him to hear the noisesing out of the cave. His facial expression changed, and he ran quickly towards the entrance of the aircraft. Once he stepped inside, the noises got even louder. There was screaming, shouting and the sound of metal hitting against something.


    Shocked, he walked even faster and opened the cockpit¡¯s door forcefully. His pupils shrunk. There were mutated ants everywhere. There were hundreds of them. He had no idea where they¡¯de from, but it looked like the ce had be their hunting ground.


    The one-foot-long ants were turquoise in color, and their bodies looked like they were made of metal, making them look really strong. Although they were small, their speed was faster than a human jogging and their dexterity was pretty high. Their jaws were the size of two palms, and they were opening and closing like a pair of scissors. Their bite would no doubt be fatal.


    Everyone had been forced into a corner, barely holding up as they tried their best to kill the mutated ants with their swords. Although they looked desperate, none of them had been hurt. It seemed like they had gained enough strength through their training. Ordinary mutated beasts could not harm them anymore. Even the kids were swinging their swords whenever they got the chance. The ants¡¯ outer shell was tough though, and the kids¡¯ weak shes were futile. It seemed like their weapons could use an upgrade.


    Suddenly, Luo Yuan noticed Wang Shishi lying on the ground. She was surrounded by the team, and there was blood on her legs. Apparently, she had been hurt. She looked like she was breathing properly though, and there were no life-threatening injuries on her, so Luo Yuan was relieved.


    He pulled out his Zhanmadao without hesitation. The sword¡¯s glow kept changing as he walked towards the ants. All the ants in his way were injured by just a touch of the sword, and those that were shed by it died instantly. Soon, Luo Yuan had cleared a path.


    Everyone was delighted to see him return. "Boss Luo is back! We are saved! Let¡¯s give it our all!" Huo Dong shouted as he shed an ant into half. The ant¡¯s pus sshed on his face.


    "Boss Luo, if you¡¯de anyter, I think you would have found our dead bodies," said Commander Xia in relief.


    Luo Yuan made his way through the crowd, managing to kill all the ants within a few minutes. His face betrayed no emotion as he squatted down and touched Wang Shishi¡¯s forehead. It was boiling hot. "What happened to her?"


    "She was bitten by an ant on her leg and passed out," said Wang Xiaguang as she looked around.


    Luo Yuan was shocked. He pulled at Wang Shishi¡¯s pants to have a better look. The wound wasn¡¯t deep. It was only a surface wound, but it was ck in color. Part of her calf had gotten swollen. "She¡¯s been poisoned," Luo Yuan said.


    "Is there still hope?" Huang Jiahui asked, her voice breaking. Everyone was stunned. They didn¡¯t think that kind of injury could have been so serious.


    "Everyone keep an eye out and don¡¯t disturb me!" Luo Yuan said seriously. They all backed off immediately. There were a few ants approaching them, but they managed to kill them instantly. Looking at them handling the situation well, Luo Yuan felt relieved. He took a deep breath and opened his palm. There was a dim glow on it as he ced it on Wang Shishi¡¯s chest.


    Her body shook vigorously as if she was being electrocuted. Luo Yuan closed his eyes as he held his palm against her chest. The glow remained. Drops of ck blood were dripping out of the wound. As time went by, the color of her blood got lighter. From ck to purple, and eventually to normal red.


    His Will was much stronger than it used to be. Healing was nothing to him now. Half a minuteter, he opened his eyes and took a look at Wang Shishi¡¯s wound. The poison had been cleared, and even the swelling had subsided a lot. He was relieved as he stood up and walked to the front.


    In a short period of time, the mutated ants had filled up the space again. He pulled out his Zhanmadao and started swinging it. With his Dexterity, he could swing 40 shes in a second. Within a few seconds, he had cleared up a big space. "How did this happen?" he asked.


    "It was all my fault. I was toozy to clean after lunch, so I left the bones in a corner. I was going to throw them away at night. I didn¡¯t expect them to attract mutated ants," said Huang Jiahui in fear. "At first, there were only two of them. I thought we¡¯d get rid of them easily, so I didn¡¯t really mind them. But then they started multiplying really fast, and I realised it was toote. If Wang Shishi hadn¡¯t been here, we wouldn¡¯t have made it this far."


    "It wasn¡¯t all Sister Huang¡¯s fault. All women should be helping with lunch. I should take the me as well," Zhao Yali said. There were frills on her sword, and she was covered in a disgusting green pus. Apparently, the battle had given her courage. Cao Lin was hiding away from them, her face pale from fear. As a matter of fact, it was her who had left the bones in the corner because she had been toozy and scared to go out. She hadn¡¯t expected such a thing to happen.


    Looking at Huang Jiahui and Zhao Yali owning up to it all, she felt grateful to them. While she was relieved though, she was also envious at the same time. As long as nothing major happened to Wang Shishi, the incident would be forgotten. Luo Yuan wouldn¡¯t even nag them about it. If he knew that it had been her who had caused the scene though, it would be a different story. Although he wouldn¡¯t kill her, his opinion of her would change dramatically.


    "That¡¯s enough. I wasn¡¯t going to me anyone. The weather is too hot. No one would want to go out. Plus, nobody would have expected this to happen," Luo Yuan said.


    "See?" Cao Lin thought to herself. The incident was finally over, and she felt relieved. She¡¯d been unconsciously clenching her fists until they¡¯d turned pale.


    Luo Yuan spent a few more minutes killing off all the mutated ants. The ground was filled with dead ants as more and more kepting in through the gap. It was impossible to kill them all. The gap was two meters long and less than a fist wide. It had been there ever since they had dug the cave. At that point in time, Luo Yuan hadn¡¯t minded it, but he hadn¡¯t known that it would be a path for mutated ants.


    Now that he thought about it, it was fortunate that this had happened at noon when everyone had been awake and alert. If it had happened in the middle of the night, the consequences would have been unimaginable.


    Perhaps the ants had sensed that their own kind were dying, because more and more kept flooding in through the gap. The rock wall was right under their mouths, and they kept biting it off as if they were chewing biscuits. There was a cracking noise as the gap got bigger and bigger.


    Luo Yuan¡¯s facial expression turned stern. He had a bad feeling about this. The mutated ants were not attacking them, they were going after their own kind. Thanks to their tough shells and the movement of their mouths, a loud metal noise filled up the whole space. They were eating fast, each carcass getting devoured by six mutated ants. Soon, they had eaten everything. There was nothing left.


    Some of them hadn¡¯t even diedpletely, but that didn¡¯t stop the starving ants. They injured ants struggled at first, but it was futile. No wonder that there had not been many carcasses when Luo Yuan hade in. The ants had probably been there for a feast. In half a minute, the number of the ants was the same as it had been before. Luo Yuan¡¯s scalp went numb as he looked at how fast they were.


    He couldn¡¯t think of any other solution except killing them all once again.


    "Boss Luo, it seems like we can¡¯t stay here tonight. There must be an ant colony somewhere in there," Huo Dong said.


    Luo Yuan nodded and said, "Everyone pack your bags, we¡¯re moving into the grotto for the night."


    "Have you settled the mutated bird already?" Huang Jiahui asked in joy.


    Everyone was looking at Luo Yuan.


    "That bastard was too fast. It managed to get away, although it was badly injured. Even if it doesn¡¯t die, it will note for us anytime soon." Luo Yuan paused. He got upset when he thought about the mutated bird getting away.


    Although it hadn¡¯t been killed, everyone was relieved that they could still live in peace for a few days. Suddenly, Luo Yuan heard something. He put his ear on the wall and listened carefully. There was a cracking noise inside the wall, as if countless ants were chewing it from the other side.


    He was stunned as he said, "We don¡¯t have much time. Pack your bags, we¡¯re leaving this ce right now!"


    "What¡¯s happening, Luo Yuan?" Huang Jiahui sounded worried.


    "The wall will crumble soon from the chewing, and there will be a massive number of ants flooding in. By that time, I won¡¯t be able to save you all," Luo Yuan said as he lifted Wang Shishi, who had been lying on the ground.


    Everyone was scared and ran towards their bags right away. Suddenly, cracks opened up on the wall, forming a web, and ants starteding in aggressively through them.


    "There¡¯s no time, we need to leave right now!" Luo Yuan shouted while quickly killing the mutated ants closest to him. It only managed to buy them a little time as more and more ants flooded in. There was a four-meter tall hill of them near the wall. Even Luo Yuan was scared and had to take a few steps back.


    What he hadn¡¯t wanted to happen, was happening. A couple of mutated ants were no harm, but a crowd could be more terrifying than a green-level creature. He had seen documentaries on ant tides before the apocalypse. He remembered what a catastrophe they were. He remembered seeing ants on countless carcasses, and creatures running away wailing. Some of them had been eaten by the ants, only bones left behind within a few minutes. The food chain meant nothing anymore. If you were careless, you would get eaten. It wasn¡¯t just animals, even nts were victims of that phenomenon. That was somehow even more terrifying. Every living thing was fated to die. Those had been regr ants too. Mutated ants would be even more disastrous.

 Chapter 233: The Detection Technique

    Chapter 233: The Detection Technique


    Trantor: Insignia Editor: Svjohn


    Everybody grabbed their bags and ran for their lives. The moment the cockpit¡¯s door closed, the wall copsed. Countless mutated ants flooded in like spring water, filling up the cave within seconds.


    Luo Yuan took a glimpse and felt his scalp tingling. "Come on, we need to run!" he shouted. He knew that the cockpit¡¯s metal door would not hold against the mutated ant¡¯s sharp teeth any longer. They all ran out of the aircraft anxiously, slowing down their footsteps when they saw the giant ape moping around in the distance.


    The ape was seven meters tall standing up and three meters tall squatting down. Its muscled body intimidated them even from a distance. "Don¡¯t stop running! This is the new Battle Beast I adopted!" Luo Yuan said loudly while gesturing for the giant lizard to lower its body.


    The lizard snorted and lowered itself immediately. Everybody ran towards it in shock and climbed up on the lizard¡¯s back clumsily. The beast seemed to know that something was wrong and ran towards the forest without hesitation.


    Noticing that Luo Yuan had left, the giant ape stood up and caught up with them quickly. Thanks to its painful lessons, it knew it would be a nightmare if it did not follow the short fellow and stayed there.


    Sitting on the giant lizard¡¯s back, everyone felt slightly relieved. They turned their heads to glimpse at the strange beast from time to time. It had the appearance of an ape, with golden brown hair all over its majestic body and hands that extended lower than its knees. It was shining bright under the dusking sun. If it were holding a baton, it would have been easily associated with a wild mythical character.


    However, its expression ruined its stunning appearancepletely. The way it walked betrayed its uncertainty and made it looked like a wretch. When it noticed everyone looking at it, it took on a ttering expression that made the situation awkward. Apparently, the giant ape treated Luo Yuan¡¯spanions with the same fear it treated Luo Yuan himself.


    "Boss Luo, look!" Lin Xiaoji shouted. Luo Yuan turned his head to look, and frowned at the wreckage of the aircraft that was being devouredpletely by the mutated ants. From a distance, it looked like it was covered by a thickyer of turquoise carpet, the carpet spreading and wiggling like waves.


    Everybody was affected by the sight. Their scalps were tingling, and even the two mutated beasts were acting up. Fortunately, the ant tide was spreading slowly and did not cause any major uproar. Eventually, they were not able to see it anymore as they kept moving forward. They were all relieved.


    "It would be great if we had some gasoline. We could burn them once and for all!" Huo Dong said.


    "Gasoline? Even if we did have some, we would not waste it on them. There¡¯s insufficient gasoline in the reconstruction area," said Commander Xia.


    "The reconstruction area is in trouble. Isn¡¯t there arge gasoline field there?" Hua Jiahui asked in confusion.


    Commander Xia shook his head solemnly and said, "There is a gasoline field in Tamakan, but it can¡¯t be used inrge quantities anymore. There are more than 10 million military teams as we speak, including those in reserve. Let¡¯s not even talk about the transportation trucks, the tanks, and the armored vehicles. The self-propelled artilleries alone are hundreds of thousands. And that¡¯s just thend force, we haven¡¯t even taken the air force into ount. They use as much gasoline as thend forces. The amount of gasoline is barely enough. As a matter of fact, they alsock food, ores, coal..."


    Huang Jiahui and Huo Dong stopped talking. It felt as if a huge rock was pressing down against their hearts. Luo Yuan kept quiet. He had an urge to take a look at the reconstruction area. It was a most magnificent era, despite the fact that humans were the most cruel they¡¯d ever been and it took everything they had in them to survive.


    He knew that he could not keep running forever. If he wanted to live, he had to learn to face all obstacles.


    He could not save all humankind himself, he didn¡¯t have that ability. As a part of humankind though, he had to work together with others and give it his all.


    It had been a week since they¡¯d moved back into the cave. After the thunderstorm, the nts had been growing rapidly. Everybody had plenty of spare time outside their training, so they got busy clearing the weeds in a one-kilometer radius around the area every two or three days. After a week of housekeeping, the area lookedpletely different. The mutated bird had not made an appearance yet, and they were not sure whether it was dead or just afraid. ording to Luo Yuan, it was most likely the former.


    Meanwhile, the ant tide had mysteriously disappeared four days ago, as suddenly as it had appeared. Nobody knew where the ants had gone. Maybe they were hiding underground. Luo Yuan made a trip there to check, but there was nothing but a mess left.


    There were bones everywhere within a 10-kilometer radius, and the area looked dead. Both the mutated creatures and half of the nts had been destroyed. Those nts that survived had been chewed down to their core. The ants were savages. They had eaten anything and everything except the rocks.


    Luo Yuan was really relieved by their disappearance. Although their speed was not fast or threatening, they would usually appear out of nowhere without warning. They covered a wide amount of ground, so once one was surrounded, there was nowhere to run unless one managed to clear a path by killing them. Plus, their density was really high when they stacked themselves on each other. They could not bepared to the usual crowd of mutated beasts. If their range of attack was slightly better, even Luo Yuan might not have been able to survive.


    After all, there was only a limited number of times that he could use the Earth Stomp. After a few times, it would bepletely used up, and if it did not manage to get him out of range, only death would be awaiting him. Perhaps they had been lucky, because the ants had beening from a point that allowed them to escape easily.


    Apart from the aftershock of the ant tide, the day was unusually peaceful, giving everybody a sense of harmony. Compared to theke, which was filled with high-level mutated beasts, that area was deserted. Almost no one was passing by besides the asional low-level mutated beast that gave Huo Dong and the rest an opportunity to train.


    Meanwhile, Luo Yuan took the chance to experiment with his new special ability. That special ability hade with the upgrade. Initially, Luo Yuan had not noticed anything. He had only discovered it when he had been managing his skill points and realized that there were three special abilities on the attribution panel. There was a special ability given for every five upgrades. He had acquired the identification technique at level zero when he had first gotten the system, and the synthesization technique at level 5. Now that he was on level 10, he had acquired the detection technique.


    Luo Yuan was excited at first because he thought he recognized that ability from games he had yed. The detection technique would make him unterally transparent, which would be a big advantage in battles. Later on, though, he discovered that this technique was not the mysterious ability he knew from games. The message received was so simple that it was almost crude. The specific property points and skill points were no exceptions.


    The detection technique was like a search engine connected to a mysterious databank. For instance, if Luo Yuan was to use it on an unknown nt, he would see this:


    "Species: Herb"


    "Name: Serrated Grass"


    "Remarks: A non-poisonous, verymon mutated nt found in the Northern hemisphere. It has thick tubers with certain edible values and slightly bitter leaves with a minimal healing effect."


    Although the message was simple, it was notpletely useless. Of course, the identification technique could be used for the same purposes, but one only provided specific knowledge while the other provided general knowledge. Distance also made a difference. The identification technique required physical touch, while the detection technique could sense anything within 50 meters of Luo Yuan. This would make his life much easier when it came to data collection, as well as ensuring his survival and strengthening his danger avoiding abilities.


    Luo Yuan looked at Huo Dong, who was training in the distance. He used the detection technique quietly on him.


    "Species: Human"


    "Sex: Male"


    "Remarks: This is a member of the human civilization on Earth. His intelligence fluctuates between +9 and +11. He has a weak physique, but excels at thinking and creating. He has reached level-two civilization peak and possesses certain potential."

 Chapter 234: Pain

    Chapter 234: Pain


    Trantor: Insignia Editor: Svjohn


    "Boss Luo, here¡¯s a ss of water for you!" Wang Shishi said while fetching a ss of water for Luo Yuan with a smile.


    Luo Yuan took a sip, gave the ss back and continued his search, plucking the asional obscure herb.


    "Boss Luo, what are these herbs for?" Wang Shishi asked in an adorable manner.


    "To make soup!" Luo Yuan said without even lifting his head.


    Apparently, these herbs were scarce. It took him a while to find another one. Wang Shishi nced at the herbs he was holding. She thought they were no different than the rest. They looked likemon herbs. The only difference was their veins, which were silver in color. That was not entirely unusual either though, considering that they lived in a world filled with mutated things.


    "We can use these herbs to make soup? Nice soup?" Wang Shishi asked curiously.


    "I¡¯ve never tried it, but I¡¯m sure it won¡¯t taste nice!" Luo Yuan said casually.


    "Then why are you looking for these herbs?" Wang Shishi asked inquisitively.


    Luo Yuan finally stood up and looked at her. "Why are you here? Have you finished your training for the day?"


    "Why are you asking me that every time you see me? I¡¯m not a kid!" Wang Shishi said with a pout. "I can fly like a bird now!"


    "Stop bragging and show me," Luo Yuan said with envy. Ever since Wang Shishi had been bitten by the mutated ants and slipped intoa, she had been able to fly. She had discovered it the next day when she had woken up. Nobody knew if the ability had been triggered by the ants, or if she had developed it through training, but it was certainly a happy ident.


    Of course, ¡®flying¡¯ was an exaggeration. She could just levitate five meters above the ground. Levitation was easy. It was moving in the air that was difficult. For a mechanical model to be able to lift vertically, it only had to move forward. All it took was a shift in the angle.


    However, that was an ideal state. Humans belonged on the ground. Being in the air caused them tension and made their vision shift from two-dimensional to three-dimensional. It was also difficult to control one¡¯s emotions and body while in the air. When one got distracted, their body would nt easily and fall to the ground. Levitation and flight might seem really close, but without practice and adaptation, there was a long way to go from one to the other.


    "Watch me fly!" Wang Shishi said in frustration. She ced the ss of water further away, stared at Luo Yuan and said, "I¡¯m going to fly now!"


    Luo Yuan stepped aside and nodded.


    Wang Shishi took a deep breath and calmed herself down. Soon, there was an invisible force rumbling on the ground. Dust flew everywhere, and all the weeds nearby were pushed by a strong force.


    Wang Shishi levitated slowly, the air around her bing slightly distorted. She stopped when she was three meters above the ground, and attempted to move forward. Her speed was slow at first. She was tense and her expression was serious. Once she got the hang of it though, she started picking up speed gradually. From three meters per second, she was eventually able to move 10 meters per second.


    "Don¡¯t just go straight, try turning!" Luo Yuan shouted as he frowned.


    Wang Shishi was shocked. She slowed down her speed and was able to make a 30 degree turn after five seconds. One minuteter, shended on the ground panting.


    "So this is what you meant when you said you could fly like a bird? Did you mean an ostrich?" Luo Yuan mocked her.


    "I practice everyday, but turning is just too difficult. I can¡¯t master it," Wang Shishi said with a blush.


    "If you know it¡¯s difficult, then you should practice even more! Practice until it¡¯s in your blood. Nobody is born that way. If you don¡¯t fully explore your gift, it will go to waste!" Luo Yuan said.


    "But I¡¯m already trying very hard!" Wang Shishi said in a choked voice. She was on the verge of crying. "I just thought you might be thirsty and wanted to fetch you a ss of water! What did I do to deserve to be scolded?"


    Looking at the tears in Wang Shishi¡¯s eyes, Luo Yuan¡¯s heart softened. "Maybe I was too strict. I know you have been trying very hard, but to me, that¡¯s not enough. I wouldn¡¯t even bother if this was somebody else, but you are different!"


    "How am I different?" Wang Shishi pouted again.


    "You have been with me for the longest time. We have been through a lot since the apocalypse started. We¡¯re like a family now. With your gift, you have the potential to survive the apocalypse. That¡¯s why I¡¯m extra strict with you. Do you understand?" Luo Yuan exined sincerely.


    Wang Shishi blushed. She had focused on the part where Luo Yuan had expressed how close they were and ignored the rest of his words.


    "Alright, let¡¯s head back!" Luo Yuan said in satisfaction, noticing Wang Shishi¡¯s good behavior.


    "Okay!" Wang Shishi nodded in agreement.


    ...


    "Use these herbs to make a bowl a soup," Luo Yuan instructed the women, who were cleaning. He left the herbs on the table and walked towards the cave.


    "Sure. How many bowls of water should we use?" asked Huang Jiahui as she looked at the herbs in curiosity. She did not ask anything else.


    "Let¡¯s use four bowls to make one bowl," Luo Yuan said after thinking. "Where are the rest?"


    "They¡¯re hunting with King Kong," said Huang Jiahui with a giggle, covering her mouth.


    King Kong was the giant ape. The giant ape had a high intelligence simr to humans and an outgoing personality. It had been hiding its personality in the beginning because everyone had still been a stranger, but it had not taken long for it to get close to them. Its rtionship with the rest was perhaps even closer than with Luo Yuan, to the point that they even went hunting together now. It was not the first time this was happening. They usually would not go too far, so Luo Yuan was not worried.


    Huang Jiahui cleaned the herbs swiftly and started boiling them in the stone pot. Soon, a pungent smell filled the air. Huang Jiahui sneezed several times, and stepped away from the pot.


    "Boss Luo, what is this thing? Its smell is suffocating!" Cao Lin, who was nearby, could not help but ask.


    "It¡¯s a very special herb," Luo Yuan said. "Eating it will give you an extreme sense of pain."


    "So what are you going to do with it? Eat it?" Huang Jiahui asked.


    Luo Yuan nodded. "You should all experience the effect of Will. Enduring pain is an extreme exercise in willpower. Don¡¯t worry though, it¡¯s not poisonous."


    Everybody was stunned.


    "Is this... necessary?" asked Huang Jiahui with a confused expression on her face. This was beyond painstaking. It was practically self-torture. She did not ask Luo Yuan how he knew that the herb was not dangerous. He seemed to have a mysterious ability to distinguish between what was edible and what was poisonous.


    Luo Yuanughed. "I¡¯d rather endure some pain now than die because I¡¯m unable to ovee any danger!"


    "Then save some for me!" Huang Jiahui said. She thought that she was a burden to Luo Yuan, so that was the least she could do to help.


    "I want to try it as well!" said Wang Shishi.


    Everybody wanted some all of a sudden.


    "Are you guys sure?" Luo Yuanughed while looking at the women. "Don¡¯te crying to meter!"


    Luo Yuan had gone through that kind of pain before. He had chewed on a piece of leaf and had felt an indescribable pain spread all over his body. He had felt as if every inch of his muscles and organs had been on fire. He would rather have passed out than have to endure it. Although he had a Physique of +14, he had not been able to bear it. The pain hadsted for a full 10 minutes, and had been like walking through hell.


    That had only been the effect of one piece of leaf. There were more than 10 in that soup. Luo Yuan felt his scalp tingle and fear grow inside his body.


    "Why do you despise women so much? If we were topare pain endurance, how could men evenpare to women? Men can never even imagine the pain of childbirth," said Huang Jiahui, feeling patronized. She suddenly thought of her daughter and became solemn.


    "Very well then. Let¡¯s try it together!" Luo Yuan said helplessly.


    The soup was ready soon. It was scooped into a wooden bowl, and had an orangish-yellow color and an extremely pungent small. As humans living in the apocalypse though, their tolerance was far higher than an ordinary person¡¯s. The smell barely made the women frown.


    The soup was divided into smaller bowls, and everyone was given a spoonful. If Luo Yuan did not stop them, they would have taken even more.


    "I¡¯ll go first!" he said while lifting up the bowl. He blew into the soup, took a deep breath, and drank it.


    Maybe it was the decoction, but the herb took effect faster thanst time. Within a few seconds, his face grew stiff and he let out a soft groan. The wooden bowl slipped from his hand as he struggled, his body shaking while he clenched his teeth. Big drops of sweat dripped down his forehead.


    He tried his best to endure it, but a few secondster he was already rolling on the ground. He was having seizures all over his body. Everyone was scared. They looked at each others¡¯ faces and turned pale. As they studied the orangish-yellow liquid in the bowl, they felt a chill going down their spines.

 Chapter 235: Direction

    Chapter 235: Direction


    Trantor: Insignia Editor: Svjohn


    The cave was filled with sounds of extreme pain and stress. No one had ever seen Luo Yuan show such emotion before. Even when he had been badly injured and vomiting blood, he had still looked as if nothing was happening to him. He had acted just like a normal person.


    This kind of pain had pushed him to his limits, though.


    "Will he be alright?" Zhao Yali was worried.


    "Besides the pain, he should be fine. Luo Yuan isn¡¯t reckless. He¡¯ll probably be okay soon," said Huang Jiahui after giving it some thought. She knew that even if something happened to him, there was nothing she could do about it. All they could do was let God take the wheel.


    The pain was so intense that Luo Yuan was rolling on the ground, soaking it in his sweat. Everyone felt scared as they looked at him. Cao Lin was shaking as she asked, "Then... should we drink it?"


    Zhao Yali opened her mouth as if something was stuck in her throat. "I think we should put this on hold. We can decide after Luo Yuan has recovered," she said.


    Although she did not say it, there was some hesitation in her words. She was usually afraid of pain. She could bear amon wound, but this was a kind of pain that even Luo Yuan could not stand. Even thinking about it gave her goosebumps.


    "Boss Luo will make fun of us, right? We all lied to him," said Wang Shishi. She nced at the orangish-yellow liquid she was holding as Luo Yuan struggled on the ground.


    She admired Luo Yuan the most, so what he thought of her mattered to her a lot. Plus, he had taught her a lesson on boasting earlier. Everyone was silent ever since Wang Shishi had spoken. "Let¡¯s drink it. It¡¯s not poison, anyway. The pain will justst for a little while. It shouldn¡¯t be too much for me. I¡¯ve gone through childbirth after all," said Huang Jiahui. She was usually ady, but she would man-up at critical times.


    Just as she was about to drink though, the others eximed, "He¡¯s up!"


    Everyone was both stunned and scared at the same time. Huang Jiahui went to him immediately. Luo Yuan was struggling to stand up, clenching his teeth as his facial muscles were having a mild seizure. His eyes were blood-red, and he looked as if he was going to eat someone.


    "What¡¯s wrong, Luo Yuan?" said Huang Jiahui, ignoring her fear and running towards him.


    "Go away! Everyone leave this ce right now!" Luo Yuan waved his hands, pushing Huang Jiahui away. His voice sounded like it was being forced out of his teeth. The sound it made was like the wind blowing. It gave everyone goosebumps.


    "Boss Luo, are you okay?" Wang Shishi asked.


    "Stop talking! Everybody get out of my sight right now!" His body was flickering like a dim light, an oppressed vibe spreading out from him.


    "Go! Let¡¯s leave this ce! Luo Yuan can¡¯t hold it back any longer!" Huang Jiahui shouted anxiously. She knew that when one reached their pain limit, their sanity crumbled to the point of insanity. By then, it would be extremely dangerous for them to stay.


    Scared, everyone ran out of the cave immediately. Their momentum increased as a strong sense of fear rose in their hearts. They backed off until they were 50 meters away. Just as they stopped, a loud noise came from far away before the continuous sound of an explosion was heard. Those 50 meters had saved their lives. From the outside, the cave looked blurry, as if the air was boiling at a high temperature. Everything seemed like an illusion.


    Although they were standing outside, they could feel a strong sense of repression. Cao Lin felt a quake under her feet. Her face turned pale as she thought, "Could a human do that?"


    ...


    It looked like thunder was rolling inside the cave as dust and sand were flying everywhere. The whole image was a blur. It was like a beast was growling. What shocked them even more was how the dust and gravel trembled in the air at high speed. It was just not normal.


    Since the upgrade, Luo Yuan¡¯s sword technique had already reached expert level, which was level 5. His application of his force field was god-like. In that mysterious force field, the air was thick and oppressive, with an intimidating vibe. If a mutated beast was surrounded by it, they would die instantly.


    In the midst of the thick, rolling dust, a blurry human shadow was bumping into things. There was a screeching sound produced by every hit, leaving deep holes on the cave¡¯s walls. Using his force field, Luo Yuan made the air sway along with his movements. It was a perfectbination, which made the effect even better than what he could usually achieve.


    His speed was extremely fast. Before long, the cave¡¯s wall was filled with holes and cracks that looked like spider webs. Surprisingly, the collision of his fists with the rocks did not hurt him. There was not even any redness on his hands. On a closer look, there was ayer of a dim glow around his body. The glow was as thin as a moth¡¯s wing, but it was as tough as if it were tangible. No matter how he moved, the glow showed no signs of cracking.


    He was hit by another wave of pain. It was as if he had been thrown into an oven set on high temperature, and at the same time was being stabbed over and over again. It was driving him crazy, and he was clenching his teeth really hard. A cracking sound was heard, and suddenly there was blood flowing from the sides of his lips.


    "Ahh!" he screamed, the veins on his forehead bulging. Teeth filled with blood dropped on the ground. The sound was like metal falling. He had bit off his own teeth. He sat down eventually. He held his fists tight and started punching the ground with all his might.


    Bam! Bam! Bam!


    Rocks were scattering everywhere, and soon there was a deep hole on the ground. His strong Will was the only thing giving him the strength to survive, but it was obviously reaching its limits as well. Every time he moved, the glow on his body would dim.


    It went on and off for more than a minute before disappearingpletely. He let out a groan and crashed down on the ground. His body was shaking and he was rolling on the floor as he moaned in devastation. Soon, the pain started to subside. The extreme pain he had been through was nothingpared to this. He was numb to this kind of pain.


    A few minutester, he slowly stood up.


    "I really miscalcted this time. I hadn¡¯t expected the effect of the Wailing Herb to be this strong. I almost died from it." Luo Yuan was pale. Fear was still lingering on his face.


    The incident had not been risk-free. When one went beyond their pain threshold, death was always possible. Fortunately, he had survived. Except he felt that something was wrong. He touched his face, only to realize that a few of his teeth were gone, and the rest were all loose. He spit out blood unhappily.


    There were no hospitals, so it seemed like this was it for his teeth. He was not sure if his +14 Physique could make them grow back. He looked at the area around him and realized it was a mess. Not only were there cracks on the walls, but even the tables and bowls had beenpletely crushed.


    Luo Yuan sighed. "Seems like we need to move to another cave!"


    He walked towards the pond. The water was muddy, but tolerable. There were only some stone chips at the bottom of it. He figured that the water was not drinkable anyway, so he took off his clothes and jumped in.


    The pond had been dug by the giants, so it met the giants¡¯ standards. It was so deep that the water reached his throat. He let out a breath. Since the apocalypse, he had never taken a bath like this. Water was too hard to find, and the danger in the wild did not allow him to bathe in peace.


    Knowing that the women woulde to his aide soon, he took a quick dip before he got up and washed his clothes thoroughly. He shook his body, and water droplets fell. Soon, he was all dried up. Once Luo Yuan has fully clothed again, the women came in.


    "Are you okay? That was terrifying!" Seeing that Luo Yuan was okay, Huang Jiahui was relieved.


    "Don¡¯t worry. It was just pain, there was no poison," Luo Yuan said casually.


    "What happened to your voice?" Huang Jiahui asked curiously. She thought his voice sounded airy.


    "Boss Luo, you lost some teeth!" said Wang Shishi, looking at the teeth on the ground. "Look, there are four of them, and they¡¯re all yourniary teeth!" she said loudly.


    Luo Yuan nced at Wang Shishi. He looked really unhappy.


    "Alright, let¡¯s pack our stuff and move to the cave next door." Huang Jiahui looked at Luo Yuan¡¯s unhappy expression. She thought it was funny, but she changed the topic fast.


    Actually, there was nothing much to be packed because most of their stuff had been destroyed by Luo Yuan. All that was left were the weapons and salt that had been ced in the corner.


    The new cave was much smaller than the previous one, but it was still spacious enough to fit most of them. After all, it had been upied by giants. After cleaning, the team that had gone hunting came back with some shocking news.


    "You saw an airne?" Luo Yuan asked in all seriousness.


    "To be exact, it was a heavy-duty transportation aircraft on the same mission as us," said Commander Xia.


    "Which direction was it flying in?" asked Luo Yuan.


    "Approximately 30 degrees northwest. I made a draft," said Commander Xia, handing him a carved piece of bark.


    Luo Yuan looked at the draft. Although it was rough, it was still clear. "Looks like the maic storm has subsided!" He thought about it again before he said, "Everyone please pay close attention to the sky to see where the reconstruction area is!"


    The reason they stayed in the forest was mainly because they had no idea where the reconstruction area was. The Kunlun Mountains were wide and had thousands of kilometers of roads. Nobody knew how many cliffs, alps orkes there were. The signal could be lost during a maic storm, but aircrafts always had a channel deviation. However, even if the channel functioned right, they could still lose their way.

 Chapter 236: Wisdom Heart

    Chapter 236: Wisdom Heart


    Trantor: Insignia Editor: Svjohn


    The stench of dead bodies around the Wisdom Tree was slowly subsiding. The bodies had been piled as high as a hill, yet now all that was left was a five-meter high mountain of bones that covered a 60-meter radius. The entire gray giant tribe was there, their bodies had dposed, the only thing left was their bones, scattered all around. Amid the mountain of bones, there was a spiral-shaped tree standing alone. Its lush green leaves and prosperous branches exuded a strong air of vitality.


    The image of life and death had a strong spiritual impact on people. Perhaps the Windom Tree symbolized that the birth of an intelligent race would mean the death of another. By absorbing the flesh and blood around it, the Wisdom Tree had grown leaps and bounds since thest time they had seen it. From nine meters tall and less than 40 centimeters in diameter, it had now grown to 20 meters tall and one meter wide. Even the color of the texture on its surface was much more mesmerizing.


    Looking at the Wisdom Tree, Luo Yuan sighed softly. The tree itself was a miracle. It was the very source of wisdom. To humans, it was the treasure of their race. Through the Wisdom Tree¡¯s ability to assimte life around it into itself, the Wisdom Tree had been able to evolve continuously within a short period of time. It could easily evolve to a green rank or higher. It could enable major improvements in human intelligence as well as technological advancement. No words could describe how valuable it was.


    Too bad that it was located deep inside the mountain, its gargantuan size making it impossible to move. It would notst long there. The only thing Luo Yuan could do was destroy it. He pulled out his saber, climbed up the mountain of bones and walked towards the Wisdom Tree.


    The Wisdom Tree had not been eating, so it seemed peaceful and harmless. It did not make a move as he approached it. Soon, he was standing right in front of it. He took a deep breath and pulled out his Zhanmadao. The saber was shining bright as he swung it at the tree. He left the ce immediately before the roots could react to what he had just done.


    Once he stopped, the branches of the Wisdom Tree fell with a loud rumble. The roots were rolling like pythons on fire, casting the bones surrounding it away. The whole scene was a big mess.


    Luo Yuan watched it from a distance. He didn¡¯t react as he looked at thest struggle of the Wisdom Tree. His emotions were indescribable. The roots tangled together as they rumbled. The loss of its branches made the tree get weaker within a few minutes. It didn¡¯t take long for it to fall hard against the ground. It had lost whatever strength it had remaining to fight.


    As Luo Yuan walked towards the fallen tree, he noticed something unbelievable. Within a short period of time, the leaves on the Wisdom Tree had lost their pigmentation and turned brown. Even the wisdom fruit between the leaves had started to shrink.


    Instead of being surprised, Luo Yuan was actually happy. "It¡¯s just like what I saw through the detection technique."


    This was an exclusive survival technique of the Wisdom Tree. Whenever it was being destroyed, most of its nutrients would be absorbed into the core of the tree. Once it had escaped danger, it would grow new roots from the nutrients it had umted. It was a survival tactic that people would usually overlook. Not Luo Yuan, though.


    ...


    He had some time while he waited for the nutrients to be absorbed into the core, so he took out a clean Wailing Herb and started chewing on it slowly. Its spiciness soon had drops of sweat dripping down his forehead. Since hisst attempt, he had discovered that this had a shocking effect on his Will. The following day, he had realized that there had been a huge improvement in his Will. While he had been fighting against the pain, his Will had be easier to control.


    Even more surprisingly, he had realized that there had been a slight improvement to his Sensory Perception. These obvious improvements brought Luo Yuan immense joy. Ever since his painful experience though, he was more careful. He consumed a smaller amount and he usually chewed the leaves slowly in his spare time, like a snack. Although the effect was less potent than the first time, it was better to be safe than sorry.


    As the rate of absorption was slower, the painsted for half an hour before it started to subside. He wiped away the beads of sweat on his forehead, let out a sigh and sat down on the ground. He did not need his Will to endure this amount of pain anymore, but his energy was consumed at an rming rate. Each time he did this, it would exhaust him so much that it would be as if he had just fought a hard battle.


    He rested for a while before he stood up and walked towards the Wisdom Tree. Most of its leaves had fallen, and its branches had died and shrunk. Looking at it, nobody would have believed that this tree had fallen less than an hour ago.


    Luo Yuan waited patiently until the lines of the tree trunk had beenpleted. Then he took his saber and walked towards the tree. He walked to the incision he made earlier on the branches and skived pieces of wood fiber. He was very cautious. He was afraid of hurting the core of the tree. There was no rush. He would even wait for the fruit to grow, if he had to.


    Although he was cautious, he was not moving at a slow pace by any means. The skiving was so fast, all one could see was his shadow. Pieces of wood fell from the tree swiftly, each of them as thin as a moth¡¯s wings. They were all the same size, as if they¡¯d been made using a mold. Even a five-star head chef would have been put to shame by Luo Yuan¡¯s skill.


    His saber paused slightly as he stopped what was doing. There was a hole as big as a marble on the trunk, exuding a sweet fragrance. Happy, Luo Yuan observed the hole for a little while, slowing down the speed of his skiving.


    As time passed, the hole expanded and its fragrance got stronger. Through the hole, intertwined wooden sieves looking like blood vessels could be seen. Luo Yuan became even gentler. Ten minutester, the inside of the tree waspletely exposed. There were around 10 wooden sieves and a unique tissue link.


    Luo Yuan was not surprised. The tissue looked very simr to that of a human brain. Both the gully and the shape looked simr. If it wasn¡¯t purple and its size was a little smaller, Luo Yuan would have thought that it was a human brain.


    He took a deep breath and calmed himself down as he looked at it. His eyes were sparkling. After a while, he plucked it with his hand. Once it was detached, the trunk shook for a while before the Wisdom Tree died.


    Its ¡®brain¡¯ was the size of a palm. It was soft, yet strong, as if it was covered by ayer of skin.


    Luo Yuan used the identification technique.


    "Wisdom Heart"


    "Rarity: Dark Blue"


    "Weight: 200g"


    "Type: Unique Wisdom Item"


    "Additional Abilities: Wisdom +1; Minimal chance of unique mutation"


    "Evaluation: This is the rare heart of a Wisdom Tree, which has umted the essence of the Wisdom Tree. Its value is immeasurable. If eaten, it could further trigger the cerebral cortex and increase wisdom. Applicable to +15 or below with a minimal chance of unique mutation."

 Chapter 237: Amazing

    Chapter 237: Amazing


    Trantor: Insignia Editor: Svjohn


    The powerful effects of the Wisdom Heart shocked Luo Yuan. Joy was written all over his face.


    Soon, he wiped his excitement away and calmed down enough to look carefully at the information provided by the identification technique. He had noticed something.


    It was a unique item. The evaluation of such an item was not new to him as the Haunted Locust Heart he wore on his chest was also a unique item. Luo Yuan realized that neither the Haunted Locust Heart or the Wisdom Heart were of a high level. The Haunted Locust Heart was only of a blue rank. Usually, low-level items had no effect on him, however, their value and effect were out of the ordinary, to the point that it was unbelievable. It seemed that these items were above average, and amon evaluation was not good enough for them.


    Doubt rose within Luo Yuan, but the message was short, so he could not specte any further. He could only observe that there was a pattern to these unique items, creating an indescribable mystery around them. They were significantly different frommon evolved creatures. They were the miracle of evolution and had a minimal probability of being an infinite evolutionary basis.


    All kinds of thoughts shed in his brain, but Luo Yuan kept his impulsiveness in check, got up and walked towards the cave with the Wisdom Heart. Although the campsite was not far away and he habitually took care of all possible danger along the way, it was not entirely safe. He was not sure what side effects eating the heart would bring. If he fell into a deep sleep, he would turn into a pile of bones by the next day, no matter how strong he was. There were too many mutated bugs and underground creatures around. During the night, there would only be weak mutated creatures romping around, but even harmless creatures with limited strength could deal with a sleeping human.


    Luo Yuan reached the cave soon. After telling everyone not to disturb him, he looked pointedly at Huang Jiahui, who was sitting in a corner.


    "We should not disturb Luo Yuan. Let¡¯s go out!" Huang Jiahui told everyone, getting Luo Yuan¡¯s meaning. The two of them had developed great chemistry after spending so much time together. Luo Yuan hade back with joy on his face, so it was obvious to her that he had something he needed to do in secret.


    Everybody else had sensed it to. Hearing Huang Jiahui, they all walked out of the cave without asking any questions. When everybody had left, Luo Yuan opened his hand. The purple ¡®brain¡¯ was in it. He hadn¡¯t sent everyone away because he was worried that they would judge him for wanting this treasure all to himself. It was just that the shape of the Wisdom Heart was so unique that it would cause an uproar. Although he could exin, it was too much trouble to do so.


    Looking at the heart, Luo Yuan was reminded of the ginseng fruit in Journey to the West. I did not matter that the people living through the apocalypse were not fictional characters like Xuanzang. Luo Yuan took a bite. The heart¡¯s texture was like jelly, and the taste was not as good as he had imagined. It was bitter, with a tinge of sourness and tanginess, and almost impossible to swallow. Luo Yuan remained expressionless. He did not even frown as he finished half the Wisdom Heart in a few bites.


    "Compared to the Wailing Herb, this is delicious." The thought popped into his mind. The Wisdom Heart was full of nutrients and essence of the tree. Luo Yuan was only half-way through it, yet he was already feeling full.


    He decided to stop, holding the remaining half of the Wisdom Heart in his hand. This thing was too precious. It could actually increase his attribute points, so he kept whatever he could of it. Even though he might not be able to use it himself, the others still might.


    He did not know if there would be any effect if he did not finish the entire thing, though. He ced half of the Wisdom Heart in a wooden basin and sat there patiently, waiting for the change toe.


    A few minutester, he felt an itch and numbness on his scalp.


    "Here ites!" Luo Yuan said to himself.


    He took a deep breath and tried his best to calm himself down, but he felt uncertain. Changes in the brain were nothing like changes on the flesh. The brain was the nerve center and memory bank of the human body. Even the slightest mistake could cause a memory disorder, paralysis, or instant death.


    It was not the first time he¡¯d had changes made to his brain, though. There had been several instances, but those had been controlled by the system. His brain had been dazed for a little while, and then the transformation was done. They had been reliable and safe, with a zero-mistake guarantee.


    Using the Wisdom Heart was an original way to trigger a transformation in his cerebral cortex. It was like a person doing business in Africa. If they got sick and there was no hospital, their only choice would be to look for a witch doctor, who was naturally a lot less reliable.


    Luo Yuan stopped thinking as the itch and numbness on his scalp got so intense to the point that they grew painful. Momentster, his vision became blurry. The wall in front of him was like a block of butter melting under the high temperature, swirling and mixing into a colorful painting. His ears felt like a radio that had lost its signal. There was only silence and the asional loud noises. His sense of smell and taste were affected too. He felt all sorts of tastes all at once - thick, nd, bitter, sweet and salty. His brain was filled with messy, contradictory, meaningless messages. Soon, his hands and feet were numb. Gradually, he lost all his senses. It felt like being paralyzed. All Luo Yuan could do was feel. There was nothing else to be done.


    That was just the beginning, though. A few minutester, he lost his sightpletely. All he could see was darkness. Next, his hearing, smell, and taste were gone. When he lost his sense of touch, he felt like he had beenpletely isted from the world. The was no light, no sound, nothing. He was not even sure if he existed. An unknown fear rushed inside his body, his emotions all messed up under these extreme circumstances. His fear was a self-instinctive sense of crisis produced by the countless cells inside his body.


    He wanted to struggle and scream, but his strong Will stopped him. He knew it was futile. It would only send the wrong signals to his body, causing the evolution to fail. He could not stop. Just like aputer half-way through an upgrade, if he quit while the process was still going on, he would be left paralyzed.


    Barely a few seconds had passed, but it felt like a million years to him. His grasp of time had changed and the thought processes in his mind became slow and cumbersome. Eventually, it halted. The very next moment though, his brain fired up once again. At the same time, he could see, hear and smell everything around him. His senses wereing back to him and he could feel a wave of emotions wash over him as his eyes grew wet. He had never realized, how wonderful the world was.


    He felt different as he stood up, walking straight ahead in a fast pace. The world felt like a brand new ce. Everything was colorful, every sound was rich. He took in the scenes around him greedily,ter realizing that this was not the heart¡¯s doing.


    He had felt this way when he upgraded his Physique, but had not expected a simr effect this time around, when he upgraded his Intelligence. Just as he expected, he understood everything. If he was to use the upgrade in his Physique in the past as an analogy, then his upgraded Intelligence would be akin to an upgrade in a signal receiver. Once the receiver hit its limit, a blur would form on the screen as the remainder of the signal could not be processed. In a way, Luo Yuan had reached the limit of the signals he was able to handle.


    He felt amazing. His thoughts were crystal clear and fast, childhood memoriesing back to him in a split second. He could even remember the slightest details, the background of those memories. He was able to calcte the height of the cave urately to the point that he was able to go into decimals. He could even calcte how many twigs a tree had on its trunk from a distance. Even if some parts were covered, Luo Yuan was still able to see through them.


    He could see colors in all its glory and smell a thousand smells. Acute senses,plicated calctions, and long-lost memories... All these information flooded into his head, his mind crystal clear. Even questions and problems from the exercises his teacher used to give him in school came back to him when the memories flooded back. Though these memories were not worth mentioning, they were still shing around with him solving them in his head.


    After he solved thest question, he felt a sense of relief. His thoughts were now clearer than they had ever been, though his unsolved questions had not beenpletely forgotten; just ced in another part of his brain. When one is unable to answer a question, the question is ced elsewhere and will be marked in the mind as a question that was ¡®to-be-solved¡¯. As more questions piled up over time, one would have trouble studying as it slowed down their problem-solving abilities over time. Eventually, their thoughts would get slower and they would fail in school.

 Chapter 238: Rotation

    Chapter 238: Rotation


    Trantor: Insignia Editor: Svjohn


    Luo Yuan walked out of the cave and saw everybody having a chat. As soon as they realized Luo Yuan was there, they all turned to look at him.


    "Shishi, could youe with me?" Luo Yuan said. He waved at Wang Shishi before he walked back to the cave.


    "Sure." Wang Shishi ran happily towards him, entering the cave. "What¡¯s up, Brother Luo?" she asked.


    "Come here and finish this," Luo Yuan said, pointing at the Wisdom Heart.


    There was only a small portion left, so it was definitely not enough for everyone. Based on the speed of digestion, Luo Yuan predicted that the portion would only be enough for one person to upgrade his or her Intelligence. Their special rtionship aside, Wang Shishi was still considered the strongest person after him in terms of power, so she¡¯d be able to make a bigger contribution if she ate the Wisdom Heart.


    "What¡¯s this?" she asked curiously.


    A big portion of the heart was gone, so it did not look as scary or disgusting anymore.


    "It¡¯a fruit that can increase your Intelligence. Don¡¯t panic, I¡¯m here," Luo Yuan exined briefly to her.


    Wang Shishi seemed very happy. As she looked at the half-eaten fruit, she asked, "Am I the only person who gets to eat it?"


    Luo Yuan nodded and said, "This thing is very valuable and I only found one. Don¡¯t tell anyone else after you eat it, understand?"


    Wang Shishi promised and kept smiling. Luo Yuan looked at her and frowned in worry. There was not much risk to an Intelligence upgrade. However, Wang Shishi looked quite emotional, so it would probably be very difficult to get her senses to shut down if he did not remind her.


    Luo Yuan told her about the experience of eating the fruit, and Wang Shishi got panicked. She was afraid of the quiet and dark that Luo Yuan had mentioned.


    "You don¡¯t have to be afraid as long as you calm down." Luo Yuan realized that his words had had theplete opposite effect, so he tried to make her feel better.


    His feelings for Wang Shishi wereplicated. He felt as if he had a crush on her, but also like she was his own daughter. He was always worried about her, and he was sure he would not do the same for any other girls.


    He thought again before he said, "You can try to think of something happy. It will be over soon. Is that clear?" he asked.


    "Yes, crystal." Wang Shishi looked tense and serious.


    Luo Yuan was probably worrying too much. After all, she had gone through so much with him for such a long time and killed quite a number of mutated beasts. She was no longer the little girl who could not sleep alone at night. She rarely acted like a little girl in front of him anymore.


    "Alright, take it now. I¡¯m waiting here," Luo Yuan said.


    Wang Shishi took a deep breath, put the Wisdom Heart into her mouth and started to chew. She frowned as she slowly bit the fruit and swallowed it.


    "I feel numb!" she said a few minutester.


    "Don¡¯t panic. Your senses will start to feel weird next, but you need to keep calm," Luo Yuan said.


    "Alright, I got it." Wang Shishi calmed down when she heard Luo Yuan¡¯s gentle voice.


    Time passed, but she remained silent. Suddenly, her body nted to the side and she almost fell. Luo Yuan rushed over to support her. She didn¡¯t have the energy to support herself anymore. Apparently, her cerebral nerves had disconnected from her body.


    Wang Shishi had reached a critical moment. She had not said anything in a long time. Luo Yuanid her down on the ground and sighed, touching her cheek. He realized there was a teardrop sliding down from her eye.


    He was worried about her. After going through so many critical moments together, Luo Yuan considered her his closest family. He could not imagine what would happen to him if anything happened to Wang Shishi.


    Anxious, he kept making stupid thoughts in his head. He did not realize that Wang Shishi had recovered from hera until she tried to move.


    "You¡¯re awake! How do you feel?" he asked nervously right away.


    "I have no idea. It¡¯s strange. I feel more conscious now." Wang Shishi slowly got up and looked around her curiously. It seemed as if her surroundings had changed.


    "What¡¯s the product of 33 and 52?" Luo Yuan suddenly asked.


    Wang Shishi was stunned. "1716!" she said after a few seconds.


    "How about the product of 78 and 24?" Luo Yuan asked again.


    "1872!" This time she was faster. It had only taken her three seconds.


    "How about the product of 23 and 465 then?" Luo Yuan continued.


    The first two questions had been within the limits of her ability. Normal people had an Intelligence level of 11 points or higher, so they could answer in 10 seconds as long as they could do mental arithmetics. Thest question, though, was not as easy as it sounded. Usually, it required an Intelligence level of 13 points or some kind of special training to find the answer.


    "It¡¯s so difficult! You know I¡¯m bad at Math!" Wang Shishiined after thinking for a long time.


    Luo Yuan was not happy with her. He felt that she had wasted the Wisdom Heart.


    "Apparently, her intelligence level was rtively low. Even though she ate the Wisdom Heart, it does not seem to be affecting her much. She probably only has 12-points of Intelligence, but it¡¯s still better than nothing. At least her power should have been upgraded a little," Luo Yuan tried tofort herself.


    Intelligence was a unique property. Perhaps the Intelligence of mutated beasts was too low, or maybe there was some kind of limitation on human genes. Luo Yuan had never seen any creature able to upgrade their Intelligence after consuming a heart or a brain. On the other hand, Will was simr to Intelligence, and Will was not affected by consuming internal organs of mutated beasts.


    Luo Yuan felt depressed, but Wang Shishi had not noticed anything. She was too busy looking around and jumping from time to time.


    "I can feel the Earth rotating!" she suddenly said.


    Luo Yuan felt strange at first, but he reacted very fast. "What? Did you say that you can feel the earth spinning? Impossible!"


    "I have no idea how, but I really can feel it!" Wang Shishi looked confused.


    "Try to describe it," Luo Yuan said.


    "It¡¯s quite difficult to describe. I feel like I¡¯m moving forward at a very high speed." Wang Shishi looked scared.


    "Is the feeling always there, or does ite and go?" Luo Yuan asked seriously.


    "I can only feel it when I focus," Wang Shishi said after some thought.


    Wang Shishi was really lucky that the Wisdom Heart had worked on her. It was a very rare thing to happen. Based on the system, evolution did not take ce when the system deemed someone as extremely weak.


    However, Luo Yuan did not look happy. He was frowning and looking very serious. Obviously, that was not good. The Earth rotated at 465 km/hr, which was a scary speed that was supposed to make people feel weak. It didn¡¯t matter if Wang Shishi could use that power or not, the fact alone that she could connect with such a dangerous speed put her in an extremely dangerous situation. She could even die if she made any careless mistakes.


    "Listen, don¡¯t try to explore that power again. Don¡¯t even pay attention to it. I don¡¯t want you to be thrown out in space by the centrifugal force or be squashed by the air pressure," Luo Yuan told her strictly.


    Wang Shishi felt scared by Luo Yuan¡¯s advice. She immediately got over the excitement of obtaining a new power and said, "I understand, Brother Luo. I won¡¯t do it anymore."

 Chapter 239: Rainstorm

    Chapter 239: Rainstorm


    Trantor: Insignia Editor: Svjohn


    The weather was really hot after they finished their lunch, but there were several gray clouds covering the sky. After more than 20 days of drought, it seemed like it was going to rain.


    The sky was dark by 3 p.m. and thick clouds were wallowing in the air. The backdrop was ck, but lightning was shing across every once in awhile. The thunder sounded like the roar of the giants. A cool wind was flowing through the hole, soothing everyone¡¯s mind.


    The wind outside the cave was getting stronger, causing the bushes in the forest to produce strange sounds. All the trees and bushes were bending here and there, blown by the strong wind. From time to time, they could hear the sound of tree branches breaking.


    Sand and dried leaves swirled in the air like horses out of control. At times, the strong gusts of wind would turn into a tornado. The dark clouds were moving closer to ground, blocking the peaks of the mountains nearby as the wind got even stronger. The sky was barely visible as sand and stone flew around..


    "Hurry up!" Luo Yuan shouted so loud, his veins bulged under his skin.


    A few of the men were trying hard to push a 10-ton rock towards the entrance of the cave. The tornado was swirling around the walkway of the cliff, producing a sound simr to a wailing ghost. The wind was so strong that many of them could not even stand properly.


    One of the soldiers lookedpletely exhausted. Unable to steady his footsteps, he almost fell.


    Luo Yuan quickly grabbed him, and said, "Watch out!"


    The soldier was shocked. He still looked pale, but he tried to be more alert. The entrance was 50-60 meters above the ground, which was about 16 floors high. It would be difficult for him to survive if he fell.


    "Stop! That¡¯s the spot," Luo Yuan said.


    Everyone felt slightly relieved as they carefully flipped the giant rock over, and then ran inside the cave. They hid in a corner, all of them looking very pale. Dust and dried leaves were blown into the cave, making it dusty to the point that no one could even see clearly.


    "We ran out of time. That¡¯s all we could do at such short notice. Hope it helps." Luo Yuan sighed as he looked at the huge entrance and the giant rock, which was not blocking itpletely.


    The entrance was too big, although it might have been a bit small for the Giants. They might have needed to lower their heads before entering the cave. In fact, the entrance was about five meters tall and 150 centimeters wide. The giant rock was less than two meters tall and three meters wide, even though it weighed more than 10 tons. It did not even block a quarter of the entrance.


    Of course, the main purpose of the rock was not to block the wind, but act as protection if someone was blown away.


    "What the f*ck! This is the Kunlun Alps! Where did this winde from? Even the typhoons along the coast where I used to live were not this strong!" Huo Dong cursed as he used his hands to cover his face. He was trying to protect it from the leaves pping it.


    Everyone was hiding in the corner in the cave, looking at the gray clouds in the sky.


    "The coast is gone," Lin Xiaoji tried to remind him, but the strong wind rushed into his mouth as soon as he opened it.


    Stunned, Huo Dong sighed. It was true. The coast was gone, and the ce they were at now had be the new coast. Suddenly, a dark shadow hit the entrance of the cave, producing a very loud sound. The ground shook vigorously and part of the cliff near the entrance copsed, the rocks falling to the ground. In the meantime, the walls inside the cave had begun to crack.


    It was hard to avoid. Everyone looked frightened and pale except Luo Yuan.


    "What was that?" Huang Jiahui asked.


    "A tree branch," Luo Yuan said seriously.


    He could identify it clearly, even though it was very dark. It had not been a small branch either, but a branch with 40-50 centimeters worth of sub-branches. That big of a branch would have been considered a tree before the mutation outbreak.


    Luo Yuan felt depressed. "A wind able to break such a big branch from a mutated tree and swirl a few tons of tree branches into the air must be extremely strong. Definitely beyond Level 12. The natural environment seems to have gotten worse as the ciers on the South and North pole melt and the sr storms in space cause major disturbances to the global weather," he silently analyzed.


    A momentter, the thunderstorms merged with the rainstorms, numerous bolts of lightning formed a bright web on the sky. Perhaps the sr storms were causing electrical charges to enter the ozoneyer, because the lightning seemed much more powerful than usual. Everyone was tense as they looked at the fearsome sky.


    Thest thunderstorm had not been long ago, and the lightning reminded them of their previous experience. This lightning seemed quite normal in terms of frequency and powerpared to the previous one that was much more destructive. Still, although it was not as powerful as thest one, it was still enough to stress them out.


    Luo Yuan felt mortal. He was worried, even though he knew he could be more powerful than he was now. Perhaps the drought hadsted for too long, and that was what had caused such a big rainstorm.


    The rainwater entered the cave by following the wind. In just a few seconds, a big water puddle had formed in front of them. Suddenly, something heavy fell, making a very loud sound. Some rocks had fallen off the cliff, causing minorndslides.


    The atmosphere inside the cave was stress inducing, and no one was talking. They could hear themselves taking deep breaths over the sound of the wind blowing.


    The rainstormsted for about five hours. The sky waspletely dark as the rain slowly subsided. Luo Yuan walked towards the entrance through a water puddle that almost reached his knees. He could see that thewn was gone and had been reced by a borderless swamp.


    The forest looked like a mess after the storm, and most of the trees in the area had fallen. Some of them had been pulled out from the ground along with their roots and thrown against other trees. Several areas werepletely bald and empty of trees.


    However, Luo Yuan was not happy. The rain had been extremely destructive, although there had not been a lot of water in the area. The growth of nts had been restricted due to the drought, but the rainstorm could have caused major changes to them. The mutated beasts that had gone away might alsoe back again now that they would not have to worry about a water shortage.


    "This ce is getting more dangerous. We need to leave as soon as possible," Luo Yuan thought.


    However, there were also some upsides to the rainstorm. The heat had been blown away, and now everyone could enjoy the cool, wet air. Luo Yuan turned around and walked back to the cave, savoring the feeling of the cool breeze against his face.

 Chapter 240: Moss

    Chapter 240: Moss


    Trantor: Insignia Editor: Svjohn


    The situation was far worse than Luo Yuan had expected. The next morning, when he walked out of the cave, what he saw was endless greenery. The flood had mostly dissipated.


    There were several new mildly-flowing streams in the forest, and the grass that had been frequently pruned had grown a few inches taller, reaching a child¡¯s height overnight. Thousands of strange insects were flying happily between the grass, the whole area looking vibrant.


    The messy scene in the forest the previous day had disappeared without a trace. The forest had not been destroyed. On the contrary, it seemed to have gotten even more green, the space cleared by the storm upied by new branches. These new branches looked weak and fragile. Their leaves might not have fully opened yet, but they seemed like they could not wait to conquer their new territory.


    Luo Yuan was overwhelmed by the vigorous forest in front of him. He would have thought that it was an illusion caused by the storm if he had not seen thendslide by the entrance.


    The growth rate of the nts was too fast, even though it had just been one night. If the storm had gone on for ten days, the impact would have been unimaginable. nts were at the bottom of the ecosystem, so if there was any change on them, the whole ecological chain would be highly impacted.


    Luo Yuan was worried. He looked around for a while before returning to the cave. Everyone inside was cleaning up the moss. After the flood had dissipated, the rock on the ground had been fully covered by moss. It was disgusting, and it could also attract a lot of insects. Therefore, early in the morning, everyone had gotten busy cleaning it up. It had turned out to be far more difficult to clean up than they¡¯d expected, because they did not have the right tools.


    In addition, there was a kind of biological property to the moss. It would stick closely to the ground once injured, thus increasing the difficulty of the cleaning process. They had been trying to get rid of it for a couple of hours, but only a small portion had been cleaned up. The most troublesome part was its roots, which weretched onto the rock, making it very hard to eradicate. As long as there was a tiny bit of moisture, it would grow back again the next day.


    Luo Yuan watched for a while before he suggested, "This way takes too long. It doesn¡¯t have to be this hard. All nts are afraid of fire. Once the firewood outside is dry, you guys can burn it and clean the moss."


    He was now a lot quicker to think and coulde up with new ideas easily. Stunned, everyone dropped the stones in their hands and looked at each other. What Luo Yuan had suggested was very simple and efficient, but surprisingly none of them had been able to think of it.


    In fact, they had been blinded by theirmon sense and caught in the inertia of thinking. If moss grew in an average person¡¯s house, their first thought would certainly be to shovel it out rather than light a fire to burn it. That was an abnormal reaction as setting the house on fire was not as easy as it sounded. It was just that a fire would leave behind smoke and ash, which tends to irritate most people.


    However, after the apocalypse, the whole world had be perilous and unpredictable. One could be killed at any time, so focusing on these details was equal tomitting suicide. Ensuring their own survival had to be their first priority.


    Suddenly, Chen Jiayi screamed.


    "Ahhhhh!"


    Huang Jiahui, who was standing beside her, took a look and said in shock, "Luo Yuan,e and see!"


    Frowning, Luo Yuan quickly went over and asked, "What¡¯s wrong?"


    "Look at her thumb!" Huang Jiahui said.


    As he looked at her hand, Luo Yuan¡¯s heart grew heavy. He saw a piece of green moss growing on her thumb. It was about the size of a one-cent coin, and looked like a stain from afar.


    He grabbed her hand and touched it gently. When the moss was stimted, it contracted deeply into her skin, leaving only a trace of light green on the smooth surface. There were no pration holes. Other than the strange color, it looked almost the same as normal skin, only smoother and moister, as if coated with ayer of cream.


    By now, everyone had gathered around. When they saw the mutation on Chen Jiayi¡¯s hand, they were shocked and quickly started checking their own exposed skin. None of them found any abnormalities. They were really relieved. No one would have thought that ordinary moss could be so dangerous.


    "When did it happen?" Luo Yuan asked Chen Jiayi.


    "I... I don¡¯t know, I just felt a bit itchy on my finger..." Chen Jiayi looked pale and her whole body shivered.


    Suddenly, Luo Yuan¡¯s heart pumped faster. The green spot had grown bigger in only a moment, covering her whole finger. Will had limited destructive power on nts, and considering that it was protected by ayer of skin, it would be less effective to remove the moss that way. However, that seemed to be the sole solution at the moment. Luo Yuan would rather give it a try than do nothing.


    He concentrated his Will, his hands instantly lighting up with ayer of mist as he took Chen Jiayi¡¯s palm. It took just one touch for Chen Jiayi to almost faint. She looked very pale.


    "Jiayi, how do you feel?" Huang Jiahui said quickly.


    The two young boys, who had a close rtionship with Chen Jiayi, stood to the side with a nervous expression on their faces. They dared not say a word before the group of adults.


    Chen Jiayi¡¯s face turned white quickly. She was getting so weak that she was unable to stand. It seemed like she wanted to say something, but nothing came out of her mouth.


    Luo Yuan sensed something strange and quickly checked Chen Jiayi¡¯s hand. His facial expression changed fast. The piece of moss had moved past her finger and spread quickly, covering her entire hand and extending to her arm. In barely a second, it had almost covered her whole arm, the speed of its growth was rming to say the least.


    "Damn!"


    Luo Yuan quickly dissipated his Will and picked up Chen Jiayi¡¯s hand. He lifted her sleeve, only to realize that most of her arm had turned green.


    Everyone looked at Chen Jiayi¡¯s greenish arm in suspense.


    Luo Yuan¡¯s heart felt heavy. He had not expected the moss to be so tough. It had not been killed by Will. Instead, it had grown rapidly in an attempt to ovee the threat.


    Now there was only one solution left.


    "Everyone please go out, except the women," Luo Yuanmanded coolly.


    They all could sense what he meant and felt sad about what was about to happen. However, this seemed to be the best solution at this point. At least she could still survive.


    All men walked out of the cave quickly. Once they had left, Luo Yuan took off Chen Jiayi¡¯s clothes and threw them on the floor.


    Chen Jiayi had been well-nourished all this time, so she had be chubbier, her body maturing in advance.


    Although she was very pale, she suddenly blushed at the thought of being naked in front of a crowd, especially in front of Luo Yuan. Her body trembled with nervousness, looking like a frightened deer. Luo Yuan only took a nce, trying to avoid her eyes, Zhao Yali could not bear it. It seemed like she wanted to speak out, but she was pulled back by Wang Xiaguang.


    "Close your eyes for a while. It will be okay," Luo Yuan told Chen Jiayi gently as he took out his Zhanmadao. By that time, the moss had spread to her upper arm.


    Chen Jiayi¡¯s blushing face turned pale once again. Her lips trembled as tears started to fall down her cheeks. She was only twelve years old. She would normally still have been in middle school, yet now she had to bear this kind of pain.


    Luo Yuan sighed. He picked up her hand and gripped the knife handle, preparing to chop it off. When the silvery long knife was about to fall, a strong fear filled Chen Jiayi¡¯s heart, making it throb.


    "No... No..." she whimpered, starting to struggle.


    "Don¡¯t be afraid. The pain will onlyst for a while. It¡¯s fine to live without an arm," Huang Jiahui quickly tried tofort her.


    "I¡¯m begging you, please don¡¯t cut my arm. I don¡¯t want to be a cripple," Chen Jiayi suddenly shouted, blubbering. She was having an emotional breakdown.


    After all, she was only a twelve-year-old girl. No matter how strong she had been until then, she was still not mature enough.


    "If we don¡¯t cut your arm, you¡¯ll die. Don¡¯t be afraid, the wound will heal soon," Huang Jiahui advised her.


    However, Chen Jiayi was too emotional. She did not respond, she just kept crying. The best time to cut her arm had passed, and the moss had begun to spread through her blood. Before, the green color had just been limited to her arms, but now it had slowly spread to her chest, stomach, and face.


    Luo Yuan noticed this and sighed. He reluctantly stopped. He had no other solutions now. The moss had spread to Chen Jiayi¡¯s whole body. There was no hope of curing her anymore. He slowly inserted his knife back into its sheath. He had kind of liked this little girl. She had been adorable and sensible, always eager to help with cooking and cleaning. She had been more active than anyone else.


    Several women had also noticed the scene, and their facial expressions had changed. Some of them even cried for a time, the atmosphere bing quiet.


    Huang Jiahui could not help but ask, "Is there nothing else we can do?"


    "She might not have much time left," Luo Yuan whispered, shaking his head. Then he picked up her clothes and dressed her carefully. Chen Jiayi had stopped crying. She just looked numb.


    "Uncle Luo, am I dying?" she asked suddenly after getting dressed.


    Luo Yuan hesitated for a while before he finally nodded. "Everyone dies. Some people just die earlier than others. Do you have anyst wishes?"


    Dying was the scariest thing in the world for everyone, even more so for a little girl. Chen Jiayi shivered and covered her mouth tightly as tears started to fall down her face again.


    "Before you do, go talk to your friends outside," Luo Yuan told her softly. He was feeling uneasy too.


    Chen Jiayi nodded. She kept crying as she walked step by step towards the door. The sun had risen outside, and the sunlight shone down on her body, the moss in iting to the surface once again.


    Chen Jiayi looked down at her body, standing still for some time. Suddenly, she seemed to feel a trace of joy, and a shallow smile appeared on her pale desperate face.


    The moss elerated, spreading to her whole body under the sunlight. It did not take long for it to cover her entire body. Everyone gathered around her, holding their breath without realizing it.

 Chapter 241: Symbiosis

    Chapter 241: Symbiosis


    Trantor: Insignia Editor: Svjohn


    As time passed, the sun got hotter. Chen Jiayi, who had been exposed to the sunlight, stood still, as if she had been petrified.


    Only when Wang Shishi called her, did she finally react. It was like she had suddenlye alive again.


    She remained stunned for a while, but she quickly turned her body. Her face was covered in moss, and her senses seemed fuzzy. She looked at everyone in surprise through a pair of bright, dark eyes.


    Everyone subconsciously took a step back and looked at her in terror. So did her friends, Deng Chao and Zhong Chujiang.


    Chen Jiayi¡¯s bright eyes instantly dimmed. She felt concerned and inferior to everybody else.


    Luo Yuan noticed her reaction with relief. It was a normal reaction to have, so that meant that she had not lost her sanity yet. She was different from a mutated human.


    "How do you feel now?"


    "My body is warm andfortable. I¡¯m just a little bit thirsty," Chen Jiayi answered his question quickly.


    She did not dare lie to Luo Yuan. She replied honestly, although she was still in panic. She had seen the fate of Chen Xianfeng, and she thought it might be her turn now. She had been abandoned once though, and she did not want to be abandoned again.


    "It seems like photosynthesis might be possible," Luo Yuan thought. He turned to Wang Shishi and said, "Please go get a ss of water."


    Wang Shishi quickly went to get it.


    Luo Yuan turned to Chen Jiayi again. She was too young to know how to hide her emotions yet, so everything was shown clearly on her face. He could see that she was afraid, so he tried tofort her, "Don¡¯t be afraid, I just want to understand your condition."


    Noticing that Chen Jiayi seemed a little relieved, Luo Yuan went on to ask, "Are you able to keep this thing inside your body?"


    "You mean the moss?" she asked, freezing for a moment. When she saw Luo Yuan nod, she closed her eyes and soon all the moss was sucked back in, exposing her pale green skin.


    She seemed somewhat thinner. Apparently, the parasite had consumed some of her fat, but the most eye-catching thing on her was her skin, which had be so smooth, it was slightly reflective under the sun.


    That, inbination with her strange color, made her exude a mysterious charm. Even Luo Yuan could not help but stare at her.


    He was amazed. This was the first time he had seen such a phenomenon. Not only had the parasite not killed her, but it had also formed a symbiotic rtionship with her. Perhaps this only happened with nts that caused a mild effect.


    He had to check if it was infectious though, because he did not fancy walking around in green skin. Luo Yuan tried to use his identification technique, but the results were quite rigid. The information categorized her as a normal female, so he had to use an indirect method.


    "You can re-release the moss now," he said.


    Chen Jiayi nodded obediently. Soon, the moss had reappeared on her body. She actually seemed to enjoy this state. Even her eyes were shining.


    "Take some moss back!" Luo Yuan said.


    Chen Jiayi did not refuse. She reluctantly pulled a cluster from her body. The moss seemed to be stimted as the part in that area was pulled back quickly, retracting inside her body until it was re-exposed again.


    Luo Yuan was careful not to touch the moss. He let her sit on the ground before he used the identification technique again.


    "Parasitic Green Moss"


    "Rarity: Light Blue"


    "Weight: 3 grams"


    "Status: Parasite"


    "Additional Abilities: None"


    "Remarks: This is a rare parasite that can survive on its own. It can have a perfect symbiosis with species with a specific blood type, and is able to slightly improve the host¡¯s main attributes. The parasitic green moss loses its parasitic aspects after bing a parasite for the first time, and does not regain them until after the death of its host. "


    When he realized that the green moss had no more parasitic properties, Luo Yuan rxed around Chen Jiayi.


    When Huang Jiahui saw him attempt to touch the green moss though, she stopped him, "Don¡¯t touch it!"


    "It¡¯s alright," Luo Yuan waved her off as he picked up the moss and rubbed it gently. That cluster of moss was still considerably lively. When stimted, it immediately curled up into a ball.


    "Don¡¯t worry, I have the ability to identify some biological elements. Once this thing bes a parasite, it has no parasitic properties anymore. Except for the weird skin color, there is no other impact on Chen Jiayi¡¯s characteristics, which is certainly a good thing."


    In fact, most of them had known that Luo Yuan had this ability, but they¡¯d never had confirmation. Now that he had finally acknowledged it, everyone was relieved.


    Chen Jiayi was the most excited among the group. She had been very nervous that she¡¯d be judged by herpanions, yet now that the judge had pronounced her innocent, the stone on her heart had finally been moved away, and she started crying tears of joy.


    When she calmed down again, Luo Yuan tested her Strength, Dexterity and other capabilities. Last but not least, he tested her self-healing ability. After getting her consent, he cut her arm slightly with his knife.


    He found that her Strength and Dexterity had reached the same level as Huang Jiahui¡¯s. Considering that she was only twelve years old, and thus not mature enough yet, this was a huge improvement.


    What surprised Luo Yuan the most though, was her self-healing ability and the defensive ability of her skin. When he¡¯d cut her, he had clearly feltl resistance against his knife. He had discovered that underneath her skin there was a densework of light green fments. The gap between the fments was barely visible, yet it was connected very closely to her skin.


    Even Luo Yuan did not have such good defense.


    What was even more surprising, was that after the wound had been made, she had not bled much. When the knife had left her skin, the countless fments within it had begun to form bonds with each other. After half a minute, he¡¯d wiped the blood on her arm only to find that her wound had disappeared, leaving behind only a shallow trail of blood.


    Her self-healing ability was even faster than Lin Xiaoji¡¯s. Luo Yuan subconsciously nced at Lin Xiaoji, who was standing among the group, and found that his face looked gloomy.


    However, Luo Yuan was clear on the fact that this self-healing was just an illusion. It would basically force a wound to close, which was certainly not the same as truly healing.


    Still, the parasitic effect was extremely powerful, especially considering that it was only a light blue level parasitic moss. Chen Jiayi¡¯s potential to improve was enormous. She could generally bepared to a normal mutated human.


    Of course, she¡¯d have to bear with the green skin and the strange looks she¡¯d get from others.


    When Luo Yuan proposed to have everyone try the parasite, he had not expected anyone to agree. However, their answers surprised him. The few soldiers who had experienced the brutality of the battlefield wanted in, and Cao Lin and Huang Jiahui also wanted to try.


    He seriously had underestimated the desire of ordinary people to be powerful. During the cruel era of the apocalypse, the stress and mental depression the average person experienced while trying survive was something no one could understand. In that devastating environment, no one was concerned about their skin color. That was a trivial matter as long as they could be stronger. People would even turn into monsters so long as they did not lose their minds.


    Unfortunately, it was not so easy with parasites. Even if someone cut themselves and stuffed the moss into the wound, the moss might not want to take root there.


    ording to the identification information, it seemed like the moss required a specific blood type in order to be a parasite.


    The storm the previous day had not affected the temperature. It was still about 50 degrees at noon. The forest, which had been fully nourished overnight, was exposed to the heat, causing a transpiration phenomenon. The air above the woond was extremely distorted, making everyone feel as if they were hallucinating.


    However, that high temperature felt quite pleasant to Chen Jiayi, who sat directly under the hot sun and did not move an inch from nine in the morning, except to drink water a few times. She did not even have lunch.


    Perhaps it was a side effect from the parasitic moss, but she kind of acted like a nt. Unless someone woke her up, she could easily just sit there for hours.


    Under the high temperature, their firewood dried up by noon. It was all moved into the cave by the group, piled up like a hill. Luo Yuan took out his lighter to burn it.


    The fire was soon alight, the mes going directly to the top of the cave. The moss caught up in mes instantly burned to death.


    The moss around the edges seemed to sense the danger and quicklypressed into a thinyer, sticking closely to the ground as it crept toward the dark corners, trying to escape from the high temperature.


    Still, its movement was apparently too slow, because it only took a short time for it to dry up and be yellow,pletely losing its vitality.


    While all this happened, Chen Jiayi had still not moved an inch or reacted in any way.

 Chapter 242: Decision

    Chapter 242: Decision


    Trantor: Insignia Editor: Svjohn


    On the dawn of the fifth day, the sky was still dark. Luo Yuan was meditating in front of the main door when he suddenly heard a familiar sound. The sound was very soft, but luckily he was sensitive enough to hear it.


    He immediately grew excited and got up from the ground. He quickly walked a few steps and looked up at the sky in the distance. There were about eight tiny ck spots moving around in the sky. The surface of the objects was not shiny, so he could not identify what exactly they were. However, the ck spots produced some sounds that Luo Yuan could confirm belonged to airnes.


    "Finally, you¡¯re here again." He tried to calm down as he observed the flying route of the nes, instantly forming a 3D graphic pattern in his head.


    He was calcting the direction of their activity in his mind while recalling the draft Commander Xia had made. He realized both were quite simr, but the angle was slightly different. However, his thoughts were not conclusive. The location of the airport might not be the same after all. All the data he had used in his spections were based on his observations only.


    From a certain aspect, Commander Xia¡¯s judgment could be more urate as he was an officer who had graduated from military school. Knowledge was not everything, though. Sometimes experience mattered more.


    His calctions might not be perfect, especially considering that there were so many people in the rehabilitation area. Thepound was not small by any means, so the activity area was probably a lot bigger than thepound. As long as there was not too big of a difference, it was not a big deal. Otherwise, they could go in the wrong direction and waste their time. Luo Yuan checked the time and realized it was only 3 a.m. He decided not to wake the others.


    He just looked at the sky in worry. He realized the situation at the current location was getting worse. Five days after the rainstorm, there were already 10 times more mutants in the forest than there had used to be.


    There had been about the same quantity of mutated beasts before the drought, but there were a lot more insects and birds now. Simrly, the desert before the apocalypse had turned into a green field with flowers after the heavy rain. Many living things woulde alive and reproduce within that short period, most lives only getting a few days of opportunity.


    That was the miracle of life and its perseverance during tough times.


    Apparently, their current situation was quite simr. Insectsy eggs in massive amounts after the rain, the eggs hatching after only a few days of incubation. It was still bearable during the night, but it became really scary in the daytime, when the insects would fly in the sky. Sometimes, they could not even see the sky because of the insects blocking their vision. The worst thing was that the insects attracted more birds, because they were their main food source.


    The power and body size of the newborn insects was still weak, so they were mostly white level mutants. They could currently see numerous insects flying here and there around the field before the cliff. If the insects were as big as a human palm, then the birds who would hunt them would be extremely scary.


    The mutated birds were only as big as foal eagles, but they could move very fast and they were very flexible, so they were able to move rapidly in small spaces. Luo Yuan¡¯s battle beasts did not even dare challenge them. If they appeared in a big group, their characteristics could be extreme.


    Luo Yuan did not know what their problem was, but something very bad must have happened before, because when the giant ape became aware of their existence, a few hundred mutated birds rushed down from the sky and started pecking on its body. In the end, no one had won the battle.


    Many of the mutated birds had died and the giant ape had gotten injured. Of course, those were only minor injuries, but the ape still did not dare challenge those birds anymore.


    Luo Yuan stood in the dark for a while before returning to the cave and sitting down. There was a thickyer of tiny worms on the floor that were about the size of rice. He heard a weird, annoying sound as he stepped on them. Those were the carcasses of the insects which had been trying to get close to the cave.


    However, Luo Yuan was not the one who had killed them. It had been the Zhanmadao.


    Weapons were very important for a soldier or a fighter. The Zhanmadao was getting smarter as Luo Yuan used his Will to increase its power over time. Even though it was just inserted into the ground, it was powerful enough to keep the insects away. They would try to avoid it once they got five to six meters away from it. That was actually the best case scenario. When other living things besides Luo Yuan tried to get close to it, the Zhanmadao would usually release an aggressive, powerful force. That was how the insects had died.


    Sometimes, Luo Yuan felt as if the saber was alive and was transforming into another person. He actually looked forward to that day, but right now the saber was still like a newborn baby. Perhaps, it would miraculouslye alive at some point in the future.


    There were less than two hours to go until dawn, but Luo Yuan did not n on meditating anymore. He was thinking about the resources they would need to prepare for their departure. He had decided to leave that ce the next day. They would have to go sooner orter, so they might as well depart earlier. If they took too long, they might not be able to leave anymore when they wanted to go.


    There were very few things to pack, so there was not much to think about. With his Intelligence, Luo Yuan could have thought over the same issue a few times in a second.


    However, he actually felt stressed as he thought about how lucky they had been. They had not encountered any danger, because they had been staying in the cave. He did not believe things would be as peaceful for long if they left. Kunlun Mountain was a mysterious forest after all.


    Luo Yuan could not predict what would happen along the journey. However, when he recalled those giant, powerful monsters in theke, he immediately felt a massive pressure rushing to his face.


    Although his power had been upgraded, his Dexterity and Intelligence had just increased by one point. His power had increased a few more times, but he was still not confident enough to kill a green level mutated beast. Although there was only a small gap between blue and green mutated beasts, the difficulty in killing them was really different.


    If living creatures below green level were normal, and those above green level were evolved, Luo Yuan spected that they would possess certain superpowers aside from their strength.


    For example, the giant lizard could blow mes, but that was just the mmable liquid secreted from its special inner organs. From certain aspects, it was simr to spitting, but totally different from the soul absorption superpower or the mountain and water dividing power.


    He had been lucky enough to manage to kill the Flood Dragon at the time as it had died before it could fully utilize its powers. However, he would not be that lucky every single time. Perhaps he might need to fight a mutated beast that possessed a superpower. Luo Yuan grew very serious as he thought about that.

 Chapter 243: Departure

    Chapter 243: Departure


    Trantor: Insignia Editor: Svjohn


    Luo Yuan was idling for almost an hour and the sky was slowly getting brighter. Everyone woke up one by one. He waved at them after they finished washing their faces and said, "Hey guys,e here!"


    Everyone was stunned and then walked towards Luo Yuan.


    "What¡¯s up, Brother Luo?" Huo Dong asked.


    Luo Yuan remained silent for a second and then said, "Let¡¯s discuss our departure date."


    "Where are we going? Are you thinking about going to the rehabilitation center?" Commander Xia asked. He was nervous as he saw Luo Yuan nodded. Commander Xia¡¯s attitude was the most firm amongst the group as his family members were all in the rehabilitation center. Unlike the rest, they would not worry too much. He assumed that the list of dead soldiers would have been sent to his house by now as he has been missing for such a long time. Every time he thought about the fact that his wife may be grieving his death, he felt anxious and extremely ufortable.


    "When are we leaving?" Huang Jiahui asked.


    Luo Yuan continued, "The situation here is getting dangerous, I feel we should leave as soon as possible."


    "Brother Luo, it¡¯s your call. We will just follow you." Huo Dong immediately expressed as he knew he could not change Luo Yuan¡¯s mind once he decided on something.


    The rest quickly nodded as they saw Luo Yuan look at them.


    "Alright, let¡¯s depart today then!" Luo Yuan said firmly.


    There were not many things they could bring along except the bare necessities. Other than a few bags of water and about 20 kilograms of salt, they also brought some high quality smoked meat for emergency. However, the pots and containers were left behind as they were not as important as the food and water. They could make new ones as long as there are rocks and wood.


    They were all ready to depart at 7 a.m. They climbed up to the back of the giant lizard and then departed.


    Insects crowded the sky but they fell onto the ground when they were 40-50 meters away from them. Of course, did those because of Luo Yuan will. He did not even have to use his full power to cause such an effect. In fact, it was not even 1/10 of his power. However, that was more than enough to kill those tiny insects.


    Everyone looked depressed and anxious, and some even looked pale. The brambles and bushes along the journey were squashed by the huge feet of the giant lizard as they slowly went further and further away from the cave. Soon, the cave had disappeared from their vision. Furthermore, as the pathway began to look more foreign to them as they went further away, they began to feel mncholic and extremely anxious.


    The sunshine prated the lush greenery and left some light shadows on the ground. The hot light beams became slightly cooler after a fewyers of filtration from the neighbouring leaves. However, thatfortable moment would onlyst for one to two hours in the early morning.


    The temperature eventually shot up to about 20 degrees Celsius during the noon even they were under the shade. At that point, even the wind was burning hot and they could not avoid sweating profusely. Other than Luo Yuan, the rest would need to drink water every hour to rehydrate themselves.


    The giant gori did not follow them on thend since the forest is their paradise. Its body continuously jumped from one big tree to another with a strong wind following it wherever it went. Fortunately, almost all the trees there were big and strong enough to support it, otherwise, they would have copsed due to the heavy weight from the giant gori.


    It stopped and waited for them to catch up once in awhile, and then continued to leap from tree to tree again. It certainly had a lot of fun in the forest.


    "Big King Kong! Get some fruits for me!" Wang Shishi suddenly shouted and pointed at her mouth with a biting action.


    The giant gori frowned and blinked its eyes at her like it really understood what she had said. It scratched its head and then ¡®boom¡¯- it disappeared. It had jumped to the big tree on its left and disappeared after a few leaps.


    "Do you think it got the message?" Luo Yuan asked. Since he brought him back, he did not actually teach it anything. It had spent time more with Wang Shishi and Huo Dong.


    "I have no idea, but I guess it understands some simple words." Wang Shishi said uncertainly.


    "Brother Luo, don¡¯t underestimate that fe! It is as smart as a human! You just need to teach it once and it will get the message." Huo Dong said whileughing.


    "Indeed. This is the smartest mutated beast I¡¯ve ever seen. Even the military dogs can¡¯tpete with it. Of course, giants are in a different league." Commander Xia said seriously.


    After about 10 minutes, Luo Yuan heard some sounds.


    "It¡¯s back!" Luo Yuan said while hoping to see something.


    They heard some sounds as well.


    The bushes were shaking vigorously with a sound- ¡®bomm,bomm,bomm¡¯. The sound was getting louder as something gradually came nearer to them. In a few seconds, the giant gori appeared on a big tree on their left. There were many fruits inside its arms and some fell from the air as they slipped from its arms.


    A force gathered all the fruits before they fell onto the ground and the fruits were basically floating in the air. The whole bunch of fruits were then swirled up to the back of the giant lizard and formed a small hill. Every single fruit was as big as a normal bowl and was wrapped by a thick dark red shell. It looked like a walnut but was bigger and heavier than that. It weighed about a kilogram on average.


    "Is this edible?" Huang Jiahui asked happily as she looked at Luo Yuan.


    After Luo Yuan did the necessary identification, he said, "Yes, it¡¯s edible."


    The shell was very hard that Luo Yuan needed to use 50% of his strength to open it. There was something that looked like pink jelly with liquid inside. The fragrance spread around the ce and made everyone drool. Luo Yuan finished the jelly in just a mouthful.


    It tasted sweet and sour with a minty cool feeling. That made him feel great under the hot weather. As expected, the rest were not as strong as him and they had to use their own knives to open the fruit. The whole fruit easily split into two after a cut as the knives had been modified by Luo Yuan and its material was the bones of the dead giant weird bird. Every single knife in the group is a light green level weapon.


    As his power has been continuously increasing, he no longer hides his power anymore. Besides that, there were so many modified weapons swinging in front of them, there was no point to hide it. Even if they tell someone else, he was no longer afraid as people would just try to please him instead of being his enemy.


    He thought of it like a kid holding a block of gold in a big crowd. The kid would die soon because the kid is weak. However, if it were a muscr guy then the danger is rtively low. And if there is a long knife tied at his waist, then he is totally fine.


    "Delicious!" Wang Shishi said. She immediately opened another one.


    Fruits were rare to find during the end of the world. Furthermore, because it was very dangerous in the forest, no one would intentionally hunt for fruits. It was also rare to find an edible one along the journey. Luo Yuan ate a good number of fruits until he felt full.


    "Here, take it." Huang Jiahui looked at Chen Jiayi who was sitting alone at the side and then passed her a little.


    Chen Jiayi quickly turned around and looked at the fruit for a moment. She kept quiet at first and only after a while, she responded, "Oh! Thanks, Sister Huang. I¡¯m good."


    "You don¡¯t like eating fruits?" Huang Jiahui asked.


    "Hmm, I have no idea. I feel like I¡¯m no longer a fan." She thought and then replied.


    Huang Jiahui sighed. Since the moss had be a parasite on Chen Jiayi, she was getting more alike to a nt. She often idled under the sun and did not eat much. Sometimes, she did not eat anything for a few days. She would reluctantly eat some food when there were some high-quality meats avable. No one knows whether the changes are good or not.

 Chapter 244: Gigantic Beast

    Chapter 244: Gigantic Beast


    Trantor: Insignia Editor: Svjohn


    Although the giant lizard is huge, its 15-point dexterity allowed it to move quickly even when it was traveling at a slow speed.


    Luo Yuan made markings on trees every time they passed a hill as the topography of the area was tooplicated. They had asionally gone in circles as it was easy to get lost in the forest, especially if they do not check their map properly.


    The giant lizard entered a valley at around 1 p.m. There were cliffs on the both sides of the valley surrounded by strange rocks. The valley was very deep and they realized the ground was uneven.


    The weather there was very humid and a thick fog surrounded the area even in the afternoon. There was a big bush of giant leaves and there were many gaps between the leaves.


    "Look, Brother Luo! Is that footprint?" Huo Dong suddenly asked in a shocked voice.


    Luo Yuan quickly looked where Huo Dong was pointing at and his expression changed immediately. He saw a couple of giant marks on the ground which were about two meters in width. It was just about 10 meters in front of them. The giant pits were about a meter deep and the patterns around them looked like ws. Obviously, it was footprint!


    Luo Yuan quickly instructed the giant lizard to stop. He looked extremely tensed as even the marine mutated beasts which he had seen before did not possess such big footprints. Even the footprints of the giant lizard were much smaller.


    He could not imagine how big the creature could be. Everyone looked pale and panic.


    "Should we try to avoid this area?" Huang Jiahui suddenly asked.


    Luo Yuan shook his head and replied, "This area is full of hills, we have no idea how long it will take if we detour." The giant lizard could not climb on the steep slopes of the hills, that is one of its limitations. Normal slopes were still fine but anything above 45 degrees and it could not do anything.


    "We actually don¡¯t have to be too worried. For a beast of this size, even the giant lizard will seem like a small cat to it. We will be fine as long as we manage to escape carefully." Luo Yuan pondered and said.


    "Luo Yuan, I think we better not take the risk. We would rather walk a few days longer than have to encounter such dangers." Huang Jiahui tried to convince him after she nced again at the footprints. She even gulped some saliva as the enormous footprints were too scary to her. She could imagine the actual size of the mutated beast and predicted that the giant lizard might die if it gets stepped on by the gigantic beast.


    Luo Yuan looked at the rest and realized they were all nervous. It was apparent that Huang Jiahui was not the only one who wanted to take a detour. Most of them had been frightened by the giant footprints. Luo Yuan wanted to speak but hesitated as he felt he has overlooked something.


    "There is an order in the food chain of nature. Everything is linked together in a perfect pyramid. If the gigantic beast is a carnivore, most of the animals nearby would have been eaten by now." Luo Yuan pondered.


    He suddenly raised his head and looked at the tree above the nearest footprints. It seemed that his assumption was right! Most of the crowns of the trees within 100 meters of them were gone. Apparently, it was an herbivore! Luo Yuan quickly told them about his discovery and everyone immediately felt relieved. Herbivores are usually less aggressive than carnivores. They normally do not attack if they are not provoked.


    Despite his discovery, Luo Yuan instructed the giant lizard to avoid the footprints so that they do not bump into the gigantic beast. It was certainly dangerous if they came near to it even if it was docile.


    After walking for about 10 minutes, Luo Yuan realized the ground was vibrating at a certain frequency. It was a slight vibration at the beginning but soon it started getting more vigorous. The giant lizard could be seen puffing out of frustration while the giant gori kept very quiet and followed behind the group.


    The leaves were swaying back and forth from the strong wind blowing through the valley and they could hear branches snapping. The sound kept getting stronger.


    After a few minutes, a shadow as big as a hill walked towards them. They could not see it clearly as the trees were blocking their view. However, they saw four legs which were as big as the cement abutments of a bridge walking slowly towards them. The slow pace refers to the rtive speed of its movements, though it was already a lot faster than the giant lizard due to the size of its body.


    There were no scales on the surface of its legs. Its skin was rough and there was a thickyer of dead skin that could be seen. Luo Yuan did some analysis and predicted that it would be quite difficult for his Zhanmadao to make any significant impact on its legs.


    By peeping through the gaps between the leaves, he found that the gigantic beast was about 10 meters tall! It was like a tower with more than 10 floors and it shocked many of them. It was only about a kilometer away from them at that moment but it just left and disappeared. The only thing that could be heard was the wind. Everyone was stunned for a moment and then continued their journey again. They finally got out from the valley at around 3 pm. There was a sunken pit in front of them right at the exit and they continued to walk for another three hours until the sky was getting dark.


    "Let¡¯s spend a night here!" Luo Yuan looked around and told the giant lizard to stop.


    The trees in the surrounding were of the same species with numerous aerial roots hanging from its branches. It looked like numerous pythons hanging upside down. The lush leaves from the trees had blocked the sunset and they felt like it was already night time.


    Luo Yuan was the first one to jump off the lizard¡¯s back. He used the Zhanmadao to cut some of the aerial roots and after that the ce immediately looked spacious.


    "I feel this ce is scary!" Wang Xiaguang remarked as she jumped down right after Luo Yuan. She looked around and felt very ufortable.


    "I feel the same." Wang Shishi said as she kicked the big roots under her feet. They could not see any soil under the big roots that crossed over each other. Besides that, there were no bushes or shrubs below the trees.


    "Luo Yuan, is this ce dangerous?" Huang Jiahui asked.


    "Don¡¯t scare yourselves unnecessarily. However, it¡¯s better to pay more attention at night." Luo Yuan frowned and said.


    He could not exin to them that he felt someone watching them ever since they arrived. The feeling was not clear but it felt almost omnipresent. He was tensed and nervous but he could find anything.


    He looked at the sky and decided not to leave at that moment. Perhaps it was just a psychological effect.

 Chapter 245: The Night

    Chapter 245: The Night


    Trantor: Insignia Editor: Svjohn


    The reason they stopped here was because of the giant tree in front of them which had a natural tree hole. The current standards of a big tree are vastly different from the time before the apocalypse. It was verymon to see big trees which had trunks that were one to two meters thick. Only those that were three to four meters thick were considered a big tree nowadays and the tree they found had a six-meter-thick trunk! That was the biggest tree they saw along their journey.


    Luo Yuan had removed all the surrounding aerial roots and then told the rest to keep a distance. He walked to the tree hole and released a force which made numerous insects and small animals run out from the hole. That ce looked like a mini ecosystem as there were many kinds of insects and small animals there.


    Everyone walked over to Luo Yuan after the mutated animals and insects left the tree hole. After removing some humus, the hole looked bigger- it went from two meters to four meters in diameter and formed a space of about 10 square meters. Although the space was not very big, it was enough to fit all of them.


    "me and light can attract mutated beasts so I think we¡¯d better avoid cooking tonight. Everyone can have some dried meats for a night... we depart immediately when the sky is bright tomorrow." Luo Yuan said carefully.


    He still felt that there was something strange in the area so it was better for them not to attract any unnecessary attention for their own safety. Although Luo Yuan did not say it directly, the tone of his voice already made them feel worried.


    Huang Jiahui took out the packets of dried meat and passed them around. She looked at Luo Yuan when she was passing the meat to him. She felt slightly relieved when she saw his calm expression. He was like the doctor of the team... everyone was not afraid to fall sick if he was around as he would be able to help them.


    Sometimes she would think to herself... what if she did not get to meet Luo Yuan? She wondered what would happen to her now. However, she guessed that the most likely scenario was that she would be dead. Perhaps, all of them here would have died. It was just their luck to bump into Luo Yuan.


    Luo Yuan took the dried meat and put a small piece into his mouth and then slowly chewed on it. Since he lost a few of his teeth, he could only chew the food using the other side of his mouth. He has not gotten used to it yet. The smoked meats were as hard as a rock and normal people might need to soak it in water before they could even attempt to eat it. Of course, he did not need it as his body was as strong as mutated beasts which also allowed him to have strong teeth. The dried meat soon became minced meat and was then swallowed.


    Within 10 minutes, Luo Yuan was done with dinner. He drank all the water inside the wooden ss and when he was finished, none of them had even started to eat their dinner.


    Luo Yuan used his tongue to check the area where he lost his teeth. He had felt that his gums were swollen and painful a few days ago and his teeth were in pain as well. After checking, he realized four of his new teeth had already started growing and it was incredibly fast! Three days ago, his teeth were still tightly wrapped in his gums, but now it was already protruding out. Based on his estimations, his teeth would be ready to work again in another 10-14 days.


    Luo Yuan was happily surprised by that.


    Normally people only have two sets of teeth in their lifetime- one when they are born and another which they have until they die. If they were to lose their second set of teeth during adulthood, it would not grow again. However, Luo Yuan seemed to have broken the rules of that theory.


    "How about other parts of the body such as the limbs... are they going to grow again if they are broken?" Luo Yuan wondered.


    It was verymon to lose an arm or a leg during the end of the world. It has happened a lot during their battles. If he can regrow broken limbs, he would get to upgrade his survival ability instead of bing a disabled person in the event of a severe injury.


    After his dinner, Luo Yuan took out the drafted map he had been working on when the sky was still bright. There were some drawings of mountains and rivers on the map as well as a dotted line crossing over the entire map. There was one curved solid line drawn on the map all the way around the dotted line.


    "These are the routes we have taken today... let¡¯s discuss if there is anything we¡¯ve missed out." Luo Yuan said as he pointed at the solid line.


    "Gosh! We¡¯ve onlypleted such a short journey even after walking the entire day?" Wang Shishi could hold back her frustration. She shouted as she looked at the curvy line, especially thest part of the route which looked like they were walking in the opposite direction.


    "Traveling through the mountains is like this... it¡¯s impossible to see just straight roads." Huang Jiahui said softly.


    "If the giant lizard is strong enough, we might not need to take so many big turns. King Kong is a lot more useful!" Wang Shishi said. She liked the mischievous King Kong more than the scary lizard.


    "Alright, let¡¯s stop wasting time. Do you have any good ideas?" Luo Yuan raised his head up and asked calmly. Wang Shishi was scared and shied away from his question.


    "Brother Luo, the map seems to be very urate... there is nothing much to add. However, I feel it is not necessary to follow the dotted line if we have a rough idea of the direction we are taking. It should be fine even if we take the route slightly further away from the dotted line. More importantly, we need to leave the area as soon as possible. We will find human footprints once we get out from the mountain and we might be able to find a map." Commander Xia looked at Luo Yuan and said.


    By addressing Luo Yuan as ¡®Brother¡¯, the Commander could maintain his status and ego while reserving his power in the group. However, he has been influenced by the other members over a long period of time and began to address Luo Yuan as ¡®Brother Luo¡¯. It was aplicated emotional change.


    In fact, Luo Yuan was not very dominant but his incredible performances made the rest have some difficulties being calm when interacting with him. Sometimes, their heartbeats would speed up when he frowned and they would start sweating or feel numb when he stared at them slightly longer than normal. Other than the psychological effect, his strong will is also one of the influencing factors. Even if he did not use his will intentionally, the rest did not even dare to think of rebelling.


    Luo Yuan pondered and said, "You¡¯re right, I was too fussy. We should leave this ce first."


    Luo Yuan looked at the rest and asked, "Any better ideas?"


    Cao Lin held her fists tightly and said bravely, "Since we are not going to stick to the original route, I feel we should follow the river flow. That way we won¡¯t have to worry about where to get water and we know that the river flows to a lower area. Thus, we don¡¯t have to make any detours and it should be faster. The most important thing is that the water always flows to lower areas so we definitely won¡¯t lose our direction if we follow the river."


    Luo Yuan pondered again and said, "That¡¯s a good idea, but there will be many mutated beasts around the river. It¡¯s too dangerous if we simply follow the river."


    Luo Yuan then said, "It¡¯s quitete now, let¡¯s sleep."


    "Thanks, Brother Luo." Huo Dong said as he tried to please him.


    Luo Yuan did not respond but instead got up from the ground. He pulled out his Zhanmadao and inserted it into the ground in front of the entrance and then sat down with his legs crossed over. He then closed his eyes. The night was finally here.

 Chapter 246: Detour

    Chapter 246: Detour


    Trantor: Insignia Editor: Svjohn


    The night was still like water, without the slightest hint of movement in the forest, not even light. Everyone was hiding in the tree hole and fell fast asleep, snoring loudly.


    Luo Yuan remained alert for a little longer, closing his eyes as he did not sense anything out of the ordinary. He began to gather his Will and scanned every inch of his body including the blood in his veins. This was what he did on a daily basis.


    Ever since he realized that his Zhanmadao was already something akin to a magical weapon due to the influence of his Will, he had be more aggressive in his pursuits.


    At times, he even felt as if his body had been imbued with magical properties just like his Zhanmadao. Even if his arm was chopped off by an enemy, it would not mean he would lose control of the arm. Just like the gods and demons in the tales of legends, he would still be able to control his dismembered arm, floating it around in the air before reconnecting it with his body again. On top of that, the arm would not even be bleeding.


    However, that was just spection and he would not want to try it out.


    The night wind blew, causing the tree to sway. He suddenly felt something was wrong and quickly woke up. He looked at his body which was sitting down near the entrance of the tree hole with his leg crossed. He was shocked as he realized he fell asleep unconsciously. He was dreaming himself looking at his own body.


    He immediately felt a sense of fear, bing highly alert. The surrounding was very quiet. He could not hear any other sound besides the trees swaying. He turned around and looked at the rest, they were still sleeping.


    "Wake up! Wake up! Don¡¯t sleep anymore!"


    Luo Yuan tried to wake them up gently, but none of them responded. Although his voice was very soft, they were supposed to remain slightly conscious even if they were sleeping. And now they still could not respond even when someone was trying to warn them. Apparently, they were in deep sleep.


    Luo Yuan looked nervous, he quickly grabbed his Zhanmadao. He wanted to get up but he sat down again after he thought about it.


    There was no sign of anything out of the ordinary. Aside from making everyone fall into a deep sleep, no other harm hade to them. Everyone was fast asleep, even the mutated beasts outside. If he simply rushed out, he was not sure if he could find the enemy, but it was a definite fact that they would be able to attack his teammates if he was out. That would be a disaster. At that moment, all he could do was to observe, just in case something happened.


    He had not realized but the mist in the forest had grew thicker and thicker. It was thin as a veil when it began to appear but soon, it became so dense it seemed like the surface of a ss of milk. Due to the density of the mist, he could barely see objects 10 meters away.


    It was gettingte and he was getting tired. His eyelids grew heavier as his vision blurred. Feeling as if everything around him had doubles, he could not wait to close his eyes for some well deserved sleep. Even though he could stay awake for three days and nights based on his physical condition, he felt extremely sleepy at that moment and could not resist.


    Rubbing his face, he got off the ground and started pacing in the tree hole. It worked, making him more alert but he eventually started to feel sleepy again. Finally, he took out a piece of Wailing Herb in desperation and put it into his mouth, chewing it slowly. He no longer felt sleep as the pain from the Wailing Herb stung him.


    ...


    He was awaked by the heat. It was already noon when he opened his eyes.


    He spat out a bunch of herbs which he did not get to swallow before he fell asleep. He was calm and could not remember what happenedst night. However, he thought he fell asleep at midnight when he lost focus on gathering his Will.


    He did not expect he would sleep until noon. He felt scared by thinking about it. He felt lucky as the environment here was not what they were used to. They could have even been attacked!


    He checked the time, it was about 10 am. He walked out from the cave and checked all the nts and rocks again. He frowned as he did not find anything abnormal. He felt stressed.


    If they fell asleep due to environmental factors, it would be totally fine as they would have only been asleep but not in danger. However, the worst thing was that they fell asleep due to certain mutated beasts, making it a disaster.


    Luo Yuan was confident with his hearing abilities. However, he had not been able to hear anything since yesterday. That would mean that there was a fearsome mutated beast living in the forest that carried out its activities within a 10 kilometer radius. Luo Yuan could not even imagine the scale of the beast¡¯s power that it could affect him from such a distance. Perhaps, he was unable to even approach it.


    He could not stop himself from thinking. After giving it a thought, he woke everyone up.


    Everyone woke up as fast as they could and was shocked when they saw the sky. They were panicked as they usually slept between 7 p.m. to 8 p.m. and woke up at 5 a.m to 6 a.m. It has already be a habit and this was the first time they woke up sote.


    "What happenedst night?" Huang Jiahui asked Luo Yuan.


    Luo Yuan shook his head and said with a serious expression, "I just woke up a few minutes ago. We can¡¯t stay here anymore, we need to leave as soon as possible."


    Everyone was shocked as they knew Luo Yuan encountered the same thing. They knew they were in trouble. Luo Yuan walked out from the tree hole and kicked both of their pets which were still sleeping. They departed again and the giant lizard kept increasing its speed as he was urged. The atmosphere was very quiet along the journey.


    "What time is it?" Cao Lin suddenly asked.


    "It¡¯s 3 p.m. now!" Huang Jiahui checked the time and said.


    "It means we have been running for almost five hours! What a huge forest!" Huo Dong said.


    Luo Yuan frowned as he felt something was wrong but he was not sure. Time flies, the sun was going down to the west. He checked the time and it was 5 p.m.!!


    "Stop!" He shouted.


    The giant lizard quickly stopped as it received the order.


    "What¡¯s wrong, Luo Yuan?" Zhao Yali asked nervously as she felt something was wrong.


    "We are running in a circle!" Luo Yuan said. "The ground is t and based on the speed of the giant lizard, it should be able to run 400 to 500 kilometers away. If webine the journey yesterday, we have ran 600 to 700 kilometers. With such distance behind us, we would have crossed the Jiangnan Province already." He continued to say.


    Luo Yuan then took out the bark where he drafted a map and said, "Look! It was all mountains around us and the farthest one is less than 100 kilometers from here but we haven¡¯t seen any so far. In other words, we¡¯re running in a circle!!"

 Chapter 247: Stone Heap

    Chapter 247: Stone Heap


    Trantor: Insignia Editor: Svjohn


    "I can feel that something is wrong too. It is as though the forest is like a maze." Commander Xia said with an ufortable expression.


    Luo Yuan quicklyforted them as he saw that everyone had started to get panicked and worried, "Luckily we realized this earlier; otherwise, we might need to stay another night here. Let me go up the tree and try to figure out where we are. We might be able to get out of the forest soon."


    Luo Yuan picked thergest tree in the area and reached the top of it in just a few breaths. The tree was about 100 meters tall and he only began to feel that there was a heatwave when he was standing at the top. The heavy transpiration process of the trees caused the surroundings to look very foggy. Fortunately, Luo Yuan has excellent eyesight and the objects he was looking for were huge peaks. He looked around carefully for a few seconds and then got back onto the ground after a few leaps.


    "How¡¯s the situation?" Huang Jiahui immediately asked once hended.


    "It¡¯s good, we are just about 20 km away from the nearest peak and we should be able to reach there before the sky turns dark. Let¡¯s go!" Luo Yuan said.


    Everyone felt relieved when they heard his words and quickly climbed up onto the back of the giant lizard. They really did not want to stay any longer in this scary forest. However, things were not as simple as what they imagined. After the giant lizard walked for about 10 minutes, Luo Yuan climbed up another big tree to check on their whereabouts. He realized they were not even close to the peak and the mountain now seemed to be even further away from them.


    The peak from afar looked like a mirage; no matter how long they walked, they will never actually get there. This lowered their morale as they got more worried.


    "What should we do? We seem to be misled by ¡®something¡¯!" Zhao Yali said superstitiously.


    "Even if ¡®something¡¯ was trying to mislead us, it doesn¡¯t mean that we won¡¯t be able to get out of here." Luo Yuan said. He then pondered for a moment and continued, "Perhaps what we see is not the reality and what we hear might be also wrong. However, I don¡¯t believe all five senses could be distorted simultaneously. I think what I see is real."


    "Do you have any solution to this?" Zhao Yali quickly asked.


    "I only have one silly idea, but I still need to test it out with an experiment." Luo Yuan said.


    He jumped down from the giant lizard and selected two big trees as his starting and end points. He then walked ahead of the team and returned after a short while. He was smiling and said, "I walked three steps more than what I supposed to."


    "Do you mean that distance in the forest is distorted?" Commander Xia asked.


    "No, we would have realized it if the distance was the main problem." Luo Yuan said.


    "It was the direction. There is an unknown force which has misled us! When we were walking in a straight line earlier, we were walking in circles. If we don¡¯t check where we are going from time to time, it is possible that we can be stuck here forever." Luo Yuan exined.


    Luo Yuan was still puzzled by the fact that he walked three steps more than he was supposed to even though the distance between the two trees was only about 35 steps. Moreover, this was the result of him walking while looking at his destination, otherwise, no one knows how far he would have gone.


    "I¡¯ll walk on top of the treester, and you follow me with the giant lizard." Luo Yuan said. That was the only way he could think of at that moment. Everyone quickly nodded.


    Then, Luo Yuan climbed up to the tree again and jumped rapidly like a monkey as the sky was getting darker. He was moving at a very high speed to avoid falling asleep unconsciously like yesterday. The giant lizard needed to "jog" to catch up with him.


    Using this new strategy, the peak was finally getting nearer in their vision and the mysterious forest was far behind them after half an hour. Everyone finally felt relieved and the strange force was finally gone.


    They rested for a while and then continued their journey again soon after. They passed by a low peak and then stopped in front a stone heap when the sky waspletely dark.


    There were not many nts due to the absence of soil. They only saw weeds which were as tall as human beings and a few small nts. Those weeds looked yellowish and wilted under the hot sunpared to the greenery in the forest earlier. It looked like they would die anytime soon.


    Due to theck of life in the area, the level of danger was lower in this environment. They did not see any mutated beast and there were very few insects. The group finally felt calmed and relieved. They fell asleep after dinner and the campfire faded around 12 midnight. Thest bit of light was finally gone after being blown out by the wind.


    Suddenly, someone got up after hearing some soft noises. It was Cao Lin. She hesitated and then slowly walked towards Luo Yuan.


    "Brother Luo! Brother Luo!" She called him softly.


    Luo Yuan was meditating at that moment and slowly opened his eyes to look at Cao Lin.


    He asked uncertainly, "What happened?"


    "Can... can we talk somewhere else?" Cao Lin felt nervous as she saw Luo Yuan look at her. Her rosy face immediately became slightly pale.


    Luo Yuan got up from the ground and walked a few steps further with Cao Lin. He then asked, "What¡¯s up?"


    "My... my chest was stung by something just now. Could you please help me check?" Cao Lin gritted her teeth and said. She pinched the edge of her shirt while her body was trembling slightly.


    She was probably nervous and scared.


    "Since when was she sofortable to allow others to see this part of her body?" Luo Yuan wondered.


    "Is it serious?" He asked.


    "I... I have no idea!" Cao Lin said with a shaky voice and then began to remove her shirt.


    Luo Yuan wanted to stop her but he did not say anything in the end. After that, he could not help but stare at her naked body as she was not wearing anything else inside. He saw a pair of snowy ¡®rabbits¡¯ bouncing but there was a palm-sized purple bruise on one of them.


    From Luo Yuan¡¯s initial observation, it did not look like her breast was stung by something but instead it looked like a result of pinching. Luo Yuan got the message but he did not expose the truth or reject her either as that will make her feel embarrassed. Obviously, she has put in a lot of effort and courage after hesitating for a long time.


    He sighed and gently caressed the "bruise". The bruise was gone with the help of his will and her skin became snowy white again very soon. Luo Yuan continued to inspect the area for a few more seconds and then pulled back his hand and said, "Let¡¯s go back. We need to wake up early tomorrow morning."


    Cao Lin¡®s face was very hot and she quickly put on her clothes and then ran back to where she slept.


    Luo Yuan sighed and returned to where he meditated earlier. He could easily do anything he wanted without paying the price as he was strong, but he could not disobey his integrity. He did not know what made him think about that phrase. He suspected that other strong people would never hold back on such an opportunity, except himself.

 Chapter 248: Jiuchuan

    Chapter 248: Jiuchuan


    Trantor: Insignia Editor: Svjohn


    "Do any of you smell anything?" Luo Yuan suddenly asked just before noon, on their second day.


    "We don¡¯t think so!" The rest of them shook their heads.


    Luo Yuan hesitantly took another sniff, this time the smell was more pungent. It smelt as though something had been charred with rotten eggs. The smell was vaguely familiar to him, as if he hade across it somewhere before.


    He soon recalled that it was the smell of a volcano, as the odor was simr to that of a volcano eruption. Luo Yuan however, did not seem to be bothered as the risk of running into an already-erupted volcano and a volcano that was soon to erupt, were twopletely different things. If the former happened, the best-case scenario was to run as far as possible. On the other hand, if thetter happened, thick smoke will be emitted continuously and perhaps even a hundred years will pass without so much as a spurt.


    As they got closer to the volcano, one by one, the rest started to catch a whiff of the odor.


    The group stood atop a huge rock on top of the mountain and gazed into the far distance. They were shocked to discover that there was not only one, but a chain of volcanoes along the mountain range, akin to a fire being lit one after another on the Great Wall. Their hearts quivered with fear upon catching sight of the thick, billowing smoke.


    "Why are there so many volcanoes? China does not have any active volcanoes, does it?" asked Huo Dong, his face turning slightly pale.


    "Maybe, but that was before! "Luo Yuan looked at the stretch of volcanoes, and took a deep breath, "The sea level had undergone dramatic changes, and the cosmic storm had affected theva activities. This stretch of volcanoes may not erupt any time soon, but once it erupts, I am afraid that it would turn into a super volcano. Not only would this whole ce be submerged under the magma, even the Reconstruction Area would also be affected."


    "It wouldn¡¯t be that serious, would it?" asked a shocked Lin Xiaoji.


    "I¡¯m just making a rough prediction!" replied Luo Yuan. He had watched documentaries about the super volcanoes prior to this.


    When a volcano erupts, theva should be the least of everyone¡¯s concern. The most harmful substance will be the volcanic ashes and gas. Furthermore, with a size as big as this super volcano, each eruption can thrust about a few hundred million tons of volcanic material into the air. If that were to ur, day will be night, while summer days will turn into harsh winter nights. How about the Reconstruction Area that will potentially affect more than half of China? When the timees, although the death of arge range of mutant beasts remain uncertain, it would definitely worsen the situation for those that were struggling to stay alive.


    We must return to the Reconstruction Area as soon as possible to report this matter," Themander said immediately, after hearing what Luo Yuan had said.


    Luo Yuan nodded his head. Suddenly he felt a tug in his heart, and he looked towards one of the volcanoes.


    Suddenly, the tip of the volcano was spewing withva, bursting with mes that shot about a hundred meters into the air. Initially, he thought to himself that they were only unlucky, running into an active volcano that was about to erupt. However, apanying the spewing ofva, was a worm-like monster emerging from the volcano, with its head sticking out of the volcano pit.


    "Quick, take a look, what is it?" By this time, the others had also noticed it. All of them stared in horror, without so much as a blink of an eye, at the mysterious creature that had been living in the heat of theva.


    Although it was almost six or seven kilometers away from where they stood, everyone could see it clearly due to its huge size. It looked simr to a red tworm; the surface of its body was marked with cylindrical pattern. Below the body were two rows of dense ck feet. It did not seem to have eyes, only a round opening that upied most of its head, where mes were firing from.


    At this point, the creature¡¯s head was swaying about violently, and a hundred meter-long high pressure me was swaying in unison, shooting haphazardly in the air.


    A few nearby trees that were scorched by the fire had burst into mes. Only after a few seconds being set aze, the trees disintegrated into a heap of ck coal, evident that the temperature was extremely high.


    The fire continued to ze. In another vent, as if receiving a certain signal, a second worm came crawling out, followed by a third, and a fourth. Luo Yuan was horrified to discover that almost all the volcanoes had been inhabited by the mysterious creatures.


    The subsequent events had the whole area turning into a worm fiesta. Innumerable streams of fire were shooting back and forth in mid-air. The extremely high temperature had caused distortions in the air and even from where Luo Yuan stood, the temperature had increased by several degrees. The smell of something burning started permeating the air.


    The congregationsted for a full half an hour before it finally stopped. One by one, the worms burrowed back into the volcanic vents.


    Everyone turned slightly pale after witnessing the incident, and did note to their senses until a few secondster. They did not dare to linger around the area any longer. After waiting for the worms to disappear, they tried to distance themselves from the volcanoes, and continued to move forward.


    ......


    As they adjourned, although the terrains were uneven and surrounded by endless mountains, they could feel the altitude decreasing. The gradual disappearance of the snow-capped mountains nearby, and the peak of the mountains bing lower were imminent of nothing but good news to them.


    On the fifth day of their journey, they even found some traces of human beings.


    There was a rundown deserted vige nearby, with several stone pirs lying on the ground. Overgrown weeds, broken pieces of bricks and rotting furniture could be found everywhere. Huang Jiahui even found a ceramic bowl ¨C fully intact ¨C belonging to the Mao dynasty, among the ruins.


    This proved that the vige was not isted from the outside world, and perhaps after a period of time, they too will be able to escape this mountainous zone


    This filled their heart with excitement, yet at the same time, harboured mixed feelings. They had encountered various difficulties and obstacles throughout their whole journey. They were agitated and filled with an unimaginable amount of pressure.


    The path towards the vige was camouged by nts and was well-hidden, but after looking carefully at the tracks topare thepactness of the ground and the simrity of the gravel, a single path could be identified.


    The giant lizard walked forward, ording to the direction of the small path. Along the trail, the ruins of the vige could be seen everywhere. By the evening, they stumbled upon a cement road in front of them.


    The cement road was badly damaged. Its surface wasden with potholes and was covered with moss and weed, almost blending into the jungles on both sides of the road.


    As they walked onto the cement road, traces of human dwellings were increasingly obvious and the dense canopy of trees gradually became thinner.


    A lot of copsed buildings were found, and brightly coloured trash were strewn everywhere. The air was also reeking of decay and mildew. Despite all that, it was puzzling as to why everyone was still excited when they saw the site.


    "Where is this ce?" asked Huang Jiahui, trying hard to suppress her mixed emotions.


    "I guess this used to be a town here. Very soon, we will arrive the city, and there must be a well-preserved map," said Commander Xia, in a high-pitched voice.


    As darkness descended, the group simply discussed among themselves, and decided that they will not stay the night, and would instead hurry onto the nearest city.


    Because the highway was a rtively t terrain, the giant lizard could finally unleash its lightning speed. It strode with heavy footsteps, and under Luo Yuan¡¯s spurring, the giant lizard began to pick up its speed, easily approaching eighty to ny yards. As the wind blew strongly against them, everyone tightened their clutch onto the rattan cover on its back, to avoid being flung off by the force.


    Their location was situated at juncture of Qinghai and Tibet, where it was sparsely popted. Apart from a single highway, it was almost impossible to find a vige. A few car tires were found shrivelled up and scattered across the road. As for the car, it had long been corroded into a mound of red rust.


    The whole ride was quiet and lonely, except for the heavy footsteps of the giant lizard and the king kong, which echoed into the night sky.


    ...


    At nine o¡¯clock in the evening, they finally arrived at the city within the forest.


    The city seemed ancient, possibly dating back to at least a thousand years ago. The atmosphere was filled with aging time and tide, as well years of decadence. The original architecture had long since faded away, and even the colour of the reinforced concrete was nketed by a deep shade of green.


    But the squad were already used to this scene, and were unfazed by this.


    Although most of the buildings were decayed and had now copsed, there were still some buildings standing erected with the support of some vines. They were almost blending into the woods nearby.


    "Let¡¯s go to the tallest building there to have a look," said Luo Yuan.


    The building that was five to six storeys high had its surface camouged with thick green vines. This building was the only tallest, well-preserved building nearby. Luo Yuan dismounted from the giant lizard, and hacked all the nts surrounding the building with his Zhanmadao, quickly exposing the heavily-corroded concrete wall.


    He extended his leg to give it a kick. A tter sound was heard, and a big hole suddenly appeared on the wall.


    Although his kick wasn¡¯t a weak one, a normal wall would not have given way so easily. But as this concrete wall had been corroded by nts, its sturdiness had long been lost. It seemed to have been hollowed out now, as even a gentle kick had easily knocked it down.


    Luo Yuan let the giant lizard and king kong back away a little, before immediately drilling into the hole. He first cleared a few mutated beasts¡¯ nests away before the rest of the group followed along in a single file.


    Inside, it was pitch ck and humid, and emitted a pungent, rotten stench.


    "Boss Luo, did you find anything?" Huo Dong asked, as he walked over.


    "No, it¡¯s too wet here, even the office desks had decayed, let alone a paper map. I will go upstairs to have a look, feel free to take your leave first," Luo Yuan said. The building here was very fragile, like a meek pulp of tofu. With a little push, the building would possibly have copsed. Given the circumstances, except perhaps for Luo Yuan, nobody waspletely safe.


    "Be careful!" said Huang Jiahui.


    Luo Yuan nodded his head, and walked quickly towards the stairs. The stairs had been thoroughly broken, and he had no choice but to leap towards the second floor. The strong impact of his jump as hended caused arge piece of flooring to copse. Thankfully, he had left that precarious spot and with some stealthy moves, he managed to enter one of the rooms.


    It seemed that this building was an office building. Luo Yuan saw a lot ofputer remains, as well as some disintegrated paper documents.


    Luo Yuan carefully went through each of the documents, in attempt to find any form of useful information. Unfortunately, all the handwriting had now be indiscernible, as the paper had already decayed into a powdery, damp substance.


    "Huh?" He noticed a safe deposit box propped by the corner.


    It was covered in rust, but there were no damages. His face gleamed with joy, as he brandished his Zhanmadao, and gently cut it open. Inside,id a thick stack of documents and invoices.


    These documents were well-preserved, except for a few that had been affected by the moisture. Sadly, there were no maps. Bute to think of it, it was pointless to lock up a map inside a safe deposit box anyway.


    He picked up one of the documents; it appeared to be amercial contract. Luo Yuan did not take a close look, but flipped to the underside to look at promisor and the promisee of the contract.


    Promisor: Jiu Chuan Yongle Advertising Co., Ltd.


    Promisee: Jiuchuan Shengde Tourism Real Estate Co., Ltd


    He also looked through the rest of the documents, and found that most of the addresses had stated ¡®Jiuchuan¡¯. It looked like in all probability, this city could be called Jiuchuan after all. The only problem now, was that he had absolutely no recollection nor even a slight inkling of its name.

 Chapter 249: Highway

    Chapter 249: Highway


    Trantor: Insignia Editor: Svjohn


    Luo Yuan searched through all the rooms on the second floor, but his efforts were in vain.


    At that very moment, Luo Yuan heard amotion. It seemed like something had happened outside. His expression changed slightly before picking up his Zhanmadao. He then took a few strides ahead and jumped onto the first floor. In an instant, he emerged from a small hole.


    Sprawling all over the ground were six mutated insects, each measuring about a meter long. Upon closer observation, the ferocious-looking mutated insects seemed to have been already mutted; the floor was drenched with their colourful fluid. Looking at the wounds on their body, aside from the two that was killed by Wang Shishi, the remaining four had been shed by swords.


    Everyone¡¯s Strength had greatly improved from what it once was. Low level mutated beasts such as these were no longer a threat to them.


    "Have you found the map yet?" asked Huang Jiahui, after noticing Luo Yuan walking over.


    "No, the deterioration in this ce is far too severe, and I reckon it will be the same for the other ces, unless someone had deliberately preserved one," answered Luo Yuan helplessly.


    There was a very slim chance of this happening. Before the apocalypse, maps were not particrly important, and especially with the advent of smartphones, people had rarely used actual maps.


    "But at least we are certain of the name of this location. Have any of you heard of Jiuchuan City?" asked Luo Yuan.


    Everyone looked at each other with clueless faces. Most of them were from the South. As far as their knowledge goes about the cities in the West, apart from a few famous tourist attractions and the provincial capital, they were unfamiliar with the rest of the small cities. Jiuchuan was clearly one of thetter and most of them had not even heard of this ce.


    "I think I might have heard of it somewhere!" said Huo Dong suddenly, but he looked somewhat unsure, as he could not confirm where he had heard it from.


    "Do not rush and think carefully..." said Luo Yuan quickly.


    Huo Dong paced up and down and furrowed his brows, "I got it! I used to have a customer previously, and it seems like he was from around here."


    "Are there any others?" Luo Yuan asked, his faceced with some disappointment. They could not deduce anything with such little information.


    "It was a long time ago. Moreover, that was a small-time customer and I rarely paid any attention to him. Oh yes, there could be a highway nearby. I remembered that I had checked it out before," Huo Dong scratched his head, all the thinking had racked his brains till his head hurt.


    Everyone¡¯s eyes lit up.


    "If you are sure that there are highways here, then everything would be much easier. There were very few highways in the West. ording to our geographical location, if I have guessed it correctly, the highway will be the Gong Yu highway," Commander Xia said, "Gong Yu highway is not far from Tamakan and there is a national line road that will lead to that ce. If we are fast enough, and if everything goes as nned, we can arrive at the Reconstruction Area in one or two days."


    ...


    At this time point, it was already close to nine o¡¯clock in the evening. The group had found a rtively safe and sound basement, and was ready to put up for the night.


    The ground was covered with damp and warm slippery moss. They lined the ground with the pelt of the mutated beasts and took a seat on the floor. Dried meat was distributed and they started to chomp onto the food.


    It was not suitable for them to set up a camp fire due to theck of space. Thankfully, there were some leftover dried meat.


    Everyone slowly chewed onto the rubber-like meat, while chatting about. Gradually, the topic steered towards the Reconstruction Area.


    "Commander Xia, why don¡¯t you give us a tip or two, on what we should be aware of in the Reconstruction Area?" Huang Jiahui asked.


    Commander Xia paused for a moment, and after gulping the food down his throat, he said, "There is nothing particr to take note of. Thews are basically the same as before, but it may be stricter now. Of course, there will be some changes, such as job distribution and obligatory services, especially the military service, which is mandatory. Once the recruitment notice is issued, it must be served, or one would be punished as treacherous renegades. Even if it is not for the military service, everyone must undergo military training for a certain period of time, to prepare for the next enlistment."


    "Even the women?" Cao Lin asked breathlessly. She was just surprised, despite being able to handle the training without a doubt. After all, she had gone through so many life and death situations and had managed to survive up to this stage, so much so that she was no longer the damsel in distress like she used to be, before the start of apocalypse.


    "Both men and women are the same. When facing a mutated beast, we cannot take care of women," Commander Xia said, in a serious tone.


    They had turned everyone into soldiers. Luo Yuan thought with a heavy heart.


    "You might be familiar with the food rationing system. Money is rarely used now. As for the survivors, after you arrive, you will receive a certain amount of food and water every month until you are assigned to a task. Of course, you will only receive coupons of various types.


    However, all of you will have more choices, whether to work or to be a soldier stationed at the border of small town. The living condition there is definitely better than that of the workers¡¯," said Commander Xia after some thought.


    "At the border of the town?" Luo Yuan asked.


    "The Reconstruction Area is just an ambiguous name. After all, it amodates more than 100 million people, and it is hardly just a city. In fact, itprises many cities. There are central areas, and also borderline areas. We divided the cities into three rings of which the outer ring made up the border region, as well as thest line of defence for humankind. Although the risk was not as high as the front line, there have been attacks before, from time to time. Thus, it is much more dangerous for the civilians," said Commander Xia.


    No one batted an eyelid and their expression remained the same. After they had survived the virgin forest, they thought nothing of such a small threat.


    "You mentioned about work distribution. I don¡¯t think there are any businesspanies around here anymore, is there?" Huo Dong curiously asked. He went into the field of business after he had dropped out of junior high school. Apart from doing business, he did not know what else he would do.


    "That is not the case, it is only very low in numbers. Most people will be assigned to work at various factories, ording to their individual skills. If they are not capable, of course you are free to set up a business of your own. However, the Reconstruction Area is now in a state of warfare, and not much manpower or resources are to be wasted. So, do not even think of hiring or obtaining new supplies of raw material," Commander Xia exined. As such, it had definitely obliterated the private business industry.


    ....


    Everyone continued to have small talks in between. Time had flown by and before they knew it, it was soon dawn.


    Even though none of them had slept the night before, they did not feel the least bit tired. As soon as daylight broke, the team had set out on their way again.


    After looking for nearly an hour, they finally found the entrance to the highway.


    Before the apocalypse, the roads were nked with the Gobi Desert. Luo Yuan was pleasantly surprised to find that this highway was preserved quite well. The deterioration of the asphalt pavement was not that serious, and the nts were very sparsely distributed. When the strong winds blew, there was still some fine sand in the air. Although the sand was too fine to touch, it still made them happy, as it indicated that the desert was not entirely invaded by the floras.


    But their joy was obviously short-lived, as the Western areas had proven how unpredictable the climate could be.


    After four hours, they managed to quickly cross the Gobi Desert, and entered back onto the mountainous terrains. Their path had be an on-and-off beaten track once again.


    Large parts of the road had already copsed and it was buried beneath the fallen mountain rocks. Of course, this was not much of a hindrance to them aspared to the copsed bridge that connected the two mountain peaks. Their only choice was to retreat and enter the jungle for a detour.

 Chapter 250: Deserter

    Chapter 250: Deserter


    Trantor: Insignia Editor: Svjohn


    After two days, they finally arrived at another city but simr to the rest, it was also a city in ruins.


    However,dy luck was on their side this time. At one of the ruins that they presumed was an old train station, they found a worn-out local map. Most parts of the map were already torn, but key information such as specific directions, city names and prefectural roads were still legible.


    This important piece of information provided them with help, just in the nick of time. At least, they no longer had to rush about haphazardly without so much as an inkling of a guide.


    As the city was in ruins and appeared to be totally different from its original state, the group had almost searched the whole city before they could find the location of prefectural road. The road was almost diffused into the surrounding greens and was covered by ayer of thick vines, which would have gone unnoticed should they not have used the map.


    The vines looked very bizarre as they did not have any leaves, only some intertwined rough and t stems that formed a massive carpet. The heavy steps of the giant lizard and king kong on the ground broke the vines apart, producing cracking sounds that scared off many small-sized mutated beasts.


    As the group traveled out of the city, nts simr to cacti gradually appeared in their line of vision. However, whenpared to normal cacti, these nts were surprisingly enormous. They were about a hundred to two hundred meters high; much higher than most trees were, making them stand out from the rest. They resembled green skyscrapers from a distance.


    "These are super cacti, edible and thus one of the main vegetables in the Reconstruction Area. We are currently not far away from the desert." Commander Xia said excitedly when he caught sight of these nts.


    ...


    After traveling for about two hours and crossing a few junctions, the environment and their surroundings started to change rather distinctively. The nts became sparser and shorter, and the soil, which was mixed with yellowish-white sands, was exposed to the air for the first time.


    They had already arrived the desert, or rather, the desert prior to the apocalypse. But s, it was engulfed by the nts now, only less sparse.


    The windbreak forest at the both sides of the road seemed to have been chopped down a couple of times, as the recently grown nts were much shorter than those nts that were located further away. As they traveled on, the abandoned cars had increased and almost blocked the whole road eventually, akin to a long dragon that stretched away into the infinite distance.


    Smaller cars were not seen anywhere around, as most were reconfigured passenger cars and trucks, while some were armored vehicles and tanks.


    White bones were seen everywhere, some were the mutated beasts¡¯, while the others belonged to humans. If observed carefully, the road surface appeared to be light brown, which was what they made out to be dried blood.


    Some jewelry, gold bars and debris of antiques were strewn all over the road as if they didn¡¯t cost a thing, all mixed up with the remnants and bones. As for those paper bank notes, they had already been decayed.


    It was unimaginable how the migration had cost that many lives, and corpses were sprawled all over the entire road.


    Seeing such a scene, the group was ovee by a wave of sadness, and could not help but to reminisce the hardships in the past.


    Nevertheless, such a gory scene depicted that the Reconstruction Area was not far away!


    Luo Yuan seemed to have picked up some voices not too far away. He looked towards the source of the voice and was stunned, "Eh, there¡¯s someone here!"


    "What? Where?" Huang Jiahui asked with a surprise face.


    They were after all, in the wilderness. Along the way, other than themselves, they could see no one. If they were not aware that there was a ce known as the Reconstruction Area, they would have thought that human beings had already gone extinct.


    Luo Yuan pointed at their direction, and the group looked towards them. In the forest afar, a group of people were squatting on the floor while keeping vigil. They were a group of six; dirty and unkempt, with torn to rags clothes. Unlike average refugees, they did not appear to be miserable but looked wild and untamed instead.


    "They¡¯re the wanderers!" Commander Xia suddenly said.


    "Wanderers?" Luo Yuan asked doubtfully.


    "This is a group formed by the deserters, criminals, and some untamed evolved people!" The tone of Commander Xia sounded contemptuous andced with disdain, "In the group, most of them are the deserters. As the pressure from the battlefield was too high, with many of them losing their lives daily, they could not adapt to such a lifestyle, and soon became deserters. They are now no longer able to enter the Reconstruction Area, and have no choice but to be left wandering nearby."


    "They were just left like this? Did the Reconstruction Area not encircle and suppress them?" As Huang Jiahui used to be a cop, she asked while casting a despicable nce at them.


    "The number of wanderers were toorge, with about hundreds of thousands of them, and they were very much dispersed. Those who were weak and afraid of dying on the battlefield, after bing wanderers, have also be especially ferocious and wild. Amongst them were the strong, evolved people and this makes things very tricky. We tried to carry outrge extent encirclement and suppression for a few times but it was proven futile. Therefore, nobody enforces this anymore, as their existence has actually reduced the stress that we¡¯re having at the defense line. So, we have decided to let them be, on one condition ¨C that they don¡¯t formrge dangerous groups or cause any ruckus."


    Luo Yuan nodded in his heart. Thergest enemy of humankind was still the mutated beasts. Therefore, men did not have much energy to waste on internal conflicts such as these.


    "All of you stay here. I¡¯m going over to ask a few questions," Luo Yuan said, after a thought.


    "Be careful, they may have guns," Huang Jiahui warned.


    The fire arms did not pose as much of a threat to him anymore unless he was attacked with high-density bullets. Otherwise, with his Agility, no one was able to hit him. Despite that, Luo Yuan still nodded and leapt off the giant lizard. Each step he took was about seven to eight meters far. Though he walked step by step, his Speed was extremely fast.


    As the group saw it, they were shocked and subconsciously retreated by a few steps. Two of them even took out their rifle, as if they were ready to fire away. Nevertheless, they were stopped by a middle-aged man, "Don¡¯t act recklessly and keep your rifle. Let¡¯s see what he is trying to do."


    After a few breaths, the silhouette suddenly appeared in front of them. The people were breathing fast and suddenly, the oppressive aura filled the atmosphere, and even the air particles seemed to begin vibrating.


    Their face turned pale, feeling a slight difficulty in breathing. The middle-aged leader tried to stay calm and asked, "My friend, how can my brothers and I help you?"


    Luo Yuan was a bit shocked as he had not thought that the group had rtively good Will. Even Huo Dong and the others were not any better when he exerted thirty percent of his Aura. In fact, they were able to endure this only because they were close to him.


    Realizing that he had intimidated them, Luo Yuan no longer wanted to act menacingly. Therefore, he kept his Aura and said, "Nothing much, I just want to know how far the Reconstruction Area is from here... it would be better if you have a map."


    The middle-aged leader instantly heaved a sigh of relief. It seemed that the supposedly terrifying person he was facing, turned out to be an approachable person after all. However, when he recovered, he said with a surprise, "Do all of you want to go to the Reconstruction Area? From the outside?"


    "Huh? Are there no other survivorsing here anymore?" Luo Yuan was sharp enough to read his facial expression.


    "I¡¯m not sure about other ces, but this area no longer has survivorsing in within thest three months. The same could be said for other ces too," the middle-aged leader said.


    "Nobody anymore?" Luo Yuan sobbed in his heart and was speechless for a while.


    The middle-aged leader tried to observe his bodynguage, and with caution, he said, "Are you trying to sneak in or go directly to the garrison?"


    "Sneak in?" Luo Yuan recovered, "Other than sneaking in, can¡¯t we enter the Reconstruction Area just like that?"


    "No. This is because there is a huge defense area with soldiers everywhere. You have to cross through the defense line if you want to enter the Reconstruction Area. If you manage to slip across, I know a location of an underground path!" The middle-aged leader said, "Maybe you aren¡¯t aware of this, but the rules of the Reconstruction Area is strict, among them includes thepulsory military service which may cost you your life. As you won¡¯t need to register yourself if you choose to sneak in, you can avoid this perfectly."


    Luo Yuan nced at him and had already understood his motives. He wanted to try to manipte their Strength to sneak in and return to the Reconstruction Area. He also understood that the underground path should not be an easy route to take on. Nevertheless, they will surely be disappointed.


    "We shall go to the garrison directly. Do you have a map?" Luo Yuan said.


    The middle-aged leader was stunned, and although impressed, a sliver of disappointment shed through his heart. As he did not dare to show any form of weakness, he replied immediately, "How could we possibly own a map? Just go along this road for about two to three hours and you will arrive at the defense region."


    Luo Yuan left quickly.


    While looking at the group riding on the enormous beast leaving so quickly, the middle-aged leader was relieved and was filled with admiration yet felt a slight regret simultaneously. He was emotionally disturbed.


    Perhaps it would have been better if he did not be a deserter after all.


    "Regiment Commander, let¡¯s return!"

 Chapter 251: Worm

    Chapter 251: Worm


    Trantor: Insignia Editor: Svjohn


    Along the way, they caught a glimpse of some wanderers, but none of them dared to approach the group. As most of them saw the silhouette of the giant lizard, it was enough to send them fleeing, without even looking at its passengers. Only a handful of them who did not run away, were only looking from afar vigntly.


    Judging from their clothes, the lives of the wanderers did not look good at all.


    A few wanderers at the front had probably just been exiled from the Construction Area not too long ago, as they still had their shirts on. Nevertheless, most of them were only wearing rough beast skin on their backs, while some were even naked, akin to a group of barbarians. What surprised Luo Yuan was that the few women he saw were neither embarrassed nor ufortable, as they naturally went about with their lives without even covering their private parts. It was as though they had not worn a single piece of clothing in their lives before.


    The sense of civilization had gradually faded from them. Each of their actions was savage, and Luo Yuan could only see ferocious and barbaric demeanors stered across their faces.


    Luo Yuan could not help to sigh. He then suddenly had thought, if the Construction Area falls, it could very well be the end of humankind. If such a meagre ethnic group were not able to uphold the foundation of civilization, the inheritance of knowledge will gradually be forgotten, and their grandchildren will only be left to rely on their imagination of the splendid civilization that their forefathers built.


    ............


    Wang Shishi was thrilled. Along the way, she continuously used her Telekinesis to pick up the jewelries and gold from the floor. The other women were also helping her to search carefully with interest, and they screamed loudly as and when they discovered treasure.


    All of them were in a deliriously jolly mood, it could either be due to the temptation of the jewelries, or how relieved they were, knowing that they were about to be safe and sound entering the human base camp,


    Those dusty and blood-stained jewelries shone with an enchanting gloss that attracted more attention after they were wiped clean. Even Luo Yuan could not help himself from stealing a few nces at them.


    For thousands of years, these things could be assets or its equivalent, which was reasonable, because they had the power to induce the deepest desires of human beings.


    Wang Shishi did not take all these jewelries to herself but distributed a portion of it to everyone. Of course, the best, which included a natural diamond the size of a thumb, was gifted to Luo Yuan. He smiled but did not decline, as he got to know from Commander Xia that even though the Construction Area had been reced with nned economy, jewelry ¨C especially gold ¨C were still valuable. It was actually held in high regard, provided that many still recognize its worth. It would still be valuable even if the government had impeded a ban.


    The portions of both Wang Shishi and Luo Yuan¡¯s were kept together in a baggage by Huang Jiahui, but the rest kept their own portion. Though they did not express much, each of them gradually formed their own thoughts as they got closer to the Construction Area.


    However, everyone of them was in an elevated mood. They were talking andughing joyfully along the way. Even the king kong was affected as it kept roaring with delight. With its physically strong body, it had even lifted a few rusty cars and threw them around; followed by loud banging.


    Its body of about seven to eight meters tall was filled with explosive strength. It could even flip those heavy trailers. As for those small sized cars it chanced upon asionally, it was able to lift them up high and fling them to about a hundred meters away, causing Luo Yuan to give it a sidelong nce.


    As they got nearer to the Construction Area, traces of civilization were increasing. Luo Yuan had also seen the fighter ne in the sky several times now. Perhaps they were unmanned, and they were flying at an altitude of more than ten thousand meters. A normal person might not be able to distinguish the tiny speck, but his eyesight was good enough to discern its shape and color clearly.


    After travelling for about a hundred kilometers, the road conditions got better as the moss and rattan had almost disappeared, apart from the signs of recent patches. Those abandoned cars on the road were also greatly reduced, and new skid marks of tires proved that they were already extremely close to the Construction Area.


    ¡°Look, are those artillery craters?¡± Lin Xiaoji suddenly asked.


    Luo Yuan looked at the direction he pointed at. About a kilometer away, there was an area of about a few kilometers square without any nts in sight. Many holes of various sizes were seen puncturing the surface of the ground, akin to the surface of the moon. Of course, the area was notpletely barren without any nts, but they appeared to be shorter and sparser as if they had just begun to sprout.


    The bombardments of artillery at the desert could be easily disregarded, as the artillery craters could be camouged quickly by speedily growing nts or strong wind. If those artillery craters can be seen easily by the naked eye, it could only mean one thing. After Commander Xia looked at them for a while, he said in all seriousness, ¡°This area should be bombarded only recently, I reckon it had happened not more than half a month ago.¡±


    ¡°It just happened not too long ago?¡± Lin Xiaoji asked, surprised.


    The group was shocked and no longer felt rxed as it meant that there had been battles urring only just recently. Therefore, danger might still be lurking behind every rock, as some might have narrowly escaped the.


    Luo Yuan furtively held onto the handle of his Zhanmadao tightly. Sniffing attentively, he was able to pick up a faint smell of artillery smoke.


    He carefully paid attention to his surroundings. It was very quiet, possibly because of the barren desert with only very sparse nts. Even though there were many mutated beasts, most of them were weak and small. Hence, along the way, he could barely see the dark blue rank mutated beasts, let alone those that were of the light green rank.


    This was after all, a location near the Construction Area, the base camp of human beings, which should have been patrolled and cleansed several times now. It had seemed that the Construction Area appeared to be safer than expected, but he clearly understood now that it was a mere fa?ade. What threatened the humans the most was in fact, not the powerful mutated beasts, as they were small in number, and man had enough powerful weapons to fight against theserger individuals. But it was those unremarkable creatures that held the power to threaten the survival of mankind.


    He could still vividly remember the upheaval that urred at Hedong City. A scourge of mutated mosquitoes with rather weak capabilities actually turned the whole city into a haunted one, causing everyone to cower with panic and fear. This eventually ruined the city,rgely due to negligence in the defense army.


    He found that some burrows could be seen clearly in the desert. The size of these burrows varied, with the small one about a foot, and the big one reaching about few meters. Although these burrows were found at the loose sand of the desert, they did not seem to copse, as if they were held together by something.


    He frowned slightly, as it seemed to have many underground creatures buried underneath.


    The giant lizard became rather impatient and shot out thick smoke from its nostrils, which were asionally mixed with fiery sparks. The king kong too, often exposed its ferocious teeth and growled.


    With such an abnormal situation, the group realized that danger was just around the corner.


    ¡°Luo Yuan!¡± Seeing that Luo Yuan was sitting there, not moving, Zhao Yali could not help but to remind him.


    ¡°Don¡¯t be nervous, it¡¯s just a few little worms!¡±forted Luo Yuan.


    He was not showing any signs of nervousness. With his extraordinary strength, apart from a few super lifeforms, themon mutated beasts could barely threaten him.


    As the strength of Luo Yuan had been deeply rooted in the heart of the group, they were relieved when they heard his response.


    Luo Yuan was sitting on the back of the giant lizard while monitoring his surroundings attentively. The sounds transmitted underground seemed to be subtle yet rustling loudly, simr to the sound of two pieces of sandpaper scraping against each other.


    There seemed to be more than one spot!


    Luo Yuan¡¯s ears twitched; he drew out a short spear from his backpack and stood up. Meanwhile, the giant lizard had stopped moving forward but was stomping on the spot irritably.


    ¡°It¡¯sing, hold tight!¡± Luo Yuan grunted.


    The group was shocked and held tightly onto the rattan carpet on the back of the giant lizard while trying to lower their bodies as tly as they could.


    Just as he finished his sentence, the concrete beneath the legs of the giant lizard suddenly gave way, and gravel began bursting out. Meanwhile, a giant mouth was biting onto the stomach area of giant lizard. The belly was the softest and most vulnerable part of these creatures. Once bitten, it could also signify the end of its life.


    The brilliant angle of its attack was far from expected. Even Luo Yuan had never thought that these worm-like creatures underground would have such an urate sense of direction. His line of vision waspletely blocked, and thus unable to take action.


    Nevertheless, the giant lizard exerted its 15 point Agility during the critical moment. It retreated a few steps back and opened its mouth to unleash a burst of mes in a state of fear and fury.


    Bang! A loud sound ensued.


    The head of the worm-like creature was bludgeoned onto the floor by the high-pressured mes, with its body still in mes. The pain caused by the burns had caused it to struggle frantically. But s, the menacing mes could not be extinguished at all. It kept struggling in vain, and roads were destroyed, as coteral damage due to its gigantic body size.


    Soon, the area where the giant worm was, had caved into a deep pit of more than 10 meters in circumference. Arge amount of burning gravel were spattering towards all directions like rapid bullets, but fortunately, Wang Shishi had already used her Will to repel its force.


    The giant worm was not alone. Shortly after, another worm appeared but it was targeting the king kong instead.


    The king kong, although not too quick in response, it was much smarter. After seeing the giant lizard getting attacked, the former had already jumped onto an abandoned truck nearby.


    When the giant worm appeared, the whole truck was flipped over and the king kong was hurled into the air. Though it was a meagre attempt, this saved its life.


    Just as the giant worm attempted to chomp onto its bait in the air, a short spear whizzed past and struck itsrge mouth. Instantly, its upper jaw burst and half of its head blew off.


    Luo Yuanmanded the giant lizard to move backwards, leapt down and sprinted on the ground. After a few breaths, he abruptly stopped. While sensing the hive of activity underground, which seemed to have numerous giant worms rushing to the scene, he smirked and took a deep breath. Then, he lifted up his leg, which shook the ground as if the whole earth had been lifted up, and numerous cracks appeared on the road. Luo Yan then stomped heavily onto the ground.


    With a loud boom, like explosive dynamites buried underground, the cracking road had suddenly exploded into debris. Luo Yuan did not stop there but he lifted his leg again and stomped heavily with all his mighty strength.


    Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!


    After stomping for four consecutive times, clouds of dust suddenly filled the air within a circumference of a hundred meters. The air flow and immense power could even be felt clearly by Huang Jiahui and the group, who stood more than a hundred meters away. It was as though an earthquake, albeit small in magnitude, had just urred.


    As the dust gradually dispersed, the five bodies of the giant worm that had wriggled themselves out were now lying on the ground. Some of the bodies were ttened by the immense force, while the rest had been ripped apart. They were now lying in a pool of their own bodily fluids.


    Their strong will to live had them twitching at the brink of death, but that was their final struggle before breathing theirst.


    If they were to be on ground level, the power of the Earth Stomp would not have been as strong, as it was only capable of making these dark blue level creatures, and the two light green level creatures feel dizzy. But underground? It was different story altogether.


    The Earth Stomp that changed the topography underground had caused these giant worms to endure an unimaginable and terrifying force that squashed them whole; it was even fatal for light green level creatures.


    Luo Yuan prostrated himself on the ground to listen intently. The situation underground was already quiet, as the rest of the giant worms who was unaffected would have had already escaped.


    He retreated from the impulse of the earth, flicked the dust off his body, and went back onto the giant lizard to adjourn.


    The battle thatsted for less than 20 seconds had nowe to an end. Sevenrge corpses were left to die on the spot, still slightly twitching. At the same time, an unmanned aerial vehicle hovering above happened to capture the footage of the scene, which was instantly sent to the Central Safety and Strategy Information Management Center, located at the New Capital City of Reconstruction Area.

 Chapter 252: Arrival

    Chapter 252: Arrival


    Trantor: Insignia Editor: Svjohn


    "It¡¯s the first line of defense at the front, and it¡¯s the most important one," Commander Xia said, with a tinge of emotion.


    It was a gray fort, and itsrge size can be seen even from afar. It was very different from the fort used during the World War II; it was a hemispheric giant battle beast, fully armed.


    Various types of weapons with different calibers had filled every single inch of this hemispheric fort. Some magnificentlyrge cannons could be spotted within its grounds too. The dark hole was so huge that it could fit even more than one person of average adult-size. It certainly looked formidable.


    When one looked over, either horizontally or vertically, one by one, the number of forts were so great that one was able to see them all, stretching until the end of one¡¯s line of vision ¨C it was definitely shocking!


    As they got closer to those forts, Luo Yuan could not hold back his emotions.


    No words could describe how he felt, as the feeling brimming within him wasplicated and ratherplex. He harbored uncontroble excitement; a feeling of returning home that made him so eager to check it out, yet overwhelmed by a faint fear, as he had been away for too long, which had now alienated him from the human society. As he had been living a life without any restrictions for the longest time, he was worried as to whether or not he was able to readapt to society, with its ever-binding social norms. However, these faint emotions were not strong enough to overpower him from wanting to get inside.


    There were thousands of such forts and two-thirds of them were situated at the outer rim. Its walls were about three meters thick, and served as a barricade to almost any kind of attack. The ground had ayer of iron flooring about half meter thick on top of the cement. Apart from the operating personnel, each fort had a battalion of artillery troops as a reserve force.


    Then, about ten kilometers away, a fort suddenly fired and a long streak of mes was seen shooting towards the sky, as if the heavens had punished a hovering mutated beast, leaving it in agony to struggle and fall to its death.


    "Can the threat of the beasts break through the defense?" Luo Yuan withdrew his gaze, as he turned his head to ask.


    Commander Xia paused for a moment before he replied, "Basically, it can defend any threat by beasts below the level of five."


    He then continued to exin, even when Luo Yuan had not probed further. "It¡¯s a rating system of the Construction Area to divide the degree of danger indefinitely. The scale of level one was lesser than ten thousand, while the scale of level five was about one million to five million. However, this rating system was not very urate because the density, impact, size and strength of each individual did y a pivotal role too. The most dreadful problem in the Construction Area was neither the mutated beasts nor the mutated birds, but the threat of the insects. Theirrge number and smaller body size had made it difficult for defense.


    Previously, we had one insect threat in our Construction Area. We suffered a great loss as it ruined a few cities at the outer rim."


    ...


    "That¡¯srge!"


    It looked like nothing from afar, but as it got nearer, it was not only huge and heavy but also boasted a height that was greater than ten floors. In addition, it had an area of more than ten thousand, almost the size of a giant beast lying horizontally on the desert. Furthermore, its body was full of weapons and it exerted an oppressing aura, which made the group grow anxious.


    Even Luo Yuan felt ufortable and insecure with those cannons.


    All of a sudden, the giant iron door of the fort was flung open, and apletely enclosed jeep drove over at high speed.


    Luo Yuan stopped both the giant lizard and the king kong, dismounted from the former, and waited for the jeep toe closer.


    When the door of the jeep was opened, two tanned soldiers quickly got out and trotted over. "This is defense line no. 151 military fort. Are all of you survivors?" One of the officers with a lieutenant military rank shouted to ask, while ncing at the giant beast uncontrobly.


    "Hello lieutenant, four of us are the soldiers from the 19th army, 15th force. Because of the ne ident, we had lost contact. I¡¯m Xia Qiang, thepanymander of the third corps, fifthpany. These are the survivors." Commander Xia saluted with excited expression along with other three soldiers.


    The lieutenant returned the salutation with a surprise: "Oh, four of you are therades whom we have lost contact with? You are so lucky to have survived, but the 19th army is not anywhere around here. I heard that they have been positioned at a new oil field, I¡¯m not certain with the details though. You may need to report at the Department of Military Affairs at the Construction Area."


    Commander Xia nodded as he had obviously mentally prepared for this.


    Then, the lieutenant looked at Luo Yuan and his group with curiosity. He had met many survivors before. Some were in shabby wear, fixed eyes, excited and crying in distress, while some were a bit of a rebel and fierce, but none was as special as this group of people.


    Their shirts were surprisingly clean and neat, as if they were new; their fingernails did not have any dirt in them, depicting that they were cleaned often; theirplexion was fair and face ruddy, obviously they were not malnourished. Other than exuding a state of excitement and joy, their calmness made them look more like they were in an era of peace, instead of survivors of an apocalypse.


    However, what made him more curious was the sudden order he received from his superiors before he came out, which was to wee the group of evolved people riding on a mutated beast, with special treatment.


    He had not seen the footage of the battle between Luo Yuan and the desert¡¯s crypt worm, thus he did not know the evolved ability that Luo Yuan shown was so important to the Construction Area. After all, the underground mutated beasts had always been tricky, as they usually hide deeply underground where there was no effective detection method up-to-date.


    What was more serious was that there were many such underground creatures in the desert region and the Construction Area almost had to deal with hundreds of attacks daily, which took away the life of thousands. On top of that, they were bing more cunning as they moved very swiftly. After they attacked once, they will flee deep into the ground and almost could not be killed. As such, it was definitely a nightmare to humankind.


    ...


    The outer appearance of the fort looked menacing, akin to those in a science-fiction horror story, but its interior was rough yet spacious.


    Itprised a bumpy cemented surface, coarse walls without a coat of painting andrge words of slogans to motivate and inspire guests. What really caught their eye were the rows ofrge rocket vehicles at both sides. If a few kids were to walk along the road, their height was iparable to that of its tire.


    The group followed a few soldiers into the fort where they were simply asked a few questions and had their pictures taken. Huo Dong was held on to the box of canned food given by the lieutenant just as when they were given a pass, with a stamp hanging around their necks. These somehow made Luo Yuan feel a sense of warmth.


    What differed this from the olden days was that these passes were not stic ones, but instead merely a piece of wood strung by a thin hemp rope. After the apocalypse, the resources were apparently insufficient, hence materials such as stic could not be wasted on items like these.


    There were many forts around this region, where the group had to stop frequently after a certain distance for security checks. Fortunately, it did not take much time as they were let through quickly after their passes had been inspected. After they passed through thirteen forts, the endless checkpoints finally came to an end.


    Along the way, Commander Xia was faced with alternating emotions; at times he would be silent, emotionally excited and sometimes preupied with troubles. He could not imagine what would happen to his family, as he was a mere human being lost in the war. As the Construction Area encouraged birth giving, and strictly prohibited singlehood especially among the women, it had led him into marriage. As his wife had now be a "widow" ... he must have sufficient mental strength to live with this fact.


    When Luo Yuan opened the box filled with a dozen canned food, he found out that the canned foods were packed into wooden materials too. The outer part of the can was carved with simple symbol to indicate the type of the food, date and level. Eight cans of meat were ranked as level four, while the other four were vegetables ranked as level one.


    Level four also symbolized the dark blue rank, while level one depicted that they were white.


    Apart from being emotionally excited since five in the morning when they woke up, up to the current time of four o¡¯ clock in the evening, they did not stop along the way. Other than water, they had consumed nothing at all. Luo Yuan then opened up all the cans.


    These things could be rtively precious and expensive formon people, but were nothing much to Luo Yuan and hispany, as they were not only used to having deep blue rank meat but also those of green ranks.


    The meat in the can appear to be flour-like in texture as the tough meat of mutated beasts had already been ground. Starch seemed to have been added in to make it taste better than how it originally tasted. It was not only rich in vor but also easy for consumption. As the group had not tasted even a single ounce of spices for a long period of time, it had stimted their appetite.


    The group even finished the dehydrated vegetables.


    There was quite a distance between the first line of defense and the Construction Area. It was only 7 o¡¯clock in the evening, but Luo Yuan could finally see the dim lights from afar!

 Chapter 253: Rejected

    Chapter 253: Rejected


    Trantor: Insignia Editor: Svjohn


    Walking closer, they realized that it was a 60-meter-tall giant lighthouse. There were a few of them in the distance, but they were no longer used for guiding directions. Instead, it gave out a ring light like a mini sun in the dark, illuminating the ce as bright as day. Attracted by the light, countless mutated insects gathered around the lighthouse. Some of them were even killed by the huge electric arc that let out an asional spark or two.


    The base of the lighthouse was covered with dead insects. As Luo Yuan and the gang were walking towards the lighthouse, they spotted another pile of dead insect bodies ¨C about 40 meters high ¨C on top of the existing ones. At this rate, the lighthouse would probably be buried by the dead insects,e next morning.


    The lighthouse was like a giant insect¡¯s vacuum; almost all the nearby insects congregated at a single spot. There were hardly any insects along the way as Luo Yuan continued his journey. After passing the other three lighthouses, a silhouette of a city appeared in front of them.


    It was a city filled with darkness. It was around 8 o¡¯ clock at night and the sky was already almost pitch ck. There were no lights at all from the faraway cities; it was immersed inplete darkness. If not for the funnels that were puffing thick smoke, it could very well pass off as a dead city. The air was reeking of industrialism; some of which foul, while some were choking. The odor was even stronger than it was prior to the apocalypse.


    Most of them who were used to fresh air were not able to adapt to this environment, and started coughing. It was probably not being managed properly as the fumes were released straight into the air. But at that moment, even radical environmentalists would be rejoicing. At least one of them in the gang was enjoying the stench.


    ...


    "What is that? Is that a wall?" Luo Yuan asked curiously about the shadow that was surrounding the city.


    Although Commander Xia¡¯s vision was not as good as Luo Yuan¡¯s, he knew what he was talking about. "That would be a carnivorous vine. They are dangerous and capable of swallowing an entire animal. Here, we use it as a wall. It works even better than a real wall, and although it is not able to defend us againstrge-size mutated beasts, it can stop the smaller ones from entering."


    The wall of carnivorous vines was five meters high. There were mouths that looked like flowers snapping open and shut, while exuding a sweet fragrance to attract its prey. They were not scarce after the apocalypse, and throughout his journey, Luo Yuan had seen more than 10 types of its species. However, using them as a wall was a first. It was something new to him, and he could not help but observe it a few more times.


    They walked around it and found the entrance. The wooden door was six meters tall and five meters wide. It was locked. The moment they arrived, a sound was heard from a hidden loud speaker.


    "Everyone, stop walking. Who are you? Which unit are you from?"


    "We¡¯re the survivors from the ounds!" shouted Luo Yuan, not wanting to cause any trouble.


    The person on the other side paused, "Please sh your ID towards the camera, and stay back for the inspection."


    There really were a few cameras around. Luo Yuan hopped off the giant lizard, showed his ID and waited patiently. The sentinel was efficient, as after half a minute, the door swung open. A team of four fully armed soldiers walked out. One of them checked his ID carefully, and looked at Luo Yuan, "This is yours... How about the rest? All of you, pleasee here for identification."


    Luo Yuan felt a little ufortable. Perhaps it was the fact that these enforcers gave off a forceful and condescending vibe. But soon, he felt better. He reminded himself that this was the reconstruction area, not the wilderness. He should begin to adapt to the norms here by now, as he no longer called the shots.


    Everybody shed their IDs. Once the identification process was over and done with, the person said, "The IDs are valid, but we regret to inform you that as there were no survivorsing in for the past two months, the service center had been shut down and nothing can be done now. I¡¯m afraid you are not allowed to enter the city today. Pleasee back tomorrow instead."


    "What did you just say? We traveled a long way to get here, and we are already right in front of the door. Do you expect us to sleep outside for the night?" Before Luo Yuan could finish his sentence, Lin Xiaoji could not help but interrupt. Anger was written all over his face; the rest were dissatisfied too.


    "We¡¯re really sorry but there¡¯s nothing we can do. This is especially for quarantine purposes, as the most important task cannot be carried out at night. For the safety of Desert City, we are unable to let you in." said one of the soldiers, in all seriousness. Lin Xiaoji was just about to retort, but he was stopped by Luo Yuan. "That¡¯s enough, let¡¯s just sleep outside tonight!"


    "Thank you for understanding!" a soldier said, with a sarcastic look on his face.


    The door was then shut. Looking at the city of darkness upon them, they had lost all their excitement.


    After walking a few hundred meters away, they found a rtively t space to be their campsite of the night. Instinctively, they then collected some twigs nearby to start a fire.


    The atmosphere was depressing, even Luo Yuan was down in the dumps. He understood that it was a mandatory procedure, as they had been in the wilderness where they could have been infected by unknown strains of viruses and bacteria. That was clearly the reason why they would not let them in just like that. Although it was well-understood, he was not pleased with the misfortune. Of all people, why must this happen to him?


    They talked for a little while, before everyone sat quietly, deep in their own thoughts. As they will be entering the reconstruction area tomorrow, many things that they never had to worry about before, such as jobs and life, ought to be discussed now.


    ¡®Pre-apocalypse¡¯. This term was made up of two words that were so mundane, yet so wonderful. Even the thought of it was enchanting. Only fictional characters would rejoice when they knew that war wasing, but to most people, they were sick of wars. After all, you only have one life, and peace was what most people wanted.


    The city not too far away was really quiet and peaceful. Even out of the city, there were hardly any mutated beasts out there. They were like two different worlds, one was heaven while the other was hell. They did not have to put their lives at risk there, nor did they have to be in a constant state of fear. They could even have the luxury of a nine-to-five life there like they used to.


    It was a full moon night today; the clear moonlight emitted a mesmerizing halo. Luo Yuan could not remember what the date was today, and he could not determine whether it was summer or fall. It felt like forever since he left prior to the apocalypse, so long that it was almost wiped outpletely from his memory.


    He frowned and snapped out of his thoughts. There was a light quake on the ground, with soft sounds of a collision. Noises could be heard as if buildings were copsing from a distance, as well as people screaming. He stood up and looked into the horizon.


    The noise sounded like the desert bug that he encountered previously.


    "Luo Yuan, what¡¯s wrong?" Hua Jiahui asked curiously, as she noticed Luo Yuan standing up.


    They did not have such sharp sense of sound like Luo Yuan did, so they were oblivious of their surroundings!


    Luo Yuan shook his head and said, "Nothing!"


    It was too far away from what was happening anyway. As the bug was elusive, it was pointless for him to rush there. Also, the city should have good defense force. The sound of copsing buildings still echoed from time to time, while the crying and screaming noises were getting more and more intense. Although the hysterical screams were just a few kilometers away, Luo Yuan could empathize the people¡¯s fear and desperation.


    The defense system of the city was highly efficient. In a few minutes, gunshots and roars of cannons could be heard. The sound became weaker as it dissipated through the air. Not long after, Luo Yuan¡¯s facial expression had changed. It seemed like there were going to be more than one buging their way.

 Chapter 254: Above

    Chapter 254: Above


    Trantor: Insignia Editor: Svjohn


    In the Desert City¡¯s mayor¡¯s office at the City Hall, a middle-aged man was frowning while flipping through the documents that he had received today. The sound of the flipping pages filled the room. As the mayor of the reconstruction area, he had to bear with a great amount of stress every day. Within merely six months, the 35-year-old had his forehead filled with wrinkles. He had also lost weight, his bulging tummy during the pre-apocalypse was now nowhere to be seen.


    The office windows were stered by thick, ck papers which kept the room warm. The fan did not help at all, as he was sweating non-stop. Due to theck of power supply in the reconstruction area, even the leader of the city was not able to enjoy the air-conditioning in his office. The production of such luxury for human enjoyment had been curbed a long time ago.


    He was scribbling instructions on the documents, from time to time. Suddenly, his phone rang unexpectedly. He took out his phone; it was the director of the information monitoring center. His body tensed up, as he quickly nced at the clock on the wall ¨C it was 9 o¡¯clock in the evening. Everyone should be off work by this time, no? He had a bad hunch about this. A phone call at this hour would only mean that there could¡¯ve been an ident.


    He picked up the call, looking unhappy.


    "Is this what you got for me? How could you not have seen thising?" questioned Mayor Wu.


    ...


    "This is not the first time that this happened. I don¡¯t want to hear your excuses. Go ahead and say it to those dead victims! What I need is a guarantee!" In frustration, he identally broke his shirt¡¯s button from pulling onto it in anger. After his venting streak, he hung up. The mayor knew that it was not entirely the safety monitoring center¡¯s fault, but they did not have a better solution for the underground monitor.


    ...


    "Secretary Zhang, it seems like you have been made aware of the present ongoings. The district has been locked down, and the guard troops are making their way there. We are evacuating the people as fast as we can!" he called to notify the party secretary.


    He then hung up. Feeling thirsty, he picked up his mug for some water but realized that there was nothing inside. He was frustrated. If this had happened half a year ago, the mug would have been instantly destroyed. But throughout thest six months, he encountered the same thing many times and had learned how to control himself by now.


    A whileter, he ced the mug at where it was and continued to flip through the documents. Not longter, his phone was ringing again. He took a look, it was the director of the information monitoring center once more. He frowned and picked up the call immediately.


    "What! Not only one, but a group of them? How many of them to be exact?" Mayor Wu asked loudly, baffled at the news.


    ...


    "Have you informed Secretary Zhang and Teacher Liu?" he asked, with cold sweat dripping from his forehead. There was a loud noiseing from not too far away, gravel was mming onto the windows. The sses were clinking, and the ground was shaking. The door flung open ¨C it was his secretary.


    "Mayor, it¡¯s not safe to stay here anymore, we must adjourn to the safe house immediately." said his secretary, in all seriousness.


    "No, as the mayor, I have to stay, you should leave now." Mayor Wu hesitated before rejecting. Although he was nervous, he had to remain calm. As the leader of the city, if he even had the cheek to run away, that would be the end of his political status. Or even worse, he would have to lose his life.


    It was not the time of peace but rather chaos. From what he knew, there were at least a thousand people who were fired and killed over the years. Some of them even held a higher rank that he did.


    I will stay here to protect you." his secretary said, expressionless.


    Mayor Wu nodded, he was relieved. He knew that his secretary was not merely a secretary but a level four evolved person. To him, themon mutated beasts would be like killing animals.


    Later on, the phone did not seem to stop ringing. He was giving instructions after instructions. Without them noticing, the gunshot and cannon noises were getting intense. The air was filled with the smell of smoke from the guns. The frontline city was different from the rest. It was just a step away from the real war, thest protective barricade of the reconstruction area.


    Apart from a variety of powerful defense weapons, there was a master who had been stationed in the city for a long-term period. If the damages and the use of cannons had not been considered, 10 desert crypt worms or even a medium-small beast crowd could have been handled easily. But such instructions could only be used as thest straw, as there was huge political responsibility for that.


    A bomb exploded not far away from the City Hall, followed by a loud thud. The dust from the wooden building were all scattered around. There was a buzzing sound in Mayor Wu¡¯s ears. He quietly clenched his fists, and his palms began to sweat.


    He stood still as he knew that all this while, he had been lucky. When fangs first appeared in the apocalypse, he was traveling in Tibet with his wife and kids. When he was returning, they were stuck at the airport due to some flight issues. As he noticed that there was something wrong, he applied for sick leave with the unit. He encouraged his wife to do the same, and thus, they began to stay in Tibet for a long time.


    In the beginning of the apocalypse, Tibet was still a safe ce to live. When the other provinces were falling apart, there were not many changes to Tibet. It was only when Tibet started to be more dangerous, the big immigration had begun. He sessfully boarded the first batch of the immigration, and that was the turning point of his career. As there was a major shortage in all job positions, he was given a great opportunity. From a deputy ss cadre before the apocalypse, he had be a department cadre in just a short span of two years.


    He suddenly recalled the notice that he received from his superior. He turned to his secretary and asked, "Are the survivors here yet?"


    Secretary shook his head, "I haven¡¯t heard any news about them."


    Mayor Wu frowned, "That should be impossible, I heard that they would be here by tonight."


    "Maybe they will be hereter, perhaps they had gotten into an ident. Who are those people?" the secretary asked. He thought it was the mayor¡¯s rtives. This had happened before, but as the survivors were getting lesser and lesser, that hardly urred anymore.


    "The message came from the superiors. They are just like you, an evolved human. I heard that they¡¯re powerful." Mayor Wu told him in all honesty. They had a close rtionship, as they had gone through thick and thin in the past. Moreover, as an evolved human, his secretary was capable of saving him during critical times.


    The secretary got a little more serious. Perhaps a level four was powerful to most people, and his ability was equivalent to more than 10,000 people in the reconstruction area. Those who could impress his superior should be at least a level five or even a level six.


    "Let me check!"

 Chapter 255: Enter

    Chapter 255: Enter


    Trantor: Insignia Editor: Svjohn


    Mayor Wu could tell from his facial expression that he was not paying attention to what he was saying. He probably did not inform the sentinel handling the registrations down below. But he did not say anything, as he was used to such a treatment, from a long time ago. All he did was to nod and say, "Go now ande back soon!"


    After the emotionless secretary left the office, a wry smile was stered upon Mayor Wu¡¯s face.


    The evolved human had belonged to a unique group, they were incredibly strong and rebellious. No matter how much they tried to hide, they had an indescribable hatred towards ordinary people. Some radical ones even thought that they were beyond human ¨C being the chosen ones and the savior of the apocalypse. The ordinaries were not worthy of leading them.


    It seemed like the people in the reconstruction area were one and united on the surface, but internally, there were much contradictories and politics within. If not for the war with everyone¡¯s life at stake, there would certainly be a civil war between the evolved humans and the ordinary.


    ...


    The sound of the bombing was rumbling like thunder; the air was filled with a pungent smell of smoke.


    "Luo Yuan, don¡¯t go, it¡¯s too dangerous," said Huang Jiahui to Luo Yuan, who was holding onto his sword tightly. "They didn¡¯t let us enter the city, why should we care about anything going on there now?" Wang Shishi said in certainty.


    Commander Xia was listening carefully. Although his hearing was not as good as Luo Yuan¡¯s, but from the density and the sound of the bombing, he could roughly analyze what was happening.


    "That shouldn¡¯t be a problem, such an attack will not be able to withstand the highly defensive frontline city. From the sound of it, they are only using something small, the big ones are not being used yet."


    If they were to use heavy artilleries, the number of casualties would be a greater one. Commander Xia thought to himself, with an unusually calm expression. Soldiers like him who had been through bloody situations were very used to death, and unless they wererades, the lives of strangers were just numbers to him.


    Luo Yuan sighed and loosened the grip of his sword. This was not the wilderness that he was familiar with, but a real war with bombs everywhere. Missiles were falling just like rain, and if they hit him, there was no guarantee that he would be alright. Although he was strong, his body was still made of flesh. His +14 Physique could handle a normal bullet, but not the uniquely improved rifle bullets in the apocalypse, let alone an artillery shell.


    To be in the battlefield hastily was too dangerous. They were solemn while listening to the bombing sound quietly. None of them had expected to witness the attack of a mutated beast even if they could enter the reconstruction area.


    At that moment, the door opened slowly. Everybody looked at the door in shock. Soon, a young soldier ran towards them, "Is there anyone named Luo Yuan here?!"


    "Yes, I am! What¡¯s wrong?" Luo Yuan asked, yet remaining seated while staring at him in doubt. Although he understood why they were rejected earlier, it was impossible to be nice to them again.


    Strangely, the young soldier was a bundle of nerves. His heart was pounding like a thunderstorm, and said quickly, "You guys cane in now, there¡¯s someone who would like to see you."


    "You are the one who wouldn¡¯t let us in, but now you¡¯ve changed your mind? Didn¡¯t we have to pass through quarantine first?" Wang Shishi asked without thinking, as she was visibly displeased.


    The young soldier who was quite serious earlier was lost for words when he saw this beautifuldy. He was avoiding eye contact, much like he would if he saw a prehistoric beast.


    "Shishi, let¡¯s not make things difficult for this soldier. Since we are now allowed in, let¡¯s just go in." said Luo Yuan. Although he was still skeptical, he knew that it was no use asking this soldier, as the answer would be revealed soon. Wang Shishi had only wanted to vent, but after hearing what Luo Yuan said, she did not utter a word anymore.


    "Oh yes, what about our battle beasts? Can we bring them along into the city?" asked Luo Yuan.


    "I¡¯m ... I¡¯m sorry but we have a rule, that battle beasts would have to be ced in a designated area." the soldier said.


    "There are forts everywhere, would they be killed by mistake?" asked Luo Yuan. The two battle beasts had been following him through the apocalypse, especially the giant lizard. Without it, they would not have been able to make it to the reconstruction area. It would be such a shame if they were to be mistakenly killed.


    "No, after they have undergone the domestication monitoring qualification, we will mark them and imnt an identification chip into their bodies. They will be protected byw, and all you will have to do is to pay a fee every month."


    Luo Yuan nodded. After all, the city was not suitable for the giant beasts. It was highly popted, and even if the giant beasts did not hurt anyone on purpose, with a body size that huge, it could hurt people by ident should they be roaming around.


    About the fee, he was not worried at all. To a strong evolved human like him, money was just a number. Luo Yuan got the giant lizard and king kong to stay where they were, before following the soldier into the door. A middle-aged man in a suit greeted them; he was the secretary.


    The secretary looked at him with all due respect, and bowed a little bit. He was not as respectful when he was with Mayor Wu. In his eyes, Luo Yuan had a burning glow surrounding him. He felt that he was on mes as he got closer. He looked down immediately, as he dared not look at him straight into the eye. His evolution strength was mysterious and strange. He could see the halo of a person through one¡¯s eyes. To put it simply, amon person¡¯s halo would look as weak as candlelight, and inparison, Luo Yuan¡¯s halo was like a mini sun.


    He had never seen such huge halo before, apart from those on the strong mutated beasts. He had now met a level five evolved human, and the size was iparable. It was likeparing a scorching sun and a dim moon.


    Before Luo Yuan could even open his mouth, he said respectfully, "Hi Mr. Luo, the mayor would like to see you." Luo Yuan was skeptical. After a brief thought, he knew roughly what was going on and said, "Please lead the way."


    If money gave people the guts, skills gave confidence for people to grow bolder. If he was invited by such a VIP in the past, he would be restless or anxious, but now, he felt as cool as a cucumber. Huo Dong and the rest were hardly affected as well. Struggling in the cruel apocalypse had gave them a sense of peace, as they had lost their fear of power.


    The secretary did not seem to care but walked with his head low while leading the way. Desert City was small; it was probably just the size of a town before the apocalypse. The houses on both sides were low, most of them were only two to three-storey high buildings made of wood. Windows could hardly be seen.


    The roads were full of potholes, rubbish and mud. Some of the spots were damaged. Besides, the main road was being fixed with cement, while the buildings nearby had all copsed. This ce was a desert; thus, the foundation was not strong. Moreover, when they were building the city, details were not a priority. It was in to see how such a shallow foundation could give rise to a possible copse.


    They passed by an industrial area that was heavily guarded. Under the moonlight, the massive amount of artilleries and armored vehicles gave out a chilling vibe. Even if they were invaded by crypt worms, the weapons were not affected at all.


    There was absolutely no light in the industrial area. The only poor excuse of a glimmer they could see was a dimmed light through the door gap nking with sounds of machinery, depicting how diligently factories were, working all day and all night. 10 minutester, Luo Yuan and the gang walked into a three-storey building.

 Chapter 256: Settled

    Chapter 256: Settled


    Trantor: Insignia Editor: Svjohn


    Name: Luo Yuan


    Sex: Male


    Age: 24


    Birthce: Jiangnan Province, Donghu City (To be confirmed)


    Ability: Earth-based unique evolved human, Speed based evolved human (Additional confirmation needed)


    Level: 5 (To be confirmed)


    Earth-based evolved human


    Danger level: A (included in key surveince target)


    The sound of bombings was rumbling outside, while the air was filled with smoke. Mayor Wu remained calm on his seat while meticulously going through the document. The information on the document was too brief andcked the details he needed. Most of them were described in uncertainties. As a matter of fact, ever since he received the fax in the afternoon, Mayor Wu had been reading this piece of document several times already. He could even memorize the whole thing by now.


    Level five, this was a level five evolved human. His secretary was a level four evolved human. Although it was just a level apart, putting the difference of strength aside, there were 10,000 level four evolved people in the entire country, and only 100 to 200 level fives. Such people were indeed rare. Most of them were stationed in the military site, key industrial bases or major mineral areas. He had never seen one in his life.


    At that moment, there was a knock on his door.


    "Mayor, they are here."


    Hearing the secretary¡¯s voice made Mayor Wu rejoice, "Invite them in now!"


    He tried his best to calm himself down but there was a sense of urgency and tension in his voice.


    The door was opened, a gang of them walked in together along with a thick smell of smoke. The narrow office had now be crowded.


    "You guys havee a long way; we didn¡¯t expect any survivors to be still out there. Come sit, please make yourself at home! Little Zhen, make us some tea right now." Mayor Wu stood up, he was smiling while observing the gang.


    He did not know which one of them was Luo Yuan, but thetter¡¯s magical vibe made him very recognizable.


    He was tall and handsome, with smooth skin. He gave out a clean impression but he was definitely not a pretty boy. In fact, he looked majestic and a tad unapproachable.


    Although the office was small, there were two long benches. Luo Yuan sat down and said, "We don¡¯t need tea, we don¡¯t drink that anymore. It would be great if we could have some water instead."


    Mayor Wu was open-minded, "Water is still the best, tea leaves nowadays can be tasteless."


    Water was then served immediately. Luo Yuan picked up a ss, took a sip and finished it.


    Mayor Wu was taken by surprise, as the water was still boiling hot.


    Luo Yuan put down the ss and asked, "Let¡¯s be straightforward. There¡¯s something that I don¡¯t understand. As mayor, you should be very busy, especially at this hour. Why did you call us here in the middle of the night? I don¡¯t think all survivors receive the same treatment, do they?"


    Luo Yuan had his own spections, but it was best to be upfront about it and to seek rification. With his increasing ability, he was more inclined to solve issues right away. His voice was sweet and soft, the pace, tone and manner was just right, yet it exuded a stressful vibe.


    Mayor Wu was tense; beads of sweat dotted his forehead. He said immediately, "That¡¯s not true, we have been following you since your arrival, as Mr. Luo¡¯s impressive ability can hardly be ignored. You need to know that this is a high-surveince district. As such, there are cameras monitoring anytime and anywhere. We have already gotten news even before you came."


    "Oh, I see!" Luo Yuan was not surprised at the answer. Once he stepped foot into the reconstruction area, he had already noticed the many unmanned aerial vehicles flying in the sky. At that point, he did feel slightly ufortable, as the feeling of being constantly monitored wasn¡¯t exactly his cup of tea.


    Meanwhile, the bombing sounds outside did not stop at all, including the wailing and screaming. There was an uproar in a specific area one kilometer away from them, and the ground was shaking. Mayor Wu could not help it anymore, as he begged, "You know how bad it is out there. I hereby represent Desert City to officially ask for Mr Luo¡¯s help!"


    "Please call me Luo Yuan. Although I would love to help, but I reckon there¡¯s nothing I can do." Luo Yuan sighed and shook his head, "There are bombings everywhere, I will not risk my life out there, unless you are willing to withdraw your army."


    There was a change in Mayor Wu¡¯s facial expression, "This..."


    There were bombings all over the ce on the battlefield, and it was really unfair to ask such a favor of him. After all, he was only a civilian who had just recently arrived as a survivor. It was too much to ask for such a sacrifice. On the other hand, it was definitely a major risk to withdraw the army. If anything happened, he would be the one to be med.


    He could not make up his mind, and was pacing around in the same spot with his facial expressions changing swiftly. The secretary walked to him quickly and said something to him. Mayor Wu hesitated and asked Luo Yuan, "Mr. Luo, can you guarantee that you are able to kill all the crypt worms? This is a massive responsibility, especially in the political sphere."


    "What¡¯s wrong with you? You are asking Boss Luo for a favor, and should the task fail, you want him to be responsible for it? What a way to shirk your own responsibility." said Wang Shishi, indignantly.


    Everyone was unhappy.


    "I¡¯m so sorry, that¡¯s not what I meant. I just wanted to be sure. Of course, I will not ask Mr. Luo to undertake such a responsibility." Mayor Wu was embarrassed. As a politician, those words were merely formality.


    "Don¡¯t worry about it. I have killed a few of them beforeing here, so it shouldn¡¯t be a problem!"


    "Okay, okay, I¡¯ll make a phone call now." Mayor Wu said in excitement. He then took out his mobile phone and started dialing.


    ...


    "What? Our superior has just instructed us to withdraw... this isn¡¯t practical joke, right?" A soldier whose face was covered in ck soot asked angrily.


    "This is an order. We will need to withdraw immediately, and cease all fire," an officer said, while looking at the time, "There will be someone taking over soon."


    "From which team?" another soldier asked. "Isn¡¯t that robbing? If heavy artilleries were not forbidden, we would have killed all the damn crypt worms from the beginning."


    "Why do you ask so much? Move faster, stop wasting any more precious time."


    Soon, the bombing in the district stopped.


    Just when the army was gradually withdrawing, a silhouette of a human flew by. The soldier on the edge could only feel a strong wind breeze past him. When he turned around, there was nothing.


    "Did you see a person running by?" A soldier asked as if he saw a ghost.


    "You must be thinking too much!" Another soldier quipped.


    "Keep quiet, that¡¯s an evolved human." The officer knew more than they did, as he was very well aware that there would be strong evolved humaning. He was curious at first, to see what kind of evolved human managed to pique their superior¡¯s interest. But before he could even see clearly, the person had disappeared into the darkness.


    He was still deep in his thoughts, and suddenly, there was a loud screech not too far away, "So fast?"


    The debris in front was thrashed upon heavily, scattered the junk everywhere, and by this time, the officer had noticed that the crypt worm was already cut into half.


    The crypt worm had been fighting with humans for a long time now. It had familiarized itself with human techniques and built some experiences around it. The crypt worm had actually been hiding itself within the debris in the building. With the help of some nks, it was devouring dead bodies tantly. The small cannons that they used were not helpful at all. Despite a number of attacks, the crypt worm was barely harmed.


    Little did they know that this evolved human who had just arrived, was able to give this crypt worm a critical hit. What happened next shocked them even more. It was a blurry shadow that shone like a sh in the dark, one that was impossible to discern. The crypt worm that was cut into half, was now cut into four in a blink of an eye.


    The shadow stopped. It looked towards their direction and disappeared from where it was.


    "I... I¡¯m not dreaming, am I?"


    "Stop talking nonsense!"


    ...


    The officer spoke into the speaker; his voice was shaking, "An evolved human... was... here, the crypt worm in District A2 has been vanquished!"

 Chapter 257: Newspaper

    Chapter 257: Newspaper


    Trantor: Insignia Editor: Svjohn


    People were talking in unison at the information monitoring center in Desert City; themotion there was as noisy as a marketce. This center controlled the monitoring system throughout the city and it also served as a hub for information exchange.


    In the apocalypse, as the eyes and ears of the city, there was no exaggeration of how important this center was. This rare cemented building in the Desert City was more than enough to prove it.


    As a matter of fact, its main office area was ten meters under the refuge floors. The information center would still be safely untouched, even if the entire Desert City was destroyed despite its strong defence system.


    "District C3 is now at peace, the crypt worm is presumed to be dead," a monitor reported loudly in excitement. A minuteter, "Same goes to my area, there¡¯s nothing here in District A5," another monitor said.


    "The monitoring system in District D4 has been destroyed, but the army had been withdrawn, I believe things are settled by now."


    The announcements of the reports hade and gone, making the routine atmosphere lively again. The red dots on the big screen on the wall were disappearing quickly. The interval was less than half a minute.


    "What is happening?" One of them removed his earphones and asked curiously.


    "Yea, how are the red dots disappearing so fast?" another person asked in confusion.


    "This is way too unusual, should we report this to the departmental head?"


    "I don¡¯t think so, as he has already been receiving calls out there. As he is still not back, my only guess is that this is about the matter at hand."


    ...


    The crypt worms¡¯ level was not high, even the highest one was only at a light-green level. They were iparable with the Desert City¡¯s strong defense system, where they could be killed with one heavy artillery shot. But even the strongest creature was fragile inside. Humans were capable of killing a beast, but they could not avoid bacteria. Should the mutated beasts ever invade the city, the risk would be multiplied.


    That was when an evolved person was needed.


    For Luo Yuan¡¯s ability, such a battle was easy as one, two, three. Moreover, Desert City was rather small. In merely half an hour, he managed to kill most of them. When Luo Yuan got back to the City Hall, there were more people in the small office; even more crowded than before. After Mayor Wu¡¯s introduction, only then he realized that most of the leaders in Desert City were there.


    Courteous and pretentious conversations filled the room but Luo Yuan was not interested. He excused himself along with the gang with a good reason of being exhausted from the journey. Of course, Luo Yuan did not have to worry about their amodation. With Little Zhen, the secretary leading the way, they arrived at a ¡®high ss¡¯ area and stopped at a ¡®vi¡¯ that was three-storeys high.


    "Mr Luo, all of you will be staying here for the night. We will arrange something else for you guys tomorrow, please do not mind this." Secretary Little Zhen said, with respect.


    "I don¡¯t demand much on amodation. As long as it is livable, it¡¯s fine by me." Luo Yuan said.


    It would be ridiculous if they were to even mind how their sleeping conditions were. During the apocalypse, they were thankful if they had the chance to put up in the military base and the cave. Once, they were even sleeping under the sun.


    "Here are the keys. Oh right!" Little Zhen thought of something and said, "There will not be water nor electricity supply after 10 o¡¯clock at night in this district. If you would like to wash up, you will have to do it before that. It¡¯ste, please allow me to excuse myself now."


    Once Luo Yuan took the keys, Little Zhen left quickly. As a sensory-based evolved person, his sensory perception was much more sensitive than the others were. Immense pressure was everywhere, it gave him an illusion that he was not facing a human, but a scary level-five mutated beast. Even the short exchange of words mentally exhausted him, and he would have already lost control if he did not calm himself down.


    ...


    Naturally, the vi could not bepared with the ones before the apocalypse. It was just a three-storey wooden house. There was not much difference with the ones they saw by the street. But if they were to look carefully, there were a few differences. The making of the vi was more detailed, and there were no gaps between the nks. Luo Yuan did an evaluation secretly and found out that the wood that was used, was anything but ordinary. It was a blue-level wood. Although such grade of wood was everywhere in the apocalypse, it was not valuable, but considering the challenges to process such a wood, it was indeed admirable.


    Not only that, the materials they used were luxurious. The door alone was 5 centimeters thick, and the wall was 15 centimeters. Speaking of defense, it could be easily better than the normal 30 centimeters cement wall.


    Luo Yuan then opened the door, they could not wait to go and head straight to the living room.


    Wang Xiaguang found the light switch in the dark, and with a flick, the room was lit up.


    Wang Shishi saw that there was a couch in the living room. She ran towards it with glee and sat down. "Such a big house! It would be great if we could stay here permanently."


    "Yea, everything is wonderful here," said Huang Jiahui, as she picked up a piece of cloth from the coffee table and wiped away the dust.


    "Sigh, you are all so easily contented. With Boss Luo¡¯s ability, we can do even better than this in the future!" said Huo Dong in excitement. From what the secretary said, this should be just an expedient. To get closer to Boss Luo, much ttering and cajoling was needed to get into his good books.


    He was just a businessman before the apocalypse. He probably only knew one deputy chief and bought him a meal, they were just mere acquaintances. He was invisible to the city leaders, as they have never met before. But today, not only the leaders were passionate, they were even trying to brown-nose him. Although he was not the main person, being part of the gang, he was proud of himself.


    "Don¡¯t talk about a small city like this, I believe Boss Luo will get the same treatment even if he goes to the New Capital City. I guess there is no level five evolved person there at all. The leaders would be crazy if they don¡¯t want to get closer to you." Commander Xia said whileughing.


    They were excited, but once they rxed, there was an unstoppable vibe within them. Luo Yuan looked at the time and interrupted, "It¡¯s already 9:30 at night now. It¡¯ste, go wash up now, and we will talk tomorrow."


    Only then they recalled there would be no electricity and water supply after 10 o¡¯clock. If they did not wash up now, they would have to wait until the next day.


    ...


    Luo Yuan briefly cleaned himself and walked to the master bedroom on the first floor. He discovered that Huang Jiahui had ced the mat properly and brought a bucket of water.


    "Why don¡¯t you shower in the bathroom?" Luo Yuan asked while picking up the stack of old newspapers on the bed head.


    "There are too many people in there, I¡¯m not used to it." Huang Jiahui nced at Luo Yuan and took off her clothes, revealing her plump body while slowly cleaning herself.


    "Be patient, it will be better soon." Luo Yuan said while reading the newspaper.


    "I¡¯m grateful that we can even stay here. Compared to the harsh wilderness, this feels like heaven," said Huang Jiahui, full of emotions. She then hinted, "Hey, do you remember how long has it been since west spent the night together?"


    Luo Yuan did not say a thing. Huang Jiahui turned around and saw he was frowning, his attention was on the newspaper.

 Chapter 258: A Mind of His Own

    Chapter 258: A Mind of His Own


    Trantor: Insignia Editor: Svjohn


    Luo Yuan cleaned himself roughly and walked to the master bedroom on the first floor. He noticed that Huang Jiahui had ced the mat properly and brought a bucket of water.


    "Why don¡¯t you shower in the bathroom?" Luo Yuan asked while picking up the stack of old newspapers by the headboard.


    "There are too many people in there. I can¡¯t get used to it." Huang Jiahui nced at Luo Yuan before she started taking off her clothes, revealing her plump body as she cleaned herself slowly.


    "Be patient, things will get better in the future," Luo Yuan said, reading a newspaper.


    "I¡¯m grateful that we can stay here. Compared to the outside, this is like Heaven," said Huang Jiahui, full of emotion. "Hey, do you remember how long it has been since west slept together?"


    Luo Yuan did not say a thing. Huang Jiahui turned around and saw him frowning. His attention was still on the newspaper.


    ...


    "New agricultural products harvested; reconstruction area is bidding famine farewell."


    "We stand firmly before the darkness of twilight."


    "Humans dictate their own destiny in unity!"


    "New biposite research has been sessful; there¡¯s hope of recing steelpletely!"


    "Long March rockets have beenunched sessfully; they are to rece all satellites paralyzed by the maic storm."


    "Xunlong-2 CPU is officially in production; locally produced CPU is now on par with Intel."


    Luo Yuan was reading quickly. Most of the time, he would just take a nce and then flip to the next page. He would only pause to look for more details if he saw something interesting, but that did notst more than 10 seconds usually either. Considering the processing speed of his brain, it was no exaggeration to say that he could read 10 lines at one nce.


    Most of the content of the newspaper was encouraging and passionate, yet at the same time also serious and oppressive. One could not rx while reading it. A battlefield was the best catalyst for technology. The threat of the mutated beasts had resulted in a big technological outbreak in the reconstruction area, which was developing rapidly. Almost a quarter of the newspaper¡¯s content was about discoveries of new materials, new technology or new techniques.


    Human perseverance was beyond imagination. Although humans had been defeated by unimaginable natural disasters, beasts, and idents, they were still standing tall. As time passed, they only seemed to be stronger. Many thought that the technology used in the military was 20 years more advanced than the technology civilians had ess to, but that was inurate.


    During times of peace, besides cutting-edge weapons, the technology used by the military was usually less advanced than that used by civilians. The military required high-reliability for the devices they used, and thetest technologies were usually the most unreliable ones. Moreover, the nuclear threat before the apocalypse had brought the world to a standstill as a whole, so there had been no hurry for any military upgrades.


    This didn¡¯t just apply to China. Even in America, some military electrical devices were still using technology from the 80s. Due to its cost, technology in the military was unsatisfactory. Only during times of war, when society entered a state of emergency, did that statement be true. All the advanced technology used by civilians would then flood into the military, and all the wisdom of human beings would be exploited by the army.


    This war was a hundred times more devastating than World War II. After all, World War II had been a war between humans, so there had still been room for negotiation. This time, it was a war between races. Failure was uneptable, and there was no such thing aspromise. Failing meant dying.


    ...


    Huang Jiahui got out of the shower and looked at Luo Yuan. There were tears rolling in his eyes. She sat on hisp and patted his back, saying flirtatiously, "Don¡¯t read anymore. You can read tomorrow. It¡¯s time for bed now."


    "Wait, let me read a little more," Luo Yuan said.


    ...


    The morning in the Desert City was quiet and peaceful. Luo Yuan held his sword in his hand as he stood on the balcony, not moving an inch. His body was exuding an oppressive vibe, but his skin was fair and smooth. There was a dim glow radiating from him. It wasn¡¯t just his skin. Even his hair, the Zhanmadao, and his clothes had a unique shining glow about them.


    Will surrounded his entire body. As time passed, he suddenly noticed a strange phenomenon. His Sensory Perception was expanding quickly. He could even control all senses within three meters. There was not much improvement on the ground, though.


    Luo Yuan waspletely awake. If his Sensory Perception could be imprinted on his Zhanmadao, then it could naturally be imprinted on other objects as well. The massive movement of his Will could affect air molecules, and the diffusion of the air molecules could help expand his Sensory Perception. Luo Yuan did not seem to care at all, though. He was deep in thought.


    Suddenly, he realized that the way he managed his Will was crude. Hecked imagination, and his application methods were limited. He did not fully explore the system. Since the attribution of his Will was infinite, it could be applied anywhere.


    Just like leaving a mark, he could imprint his Will on someone else¡¯s shirt so that that person could never escape from him. It was like the curse he had encountered before, the one that had caused unreasonable death. Although these powers were not applicable in the wilderness and were limited when it came to mutated beasts, they could be immensely helpful in the reconstruction area and human society in general.


    The rules andws in the reconstruction area were extremely strict, unlike in the wilderness, where anything could be settled by violence. In the wilderness, if you did not like someone, you could just kill them. That did not apply there, though. Violence could not solve any problems, only cause even more. No matter how confident Luo Yuan was, he did not dare offend the country. After all, it had taken them so long to earn that peaceful life. He wasn¡¯t going to keep wandering around like a savage forever.


    Unlike his destructive power though, his Will left no trail. It could kill without drawing any blood.


    Lin Xiaoji yawned and walked towards Luo Yuanzily. "Boss Luo, what about our training?"


    Luo Yuan looked at him and nodded. Even since they had entered the reconstruction area, there had been a change in his attitude. The old Lin Xiaoji had been afraid of Luo Yuan like a mouse afraid of a cat. Now he could talk to him like it was nothing, though. There was also something unnatural about his expression. He always avoided eye contact when Luo Yuan was looking at him. It seemed like he had an agenda of his own ever since they had entered the reconstruction area.

 Chapter 259: Procedures

    Chapter 259: Procedures


    Trantor: Insignia Editor: Svjohn


    "Secretary Zhen, sorry to trouble you with sending us breakfast!" Zhao Yali said, feeling a little embarrassed.


    "It¡¯s no trouble at all. I was passing by anyway. I will have to take you all to go through some procedurester, but I don¡¯t want to keep you now," Secretary Zhen said while waving.


    "What kind of procedures?" Zhao Yali asked.


    "A lot of information was lost during the apocalypse, such as ounts and ID cards. Everything needs to be registered again, and there needs to be a job allocation. Oh yeah, there¡¯s also a test for the evolved people for archive purposes," Secretary Zhen exined thoroughly. He was not as reserved as the mayor¡¯s secretary.


    "That¡¯s a lot," said Zhao Yali.


    "It doesn¡¯t take too long actually. It can be done in a day," Secretary Zhenughed.


    "Then when can we get our documents?" Zhao Yali asked.


    "You will have to wait one day."


    "Can¡¯t we have them on the spot?"


    Secretary Zhen gave her an awkward smile. There were many documents to be processed every day. One day was actually considered fast. Most people got their documents in three days, even though their efficiency had improved a lot since the apocalypse had started.


    Zhao Yali realized she was being pushy and she said in embarrassment, "I don¡¯t know much, I¡¯m just asking."


    "Don¡¯t worry about it. You can ask anything you want."


    "Oh, then I have one more question I¡¯d like to ask. What kind of job is there for us?" That was Zhao Yali¡¯s main concern.


    "Oh, about that," Secretary Zhen seemed troubled. "That will be determined by your educational and professional background as well as your working experience. If you don¡¯t have any professional skills, you will probably be assigned to work in a factory."


    "Oh, I¡¯m an ountant. I have an intermediate ounting certificate. Are there any job opportunities for me?" Zhao Yali asked worriedly.


    Secretary Zhen shook his head. "It¡¯s difficult under the circumstances. Unless there¡¯s a newly built factory, it will be really hard to find a suitable job for you."


    When he realized that Zhao Yali was not getting his hint, Secretary Zhen ditched all formality. "Actually, it¡¯s okay if you can¡¯t work in a factory. You can always work for the government department. We can always make an exception for talented people. If you don¡¯t mind me asking, is Mr. Luo your..."


    Zhao Yali was happy at first, but hisst question made her blush. "There¡¯s nothing going on between us," she said immediately.


    From her facial expression, Secretary Zhen could tell that she was not telling the truth. He smiled. How could there be nothing between them when she was such a lovely woman? The other women were also beautiful. Maybe it was the beauty of the wilderness, where one could do anything they wanted. A person like him would be scared to death there, but of course, strong capabilities also came with that life. Without them, it would be hell to live in the wilderness.


    Secretary Zhen smiled politely. His mission was to ensure that Luo Yuan stayed in Desert City. He had to make him stay, even if that offended his superior. To his superior, a level-5 evolved person might not seem important, but it would probably be nice to have Luo Yuan there. He was the savior after all. Knowing that he was there would allow them to sleep peacefully. Just like during the invasion of the crypt worm, with him around, they would not have to involve anybody else or suffer any heavy losses.


    ...


    After breakfast, they all followed Secretary Zhen.


    The three-storey reditation center was not too far from the small district. It was actually only a few minutes away.


    It was so much better to work as a group, because they could help each other fill in the application forms. The procedure went really smooth. Even Zhao Yali¡¯s ounting certificate waspleted sessfully with the help of a few officers. Compared to the time before the apocalypse, their efficiency was 10 times higher.


    Still, filling in the documents was tedious. There were so many of them that it was noon by the time they were done. There were not many restaurants in the city. They had only seen a few along the way, so they went to a hotel downtown. Compared to pre-apocalypse hotel standards, this was a vige-level hotel. However, under the circumstances, it was the most luxurious hotel in the city.


    Although it was peak hour, the hotel was empty. There were almost no guests there, only a few waiters.


    "Everyone is basically working at the factory right now. There will be more people around 10 p.m. to 11 p.m.," Secretary Zhen exined.


    "They work overtime every day?" Huang Jiahui asked.


    "If you work in a factory, you have to work around 12 hours a day," Secretary Zhen said, as if there was nothing wrong with that.


    "That... That¡¯s not ideal for one¡¯s body, though. How can one stand for so many hours?" asked Huo Dong in astonishment. No wonder they had not seen many people on the street on their way there.


    "There¡¯s nothing we can do. Most of the tasks assigned are heavy and urgent. Sometimes people don¡¯t even get a day off for several months. Nowadays most human bodies are better though, so such workload is bearable."


    No one said anything, but they all sighed.


    "Although the workload is heavy, people working in the back-end have it wellpared to soldiers. At least there¡¯s less pressure on them," Commander Xia said, shaking his head.


    They had all lost their appetite. The atmosphere had gotten heavy. They just finished their meal hastily and headed to their final destination, which was the Evolved Person Registration Center.


    Initially, Secretary Zhen had thought there were only three of them, but little did he know that there were actually four. He thought the girl with the light-green skin was an evolved person, but as a matter of fact, she was not. He distanced himself quietly. He did not mind evolved people at all, but not everyone was able to maintain their sanity after they evolved. Most of them looked strange, and not just in skin color. He had seen a couple of people with long body hair and scales. A particrly powerful person had even evolved into a giant.


    This was not an evolved person though, just someone whose skin color had changed. Still, he could not help but be cautious. He did not realize Luo Yuan was watching his reaction.


    "She has been parasitized by moss. You can treat her as an evolved person or an ordinary person," Luo Yuan exined.


    Secretary Zhen was shocked, but he forced a smile. "That¡¯s... That¡¯s not what I was thinking."


    "Are you worried that she¡¯s contagious?" Luo Yuan asked.


    Although Luo Yuan¡¯s voice was soft and soothing, Secretary Zhen felt a stressful forceing from him. It was as if Luo Yuan could see everything going on in his mind. He knew it was pointless to hide before such a powerful person, so he decided to be honest, "Yes... I was worried about that, but I¡¯m not anymore. She has been with you for a long time and nothing has happened, so that means that it¡¯s not contagious."


    He was getting more and morefortable, until he eventually asked, "Can I write a report on her? I think the Biological Research Institute will be very interested in her."


    Everyone looked unhappy.


    Chen Jiayi had turned pale. She looked really afraid. Luo Yuan thought about it and said, "She is still young. I think there¡¯s no need to take her there. The sample you took should be good enough."


    "Yes, of course it is. Normal evolved people understand this. Human experiments have been useless to the Biological Research Institute. The most they would do was do some blood tests on her."


    Secretary Zhen understood why were they unhappy. Those with any basic biological knowledge knew that with current technology, slicing was not needed, but ordinary people did not know.


    "A blood test is not needed either," Luo Yuan said. Nobody could know if they were experimenting with cloning after all. Morality usually prevented people from trying cloning, but those days nobody could guarantee anything.


    "This..." Secretary Zhen was in a pickle. If the blood test was a no-go, could they at least take a bone marrow sample from her?


    Suddenly, something miraculous happened. Chen Jiayi extended her hand, and a massive amount of moss grew on her smooth skin in the blink of an eye. Everyone gasped.


    "That... That¡¯s unbelievable!"


    "Alright, we will give you a sample of mosster. Go ahead and test all you want now. Do you know what to do?" Luo Yuan said.

 Chapter 260: Drugged

    Chapter 260: Drugged


    Trantor: Insignia Editor: Svjohn


    Initially, Luo Yuan had thought that the Evolved Person Identification Test would be some kind of sci-fi fantasy experience, or at least involve someplicated devices.


    When he saw the real thing though, he was left speechless.


    "This is the identification test?" Luo Yuan pointed at the basement in confusion. There were mutated beasts of all sizes locked in there.


    "Yes, Mr. Luo. A battle is the most straightforward way to test an evolved person. No devices exist to rece tests like these. Of course, what we have here is pretty crude. The most we could test would be a level-3 evolved person. For further identification, you would have to go to a bigger city, or even straight to a battlefield," said a notary standing next to him.


    Luo Yuan noticed the size of the mutated beasts. The biggest one was only approximately four meters. Furthermore, considering that they had been locked and tortured for a long time, most of the beasts had grown inactive and idle. Their battle ability was notparable to that of beasts living in the wilderness.


    Everyone looked at each other. They were thinking that this was child¡¯s y. Luo Yuan aside, most of them could kill those beasts easily. Because of Luo Yuan, they had almost never stopped consuming light-green or green level superfood. Each of them had a Physique of about +12, not to mention their sword training and sharp weapons. Most of them had killed blue level mutated beasts along the way, perhaps not 100, but at least 10 of them.


    Finally, Luo Yuan said, "Bring it on. Give me the one with the highest level."


    "That¡¯s too risky. Would you want to try one level below instead?" the notary looked Secretary Zhen, sweating profusely.


    Wang Shishi could not help butugh. Everyone else was smiling too.


    "Don¡¯t worry, go ahead and release it!" Secretary Zhen said impatiently. He was blushing slightly from embarrassment.


    "But..." The notary was in a pickle. That was not how the procedure went. Although the Secretary had told him to do it, if anything happened, he¡¯d have to bear his share of the responsibility.


    "This is Mayor Wu¡¯s VIP. If he wants you to release it, please do so. I will take all responsibility!" Secretary Zhen said impatiently again. This was starting to get on his nerves. It was ridiculous for the notary to question him. He would not have brought Luo Yuan all the way there if he had been amon evolved person.


    After being reassured, the notary took a remote control out and pressed a button. The heavy iron gate lifted slowly with a harsh noise. A giant beast with horns and sharp teeth wasying on the ground. Its eyelids seemed heavy, and its eyes looked dead. It was staring into space without moving as if it was a sculpture. If it was not for the water vapor squirting, everyone would have assumed that it was dead.


    "You guys drugged it too much again!" Secretary Zhen coughed to hide his awkwardness as he pulled the notary aside.


    "We¡¯d have more problems if we didn¡¯t drug them enough. This is for the best," the notary said with a smirk.


    "But this is not the right way to do it. I know you don¡¯t have enough staff and safety is a risk, but this is just too much! You guys have crippled the beasts! How are we supposed to run the test now? Let¡¯s use another one!" said Secretary Zhen, slightly frustrated.


    The notary nodded and followed his order immediately. Soon, another iron gate was lifted, this time a better one. After 10 seconds, a giant beast made its way out slowly. Before it could even take a breath though, it fell to the floor. It struggled for awhile, unable to get up anymore. It only took a few steps.


    Secretary Zhen wanted the Earth to open up and swallow him.


    "How about we try level-2 ones? Level-3 beasts are too dangerous, but level-2 should be okay. You have to know that the safety measures here are notplete. This is the best that we can do," the embarrassed notary tried to salvage the situation.


    ...


    "I¡¯m so sorry, Mr. Luo. These people are just trying to be cautious, that¡¯s why they drugged the beasts more than they needed to," Secretary Zhen said after leaving the ce in embarrassment.


    Luo Yuan waved him off, indicating that he did not mind. There was nothing wrong with what they did, considering how poor the defense system was. There were only four security guards in the entire Evolved Person Registration Center. They would not be able to keep the mutated beasts under control if they did not drug them.


    Although blue-level beasts were nothing to Luo Yuan, their strength was measured in tons, thus exceeding his by a lot. A normal wall would be like a slice of tofu for them. It could not hold them in at all. Although each metal bar on the iron gate was six centimeters thick, the gate could not withstand repetitive ramming.


    Secretary Zhen sent Luo Yuan to the vi, giving him a stack of food vouchers before leaving.


    "Are those food vouchers? Why do they look like paper currency? I thought they were a bunch of stic sheets," said Huo Dong in curiosity as he held one in his hand. Although Secretary Zhen had used the same voucher to pay for their meal earlier, he had not had the chance to take a closer look until now.


    "What¡¯s so strange about this? They¡¯re the new paper currency. They¡¯re just in the form of a food voucher," Cao Lin said in high spirits. "Since the apocalypse, the economy has copsed. Considering theck of food during the war, all national resources became highly regted. The old currency lost its value, and that¡¯s how the new currency came about."


    Even since they had entered the reconstruction area, Cao Lin had been like a free bird. She looked totally rxed. She no longer had to please anybody, or worry that she could be killed anytime. Even Luo Yuan was not as nervous as he used to be anymore.


    Luo Yuan picked up a voucher to look at it. Its size and color were simr to a paper note. It also had ¡®100¡¯ written on it, but it was a pound instead of a dor. The four head portraits were no longer there. They had been reced by a scene of mutated beasts getting killed in a nuclear explosion. Perhaps that was a way to give people hope that they would defeat mutated beasts one day.


    There were approximately a hundred pieces of them, which was a total of 10,000 dors, or rather 10,000 pounds. Luo Yuan checked with Commander Xia about the sry remuneration for the current market and found out that his sry was 300 pounds. Of course, that did not include other allowances or any profit he made by meat smuggling. Still, it was considered a high sry. New recruits only got 120 pounds whilemon workers were only getting 50 pounds, which was hardly enough to survive on.


    Considering the price difference in food, the buying power of 10,000 pounds wasparable to a million pounds before the apocalypse.


    "Boss Luo, what are we going to do with the money?" asked Lin Xiaoji, trying to gauge something. He looked eager to find out. He knew what Commander Xia had said that it had to be a lot of money.


    "How do you want to use it? It¡¯s obvious that the money is meant for Boss Luo. Do you think you would have been treated this well without him?" Huo Dong stared at Lin Xiaoji in disdain.


    Lin Xiaoji¡¯s face blushed red as he stared at Huo Dong in anger. It seemed like Huo Dong was addicted to kissing Luo Yuan¡¯s ass. He hadn¡¯t stopped even after they had entered the reconstruction area.


    Looking at the majestic Luo Yuan, Lin Xiaoji, who had been about to say something, decided to just shut up and walk out the door instead.


    "This young man has some attitude issues. I wonder how he even managed to survive," Commander Xia said with a scornful smile. How could he think that they would be safe once they were in the reconstruction area? Did he not understand why the government was trying to keep Luo Yuan there?


    It was ridiculous for him to not appreciate what he had.


    "Fortunately, Boss Luo is a nice person. If it had been someone else, they would have kicked him out ages ago," Cao Lin said.


    Most of them agreed on that. Luo Yuan did not know whether he shouldugh or cry. He just shook his head and said, "Let¡¯s not talk about him. Let¡¯s split up the money. I don¡¯t need this much anyway."


    If this had happenedst time, that amount of money would have excited him. It was different now that he had a different mindset, though. To him, money was merely a number.


    He was confident that he could get whatever he wanted by using his sword.

 Chapter 261: Wedding Photo

    Chapter 261: Wedding Photo


    Trantor: Insignia Editor: Svjohn


    The next day, Commander Xia followed a few soldiers to the new Capital City for a do-over of his formalities, because he had lost contact for a long time. On the third day, Huo Dong and Lin Xiaoji received a conscription notice from the force. Huo Dong was posted at a station troop nearby. Before the apocalypse, he had been just a businessman. Under the circumstances though, whether he liked it or not, his only options were either working at the factory or enlisting in the army.


    Lin Xiaoji was an evolved person, so he was posted at the frontline Army District 12 nearby. He was shocked as he had not expected to be posted there. The frontline was nothing like the station the troops were usually assigned to. It was much tougher and a lot more dangerous. He thought he would be able to find a stable, lucrative job in the handling the back-end of things, considering that he was an evolved person. He didn¡¯t want to risk his life anymore or have to please anyone. Little did he know that this would happen.


    Before he departed, he looked at Luo Yuan, hoping that he could say something to get him out of this. He knew very well that what Luo Yuan said would be taken very seriously by the superior, so there was still a chance to change things. In the end, he could not bring himself to ask though. His ego did not let him. He didn¡¯t want to yield to anyone, even to someone who had saved his life.


    On the fourth day, Huang Jiahui and the rest were assigned jobs. Huang Jiahui was assigned to do what she used to do, and she was actually promoted, bing the new director of a police station in a small district nearby. Zhao Yali was assigned to the finance department, while Mu Wenwen got a job at the Second Weapon Company in the Desert City. Chen Jiayi and the rest of the kids who were underage were sent to a local school. Initially, Wang Shishi had been sent to the same school, but no matter how they tried to convince her, she was unwilling to go.


    She had lost all passion for studying. She had probably never been the kind of kid who enjoyed studying anyway. At Luo Yuan¡¯s request, she decided to stay with him, the two of them remained unemployed. Time was flying by. Besides spending most of his time training, Luo Yuan was not doing much else. He did not get any assignments from the superior, but there were people visiting him every day.


    Most of the main leaders of the city had paid him a visit. In the beginning, Luo Yun had still been patient and nice, but soon he started to get annoyed. He tried to give them a hint using his Will and discovered that it was quite effective. With this, he managed to make them fear him, and eventually, there were fewer peopleing to see him.


    Huang Jiahui was allocated a house, but she remained at the vi. Some of them would visit sometimes, but not Zhao Yali. She did not want to be seen spending time with Luo Yuan alone in public. However, Luo Yuan had familiarized himself with the house where she was staying. Although Zhao Yali was shy and hesitant, she usually gave in to Luo Yuan. The heart wanted what it wanted after all.


    Indulging in this peaceful life, Luo Yuan often thought that things had gone back to how they¡¯d used to be before the apocalypse began.


    The asional noise from bombs going off and smoke in the air would bring him back to reality. This was not a time of peace but of war. Many people were being killed, and blood was being shed anytime, anywhere.


    Although his life was one of peace, he did not stop training.


    He spent most of his time training with his saber, but he did not stop training his body using his Will either. His body began to emanate a certain kind of beauty as a result of his training. It was an indescribable feeling. If he had to put it into words, it could be said that his body used to feel as if it was covered with ayer of cotton, heavy and inflexible; but now the cotton was getting thinner, allowing his body to be flexible.


    He had been eating more in recent days, unlike before, when he had not felt hungry even if he had not eaten for a whole day. Fortunately, there was still plenty of superfood in storage, or else the amount of food he consumed every day would be insufficient, even with Huang Jiahui¡¯s sry.


    This odd behavior did not worry Luo Yuan though, as he noticed that the more food he ate, the more attributes he gained. Although it was not visible on the attributes panel, he could feel it in his body. He used to be able to jump seven meters from the ground, but he had never been able to reach the top of the vi. Now though, he could reach the top if he tried, and could even move the giant rock that he had failed to move before.


    It was an overall improvement. Apart from his magical attributes, including Sensory Perception and Will, his other attributions had shown a certain degree of growth as well. Sometimes he felt like he was a growing seed, his body going through a transformation that nobody could understand.


    Perhaps his Will was subconsciously activating a positive change in his body. He was not sure how long the transformation would take or how much it would raise his attributes, but it was something exciting, and it was boosting his mood.


    ...


    As the air-tight subway stopped, Commander Xia came out of the subway station. He looked tired, excited and worried at the same time. He had juste back from the New Capital City, where he had gone to undergo all the necessary procedures. He made a quick stop at Lanhui City. The city that used to be his home now felt like aplete stranger. There were many more factories there with more funnels than there¡¯d used to be when he¡¯d left a year ago. It looked nothing like before, and it made him feel afraid.


    He closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and walked in the direction of his house. There were no buses, so he had to walk. He was walking fast along the way, but his footsteps became heavy as he approached his home.


    He knew from the Military Political Department 9 that a death report had been sent to his family. He had lost contact for almost half a year, so his beautiful wife must havee to terms with his death. His young children would be like strangers to him. Maybe they had started living on their own already.


    As he thought about that, his heart filled with mixed feelings. It didn¡¯t matter, He would still pay them a visit. If his wife had moved on, he would give her his blessing. He would not me her for anything. The only thing he could me was the world.


    He took out the cigarettes he had just bought, lit one up, took a puff, and then put it out using his hand. He walked quickly to the district where his house was. The district was empty, and there was nobody around. He had gotten used to that sight. In the apocalypse, nobody was allowed to do remain idle. Even old people had to do things that they were not capable of.


    He was strangely rxed as he walked towards his home. The door was locked, so he took out the keys that were hanging around his neck. Ever since the ne crash, he had been hanging all his precious belongings around his neck to avoid losing them.


    When he opened the door, his mind went nk. He stood there for awhile before he walked into the living room. The house was clean and neat. There was barely anything different. His wedding photo was still hanging on the wall. In the photograph, his smile was stiff, but his wife was smiling happily.

 Chapter 262: Legend

    Chapter 262: Legend


    Trantor: Insignia Editor: Svjohn


    It was early in the morning when Huo Dong shouted from outside, "What are you doing, Boss Luo?"


    Luo Yuan pushed the door open and saw Huo Dong panting. He was holding big bags full of stuff.


    "You, too? I appreciate the effort, but I don¡¯t need these. Please take them back," Luo Yuan said as he shook his head.


    "It¡¯s nothing valuable. They were just given out by the troops. You know that I¡¯m all by myself. It¡¯s impossible for me to finish it all. If I don¡¯t give them to you, I¡¯ll have to let them rot," Huo Dong chuckled, standing straight in his lieutenant uniform. The military was a great training base. He was already advancing there within a short period of time.


    "You think I don¡¯t know about military regtions? You¡¯re not young anymore, it¡¯s time for you to n your future. Get married if you get the opportunity," Luo Yuan teased him.


    "I¡¯m used to being alone. Perhaps in the future, when everything is more stable. Or maybe I¡¯ll be a cuckold if I¡¯m sessful," Huo Dongughed.


    Luo Yuan sighed internally. He tried to avoid the topic by asking softly, "How¡¯s the situation right now?"


    Huo Dong knew he was not asking about his personal life, but about what was happening out there. Obviously, that kind of information was ssified, so he hesitated before he said softly, "I don¡¯t know much, to be honest. I¡¯m just working in the back office, but I¡¯ve noticed that the use of ammunition in the warehouse is massive, and most of it is being sent to the frontline."


    Luo Yuan nodded. He had noticed that the atmosphere had been unusual during the past few days. There had been cars on the streets, especially in the middle of the night, and sometimes even during the day. The smell of smoke had been getting a lot thickertely.


    Huo Dong was aware that Luo Yuan had something on his mind. He knew that Luo Yuan could not be treated as an ordinary person. His supernatural abilities made him highly sensitive to danger. He had been able to predict dangering their way several times, and he was getting more and more urate. Huo Dong quickly asked, "Did Lin Xiaojie to see you? He¡¯s in the frontline, so he should know more."


    "No." Luo Yuan shook his head. Ever since Lin Xiaoji had left, he had never returned. Luo Yuan was not sure if the frontline was that strict, or if he just didn¡¯t want to.


    "You should go back now. If you hear anything, please let me know as soon as you can so we can get ready."


    "Sure! I¡¯ll notify you first, Boss Luo." Huo Dong stood up and left, looking worried.


    After he left, Luo Yuan started walking in circles. He trained for a little while, and not longter, Huang Jiahui woke up. Noticing the package on the table, she asked, "Who is this from?"


    "Huo Dong brought it. It should be meat," Luo Yuan said.


    Huang Jiahui opened the package. There were around 40 catties of meat inside and a big bottle of liquor weighing about 10 catties. There was also a ss jar with something big soaked inside it. The jar weighed 10 catties and what was inside it weighed around three catties. Huang Jiahui took a closer look, and her face went red in shock. "That shameless pig! Why would he give you this?"


    Luo Yuan nced at it and realized it was the penis of a mutated beast. He was speechless. Considering his physique, he definitely did not need that.


    "Don¡¯t you dare drink this!" Huang Jiahui warned him while still blushing. His abilities were already terrifying enough. She could not imagine how strong he¡¯d get if he were to drink that.


    "Then throw it away!" Luo Yuan did not know what else to say.


    "No, it would be a waste to throw it away. We should give it to someone else." Huang Jiahui was a thrifty person, so she could not bring herself to throw it away.


    "It¡¯s up to you. Oh, there¡¯s something going on in the area. Be careful. Try to stay put at the police station, and I wille pick you up," Luo Yuan said in all seriousness.


    "What¡¯s wrong?" Huang Jiahui asked worriedly.


    "I¡¯m not sure myself," Luo Yuan said solemnly. "Just be careful."


    Huang Jiahui knew that Luo Yuan was serious, so she nodded. "You be careful, too. I¡¯ll go prepare breakfast now."


    Luo Yuan remained quiet as he watched Huang Jiahui get busy in the kitchen. After going through so many ups and downs, he realized that the peaceful life they were leading now was not easy. Unfortunately, they could only take what they could during the apocalypse.


    After breakfast, Huang Jiahui went to work. Luo Yuan knocked on Wang Shishi¡¯s door. "Are you still not up?"


    "Don¡¯t bother me! Let me sleep a little more!" Wang Shishi saidzily.


    "This girl is gettingzier every day! I¡¯m heading out, don¡¯t forget your breakfast!" Luo Yuan said. He would definitely have taught her a lesson if this had happened before, but he could not bother right now.


    She was not entirelyzy, though. She was practicing her Telekinesis non-stop every day, and she had even taken Luo Yuan¡¯s suggestion and been using Telekinesis in her daily chores. She would fly whenever she could, and she would use her powers to move things without her hands. Telekinesis had almost merged with her instinct.


    Now she could use it to move things that weighed up to 60 kilos. She could still not make Luo Yuan float in the air, though. The uncertainty of her Telekinesis affected her performance big time. For instance, she could make his body lift up in the air with just a wave, but if there were something sharping his way, it could lead to unimaginable casualties. Telekinesis was a powerful ability though, and even Luo Yuan was jealous of her.


    Luo Yuan closed the door and walked towards the outskirts of the city. There were a few guards by the gate, but they looked scared as they bowed down before him. Luo Yuan nced at them. They were the same guards who had denied them entrance when they¡¯d first arrived at the city. Their attitude had changed greatly since then. They were full of respect and excitement whenever they saw him now.


    After filling in the necessary forms, Luo Yuan walked out of the city, feeling everybody¡¯s eyes on him. At that time of the day, not many people would go out of the city, but most of the people who did were looking for adventure in the wilderness. A young man holding a sword, who was about to leave the city, asked a guard, "Boss Liu, who is this man? I¡¯ve never seen him before."


    The guard stared at him. He thought maybe it would be a good idea to let others know who Mr. Luo was so they would not offend him. "Did you hear the rumor about the man who handled the crypt worm invasion? That¡¯s him. He is a super evolved person."


    Gasps sounded everywhere. Most people were stunned, but they looked delighted.


    "That¡¯s him? Is he living among us now? That¡¯s wonderful! I heard that he killed all the crypt worms by himself!" One of them said.


    "More than that! A soldier friend of mine told me that the crypt worm was killed while he was still trying to get a good look at it!" Someone else said in excitement.


    "If we¡¯d known, we would have said hi to him," another person said regretfully.


    "That¡¯s right. Even if he doesn¡¯t care about us, it would still be cool to meet him. He¡¯s a legend!"


    Nothing could be hidden under the sun, and the crypt worm invasion had been huge, so there had been no chance of sweeping it under the rug. Everyone was talking about it, and that mysterious man and his powerful abilities had be everyone¡¯s favorite topic.


    Luo Yuan¡¯s hearing was sharp. Although he had walked far away, he could still hear what people were saying about him. He smiled, realizing that he enjoyed being admired.

 Chapter 263: Gobi Desert

    Chapter 263: Gobi Desert


    Trantor: Insignia Editor: Svjohn


    Along the way, Luo Yuan saw groups of people gathered together every now and then, walking off into the wild.


    This ce was the border of the Reconstruction Area. Although regr search had been conducted to remove any potential dangers, there was always fish that escaped the.


    To a certain extent, these people worked to keep the threats at bay. Therefore, in the Reconstruction Area people were allowed to be free and do as they pleased, although that was neither encouraged nor prohibited.


    Luo Yuan walked alone, but along the way many people approached him and asked him to team up. Luo Yuan smiled and refused politely.


    These people were ordinary people, and most of them only hunted for smaller, low-level mutated beasts to improve their lives. Naturally, this kind of thing was beneath him, but he had not gone there to hunt anyway.


    After walking five to six kilometers away, the number of people gradually became smaller. Luo Yuan walked in long strides, his speed became faster.


    That ce had originally been a desert, but the air did not seem to be arid. Sparse yellowed leaves covered the soft sand, exuding the slight smell of a chemical. Luo Yuan knew they had been recently sprayed with herbicide.


    Still, he noticed that buds had begun to sprout from the ground, the dewdrops on top of them fluttering slightly as they faced the morning sun and extended their soft foliage. Mankind and nature were bound to have a longsting war.


    In the distance, a heap of dead insects was gathered on a small hill near a lighthouse. Not all of them were dead, though. Some of their ckened bodies were still struggling, crawling around as if trying to distance themselves from the charnel ground that extended a few kilometers around the area.


    Heavy boots stomped heavily on the insects, making their colorful fluids burst out of their bodies. Luo Yuan furrowed his brows in disgust as he walked away.


    Suddenly, a gunshot was heard from afar. It sounded like it had been more than one gun.


    "You fucking coward, you have the guts to be a deserter? Put the guns down and follow me back to the base! Follow me before the Disciplinary Committee finds out!" An angry voice could be heard shouting from a distance.


    "Let me go, I still have children! Just pretend that you haven¡¯t seen me! Please, I¡¯m begging you!" A distressed, trembling voice answered.


    "You know how they treat deserters, you will be executed immediately! Stop being so stubborn ande with me! I will act like nothing happened!" The first man was getting increasingly furious, but then he said earnestly, "You know, these days none of the deserters survive. Unless you want to be a meal for the wild beasts, there is no ce for you to escape to!"


    "Sir, I know you mean well, and that you have been taking care of me. But if I go to war, my death will be pointless. I¡¯d rather flee. You should all flee too. The Desert City will not hold this time. Why would you want to die in vain?" The other man countered.


    After hearing that, Luo Yuan¡¯s heart gave a thud and his face darkened. How could the situation have gotten so serious that even the garrison would not be able to deal with it? How could this be, when their defense was so strong and their fortress so sturdy? Even cannons could not easily destroy it.


    The atmosphere had suddenly gotten quiet. After a while, the man trying to persuade the deserter said loudly, "What kind of nonsense is that? I have no idea what you¡¯re talking about. Where did you get this news?"


    "You don¡¯t need to know that. It just did, without even meaning to. The swarm of insects will soon spread to this ce. Even if you don¡¯t believe it, you should have guessed it. There has been an increase in ammunition and fuel supply in the warehouse recently. War will break out very soon, so listen to me and let us flee from this ce!"


    "It¡¯s not like we have not experienced an insect gue before. When has it ever broken our defense? Stop that nonsense, and just answer my question. Will you follow me back to the camp or not?" The squad leader growled quietly in a deadly tone, trying to suppress his anger.


    "What if it¡¯s a super gue?" the man tried to persuade him, noticing the squad leader¡¯s unyielding will.


    "Is this your decision?" The squad leader said in a low growl. "Stop this nonsense, and stop giving excuses, it¡¯s useless! Either you go back with me, or you die!"


    They both went silent. Suddenly, after a long moment, a gunshot rang out.


    Luo Yuan heard the distant gunshot, even though he was deep in thought. Anxiety shed across his eyes. Was what the deserter had said true?


    If there was really an insect gue, it would be terrible. That kind of gue was the worst kind of beast gue. Not only did the insects move at great speed, but because most of them could fly, they were difficult to defend oneself against. Once they were near the defense line, the Desert City would be inevitably surrounded. If it was a super gue, then it would be a nightmare.


    Luo Yuan¡¯s heart gleamed with frustration as he gradually quickened his pace.


    When he passed by the defense area, he observed his surroundings carefully. There were many transport trucks asionallying and going on the road, stirring up sandy dust. Even the few cannon barrels on the fort were given a few test runs. Perhaps it was his mind ying tricks on him, but the whole defense area gave off a tense vibe.


    Luo Yuan stopped observing and headed to the checkpoint. After he showed his pass, he walked out of the line-of-defense and turned in the direction of a valley located tens of kilometers away.


    Although people called it a valley, it was, in fact, the Gobi Desert and itprised of dozens of huge stones.


    All the stones were hundreds of meters tall. From a distance, they looked like a series of mountain peaks. After the dawn of the apocalypse,rge numbers of nts had started growing rapidly on them. Their original color was invisible from afar, and exuberant green hues could be seen instead.


    Both the giant lizard and King Kong had been ced in that area. Huge dangerous beasts like them could not be kept inside the safety region, so the Gobi Desert had be the beasts¡¯ territory.


    Luo Yuan took out a cell phone and switched on the satellite tracking system. Two green dots seemed to be around the area.


    Before the two beasts had been ced there, microchips had been imnted into their bodies so that they could be tracked.


    Luo Yuan had been given the cell phone after the imntation of the chips. Compared to the popr high-end cell phones before the apocalypse, this one was significantly heavier and slower. Its touch-screen function had been removed and reced by an old-fashioned keypad, simr to the Nokia phones of seven or eight years earlier. The copse of global trade, as well as the fall of most industrial areas, had slowed down and even reversed technological advancement.


    Luo Yuan looked in the distance and let out a sigh of relief. The two beasts were not too far away.


    It was actually his first time in the area after they had been moved there.


    His heart could not help but beat fast. This ce was far away from the line-of-defense, so he could finally let go and run.


    A strong wind blew against his face. The ability of his clothes to bnce and alter the wind currents turned the wind into a gentle breeze. It was the first time he was running to his heart¡¯s content ever since he had set foot in the Reconstruction Area. Unlike the vi¡¯s courtyard, there were no obstacles there.


    As his speed became faster and faster, his surroundings disappeared behind him swiftly.


    These days, his body was still transforming. Therge amount of food he consumed had increased his Strength beyond the 15-point mark.


    Every time he ced his foot on the ground, it was as if the ground caved in and a small pit was formed. The strong force had improved his speed, so now he was simply running at lightning speed. His body felt as if it was floating, and every step he took felt like he was striding eight to nine meters forward. To maintain his bnce and prevent himself from being swept away by the wind, he had to lower his body.


    In a matter of seconds, he had reached the Gobi Desert.

 Chapter 264: Lightning Youth

    Chapter 264: Lightning Youth


    Trantor: Insignia Editor: Svjohn


    Meanwhile, in a cave not far away from where Luo Yuan was, a group of people congregated in excitement.


    "Chief, through my observation from the sidelines all this time, and the hundreds of inquiries I have made, I have managed to gather information about the current situation. It seems that there is going to be an insect gue very soon." The man speaking was in a military uniform, and he was addressing another young man, his eyes filled with a trace of fanaticism.


    The man that he had addressed as chief had a childlike face. Judging by his appearance, he could not be over 20. He had to be 16 or 17 at the most. Facing the thirty-something military officer, the teenager showed indifference and a hint of arrogance.


    "If what you say is true, then this is our chance!" Said the man faintly, patting the shoulder of the other man. "You did well. You can leave first, but do not act rashly. We need to avoid being found."


    The teenager was dressed shabbily. His clothes were full of holes, and he did not look much better than a homeless man. However, his skin was silky smooth and white, and his hair was sleek and glossy. His eyes were as ck as ink, his irises almost covering the white of his eyes. His appearance gave off an air of mystery; he was dressed in dirty, tattered clothes, yet he had a distinctive elegance about him.


    The major did not say much. He just nodded, turned around and left the cave.


    "Sister Mo, how is he? Are there any signs of escaping?" the teenager suddenly said after a while, his tone more gentle.


    "No, it is not that easy to break from my hypnosis. I could tell him tomit suicide, and he would dly do it," said a demure, soft-spoken young woman in a gentle tone. Her words made everyone in the cave shiver.


    There was nothing magical about hypnosis. Any ordinary person could master some of its tricks if they trained enough. However, even though normal hypnosis could make someone obey a certain order, it could not make the hypnotized personmit suicide. That was because such a thing would sh with their subconscious, resulting in a failure of the hypnosis.


    The teenager did not seem surprised, though. He actually looked amused as he said, "I certainly do not doubt your abilities, Sister Mo. It¡¯s just that the critical time is getting closer now, and we must be more cautious."


    "Is this necessary, Xiao Yu1?" said the young woman named Sister Mo, looking at the teenager in confusion.


    "You¡¯re thinking conservatively, Sister Mo!" The teenager shook his head and turned around. When he raised his head again, there was an arrogant expression on his face. "This is the apocalypse! The previous era is about to end soon. Hereafter, only the strongest will rule. The world is destined to be ruled by the evolved. Times will change. I am only adapting to those changes, but I must have the Desert City."


    "Even if you take it, you will be unable to defend it," said the young woman worriedly.


    "I do not need to defend it. I only need to govern it byw. Regardless of who is the superior, with my ability and your hypnosis, there will be nothing that we cannot do." The teenager gave her a cold smile. "As long as we can reach that stage, we can slowly n the rest!"


    "There is nothing to worry about, sister-inw. The Desert City is just a small town without any decent evolved humans around. There won¡¯t be any danger. As long as you can control some of the leaders, we will have the final say. You just don¡¯t fully in trust our boss¡¯ capabilities yet," a man saidughingly. He had a yellow skin tone, and his body was heavily built.


    As she heard how the man had addressed her, the young woman¡¯s face went red. She gave the teenager a displeased look and looked down silently.


    The brilliant color on the young woman¡¯s face sent the teen¡¯s heart aflutter. If there hadn¡¯t been people around, he would have carried her to the inner room and fervently taken her.


    Although he¡¯d had sexual rtions with dozens of women since the beginning of the apocalypse, he had forgotten most of them easily. However, his feelings for Sister Mo were special. When he¡¯d been in junior high, Sister Mo had been hisnguage teacher and his secret crush.


    At the time, he had been antisocial, thin, and insecure. He had been a wallflower in ss, and had belonged to a group of ignored and bullied students. Only the beautiful, gentlenguage teacher had cared about him, so she had always been the object of his desire in his youthful fantasies.


    That tender, beautiful body, those moist lips and that gentle demeanor used to appear often in his dreams. If the end of the world had note though, this incestuous rtionship might not havee to light, and he would have only asionally dreamed of being intimate with her.


    However, those that were gifted were destined to shine. Just like ugly caterpirs transformed into butterflies and soared in the skies, so did he. Even before there was any sign of the impending apocalypse, he had already developed his superpowers.


    His special abilities were inherent, different from the people who had obtained theirs through the consumption of mutated beasts. One day, he had discovered an electrical current on his hands, and from that moment on, everything in his small world had suddenly changed.


    He had hidden his power from his parents while he had secretly absorbed electrical power and stored it. His body had undergone extreme changes, and he had rapidly grown tall and strong as his strength had grown day by day.


    He had gradually be more and more confident. Girls that had been uninterested in him before had started to shower him with attention, and the b*stards that had tormented him before no longer dared to be mean to him.


    As the apocalypse had been approaching, the city had be more dangerous and violent. His parents were killed by burrs due to his negligence. Three days after he¡¯d buried them, he had finally tracked down their murderer.


    He had made his first kill while also rescuing two women that had been threatened by the murderer. He had also experienced his first pleasure between a man and a woman that night. After they had been rescued, the victims had gotten into bed with him and pleasured him in every way, letting him savor all that pleasure in delight.


    He had matured in a single night. As the city had grown more chaotic and dangerous, he had been like a fish in a pond. With his strong powers, very few mutated beasts could beat him. Through both coercion and willingness, the number of his conquests increased, from the school beauty to white-cor women, heiresses, and mistresses of the rich and powerful...


    Even hisnguage teacher had not been able to escape his grasp.


    Still, all good things eventuallye to an end. Soon, the military hade, and the city had regained itsw and order. Nheless, he had continued to act recklessly, not wanting to give up his old ways. He had been forcefully repressed by the newly-arrived military, and had been forced to enlist in the army. Soon after, most of the women had left him, one after the other. Only a small number of them had remained, but his teacher had been one of them.


    These events had been followed by therge-scale migration, and life in the army had really depressed him. He could not stand the strict lifestyle of a soldier or the remarks made by weak, ordinary humans on his natural superpowers.


    Most evolved people like him even though the rtionship between normal soldiers and evolved people had been hostile. Finally, the big purge hade. Several of the most arrogant and wildest evolved people had been captured one by one, and those who had resisted had been executed on the spot.


    Only a few of them had been able to escape, but he had been one of them.


    He¡¯d been a stage-four evolved person, so when he had been surrounded, he had burned the entire army squad with a sudden strike of lightning. Before any back-up managed to arrive, he had broken into the Desert City with a horse and a gun to pick up his women.


    ...


    "Someday, I will get my revenge. I will rule the entire Reconstruction Area," the teenager thought to himself.


    "After I was struck by lightning during that catastrophic electromaic storm, my abilities have undergone some kind of mysterious transformation. I have no idea what the level of my powers even is. I have already long surpassed level four. I could be level five, six, or maybe even seven."


    "I have also long abandoned the uncontroble release of electrical charge."


    "In my eyes, this is an electromaic world. There are countless maic fields blending into the array of an invisiblework, and I control all electromaic energy," he thought furtively.


    "I could fly with the help of the earth¡¯s maic field, and I could easily disturb the air, which has an abundance of electromaic particles, to trigger a lightning storm. Under the guidance of others, I have mastered creating electromaic bombs."


    "I could even feel the radio waves in the air that transfer messages, except that I don¡¯t know how the transmission is encrypted, so I¡¯m unable to decrypt the information. My body has also undergone some kind of transformation. My thoughts have be sharper, and things that I was unable to figure out before have be clearer now. My muscles have also be stronger, and my skin is firmer and smoother. My cravings for food have be less, so it seems like my development is inclined towards a non-human path."


    He took a look at his palm, which seemed to have a faint electrical pulse flowing through it, "I have be invincible. If it wasn¡¯t for the nuclear bombs, the entire Reconstruction Area would not even be worth mentioning."


    "Nheless, we¡¯ve almost reached our goal. The control of the Desert City is only the first step!"


    "All those who have betrayed me and the women who have left me, everyone will regret it one day!"


    ...


    "Boss, two mutated beasts have been roaming near our cetely. Should we go deal with them?" a young man in sses said calmly, interrupting his reverie.


    "Do not act rashly during this time. We don¡¯t want to arouse any suspicion. These two are no ordinary mutated beasts. They¡¯re battle beasts imnted with microchips. If we killed them, they would expose our location. Although we are not afraid of that happening, it would be very troublesome to deal with it," said the young man lightly. He had mastered the electromaic waves, so he could naturally feel the beasts¡¯ bodies transmitting radio waves.


    "Boss, someone is here!" Someone suddenly came in with eyes that had an unusual amber color which looked somewhat transparent.


    "Who woulde here?" The young man gave a faint smile, mockingly dismissing his words by saying, "The King of Fire or the God of the Beasts? I have to say, these titles are ridiculous!"


    Everyone burst into raucousughter.


    "They¡¯re merely a group of vigers, acting self-righteous with the little superpowers that they have. If it wasn¡¯t for our modest boss, they¡¯d not even be able to show-off!"


    "This is not one of them. He looks unfamiliar, and his clothes don¡¯t look dirty," said the guy with the amber eyes. His superpower was long-range vision. His pupils could expand and contract at will like a camera lens adjusting its focus. He could even spot a tiny pebble located ten kilometers away, seeing its pattern clearly and in detail.


    One could easily distinguish between the homeless and the non-homeless just by looking at their attire. The homeless usually wore shabby clothes or beasts¡¯ pelts. People dressed in clean, tidy clothes were rare in that area.


    "I think that he is from the Desert City. I would have never thought that there would someone brave enough to venture into the wild. I¡¯m very intrigued. Let¡¯s go and have a look," the young man said with a trace of a yful smile.


    "This person is bad luck," everyone thought after seeing the young man¡¯s expression.


    The group followed the young man, filing out. The intruder was still a good five to six kilometers away. From such a long distance, the others could not see him, but the young man had noticed him at first nce.


    He looked on condescendingly with a nonchnt smile on his face.


    Suddenly, the man turned around and looked straight in their direction. His eyes seemed to prate the air and imprint on the teenager¡¯s mind.


    Not a single emotion could be detected on his calm gaze. He looked like a person walking down the road, asionally looking over their shoulder indifferently. The young man went stiff, and took another look. The man had already turned back and started walking away.


    "He has the guts to ignore me!" A hint of color shed across his face. As his emotions surged, a faint lightning could be seen nearby, producing a popping sound.


    He knew that his anger was uncalled for. Maybe the other man had not even known that someone had been watching him. There was no point in continuing to observe him if he could not see them. After all, the distance was too long. Even his vision was slightly blurred. The man¡¯s eyes had made a strong impression on him, though. He could not help but smile. "No wonder he dared to go out in the wilderness. His response was quite sharp."


    The bespectacled man, who was closely observing their leader, noticed the young man¡¯s fast change of emotion. He adjusted his sses and said, "We¡¯re going through the most critical period of time, and all of a sudden this guy shows up near our turf. Could he perhaps be a spy for the Desert City? Should we capture him?"


    Before the young man could reply, the young woman stared at the bespectacled man with an unhappy expression, and told the young man, "The man was just passing by, he did not attack us. You should not do anything to him, Xiao Yu."


    The young man turned around, his eyes burning with passion. He really liked it when his teacher was being authoritative. He associated with the fiery hot, plump body under her clothes, and the very thought excited him.


    With a loud gasp, he picked up the young woman. As she struggled to free herself, he strode into the cave. His earlier annoyance had long been forgotten.


    "Teacher Mo..." the young man¡¯s voice echoed from within the cave.


    The few men left looked at one another with a strange expression on their faces.


    Trantor Notes:


    1 Xiao Yu (СÓð) - Simr to a СÓî in Chapter 62 that was tranted as Little Yu which also reads as xiao3 yu3 in its pinyin form. The trantion in this chapter is also has the same pronunciation, but is a different person.

 Chapter 265: Feather

    Chapter 265: Feather


    Trantor: Insignia Editor: Svjohn


    People could see because objects reflected light into their retinas, and their retinas transmitted the signal to their brain via their nerves. Therefore, mere observing did not transmit any energy, but it was different if there was emotion or Will involved.


    Having felt the enmity just now, Luo Yuan had turned around on purpose.


    "I didn¡¯t know that there were wanderers here, too!" He thought to himself. He looked in the distance before he immediately shifted his focus.


    He had been used to such enmity in the wild, so he did not mind it at all. Each time a stranger entered the area of those wanderers, they would be extremely vignt and they would guard themselves against them. This had be their natural instinct.


    Luo Yuan briskly walked forward, feeling an indistinct urge as he sensed the faint breathing of both the giant lizard and King Kong.


    However, their breathing seemed to have changed and be more oppressive and obscure than it used to be. This made Luo Yuan surprised and dubious.


    After walking for a few kilometers in twists and turns, a valley finally appeared before him. Compared to the abundant sunshine and the sparse nts of the Gobi Desert, the valley was like a totally different world. Its inner part had an abundance of nts, and it was dimly lit. A small, two-meter-wide river flowed through it, refreshing the air with humidity.


    Various bizarre flowers, nts, and weird trees with old rattans gave the valley a sense of vitality. It was really difficult to believe that this ce was so close to the Reconstruction Area, which was located in the heart of the desert.


    When he got there, the traces of the giant lizard and King Kong became particrly obvious. Lots of giant footprints could be seen on the ground, but the footprints of the lizard seemed to be one size bigger.


    Luo Yuan stopped to look at the giant footprint carefully. Its diameter was almost one meter, which surprised him.


    The footprints of the giant lizard had always been huge, but not as huge as this. They had used to be about half a meter in diameter, which had already been terrifically huge. It was about the same size as the pirs in the lobbies of some luxurious hotels. The new footprints were one meter in diameter, which might have been rare even during the Cretaceous Period, the era of the dinosaurs.


    Luo Yuan¡¯s expression changed. The only exnation was that the giant lizard had evolved.


    He suddenly patted his own head as he realized how easy it was to check on the giant lizard¡¯s status. He pulled up the Attribute Table. He had been living in peacetely and had stayed away from fighting, so he had not taken much notice of the lizard. He only remembered it when he needed to use it.


    It was exactly as he had expected.


    "Battle Beast: Dragon Lizard"


    "Level: Level 3 (Light Green)"


    "Attributes"


    "Strength: 21"


    "Dexterity: 16"


    "Physique: 19"


    "Intelligence: 7"


    "Sensory Perception: 6"


    "Will: 12"


    "Experience: 1,620/9,600"


    "Skills: Biting: 12, Tearing: 13, Striking: 11, Tail Strike: 15, Survival: 18, Observance: 8, Breathing: 15"


    "Natural Abilities: Sense of Danger, Fire Breath, Speedy Recovery"


    "Status: Elite"


    "Loyalty: 72 (Risk of betrayal if less than 50, Full Value: 100)"


    "Unassigned Attribute Points: 0"


    "Unassigned Skill Points: 0"


    He had not expected that after not seeing the giant lizard for so long, it would have quietly leveled up to light green level and changed its name.


    Luo Yuan frowned. He didn¡¯t know whether he should be surprised or happy. Its Strength, Physique and Sensory Perception had been enhanced slightly, but what surprised him the most was its Intelligence, which had risen to 7 points, increasing by 3 points in total.


    Was it a mutated beast trend to be stronger and cleverer as they evolved? Luo Yuan suddenly realized that he could no longer use the phrase "wild beast" to describe high-level mutated beasts.


    The giant lizard had originally been just a lizard, which ording to the evolution theory was just a low-level reptile. However, its Intelligence level had definitely surpassed mammal Intelligence, with the exception of humans.


    Nevertheless, this low-rank creature had had its Intelligence level increased to 7 points when it had leveled up to light green level, so it was nowparable to a three to four-year-old child. The changes in higher-rank mammals had to be even more astonishing.


    Suddenly, the ground started vibrating slightly, followed by a loud howl simr to a car horning from afar. The howl caused the air particles to vibrate.


    "Coming!"


    A breath that Luo Yuan was familiar with was heading towards him.


    The valley was suddenly in turmoil. There was movement in the shrubs and tussocks as numerous mutated beasts ran in all directions as if a catastrophe wasing and they needed to save their lives.


    There were a couple of cracking branches and copsing trees, and a giant pathway about three to four meters wide was formed amidst the dense forest. Suddenly, an enormous, ferocious beast appeared.


    It was an extremelyrge lizard. Its body waspletely covered in green scales, shiny and glossy, as if it was wearing ayer of emerald green gems. Its huge skull seemed to have no flesh at all. Other than ayer of dark grey skin, it consisted solely of an exoskeleton, which made it look like a ferocious monster.


    The giant lizard was about 10 meters tall and 15 meters long. If a human stood in front of it and raised their hand, they would not even reach its knee.


    Still, its hill-like body was neither corpulent nor redundant. It looked like detailed art. Even its ferocious skull had a unique beauty about it, which could linger in one¡¯s brain after seeing it.


    When the giant lizard saw Luo Yuan, its expression changed and it suddenly increased its speed, causing a strong wind and an oppressive aura to blow against his face. Its heavy, 10-ton body caused a strong quake with each step it took, producing a strong vibration in the river water nearby.


    If a normal man met such a creature, they would have copsed from fear and been rooted to the ground. One would have had to have a strong Will to even be able to turn around and run. However, Luo Yuan had lots of experience with creatures like that, so he was already immune.


    Nevertheless, this time was different as he felt a high pressureing from the giant lizard that he had never felt before. He consciously held onto the handle of his sword, radiating his body force and getting ready for the worst. He scanned through the lizard¡¯s loyalty silently and exhaled in relief.


    "Loyalty: 72"


    "Luckily, it¡¯s still above the safety line!"


    As that thought popped in his mind, the giant lizard stopped somewhere four to five meters away from him. It did not make any other movement, showing its extraordinary lightness, which was disproportionate to its size. Luo Yuan was surprised to see it. Such behavior was way beyond his imagination.


    He was in a furtive alert when he saw a head the size of a small round table lower and intimately touch his chest, crying joyously.


    Luo Yuan was relieved. Meanwhile, he felt a coldness on his back and he unconsciously broke out in cold sweat. He could not help but admit that the giant lizard was stressing him greatly. To a certain extent, it was no longer green rank.


    This was because the attributes of the giant lizard hadpletely restrained Luo Yuan.


    Why was Luo Yuan so strong? His terrific weapon skills, Will and Physique were some of the reasons, but the main reason was his Dexterity.


    It was a very special attribute, whose each level up was very impressive. In other words, Luo Yuan thought that all level ups of other attributes were actually maximizing his Dexterity.


    This was because Dexterity allowed him to enter the dimension of time.


    A second for others was 7.5 seconds for him, so the world seemed slower through his eyes. That was certainly not because the world had actually gotten slower. He was the one who had entered a different time dimension.


    In a meaningless second, a human could perhaps have an idea, but that idea would not have aplete form. However, a second for some bacteria could be their whole life, starting from division, preying, growth, and ending in maturity and reproduction.


    If bacteria could think, that second would be their whole colorful life. It was another depiction of a time dimension.


    However, the Dexterity of the giant lizard was stronger than Luo Yuan¡¯s, as it had reached 16-points now. Before, Luo Yuan had still been able to suppress it, because its Dexterity had been only one point higher than his, and the lizard could not maximize it because of its low Intelligence.


    Even though it had a Dexterity of 16-points, it could only utilize about 13-points. It was better if it moved in a straight line because it could rampage through anything. However, if it had to move within a small range, it could not react due to its low memory capacity.


    Its low Intelligence made it appear weaker than a normal mutated beast and far from Luo Yuan¡¯s performance, who could kill a green rank giant beast with only 15-points of Dexterity.


    However, with its Intelligence leveled up, it seemed to have acquired a new processing system that made up for its weakness. As a result, its Strength had suddenly be stronger. Luo Yuan could not even imagine how strong it was. Nevertheless, it was unbeatable by a light green level mutated beast.


    ...


    King Kong came next. The two giant beasts lived together, but King Kong seemed to have been suppressed by the giant lizardpletely. It was fearfully hiding in a corner. It dared not go near the giant lizard and it kept looking pitifully at Luo Yuan.


    What left Luo Yuan speechless was how King Kong¡¯s loyalty had increased after not seeing him for about twenty days. It was even higher than the giant lizard¡¯s, reaching 82 points.


    Luo Yuan tried to connect with the giant lizard to remove any feelings of alienation. He was a pragmatist, so he knew that he could no longer use his previous indifferent attitude towards the lizard considering its high value. He had to be gentle with it instead.


    He stayed in the valley for a few hours and observed the territory with the giant lizard. He could sense that the lizard was very excited. It acted like a kid who had gotten a good grade and could not wait to show their parents.


    His heart was moved and he paid the lizard severalpliments. Immediately, its loyalty increased by two points.


    The giant lizard did not understand thenguage of humans, but Luo Yuan¡¯s long-term lessons involving blood and tears had made it understand some specificmands as well as the mood of its master. It had learned under pressure, so it had developed the ability of observance. If its master pulled the corners of his mouth up, it meant that it was doing something right. On the other hand, if its master remained expressionless or his face darkened, it meant that it was doing something wrong. In that case, the best way to protect itself was byying down on the ground and whimpering.


    When the sky became dark, Luo Yuan turned and left under the unwilling eyes of the giant lizard and the sad eyes of King Kong.


    ...


    He headed back at an inconsistent speed, so it was alreadyter than 11 p.m. when he got back to the Desert City.


    Even though the city gate was closed, the guards knew Luo Yuan and had a special record for when he went out, so they opened the gate after talking with their superior.


    The Desert City was mostly deserted and quiet, like a ghost city. There were only two times during the day when one could experience the noisiness of a city.


    One was before 8 a.m. and the other was the time Luo Yuan got back.


    It was a peak hour and people went back home from work. Workers in uniforms could be seen everywhere on the streets.


    Some peddlers also took this opportunity to sell various things by the roadside in an effort to improve their lives. Most of them were still wearing their uniforms, obviously having just gotten off from work. The stalls only had a few items. Other than various foods such as meat, vegetables, and snacks, there were some handmade goods, too.


    The materials were taken from the area, and most of them were made from wood, but there were also some bones, skin and fur.


    Among the products were various types of handmade leather purses, daggers made from mutated beast ws, as well as some handmade benches, wooden pails, bowls, chopsticks, etc. It was too dazzling to look through everything.


    The whole street was filled with the sounds of people bawling about, bargaining and arguing.


    The atmosphere seemed to make people feel like this was not the apocalypse, but a noisy farmers¡¯ market.


    "Thirty grain coupons? This is too expensive, you¡¯re robbing people! If I didn¡¯t think that this feather was beautiful, I wouldn¡¯t even pay one buck for it!"


    "Take it or leave it, it¡¯s up to you, but it¡¯s definitely worth its price. It¡¯s a trophy I got in a battle. Half of us died and all we got were these few feathers. I won¡¯t sell it for anything less," a depressing voice responded.


    "So you got injured and retired from the army? I¡¯m sorry for what I said, but it really is not worth that price. After all, it can only be used as decoration. You¡¯ll only get one cent if you sell it to the skin and fur recycling station. I¡¯ll buy it for five bucks. Honestly, I don¡¯t think anybody would pay a higher price than that," the person who was speaking said in a nicer, more gentle tone when they realized that the peddler was an injured, retired soldier.


    "Thirty bucks! I risked my life for it, I won¡¯t sell it any cheaper," the peddler replied. No flicker of emotion could be heard in his voice, though.


    Curious, Luo Yuan walked over.


    The peddler was a burly, middle-aged man with a prosthetic limb in ce of his left leg. His face was emotionless, and he pursed his mouth. He seemed too stubborn to change his mind, even though the buyer was trying to negotiate with him.


    Luo Yuan shifted his focus to the feather on the stall.


    He was surprised by what he saw. The feather was about two meters long and approaching a terrific three meters. He had seen feathers longer than this, but those had been tail or wing feathers. This was merely a normal feather. Judging by its shape, it was probably from the stomach or the back of the bird, which were usually three to four times smaller than wing feathers. Luo Yuan could imagine that the owner of this feather had been an enormous creature.


    Other than the supporting hard ck tube in the middle, the feather appeared to be light green and very pure. Under the dim streetlights, it was radiating light. One could even see a weak radiance being emitted from it if they had sharp eyes. It was definitely something special. If this had been prior to the apocalypse, the price of this feather would have been sky-high because of its high ornamental value. Now though, even though it attracted lots of attention, very few people were interested in buying it.


    The buyer refused to quit. He tried to bargain a few more times, but the peddler did not want to reduce his price at all, so he eventually had to give up.


    The peddler loved the feather so much that he was obsessed with it. The feather was heteromorphic, so it had to originate from a rare high-rank mutated beast. However, its price was too high to be worth it. After all, 30 grain coupons could provide an adult with sufficient food for a month. Even though the man was a professional technician, it was still a huge sum of money, so he had to consider it.


    When he gave up and turned away, a voice suddenly came from behind him and made him stop.


    "Can I see it?"


    "Help yourself!" the retired soldier said.


    Luo Yuan reached for the feather and delightedly performed the identification technique on it.


    When the previous buyer saw Luo Yuan pick up the feather and hold it as if it was nothing, he was slightly shocked. Others might not have noticed, but when he¡¯d picked it up just now, he¡¯d had to use all his strength as the feather weighed more than 100 catties.


    "How much?" Luo Yuan asked as he put the feather down gently, without even gasping for breath.


    "Thirty yuan!"


    "I want it, but you have toe get the money from my house. I don¡¯t have enough on me right now," Luo Yuan said. He hardly ever carried money with him as he barely had any ces to spend it.


    The retired soldier took a nce at Luo Yuan and hesitated. He would have agreed if Luo Yuan had been a normal person. As an old soldier who had fought against death though, he still had enough strength and nerve, even though he had lost a leg, so he could protect himself from any attack. However, Luo Yuan was not a normal person. He could pick up that feather easily, so this meant that he was very powerful.


    Asws and regtions were strict during the apocalypse, very few crimes urred. He was not that worried, so he nodded after a short silence.


    "Wait, wait! I¡¯m sorry to ask, but what are you buying this feather for?" the previous buyer asked. He was reluctant to see something he loved get bought by someone else at a higher price.


    "Decoration, don¡¯t you think it¡¯s beautiful? Luo Yuan answered.


    The previous buyer nodded mechanically. When he recovered, the two men had already walked away, and all he could see was the radiance emitted from the feather moving with the movement of the man¡¯s arm. It produced a fading, yet beautiful light effect. The man felt disappointed.


    ...


    After Luo Yuan had paid the peddler, he had gently taken the feather to his bedroom. It was dark, but the light in his room was not on.


    The radiance emitted from the feather was the only source of light.


    Luo Yuan discovered that its light was not reflected. It was actually emitted from the feather itself. Luo Yuan knew that this had to be caused by a certain power, and such treasure was definitely not meant for decoration. Using it like that would be a waste of the resources of nature. Plus, this precious material was something that could only be found by ident. With such a high-level material, his clothes could finally be leveled up again.

 Chapter 266: Composite Plasma Field

    Chapter 266: Composite sma Field


    Trantor: Insignia Editor: Svjohn


    Although it had been almost a month of peace, the mental pain from the after effects had notpletely subsided yet.


    Huang Jiahui¡¯s sleep was interrupted by Luo Yuan, who had just walked into their bedroom. She opened her tired eyes and quickly checked the time on her phone. It was almost midnight. Huang Jiahui refrained fromining. "Why are you back thiste? Dinner is on the table, I will warm it up for you," she said as she hustled to get out of bed.


    "There¡¯s no need for dinner now. Please go back to sleep. We have to wake up early tomorrow," Luo Yuan said.


    "You interrupted my sleep. I can¡¯t fall asleep right now." Huang Jia Hui sat up at the corner of the bed, revealing the smooth, soft skin of her shoulder. Wearing just her undergarments, she stood up and pulled out a long jacket. Suddenly, she noticed a shining object on the corner of the wall and said, "How beautiful! What is this thing you brought back?"


    "It¡¯s a rare mutated bird¡¯s feather. Wasn¡¯t I lucky to pick it up from a street stall?" Luo Yuanughed. It had indeed been a lucky day for him. He had just been passing by the street like he normally would when he¡¯d spotted the rare green rank mutated beast feather.


    Come to think of it, it couldn¡¯t be that hard to get a green rank mutated creature feather from someone serving in the army. Provided that they could kill such a creature, they could easily take something from it to keep as a souvenir.


    However, that kind of material was only valuable for research or scientific-based organizations. Commoners did not find them useful. This feather would be a luxurious essory to a civilian, but to Luo Yuan, it was a precious, rare material for synthesis, whose value could not be measured.


    Perhaps he should walk around the market more often so he would not miss out on anything good.


    "What level does this feather belong to?" Huang Jiahui asked when she saw how happy Luo Yuan was. She knew Luo Yuan had a special skill that could distinguish the level of anything.


    "Six, I think!" Luo Yuan replied.


    Huang Jiahui was shocked by his answer. She now understood why Luo Yuan looked so happy about this. Although she had gone through many adventures with him, she had never seen a green level creature yet, only some flesh and blood. The best she had seen had been the Archelon egg.


    Curious, she walked over to touch the feather. She was amazed by its pale green color, simr to a precious stone, which emitted a mesmerizing radiance. It felt really tender and smooth to touch.


    She was captured by the quality of the feather. Such quality could only be found in myths, where creatures had perfect feathers. Suddenly, she remembered that she had been about to warm up the food. "I have bought some vegetables. They¡¯re slightly old, but they don¡¯t taste bad. I used the remaining jerky for the soup. I need to heat it up though, it must have gone cold."


    "Take it easy, you know I have good teeth. It¡¯s not hard for me to chew cold jerky," Luo Yuan said, feeling moved.


    Soon, the noise in the kitchen had woken up Wang Shishi, who had been half-asleep. Thinking of Luo Yuan, she ran out of her bedroom, wearing just a singlet-like pajama.


    Her pajama was very thin and short. It did not cover much of her thighs, revealing her undergarments. Her chest was moving up and down like a rabbit¡¯s as she ran out, showing the cream tone of her skin. Her youthful energy almost made her breasts pop out.


    She stormed forward like a rabbit, wrapping herself tightly around Luo Yuan¡¯s arm as she asked pleasantly, "Brother Luo, when did youe back? Please take me along when you go out next time! I was too bored at home!"


    "You¡¯re just not used to living a peaceful life, but you will get a chance in the future," Luo Yuan replied without moving away.


    ....


    After Luo Yuan finished his dinner, he told Huang Jiahui to go to bed because she had to work the next morning. However, Wang Shishi was unemployed at the moment just like him, so when she heard that he was going to synthesize something, she asked to see.


    Letting her watch, Luo Yuan moved the feather from his bedroom to the living room to avoid interrupting Huang Jiahui¡¯s sleep.


    "Qingming Bird Feather"


    "Rarity: Green"


    "Weight: 53 kg"


    "Additional Abilities: Low-Thermal sma Field, High-Thermal sma Field"


    "Remarks: The Qingming Bird is the king of the sky. Except when it¡¯s reproducing, it spends its whole life living in an ionizedyer, so very few people have actually seen it. Its feathers have the ability to release a strong current of a low-thermal sma field and a high-thermal sma field!"


    "These are the two different types of ion fields!" Luo Yuan thought silently.


    Even though he had read about these two types of ion fields before, he was still very astonished to see it.


    He did have certain knowledge on sma fields. A sma field was the fourth form of mass, solid, liquid and gas being the other three, and it was divided into high-thermal sma field and low-thermal sma field.


    High-thermal sma field appeared in science fiction and produced high-frequency sma. For example, the sun and all the others star in the universe contained this element. Low-thermal sma field, on the other hand, was quitemon. It could be found in television, neon lights, medical surgery and so on.


    He subconsciously touched the feather, feeling amazed. Who would have thought that a single feather of only 30-40 degrees could have such a high-temperature sma field?


    sma temperature was normally quite high, ranging at about ten thousand degrees. Just its residual heat alone could make most creatures melt away. However, this feather did not release that kind of heat, which was kind of strange.


    Observing it carefully, Luo Yuan spotted glimpses of a glow from time to time but was only able to vaguely sense its terrifyingly strong current.


    After making all kinds of hypotheses, deductions, and theories, he finally reached a conclusion. There was a chance that this was apound sma field with a minimum of threeyers. The bottomyer had to be a low-thermal sma field, or else the Qingming Bird would not have been able to withstand the heat; the secondyer had to be a high-thermal sma field; and the outeryer had to be another low-thermal sma field, exining why the feathers always maintained such a low temperature.


    The threeyers of sma field were intertwined,plementing each other and forming a perfect energy system. The high-thermal sma field had a terrifying energy that was perfectly hidden within the system. The whole system was harmonized and united, so no energy leaked out from it.


    Based on Luo Yuan¡¯s knowledge as ayman, this technique exceeded the advancement of human science and technology. Such a feat would have been impossible even ten years from then.


    ¦³hat type ofpound force field was exactly like energy shields in science fiction. Most physical attacks and energy would be either absorbed or abated by thepound force.


    That¡¯s why it was warm to the touch. Perhaps it had not reached its ultimate condition yet. Once thepound force field burst, it would consume a certain amount of energy to sustain itself, no matter how sustainable it actually was. This ultimate condition could not be achieved by touching it and squeezing it.


    Suddenly, Luo Yuan had a terrific idea. His forehead was dripping with sweat, and his face had turned pale.


    Although the feather seemed to be harmless to humans and animals, it contained a terrifying amount of energy. Once it was synthesized and that energy was leaked, Luo Yuan would be ten times stronger. As long as he avoided turning into ashes, of course.


    Luckily, he did not do it rashly.


    "Brother Luo, how are you?" Wang Shishi asked after seeing Luo Yuan¡¯s expression change.


    "Fine!" Luo Yuan gave her a forced smile while he was still thinking fast.


    This was not right. The energy within the feather should not be that high. After all, no matter how powerful the Qingming Bird had been, the feather was just dead material.


    However, all this was just a hypothesis. He needed to conduct an actual experiment.


    "Shishi, can you move away, please?" Luo Yuan asked.


    "Okay!" Wang Shishi obeyed, stepping back a bit, even though she found the request strange.


    When Luo Yuan saw that Wang Shishi had stepped back about four meters, he felt relieved. That distance had to be enough.


    Luo picked up his Zhanmadao and took a deep breath. Immediately the Zhanmadao reflected a zing me. It shined like lightning, slicing through the air in a never-ending sh.


    The de of the Zhanmadao was one with his Will as it touched the tender feather. A screeching sound was produced along with a few blue and white sparks. If Luo Yuan¡¯s eyesight had not been sharp enough, he would not have been able to see it. The next second, the feather had been cut into two.


    If it was not for the blue sparks and the feather¡¯s light resistance as it was cut through, it would have been simr to a normal green rank material.


    However, it was just an illusion. Only Luo Yuan could feel how terrifying the blue sparks were as he suddenly felt all his Will getting used up, like a balloon being pierced by a sharp object.


    Even though it had just been a short contact, not even 0.01 seconds long, it had consumed almost 20% of his Will. It was a really scary number. If his Will had not acted as a shield, the tip of the Zhanmadao might have melted away.


    It was hard to imagine, but if it had actually happened, even Luo Yuan¡¯s fingers would have melted and turned into gas.


    Luo Yuan began to panic. That material was like a prickly hedgehog. Although its additional strength would be the perfect defense, the danger of the synthesizing process made him hesitant.


    "Brother Luo, the light seems to have grown dimmer!" Wang Shishi suddenly said as she kept looking at it.


    Listening to her, Luo Yuan got inspired and took a careful look at it. It was indeed dimmer.


    He realized that he had gone deeper into the inertial mode of his thoughts. Despite the feather¡¯s enormous energy, it would still be used up if he gave it enough time.


    Luo Yuan waved his Zhanmadao again. This time the sparks were weaker, and the whole feather turned dimmer.


    His face showed a flicker of happiness as he ruffled Wang Shishi¡¯s hair andughed, "You did well this time!"


    Wang Shishi was confused about what she had done. Was it what she had said?


    Luo Yuan quickly sliced through the feather again, dividing it into smaller, palm-sized pieces. The first few cuts produced more sparks, but in the end, the feather died. Even its temperature had gone down. Obviously, its energy had been used up.


    Luo Yuan walked into his bedroom and grabbed a jacket and an undergarment.


    He owned more than one set of clothes now. He had a few more that had been given to him by the city leader or Huang Jiahui. Still, he barely wore them. He preferred his own synthetic clothes, which made him feel more secure.


    They weren¡¯t just easy to clean, but also fast to dry.


    It wasn¡¯t just him. Wang Shishi and Huang Jiahui were the same as well. After going through the apocalypse, nothing was more important to them than a sense of security.


    Luo Yuan¡¯s coat was a tight battle suit. Everyone in the Reconstruction Area, soldiers and average citizens alike, had a tight battle suit. The only difference was that the soldiers¡¯ battle suits were all the same color, while the civilians¡¯ came in variety of colors. Some of them were even hand-made.


    Luo Yuan thought of making a night-illuminating coat, but he gave up on the idea and only synthesized the undergarment.


    Such a coat would be too eye-catching, and would attract unnecessary danger, causing Luo Yuan trouble. Considering that a lot of creatures were phototaxic, wearing an illuminating garment would be like asking to die.


    Plus, an undergarment could be worn under a coat, In fact, Luo was unwilling to let go of the set of clothes he had madest time. Even though they were made of a lower grade material, they had the ability to reduce wind resistance, so they could maximize his speed and further enhance his effectiveness in battle. This effect could definitely not be measured by grade.


    .....


    He had to prepare for half an hour, but the actual synthesization only took five minutes. Before Wang Shishi¡¯s amazed eyes, a light green undergarment was created.


    The Qingming Bird had probably not used its feathers to enhance its self-protection, because the fabric was very soft, smooth and tensile. It did not have the hard feel of normal green level materials at all.


    Instead, it had an exceptionally smooth, delicate texture, even more so than silk clothing. The whole set of undergarments had be a few kilograms heavier, but that seemed to be the only downside. Wang Shishi looked at it with shining eyes.


    "You don¡¯t have to be jealous. You will get one yourself when the timees. Now go to bed. You can give me your clothes tomorrow," Luo Yuan said as he looked at her. After making a whole set of clothes, there was still a lot of material left. It would be enough to synthesize two to three more sets of clothing.


    It was alreadyte at night and the two of them were standing alone in the dim light. It would be better to continue synthesizing the next day.


    After he finished speaking, Luo Yuan picked up his clothes and walked to his bedroom, using the Identification Technique.


    "sma Field Undergarment"


    "Material: Qingming Bird Feather, Cotton."


    "Rarity: Green"


    "Weight: 3 kg"


    "Defense: 22-25"


    "Additional Abilities: Composite sma Force Field"


    "Equipment Requirements: None"


    "Remarks: This is an undergarment with a sma Force Field. It can defend one against most energy attacks and against a certain degree of physical attacks."

 Chapter 267: Youth

    Chapter 267: Youth


    Trantor: Insignia Editor: Svjohn


    On the big field of the Desert City Second Junior High School, the instructor was shouting as loudly as he could. Hundreds of students were waving and thrusting their bays, wiping off their sweat under the scorching sun. It was imposing to see all the bays thrusted neatly at the instructor¡¯smand.


    Under the pressure of potentially losing their country and having their tribes wiped out, the Reconstruction Area during the apocalypse had made military training a main subject along with some essential cultural learning. Students, especially male ones, spent almost half a day on the field.


    Their curriculum included shooting, weapon maintenance, stamina training, sharp weapon practice, and long-distance, weight-bearing running every morning. It was not any easier than the Special Forces training before the apocalypse.


    By consuming high-energy food, thirteen and fourteen-year-old teenagers had already grown up and be as strong and energetic as calves. Therefore, none of them fell behind. Although the training was tough, they all gradually adapted to it.


    Zhong Chuqiang was practicing absent-mindedly. He was not interested in the bay drill taught by the instructor, as he found it inadequatepared to Boss Luo¡¯s knife skills.


    He thought that Wushu was all the same though because he had not point of reference for it. Nheless, even though he needed to learn the newest version of a bay drill revised by a well-known martial art master with experience in brutalbat, he felt ufortable and unmotivated. He just could not make himself focus. In other words, he could only unleash less than 30 percent of his strength.


    Still, his young age made him reticent and honest, so he followed all the instructions given to him. Actually, he just wanted to tackle his instructor so he did not have to practice the bay drill after ss anymore. He wanted to practice Luo Yuan¡¯s knife skills even harder instead. He hoped that he could be as strong and fearless as Luo Yuan.


    Used to living in such dark times as he was, he had a deeper understanding of the brutality of the world than most of his fellow students. People would be bullied by others if they were not strong enough. That did not just apply to humans, but to mutated beasts as well.


    He wanted to get stronger so he could protect himself and the people close to him.


    Although he was not putting his heart into it, his movements were still the best. He was even better than some of his schoolmates who had been practicing for a year. His movements were actually smoother than that of the instructor.


    Suddenly, a soldier beckoned to the instructor. The instructor replied with a nod before he shouted, "Zhong Chuqiang, step out!"


    "Yes, sir!" Zhong Chuqiang quickly broke team formation in a standardized trot.


    "Lead the team for thest ten minutes, then dismiss everyone," the instructor ordered him as he checked the time.


    "Yes, sir!" Zhong Chuqiang shouted, not surprised in the least. A simr situation had urred enough times already. Being a teacher was merely a part-time job for the instructor. Meanwhile, he was also a garrison officer. On many asions, he had been called out during ss, and another student had acted as a substitute teacher to rece him.


    Once the instructor had left, the whole team started cking off slightly. Many of them sighed in relief. The imposing instructor might have left, but none of them had started whispering among themselves or stopped practicingpletely. They had just taken a momentary rest.


    The military management of the apocalypse differed from the old formalism. Other than excellent students, there were also reserve soldiers and armed workers. The schools were implementing militaryw, which meant that light offenders were expelled and major offenders were punished by death penalty.


    After continuing the dull drill for a while, the school bell finally rang and Zhong Chuqiang dismissed the ss.


    Everyone cheered as they walked towards the school canteen exhaustedly, yet in a disciplined, orderly manner. Everyone was very concerned about collective education after all.


    Zhong Chuqiang was chatting with several of his close friends in a low voice. "Brother Qiang, our canteen has level four meat today," a tall friend with e on most of his face said mysteriously.


    "Level four meat? What a luxury! How do you know?" another friend interrupted in excitement.


    "My aunt works in the canteen and she told me confidentially," the tall boy said. "I heard that a catty of meat powder is sold for 30 catties of food coupons outside."


    Sounds of excitement were heard from many of them.


    Zhong Chuqiang curled his lip, but he said nothing. He had gotten tired of eating that kind of meat while he¡¯d been in the wild. He had eaten lots of meat, not just level four, but also level five and six. If he were to calcte its value, it must have been worth over 10,000 catties of food coupons.


    "That¡¯s expensive! But we don¡¯t know for sure how much we¡¯ll get. Hopefully, we¡¯ll get a catty each!" another student said as he began to fantasize, his mouth filling with saliva.


    "Consuming too much can cause a nosebleed. I think we can only get one or two tael. I heard that high-level meat is aphrodisiac. Eating it will make you burning hot and have you thinking of women," a student wearing spectacles said softly.


    "What if you¡¯re a woman?" This type of topic was undoubtedly a popr subject among young boys.


    "They must think of men, too!" the fellow in the spectacles said in excitement as he looked up. Then he suddenly saw someone, and said, "Oh, Brother Qiang! That beautiful mutated girl with the greenish skin is looking for you again."


    Zhong Chuqiang furrowed his brows and said, "Shut up, I¡¯ve told you that she¡¯s not mutated. Nevermind, you won¡¯t understand, even if I exin."


    Young girls going through puberty change every day. After being parasitized by the parasitic moss, the process seemed to have ured even faster for Chen Jiayi. In only about a month, she had grown into a beautiful, graceful girl like a budding snow lotus. The shape of her body had also changed from a thin figure to a perfect hourss figure.


    Her light green skin looked fine and smooth, emitting a glistening radiance that looked like jade. The parasitic moss had made her body change fast, giving her a new life, but also making her be quieter.


    The two of them walked aimlessly around the deserted field, not saying anything. Chen Jiayi had gotten used to the silence, but Zhong Chuqiang, who was attracted by her beauty, kept casting furtive nces at her.


    He had just reached puberty himself, and apanion he used to share hardships with had suddenly be very beautiful and attractive. This had made him feel strange and enormously stressed at the same time. He no longer even dared to look into her eyes.


    Atst, Chen Jiayi broke the silence. She seemed to have spaced out for a while before she suddenly recovered.


    "Tomorrow is our monthly day off. Are you going back?" Chen Jiayi asked softly.


    "Back where? To Luo Yuan¡¯s house?" Every time he met Luo Yuan, he felt nervous and just couldn¡¯t rx. He automatically answered, "I can¡¯t. I¡¯ve recently started participating in reserve duty and I may be needed for volunteer work at the army camp during our day off."


    "I see. Deng Chao might go, too," Chen Jiayi said disappointedly.


    When Chen Jiayi mentioned Deng Chao, Zhong Chuqiang felt a strange, ufortable feeling. He said nothing, though.


    They seldom saw each other, as they had been too busy after starting school. Although they did not meet, Zhong Chuqiang still heard Deng Chao¡¯s name around.


    It was rumored that Deng Chao had been put in confinement for a day during the first day of school, because he had fought with his instructor.


    After that incident, nobody had bullied him, and his rtionship with the instructors had gotten better. He had even be good friends with them. Many armymanders wanted to meet him in person and from what people said, he had been asked to join the army. Soon after he graduated, he would be offered a position as Second Lieutenant.


    Compared to how famous Deng Chao was in school, Zhong Chuqian was a nobody. Very few people knew about his talents.


    "Has anyone bullied you recently?" Zhong Chuqian changed the topic. He did not want to talk about Deng Chao.


    "No," Chen Jiayi said sadly. Ever since she had been parasitized by the moss, her body had been enhanced tremendously. She had be even stronger than Deng Chao and Zhong Chuqiang, so nobody dared bully her.


    In fact, nobody even wanted to talk to her. They all treated her like a monster. Everyone kept a distance from her, even though they knew her. She could still vividly remember the moment the moss had parasitized her body and the panic in everyone¡¯s eyes. Only Brother Luo had trusted her and not cared about her skin or the moss underneath it.


    Zhong Chuqiang did not know how to lighten the mood. They no longer had anything to talk about.


    "If there¡¯s anyone bullying you, you can tell me. I¡¯ll help you," he said clumsily after a while.


    "Okay," Chen Jiayi answered absent-mindedly. After some thought, she said, "Lately, I¡¯ve been feeling like I can¡¯t catch my breath."


    "Are you sick?" Zhong asked worriedly, taking a quick look at her light green skin.


    "I¡¯m not sick, I¡¯m just not feeling right. I thought I should let you know," Chen Jiayi said, her face turning grave as she looked at him.

 Chapter 268: Jealousy

    Chapter 268: Jealousy


    Trantor: Insignia Editor: Svjohn


    The next morning, after Huang Jiahui had left, Wang Shishi came out of her room shyly and walked into Luo Yuan¡¯s room, holding her underwear in her hand as her heart beat fast. She came out of the room immediately, looking unhappy.


    The colorful underwear exuded a girlish fragrance, and there was still a slight warmth to it if one touched it. Obviously, it had just been taken off her body.


    "This girl!"


    Perhaps it was because of her parents¡¯ good genes, or maybe because she was an evolved human, but Wang Shishi was getting prettier and prettier as she grew up. She was just like a fairy who had walked out of a picture. From an appearance perspective, Huang Jiahui and Zhao Yali were ordinary beauties. Though they could not be found everywhere, women like them could often be seen walking down bustling streets before the end of the world. Wang Shishi¡¯s appearance, on the other hand, could make people feel amazing, or intimidate them.


    It was definitely a big challenge for Luo Yuan to have such an enchanting woman flirt with him, giving him all sorts of hints. He had a body far beyond that of an ordinary person¡¯s and exuberant fleshparable to that of a mutated beast. As a result, he experienced desire ten times stronger than the average man did.


    His secr eyes and moral taboos had gradually been weakening in his heart over time, but he still managed to maintain an ascetic self-restraint. He had to put a lot of energy in exercising intensely, otherwise, he would have made Wang Shishi his wife a long time ago.


    Luo Yuan quickly pushed the thought away and synthesized the rest of the material into the underwear.


    After the synthesis waspleted, there were still some leftover Qingming feathers. Luo Yuan kept them for Zhao Yali, nning to make a trip to her ce in the evening.


    The newly synthesized clothes appeared to be cyan in color, without any fluorescence, but this was the magic of this equipment. It seemed to be able to absorb the ions surrounding it in order to recharge, and also be able to absorb the current directly.


    This was the result after Luo Yuan had tested it for the whole night. The underwear on his body now exuded a bright fluorescence, even brighter than the original feathers¡¯, and asionally produced a faint light. The equipment was extremely stable now; there was no energy dissipation phenomenon.


    Luo Yuan believed that the feather must have been damaged, resulting in a certain energy dissipation, but the synthesization seemed to have fixed everything.


    To be honest, he was a bit scared to wear it on his body. After all, it contained high-temperature sma. If it was damaged, his flesh would be too fragile under such a high temperature. If that kind of defense was broken, his life woulde to an end.


    Ordinary bullets could not break the green level defense, only armor-prating bullets or high-level mutated beasts could pose a threat to it.


    In fact, excluding any psychological factors, although it looked scary on his body, there was only a minimal danger of breakage. When he¡¯d cut the feathers, he¡¯d seen that the sma field inside had not beenpletely in order. There were several single units that could generate energy independently, so even if it was damaged, the excitation of energy would not be fatal. Worst case scenario, it would leave a few holes through high-temperature ation.


    ...


    Luo Yuan looked at the time. It was almost 5 o¡¯clock, so he immediately left home.


    Today was everyone¡¯s monthly day off, so since he had nothing to do, he decided to go to the school to take a look. After all, he was the guardian of three children.


    This was the first time he would be visiting the boarding military school. Usually, no one could enter the premises other than the staff. Even the street opposite the school was deserted.


    However, that day was clearly different. Before he had reached the school, Luo Yuan could already see that the front of the school gate was swarming with parents. There was an exciting atmosphere all around, and joyfulughter could be heard. The brutal end of the world might have changed people¡¯s attitude towards life, but family love would never change.


    Luo Yuan looked at the happy scene and smiled warmly.


    He nced around the crowd, but he did not find the people he wanted to pick up. There was a trace of disappointment on his face. He was not surprised, though. All along the way, he had yed a serious role in the team. Even Commander Xia had sometimes trembled before him. Perhaps in the children¡¯s hearts, he had seemed stricter and scary than their teachers.


    A young woman in the crowd was secretly looking at Luo Yuan. She seemed surprised and a bit uncertain. She stared at him for a little longer, feeling a small sense of familiarity. The man seemed to have sensed the stranger¡¯s gaze, and he looked in her direction.


    "Wu Xiaoxiao!" Luo Yuan called out in surprise.


    "And you are?" Wu Xiaoxiao¡¯s face felt a bit warm. This man had said her name, but she did not know who he was. Embarrassed, she said quickly, "You look familiar, but I can¡¯t recall your name."


    "I¡¯m Luo Yuan, we went to high school together! Have you forgotten about me already?" Luo Yuan smiled in surprise. It was not easy to meet a former ssmate during the end of the world.


    "Luo Yuan! Really? You have changed so much! This is really... unbelievable." Wu Xiaoxiao¡¯s face shed a little in surprise. She looked at him carefully again. There was something vaguely familiar about his facial features, but other than that, he looked almost like a different person.


    She could not rte the memory of that shy ssmate to this man that stood out among the crowd, exuding a brilliant light.


    "I did not expect to see you again!" eximed Luo Yuan.


    Wu Xiaoxiao used to sit in front of him in high school. He had even had a crush on her. She had been a goddess in his heart, but he would blush every time he talked to her. Now everything had changed, though. He no longer had a crush on her.


    "Yes, it¡¯s really amazing! When did you get here?" Wu Xiaoxiao said incoherently. She sounded really excited.


    "Not long ago. How about you?" Luo Yuan smiled.


    "No wonder I haven¡¯t seen you before," Wu Xiaoxiao said with augh. "I have been teaching here ever since I graduated from school. I stayed here to work. I was very fortunate."


    "You really were. So you¡¯re a teacher here?" said Luo Yuan, gradually calming down from the excitement of meeting a friend in that foreignnd.


    "Yes. Do your children go here?" Wu Xiaoxiao asked as she looked at Luo Yuan. Her eyes were sparkling with a crystal light.


    Even since she had met Luo Yuan, Wu Xiaoxiao had felt an intense throbbing that made her heart beat rapidly. Her face was blushing.


    After obtaining the system, Luo Yuan had not just improved in terms of physical strength. Even his appearance had changed and be more handsome. The transformation had deeply changed the genes in his body, making him attractive to the opposite sex.


    From a reproduction perspective, an instinctive desire to inherit good genes was generated from a woman¡¯s body. This gave Luo Yuan a big headache every time he went out as people kept turning to look at him.


    "Yes, my adopted children," Luo Yuan answered reluctantly.


    "True. Even if you had a kid, they wouldn¡¯t be this old," Wu Xiaoxiaoughed at her own foolish question.


    Perhaps she was too excited, but Wu Xiaoxiao simply could not stop talking. Luo Yuan had nowhere to be, so he did not stop her rambling.


    "Xiaoxiao, is this a colleague of yours?" a voice interrupted their conversation.


    The speaker was a middle-aged man with a briefcase and a pair of thick, ck-rimmed sses. There was a smile on his face, but Luo Yuan noticed that it was somewhat reluctant.


    Wu Xiaoxiao felt uneasy. She med herself for the thought she had had just now. She touched her hair to cover her uneasiness and said, "This is Luo Yuan, a high school ssmate of mine. I did not expect to meet him here, so we just conversed for a while. This is my husband, Sun Youde. He¡¯s working at the Institute! "


    "Hello, there!"


    "Hello!"


    The two of them shook hands quickly.


    Sun Youde felt threatened by this new man. He was so handsome that even he himself felt a little dazzled. Plus, he had clearly seen his wife staring at his face without blinking just now. That damn b*itch!


    Sun Youde was considered average-looking, maybe even ugly. He had a low self-esteem, but lots of pride. Before the end of the world, he had been just a research assistant with a pitiful monthly sry. He¡¯d had no house or car, and he had been single for over thirty years.


    During the end of the world, the shortage of scientific research personnel had allowed him to enter the Reconstruction Area, where he had been promoted toboratory director and met Wu Xiaoxiao. ording to themon policy, the two of them had gone on a blind date and gotten married at lightning speed. Of course, he was happy and satisfied with his beautiful wife, but because of his low self-esteem, he was also concerned about every single guy that approached her. He was especially wary of the guy who was standing in front of him right now.


    The damn b*tch!


    "I didn¡¯t realize you were Xiaoxiao¡¯s ssmate. May I know which unit you¡¯re working for?" Sun Youde said, his lips stretching tight as the muscles on his face tensed.


    "I just came here recently, so I¡¯m not working yet. Still waiting to get assigned!" Luo Yuan said with a smile. He could feel some hostility from the man, but that was normal. Anyone would feel unhappy if they saw their wife talking happily with another man.


    "Basically, there¡¯s no ideal job. If you have no connections, you will either be recruited as abor worker or a soldier. Being a soldier is way too dangerous, and if you do not have any technical skills, you can only be abor worker. Both are hard, low-paying jobs. You might not be able to support a family in the future." Sun Youde tried to describe the situation as badly as possible to scare his rival, just like he had earlier.


    "I have no choice. I just arrived here, so I don¡¯t know anyone. I can only wait." Luo Yuan answered, feeling funny.


    "Youde, this is my high school ssmate! Can¡¯t you help him out?" Apparently, Wu Xiaoxiao had not noticed the rivalry behind Sun Youde¡¯s words. She sounded a bit worried about Luo Yuan.


    "Well, do you have a bachelor¡¯s degree? Anyway, it does not matter if you don¡¯t. I can still hire you to be my assistant." Sun Youde felt even more jealous when he saw Wu Xiaoxiao be so kind to his rival. Suddenly, heughed in a kind of morbid way.


    "You can recruit people independently?" Luo Yuan asked curiously after he hearing what Sun Youde had said.


    "Of course not, but we¡¯re an institute, so we can recruit certain supernumeraries," said Sun Youde maliciously, slightly emphasizing the word "supernumeraries".


    Unlike before the end of the world, supernumerary staff were now considered as guinea pigs. In order to survive, all ethical and moral restrictions had been waived, and all kinds of cruel human experiments were allowed.


    Cloning was just the lowest degree of cruelty. There was body modification, gene imnts, radiation mutation. Thousands of volunteers died at the hands ofboratory criminals every year. People outside the industry never knew anything about it.


    Whether the volunteers agreed or not, by the time they reached theb, they could not resist anymore. The volunteer program during the end of the world was not as strict as it used to be, so anyone would easily sign the contract for the money without reading the small script.


    Luo Yuan didn¡¯t realize that this man wanted to kill him just because he had talked to his wife for a while. Even if he had known, he would not have known how to react, though.


    "Excuse me, let¡¯s talk about itter. The person I was waiting for ising." Luo Yuan saw Chen Jiayi, who had just walked out of the school. He had no interest in talking to this jealous man anymore, so he beckoned to her.


    "This is a rare opportunity. You may not have it again in the future," Sun Youde reminded him with fake kindness.


    "This is true, Luo Yuan. People working in the Institute get good benefits!" Wu Xiaoxiao also advised him enthusiastically.


    Suddenly, a shrill air raid siren sounded all over the city. Luo Yuan was shocked. He subconsciously touched his waist, only to realize that there was nothing there. He had left his sword at home.


    There was amotion in front of the school gate. Luo Yuan turned and looked at Wu Xiaoxiao and Sun Youde. Both of them looked scared and panicked.

 Chapter 269: Great Battle

    Chapter 269: Great Battle


    Trantor: Insignia Editor: Svjohn


    The crowd was grouped together. Those who had responded quicker were running towards the bomb shelter with their children. Most people were strong, as they had gone through many difficulties. Although they looked panicked and helpless, they were still conscious and they followed a certain order.


    "Let¡¯s go to the bomb shelter! Perhaps it¡¯s just a drill?" Wu Xiaoxiao said, taking a deep breath. She was smiling reluctantly.


    There had been a few rms in the city ever since she had arrived at the rehabilitation base. Most of the time, it was only a drill, except the time when the small-scale migration had urred. She thought that might be the same thing.


    "It¡¯s definitely not a drill!" Luo Yuan said with a serious expression. He looked up to the sky instinctively and saw more than 10 tiny, cigar-like spots spurting mes as they flew past their heads.


    Every once in a while, there were a few hundred fighting jets in the sky. From what they could see, there were about 500 jets this time. Not many countries had more than 100 fighting jets, except China, America, and Russia, who had the most powerful military.


    "Brother Luo!" Chen Jiayi interrupted Luo Yuan¡¯s thoughts as she walked towards him.


    "Let¡¯s go home!" Luo Yuan was stunned when he saw her. He was so surprised by her beauty that he could hardly recognize her. However, he recovered from the shock very fast.


    Chen Jiayi nodded. She trusted Luo Yuanpletely. He could sell her to someone else, and she would not say a word.


    "Luo Yuan, stop fooling around!" Wu Xiaoxiao said. She thought Luo Yuan nned to pack his luggage and leave when she saw him insist on going back.


    She went on to say, "There¡¯s a lot of food and resources in the bomb shelter. It¡¯s more than enough to sustain everyone in the city for half a year!"


    "There¡¯s someone waiting for me at home. We have to go," Luo Yuan said sincerely. He was touched to see Wu Xiaoxiao so panicked and mad.


    "Are you insane? They will go to the bomb shelter by themselves! You can look for themter!" Wu Xiaoxiao said anxiously as she saw the crowd dispersing on the street.


    "I can¡¯t take that risk!" Luo Yuan said. He had gone through a lot of hardships with his friends on their way there from the coastal area. He knew all of them had been relying on him, especially the women. They would probably keep waiting for him if he did not return.


    Sun Youde had been waiting for a while before he said, "We will leave first then, see you at the shelter!"


    Luo Yuan nodded and pulled Chen Jiayi along, getting ready to leave.


    "Wait! It seems like it¡¯s not that dangerous yet. Let¡¯s go together!" Wu Xiaoxiao said quickly before she added, "At least that way there will be one more person to help!"


    Sun Youde looked upset. He was not smiling anymore, but nobody had noticed it.


    "Alright, but everyone needs to be quick!" Luo Yuan nodded, realizing he had made an impression on his old schoolmate.


    "Great!" Wu Xiaoxiao said quickly.


    Luo Yuan did not say anything else. He just pulled Chen Jiayi along and began to run slowly. The school was only about three kilometers away from where they lived. The distance was short enough for Luo Yuan, who was physically strong, and Chen Jiayi, who was parasitized by moss. It was really easy for them, even though they ran at normal speed.


    However, it was overwhelming for Wu Xiaoxiao and Sun Youde, who were just ordinary people thatcked any training. They were already gasping and sweating half-way along the journey.


    "Luo Yuan, how long more to go?" Wu Xiaoxiao asked, gasping. She looked very pale as she kept running.


    "We¡¯ll be there soon! It¡¯s not far!" Luo Yuan turned around and took a nce at her. Wu Xiaoxiao seemed to be unable to continue. After pondering it, he asked, "Do you want me to help you?"


    Wu Xiaoxiao hesitated and turned to Sun Youde. Sun Youde shrugged as he saw her look at him. Smiling, he said, "It¡¯s fine. He¡¯s so strong, he¡¯s not even sweating!"


    Luo Yuan smiled, but he remained silent. He released Chen Jiayi¡¯s hand and took Wu Xiaoxiao¡¯s before he started running again. Wu Xiaoxiao¡¯s name reflected her size. She was only 160 cm and 45 kg, which was almost the same as Chen Jiayi. It did not require a lot of strength for Luo Yuan to help her.


    Wu Xiaoxiao had not realized her schoolmate was so strong until he pulled her hand and ran. He was really strong, and his breathing remained unchanged. Even though he had to pull her along, he had no trouble maintaining his speed. His skin was shiny and smooth, and his palm was soft, yet strong. Wu Xiaoxiao¡¯s heart was beating very fast as she smelled his masculine fragrance. Her face suddenly turned red, and she began to feel dizzy.


    Sun Youde gasped and felt his legs go numb. He felt upset as he watched the three of them, who were really far ahead. He was mad because Wu Xiaoxiao would not even look back to check on him along the way.


    ...


    The four of them had finally arrived at the vi. Gasping, Sun Youde sat on the couch straightaway, his face looking very pale. He was surprised that Luo Yuan was staying in such a luxurious district. Even he could not have afforded to live there.


    Actually, he might not have been able to, even if he¡¯d had the money. Real estate properties were not allowed to be traded anymore, so houses were not for sale, even if one had the money. People would be allocated a house once they entered the rehabilitation base. Those who stayed in the luxurious district were usually assistant professors of senior researchers or government officials.


    There was no specific way to categorize people in the rehabilitation base, but it was still pretty obvious that they werebeled, even though no one talked openly about it. People were judged based on their allocated house and the benefits they were granted.


    "Who is this guy?"


    Sun Youde looked upset, but at the same time he felt lucky that he had not offended Luo Yuan.


    Suddenly, a door opened and two women came out of a room. Stunned, Sun Youde stared at them. The elder one did not look special, but her figure was amazing. It was seductive enough to make anyone feel hot.


    The younger one, on the other hand, looked as beautiful as a piece of artwork. Every single part of her was perfect, making it difficult for Sun Youde to resist looking at her.


    The young beauty red at him though, and he quickly turned his gaze away. He was jealous, because he knew the woman belonged to Luo Yuan.


    Luo Yuan looked at them. They were both in their modified suits.


    "Have you called Zhao Yali?" he asked.


    Huang Jiahui stared at him for a second before she said, "I called her earlier when the defense rm was still ringing. She should be here soon. Wang Xiaguang said she¡¯s noting, though."


    Luo Yuan sighed, but he was not surprised. Wang Xiaguang was a tough person, and she had been trying to avoid Luo Yuan ever since she had discovered the truth. Now that they were back in the rehabilitation base, she obviously did not want to have any more contact with him. Everyone made their own choices in life.


    Huang Jiahui secretly observed Wu Xiaoxiao before she smiled and said, "You haven¡¯t introduced us."


    "This is my high school friend, Wu Xiaoxiao, and this is her husband, Sun Youde. We bumped into each other earlier. This is my girlfriend, Huang Jiahui, and this is Wang Shishi," Luo Yuan introduced them briefly.


    They all talked to each other courteously except for Wang Shishi. She remained silent, unhappy with the way Luo Yuan had introduced her.


    They rested for a while until Mu Wenwen finally got there, gasping fast. Still, she looked better thanst time. She had more facial expressions now. Apparently, she¡¯d been having a good timetely.


    Everyone was chitchatting, but their hearts were not in it. As time passed, the ground began to shake a little. Luo Yuan lost his patience and just started walking around the house. The rest of them slowly stopped talking. Wu Xiaoxiao did not dare say a word, even though she had wanted to talk earlier.


    After five more minutes of waiting, Zhao Yali finally arrived.


    "You¡¯rete," Luo Yuan said.


    "I got caught up with one of my colleagues, it was hard to escape," Zhao Yali said ufortably.


    As a beautiful woman, she was never short of admirers. Her superior was being very annoying because he knew Zhao Yali was single. She was a polite woman herself, so she did not like rejecting people. Besides, that man was her superior. It was really difficult for her to reject him firmly, as he used teaching her new things about work as an excuse. Luckily, she had made an excuse about needing to go to the washroom, else he would have followed her there.


    Perhaps Luo Yuan could help her in the future so her superior would not disturb her again.


    "Be careful next time. Let¡¯s go!" Luo Yuan did not say anything else. He just took the Zhanmadao and walked straight towards the bomb shelter of the district.


    There were not many people walking on the street after such a long time. Most of them had already escaped to the bomb shelter. They arrived there soon. The entrance was only half open now, and a group of soldiers was guarding the door.


    "Hurry up! The shelter is closing in three minutes!" a soldier shouted at them angrily when he saw Luo Yuan and his friends.

 Chapter 270: Magnetic Field Reversal

    Chapter 270: Maic Field Reversal


    Trantor: Insignia Editor: Svjohn


    Luo Yuan lowered his body and went through the thick metal door. Underneath the door was a typical basement staircase, and on both sides of it there was light. It was as bright as daylight.


    After crossing five levels about 20 meters deep, they entered a long, three-meter wide channel. Every twenty meters, there was a soldier on duty. It was a pretty tense atmosphere, and everyone could feel the pressure.


    Luo Yuan knocked on the wall of the channel with his weapon¡¯s handle. Using his Sensory Perception, he discovered that the wall was more than a meter thick. That kind of thickness could withstand even a cannon bombardment.


    Luo Yuan was relieved. Against such defense, even a green level mutated beast would need to put some effort to break in. He continued to walk for another minute, passing by three thick metal doors, each about 50 centimeters thick. The noise got gradually louder as the team reached the hall.


    The entire 10,000 square meters of the hall were full of people. Some of them were sitting, and others were standing, but all of them looked anxious and afraid.


    A two-year-old child was crying hard, and a woman kept trying tofort it. Next to her, a man who seemed to be her husband was rummaging around for a bottle, buting up with nothing. It seemed like he had forgotten to bring the bottle, and he looked frustrated.


    A lonely, widowed old man was sitting in the corner, groaning and sighing, sadness shing across his wrinkled face.


    There were also several strong young men discussing what would happen next. Their faces looked excited and high-spirited. There were all kinds of different people with different feelings and expressions in the hall.


    Luo Yuan nced at the crowd and carefully looked around the rough, concrete walls. There were big motivational slogans posted everywhere. There were several channels near the lobby, so he guessed this was not the only hall.


    He took a deep breath. Compared to the dugout before the end of the world, the defense now was clearly more powerful and more sensibly designed. The cement of each survivor hall was rtively independent, so even if one of the halls was destroyed, they could ensure the safety of the other halls by closing the metal door at the entrance of the channel.


    "We have to find a ce to sit!" Wu Xiaoxiao said as her restless heart calmed down.


    Luo Yuan nodded. Apparently, there was no room arrangement under the current circumstances. He found a space randomly and sat down right on the floor. Huang Jiahui and the rest also sat down naturally.


    They were already used to surviving in the wild. Usually, they would care about cleanliness, but in that tense atmosphere, they knew it was more important to be at their best state at any time.


    However, Wu Xiaoxiao and Sun Youde were still not used to it. Wu Xiaoxiao hesitated for a while, but she also sat down eventually. Sun Youde looked at the thick dust. It looked like the hall had not been cleaned in a long time. He could not stand it. Frowning in hesitation, he did not sit down but chose to squat instead.


    Luo Yuan took a nce at Sun Youde, who was squatting as if he was ready to stand up anytime. It might have been safer than sitting down, but it was a bad choice. When one squatted for a long time, it could lead to poor blood cirction and numbness in their feet. When one¡¯s knees were bent in a curve, it was difficult for their muscles to get relief, and when they eventually stood up, they had to move at a slower speed. If they had been outside confronting some kind of danger, such a dy could have proved fatal.


    However, this was a shelter with a strong defense, so he did not expect to face any danger. Therefore, he did not advise Sun Youde not to squat.


    To be honest, the man had made a bad impression on him. It was normal for someone to be hostile when they met a love rival. Luo Yuan would have done the same himself.


    However, this man was clearly different from others. His hostility was abnormal and had a trace of deep malice to it.


    That instinct was based on Luo Yuan¡¯s intuition, which had been trained through experiencing numerous dangers. It was almost impossible for normal people to hide anything from him. People could be trained to hide their true feelings, but no matter how perfect the mask they wore was, they could never fool their own hearts.


    Anyway, Luo Yuan did not care much about it.


    "Where is Cao Lin? Have you seen her?" he asked Huang Jiahui in surprise as he nced around the crowd.


    Wu Xiaoxiao looked a little curious when she heard another woman¡¯s name. All along the way, while she had followed Luo Yuan and his gang, she had thought that her high school ssmate had seemed very mysterious. These women did not seem like ordinary people. They carried weapons with them, and their temperament was different than the average person. Their actions were efficient, and she did not know why, but she felt intimidated by them.


    Although they sat separately, Luo Yuan was still sitting in the center. A few of them sat very close to each other. So close, that she would not believe them if they said they did not have a rtionship. She thought he already had enough women, so she had not expected to hear another woman¡¯s name.


    "I thought you had forgotten about her." Huang Jiahui smiled as she looked at Luo Yuan. "Cao Lin and Huo Dong have been together for some time. He¡¯s a deputy director of the guarding troops now, so he¡¯s arranged a safe ce for his woman."


    Luo Yuan did not respond to Huang Jiahui¡¯s yful expression. He had not done anything wrong, so he had nothing to be scared of. "I never knew!" he said curiously. "Huo Dong never mentioned it."


    Yet now he recalled how cautiously Huo Dong had acted in front of him, and how many times Cao Lin had given him hints when they had been outside the city. It must have been amon secret among the team, but Luo Yuan understood why Huo Dong had been afraid of his reaction if he discovered the truth.


    He shook his head silently. Cao Lin was very pretty and smart, but she had aplicated mindset. That kind of people could thrive under any circumstances, but she was definitely not his type.


    "ording to Huo Dong, there are spare rooms. He can arrange one for us," Huang Jiahui continued. When she saw Luo Yuan look unfazed, she could not help but be secretly relieved. She had really wanted to see Luo Yuan¡¯s reaction, so she had purposely teased him in that naughty tone.


    Cao Lin and Huo Dong were a match made by her. If Luo Yuan found out, he might be displeased. He might even resent her and want to stay away from her. If that happened, she really did not know what she would do.


    She was not as strong as she looked. She was the weaker one in the rtionship, and she had to put up with the existence of Zhao Yali and Wang Shishi so that she did not seem unnecessary.


    ...


    New Beijing was the redevelopment capital.


    It was a new city built in about a year and a half. It was not the country¡¯srgest city, but it was the center of politics and economics. Itsrge number of factories and research institutions ounted for almost two-thirds of the city.


    The chimneys were as dense as a forest, exuding a horrible smokey smell toward the sky day and night. The rich mist was like ayer of soft tulle, shrouded in every corner of the city. Even under the sunlight, the city looked dim and misty.


    Xinhua Road had been amon road name before the end of the world, but it had a significant meaning in this new city.


    If New Beijing was the hub of the country, then that street was the heart of the hub. Almost all central departments were stationed there, so it was tightly guarded. There were guard posts located all along the street, and a dozen armored vehicles were patrolling it back and forth. In addition, about a kilometer away were the most elite troops in New Beijing, coupled with an intensive automated air defensework. Even a mutated fly would not be able to fly over thatwork.


    In the center of the road, there was an inconspicuous small building that was even more closely guarded. If "Wartime Commission" had not been written in red solemn characters on a que, no one would have ever known that this was currently the country¡¯s biggest center of power.


    Those past few days though, the atmosphere there had be very grave.


    It had all started a month ago when a researcher at the Institute of Geology had noticed a strange urrence. He had discovered that the maometer had shifted eight degrees from the Earth¡¯s maic field and that the maic field had also weakened by 12%.


    If this had happened before the end of the world, it would have been sensational news, but now, when human lives were at stake, such a thing was naturally ignored.


    Shifts in a maic field urred often and always changed. The moving tes of the earth caused volcanic eruptions, massive nuclear explosions, and rising sea levels, and could lead to changes in the poles. There had been several times in the earth¡¯s history when a maic field reversal phenomenon had urred. This time though, it was a slightly bigger change.


    Since the end of the world, researchers had been trained not to pay too much attention to detail, so the man had not kept those changes in mind. He had just written down the results in a notebook and put it aside.


    After ten days though, as the subjects he studied had been idle and his thinking had been clogged, he saw the maometer in theboratory and recalled his measurement a few days earlier. In a sudden impulse, he tested it again, and the results made him pale.


    The maometer had shifted 17 degrees, and the maic field had weakened by 21%.


    In just ten days, it had shifted by nine degrees. This was the first time this had happened in human history, so he became a little nervous. At first, he had thought that he had measured it inuratelyst time. He went back home and suffered from insomnia the whole night. The next day, when he measured again, it was 18 degrees. He realized the seriousness of the situation, and he immediately reported it to the institution. The institution reported it right away to the center, and soon the issue had attracted everyone¡¯s attention.


    After several days and nights of research, a more detailed report was presented on the conference table of the Wartime Commission. The results made everyone feel hopeless. All the data showed that the earth¡¯s maic field was about to reverse and rewind at a fast speed. There was no time for them to react or respond in any way.


    The consequences of a maic field reversal would be devastating. Once the maic field was reversed, the first consequence would be that the maic field would start weakening. Taking into ount that it was the Earth¡¯s shield, once the maic field disappeared temporarily, an intense sr wind would blow towards the Earth, and once the ozoneyer burst, UV light would no longer be blocked.


    However, what was even more serious, was that the cosmic storm caused by the burst of the supernova had not been stopped yet. It had just been wandering around the sr system, so if there was no protective maic field, it could lead to more dire consequences.


    Before any of this had happened though, a massive migration of mutated beasts caused by maic field disturbances had been creating a red alert in the Reconstruction Area.


    Insects and birds were undoubtedly more sensitive to the change of the maic field than humans. In fact, when the report was submitted, the satellite had already captured the movement of mutated beasts around the globe.


    Arge number of insects and birds had been moving insanely inrge groups. Even the smallest group was several square kilometers big, and the biggest ones looked hundreds or even thousands of square kilometers wide on the satellite picture. Their density almost formed a huge shadow on the picture.


    The Reconstruction Area was unfortunately on the path of arge influx of insects.


    Prior to this, several bombs, including a hydrogen bomb, had been used to attack those insects in an attempt to intercept them and change their path. However, the results had been dissatisfying. Although the bombs had killed most of the insects, the influx of insects had diffused and be broader, reaching tens of thousands of square kilometers.


    As a result, the center had decided to stop the nuclear attacks. They were not worried about the nuclear winter brought by the excessiveunches of nuclear bombs. In fact, over the past year, there had been more than three thousand nuclearunches globally. On average, ten bombs were detonated almost every day. Some scientists imed that, radiation cloud aside, nuclear winter would curb global warming, which would actually be a positive impact.


    However, the world had not turned colder, and a radiation cloud had not appeared either. The radiation was perfectly absorbed by the massive nts, which were thousands of times more than what the Earth used to have before the end of the world, causing even more mutation.


    They stopped the nuclear attacks simply because it would be a waste to attack at this point. After all, nuclear bombs did not grow on trees, and China was not like the United States or Russia, who owned more than ten thousand nuclear bombs.


    There were only a few hundred bombs in China¡¯s total reserves. Its big territory and arge number of nuclearunches during the earlier part of the end of the world had consumed almost all the country¡¯s inventory.


    Of course, with their current level of productivity, bomb-making would not be too difficult. If they used their full force, they could make up to a few hundred bombs a year. However, due to the scarcity of uranium and its electricity demand, nuclear bomb production was very limited, so their bomb inventory was always empty.


    ...


    Tens of thousands of square kilometers of insects could easily destroy half the Reconstruction Area. Civilization would be hit again and all their effort to rebuild everything would go to waste. More than a dozen army teams with millions of soldiers, who had been put on standby a few days ago, went forward into battle, heading from three different directions.


    The war was starting.

 Chapter 271: The Next Level

    Chapter 271: The Next Level


    Trantor: Insignia Editor: Svjohn


    "The food is here!"


    "I¡¯m so hungry!"


    A group of men dressed in a chef¡¯s clothes were pushing dozens of five-meter tall, huge barrels into the hall. The crowd suddenly became restless. However, in the Reconstruction Area, everyone had to be disciplined. Even starving people had to restrain their desire and queue up patiently.


    Of course, the heavily-armed soldiers in the hall may also have yed a role in that. Luo Yuan stood up and got in line along with the rest of the crowd. There were thousands of people in the hall and dozens of casks. Half an hour had passed before Luo Yuan and the gang received their food.


    Dinner was only two big pies per person, but they weighed around one pound in total. The pies were green in color, and they obviously did not look like they were made of flour.


    "This is a cactus pie. I bet you¡¯ve never heard of it before," Zhao Yali teased Luo Yuan when she noticed his hesitant expression.


    Luo Yuan smiled unnaturally before he asked curiously, "Cactus pies are made of cactus?"


    Indeed, he had never eaten this before. He looked down and bit into the pie, chewing slowly. He found that it tasted very rough when he swallowed it. It scratched his throat as if it was stinging.


    "It¡¯s called a cactus pie, so of course it¡¯s made of cactus. We used to eat this very often in the factory. Steamed, cooked, fried... We had this thing every day for every meal," Mu Wenwen exined when she saw Luo Yuan¡¯s distressed look.


    After she had entered the Reconstruction Area, its disciplined environment and peaceful life had made her insecurities diminish greatly. She was a lot more cheerful than she used to be, and she could talk to everyone now. She was apletely different personpared to the time they had spent in the wild.


    "In fact, what we have been eating is also cactus starch," Huang Jiahui exined embarrassedly, "but it¡¯s finer than this."


    "There is a difference of seven to eight times in price though," Wu Xiaoxiao muttered quietly, trying to hide her shock.


    Regr cactus starch was not pure. There was still a small amount of fiber in it that had not been processed properly. Although that amount was very little, cactus fiber was a few times harder than bamboo fiber. Even if it was ground into powder, it was still very hard to swallow. However, it was cheap inrge quantities and was very filling, so it had be the main dish in the Reconstruction Area.


    Super fine starch, on the other hand, required more than a dozen procedures. By removing the coarse fiber, its taste became almost the same as that of ordinary starch. Of course, it cost as much as three pieces of mutated beast meat. Wu Xiaoxiao¡¯s husband had a decent ie, but they were still reluctant to buy fine starch. Ordinary workers could simply not afford it, so she had never expected anyone to actually use it as a main dish.


    Huang Jiahui blushed. Luo Yuan had gotten used to eating wild meat for every meal when they¡¯d survived in the wild, and he still did while they were there. His three meals a day had to include meat and vegetables, but his recent appetite had been too big, so for almost every meal he ate five or six days¡¯ worth of meals. A thousand dors was considered arge sum of money for the average person, but he¡¯d almost spent that much within a month.


    "Just be honest, Luo Yuan. What is your upation?" Wu Xiaoxiao finally asked. She was really curious about it.


    "I¡¯ve told you, I¡¯m temporarily unemployed," Luo Yuan replied helplessly as he ate quickly, swallowing hisst bite. He took some water from Huang Jiahui and drank it.


    The women secretlyughed.


    "I don¡¯t believe you, but it¡¯s alright if you don¡¯t want to tell," Wu Xiaoxiao said angrily, her mouth twitching. The women¡¯sughter made her even more suspicious.


    "I¡¯m telling the truth!" Luo Yuan said.


    Suddenly, Secretary Zheng entered the hall and looked around. His unique vision helped him spot Luo Yuan and his gang. He was surprised to see Luo Yuan exuding boundless glory. He looked like the sun. When he went closer, he felt as if his soul was burning. Apparently, his strength had improved since thest time they had met.


    He quickly calmed down and greeted him with a warm smile, "Hi, Mr. Luo! You¡¯re here! No wonder I couldn¡¯t find you anywhere else. Mayor Wu has prepared a room for you all. Would you like to go there now?"


    Luo Yuan was stunned for a moment before he smiled and stood up. "Hello, Secretary Zheng. Would it be too much trouble for you?"


    "It¡¯s our pleasure to invite you, it¡¯s no trouble at all!" Secretary Zheng said quickly, his heart fluttering as he shook Luo Yuan¡¯s hand. Although he was in politics now, he was still an evolved human, so he was more fascinated with strength and power than the average person.


    "There¡¯s a lot of us here. Are you sure you can arrange it?" Luo Yuan asked embarrassedly.


    "Seven of you? Of course, no problem!" Secretary Zheng said immediately as he nced at the group.


    To be honest, he was kind of frightened to be talking to such a strong man. The gap between them was too huge, and he felt that he might lose his life if he said anything wrong.


    Wu Xiaoxiao and Sun Youde were shocked by Secretary Zheng¡¯s flustered look. Who was Luo Yuan to get such special treatment from the mayor?


    "Since you have invited us so kindly, let us go to the room," Luo Yuan said.


    ...


    He discovered that there was another level below the shelter.


    "This level is mainly a warehouse. It stores arge number of goods, such as food, water, ammunition, fuel, and so on, plus a spare factory. This way, even if the shelter ispletely closed, we can survive for up to a year," said Secretary Zheng.


    Noticing that everyone looked confused, he quickly added, "Of course, the ammunition depots are far from the residential areas. Don¡¯t worry, we have adequate istion facilities, so even if there¡¯s an explosion, we will not be affected."


    Everyone was relieved by his exnation. No one would want to sleep next to an ammunition depot that could easily cost them their lives.


    "Secretary Zheng, do you know what happened outside?" Zhao Yali suddenly asked.


    Luo Yuan was curious about it, too. It seemed like it was a very big issue this time. Desert City could possibly have been destroyed.


    The question made Secretary Zheng halt. He hesitated for a long time before he whispered, "It¡¯s a secret. You can¡¯t spread it out. We do not want to cause panic among the poption."


    Everyone quickly nodded their heads.


    "We have received a message from Top Management that a huge insect influx will pass through here. A few days ago, the war began at the frontline, but it hasn¡¯t been going well. Once the frontline falls, Desert City may be temporarily evacuated."


    Luo Yuan¡¯s expression was serious. "In other words, we will stay here for a long time."


    "It is possible, but if the situation bes even worse, we might need to retreat to the next city," Secretary Zheng said, "After all, Desert City¡¯s poption is nearly a million people. There are a lot of machines and equipment, and if they¡¯re not maintained properly, they will rust very soon. Top Management certainly does not want to waste resources."


    Although productivity in the Reconstruction Area had recovered, it still could not bepared to the time before the end of the world. Some equipment could not even be produced anymore, so it had to be salvaged from the upied zone that had huge human and material resources. With the passage of time, most of the equipment in the upied zone had already gotten damaged though, so they could not search around for materials and equipment like before. Every loss of equipment counted now.


    "But there is only one double-track train in the underground with just two trucks. How could so many people and equipment be transported out in such a short time?" said Sun Youde with a pale face. Living through the Great Migration had made him sensitive and deeply aware that during critical times, the priority would always the equipment, talent, women, and children.


    During the Great Migration, many people had been brutally abandoned. The rebels had been shot to death by machine guns, and there had also been countless people who had died on the way, some of them getting eaten by mutated beasts. All these cruel scenes had been giving him nightmares.


    Even though the Reconstruction Area was rtively safe those days, during critical times there was always prioritization. His identity had been different back then, and his degree of importance had been good enough for him to be included in the first migration. Sun Youde had suddenlye to a lot of realizations.


    Secretary Zheng stared at him in dissatisfaction as he said, "This is just my guess. It depends on the specific circumstances of the changing situation and the decisions from the top management. Even if the situation deteriorated dramatically though, at least the shelter would still be safe. If it¡¯s impossible for everyone to migrate, the rest of the people could still survive for up to a year with the supplies here. Such a long time would be sufficient to rebuild the area and regain the lost ground."


    Everyone rxed. No matter how bad the situation was, at least it would be safe for them to stay there.


    They continued to walk for a few minutes before they stopped in front of a warehouse. Secretary Zheng opened the door to a three to four square meter room. "This was an office area originally, but it was too big, so most of it has been turned into dormitories. Mr. Luo, you will live here. Hot water and meals will be sent soon. If there is anything you need, you cane find me. I am in room 2033. You can also go directly to Mayor Wu. We are in the same room."


    "We have..." Wu Xiaoxiao was about to say that they¡¯d already eaten, but she was held back by Huang Jiahui. Suddenly, she understood, and quickly shut her mouth.


    Huang Jiahui knew that, considering Luo Yuan¡¯s big appetite, the cactus pies he had eaten earlier would not have been enough. She had actually nned on giving him her own pies, but if there was going to be a meal delivered, she would definitely not be giving them away.


    Once Secretary Zheng left, the team walked into the room. It was arranged like a student dormitory. There was a small space with eight beds, enough to amodate everyone. There was also a bathroom inside.


    The room was simple, but in this narrow, overcrowded shelter, they could not ask for much more.


    "Huo Dong said he would arrange a room for us. Howe you still followed Secretary Zheng to this room?" Huang Jiahui whispered, pulling Luo Yuan to the side.


    "It¡¯s not easy to get a room in this shelter, and he has just arrived, so he should not have that much power. I guess it¡¯s the military behind him who will arrange for it," Luo Yuan exined. He had been there for so long that his name should have reached the top ranks by now. It would be strange if the military didn¡¯te to recruit him.


    "Do you have anything against the military?" Huang Jiahui was confused.


    "Of course not. But I¡¯m more familiar with the other side, and they¡¯re easier to deal with," Luo Yuanughed.


    The military was always tough, and they followedmands dutifully. Especially in this difficult situation, in the eyes of the army, everyone was a soldier. By contrast, politicians were much more tactful and easier to deal with.


    Luo Yuan was used to acting freely, so it was hard for him to adjust to military life. Plus, no matter how strong he was, the power of an individual was negligible on the battlefield. Luo Yuan never expected that trouble would still find him, considering how much he tried to avoid it.


    Less than five minutester, there was a knock on the door.

 Chapter 272: Argument

    Chapter 272: Argument


    Trantor: Insignia Editor: Svjohn


    Wang Shishi opened the door. There was a middle-aged guy in a colonel¡¯s uniform behind Huo Dong.


    "Brother Luo, this is Officer Liu," Huo Dong introduced them, standing aside helplessly.


    Luo Yuan was surprised that such a great man would visit him. He walked over and said, "I did not expect your visit, but I¡¯m d you¡¯re here."


    "I¡¯ve been wanting to meet you, but I haven¡¯t gotten the chance. I heard that there was a super-evolved man from Desert City, and I just couldn¡¯t help visiting when I saw you guys pass by earlier. Please ept my apology for acting on my impulse," Officer Liu said with a smile. He walked into the room, shaking hands with Luo Yuan.


    "We are pleased to wee you, Officer Liu. We have nothing to serve you though. I hope you don¡¯t mind," Luo Yuan replied as he made room for him to enter.


    "Indeed, this ce is too simple. There¡¯s nothing much here. Little Huo, go bring a few cartons of canned food. I¡¯ll write an approval for youter," Officer Liu turned and told Huo Dong as he looked around the ce.


    Luo Yuan¡¯s expression changed as some thoughts formed in his head. Officer Liu seemed quite dominant.


    "Yes, sir!" Huo Dong said quickly, looking pointedly at Huang Jiahui before leaving the room.


    Huang Jiahui got his message right away. She made an excuse and then left the room along with everyone else, closing the door behind her.


    "How can I help you, Officer Liu?" Luo Yuan asked directly when he saw everyone leave.


    The man stopped smiling and sat down. Staring at Luo Yuan, he said, "Since you are being so direct, I¡¯ll just say it frankly. I heard that you haven¡¯t found a job yet, and it would be wasteful for you to have a normal job anyway. I¡¯d like to know whether you¡¯d be keen on joining the army."


    Officer Liu was plump with a round face, and he looked kind when he smiled. However, his ordinary features made him look like a man with powerful military authority when he wasn¡¯t smiling. An ordinary person would have felt their limbs go numb and started to sweat when they saw him.


    "Is this considered a recruitment?" Luo Yuan asked seriously.


    "You may call it that, or you can consider it an invitation," Officer Liu said with a frown.


    "I¡¯m not sure if I can," Luo Yuan said calmly.


    "Military service is an obligation for every male adult, and rejecting it is considered to be a betrayal of the country. Are you sure you want to say no?" Officer Liu said, clearly upset.


    Luo Yuan felt furious, but he was not an ungrateful person. Captain Zhou, Commander Xia and several soldiers had helped him a lot along the way, and all of them had gained his respect.


    The battles during the end of the world were a lot crueler than the battles during the First and Second World War had been. That was because their opponents were not humans anymore, but beasts. It was impossible for them to surrender, and they could not negotiate either. As soon as one joined the army, their chances of dying increased dramatically.


    However, ever since he had entered the rehabilitation base, he had been influenced by the positive spirit of Desert City; thebor workers, as well as the hardworking students and the dedicated researchers. He had been affected by the environment, despite the fact that he used to be selfish.


    If Officer Liu had been sincere, he would have said yes. After all, it was his responsibility to his family and the human nation, even though he did not like the army or wish to give up his freedom.


    However, the man had acted dominatingly and tried to threaten him. Did he think Luo Yuan was some kind of pushover he could order around whenever and however he wanted?


    Although Luo Yuan did not know much about the army, he had heard from Huo Dong that the third line did not have any good evolved men. Any men that they had were transferred to the front line. As a result, Luo Yuan knew Officer Liu¡¯s intention was to recruit him and hand him over to his superior in exchange for a favor.


    He was scumpared to the soldiers who died to protect their country.


    "Get out!" Luo Yuan yelled angrily, his expression changing. The emotions bottled up inside him suddenly exploded.


    Officer Liu turned pale immediately, beads of sweat dripping down his forehead. Luo Yuan had unconsciously released his anger. He did not actually see him as an enemy. Otherwise, his soul would have been scattered and he would have fallen into aa.


    Fearful, Officer Liu felt a pain in his chest. He wanted to scare Luo Yuan again, but after witnessing his cold re, he realized that this was not an evolved man trained by the military, but someone who had traveled through half of China and killed numerous mutated beasts along the way. ording to Huo Dong, he could be a sixth level evolved man. There was ament in one of the reports about him stating, "Extremely dangerous!"


    He had to be insane to threaten Luo Yuan. Officer Liu did not dare stay any longer. He stood up and quickly left the room, forgetting to even say goodbye.


    He opened the door and saw Huo Dong and the others standing there with a shocked expression on their faces. There were a few wooden containers set aside. Obviously, it was the canned food. Officer Liu smiled reluctantly before quickly walking away and disappearing from the corridor.


    Zhao Yali quickly entered the room and asked anxiously, "Why did you insult him?"


    He had been too loud, so everyone had heard him clearly. Officer Liu was the Guardian Officer, one of the decision makers in Desert City. Zhao Yali panicked at the thought of Luo Yuan offending such a powerful person.


    "Brother Luo, Officer Liu is no gentleman. He will seek revenge. You should watch out," Huo Dong warned him.


    "You¡¯re joking, right? You¡¯re the one who brought him here," Wang Shishi said angrily when she saw Huo Dong act like it was no big deal.


    Huo Dong smiled awkwardly. He could not do anything because of his position. He would seem like a traitor no matter what he did. His happy days were over now that Officer Liu had been insulted.


    "It¡¯s alright, Shishi. We can¡¯t me Huo Dong this time. He had no choice. Perhaps I¡¯m the one who caused him trouble," Luo Yuan said with a smile.


    Huo Dong felt touched that Luo Yuan had defended him. He quickly said, "He is not the only decision maker. There are several more powerful people. He can¡¯t do anything to me. I¡¯d rather he transferred me to the frontline anyway. I¡¯ll get rusty here."


    "Luo Yuan, I think that you should go and apologize. Perhaps he would forgive you. You know Mayor Wu, right? Could you ask him for help?" Wu Xiaoxiao said.


    "You¡¯re right. We could ask some more people if you don¡¯t have enough money," Sun Youde said, although he was actually feeling happy about the situation.


    "Why would we beg others?" Wang Shishi said, clearly upset. "We might as well kill him. You know where he lives, Huo Dong, right?"


    The room suddenly became quiet.


    Sun Youde looked frightened at the words that hade out of her mouth. Are you kidding? He secretly observed everyone else. They did not seem to be joking. Everyone looked thoughtful, including Zhao Yali. She had furrowed her beautiful eyebrows. Who the hell are these people?


    Wu Xiaoxiao looked frightened as well. Her face had turned pale. She was looking at their anxious expressions until Luo Yuan started to speak again.


    "You think we¡¯re still in the outskirts or in the forest? We have to obey the rules of the rehabilitation base," Luo Yuan lectured Wang Shishi before he continued, "They would know we¡¯re the murderers if Officer Liu died right after visiting me."


    "Besides, you can¡¯t just kill people whenever you have an argument. Let¡¯s see how things go. Hopefully, he can be slightly more rational," Luo Yuan said. He was not worried about the issue at all. He believed Officer Liu had forgotten all about the argument and could only remember his fear of Luo Yuan.


    Wu Xiaoxiao was stunned as she listened to how calmly Luo Yuan talked about killing someone. She suddenly felt awkward being with the high school friend she had once been so familiar with.

 Chapter 273: Near

    Chapter 273: Near


    Trantor: Insignia Editor: Svjohn


    Officer Liu returned to his room and sat on the bed. It was only a short distance but it seemed to have consumed all his energy. He naturally took out his cigarette and lighter and then tried to light his cigarette. Only after a few attempts did he seed and he then took a heavy drag on his cigarette. The smoke from the mutated tobo was inhaled into his lungs and his brain immediately felt dizzy. It took him a while to recover.


    He suddenly felt cold and realized that his body was wet and his undershirt was soaked due to heavy perspiration. As one of the important decision makers of Desert City, the ce he was staying in was a lot better than other peoples. The room was bright and spacious with numerous electrical appliances. It was almost the equivalent of a three-star hotel before the end of the world.


    However, the cozy ce he has did not bring any security to him and he hated it a lot. He wondered why the management arranged a single room for him because even a dorm with eight people is much better than being alone. He started to shiver once he recalled Luo Yuan¡¯s re at him earlier. It was like an immeasurable amount of fear which could suffocate him. He has never felt so close to death in his life. Even thinking about it made him fearful.


    Officer Liu had no doubt in Luo Yuan¡¯s ability to kill him even if he had armies under hismand. What more when he was alone in the room. There were only two security guards and no one else. Those guards would totally useless against the likes of Luo Yuan.


    "What if hees and kills me today?" Officer Liu thought to himself.


    The frightening and scary appearance of Luo Yuan had been magnified and Officer Liu¡¯s body started to tremble. He even struggled to stand up and felt hopeless. The feeling lingered with him in his room along with a lot of frustration. It is one thing to feel stressed or worried but it is worse to know that there is nothing you can do about it.


    The next morning, breakfast was delivered to him by a security guard. Only then did he realize that a night had passed and he was still alive! But his excitement quickly faded as he felt this could just be temporary. He proceeded to wave his hand to ask the guards to leave. He looked at the cigarette butts on the floor and massaged his face. His eyes were bloodshot and he thought to himself, "I must fix the rtionship between us before he takes any action. The best thing to do is to transfer him to somewhere where he cannot hurt me!"


    His eyes were blinking rapidly as he thought of this idea. Wanting to act hastily, he shouted, "Little Hu, call Huo Dong from the logistic department to see me."


    He looked at the cigarette butts on the floor again and frowned. He then continued speaking, "Wait! Ask someonee and clean my room first."


    ...


    Compared to Office Liu who had not slept well the entire night, Luo Yuan was not affected at all. He was awake on time from his biological rm. However, he did not go for training immediately like how he used to. Other than the granary, there was a corridor in the basement two. The room was very small; other than the beds on the both sides there was only a meter wide walkway. That was too narrow for him to go on with his usual training. Thus, he only relied on his Will to train his physique.


    He suddenly touched his front teeth and smiled awkwardly. His teeth had grown extremely strong to the point where he could easily break the bones of a mutated beast by biting hard on them. However, it started to shake recently. Simrly, his other teeth have also started shaking and degenerating. "What¡¯s wrong with them? Should I remove them?" Luo Yuan wondered in his mind. He felt embarrassed to do so because when people see that his front teeth are missing they wouldugh, especially Wang Shishi.


    He was not concerned about why his teeth were loose as he always checked his body carefully with his Will. He was already familiar with the human body and understood that he was in the process of growing new teeth. Humans usually undergo teeth growth twice in a lifetime. Once when they are born, and another when they are around 10 years old. However, this is going to be the third time this will happen in his life!


    Since he became an evolved human being, he has experienced multiple physical changes. His properties have been continuously strengthened by the system, but since this process is gradual the effect was not so obvious. However, his Strength has been increased by 60-70% while his Dexterity has been increased by 20%. His Physique has increased by 30% but he could not estimate the current level of his Intelligence. Nheless, he could perceive that his thought process was more analytical nowadays as he could clearly analyze the cause of his problems. Based on his current abilities, he could easily kill three or more people who had the same strength he had one month ago.


    ...


    Coming back to deciding what to do with his teeth, Luo Yuan finally decided to keep his front teeth until the day it falls off naturally to maintain his image. Based on the speed that his new teeth were growing, it should happen in theing few days. Suddenly, everyone started waking up one by one and Luo Yuan no longer wanted to continue lying in bed. He did not take off his shirt as both males and females were staying together now. He removed his nket and jumped down from his bed.


    Huo Dong came in when he just finished washing his face. He called for Luo Yuan with a strange expression on his face. He took out a stack of food stamps and said awkwardly, "Brother Luo, this is from Officer Liu to express his apology. He would like me to tell you that it was just a misunderstanding. He hopes you can ept his sincerest apologies."


    Luo Yuan had the impression that his efforts yesterday were quite good. It was such a big stack of food stamp; there were at least 10,000 pieces! He was so impressed that he did not even suspect Officer Liu could have been involved with bribery to be able to have such a big amount of food stamps. This was also because Officer Liu has partial authority to trade in the meats of mutated beasts. Thus, he must be very stupid if he needed to be involved with bribery to get these food stamps.


    During the end of the world, some second-tier soldiers would travel to the outskirts to practice against many mutated beasts. Although they could not bepared to the frontline, they made quite a lot from those meats. Luo Yuan epted the food stamps happily and said, "Please help me pass a message to Officer Liu. We will see how things goter."


    "Alright, Brother Luo. How did you manage to pull this off? I think Office Liu did not sleep the entire night. His eyes were as red as a bunny¡¯s." Huo Dong asked curiously. Huo Dong did not sound like he had any respect for Officer Liu. Perhaps he was being pretentious in front of him. Luo Yuan looked at Huo Dong for a while and said, "I can tell you if you want to try its effects." He was hinting to Huo Dong that he could brainwash minds and make them follow his every instruction. That kind of power was sufficient to bring out fear from the bottom of their hearts.


    "No, please." Huo Dong was frightened and quickly shook his head. Brother Luo was getting more mysterious these days; who knows what other scary powers he had. Huo Dong felt that he did not want to be a victim to anything dangerous from Luo Yuan.


    Zhao Yali looked upset and pulled Luo Yuan aside. She whispered, "Little Yuan, it doesn¡¯t feel right to take other people¡¯s money. Shall we return it?" She looked tired as she probably did not sleep wellst night. Luo Yuan tapped on her shoulder and Huo Dong immediately spoke before Luo Yuan could say anything to her, "Sister Zhao, don¡¯t create any problems for me, please. I wouldn¡¯t have a single good day if I fail toplete my mission."


    Huang Jiahui was smiling beside him but she did not speak. She was not as weak as Zhao Yali and she has a lot more experience. She did not think it was a big deal to offend Officer Liu. Besides that, she believed Luo Yuan could handle the situation properly. Worste to worst, they would just have to move out and wander around. They have gotten used to that life anyway.


    "Don¡¯t worry, Sister Yali. He would worry if I don¡¯t ept it and we would be in even more trouble at that time." Luo Yuan exined.


    "He is right. Yali, it¡¯s alright. Don¡¯t worry." Huang Jiahui tried to convince her.


    Zhao Yali finally felt relieved when Huang Jiahui told her it would be fine. She then said to Huo Dong, "Since you¡¯re here, join us for breakfast?"


    "Oh, no. I need to go. I have to report to Officer Liu, he is waiting for me." Huo Dong waved his hand apologetically and smiled awkwardly. He quickly left after a short chat.


    Suddenly, Luo Yuan sensed the ground was shaking ever so slightly followed by a sound of two objects colliding. The sound was dull but heavy, just like thunder before the rain. It was very difficult for those who have experienced the apocalypse to forget that sound.


    "Cannon! That¡¯s a cannon! The bugs seemed to have conquered the peripheral defense circle!" His expression changed immediately.

 Chapter 274: Reunion

    Chapter 274: Reunion


    Trantor: Insignia Editor: Svjohn


    "I wonder how the giant lizard and King Kong are doing." Luo Yuan was clearly worried. "I hope they survive." He thought to himself.


    After breakfast, Luo Yuan took his Zhanmadao and pulled it out from its sheath. He felt as though his skin was being poked by needles. Perhaps, it was because he has been influencing it with his will and it could also be because he turned his saber into a weapon which is as powerful as a beast. Usually, it was difficult for insects to go near to it but now even dust would not fall on it as well.


    Wu Xiaoxiao looked at it for a second and felt scared. Since the incident from yesterday, she tended to keep a safe distance from Luo Yuan and that made Sun Youde feel relieved. Luo Yuan wiped the de with his palm and then inserted it back into its sheath again. He felt calmer now.


    Right before noon, the environment in the shelter became panic-stricken as many of the soldiers retreated from the front line and returned to the refuge. Many of the medical crew members were deployed under the announcement from the authorities through the speakers. The situation outside the shelter was getting worse - a second and third batch of injured soldiers were sent back. The severity of the injuries was getting worse as well. Basement one was soon fully upied and by that evening, basement two was cleared and converted into a military ward.


    The atmosphere was filled with the smell of antiseptic and there were many people wearing protective suits spraying antibacterial solution at every single corner of the ward including the nkets and tableware.


    The guarding soldiers of Desert City felt as though they were being attacked by huge armies. Many of them were on duty near the hospital and were fully armored. They could constantly hear firing sounds along with screaming and moaning from the victims.


    The powers of these mutated beasts were strange and some were very poisonous which could infect genes and spread viruses. It would certainly not be a minor injury if you get hurt. Parasite infections, mutations, and infections were verymon among wounded soldiers and fortunately, the rehabilitation base has learned its lesson from previous encounters and now have a better management system.


    Luo Yuan could not stand the strong smell of antiseptic so he walked out of his room. Unfortunately, the corridor area was now almost as bad as the inside of his room which did not make things better. Suddenly, the door from the opposite room was opened and a well-built man who was about two meters tall walked out from the room.


    Luo Yuan naturally looked at him and the guy smiled and took out a packet of cigarettes. He was offering one to Luo Yuan but he proceeded to only light one cigarette and smoked alone after learning that Luo Yuan was not keen to ept. Based on Luo Yuan¡¯s general observations, this man must have been an addict before and had not smoked for a long time as the entire cigarette was puffed away in just a matter of seconds.


    Luo Yuan¡¯s nose was sensitive enough to pick up his foul odor which could not be covered by the smell of antiseptic. He could not control his eyes and looked at the man again. It was apparent that the muscr man had not bathed for a very long time as he could see thickyers of dirt umted on his skin. Besides that, the clean clothes he was wearing could not really fit his body. Luo Yuan pondered and asked, "Hey friend! When did you move here?"


    "This afternoon. I came with the soldiers!" The buff man smiled and said.


    Luo Yuan felt something was wrong as the residents of Desert City should have moved in yesterday. He did not say anything but asked, "This afternoon? I¡¯m just curious... are you a soldier?"


    "You don¡¯t think I look like a soldier, do you?" The buff man asked.


    "Those who came here are injured but I don¡¯t see any signs of injuries on you. And... yeah, you really don¡¯t look like one." Luo Yuan smiled and said.


    Luo Yuan got a little pissed off as there was hardly anyone who dared to be so cocky in front of himtely. Suddenly, a guy with a pair of spectacles came out from next door and red at the buff man. He said in an unsatisfying tone, "What are you doing outside, Lao Xie? Come in!"


    He then smiled to Luo Yuan and said, "I¡¯m sorry, my buddy is very rude. Hope you don¡¯t mind."


    "Oh, it¡¯s alright. It was nice to talk." Luo Yuan smiled and said.


    Luo Yuan stopped smiling as he saw the two of them enter the room. Those people were up to no good and they both looked familiar to Luo Yuan. He must have seen them somewhere before.


    ...


    "Lao Xie, you¡¯re too careless! I¡¯ve told you to be more careful. None of them are ordinary people here. Luckily, I let Peng Hui go out to find you, otherwise, the soldiers would havee." Su Yu said with an upset expression.


    "I didn¡¯t do anything, I was only trying to scare him." Lao Xie lowered his chin and muttered. He did not argue as he knew the scary power of that young chap, Su Yu. He was nothingpared to Su Yu, even though he had the strength of a giant.


    "Threatened him? Damn it! Do you know what you are doing? You should know better that this is not the forest anymore. This is a rehabilitation base! We are yet to have the authority to do anything we want. Are you expecting Sister Mo to settle all our problems? Su Yu said sarcastically. An electrostatic field suddenly formed in the room as he got agitated. Sparks could be seen and heard from the room.


    "I¡¯m wrong, brother. I won¡¯t repeat it again." Lao Xie quickly apologized as he could feel the pain of his hair being pulled due to the electrostatic force.


    "Alright, alright. He did not mean it, Xiao Yu." Mo Qiwen said weakly. Her face was pale and her skin looked white as she just fell sick.


    "Since Sister Mo helped you, I¡¯ll let you go. But please don¡¯t repeat the same mistake." The young guy felt sad for Sister Mo and became calmer.


    Those people were actually the wanderers who were seen by Luo Yuan earlier. After entering the refuge, they realized it was very difficult for them to control the entire Desert City.


    "I¡¯ve walked around just now. The office of the municipal government was sealed tightly with a high level of security. There must be many evolved men inside. I was blocked before I could get any closer. It will be very difficult to enter unless we attack them." A guy who looked ordinary but had sharp eyes said.


    "They are challenging us. The soldiers on guard duty would not ignore us and by the time the rehabilitation base is able to fight, Desert City might have already copsed." Su Yu said with a very serious expression but then sighed. Based on his level of power, he could easily rule Desert City. He did not have to act so carefully or make any ns in fact.


    "I can try again tomorrow. I think I¡¯ll be fine tomorrow after resting." Mo Qiwen said.


    "What you should do now is to rest and get well soon. We will see how things go. It¡¯s not necessary to rush as we have time." Su Yu said. He would not let Sister Mo take the risk even if they are going to fail.


    Although her hypnotization power is very effective, there were limits and restrictions to it. It would consume a lot of her energy to hypnotize someone or something. Moreover, the stronger the Will of that person, the more energy it would consume.


    All the while, she has been hypnotizing seven or eight people simultaneously which has consumed almost all her energy. She was near to death but luckily for her, she managed to recover just before passing out.


    Su Yu did not say anything but he was worried. Although they finally entered basement two after a few trial and errors, their illegal identity would be exposed in no time. By that time, he would have no choice but to get Mo Qiwen to use her powers.


    He raised his chin but sighed in his heart. He wondered why ordinary people could not understand the fact that they were going to be extinct if they were against development and could not evolve or adapt. Although the current strategy did not sound morally right, he felt that it would lead to a brighter futureter.

 Chapter 275: New Mission

    Chapter 275: New Mission


    Trantor: Insignia Editor: Svjohn


    Everyone in the refuge was anxious and felt insecure in the past two days due to the noise from the bombings as well as the sight of many injured soldiers returning to the refuge. Especially today, almost half of the soldiers on guard duty have now been posted to the frontline. Fortunately, Huo Dong was in the logistics department and did not have to follow them. However, he knew that safety would notst forever.


    The frequency of his visits have been increasing over thest few days and his conversations were full of negativity. Luo Yuan did not intend to ask him anything. However, based on what Huo Dong said, he did not seem to think that the future of the rehabilitation base would get any better.


    On the third day, Luo Yuan with his sensitive six senses could clearly hear the buzzing sound of mutated bugs¡¯ wings. Apparently, there were numerous mutated bugs near the city. On that day, speakers which were installed to cheer the residents up and to announce good news from the battlefield had stopped working. It was extremely quiet in the area.


    On the fifth day, there were no more injured soldiers being sent to the refuge and the sound of bombs going off began to reduce. It seemed like the war hade to an end. However, soldiers that were sent to guard the frontline never returned. Huo Dong had been staying in the hostel the entire day. Everyone was anxious and nervous. Many did not even utter a single word as they knew the situation was getting worse instead of better.


    The troops were either all dead or had retreated strategically. The city was left behind and the refuge had be an abandoned town. Time had passed and the great migration did not happen ording to how it was nned. Luo Yuan finally knew the reason when he received a message from the system in the afternoon.


    "D-Level mission: Clear all mutated bugs at the train station underground. Time Restriction: None. ept/Decline."


    Luo Yuan expression turned serious... he took a deep breath and then clicked ¡®Confirm¡¯!


    He knew that he had toplete the mission regardless of whether the purpose was to upgrade his power or migrate smoothly. He thought to himself that perhaps he could bear the unstable or uncertain life and live a good life. However, he knew that not everyone could live a life like that when he looked at Huang Jiahui and Zhao Yali.


    They were looking forward to a stable life in a peaceful environment. They wanted to be free and to live confidently instead of being anxious and feeling insecure all the time. These were not the days that Luo Yuan could rx either. He also wished to have a life where he did not need to keep his eyes half open while he sleeps and hold his saber tightly every single second.


    Based on their current situation though, he could not decline the mission. For him or for them, it was the same. He sighed silently and wiped his clean Zhanmadao again although there was no dust on it.


    "Luo Yuan, are you alright?" Huang Jiahui asked softly. She looked at Luo Yuan anxiously as she could sense he was not in a good mood.


    "I¡¯m fine, just thought about something suddenly. Don¡¯t worry, things will get better." Luo Yuan stopped frowning and then smiled to Zhao Yali.


    However, what she returned to him was a supercilious look. Luo Yuan actually felt extremely stressed at that moment. That was the second time he received a D-Level mission after the special mission of killing the Giants. It meant that he might be able to meet a green level creature during the mission.


    Green level creatures are totally differentpared to those of a lower rank. Those which were below the green level were nothing out of the ordinary. However, once they rise to the ranks of a green level creature, their life would be very colorful as they would have numerous superpower. For example, the snake scales which he had could split mountain and water; the feathers of the green bird had an ionic sma force field which proved how scary and powerful some creatures could be. It has been almost half a year since he killed the giant snake with some luck. He is much stronger now as his strengths, intelligence and dexterity have been upgraded by 50 %pared previous times. Hisbat abilities have increased more than 10-fold. Besides that, he has been getting more familiar with his own properties and skills. Now, he has already transferred all his knowledge into every single cell in his body. However, he believed that it would be just as messy as the previous encounter he had with those super creatures. He held his fists tightly as he thought about that.


    After lunch, a government official came as expected. Luo Yuan was surprised that it was not Secretary Zheng. Instead, it was a middle-ageddy. She was not that young anymore as he could see the wrinkles at the end of her eyes. Her kids should be around seven to eight years old if she had one or more. Her skin was fair and her body figure was well maintained. She looked professional and elegant. However, her attitude was dull just like a typical government servant who spoke precisely without any emotion. It made Luo Yuan feel curious. Based on her attitude, she probably did not know his identity.


    Usually, almost all the government servants treated him passionately and courteously but she did not, which made him feel curious about her. Due to his special identity, he used to receive a lot of ¡®care¡¯ but he was wondering why the upper management would send someone who knew nothing about him this time. Understandably, he had no interest in politics now and he did not think more about it. He picked up his saber and then followed the government servant after saying goodbye to everyone. Luo Yuan peeped at the room next door before he left, the room was empty with the door left opened.


    "Have the people living there moved out already?" Luo Yuan was trying to find something to talk about while walking with her.


    "I have no idea because I¡¯m not in charge of hostel matters." Thedy said and walked very quickly without turning back.


    "Do you know how many people will be joining the mission?" Luo Yuan smiled and asked.


    "I am only in charge of informing all evolved men in the B1 area. I don¡¯t have theplete name list with me!" Thedy frowned and said.


    "Oh, do you know..." Luo Yuan wanted to continue but was interrupted.


    "I¡¯m just a regr clerk, you can talk to the chief secretary of the evolved men affairs section from the Civil Affairs Bureau if you have any more questions."


    He wanted to ask about Secretary Zheng but did not expect to be interrupted like that. Luo Yuan did not try anymore.


    ...


    Luo Yuan was unlucky as he was the first one to be notified. Thus, he had to apany thedy to inform every evolved man on her name list one by one. An hour had passed by the time everyone rushed to the training room and gathered there. They waited another half an hour until everyone was finally there.


    That was the first time he realized there were so many evolved men in Desert City! He nced across the room and got the number in just a few seconds. The total was 78 people. Most of them were wearing the uniform of a soldier and the rest made up less than one-third of the crowd. Apparently, most of the evolved men have been recruited by the armies and the rest... His good sense of hearing suddenly heard two of the evolved men talking and he realized those who were not in uniform were not normal citizens as well.


    "Captain! What¡¯s happening now? How is it so that security guards have to go to the frontline?" An evolved manined.


    "This is the arrangement by the upper management, I¡¯m not sure." Another evolved man said softly, "But I heard that was approved by themittee board!"


    "All these people are nonsensical! Who is going to protect the government if all of us go together? There are many extreme evolved men nowadays!" That evolved man said with an upset expression.


    "There are armies guarding the ce, don¡¯t worry!" The evolved man who was being assigned as the captain said arrogantly.


    He then continued, "However, we need to be very careful this time. Otherwise, we might die. There are many mutated bugs out there, I can foresee half of us might not be able to return."


    "Sure, Captain! I¡¯ll be careful. We can get the soldiers from the squadron to help each other. That will be safer." The other evolved man nodded and said.


    "Just do it, I will get the Lieutenant Colonel."


    ...


    After a while, a marching sound spread into his ears. A huge Lieutenant Colonel came together with his fully armored soldiers and marched into the hall. He red around the ce and everyone immediately became quiet.


    He was very tall and buff; his face looked strict and serious with an extremely clean and neat uniform. He gave quite a good first impression to Luo Yuan.


    "Well, most of you are soldiers and there are some of you from the government security section. I understand that there are some who are ssified as non-governmental evolved men. I¡¯m not good at giving a sweet talk or giving any false hope, however, I know the main duty of a soldier is to obey military instructions. You can opt out if you have a different opinion.


    No one spoke a single word including Luo Yuan.


    "Excellent!" He said with a satisfied look and continued, "This mission is very important as it is rted to the important assets of the nation as well as its people. It is rted to the safety of nearly 100,000 residents in Desert City, which also means it is rted to the life of your family members. As an evolved man, I always believe that the stronger we are, the more responsibilities we must bear. Someone who has no collective mindset could not survive for long in this cruel world even if he is very powerful."


    "Alright, I¡¯m going to stop the nonsense now! I¡¯ll lead the troops this time toplete the mission!"


    "Everyone, get ready now. Let¡¯s go!"

 Chapter 276: Desolated city

    Chapter 276: Dested city


    Trantor: Insignia Editor: Svjohn


    The officer was very strict, and the contingent was surging forward.


    "The officer should be an evolved man as well, otherwise, those people would not obey his instructions." Luo Yuan felt relieved as he had such a reliable and powerful teammate. They should be able toplete the mission smoothly.


    He was afraid that he had stupid teammates which would end up being a burden to him instead. Although the officer was quite dominant, Luo Yuan understood that they needed someone like that to control all these self-centered evolved men.


    Anyway, the mission was very dangerous as mentioned by the system and Luo Yuan felt stressed about it. It was good to have that officer as their leader and Luo Yuan believed that he might do the same thing if chaos struck and there was no leader. However, he would not be an official one. Luo Yuan suddenly had the idea that if the officer killed one of the evolved men to warn the rest not to disobey that would further increase the likelihood of the men obeying his everymand.


    The iron grill of the refuge slowly opened and the team was greeted by familiar sounds created by the hydraulic jet. All the sounds outside became clearer now and they could clearly hear mutated beasts scratching against the iron door. It was extremely annoying.


    A few of the evolved men began to sweat and their footsteps were getting slower. The reason that they were still running was simply because they wanted to maintain their image and to avoid disobeying military instructions. When they passed by the stairs of the corridor, the officer raised his hand to ask them to stop. He was giving them instructions on what to do when the iron grill opened. The officer used hand signals to instruct them to be alert and then they heard bullets being loaded. Most of the military evolved men lifted their rifles as well and readied themselves to shoot. The breaths of every man became heavy.


    Time passed and the iron grill slowly opened. The scene outside was now reflected clearly in their eyes and they realized all the mutated beasts were missing.


    "There is nothing! Seems like they have been frightened by the sound of the opening door." A big guy quickly checked the surroundings and then chuckled.


    "Shut up! Everyone be alert! The mutated beasts which have made it this far would not be so stupid. I suspect..." The Lieutenant Colonel warned them.


    Before he could finish his sentence, a huge bug the size of a bread car emerged from a hidden ce. Its ck and metallic limbs popped out in a sh and stabbed directly into the forehead of the guy who wasughing earlier. His strong skull was prated by the alloy-like limb of the mutated bug.


    Even the speedy recovery power which Lin Xiaoji had could not save him from that kind of injury. His eyes were opened wide with a partial grin on his face as he could not believe it. His body shook a little and he died before he got to use his power. Perhaps, hunting would be considered quite easypared to this.


    The mutated bug did not leave immediately. It scanned the surroundings with its eye. Perhaps, it thought that was an easy source of food. However, its thoughts were quickly disturbed by the firing of a gun which was specially designed to kill mutated beasts. 15mm tungsten core with armor piercing and a big diameter. The bullets flew out from the muzzle at a speed of 900 meters per second. Its power was much stronger than the Barrett Sniper Rifle that had existed before the end of the world. Due to the post-apocalyptic interruption of global shipping, many countries became lonely inds and many of the technologies had been lost.


    However, these military technologies were well preserved. After the start of the apocalypse, the whole society had struggled to survive as many of the resources in the society were allocated towards the military. The obvious result was that the military technology developed drastically. At the moment, what is clear is that they have a stronger version of bullets and alloys. This was coupled with evolved men with strong physiques who had survived until this very moment. When the enemies changed from humans to mutated beasts, certain super-weapons began to appear. And the modern rifle was one of those weapons.


    The hard shell of the mutated bug shattered into powder under the powerful attack. Each of its wounds were around 20-30 cm in diameter. Some of the wounds on its abdomen were a few big holes as the bullets prated the abdomen.


    The mutated bug shrieked sharply and then fell onto the ground.


    ...


    He was justughing at someone and then died in an instant. Even though they are fully aware the high possibility of death from the mission, they still felt shocked by how quickly it all happened.


    Luo Yuan remained silent and held his saber tightly. The mutated bug they encountered was not that powerful after all. At most, it could be a dark blue creature, which at that moment was considered very easy to kill. However, because Luo Yuan was walking in a packed crowd, he would not be able to do anything even if a mutated bug suddenly appeared in front of them.


    "I say once again... no talking along the journey... no shouting. Move, now!!" The Lieutenant Colonel shouted and then called two soldiers to move the corpse aside.


    Everyone was more familiar to the cruel world of today and did not even care about how the corpse was being handled. It was almost 2 pm which was the hottest time in a day. The haze in the sky above Desert City had disappeared and it seemed like a sign that the city would return to its forest age.


    Luo Yuan took this opportunity to analyze the surroundings. The small town beside the quiet border has now be dull and dead. Most of the buildings were made from wood after the apocalypse. Perhaps, it was difficult for the mutated bugs to change their preference or it could be because they migrated without resting, hence, they did not mind to eat anything they found.


    In his eyes, the entire city had be a wastnd except for a few tall buildings which were made from high-quality concrete. Those buildings probably stood there reluctantly. The haze and smoke have disappeared and the rest of the bugs were gone. There were only a handful of mutated bugs that remained in the city. Even then, some of them which were injured and abandoned by theirmunity, while those which are severely injured should be dead by now and ssified as food for other living bugs. It was not hard to spot carcasses along the journey surrounded by a big bunch of flies.


    Even though Desert City has now be a dead town, it was still very dangerous. In the world of the animals, the lion which has just eaten would allow a zebra to run in its territory and would even allow hyenas to fight for food or challenge each other in front of it. However, a hungry lion will hunt all living things within its vision. If the lion was injured, perhaps its strength would be weaker but the power it would put into its attacks would be the strongest because it would die if it missed the chance.


    Over the past few days, many people had been attacked by injured mutated bugs once they stepped out from the refuge. These bugs seemed to have totally lost all rationality. Luo Yuan saw a bug which had lost its lower body dragging its internal organs with a greenish liquid oozing out. It was struggling to rush towards him. However, it was not a big deal to those evolved men who were already well prepared.


    Only now did Luo Yuan realize he had underestimated these evolved men. Although most of them were not very powerful, some of them had very strong strengths while others had good dexterity. Luo Yuan even saw an evolved man with three eyes and another had two faces in one body along with four arms. All these sights had widened his perspective.


    Although all those evolved men had different kinds of powers, they were nothing ifpared to Luo Yuan¡¯s capabilities. However, the powerful weapons and their special physique could be very useful to the team. In the group, there were a few evolved men who gained Luo Yuan¡¯s respects. One of the evolved men seemed to be able to control metal. He was so powerful that the metal in the wastnd flowed like water. A huge mutated bug which did not even manage to get closer than 20 meters had already been speared by a metal bar. After the attack, the metal melted and flew towards him before traveling up from his feet. Within mere seconds, it became a silver armor.


    Another evolved man could vaporize the air within a three to four meter radius around him. Even if stones were in front of him, they would turn to dust. Luo Yuan could not control his excitement and kept watching. The power of telekinesis is very powerful and scary. However, if those stupid bugs did not try to attack, they would not know how powerful it is. Based on Luo Yuan¡¯s observation, he would have be dust as well if he entered this evolved man¡¯s force field without any protection or defense. Luo Yuan likened the situation to possessing a gun as a kid. The strong power a gun had and the ability to use it in a real fight were two different matters.

 Chapter 277: The Giant

    Chapter 277: The Giant


    Trantor: Insignia Editor: Svjohn


    These easy battles could hardly stir any interest from Luo Yuan. He was more attracted to the various kinds of evolutionary powers that were being used by these evolutionary men.


    A ck mutated bug thought it finally had the opportunity to attack and quickly sprung towards Luo Yuan. The crowd quickly fled the vicinity and one of the evolved people wanted to pull him away but did not manage to catch Luo Yuan as he unintentionally moved away. She lost her bnce after failing to catch Luo Yuan and could not escape. The crowd was aware of that but could only sigh for her.


    Suddenly, a strong wind could be felt and the ck mutated bug dropped onto the ground like an inanimate object. A shallow pit was created from the fall and the bug involuntarily shook a few times and then stopped moving.


    One of the men who was idling was standing half a meter away from the dead bug together with the female who was trying to save Luo Yuan. They both basically did not move at all during the entire process. The only thing running through their minds was that they were lucky to see a dead mutated bug. Half of the bug¡¯s head was sliding down from its body. Unfortunately, the crowd was gone and none of them saw it.


    "Take good care of yourself... don¡¯t force yourself to help if you¡¯re not strong enough. You will die if you do so!" Luo Yuan pulled thedy aside and continued, "By the way, thank you."


    Even this fight was too easy to trouble Luo Yuan or make him worried. His senses are very sensitive to moving objects so it was not too difficult for him.


    Wen Yujie was stunned for a moment and said, "I didn¡¯t help you, but you..." She looked skinny and weak. Luo Yuan felt she was very light when he was trying to rescue her from being hit by the bug. Her t chest made her look like a premature young girl.


    Luo Yuan said, "You know yourself, huh? I just didn¡¯t expect there to still be kind people like you. It¡¯s rare even before the end of the world."


    Wen Yujie understood his message even though she was hardly considered bright. Her face became rosy as she replied, "I know you¡¯re strong, but that¡¯s not the reason you should be sarcastic to me. If everyone is like you, how can there be hope? Humans would be extinct!"


    Luo Yuan was stunned and then continued, "Fine, you¡¯re better in morality. Anyway, thanks for helping. Stay behind me, I¡¯ll take care of you."


    "Who cares?" Wen Yujie shouted out loud but she was happy. She had seen his power earlier. Well, she did not see anything but she certainly felt that she was pulled by a great force. That was how she knew his power was unexpectedly strong.


    While talking to her, Luo Yuan casually killed another mutated bug. This time, Wen Yujie opened her eyes widely and saw a blurry blue light but could not see anything more. She did not even know whether he moved his hands or what weapons he used to kill the bug. She was clearly amazed as she is already an evolved person so her eyesight was considered to be better than the average person and yet she still could not see anything.


    Wen Yujie would sneak a peek at Luo Yuan on some asions before finally mustering the courage to ask him curiously, "Hey, howe I¡¯ve never heard about you even though you¡¯re so powerful?"


    Luo Yuan replied jokingly, "My name is not ¡®Hey¡¯. Also, I haven¡¯t told you my name, how do you know you haven¡¯t heard about me before?"


    "What¡¯s your name?" Wen Yujie asked. "I don¡¯t think it¡¯s a well-known name. My house used to be around this area and I was amongst the first batch of residents here. I¡¯m not trying to brag but I¡¯ve seen most of the evolved men in the city." Wen Yujie said arrogantly.


    "Can¡¯t believe you¡¯re an aboriginal." Luo Yuan was surprised and said. No wonder she looked slightly like a Westerner. She was indeed very lucky. People like Luo Yuan had to go through so many challenges to get there but she was born in the west!


    "Brother, you haven¡¯t told me your name." She quickly remarked.


    "You¡¯ll knowter, just shut up for now." Luo Yuan looked up to the sky and looked calm. Wen Yujie imitated his actions and looked up to the sky but her face immediately turned pale. The situation was getting worse. They did not realize when the sky had started turning dark. The wings of the mutated bugs were looked like hundreds of helicopters were flying about in the sky. Almost all the mutated bugs in the city came over as they heard the dying bugs crying before breathing theirst breath.


    After a short pause, all the mutated bugs suddenly fell to the ground. In just a few seconds, there were many carcasses scattered all over. Luo Yuan was finally intrigued. The Zhanmadao in his hand kept slicing the air and every single bug which was about five meters away from him were split in two. He caught everyone¡¯s attention.


    Unfortunately, some corpses were added to the pile of carcasses as Luo Yuan could not take care of everyone. Finally, the Lieutenant Colonel removed his military uniform and tore off his shirt and chucked it aside. He looked up to the sky, took a deep breath, and then roared extremely loudly. All his muscles immediately expanded and ck blood vessels were bulging under his skin which made it look like numerous big worms were crawling under his skin. Just by looking at the Lieutenant Colonel, Luo Yuan could feel his beast-like nature.


    Wen Yujie suddenly shouted, "Move! He is going to evolve!"


    She then pulled Luo Yuan away to escape. However, Luo Yuan pushed her hand away and asked, "What¡¯s wrong?" Later, he realized the remaining survivors had been stepping backward and they looked excited!


    "He is going to evolve, you¡¯ll be hurt if you are too near to him." Wen Yujie shouted.


    Only then did Luo Yuan follow the crowd and step back. There was no one standing within 30 meters of the Colonel. Luo Yuan was watching him curiously as his abnormal symptoms were only at an early stage. However, in only a second, he grew rapidly from 190 cm to more than three meters! He was still growing!!! The explosive changes looked excruciatingly painful to him as his facial expression changed to be full of rage. He suddenly squatted down and both of his hands punched on the ground as he roared!!!


    The ground was shaking under the power of this non-human. The concrete road suddenly became like bean curd as stones and rocks were flying everywhere and a huge pit was formed.


    His evolution finally stopped as he slowly got up from the ground. Suddenly, a strong wind blew towards them and Luo Yuan involuntarily took a very deep breath as he looked at the huge body of the Colonel which was even bigger than the King Kong.


    He was about 14-15 meters in height which was the equivalent of a building with five floors. His skin was a metallic ck and his muscles were like ancient roots intertwined with each other. All of this made him look extremely fearsome and powerful. Such changes were extremely fearsome to normal people as it was against thews and theories of physics. Luo Yuan could not figure out how did a human who was about 80-90 kg morph into a giant with weighing more than 10 tons.


    The colonel was about to do something when Luo Yuan was still trying to figure out how this was possible. He took a deep breath and then roared into the sky. His roars sounded like thunder and they could see some waves in the air. Many of the mutated bugs were hit by the wave and fell onto the ground. He then randomly grabbed a bug from the sky and the bug, which was only the size of a mini car, sttered in his fist and all the green liquid oozed out onto the ground.


    These mutated bugs were gifted with some basic knowledge. They could now recognize threats and would gather to attack in such instances. Luo Yuan quickly realized the weakness of the giant which is his dexterity. It was just slightly better than that of an ordinary person. The giant was trying to catch another bug but he did not seem to be sessful.


    Many of the mutated bugs rushed to the Colonel and poked their sharp limbs into his body. At the same time, they also bit and ate his flesh. Fresh blood was dripping down from his wounds and the rest started to worry. However, the giant was too big and powerful that the wounds did not actually cause any pain to him although it was about half a meter deep.


    Those mutated bugs have been starved for a long time now, hence, they became frantic and out of control when they got to taste his flesh. Despite the giant¡¯s slow speed, he still managed to squeeze and squash a few bugs and pull them out from his wound one by one. However, more and more mutated bugs attached themselves on him and bit his flesh again and again. The Lieutenant had realized at this stage that the strategy of using his body as a lure could notst long as it would cause him to die.


    Suddenly, something shocking happened in front of Luo Yuan. He noticed that the giant¡¯s wounds recovered rapidly. All his wounds disappeared in less than a second and there were no signs of injuries on his body at all. Even though Luo Yuan¡¯s eyesight is extremely good, he did not realize any sign of self-recovery through regeneration of new muscles. Alternatively, it should be a form of supplement transfer within his body. Luo Yuan¡¯s spections were proven right when the height of the giant dropped by about 10 cm.


    More and more carcasses filled the area under the feet of the giant and slowly formed a few hills. It appeared that those mutated bugs finally understood the power of their opponent. In just a few seconds, all the remaining bugs flew away and disappeared. The sky turned bright once again.


    The giant looked at the sky but still had a serious facial expression despite winning the battle. After that, his huge body began to shrink and soon he was back to his normal size again. Other than his slightly pale face, he did not seem to feel weak at all!


    The Lieutenant Colonel put on his uniform again and looked at Luo Yuan. Unexpectedly, he walked towards Luo Yuan and said, "Can we talk?"

 Chapter 278: Conspiracy

    Chapter 278: Conspiracy


    Trantor: Insignia Editor: Svjohn


    Luo Yuan looked at him in surprise. "You know me, cadre?"


    "You can call me Xu Zhiqiang. Nice to meet you, Mr. Luo. I didn¡¯t recognize you earlier. I¡¯ve only seen photos and videos of you, but I have been watching you."


    Luo Yuan was stunned. He had not realized that he had been recognized. His earlier transformation was not merely to get out of danger, but also to show his abilities at the same time. He was concerned that his rebelliousness would cause conflict. It seemed like none of the people at the top of the military or political ranks were ordinary people.


    "Okay, is there anything I can do for you?" Luo Yuan asked.


    "Can I talk to you in private?" asked Lieutenant Colonel Xu Zhiqiang.


    The two of them walked to a corner while all eyes remained on them. Everyone was stunned. Xu Zhiqiang thought for awhile before he said seriously, "I realize that this mission is very unusual. I was not notified of your existence, and that should never have happened. I was skeptical at first, but now that I have met you, I understand what¡¯s going on."


    Luo Yuan frowned as he said, "I think you might have gotten the wrong guy. There¡¯s nothing special about me."


    "No, the Desert City doesn¡¯t have the right to mistreat a level-5 evolved person. From what I understand, the government considers you a VIP. But that¡¯s just one of my many doubts!"


    "I don¡¯t think I have anything to do with this. I¡¯m not interested in politics."


    Xu Zhiqiang¡¯s expression did not change at all as he continued, "Mr. Luo, this has nothing to do with politics. You don¡¯t realize how serious this problem is. The evolved humans gathered here are made up of more than 90% of all evolved people in the Desert City, and all the artillery weapons I requested before the mission were rejected without any valid reason."


    "Are you saying that the Desert City is nning to wipe out all evolved people?" Luo Yuan stared at him coldly. He was concerned that this might involve Huang Jiahui and the rest, who were still in the Desert City, and he was exuding a terrifying vibe.


    Luo Yuan¡¯s force field had reached a state where it was no longer predictable and he could not control it himself. On normal days, nothing happened, but when he was agitated, it could be released through his Will.


    Ordinary people¡¯s anger was scary, yet harmless, but when Luo Yuan was furious, it could cost the life of at least one light-blue level beast. Nobody could stop him. Although this happened unintentionally, it was unbearable for ordinary people. For a second, Xu Zhiqiang had difficulty breathing and his temples pulsed hard, but he managed to endure it thanks to his strong Will.


    "Is this the difference between a level-5 and a level-4?" he thought to himself. Luo Yuan looked terrifying as he transformed, and Xu Zhiqiang knew that his gigantic body and powerful abilities gave him the strength to kill as many people as he wished. Once a mutated creature reached light-green level though, it would slow down for a while.


    Xu Zhiqiang had never killed a level-5 creature on his own until now. His official evolution level was still level-4, and he had always thought that there was not much of a difference between level-4 and level-5. Unfortunately, he had totally underestimated Luo Yuan¡¯s abilities. He was not a level-5, but a level-6.


    ...


    "Your abilities are so much more powerful than what they¡¯d estimated!" Xu Zhiqiang said helplessly with a poker face. "You need to calm down though."


    Luo Yuan felt his heart beat hard. He forced out a smile, the terrifying vibe he¡¯d exuded earlier vanishing. Relieved, Xu Zhiqiang said, "What you said just now might be possible, but the chances are very small. They would be digging their own graves if they did that. The New Capital City would never do something that was not in its people¡¯s favor. What I¡¯m suspecting is that the Desert City is controlled by someone else."


    "Who could control Desert City? And what would they do with these 10,000 people in this cruel world?"


    "The idea might sound ridiculous to you and me, but those vige farmers are full of themselves. Our world has nevercked foolish or greedy people, especially during recent years. We have seen so many of them," Xu Zhiqiang said solemnly. He seemed to be recalling something unpleasant.


    Luo Yuan frowned, thinking for a while before he said indifferently, "So what do you want me to do? If it¡¯s going to put me in a difficult situation, you can forget about it."


    Xu Zhiqiang did not mind his attitude at all, as he had been told to be cautious of evolved people and try to please them. The great purge had caused most of them to avoid politics, and especially such sensitive incidents. Luo Yuan¡¯s attitude was understandable. Not many were as passionate towards authority as he was.


    "It will not put you in a difficult situation, but rather in a neutral one."


    "I will pretend that I don¡¯t know anything," Luo Yuan said calmly.


    Xu Zhiqiang gave him a satisfied smile, "Of course I¡¯m just guessing. Perhaps the situation is better than we imagine. Anyway, we should discuss this after we havepleted the mission."


    As Luo Yuan was leaving, he looked Xu Zhiqiang deeply in the eyes. Now that his Intelligence was +14, even a quick, unintentional scan could give him an almost perfect analysis of one¡¯s instincts. Xu Zhiqiang was using his power to show his abilities, trying to persuade him toplete the mission instead of going back to the shelter to find out what was going on. This man certainly had an agenda of his own. He possessed a strong desire to control others, so he was without a doubt a very dangerous person.


    Unfortunately, this was not somemon mission, but a Grade D mission. "Hopefully, I will not die in the process", Luo Yuan thought to himself. His information was insufficient, and this was only one side of the story, so it could not be trustedpletely.


    ...


    As soon as Luo Yuan came back, Wen Yujie asked curiously, " Do you know the special team¡¯s leader?"


    "He knows me, I don¡¯t know him!" Luo Yuan replied.


    "If you want to brag, at least try to make some sense," Wen Yujie expressed her resentment as her face flushed in anger. The others were staring at her, some in disdain and others in mockery.


    "First, I never brag. Secondly, if you want to live, you should shut your mouth from now on!" Luo Yuan said as he stared at her.


    Wen Yujie let out a soft groan. She was not sure why, but her anger vanished as Luo Yuan stared at her. She walked up to Luo Yuan immediately.


    "This is certainly very useful," Luo Yuan thought to himself.


    ...


    Perhaps most of the mutated insects in the Desert City had been killed earlier, and some of them had been badly injured or left behind, because their journey was uneventful. However, there were a lot of them traveling, and there was a lot of tension. It was already 3 p.m. when they arrived near the train station.


    They could see the station in the distance, but they had to adjust to everybody¡¯s pace, so the journey there was unimaginably long. Luo Yuan felt stressed out as he thought about the defense system. Most of the trains in the reconstruction area were underground, but there were buildings on top of the station divided into freight and public transportation.


    As the agent linking the entire city, the quality of the construction yed a vital part. Not only had the buildings been built using cement, which was rare in the Desert City, but the defense system was also entirely military grade.


    However, the majority of the enormous buildings had copsed. The district looked like it had been burned. The strange thing was, although Luo Yuan did not see any fire or smoke, the air seemed slightly distorted when he tried to look in the distance. The temperature was obviously very high.


    "Let¡¯s take a look!" said Xu Zhiqiang.


    He took the lead as they walked towards the buildings. When they were 500 meters away, they could feel a wave of heating towards them. The closer they went, the higher the temperature got. Some of the evolved people could not handle the heat and backed out. Xu Zhiqiang did not force any of them to follow him. If they could not handle the temperature outside, they could forget aboutpleting their mission inside.


    As they were approaching the edge of the burned parts, the temperature reached 70 degrees, and more and more of them backed out. Luo Yuan noticed that Wen Yujie was sweating and her skin had turned red, yet she did not say anything.


    "You should go back too. You should not be here."


    "The heat isn¡¯t enough to scare me away. I haven¡¯t even used my power yet!" said Wen Yujie. She did not want to embarrass herself.


    "Shut up! I¡¯m asking you to go back." Luo Yuan stared at her.


    He had a strong Will, so he could make anyone listen to him even without using his power on purpose. Wen Yujie pouted and groaned, but she eventually left.


    The burned concrete ground was still being baked under the high temperature, bing crispy and sandy. There were crackling and sizzling sounds as they stepped on it. Most of the facilities had been burnt, and what was left was only a pile of ashes and a looming cloud of smoke.


    The temperature inside was currently over 70 degrees. Only six of them, including Luo Yuan, remained at the scene. As carbon-based organisms, they were naturally vulnerable to high temperatures. Their proteins would start degenerating when the temperature reached 70 degrees Celsius. Even the strongest evolved person with mutated genes and a high heat resistance could not survive in 100 degrees Celsius. That kind of temperature would cause their cells and blood to start boiling.


    Luo Yuan looked at the remaining people. Perhaps under the government¡¯s suppression, keeping a low profile had been instilled into every evolved person¡¯s mind, because those people did not ring a bell at all. Obviously, they had not yed a part in the earlier battle. They exuded a low-energy vibe, so it was obvious that they were thinking of quitting.


    Xu Zhiqiang frowned and stopped immediately. "The difficulty of this mission has exceeded our expectations. Only a few of us were able to make it this far! Before the new tactic arrangement, I would like to introduce to you a very powerful evolved person. Perhaps most of you have heard of him."


    He looked at Luo Yuan, and Luo Yuan nodded at him before Xu Zhiqiang continued, "This is Mr. Luo Yuan. The only level-5 evolved person in the Desert City."


    Under the unusual circumstances, Xu Zhiqiang had lowered his voice, but it was still a shocking moment for everyone. They were all curious. Luo Yuan was not aware that his name had been circting around the Desert City for a long time. He had be kind of a legend. People had been hearing his name, but they had never actually seen him in person. They had not expected this quiet young man to be such a mysterious person.

 Chapter 279: Light

    Chapter 279: Light


    Trantor: Insignia Editor: Svjohn


    "Hi Mr. Luo, I¡¯ve heard of you! My name is Hu Lianqing, and I¡¯m a fire based evolved human. You can call me Mr. Hu!" Hu Lianqing sounded full of excitement. He looked like he was meeting his idol.


    "My name is Xiao Baihong, and I¡¯m a metal based evolved human. My friends call me Iron sk!" said Xiao Baihong with augh as he scratched his head dumbly.


    "My name is Shen Jixing, and my power is Air Shock. It¡¯s a pleasure to work with you," Shen Jixing said calmly, yet arrogantly.


    Luo Yuan smiled as he nodded. Shen Jixing reminded him of Lin Xiaoji. They looked like a simr kind of person.


    "Little Shen¡¯s ability isn¡¯t bad at all, but he¡¯s still a long way from reaching level-5. Hi, Boss Luo. My name is Li Qingqing, and I¡¯m a mysterious evolved human. I didn¡¯t realize that you were so young!" said the only woman in the group. She seemed mesmerized by Luo Yuan. She looked like she was interested in him, but unfortunately, her looks were below average. Apart from her nice body, there was nothing attractive about her.


    "My name is Peng Guohua, and I¡¯m a flesh based evolved human. I¡¯m an expert in defense. It¡¯s a pleasure to be your teammate," said aughing hunk.


    Luo Yuan nced at him. He was tall and muscr like a gori. He gave the impression that he was extremely strong, but instead ofing off as aggressive, he actually looked like an honest person.


    Luo Yuan frowned. He had sensed a hint of madness and distortion in hisugh, a vibe that hinted that he was insane. That was prettymon though. Living through the cruel apocalypse, oppression and darkness were the only themes the world offered. Everyone more or less had some sort of mental illness, especially those working in the military. Luo Yuan did not think about it any further.


    Xu Zhiqiang encouraged them once again, "Considering that this mission is very tricky and the circumstances are very unusual, besides the victim¡¯s pension, which is indispensable, I would like to make an exception for you. This time we will have to turn in 30% less than we usually do, and Mr. Luo¡¯s portion will be given by the superior. I think the superior won¡¯t deny such a request."


    There was something hidden between the lines of thatst sentence, but besides Luo Yuan, no one else noticed it. There was joy on their faces. Luo Yuan was listening to the rest calcte how much they would get at the end of the mission. Only then did he realize that before the evolved people headed out on a mission, they had to turn in 50% of their loot. Afterward, they had to split the loot with their teammates. What they got, in the end, was pathetically little.


    Compared to the filthy rich front-line soldiers, evolved people were just a bunch of poor wretches. Of course, if theypared themselves tomon civilians, they were a lot better off.


    After hearing the good news, the happy team continued its journey. Xu Zhiqiang approached Luo Yuan and asked softly inplete seriousness, "What do you think?"


    "No doubt, the city was burned by a fire based mutated beast. I can¡¯t identify its attributes, but one thing is for sure. It must be hard to deal with," said Luo Yuan, covering the whole truth. He knew that if they knew how terrifying this mutated creature actually was, they would probably lose any will to fight.


    To him, these people were the bait that would lure the super creature out of hiding. However, his attributes and confidence were not the same as they had been before, and Luo Yuan knew very well that one small mistake against a super creature could cost him his life. Perhaps he was being selfish. Even without Luo Yuan, the team would still have carried out the mission on their own, despite their bad odds. The only thing he could do was kill that mutated creature as fast as possible and save as many people as he could.


    Xu Zhiqiang nodded in concern. There was an oppressive atmosphere in the area, and he felt as if it was smothering him. Suddenly, a sense of remorse rose inside him, but he managed to suppress the feeling. He turned around and asked softly, "May I know what level of attributes you have?"


    "Level-5, I think. Maybe even more than that. I just arrived at the reconstruction area, so I haven¡¯t been tested properly."


    Xu Zhiqiang looked at him. Unfortunately, there was no expression on Luo Yuan¡¯s face, so he could not analyze him. Just as he was about to question him further, something happened.


    "Leader Xu, Mr. Luo, there¡¯s a gigantic hole up ahead! Should we keep going?"


    As they¡¯d been talking, they had fallen far behind everyone, and the people in front had gone into the cargo terminal hall.


    "Let me take a look at it!" Xu Zhiqiang said, walking towards the hole quickly.


    Luo Yuan followed him. The cargo terminal hall was arge area of over 10,000 square meters. There were piles of container boxes everywhere. Obviously, there had not been enough time to move all the cargo when the worm tide had struck, as there was half a warehouse worth of cargo in there. The hole was in one of the corners.


    Luo Yuan took a look at it. It was approximately 100 square meters and 10 meters deep, and it was linked to the train tracks underground. It was dark inside, and they felt like there could be monstersing out of it at any time. It gave everyone a chill.


    Luo Yuan stepped onto the ground hard, whipping up fine, carbide-filled sand. The signs of desertification there were obviously worse than in the surrounding area.


    "There¡¯s a train track under the hole. The mutated creature should be in there. Let¡¯s look for a way in," Xu Zhiqiang said seriously.


    The train track was more than 10 meters under the ground, so no ordinary person could jump in just like that. However, due to the copse of the building, a big amount of concrete had been stacked together, forming a slope that led underground. This was not difficult for a bunch of evolved people by any means.


    They hopped into the giant underground tunnel swiftly. The ce was airtight, so the temperature in the tunnel was obviously higher. It was close to 80 degrees, so it felt like they were entering an oven. Apart from Luo Yuan and the guy named Hu Lianqing, who were not affected because they were both fire based evolved humans, the rest were dripping in sweat and their faces were red.


    As a fire based evolved human, such conditions were nothing for Hu Lianqiang. Luo Yuan had survived thanks to the sma undergarment he was wearing. Although he already knew it was equipped to protect him against most energy attacks, and heat was a source of energy, the effect still exceeded his expectations.


    Except for the burning sensation on the parts of his body that were exposed, he was otherwise unaffected by the heat. As he was quietly folding his sleeves, he noticed that his equipment was blinking with a dim fluorescent light. Compared to the light he had seen in the morning, the brightness had increased significantly. Apparently, his equipment could not just block out the heat, but also absorb its energy at the same time.


    He pushed down his sleeves and gripped his sword firmly. In such a sealed space, the existence of the super creature could not be concealed anymore. It was as if it was a natural disaster. It felt like there was a ck cloud smothering them, filling them with boundless fear in that dark space.


    Barely a few stepster, the dim light of the tunnel disappeared. The ce became pitch ck. If it wasn¡¯t for the glow sticks that were scattered around on the ground along the way, Luo Yuan might not have been able to see clearly. His eyes could not radiate light after all. Vision required the reflection of light. In that sealed underground space, there was not even the slightest trace of light.


    "What do you guys think it is? A worm or a monster?" Xiao Baihong asked slowly, his voice shaking.


    Nobody mocked him for his trembling voice. As a matter of fact, except for Luo Yuan, everyone else looked afraid.


    "Shut up! Don¡¯t make any noise!" Xu Zhiqiang said in frustration.


    Silence filled the tunnel, until all they could hear was their own footsteps and pounding hearts. The gravel asionally falling from the holes nearby scared them.


    The tunnel was broad. There were four train tracks stretching from left to right. They were different from usual train tracks as they remembered them. The distance between the tracks was very long. Each gap was approximately two meters away from the next, and the tunnel was about 20 meters wide and six meters tall.


    Luo Yuan noticed that there was a deep scratch with some kind of gtinous liquid on the wall on the left side of the tunnel.


    It seemed like this creature had been separated from its tribe and gotten injured, thus getting forced to stay there.


    Luo Yuan was relieved. In any case, an injured mutated beast would be much easier to deal withpared to a healthy mutated beast.


    When they reached a corner of the tunnel, they all stopped moving at the same time. It was as if they had turned into stone; they could not move their bodies at all. An intense fear made their hearts almost stop beating. There was a light shining in the distance. In that dim light, a gigantic creature appeared before them, exuding an immense pressure. It had a pair of me-shaped pincers with long hair, and it was curling right on the train tracks. From the look of it, it had to be only slightly smaller than the tracks. On its body, there was a pair of long, gold-gridded wings simr to a cicada. Its texture was like gold, and there was a sting as long as its whole body on its tail. It was ck, and its look alone gave them goosebumps.


    It was lying on the ground, not moving, its body glowing as the brightness changed with its movement. Although it was lying down, it was still more than five meters tall. Its back touched the top of the tunnel, almost blocking the entire space. Although they were looking at it from a distance, it still looked extremely intimidating.

 Chapter 280: The Madness in Desperation

    Chapter 280: The Madness in Desperation


    Trantor: Insignia Editor: Svjohn


    If it were not for the shocking one-meter big wound on the giant bug¡¯s left wing, they all would have run away immediately.


    "Gosh, that wound is bad. All we have to do is punch it a few times, and it will copse for sure," said Peng Guohua in a low, shaking voice. Out of nowhere, he started charging balls of thunder on his palms. There was a crazed look on his face.


    "No, we should retreat!" Luo Yuan was upset. The tunnel was too narrow, so it was not suitable for battles. Even with his +15 Agility, he would not be able to move freely. If the giant bug was to assault him, there would be nowhere for him to run. He usually had a 50 to 60 percent odd of winning, but in such an environment, the odds were less than 20 percent.


    "Yes, Mr. Luo is right. Let¡¯s go back, this creature is too strange. We need an extensive battle n," Xu Zhiqiang said immediately, snapping out of his thoughts.


    The creature was too terrifying. He believed that he was not a coward. Even though he had a high-ranking position and he was the one leading the mission, the creature before them was too overwhelming.


    "I¡¯m giving up on this mission!" said Li Qingqing, the only woman in the team. She looked very pale.


    "Don¡¯t tell me you guys have lost your guts! This is just an injured mutated beast," said Peng Guohua with a grin. His emotions were obviously off. "Watch how I¡¯m going to kill it!"


    "You¡¯re a lunatic!" Li Qingqing yelled at him before she ran away.


    Li Qingqing¡¯s condemnation was abrupt, and it was certainly strange that she ran away right afterward. Luo Yuan was skeptical. Suddenly, he heard the sound of screws being loosened. He paused and looked at Peng Guohua. Balls of thunder were developing on his palms, and there was a green smokeing out of it.


    Luo Yuan knew that something was wrong, and he ran through the crowd shouting, "Damn it, we have to run now!" He did not care if his voice would wake the mutated beast anymore.


    "F*ck, you¡¯re really crazy!"


    "If you want to die, don¡¯t drag us down with you!"


    None of these evolved people were ordinary, considering that they had managed to survive this far. They noticed that something was not right and started running as soon as they heard Luo Yuan.


    "Don¡¯t run too fast, wait for me! Please wait for me!" Peng Guohua had lost his usual smile. His voice was rough with an indescribable excitement. Thunder was still rumbling in his palm as he followed the rest like nothing was going on.


    "He haspletely lost his mind! Boss Xiao, please use your power now!" Hu Lianqing shouted as he turned his head around to take a look. He sounded terrified.


    Peng Guohua was only a step away from him. Hu Lianqing was a fire based evolved human, so if he used his power under the circumstances, he would only trigger and speed up an explosion. If an explosion took ce so close to him, he would not be able to survive it, even though he was an evolved person.


    "Damn this lunatic! He wants to kill us all!" Xiao Baihong heard Leader Hu say in despair. His words gave him a chill.


    "Quick, go faster! There¡¯s not much time left!" Shen Jixin shouted in madness. The air started to shake as if it was preparing to fight the explosion.


    "You guys don¡¯t f*cking disturb me!" Leader Xiao was using the power in his entire body, his veins bulging on his neck.


    Peng Guo felt the thunder in his palm transforming at the speed of light. The concealing mask he had on his face had beenpletely torn off, revealing his savage expression.


    A spark was produced, and suddenly there was a giant me ball burning on his palm. It was snuffed out the next second.


    The rest of them turned around and looked at him in fear. Relieved, they stopped running.


    "Peng Guohua, you owe us an exnation!" Hu Lianqing said.


    "Exnation? The only exnation I have is that we¡¯ll all go to hell together!" There was no fear on Peng Guohua¡¯s face as he spoke. He just proceeded tough like a madman. One of his hands was burnt, exuding a disgusting barbecue-like smell.


    "Who sent you here? You haven¡¯t killed anybody yet, so it¡¯s not toote for you to repent!" said Xu Zhiqiang, trying to delude him. It was not easy to train an evolved person to be a martyr. Considering the abnormality of the mission though, he had already solved half the mystery.


    "It¡¯s toote, the monster has been awakened! All of us will die!" said Peng Guohua,ughing hysterically.


    The ground started shaking, and there was a sharp noise that sounded like a worm and a bird. The temperature in the tunnel was shooting up.


    "Damn it, run fast!" Xu Zhiqiang shouted in distress as he ran away.


    "You can¡¯t run away, I will wait for you in hell!" Peng Guohua remained standing exactly where he was, watching the rest of them run away. As the temperature spiked, blisters developed on his skin. The blisters turned into yellow fat and started dripping down his skin. Feeling that he was reaching his limits, he opened his eyes, which were dry from the scorching temperature, and yelled, "Beware of that beautiful woman, and take revenge for me!"


    Suddenly, his stomach started to expand and his eyes opened wide, steaming out of his whole body. Within seconds, his stomach was bigger than a 10-month pregnant woman. It became transparent, and his eyeballs popped out like marbles because of the pressure, rolling down on the ground. Then there was a loud thud, and his body exploded.


    Li Qingqing was running in the very front, looking desperate. She was a mysterious based evolved human with prophetic abilities, so her abilities were very rare. Although she was not very strong, she could predict what would happen in the next second, which could be a very useful ability in a battle.


    With this ability, she was always able to avoid danger, which made her superior to other evolved humans that looked more powerful. However, her mysterious ability was redundant at the moment. All she could see was that things were about to go south. Her footsteps were getting slower, her vision was getting blurry, and her mind suddenly went nk. Eventually, she copsed on the ground.


    "No!" she screamed in desperation.


    ...


    Hearing Li Qingqing¡¯s shriek in the back, Hu Lianqing was stressed out. He was using all his power, so there was a thin, turquoise me surrounding him, and the air around him was distorted. The me was a terrifying one. He was experimenting, it made themon ironware in his hand turnpletely red within 10 seconds. After 30 seconds, it started to melt.


    If that me touched a human body, that human would either die or get badly injured. In the Desert City, nobody dared go near him during a battle. He believed that even Luo Yuan, who was a level-5 evolved person, would not go near him.


    The temperature in the tunnel was not too high, 200 degrees at the most. As a fire based evolved human, that kind of temperature would usually not affect him. The surface of his skin could absorb it and turn it into energy. However, the temperature in the tunnel was unique. It felt like it was released from within the body, so it was irresistible and could not be absorbed at all. It seemed like it was meant to burn him alive.


    "Don¡¯t run around, let¡¯s find a shallow ce to hide! This is like a microwave!" shouted Shen Jixing, who was running in front. As an evolved human with a simr wave ability, he was sensitive to the waves in the air. He could sense right away that there was something strange in the air.


    A microwave was a radio wave between 300 MHz and 300 GHz. The heat produced by the molecr shocks in things absorbed waves, such as water and organic matter. The heat was directed on the surface of the molecules, which rendered the defense of the body useless.


    "Damn it, I should¡¯ve thought of this earlier!" Xu Zhiqiang shouted. He looked terrified as a thickyer of fat dripped off his burning body. The fat on his skin seemed like it was melting. It was falling off while he was running, and new skin kept growing.


    He saw a two-meter high piece of concrete that had fallen from the top of the tunnel in front of him and he hid behind it immediately. Relieved, he felt the temperature of his body slowly decreasing. A few secondster, he saw Hu Lianqing tottering up to him. His legs were weak, so he sat down on the floor.


    "Come here quick, it¡¯s only a few more steps!" Xu Zhiqiang said loudly.


    "I can¡¯t do this anymore, leave me alone!" Hu Lianqing forced out a smile as his body released a terrifyingly high temperature. Under that microwave heat, his abilities seemed to get out of control. The me on his body was getting more and more intense, his entire body eventually burning. He was burnt to ashes instantly.


    "Damn it! Damn it! Ah..."


    Xu Zhiqiang heard Xiao Baihong and Shen Jixing¡¯s footsteps far away, but Luo Yuan was nowhere to be seen. Loneliness and desperation devoured him as this recent scary incident crushed him. Xu Zhiqiang punched the ground hard and groaned like an injured beast.


    The microwaves in the tunnel were getting more intense, so hiding behind a rock was not a good enough solution anymore. He heard footsteps approaching slowly, the sound getting clearer. Whoever it was had to be hurt because the pace it was approaching was not very fast. However, considering their huge body size, their speed did not sound slow at all. Perhaps there was no way for Xu Zhiqiang to leave this ce in one piece.


    He felt a sense of remorse. Maybe the mission itself had been a conspiracy, but he¡¯d thought he¡¯d been smart to take the initiative and be a part of it.


    "Even if I die, I will not have died for nothing," he said to himself softly. Out of nowhere, he became ferocious.


    "Ahh!" he let out a roar, tearing his clothes apart.


    Within seconds, he had turned into a giant once again. Hunching down in the tunnel, he stared furiously up ahead, "Come at me, you little worm!"

 Chapter 281: Cruel Battle

    Chapter 281: Cruel Battle


    Trantor: Insignia Editor: Svjohn


    Compared to the first time, Xu Zhiqiang¡¯s body was nearly twice as small when he turned into a giant. The first time, his height had been almost 15 meters, but now it was only eight. However, considering that the tunnel was six meters tall at the most, he was still too big. He was actually forced to hunch.


    Soon, that was no longer his main worry though. Under the effect of the strong microwaves, the cells in his body had started dying at an rming rate. They were released from his body together with his blood and flesh, his body shrinking gradually. This unique self-healing technique was absolutely terrifying, but against such a powerful foe, it barely afforded him the ability to live a little longer.


    The light at the end of the tunnel was getting brighter. Suddenly, a glowing beetle appeared in front of him, a strong force filling every inch of the space. The intense fear and heat felt like a burning me, causing Xu Zhiqian extreme pain. At the same time, they triggered a vicious part of him. He let out a loud roar, picked up a giant rock next to his foot, and tossed it over. The giant rock, which weighed about 10 tons, rolled vigorously in the tunnel, producing a loud noise.


    The giant bug¡¯s ice cold stare was taunting. It did not stop moving at all. When the rock was 10 meters away from it, it just backed off quickly. Meanwhile, a shadow shed by like lightning. The giant rock was hanging in the air. A ck tail as thick as a washbasin pierced through the giant rock, causing it to hang in mid-air before it was flung and crushed against the wall. A loud thud was produced, and there was a light quake on the ground.


    Xu Zhiqiang watched in desperation. He could feel his body melting like a candle, a big amount of fat piling up under his legs like a hill. Within seconds, his body had shrunk to a size that did not allow him to stand up straight. He sensed that he would only live 20 seconds at most. Death wasing for him.


    Looking at the giant worm approaching him, he remained calm. Struggling would have been pointless. The ground shook intensely for a while. At first, he thought he was hallucinating, but soon the vibrations were getting more and more intense. There were cracks of all sizes on top of the tunnel, and gravel and dust falling. It felt like the tunnel was about to copse.


    "Is this an earthquake?" Xu Zhiqiang mumbled. He was leaning against the wall, unable to stand still during the quake. Perhaps shocked, the giant bug started screaming and backed off slowly, but the ground shook vigorously once again. A loud thud could be heard, and giant rocks as big as discs started falling from the top. The tunnel was copsing.


    As the radiation from the microwaves subsided, Xu Zhiqiang¡¯s numb heart began to beat again. His eyes brightened up as he began to run for his life. Although the giant rocks were still falling, that did not stop him from running.


    When he reached the entrance that they¡¯de in from, he could not help but turn around. He saw a blurry shadow jump from the top before the tunnel was blockedpletely by the rocks.


    "That could be Luo Yuan!"


    ...


    Luo Yuan, who had been waiting outside for a long time, could not bear to see the rest of them sacrificing themselves for him. He could find countless excuses to argue that what he did had been the right thing. For instance, the mission would have had to go on even without him. Maybe the goal of the mission was too hard to achieve. Even if he¡¯d risked his life, he could not have saved them all.


    It was easy to lie to others, but the most difficult part was lying to himself. He could not bear to do that. He had never thought of himself as a saint, but then again, he was not ruthless either. Life was just a number to him. He was just an ordinary person. He tried to do good within his abilities, but he wouldn¡¯t risk his life for it. He would do things that were selfish, but he would never initiate anything that was inherently bad.


    He knew that the mission was dangerous and it would mean certain death for low-level evolved people, yet he had not stopped them. He had even thought of using them as cannon fodder, which was not far from murder.


    When he jumped down from the top of the tunnel, the pressure in him was gone along with the strong wind. His spirit became clean once again, and there was peace in his heart. He was smiling without even noticing it, and he eventually closed his eyes.


    His Sensory Perception, which had stopped growing, was expanding at the speed of light. 60 meters, 70 meters... It would not stop spreading. It was approaching 100 meters now...


    "After a round of Spirit Baptism, you have gained +1 Sensory Perception point." A system notification popped up in his head.


    Although Luo Yuan was not aware of it, despite the chaos, he was even calmer and more rational than before. There was no fluctuation on his emotions at all. His body hadnded on the ground as light as a leaf. As soon as his feet touched the ground, he opened his eyes to look at the bug that was puzzling him. His eyes were clear, sharp and focused. With a slight change in his thoughts, a thinyer of Will enveloped his body. Theyer was as thin as a hair, glowing in the dim light. It seemed like it could be snuffed out at any time. Although weak, the microwave radiation that had killed a few of the evolved people earlier waspletely blocked out of his body.


    The sma undergarment Luo Yuan was wearing had the same function too, except that it did not consume any of his Will. Unfortunately, it could not protect his head, which was sticking out. Suddenly the air became restless, and the gravel at the entrance of the tunnel started shaking vigorously. Some smaller pieces were floating in the air as a terrifying vibe spread around.


    Sensing Luo Yuan¡¯s energy, the giant bug felt uneasy and took a few steps back while chirping in a sharp tone. The glow on its body was triggered, and it shone a few times brighter than before. It was a warning, but looking at it from a different perspective, it could also have been its way of showing its weakness. Perhaps Luo Yuan¡¯s terrifying energy was making it ufortable.


    Suddenly, it became an enormous source of light, lighting up the entire tunnel like it was daylight. The intense microwave radiation was causing the temperature in the tunnel to increase at an rming rate. Soon, the temperature reached a few hundred degrees. It felt like the air was going to catch fire. That strong radiation made theyer of Will on Luo Yuan¡¯s body start to shake slightly, his Will depleting fast.


    Luo Yuan frowned, looking at the giant bug calmly as he slowly approached it. The depletion of his Will did not seem to bother him at all. Under the influence of energy, sand was flying everywhere in the tunnel, visibility inside it decreasing fast.


    Perhaps the giant bug was badly injured or maybe it could not endure such immense stress, but the terrifying, yet mysterious bug showed no intention of fighting at all. As Luo Yuan made his way towards it, it kept backing away from him.


    Its enormous pincers were opening and closing, letting out a sharp noise. Its ck scorpion tail swayed in the air, looking like it could deliver a critical hit at any time. The giant bug had all its attention fixed on that small, yet terrifying person in front of it, so it was unaware of what was happening behind its back. It had not noticed that a giant, one-meter tall rock had fallen during the earthquake earlier, not far away from the bug¡¯s back. As a result, the bug stumbled upon the rock.


    Seizing the opportunity, Luo Yuan pulled out his Zhanmadao. There was the sound of his sword rubbing against the scabbard before Luo Yuan disappeared from where he was standing. Suddenly, his speed reached its limit, and gravel started swirling in the air from the energy under his feet. Thanks to the sandstorm in the tunnel, he was nowhere to be seen.


    The giant bug noticed that something was wrong and started chirping again. Its pincers, which were as big asrge excavators, were high up in the air. The pair of antennae on its head that looked like whips were moving left and right, trying to trace Luo Yuan¡¯s location.


    An insect¡¯s antennae were its second pair of eyes. They were crucial for their smell and touch, and some of them even helped insects hear. Considering that there were many sensory and smell properties on the antennas, they were connected to the central nervous system. They were highly sensitive and they could sense objects and air, as well as different kinds of smells, even if they were far away. Sometimes, the antennae yed an even bigger role than the eyes; for instance, during hunting.


    It seemed like the bug had sensed something. Its tail was moving fast, and suddenly it was thrusting its front left violently at a terrifying speed. There were stripes of milky white, ultra high-speed airflow piercing a hole in the sandstorm. The bug had missed, even though it was usually very urate when it came to estimating distance. If anyone could see what Luo Yuan was doing, they would have noticed that he had managed to avoid the giant bug¡¯s tail when it started to move. The increase of his Sensory Perception had not only increased the range at which he could sense but had also made him extra sensitive to moving objects. In addition, he had acquired a new prediction ability that allowed him to avoid attacks even before they happened.


    Such an ability was important during a battle when the slightest mistake could lead to death. When the bug¡¯s tail paused at a straight position after itsst attack, a light glow struck through the air. The glow faded immediately, followed by a light noise as if a piece of metal was being sliced. A small part of its tail fell off and crashed heavily against the ground.


    Luo Yuan retracted his Zhanmadao, his hands shaking. The bug¡¯s tail had been harder than he¡¯d thought. Despite his Will, it had still been strenuous to use the sword. A simr incident had happened when he had been fighting against a green-level snake, but it was impossible topare the two. Perhaps this mission had been ranked D Grade because the giant bug had been injured. If it had been perfectly fine, its power might have been even more horrifying.


    However, that did not stop Luo Yuan, who ran through the sandstorm like a shooting arrow, straight towards the bug. Within a few breaths, he was already 10 meters away from it. Luo Yuan¡¯s 180-centimeter height looked smallpared to the giant bug though. He did not even reach its jaw.


    The bug snapped out of its pain. Luo Yuan sensed a shadow above his head before a pincer slightly smaller than a round table smashed upon him. As a human with a superhuman body, facing a giant bug heavier or stronger than him was challenging. If an attack involved air pressure, he could be blown away easily. Physical strength was more powerful than anything else, so sometimes it was difficult for him to even approach his opponent.


    He did not dare fight back forcefully against such an attack. His best quality had never been his defense or strength. He just walked two steps to the left and stepped onto the wall. His high Dexterity made the wall seem like a horizontal surface to him.


    As the bug¡¯s pincer smashed against the ground, Luo Yuan took a few quick steps on the wall, and then stomped hard it, producing an echoing noise. His tremendous power made a hole in the concrete wall before he ran towards the giant bug as if he was walking on the ground.


    The impact from the pincer¡¯s collision could still be felt. Large amounts of gravel were swirling fast in the air, asionally hitting Luo Yuan before bouncing back from the clothes he was wearing. Luo Yuan grabbed the bug¡¯s joint, which was glowing brightly, and flipped himself onto it. He was confident that he could finish it. Just as he was about to end the mission though, an intense sense of danger rose inside him. He noticed that theyer of Will on him was shaking rapidly, melting and copsing. A terrifying heat was burning like fire through his exposed body parts.


    He had never thought that the body of the giant bug would be the source of the microwave radiation. The power of its radiation was a few times stronger than the radiation in the air. The Willyer Luo Yuan had been relying on was beaten by the radiation and melted awaypletely. Amid the chaos, Luo Yuan managed to remain rational and calm and get out of the situation fast.


    Within a few seconds, his face was blushing as red as blood. Dazed, he felt as if he was losing his sanity as he stumbled, almost falling to the ground. He bit the tip of his tongue hard, feeling a bitterness in his mouth. He was not at the top of his game.


    Out of nowhere, he snapped out of it and tore off his clothes. He covered his head with the sma undergarment, and the temperature on his head decreased rapidly. His abdomen were still burning like fire, but he could not be bothered anymore.


    The giant bug¡¯s senses were sensitive, so it knew that Luo Yuan was around. It started to hit the wall hard, the wings on its back pping immensely. An intense wind was blowing, preventing Luo Yuan from standing up. Upset, he held onto the spikes on the bug¡¯s back desperately as he tried to bnce his body.


    He could feel his body losing strength at an rming rate. His body functions were shutting down, and parts of his skin that were exposed were exuding a light barbecue fragrance. He did not have much time left. Taking advantage of the interval between the giant bug¡¯s hits, he groaned and mustered his remaining strength, using the wind produced by the bug¡¯s pping wings to jump onto its head.


    Before hended, the Zhanmadao, which was giving out an immense glow, pierced straight into the giant bug¡¯s head. The hit took all the strength he had. Luo Yuan let go of his sword. He had lost all his strength, and he fell on his head from five meters high. He copsed hard against the ground. Unable to move anymore, he fell into aa.

 Chapter 282: Prison

    Chapter 282: Prison


    Trantor: Insignia Editor: Svjohn


    Luo Yuan slowly regained consciousness. When he opened his eyes, he realized he was seeing double. He blinked a few times, and his vision became normal again. Realizing that he was in an unfamiliar environment, Luo Yuan grew cautious. He was looking for his Zhanmadao, but he could not find it. Suddenly, an unimaginable pain hit him, almost knocking him out. Even though he was very perseverant, he could not help but let out a moan.


    "Are you awake?" a girl said in surprise.


    The voice sounded very familiar. When he recalled who it was, Luo Yuan stopped struggling and sat up.


    "Where are we?" Only then did he realize that his voice was husky. He was actually on the verge of losing his voicepletely.


    "In prison!" said Wen Yujie.


    Suddenly, Luo Yuan¡¯s head started hurting immensely. He calmed himself down and asked, "What happened? Why are we here? Where are the others?"


    "I have no idea. While we were on our way back, the guards surrounded us and took us away. I heard that Lieutenant Xu and the rest were getting ready for a mutiny when the Desert City lost contact with the Reconstruction Area. They said that we¡¯re implicated in this, but we will be released as soon as they find out what¡¯s actually happening," Wen Yujie said with hope.


    Luo Yuan¡¯s eyes were slightly closed. He was trying his very best not to think. He was tired after that short conversation. After a while, he opened his eyes and said, "How long was I in aa?"


    "Three days. I thought you were going to die, but you got better every day."


    "Were you the one who saved me?"


    "No, I¡¯m not capable of doing that. It was Lieutenant Xu who asked me to take care of you before we were ced in this cell," said Wen Yujie shyly. Suddenly, she seemed to have thought of something, but she looked hesitant to tell him. "Oh... There¡¯s something I want to tell you, but please don¡¯t be angry."


    "What is it?" Luo Yuan asked.


    "During the interrogation, I told them that we¡¯re husband and wife. You were badly injured and in aa, so they made an exception to allow us to stay in the same cell," Wen Yujie said, clenching her teeth as she mustered her courage. She was blushing.


    Luo Yuan could not help but cough. He thought for awhile before he said discreetly, "Can¡¯t me you for that. After all, you were just being nice. Alright, I¡¯m tired. I need to take a rest."


    Suddenly, he realized that Wen Yujie¡¯s mentality was very different from his. She was scarily naive, which made her seem out of ce amid the apocalypse. She was one of the aboriginal people who had just moved there at the beginning of the apocalypse. She had never experienced any sinister events, so that exined everything.


    ...


    When Luo Yuan closed his eyes to check his condition, he realized that it was worse than he¡¯d imagined. Not only could he not concentrate his Will temporarily, but even his Sensory Perception had deteriorated to a level lower than ordinary people¡¯s. He could not move his body either. This was the worst injury he had ever suffered. It was unbelievable that he was even alive considering his condition.


    He brought up the system silently, and the attributes panel appeared before him.


    "Character: Luo Yuan"


    "upation: Hunter"


    "Level: 10"


    "Experience:24,720/153,600"


    "Attributes"


    "Strength: 7 (15)"


    "Dexterity: 6 (15)"


    "Physique: 6+5 (14)"


    "Intelligence: 14 (14)"


    "Sensory Perception: 14+1 (14)"


    "Will: 15+1 (15)"


    "Skills: Science 16, Math 14, Mandarin 19, English 16, Finance 17, Computers 9, Dancing 1, Art 3, Gaming 6, Negotiating 9, Socializing 7, Cooking 3, Driving 1, Hand to Hand Combat 19, Sword Skill 6, Gun Skill 6, Casting 15"


    "Special Skills: Identification Technique, Synthesization Technique, Detection Technique"


    "Natural Abilities: Earth Stomp (Level-5)"


    "Status: Severely Injured"


    "Unassigned Attribute Points: 0"


    "Unassigned Skill Points: 0"


    "Iplete Missions: None"


    "Haunted Locust Heart"


    "Rarity: Blue"


    "Weight: 100g"


    "Materials: Spirit-Based Active Crystal"


    "Additional Abilities: Will+1, Sensory Perception+1"


    "Remarks: This is a rare active crystal, whose value is far higher than its assessment. If you carry it with you, it could speed up the Will and Sensory Perception consumed as well as level them up.


    Luo Yuan frowned. The attributes panel, which was usually green, was now an rming red. Apart from his sub-attributes, the rest of his attributes had suffered a steep drop, especially his Strength, Dexterity and Physique, which were no more than +7 (the figures in the brackets were only their original points).


    "No wonder I can¡¯t move and my breath is short. My body feels like it¡¯s been pressed against by a ghost as heavy as a giant rock." Luo Yuan felt stressed out.


    A normal male would usually have an attribute of +10, while an adult female would have +9, a teenage girl above 10 would have +8, and kids would have +7. His Strength and Dexterity were almost the same as a six-year-old kid¡¯s.


    Such weak strength could obviously not support his 90 kilos. The pain felt like a fire burning in him, and even breathing was painful for him. Apparently, his lungs must have gotten injured too.


    However, there was no change to his three major sub-attributes. Perhaps the damage was only critical on the outside. There was no other exnation why these three sub-attributes would have maintained their points.


    Luo Yuan was worried about Jiahui and Shishi, considering that he had been there for three days. Now that the situation was unstable, perhaps Xu Zhiqiang¡¯s spections would be proven right. If that happened, he would have been involved in the conspiracy, but he hoped that the rest would not be implicated as well. Who would have been so greedy after all?


    He felt a chill go through his body. He took a deep breath and pushed away all his concerns. Considering that he was pretty much helpless now, what with his strength being weaker than a kid¡¯s, such thoughts would only add to his worries. Instead of piling up unhealthy thoughts, he had to focus on his recovery.


    Luo Yuan emptied his mind. Ignoring the intense pain in his brain, he tried to concentrate his Will forcefully. Usually, that would have been as easy as breathing, but now it was extremely difficult. Before he knew it, he was dripping in sweat, and the bed waspletely wet. The immense pain made his body twitch. A few minutester, he passed out once again.


    ...


    Sweet drops of water moisturized his dry lips. Luo Yuan swallowed the water and regained his consciousness. Wen Yujie put down the bowl of water clumsily while flipping her hair. The feminine gesture surprised Luo Yuan. From what he remembered, this woman had been just like a guy to him.


    "How long was I out this time?" he asked in a husky voice.


    "One day!" Wen Yujie said. She was clearly upset, and her eyes were red. "You should have been sent to the hospital, but these people just don¡¯t care."


    "I am a repeat offender. Even the death sentence is not enough for me. They would never send me to the hospital," said Luo Yuan while shaking his head.


    "But we are innocent. I believe that justice will be served one day," Wen Yujie said.


    "The world is not just ck and white. Nevermind, let¡¯s not talk about it now," Luo Yuan sighed before he continued, "Did you hear any news recently? Did anyonee here?"


    "No one, except the people who bring the food," Wen Yujie said in disappointment.


    Luo Yuan did not feel hungry. Apparently, Wen Yujie had fed him while he had been unconscious. He felt warmth in his heart. He brought up the attributes panel, relieved to feel alive again. In one day, his Dexterity and Physique had gained +1 each. Everything was going great. Luo Yuanforted Wen Yujie, "Don¡¯t worry, everything will get better. Maybe we will be able to leave this ce soon."


    ...


    By their fifth day in the prison, Luo Yuan could move slowly, but not stand up yet. Only then did he manage to see the cell clearly. The room was overwhelmingly small. It was not even five square meters. Apart from the bunk bed and the two mattresses, there was nothing else in it. There wasn¡¯t even a washroom, only a wooden spittoon in the corner.


    It was hard for Luo Yuan to imagine a virgin like Wen Yujie using the spittoon in the presence of a man she did not know.


    "Such a naive girl!" Luo Yuan sighed. He felt like he owed her so much.


    That day, Luo Yuan¡¯s Will showed signs of concentrating. This time he tried to control himself and avoid passing out, but he failed. He was exhausted. Later that night, he tried again and seeded.


    He calmed himself down and looked at the panel carefully. The condition of his body was bad. A small portion of his cells were dead, and the rest of his body was dehydrated. His looked pale, and most of his blood vessels were clogged, while some parts were bruised. It was a miracle that he was still alive. Although the panel could not show his brain¡¯s condition, it was safe to assume that it was not doing well either.


    Luo Yuan checked once more before he started the healing process. It was very difficult for him to remain in a state that allowed him to concentrate his Will. He had to set priorities though. As the channel that sent nutrients to his body, his heart and blood vessels were crucial for his metabolism, so they had to be his first priority.


    His Will was like an invisible giant hand healing his blood vessels. It was very effective. This was mainly because Luo Yuan always used his Will to train his body, so the cells that were messed up were nicely tidied up by his Will. The healing was slightly imprinted in his system, which gave him an unimaginable power to control his physical body, resulting in less Will consumption for him.


    His weak heart starting pumping faster, and the dull blood vessel walls became stic and bright again. Numerous clogged blood vessels were unclogged. Before this, his physique had not been human-like, so it would not be an exaggeration to say that he was a green level super-lifeform.


    Under the intense pumping of his heart, his blood flowed like a river with a swishing sound. Arge amount of nutrients that were kept inside his body were broken down and,bined with his blood, they were sent to every part of his body. Even his capiries were functioning smoothly.


    Although the effect was not as efficient as using his Will, his fatally injured body had regained life. However, this was still too slow for Luo Yuan. There was a limit to his everyday consumption of Will. Each time it was only enough to fix something partially. Judging by the damage, Luo Yuan would need five days to recover, excluding the damage in his brain. But then again, what hecked the most was time. Nobody knew what was going to happen next. He had to prepare for the worst, and he did not want to leave his life to fate or some evil n or spontaneous idea.


    After his blood vessels and heart were fixed, he used his remaining Will to control his heart rate. His heart started to beat slower, and soon Luo Yuan was able to feel the Earth Pulse. The Earth Pulse had existed for many years and left a heavy, majestic trace over time. It felt like it was deep in the ground and everywhere at the same time.


    A system notification popped up in Luo Yuan¡¯s head.


    "Realization of the Earth Pulse: In this state, you will gain extra strength. Ability 1: Untiring Stamina; Ability 2: Super Healing. It will consume your Sensory Perception in the process until it ispletely exhausted."


    Luo Yuan slowly opened his eyes, which were dim, yet calm. His pale face was blushing.


    "What... What happened to you?" Wen Yujie stammered in shock as he struggled to sit up. Luo Yuan looked like he was suffering from terminal lucidity.


    "Help me get down from the bed," Luo Yuan said calmly. He thought lying on the bed would prevent him from executing the Earth Pulse to the fullest.


    Wen Yujie tried to say something, but she could not utter a word. She ran to Luo Yuan immediately.


    When she touched his arm, she was shocked to discover that his body was scarily warm. His heart was pounding like a beating drum, and although there was ayer of clothes on him, she could still feel his strong power clearly.


    Luo Yuan stood up and stumbled, almost falling to the floor. Wen Yujie, who had not been paying attention, was shocked, but she helped him up immediately. As an evolved person, she was naturally stronger than the average girl. Although Luo Yuan was almost 90 kilos, she could pick him up without breaking a sweat. However, standing next to Luo Yuan, who was 180 centimeters, Wen Yujie, who was not even 165 centimeters, looked like a little girl. Their bodies were leaning against each other as she blushed.


    Luo Yuan had evolved to the highest point, so there was an extra charming vibe to him that naturally attracted attention. However, Luo Yuan remained calm. He looked in front of him, staring into the empty space. He remained on the spot, not moving at all as his breathing slowed down.


    He slowly removed his hands from Wen Yujie¡¯s arm and asked her to back away from him.


    Wen Yujie hesitated. At his persistence, she took a few steps back, ready to support him if she needed to. Without her support, Luo Yuan¡¯s body shook at first, but he managed to stand still eventually. Ever since he had gained +1 in his Sensory Perception, his Earth Pulse had be level-5, its effect bing more than twice as powerful. He could feel a boundless, unimaginable power beneath him, as well as his body healing rapidly. Luo Yuan let out a breath and tried to move forward.

 Chapter 283: Find Him

    Chapter 283: Find Him


    Trantor: Insignia Editor: Svjohn


    One step, two steps. Luo Yuan was moving as slow as an old person at first, but he was gradually getting faster and faster, his movements bing more sturdy. After a few minutes, he could walk like a normal person again, the pain in his body subsiding rapidly. His brain, which felt like it had been clogged, started to clear up. Suddenly, he felt like he was shedding off a heavy armor and getting back his freedom.


    However, that did notst long.


    Soon, the exhaustion of his Sensory Perception made him dizzy. His body was detached from the Earth Pulse, and his emotions came back apanied by fatigue and pain. Luo Yuan felt lost.


    It took him a while to snap back to reality, but he slowly sat down at the corner of the bed. He turned on the system attributes panel right away. The Earth Pulse¡¯s healing was super effective. Although itsted less than half an hour, all his attributes had recovered fully. Both his Strength and Dexterity had gained +1 each, while the rest had reached +8. If he were to add the bonus of his Earth based abilities, his Physique would go as high as +13. However, bonus attributes were not an upgrade on his intrinsic abilities. In a certain context, he could be given a bonus; for instance, the halo in games. Besides the enhancement of his stamina though, it had no other effect on his recovery.


    Most importantly, the concentration of his Will remained obscure, although not as torturous as before. His Sensory Perception was spreading naturally like mercury flowing on the floor, but due to exhaustion, it could only be maintained at a six-meter radius. If nothing else, at least this meant that his brain was recovering at lightning speed.


    There was no price to pay for such powerful self-healing. What it took was only a massive amount of nutrients and energy. Luo Yuan felt hungrier than he ever had, and a part of the energy nucleus near his heart was used. It was the energy enrichment he had extracted from the snake, which could support him twice as much.


    "This should be enough!" Luo Yuan thought to himself as he clenched his fists, feeling the energy growing inside his body.


    There was a knock at the door, and a basin full of steamed buns and a big bowl of water were shoved through the small window under the door. Wen Yujie snapped out of her daydream and ced the food on the ground before Luo Yuan. She picked up a bun, squatted in a corner of the cell, and started eating it. There were tears rolling down her cheeks, but she kept eating.


    Luo Yuan thought her being emotional during such a moment was ridiculous. "What is there to cry about?"


    Hearing what Luo Yuan had asked her made Wen Yujie lose control of her tears.


    "I just... I don¡¯t want to talk you, you liar!" she said hatefully while still crying.


    She hadn¡¯t had a good rest those past few days, especially during the days Luo Yuan had been spiking a high fever. Every day she¡¯d had to wipe his body more than 10 times. She¡¯d even had to do it at night. Sometimes she would try to catch up on her sleep, but then she would hear Luo Yuan telling her that he was thirsty in his sleep and she¡¯d have to feed him. When he had finally awakened and started getting better, she had still been concerned that he could lose his life at any time.


    It was his fault for knowing that he had the unique ability to heal, but not saying anything to her. Did he not realize how worried she was about him? She could not stop crying as she thought about all the things she¡¯d had to do for him.


    Luo Yuan was stunned. He turned to Wen Yujie and told her apologetically, "Actually, there were certain conditions that had to be met for me to heal like I did. It¡¯s not like I enjoyed lying in bed doing nothing. Thank you for taking care of me though."


    Sensing that there was a boundary in his tone, the girl¡¯s sensitive heart was hurt. Wen Yujie turned cold as she said, "I don¡¯t need to hear that. I would have done this for anyone."


    ...


    Since then, Luo Yuan could sense that Wen Yujie was being cold to him. Although he realized it, he did not say anything. He knew that he had aplicated love life, not only with Huang Jiahui and Zhao Yali, but even with Wang Shishi. Wang Xiaoguang had been hurt so bad that she did not even want to be friends with him anymore. He really should not be nting any more seeds of love. Plus, he was now behind bars and unsure of what would happen to him, so he was not in the mood to invest in a rtionship.


    After dinner, Luo Yuan put this behind him. Hey down on his bed, closed his eyes and prepared to meditate to speed up the healing of his Sensory Perception and Will. His meditation was not limited to one position. He could do it sitting or lying down. Not longter, he closed his eyes, and all the thoughts in his mind quieted down.


    Wen Yujie stared hatefully at Luo Yuan, who was sleeping like a pig right after eating his dinner. She got into her own bed and just stared into space. She thought she would make a bad impression on him. If she did not exin herself properly, it might cause a misunderstanding between them. On the other hand, she was worried that she was being too cold to him and he might think that she was angry with him. Her mind was inplete chaos.


    ...


    Meanwhile, in the other room, there were cigarette butts everywhere, and smoke was filling the air as if there was a fire.


    "The underground cables were cut off recently, and the satellite phones were turned up with the excuse of re-encryption. Due to the electromaic storm, the Desert City is now untraceable," a guy in ssesughed.


    Su Yu nodded and said, "Good. At least the civilians won¡¯t be affected temporarily. By then, we will be rich and there¡¯ll nothing we¡¯ll need to care about."


    Su Yu then looked at Lao Xie.


    "Oh, the military has been settled. Master Liu is ying along," said Lao Xie as he stood up and tossed his cigarette away. There was a smell of blood on his body. Apparently, the battle would not be a peaceful one.


    "What about you, Hawk Eye?" Su Yu said to an average-looking man with a sharp vision.


    "The operation in the government department has been going well these past few days. We have handled a few of them who noticed that something was wrong. Oh, it¡¯s Shuanggui! We have taken care of anyone who caused trouble!" Hawk Eye joked with a frown.


    Everyone burst outughing, but Su Yu was frowning. It was the first time hecked any talented men. Except for a couple of them, the rest were all talk. Su Yu banged on the table. "Now let¡¯s talk about the evolved people who were captured. Lao Xie, did anybody escape recently?"


    "There¡¯s a soldier doing rounds near the prison day and night, and those who were unwilling to submit were all killed. None of them would dare escape now," Lao Xie said arrogantly. Killing was a major privilege to him. It had been his obsession ever since he had be a martial arts coach before the apocalypse.


    "Although it was a little cruel, it showed them how powerful we are and that they need to listen. Things would be so much easier if Sister Mo¡¯s hypnosis was effective on evolved people," Su Yu said. Suddenly, he seemed to think of something. "Speed up the investigation on the evolved people that are still out there among the civilians. I don¡¯t want the same thing happening again."


    As he concluded, his face was full of bitterness. He had not expected such a small ce as the Desert City to have so many powerful evolved people. If it was not for the other party¡¯s inexperience in battle, he would have already lost his life.


    "I suspect that there¡¯s a mole in the Desert City, otherwise it would not have taken us so long to take care of this," the guy in the sses said seriously while pushing up his sses.


    "Let them go on with the investigation and tighten the food control. One day they will not be able to take it anymore and they will show themselves," Su Yu said.


    Suddenly, the meeting room door was pushed open, and Sister Mo walked in without acknowledging anyone. She took out a document and said, "We are in trouble!"


    Su Yu took the document and looked at it, mumbling to himself, "Luo Yuan!"


    Then he said in a deadly tone, "Get him now!"


    ...


    In the middle of the night, Luo Yuan was lying in bed with his eyes open. The cell was inplete darkness as he slowly sat up, feeling for his Zhanmadao. He had been meditating just now, so his sensitivity was high enough for him to feel where the Zhanmadao was. After imprinting it with Will over long periods of time, the sword had been imprinted with his spirit. As long as it was not too far away from him, he could sense it clearly. He could even use the remaining imprinted Will to sense what was happening nearby. Of course, things were not exactly clear. The best he could do was sense if there were any big obstacles near him. Ever since his brain damage, he had not been feeling at the top of his game though. As a result, he had not been able to sense much until now. Things were only just starting to be clear again.


    He sensed that his Zhanmadao was not too far. It was approximately 600 meters to 1,000 meters away. He was hesitating to summon it though. The Zhanmadao had be a part of his body now. It was in his blood. He had taken extra time to cultivate it when he¡¯d arrived at the Desert City. He could now move the sword with his mind, but his speed was slow, unlike the terrifying impact of the ¡®flying sword¡¯ in the myth. However, it was still good enough for him to summon the sword. All he had to do was think about it, and the Zhanmadao woulde to him.


    However, after thinking about it, he gave up on the urge to summon it. Now that his body was notpletely healed, there was no use. Plus, it could trigger some kind of danger or unpredictable incident. Luo Yuan regained his calm, concentrated his Will, and started to heal his body.


    ...


    The next morning, as soon as the lights in the prison were turned on, Luo Yuan opened his eyes. His body was itching after using the Earth Pulse to heal in the middle of the night. It bothered him immensely, but he wanted to see what was happening to his body. Wen Yujie, who had been sleeping on the top bunk, was waking up as well.


    Luo Yuan said immediately, "Please wait, I¡¯m taking my clothes off!"


    "Okay!" Wen Yujie replied shyly before shey down on her bed again.


    Luo Yuan¡¯s sword, wallet, clothes, and equipment had not been confiscated when he had been caught. Luo Yuan was relieved to see that he was wearing his own clothes.


    In fact, he had plenty of equipment on him. On the outside, he was wearing Levitating Sports Wear, a dark-blue piece of equipment made using Storm Bird Feathers. Although its ranking was not high and it did not look extraordinary on Luo Yuan, its unique Airflow Bncing ability was the reason he¡¯d kept it with him until now.


    On the inside, he was wearing a green-level bulletproof armor made of Archelon Egg Colloid with anti-damaging and energy-absorbing effects. His undergarment was thetest sma Undergarment, another green-level piece of equipment with an angled shield made of a Green Hidden Person¡¯s Sharp Horn and a Haunted Locust Heart with its own special functions.


    Luo Yuan took off his clothes and found out what was causing him the itch. There was dead skin all over his body, looking likeyers of scales. Theyers looked like they were one size bigger, and the sight of them gave him goosebumps. The dead skin consisted of almost all the dead cells in his body. As his body slowly recovered and regained its normal physique, the dead skin was shed by his metabolism.


    Luo Yuan tried to peel off the dead skin, making a sound simr to a piece of cloth being torn. The dead skin was tough, but the limitations of human nature made its defense weaker than that of mutated beasts. However, the dead skin shed by Luo Yuan¡¯s +14 Physique body wasparable to a light-green level creature¡¯s fur. Luo Yuan carried on tearing it, soon getting exhausted.


    His strength had not fully recovered yet, so he was only slightly stronger than the average person. It waspletely iparable to when he was at the top of his game. Luo Yuan was panting and staring at his body, which looked like it was suffering from some kind of skin disease. There was nothing he could do. He actually found it funny. He was not sure if he should be proud of himself orugh at himself. He did not even have the strength to hurt himself right now. He was almost there though. Two more sessions of healing and he would have fully recovered. When the time came, this tiny shell would not be able to contain him anymore.

 Chapter 284: Violent Battle (I)

    Chapter 284: Violent Battle (I)


    Trantor: Insignia Editor: Svjohn


    Just as Luo Yuan was done putting on his clothes, someone knocked hard on the door.


    "Spot check! Everybody put your hands on your heads and get on the ground! This is not a warning, it¡¯s an order! I repeat, everybody put your hands on your heads and get on the ground..."


    Shocked, Wen Yujie, who had been lying on her bed, jumped down immediately. She had her clothes on all the time, because she had been rooming with a man she was unfamiliar with, but Luo Yuan was still taking his time putting on his shoes.


    "Be quick! These soldiers are not friendly, they might really open fire!"


    Luo Yuan¡¯s heart was pounding, and his blood was flowing through his entire body, his face flushing red. When he was finally done with his shoes, he had to calm himself down.


    "Prepare yourself, we¡¯re going out."


    "Nine, eight, seven..." the soldiers outside were counting down.


    "What are you talking about? Have you lost your mind? Stay on the ground with me!"


    Wen Yujie tried to get Luo Yuan to squat down by pulling on his arm. Luo Yuan, who had been weak earlier, had his feet nted on the floor. She could not move him, no matter how hard she tried.


    "...Six, five, four..."


    "Didn¡¯t you keep asking me who I am?" Luo Yuan turned around and asked her.


    "...Three, two, one..."


    There was a magnificent invisible aura surrounding him. Wen Yujie¡¯s anxiety was gone, but her heart was beating fast as she asked, "So who are you?"


    "Luo Yuan!" Luo Yuan was grinning, but his eyes were cold.


    The door was pushed open with a bang, and a team of soldiers stormed inside the cell. After ncing around them, one of them said, "Everybody get ready..."


    Before the soldier could even finish his sentence though, a terrifying vibe started spreading around the tiny space.


    The bodies of the soldiers shook, and their expressions went stiff as they all fell down. Their eyes looked empty as if the fire in their spirits had been put off.


    It was the first time Luo Yuan had used his force field to attack a human, and the effect was better than he¡¯d imagined. He would normally have felt sad for them, but he did not experience any emotion now. What was left was only his cold sensibility.


    Wen Yujie turned pale as her mind went nk. She was shocked by Luo Yuan¡¯s force. She had not seen that murderous actioning, and she did not know how to react.


    Luo Yuan picked up a gun, took the bullets in his hand and threw it away. He pulled Wen Yujie to him and walked out of the cell between all the dead bodies. Some soldiers who were doing their rounds at the corner realized that something was wrong. As they were about to shoot, Luo Yuan threw the Tungsten core bullets at them. The bullets flew towards the soldiers at the speed of light, hitting them and causing them to drop dead on the floor.


    Suddenly, Luo Yuan stopped walking. He stood right where he was and extended his arm. His Zhanmadao floated towards him from the end of the tunnel. Within seconds, it hadnded on Luo Yuan¡¯s hand. Although he was sensible, holding the sword that had been with him since the beginning of the apocalypse caused a smile to form on his face.


    A few stepster, the rm was ringing throughout the entire prison area.


    It was an area under major surveince, so anything unusual would be captured on the cameras that were mounted everywhere. It was impossible to escape unnoticed.


    Of course, Luo Yuan knew that escaping would not be easy. However, the energy from the Earth was reaching him boundlessly from beneath him, his body recovering rapidly and his powerful strength returning to his body.


    Amid the noise of the rm, Luo Yuan¡¯s sharp ears could pick up the sound of many people heading in his direction at a fast pace. He knew that he was surrounded.


    "Hide!" Luo Yuan turned around and told Wen Yujie, who was still in shock. He used his sword to slice open the gate across from him. Ignoring the confused prisoners, he pushed her inside the cell.


    "No, Luo Yuan, don¡¯t act impulsively! You need to live!" Wen Yujie told him loudly as she snapped out of it.


    Luo Yuan left with a nk expression on his face. Gripping his sword firmly, he ran faster and faster along the 10-meter long tunnel. Suddenly, he took a light leap, his body flying eight meters across the tunnel like a bird. Pointing his feet at the wall, he managed tond among the soldiers. One of them did not even get a chance to take a good look at him before he was struck by his force. His mouth started foaming and he passed out, yet Luo Yuan was nowhere to be seen.


    The shelter¡¯syout wasplicated. There were tunnels everywhere, and all aisles and rooms looked the same. It was easy to get lost in there without any obvious signage or map. However, Luo Yuan figured out where the exit was by recalling where the sound of the soldiers¡¯ footsteps had beening from. The space in the shelter had to be limited and the prison could not be too big, because after less than two minutes of running, Luo Yuan arrived at the exit.


    He slowed down his pace when he saw someone familiar.


    "So you¡¯re Luo Yuan? The only level-5 evolved person in the Desert City?" Lao Xie said as heughed. "Who would have thought that you¡¯d use to stay next to me! We had a hard time looking for you!"


    Luo Yuan walked up to him, remaining expressionless.


    As he watched Luo Yuan walk towards him, Lao Xie¡¯s smile disappeared. Luo Yuan was an officially recognized evolved person, so Lao Xie had to be extra careful. Although there was a rumor that he had been badly injured, it was better to see it with his eyes. From what he saw, there seemed to be nothing wrong with Luo Yuan.


    "There¡¯s no need for us to fight. We can talk..." said Lao Xie with a grin.


    "Stop wasting my time, I¡¯ll kill all of you right now," Luo Yuan said calmly.


    Lao Xie looked at the ceiling quietly. The guy with the sses was crawling on it, ready to ambush Luo Yuan without even waiting for the perfect time. Lao Xie let out a roar. His muscles started bulging and he grew taller all of a sudden. What was even more strange though, was that there was ayer of oil shining on his skin.


    Lao Xie stomped hard on the ground, creating a deep hole on the concrete floor before he lunged towards Luo Yuan like a cannon ball. Luo Yuan remained right where he was. When the guy with the sses jumped down, he took a step back right away. Waving his right hand, a shadow suddenly started shaking and a fan-shaped glow formed at the top of it.


    Against Luo Yuan¡¯s expectations, the guy with the sses was not slow to react. As soon as he was aware of the danger, he folded his body into a ball. With the help of his core muscles, he flung himself up into the air and stayed there for 0.1 seconds. He managed to escape Luo Yuan¡¯s attack andnd on the ground elegantly. His weapon was a pair of ws made of metal, painted with ayer of Antiaris poison extracted from a level-5 creature¡¯s teeth. The wsplemented his extraordinary agility and flexibility, giving him a ghostly vibe.


    Luo Yuan frowned, His body had not been fully recovered yet, so his physical attributes were only at +13 or +14. As a result, he had missed. Just as the guy with the ssesnded, Lao Xie, who had turned into a hunk, came his way. He was like a terrifying giant dragon. A strong wind was produced, even before he had started to attack. He seemed to have gone through some kind of tough Kung Fu training that must have given him that astounding strength.


    However, Luo Yuan could see many ws on him. Although his physical attributes were not at their peak, his vision was clear, and it would not be an exaggeration to say that he was a martial arts master. Luo Yuan moved his head out of the way to avoid Lao Xie¡¯s punch. At the same time, he grabbed Lao Xie¡¯s hair and tried to stab his temple.


    Contrary to expectation, his sharp Zhanmadao, which could kill a green-level creature, was useless. The tip of the sword was blocked by theyer of oil on Lao Xie¡¯s skin. Luo Yuan remained calm as he tried to stab Lao Xie¡¯s waist, head and spine before kicking him away.


    "This all you got? This is too weak, it seems like I overestimated you!" Lao Xieughed as he took a few steps back. He was still standing firmly on the ground. There were no injuries on him at all.


    Luo Yuan was left speechless by Lao Xie¡¯s shocking defense. He knew that it was impossible for Lao Xie to be this strong. There had to be some kind of loophole that he was not aware of. While he was still thinking, the guy with the sses and Lao Xie ran towards him. Lao Xie blocked Luo Yuan¡¯s way while the guy with the sses walked around him, looking for Luo Yuan¡¯s weakness.


    The two of them made a perfect team, as one of them was powerful, strong and bright, and the other was agile, light and dark. Even a level-5 creature could get killed by them if it was careless. That was why they had the confidence to fight Luo Yuan. Luo Yuan tried to attack again, but the journey before him was still unpredictable, and he did not want to waste his Will on them. He avoided their attack, using the lightning speed of the Zhanmadao to chop Lao Xie¡¯s throat, eyes, and crotch. He even tried to cut his anus. Once again, the sword could not go through theyer of oil. There were only ripples, but no wounds.


    Lao Xie endured Luo Yuan¡¯s continuous attacks, no more able to defend himself than a kid. He roared in anger and embarrassment before he opened his mouth. There was a ring light shining from within it. Lao Xie¡¯s pupils were shrinking fast, and he tried to close his mouth quickly, but it was toote. Before he could close it, the sword had pierced through his cheek. He might not have lost his life if he¡¯d avoided a direct attack.

 Chapter 285: Violent Battle (II)

    Chapter 285: Violent Battle (II)


    Trantor: Insignia Editor: Svjohn


    The battle between Luo Yuan and Lao Xie was a tight one. Concerned, the guy with the sses, who was standing aside, jumped forward and tried to gnaw at Luo Yuan with his fishy ws. He was fast, so it did not take him long to reach Luo Yuan, who was only four meters away. Feeling his ws touch Luo Yuan¡¯s clothes, the man smiled. No matter how powerful an evolved person was, a drop of Antiaris poison could kill them instantly and turn them into a puddle of water.


    Suddenly, Luo Yuan retracted his sword, turned around and shed into the air. There was a fan-like glow as time seemed to freeze. The guy with the sses went stiff. He could not move his body at all. He let out a forced smile as a long bloody cut appeared on his face, spreading all the way down to his waist. His body was sliced into half and glided slowly to the ground.


    "No!" Lao Xie screamed in devastation. His face was filled with blood, cut into half horizontally as Luo Yuan retracted his sword. Blood and flesh were flowing out, making for a gory sight. Luo Yuan shook his head as he said calmly, "I have wasted too much time."


    Lao Xie let out a lunaticugh and roared like a beast, "You killed Zhou Wen! You are dead, Boss will never let you go!"


    Luo Yuan looked at him expressionlessly. "It¡¯s your turn now."


    Terrified, Lao Xie took a few steps back.


    He had underestimated Luo Yuan¡¯s ability at first, but as time passed, his power seemed to be growing like a rocket. Although Lao Xie had managed to defend himself at first, a few secondster, his defense system started to break down. The strength of Luo Yuan¡¯s attacks was getting more and more intense, and Lao Xie¡¯s body started to ache. Luo Yuan¡¯s power was rising like there was no limit to it.


    Lao Xie knew very well that his defense was not unlimited, although he had the ability to divert one¡¯s attack to a nearby area. By expanding the area force was applied on, he could minimize the pressure on a particr area. This made him fearless against bullets, guns, and swords. No matter how sharp or powerful they were, fighting them only felt like scratching an itch for him. Before the purge of the evolved people, he had managed to escape from the campsite by using that ability of his. However, his ability still did not allow him to handle big mutated beasts. Attacks from such beasts could destroy his defense immediately. Plus, it could not defend him against artillery. Such an attack could crush him into pieces.


    While Lao Xie was distracted by what Luo Yuan had said, Luo Yuan dragged his Zhanmadao and walked towards him. His speed was so fast that he turned into a shadow. He held his sword with both hands and stomped hard on the floor. Power was transferred from the tips of his toes to his waist, spine, arms, and eventually to the tip of his sword. By the time Lao Xie snapped out of his thoughts, the sword was already right in front of him. He tried to defend himself by crossing his arms, but the tip of the sword was already touching the skin of his forehead.


    Within 0.1 seconds, theyer of oil was broken and spilled from the back of his head. Lao Xie was stunned, his eyes filling with anger. He wanted to curse Luo Yuan, but before he could, Luo Yuan proceeded to attack him again. This time, Lao Xie¡¯s ability had no effect whatsoever. His head was sliced by the sword and plunged out of his body towards the ceiling. Blood was flowing as he shook uncontrobly, and soon his enormous body copsed onto the floor.


    Luo Yuan stood where he was, blood dripping from the tip of his sword to the ground. It looked brand new again. The remaining soldiers who were stationed at the prison rushed to the scene. Before they could even see Luo Yuan¡¯s face, they were hit by his force and passed out on the floor. Suddenly, the prison was defenseless.


    Luo Yuan opened the cell gates one by one, letting the evolved people break out of the prison. Some of them were grateful and some ran straight away, while others cursed him, unwilling to leave their cells. The government¡¯s authority had not weakened after the apocalypse. Most of them knew that something strange was going on, but none of them dared do anything, afraid that they would get sentenced. Of course, there were some who wanted to prove themselves by fighting Luo Yuan, but looking at the gory scene along the tunnel, none of them dared even say anything.


    Not long after reuniting with Wen Yujie, Luo Yuan found Xu Zhiqiang¡¯s cell. Having been crowned the leader of the rebellion, he had been given special treatment. His cell was low, shallow, andpletely dark. He could only sit in it. He couldn¡¯t stand up at all. Of course, the defensive measures were even stronger, but Luo Yuan shed the gate open easily with his sword.


    It had only been a few days, but Xu Zhiqiang already looked haggard. When the gate was opened, he backed off deeper into the room, but when he saw it was Luo Yuan, his eyes sparkled with hope.


    "Mr. Luo, I knew those injuries were nothing for you!" he said weakly.


    "Let¡¯s get out, we¡¯ll talkter."


    "Right, let¡¯s go!" Xu Zhiqiang stood up trembling.


    They found Xiao Baihong and Shen Jixing in a cell nearby. They did not waste much time, leaving the prison area fast. Wen Yujie was hesitant at first, as she was not sure if a prison break was the right thing to do. Looking at Luo Yuan¡¯s expressionless face though, she did not dare say anything. She had no choice but to escape with them.


    Seeing them running away, some of the evolved people followed them as well. After all, breaking out of the prison was not the end of the story. The most crucial part was avoiding getting captured again.


    "Where are we going?" Xu Zhiqiang asked Luo Yuan as they ran.


    It seemed like a simple question, but it wasn¡¯t. By asking that, Xu Zhiqiang was basically surrendering the leadership to Luo Yuan and choosing a side.


    "Where else can we go? Let¡¯s just finish them all in one go!" Xiao Baihong said loudly. He had been furious ever since hearing the news.


    "Do you know who the brain behind this rebellion is? Who the members are? What their abilities and military strength is? Nonsense! Who do you want to finish in one go?" Xu Zhiqiang said.


    "I think it should not be that hard..." Xiao Baihong said quietly.


    "I need to go home. We¡¯ll see what we¡¯ll do next after checking the conditions at home." Luo Yuan was out of the Earth Pulse mode, so his emotions wereing back to his body. Thinking for a bit, he said, "Of course, you guys could go home too if you want, but please be careful."


    Everybody went silent. Although their families were not there with them during the apocalypse, they had formed new families. They could not hide any longer. A prison break was big news, especially a mass prison break. Perhaps their homes would now be under major surveince.


    "I¡¯m not going back. My wife is working in Hope City, I don¡¯t have anyone here," Xu Zhiqiang said.


    "Me neither. The situation won¡¯t get any better or worse if I go back," Xiao Baihong said, clenching his teeth.


    "Then I¡¯m not going either." Wen Yujie looked desperate as she realized that she was now a fugitive.


    "I need to go back, there¡¯s nobody to take care of my mother." Shen Jixing thought for a long time before making up his mind, "I¡¯m not following you guys, I¡¯m leaving!" he said and went off right away.


    Some of them did not even say anything before leaving, and Luo Yuan did not try to convince them to stay. The Desert City was a small ce, and the shelter wasn¡¯t even one-fifth of it. Although their bodies were weak, they were evolved people, so their strength was higher than the average person. In 10 minutes, Luo Yuan had reached the warehouse area, where he used to stay.


    Maybe he was fast or maybe the enemy¡¯s forces has yet to regroup, but Luo Yuan did note across anyone suspicious along the way. No doubt that was good news. It proved that they still had some privacy and control. In fact, he¡¯d picked up some clues while he¡¯d been fighting Lao Xie. Lao Xie had been shocked to see him, which meant that he had not had ess to Luo Yuan¡¯s details, photos or address.


    Luo Yuan had been looking forward to going home, but his excitement was crushed when he reached his destination. The dorm door was wide open, and there was nobody inside. The nkets were in disarray, and stools were lying everywhere on the floor. The whole room was a mess. Luo Yuan was relieved when he opened the closet. Their luggage and clothes were gone. It did not look like a raid. They must have escaped, otherwise, they wouldn¡¯t have taken their clothes with them.


    "Mr. Luo, there¡¯s a note!" Xu Zhiqiang had noticed something on a table.


    Luo Yuan walked up to him immediately, picked up the note and read, "Don¡¯t worry, we¡¯re safe!"


    There was a drawing at the bottom that looked like a sun and clouds. The handwriting belonged to Huang Jiahui, while the drawing was obviously Wang Shishi¡¯s.


    It was obvious that the note was meant for him, but what did the drawing mean?


    "A sun? Clouds?" Luo Yuan thought to himself, "Could it be their new location? Or does it mean something special?"


    "Is there anywhere to hide in the shelter?" Luo Yuan turned around and asked the people who had followed him.


    "Although the shelter looks enormous, most of it is upied by warehouses, and the rest is filled with people. There¡¯s nowhere to hide," Xu Zhiqiang thought before he said, "The only ces where one could hide would be the exhaust pipes and the sewer. If we were to hide for a long time, we¡¯d need to think about food and drinking water though. The food is given out ording to headcount in the shelter, so our only choice would be the sewer."


    The location and images did not seem to be rted. Perhaps the drawing was just a scribble that meant nothing. Luo Yuan stopped thinking about it and asked Xu Zhiqiang, "The sewer? Maybe there¡¯s water there, but what about food? Do you mean...?" he tried to guess.


    "That¡¯s right! The sewer is used by both the Desert City and the shelter. The environment is damp and the domestic sewage is heavy, so there are many big underground creatures living there. Before the crypt worm tide, the military would clean it almost every month. Thest time they cleaned it was less than two weeks ago."


    Luo Yuan¡¯s eyes brightened up. The continuous use of the Earth Pulse had exhausted his nucleus and the remaining conserved energy in his body. Suddenly, he felt both mentally exhausted and famished. He could even eat a cow if there was one in front of him.


    "Let¡¯s go there!" he decided immediately.

 Chapter 286: Under the Sewer (I)

    Chapter 286: Under the Sewer (I)


    Trantor: Insignia Editor: Svjohn


    Not long after Luo Yuan and the gang had left, a loud noise was heard around the prison. It sounded like an explosion, and dust was suddenly flying everywhere. Amid the hazy smoke, a glowing man appeared. His entrance was magnificent, but what was unbelievable was that he was actually floating in the air.


    Upset, Su Yu rushed to the scene as soon as he heard the news. It was toote though. Two dead bodiesy miserably on the ground, and so were countless soldiers, although he was not sure whether they were dead or alive.


    "Such garbage!" Su Yu said coldly. Their deaths meant nothing to him. Ever since he had decided to walk the journey of hegemony, he had long pushed his emotions aside. During the apocalypse, only those cruel and ruthless enough survived.


    "They were still my dogs though. A level-5 evolved person might be strong, but they¡¯re still nothingpared to me. You¡¯re not getting away from me, Luo Yuan!"


    ...


    The shelter was located underground, so there was no drainage or covers needed. There were only two ways to reach it. One was by using the tunnel meant for maintenance, and the other was by using the pipelines under the toilet bowls. Thetter was naturally out of the question. Filth aside, the pipelines were too shallow and small for a human body to move in. This way they would not just be seen easily, but also endanger their lives bying into contact with the stuff being flushed down the pipelines. They were all either serving in the military or on reserve, so even Wen Yujie had to attend military training once a week every month. Her actions were quick, and once she made a decision, she never procrastinated.


    The wanted list was not out yet, so nobody recognized them, although they came across many people along the way. Luo Yuan was relieved. After all, he did not want to kill people just like that. The sewer maintenance room was coincidentally located 100 meters away from the campsite. It was in the danger zone, so it was always one of the major caution areas. Since it was close to the campsite, if anything were to happen, it could be fixed in no time.


    The entrance of the campsite was heavily guarded. There were guards whistling nearby, so there was no way for them to get in. It was impossible not to get caught if they tried to sneak in just like that.


    "I didn¡¯t expect the security measures to be so strict here. There were only four guardsst time. I think they know me though. Let me talk to them!" Xu Zhiqiang said.


    "No, you¡¯re on the wanted list now! Plus, you¡¯re listed as the leader of the rebellion. Ordinary people may not know who you are, but these people will know for sure. They¡¯ll kill you if you go in just like that," Luo Yuan said. Sighing, he added, "Let me do it!"


    It was the only way. They had to get closer so that Luo Yuan could pressure the guards with his power. Otherwise, they would have to retreat. Luo Yuan did not underestimate the power of modern weapons. He was not even thinking aboutrge-scale ones, even the new rifles terrified him. His +15 Physique could be used to block bullets, but not armor-piercing bullets, which were twice as fast. The reason he could easily defeat any soldier in the campsite was that he had the advantage of understanding the location where they were at as well as having sufficient information. If he did not have those, he would have been shot even before he could get close enough. With his abilities as an elusive assassin, he could basically kill anyone he wanted. However, provoking the military would be a dead end for him. That was also why Luo Yuan had decided to withdraw, even though he¡¯d just gotten out of prison.


    "That¡¯s too dangerous, let me do it," said Wen Yujie.


    "You..." Luo Yuan wanted to reject her initially, but remembering that she was also an evolved person, he asked, "Do you have the confidence to do it?"


    "I can control light. Although the damage is not very significant, I could still trick their eyes. If they don¡¯t look in our direction, I have an 80% chance of seeding," Wen Yujie said proudly. "I¡¯ll need a little time though."


    "Enough!" Xiao Baihong said immediately. "Let me handle the lock after you¡¯ve done your part."


    He was a metal based evolved human, so he could manipte locks. Unlocking them was a piece of cake for him. He could grasp the technique to unlock the locks as long as he had a chance to experiment a few times.


    Suddenly, a big group of soldiers swamped out of the door, leaving the campsite as fast as they could. Luo Yuan counted silently. There was more than a thousand of them. He knew something was wrong. "How long more do you need?" he asked


    "Not long, but we should stay together!"


    Luo Yuan turned around, only to realize that there was sweat dripping down Wen Yujie¡¯s forehead. They did not need to be reminded by Luo Yuan to put Wen Yujie in the limelight and support her.


    "We can go now," said Wen Yujie with a frown. There seemed to be no change in their surroundings as they walked towards the entrance anxiously. After a few steps though, the images before them suddenly starteding closer to them at a fast pace.


    "What¡¯s happening? Is it my eyes?" Xiao Baihong sounded shocked.


    "It should be the light refraction. Objects before us are pulled closer, while their vision is pulled further away. Although we¡¯re moving closer now, to them, we¡¯re still standing where we were," Luo Yuan said after estimating their distance and speed.


    Wen Yujie was focused on controlling the light, but her eyes were sparkling with hope. The effect of her refraction was amazing. Luo Yuan noticed that some of the soldiers were looking in their direction, but they could not see them. It was as if they did not exist. Humans could see thanks to the reflection of light, so by controlling light, one could control another person¡¯s vision and have them see what they wanted them to see. If this ability was included in the system, although there would be no direct damage, it would allow Luo Yuan to trick someone or even create illusions.


    As they got closer to the sewer maintenance room, Luo Yuan noticed that Wen Yujie was sweating even more and her face was turning pale. Apparently, that level of light control was the extent of her abilities. When they were about 10 meters away, her body started swaying and she was soaked in sweat. Although she looked soft, there was an extraordinary perseverance to her. While everyone else was worried about her, she insisted on finishing what she¡¯d started.


    Xiao Baihong unlocked the door, and they went in, closing the door silently. Exhausted, Wen Yujie leaned on Luo Yuan. The maintenance room was spacious. From the look of it, it had to be at least a few hundred square meters. There was no furniture though. It was empty for the convenience of the troopsing in and out. There was only adder in a corner connected to the underground. Six meters into the room was a stainless steel door. Xiao Baihong opened an electric box near him, pushing the start button. Wth a hydraulic jet sound, the stainless steel door opened.

 Chapter 287: Under the Sewer (II)

    Chapter 287: Under the Sewer (II)


    Trantor: Insignia Editor: Svjohn


    As they were getting into the sewer, Luo Yuan heard an uproar. There were several unknown creatures scurrying at their feet, some even trying to go up their pants.


    "Ahh!" Wen Yujie screamed.


    The sewer was dark, and there was no source of light at all. Luo Yuan¡¯s low light vision was unclear. Under such circumstances, anyone would have been afraid. Even Luo Yuan felt a chill in his body as he turned his forcefield on and off. Although the force was not strong, the creatures at their feet were still running around like there was a natural disaster.


    The crisp sound of a lighter was heard, and a dim me pierced through the darkness. An evolved person standing at the back was providing the only source of light in the sewer. Apart from Luo Yuan and the gang, the were only three other people following them.


    One of them was Yang Zhiguang, a middle-aged man who looked upset. It seemed like he had been through a lot in his life. The joints of his fingers were thick, and his skin was rough. Perhaps he¡¯d had a tough life before the apocalypse.


    There was also a man called Zhang Wu, who was small in size. He was barely 160 centimeters tall, but he gave the impression that he was strong and should not be underestimated. Luo Yuan had seen his power before, and it was unique. During a battle, he could grow a third eye on his forehead, although Luo Yuan was not sure what it was for.


    Thest man was called Tong Jianliang, and he had a beard that covered half of his face. Judging by his appearance, it was hard to estimate how old he was. He was the one who had lit the lighter.


    The sewer was not as filthy as they¡¯d imagined, The water in the pipe was shallow, so it did not even cover their soles. The sewer was located in the desert, so it hardly rained, and the strict water control had caused a major drop in domestic sewage. Furthermore, the massive amounts of micro-organisms digested the bacteria as soon as they appeared, so there were not a lot of them left.


    Besides the strange smell, the sewer was very different from what Luo Yuan had imagined. Not only was it a bed for micro-organisms, but there were also countless other creatures living here. From various bugs from the bottom of the food chain to small and medium sized mutated creatures, the sewer was almost aplete underground ecosystem.


    They met all sorts of mutated creatures along the way. The sewer was cleaned often, so the creatures¡¯ abilities were not strong at all. It was rare to see any light blue level creatures, and there were no blue level creatures whatsoever.


    "Why are there so many snakes here?" Xiao Baihong asked Yang Zhiguang, who cut off the head of an arm-sized snake that was blocking their way. Yang Zhiguang ced it on his arm. That was not the only snake on his arm though. He was carrying three more poisonous snakes of different colors. They could already tell that there were lots of snakes in the sewer.


    "There are usually lots of snakes, mice, scorpions, and millipedes in the sewers. Anyway, there are many poisonous things here," Xu Zhiqiang said expressionlessly.


    Xiao Baihong heard what Xu Zhiqiang had said and asked Yang Zhiguang curiously, "Lao Yang, I see that you¡¯re an expert at catching snakes. How do you do it?"


    Luo Yuan was curious too. All along the way, no matter how fast the snakes had attacked them, they had not been able to escape Yang Zhiguang.


    "I was a farmer. I didn¡¯t have any skills, and I didn¡¯t want to work in a factory, so when I was free, I would capture snakes and sell them. That¡¯s how I learned how to catch them," Yang Zhiguang said while shaking his head and forcing a smile.


    ...


    Not longter, they stopped at a dry ce where the terrain was higher. They peeled the skin of the mutated creatures they¡¯d captured along the way, extracted the fat, and started a fire. The fat of the mutated creatures was abundant and was mmable. The strong fragrance covered the stench of the sewer.


    Luo Yuan removed a snake skin that had been hanging on his sword and cooked it on the fire. Soon, there was a fragrant oil dripping from it. Luo Yuan held his hunger in check and continue to cook it. There were many parasites in the sewer. When they were peeling off the skins, they¡¯d noticed that out of 10 creatures, three were filled with parasites. Although they could not be seen with the naked eye, Luo Yuan did not want to test his digestive system.


    The white snake meat was soon cooked to golden brown, and Luo Yuan took it down. As first, he tried to be demure, but once he started eating, his hunger was awakened. His stomach was on fire, and he ate clumsily, not caring about his image. Soon, he finished six catties of snake meat. Although his stomach was bloated, he was still hungry. The healing had drained all the energy he had conserved. He had even lost weight, so he needed to replenish his energy.


    Unfortunately, the rank of the mutated creatures there was not high. Only a few kilograms of green-level beasts would have sufficed. Luo Yuan thought of the giant bug he had killed and had let go to waste. Although he had gained mission experience, he had gotten no loot from it at all. All he could do now was replenish his energy by eating a big quantity of food.


    He rubbed his stomach, using his Will to speed up the digestion process and stimte the release of gastric acid. Within five minutes, the meat in his stomach was almostpletely digested, and Luo Yuan had started eating again. With his method of eating and digesting, he managed to finish a snake weighing more than 10 catties in 20 minutes. He did not stop there though. While everyone was watching in shock, Luo Yuan ced a mutated rat on his Zhanmadao and cooked it on the fire


    Although evolved people had a huge appetite, none of them were like Luo Yuan. He spent the whole afternoon shoving food into his mouth. There was not enough food though, so he had to go out twice to capture even more creatures. The rest could not take it anymore and decided to help him with the cooking. He didn¡¯t stop eating until his watch showed that it was almost 8 p.m.


    In a short period of time, he had consumed almost 300 catties of food. He had to go to the toilet almost 50 times. The terrifying digestion that came with his strong Physique was no joke. He did not feel hungry anymore. Instead, he was feeling warm. His Physique, which had been fluctuating around +14, was now +15, and his recovery wasplete.


    As he felt his energy reach its full capacity, Luo Yuan¡¯sst worry disappeared. He went into a corner, took off his clothes and started tearing off his dead skin. The tough skin did not look like it belonged to a human. Luo Yuan felt a jolt in his heart as the skin started floating and spinning slowly around him. He was surprised to discover that he could connect with his skin just like he did with his Zhanmadao. He had been nning on getting rid of it initially, but now he picked it up and held it carefully.


    He suddenly realized that he was not an ordinary person anymore. In the myths, monsters would transform to look like humans, and use their scales as a magic weapon. Their tough scales were harder than steel, but what was even more precious was their connection with them. What he was experiencing now was simr to the stories in legends of old.


    Of course, his skin could not bepared to the thick scales of mutated beasts, but that connection was useful enough. Positioning coordinates alone was worth as much as a green-level material to him. Luo Yuan thought to himself, "I wonder what level my skin is!"


    Then he used the identification technique on his dead skin.

 Chapter 288: Under the Sewer (III)

    Chapter 288: Under the Sewer (III)


    Trantor: Insignia Editor: Svjohn


    "Evolved Human¡¯s Dead Skin"


    "Rarity: Light Green"


    "Weight: 30g"


    "Additional Abilities: Resistance to Spiritual Attacks"


    "Remarks: This is dead skin shed from a powerful evolved human. There is strong Will engraved on it, so it¡¯s able to resist certain spiritual attacks."


    Human beings were not powerful creatures, so the skin¡¯s attributes were just normal. An additional capacity was attached to it, because Luo Yuan had been training his Will frequently. Otherwise, it would not have been anything special. However, Luo Yuan had not expected the system to give him such a high evaluation.


    In general, the system would evaluate body parts ording to the grade level of the creatures themselves. Whether it was ws as hard as gold, or fragile internal organs, the grade level would always be the same. A light green mutated beast would never have a green level scale. Since his dead skin had been evaluated as light green, this meant that Luo Yuan was already a light green species.


    Luo Yuan was slightly surprised. After all, the system did not evaluate things based on thebat level. Instead, evaluations were based on the level of flesh and blood. His recent physical transformation had most likely caused him to reach a grade levelparable to a light green mutated beast.


    However, there was nothing beneficial to having such a grade. It would not help in improving his Physique, so Luo Yuan did not think about it any further.


    He put the dead skin into his pocket and walked back to the group.


    They weren¡¯t asleep yet. They were just sitting around the fire, discussing something.


    Luo Yuan approached them with a smile. "What are you guys talking about?"


    "We¡¯re discussing the rebellion. We just talked for a while and discovered that there are a lot of questions," Xu Zhiqiang said.


    Still smiling, Luo Yuan sat down around the fire as well. "What questions?"


    Xu Zhiqiang sat up slightly and answered seriously, "There are a lot of doubts. First of all, there was not much movement during this rebellion, and it was too peaceful afterward. I did not see any traces of unrest. It does not make sense, right?"


    "Maybe the government forces were stronger, and the opposition did not have enough time to rebel before it was suppressed by the government," Luo Yuan said after thinking for a while.


    "Of course, there is that possibility, but this is only one of the questions. Secondly, you were involved in this rebellion, and they knew nothing about it. If it were me, I would have gotten you under control the first time, regardless of what tricks I¡¯d have to use, instead of letting you roam free and be an issue."


    "I can answer this. It¡¯s because they were not from Desert City. They were the army returning from the battlefield, or probably just some homeless guys," Luo Yuan said, thinking of the two men he had killed.


    "This is the best news so far. It means that their base is not strong in Desert City, but it also shows how strong they are. I don¡¯t think a few homeless guys could have caused such chaos. And one thing I¡¯ve always found strange is that theirst effort to arrest evolved humans was led by Commander Liu! This does not make any sense. As head of the army, he should have been the first one to get arrested. Instead, he¡¯s still in control of the army. I know this guy very well, and he is not someone who wants to be involved in this kind of activity. Lately, he has been trying to move to the maind, so there was no reason for him to do so!" Xu Zhiqiang paused, his face suddenly turning solemn as he said, "The oddest thing is that he gave me a very strange feeling."


    "Did he feel like Peng Guohua?" Xiao Baihong said suddenly.


    Xu Zhiqiang¡¯s face instantly became ugly. After a long time, he said, "It actually felt a bit like him, but he was not as crazy as Peng Guohua."


    Wen Yujie was finally clear on the situation in Motu Town. Worried, she interrupted them by asking, "Could he be disguised?"


    "There is no such evidence. However, there are too many things an evolved human could be capable of. Even transforming like a wizard would not be impossible," Xu Zhiqiang said.


    "If he had such an ability, then it would be lots of trouble to catch him." Luo Yuan looked dignified. There were almost ten million people in Desert City, so it would be extremely hard to catch someone once they changed their appearance.


    "This is not disguising, it¡¯s mind control!" Tong Jianliang, who always kept silent, suddenly said.


    "How do you know that?" Luo Yuan asked immediately as he looked at him.


    "Because I have that ability." His pupils were shining in the darkness. He saw everyone¡¯s expression change slightly, so he quickly exined, "It¡¯s not what you think. I can only perform offensive mind control, which is simr to me controlling your mind. I¡¯m also quite sensitive towards mind control techniques. In general, regardless of how a human¡¯s emotions fluctuate, they are usually in bnce and harmony. It would seem that Commander Liu¡¯s mind is in extreme disorder and is mixed with the mind of another individual. It¡¯s obvious that he¡¯s being controlled."


    Everyone¡¯s expression changed. Xu Zhiqiang quickly asked, "Could you do something about it?"


    Tong Jianliang shook his head, "I¡¯m afraid not. Although we are all spiritual evolved humans, my ability is more inclined to attack. I cannot control another spirit. Plus, the other party is much stronger than I am, so I can¡¯t do anything to him."


    Luo Yuan¡¯s heart trembled. He did not exactly know what spiritual power was. ording to his knowledge, spiritual power was abination of Sensory Perception and Will. Sensory Perception referred to the range and power of mental strength, and Will referred to the nature or quality. Luo Yuan had more than 15 points of Will and Sensory Perception, which meant that his spiritual power was not weak. He just had not learned it through a systematic way and a decent skillset. He had been using it roughly, which had been a waste of potential.


    Luo Yuan suddenly asked, "With all due respect, I¡¯m curious about your ability. Could you describe how you form and impact the mind of others?"


    Tong Jianliang looked a bit shocked. He thought for a moment before he said, "Mr. Luo, this ability is very simple to me. It¡¯s an innate ability. However, people who do not have that ability will find it very difficult, maybe even impossible, to master it. Even if I want to describe it, I can only do so generally."


    Everyone¡¯s eyes lit up as they listened.


    "In general, the spiritual power of ordinary people is divergent. If you want to have a mental impact, first of all, you will need to concentrate and hold your breath. Then you will have to collect all your spiritual power and shrink it into one point before projecting it in the shape of a fan," Zhang Wu said.


    "How does spiritual power shrink? How does it get projected? This is too vague, there is no way for us to learn," Xiao Baihong said in confusion.


    "I don¡¯t know. We are all evolved humans, so you should be able to understand it," Zhang Wu answered with an awkward smile. If he was honest, it was a really big pressure to talk to these powerful evolved people. Otherwise, he would not have been telling them about his own power so candidly.


    Xiao Baihong thought about it and agreed with him. He also had the ability to control metal, but he did not know how he did it. It was like an instinct. As soon as he¡¯d evolved, he had been able to control it over night.


    No one thought of making an attempt anymore after hearing the exnation. Only Luo Yuan was thinking about it seriously.


    His Sensory Perception had been in a state of divergence, but he had never tried to converge or unite it before. Therefore, his Sensory Perception had always been in a fixed state. He had never known that it could be gathered into a ball and used to attack someone.


    It would probably have taken him some time to realize this if he¡¯d never gotten the information from Zhang Wu. He started trying to shrink his Sensory Perception, but unsurprisingly, it was like dead water. It could not move at all.


    "Zhang Wu is an expert in this area. He¡¯s able to control Sensory Perception just as easily as eating or drinking. When I try to do it, I¡¯m like a human trying to breathe underwater. It¡¯s just not possible. But what if I controlled it by using force?" Luo Yuan thought.


    After hesitating for a moment, his Will quickly concentrated in the dark, and his eyes suddenly emitted a weak light. This time his Sensory Perception finally made some movement.


    Luo Yuan could feel his Sensory Perception range slowly shrinking. The picture that popped into his mind gradually became blurry.


    Zhang Wu suddenly raised his head and looked at Luo Yuan in shock. He could not believe it. Other people might not have been aware of Luo Yuan¡¯s change, but he was an evolved human in that field, so he was able to sense very clearly all abilities simr to his own.


    Before this, he had sensed that his spiritual power had been like stagnant water, but when it was retracted fast, he felt the power be a wave on a roaring sea, gathering and moving in their direction endlessly.


    Originally, he had felt that Luo Yuan¡¯s spiritual fluctuation had been obscure and repressed, but he had never expected his mental strength to be so powerful and terrible, or the distribution range to be so broad.


    Luo Yuan suddenly wrinkled his eyebrows. He had discovered that when his Sensory Perception shrunk to a radius of 20 meters, it could not shrink any further. No matter how hard he pushed his Will, there was no further movement. It seemed like he had stretched it to its limit.


    He also felt a bulging sensation between his eyebrows, as if there was something there about to break out. He thought of the man with that unique third eye, and wondered if he needed another eye to fully utilize his powers.


    Somehow, he rted this to the masks on many ancient statues. On Indian Buddha statues and Taoist Gods there was always a third eye drawn between the eyebrows. Ancient Greek philosophers called it "the throne of the soul." All faiths and religions had simr signs that represented the all-seeing eye of God.


    ording to human brain anatomy, between the eyebrows was the mysterious pineal nd, which was supposed to be where the soul resided.


    Taoism and Buddhism used the phrase "opening the eye in the sky" but they did not refer to the real eyes, but rather to having an illusionary eye between one¡¯s eyebrows.


    Luo Yuan hesitated, but decided not to take the risk. After all, the brain was the most important organ and it was extremely vulnerable. If there was any slight damage to it, he would most likely die.


    Plus, he stillcked any knowledge on this field, so it would be too risky to simply make an attempt. He decided to wait until he was stabilized in the future and discover the way by reading some Buddhist ssics. Although most of these things were false, they could still provide some clues to inspire him.


    Once he made his decision, his Will instantly dispersed, and once he released his mind, the Sensory Perception that was tightly bound suddenly spread as fast as lightning.


    Everyone nearby except for Zhang Wu suddenly felt their brains go nk and their whole bodies freeze. Xu Zhiqiang and Xiao Baihong had a stronger Will, so the impact on them was minimal. Wen Yujie was the third one to wake up, while Tong Jianliang, who was the weakest one among them, remained frozen for a couple of seconds before he recovered.


    Everyone felt panicked by the abnormal scene. Only when Luo Yuan exined, did they finally feel relieved. Once they knew about his power, everyone felt even more in awe of Luo Yuan.


    Of course, Zhang Wu was the most bitter one. He had not expected that the ability he¡¯d always been so proud of could be so easily copied by someone else. Although the attack had not been perfect and the application had been very rough, it was still quite powerful.

 Chapter 289: The Dark Night

    Chapter 289: The Dark Night


    Trantor: Insignia Editor: Svjohn


    The first floor of the shelter was like a refugee camp. There were many tents in the big lobby, and the whole ce was upied by strange smells. It was very noisy, as people were talking, and children were crying and shouting, which was very annoying.


    While the second floor was not that good either, it was slightly better than the basement, and it was like heavenpared to the first floor. There was a group of people sitting on the floor, some meditating and others talking softly. It was Huang Jiahui and her friends, all looking anxious and insecure.


    To exin why they were there, one would need to go back six days. Huang Jiahui had not seen Luo Yuan ever since he¡¯d gone out with the government servant, but she¡¯d received some shocking news the next morning. Apparently, several evolved men had disobeyed military orders and had been arrested.


    Huang Jiahui had been shocked and worried, and Wang Shishi had almost cried and rushed out of the room. It had been impossible for them to bring her back.


    Wang Shishi had not taken any direct action, but she had found Huo Dong and asked him about the location of the prison.


    It had been a really shocking incident. Even Huo Dong had been in panic after hearing the news. He had told Wang Shishi everything he knew, and she had immediately rushed to the prison in anger, trying to rescue Luo Yuan. Surprisingly, she had found Su Yu overlooking the situation in the prison.


    She had been stopped after walking only for a few seconds.


    Both of them could attack from a distance, but Wang Shishi had been defeated because shecked experience. Luckily, she could fly, and Su Yu had been protected by the soldiers, so he had not been able to move much. In the end, he had just let her go.


    That same afternoon, Wang Shishi had visited the prison again. However, security had be stricter by then. She had missed her chance. They all discussed it and thought it was not safe to stay there anymore. They had left their room at night with the help of Huo Dong and escaped to the first floor, where they had met up with Wang Xiaoguang.


    ...


    Suddenly, there was chaos. A guy in a simple outfit squeezed through the crowd, looking extremely alert as he scanned the area around him. After a while, he came to a stop in front of a group of people.


    "This is all the food and water for today. The inspections are getting stricter."


    Huo Dong put down a small parcel and sighed before he whispered, "This afternoon, there will be lots of guards departing. I¡¯ve checked and there were a few soldiers at the passage earlier, but I¡¯ll find a solution."


    "Thank you so much! Any news?" Huang Jiahui asked. Her lips were dry and cracked, and she looked exhausted.


    "Not really. I heard that someone escaped from the prison and caused big chaos though. Otherwise, there wouldn¡¯t be so many soldiers there," Huo Dong said as he looked at Huang Jiahui. He looked exhausted as well. He had not been sleeping welltely.


    "It must be Brother Luo!" Wang Shishi said, suddenly getting agitated. "I knew he wouldn¡¯t die that easily! He can kill giant mutated beasts after all!"


    "Great minds think alike! I¡¯ll keep an eye on things, and keep you updated," Huo Dong said as he got up from the floor. "I can¡¯t stay for too long, I need to go."


    Huang Jiahui nodded gratefully. After Huo Dong had left, she opened the parcel. There were buns and a bottle of water inside. The buns were enough for everyone, so each of them could have one. They finally had enough food,bined with what Wang Xiaguang had gotten earlier.


    Huang Jiahui looked at the food and packed it again. It was already 9 pm, so dinner time was over. It was too obvious for them to leave now.


    The management and security might have looked messy, but they were very strict. There were always military policemen checking around, and some of them were even undercover. That was why the ce had remained peaceful until now. Even though people fought every once in a while, the police always managed to stop them.


    The food supply was fixed, so it always had to be the exact same amount. Everyone needed to put up with the hunger except Wang Xiaguang, but they were able to eat something at midnight.


    "Xiaguang, I¡¯m sorry to trouble you these past few days," Huang Jiahui apologized.


    "That¡¯s what friends are for. I would have already died without your help. This is nothingpared to when we first met," Wang Xiaguang said as she looked down.


    ...


    It was finally 9.30 p.m. and the lights in the lobby were off. All noises slowly faded, and the sound of snoring got stronger. They could finally eat their first meal of the day.


    Sun Youde quickly took a bun and bit on it. It was very dry, but he felt extremely hungry.


    He regretted following them there to escape. He had no special bond with these people after all. They were not his friends, so he would not have gotten into trouble if one of them had gotten captured.


    Sun Youde felt upset as he looked at them. They had all thought it was Luo Yuan when they¡¯d heard that someone had escaped from prison. "Who do they think Luo Yuan is? Do they really think it¡¯s that easy for someone to turn against the machine?"


    "Perhaps he might be able to survive longer, but he would definitely die if he tried to escape."


    Sun Youde felt pain whenever he thought about his current situation. He had been a senior researcher, yet now he was suffering.


    He did not understand why he would follow them. He should have been enjoying the finer things in life, not suffer and starve with them!


    He looked at Wu Xiaoxiao, who was sitting right beside him. She looked older and exhausted, even though it had just been a few days. "Things can¡¯t continue this way!"


    Sun Youde¡¯s eyes looked shiny in the dark.


    ...


    It was midnight, and the sound of snores was loud.


    Someone got up silently in the dark and slowly walked out with the aid of the dim light on the wall. There were a few security guards on duty, keeping one eye open while they rested the other. They were exhausted after half a night of duty and they did not take any action, even when they saw someone pass by.


    The toilet was at the end of the corridor, so it was normal for people to pass on their way to use it. "Another one going to the toilet," one of them thought silently with a sigh.


    However, he did not realize that a human shadow had flown past him while he had his eyes closed.


    Sun Youde had wanted to report everything to the security guards in the first ce, but he had felt that it was not safe. Although most of the people with him were women, none of them were kind, especially not the little girl, who made him feel really ufortable.


    There were limited security guards, so once he reported them and caused chaos, they would know right away. By that time, he might be able to escape though. He decided to leave and go to the first floor to ensure his safety.


    It was really quiet along the long corridor, but the light kept shing with a subtle sound. There was no one in the passage. Only the sound of his footsteps could be heard. Sun Youde¡¯s heart was beating very fast, and half his urge to escape was gone.


    He did not know why, but he kept feeling a cold sensation against his back. He could sense someone watching him, and he began to imagine things. He quickly got himself under control and started walking faster.


    He had no idea how long he had been walking when he finally reached the passage of the second floor. There were many soldiers there, which made him happy.


    "Officer Huo Dong was not lying. This ce is closely guarded."


    "Who is it?" a soldier shouted, lifting his rifle right away.


    Sun Youde was an average person, so he was naturally frightened to have so many people pointing their rifles at him.


    "I..."


    Just as he was about to exin, a strong force rushed towards him. He tried to struggle, but he could not move at all.


    He felt like he was being tied as he walked towards the soldiers. He looked furious, but he tried to ignore his fear and fight.


    "Stay there and wait for inspection, or we¡¯ll fire!"


    "I repeat..."


    ...


    The officer looking at him thought that he was strange. He suddenly waved and shouted, "Fire!"


    The sound of gunfire crept into his ears as Sun Youde shook in fear and hopelessness.


    His lips were moving as if he wanted to say something, but as soon as he opened his mouth, he vomited ck blood. Then he closed his eyes and slumped down on the floor.


    "Paging Emergency Defense Center, paging Emergency Defense Center! We found a suspect patient... He is dead, please move the corpse away!"


    In just a few seconds, several people in white protective suits had quickly wrapped the corpse in ayer of stic and left. The passage returned to its initial silence. Wang Shishi was watching from the air silently with a pair of cold eyes. She was like the Grim Reaper.

 Chapter 290: Disguise

    Chapter 290: Disguise


    Trantor: Insignia Editor: Svjohn


    Luo Yuan suddenly opened his eyes in the dark. He looked at his watch and realized it was 5 a.m. The sewer was always dark, regardless of whether it was day or night, but Luo Yuan still woke up punctually.


    The fat from the previous night had been burned off, and the smell of burnt protein filled the space. There was a meter-high pile of white bones beside him, most of it left by Luo Yuan.


    Luo Yuan got up from the ground and stretched. He felt amazingly good and rxed. He waved at the Zhanmadao, which was inserted into the ground, and the Zhanmadao immediately fell on his hand.


    Apparently, Wen Yujie had awakened by the noise, because she yawned and asked, "What time is it?"


    "5 a.m."


    "I see. I¡¯m going back to sleep, it¡¯s still early." Wen Yujie was like azy kitten. She opened her eyes for a second, and then closed them again. Luo Yuan found a ce very far from the others to do his morning exercise. He returned after an hour when everyone was awake. They were preparing breakfast, and had brought back a lot more animalspared to the first time. They had been shocked by Luo Yuan¡¯s appetite the previous day. There were many different kinds of animals, and Luo Yuan could not even recognize some of them.


    Metal was flowing in liquid form in Xiao Baihong¡¯s hand, rapidly bing a sharp knife. As he dissected a mutated beast with a sharp mouth, Xiao Baihong asked, "What¡¯s this thing?"


    "It squeezed out of the ground. It¡¯s a dessert here, so the soil is loose. There are many copsed ces in the sewer. Due to the difference between the measurements and the difficulty of repairing them, they¡¯ve had no time to fix them," Xu Zhiqiang said while he prepared the meat and grilled it above the fire. He was quite good at grilling food, and very soon the meat had turned a yellowish-gold color. It smelled delicious!


    Xu Zhiqiang passed the meat to Luo Yuan, and then ced another one above the fire.


    "How¡¯s your recovery progress?" Luo Yuan asked as he bit onto the meat Xu Zhiqiang had given him.


    "I¡¯m almost there. My evolved power is different, but I¡¯ll be alright as long as I stay alive," Xu Zhiqiang said calmly, although he looked touched and grateful. If Luo Yuan had not been there, he would have certainly died.


    "Chief Minister Xu, your power is really cool! An evolved giant! Normal people would have died from fear!" Xiao Baihong said in envy before he continued, "I¡¯m really curious though. Your appetite is not that bigpared to Mr. Luo¡¯s. How did you make it?"


    "To be honest, I really have no idea. Sometimes, I suddenly feel like I¡¯ve be very big. It¡¯s really difficult to describe it."


    Xu Zhiqiang smiled and said, "It¡¯s like the giant is always there, but you can¡¯t see him or touch him. It¡¯s like he¡¯s in a different space, and my body is only the part of me that currently exists in this universe. It¡¯s the mindset of a giant, the brain! I¡¯ve checked all the information from the experts as well, but it¡¯s inconclusive. It¡¯s really difficult to exin at the moment."


    He did not intend to hide it, as he had been bothered by that issue for a long time.


    "Do you mean that being a giant is not your limit? You could get even bigger than this?" Wen Yujie asked in shock.


    Even Luo Yuan was shocked to hear that.


    It was normal to have that kind of reaction, but some people were able to hide it better. Most of them did not hide their response though, especially when they saw Luo Yuan do the same.


    Xu Zhiqiang grinned and said, "I could get much bigger than you think. In fact, I could only grow up to five meters tall when I first acquired my power, and now I can grow up to 15 meters! However, there are also some weaknesses thate with bing a giant. Otherwise, my power would have been able to upgrade further."


    Luo Yuan was shocked. He suddenly realized that he had been underestimating a lot of people.


    All this time, he had been looking down on evolved men, and their performance had proved him right. For example, evolved men who evolved from their normal physique had imbnced physical properties, and while some of their powers were really strong, others could cause them to die.


    Although those who evolved with a specialty did not experience that kind of problem, their core properties were very weak. For example, Wang Shishi was quite powerful in attacking, and she was faster than the speed of sound, but her core properties were only slightly stronger than normal people¡¯s, and her reaction time was really slow. A normal person could hurt her severely if she did not remain alert.


    If her enemy was as powerful as Luo Yuan and had a super-fast response, they could easily kill her from 20 meters away, even if she was on alert.


    Although Luo Yuan had always known that evolved men had many different powers, he had not really thought that they could threaten him. However, he finally realized that he had been wrong.


    Biological evolution was mysterious, and many exceptions and unimaginable powers could surface.


    ...


    Although Luo Yuan did not feel hungry after his feast the previous day, he still finished most of his food, energy crystals forming in his heart again. Perhaps it was because of the leftover energy stored in his body, or due to the biological evolution of his genes.


    However, the crystals shrunk and became as small as sesame seeds.


    After his severe injury, Luo Yuan had realized that energy crystals was not only able to fill his stomach, but also save his life during a critical time. He would have needed to consume a lot of his own energy for self-treatment if he had not had the energy crystals. Perhaps he would not even have recovered as fast.


    Therefore, storing energy from time to time had be another vital task.


    Although the mutated beasts there were not high rank and could not supply much energy and power, the mosquitoes still had some flesh. Plus, the shelter would not remain quiet in the uing days. It would be hard to avoid a battle, so they needed to n ahead.


    After eating all the meat, Luo Yuan threw the bones aside. His actions made everyone feel like he was a giant beast in human skin.


    After the feast, Luo Yuan got up and took his Zhanmadao. "Let me check the situation upstairs," he said.


    "It¡¯s too dangerous for you to go alone, I¡¯ming with you," Wen Jieyu said without hesitation. She was good at controlling light and hiding their whereabouts, so even if Luo Yuan was caught, she believed that she could help him escape.


    Luo Yuan smiled and said confidently, "It¡¯s fine. It will be moreplicated if more peoplee along. Besides, they might not be able to recognize me."


    His facial muscles began to move as he talked, his eyebrows bing lower and growing downwards, and his cheeks growing longer and sinking. In just a few seconds, a guy with a skinny body had appeared before them.


    "How about this?" Luo Yuan said to himself. "Oh right, the height!"


    Suddenly, he grew an inch taller.


    That was too easy for him. He was really good at controlling his muscles and bones.

 Chapter 291: Trap

    Chapter 291: Trap


    Trantor: Insignia Editor: Svjohn


    "Freeze!"


    The maintenance room of the sewer was just next to the military camp. A group of soldiers quickly ran over and surrounded Luo Yuan as soon as he¡¯d stepped out of the entrance.


    "What are you doing here? You seriously didn¡¯t know that this was a campsite?"


    Luo Yuan looked furious, but he quickly calmed himself down. He pretended to be panicked as he said, "I¡¯m sorry, I¡¯m really sorry. Staying at my ce for so long was too boring. I didn¡¯t realize I¡¯d walked all the way here. I really didn¡¯t know that this was a campsite."


    "Show me your identity card, I want to check it.¡¯


    "Identity card? Who carries their identity card with them, brothers?" Luo Yuan asked. "Would you like to go back with me?"


    The soldiers seemed slightly relieved as they looked at each other. They did not think that Luo Yuan looked like one of the wanted prisoners. They just waved and said, "This is a warning. We¡¯re letting you go this time. but we¡¯ll arrest you if we see you again!"


    "Thank you, officers. I¡¯m leaving now..." Luo Yuan responded quickly.


    The leader of the soldiers looked at his Zhanmadao. He suddenly felt that something was wrong, but he did not say anything. He just let Luo Yuan go.


    Luo Yuan had managed to avoid the soldiers. The passages of the shelter could lead to many ces, but Luo Yuan realized that there were soldiers guarding almost all the junctions of the passages. Some of the junctions had built-in outposts.


    Luo Yuan had gone through five checkpoints in half an hour. He might have had to fight the soldiers if he had not said that he had an identity card. At the end, he had been forced to steal the identity card of a stranger and disguise himself to look like them. Then the constant checking had finally stopped.


    All along the way, he saw many dark red blood stains and holes made by bullets. Some of the walls were damaged, and a few passages had already copsed. Obviously, there must have been a battle there earlier. It seemed like the prisoners who had escaped with him the previous day had not lived for long.


    The rebels were almost in total control. Luo Yuan had run out of time, and the longer he took, the more dangerous it would be for him. He grew anxious as he thought about Huang Jiahui and his friends. He didn¡¯t even know if they were still alive.


    He was not nning on collecting information, but he would not mind killing some people if he got the chance.


    Luo Yuan quickly stopped thinking. The municipal government was quite close already.


    The security was stricter there than in other ces. There was a big team of soldiers in front of the entrance inspecting both sides of the passage, and there were also two tanks with their engines already on.


    Luo Yuan felt like he was being targeted by snipers. He could feel scopes on his chest and back as he walked closer.


    He acted calm though, peeping at them before turning into another passage.


    Suddenly, he stopped walking. Someone had appeared in front of the entrance of the municipal government. Shen Jixing, whom he had just seen the previous day, was walking towards Luo Yuan.


    Luo Yuan hid and pulled him aside as he passed by.


    Shen Jixing was shocked. He felt something cold and sharp against his throat when he tried to fight back.


    "Don¡¯t move unless you want to die!" Luo Yuan whispered in his ear. His voice felt cold, yet familiar. Shen Jixing suddenly felt dizzy. He fell aside before he even had time to think.


    "Who are you?" Shen Jixing looked at the de under his throat. He was shocked and mad at the same time. "We are in front of the municipal government. You¡¯re not going to escape if you kill me!"


    "Unbelievable! You¡¯ve be a rebel in just one day," Luo Yuan said coldly as he slowly returned to his original appearance.


    Shen Jixing¡¯s will to attack dissipated rapidly. No matter how arrogant Luo Yuan could be, he did not have the confidence to kill him.


    He just stared at him as he said, "You¡¯re not me! You can say whatever you want, but I can¡¯t! I can¡¯t bear it! If I didn¡¯t surrender to them, my mother would die and so would I. I¡¯m fine with it, but I can¡¯t let my mother suffer. What else could I do?"


    Luo Yuan hesitated, remembering his dead parents. "This is not the reason you¡¯ve be a traitor! Tell me, who is the leader of the rebellion?


    Shen Jixing felt relieved when he saw the de move away from his throat. He knew he was safe as he said, "It¡¯s a really powerful evolved man. He¡¯s very scary. I think you better give up, he¡¯s above level five!"


    "Where is he?" Luo Yuan interrupted him.


    "He¡¯s in there. He hardly shows his face, but I met him earlier," Shen Jixing said.


    "Take me there!" Luo Yuan said.


    "This..." Shen Jixing hesitated. Luo Yuan¡¯s facial expression was furious once again. Shen Jixing quickly said, "Fine, but security is very strict here. You need to give me your sword and your identity card."


    Shen Jixing felt relieved as he saw Luo Yuan nod. They both fixed their clothes, and then Shen Jixing took Luo Yuan¡¯s Zhanmadao. "Follow me, and don¡¯t say a word."


    Luo Yuan disguised himself as Xiao Baihong. He looked skinnier and a few centimeters taller, but strangers would not be able to tell the difference.


    Shen Jixing felt surprised. Luo Yuan had already changed his appearance once though, so he did not find it strange anymore.


    Everything went smoothly because Luo Yuan had someone take him along. The guards only questioned them briefly before immediately letting them go. Judging by their attitude, Shen Jixing had to have a certain authority.


    The municipal hall was huge. There were about 10 offices as well as five to six corridors with lots of people rushing here and there. The sound of a printer could be heard around the ce. Everyone looked super busy. Luo Yuan thought that everything that had happened had been an illusion and Motu City had never been invaded.


    He passed by the office of the Mayor, and saw that the door was open wide. Looking inside, he saw a middle-aged man reading some documents. Although he did not raise his head, Luo Yuan could still recognize Mayor Song, whom he had already met earlier.


    Luo Yuan was curious as he recalled Xu Zhiqiang talking about Officer Liu. He was wondering whether all these people were being controlled mentally. He felt something strange. Mayor Song naturally raised his head and looked at the entrance. He looked calm though. It did not seem like anything was wrong. Luo Yuan turned his eyes away.


    "How far more to go?"


    "It¡¯s just around the corner!" Shen Jixing was getting nervous.


    There was a grill at the end of the corridor, and four soldiers were standing on both sides of it. The soldiers did not ask anything, even when they saw the two of them walking towards them. They immediately pressed a button on the wall, and the door opened.


    Luo Yuan looked at Shen Jixing in shock.


    Shen Jixing looked panicked, but he remained silent. His body was shaking.


    Luo Yuan frowned and became very serious. He could tell that this person was very powerful, as Shen Jixing seemed really afraid of him.


    The ce was very spacious. It was about the size of a basketball court, but there was nothing much in there except for a few iron towers as tall as the ceiling.


    Several copper cables as big as human arms were wrapped around the towers. Each of the towers had to weigh at least 10 tons.


    "Electromaic Towers!" Luo Yuan¡¯s expression changed immediately.


    Suddenly, the main door closed loudly and someone came out of the hallway, pping his hands.


    "Indeed! Our super-evolved man! I¡¯ve been waiting for you for a long time." Su Yu walked out of the dark.


    There was suddenly a lot of electrostatic electricity flowing freely in the hall as he appeared. Luo Yuan¡¯s hair was standing on end.


    His eyes suddenly became furious as he realized his opponent already knew his identity. He knew he had been tricked, but he did not understand how. He looked at Shen Jixing and realized the man had stepped a few meters away from him.


    "Shen Jixing!"


    He suddenly understood everything. It was impossible for someone who had just surrendered to not be monitored closely. The technology was sophisticated enough to allow anyone to monitor someone else with a bug as tiny as a button.


    Luo Yuan had not realized that the conversation they¡¯d had earlier had been a trap. He was very embarrassed. He seemed to grow less alert as he became more powerful.


    Shen Jixing looked cocky as he kept stepping backward. He had bumped into Luo Yuan by ident. He had never expected that to happen. He had been nning on killing his master, but he could not believe that Luo Yuan had fallen into the trap.


    Five meters, six meters... He was getting more rxed as he moved further away from Luo Yuan. "Surrender, Luo Yuan! Otherwise, you¡¯ll die!"


    Luo Yuan suddenly smiled at Shen Jixing, who immediately felt that something was wrong.


    Sh*t!


    He got ready to attack, but unfortunately, it was toote. A shadow had already jumped over seven to eight meters as his vision became blurry. He sensed the danger, and his body started shaking.


    However, the sword had gone missing before he could use his force. Suddenly, he felt something cold on his neck.


    Blood was gushing out like a fountain as Shen Jixing felt hopeless and afraid. He looked at Luo Yuan, who had already gone back to his original position before he fell on the floor.


    Luo Yuan was holding his Zhanmadao, a drop of blood dripping down its de.


    "It¡¯s your turn now," he said.

 Chapter 292: Deadly Fight

    Chapter 292: Deadly Fight


    Trantor: Insignia Editor: Svjohn


    Su Yu¡¯s casual smile gradually disappeared, his face bing somewhat dignified.


    Watching Luo Yuan¡¯s lightning-fast action, even he himself could not react for a moment. He could only watch as his newckey was easily beheaded by Luo Yuan.


    Blood flowed out from the corpse fast, forming a big puddle that emitted a thick smell.


    The two of them confronted each other without moving as the air around them turned chilly.


    The electromaic towers in the room had not been set up for Luo Yuan, but for Su Yu¡¯s training purposes. However, he felt d about them at the moment. Facing an enemy like Luo Yuan made him experience tremendous pressure.


    The switch of the electromaic towers was five to six meters to the left. Once he pulled it, several electromaic and nuclear power nts would get connected and start generating electrical currents up to 50,000 volts, which was enough to burn anyone to a crisp. However, Su Yu felt like he had been tied into ce and there were thorns at his back that did not allow him to move.


    "I really underestimated you, but if you think you can kill me, you are too na?ve. This ce will be your grave!" Su Yu stared at him as he said in a cold voice, "Unless you want to join us. A new era is here. As evolved humans, we wee any like-minded people to build a new world with us."


    Luo Yuan held on to his long knife as he looked at him with sharp eyes. He remained silent, staring at him as if he was about to kill him. His expression made Su Yu feel inexplicably annoyed.


    "Stubborn!" he scolded. Soon, something started leaking from his body, and numerous tendrils of electrical currents as thick as chopsticks surrounded him. They flowed at a fast speed, producing popping sounds as a maic force levitated Su Yu¡¯s body gradually.


    As he was floating, a dozen steel balls inside his pockets were surrounded by the strong currents, forming a dense electronic solenoid.


    These electromaic bombs were his finest creation.


    Although the bombs were as small as fists, they weighed a few hundred grams. Through a dense loop of electrosurgical eleration, their speed was twice as fast as the speed of sound and their destructive power was about the same as small shells. If attacked, a creature would basically be meat sauce.


    When the electromaic bomb was formed, Su Yu was about to rest his mind. However, his heart suddenly started beating violently, and an unspeakable power enveloped the entire hall. Even the air seemed to be slightly distorted.


    Su Yu was a fighter who had survived a cruel battlefield though, so even though this power might have been enough to kill a light blue level mutated beast, it only made him dizzy for a few seconds before he managed to jerk out of it. Still, his absent-mindedness had caused the electromaic bomb that had just formed to dissipate instantly, the steel balls falling to the floor.


    "Oh!" Su Yu was frightened.


    He suddenly realized that Luo Yuan was no longer at his original ce. A vague shadow was approaching him at lightning speed. Luo Yuan¡¯s speed was currently 200m/s, even faster than sports cars, which drove at 180 km/h. By the time Su Yu realized this, Luo Yuan was already 10 meters away from him. It only took 0.3 seconds from the moment he saw his target until his brain adjusted to avoid the collision.


    Su Yu¡¯s scalp was tingling. Suddenly, he was covered in electromaic energy, his body immediately producing a loud noise. The several kV high voltage ionized the air and exuded a smell of ozone. The next moment, the strong electromaic energy suddenly pushed Su Yu¡¯s body like an arrow, quickly moving to the left to avoid Luo Yuan.


    Even so, the strong wind still blew through his body until the current was scattered away.


    Luo Yuan¡¯s knife had hit nothing. As he saw Su Yu fly towards the switch on the wall, his face changed and he quickly lifted his feet to fly as well. When he abruptly bent over 90 degrees to the left, a powerful impact was created, causing the hard concrete floor to be sted away from under his feet. There was gravel flying around as his dark blue shoes instantly burst.


    This was an enemy who was good at attacking from a distance, so he should never have let him put distance between them. Especially not when there were several killing machines in the hall.


    He had seen a lot of electromaic towers before. The towers outside Desert City had been used to kill insects with a kind of electromaic power. Once those towers were energized to full electrical capacity, the electrical phylogic power of the enemy and their killing capacity instantly increased a few times.


    Suddenly, an optic energy filled the entire hall. It looked like a thunderstorm wasing. No matter how confident Luo Yuan was, this was a dead end.


    One of them was ahead and the other was behind, but both of them were running fast towards the wall.


    Su Yu was driven by an electromaic speed, but his speed was still much slower than Luo Yuan¡¯s. Still, he was too close to the gates. He was only about five meters away. In less than 0.2 seconds, Su Yu¡¯s hand had reached the switch, while Luo Yuan was still three meters away from him.


    As soon as the switch was turned on, a loud noise was heard. Several currents as thick as arms burst out at the same time that Luo Yuan stabbed his knife into Su Yu¡¯s back.


    Before Luo Yuan could expand his strength to maximize the attack though, Su Yu shed out a current from his body, making Luo Yuan jump away.


    Su Yu pressed on his chest, but blood kept flowing out nonstop. He slowly walked backward as he saw Luo Yuan stand up quickly. He suddenlyughed, "It¡¯s all over! I forgot to tell you that my heart is on the right side of my chest."


    Before he had even finished his sentence, numerous thick electro-optics had gathered from the six electromaic towers. He was now surrounded by a zing light. It was like a small sun had risen in the hall.


    Luo Yuan looked at the shadow with the powerful energy fluctuation before him. His face turned grim, and his right hand started trembling uncontrobly. His palm had been burnt after being hit by Su Yu¡¯s current just now. He could not even hold his sword properly anymore. Losing his right arm had made his fighting power drop by three levels. He had almost no chance of winning now.


    His eyes nced furtively around the hall, but there was no way out. The Iron Gate was already closed, and his enemy would not let him escape.


    He was currently attacking him at lightning speed, his human body naturally attracting all electrical currents. Luo Yuan had almost no chance of escaping. He had fallen into despair.


    Suddenly, an arm-sized lighting struck Luo Yuan, sting him about six meters away and making him fall heavily on the floor.


    "I thought you were strong. Come on! Come and kill me!" Amid the lightning, Su Yu¡¯s voice fluctuated in the air surrounding them, creating an echo.


    Luo Yuan stood up with an expressionless look. There was blood in his mouth, and his chest was charred. The lightning had created a big hole in his dark blue level floating tracksuit. Most of the damage had been absorbed by his sma underwear though, so he was only slightly injured and had suffered some physical shock.


    "How is this possible?" Su Yu shouted out loud in surprise when he noticed that Luo Yuan was not injured. That lightning had been at least 10,000 volts. Even an ordinary level six mutated beast would not have been able to withstand it.


    He waved his hand, and this time almost half the current in his body was shot towards Luo Yuan.


    Luo Yuan was struck by lightning once again. He was lifted several meters high before falling heavily on the floor. He slowly stood up. This time it wasn¡¯t just his mouth. His nose and ears had also started to bleed, and his suit had been turned into rags.


    ...


    When Su Yu saw Luo Yuan get hit again but still able to stand up, his face started to turn ugly. He stretched out his hand, and a steel ball about six meters away floated rapidly in the air, a thick electrical current surrounded it and emitted a ring light. With that, the maic field in the air began to turn intensively vtile and produce a buzzing sound.


    Thanks to the addition of the six electromaic towers, the power formed by the electromaic bombs were far more powerful than the previous times. If it was sessfully released, he would definitely get killed and the whole shelter would copse.


    Luo Yuan looked frightened after watching the scene. A very strong sense of danger rose from within him, starting from his tailbone before spreading throughout his body. He seemed to smell the rancid smell of death.


    He had been hesitant for a while, but now he was determined.


    His remaining Sensory Perception entered his mind like elerating water. He felt like there was a bulge between his eyebrows and a powerful force was about to be released. Suddenly, he appeared vigorous, and a majestic power started gushing out from between his eyebrows.


    A bunch of invisible, spatial fluctuations shot out from his eyebrows and instantly hit Su Yu. The air seemed to fluctuate a little bit, but other than that, there seemed to be no changes.


    Luo Yuan had no time to observe the effect of the attack. He only felt the explosion in his mind before he started feeling dizzy. His thoughts scattered around as if his brain had split into two. He suddenly got a headache, and he clenched his teeth until they rattled. His body shook until he could not hold on anymore and finally sat down on the ground.


    After a second, or maybe an hour, he gradually got his senses back and stood up slowly.


    The pping sound of the electromaic towers could still be heard, but Su Yu, who had been floating in the air earlier, was lying on the floor. The electrical currents covering his body had disappeared, and Luo Yuan was not sure if he was still alive.


    Luo Yuan groaned. Enduring the tearing pain in his head, he picked up the Zhanmadao and walked step by step towards his enemy.


    Su Yu looked pale. The gurgling blood from the wound had flowed over on the floor, but his chest still rose and fell slightly, indicating that his body was still alive. However, Luo Yuan was unable to determine whether his soul had dissipated.


    He did not want to take any risks, so he used his left hand to pick up the Zhanmadao and chopped off his head.


    "It¡¯s finally over!"


    It was what his enemy had said before, but in the end it was Luo Yuan who had ousted him.


    Without a care for the gory scene, he sat down beside the corpse and began to heal his own wounds. He looked miserable with his tattered clothes and bleeding wounds, butpared to his previous injury, this one was undoubtedly lighter. Other than his right hand, which was slightly charred, the rest was just some internal injuries. Some of his viscera had been slightly ruptured, but even without treatment, his physique would help him recover in a couple of days.


    After consuming so much Sensory Perception, his intuition for danger had reached its lowest point. Even his Will had be extremely difficult to be concentrate. He did not dare stay there for long. He just used his Will to heal himself hastily before he stood up and moved his right wrist. It had almost returned to normal. Luo Yuan¡¯s face changed as he transformed into Su Yu.


    He picked up the Zhanmadao, and walked towards the metal door.

 Chapter 293: Illusion

    Chapter 293: Illusion


    Trantor: Insignia Editor: Svjohn


    The tattered suit had been ripped off by Luo Yuan to reveal the turtle-egg synthetic bulletproof vest underneath it. He went to the door and pressed the button of the iron gate. When the iron gate slowly rose, his face began to look intense and his hand slowly gravitated to the hilt of his Zhanmadao. No matter how perfect the camouge was, there were still slight differences in skin color, eyes, facial expressions, as well as some of themon habits and gestures. Any familiar person would be able to differentiate it very easily.


    Fortunately, Luo Yuan worries were unjustified as the soldiers guarding the door nced at him, offered a salute, and then looked down again. Luo Yuan nodded slightly, then walked away with an expressionless face. When he passed by the mayor¡¯s office, he looked inside and noticed that Mayor Song had gone out. However, there was a beautiful and sexy woman sitting in front of the mayor¡¯s desk! Her perfectly shaped brows kept frowning as she flipped through the files in the office.


    "Is this his new secretary?" He was a bit puzzled as he continued to stare at her wless beauty. Suddenly, thedy looked up! Luo Yuan hurriedly paced away from the ce to avoid being noticed.


    Luo Yuan knew that these group of wanderers still had aplices with them. There must be at least one mind controller among them. Nheless, Luo Yuan¡¯s condition was very bad at this point and his body was unable to support him to continue fighting.


    Moreover, the worst thing was not his body but his brain. His brain was in all kinds of pain and he has yet to see a single sign of recovery. He even started seeing illusions. For example, he could see colorful scales in front of his eyes!


    The scales were very strange and he could not describe them. Arge amount of information flooded through his brain till his mind almost crashed. If a battle happened now, the consequence would undoubtedly be bad for him. Fortunately, these illusions appeared and disappeared in quick intervals of less than 0.1 seconds.


    Oddly enough, Luo Yuan could not seem to remember any of it. He only remembers having illusions but could not tell what they were about specifically. What color, what shape or what size.


    Before this, he had a premonition that the use of spiritual attacks would have its fair share of consequences but he never knew that it would be so serious. Luo Yuan¡¯s heart was racing rapidly just thinking about the situation while he continued walking.


    Along the way, people gave him a respectful nod and moved to the side to let him pass. Some of them secretly looked at Luo Yuan curiously but no issues surfaced. Once he could get outside, the chances of being recognized was low. He hid his identity by wearing Su Yu¡¯s clothing so the journey was unimpeded.


    When he came near to the sewer¡¯s maintenance room, Luo Yuan quickly morphed back to his original look. He quickly did this when the soldiers on guard were not looking. Surprisingly, the door was left unlocked. He pushed the door open, walked inside and closed it. The whole process was done in 0.5 seconds. There were hardly any other movements aside from some dust being scattered around.


    ...


    "How is the situation outside? Have you found out who it is?" Xu Zhiqiang asked immediately when he saw Luo Yuan.


    "Mr. Luo, are they searching for us?" Xiao Baihong also asked.


    Wen Yujie was rtively cautious and noticed Luo Yuan had taken off his jacket. She asked worriedly, "Were you involved in a fight? Are you injured?"


    "The problem is half solved," Luo Yuan said while enduring the pain he felt. "I killed their leader but did not meet the mind controller. We can only wait for the next opportunity!"


    Xu Zhiqiang was left with his jaws opened as he gave Luo Yuan a stunned look and thought in his heart, "Before this, you said you¡¯d try to scout for some information ... but now you have already solved more than half of the problem. Don¡¯t tell us that everything was just easy, ok!?"


    But this was only in his mind. Instead of saying this, he dryly said, "So, the mastermind has been take care of. Now we are left with the mind controller and a few unimportant people."


    Luo Yuan rubbed his eyebrows and said, "That¡¯s almost right."


    "Mr. Luo..." Xu Zhiqiang wanted to ask further but was interrupted angrily by Wen Yujie, "Don¡¯t ask anymore. Have you all not noticed that Luo Yuan is not feeling well?"


    Only now did everyone realize that Luo Yuan¡¯s face was pale as a sheet and his forehead was covered with cold sweat. They quickly kept quiet without saying a word.


    Luo Yuan closed his eyes and leaned against the wall for a while to rest. He then opened his eyes and spoke, "Zhang Wu, I have a question to ask you."


    "What¡¯s up, Mr. Luo? You can just ask!" Zhang Wu said quickly. The hierarchy of evolutionary beings was now strictly guarded. It was a must to maintain the necessary respect when talking to a stronger person.


    "With all due respect, I would like to know about your third eye. What exactly are its capabilities?" Luo Yuan asked. He saw Zhang Wu nce around covertly. He waved his hand to signal Luo Yuan and said, "Can all of you go out for a while?"


    The abilities of the third eye on Zhang Wu¡¯s forehead was his most private secret. It was a hidden killer and he would not let anyone know about it even if they are his closest friends. If it was not asked by Luo Yuan, who was the only level five evolutionary human in Desert City, he would never want to tell his secret.


    Once everyone left, Zhang Wu still hesitated for a while. After he gathered some courage, he said, "My third eye is a special eye ... its abilities can be split into three aspects: breaker, psychic and time dtion. Breaker, refers to the ability to see through everything - including darkness, fogs, and bright light. Nothing can block my sight. For example, Xiao Wen¡¯s light refraction will not work on me! My psychic ability is more straightforward - I can see the soul during the death of a human being."


    Luo Yuan then quickly interrupted him, "Soul? Do people really have souls?" Luo Yuan asked curiously. In fact, he had seen souls before. At the very start of the apocalypse, Luo Yuan had migrated to the east of the city and there was a tree nearby his house that was cursed with many souls. He had never seen any souls after that so until now he could not confirm whether souls really existed or not.


    "I¡¯m not sure, maybe it¡¯s just temporary fluctuations in spirit after the death. Their existence is very short and they disappear very quickly whether it is day or night."


    "What about ¡®time dtion¡¯?" Luo Yuan asked.


    Zhang Wu hesitated again before he continued, "This is the most powerful one among my three capabilities. It can elerate my time to the point that every action in the world is moving so slowly in my eyes. For example, although I am always exhausted dealing with level three mutated beast, under this state it would not be a problem for me to fight with a level four mutated beast." He exined his abilities in detail which was very clear to Luo Yuan.


    Luo Yuan noted one weakness to his special powers though. This phenomenon was just like what adding points to agility without increasingbat power. In fact, hisbat power would only go one level up when he used this ability.


    Adding a point to dexterity was necessary to improve his neural response rate. If he wanted to use abat power, it would also depend on strength,posure, and wisdom. Without power, speed is useless; withoutposure, he could not garner the continued explosive strength; without wisdom, he would be unresponsive at times of battle. Based on Luo Yuan¡¯s experience, small enhancements towards agility without improvements on other capabilities would mean that his response rate would also be slower.


    He asked for rification from Zhang Wu, "In this case, are you able to react promptly?"


    "Why not?" Zhang Wu looked confused, "My time is elerated but my actions are still the same!"


    Luo Yuan was a bit surprised by the response. Perhaps this phenomenon was very different from adding a point to dexterity. Was it because of the time aspect? Luo Yuan found that the more he interacted with evolutionary beings, the more mysterious everything seemed. He was already shocked by the abilities of Xu Zhiqiang, and now there is one more mysterious man in front of him. Compared to these powers, he felt quite embarrassed with his earth stomping ability that he used to be proud of.


    Luo Yuan quickly snapped out of his personalparisons and refocused on the original intention for asking about his powers. He asked, "Other than powers, do you see anything else? Like hallucinations or illusions?"


    "No, no hallucinations at all!" Zhang Wu said.


    Luo Yuan then thought to himself, "How could this be? Do I really have brain damage?"


    ording to early biological studies, the brain isplex and sophisticated. There are still many aspects that are in unfamiliar territory. There was also no cure for most mental illnesses including brains that hallucinate.


    He touched his eyebrows and there was still some pain. He could not help but feel annoyed.


    He took a deep breath to control his emotions and continued, "I understand that abilities are a very private matter to every evolutionary human. I know I owe you something after asking so many questions. Just tell me what your request is."


    "I do not want anything, I just want to follow you!" Zhang Wu said quickly. His face was somehow apprehensive.


    "Follow me? I have no political power or potential, why should you follow me?" Luo Yuan asked and continued "... and the condition in the refuge will soon return to normal so you do not need to hide anymore."


    "Desert City is done for. Even after so many days, there is still no direction from the top management. Apparently, they have already given up." Zhang Wu looked tense as he replied. It was the first time he felt helpless since his first job interview after graduation.


    "There are only two options if I continue to stay here - one is to migrate to the maind redevelopment areas and the other is to stay here. If I am fortunate, I can survive with these resources until the development area is ready to counterattack. Otherwise, I can only wait to die. Either options are very dangerous. My abilities are very limited so if I want to stay alive, the best way is to follow you."


    "You are so honest." Luo Yuan did not think it was a big issue and said, "Since you want to, you can just follow me."


    Zhang Wu was extremely excited by his response. Over the past two days, he had learned that this legendary level five evolutionary human had a warm personality. He spoke calmly and was not arrogant thus he dared to share information about his abilities. Through this, he also managed to grab the opportunity to ask Luo Yuan if he could follow him. In his mind, there was no shame attaching himself to powerful or wealthy people. Following the right people was the most important thing to do, not to mention that Luo Yuan was undoubtedly a very strong leader to follow.


    Zhang Wu had little ambition and status during the end of the world and felt that everything was like castles on the beach as it would eventually disappear. Striving to survive was the most realistic thing to do.

 Chapter 294: Four-Dimensional Vision

    Chapter 294: Four-Dimensional Vision


    Trantor: Insignia Editor: Svjohn


    After lunch, Luo Yuan tried to be stealthy again and escaped to the sewer. He entered his Earth Stomp state once more to try to heal himself but the progress was very poor. It was notpletely ineffective though as his external wounds had healed and the severity of his headache reduced. However, his hallucinations did not seem to improve.


    He still could not describe the hallucinations in words as he could not even remember them. It was made up of everything readily avable around him which included dizzying colors, a variety of sounds and shapes with an infinite amount of information swirling around. He felt dizzy every time it happened because it was too much for the human brain to process.


    Luo Yuan realized that the duration for him to recover from his dazed state was increasing as the frequency of the hallucinations increased. His condition was now worse than what he could imagine. If it continues this way, he might not be able to think like a normal person anymore. Worse still, he could even fall into aa.


    He tried closing his eyes but it did not work. The hallucinations were not affected as it would still be there regardless if he left his eyes opened or closed. Luo Yuan tried other ways to reduce the impact of the hallucinations and finally, he realized he felt better when he applied pressure on his eyebrows.


    This discovery was akin to finding light in a dark tunnel and gave him a glimmer of hope. It also proves that the hallucinations were not triggered by any damage to his cerebral cortex. He felt much relief knowing that he was free of any mental disorders.


    As Luo Yuan had finally found the triggering factor, the next thing he needed to do was to carry out a few simple mechanical tests to try to control it. Just like how Thomas Edison conducted some experiments to discover the materials necessary for the creation of the fment, he tested every kind of material he could find. For example, he conducted experiments with hard cement, rotten wood, metals, skin, fur, and flesh from animals as well as many different nts. Luo Yuan found more things in a very short time and tested them too.


    He learned a lot from his experiments on methods to reduce the frequency of the hallucinations. Firstly, inorganic substances were useless- regardless whether they were metal or soil. Secondly, flesh was more effectivepared to nts. Thirdly, the higher level the meat, the more effective it would be. Luo Yuan tried all the materials he could find and he even used his own bulletproof jacket and his undershirt. He discovered something new once more. He realized that his sma field undershirt was way better than the bulletproof jacket made from the Archelon¡¯s egg shell in reducing the effects of the hallucinations. The difference between them was the quality. He felt there was a barrier from the hallucinations when he ced the sma field undershirt over his forehead. He could finally see the hallucinations clearly.


    He did not feel dizzy anymore and was able to think better now. The sma field undershirt was a simr level to the bulletproof jacket made from the Archelon¡¯s egg shells but the difference was theyer of sma field on the undershirt. He was struck by lightning before when he fought early one morning but he did not even get hurt. Most of the current was blocked by the sma field and part of it was absorbed by the undershirt. He linked the mutated beasts¡¯ level to the effectiveness of the synthesized materials and was delighted that he had finally found the answer - it was energy! The level of the mutated beasts was categorized based on the amount of active energy particles inside their body. The more active energy they have, the higher their level will be. The sma field undershirt was more powerful than the bulletproof jacket made from the Achelon¡¯s egg shell due to itsplementary power.


    ...


    Luo Yuan quickly ttened the undershirt on the floor and pulled out his Zhanmadao. He then gathered his will and began to cut carefully when ayer of light appeared on the surface of the Zhanmadao. There were some sounds that could be heard in the sky followed by a blue lightning sh that disappeared. Luo Yuan cut the cloth into a few long strips and then wrapped them around his eyebrows. He felt better after that and the illusions could hardly affect him from then on. He then exhaled a sigh of relief and picked up his outer shirt. He put on his shirt and returned to his new base with his Zhanmadao.


    ...


    Everyone looked at Luo Yuan as they saw him return with a strap wrapped around his forehead. The strap was glowing in the dark and it became more obvious as the night progressed. Everyone felt more and more curious about his new essory. It was understandable if a young person did that as they like to try on new trendy things to attract attention. However, it was quite strange for such a powerful person like Luo Yuan to do the same thing. Wen Jieyu¡¯s expression was especially shocked with her mouth left half open!


    Luo Yuan felt helpless as he noticed that they were all looking at him awkwardly. However, the awkward feeling was better than having to suffer the pains caused by the hallucinations. In the end, Luo Yuan felt that it was probably better for him to exin the reason he was wearing this on his forehead even though he did not really care how people perceived him. Besides, he was not living alone in the area.


    "Please stop looking at me like this. I had encountered some difficulties triggered by my training earlier. I could not adapt to it temporarily and needed something to help to soothe the pain." Luo Yuan said calmly.


    "No wonder Mr. Luo was asking me about the power of my third eye. Now I know why." Zhang Wu immediately said toplete Luo Yuan¡¯s exnation.


    "Does this mean that Brother Luo has also mastered the power of the third eye? I thought you told us that different evolved men could not learn it?" Wen Jieyu was shocked and asked. Everyone felt intrigued and confused by the suggestion from Zhang Wu. However, it was true that Luo Yuan had made a breakthrough and sessfully cloned the power!


    ...


    It was now 11 pm and the light in the area had burnt off releasing a charred smell in the air. Everyone had fallen asleep now and an orchestra of snores upied the entire space.


    Although their new space was not considered to be on the outskirts, it was still dangerous as there were many different bugs, snakes and rats moving around. The ce almost became infested by many poisonous beasts. Therefore, there must be someone on duty every night to protect the group. Xu Zhiqiang and Xiao Baihong were on duty togetherst night and tonight was Luo Yuan¡¯s turn.


    With Luo Yuan¡¯s capabilities, there will be no danger during the nights he is on duty. Thus, everyone would be sleeping soundly with no worries. Luo Yuan leaned against the wall with his eyes half opened. During this time, Luo Yuan finally had the mood to explore the mysterious hallucinations he had been facing. He had an instinct that the hallucinations were not normal and there must be something unimaginable behind it to be able to affect him in this way.


    He analyzed that the frequency of the hallucinations and noticed that its urrence was irregr. Sometimes, it only urred once every a few minutes and sometimes it happened once every 30 seconds. Besides that, it happened more often in the sewerpared to other ces. Suddenly, Luo Yuan realized something strange. He noted that the hallucinations urred every single time he looked at Xu Zhiqiang. He did not pay attention to it earlier as he felt dizzy but now that the night was quiet enough to allow him to think, more information started flowing in.


    He then looked at Xu Zhiqiang who was sleeping to confirm his spection. Indeed, it happened! It was a colorful light moving in his eyes and spinning rapidly just like a kaleidoscope! He got quite addicted to it for a moment. Besides that, it was differentpared to his other hallucinations as it would not randomly appear or disappear. It was there constantly and it felt as though it was bonding with the physical body of Xu Zhiqiang.


    He suddenly recalled that there was ayer of sma over his forehead which meant that the effects were probably reduced. He hesitated for a moment but then unwrapped the sma field strapped on his forehead. He immediately became pale after looking at Xi Zhiqiang again and quickly moved away. It took him some time to recover from the pain without relying on the sma. He was having a very bad headache and could not remember what he had seen.


    Luo Yuan put on the strap again and suddenly realized something. Since the sensory shock on his forehead had a reaction towards certain people, that should be considered as a type of power. He was not sure whether the system had any information regarding this power though.


    He quickly opened the now-familiar status panel and scanned through the record. Finally, he found some details under ¡®talents¡¯. There was one more item under that category other than Earth Stomp. To prove that his thoughts were correct, he naturally read more about it. The descriptions made it sound like he had magical powers. This naturally made his heart beat rapidly!


    "Four-Dimensional Vision!"

 Chapter 295: Revisit

    Chapter 295: Revisit


    Trantor: Insignia Editor: Svjohn


    "Four-Dimensional Depth: 1%"


    "Effect: You can explore the four-dimensional space with this power."


    "Remarks: The world has vastly expanded and is more mysterious which makes three-dimensional animals feel so tiny. Advice: Do not look at the fourth-dimensional world directly for too long as you may have the fourth eye but you only have a three-dimensional brain."


    The introduction of the system was valuable as usual. There were only about 100 words but Luo Yuan took more than five minutes to read and process it. Four-dimensional vision was indeed a great power. However, Luo Yuan did not find it useful for now.


    Luo Yuan had some knowledge about the fourth-dimensional space as he was eager to learn more about it during his university life. He intentionally spent more time studying about space and the universe while he was still a student.


    Usually, themon discussions of the world revolved around a single dot, a line made up of dots, and a surface which represents zero-dimensions, a single dimension and two dimensions.


    The three-dimensional world is stereoscopic - which is what we refer to as ¡®space¡¯. It is the world where human beings can see.


    If we try toprehend it using mathematics, there are three axes representing three dimensions: the X-axis, Y-axis and Z-axis, which intersect each other vertically. However, the fourth dimension is formed by adding one more axis on top of the X, Y, and Z axes. This is something we cannot imagine or describe because we had never been exposed to it. It is also something we cannot explore easily.


    Just like how beings in two dimensions can never understand the concept of height, humans from the three-dimensional world cannot understand the fourth axis due to the difference in what they can imagine and experience. The difficulty of studying about different dimensions is that all the information obtained varies from one dimension to another. Even thetest programming tools could not manage to record images in the fourth-dimensional space.


    Luo Yuan¡¯s 14-point intelligence enabled him to filter through most of the information easily. From his discoveries, he learned that he was fortunate that his four-dimensional vision was not at a very high level yet. Otherwise, his brain would have exploded by now!


    Despite his added intelligence, all the information appeared likeplicated codes to him which he could not understand. At the end of the day, his intelligence was still in the three-dimensional space for now. Luo Yuan¡¯s passion and curiosity slowly faded and he began to feel disappointed. He realized that the discovery of his new talent had brought him issues rather than powers and at this stage it was totally useless.


    "No! That is wrong!" Luo Yuan then reassured himself that there must be a use to this power. He then turned around and looked Xu Zhiqiang and thought to himself, "At least this eye could filter out special individuals and see special things." The abilities of Luo Yuan¡¯s four-dimensional vision were reduced after he wrapped his eyebrows with sma. This allowed him to look at the illusion directly and record what he saw.


    As he gazed upon the colorful images, he suddenly realized something and was shocked. Those colors were probably part of Xu Zhiqiang¡¯s body in the four-dimensional world and his current body reflected a four-dimensional image in the three-dimensional world. This meant that Xu Zhiqiang¡¯s true nature should be of a four-dimensional creature which existed beyond human imagination.


    Luo Yuan on the other hand, still existed as a three-dimensional creature. Perhaps it was because of the restriction of his intelligence as a three-dimensional creature which made him fail to evolve into a four-dimensional being. However, that would only be temporary. He would be a four-dimensional creature sooner orter as he could outlive many other creatures of this Earth. When that dayes, people might as well address Luo Yuan as ¡®God¡¯! Luo Yuan shrugged as he had that thought. He did not know how many four-dimensional creatures already existed. If he bumped into any of them, it would certainly be difficult to deal with them.


    ...


    Luo Yuan spent the entire night pondering on these thoughts until everyone woke up. He was suddenly struck by an epiphany! Since the fourth dimension would be considered to be far from his grasp and the third dimension was within grasp, it was unnecessary to think more of it at this stage. Luo Yuan went to the second floor in the refuge again after lunch. He realized those soldiers with rifles had gone away and many of the soldiers stationed in the look-out posts had been removed as well. There were only a few normal military policemen inspecting the street.


    Luo Yuan had not encountered any difficulties throughout his journey back to the second floor. He was thinking about something as he observed the scene. He decided to disguise himself again and return to his original appearance. This was because Luo Yuan sensed that one of the military policemen had looked at him and even took photos of Luo Yuan from his pocket. The soldier checked the photo and then sprinted towards Luo Yuan in a hurry! He said nervously, "Mr. Luo, how are you? I finally found you! Mayor Song invited you to his ce."


    Luo Yuan smiled a little and said, "Could you please show me the way?"


    The young policeman smiled and said, "Sure, it¡¯s my honor to serve you. Mayor Song instructed us to bring you over once we find you."


    Luo Yuan followed the young man and walked towards the municipal hall. His smile faded and he slowly became more alert because of his past experiences. There was a mind controller among the rebellions who had not revealed his face yet. Perhaps, he was in hiding after being scared by the incident that happened yesterday. Anyway, it¡¯s better to stay alert. The power he has might be enough to destroy an entire city if he was hidden in the right ce.


    Luo Yuan did some analysis and he felt that even if this could be a trap, he would still like to go and check it himself. He was powerful and brave enough to defend himself and it was not an easy job to attack him secretly.


    The two of them finally arrived in front of the main entrance of the municipal hall. The young policeman ran towards the soldiers who were on duty and said something to them. A colonel with a badge on his uniform looked further and waved to let them go.


    Luo Yuan was scanning around and his senses were like flowing mercury; it began to spread around the ce. A lot of information flooded his mind quickly and usually, nothing could escape his mind. Everything was in fact normal. The hustle and bustle of people rushing here and there was very normal as if the battle from yesterday did not even happen.


    Very soon, they arrived in front of the office of the Mayor. The policeman then knocked on the door.


    "Come in!" A voice could be heard from the inside.

 Chapter 296: Mutation

    Chapter 296: Mutation


    Trantor: Insignia Editor: Svjohn


    The young police officer quickly left the after knocking on the door. Luo Yuan pondered for a moment and then pushed the door open. There was another person present in the office in addition to Mayor Song. A woman graced them with her presence which made Luo Yuan¡¯s eyes flicker in surprise. She was wearing a tight and sexy ck skirt with a top that was stretched too tightly at the chest region! It seemed that her "goods" underneath was ready to pop out at any time. Her waistline was very slim and formed a perfect curve.


    Upon closer observation at the attractive figure that stood in front of him, Luo Yuan noticed that her skirt was also very tight - exposing her plump hips which gave her a perfect hourss shape. She also had a stunning pair of long fair legs which models would kill to have. Just a mere nce at her would cause elerated secretion of hormones in men. Moreover, coupled with an innocent and shy face, she would just drive any man crazy!


    "Mr. Luo, please take a seat. It¡¯s great to see you!" Mayor Song greeted Luo Yuan with a warm wee while pushing away his file which was already open on the table.


    "It¡¯s great to see you too!" Luo Yuan quickly shook himself out of his sinful thoughts, smiled and shook hands with Mayor Song. He then proceeded to sit down on the sofa.


    "It¡¯s shocking that such a thing happened in Desert City. The incident of rebellions has caused most of the members from the upper management to get into trouble. Even Officer Liu and I were brainwashed. The responsibility of the huge losses and casualties caused in Desert City are all on my shoulders, no one else is to me." Mayor Song said with a bitter face and a heavy heart.


    "Mayor Song, you don¡¯t have to me yourself. After all, this is beyond the reach of human beings. What¡¯s more, everything is now back to normal. You¡¯re a big hero for saving Desert City." Luo Yuan said with a smile.


    Mayor Song still looked depressed but he felt slightly relieved by Luo Yuan¡¯s assuring words. He waved his hand and said, "Mr. Luo, I¡¯m sure you¡¯re joking. You are not a government official so you do not know the seriousness and severity of this political event. If my superiors do not use me on this matter, I¡¯d be very contented."


    Luo Yuan was stunned as he did not find any abnormal behavior from Mayor Song. He was aware of the official bureaucratic rules and it did not look like he was being mind-controlled. Luo Yuan then said, "Based on the situation in Desert City right now, I believe the upper management would make appropriate considerations. After all, this ce is already considered an enemy-upied area, right? Oh, Mayor Song, can I know where all the rebellions are located now?"


    Mayor Song was about to speak again but he suddenly paused. The sexually-appealing figure in the room was walking towards them in a seductive manner with two cups of tea on a tray. It smelled good. "Tea for two, please." Mayor Song spoke politely.


    Once the woman left, Luo Yuan said with a smile, "I didn¡¯t ask earlier... Who is this?"


    "Secretary Zheng suffered a misfortune from the incident with the rebellions. This is my temporary secretary," said Mayor Song in a heavy tone.


    While Luo Yuan expressed grief for Secretary Zheng, he also began to be suspicious. Initially, he had slight doubt but now he could almost draw the conclusion confidently. There was a hidden rule which is practiced amongst government officials that they ought to hire simr-gendered secretaries to maintain their image and avoid any unnecessary criticism. Moreover, thedy looked like a slut which would certainly destroy any politician¡¯s image. Luo Yuan could not believe that Mayor Song, who prioritized his image, would take the risk of hiring ady like her.


    Mayor Song seemed to have sensed Luo Yuan¡¯s thoughts at that moment. He then exined helplessly, "In fact, she is my niece. A lot of people here know her. Too many things have happened recently and the staff attrition rate is very serious. Thus, I asked her to assist me temporarily. However, the official secretary would be assigned by upper management when they find a suitable evolved man.


    ...


    After a bit more chit chat, Luo Yuan left the municipal hall. As he observed that the situation at the refuge had returned to normal, he did not know why he still felt depressed! Before leaving, Luo Yuan asked a few people regarding the identity of Mayor Song¡¯s niece and it was indeed true. Each person¡¯s facial expressions were genuine and some men subconsciously expressed admiration to her wless, picture-perfect, beauty. Luo Yuan stared at them for a long time but could not see any ws or abnormalities on their faces. If they were indeed acting, then, almost everyone could get an Oscar!


    At this moment, Luo Yuan suddenly thought of hisrades. He controlled his urge to look for Huang Jiahui and his other team members. Despite seeing things turn back to normal, the situation was still unclear to Luo Yuan and perhaps someone was monitoring him. He might expose his weakness and get them into trouble if he went to meet them. Luo Yuan tried to avoid being sighted again as he headed back to the basement.


    ...


    Two days had now passed.


    Luo Yuan had disguised himself daily and entered secretly to observe basement two of the shelter. Thus far, he had not found anything strange or abnormal. In fact, those evolved men who had been detained earlier were even gradually released.


    The next afternoon, there was a public execution in front of the municipal hall. More than two dozen criminals were tied up and arranged in a long line. There were a lot of people who looked vaguely familiar to Luo Yuan which included evolved men who surrendered to the rebellion as well as government servants who took the initiative to surrender.


    ording to the judge, there were two rebels¡¯ remnants there as well. Luo Yuan immediately looked towards the two people in the first row when he heard this announcement. There was a man and a woman with vastly different expressions on their faces. The woman looked numb with nothing in her eyes and she seemed to have given up on life. On the other hand, the man held his head high and still looked rebellious.


    Luo Yuan felt that he looked familiar although he could not confirm at the time. He pondered for a long time but could not recall where and when he had seen this person before. The group of rebellions rarely left their rooms during the day to avoid being exposed. Sometimes, they even hid inside their rooms all day long. Luo Yuan suddenly recalled that one morning, as he was ready to go out for a breather, he happened to see this person return when he opened the door. Upon a second nce, Luo Yuan noticed that his eyes were striking and they left an impression on him. Perhaps that¡¯s why he could still remember him.


    "How could he be a rebel?" Luo Yuan was confused. The official suspect now became uncertain to him. "Could it be that the woman is the hidden mind controller?"


    "Bang! Bang! Bang!" A burst of gunfire could be heard and Luo Yuan was alerted by it. He immediately looked at them and saw all the corpses lying on the ground. Most of their bodies still moved for a while but then came to aplete stop in a short time. The new weapons used during the public execution were so powerful that it caused its targets heads to bepletely shattered. If a normal gun was used then the spasms wouldst longer. Many of the audiences present screamed due to shock and some began to puke due to the sheer gruesomeness that they witnessed.


    It was very easy to separate those who have evolved apart from those who were not after they turned into corpses. Normal prisoners took less than a minute topletely stop twitching. However, those who were evolved, especially those with higher physical strength,sted about three minutes before they stopped jerking. Some of the particrly powerful evolved humans were still twitching incessantly after five minutes. With regards to the two rebels, Luo Yuan were concerned about, the woman was dead but as Luo Yuan suspected, she might be the mind controller so her body should be no difference than the bodies of ordinary peoples. As for the man, after the rest of the rebels being executed had stopped twitching, his body continued to twitch for more than three minutes after that and then finally stopped. He was indeed an evolved man and his strength was at least ranked at level four.


    The corpses were soon quickly ced into body bags and trucked away. The ground was also cleaned by the sanitation workers. However, the smell of blood remained in the air even though it was not obvious that a public execution had just happened here. The crowd had dispersed since there was nothing more to see. Some people were excited and continued chatting as they were stimted by the killing but Luo Yuan could only frown as he felt something was wrong. It seems that a key piece of information was missing from the puzzle.


    He was so caught up in his thoughts that he suddenly felt a burst of anxiety as a sense of panic grew from the bottom of his heart. He quickly scanned the surroundings but nothing was found. Just when he thought it was another illusion, Luo Yuan suddenly felt the ground tremor violently. The people in the crowd fell to the ground and there was a lot of screaming and crying in the shelter.


    Luo Yuan¡¯s body shook slightly as the earthquake urred. He quickly adjusted his center of gravity to improve his stability and his feet were then rooted to the ground and never left the ground no matter how strong the earthquake continued to tremor.


    Suddenly a "kachak!" loud noise was heard. The ground further in front of him copsed instantly and formed a huge pit with a radius of more than 10 meters! A warehouse happened to be in the vicinity, and walls around the warehouse copsed as the supporting foundation was missing. Many machinery and equipment inside the warehouse were exposed to the public but soon a lot of dust and gravel then fell and upied the entire space.


    Luo Yuan looked somber. Desert City was built in the desert, hence, the fluid-like soft ground was not suitable for construction of buildings. It would be fine if there were no earthquakes but once it happens, no matter how strong a building is, it could not escape from a copse. After about 10 seconds, the earthquake gradually subsided but the entire ce had now be a mess.

 Chapter 297: Luring the Culprit (I)

    Chapter 297: Luring the Culprit (I)


    Trantor: Insignia Editor: Svjohn


    The magnitude of the earthquake this time was at least seven on the Richter Scale!


    A lot of people fell on the floor and were injured after the strong force impacted them and they were clearly panicked except for a few unlucky ones who were now buried under the copsed walls. The rest of the people were basically safe and sound.


    Here in this post-apocalyptic sanctuary, the framework of the building itself was quite strong but the loose sand underneath it was its downfall that led to its copse during the earthquake. It would most likely only suffer a few cracks if it were not for the weak foundation.


    "There is someone underneath this copsed wall! Please,e and help to dig the rubble!" One person in the crowd screamed. Due to the cruelness and harshness at the end of the world, the whole society was always in a state of war. Thus, people here were more united than before the start of the apocalypse. They were also more disciplined. The people nearby, regardless whether injured or not, came forward to help. Luo Yuan also quickly went to help lift the stones away!


    The earthquake had just stopped but there were still aftershocks that could be felt. Rubbles were still falling through the cracks and although everyone could not stand firmly, no one backed off from the aftershock.


    Luo Yuan was strong enough to carry a few hundred kilograms of concrete himself, thus with his help, the efficiency was improved several times. It should be noted that the walls of the refuge were much thicker than the normal ones you would see in houses as these were built for defense purposes. It was approximately one meter thick and there was ayer of 10cm thick steel tes in the middle so it could withstand damage even from heavy artillery. The weight of the copsed wall was far more than 10 tons so even Luo Yuan, who is such a powerful evolutionary human, would bepletely crushed and unlikely to survive if he suffered the same fate. When the giant rocks were removed, several corpses that had been deformed were quickly exposed.


    "Quickly, she¡¯s still alive!" A man shouted.


    The crowd quickly gathered around and cautiously moved the rocks away. She was very fortunate as the copsed wall had space in between that was sufficient for her to move around. Thus, she was not injured at all. From her appearance, the girl seemed only 18 years old and looked rather pale. Her lips were clearly trembling and she could not speak a single word. When she was rescued, she kept on bowing to show her appreciation but remained tight-lipped.


    After the rescue, Luo Yuan wandered around the second floor of the refuge. He found that there was not only one copse but in fact three! One of the most serious ones created a pit which had a radius of about 30 - 40 meters. A lot of concrete boulders tightly blocked the whole space and only a few rays of light could leak through from the slit at the top.


    ...


    Luo Yuan went back to the sewer with a heavy heart and soon realized that the situation in the sewer was even worse. A lot of the pipelines were broken andrge amounts of sewage leaked everywhere. Several mutated beasts were scurrying around like headless flies to feast on the sewage. Luo Yuan had to utilize his aura to block these highly toxic mutated beasts froming near to him.


    He returned to his temporary residence and saw that everyone was in a horrid state. Tong Jianliang, the long-bearded silent man, was lying on the floor with a ck face and ferocious expression as if a devil had inhabited his body. Luo Yuan did not care much but when he went nearer to check on him, there was no longer any breathing out of his body. A hint of ck blood mixed with saliva dripped from his mouth which exuded a fishy smell. It looked like he was poisoned! Luo Yuan checked his body and found no obvious wounds and no bite marks on his clothes.


    "What happened?" Luo Yuan asked with a solemn face.


    "We don¡¯t know. He went hunting and when he came back he started to cough. We did not really care about it until he kept on coughing nonstop and suddenly vomited blood. After a while, he fainted and stopped breathing." Xu Zhiqiang said in a muffled tone.


    The mutated beasts in the sewer were not of high rank and should not be a threat to the evolutionary humans here. No one would ever expect a dead case among these strong people.


    "Ahem!" Wen Yujie suddenly coughed a bit.


    Everyone¡¯s face changed as they looked at her. Wen Yujie was confused at first but when she thought of the symptoms faced by Tong Jianliang, her face turned serious and she said, "Why... why do you all look at me like this? I did not go out, it is just a little itch in my throat."


    Before shepleted her sentence, she experienced a few heavy coughs which made it look like she almost coughed her lungs out. The group subconsciously took a few quick steps back and stared at her worriedly.


    Wen Yujie coughed until her face was flushed. She tried to speak and said, "I ... I ... How could I..." However, every time she uttered a few words she was interrupted by coughing again. Luo Yuan found that a hint of ck gas began to cover her neck. He did not dare to dy and quickly walked over to grab Wen Yujie.


    "Luo Yuan, don¡¯t touch me!" Wen Yujie quickly said. Her eyes were all red. She finally realized that she was also infected and might not be alive for long.


    "Just shut up. Everyone else please turn away." Luo Yuan said without any facial expression.


    Xu Zhiqiang and the others quickly turned around and dared not look or disobey Luo Yuan¡¯smand. The next moment, they heard a tearing sound. Wen Yujie¡¯s shirt was ripped off exposing her quivering breasts. However, this seductive sight did not distract Luo Yuan¡¯s attention. He took a peek and felt that his scalp was tingling. Her belly was almost filled with ck gas and her veins looked like ck earthworms slowly wriggling. It looked scary and horrible.


    Wen Yujie who was blushing on her face also looked down. She shuddered at that sight. Her face suddenly became pale. She looked desperate and tried to break free from Luo Yuan to prevent him from being infected too, "Quickly get away from here. I can¡¯t be saved..."


    Luo Yuan was stunned to the point where he did not hear anything. His left hand tightly grabbed her smooth shoulders and no matter how she struggled he did not move away. Wen Yujie felt his determination to help her and tears began to roll down her cheek.


    Luo Yuan raised his right hand and pressed on her chest with a strong force. He turned his Will into treatment. The ck gas that was spreading at a fast speed suddenly stopped flowing and after a few seconds, it started to subside.


    Wen Yujie was shocked to the point where she had forgotten to struggle. The warmth from Luo Yuan¡¯s palm on her chest calmed her down and reduced the intolerable itch in her throat. She felt extremelyfortable and could not help but groan loudly. When the fear of death disappeared, she recovered feeling embarrassed. Her face became flushed and even her tender fair chest cast a rosy color. Luo Yuan¡¯s warm hand was like magic that made her whole body weak and she could barely stand.


    "Are you done?" When Wen Yujie saw that her whole body became white and delicate again, she asked with trembling voice.


    Luo Yuan did not speak. He continued for another 10 seconds before he released his palm.


    Wen Yujie quickly turned to get dressed but she realized that her clothes here torn off rather than removed. It was as an emergency so it was justified. She could barely cover her chest with what remained.


    "Wear this." Luo Yuan noticed her situation and quickly took off his own coat. This coat was not an equipment but rather a normal one that he obtained a few days ago.


    Wen Yujie replied shyly and did not reject. She picked up the coat and carefully put it on. It was kind offortable and she enjoyed the warmth and safeness of not having her breasts exposed. When she had this thought in her mind, her face suddenly blushed again.


    Luo Yuan was having a slight headache when he noticed her ambiguous look. The feeling that he deliberately controlled earlier seemed to have warmed up again. Xu Zhiqiang and Xiao Baihong turned around and saw that Wen Yujie hadpletely recovered. They were shocked. Particrly Xu Zhiqiang as the leader of the evolutionary humans... he was certain that Luo Yuan was an earth-based evolutionary human.


    "Since when did earth-based evolutionary humans have the ability to heal?" He asked.


    "We cannot stay here anymore. We have to get out now." Luo Yuan¡¯s voice interrupted his musings. "I suspect that this earthquake has broken a huge crack under the sewer and led out a powerful poisonous mutated beast." Everyone thought about it and started to worry. They were in a sewer which was dirty and wet. It was the sort of ce that could attract all kinds of poisonous beasts.


    The mutated beasts in the sewer were not a big threat because it was rtively clean. However, at the bottom of the sewer, there was filthy water which gathered a lot of poisonous insects and animals. It was never cleaned after thepletion of Desert City and thus the mutated beasts were most likely upgraded to a more dangerous level.


    Prior to this, the shelter had a thick foundation so it could block most of therge-sized mutated beasts. Only a few small mutated beasts could sneak in through the cracks. However, after this earthquake, that will no longer be the case.


    "Where are we going if we don¡¯t stay in the sewer?" Xiao Baihong asked with some concern.


    "Go to where you are supposed to go." Luo Yuan hesitated and said. He continued, "The city has now returned to normal and you are all not wanted people anymore. I believe that they will not change their mind."


    While he was talking, he suddenly had a thought that struck his mind. Perhaps it was the intuition from his heart. He had always suspected that the real mind controller was not dead yet but rather hiding and waiting for the right time to take revenge.


    If he continued to analyze based on this thought, the previous two who were executed by the firing squad might not have been the actual culprits. The man might be the real deal but thedy might be an imposter. For a powerful mind controller, controlling a person to kill themselves was too easy.


    Luo Yuan thought to himself that if a public leader could be easily controlled by the mind controller to the point where everyone else did not know anything about it, then this mind controller must be very powerful. Luo Yuan had little confidence that he could bepletely immune to his or her powers, however, he was probably just scaring himself. Over the past few days, Luo Yuan had been exposed to the public so he or she had the opportunity to control him. Since it did not happen, it became apparent that the enemy had limitations to deal with him. Now that the enemy had lost so many people in the team, the strength of this mind controller should be on the lower end.


    Xu Zhiqiang and the rest were the best evolutionary humans in Desert City. Luo Yuan imagined that if he were the hidden mind controller he would not have let go of these people. Perhaps this was an opportunity to lure the mind controller out in the open.

 Chapter 298: Luring the Culprit (II)

    Chapter 298: Luring the Culprit (II)


    Trantor: Insignia Editor: Svjohn


    "D-Level Mission: Puppet Master ¨C Locate and kill a mysterious mind controller."


    "Duration: Five days - ept / Cancel"


    The system notification suddenly resounded in his mind.


    He was slightly startled, but he knew that his idea a moment ago had prompted the mission.


    As he could only assume initially, this was now enough to confirm his assumptions.


    Upon acquiring the system, regardless of how bizarre the mission was, the proposed task had always been so apt and befitting; not a single error since.


    It seemed like it had a pair of omnipresent eyes and there was nothing in the world that could be kept from it. Even when things are yet to be certain, the system had always been so confident. At times, when Luo Yuan thought about its astounding uracy, he could not help but feel slightly disturbed. The more he knew, the queasier he felt.


    A thought shed across his mind, and his heart sank that very moment. He realized that he had been underestimating the puppeteer.


    "It turned out to be D-ss mission!" He could not help but think.


    ...


    "We¡¯ll part ways now; if anything happens, you cane right to me," said Luo Yuan, giving a pat on Xu Zhiqiang¡¯s shoulder.


    Xu Zhiqiang nodded his head and was slightly emotional. Including that one time during the jailbreak, Luo Yuan had practically saved him twice, and this debt was too great to repay. He had not given his thanks, but his gratefulness was deeply engraved in his heart.


    "Boss, can I tag along?" said Zhang Wu, standing nearby.


    Luo Yuan thought for a while and said, "It¡¯s not the time yet; maybe next time. Now, I have some unfinished business to attend to."


    Luo Yuan gave each of them a pat on the shoulder. When it was Wen Yujie¡¯s turn, seeing her slightly reddened eyes, Luo Yuan could not help but to hesitate and give her a hug, "Take care!" said Luo Yuan, as he released her from his embrace.


    "Yes! You too, take care," said Wen Yujie, trying to remain calm.


    The guards of the sewer maintenance room had long since disappeared. Shielded by Wen Yujie¡¯s illuminating ability, the group quickly left.


    Luo Yuan watched them as they were leaving. After ensuring that everyone was a distance away, he opened the cuffs of his sleeve, took out the remaining dead skin and stuffed it into the pocket of his trousers.


    In fact, when he was patting each of them goodbye, he had activated his synthesizing ability and a small amount of the dead skin had been absorbed into their clothing. Through this imprint, as long as they were not too far away, he could still clearly monitor their wellbeing anytime.


    With his agility at 15 points, almost 7.5 times the normal speed of ordinary people, any light movement was almost undetectable. The most they felt was a pat on the shoulder and a sudden warmth, which could be taken for an illusion.


    Luo Yuan closed his eyes for a moment to sense their movement and found that the group had parted ways, with each of them embarking on a different path.


    His expression darkened, and he turned back towards the sewer instead.


    Although the sewer and the evacuation route were enclosed and separated from each other, there was still air cirction, albeit a weak one. Due to the earthquake, the exchange of air between the two areas from the copsed partition, coupled with the leakage of an unknown gas from the sewer, had proved to be a deadly source of danger.


    The grim-faced Luo Yuan walked hurriedly towards the sewer. In just a short time, it was filled with dead bodies of mutated beasts. Even the stronger ones and the ones resistant to toxin were scampering and struggling to theirst breath to stay alive.


    The faint smell of toxic waste had almost suffused the whole space, but the air was carrying a trace of abnormally sweet scent. To be extra cautious, Luo Yuan held his breath. This type of toxic gas was extremely strong, so much so that even evolved people such as Tong Jianliang and Wen Yujie were unable to withstand it. Even Luo Yuan himself was also unable to guarantee that he could leave this ce alive.


    As there were no prompts from the system, Luo Yuan guessed that this noxious gas may not be very strong, apart from its toxicity, which was the trickiest part.


    Luo Yuan crouched down from time to time to check on the degree of rigor mortis of the carcasses of the mutated beasts, to pinpoint the source of the noxious gas. With his physique and lung capacity, if he was not performing some strenuous exercise, he could hold his breath for 30 to 40 minutes which was more than enough.


    Finally, after five or six minutes, Luo Yuan stopped right at a crack that was caused by the earthquake.


    The creature looked simr to a toad and was about the size of a small car.


    The back of the toad-like creature was fiery red, with numerous pustules pulsating non-stop with each breath. asionally, there was some yellow liquid flowing from the pustules, giving a very ufortable and sickening vibe.


    The abdomen of the creature was ck, its surface was smooth and glossy, but was densely covered with bothrge and small round marks as thick as a thumb. Once in a while, the marks moved slightly, but with Luo Yuan¡¯s sharp vision, he immediately discovered that this were not marks but rather, countless number of parasitic ticks.


    Just one look at the parasites sent a tingling sensation down Luo Yuan¡¯s body.


    These parasitic worms seemed to be full of blood, as each one of them was plump and round! However, the poisonous gas that was emitting from the toad seemed to have no effect on those parasitic worms.


    The food chain was indeed a full cycle - there was no exception to it!


    From the imposing manner of the creature, its strength must be a level between blue and dark blue. To Luo Yuan, this strength could be simply dealt with, by a single blow.


    The whole of the creature was poisonous, as well as extremely repulsive. Knitting his brows together, Luo Yuan had no choice but to muster all his Will, and formed a thinyer of film on his body, to prevent the poison from sputtering onto him.


    Next was the actual fight, which was actually nothing to shout about!


    With his terrifyingly strong force, the other party was too scared to move; its whole body was trembling. Even when Luo Yuan was steadily advancing, the creature made no resistance, and sat docilely like a frightened quail, before being beheaded by his sword. A dark ck vile liquid sttered about three meters high, and the ground started to corrode.


    The whole body was poisonous; hence, he certainly could not let it rot here.


    Corpses of mutated beasts that was killed by the poisonous gas had littered the ground, and the bodies could be seen almost everywhere. Luo Yuan removed the body fat from each of the bodies, and very quickly, a pile ofrd was formed. This type of body fat had a high oil content and was highly inmmable.


    After Luo Yuan had set the pile of fat on fire, the me began to rage, and rose up to three meters high. Soon after, the body of the toad also began to burn under the raging mes.


    He heaved a sigh of relief. Apart from radioactive toxins, other toxins, whether biological or chemical, could be broken down with high temperature. Therefore, the source of the toxin couldpletely be disintegrated after being burnt.


    Luo Yuan waited for almost half an hour for the body to bepletely burned to ashes. Only then, he was convinced that it was safe and quickly left the ce.


    As he was walking, he suddenly stopped in his tracks. He sensed that one of the imprints that he had sent out seemed to be affected by a force, as it began vibrating incessantly.


    However, just as he was ready to respond to it, the imprint trembled violently for a while, as though a bubble has been punctured, burst, and disappeared without a trace. The interaction signal in his mind was quickly broken off.


    Luo Yuan¡¯s heart sank. He had not expected his opponent to act so soon. It was barely even half an hour before a move was made.


    The one that was caught was Xiao Baihong. Before he had synthesized the dead skin, some of them had more, while some of them had less of it. So naturally, the degree of sensitivity was different for each of them. Among them, Wen Yujie had the most, thus her imprint was the most sensitive, followed by Xu Zhiqiang, Zhang Wu and Xiao Baihong, while the weakest was Yang Zhiqing. Each of the imprints was able to connect to Luo Yuan separately and were distinct from one another.


    The imprint that had currently dissappeared had clearly belonged to Xiao Baihong!

 Chapter 299: Luring the Culprit (III)

    Chapter 299: Luring the Culprit (III)


    Trantor: Insignia Editor: Svjohn


    "Captain Xiao, our Defense Division is waiting for its revival. Many members, including Captain Hu were killed during thest mission. As we suffered a great loss, your responsibility is indeed ofrge scale," Mayor Song said painfully, "And your current most important mission is to reform the Defense Division upon your return. Also, learn from this lesson and improve the security system. Are you confident enough to undertake this task?"


    Not long after Xiao Baihong left the sewer, some police and military personnel came by, wanting him to go to the city council office. At the beginning, he was worried and had doubts, thinking that it was a trap. After some hesitation, he decided to go.


    He found out that he was not caught upon arrival, but had an important mission instead! Xian Baihong was stunned for a moment before he could recover, and assured loudly, "Don¡¯t worry, sir! I hereby make a military pledge to promise that thest mistake will not be repeated again in the Defense Division!"


    "Very well, I hope that you can deliver as promised. You may head back first and if possible, do submit a proposal by tomorrow," Mayor Song said.


    Mo Li sent Xiao Baihong to the gate. She then saw him off with her bashful and innocent face, without so much as a flicker of smile.


    There were too many unpredictable situations recently that caught her off guard, hence, she now handled them passively!


    With her strong ability and cautiousness, she soon controlled the top ranking people of the Desert City. Nevertheless, before she could heave a sigh of relief, what came after was truly shocking. First of all, the Spec and Mr. Xie lost their lives and then, Su Yu was killed unbeknownst to many, at the city council.


    In fact, Su Yu was very strong, and even had a record of killing a level six mutated beast. As he was the strongest evolved person she had ever seen, he was the strongest force she had. Therefore, his death made her feel insecure.


    Her ability was simr to hypnosis but is much stronger, being able to prate deeper and have a stronger hold on the psyche. Common hypnosis can only hypnotize one¡¯s subconscious mind, but she could manipte one¡¯s memory through their subconsciousness.


    Hypnotizing only the subconscious mind allows one to break loose should one begin to feel ufortable, or when it goes against one¡¯s subconscious. However, manipting the memory through a subconscious mind leaves no chance for the person to break lose, as it affects the deepest part of the brain, where the most memories were stored. Maniption had the power to make one believe ¨C no questions asked ¨C as the memories which contradict with their conscience will be rebooted.


    In other words, it can be considered as repairs made in one¡¯s memory!


    For instance, when everyone in the city council was given an impression that she was Mayor Song¡¯s nice, nobody, even Mayor Song himself, doubted her identity. Over time, a conditioned memory had been formed.


    A memory is not only the most precious asset of human beings but also one that is sacred and invible. The idea of "I" is formed as a result of memory, hence, the ability to distort one¡¯s memory was indeed terrifying.


    She knew that if her ability was made known and exposed, no matter how she pleaded for mercy, it would be rendered useless.


    Since Su Yu died, she felt that danger was creeping closer, as if a pair of indifferent eyes was watching her in the dark. If she errs, she will be struck down. The omnipresent danger had made her feel oppressed and frustrated, but she had no choice but to disguise herself. Even if she sent Hawk Eye to hell, she had no idea what could possibly happen!


    She muttered to herself, and clenched her fists until her knuckles were pale, "Could it be him?"


    If anyone wanted to identify the most dubious person, he would be the strongest evolved person at Desert City, Luo Yuan ¨C without a doubt.


    Previously, she tried to control Luo Yuan, but his soul¡¯s defense was extraordinarily strong. If the defense of amoner was akin to a fence where she could easily climb over, inparison, the defense of Luo Yuan¡¯s soul would be likened to a thick and strong wall. As she was worried of being noticed, she only attempted for a very short while before stopping.


    Then, she was startled from her deep thought by a few knocks on her door.


    Mo Li was shocked and went to open the door. Previously, she had sent a message under Mayor Song¡¯s name to the Public Security Bureau, that they should inform the evolved person who escaped from prison to report to the city council¡¯s office. If they were found, they would be able to continue gathering them up.


    As soon as she opened the door, a slight surprise came upon her.


    "Why are you here again?" She asked.


    The person standing in front of the door was Xiao Baihong, who had just left. After he looked at her with scrutiny, he said, "Something has happened, I want to look for Mayor Song!"


    The tone of his voice obviously sounded different. ording to her modified memory, he was supposed to be loyal and was even willing to sacrifice for her sake. Her heart skipped a beat. After she realized that something was different, she discovered more ws, and how different he sounded, although he tried hard to imitate him. He was also a few inches taller.


    He was definitely not Xiao Baihong; he was an impostor!


    Mo Li¡¯s expression slightly changed but recovered very quickly. She said softly, "Captain Xiao,e with me."


    The impostor was no other than Luo Yuan. He then followed Mo Li into an office.


    "Captain Xiao, how can I help you?" Mayor Song asked unhappily after putting down his documents, as he saw him walking in nonchntly as if there was no one else present.


    "Hello Mayor Song, I¡¯m sorry to disturb you. I¡¯d like to ask if you happen to have any CCTV footage on who Xiao Baihong had met before?"


    Meanwhile, Luo Yuan quickly changed his face back to his own.


    Mayor Song jumped in shock. Even Mo Li was staring with utter shock at Luo Yuan, and suddenly felt insecure!


    "Mr. Luo, why would you want to look like Captain Xiao, to meet me?" said Mayor Song with a forced smile, as he quickly recovered and sat down.


    "It was very important. You¡¯ll find outter," Luo Yuan said with a smile. He was forced to act rashly. As soon as the imprint disappeared, he managed to track it down. Luo Yuan did not expect that the location of the ident was within the city council, especially in the office of the Mayor, no less! He wanted to resolve the problem stealthily, but he could not do it due to the precariousness of the location.


    "You wanted to look at the CCTV, could it be anything that happened to Captain Xiao?" Mayor Song became very serious and asked, with his eyebrows furrowed.


    Luo Yuan shook his head, "Before I understand the whole situation, I¡¯m sorry to say that I am unable to divulge any information!"


    Mayor Song pondered for a moment, before he muttered, "CCTV..."


    He obviously paused for a while before he continued, "It was good before today¡¯s earthquake, which seemed to have damaged the circuit. Is the problem serious?"


    "Well, the issue was not very serious, but I still need a confirmation first. Considering the circumstances, I¡¯m sorry to disturb you. I¡¯ll leave now!" Luo Yuan stood up immediately.


    "Lili, send Mr. Luo off," Mayor Song said.


    "It¡¯s alright, how could I possibly trouble ady?" Luo Yuan said with a smile, but his heart spoke otherwise. He briskly walked towards the gate and stole a nce at the CCTV, which was emitting a weak red light before he left. He smirked as he knew that his assumptions were right.

 Chapter 300: Luring the Culprit (IV)

    Chapter 300: Luring the Culprit (IV)


    Trantor: Insignia Editor: Svjohn


    Mayor Song nodded in satisfaction after he saw that Mo Li had finished ssifying those processed documents. Then, he took a look at the time and found out that it was already 11 o¡¯ clock at night. He said in astonishment, "I can¡¯t believe that it¡¯s already thiste. I¡¯m sorry to have you working overtime with me again. As it¡¯s not good to stay upte, please, go back now and take a rest."


    Mo Li shook her head, smiling, and replied, "Uncle, you must be more tired than I am. As I¡¯m still young, it¡¯s no big deal if I stay upte."


    Being a prudent and a person of discretion, she always acts well after detailed nning. Therefore, regardless of any role that she was ying, she would carefullyplete it to perfection.


    "Oh, my dear!" Mayor Song said helplessly, "Go back, or else your aunt would beining again. I wouldn¡¯t want to listen to her nagging!"


    As Mo Li had been busy throughout the day, she felt tired too. The earthquake that urred just now had made her multitask furiously and also realize that she was able to run errands for Mayor Song.


    "Alright, uncle. If so, I¡¯ll take my leave. Please have an early rest too!" Mo Li said as she left, but not before making Mayor Song a cup of tea first.


    As it was alreadyte at night, the city council office was rather empty, and clear footsteps were echoing along the quiet corridor. Mo Li had a strange gut feeling, which made her quicken her pace. For reasons she could notprehend, she had been feeling insecure throughout the day.


    Mo Li felt depressed and in no time, she had reached the gate where she saw two rows of armed soldiers standing upright. Numerous sentries, hidden and in clear sight that guarded the nearby vicinity had made Mo Li feel slightly relieved.


    She wanted to call Xiao Baihong to pick her up, but desisted when she thought of the previously transformed Luo Yuan.


    Gritting her teeth, Mo Li walked out of the high-security gate. The dim street light that nked both sides of the road on a dested night had induced cold sensations and goosebumps all over her body. Being an evolved person rted to the mind, she always had rtively acute instincts and thus frowned because of the feelings that she harbored.


    She used to walk about during the night and had also been living in the wild for a while. Being a strong evolved person, she had never felt any nyctophobia1 like amon woman did. Therefore, the only exnation of how she felt, was because she was in great danger.


    1 fear of darkness


    With a thought shing through her mind, a silhouette seemed to being over from afar.


    He seemed to be walking slowly, but he was in fact, rather hasty. Each step he took was about three to four meters far, hence, with just a few breaths, he was already about a hundred meters away. The dim street lights had created an effect that made him look like the Azrael, the demon from hell!


    The silhouette was none other than Luo Yuan, and he stopped only when he was about thirty to forty meters away from Mo Li.


    "You...what do you want to do?" asked Mo Li, upon seeing the bright, sharp Zhanmadao in Luo Yuan¡¯s hand. She then said in horror, "I...I¡¯m the secretary of the mayor, consider the consequences well."


    She acted excellently. If Luo Yuan had not been very confident, he would have been cheated.


    Luo Yuan smirked, "Stop this act, would you? You¡¯ve been exposing yourself."


    Mo Li acted like a threatened young girl being and asked in fear, "What...what are you saying? I really don¡¯t know what you¡¯re talking about!"


    "It seems like you still don¡¯t believe that I¡¯ve already spotted the mistakes you¡¯ve made. You think I¡¯m the crafty one? Let me see, how many identities are you ying? The niece of Mayor Song, the daughter of the direct superior of Master Liu, and yes, you¡¯re also the life savior of Xiao Baihong!"


    Since Luo Yuan came out from the city council office, he wasted no time and adjourned to seek Master Liu and Xiao Baihong. As Master Liu was still afraid of Luo Yuan, he told him everything about Mo Li¡¯s origins. If the two identities were to be the same person, the life savior of Xiao Baihong should definitely be a joke. After all, Xiao Baihong would not have seen her before, as he was still under the drain when she appeared. Therefore, it was clearly an inexplicable w.


    With Luo Yuan¡¯s taunts, the fearful expression on Mo Li¡¯s face was followed by a sigh and a frown. "Mr. Luo, you have your own methods while I have mine. We shall only mind our own business; why do you have to be so aggressive?"


    She looked pitiful, as though putting her charms to good use, which somehow tempted others to cower in her embrace.


    Even Luo Yuan was trying to suppress his heart too, as he continuing to speak coldly, "It¡¯s not about minding our own business. It¡¯s also because you are standing in my way and are a nuisance in my life. More importantly, your existence had made me feel insecure."


    "What a domineering man... even I can feel arousal in myself. You feel insecure because you don¡¯t know me, but maybe after you do, we could work together," Mo Li chuckled and bent her body over seductively.


    Luo Yuan had always been incisive in battles, but for no good reason, his heart was disturbed and was now indecisive. Nevertheless, his strong Will had soon made him realize that something had gone wrong. He could not believe how strong her powers were, and that he was affected even though they stood a distance away. Therefore, he focused his Will and eliminated all the distraction in his thoughts.


    "Don¡¯t try to seduce me anymore. It¡¯s not effective on me... just let me send you to hell."


    As he was focusing his Will, Mo Li could not manipte him any further. She stopped smiling and her face became glum. Since it was proven futile, she no longer disguised herself but quickly walked towards Luo Yuan gravely, "You may be the one who will die instead."


    "Maybe not!" Luo Yuan eximed, upon quickly retreating back a few steps backward, and whipped out an arm-sized long spear from his back simultaneously.


    Handling a mind controller, Luo Yuan dared not go too near. Besides, he did not want to risk his life even though he was confident with his strong Will, as the D level mission would mean that she had simr battle effectiveness as he did.


    Therefore, before he came, he had specially prepared a few long spears to assist him in battles such as these.


    As soon as Mo Li saw the long spear that he held, she panicked. After all, she was already physically weak, and a bullet could kill her in a sh. She could no longer care about the distance and was emitting silver rays from her eyes; distorting the surrounding atmosphere.


    Luo Yuan took a quick look, and itpletely threw him off-guard. It was likened to the rubbing sounds of ss, ringing in his head, with endless hallucinations shing through. His mind seemed to have a strong force that attacked his Will. Meanwhile, he was as sturdy as a rock rooted to the ground and did not even realize that his long spear had fallen onto the ground.


    The charm of her mysterious silver eyes was bewitching. In addition to those delicate features and indifferent attitude, it very much made her glow like a goddess.


    Everyone was different and life has always been unfair; some people were extremely wise and talented while some others were only bestowed average ability and work so hard to achieve nothing. As an innate evolved person, she had had the ability to bewitch prior to the apocalypse. With this natural ability and professional knowledge, she had be one of the world¡¯s few hypnotists who had the capability to hypnotize someone even when they were awake.


    Nheless, the ability she had at that time was not obvious and was very weak. The apocalypse had further enhanced her ability to a state where she was soon out of control. As memory was something of a continuous flow and had to be logical, any maniption would be disastrous, causing one to either be a delinquent or sumb to mental problems. Therefore, her ability to manipte memory was quickly discovered by the people, and she had to flee again and again.


    It was only until half a year ago that the growth of her mental prowess slowed down, which allowed her to gradually be in control of her powers. Nevertheless, she had to perfect control of it. She needed to be careful not to exert herself too much whilst manipting the memories of others, else, her energy would be exactly like what it is now;pletely depleted.


    The strong psychological attack had the ability to wipe off all traces of memory, and leave nothing but the natural instinct of a newborn.


    Mo Li pulled out a sharp de from her waist and quickly walked towards Luo Yuan. Meanwhile, she was feeling disappointed as she could not control Luo Yuan¡¯s exceptionally strong Will, despite attempting many times.


    She felt relieved anyway.


    Luo Yuan furrowed his brows tightly, and he could no longer pay his attention to his surroundings. He was trying hard to retrieve his Sensory Perception to reinforce his defense. As the clock was ticking, his Will had be more focused, as if impurity had been eliminated, even though he was under a psychological attack.


    ...


    The sound of the system notification seemed to have popped up in his mind.


    He started to rx, and an intangible force was pulsating from his body. He felt light-weighted and his body began to float into the air until he was an inch away from the ground. At that time, Mo Li hade up to him and was preparing to stab him in the chest.


    Luo Yuan suddenly opened his eyes, in which a halo seemed to grow around it. His hands seemed to have blurred a bit and the dagger stabbed her through the eyes to the back of her skull.


    Mo Li was stunned and could not believe what just happened. Along with the disappearing silver lights in her eyes, she slumped onto the floor!

 Chapter 301: Will and Soul

    Chapter 301: Will and Soul


    Trantor: Insignia Editor: Svjohn


    Just as Luo Yuan was about to feel a little relief, he was shocked and stared at the corpse of Mo Li. As her eyes were losing vitality, a pale silver shadow was seening out of her ice-cold body. A chill rose from Luo Yuan¡¯s heart which engulfed his body, causing goosebumps!


    "It¡¯s her soul!" Luo Yuan was stunned, and could not believe his eyes when heid his eyes on that shadow.


    The apparition was exuding a pale silver radiance as if it was covered with ayer of thick fog, yet itpletely resembled Mo Li with all her features and limbs.


    Finally, she managed to break loose from her physical body, and slowly stood up. In fact, she was floating into an upright position.


    She looked confused and lowered her head to look around as if she had forgotten something. When she saw her own body lying there, she seemed dazed and puzzled for a period of time.


    To prevent any unforeseen idents, Luo Yuan slowly took a step backward and realized that he was also floating in the air like Mo Li¡¯s soul. Better yet, he could move his body effortlessly with just his Will.


    He expressed surprise and retreated about ten meters away. While the soul or ghost of Mo Li was staring at her own body, he scanned the system and finally discovered two unread messages; one of it was the notification of the aplished mission.


    "Current Mission: D-level Mission: Puppet Master ¨C Locate and kill the mysterious mind controller" "Duration: Five days"


    "Mission Status: Completed"


    "Remarks: Perfect"


    "Character: Luo Yuan"


    "Completion: 100%"


    "Rewarded Basic EXP +9600*100%"


    "Remarks: Perfect, EXP +9600*100%"


    "EXP: 43920/153600"


    Luo Yuan only scanned through briefly, as he required more EXP to level up. Besides, a D-level mission would not meet the requirements to level up, even if he scored a ¡®perfect¡¯ score in the remarks. Either way, he had a long way to go before he could level up.


    What caught Luo Yuan¡¯s attention was the second message.


    Point added to your Will while defending against the mental attack; your Will +1


    After a point was added, he had a total of 17 points for his Will. The effects of such a high amount of Will was that he could remove the effects of the earth¡¯s gravity and fly in the air if he focused. A sliver of joy shed through him and immediately, his emotions began to stabilize.


    After all, it was not the right time to be distracted.


    With that thought in mind, hended onto the floor once more and felt slightly relieved. After all, he was a person who practiced a kind of martial art that was particr about the earth being used as the source of energy and power, hence, he felt insecure about being in the air.


    Finally, Mo Li reacted by shifting her focus from her body, looked up and stared nkly at Luo Yuan.


    She suddenly opened her mouth but before Luo Yuan could cast his doubts, his mind came to rey a subtle voice of Mo Li. The voice appeared to be silent and was deathly still, as if she was bothining and crying.


    "Were you the person who killed me?"


    If Luo Yuan was amoner, he would have peed in his pants. However, he was not frightened as he had met such an enemy before. He wasn¡¯t interested in physical immunity as he did not have much of a defensive ability from his aura and Will. The only concern he had from this encounter was the mental attacks from her. However, since he had already killed her, how could he be afraid of the dead?


    Indifferent and cold, he said, "Who else other than myself, is standing here before you?"


    When Luo Yuan stayed alert, Mo Li voice was unexpectedly heard again, "Then you should know me. Who are you? And...who am I?" Her face became confused again like she had lost her memory.


    Luo Yuan hesitated for a moment, before he told her the truth, "I¡¯m Luo Yuan and you¡¯re Mo Li!"


    "Luo Yuan and Mo Li... that sounds familiar. Yes, I¡¯m Mo Li!" she seemed to be deep in thoughts, and stood there in a trance for a few seconds. Out of a sudden, she looked at Luo Yuan with surprise and asked, "What are you doing here, who are you?"


    Luo Yuan felt strange and answered again, "Luo Yuan!"


    "What a familiar name... how did you die?"


    Luo Yuan said nothing but he knew what was happening. After a while, as expected, she seemed to have seen Luo Yuan for the first time again and said something simr.


    He recalled of a report that said if a ghost truly existed, it must have no memory, or at most only a temporary memory. This is because a soul does not have a brain to act as a memory storage.


    Nheless, Luo Yuan found out that the view was inurate, but he could not exclude the possibility that the soul of Mo Li could be too strong. Her soul could possibly still have some vague fragments of memories and allowed her to reminisce her own identity. It was still even capable of having memories, even for just a few seconds.


    ...


    But s, it seemed like the strength of the soul could notst long. As time passed by, her figure gradually had be gloomy, and the illusory shadow began gleaming after about ten minutes. The silver radiance had be almost transparent.


    At that time, she could no longer speak and had a nk look, which was most probably the illusory shadow losing its spirituality.


    After she persisted for another one minute, the shadow finally dispersed into numerous light spots andpletely disappeared from the world.


    As Luo Yuan was looking at the dispersal of Mo Li¡¯s soul under the dim light, unexpectedly, he felt lost and sad.


    Disregarding the hostile demeanor they had against each other, and even though her immense strength had made her be an almostplete soul, she still dispersed into nothing eventually.


    After Luo Yuan nced over, he had an idea. His body slowly floated and flew to the front.


    ...


    It was his first time flying, but to his surprise, he did not feel ufortable as if flying had always been second nature. Every movement he took felt as natural as breathing, as his body turned and sped along with his thoughts.


    The wind blew against his face and left his hair windswept. As the suppressed excitement had risen from his heart, he became more exhrated as he soared on. If it was not for thete night and having just returned from a crime scene making him easily exposed, he would have wanted to let out a long wheezing bellow.


    Though he did not shout out loud, his face was getting more joyous.


    Flying has always been a human¡¯s dream and because of this dream, we humans have invented various modes of transportation to enable flying. However, the excitement of flying by yourself would not beparable to the excitement of flying with a tool. Finally, Luo Yuan understood why Wang Shishi no longer wanted to walk on the floor when she learned how to fly. The reason to practice was, in fact, a small part of it, while for the most part was that the feeling was indeed addictive!


    The speed of flying was not fast at all. Luo Yuan estimated it to be about 20 m per second or 72 km per hour. It was slower than running with all his strength, where the speed would be about a hundred meters per two seconds.


    However, it was not an absolute number, because if he wanted to hurry on his journey, especially through the mountain road, flying would be much faster. After all, there were no obstacles in the air, which allowed him to travel on an unobstructed route, instead of worrying about the topography when he runs on.


    ...


    The level of Will was not defined by how one expresses their emotion but rather, on one¡¯s ability to control it. Examples are to remain calm during the hour of peril, intoxicated without being lost and enduring intense pain, loneliness, boredom, and stress. As Luo Yuan got back into his house, he had calmed down.


    Looking at the dusty surface, Luo Yuan remained silent for a moment, took up a broom, and wanted to clean up. Then, an idea struck him! He put down the broom in attempts to focus on his Will, and waved his hand.


    An intangible force emitted from his body and all dust, debris, and trash on the floor as well as on the wall flew quickly into the air to form a gray mass, which gradually grew asrge as a football.


    While looking at this trash ball, Luo Yuan pointed towards the main door, and the ball quickly flew out in adherence.


    Along with a light knock sound on the wood, Luo Yuan walked out of the door and went down the corridor for about thirty to forty meters. Then, when he peered into the wooden dustbin lying against the wall, he found that the ball was already inside.


    Luo Yuan was shocked and could not believe what had just happened. It was like a dream to him.


    What¡¯s more mysterious was what had happened was the result of merely two broad and general thoughts.


    For instance, the first thought was to collect the trash while the second was to throw them into the dustbin.


    He did not even have to think of the type of trash, be it the dust, debris or yellowed newspapers and did not even have the multitasking skill to gather all dust together. It was the subconscious which had perfected his thoughts and gathered all the trash he would think of, all by itself.


    The second thought was also the same. He neither had to walk out of the door, nor think of the location of the dustbin, but the subconscious had helped himplete the rest. Though he could do simr things previously, none was as easy as this time where his wishes turned into amand.


    ...


    A ring light ball appeared and lit up the dark room. Then, it became a burning me out of thin air and resonated into a heat wave. With that, the me gradually lengthened and formed a ming long sword.


    The next moment, the me had quickly disappeared. The air suddenly became freezing cold, and the room had begun to be nketed with frost. Just like a kid with a new toy, Luo Yuan enjoyed new experiences.


    His excitement was more intense now than it was when he was flying.


    With such a degree of Will, it could not only further sharpen the saber or shield his body, but also became a brand-new power, different from what the physical body could do.


    He clenched his fist and intangible Will was suddenly being focused on it. It then appeared to be palpable and glistening in the sun, like flowing water.

 Chapter 302: Second Migration

    Chapter 302: Second Migration


    Trantor: Insignia Editor: Svjohn


    It was about midnight when Luo Yuan¡¯s biological clock automatically woke him up.


    He opened his eyes and stared at the ceiling for a while before he jumped out of the bed. The room was indeed spick and span after he cleaned it, but it appeared to be now barren and chillier than before!


    He stretched out his hand to beckon the Zhanmadao beside him, and it flew quickly into the palm of his hands. After his Will leveled up, the speed of the flying Zhanmadao was quicker, but its attack range was still limited.


    He would still need more time if he wanted to be able to fly his sabre around!


    Luo Yuan had a go at a few shes before he put the Zhanmadao back in its sheath. Then, he simply picked a jacket to wear and left the house.


    The body of Mo Li was obviously found as the number of cops on the street increased. However, Luo Yuan deliberately escaped or damaged the cameras when necessary, to deter himself from being captured. Furthermore, it was veryte at night, and nobody was on the street, hence, he was not worried about being found.


    As Luo Yuan walked by, a few cops had taken a few more nces at him, before immediately shifting their focus.


    He went around to the second floor and when he entered the military camp. Huo Dong was already waiting.


    "Boss Luo!"


    Luo Yuan patted Huo Dong¡¯s shoulder and sighed, "It must be difficult for you during this period of time, could you lead me there?"


    Before he visited Master Liu yesterday night, he had met with Huo Dong alone. When he heard about the recent condition of Huang Jiahui, he subconsciously recalled the doodle of Shishi and found an insight to the meaning.


    The sun covered by the clouds was not pointing to a location, but was insinuating Wang Xiaguang1 instead.


    Had Huo Dong not mention, Luo Yuan would never think of it, not because of his intelligence quotient but because of a dissimr direction of thoughts.


    ...


    "Have some water," Huang Jiahui handed a ss to Wu Xiaoxiao, who was hiding at a corner.


    Wu Xiaoxiao shrunk her body subconsciously as if she was terrified. Since Sun Youde passed away, she had been keeping silent all the time.


    Maybe other people had yet to discover but how could she know nothing as his wife? She had always been a light sleeper as she would easily wake up with any noise. In fact, when Sun Youde went out, she had already woke up.


    She saw with her very own eyes that Wang Shishi went after him but when she returned, there was only Wang Shishi left; Sun Youde was gone.


    Sun Youde was not a perfect husband. He was short, average looking, and his character was extreme with many shorings. If it was not for troubled times, she would never had chosen Sun Youde. However, since she got married to him, he pandered to her every whim. Unlike nts, human being had emotions, even a person with a heart of stone would be touched upon receiving such a treatment.


    After that, she barely spoke and distanced herself from the rest. She even lowered her head all the time, in efforts to hide her insecurity and hatred.


    Then, there was amotion in the group. Huang Jiahui, Wang Shishi and the rest suddenly stood up with excitement.


    As Wu Xiaxiao raised her head to take a look, her breath suddenly became quick and she had a ratherplicated expression stered across her face.


    "Luo Yuan!"


    She had aplexed feeling. She knew that she could not me Luo Yuan for what was happening, but if she was not meeting him, she would not be in this situation. The life of Sun Youde would not be in mystery as well.


    He was the main cause to all these!


    Wu Xiaoxiao was rooted to the ground and her eyes turned red. She replied with constraint, and shed a bitter smile when Luo Yuan looked at her. Luo Yuan shifted his focus and hugged Huang Jiahui in front of him. As he felt her shivering body, he patted her back, "You must have been through a lot recently."


    "It¡¯s great that you¡¯vee back!" Huang Jiahui tried her best to control her emotions and said, while trembling.


    When Luo Yuan had let go of Huang Jiahui, Wang Shishi did not care what others might think and ran over quickly to hug him. Luo Yuan sighed and hugged her briefly. When he was about to push her away, he felt that his shoulder was damp, and then heforted her with a gentle tone, "It¡¯s over now."


    "I knew you¡¯d be fine, I knew it!" Wang Shishi was crying out loud.


    This time, she was not only worried about Luo Yuan¡¯s safety, but she was also enduring enormous pressure, because she was the strongest evolved person in the group after Luo Yuan. Therefore, she matured at a faster pace, but was exhausted from all that!


    The volcano-like, zing hot affection of the young girl made Luo Yuan, an old man, feel embarrassed, "Alright, alright, the others are looking!" Wang Shishi released him from her embrace; her face was flushed pink.


    As Zhao Yali saw Luo Yuan was looking at her, she hurriedly wiped her tears away and took a step back. As she was bashful, she was not used to hugging in public. Luo Yuan also did not force her, as he knew her well.


    Finally, Luo Yuan looked at Wang Xiaguang, and kept silent for a moment, before he said, "You maye back too, it¡¯s not safe to live alone."


    Wang Xiaguang expressed mixed feelings, nced at Luo Yuan, and smiled with constraint, "No, I¡¯m not used to such a big family. I would feel that I¡¯m an outcast here."


    "Nobody regards you as an outcast; we¡¯re all good sisters," said Huang Jiahui sincerely, as she approached Wang Xiaguang, and held onto her hands.


    "I know!" Wang Xiaguang took a deep breath, "In fact, I¡¯d miss all of you too. But I¡¯m so used to staying alone, so don¡¯t try to persuade me anymore."


    Luo Yuan looked rather glum. Having feelings was the mostplicated problem of all. He definitely knew the affection Wang Xiaguang had towards him, but feelings cannot be forced. Besides, she wanted sincere feelings only between the two of them, which he was unable tomit to.


    Wang Xiaguang looked very feminine, but her heart was much stronger than everyone else¡¯s. Luo Yuan sighed and said bitterly, "If so, I¡¯ll not force you. You can look for us anytime if anything arises. No matter what, we¡¯re friends... the best of friends, even before the apocalypse."


    Wang Xiaguang nodded and suddenly turned her back. Even so, Luo Yuan could clearly see that a drop of tear trickled down her cheek. He was consumed with mixed feelings and forced himself to shift his focus onto somebody else. When he saw Wu Xiaoxiao, he realized that somebody was missing, and asked, "Where¡¯s Sun Youde?"


    The atmosphere became rather quiet as nobody would speak a single word. At the end of the day, it was Huang Jiahui who replied obliquely, "He has gone missing!"


    When Luo Yuan noticed Wang Shishi¡¯s eyes blinking and Wu Xiaoxiao¡¯s body slightly shivering, he wisely did not ask any further butforted Wu Xiaoxiao, "Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯m rather close to Mayor Wu... We will find him."


    Wu Xiaoxiao briefly shook her head, lowered her gaze, and said nothing.


    Luo Yuan finally looked at Chen Jiayi and Mu Wenwen, "Alright, let¡¯s go home."


    Wang Xiaguang was seeing Luo Yuan and his group off, and suddenly felt the loneliness arising from her inner self. She slowly sat on the floor and felt lost!


    ...


    In just a blink of an eye, three days had passed by!


    Earthquakes kept urring within these few days ¨C no one knew why.


    Fortunately, the magnitudes were all low, and they did notst long. Therefore, it neither caused injury nor destruction of buildings. Such a high frequency of earthqueakes were however, causing panic among the people and turned the atmosphere into a depressing one.


    The Reconstruction Area was located at Tamakan, where it was also part of Kunlun Mountain¡¯s earthquake belt. Since the apocalypse, the rising sea level and changing mantle pressure, especially the intense activities at the earth¡¯s core, andrge-scale nuclear st induced by the cosmic storm, had stimted the active tectonic tes activities, frequent earthquakes and volcano eruptions.


    ording to the frequency of the earthquake, these low magnitude earthquakes made the people worried, as they could be a precursor torge-scale earthquakes.


    As the refuge had been built underground, the effects of the urrence of high magnitude earthquakes would be far too dreadful.


    With Luo Yuan frequently going to the city council office these few days, he knew more about the matter at hand. Therefore, he became gloomier and stressed day by day.


    The refuge had finally reconnected with the Reconstruction Area ¨C the information and news they got were not optimistic. The location they were at, was located right in the region of the active tectonic tes.


    A series of data showed that the tectonic tes of this area had collided into one another, hence, a new mountain range will be formed from the desert in a short time, which could also take thousands or even millions of years. However, the precursors of the formation of the mountain range could in fact, easily destroy the Reconstruction Area and also, Desert City. After all, the strongest man-made structures paled inparison to the power of nature.


    Besides, the range actually included almost half the Reconstruction Area.


    It never rains, but it pours!


    When the Reconstruction Area was still struggling to defend itself from the insect gue, another issue urred simultaneously.


    Besides, the city council had also received news, that the nationalrge-scale second migration had begun. Had they not been connected in time, they might still be in the dark.


    The migration in Desert City was also imminent. Even a person with ambition and desires would have to confess that all human beings muste and work together in order to survive while facing such stressful situations.


    On the fourth day, the underground train station was finally reconnected again, after days of non-stop urgent repairs.


    On the fifth day, the warehouses at the second floor of the refuge were opened. Numerous cars were seen transporting those goods and materials to the train station and being loaded into the train.


    When it was about 9:30 p.m., Luo Yuan apanied Mayor Song to look at the departure of two trains, which were transporting only important industrial equipment and instruments. Nobody was allowed to board the train.


    What came as extremely bad news, was that Luo Yuan found out that Desert City was short of trains. Therefore, they had to wait for the return of the earlier train in order to migrate.


    To make matters worse, the destination of the trains was not anywhere nearby, as those cities had either fallen or moved, but Hope City needed a full day for a return trip ¨C only if it goes smoothly.


    Two full days were required to transport all the goods and materials. In other words, the people could start migrating only two dayster. With eighteen carriages per train, even after dismantling the chairs and tables as well as the unnecessary facilities, each carriage could only fit about five hundred to six hundred people. All the all, the train could only take in ten thousand people, which amounted up to twenty thousand people for two trains. As the Desert City had a million people, the two trains were needed to make five return trips, in order to amodate them all.


    In short, it would take seven days for the people of Desert City to be finally evacuated.


    Yet, they could only pray for safety during these seven days.


    Luo Yuan got back to the lodgings worriedly. He looked glum because he hated the feeling of not being able to be in control of his life. However, he needed to adapt to being stuck not knowing what to do during the apocalypse and to struggle to survive, just like the rest.


    Lying in bed, Luo Yuan felt the ground tremble slightly. He was tossing and turning around due to insomnia, furrowed his eyebrows and stared at the ceiling, wide awake.


    ...


    The next morning, when he was having breakfast, there was a knock at the door.


    Luo Yuan opened the door to find Zhang Wu and Yang Zhiqing, and an unfamiliar evolved person. Then, he realized that he had forgotten about Zhang Wu and did not contact him at all.


    "Come in, you are?" Luo Yuan said.


    "Hi Mr. Luo, I¡¯m Yan Mengjun," the unfamiliar evolved person said ufortably.


    Luo Yuan smiled, "Make yourself at home,e on in!"


    "Mr. Luo, as we¡¯re moving soon, do you have any ns?" Yan Mengjun asked, the very moment he sat down.


    "ns?" Luo Yuan doubted, "Aren¡¯t you guysing along?"


    "The high frequency of quakes is really worrying. Besides, the news I got was that it would take a long time to move and we¡¯ll have to worry about unforeseen issues such as the possibility of our railways being destroyed by the quakes. As I heard that Mr. Luo has abundant experience in traveling, I¡¯d like to convince you to move, and we¡¯ll move along with you."


    Then, Yan Mengjun anxiously looked at Luo Yuan. He was one of the people who escaped captivity but did not follow Luo Yuan, because he was worried that his aims could possibly be too far-fetched. It was only when he talked about it with Zhang Wu, that he got to know that many things had happened and the whole rebellion was almost suppressed by Luo Yuan alone.


    As the condition was getting worse, they kept exchanging messages when they met. They soon realized that the condition had jeopardized their life. After a thorough discussion, they had decided to take the risk, instead of waiting like a puppet of fate in the refuge.


    However, they could not secure their safety by themselves, as Luo Yuan decision was the key to drive any further action.


    Their words woke Luo Yuan up!


    Luo Yuan was in a daze for a moment and felt renewed. Oh yes, why am I not leaving?


    Amoner could not migrate by themselves but they had the potential to. Since the beginning of the apocalypse, they had been traveling almost throughout the whole of China. Could it be the cozy life that had conditioned him?


    Luo Yuan pondered for a while and said, "You¡¯ve reminded me well. As the situation does not look optimistic, we shall depart as soon as possible. The best would be by this evening!"


    The few people who were there were d to hear that. "Then, we¡¯ll go back and prepare!"


    After Zhang Wu and the others left, the atmosphere in the lodgings became somewhat gloomy.


    After all, not everyone had such courage. A normal person would certainly have the innate fear towards the wild, especially with abundant mutated beasts. Many would be afraid and tend to avoid both snakes and scorpions!


    "I¡¯ll not be going!" Wu Xiaoxiao was cowering in fear by herself in a corner and said softly. It was not surprising to see her resisting so hard. In fact, Wu Xiaoxiao was disregarded in all aspects, ever since he came back. She would keep a distance from the rest, and her eyes would wander when she took a furtive nce at Wang Shishi.


    Luo Yuan already knew the reason, but Sun Youde was not only not as close to him, he wanted to divulge information too. Therefore, he would feel nothing even if he had to die ten thousand times. For Wu Xiaoxiao, he was just trying to help, even for the very first time meeting her. Yet, with what happened recently, perhaps it would be better for her to leave.


    Nheless, what surprised Luo Yuan was Mu Wenwen, a strong evolved person who had declined too. Considering her characteristics of being abnormally quiet and socially awkward, besides seeming to have an intense feeling of insecurity whening into contact with dangerous environments, Luo Yuan understood and let her be.


    Trantor Notes:


    1Xiaguang or ϼ¹â in Mandarin means "rays of morning or evening sunshine"

 Chapter 303: Passing By

    Chapter 303: Passing By


    Trantor: Insignia Editor: Svjohn


    No one had a good appetite in the morning as they were thinking about their own problems respectively. Luo Yuan went out to the military campsite after eating his breakfast.


    Although Huo Dong hesitated, he rejected him in the end. He had be a soldier and was no longer a normal citizen. He had to be disciplined as it was not up to him to join or leave whenever he wants. The usations of such actions were always severe even before the apocalypse.


    "Alright, take good care then!" Luo Yuan said as he looked at Huo Dong.


    "Same to you, Brother Luo." Huo Dong said.


    He was getting more mature as a soldier as his tone was firm and his body posture was straight. He was no longer the cheeky businessman but was now a qualified soldier. Luo Yuan sighed in his heart and left the military campsite.


    Countless trucks were lined up on the street, moving at a very slow speed. The crowd was watching with anxiety and worry as the rumors of Desert City¡¯s great migration spread faster that they could imagine. As long as they were smart enough, it was not difficult to see the truth from the events that they have witnessed.


    The atmosphere the refuge was filled with seriousness, frustration, and anxiety.


    However, the crowd did not cause any chaos as the citizens and soldiers had nted the spirit of discipline and unity in their heart.


    Luo Yuan saw a couple that hugged and kissed each other tofort one another.


    An old man was smoking with a shaking hand.


    Arge sized guy was carrying a child in his arm with a pair of miserable eyes, seemingly helpless.


    Their peaceful life has been ruined and they were forced to leave their home to start in a journey that was alien to them. The memory of a great migration is a one which nobody wants to recall as the pathway that led to that was paid for by millions of deaths and a lot of blood. No one knows who would the next person that would be left behind.


    Luo Yuan slowed down his footsteps as he saw the pitiful scene, he felt guilty for them.


    However, he quickly recovered from sympathizing and became serious once more as he knew he could not save everyone. He could only try his level best to help those who were around him.


    He held his saber tightly and then ran away from the street.


    The atmosphere in level one of the shelter was depressing. The crowd was anxious and in panic as the noise buzzed in Luo Yuan¡¯s ears.


    Luo Yuan had finally found Wang Xiaguang at a corner. She seemed to be arguing with a guy and it looked quite serious.


    "I¡¯ve told you that I¡¯ve fallen in love with someone else. Please, do not disturb me again." Wang Xiaguang said coldly.


    "Xiaguang, please, don¡¯t lie to me. I haven¡¯t seen a guy visit you since the day I met you." He looked polite with a pair of ck frames that sat atop his nose. He smiled embarrassingly and said, "Can¡¯t you even give me a chance? Maybe, we can have a date for a period of time first?"


    Wang Xiaguang sighed as she looked at his sincerity. She calmed down and said, "It wouldn¡¯t work even if nobodyes to visit me, you¡¯re just not my cup of tea. You deserve someone better."


    "What kind of man do you like? I can change!" The guy quickly asked as he thought he still had a chance.


    Wang Xiaguang shook her head and said, "You won¡¯t be the man I love no matter how much you change, and I¡¯m not the kind of person you¡¯ve imagined me to be."


    "Who, who is that?" The guy asked as he felt sad when he saw a lovely facial expression forming on Wang Xiaguang¡¯s face.


    "It¡¯s me!" A stranger¡¯s voice disturbed their conversation as someone grabbed the hand of Wang Xiaguang and said, "Let¡¯s go!"


    Wang Xiaguang tried to struggle but to no avail. She gave up after a few tries and said angrily, "Why are you being so bossy! Where are you bringing me?"


    "You¡¯ll know soon!" Luo Yuan said as he walked towards the exit. He knew he did not to tell her too much information as she would not listen.


    "Hey! Hey! What are you doing!?" The guy with spectacle stomped his feet and said, "Put her down! I¡¯m going to call the security guards!"


    However, it was very noisy in the refuge and none of the security guards notice what was happening. Both of them got further away from him. He ran after them but when he arrived at the exit, they have already left.


    "So can you tell me what¡¯s happening now?" Wang Xiaguang asked angrily as she was dragged by Luo Yuan.


    "I¡¯ll tell youter!"


    Wang Xiaguang felt helpless and decided to just follow him to the second level of the basement.


    After about 10 minutes, Luo Yuan brought Wang Xiaguang back to the hostel and said to Huang Jiahui and Wang Shishi, "Please help watch over her."


    "I¡¯m not a prisoner!" Wang Xiaguang said as she pulled her arm away.


    "You¡¯re finally here." Huang Jiahuiughed. "We hardly see you these days."


    "You guys are acting weird! What¡¯s happening, Sister Huang?" Wang Xiaguang asked with uncertainty.


    She became very serious after listening to Huang Jiahui¡¯s exnation. It was really dangerous to stay there as an earthquake is enough to destroy the whole city.


    Inparison with the forest, an event that was simrly dangerous would still afford them the chance to escape.


    Besides that, she was not a weakdy. As a matter of fact, she had never missed a single day of training since she arrived in Desert City and she had mastered her weapon skills by now. The probability of her surviving was higher aspared to when she was staying in the refuge, migrating with the crowd.Here, they had Luo Yuan and Wang Shishi to protect them.


    Being arrogant, she insisted oning but since she was caught and forced by Luo Yuan to be here, she just agreed to stay here.


    ...


    Luo Yuan try to sense for a trace of his Will and found a hostel which was converted from an unused warehouse. It looked like where Wen Yujie used to stay.


    He knocked on the door and heard someone walk towards the door.


    Luo Yuan was anxious as he had no confidence to persuade Wen Yujie to leave with them as she was differentpared to the rest of them. She was an idealist, full of excitement and discipline. She would not escape with them. However, Luo Yuan decided toe because she once saved his life.


    The door opened but it was another young girl. She looked at Luo Yuan for a second and then said shyly, "Can I know who you are looking for?"


    "I¡¯m looking for Wen Yujie, is she in?" Luo Yuan asked.


    "She¡¯s not here, she has gone out for work. Do you want toe in?" The young girl invited Luo Yuan to enter after taking a peek at him once more. Luo Yuan had this charm on young girls, they just could not help it.


    He peered into the house through the main entrance. Apparently, it was a shared dorm for girls as there were many female undergarments inside the dormitory. Luo Yuan quickly moved his eyes away and rejected her, saying, "I¡¯m good, thanks. Do you know where is she working?"


    "Oh! Didn¡¯t you know? She is working in the security department for the state government.


    "Alright, thank you so much!" Luo Yuan smiled and said.


    He did not expect Wen Yujie to be working in the municipal hall and yet he has never bumped into her. He returned to the municipal hall and realized that the security department has been moved to the office area that he had been to previously. It was in the hall where he had a battle with Su Yu.


    Recently, the electromaic towers have been removed and had been reced by gym equipment. There were evolved men all around training. However, everyone stopped as they saw Luo Yuan enter the hall.


    Most of them were those who had escaped from the prison, which is why they were impressed by Luo Yuan. Besides that, they also heard rumors about him. His name and story were the topic of discussion after their they had their lunch or during their tea time. Event the most arrogant of the evolved men naturally became humble when they spoke of Luo Yuan.


    Although they looked excited, none of them dared to step forward. Those who were very powerfulpared to normal citizens became as obedient as cats in front of Luo Yuan.


    "Looks like Mr. Luo."


    "Is he going to be our manager?"


    "ording to Captain Xiao, Mr. Luo¡¯s power has been upgraded to Level Six!"


    "Tsk! I¡¯m only at Level Two, I have no idea when I¡¯ll be as strong as him."


    Luo Yuan grinned as he listened to the genuinepliments. However, he hid his joy.


    "Look! His strap is so cool!"


    "It¡¯s glowing man! What material is it made of?"


    Luo Yuan twitched his mouth and ignored the noise. He quickly scanned around the hall and could not find Wen Yujie. He finally got the news that she had boarded the train with a group of soldiers to protect the railway, she would be back by nightfall if everything went well.


    Luo Yuan sighed in his heart. Perhaps, it was fate. He hesitated before leaving the security department.

 Chapter 304: Surprise

    Chapter 304: Surprise


    Trantor: Insignia Editor: Svjohn


    Shorly after, Luo Yuan went to the office of the Mayor as he had been well taken care by Mayor Song during his stay in Desert City. At the very least, he should say his goodbye before he leaves. Moreover, the security in the refuge was strict, it would be difficult for him to leave smoothly. He would need an official approval instead of being violent.


    Mayor Song had a hard time as they needed to migrate after the earthquake. There were more than 100 tons of important resources and more than 100,000 citizens to be handled. He looked exhausted, many new white hairs visible within a few days.


    He did not even have time to think about his dead ¡®niece¡¯ anymore.


    Despite his hectic schedule, he put aside his work to see Luo Yuan once the new temporary secretary informed him about his visit.


    As the most powerful evolved man of Desert City who had defeated the rebels, Luo Yuan deserved this privilege.


    However, the news he got was not his favorite one. He thought he heard wrong when Luo Yuan told him of the intentions for his visit. It was a fearsome wild ce that may be full of mutated insects.


    However, he knew he had no leverage to ask Luo Yuan to stay once he recalled that Luo Yuan has gone through a lot to be here. He was such a strong and powerful evolved man who could not be judged onmon sense alone.


    However, it was best for him to keep Luo Yuan on his side. Apparently, Luo Yuan insisted on his departure. Mayor Song issued an official approval to him in the end.


    ...


    It was 12 p.m. when Luo Yuan left the city hall. The traffic on the street was still as bad as before.


    The ground shook once in a while, but it was just minor tremors. Besides that, there were many heavy trucks moving on the street, hence, none of them could feel the shake.


    As a evolved man with the element of the earth as his main attribute, he could clearly differentiate an earthquake from regr tremors as his sensitivity was 10 to a 100 times better than regr humans. In fact, he was able to sense the tremors since the night before.


    The tremors were a sign before a huge earthquake happens. The refuge was definitely not strong enough with the possibility of it copsing anytime when the earthquake hits. Luo Yuan quickly rushed back to the hostel.


    He realized everyone was there, none of them have left but there was an extra person.


    "This is my lover, Gu Meiyan." Yan Mengjun said nervously as he saw Luo Yuan looking at her. He then pulled thedy over and whispered, "Hurry up, greet him as Mr. Luo."


    "It¡¯s alright, just call me Luo Yuan." Luo Yuan smiled and said.


    "H...Hi, Mr. Luo." Gu Meiyan looked at Luo Yuan and then said shyly.


    Luo Yuan nodded and looked at everyone, "Since everyone is already here, let¡¯s go!"


    Everyone took their baggage and ready to leave. Suddenly, someone knocked the door.


    Luo Yuan opened the door and saw a group of soldiers standing by the doorstep parcels on their back. Luckily he could recognize the new secretary of Mayor Song, else he would have thought that they were not able to leave.


    The secretary smiled and said, "Mayor Song knew you were leaving and he was kind of worried. Here are some food and resources for you, we thank you on behalf the city. Please, ept it."


    "Please, help me to thank Mayor Song, we really appreciate it." Luo Yuan shook her hand and said sincerely.


    "Sure! I¡¯ll help you deliver the message. I need to go, goodbye!"


    The new secretary came and left hurriedly and left eight backpacks on the doorstep which were about a meter tall when it stacked atop one another. Based on the way the soldiers put it down, the backpacks were quite heavy.


    "Let me see what¡¯s inside." Wang Shishi was excited and could not wait to check it out.


    Everyone opened the backpack one-by-one.


    "Here are the food!"


    "Mine are tents!"


    "This one also has tents!"


    "I got water here!"


    "Lighters, maps, torch lights, insect repellent, 20 boxes of bullets and three modern rifles."


    ...


    Mayor Song was definitely a qualified politician; a sociable and understanding person. He lent them his hands at just the right moment when Luo Yuan unable to reject his advances with a "No".


    Compared to what Mayor Song had given them, what they packed really did not make it seem like they were going to travel.


    For example, they only brought a few pieces of clothing, some water, and their weapons. Anyway, the food was something they could not get more of even if they were rich.


    Of course, it would not be a big issue due to their power. No one would reject having a better life in the wild.


    Everyone quickly took their backpacks and departed.


    Wu Xiaoxiao was hiding in a corner and watched them pack their things. She was idling. Perhaps, she thought that she would not be meeting them again after today. She suddenly recovered and sounded like like she had put her hatred aside.


    "Take care!" Luo Yuan said.


    "You too, safe journey!" Wu Xiaoxiao raised her chin and looked at Luo Yuan. That was the first time she looked at Luo Yuan in thest few days.


    Luo Yuan felt touched and smiled gently. He said goodbye to Mo Wenwen before he left the dormitory with his teammates.


    Very soon, they arrived at the exit and soldiers let them go after taking a look at their approval letter from Mayor Song.


    Luo Yuan did not feel anything when they left the refuge but the rest felt stunned. They have been staying in the refuge for almost a month, Desert City had be something alien to them as it was akin to an abandoned historical site.


    The only thing they saw was a single piece of greenery, a few pirs and nothing else as there were a lot of weeds which had grown to half a meter tall.


    Countless mutated beasts tried to escape the bushes as Luo Yuan began to release his power.


    "Give me the map." Luo Yuan said.


    Huang Jiahui found the map from the backpack and passed it to Luo Yuan.


    Luo Yuan looked at the map for quite a long time as he tried to recall navigation of the map and said, "The underground railway is the main transport hub for Desert City and security is strictest here. Of course, the security at the moment should be worse than ever but it is still much safer than other options that they had. It might be a longer route if they went along the underground railway but it¡¯s definitely much safer."


    "Any objection?" Luo Yuan asked. He looked at them, especially those who recently joined them.


    "No." Yang Zhiqing said.


    "Mr. Luo, it¡¯s your call." Yan Mengjun said.


    "I¡¯m following Mr. Luo." Zhang Wu said.


    Luo Yuan nodded. The key thing of team management is to build authority from the beginning and implement a spirit of unity. It seemed to be a good start.


    However, Luo Yuan was overthinking things as no one dared to go against him unless they had a death wish.


    "Let¡¯s get out from here first and find a ce to rest. I need to go somewhere." Luo Yuan said.


    "Where else would you need to go?" Wang Xiaguang asked curiously.


    "We need the two vehicles." Luo Yuan smiled and said.


    Huang Jiahui and a few of them were very excited. Wang Shishi even asked, "Brother Luo, are you bringing the giant lizard and King Kong back? I miss them so much!"


    Zhang Wu and a few of the new members had no idea what was happening as they looked at each other. They remained silent but were making wild guesses in their mind.


    A warbeast was somethingmon for evolved men. The security section of Desert City had its own team of warbeasts but they have been sent to the frontline to fight the mutated insects, no one knows whether they were still alive.


    The streets of Desert City were very busy as it was full of trucks. The group had looked for a spacious area far away from Desert City to prevent any chaos when the two warbeasts came.


    "You all wait here, I¡¯ll be back soon." Luo Yuan said to them but he sounded weird.


    He suddenly bent his knees and took a big leap. Everyone was shocked and as he flew up like a rocket into the sky.


    He was getting further away from the ground and became a tiny dot before he disappeared eventually.


    "Brother Luo... Since when was he able to fly?" Wang Shishi asked. She turned around and looked at everyone¡¯s expression. They were even more shocked than her as all of them were stunned and was not able to move at all. It was unbelievable.


    Even when they recovered, they were still in shock.

 Chapter 305: War of the Giant Beasts

    Chapter 305: War of the Giant Beasts


    Trantor: Insignia Editor: Svjohn


    The wind was so strong, it blew Luo Yuan¡¯s hair away. Aspared to the previous journey they made through this passage, this time was much more exciting as he flew through the sky.


    It was a feeling of freedom, without restriction and he could fly to any location in the world.


    Above him were thick, rolling clouds that obscured the sun. It had been cloudy for several days as there did not seem to be any sunny days when Luo Yuan left home.


    Looking at the thick cloud formations, he had an urge to break through the clouds to see what was beyond them.


    Compared to Wang Shishi who utilized her telekinesis to hold her body up so she could fly, Luo Yuan¡¯s flight used Will, which was superior. There were no height restrictions and as long as his Will could support him, he could continue his flight. If it was not for his need to breathe and the pressure on his body, he would able to even fly into space.


    The scenery on earth was shrinking to a very small size. Minutester, he broke through the clouds and the sun shone brightly through the mist, the effect akin to a blurred radiance. He looked up to feel the blue sky and warm sunshine on his skin but suddenly, he broke out in cold sweat on his forehead. He saw numerous small andrge birds hovering above the clouds, tweeting from time to time.


    On asion there would be a few giant birds with wingspans as much as 10 meters with bodies that grew up to 100 meters in length that passed above him. It was thrilling and shocking at the same time.


    Before he could fly, he looked up into the sky but was not able to see beyond the clouds. He never knew there were so many giant birds circling in the skies above.


    He quickly stopped flying and sneaked into the thick clouds, hiding himself.


    He was still able to fight if he was on the ground. However, he was now in the sky which was the home of his opponents. The only thing he could do was pray they would not find him. With the speed of his flight at only 20 or 30 meters per second, even if he were to escape it would be something like the speed of a snail when confronting natural flying creatures.


    Luo Yuan calmed down and found the behavior of the birds strange. They circled the same spot, but they were not hunting, the tweet sounded more like ament than anything else.


    This scene was very familiar to Luo Yuan.


    This was a precursor to a major disaster, thoughpared to the time before the apocalypse, these mutated creatures were much more powerful. No matter how they changed, their instincts that feared natural disasters would always remain. It was a valuable asset left behind from hundreds of years of biological evolution.


    Looking at the circling birds and theirment, he was heavy hearted. He did not mean to dy any longer and quickly took out his satellite phone to locate the two giant beasts via the imnted chips.


    After the chaos on the ground, he had gotten back all his belongings which included the satellite phones.


    On the disy, the two green dots also were still close to each other but no longer at their original position, They had been separated by hundreds of kilometers. In fact, Luo Yuan had been tracking the movements of the two giant beasts.


    Before the advent of the influx of insects, they seemed to have felt the threat and began to move further to the east. After they ran hundreds of kilometers, it was only until thest wave of insects that they began to take the initiative to return. However, they stopped at a spot hundreds of kilometers away from the original spot and no longer move forward.


    He did not know before this but now he had some idea after seeing the reaction of the birds above Desert City.


    He looked serious. After he identified the direction, an invisible force was generated from his body; the next moment he was like an arrow, diving downwards at an oblique angle.


    Making full use of gravity, his speed rapidly increased. Within half a minute, his speed reached 100 meters per second, but he was still elerated at three meters per second.


    The air became denser, it felt like he was flying into the water. Due to the high air resistance, Luo Yuan hardly breathed. Without his "floating sportswear" the air resistance had highly affected his speed.


    As time passed, the resistance increased and it felt like there was a thick barrier right in front of him. By this time, he was close to two-thirds of the speed of sound but he was at his limit. Under heavy air resistance, the effect gravity decreased and subsequently caused fatigue.


    However, his speed was still blindingly fast. He was flying downwards at an oblique angle of 10 degrees had already reached a speed of 250 meters per second. Within two minutes Luo Yuan had reached the original location of the giant beasts.


    By this time, he was already close to the ground was not able to leverage support from gravity which only allowed him to fly slowly using Will. After he flew for another half an hour, a hugeke appeared in front of him.


    This radius of this giantke was about several kilometers wide. It seemed it was recently formed as there was no indication of it on the map.


    Before the apocalypse, along with the rising sea levels and the drastic changes in the global climate, the originally dry desert had been full of water. Sometimes after a heavy rain, it would form a river or even ake.


    From the view above, it was a beautifulke, the water was thoroughly clean. It was surrounded by lush growing trees which formed a forest in a short period of time.


    The signal disyed that the two giant beasts were somewhere nearby.


    Luo Yuan carefully observed from the top, the forest was still too young and it was not possible to hide both the giant lizard and King Kong. There were traces of their movement everywhere in the forest. In just a moment Luo Yuan found them near theke. He quickly flew towards their direction.


    He found the two giant beasts as they yed with one another, or more precisely King Kong was harassing the giant lizard. It was actively jumping around the lizard, trying to pull its tail.


    Luo Yuan felt a bit strange. Thest time he saw King Kong, it was still timid with a pitiful look. He did not expect it to be so extroverted now.


    As he approved them, he saw the giant lizard which had already upgraded itself to a light green level with its appearance totally changed. He was shocked to see that King Kong had changed tremendously too. He could barely recognize it. The original ck hair had now turned into fluffy golden hair. The golden hair looked like a burning me when it jumped around. Its body had almost doubled in size and was almost taller than giant lizard, looking from afar.


    Luo Yuan opened the properties panel of King Kong:


    "War Beast: Mountain Moving Apes;"


    "Level: Light Green"


    "Properties"


    "Strength: 23"


    "Agility: 14"


    "Physique: 21"


    "Intelligence: 9"


    "Perception: 11"


    "Will: 13"


    "Experience: 0 / 2400"


    "Skill: Hammer 18, Tearing 18, Collision 13, Throwing 8, Biting 15, Climbing 19, Field Survival 18;


    "Abilities: Inborn Strength, Tough Skin."


    "Status: Elite"


    "Loyalty: 75 (With a value less than 50, there will be risk of betrayal or escape)"


    "Unassigned attribute points: 0"


    "Unassigned skill points: 0"


    Luo Yuan looked at properties and surprised that the changes were so huge. The name had changed from "Big Ape" to "Mountain Moving Ape" and most shocking was the huge changes on the properties.


    After this evolution, its Strength had increased by two points. That aside, its Agility, Physique and Intelligence had increased by one point respectively. All four properties improved, with Strength being increased by two points.


    After the Agility increase, each attribute value of the giant lizard was now lower than King Kong.


    He also looked at the words "Elite" at the status bar. The word seemed to have some other meaning.


    Luo Yuan recalled that when he tamed the giant lizard, the status panel did not have the word "elite". It started as "weak" before it became "healthy", "strong" and it was only after it was upgraded by the system several times that it got such a qualification.


    One was acquired through system upgrade while the other one was genuine through natural means. It was apparent that thetter¡¯s potential was much greater than the former.


    They seemed to sense the presence of Luo Yuan. King Kong suddenly took a deep breath. It was inattentive and was beaten by the tail of giant lizard; it made a loud noise that sounded like an explosion, causing an airwave.


    King Kong was screamed in joy, the huge body that was nearly 12-13m rolled endlessly after being hit by the tail and several big trees along the way were broken by the body of the King Kong.


    Once it stopped rolling, it immediately stood up and was active once again. Apparently, the smack by the giant tail did not have any impact on it. Though, it seemed rather annoyed after being it was hit as its eyes turned red and growled angrily. It beat its chest making a thunderous bang before it rushed towards the giant lizards as if it had forgotten the familiar scent that it once knew.


    When the heavy weight of body jumped forward, the momentum and movement were too big until it shook everything on the ground.


    However, the giant lizard slowly wagged its tail, awaiting the arrival of King Kong. Only until the distance was about 20-30 meters did it turn its head towards King Kong.


    Just as they were about to collide into one another, King Kong slowed down as it was hit by the horn of giant lizard before. It circled around the giant lizard and the battle was caught in a deadlock once again.


    The battle between the two giant beasts was extremely thrilling, even if it was just running and jumping around, it had an amazing amount of movement. To top it off, this is was just pstick match between two friends and was not a real battle. No sharp ws or abilities were used, else the scene would be even more shocking and bloody.


    Luo Yuan watched for a while and before hended from above. Both of the giant beasts were stunned for a while when they saw Luo Yuan whonded from the sky and quickly stopped their activities.


    King Kong lowered its head and looked downward, its eyes nced at Luo Yuan from time to time. After the increase of one point in its Intelligence, its hideous face was now had a ttering look.


    Perhaps the lesson was too hard when it was tamed. The fear of Luo Yuan seemed to deeply affect it. Even after it had evolved into a light green mutated beast, the fear has yet to subside.


    Aspared to King Kong, the giant lizard was much closer to Luo Yuan so it was joyful to see him. It wanted toe nearer to Luo Yuan but he was notfortable to see the ten-meter-high hill-like giant lizard walk towards him. He quickly pressed his hand in the air.


    When the giant lizard saw the familiar gesture, it hesitated before it kneeled down on the ground.


    Luo Yuan floated his body andnded on the back of the giant lizard. With a loudmand, the giant lizard slowly stood up and marched on.

 Chapter 306: Battlefield

    Chapter 306: Battlefield


    Trantor: Insignia Editor: Svjohn


    On the way back, there were arge number of flies and mosquitoes. It was somewhat sparse initially but got denser as they moved on. After 10 kilometers they were almost unable to move as there were countless flies and mosquitoes that filled up the entire space.


    The giant lizard looked a bit irritated and hesitated to move. However, under Luo Yuan¡¯smand, it could not reject and had to move on.


    The air was filled with the stench of rotting corpses. The ground had be somewhat bumpy and there were a lot of potholes everywhere, making them feel like they were on the surface of the moon. On the ground, it was full of mutated insect and human carcasses. It was interesting to see the dead bodies everywhere. The flesh of the carcasses had been swallowed by carrion creatures and only the skeleton was left.


    Luo Yuan slowed the giant lizard down and observed the surroundings. When he was in the sky he never noticed that the battlefield was not far away from Desert City. Undoubtedly it was only one of the more insignificant battlefields but its radius was extremelyrge. Luo Yuan circled around the battlefield and found that the radius was about hundreds kilometers.


    There were a lot of broken tanks that were bent out of shape and anti-aircraft guns thrown everywhere like scrap metal on the battlefield. There were also live artillery shells that rolled at the side with bugs on top of it. Luo Yuan could feel the tragedy of the war even if he observed from afar.


    When he passed by a fort he saw a copsed corner. The fort could actually withstand heavy artillery but its corner had copsed. He flew into the fort to take a look and saw countless corpses lying on the ground in a mess.


    On the concrete floor there were few deep w marks that divided the entire floor into several parts. However, the culprit behind these scratches was not seen in the fort.


    ...


    When the sky was getting dark, Yan Mengjun frequently looked at the time, there was anxiety on his face. It was about five o¡¯clock and the sky would be getting dark in an hour.


    The wilderness was dangerous at night. This was once a desert and the temperature was vastly different between day and night with, most mutated creatures bing active during the night. Today due to the drastic changes in climate the desert had be a prairie but the habits of these creatures were unchanged.


    In the past, with his level three ability, it was not a threat to him at all as it was close to Desert City and was also within the human¡¯s line of defense. Besides that, the mutated beasts within the territory had been tamed until they were so docile that even a normal human could fight with the mutated beast.


    However, this ce had copsed and the security zone was no longer safe. After thest wave of insects, there were unknown numbers of residual strong mutated beasts that hid in this prairie waiting for an opportunity to hunt.


    At first, they had Luo Yuan to rely on but now, he had been away longer than expected and had not returned yet. As the sky darkened, his worries intensified.


    His wife looked pale and seized his arm firmly. He could barely smile andforted his wife, "Don¡¯t worry, I am here for you."


    "Sister-inw, please rest assured. Our people can guarantee your safety." Zhang Wu who was next to him alsoforted.


    "Look at them, they don¡¯t seem to be worried at all." said Yang Zhiqing curiously. He was considered rtively calm amongst the others.


    The other side had all the women there so the team seemed to be divided in two. However,pared to the people on this side who were all tensed up, the group of women on the other side seemed calm; they were chatting about daily matters.


    "Let me go and ask!" Said Yan Mengjun after he took a nce at the women. He was formerly a real estate broker so he was more eloquent than anyone else in the group. He brought Gu Meiyan with him and went over to ask, "Excuse me, do you all know what time Mr. Luo wille back?"


    "He should be back soon." Huang Jiahui looked at the time and said with a smile. She had gone through so many things and already became ustomed to this concern, "Sorry but please wait for a while!"


    "No, don¡¯t be sorry! I¡¯m just a little worried. It was gettingte and it may be dangerouster on." Yan Mengjun quickly exined, these people were the closest people to Mr. Luo. If they misunderstood his intentions and thought that he was impatient, it could spell trouble in the future.


    "Thank you for reminding us, we¡¯ll pay attention." Huang Jiahui said politely but she was not concerned at all. Not to mention that they had Wang Shishi who was also very powerful. So much so that even on her own, she could face the usual mutated beasts without fear. They had gone through so much before, which is why they did not seem to worry at all even when they were in this desert that was on the outskirts of Desert City.


    Yan Mengjun was helpless, he turned to his wife and returned to his side of the team, shaking his head when he saw Zhang Wu.


    As time passed the sky became dark. The lush grasnds gradually began to see movement and arge gust of air gushed from time to time in the grasnds. A few hideous mutated beasts started to appear from the grass.


    This area had been upied in less than a month and the mutated beasts had improved both quality and quantity. They were able to see a few level two and three mutated beasts from far.


    However, these creatures seemed to sense some anxiety in the air and started to be restless. They acted strangely and looked around carefully. Some of them wandered around and looked lost while others drilled themselves back into the ground.


    "What was it?" Yan Mengjun looked curious, "What happened?"


    "Could it be an earthquake?" Zhang Wu surmised.


    "It feels like it is an earthquake." Yang Zhiqing felt careful and it was indeed a tremor.


    "Look, what is it?" Gu Meiyan suddenly discovered something and quickly pulled Yan Mengjun over. She was shocked. They could barely see two small dots from afar but they became clearer as time passed and erged rapidly. At the same time, a tremor began to shake the ground slightly.


    When the sight became clearer, the crowd was frightened and became pale. They could see two gigantic beasts approaching rapidly along with the strong quake. At first nce, the two beasts were still two to three kilometers away but after 10 seconds they were right in front of them. Humans looked tiny in front of these giant beasts. They ran until they were unable to stand properly. Yan Mengjun and the gang lookedpletely pale and kept sweating from their foreheads. Although they desperately wanted to escape, their body was weakened and they were unable to make a move. A few of the mutated beasts that were not able to escape in time froze on the spot and were trampled by the two giant beasts until they died.


    Aspared to Yang Mengjun and the gang who met the giant lizard and King Kong for the first time, Huang Jiahui and thedies were undoubtedly calmer and less worried but they were shocked too. These two beasts not only had changed in their appearance, the size had doubledpared to thest time they met. If they had never seen Luo Yuan sitting at the back, they would have thought that they were faced with a big threat.


    As the distance got closer to a few hundred meters away, the two giant beasts slowed down their speed. It was difficult to notice the existence of Luo Yuanpared with these two giants. Only at this moment did Yan Mengjun and the gang realize that Luo Yuan was sitting at the back of the giant lizard and they breathed a sigh of relief.


    ...


    "Am I hearing you correctly? You want us to sit on these giant beasts?" Yan Mengjun opened his mouth and looked at him in disbelief. As a regr person, this was crazy. These were ten meters high, scary, gigantic beasts that could by virtue of touching them, hurt them gravely.


    "Is there any problem for you? It is impossible for us to walk for more than a thousand kilometers," said Luo Yuan while looked at these people with an ambiguous look.


    "No... No." Yan Mengjun looked pale and shook his head.


    "Very... very reasonable, I have no other opinion." Said Zhang Wu with a stiff look.


    "As long as it does not bite." Yang Zhiqing took a nce at the two giant beasts and whispered.


    The previous rattan nket had already gone. Since the sky had notpletely turned dark the crowd tried to find a vine that could be used to make a new rattan nket for them.


    There were ups and downs when the giant lizard ran, if they did not have a rattan nket to hold them in, they would fall down from its back easily, especially the giant lizard who was now nearly ten-meter height. If they fell down from the top it would end up in disaster.


    The wilderness today had nothing but these mutated vines, which had be extremely strong and flexible after they mutated. Even Luo Yuan could not break the vines which had been intertwined into severalyers with all his strength.


    Of course, in order to make the rattan nket, they needed to find thicker vines. Each of the vines had to be as thick as human arms. Not only could they skip twirling them together for a thicker cord, thicker vines would also result in a better grip so they would not fall down easily.


    There were no pampered people after the apocalypse, even Gu Meiyan who was always unwell after the appearance of the mutated beasts also came to help up and she was very efficient.


    At this time Yang Zhiqing, who was not very outspoken earlier had caught Luo Yuan¡¯s admiration.


    Perhaps he had experience making a fishing before as was very good at weaving the rattan nket. Under his guidance, the rattan nket they were working on finally lookg like a real rattan nket. The nket was woven in perfect proportion, was strong and durable. Compared to the previous one Luo Yuan made that was just a tangle of vines that he pulled, this was a work of art.


    As the back of giant lizard was very broad, making a rattan nket required a huge amount of effort. Based on rough estimations, it was about two hundreds square wide. Naturally, it was extremely heavy that even Luo Yuan had difficulties moving it. It was at least two tons in weight.


    Eventually, Luo Yuan summoned King Kong to help toy the huge nket on the body of the giant lizard.


    This was a huge undertaking so when everything waspleted it was nine o¡¯clock at night. However, Luo Yuan did not want to camp here as it was an active area within the territory. It was evident from the tweet of the giant birds above the cloud as well as the earthquake data from the redevelopment area.


    With the hanging vines, everyone climbed onto the back of giant lizard under Luo Yuan¡¯s supervision. Once everyone sat down properly Luo Yuan patted the giant lizard¡¯s head. The giant lizard irritability snapped and blew fire from its nostrils. It stood up and ran in a slow pace under Luo Yuan¡¯s control.


    The sky was as ck as ink without the shine of moon and stars, even Luo Yuan could only see the vague outline of Desert City which gradually disappeared from their eyesight. Luo Yuan hadplicated feelings when he looked at that pile of rubble and thought of all those people who were waiting to migrate.


    ...


    He could see electromaic towers along the way, but the electricity had been cut off since the ce copsed and it became a habitat for insects.


    When the two giant beasts passed by, countless insects flew into the sky.


    The deterrent that was two giant beasts helped smoothen the journey as no mutated beasts dared to confront them.


    When it was four o¡¯clock in the morning, a strange city, through the dim glorious of dawn gradually appeared in their sight.

 Chapter 307: Violent King Kong

    Chapter 307: Violent King Kong


    Trantor: Insignia Editor: Svjohn


    Just like Desert City, this city had also experienced a tragedy and copsed into ruin with broken walls everywhere. It was a dead city.


    Luo Yuan stopped the giant lizard somewhere in the outskirts as it was tnd and was not asplicated as the inside of the city. Even if they met with any threat, they would still be able to respond in a timely manner.


    The crowd came down from the giant lizard trembling with fear and had a look of exhaustion because they had not eaten since afternoon. Although Luo Yuan did not feel hungry, the rest of the people were exhausted and hungry since they had been traveling nonstop over the night.


    Luo Yuan dismissed the giant lizard and King Kong so that they could go and hunt for their food. When the two giant beasts were around everyone felt like the atmosphere was very intense and felt pressured even when they knew that the beasts would not hurt them. When the two giant beasts walked away, everyone immediately felt relieved and rxed.


    The portion of prepackaged food in the backpack was sufficient for everyone for one meal. In addition, the crowd was too tired to hunt for food so they chose a ce that was trampled by the giant lizard as their resting spot and put on a cloth on it as a mat. They had to be extra cautious when living in the wilderness, any carelessness would cause injury or death.


    The giant lizard was more than ten tons in weight so thend that it had stepped on was extremely firm and strong, even if there were any hidden mutated insects in the sand, they should have died from the pressure.


    Everyone squatted on the ground and tore the packs of food assigned to them. The packs of food automatically heated up when they poured water on it. It was the first time Luo Yuan had this kind of food so he felt that it was very interesting. When the temperature was hot enough, he opened the bag and took out a palm-sized sandwich-like food, the texture of the flour was somewhat rough. Apparently, it was made by cactus flour. In the middle was arge piece of minced meat and vegetables.


    Luo Yuan finished the sandwich very quickly and felt a little warmth in the stomach. With his experience, he could roughly determine that the minced meat was dark blue level. This portion of food could fill the stomach at least for a day for normal soldiers, however, it was fairly enough for him only. It could hardly fill up his stomach even if all the food was given to him.


    Luo Yuan drank some water while looking at the ruins on thend nearby. From the map, this was a prefecture-level city which was muchrger than Desert City which was a county-level city. It was also a military town for the area nearby. It could be seen from the high walls where several cannons and anti-aircraft guns remain.


    There were a few high-caliber cannons which were historical remnants of World War II. These cannons had a thick ck hole which could hide one or two individuals inside and they could even shoot down the mutated beasts like the giant lizard.


    This heavy artillery which had almost been eliminated by the missiles before the apocalypse was heavily used in recent days. It was because the war between human beings and mutated beasts werepletely different from wars between humans. Mutated beasts did not have a strategic position, there were no core areas and no logistical burdens. uracy was the least important thing in the battle against mutated beasts. More importantly, they were everywhere, from the sky to thend, from the sea to the mountains.


    The whole battlefield was interlocked and the fightingmenced at multiple locations at the same time. This was a cruel and fierce warpared to those that came before the apocalypse. This was especially so with the effects of the electromaic storm from outer space as it greatly affected the uracy of missiles. Such expensive weapons were now rarely be seen on the battlefield unless it was absolutely necessary. As such, the artillery which had greater shooting power was used as the main weapon during the apocalypse.


    At this time, the giant lizard seemed to have found something and roared.


    Luo Yuan was shocked and quickly took a look. He saw that the giant lizard and King Kong had been walking far away from the crowd. The giant lizard was roaring fiercely to the ground with sparks of fire scattered from its nose, whilst the King Kong at the side was jumping up and down looked very restless.


    "D-Level Task: Clear the injured uninvited guests"


    "Time: One day"


    "ept / Cancel"


    The task notification shed in Luo Yuan¡¯s mind, his heart sank and told the crowd beside him, "You all stay here, I¡¯ll go and take a look."


    "Be careful!" Said Huang Jiahui with a worried look.


    Luo Yuan nodded before running quickly to that direction. By gathering his Will, he was as fast as lightning making his body emit an invisible force field, a lot of dust was blown away from his body. This time, his speed actually improved.


    After his Will improved by one point, he not only could fly but it also gave him a powerful force field when he ran on the ground. It leveled up his overall strength as he could elerate to a hundred meters per second in just a single breath of air. Zhang Wu and the rest were stunned watching Luo Yuan ran away as fast as the lightning. In their hearts they were shocked, "Is this really the speed of a human?" Zhang Wu opened his mouth and said with iprehensible look, "Is... Is Luo Yuan really a level five evolved human?" However, none of them had the energy to answer this question, all of them were distracted by the speed of Luo Yuan.


    At this time, an ident suddenly happened. Before Luo Yuan arrived, the giant lizard growled loudly. It was as loud as a thunderstrike. The next moment the ground suddenly exploded and a beast a huge as the giant lizard jumped out from the ground. The giant lizard immediately stood up and its ming tail struck the mutated beast that was going to hit it. An explosion ensued with a booming sound and sent a huge airwave outwards to the surroundings.


    The mutated beast that jumped out from the hole screamed in a loud shrill and fell down on the ground after being struck. The me on its body burned intensely. It pped its wings at a feverish pace because of the pain and irritation on its body. It flushed out a fewyers of sand and caused a mini sandstorm along with numerous fist-sized mes in the air.


    The giant lizard was not a fire type mutated beasts so it was not real fire that it breathed but a kind of mmable liquid that would quickly burn once it encounters air. Once it gets on you, it was extremely difficult to get rid of the burn.


    After watching this shocking scene, Luo Yuan had to stop moving forward. At this point, King Kong suddenly became excited and joined the battlefield. It disregarded the me that hit its body as well as the burning pain. It jumped into the sandstorm and hammered the mutated beast with both its fists. A loud bang was heard and the ground shook slightly, along with the sound of broken bones. As the so-called "Mountain Moving Ape", King Kong had a shocking amount of strength. The force that it brought with its pair of fists the size of two round tables was about ten tons in weight. The strength so immense that until it could even pinch a piece of metal or steel t.


    The mutated beast was severely hit the ground, its back had been crushed until it copsed and its entire exoskeleton had beenpletely shattered. However, it was still struggling and its sharp ws were like a cutting machine, tearing at King Kong¡¯s body. In an instant, King Kong¡¯s body was bloodied and the pain made it show growl ferociously before revealing its fangs.


    The provocation the mutated beast did brought out the violent nature of King Kong. It hammered the mutated beast again and again regardless the injury it already had on its body.


    Bang!


    Bang!


    Bang!


    ...


    Like a heavy pile driver, the mutated beast eventually stopped moving. Through the dust in the air, Luo Yuan could see that the mutated beast had been smashed into the ground entirely and was badly mutted.


    "Current Task: Clear injured uninvited guests"


    "Time: One day"


    "ept / Cancel"


    "Task Status: Completed"


    "Rating: Perfect"


    "Evolved Human: Luo Yuan"


    "Progress: 0%"


    "Basic experience bonus + 9600 * 0%!"


    "Rating: Perfect - Experience + 9600 * 0%"


    "Experience: 43920/153600"


    "War Beast: Giant Lizard"


    "Progress: 40%"


    "Basic experience bonus + 9600 * 40%!"


    "Rating: Perfect - Experience 9600 * 40%"


    "Experience: 8820/19200"


    "War Beast: Mountain moving ape"


    "Progress: 60%"


    "Basic experience bonus + 9600 * 60%"


    "Rating: Perfect - Experience 9600 * 60%"


    "Experience: 4320/9600"


    It has been upgraded!


    It has been upgraded!


    ...


    Luo Yuan took a nce on the taskpletion notification and looked at King Kong which was still hammering the mutated beast nonstop. He twitched his mouth and said "It¡¯s over. I didn¡¯t even have the chance to intervene in this D-level task and did not gain any experience points." Looking at the King Kong which had upgraded by two levels with two extra property points and ten skill points, Luo Yuan felt dumbfounded.


    He quickly calmed his mind down. Anyway, it was still a pleasant surprise to see that King Kong had upgraded by two levels. King Kong was already strong enough, with two extra property points it would be even more powerful which made him even more confident toplete D+ level tasks in the future.


    After all King Kong was an intelligent type of creature and it was easier to tame. It always had inherently high loyalty thus he was never worried about King Kong rebelling even if it became stronger. He looked at the property panel and thought for a while, then he assigned two attribute points to Agility and Will respectively.


    The reason he assigned the points to Agility was mainly to enhance the flexibility of King Kong and improve itsbat power while assigning points to Will was to make sure it would not be scared when it encountered a higher level mutated beast. Will was very important for war beasts especially when they faced powerful enemies. His initial n was to make the giant lizard serve as a shield, to attract as much attention as possible to contain their enemies. However the Will of the giant lizard was too low, in most situations, it was too frightened and escaped from battle. In contrast, King Kong was more active in fights but its Strength was too low. After this evolution, the Strength of King Kong had significantly improved and Luo Yuan had switched his sight towards it.


    ...


    Once the property points were assigned, King Kong stopped the attack and its face turned red with confused eyes. It felt a creeping sensation on its entire body and the bloody wounds on its body were quickly healing. In fact, the skin of King Kong was quite rough so the wounds were not deep. After this evolution, to a certain extent, some self-healing ability and most of the injuries were healed in a short period of time. It seemed like it could feel a strange sensation in its body thus it did not move.


    Slowly, its confused eyes became sharp and at the same time, the atmosphere became a vindictive and oppressive one.

 Chapter 308: Portent

    Chapter 308: Portent


    Trantor: Insignia Editor: Svjohn


    The giant lizard stepped back. Feeling insecure, it began to roar softly.


    Luo Yuan began to worry, as King Kong made him feel stressed. To be safe, he scanned King Kong¡¯s loyalty. He was relieved when he did not see any changes.


    After a while, King Kong recovered and tried to walk and jump around slowly. At first, it was not able to walk properly, just like a baby learning how to walk for the first time. However, its posture soon became more stable, and it could eventually move faster.


    When Luo Yuan walked towards it expressionlessly, King Kong quickly stopped and looked down. It stared at the ground like a kid who had just done something naughty. This behavior did not match its size and it made people feel strange.


    Luo Yuan did not bother it though. Instead, he walked towards the disfigured carcass about 10 meters away.


    Even if he did not use his identification technique, Luo Yuan would still have known that it was a green level mutated bug. That kind of creature was valuable, as its flesh was rich in active energy. It was attractive enough to make Luo Yuan drool.


    Ever since thest time he had gotten severely injured, the energy in his heart had been fully drained. Although he had recharged it, low-level flesh could not supply sufficient energy for him. Until now, it had still been as tiny as a sesame seed, which was vastly differentpared to the size of a green bean, when Luo Yuan was at optimal condition.


    Perhaps that energy could only prevent him from starving when he was doing well. However, it could also save his life when he was severely injured.


    The green level mutated bug looked pitiful with its cracked shell and bones. Its abdomen was broken, and a lot of its internal organs had flown out along with a greenish fluid, forming a puddle of disgusting liquid on the ground.


    Luo Yuan did not care though. To him, there were only two types of mutated carcasses. One was edible, and the other was poisonous.


    However, after removing the internal organs, he discovered that the bug was not as they¡¯d imagined. There was actually a lot of muscle inside it, especially in its abdomen. There were also a lot of muscles in its chest, which had about 48 square meters of surface area. The tiniest muscle fiber was as big as a human thigh, and it looked strong and stic.


    Luo Yuan estimated that the muscles could weigh up to a few tons.


    King Kong realized that Luo Yuan would not bother it and secretly ran away. It was so excited that it began to run around and howl.


    Luo Yuan looked at it and then moved his focus back to the dead mutated bug. Luckily, King Kong had broken all its bones and saved him the time it would have taken to clean it. He just threw away the bones and began to cut the meat of the bug.


    He definitely could not take all its meat with him. It was too heavy for him, plus meat rich in active energy got spoilt easily, especially in such hot weather. It would notst long, even if they tried to preserve it.


    In the end, Luo Yuan cut only about 300 kilos and then stopped. He hadn¡¯t wasted too much of it. Right after he left with the meat, the giant lizard walked up to the carcass. It sniffed it for a few seconds before it began to feast on it.


    Compared to the days when it used to go crazy every single time it smelled green level meat, the giant lizard had better eating manners after evolving. Apparently, green level food was no longer that attractive to it.


    ...


    Luo Yuan had been thinking of departing right after their meal, but he had not expected that incident to dy them so much. Most of the food needed to be processed immediately to preserve its quality. Huang Jiahui and many of the others wanted to help, but Luo Yuan told them to get some more rest. He could see that they were exhausted.


    Of course, Luo Yuan did not treat the guys as nicely as thedies. Zhang Wu, Yang Zhiqing, and Yan Mengjun have been instructed to work like dogs.


    That area used to be a safe zone previously, so lots of hay had been cut by the previous rulers. They only needed to look through the bushes to find the stacks of hay. It was very dry and highly mmable, as it had not rained for a long time.


    However, 300 kilos of meat was not a small quantity by any means. It would be noon by the time they finished smoking it.


    The atmosphere filled with the delicious smell of food. Zhang Wu and the others drooled as they watched Luo Yuan put the smoked meat in his backpack and stuff some into his mouth every once in a while.


    Luo Yuan was not stingy, but the meat was too hard to bite. Although it smelled good, it was as tough astex. No matter how hard they try to bite on it, they could not break it. Still, the meat was of higher quality than the soft internal organs. They could not help it though, as they did not evolve by gaining energy.


    In the end, they could only borrow Luo Yuan¡¯s sword and cut the meat before cooking it in the pot. The meat only became harder after draining the water. Three hundred kilos of meat fit in only two backpacks. Luo Yuan zipped the bags up and waited for the soup to get ready for Huang Jiahui and the other girls.


    After drinking the soup, they were on their way again.


    The train was finally there around 1 pm. The sound came from afar and yet it felt so near to them, before it passed by. That was the first return train. It hade a dayter than Luo Yuan had estimated. Apparently, it had not been a smooth journey.


    Luo Yuan felt depressed. This meant that the great migration of Desert City had been dyed. This was definitely horrible news for them, as an earthquake could ur at any time.


    The worse thing was that the resources had yet to be transported. ording to Mayor Song¡¯s n, the train would have to go one more time, which would cause an even bigger dy.


    It was a choice between life and resources. Luo Yuan could not decide which one was more important, and he had no right to decide anyway. There were many people still trying to find valuable things in the abandoned site, and lots of people trying to save them.


    The beautiful Northern Lights appeared at night.


    It was the third time Luo Yuan had seen them. They were a portent of disaster. They had appeared before the volcano eruption in Hedong City and the rainstorm in the Kunlun Alps, both unforgettable times.


    "Is an earthquakeing?" Wang Shishi asked softly.


    Luo Yuan remained silent before he eventually said, "I¡¯m not sure, but we¡¯ll be fine."


    Everyone looked panicked.

 Chapter 309: Different From The Past

    Chapter 309: Different From The Past


    Trantor: Insignia Editor: Svjohn


    Since the earthquake would happen anytime now, Luo Yuan decided not to rush at night, but take shelter in the Gobi Desert instead. They stopped nearby. The ground was full of rocks there, so it would not copse easily, even if there was an earthquake.


    Luo Yuan chased away the giant lizard and King Kong to prevent any unnecessary injuries to his team members. It was totally dark that night.


    They made a bonfire and sat around it to wait for the earthquake. The Northern Lightssted for six hours before they slowly faded away at dawn. It was very quiet.


    There were no birds chirping or animals roaring. Even the wind had stopped blowing.


    The giant lizard seemed to have sensed something in the distance. It had started stomping around and puffing. Meanwhile, King Kong kept scratching its ears in frustration.


    A pressure suddenly upied the entire space. Everyone¡¯s hearts tensed up, and their breathing got faster. Even an idiot would have felt the fear of the impending disaster.


    "Luo Yuan!" Zhao Yali shouted nervously.


    Luo Yuan held her hand tightly and said, "Don¡¯t worry, we¡¯ll be fine. Just be careful!"


    Zhao Yali nodded, but her face was as white as paper.


    "Shishi, remember to focus on the rescue job! The rest of you try your best to protect yourselves!" Luo Yuan said quickly. As an evolved man with the earth element as his core property, he could feel a strong force moving underground. It felt as if it was about to explode.


    As soon as he finished talking, he felt a shock.


    He immediately looked towards the South. A beam of red light shone on the sky before it was immediately gone. Suddenly, a booming, crackling sound came from every direction, sounding like an explosion. Everything started shaking vigorously.


    Zhao Yali and Huang Jiahui slipped and fell down. Luo Yuan quickly pulled them up. Wang Shishi floated and pulled Wang Xiaguang up. Everyone else had also fallen on the ground, and many of them had hurt their heads and started bleeding.


    However, that earthquake was only the beginning. A second, stronger earthquake came fast before Zhang Wu and the others could even get up again.


    A few of them fell on the ground again and kept rolling around. The stones on the cliff were sharp, so they got injuries all over their bodies.


    Chen Jiayi performed a lot better than the rest of them. The girl, who had moss growing on her body, got up from the ground very quickly after falling the first time. She was the best among the three kids who had learned martial arts from Luo Yuan. Although she could not stand properly and almost fell again a few times, she still tried her best not to.


    The strong quake caused the cliff to crack, and countless stones rolled down like a waterfall. The field in the distance began to sink, as the ground was too soft there. Luo Yuan could see a huge crack forming, extending a few kilometers horizontally in just a few seconds.


    Luo Yuan stood on the ground, trying to adjust his center of gravity so he could stabilize himself. The quake was not really a big deal to him, as he was used to jumping on mutated beasts. He was already used to that kind of turmoil.


    The earthquakested for three minutes before it slowly subsided. Everyone felt very depressed as they looked at the scene. Everything lookedpletely different now.


    Ever since the end of the world hade, human beings seemed to have used up all their good luck. Several disasters had happened to them since. In less than two years, they had been forced to live in the forest, and once they had finally gotten a safe ce to stay again, disasters had started to befall them.


    Luo Yuan tapped on his clothes to clean away the dust and mud as the rest of them got up one by one. They were still in shock but fortunately, none of them had been hurt badly. Gu Meiyan¡¯s injuries looked the most serious, but they were just a few scratches and bruises. They all seemed to be agitated and they hugged each other, grateful to have survived.


    "We don¡¯t know whether Huo Dong and Cao Lin are safe! Or all those people in the shelter!" Huang Jiahui said after the excitement had subsided. Everyone slowly calmed down.


    "We can¡¯t do anything, Sister Huang. We can only pray for them," Wang Xiaguang said guiltily as she shook her head.


    Luo Yuan sighed. The magnitude of the earthquake had been at least nine, so they might not have been able to survive.


    "Brother Luo, why don¡¯t we go back and take a look?" Wang Shishi said softly. "Perhaps some of them are still alive?"


    "She¡¯s right, Luo Yuan," Zhao Yali agreed. She looked really pale.


    Luo Yuan felt pumped up as he walked around for a while. He finally stopped and said, "Alright, let¡¯s go back! We¡¯ll try our best to save them."


    Their spirits had been boosted, and everyone was excited again. They had escaped to survive, but they still felt guilty about it.


    This was a critical moment for mankind, so escaping from an organization was equivalent to being a deserter. They definitely would not pass up an opportunity topensate for escaping.


    ...


    The giant lizard and King Kong had run away during the earthquake and could not be seen anywhere. Luo Yuan flew up to the sky and found them hiding behind a dune. They were lying on the ground, the whole bodies shaking. Especially the giant lizard¡¯s, who had buried its head into the dune. It did not dare stand up, no matter how many times Luo Yuan tried to order it to.


    It seemed like animals were more afraid of natural disasters than humans. Even though the giant lizard and King Kong were very strong, they were still afraid of the earthquake.


    Luo Yuan spent more than 10 minutesforting them, He also hit them every once in a while. Finally, they overcame their fear and got up again.


    ......


    Everyone climbed on the giant lizard and set off for the shelter.


    The path was strange, and they did note across any familiar ces. Most of the electromaic towers had copsed, and the ground was full of cracks. Luo Yuan even saw a nd that had be ake.


    A lot of water had gushed out from under the ground and formed a 100-meter tall fountain.


    When they passed by the abandoned city again, they realized it hadpletely copsed. There was a long crack extending from the east to the west, crossing the entire city. Two-thirds of the city on the left side had sunk more than 10 meters into the ground.


    Everyone was shocked by the scene. They began to feel insecure.


    The situation at Desert City would be even worse than that.


    Luo Yuan urged the giant lizard to increase its speed. Perhaps they might be able to save those who were still alive and trapped in the shelter if they were fast enough. However, Luo Yuan realized that the pressure in the tectonic tes had been relieved after the earthquake. He assumed there would no severe earthquakes for a short period of time.


    Everyone had gotten used to the shaky ride, as it allowed the giant lizard to go faster. It had taken them about 16 hours to leave, but only 10 hours to return. Around 2 pm, they finally saw Desert City in the distance.


    Zhao Yali quickly covered her mouth in shock as she looked at it.


    Luo Yuan could not believe what he was seeing either. Although he had told them about the worse case scenario, the scene before him still made him feel extremely depressed.


    The nd where Desert City used to be had been reced by several rows of small mountains. The biggest mountains were about a few hundred meters tall, and the smaller ones were less than 20 meters tall.


    Luo Yuan saw the ruins of Desert City beside one of the mountains. There was a lot of broken concrete and wood scattered all over the ce.


    He was devastated. He could not imagine the destiny of the shelter after suffering such a strong force from the earth te. They could only pray now.


    Soon, they reached their destination.


    The rocks were still warm from the earthquake, and the ground was a mess. They could not see any buildings nearby, only some broken bricks and pieces of wood.


    Luo Yuan immediately jumped down from the giant lizard. The rest slid down with a rope.


    "Luo Yuan, what should we do?" Huang Jiahui asked desperately.


    "Let¡¯s dig. We can try to search," Luo Yuan said with a sigh.


    Zhang Wu and the rest were too stunned to ask any questions.


    Luo Yuan called King Kong over and pointed as he said something. King Kong¡¯s Intelligence was already 9 points, which was only slightly below human intelligence. It could understand mostmon instructions, and evenplicated instructions were not a problem if there was some kind of demonstration or sign involved.


    Luo Yuan acted like he was digging, and King Kong scratched its head and dug a handful of soil up. It smiled as it saw Luo Yuan nod, and then it began to dig.


    As a giant beast with strong skin, powerful strength, and a pair of flexible hands, this was the perfect job for it. It was surprisingly efficient, just like a giant machine. Every handful of soil consisted of more than 10 tons of stones, but King Kong just threw it all 100 meters away.


    Shocked, everyone quickly tried to escape.

 Chapter 310: Survivor

    Chapter 310: Survivor


    Trantor: Insignia Editor: Svjohn


    Luo Yuan told King Kong to stop after a minute.


    There was already a deep pit in the ground about eight meters deep and 10 meters wide. Luo Yuan pondered it a bit before jumping into the pit. He listened carefully, but unfortunately he could not hear any sounds. It waspletely silent.


    Luo Yuan got out of the pit and asked King Kong to keep digging.


    After 20 minutes, the pit grew more than 10 meters deep and 10 meters wide. This was even deeper than the location of the shelter, but Luo Yuan still could not find any signs of it, even though there was a light smell of blood spreading out from the pit.


    Judging by the stones at the bottom of it, the shelter must have been squashed during the earthquake and mixed in with the rocks.


    Luo Yuan did not ask King Kong to stop. He told it to keep digging instead. He did not believe that everyone in the shelter had died. As King Kong continued to dig deeper, the smell of blood got stronger, and they began to notice a tinge of dark red color on the soil. After a while, King Kong found a few corpses and threw them away along with the stones. Everyone was shocked.


    It was not that appropriate to call them corpses, as they had been squashed together with the rocks. All their bones were broken and no one would even have recognized them if not for the clothes sticking on them.


    King Kong sensed their strange reaction and quickly stopped. It seemed to know what it had dug up as it looked at Luo Yuan innocently.


    It was sensitive to those small creatures wearing clothes. It was used to interacting with humans, and Luo Yuan had spent a lot of time educating it. It felt guilty, although it had simply thrown away a few corpses.


    Luo Yuan did not me it. He just told it to keep digging.


    King Kong hesitated before it started to dig again. The pit was getting deeper, and they found a lot more corpses. Every few seconds, they would see one, and King Kong would carefully set it down at the edge of the pit.


    Zhang Wu and some of the others were shocked. None of them could have imagined that such a scary beast could be so intelligent.


    Luo Yuan was not surprised, as he was aware of King Kong¡¯s intelligence. That was nothingpared to humans. Even a beast 10 times smarter than King Kong would only pose a minimal threat to them.


    After a while, King Kong reached the bottom, which was full of tiny grains of sand and rocks. Luo Yuan observed it for a while before telling King Kong to dig horizontally. It seemed like the entire shelter had been squashed together. They did not find anything for a long time. It was evening when they finally discovered something.


    A part of the rocks copsed, and the sound spread out from the hole. Luo Yuan was stunned for a second before he jumped into the pit happily.


    The pit had be more than 30 meters deep and 100 meters wide. It looked like the crater of a meteor that had crashed on Earth, even though King Kong was working at only half his maximum pace. This excluded the tunnel, which was 100 meters deep into the ground. If there had been such a beast before the end of the world, it would have helped them earn a few billion a year just by digging tunnels.


    Luo Yuan told Huang Jiahui to throw him a shlight. Then he walked into the tunnel with his sword, soon reaching the end of it. He saw that the wall on his left had copsed, and more than 10 tons of rocks had covered half of King Kong¡¯s body.


    Of course, that was not a big deal for King Kong. It did not even care, it just kept digging until Luo Yuan came. Then it stopped and got out of the pile of stones.


    King Kong had made the tunnel narrow, but it was wide enough. Luo Yuan asked it to stand aside as he turned the shlight to the spot where the wall had copsed. He discovered that the rocks were loose and there were some gaps between them. The possibility of finding something further up front was quite high.


    "Dig this way!" Luo Yuan said as he pointed to the left. "Dig slower and more carefully."


    Luo Yuan repeated himself, and King Kong understood what he meant. It had been doing the same thing the entire afternoon. That order was nothing new to it anymore.


    To avoid another copse, Luo Yuan backed off about 10 meters. King Kong had only dug twice when the entire wall on the left copsed and exposed a hole about a meter tall. The strong smell of blood and an awful scent rushed out of the hole, making Luo Yuan step back.


    He took a deep breath and told King Kong to leave. Then he bent down and squeezed his body into the hole.


    It was stuffy and dark inside. Luo Yuan saw a mess of rocks and broken walls under the torchlight. Some of them were supported by big rocks, but they seemed ready to copse anytime soon.


    Several corpses were lying on the ground in the gaps between the rocks. Most of them looked purplish and scary. They had obviously died of suffocation. Luo Yuan checked around, but he did not find any survivors.


    He tried to listen carefully, and a grin formed on his face. He quickly walked towards a heap of stones, where a sound could be heard, and found someone talking and moaning under it.


    "Someone is still alive!" Luo Yuan said happily.


    He looked at the huge pile of rocks and realized King Kong could not make it there. It would only cause another copse if it tried. He put down the shlight and his sword and tried to move the rocks. Stones were falling from the ceiling, each of them weighing a few tons. Even the smaller ones weighed a few hundred kilos. Luckily, Luo Yuan had brought his Zhanmadao. He just cut the rocks into smaller pieces if he could not move them.


    Soon, he got the attention of some of the survivors.


    "Anybody there?" a soft voice was heard asking.


    "Please wait a moment! I¡¯ming to save you!" Luo Yuan shouted. His hearing was good, but theirs was not. They would not hear him if he didn¡¯t shout.


    "It¡¯s useless, we¡¯re not getting out! It¡¯s just a matter of time before we die!" a second, desperate voice said.


    "Who says you¡¯re not? How do you think I got here?" Luo Yuan said as he threw aside a 300-400 kilo rock.


    A minor chaos ensued as everyone got excited. "Wait! The government sent you to rescue us?"


    "I¡¯ll tell youter! How many survivors are there?" Luo Yuan asked.


    "Eight! No, nine! Someone fainted, but we can still save him!" someone answered quickly.


    Now that there was hope of survival, everyone started to move the rocks away.


    "Do you know if anyone else is alive somewhere else?" Luo Yuan asked.


    "I¡¯m not sure. We heard many people shouting for help during the earthquake, but not anymore. I¡¯m not sure if anyone else is still alive."


    ...


    "Luo Yuan, where are you?" Huang Jiahui was shouting from outside. She had not seen Luo Yuan for too long, so she jumped down into the pit and went into the tunnel.


    "I¡¯m here!" Luo Yuan shouted. "Be careful when youe in, it¡¯s dangerous!"


    Many of them followed Huang Jiahui, all of them looking pale as they saw the corpses along the way.


    "Hurry up! Help me, please! There are still people inside!" Luo Yuan said.


    Everyone became energetic and quickly joined him. By 9.10 p.m., they had finally carved a path through the rocks.

 Chapter 311: Hope City (I)

    Chapter 311: Hope City (I)


    Trantor: EndlessFantasy Trantion Editor: EndlessFantasy Trantion


    The burning campfire seemed to move cheerfully in the dark beneath the pot.


    "So were there a lot of people who departed before the earthquake?" asked Luo Yuan.


    "Yes, the train was originally supposed to be carrying goods, but the signs of the earthquake were really obvious, so they changed their minds," a middle-aged man said quietly as he hugged his daughter. He had been fortunate enough to survive the tragedy.


    The girl in his arms looked about three or four years old. She was already tired and falling asleep. When she finally did, her brows were furrowed and her body was tense. It seemed like she was having a nightmare.


    Luo Yuan looked away and asked, "Do you know how many people escaped from Desert City?"


    "I¡¯m not sure. It was pretty hectic at the time. Time was wasting, and the train was seriously overloaded. There must have been twenty or maybe thirty thousand people on it," the middle-aged man said, remaining silent for a while. His name was Cui Weichuan. Before the earthquake, he had been a basic level government employee. When the migration had taken ce, almost all civil servants had been required to maintain order, so he had somewhat understood the situation.


    There was a total of nine survivors rescued, including the children. Fortunately, aside from an unlucky person whose left arm had been cut off by a rock that had copsed, the rest of them were not injured. Luo Yuan used his Will to heal the injured survivor. The man had stopped bleeding, but his left arm was not going to grow back.


    "The soup is ready, let¡¯s have it first," Huang Jiahui changed the topic. She and several other women served each person a bowl of soup.


    "Thank you!"


    "Thank you!"


    The survivors epted the soup with a look of gratitude. After drinking it, their faces quickly flushed and they started to look less tired. Luo Yuan talked to them for a while before he gave them two tents so they could rest.


    ...


    Late at night, Luo Yuan was lying in his tent with his eyes open, staring ahead of him nkly.


    From their conversation, he had gathered that the situation was better than expected. Assuming that the train had departed at eight and the earthquake had happened at four, that eight-hour gap should have been enough for them to escape the impact of the earthquake.


    This meant that at least one-fifth of the people had managed to flee from the catastrophe, including students, researchers, engineers, and the part of the military that had maintained order.


    Luo Yuan was slightly relieved. At least Zhong Chujiang and Deng Chao would not have died, but the status of Huo Dong, Cao Lin and Mo Wenwen was still unknown. He admired Mayor Song¡¯s decision and the fact that the majority of the public servants had chosen to stay back and face the earthquake.


    "Do you think we would still have survived if we¡¯d never escaped?" Huang Jiahui asked suddenly.


    Luo Yuan was silent for a moment before he said, "Don¡¯t think too much. Go to sleep while it¡¯s still early."


    "I can¡¯t sleep. Whenever I close my eyes, those familiar faces appear in my brain, except now they¡¯re corpses. We don¡¯t know whether Huo Dong and Cao Lin are still okay or not," said Huang Jiahui with sadness in her voice. As she uttered thatst sentence, her voice sounded choked.


    Luo Yuan sighed and said, "This is the apocalypse. We have been through a lot these past few days."


    "But we are in the Reconstruction Area," Huang Jiahui said weakly.


    "We were, but now it¡¯s copsed," Luo Yuan said with a heavy heart. "Go to bed. We have to get up early tomorrow."


    ...


    The vast grasnd was restless. Countless mutated beasts were running around. After a while, two giant mutated beasts gradually appeared on the horizon, quickly walking towards their destination.


    It had been four days since theirst departure. As there were a few more survivors added to the team, including injured adults and children, their speed had diminished by a lot. However, despite the dy, they had almost reached their destination. ording to the map, they should be able to arrive at Hope City before nightfall.


    The impact of the earthquake on Hope City had been minimal. There was no sign of destruction in the area. Arge number of construction vehicles and heavy trucks were driving on the grasnd, raising a big cloud of dust. Beside the grasnd was the construction site and a huge gantry. There were a lot of construction workers underneath it. It seemed like there were thousands of them creeping on the ground like ants. There were a lot more construction sites like this in the area. Luo Yuan could see at least seven or eight of them. Several giant fortresses already had a foundation, and the workers were now building their upper framework. Apparently, the Reconstruction Area had been evacuated in order to rebuild its defense.


    Before Luo Yuan could go closer, a military vehicle drove quickly towards them and stopped five meters away from them. A man with an intense expression shouted using a speaker, "My friend, this is the military powerhouse! Please don¡¯te any closer! Go somewhere else!" It was very rare to see such huge beasts, even on a battlefield. Anyone who could sit on them had to be an extraordinary person. However, they still had to stop them, as this was a construction site and most of the people working there had only had minimal military training. If any of those beasts came closer, they would create chaos and fear. No one wanted to take responsibility if there was an ident.


    "We are from Desert City, so we are not clear about the situation here. Could you show us the right way, sir?" Luo Yuan quickly jumped down and went over to talk for courtesy¡¯s sake.


    "You are from Desert City?" the officer asked curiously. He was relieved when he saw Luo Yuan walk over. "I heard that that area was close to the epicenter and the entire city copsed during the earthquake."


    "The situation was more serious than you think. It¡¯s really hard to describe. Did any people from Desert Citye here during the past two days?" Luo Yuan did not want to say anything further, so he changed the subject and asked for information.


    "I¡¯m not sure. You can go to Hope City and find out," the officer said. "Your battle beasts might affect our construction workers though, so you¡¯ll have to take a detour. Come with me."


    The military vehicles led the way, followed closely by the two giant beasts. The two beasts were ten meters tall, but their walking speed was no slower than the military vehicles¡¯ in front of them. They passed most of the sites before the military vehicles finally stopped. The officer stuck his head out and guided them enthusiastically, "You just need to walk for 200 more kilometers, and then you will see Hope City."


    They thanked the officer and kept heading in the direction he had pointed.


    ...


    "Lately, the sun has been too hot and my skin had been peeling."


    After entering this area, everyone had rxed visibly.


    Wang Xiaguang rubbed the back of her hand as sheined. Both her back and face were full of wrinkles and shedding dead skin. She looked kind of scary. The others were not any better. After the earthquake, the sky had finally cleared and it had been sunny for several days. Everyone had been happy for the sunny weather after escaping from the dark shelter. However, their joy did notst long. The sun was too hot, so in just a few days¡¯ time everyone¡¯s skin had been burned dry.


    "Should we have stayed indoors and not exposed ourselves to the sun for too long?" asked Huang Jiahui. She turned and looked at Luo Yuan and Chen Jiayi with envy. Everyone¡¯s skin had been burned badly except for these two¡¯s, who had experienced no impact at all.


    Luo Yuan was fine because he had a powerful physique, so he did not have to be afraid of ultraviolet rays. As for Chen Jiayi, she had been parasitized by moss, so she fared well in that kind of situation. She actually looked even better than before. Her skin was radiant and shining.


    Luo Yuan seemed okay when Huang Jiahui looked at him strangely, but he actually had something in his mind. Young Chen Jiayi was as restless as a frightened rabbit. She quickly pulled back the moss on her head and blushed slightly before she exined, "We haven¡¯t exposed ourselves to the sun for too long. It¡¯s just that the sun is bigger now."


    "But we haven¡¯t been feeling any hotter. It¡¯s actually better than the time after the thunderstorms," Zhao Yali joined the conversation. Women always had a lot to say on any topic.


    "This is what the moss in my body is telling me. I¡¯m not sure either," Chen Jiayi said timidly.


    "It should be because of the strong ultraviolet rays," Zhang Wu suddenly said. Those days he had relieved a lot of his tension. "Before the apocalypse, I had traveled for a long period of time. I was running around all over the country, Tibet included. The temperature was not high there, but the ultraviolet rays were really strong. While I was there, my skin peeled off severalyers."


    Luo Yuan scowled as he heard what they were talking about. This area was not at a high altitude with thin air. It was a grasnd, and after the rise of the sea level, the altitude there was no more than 1,000 meters. nts grew luxuriously now, and the animal poption had been growing significantly. Besides, the concentration of the air was much higher than before the apocalypse.


    He looked up at the sky. Ever since the end of the world, the sky had be as blue as a sapphire. Now it seemed a little darker though. They could even vaguely see the stars in the sky during the day.


    In fact, long before the influx of insects, Luo Yuan had been feeling a little strange. The environment he had been familiar with seemed to be changing gradually. Although the changes were so small every day that they were barely visible, things had still been shifting constantly.


    Perhaps the insect influx and the earthquake were connected to these changes.


    Such significant changes could not have escaped the attention of the management of the Reconstruction Area, yet they had kept it a secret. Even Mayor Song from Desert City had seemed to have no idea about it. The only spection that Luo Yuan could make was that the consequences of these changes would be far more challenging than he expected.


    ...


    The group continued their journey until three in the afternoon when a magnificent fortress city appeared before them.

 Chapter 312: Hope City (II)

    Chapter 312: Hope City (II)


    Trantor: EndlessFantasy Trantion Editor: EndlessFantasy Trantion


    "Hope City has been under construction since the early stages of the end of the world. It was first built ording to the standards of a city center as ast resort for China. This is the only ce suitable for satelliteunching in China other than some heavy industry factories and bigbs. However, the government did not use Hope City as the new capital. They built another one instead."


    Cui Weichuan sighed as he looked at the giant city. "It¡¯s still very important though, as it¡¯s one of the biggest industrial zones of the rehabilitation base. Almost all the military facilities are here, and there are about 3,000,000 people living in the city. I used to live here before I got assigned to the Desert City."


    Luo Yuan looked in the distance. It would have been more appropriate to describe it as a scary war device rather than a city.


    There were countless cannons inside the seven-by-eight-meter wall made of meat vines. A few of them looked extremely strange. The tubes of those cannons were slim, but their bases were big, so they looked a lot bigger than those around them. There was one every few meters, surrounded by regr cannons.


    "What kind of weapon is that?" Luo Yuan asked as he pointed at the strange cannons.


    "It¡¯s an electromaic cannon invented during the past two years. It¡¯s eight times faster than the speed of sound, and it can travel up to 500 kilometers. One would be enough to kill a level seven mutated beast. It consumes a lot of electricity though, so we don¡¯t use it that often," Cui Weichuan said proudly.


    In order to boost military battle spirit, the rehabilitation base would advertise massively every time they invented a new technology. Hence, he knew everything about the weapons as well as his own assets. Level seven was equivalent to green level. Luo Yuan felt slightly ufortable as he looked at those scary electromaic cannons. He had never fought such a super mutant before.


    "What about that one? The one that looks like an airship," Luo Yuan asked again as he pointed at an object floating in the air.


    It looked gigantic, and the shadow it cast underneath covered a few streets. However, its surface was colorful and seemed to have many patches.


    Cui Weichuan looked at the airship and said, "You¡¯re right, Mr. Luo. That¡¯s an airship."


    When he noticed the shocked expression on Luo Yuan¡¯s face, he exined, "It might look fragile, but it¡¯s made of the skin of many different mutated beasts over level 5. It has a very strong defensive power. A normal mutated bird could not cause any damage to it, and it¡¯s big enough to scare away any mutated bird. Also, this kind of A-model airship can transport up to 3,000 tons, which is 20 times more than the capacity of a normal cargo ship."


    Luo Yuan was shocked as he listened to his exnation. He could not imagine how many mutated beast skins it must have taken to build such a gigantic airship. Perhaps no less than 5,000 mutated beasts worth of skin.


    Based on its capacity, it was equivalent to one-third of the transport capacity of a courier train. What¡¯s more, it was not restricted by terrain or traffic, and it could relocate the entire military base if there was an emergency. Luo Yuan had no idea how many cargo airships they had, but he assumed it wasn¡¯t more than 10. It was not easy to find mutated beasts above level five after all. It would only get more and more difficult to build new airships.


    Suddenly, there was someone rushing towards him. "Is this Mr. Luo? Luo Yuan?" he asked.


    "I am," Luo Yuan said. He did not find it surprising, as there was a microchip inserted in his battle beasts, and his biodata was recorded there. It was traceable no matter where the battle beasts went.


    "I¡¯m sorry, Mr. Luo. ording to the policy of battle beast management, your battle beasts are not allowed to enter the city. Could you please follow me to the appropriate department to make some arrangements for them?"


    The giant lizard slowlyy down, and the group climbed down one by one.


    "That¡¯s Hope City. I¡¯ll just stop here. Take care, everyone!" Luo Yuan said.


    "Thank you so much for your help, I¡¯ll always remember it," Cui Weichuan said as he carried a little girl in his arms. "I hope to see you again!"


    "You will," Luo Yuan said with a smile.


    "Thank you, Uncle Luo and you sisters, for saving our lives. Uncle Luo, will you visit us in the future?" the little girls asked as they heard everyone saying goodbye.


    "Sure," Luo Yuan said. However, everyone knew that the possibility of that happening was low. Normal people would all lose their freedom, and none of them could predict the future.


    "Good girl, Ningning. You¡¯re such a lovely girl," Huang Jiahui said as she touched the little girl¡¯s face. That little girl reminded her of her own daughter.


    Luo Yuan sensed her feelings and held her hand in an effort tofort her.


    Huang Jiahui smiled reluctantly. When she turned around, her eyes were teary. That was something she regretted, but could not help. She always woke up from nightmares. The rest of them expressed their sincere gratitude one by one. They would have died if Luo Yuan had not gone back to rescue them. They had no words to describe how grateful they were.


    Luo Yuan shook their hands with a smile for more than 10 minutes. They were all really passionate and could not thank him enough.


    Besides the survivors from the earthquake, Yang Zhiqing, Yan Mengjun, and his wife had decided to leave the group. Zhang Wu decided to stay with them and follow Luo Yuan.


    The government employees were waiting patiently further up front with uniform smiles on their faces. They knew the status of that man, as the top management had expressed its concern. They had received a call regarding Luo Yuan even before he¡¯d arrived at Hope City.


    The call was from a special department. Even the Mayor of Hope City might need to pay his respects to Luo Yuan. They dared not simply entertain him. The battle beasts were scary enough to make them maintain their service quality though.


    ...


    The battle beasts¡¯ new habitat was a natural valley 100 kilometers away with plenty of nts and old trees. It was easy to preserve such a big forest near Hope City.


    ¡®There are 27 battle beasts living here, each of them about 10 kilometers away from the next one. We feed them at a specific time, so they don¡¯t have to worry about finding food. We have conducted a few experiments by luring them with food, but none of them have left their habitat," the government servants exined as they walked beside Luo Yuan.


    Luo Yuan nodded. He found that it was not bad therepared to the Desert City. The giant lizard and King Kong would like it.


    As he was about to leave, the giant lizard and King Kong seemed to sense something different and looked slightly depressed. Luo Yuan chased them away, but they secretly followed him a few times. Luckily, they could trace the battle beasts with their microchips, otherwise, Luo Yuan would not have known.


    The women were all in tears. They would have tried to persuade Luo Yuan to keep them if they had lost their minds. Zhang Wu felt touched as he watched the scene. He felt like getting a battle beast himself. They had ridden on the giant lizard on their way there, but a car drove them to their own residence.


    The car ran on electricity, as sources of fuel were scarce those days. Other than the heavy trucks still using diesel, it was really difficult to spot any regr vehicles.


    They finally entered Hope City at 9 p.m.


    The streets were empty, and there were not many people walking around. They could hardly see any shops. The ce looked more like a giant industrial zone than a city. Themps on both sides of the streets were bright, and they could hear the loud sound of heavy machines.


    The car kept moving, but they could only see factories on both sides of the road, nothing else. Many heavy trucks passed by, causing the ground to shake a little. Countless smoke funnels with clouds of smoke gushing out could be seen all along the way.


    After all, this was a city of steel and fire meant to produce heavy metal products.


    They felt secure as they looked at the big city. They were finally relieved.

 Chapter 313: Hope City (III)

    Chapter 313: Hope City (III)


    Trantor: EndlessFantasy Trantion Editor: EndlessFantasy Trantion


    Half an hourter, the group was sent to the hostel in the city.


    A civil officer had made arrangements for their rooms. Just before he left, he suddenly received a phone call. After hanging up, he turned towards Luo Yuan and respectfully said, "Mr. Luo, the mayor wishes to see you."


    His expression looked slightly confused. In order to improve the government¡¯s efficiency after the apocalypse, there had been some shifts to the administration system. At the moment, the bureaucracy was ording to a mayor administration, with the mayor as the highest-ranking official.


    Nheless, although both were of a mayor position, the status of the mayor in the strategic Hope Citypared to the mayor in the small Desert City at the border was vastly different. If they had to bepared, the equivalent to their differences was akin to a provincial level to a local officer.


    Luo Yuan recovered from his slight excitement, and calmed down, "Sorry to trouble you."


    No, no... it is no trouble at all. Mr. Luo, you are being far too polite."


    The government officer seemed to be overwhelmed by the ttery.


    "You guys do not have to wait up for me. Take some rest after dinner. I should be back soon," Luo Yuan put down his sword and said to Huang Jiahui.


    Luo Yuan followed the officer and left the guest room. About ten minutester, he entered the municipal government building.


    "You are Luo Yuan, aren¡¯t you? I am the mayor¡¯s secretary, Lai Yoni. The mayor has been waiting for you for some time now. Pleasee with me," said a muscr middle-aged man, who approached Luo Yuan just as he entered the hall.


    His gait was as confident as a tiger. His foot was nted firmly on the ground, while his eyesight was sharp and alert. Such a person, even if he was not one of the evolved persons, he very well should have been one of the practitioners of the evolution. However, ording to the customary selection rule during the apocalypse, the secretary would have to be both an evolved person, as well as a practitioner, with indomitable strength.


    "Sorry to trouble you, Secretary Lai. Please, do lead the way," Luo Yuan shed a smile after noticing that the secretary had no intention to shake hands.


    Secretary Lai did not speak; his face remained expressionless with an unweing look. He studied Luo Yuan from head to toe, as though scanning for any hidden weapons, and was inclined to conduct a body search on him, no less.


    Ultimately, Secretary Lai did not carry out a body-search. For an evolved human, if he ever intended to kill an ordinary human, he will easily assassinate, even without a weapon.


    Observing the other party staring at him, was likeing face to face with an enemy of the same rank. Luo Yuan did not mind at all, as he knew fairly well that everyone was neither obliged to be polite to him nor required to like him.


    Although it was already ten o¡¯clock in the evening, the building was still full of peopleing and going; hustling and bustling about.


    The two of them soon walked to the mayor¡¯s office located at the most inner part of the building. Secretary Lai walked up, knocked on the door and said softly, "Mayor, Luo Yuan has arrived."


    "Let him in!" The voiceing from the other side of the door was husky and deep, giving an impression of an elderly person.


    Secretary Lai shot a warning look at Luo Yuan, and gestured him to enter. Luo Yuan pushed the door open and went in.


    "You must be Mr. Luo, therade! Have a seat," chuckled a man who looked to be in his fifties or sixties with almost-white hair, donning a pair of ck-framed reading sses. Upon seeing Luo Yuaning in, he took them off.


    Luo Yuan hesitated for a moment, and took a seat on the couch by the side.


    "Comrade Luo, I hope you don¡¯t mind my summoning you here at such ate hour?" The old man smiled and asked politely.


    Luo Yuan shook his head, andplimented him by saying, "It is my honor, for a mayor to call upon me!"


    "My, oh my... Ever since I received information about you, I had always wanted to meet you. But unfortunately, the mayor of the Desert City, Song Guangming, was so reluctant to let go of you, and had even asked you to stay on. And now, it was so unfortunate that the whole Desert City had wiped out ¨C even Song Guangming was also sacrificed," said the elder, with a forlorn look on his face, as he exhaled a long sigh.


    "I am just a normal evolved person, there is no need for a mayor to pay so much attention to me," said Luo Yuan, slightly confused.


    "Comrade Luo... You are young but very humble, and this is not a good thing," the old man pointed at him and reprimanded in jest. "I know you have your own concerns, and I have also heard some nasty rumors about you, but this is all due to those with bad intentions, ones who are useless to our society. You should understand that."


    Luo Yuan nodded his head. He knew the elder was talking about the military purge of the evolved humans. It had resulted in a genocide of countless evolved people, while causing some of the more powerful ones to escape into the wild, turning into vagrants in the process.


    "It can now be said that mankind has already reached a point between life and death, with the extinction of humans being no longer just a joke, but a fast reality. Perhaps we can endure this for another five years, or maybe we may not evenst a year.


    You may not be aware that the natural habitat for man has been greatly reduced. We havepletely lost contact with Africa, South America, as well as Australia. Our next-door neighbor, Japan, has beenpletely submerged underwater caused by both the earthquake and the tsunami. We are now only in contact with Russia, America and Europe. These three regions and their total poption may not even reach 300 million people. Moreover, with most of the poption being old and weak, humankind is at the brink of extinction."


    The old man continued with a heavy voice, "However, if human beings are to be eventually extinct, it must happen without regrets, as we would have done our best and exhausted all potential of the human race."


    Luo Yuan¡¯s expression exuded enlightenment. Although the old man¡¯s voice was soft and his tone was gentle as a fawn, it showed him a new perspective and left a deep impact in his heart.


    Perhaps the old man was aware of this unsettling conversation, as he changed the topic and said, "The evolved people are our hope for oveing this apocalypse. The reason for the rapid advancement of technology is a mass gathering of men sharing their skills and knowledge, as well as contributions by the evolved humans. Their abilities were often non-replicable by any present technology. Of course, there were also some evolved people who were highly trained forbat, and are fighting on the battle front, making a huge contribution to mankind."


    The old man looked at Luo Yuan, with his now piercing eyes. Without knowing why, Luo Yuan felt slightly nervous when facing this ordinary old man. "I know young people, especially those that had undergone evolution, enjoy their freedom. However, with the current situation, the luxury of freedom has be uneptable," muttered the mayor.


    The reasons for summoning you here, is to first listen to your opinions, on which position you would like to assume. Secondly, is to meet you, to see what kind of person you are, who had survived the fallen area, traveled all the way here, and at the same time bringing a group of ordinary men. Why, you must be blessed with superpowers!"


    "I am afraid I have let you down!" said Luo Yuan respectfully.


    "No, there is no disappointment. From your eyes, I know you are not a selfish person, and this is more than enough," the elder was pleased. He continued, "I heard that you are a martial arts practitioner... Are you interested in bing an instructor?"


    Seeing that Luo Yuan was confused, the old man chuckled, "Do not feel awkward. For an evolved person as formidable as you are, how could we possibly let you go without first getting to know you?"


    Luo Yuan politely rejected and said, "I do not like the military atmosphere. What if I rmended two people ¨C Deng Chao and Zhong Chuqiang? They have trained with me for some time now, and have at the moment, migrated here with the rest of the people."


    The elder was not surprised by his refusal. After all, this was just a test and he was probably affected by the mass purge. Evolved people that were not trained in the military had a certain degree of ostracism against the army. After hearing Luo Yuan rmending others for the instructor position, his expression changed rapidly as he asked, "Are they ordinary people? If so, how strong are their abilities?"


    Luo Yuan nodded and replied, "Basically, they can kill any level two or three mutated beasts!"


    The mayor¡¯s expression turned into one of all seriousness, as he quickly whipped out a notebook, and jotted down their names.


    The information from Desert City seemed to be slightly different. Indeed,panions who had received training from him were actually stronger than what had been reported in the paper.


    An ordinary person who could kill a level two or three beasts after learning martial arts was no ordinary feat. In fact, the strength of most evolved people was also within this range.


    Martial arts had be popr in the Reconstruction Area, yet in reality, its oue was unfavorable, andpletely failed to meet their expectations. He had not expected that Luo Yuan could be the bearer of such a big surprise.


    It was also true that the ones who could walk out of the fallen area and travel all the way here, would have gone through numerous risky and dangerous situations. Even if he was an ordinary man, he would have be very skilled in battle by now. Despite all that, he has yet to fully believe everything Luo Yuan said, as everything must be tested for the truth.


    He closed the notebook and smiled, "Since you do not want to join the army, I¡¯d rmend you another special department, which I think you would enjoy."

 Chapter 314: Humbleness (I)

    Chapter 314: Humbleness (I)


    Trantor: EndlessFantasy Trantion Editor: EndlessFantasy Trantion


    As Luo Yuan walked out of the city council, he gently exhaled.


    Though he had been kind, soft-spoken and was neverpelling, the old man had put rtively strong pressure on him. Thus, Luo Yuan was nervous and dared not rx just yet.


    He had to say that the old man was a very respectable man indeed. Though he might not be physically strong, and would probably pale inparison to an average man, he had a strong heart.


    He took a look at the time; it was already half past ten at night, but the factories along the road were still brightly lit. As the public servant who sent him to the old man had already left, he could only walk back to the guest house.


    Fortunately, his memory had not failed him, and the location of the guest house was not too far away.


    While he was strolling back, he calibrated his thoughts. The Special Force rmended by the old man towards the end of the conversation was directly under the management of the central government, with a branch located in Hope City. Generally, the force took in some extraordinarily strong evolved people.


    Luo Yuan guessed that the Special Force was made avable not only to win over their hearts, which could potentially be a safety risk to the government and for easier centralized management, but also to carry out special missions that the military troops were not able to undertake.


    For him, it was simply tailored.


    It had been half a year since hisst level up. Particrly after he entered the Reconstruction Area, he barely had any missions to aid his progression. The most he managed to earn was only a few EXP, from his two recent missions.


    Without realizing, the D-level mission had ced him in quite a dilemma ¨C whether or not to omit them because they could no longer give him adequate experience points but felt it was a waste if he did so.


    Unfortunately, D+ level missions or dark green creatures were difficult to run into, even in the wild, let alone in the Reconstruction Area. At least for Luo Yuan, as he was yet to meet any.


    Apart from being lucky, it was also because of theck of information. What he managed to see and meet was only the condition happening around him, and it was purely by luck. Nevertheless, it should not be rare to witness dark green creatures or even stronger creatures within the vicinity of the Reconstruction Area.


    ...


    The next morning, someone approached Luo Yuan as soon as he had finished his breakfast.


    "Hello Mr. Luo, you may not know me, but I¡¯m the Vice Minister of the Organization Department, Ren Hongyuan, and I¡¯ll be apanying you for your instation," he sized up Luo Yuan and said in awe.


    "Sorry for troubling you, Minister Ren," said Luo Yuan, while shaking his hand.


    "My pleasure!"


    They walked out of the guest house and got into the car. Minister Ren introduced, "Li Jian Department is a special rapid force established by the Republic and has a troop of Logistic Units, which includes the air force. Nheless, we have only 51 formal members, distributed throughout the Reconstruction Area, and we have eight people here in Hope City."


    "So, I¡¯m the ninth person?" Luo Yuan said with a smile, but he gradually grew more serious inside.


    Only 51 people out of hundreds of thousands of evolved people in the Reconstruction Area, with more than one hundred million residents, has proved that they were the best among the best. Perhaps he could be confident to believe that nobody canpete with him, especially with the assistance of the system. Nheless, the rebellion at Desert City where many strong evolved people showed up, had made him genuinely understand the meaning of hidden talent. Of course, if the base number wasrge, it was definitely possible to have some strong evolved people.


    Minister Ren replied bashfully, "To be honest, you are still a member of the Logistic Unit, and under probation, no less. Though Mayor Hu has rmended you, we don¡¯t have the power to immediately appoint a member of the Special Force in Hope City. It¡¯s certainly not a big deal for Mr. Luo nheless."


    Luo Yuan looked stunned, and bantered, "Oh, so I¡¯m still deemed a temporary worker?"


    "Err... this is the normal procedure of the organization¡¯s department. Even Mayor Hu cannot vite this," Minister Ren replied nervously. He was relieved when he realized that Luo Yuan was only joking around, but had already broken out in cold sweat.


    Being a meremoner, everyone in the Mysterious Department was regarded as a superhero. Even if he were to sit beside one of them, he would already feel nervous and insecure. This was because it would never be safe, even if he were to be protected by a troop of soldiers, in the event that they suddenly lose their minds.


    ...


    Luo Yuan initially thought that the departmentprising only eight people, was just a small office, but it turned out to be theplete opposite.


    After the car drove on for about half an hour, they passed through a warning signboard which read ¡®Military Base, No Trespassing¡¯ and saw a huge thorn bush enclosure. They even had to show their pass at the gate before their car could drive in slowly to the Mysterious Department.


    The whole region had more than a hundred acres ofnd with two runways for nes, five helicopternding sites and three blocks ofrge buildings up to three floors in height.


    The car stopped in front of the lobby of the building in the middle. Minister Ren hobbled as he was obviously slightly nervous, as though there was danger lurking behind therge building.


    The two of them walked into therge building. It was not lonely at all, as many people were seen hustling and bustling. These people were apparently the logistical workers and middle-aged women seemed to make up the majority of the workers. Everyone looked very skilled.


    Luo Yuan scanned through the crowd and suddenly his pupils contracted, as someone had suddenly appeared in front of him. The person appeared so fast, that he was not able to even see how or where he came from.


    "Yo, looks like we have a neer." He grinned, with his face twitching slightly, making him look rather nervous.


    He looked a tad shaggy, as he was wearing a singlet with ck short pants, and a pair of slippers. Besides, his hair was messy and scruffy, almost like that of a beggar¡¯s.


    "Yes, Mr. Wang. Is your team leader around?" Minister Ren asked with a smile.


    "Well... unfortunately, our team leader has gone to New Capital City," he replied casually while sizing up Luo Yuan. This made Luo Yuan felt ufortable as if he was being stared at by a venomous snake.


    "What about your Assistant Team Leader?"


    "Why do you wish to see him? He¡¯s been out on a mission. You can approach me too. It¡¯s really the same unless you¡¯re looking down on me," he said casually, while walking around Minister Ren and sniffled, as though expecting sympathy. Meanwhile, the logisticians nearby were retreating fearfully.


    Minister Ren could barely smile, and wanted tosh out a few times but did not bring himself to.


    Luo Yuan was aware of how uneasy Minister Ren felt. Hence, he pulled him away while ring at Mr. Wang, "Don¡¯t push it!"


    He quickly retreated a few meters backward in fear, and exaggerated while looking at Luo Yuan¡¯s expression, "Yo, little white face, unless you want to rush to the forefront, not everyone can get away that easily here. Come, let me see what you¡¯ve got."


    Themotion apparently attracted everyone¡¯s attention. Two people were seen going down the staircase when it piqued their interest. When they saw the scene, they started to look on.


    Luo Yuan shifted his sight and suddenly smiled, "Oh, are you trying to put me in your position? You should have told me earlier. I¡¯d love this."

 Chapter 315: Humbleness (II)

    Chapter 315: Humbleness (II)


    Trantor: EndlessFantasy Trantion Editor: EndlessFantasy Trantion


    Minister Ren nced at Luo Yuan in appreciation. Being a Vice Minister of Hope City¡¯s Organizational Department, he would not be so useless under different circumstances or if he were to be facing another person.


    The key point was because this man was indeed insane. It was said that he suffered a mental illness even prior to the apocalypse. He did not only have a weird character but also acted unscrupulously and even enjoyed abnormal hobbies. Even the mayor felt troubled when seeing him. However, because of his strong ability and as long as he had not killed anyone ormitted any serious crimes, the superiors had let him be.


    Nheless, he did hope that somebody could teach him a lesson, but as a public servant, he could not let such things happen. Therefore, he tried to advise, "Calm down and don¡¯t fight, don¡¯t fight! We are colleagues after all!"


    "Minister Ren, you have sent me here and my task is nowpleted. Now, it¡¯s the internal conflict that we have in our department, so please do stay away from us." Luo Yuan said, as he clearly knew that it was useless to keep a low profile. If he did not unveil his abilities, he will be despised.


    Minister Ren felt thankful, as what Luo Yuan said was insinuating that he wanted him to out of the picture.


    "Yo, who does he think he is, showing off like that? Is he our team member? Why do I not know him?" exaggerated the crazy Mr. Wang, while he fiddled with his ear. Then, he turned to look at two people watching nearby and shouted loudly, "Hey, stupid Li, do you know this guy? And you, do you know him? Ah, none of you know him!"


    "Then, who the hell are you?" Crazy Mr. Wang turned over andshed out at Luo Yuan.


    Other than the two onlookers, nobodyughed but fearfully retreated. To the normal logisticians, they would offend no one, even if this person was yet to be an official member, under probation.


    The foulnguage of crazy Mr. Wang had finally turned Luo Yuan¡¯s face rather glum. He threw his Zhanmadao aside and said, "Hopefully you can be as mean as you are,ter!"


    The crazy Mr. Wang pursed his mouth as though wanting to start mocking again, but Luo Yuan had immediately disappeared. Before he could realize what was happening, a strong wind blew against him and with a sharp pain in his chest, his body was thrown into the air.


    Luo Yuan held onto his cor and smashed him directly onto the floor.


    With his 15 points of Strength ¨C which was 7.5 times higher than a normal person¡¯s ¨C and with the strong and thick cemented floor, he would be in searing pain and ovee by dizziness if he were to be smashed onto the floor, regardless of how tough he was.


    However, to Luo Yuan surprise, he had disappeared just before his body hit the ground. Only a torn singlet was left in his hand.


    At almost the same time, Luo Yuan¡¯s sensory perception caught a silhouette of Mr. Wang¡¯s body appearing from thin air some ten meters away, as he crouched on the ground miserably.


    "You almost caught me, almost!" heughed insanely while gradually turning ferocious and emitting an aura of insanity. As time passed by, his body began blurring up, as if numerous illusory shadows were irregrly changing.


    The two onlookers looked at each other and their face became glum too. A middle-aged man shouted, "Everyone, leave now!"


    The logisticians and Minister Ren was shocked, and quickly left the lobby of the first floor.


    The two of them were not attacking in a hurry but were staring at each other instead.


    The eyes of crazy Mr. Wang looked as ferocious as an injured lonely wolf, but Luo Yuan looked calm, with his emotions remaining intact.


    The ability of the opponent was indeed very mysterious and simr to an imaginary teleportation. Nheless, Luo Yuan had seen a lot recently, including those four-dimensional creatures as well as special abilities rted to time and space. Hence, he no longer felt amazed by such mysterious powers.


    It did not mean that these abilities were not strong enough, but it was proportionated to the person who possessed the ability, and how powerful they were.


    If he could only teleport too, Mr. Wang would be no threat to Luo Yuan.


    The crazy Mr. Wang seemed rather impatient. He made his move quickly by disappearing in a sh and appearing behind Luo Yuan¡¯s back, intending to punch him right in the back of his skull.


    Luo Yuan seemed to have eyes at the back of his head, as he ducked slightly to avoid the punch by a hair¡¯s breadth. Then, he twisted and kicked Mr. Wang¡¯s head like a whip. Though he did not use his full energy, his kick had thrown his victim into the air, causing him to tumble onto the floor, some five to six meters away.


    "Hu! Hu!"


    The crazy Mr. Wang quickly stood up after a roll, and spat out two bloody front teeth, with the left side of his face immediately swelling up. "Hey little white face, were you having too much fun till you became this weak now? Come on, hit me harder!" he shouted deliriously, albeit sounding strange due to his now-swollen face.


    "Then, let¡¯s do it again," Luo Yuan smiled coldly. After all, he had to make a person like him admit defeat and surrender, lest he continued his barking mad attitude, being such a nuisance.


    The crazy Mr. Wang began to circle him. His shuffling footsteps had annoyed Luo Yuan. Then, his body had disappeared again. As soon as he reappeared behind Luo Yuan¡¯s back, he was kicked and thrown into the air again.


    This time, Luo Yuan had clearly kicked harder, because the crazy Mr. Wangid on the floor for a few seconds, before he could recover and struggle to stand up. Two sides of his face had be swollen now, making him look rather bloated.


    "Was it not strong enough? I haven¡¯t used much of my energy yet, so let¡¯s do this again!" Luo Yuan was beckoning the crazy Mr. Wang, while rebuking simultaneously.


    The two onlookers began to look glum. Though the crazy Mr. Wang suffered mental issues and wasn¡¯t exactly the strongest, his ability to appear and disappear swiftly was definitely the most annoying skill he had. Furthermore, he could easily handle level six mutated beasts and together with highly-explosive bombs, his record in the team was indeed amazing.


    Nheless, the crazy Mr. Wang¡¯s mind seemed to bepletely obsessed with this newbie, as if he was under a spell, akin to a kid being taken for a ride.


    "Why must I go to you? Come and get me if you think you¡¯re all that," jeered the crazy Mr. Wang, refusing to surrender, as he was confident with his ability to teleport away for no one to be able to get hold of him.


    "Well, you asked for it!" Luo Yuan suddenly smiled, exposing his perfectly neat and fine white teeth, which sent a chill down Mr. Wang¡¯s spine.


    His rows of teeth were neatly in line without a single gap. Each tooth was long and narrow. Therefore, he had almost one-third the number extra of teethpared to an ordinary person.


    It was a symbol of rebirth, and he saw it only once on his team leader. He nced at Luo Yuan¡¯s skin, and discovered that it was not only very smooth and fine, but had a glowingplexion with hardly any visible pores.


    After being reborn, Luo Yuan grewpletely new rows of teeth, not realizing that his teeth had now looked very odd.


    As Luo Yuan was got closer, he quickly requested, "Hold on!"


    Despite being mentally unsound, he was yet to lose his mind. He knew that he should not be provoking someone like Luo Yuan, but before he could finish his sentence, Luo Yuan hadunched himself towards him and was trying to reach for his hair.


    The crazy Mr. Wang trembled, and teleported at that critical moment. With a few continuous shes as fast as lightning, he had escaped before the rest could react.


    He turned and a ripping sound was heard from his hair.


    A blurry silhouette sped over and in a second, it hade very near.


    He could teleport to a distance of about twenty to thirty meters each, beforeunching another teleportation, with no downtime. Ergo, he had escaped to a distance of more than hundreds of meters after a few teleports, but he seemed to have failed.


    "How can he be this fast?!" He eximed frantically within his heart andunched another teleport.


    ...


    While looking at his back-to-back series of teleportation, Luo Yuan discovered a very weird urrence, where he would conjure an illusion on his brows, each time he teleported. Could it be possible that teleportation was rted to a four-dimensional realm as well? Could it be that he was entering the four-dimension space temporarily, when he disappeared from the original space, only to return not long after?


    As he coincidentally possessed a four-dimensional vision, Luo Yuan discovered that he had more abilities rted to higher dimensions of space. Therefore, Luo Yuan doubted that the creatures were evolving towards four-dimensional ones.


    He allowed the idea to just sh by, and then quickly adjourned to the location where the crazy Mr. Wang had reappeared. Little did he know that thetter had actually shown some signs during teleportation. When he was about to reappear, the air within the vicinity would suddenly be vacuumed and the location where he disappeared would be filled with air.


    Both the air and the Mr. Wang were having a cross-dimensional space exchange, which happened as fast as lightning and urred almost simultaneously. Therefore, such a feat would not be able to be witnessed by the naked eye. It was only possible if it were to be 7.5 times slower.


    The whole disappearing and reappearing process took only 0.1 seconds. Nevertheless, Luo Yuan could estimate the location of his reappearance by looking at the air flow direction and the changes in light refraction.


    Even though he kept teleporting to various unpredictable locations, what was strange was that the distance between the two spots was not getting any further; they were, in fact, getting nearer instead.


    "Please stop, brother, I surrender!" After a minute, Luo Yuan finally caught the crazy Mr. Wang¡¯s hair. Before he could beat him up, his victim had raised his hands and shouted with an ingratiating smile.

 Chapter 316: Super Underground Space

    Chapter 316: Super Underground Space


    Trantor: EndlessFantasy Trantion Editor: EndlessFantasy Trantion


    Luo Yuan was panting as he had been running for almost four to five kilometers in less than a minute, which covered almost every part of the manor. The strenuous exercise had made his skin feel burning hot, his body scorching and his head fog up, which made him look like he had been set aze.


    He held tightly onto the crazy Mr. Wang¡¯s hair and looked at him in the eye, coldly, before he released his grip, turned around and walked back. In the beginning, he was still gasping for air but after only a few steps, he had recovered and could breathe normally again. His flushed skin had turned back to its original color.


    The crazy Mr. Wang was paralyzed on the floor, not recovering for a while. A flicker of fear shed through his eyes when he was looked at Luo Yuan, as he walked away. The two onlookers stepped aside when they saw Luo Yuaning over.


    The godlike speed that he showed when he went after crazy Mr. Wang had impressed them thoroughly. Therefore, no matter how confident they were, they would be afraid to face such an opponent as skilled as Luo Yuan was.


    He walked into the lobby of the first floor to pick up his Zhanmadao. Minister Ren and the other two members of the sword unit tagged along.


    "I¡¯m going to report this matter to the superior," Minister Ren said coldly. Even in all seriousness, anyone could see rather inly, that he was in a good mood. This incident had brought him great satisfaction, because these sword unit team members had beenvishly utilizing all the resources of Hope City, but never took their responsibilities seriously. They had beening up with all sorts of excuses, and expressed dissatisfaction whenever they were asked to help, or to rmend a few people.


    As he was the Deputy Minister of the organization, he was forced toe but each visit felt like it zapped a few years of his life away. Now, somebody was able to teach them a lesson, so that they would acknowledge that there was someone out there far more superior than they were, and will be more inclined to be humble. Particrly when he saw the formal look on their faces when the other two ran into Luo Yuan, he felt refreshed and relieved, as if he had drunk a ss of ice cold water on a hot Summer¡¯s day.


    Of course, Luo Yuan would be a member of the sword unit soon, but for now, he was yet to be!


    The other two did not care, andpletely disregarded the superficial threats of Minister Ren.


    "Hello, I am Li Dong. Pleased to be your colleague and teammate," a middle-aged man mimicked a wee gesture, with outstretched hands.


    He was short, only about 1.65 meters tall, but he had a big round head. In addition to his homophonous name, no wonder the crazy Mr. Wang called him shorty Li[1].


    "I¡¯m Xie Junbang. Wee to our team," another member said. He looked about the same age as Luo Yuan, about 25 years old, but he appeared to be rather uneasy and shy when facing him.


    "I¡¯m Luo Yuan. Pleasure to be part of team," Luo Yuan politely shook the two people¡¯s hands.


    As a saying goes, keep a low profile but let your work speak for itself. After humbling the members by showing off his abilities, Luo Yuan would have to keep a lower profile to quickly fit in. After all, the team members were not ordinary evolved people but were super evolved people selected from arge group of evolved people in the Reconstruction Area.


    Even the crazy Mr. Wang who was beaten by Luo Yuan could easily kill any opponent that had slow reflexes, such asrge-sized mutated beasts with low Agility, provided he had a strong attack power. Ergo, the crazy Mr. Wang could not get Luo Yuan because of his fast reflexes.


    Being in power and holding a special position had caused many evolved people to be arrogant and vain. Having too high a profile would, in fact, cause others to feel slightly ostracized. When both Li Dong and Xie Junbang saw that Luo Yuan was friendly, they felt slightly relieved.


    "Our team leader is currently not around, while our assistant team leader had brought Wu Qianru out for a mission. The only ones who stayed behind, apart from us, are Xu Qianshen and Fang Peobing," said Li Dong with a smile, as he introduced the team members to Luo Yuan. He then turned to Xie Junhui and asked, "Oh yes, do you know where they are?"


    "They should be in the training room!" Xie Junhui replied, after a thought.


    "Would you like to check it out? The training facilities are the best in the whole Reconstruction Area, after the headquarters at New Capital City. I¡¯m not boasting, but you may not have heard of it," Li Dong kept Luo Yuan guessing.


    "Now I¡¯m curious. Is it nearby?" Luo Yuanughed.


    "It¡¯s located in another building, very close by," Xie Junhui summed up.


    In just a short span of time, with the casual demeanor they had built, their rtionship had improved. The three of them went out of the lobby together, towards another building. As poor Minister Ren waspletely ignored, he had no choice but to tag along.


    "Where were you previously? At the front line or the mining area?" Li Dong asked curiously. The evolved people of their department were mostly from these two areas. The front line had the highest number of evolved people, and so it wasmon to have one or two strong and powerful evolved people. On the other hand, the mining area located outside the Reconstruction Area, had arge number of troops at the station, as their battles were more cruel and harsh. Therefore, the abilities of the evolved people were much stronger than those stationed at the front line.


    "I just came here not too long ago!" Luo Yuan replied.


    Luo Yuan response was rather unexpected to Li Dong. He stopped walking, and asked as if he had heard it correctly, "Just came? Just came to Hope City?"


    "Just came to the Reconstruction Area; I was outside in the wilderness all this while." As the two of them seemed to be shocked, he exined, "Not the wanderer that you may think of. During therge migration, my city had been destroyed. Hence, we have been traveling this entire time, and only got here two months ago."


    Li Dong opened his mouth in shock and was lost for words for a brief moment. As a member of the sword unit, their missions covered most parts of the area that were reachable by humans. He had certainly been in the wilderness a few times, but most of the time, he could only manage a peep from the ne.


    Therge world today, apart from human habitat, was covered by arge area of greenery. Traces of humankind, such as the high-density roadwork and the high-rise buildings in cities had already disappeared. Apart from parts which are no longer green, the ones left in green had remained a healthy green.


    He could not imagine that someone could survive under such living conditions.


    "Are there still any survivors in the area that was destroyed?" Li Dong asked.


    "Probably not, we did not see anyone towards the end," Luo Yuan replied in a low voice.


    The atmosphere suddenly became gloomy. After all, every one of them had lost contact with their family and friends. They were fortunate to be able to catch thest train, while many others were left behind, at the destruction.


    ...


    Soon, the three of them had entered the building and went directly into the elevator. They pressed on the button to the fifteenth underground floor.


    Luo Yuan realized that there were many buttons in the elevator. Nheless, it differed from the normal elevator, because it did not have any positive numbers at all. The negative numbers which began from negative one to negative fifteen, had shown that the underground space was very deep into the earth.


    "Negative one to negative five are the warehouses; negative six to negative ten are the residential areas and the slightly polluted industrial area; while negative 11 to 12 are the agricultural areas. Thest three floors are currently still empty, in preparation for the increase in poption and industrial expansion. Those factories you have seen along the road are the heavily polluted industrial areas," exined Minister Ren, as he knew Luo Yuan had just arrived and knew nothing much.


    Luo Yuan gasped in shock. No wonder he saw only factories along the way, as the residents lived underground! The factories were only just a small part of Hope City.


    Even it was just a small part of the city, Luo Yuan was amazed as it was many timesrger than any industrial area he had ever seen. It was, after all, a giant-sized industrial area, of about 300 square kilometers.


    For a city with a poption of more than three million prior to the apocalypse, the workers involved in industrial factories usually made up about one-third of the poption, while the other two-thirds were mostly from the service line. Nheless, there was almost nobody involved in the service line during the apocalypse. The ratio of the poption of industrial workers was higher than 90%,parable to arge city with ten million people.


    It was an insane generation. If it were to bepared to the underground world of Hope City, the underground refuge was still simply a work in progress.


    1 Li Dong (À) was also known as "shorty Li" because his name is homophonous with Li Donggua (À¹Ï) Likewise, when someone is called Donggua (¶¬¹Ï), it means the person is short and plump. Li or Àî, refers to the person¡¯s family name.

 Chapter 317: Models

    Chapter 317: Models


    Trantor: EndlessFantasy Trantion Editor: EndlessFantasy Trantion


    After waiting for about a minute, the lift door pinged open.


    Compared to Desert City which wasyered with soil, Hope City had a rock stratum instead. Nheless, when Luo Yuan walked out of the lift and looked around, he was shocked to see that the rock stratum had been emptied, leaving a veryrge room with about a 10.56-meter-high ceiling supported by numerous huge stone pirs of five to six meters each.


    The pirs were arranged in an orderly fashion like an army of soldiers, where its ends could not be seen.


    Those stone pirs were coarse, unpolished, with pointed corners, which made it rather rough and sharp. Besides, each stone pir was in a shape of a square, with a length of about forty to fifty meters on each side. At that moment, Luo Yuan felt that he was walking in an area upied by the giants.


    Although it was yet to be utilized, the water and electricity supplies had beenid outpletely. With a dim light above his head, he saw a huge barrack nearby. It was conspicuous because it was the only building in the basement.


    The barrack was built ording to the location of the stone pirs and covered an area of more than ten thousand square meters. As the group walked rather quickly, they soon entered through the door, which had been set aze with light. Lou Yuan was surprised to see that it did not look like a training room, but a yground with dinosaurs, except for a small corner where machines that seemed to be used for training were ced. This was because models of dinosaurs could be seen everywhere.


    Some models were roughly carved, with only a recognizable silhouette, while some were lifelike and vivid. Nevertheless, all the models were extremely huge, as if they were an exact 1:1 replica of the real thing.


    Before Luo Yuan could inquire, Li Dong had started to exin, "These models aren¡¯t just toys, but were made by our logisticians from the data regarding the target of each mission we received. Theye in the form of images, pictures, and even satellite footage. With these, we can not only simte its natural environment but also analyze its weaknesses, for us to better replicate a battle in formting a n."


    This was the advantage of having sufficient information about the opponent, as it helped them gain the upper hand in their battles. Seeing that the whole area was full of fifty to sixty models, Luo Yuan asked with curiosity, "Have those missions been aplished?"


    "Well, these models were actually the missions that we are yet to finish. Amidst these models, as most are not located within the reconstruction Area, and despite carrying a certain degree of threat, it had no urgency to bepleted.


    Furthermore, some had appeared only once and then disappeared without a trace," Li Dong replied.


    Luo Yuan nodded. At the same time, he was attracted by arge mutated beast¡¯s model. The model was unique and mysteriously aesthetic, as it was meticulously sculptured.


    It was extraordinary and stood out from the rest even though it was found amongst the models of other mutated beasts.


    It was put on jagged rocks of grotesque shapes, and its long and beautiful S-shaped neck looked down at Luo Yuan.


    Its pointy mouth had slightly exposed buck teeth, while its sharp and narrow cheeks were covered with warts and bone spurs, like daggers, grown out from its lower jaw. This made it looked extremely ferocious and violent, hence, terrifying, although it was only a model. What surprised Luo Yuan was that it even had a pair of bat-like wings.


    "What kind of beast is it?" Luo Yuan asked.


    Li Dong stayed silent before he replied in a low voice, "It is the only highly dangerous beast we have here, and it is called a ¡®Giant Dragon¡¯, with about a level seven in strength. Four months ago, our team estimated its strength incorrectly, and sieged once but lost terribly. Six members of our team went but only two came back. One was the crazy Mr. Wang, and the other was our current team leader. That mission almost wiped out the whole team of Li Jian at Hope City. Xie Junhui and I then joined the team after that.


    "This mission had been taken over by the headquarters at New Capital City, but the model is still being ced here to teach the team a lesson, and also as a source of motivation."


    "Has this mission beenpleted?" asked Luo Yuan.


    "Maybe not, because the location of the beast remains uncertain. Normally, it will loiter around the forest near to Wei Guo City, without a fixed territory. However, we¡¯d have to contact New Capital City for more details."


    Luo Yuan was looking at the powerful model, which was suitable for him to level up. Since he now had one point added to his Will, he could no longer predict how strong he was, but he knew that level 6 beasts were not able to harm him.


    If he could meet the beetle that emitted microwaves once again in Desert City¡¯s train station, they would not have to deal with this dire and fatal situation. He could manipte his Will to perfectlybat its microwave radiation.


    Furthermore, the stronger Will did not directly enhance his defense, but also his attack and speed. Besides, it had an immediate effect on his aura too. Previously, he could only harm light blue creatures, but now, even blue level creatures could not escape his wrath.


    In addition, with the ability to fly now, his battles had changed from one fought in two dimensions to one fought in three dimensions. In other words, his battles would be more diverse and he would definitely had the upper hand over the beasts which were incapable of flying.


    ...


    As both of them were talking and walking, they soon reached the training area. Although there were more models avable, there were also many machines of various sizes arranged in an orderly manner. With just a nce, Luo Yuan already knew the number of machines avable.


    There were 15 machines. Taking ount of the number of people in the team - eight people, now nine, including Luo Yuan - it was definitely more than enough.


    Comparing to the ordinary training machines prior to the apocalypse, these machines appeared to be strange and rugged. Luo Yuan did not even know what some of the machines were for, until he listened to Li Dong¡¯s introductions.


    For example, there was a machine which looked like an industrial free forging hammer, which was actually used to train physical strength. There was also a machine that could automaticallyunch low-speed bullets for dodging training, a huge rolling ball to train the stabilization of the body and other odd things. Nheless, the machine that caught Luo Yuan¡¯s eye was the robot-like weight training machine.


    Seeing that Luo Yuan turned to nce at that machine from time to time, Minister Ren said with humor, "The introduction of this machine that Mr. Li made was rather inurate. I am quite familiar with this machine, to be honest. It is thetest product of our Military Research Institute, called the exoskeleton body armor. It is two meters high and about one ton heavy. Through the Total-Contact Photoelectric Sensing Device, muscr movements of the operator could be immediately sensed and reacted to. However, it is temporarily not usable as the study of its high-performance batteries were unsessful. Moreover, this product is currently only semi-finished."


    Luo Yuan was shocked that technology in the Reconstruction Area was being developed at a tremendous speed over the past few years, under the pressure of human extinction. Various disruptive innovations and technologies had boomed.


    If the exoskeleton body armor could be used by every soldier, humans would turn the tables and stand firm even if men could not carry out effective counter attacks. Meanwhile, the Reconstruction Area would no longer rely heavily on evolved people.


    Anyway, both Li Dong and Xie Junhui had no reaction towards Minister Ren¡¯s disclosure. After all, the poprization of this thing would not affect these strong evolved people at all.


    "They are at the gymnasium in front!" Li Dong said.


    ...


    The two of them were seen fighting against each other, one was holding a saber while the other was holding a sword.


    The saber was thick and heavy, while the sword was wide and big. Light weaponry and even long rifles were useless againstrge sized mutated beasts.


    Luo Yuan realized that these evolved people who could stand out among the other evolved people consisting of about 100,000 were definitely outstanding. Regardless of their evolved abilities, their physical constitution was as good as Luo Yuan¡¯s, half a year ago.


    From the fight, the Physique of the two were at about 14 points and one of their Strength could be stronger than Luo Yuan¡¯s.


    With each moment the saber and sword hit against each other, it would produce an ear-piercing sound. As it was a practice amongst the team members, they used only wooden weapons. Nheless, the unknown level of wood appeared to be very strong as they were not broken, no matter how hard they collided into each other.


    Luo Yuan found the fight boring and uninteresting, though it was considered exciting and capable of shocking ordinary men.


    The reason why was not due to Luo Yuan¡¯s high Agility that made their actions seem slow in his eyes. Instead, it was because of their obvious ws, that the rhythm of the fight seemed to be awkward andgging behind.


    "I want to stop, I want to stop already!" As they saw what was happening, Fang Peibing jumped out of the circle and walked over, after he wiped away his sweat with a towel.


    Xu Qianshen was rather indifferent, as he simply nodded towards the crowd, and walked into the nearby bathroom.


    Though Fang Peibing appeared to be rtively tanned and thin, he was not weak at all. His stripes of muscles were entangled together like a steel cable, squirming like a snake while he was walking, giving off a capable and vigorous vibe. He scanned through them and jokingly said, "All of you are here, my, my... it¡¯s so rare to see Minister Ren here too. Eh, who¡¯s this?"


    "He is Luo Yuan, our new team member, and this is Fang Peibing, who we have spoken of before," Ling Dong immediately introduced.


    Fang Peibing was slightly surprised to see the politeness of Ling Dong and Xie Junhui. He neither expressed a weing not unweing look, but sized up Luo Yuan. When he saw Luo Yuan holding onto his Zhanmadao, he expressed a wry smile and said, "Oh, you are using a saber too, mind giving it a shot on me?"

 Chapter 318: Apprenticeship

    Chapter 318: Apprenticeship


    Trantor: EndlessFantasy Trantion Editor: EndlessFantasy Trantion


    Luo Yuan paused, and burst intoughter out of nowhere. He was sick of people who were as stubborn and self-righteous as they were. First was the crazy Mr. Wang, and now there¡¯s another one. He would not be surprised if he were to meet more of their kind, in the future.


    Seeing Luo Yuan¡¯s sarcastic smile, Fang Peibin felt an imminent sense of danger. He had goosebumps, and his muscles were stiff. Suddenly, his arms shook and when he looked, the wooden saber in his hand had vanished.


    He was shocked. He tried his best not to take a step back and stared at Luo Yuan in all seriousness. Luo Yuan gripped the wooden saber, lifted it and touched the surface softly.


    A dimmed glow sparked, and clouds of sawdust were falling like flour. He touched it with his palm again, and it was now ayer thinner, in a split of a second. He also yed with the saber, it was now lighter and handier.


    The people who were watching were not surprised at Luo Yuan¡¯s thinning of the saber using his bare hands. After all, besides Minister Ren, they were all evolved people, who were used to such abilities. What caught their attention was how Luo Yuan yed with the saber, especially Fang Peibin, as he was watching Luo Yuan¡¯s every move without so much as a blink.


    Aspared to the other evolved people who were ordinary people before the apocalypse, he was a master in a traditional martial arts school. Being an expert in all sabers, guns, sticks, and even boxing, he paid the most attention to the art more than anyone else did. From holding the saber to the position of the stance, Luo Yuan seemed to have mastered them all. He did it so naturally, exuding a strong elegance in his might.


    "I¡¯ll just show you what I¡¯ve got. There¡¯s no need for battling. I want us to be at peace with each other." Luo Yuan said in a rxed tone. The people who were watching were relieved, as the tense atmosphere had simmered down immediately. Fang Peibin was confused. At the time, he did not know that Luo Yuan was giving him an out. Considering his ability to steal the saber from his hands without his knowledge, it showed how powerful Luo Yuan was. It was a sure loss for Fang Peibin, or, it was simply an oppression. Things would not look good on his side if they were to battle.


    Luo Yuan then walked towards the gym and soon arrived in the middle of it. He then stood there. People were observing every move he made without blinking, as they did not want to miss a thing. Luo Yuan took a breath, his body became blurry for a second, and a sharp whistle sounded at the same time. A white line flew by indistinctly, before vanishing in a blink of an eye. Luo Yuan then appeared back at the spot he was before as if he did not move a muscle at all.


    Everybody looked at each other in shock. Although Li Dong and Xie Junhui had witnessed how fast Luo Yuan was, they had not seen one as fast as that, as it was unable to be traced by the naked eye.


    However, when Luo Yuan attacked just now, all they could see was a blurry shadow moving with the saber, like lightning, and the next second, he was back at his original spot. Everything was done in one go, rather smoothly. From silence to movement, the attack was over in a blink of an eye. It was akin to a cobra that was ready to catch its prey.


    The speed when one ran and attacked were of a stark difference. Before the apocalypse, there was a trained boxer whose punching speed was 20 meters per second; it was almost twice the speed of his running. Through the realization of the system, Luo Yuan could move 80 percent of his body muscles, while his speed of attack could go up to four times the speed of his running. His attack speed was approximately 200 meters per second, which was 720 kilometers per hour.


    The rest could still see Luo Yuan during his attack if they tried very hard, but to Minister Ren who was an ordinary person, he saw nothing. He could only hear the sound of something moving. Next, Luo Yuan performed some basic movements with the saber. There was a distinct pause to every move, and strokes of white Qi were created by the stimtion of airflow. The Chi was different from the glow made by the gathering of Will power. It was due to the fast-moving tip of the saber, which broke the high-speed airflow.


    It was the first time Luo Yuan witnessed the saber¡¯s Chi. As his Zhanmadao was extraordinarily sharp, there was little air resistance when in use. It would only happen for sabers that were as blunt as this one. The saber¡¯s Chi did not only affect the speed of swinging, but its power was limited too. The best it could do was to leave a scratch on a rock. It paled inparison with the saber glow, and might not even be effective for mutated beasts that were blue-level and above.


    After the first round, Luo Yuan¡¯s movement became coherent. The air nearby started to tremble, and dust was all over the ce. Clear strokes of white lines were dancing in the gym,ing and going. More and more of them appeared; they were getting dense. Eventually, a web was formed.


    The people kept moving back, and the intense pressure slowly disappeared when they were 40 meters away.


    As Xu Qianshen came out of his shower, a strong wind blew towards him when he was at the door. His cheeks were hurting. He was stunned and used his hand to perform a wave. The wind then disappeared immediately. Soon, he was attracted by what was happening at the gym. He was impressed with what he saw and did not blink while watching the shadow.


    Luo Yuan¡¯s movements were astonishing. Each and every move he made was swift and natural, with a touch of elegance. It was addictive to watch. Soon, Luo Yuan suddenly stopped in his tracks. The performance went on for a full three minutes, but to the audience, it seemed like only a short moment had passed. Some of them were disappointed with such a brief performance. Fang Peibin pped his own thigh and said, "I should¡¯ve recorded it!"


    "A normal camera is useless here. You might need to use a high-speed camera." Li Dong mumbled, still stunned. The team had weed someone extraordinary, so much so that they were even wondering whether or not their captain was stronger.


    "We can always request for a high-speed camera, but I don¡¯t think we need to go through that trouble. Since we are a team, we can consult you anytime, we can even be your apprentice." Xie Junhui said in excitement while walking over to Luo Yuan with admiration. Fang Peibin was embarrassed for provoking Luo Yuan earlier. Even if he had unleashed all his powers, with such a breakneck speed, he was better off digging his own grave.


    As Luo Yuan walked towards his direction, he felt slightly awkward. "I didn¡¯t introduce myself, so let¡¯s do it now. I¡¯m Luo Yuan," he said with a smile. "I saw both of you training earlier, there¡¯s something wrong with your technique. It seemed like you picked up some bad habits in your initial training, which has hindered your ability to unleash your full potential."


    Although Fang Peibin always had a smile on his face, his temper was bad. If those words were said by someone else, he would have been furious and rolled up his sleeves in anger. However, after seeing Luo Yuan¡¯s amazing performance, the man who he tried to provoke, he was excited.


    "Brother... Brother Luo, I realize it now, is it toote to change?"


    "Just call me Luo Yuan, that will do. You can change, but it would be even harder than a beginner level, as you¡¯ll have to train from the very start." Luo Yuan said with a wave. Fang Peibin was much older than him, being called Brother Luo gave him goosebumps.


    "As long as Brother Luo is willing to teach, I will be willing to learn, no matter how hard it may be. Or maybe, I could be your apprentice." Fang Peibin looked at Luo Yuan with a burning desire. He was impulsive, he wanted to kneel down but was stopped by Luo Yuan.


    Then, his body started to tremble, and he managed to break free from Luo Yuan¡¯s grip. His strength was extraordinarily mighty, despite his skinny body. He managed to kneel on the ground and gave Luo Yuan three loud and hard kowtows.


    He was a traditional martial artist. As a veteran, he knew the rules of apprenticeship. "Please ept my kowtow to you, master." Luo Yuan felt helpless. This time, he could not run away. Since Fang Peibin had already kowtow-ed to him, he hesitated and said, "Alright, you can get up now!"


    "Yes, master!" Fang Peibin said with respect. "The ceremony was simple, I hope you won¡¯t mind, master. We will do a proper one when the captain and vice-captain are back."


    Xie Junhui was pouting at the side, clearly not happy that his suggestion was snatched by someone who was reluctant. But to a young man who received a modern education, he could not bring himself to kowtow to anybody like how Fang Peibin did.


    "Let¡¯s skip the trouble, we don¡¯t have to be so serious." Luo Yuan looked at the respectful Fang Peibin, who was twice his age. It felt like he was establishing his own n.

 Chapter 319: Mishap

    Chapter 319: Mishap


    Trantor: EndlessFantasy Trantion Editor: EndlessFantasy Trantion


    Not longter, Minister Ren received a phone call. He left immediately after saying goodbye apologetically to Luo Yuan. As Hope City Organization¡¯s deputy minister, he was usually stuck at work with very little spare time. It was impossible for him to spend his time there. Although Luo Yuan¡¯s administration filling would have to wait, it was just a matter of formality, not a necessity. It would not affect Luo Yuan in any manner at all.


    The Firearms Bureau became the concentration camp for the super evolved people, while the influence of Hope City remained limited. Luo Yuan who had a strong pair of fists was naturally a member of the department. Furthermore, the dynamics he had brought to the team within half a day had cultivated a force without his knowledge m. Besides Fang Peibin who became his apprentice voluntarily, his rtionship with the rest of them was still weak. At least he had made his mark there, where nobody could iste nor exclude him.


    As Luo Yuan was trying all the training facilities in the underground gym, the Exo-suit surprised him.


    The interior of the armor was made with ayer of soft, translucent silica gel while the surface was equipped with a great number of sensors. It looked normal from the outside, just like how an ordinary silica gel would look, which was stic and extremely tough to touch.


    It covered his entire body including his head. There was a filtered gas mask on the mouth and nose for breathing purposes. Apart from tightness in the chest, there was no problem in breathing at all. It was like putting on a thick sweater. The position for eyes on the armor was rings of oval, transparent crystals. Through the refraction of light, Luo Yuan noticed that his horizons had widened. Without turning his head, his field of vision was already almost 180 degrees. That was something new for him.


    Unfortunately, the suit was iplete. There was no battery, nor was there any ports for any power supply. He could not witness how powerful this suit really was. However, he was still able to move inside the suit and tried lifting his legs to move forward. Before his attempt, he was not aware how heavy the suit was. He then realized that it weighed no lesser than 200 kilograms to even take a step.


    "Bang!" A loud thud was heard with his first step. It was an uphill task at first, but after a few steps, he picked up the momentum and was able to walk faster. The heavy footsteps were like a pile driver hitting the floor rhythmically, echoing in the spacious gym. Naturally, Luo Yuan¡¯s energy was lesser than a ton. As carrying and lifting a ton waspletely different, while having his other leg to support him while he walked, the effort that was put into it was lesser than he had imagined. With his +15 Strength, as long as he did not jump, it was usible for him to walkfortably.


    Next, he experimented with the arms. The structure was the same as that of human arms. They were very flexible and allowed him to grab almost everything in sight. Luo Yuan could imagine that as long as one had the suit on, even a slightly trained person with a cold weapon would be able to fight mutated beasts of a light-green level and below.


    Just when Luo Yuan was enjoying himself, a message from the system burst his bubble.


    "Grade D+ mission: Rescue Wu Qianru, Wu Qianru has fallen. Mission failed"


    "Time limit: 8 hours"


    "ept / Decline"


    "A Grade D+ mission!?" He was ecstatic to hear that such a level¡¯s mission had finally emerged!


    Luo Yuan closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He realized that taking on a mission of such a level will not be as easy as he had imagined it to be. Since the apocalypse, he had never seen any dark-green level creatures before. He knew nothing about the attributes and abilities of creatures of that level.


    "But, who is this Wu Qianru?" Luo Yuan then recalled the introduction that was given by Li Dong. Wu Qianru was also a member of the sword unit, who was on a mission with the vice-captain.


    Luo Yuan rejected to take on the mission, as he did not want to be hasty. Everything was unpredictable. He did not even know where Wu Qianru was and had no idea what was going on. Furthermore, the time was insufficient. With only eight hours given, a tiny mistake could hold up the whole n. If one failed a Grade D+ mission, the deduction of experience points would be just a small number. That would mean that the effort he had put in would have gone to waste.


    "What do you think, master?" Fang Peibin asked respectfully. "Not bad, but it¡¯s a little stuffy in here. Oh right, where did the vice-captain go? Why is he not back yet?" Luo Yuan asked. "They should be back soon, I think. They took the helicopter at 7 o¡¯ clock this morning," Li Dong said with an odd feeling. "It¡¯s just a small mission, intending mainly to train Wu Qianru, as she had just arrived here not long ago too."


    Looking at Li Dong¡¯s expression, Luo Yuan knew what was happening. There were more males than females in the group, ergo, the ratio was imbnced. Naturally, the female members would be doted by the rest. It should have been a rxing mission but unfortunately, a mishap had urred. The vice-captain was predicted to be dead, and if he did not take any action, Wu Qianru would be dead in eight hours. From past records, Luo Yuan had never doubted the system¡¯s uracy.


    He looked at the time and realized that it was almost noon. It was good news to him, as that meant that his destination was not too far away.


    "It¡¯s time for lunch, let¡¯s go." Xie Junhui said, after looking at the time. A logistics staff ran towards them from the door. She was in a state of panic and was panting. "We have received an S.O.S from Ms. Wu!"


    "What?" Everybody was shocked. Luo Yuan immediately asked," What time and which location exactly?"


    "It was five minutes ago. Here are the coordinates, 83.57773E, 40.08503N!"


    Apparently, the staff was trained well, as she could report the numbers fluently.


    "It¡¯s where the mission is!" Li Dong was worried," But isn¡¯t that amon mission? The mutated beasts that they encountered were only of a level five. Oh yea, did you receive any signals from vice-captain?"


    "No!" The staff shook her head. She looked upset.


    "We have sent them a message, but have yet to receive a response."


    "Maybe they haven¡¯t seen it yet!" Xie Junhui tried tofort himself.


    To avoid any disturbance during the mission, mobile phones were prohibited for all members. The signals would be sent through their watches, and there would be no notifications, for neither outgoing nor iing messages.


    "What¡¯s the use of talking so much now? Damn it, we only have two helicopters, but since thest crash, we are only left with one. Unfortunately, it has been taken by the captain. We¡¯ll need another one." Fang Peibin said loudly while walking around in frustration.


    It was scary when Fang Peibin was furious. Although he was not ming the staff, her face turned pale," I will inform the military immediately!"


    "There¡¯s no need to trouble the military, I¡¯ll go." Luo Yuan said suddenly. Everybody looked at Luo Yuan with curiosity.


    "Mas... Master, it¡¯s 400 kilometers from here in a straight-line distance. No matter how fast you run, you will need one to two days. By then, it would be toote." Fang Peibin exined to Luo Yuan, thinking that he did not know how far it was. "Actually, any distance is a straight line to me!" Luo Yuan said with confidence.


    Before he could finish his sentence, an invisible force field spread out from his body. His body started to levitate. Everyone¡¯s jaw dropped while looking at Luo Yuan levitating higher and higher defying gravity. The surroundings turned silent; they were shocked and did not move a muscle, akin to a solitary piece of rock.

 Chapter 320: Sinkhole

    Chapter 320: Sinkhole


    Trantor: EndlessFantasy Trantion Editor: EndlessFantasy Trantion


    "Do you need any weapons?" Li Dong asked Luo Yuan.


    "I don¡¯t need any!" Luo Yuannded on the ground and swung the sabre in his hand to indicate that he already has the most powerful weapon around. "The only thing I need is to find the right location."


    The destination was 400 kilometers away and there were no obvious signs anywhere of how to get there. Without directions, it was impossible to find it. Everybody was stunned as they did not know how to respond to that. Although they were all evolved humans, their powers merely served them during battles. They were basically upgraded super soldiers.


    Furthermore, most of them did not possess the same terrifying lethality as Luo Yuan. Their powers could barely inflict damage on mutated beasts ssified as super creatures. To be fair, if Luo Yuan did not have the ability to synthesize high-level weapons or gather his will, he was hardly any differentpared to them.


    "Master, you can use mine." Fang Peibin unstrapped the watch around his wrist.


    There were no buttons on the watch as it was a touch screen! Fang Peibin carefully exined to Luo Yuan how to use his high-tech gadget. The watch could receive messages and locations from your close friends as well as iste electromaic pulse.


    Such gadgets were verymon even before the apocalypse and almost every kid would own one. The difference between those owned by kids and Fang Peibin¡¯s was the ability to shield electromaic pulses which made it slightly heavier.


    Luo Yuan epted the watch and wore it on his wrist. As time was running out, he did not want to dy any longer and walked hastily to the elevator. The rest followed.


    "If I don¡¯t make it back by evening, please go to the hostel and inform Huang Jiahui or Zhao Yali so that they won¡¯t worry about me." Luo Yuan said to Fang Peibin before he left.


    "Don¡¯t worry, master. It won¡¯t take that long. We have a helicopter which will be here soon." Fang Peibin guaranteed him while wondering if the two women that Luo Yuan mentioned were his wives.


    Luo Yuan looked at Fang Peibin, nodded, and then looked at everybody else. Next, he positioned his feet and stomped on the ground which rocketed his body forward like an arrow. Within seconds, he was already a few hundred meters away. When hended, he stomped hard again and could no longer be seen by the rest.


    Luo Yuan was basically just gliding through the air. With the help of his powerful stomps and levitation using his Will, he could maintain levitated in the air for a long time. Such a technique allowed him to conserve his physical strength and made him many times faster. It also minimized the usage of the power of his Will as the main factor that was affecting his speed was air pressure.


    With the aid of his stomps every time hended on the ground, his speed did not slow down at all. In fact, every time he stomped, a little more speed was added. Within a few jumps, he was traveling at more than 100 meters per second! The scenery around him was going by so quickly that his vision on both sides looked like one blurry long line. However, the sacrifice for such a technique was the lowering of Luo Yuan¡¯s Agility. This made it only suitable for traveling long distances and not for battling. When he is in the air, he loses his Agilitypletely. This would be deadly when facing an attack by mutated beasts¡¯.


    "What do you guys think that power was?" Li Dong was curious after seeing Luo Yuan travel so quickly before disappearing. He also felt relieved now as just standing near to Luo Yuan gave him immense pressure.


    "I don¡¯t think that power is rted to the wind as there wasn¡¯t any wind around him when he was flying. It seemed more like a maic power. It should be in the file. Too bad Minister Ren took it back." Xie Junhui gave his quick analysis on what they had just witnessed.


    "What¡¯s the point of guessing? Let me just ask my master when he¡¯s back." Fang Peibin said proudly.


    "Lao Fang, are you really his apprentice now?" Xu Qianshen could not help but ask. They were on the same team so he could not understand why Fang Peibin would say such things as it meant he offered himself to Luo Yuan.


    "I¡¯m a man of my words. I have already kowtowed to him, why would you still think I¡¯m lying? If you mention this again, don¡¯t me me if I flip out at you." Fang Peibin stared at him and said resentfully.


    "Alright, alright. He¡¯s just asking." Li Dong tried to break the awkward situation.


    Xu Qianshen had a very calm personality so he just offered a smile to Fang Peibin¡¯s remark as it did not bother him at all.


    "You guys are amateurs that¡¯s why you don¡¯t know. My master¡¯s power is at the level of a grandmaster. I have never seen anyone who has such astonishing saber skills. Even legendary mythical characters would not even be on par with him right now. It¡¯s possible that he¡¯s even reached the level of a God!" Fang Peibin eximed.


    "What kind of level are you talking about?" Xie Junhui wanted to know more.


    "Um, I¡¯ve never had such powers before so how would I know? It probably feels like you¡¯re stepping into a mysterious kingdom with unpredictable powers." Fang Peibin said while feeling slightly embarrassed for bragging.


    "Unpredictable powers? We have that too! That means we are on the same level!" Xie Junhui bickered on purpose.


    "It¡¯s impossible to exin this to people like you." Fang Peibin said with disdain. "We are all very lucky. My master is the real strong one. Haven¡¯t you wondered why my master has always been a lone ranger in missions?" Everyone was stunned and slipped into deep thoughts.


    ...


    To save time, Luo Yuan would leap over buildings so that he could stay on the quickest route. As his speed was too fast, there were no other noticeable movements along the journey aside from a few workers who saw a sh which disappeared so soon, they thought they were seeing things.


    Within five minutes, he had left the city and entered the wilderness. The scenery on both sides of his vision was flying by. Luo Yuan was as fast as an F1 race car going full speed. After passing plenty of electromaic towers on the barrennd, he was soon in an area engulfed by lush nts.


    50 minutester, Luo Yuan checked his coordinates and finally stopped. There was a sinkhole nearby and the coordinates he was looking for were right there. While gliding through the air, he was already observing the situation. The sinkhole was massive!


    Luo Yuan walked over to the sinkhole to have a closer look. He scraped some moss off the wall and noticed that this was not a sign of weathering the passage of time. Apparently, it was formed from the recent earthquake. The sinkhole was practically a bottomless abyss when viewed from atop. A cold and damp gust of wind would blow out of it on asion and it made it feel like one was standing at the gates of hell.

 Chapter 321: Strange Life

    Chapter 321: Strange Life


    Trantor: EndlessFantasy Trantion Editor: EndlessFantasy Trantion


    What Luo Yuan could not understand was why there were no traces of his teammates in the vicinity. If not for the directions on the watch clearly showing that his destination was located near the sinkhole, he would have suspected that it was a mistake.


    He paused and frowned for a bit while thoroughly exploring the massive sinkhole. Soon, he found a slope at the corner. It was a rather unusual slope as it was so steep that it was almost vertical. From Luo Yuan¡¯s estimation, the steepness was around 70 degrees. The surface of the slope was wet with moss grown on strange-looking rocks surrounding it. It looked awfully slippery and dangerous and one would surely slip if they were not paying attention.


    But to Luo Yuan, who could fly, the steep slope was nothing. What he needed was merely a ce where he couldnd. Of course, he could choose to fly directly into the sinkhole but because it was dark and he had no clue of the terrain or mysteries thatid down there, he opted not to. If it were amon mission or even a Grade D mission, Luo Yuan would not be this cautious. However, this mission was extremely dangerous as it was the first ever grade D+ mission he had received which meant he might encounter a dark-green level super creature.


    To enter rashly was to risk dying tragically if he was noticed by any super creatures. It was not unreasonable for Luo Yuan to be cautious under such circumstance with unpredictable enemies in the area.


    Luo Yuan walked to the corner quickly. He focused his attention to the sinkhole, took a deep breath, and jumped into it. The path was very clear which allowed gravity to pull his body downwards very quickly. Three secondster, he adjusted his body to help him slow down as he was traveling tremendously fast. In half a minute, he was inplete darkness.


    It was a bottomless abyss which almost devoured all the light source. Even with Luo Yuan¡¯s low-light vision, he could hardly see anything in there. If not for his ¡®senses¡¯, perhaps he could not go on.


    Luo Yuan suddenly stopped. There was no clear way forward anymore but he could sense that there was massive space beneath his feet. The sinkhole resembled of a giant gourd made of one big and one small ball.


    Luo Yuan did not jump right in. Instead, he closed his eyes to listen quietly. The silence was eerie, and he could hear flowing watering from below. It seemed that the end of the sinkhole was not too far away. However, he did not hear anything else.


    Around a minuteter, he opened his eyes slowly. He noticed that the mosses on the rocks were gone. Also, the usual creepy crawlies were nowhere to be seen. It seemed like there was no sign of life at all which meant that there was no danger too. But this was just on the surface. Luo Yuan reminded himself that it was extremely dangerous here!


    He thought for a long time and finally decided to proceed deeper into the sinkhole. He inhaled a deep breath of air and jumped right in! To his surprise, hended lightly on the ground 10 secondster. Strangely, it was not as dark as before when he had arrived at the bottom of the sinkhole. There were glowing rocks lighting up the ce and they looked like fallen shining stars; it felt like hended in the night sky.


    Through the dim lights that lit the ce, Luo Yuan realized that he seemed to be in a jungle. There were countless strange and crooked gray pirs standing high. They were so dense that the border was almost nowhere to be seen. It was inurate to call them pirs as they were more like fossils in the jungle. One of those fossils caught Luo Yuan¡¯s attention as it was broken. Luo Yuan could see that there were rings glowing in a jade-green color. Perhaps this ce was a jungle hundreds of million years ago. Through the years, the jungle probably drowned in flood and sank to be a stone forest made of silicified wood.


    Luo Yuan continued to move forward. He could see fossils from the Carboniferous period- a dragonfly that was six meters long and a giant centipede that was more than 10 meters long. Suddenly, Luo Yuan realized that the Carboniferous period closely reflected his current reality in that they were encountering a nt outbreak that upied 50 percent of the world¡¯s reserve of coal as well as the gigantism of living creatures.


    Luo Yuan gave it more thoughts but then scrapped off the idea as he realized they were iparable in more ways than they wereparable. It did not matter if you wereparing the awfulness of living creatures or the prosperity of nts, the Carboniferous could never bepared to what was happening now. To say that Carboniferous was the era where different life forms were blooming wasmon but during the apocalypse, it was a transition period for many life forms. Amon life form could be evolved to a super-evolved life form within a few years. It was a mysterious phenomenon that could not be exined by existing theories.


    Luo Yuan then heard flowing watering from ahead of him. The strange thing was that Luo Yuan did not see any rivers nearby. Perhaps he did not notice any or maybe it was further ahead. Luo Yuan noticed that Wu Qianru¡¯s location was less than three kilometers away from him. He sent her a message but there was no response. It was totally understandable as the damn watch had no response or vibration when a message was received. If one did not look at it from time to time, it was impossible to notice any messages received. Though one thing was for sure, Wu Qianru was still alive as the mission had not been canceled yet.


    The three kilometers distance was nothing to Luo Yuan and the super creatures. It was considered ¡®nearby¡¯ for them. Although Wu Qianru was ¡®near¡¯, Luo Yuan dared not put down his guard. ording to the crappy system, there would never be any missions that could bepleted by cheating. A Grade D+ mission would naturally have its own difficulty.


    As time went by, the sound of flowing water was getting clearer. Suddenly, Luo Yuan stopped walking. Something shocking shed in front of him that looked like mercury flowing towards him. It seemed to have a life of its own and slithered fast like a snake within the stone forest. asionally, it would hold up its head and move from left to right as if it was aware of what was happening in the surrounding.


    It was enormous- around 15 meters long and half a meter wide. Wave-like ripples could be seen flowing on its skin. There was no clear anatomy to its body as it was not clear which was its head and tail; maybe it had none. If not for its lively appearance, Luo Yuan would not have suspected that it was a living creature.


    Looking at the headless creature approaching him at a fast speed, Luo Yuan hid quickly. After the strange ¡®snake¡¯ passed by Luo Yuan, it did not stop and instead disappeared far away. Luo Yuan was stressed by what he had just encountered. This kind of creature was beyond his wildest imaginations. With its liquid-form body, a saber would prove useless against it. What stressed him more was the sound of water flowing. The closer he got to the ¡®snake¡¯, the louder the sound got. He climbed up on a giant silicified wood 10 minutester and was slightly relieved.


    A massiveke of a mercury-like-substance appeared 100 meters away! Theke was boiling like a pot of thick porridge and there were countless strange snake-like creatures that were detaching themselves from the border of theke. There were also many more of those creatures that wereing back from all over the ce and back into theke. It seemed to be quite hectic there.


    What gave Luo Yuan Goosebumps was a youngdy that appeared to be sitting in the middle of the mercuryke. Perhaps the word ¡¯sitting¡¯ was not urate as in fact, apart from her chest and head, the rest of her body was submerged inside the mercury-like substance. What was even more unbelievable was the fact that she was still alive despite the look of numbness and despair on her face. Her skin was pale but she did not show any sign of pain on her face. Countless beads of mercury were seen spreading slowly from her chest and with that speed, her entire body would be devoured by the mercury within a few hours.

 Chapter 322: Tricky

    Chapter 322: Tricky


    Trantor: EndlessFantasy Trantion Editor: EndlessFantasy Trantion


    Behind the silicified wood branches, Luo Yuan saw a unique creature that he had never seen before. It was different from othermon mutated creatures. Although the morphological form and capabilities of living things have changed tremendously since the apocalypse, most creatures could still be identified by human beings. For instance, a beast would remain a beast, a bird would remain a bird, and an insect would remain an insect even after they were mutated. This was especially true on the surface.


    This mysterious life form waspletely new and terrifying to Luo Yuan. Just as he thought about it, there was something happening to theke of mercury. There was a two-meter-wide swirl forming just beyond the border of theke. From afar it looked like it was five meters deep but the bottom was nowhere to be seen. Considering that the swirl was happening outside of the border, it showed that theke was incredibly deep. Looking at its one square kilometer radius, this mysterious object was unimaginably massive.


    A few secondster, a ball-like object appeared on top of the surface. As time went by, the object turned out to be a human head and it looked just as if it was 3D-printed. Then, a torso, arms, legs and clothes wereing out gradually. The human body was so detailed and real that there was even a scar on its face. If not for its pale color, it would be no different than a real human.


    Suddenly, Wu Qianru who was numbed by the mercury that was devouring her upwards from her chest, started struggling out of fear when she saw the appearance of the human body. However, the substance seemed to be extremely sticky. No matter how much she struggled, her body was stuck and she could not move.


    "That seems like the deputy team leader!" Luo Yuan thought to himself while watching from afar. This mercuryke did not seem to have an exact form. From the looks of it, its main ability should be cloning every living thing that it captured. Apart from the creatures that looked like a snake or earthworm, he did not encounter any other life forms. That was the reason why theke was only able to transform into a snake or earthworm. Now that it had captured its second life form, a human being, it started cloning human beings.


    The clone of the deputy team leader had no facial expression. Once itnded on the ground, it started moving like the mercury earthworm did. Luo Yuan had a clue of what the creature was up to.


    It seemed that the purpose of the mysterious life form was to find ways of getting out of its cage. However, Luo Yuan had mixed feelings about his guesses. Given that this ce was in the reconstruction area, Luo Yuan could not imagine the situation if it seeded in getting out of this ce. With sufficient time, it could produce a military of troops. And with more and more lives being captured, its size might expand and be deadlier. If it was not stopped immediately, the situation will get worse and the human who was already suffering would face even bigger challenges.


    Looking at the cloning situation that was happening in theke of mercury, Luo Yuan frowned. Facing such a massive yet mysterious life form, the saber that he had always been proud of was useless. Even if he could manage to kill one or two, or maybe even a thousand of its clones, theke itself was just too massive.


    His head was telling him to return to Hope City immediately to report this matter to his superior. Furthermore, he had not epted the mission so leaving would not bring him any trouble. As for Wu Qianru, they were just acquaintances. Prior to this, he did not even know about her. Even if she died, he would not feel guilty at all!


    To be fair, Luo Yuan was never a loving person even though he often extended his help to others. He did whatever he could within his abilities but he would never risk his life to save someone. He looked at Wu Qianru with sympathy and proceeded to go into flight. As he began to fly, there were three ¡®human¡¯ clones that started running frantically.


    Half a minuteter, he stopped and looked to his left. There was a human clone climbing up the wall. Its speed was extremely fast like an agile ape. When its body touched the wall, there was a force that allowed it to stick on the wall. The shackles that the snake-like creatures had binding it to this ce was now possible with this human form.


    "I can¡¯t let this thing leave this ce!" Luo Yuan¡¯s facial expression changed immediately. If theke found out where the entrance was and escaped, the consequences were unimaginable. He was not sure if the clones were an independent lifeform, but he could not risk the possibility.


    He leaned nearer to the wall quietly and then stomped on the ground with his feet. His body leaped forward the clones like an arrow. The human-clones seemed to notice his movements and it jolted slightly. Perhaps it had been living underground for too long that it had lost its basic senses. Luo Yuan pulled out his saber and chopped off its head. However, it did not give any response.


    However, his effort was futile. As the mercury was immensely dense and sticky, right after Luo Yuan¡¯s saber shed it, its wound healed immediately. Luo Yuan had predicted that, so he did not panic at all. Before it could do anything else, numerous swings of Luo Yuan¡¯s saber produced a glowing blurred light which shone upon them.


    The light shed like a rainstorm and in almost no time at all, the human clone had received 70 shes. It would be certain death for amon creature or beast but unfortunately, it had limited effects on the clone and it looked as though it waspletely untouched. Its wounds hadpletely healed.


    "I don¡¯t believe that I can¡¯t even handle one clone." Luo Yuan was stunned but most of his heart was upied by anger. Ever since he arrived at the reconstruction area, his life was generally peaceful but his attributes did not stop increasing. Due to the changes that happened, his attributes were growing even faster than before. Compared to the time when he was facing certain death if he went up against green-level creatures, now he was eager to fight a dark-green creature. His attributes had grown more than ten-fold. Feeling powerless while facing this creature which could uniquely heal itself was extremely frustrating. After taking the brunt of so many shes, the human clone finally noticed him. It attempted an attack but was shed continuously by Luo Yuan once again.


    He took a deep breath to try to calm himself down. The clone could hardly be considered as a strong enemy as it was merely between a dark-blue or light-green level ranking. That was nothing to Luo Yuan and all he wanted to know was how to kill it. Luo Yuan decided to ditch his n to go back and started his experiments on how to solve this problem.


    First, he utilized his will which was slightly effective. He chopped off the clone¡¯s head which fell and rolled on the ground. There was neither blood nor liquiding out of the wound; it was a clean cut. The clone had now lost its mobility and it looked like a piece of metal. Its wound did not seem to be healing at this stage and it seemed to bepletely damaged and lifeless.


    But the clone¡¯s head was just an essory. It could still move around without a head. Luo Yuan continued using his Will and sliced it into thinyers. Within seconds, the clone was only half-a-meter tall. What shocked Luo Yuan was that the creature was still alive! Only when it was left with a body the size of a palm did it suddenly roll into a ball and stop movingpletely.


    Luo Yuan stood there to analyze the situation. After confirming that there was no longer any danger, he picked up the object and put it on his palm. It was cold and heavy and had a 10-centimeter radius. It was a perfect ball weighing around five kilograms. Aspared to when it flowed in theke, it was now more solid. But if he were to grab it firmly, there was a flexibility to it which was unique.


    The ground was filled with a whole bunch of tiny gray balls. Luo Yuan looked around and soon he found the head he chopped off. To his surprise, it was transformed into a 40-centimeter tall mini human attempting to run back to theke! However, it was a futile atempt as a swing of Luo Yuan¡¯s saber transformed it into two silver balls that were of simr sizes. He then used his identification technique on one of the tiny silver balls.

 Chapter 323: Weakness

    Chapter 323: Weakness


    Trantor: EndlessFantasy Trantion Editor: EndlessFantasy Trantion


    "Bio-Metal (Remains of a mutated monster)"


    "Rarity: Dark green"


    "Weight: 6kg"


    "Additional Ability: Energy absorption"


    "Remarks: The mutated monster is a great imitator and a tough creature. The bio-metal that is flowing in its body is immune to general attacks as well as certain energy-based attacks. Its massive size can be easily broken down which improves its survival skills. It can be terrifying and there is nothing anyone can do about it!"


    The message came from the system. Luo Yuan was stunned as he picked up a silver ball in doubt and gathered his Will. Suddenly, there was a fire burning on his palm. It was caused by his Will! The temperature was not high but it was at least 500 degree Celsius which would kill most living things.


    However, no matter how the fire burned, there were no changes to the temperature of the silver ball on his band. After 10 seconds, the me turned into an intense chill. It was so cold that the surrounding air turned into ice crystals - releasing a chilly white gas. 10 secondster, he stopped what he was doing and his heart sank.


    He realized that the creature was so much more terrifying than he initially thought as it was immune to both physical and energy based attacks. It seemed that the majority of weapons would not be effective on it. Not only that, its cloning ability also showed that if any of the clones managed to escape, it could still live and grow bigger. That would be an endless nightmare for both the reconstruction area and the world.


    Perhaps the only solution is to attack using a nuclear bomb. When a nuclear bomb explodes, the temperature from the core could go up to 10 million degree Celsius, which could make anything evaporate. No matter how stubborn this creature was, it would be evaporated as well. But this area was 400 kilometers away from Hope City and the nearest city was at most 20 kilometers away. The radiation from the nuclear bomb aside, the explosion in such an enclosed environment would affect the stratigraphy tes here that had just stabilized. It would cause yet another earthquake. The number of casualties would be uncertain given that there was no time for migration as the mutated monster was eager to leave this ce as soon as possible.


    With its cloning speed of one per minute, even Luo Yuan would not be able to handle it. After all, his Will was limited. With the speed that he had avable to him and the rate of cloning, the most he could handle would be a hundred before he retreated.


    Luo Yuan frowned as he squeezed the silver ball. At that moment, there were more than 10 mutated clones that wereing his way. Luo Yuan was getting more and more anxious. Looking at the watch on his wrist, he still could not decide what his best n of action was going to be. He had just joined the sword unit today but had yet to officially enrol. Therefore, there was nothing on his file. Although he wished to acquire a prestige in the team at Hope City, what he said carried very little weight. No matter how seriously he described the situation, the superior might not take it seriously. This was nothing to brush off as it could cause many casualties. It was not something that could be decided with a snap of a finger.


    Moreover, even if they were to act now, there was not enough time. The mutated monster was cloning itself every minute and by the time the nuclear bomb wasunched, there would be more than 10 thousand mutated monsters who would have escaped then sinkhole - spreading all over the reconstruction area. Cold sweat was dripping from Luo Yuan¡¯s forehead when he thought about the possibility.


    Although he managed to kill a clone easily, to amon soldier or even most evolved humans, it was difficult for one to not be afraid when killing a creature. Something of this magnitude would be a brutal catastrophe and China would fall into a severe winter.


    "It¡¯s impossible that the mutated monster is so strong! It must have its weakness!" Luo Yuan gritted his teeth and tried to calm himself down to think of the move he would make.


    "The mutated monster exists in a fluid state... What are fluids most afraid of?"


    "High temperatures or ice-cold ones." Luo Yuan thought to himself but soon he dismissed the thought as he did not possess the ability to create super high or low-temperature environments.


    The clones were arriving. Before they coulde close to him, they were shed by the anxious Luo Yuan at the speed of light. Looking at the silver balls that were rolling on the floor, Luo Yuan¡¯s eyes lit up.


    "No, this is not really a liquid. It has a modr structure. Although it could flow and change at will, once its body unit is smaller than a certain threshold, it would cease any activity and diepletely."


    "The most important question is how do I separate them perfectly? The bio-metal of the mutated monster has a strong adhesion, which makes any attack frommon objects or weapons futile."


    Suddenly, a brilliant idea shed in his mind!


    "Earth Stomp! What could be more suitable to kill such fluid creatures than Earth Stomp!"


    Although this theory still required some testing, most of the gloom in Luo Yuan¡¯s heart had subsided. Day by day he used his Will to train his physical body to the extent that every inch of his body to even every cell was imprinted with his Will. Theplicated message in his cells had been organized by his conscious mind to the level where he could almost control them with his mind.


    With just a thought, Luo Yuan¡¯s heartbeat synchronized with the earth¡¯s wave. In less than a second, he waspletely in the Earth Pulse mode. A heavy yet majestic force wasing from the bottom of his feet and it spread throughout his body. The emotions in his eyes disappeared as he turned indifferent and cold.


    At the same time, there was an indescribable force that spread in the air and made the atmosphere restless. He lifted his head and looked far away in front of him. Perhaps the mutated monsters finally sensed danger. Countless clones wereing from every direction at a terrifying speed! There were easily more than a thousand of them.


    Luo Yuan started his attack by leaping a hundred meters away. Although there were many clones that almost filled up every inch of the space, at such a speed, they would never catch up to Luo Yuan. He arrived at the edge of the mercuryke after 10 seconds.


    Suddenly, there was an uproar in the mercuryke! Waves were sshing and numerous whirlpools were appearing out of nowhere. A massive amount of cloning was happening at the bottom of the whirlpool. Despite facing such a reaction from the mutated monster, Luo Yuan did not break a sweat. He was waiting quietly even though there were clonesing near him. All he did was avoid instead of attacking.


    The clones that he left behind were nowing back to him. There were more of them that lingered around at theke. As time went by, the ce became crowded with the clones. The scene looked like troops from an army that wasing for his life and there was barely enough space for anyone to stand a round.


    Luo Yuan had to fly to avoid the attacks from the clones that were jumping beneath him. Although he was in a calm state, he could not help but feel lucky. The mutated monster had been waiting for life toe to it, which was the reason why it could not unleash its potential. High level mutated beasts aside, even if it only managed to capture low-level birds or insects, he could not let his guard down just yet.


    "Run now! Leave this ce! This is not something that you can handle.¡¯ The uproar had made Wu Qianru finally notice Luo Yuan. She looked at him in despair while shouting, "Report what is happening here, I hope there¡¯s still time."


    Luo Yuan looked at Wu Qianru, but quickly got back to his own business. She was pissed that he ignored her and said, "You have no idea what you are dealing with. Not only are you harming yourself, you will harm the reconstruction area as well."


    Wu Qianru saw the watch on Luo Yuan¡¯s wrist and knew who he was immediately. As powerful as he was, she did not think he could not handle such terrifying creature. It was too strong and was beyond human understanding about life. It almost had the power to rule the world.


    "Shut up!" Luo Yuan said softly.


    He found a gap andnded. The clones wereing towards him like stray dogs sniffing for food. Luo Yuan took out his Zhanmadao and struck them. The clones were cut in half with ease. While he still had time, Luo Yuan lifted his right foot. His face was flushing red and the veins on his neck were bulging. There was a fearsome force boiling within him when... he stomped his foot on the ground.


    "Bang!"


    Ever since his Sense and Strength had gained +1 respectively, his Earth Stomp was upgraded to level-5. The force was more astounding than ever.


    A loud thud was made and the earth shaked immensely. Countless mutated clones nearby vanished the moment he unleashed the Earth Stomp and theke looked like water that was being poured into a hot wok! Numerous silver balls were shooting out of the flowingke. They fell from the air and rolled on the floor. They were not as active as they were before.

 Chapter 324: Rescue

    Chapter 324: Rescue


    Trantor: EndlessFantasy Trantion Editor: EndlessFantasy Trantion


    With just an Earth Stomp, the clones that were within a hundred meters of Luo Yuan were wiped out instantly. Countless silvery-balls the size of green beans scattered all over the ground - making it a silver field. However, that was just the beginning for both Luo Yuan and the mutated monster.


    The attack was nothing to the mutated monster which was almost a kilometer tall but it was enough to infuriate it. The mercuryke operated on its own and random vigorous whirlpools were appearing out of nowhere. Its density was as strong as steel. However, loud thuds were suddenly heard which sounded like rumbling thunder.


    The creature¡¯s massive, liquid-form body had no way to fight back. The tens of millions or even billion tons of body weight made it hard to even move. Apart from elerating the speed of cloning, there was nothing else that it could do.


    To Luo Yuan who had basically won the battle, theke was like a fish on the chopping board. The only thing left for it was to await certain death. Meanwhile, Wu Quanru who was watching from aside had lost her mood to be impressed by what had happened. Theke¡¯s waves were hitting her again and again. It felt like endless punches that were punching hard on her chest. In less than a second, she turned pale and there was blooding out from her mouth.


    She clenched her teeth and tried hard to hold on. The desperation had faded and there was finally a glimmer of hope that rose inside of her. She tried her very best to lift her head in an attempt to prevent it from being buried in the wave of mercury-like liquid.


    With every step Luo Yuan took, he would unleash an Earth Stomp. The continuous shock was causing an earthquake with a magnitude of 4 on the Richter Scale in the district. Countless gravel fell from the top which could make the sinkhole copse. However, Luo Yuan could not care less.


    Fortunately, the fluid was very dense and had a strong adhesive property which made its fluidity very poor. With every attack by Luo Yuan, theke shrank, fast. Eventually, it turned into piles of inactive bio-metal. Imagine if it were like water... it would be impossible to destroy this monster even if Luo Yuan died of exhaustion from his attempts to kill it.


    The force that wasing from the ground gradually decreased and the coverage of Luo Yuan¡¯s Earth Stomp became smaller. A sense of helplessness was rising in his heart.


    There was a limit to the usage of Earth Stomp as it consumed both his Sense and Strength. By then, he had unleashed his power at least 50 times. He was nearing his limit, but there was still half of the mercuryke remaining. He attacked a few more times but then his heart jolted and he was detached from the Earth Pulse mode.


    Luo Yuan¡¯s body was boiling hot and his skin was red while exuding a terrifyingly high temperature. He was breathing so hard that it was as loud as a bellow. He looked in exhaustion at theke that was still massive and then nced at Wu Qianru who was a hundred meters away. He shook his head and was apologetic.


    Perhaps the mission could not bepleted after all. It would take seven hours for his Sense and Strength to recover, and by then, Wu Qianru would be dead. Noticing Luo Yuan¡¯s expression, she was stunned. Tears were rolling down her face and she had lost her will to live. Luo Yuan noticed that and immediately said, "Wu Qianru, never give up. Please hold on, I will be back to rescue you once I recover."


    Wu Qianru was hopeful again and asked, "Will you be back?"


    "I will be back, there¡¯s hope as long as you keep holding on. I forgot to tell you, I¡¯m your new colleague. I would love to work with you!" Her hopes lit up upon hearing those words.


    Although the fluidity of theke was poor, it was in fluid form after all. It was possible that seven hourster, theke would be restored to its original size. By then, there was nothing that he could do.


    "Maybe you should do it quickly... I don¡¯t think I can take it any longer." Wu Qianru said while trying her best to smile.


    "I will be fast, much more than you can imagine." Luo Yuan said. He continued, "Let me recover first... I will be somewhere nearby where you can see me."


    Wu Qianru nodded though she could not stop crying. Luo Yuan flew up into the air slowly until he was 400 meters above the ground. He picked a pothole that he could fit in on the wall and sat down. Looking at theke beneath, he sighed. He emptied his mind, closed his eyes and started to meditate.


    ...


    Time passed quickly and Luo Yuan woke up not knowing how long he had been meditating for. Looking at the time, he was shocked! Five hours had passed and there was only half an hour left toplete the mission. He stood up immediately and flew down at the speed of light.


    Theke was in a calm state by then. Although the radius of theke did not restore to its original size, it was at least three-quarters from it. Wu Qianru who was previously already at the edge of theke was brought back to the middle. Her eyes were half closed and it seemed like she had fallen asleep. Her face was as pale as a piece of white paper, and the level of liquid in theke was almost at her chest. Countless silver granules were seen on her wounds.


    At that moment, Luo Yuan had epted the mission. If it were not for the mission status that did not say anything about failure, he would think that Wu Qianru had died. Sadly, she was nowhere better and could hardly hold on any longer. He was stressed because although his Strength had been fully restored, his Sense had only recovered by two-thirds. Under such conditions, it was impossible that he could rescue Wu Qianru.


    "There must be other ways!" Luo Yuan thought to himself while looking at theke across him. Suddenly, he realized something. Although this creature was different frommon creatures, they had one thing inmon where they possessed a ¡®soul¡¯ of sorts. Although its level was high, Luo Yuan¡¯s observations of its pattern and intelligence suggested that it was still primitive like a mutated bug. After all, it was evaluated as a dark-green life form by the system. There must be a fatal weakness and Luo Yuan guessed that it was its low sub-attributes. If that was the case, things would be simple. A primitive life would not be able to withstand mind control.


    He subconsciously eliminated this technique as he had a love-hate rtionship with it. What he loved about it was its power which was unimaginably strong where creatures without sufficient Will would not be able to handle it. What he hated about it was that the consequences were severe. The migraine thates after it was nothing, what worried him the most was that something would happen to his four-dimensional vision. The endless, overwhelming messages in the fourth-dimensional world was nothing fun. If it was serious, it would destroy your soul or at the very least, clog your brain.


    Then again, he could not care anymore. Perhaps there would not be any serious consequences if he only did it once. He rubbed his cheeks hard and took a deep breath. The sense around him was pressing against his mind at full force. Soon, there was a bulging feeling in his mind. He clenched his teeth and walked quickly to theke while the pressing continued.


    Suddenly, something happened... As the sense around him was flooding his mind like flowing water, his eyes were filled with colorful illusions. The sma headband that was tied onto his forehead lost its effect. Out of nowhere, his mind went nk and he even lost his senses for a moment.


    When he snapped out of it, he stumbled and almost fell on the ground. He was exhausted and felt like he could not fight anymore. Something mysterious seemed to happen when he lost his senses but he did not have the mood to consider that now and quickly looked back at the silverke.


    He was stunned to see that theke was solidifying at an rming rate. Within a few seconds, theke hadpleted stopped its activity and turned into a massive piece of silver metal. There were solidified folds of waves on top of it. Atst, joy was present on Luo Yuan¡¯s face. Carrying his Zhanmadao, he staggered to Wu Qianru.

 Chapter 325: Peculiar Evolved Ability

    Chapter 325: Peculiar Evolved Ability


    Trantor: EndlessFantasy Trantion Editor: EndlessFantasy Trantion


    "Wake up! Wake up!" Luo Yuan patted her cheeks softly while saying loudly.


    Wu Qianru had no response, her face was pale. He checked on her breathing but it was barely there. Her skin was as cold as a dead body, she was dying.


    He did not hesitate and used his Will to heal her immediately. His palms which were ced on her back lit up dimly. As if she was given an intracardiac injection, there was color on her face again. However, there was no sign of relief on Luo Yuan¡¯s face.


    Her condition was terrible. With what little remaining Sense he had, major parts of her body had been destroyed. The lower body region was totally destroyed as the mercuryke affected her body up to her chest. It had been eight hours since the incident happened. It was a miracle that she was still alive.


    As she was slowly recovering, Luo Yuan quickly used his Zhanmadao to remove the metal that had just been solidified in her body. Although Luo Yuan had sensed it earlier, it was still painful to watch.


    It was as if she was being sawed in half, her wounds were gray in color and there was no blooding out of them. Numerous metal granules that were attached on her wounds, giving Luo Yuan goosebumps.


    There was nothing Luo Yuan could do to such horrifying injuries. The only thing he could do was to apply his Will onto the wounds while he hoped for a miracle. It was not just a life as it would also be the deciding factor on whether the mission was sessful or not.


    A few minutester, Wu Qianru opened her eyes slowly. Perhaps she had lost arge amount of blood so her eyes looked dead and dry. She looked like a corpse. Turning to look at Luo Yuan, Wu Qianru was feeling emotional as she was trying to speak.


    "Easy there, slow down." Luo Yuan said to her immediately. Under such conditions, she should not get excited any further.


    Wu Qianru nodded as she struggled but she still managed to force a smile. However, her expression was stiff as she tried to lift the corner of her mouth slightly.


    Finally, she managed to speak,"You... finally...came back."


    "Sorry that I waste." Luo Yuan was sad,"Do you have anyst words, or family


    members who need to be taken care of?"


    Wu Qianru shook her head softly and said in difficulties,"Can you... carry me outside?"


    Luo Yuan nodded and said softly,"Of course I can."


    She was dying, it was herst wish. Luo Yuan had to aplish it no matter what happened. He did not hesitate at all, he lifted Wu Qianru who lost her lower body and most of the blood in her body. She was so light that it felt like nothing but she seemed to be losing it, her eyelids were closing. Luo Yuan transferred more Will into her the moment he noticed.


    "Hold on, don¡¯t fall asleep." He said while she fell into a daze. Once her eyes closed, that would mean that she was passing. Perhaps her life wasing to an end as Wu Qianru began to lose contact to the outside world. Even the healing had no effect on her any further as her eyelids seemed to get heavier and seemed like they were going to be closed soon.


    Then, Luo Yuan used his fingernails on the right hand and scratched at his wrist in lightning speed. A bloodstain appeared and he ced his wrist near her mouth immediately. Thick, bright blood flowed into her mouth like water. Luo Yuan¡¯s life force was no different than that of a light-green level creature. His flesh was filled with life and within minutes, there was color on her face again.


    Seeing that his method was working, Luo Yuan was relieved. However, he was very clear that it was just dying her inevitable death and it would notst much longer. Half a minuteter, he was feeling weak so he stopped feeding her his blood. The blood on his wound stopped flowing and soon, the wound was automatically healed. Besides a little blood, there seemed to be no scar at all.


    "Wake up, we will be out very soon," Luo Yuan said as he patted her cheeks. Wu Qianru did not say anything, she was just staring at him. It seemed like she had a lot of emotions that she was not able to express.


    ...


    The difference between carrying a person and being a lone ranger was like heaven and hell. Especially when he had 60 kilograms more on him, he could not fly using his Will anymore. He could only walk step by step on the steep on the wet cliff which was challenging. Many times, he almost fell off the cliff.


    Despite all that, his speed was stunning. He was like an agile ape leaping on the wall. His speed was a few times faster than an ordinary person with the limit of 100 meters. Within a few minutes, he made it to the entrance of the cliff that was thousands of meters high.


    With the help of his Will, he leaped lightly andnded slowly on the ground.


    "We¡¯re outside now." Luo Yuan said solemnly. It was night time where the moon was bright and insects were buzzing.


    Suddenly, from her idle state, Wu Qianru struggled and said weakly,"Put... me... on the bushes.


    Luo Yuan could not decline her request. He exuded his aura to chase away the insects around and ced her softly on the bushes.


    Although the ce belonged to the reconstruction area, during the apocalypse, nts were the most stubborn organisms. They were everywhere, lush, green and lively. Luo Yuan took a quick look at the mission panel as well as through his four-dimensional vision. His head ached as he forced out a smile. The mission had him suffer big time. Not only was the mission iplete, the deepening of his four-dimensional vision changed from 1% to 2%. Fortunately, the sma headband was still functioning though he may have to reply on the band forever.


    At this point, regrets were of no use. He sighed and looked at Wu Qianru. Luo Yuan was stunned.


    Unsure of when it happened, Wu Qianru¡¯s body was red, it was as if she was on fire. Her condition seemed strange as she looked exuberant. Her dry eyes were now watery and her skin was soft and shiny.


    On the contrary, the nts of the surrounding were turning yellowish and withered from their initial, lush green. The withering did not stop.


    Luo Yuan took few steps back, he was shocked,"I didn¡¯t know there¡¯s an ability where one could absorb and convert the lives of nts!"


    Time was passing by, the withering effects she seemed to have on the nts spread more than 10 meters away. The metal granules attached on Wu Qianru¡¯s wound was slowly falling off as her wounds began to slowly show color.


    It was just the beginning as something even more shocking happened.


    Her wounds were healing at a tremendous speed. Countless pieces of flesh came together and formed pieces of new flesh. Even her bones were growing, though it was much slower than the growth of her flesh.


    Unfortunately, that did notst too long. The healing slowed down and eventually stopped.


    "I need to feed, a massive amount of food." Wu Qianru said with a shaky voice. Her forehead was filled with sweat as it seemed that such healing effects were not enjoyable. The pain would be unbearable to ordinary people.


    "Okay, give me a minute." Luo Yuan said as he snapped out of staring at her nkly.


    Being able to heal herself did not appear out of thin air especially since her lower body was already gone. It consumed a tremendous amount of substance and energy. It was insufficient to rely on the amount of nutrients she had in her body at that time.


    Luo Yuan was quick as within minutes, he brought two low-level mutated beasts back with their necks snapped.


    Looking at Luo Yuan, Wu Qianru blushed as she felt ufortable. She said, "Could you turn around?"


    Luo Yuan nodded and turned around. Apparently, it was shameful for ady to chomp down on a beast in front of somebody.


    ...


    The night was getting dark but the helicopter had yet to arrive. The message on the watch showed that Fang Peibin and the rest were still arranging. With the vibrations of the Zhanmadao, fire burned and sparks flew with a cracking sound. A low-level mutated beast was baked to a crisp golden brown and its fats dripped onto the me.


    Wu Qianru was sitting in the bushes and she seemed shy. A dress made of leaves were tied on her waist but it did not cover everything on her body. Her round and plump buttocks, fair and long legs as well as her looming private part were seductive. The situation was awkward, Luo Yuan was ufortable.


    Before this, he did not think that Wu Qianru was beautiful. After all, who would look pretty if she had lost blood and her skin was dull. Moreover, she was dying and there was no beauty in it. However, the fully recovered Wu Qianru was delicate and glowing. With her messy outfit and revealing body, it was hard to resist. She looked young, perhaps she was only 18. But as a super evolved person, one¡¯s appearance was often deceiving where one often seemed much older or younger than one looked.

 Chapter 326: Returning

    Chapter 326: Returning


    Trantor: EndlessFantasy Trantion Editor: EndlessFantasy Trantion


    "Current Mission: Grade D+ mission: Rescue Wu Qianru.


    Wu Qianru has fallen. <Mission failed; Time limit: 8 hours; ept / Decline;"


    "Mission status: Completed; Evaluation: Perfect."


    "Character: Luo Yuan"


    "Completion: 100%"


    "Basic experience reward + 19200*100%!"


    "Evaluation: Perfect - Experience value + 19200*100%!"


    "Experience: 82320/153600!"


    A message from the system popped up in his mind. Luo Yuan took a nced and broke the silence, "I haven¡¯t introduced myself, I¡¯m Luo Yuan, your new colleague."


    "Hi Brother Luo, my name is Wu Qianru. Everybody calls me Qianqian." Before Wu Qianru started talking, she was blushing. She said shyly while running fingers through her hair. The condition she was currently in was slightly embarrassing. She was ashamed of her naked body.


    Luo Yuan did not look at her while he was engrossed in preparing the food for her.


    "Now we know each other. Oh, would you like more food?" Wu Qianru¡¯s cheeks flushed a shade of red. She shook her head immediately and said with embarrassment, "You go ahead and eat, I¡¯m alright!"


    If there was a hole on the ground, she would totally get into it. She was worried that Luo Yuan might misunderstand her, so she exined her actions, "Actually... I don¡¯t usually eat much."


    "There¡¯s no need to be formal with me. You should eat more since you¡¯ve just recovered and are still weak. We have a long journey ahead of us." Luo Yuan said.


    "Oh!" Wu Qianru bowed down her head and said obediently. She was actually hungry as the food she ate earlier had beenpletely digested to make up for the loss of nutrients when she healed herself. Moreover, as there was insufficient food, the newly grown limbs were soft and strengthless. It was notparable to the strength that she used to have.


    Luo Yuan tore off a thigh of the mutated beast that was baked to a golden brown and gave it to her.


    Wu Qianru ate it politely while stealing looks at Luo Yuan. He was tall and from the look of it, he was at least 183 centimeters. His skin was fair and smooth like that of a baby. Under those straight and thick eyebrows were a pair of beautiful eyes. He was gentle when he smiled, giving out afortable vibe but when he was serious, there was an intense power that brought fear to people who stood against him.


    "If he was toe at me, I guess I wouldn¡¯t dare push him away." Wu Qianru had a random thought before she got disgusted by herself as her face flushed red, "What¡¯s wrong with me today? Have I been possessed?"


    "How long have you been with the sword unit?" Luo Yuan asked.


    "Around three months!" Luo Yuan¡¯s question interrupted her internal embarrassment. Wu Qianru added immediately,"I was the reserve member of the Headquarters in New Capital City."


    Luo Yuan was slightly surprised, "You joined the department that early?"


    "I was the second batch of the reserve member in the department!" Seeing Luo Yuan surprise, Wu Qianru could not help herself but be proud of herself. She then sighed and said, "Unfortunately I wasn¡¯t improving and couldn¡¯t get into the headquarters, so I was sent here."


    Realizing that what she said could be offensive, she added, "Please don¡¯t take it the wrong way, I... I don¡¯t mean that the team in Hope City was bad. Our captain was actually really strong, and then of course, there¡¯s you."


    "You don¡¯t have to exin, I¡¯m not that petty!" Luo Yuan thought that she was funny. He looked at Wu Qianru, he lowered down his estimate of her actual age. She should be the same age with Wang Shishi.


    "From what you said, are there many strong ones in New Capital City?" Luo Yuan asked in curiosity.


    "Of course. It was the headquarter after all where they keep watch of the security. Especially the deputy minister, his ability had reached a level where it became bizarre. ording to a captain who told us privately, the deputy minister is humanity¡¯s hope!" Wu Qianru talked about the deputy minister in admiration.


    "Then how about the minister?" Luo Yuan was surprised and proceeded to ask more.


    "The minister is not an evolved person, he was sent by the superiors." Wu Qianru said in a neutral tone that seemed to have no additional respect nor disdain.


    Now Luo Yuan understood what was happening. It was impossible that the strongest evolved person organization that owned the entire reconstruction area would allow an evolved person to take control. The supervision by the superior as well as his intervention were understandable.


    As they talked, Luo Yuan found out from Wu Qianru that there were noting for the mutated monster that he battled, but for another mutated creature instead. It was just their luck that when they arrived here, the mutated beast was gone. They looked around and found this sinkhole; it was the vice-captain¡¯s decision to explore the sinkhole.


    Being a harmless beauty and taking advantage of the fact that the girl was naturally afraid of the dark, it was the perfect chance to hit Wu Qianru up. Of course, all of it was made up by Luo Yuan.


    From what Wu Qianru described, the vice-captain¡¯s ability was simr to Luo Yuan. The both of them belonged to the earth based evolved humans where they excelled in ground battles. The vice-captain even had the ability to escape underground; an ability that existed only in myths but it was even better, he could bring a person with him.


    Such evolved people had strong survivability. No matter what happened, he could defeat amon creature without breaking a sweat but unfortunately, when he and Wu Qianru had just met, he was attacked by one of the mutated monster¡¯s clone. Its flowing body and adhesive properties, as well as its immunity to both physical and energy based attacks, made no way for the vice-captain to run despite his strength.


    Although Wu Qianru tried to save him, it was futile. While her ability was nt-rted, there was nothing that she could do as she was stuck underground where there were no signs of life. As more and more clones surrounded her, she was captured too.


    The sound of helicopter des approaching from far away was getting louder and louder. Wu Qianru was relieved but at the same time, she felt lost. She was not sure what she was feeling.


    The helicopternded slowly, but the bushes were still blown into chaos. Before it evennded, a person leaped down from it.


    "Master, sorry that I¡¯mte." Fang Peibin said embarrassedly, "The military has been shifting the helicopters. We have been talking to them for half a day but they were not willing to lend it to us. We borrowed this one from the municipal government."


    Fang Peibin looked a little beaten up from the experience. Although the Firearms Bureau was a big deal and the municipal government dared not decline them, they were nothingpared to the military. Luo Yuan asked, "Is there anything happening in the military area?"


    "Just some duties. It¡¯s prettymon over there." Fang Peibin said in disagreement.


    Looking at Luo Yuan and Fang Peibin, Wu Qianru was stunned. What was happening? Brother Luo had just joined the team, how could he be Fang Peibin¡¯s master?


    She was surprised to see the rebellious Fang Peibin being so respectful.


    "Oh, by the way, Master, where is the vice-captain?" Fang Peibin noticed that only Luo Yuan and Wu Qianru was there but not the vice-captain, he knew something was wrong.


    Luo Yuan shook his head, "When I arrived, he was dead."


    Fang Peibin was shocked. He kept quiet for awhile and said, "How can he just leave like that, what about the money that he owes me?"


    ...


    Before they left, Luo Yuan picked up some of the metal granules that were detached from Wu Qianru¡¯s wounds and put them in his pocket.

 Chapter 327: Wait No More

    Chapter 327: Wait No More


    Trantor: EndlessFantasy Trantion Editor: EndlessFantasy Trantion


    The journey took more than an hour. It was 9 p.m., the helicopternded on a helipad at the Firearm Bureau¡¯s courtyard. Many people were there; basically, all the members of the department were there. Even the crazy Mr. Wang came, but he was avoiding eye contact with Luo Yuan, apparently afraid since thest fight he had with Luo Yuan.


    "Luckily Brother Luo went for the mission! are you okay Qianqian?" Li Dong asked Wu Qianru while smiling.


    "It was Brother Luo who saved me." Wu Qianru said while blushing, she had Luo Yuan¡¯s sweater tied around her waist.


    A few of them came forward to talk to Wu Qianru, they scared her to the extent that she hid behind Luo Yuan. Only then they stopped.


    "Eh, Lao Fang, where is our vice-captain?" Finally, someone noticed that the vice-captain did not make it back.


    "He¡¯s dead." Fang Peibin said while sighing, "Li Dong, remember to inform the staff and his family members, there¡¯ll be a wake for him!"


    Everybody was quiet at looked at each other.


    Li Dong was panicked. He looked at the rest and said,"Why me? The captain isn¡¯t here, how can I go beyond his authority. Let¡¯s wait for the captain toe back. As for the family members, maybe we can dy it a little?"


    "You guys can decide, I don¡¯t bother with all these formalities anyway." Fang Peibin said.


    Luo Yuan was watching from aside. It seemed like this vice-captain that he had never met was not that close with anybody here. Apart from the shock they had from his death, there was no sadness around. It felt like a stranger¡¯s death.


    Li Dong looked at Luo Yuan with more respect than he did with Fang Peibin," Brother... Luo, what happened there, how did it end up like this?"


    "About that, you should ask Qianqian. It¡¯ste, I¡¯ll make a move first!" Luo Yuan refused to talk as he looked at his watch because exining the whole situation would take a long time. That aside, he was not sure what time he could finally get some rest when he got home. As Luo Yuan was leaving, he recalled something. He took out a metal granule that was a size of a thumb and tossed it to Li Dong, "Oh, please help me look for a professional to run tests on this, it could be useful."


    Such material was by far the highest level material that he had ever encountered. Unfortunately, it was useless to him as the texture was soft and could not be added onto his Zhanmadao. Besides that, it was also too heavy to be added onto clothes.


    However, that did not mean that there was no use for such material. As it was evaluated as a dark-green level material by the system, its features would definitely exceed the limits of allmon metal materials. Its ability to absorb energy and ability to maintain room temperature under severe levels of heat had already beaten all other metal. Instead of being just a soft metal, its texture was stic with a shocking amount of tenacity. Besides, it had other characteristics of organic materials and it could only be cut using a green level Zhanmadao with the help of Will.


    Moreover, its density was between that of iron and aluminum, but was much lighter than iron. Using it on tank armor alone would give a several-fold increase in eleration as well as better defense. Of course, such things would never happen. Most importantly, there was sufficient amount of such metals as there were ten of millions of these granules in the sinkhole. In a day where the speed of industrial progress depended on materials, as soon as this metal was exploited, it had the power to change the world.


    Li Dong took over the metal andugh, "Don¡¯t worry about it, I¡¯ll look for some metallurgical rted corporation to look at it tomorrow."


    Luo Yuan was not concerned whether Li Dong and the rest would value the material. As soon as they got to know from Wu Qianru, they would definitely understand how valuable it was.


    "You guys go ahead, I¡¯m making a move," Luo Yuan said.


    "Master, let me drop you back!" Fang Peibin said immediately.


    Luo Yuan waved and leaped more than a hundred meters away. After a few leaps, he disappeared.


    Looking at Luo Yuan¡¯s departure, Wu Qianru¡¯s eyes were watery.


    ...


    Into the night, Luo Yuan was rolling on his bed as he had trouble falling asleep. He recalled the time when he was using mind control and no matter how hard he tried, there were no memories he could recall from that time. From what he remembered, he tried to recall the difference between the first and second time he use mind control. He realized that one of the differences was that his mind went nk as well on the first time but only for a short period of time. However, during the second time, although he could not tell how long it was exactly, it felt like a long time went by. When he woke up, he was light-headed and his mind was empty.


    He was a little concerned. Ever since he attained his four-dimensional vision, things were slowly getting out of control. The ¡®third eye¡¯ between his eyebrows could not reverse his transformation to be able to peer through the four-dimensional veil. He would not mind if it did not affect his body but unfortunately, having four-dimensional vision was akin to poison for three-dimensional creatures. It was an unbearable burden.


    This time, he only used it once and the depth of his four-dimensional vision went from 1% to 2%. Although it looked like it was nothing, but it was multiplying. He was lucky that the sma headband still shielded him at 2%, but he was not sure that it would in the future. If he had to wait until his abilities could no longer be shielded, death would be certain.


    Of course, he could try not to use the power. But being in the savage apocalypse, not everything was smooth sailing. When there was nothing else that worked, he had to use it to escape from danger despite the consequences.


    As he thought, Luo Yuan¡¯s expression was serious and it was as if a giant rock pressing against his heart.


    "What¡¯s wrong?" Huang Jiahui who was sleeping next to him asked.


    "Nothing, just thinking about the past." Luo Yuan tried to hide his thoughts. It was better to not tell anyone about it so they would not be worried.


    "Don¡¯t think about the past anymore, at least you still have me... I mean us." Huang Jiahui showed her maternal instinct and hugged Luo Yuan.


    Luo Yuan patted her smooth back, but soon he was getting naughty. His slipped his hand downwards to her plump buttocks and squeezed it hard. Heughed and said, "I¡¯m not as weak as you think, the girls should be sleeping I guess."


    With just a few touches, Huang Jiahui had started blushing. Her red lips slightly opened while she was being obedient and without noticing it, she was already wet. Ever since they moved into the refuge in Desert City, they have not been having sex for more than a month. It felt like she was left in a barren desert for a long time. She quivered, "It¡¯ste, they must be sleeping already."


    Luo Yuan looked at the time, it was only 10 o¡¯clock and said, "It¡¯s still a little early, let¡¯s wait for awhile. I noticed that the soundproofing here isn¡¯t...!"


    Before Luo Yuan could even finish talking, Huang Jiahui turned around and pressed Luo Yuan under her body. She leaned towards him and kissed him with her red, wet lips.

 Chapter 328: Superconductor

    Chapter 328: Superconductor


    Trantor: EndlessFantasy Trantion Editor: EndlessFantasy Trantion


    Fang Qianru opened the door, and just as she had finished changing her shoes, the door of the guest room opened.


    "Cousin, you have returned from the mission!" A girl said. She looked young, maybe around eighteen or neen. She was wearing a thin night gown and her face was flushed with a tired look but had an expression of a sweet innocent girl.


    If Luo Yuan was there, he will surely recognize thisdy, not as a stranger but as Wen Yujie that got lost in Desert city.


    She was lucky as she just had a close encounter with death. Just as thest train arrived in Hope city, there was a strong earthquake in Desert city that ttened the surrounding area. Just as luck would have it, her cousin sister lived here and she did not need to go to the refugee camp that was set up by the government.


    "It¡¯s alreadyte, why aren¡¯t you sleeping yet?" said Fang Qianru, her face showed signs of being tired.


    "I couldn¡¯t sleep without youing back!" said Wen Yujie.


    "Are you still thinking of what happened in Desert City?" Fang Qianru asked with a worried expression.


    "No. It was a natural disaster and was also fated. At least some people are still alive," Wen Yujie sighed and was reluctant to talk about it. Living in the post-apocalyptic era, one would have to be strong or they would not be able to survive the apocalypse.


    "Who is the owner of the clothes you¡¯re holding?" At this moment, she noticed the clothes that her cousin was holding. The clothes seemed to be a set ofbat uniform. However, what surprised her was that this uniform belonged to a man.


    After seeing Wen Yujie¡¯s looking at the clothes she had in her hand, Fang Qianru began to panic and pretended to pay no attention to it, throwing it on the couch, "I found it by the road. I¡¯m not sure who¡¯s the owner but it would be a waste to throw it away so I took it back."


    Wen Yujie looked at Fang Qianru suspiciously. She knew her cousin well, and she was from a family that was well to do. Furthermore, her aunt was a doctor, so typically her cousin would also be obsessed with cleanliness. Even though it was the apocalypse, her living conditions were still above average because of her strong evolved abilities. Based on her character, she would not just simply pick up old, worn clothes. This was just too strange. Nheless, she turned her gaze onto the garment, "This is just nice, the rags are getting dirtier. I will cut up the clothes."


    Before she could make it to the couch, the garment was back in Fang Qianru¡¯s hands and with an unnatural expression, she said, "Oh gosh, to cut such clothes that are still in a good condition when a set of army uniform would cost 20 catties of food coupons! If you need new rags, you can take any of the old clothes from my wardrobe."


    "Well if you don¡¯t want to use it for rags cloth, don¡¯t tell me you want to wear it?" Wen Yujie said, "Or do you n to wash the clothes and return them to its owner?"


    "Wen Yujie, are you done yet?" Fang Qianru flushed and knew that she was teasing her. From being embarrassed, she turned angry and said, "Are you being mischievous? Let me see what I can do with you!"


    Just then, she leaped towards Wen Yujie and the two of them started a game of tag until Wen Yujie finally begged for mercy, ending the game.


    Wen Yujie continued to pester her for a while and saw that her cousin was tight-lipped. No matter how she asked or prodded her cousin, she would not say who the clothes belonged to. She soon grew tired and returned to her bedroom. However, Fang Qianru followed her closely, quietly entering the room before she went under the covers and asked softly, saying, "Do you really want to know? Stay up with me and tonight we sisters will have pillow talk."


    Wen Yujie secretly smiled to herself and muttered, "I am dead tired, spit it out if you want to talk."


    Seeing that Wen Yujie did not object and was nonchnt about it, she slightly covered her flushing hot face and asked, "Do you believe in love at first sight?"


    "Did you meet a handsome guy? These type of people are the most unreliable. Be careful and don¡¯t get cheated," Wen Yujie said but found that her cousin had already fallen for this man and was worried.


    "He is not like those handsome guys with pale faces, though his skin is also a milky white!" Fang Qianru quickly retorted, and went silent for a while before softly saying, "Originally I had not wanted to say this but if it wasn¡¯t because for him today, you may not be able to see me now."


    As she mentioned about this, she could not help but feel traumatized. The situation then was too fearsome, and Luo Yuan had saved her from hell.


    "Ah!" Wen Yujie was surprised, "What happened, was it that dangerous?"


    "There were mistakes in the information given. In the beginning, it was thought to be just an average mission and we did not expect to encounter a vicious creature that was way beyond our capabilities. The vice-captain was killed and I was trapped, only being able to await death. It was he who saved me."


    Wen Yujie could feel Fang Qianru¡¯s body tremble slightly. Obviously the situation that she was describing was an understatement of what actually happened.


    "So the uniform belongs to him?" Wen Yujie asked.


    "Yes!" In the dark, Fang Qianru gently nodded her head as her face flushed red. She had a giddy expression and said, "Oh what do you think I should do, I think I have fallen for him. He¡¯s just so handsome and gentle when he speaks. His eyes are just like magic, crystal clear and bright. Just one look at him makes my heart feel like jumping out of my body."


    Wen Yujie was secretly worried. With her cousin¡¯s current condition it seemed like she was ready to throw herself into the arms of that man. If this stranger had ill intentions, she could foresee that Fang Qianru would be willing to do anything, even to the point that she could be sold. She quickly asked, "Do you know of his background? What if he already had a family, what would you do?"


    "That I am not sure, he is a new colleague and we just met today," said Fang Qianru, slightly distressed. Suddenly as if she remembered something, she excitedly eximed, "Oh yes, I had asked about him, and it seemed that he was also from Desert City. Perhaps you might know him."


    Wen Yujie was stunned for a moment, her expression turned stiff as she had a bad feeling about this, "The guy ... ... what is his name?


    "Luo Yuan, his name is Luo Yuan. Do you know him?" said Fang Qianru in anticipation.


    "Luo Yuan!" Wen Yujie repeatedly mulled over the word, her mind was distracted.


    "Do you know him? Desert City is so small, you must have heard of him!" Fang Qianru kept asking.


    "I know him!" Wen Yujie grunted a reply.


    Fang Qianru squealed and sat up immediately. In her excitement, she did not realize her cousin¡¯s tone had changed to a whisper, "If you really do know him, please tell me quickly. What kind of person is he?"


    "I only saw him only a few times from afar. I am not familiar with him and I have nothing to say about it. I have to sleep now," Wen Yujie turned around and said.


    "Oh, please tell me! You¡¯re not doing anything these days anyway," Fang Qianru kept urging.


    But no matter how hard Fang Qianru urged her, Wen Yujie stayed still and did not utter a single word.


    ...


    The next morning, after Luo Yuan finished his breakfast, he walked all the way to the headquarters of the Firearm Bureau¡¯s headquarter.


    Once the security guards at the door spotted him, they immediately saluted him. They did not even bother to check his documents and quickly let him in.


    Yesterday, Luo Yuan¡¯s godlike, flight into the air was both a shock and a wonder to the two guards.


    Luo Yuan nodded his head gently, weing the guards¡¯ excited gaze and leisurely walked into the manor.


    Because Luo Yuan woke up much earlier than the rest, there was only a small number staff in the hall. After having a sip of tea handed to him by an office personnel, he then picked up a roll of newspaper and scanned through the news.


    At this moment, the time was not even 6 a.m. The dawn had a cool, peaceful atmosphere that calmed the mind. The changes of his four-dimensional vision yesterday had caused some unease to his emotions but with this atmosphere, his unease gradually faded and his heart regained itsposure.


    During the apocalypse, the ability to have a blissful and carefree day like this, and to sit in a peaceful manor like this while quietly sipping tea is a blessing. As for the matter of life and death, everything was up to fate.


    Besides, the changes in his vision was not without a solution. The reason why four-dimensional images affected him boiled down to his brain being unable to receive messages with four-dimensional characteristics. If he tackled the problem from this angle, he had already thought of a number of solutions such as enhancing his Wisdom. This will in turn strengthen his Intelligence and weaken the effects of the four-dimensional messages substantially.


    Another solution would be to enhance his Will as it could, to some extent prevent the adverse effects of the four-dimensional vision. Ever since his Will was enhanced, the effects of the four-dimensional vision on him weakened significantly. Even if the depth of his four-dimensional vision was 1%, it reduced the effect significantly even if he took off the headband. However, as for the choice between enhancing his Wisdom or Will, these solutions were only temporary. It was like stopping a river to build a dam, he was unable to get rid of the problem from its root.


    To solve the problem from its root, Luo Yuan thought that his entire brain should be able to enter the fourth dimension and even his whole body should be reborn into that of a four-dimensional organism. Nheless, this was just thoughts that came to him in delusion. Apart from some people who were as gifted and as talented as Xu Zhiqiang, bing a four-dimensional being was as difficult as ascending to the heavens.


    The process was a transition of life. With the nature of such a transition, unless there was a miracle, sess would be impossible.


    But it was better to be more of a realist. Compared his delusional solution of being reborn as an organism in the fourth dimension, his solution of increasing Will and Wisdom was more feasible. His 16 points Will was already sufficient and could temporarily slow down the effects. On the other hand, his current attributes were already above 15 points. Only Wisdom had 14 points which was indeed slightly lower than his average attributes. This had a major impact on him being able to utilize the full potential of his abilities.


    Thinking of this, Luo Yuan could not help but regret his decision to destroy the Tree of Wisdom. One fruit from the blue-level Tree of Wisdom could increase his Wisdom beyond 14 points, what more for a green ranked tree. The increment would be more significant.


    Although the system could also enhance these attributes, having such invaluable items that helped him in this journey was a boon. No one wouldin about having extra help.


    Fortunately, the tree was not the only one out there as the tree was closely rted to the birth of an intelligent race. Behind the back of every intelligent race, there was a huge chance that they also had a Tree of Wisdom that was simr to this. It also meant that if an intelligent race was discovered, they would also find this magical tree.


    Luo Yuan eyes lit up. At this moment, he could not help but feel fortunate to have joined the sword unit.


    Compare to him previously operating alone, like a headless fly blindly searching in the wild; he now had the help of government resources with the system in his brain, everything was rtively simpler.


    An intelligent race did not refer to a solitary mutated beast. Since it was a race, it would have to be of a huge poption and have a certain degree of social organization. Provided its poption advanced to a certain size, it would grow outwards and if its expansion led to conflicts with the Reconstruction Area, it would certainly leave a distinct trace of their race.


    Just as he had finished the cup of tea, members of the sword unit started toe in one after another.


    "Brother Luo, the item you gave mest night had caused me so much misery. In the middle of the night, I was woken up and summoned to the military office for an interrogation. I only came back at two or three in the morning." Before Li Dong even entered the hall, his loud voice could be heard from far while he had a miserable expression.


    Luo Yuan chuckled as he had expected this reaction, "Who asked you to be in such a hurry, you could even do it in the day."


    "How would I dare ignore the things that you¡¯ve instructed me to do. Nheless, it is really good stuff. This is the real deal, a homoeothermic superconductor that could conduct more than 300 volts. It is beyond my imagination. However, it is still in its preliminary testing period and they have alerted the superiors that even the senior officer personally came by to ask about it. I figure that there will still be some people dropping by and ask about the situation." Li Dong looked excited.


    "Homoeothermic superconductor!" Luo Yuan was slightly surprised as well.


    The concept of a homoeothermic superconductor had been well known in the time prior to the apocalypse. Even for an illiterate person, they would be able to know a thing or two. To give an idea of what it is about, homoeothermic superconductors have always captured the fascination of people studying material science. Until the present day, these types of superconductivity was still unattainable. Prior to the apocalypse, even the most resourcefulboratories that were conducting tests on superconductor was unable to produce these levels of conductivity at temperatures that was way beyond -50 Celsius, let alone such a level conductivity at room temperature. There was still a long way to go.


    However the temperature at which the corpse of the mutated beast¡¯s was conductive actually went beyond 300 degrees. This meant that the range of the superconductivity was below 300 degrees. It was simply a miracle and almost revolutionized the whole energy industry. It was not surprising that this news had piqued the interest of top leaders.

 Chapter 329: Pair Training

    Chapter 329: Pair Training


    <strong>Trantor:</strong>EndlessFantasy Trantion


    <strong>Editor:</strong>EndlessFantasy Trantion


    In the 15th floor of the underground base where the training area was located, a vague silhouette was sprinting back and forth continuously. The amazing speed had a strong wind that was blowing in the open hall.


    Other than the captain who had yet to return and the vice-captain who had passed away, the rest of the team were watching nearby. Such speed was unheard before, even Xu Qianshen who had the fastest speed and was known internally as the "God of Wind", couldpare to such speeds.


    However, Xu Qianshen knew clearly that he could not run at high speed as smooth and lightly as Luo Yuan. If they were topare the both of them, he was like a rampaging rhinoceros while Luo Yuan was as light as a leopard pouncing on its prey. He was definitelygging behind.


    What was more terrifying was that his speed seemed to have increased slowly along with each sprint.


    "It''s only been 3.6 seconds or 0.9 seconds per 100 meters," Li Dong said gloomily while looking at his stopwatch.


    "When Luo Yuan started running, I recall that Brother Luo was going at a speed of 1.1 second per 100 meters and he actually broke his own record, bringing it down to less than a second! Don¡¯t tell me he is still able to run faster!" Xie Junhui said unbelievably.


    "Don¡¯t you see that my master keeps adjusting his posture? He¡¯s looking for better way to unleash his energy efficiently," Fang Peibin was staring at the blurry silhouette and said slowly.


    The group was shocked and began to look at Luo Yuan silhouette. They realized that his running posture was extremely weird as his body was almost t on the ground with his head almost touching the ground, only leaving a gap of 50 centimeters.


    It took him about ten steps and a few breaths to reach the end of a runway of 400 meters. Each step he took brought him thirty to forty ahead.


    With each step he took, it actually smashed the granite floor into powder, which raised a cloud of dust along with the strong wind he was causing.


    "Stop looking, it¡¯s after all useless for us since we won''t be able to learn!" the crazy Mr. Wang saidughingly while a flicker of fear shed through his eyes when he was looking at Luo Yuan from afar, "He can fly. Though it looked like he¡¯s running on the ground, his body was kind of weightless. In fact, he was looking for just the right amount of Strength exerted to bnce his body."


    Even though the crazy Mr. Wang was mad, he was smart. Especially during thest chase whereby he experienced much hardship, he had been deeply impressed by Luo Yuan¡¯s speed.


    In fact, he was right. When Luo Yuan was running and using his Will simultaneously, a chemical reaction urred had allowed him to go beyond his speed limit. Yesterday was just the first trial, which is why it was not perfect and was very ragged. Nheless, with more practice and adjustments, his speed was gradually approaching its maximum limit.


    After running back and forth, his speed had finally reached a bottleneck of 0.8 seconds per 100 meters. He then continued to run for about five minutes so that muscle memory would register the strength he used to bnce his body. It was then when he gradually reduced his speed and stopped.


    Surely it was insufficient for him to practice for only a day. He needed another five to six days of continuous practice so that the skill could be muscle memory in his body and be an instinct to him. The strenuous exercise had turned his body red, water vapor evaporating from his skin while his body gave off extreme heat.


    Fang Qianru who had been shy and silent, took out a towel and jogged towards Luo Yuan, "Brother Luo, let me help you wipe your sweat!"


    She sized Luo Yuan daringly. He was a head taller. His tall and thin body appeared to be dashing while his well-developed muscles appeared to be glistering. Along with the movement of his hands, the muscles moved like waves in an ocean. Under his dense eyebrows were a pair of dark eyes, shiny like jade as if it was a deep bottomless spring.


    Meanwhile, he was sweating profusely. The sweat had been dripping from his face and his singlet was even soaked in sweat but she could not smell any foul odors. In fact, she got a whiff of a unique odor instead of a bad body odor.


    Luo Yuan was shocked and nced at her.


    Her face turned red because of her shyness; even her her thin, snow-white neck flushed a shade of red. Her watery eyes were staring at him and her supple breasts went up and down. These showed that she was very nervous.


    Luo Yuan quickly rejected her and took the towel troubled feelings, "Oh, thanks. No, I can do it myself, thanks!"


    "You are wee!" Fang Qianru lowered her head soon after she handed over the towel as if what she did earlier hadpletely consumed all of her courage. She turned sideways and blushed before she said softly, "I''m sorry, I tore the clothes yesterday when I washed it but I''ll get you a new one."


    Fang Qianru scolded her cousin internally as she washed their clothes early in the morning for the first time. To top it off, she did not only wash her own but also Fang Qianru''s together with the uniform. Their clothes were alright but the uniform was surprisingly torn. She was so angry that she did not have a proper breakfast when she saw the hole as big as a bowl at the back of the uniform.


    The uniform was actually made of the nt fibers that Luo Yuan obtained after the apocalypse and was stronger than the jeans, which made it very difficult to be torn when washed.


    Hng!


    She apparently did it on purpose. It looked like something was up with her yesterday evening and yet she said she did not know Luo Yuan.


    Both Fang Qianru and Wen Yujie were cousins of the same age. Since Fang Qianru was just a month older than Wen Yujie, they went to kindergarten all the way to high school together before they went their own ways during high school for a year before the apocalypse began.


    They should have a good rtionship but that was not the case. Since they were young, they had been fighting each other for toys and snacks andter over academic result as they grew older. Besides, their parents keptparing their results by saying that your cousin was this and that while you were this and that. With all these things that happened, how could they be as close as sisters? It was only when the apocalypse began that their rtionship got better.


    Luo Yuan definitely did not understand herplicated feelings as he was not concerned about his shirt. So, he waved his hand while saying, "It¡¯s alright since it was torn. It¡¯s nothing much. How''s your injury by the way?"


    Fang Qianru expressed her excitement but shyly, she replied, "Thank you for your concern, I¡¯m almost recovered now but I need another month to recoverpletely. For the time being, I can only do some adaptive training."


    "This is also good. If you didn''t already know, after your injury, your teammates were so worried. Please don¡¯t be so careless next time," Luo Yuan said patronizingly because he felt that she was not that old, probably just a bit older than Wang Shishi.


    Fang Qianru responded with a sweet sound.


    Seeing that she was still dawdling, not wanting to leave, Luo Yuan scanned through the group and found out that the others had a weird expression on their faces, obviously enjoying themselves while they looked at them. He could not help but to beckon to Fang Peibin.


    Fang Peibin ran over and with a chuckle said, "Master, what would you like me to do?"


    Luo Yuan nced at his face and said with an indifferent tone, "Since you call me Master, I¡¯ll have to teach you something. Let¡¯s start today,e with me to the training area."


    Fang Peibing seriously said, "Yes, Master!"


    Luo Yuan felt satisfied. If his apprentice kept grinning mischievously and was acting impolite, he would be ufortable even if he did not say anything. Though he did not give a good first impression, his performanceter was eptable for Luo Yuan to recognize him as his apprentice.


    The two walked briskly in tandem towards the training area. Fang Qianru wanted to follow but she was stopped by Li Dong and the rest who went over.


    Though they did not experience personally, they should have heard that learning martial arts in secrecy from others without their knowledge is taboo. Though unptable to many, it was after all, impolite to look at Luo Yuan¡¯s teaching without his approval.


    As they walked very quickly, they reached the training area in just a moment.


    Luo Yuan threw his Zhanmadao aside as his hands drew a circle, getting into a Tai Chi post, "I don¡¯t know your exact strength yet. Come...e attack me with your full strength."


    His actions were slow and heavy, both his hands seemed to be stirring up in the air like his surroundings were not air but instead, sticky glue. This action attracted Fang Peibin because he looked like he was standing idly but he was actually standing as firmly as a mountain was rooted to the ground. It was like he was connected to the earth.


    "Master, I¡¯m sorry," Fang Peibin apologized in advance and he stepped on the ground andunched himself quickly and flexibly towards Luo Yuan. His was strong and had immense Strength that had reached 16 points. The instantaneous outbreak of energy within a short distance were like shotgun shells being shot.


    Nheless, as he got closer a hand appeared on his arm with a slow-motion. Along with his strength, he felt a push and was thrown into the air before he had a chance to react; slumped on the ground four to five meters away.


    When Fang Peibing stood up, Luo Yuan was still standing at the same ce but with his eyes closed. He drew a circle with both hands and said, "Come again!"


    Fang Peibin¡¯s face became serious and dared not attack hastily anymore. Instead, he went around Luo Yuan and when he saw his Master waspletely immobile with his eyes tightly closed, he thought it was his chance. He then lightened his steps and quickly went near Luo Yuan.


    Nevertheless, he failed as soon as he threw a punch because the history repeated itself. Dazed, he found out that he was lying on the ground when he recovered.


    Though Luo Yuan¡¯s bare-handed fighting skills were not as good as his knife skills, it was already 19 points and was about to upgrade, bing a professional skill. In reality, he had be a great master. Since Luo Yuan was practicing Tai Chi, he knew how to manipte the strength from his opponents to maximize the impacts of his attacks. In addition, since he had clear knowledge on the structure of a human body, he could judge the force his opponent were exerting very precisely. Provided he put his hand on the opponent¡¯s body, he would be able to know the direction his opponent was exerting their strength as well as the muscles that were involved. This made it easy for him to defeat his opponent even if the opponent was much stronger.


    In fact, in this sparring session, he merely used half of his speed and energy to defeat Fang Peibin.


    "Again. This time, use your abilities," Luo Yuan said.


    Luo Yuan nodded and retreated twenty to thirty meters away. He stood firmly and dared not be careless. It was because he was used to the strength some super evolved humans that even he was afraid of many abilities.


    After all, no matter how strong he was, he was not immortal. If he was hit by a powerful attack ability, he would die too.


    Fang Peibin took a deep breath and growled. Then, all muscles of his body suddenly expanded with numerous veins that wriggled around like worms. Apanied sounds of joints exploding, his original body of merely 1.69 meters had grown immensely.


    In just about 30 seconds, Fang Peibin was already 1.8 meters high and because of his expanded body. His skin got thinner and his body fat seemed to havepletely disappeared. It made his body muscles look so red, it was as if his skin had been peeled off. What was more surprising was that his nostrils kept oozing out a heavy breath with faint sparks that sputtered as he breathed. His dark, white eye balls had turnedpletely red as well. At the same time, a brutal and ferocious feeling gradually permeated the atmosphere.


    "Mutation?" Luo Yuan was surprised to see this happen as this type feeling, was that of chaos, brutality, and evil, like a person who failed to evolve. Yet, it was not simr because Fang Peibin was at least normal when he was not in his mutated form. Luo Yuan was uneasy with this type of ability as he felt that he would lose all control.


    Luo Yuan had his thought shed through but Fang Peibin had already growled and came towards him.


    His voice was as loud as a thunder, echoing in the 15th floor!

 Chapter 330: Conquest

    Chapter 330: Conquest


    Trantor: EndlessFantasy Trantion Editor: EndlessFantasy Trantion


    After using his evolved ability, the Fang Peibin¡¯s speed became a few times faster. His strong and ferocious body seemed to have unlimited energy, making him simr to a rampaging tank. Each step he took produced a rumbling sound like that of an exploding dynamite.


    Nheless, it was nothing to Luo Yuan because his speed was much slower than his, let alone his speed when it was supported by Will.


    Before he could reach Luo Yuan, he was already punching continuously and rapidly like heavy artillery that screamed through the air, creating a sonic boom. An ordinary man would get severe muscle injuries and have their bones crushed if they were to even get brushed by the wind, let alone get punched in the face. Such strong punches, even Luo Yuan was slightly afraid.


    The strong wind pulled his hair and the winding from the punches were like knives, cutting his face. Though the speed at which he ran was slow to Luo Yuan, his sudden explosive attack speed was sufficient to be a threat to him.


    Facing such a ferocious attack, he focused as his head slightly leaned backward while his right leg drew an arc, his waist bent like a bow.


    Then, Luo Yuan¡¯s right hand turned into the shape of a w before it quickly entered the strong wind and held the opponent¡¯s arm. Nheless, as soon as he touched him, Fang Peibin¡¯s hand shook violently, as if Luo Yuan¡¯s body had a strange repulsive force that made him unreachable.


    Judging the opponent¡¯s force precisely was an essential part of Tai Chi. Regardless of his technique or ability to transform oing force, it would all be in futility if he could not touch his opponent.


    Nheless, Luo Yuan stayed very calm and moved quickly to avoid the punches from his opponent. Simultaneously, he struck his opponent¡¯s armpit the best he could. The air instantly exploded and his punch that weighed several tons broke through the opponent¡¯s amazing amount of force. However, the full swing strike was not strong enough as his punch only managed to hit his body.


    He then quickly approached his opponent without giving him any chance to rest. He stomped the ground, exerted his strength and struck his opponent¡¯s waist and rib with his fists that were as fast as lightning. Then, with the energy that he drew from his feet to his waist, heunched himself into the air to make a 180-degree turn before his left toe kicked right his opponent¡¯s temple. All these happened quickly, it was like a sh of lightning.


    His leg was a few times stronger than his arm. Hisst kick weighed at least 10 to 20 tons


    Such a frightening disy of strength had caused a strong wind that exploded on Fang Peibin¡¯s body. Nheless, he seemed to have an unbelievable amount of fighting instinct as he seemed to have felt the danger and blocked the kick quickly with his right hand at the critical moment!


    "Bang!" The air exploded with a strong wave of air.


    Then, Luo Yuan jumped away because of the strong anti-shock wave.


    At the same time, Fang Peibin also stepped a few steps backward. Nheless, whenpared, Luo Yuan retreated more swiftly, like a floating immortal while Fang Peibin was like a ferocious giant beast. Each step he took backward was apanied by numerous cracks on the ground of the training area.


    Luckily it was thest floor or the training ce would have copsed.


    Stimted by the danger, Fang Peibin growled at Luo Yuan in an extremely angry manner. His red eyes became fiery red and his body muscles further expanded. Since he used his ability, he seemed to have lost his ability to speak, his character became what was like an extraordinary maniac and he had apparently lost almost all senses.


    When Luo Yuan saw Fang Peibining over at such a frantic speed, he felt an ache on the tip of his toe and thought, "What the f*ck is this? Is he a mutated beast or is he a human being?" The strength Fang Peibin had was at least 17 points, two points higher than Luo Yuan. If he took into ount the limitations Fang Peibin had when unleashing his energy, it would already be 18 points.


    If it was a mutated beast, Luo Yuan would have solved the problem quickly with his Zhanmadao. After all, ifpared to the power of his physical body, he was much better in utilizing technique and speed, along with his sharp Zhanmadao. Therefore, it would be easy for him to kill any extraordinarily strong creature, both in power and defense. It was as easy as hacking away at wood.


    Nheless, it would be difficult if he had to kill a light green creature with only his physical body. Fang Peibin, who was in front of him had abination of various attributes, which made him as strong as a light green creature.


    Luo Yuan smiled bitterly and they started attacking each other at the very next moment. The strong force they exerted caused a strong wind to blow at the training area. From time to time, loud noises could be heard and a lot of pebbles would shoot at all direction like bullets.


    The fight was almost one-sided because although Fang Peibin was strong, his Agility was not as high Luo Yuan. He was hit continuously by Luo Yuan and kept retreating. There were about ten punches every second and was like a flurry of wind showered him with punches. Luo Yuan¡¯s punches had been too much for him to handle and he could only be on the receiving end of all the punches. Each time he wanted to throw a punch, Luo Yuan¡¯s heavy punches prevented him from doing so; when he wanted to defend himself, Luo Yuan changed the direction of his attack. He had absolutely no chance in defending himself against Luo Yuan.


    His battle suit was also torn to pieces, fluttering in the wind caused by the punches.


    The punches hit his body directly and such a great battle excited Luo Yuan gradually. After all, it has been awhile since he has had a good target that he could freely attack. In his previous fights, he was always trying to avoid the enemy¡¯s main attack and strike its weak points so the mutated beasts could be killed in a single strike. Also, it was because the mutated beasts were usuallyrger in size and had immense power. If he attempted what he did with Fang Peibin with a mutated beast, it would be far beyond his ability.


    This strategy had also cultivated Luo Yuan¡¯s fighting style, which was more like an assassin. He wanted a fight where he was able to punch the enemy directly but he could not afford to. He did nt expect to meet such a person that he could train with. Such an opponent also allowed him to throw punches until his blood was stirred, satisfying him.


    Nheless, Luo Yuan was surprised with the ability of Fang Peibin. Each punch Luo Yuan threw weighed about a few tons, would definitely turn a regr person into ground meat, even an evolved person would not be able to take such a hit. Besides, the number of punches thatnded on his body within a span of ten seconds was in the hundreds. All of that and he was not even injured due to the force his body exuded, which became stronger as the fighting raged on.


    What was more surprising was that this mysterious force would regenerate after each time it was broken. Such a defensive system was inconceivable indeed!


    ...


    After about ten minutes, both of them had started gasping for air. Because of the intense fight, both of them had almost used up their energy. After they sprinted for less than 100 meters, both Luo Yuan and Fang Peibin was surrounded by water vapor and gasped for air.


    Luo Yuan decided to end the fight. By using his Will, his body was glowing with waves that seemed like waves. It could be seen clearly even it was under a light. His Will of 17 points caused the radiance from his body to flow like liquid. Then, a dimly radiant fist broke through Fang Peibin¡¯s defense. The glow appeared weak for a moment before it grewrger, imprinting itself on his opponent¡¯s chest.


    Immediately, the body of Fang Peibin trembled and he was in a daze as if he was paralyzed and was no longer able to move.


    Soon, his mutated body disappeared as he seemed to have gotten thinner. He then slumped on the floor weakly.


    After about ten seconds, Fang Peibin woke up rather weakly and staggered as he felt a severe headache as if his spirit had been shaken by Luo Yuan¡¯s attacks. He looked at Luo Yuan who was sitting with his cross-legged nearby and he was in awe.


    After he used his abilities, he could barely control his emotion and was not able to speak. He was filled with an inexplicable violent rage but still had his memory. Thest strike had caused his mind to go nk and he thought that he died.


    Fang Peibin was convinced wholeheartedly and lost hisst flicker of pride. As he saw Luo Yuan opened his eyes, he let out a sigh and stood up, shouting "Master!"


    "Sit!" Luo Yuan said.


    "Yes, Master!"


    Luo Yuan nced at him and said, "Don¡¯t restrict yourself. I once told you that your abilities have turned into a habit. However, If you want to change the way you practice your abilities, it would be very difficult and you must start from the very beginning. Nevertheless, these are just techniques and improper use can be corrected, provided you train hard."


    As a saying goes, it is easier to practice one¡¯s skill than to cultivate one¡¯s mind. To practice your skill is to control your body but to cultivate your mind, is to control your own emotion. For an ordinary person, he can do it slowly by practicing his skill before he cultivates his mind. But you are different, I found out that your evolved ability is problematic.


    Do you have difficulty in controlling your ability?"


    Fang Peibin replied quickly, "Yes. For unknown reasons, as soon as I use the ability, I¡¯ll be filled with a violent rage and my heart fills up with the desire to destroy. Unless I¡¯m tired, it¡¯d be difficult for me to withdraw from my power. Therefore, unless it¡¯s a very dangerous situation, I¡¯ll definitely not use it unless that I knew that Master was strong.


    "Then what about when you¡¯re not using the ability? Does it affect you?" Luo Yuan asked while looking into Fang Peibin¡¯s eyes. He acutely observed that his pupils seemed to be still radiate a glimmer of red light.


    Facing the sharp eyesight of Luo Yuan, Fang Peibin subconsciously lowered his head and replied frankly, "It still affects me but I can still manage to control it. After using the ability, I¡¯ll feel tempted but I¡¯ll be alright after some time has passed."


    Luo Yuan knitted his brows tightly and pondered, other than a mutated person, it was the first time he found out that an ability could affect one¡¯s characters. After a thought, he said, "For the time being, it isn¡¯t a big issue to you, yet. Nheless, if it is left unresolved, it would still spell trouble. Have you tried meditation before?"


    "I used to learn the meditation practicing yoga¡¯s while I practiced martial arts. I also learned some other forms of meditation as well, but it seemed to be useless," Fang Peibin said frankly.


    "Is it really useless?" Luo Yuan grumbled.


    At the next moment, Fang Peibin found himself staring at a strong aura that Luo Yuan¡¯s body was emitting and the force field had suspended the surrounding pebbles in mid air and made the air around him denser, which prevented him from breathing. He tried his best to retreat but his body was rooted to the ground while his inner heart was filled with endless disappointment and fear.


    He looked with staring eyes as Luo Yuan pointed his snow-white finger which then emitted a radiance and shot out a thin ray of light of about a meter long. Though he was about three to four meters away, he could feel pins on his skin. Then, Luo Yuan was seen striking on the rock that made up the training area and a thin crack four to five meters wide formed immediately.


    As Luo Yuan¡¯s Will had reached 17 points, the glow of his Will had reached a stage where it could be used to fight even without Zhanmadao. Within a short period of time, the level of Luo Yuan¡¯s battle effectiveness would not be affected. The drawback was that it consumed much of his Will and was less efficient than using Zhanmadao.


    While Fang Peibin was in a trance, the terrifying aura quickly disappeared as if it was a hallucination. If the pebbles had not fallen back on the ground and the thin crack that was visible in the middle of the rock, he would have thought that these were just hallucinations.


    He gasped for air, his face as pale as a white sheet of paper before he asked with a terrified voice, "Master, what...what¡¯s this? Your super power?"


    "Super power? No, it¡¯s what I want to teach you!"

 Chapter 331: Captain

    Chapter 331: Captain


    Trantor: EndlessFantasy Trantion Editor: EndlessFantasy Trantion


    After that, he patiently guided Fang Peibin with various techniques to use force and assigned him some homework which was to meditate every night. After Fang Peibin witnessed the power of Luo Yuan, he no longer dared to be frivolous anymore.


    Luo Yuan was not the like old school martial artists who would hold back when they taught martial arts. As long as someone was willing to learn, he would teach that person whole heartedly.


    After that he let Fang Peibin go somewhere farther to practice before he sat down in his original spot and immediately started meditating. As he meditated, his Will and body became one to replenish the minor bleeding and other injuries he sustained. After the intense bout of exercise, it was difficult to avoid vascr deposition. Many of his veins expanded until they broke down and started bleeding internally. Some of the muscle tissues had even ruptured. All these could not be seen by the naked eye but he could nce at it through with his abilities.


    These minor injuries seemed to be a small problem and would be able to heal by themselves. Even muscles could be sturdier and stronger but the price to pay was swollen blood vessels for bigger muscles. Although it was a small issue, if it were to umte, it would eventually be a big issue. This was the reason why most athletes did not have a long life to live.


    Under the effects of his Will, all his minor injuries healed quickly. The blood started to flow smoothly again. The muscles that had expanded due to intense exercise went back to its regr state and he felt his whole body was lighter than before.


    He opened his eyes and felt as if his body was in harmony and was easier to control. He suddenly had a thought. He raised up his hand and the Zhanmadao that had been put aside immediate flew towards his hand.


    Fang Peibin who was practicing somewhere not far away was stunned when he peeped and saw what had happened with Luo Yuan. When he sobered up, he could help but feel the excitement in his heart as he thought, "This is awesome! It¡¯s a trick used by sword experts, seems like I have followed the right master!"


    If he had not witnessed such abilities from Luo Yuan previously, he would have thought that this was one of the skills of an evolved human. Such a way of thinking was unusual but for a traditional martial artist such as himself, he felt that it was not out of the ordinary when Luo Yuan used a legendary ability such as this. From Fang Peibin¡¯s perspective, since he was an evolved human and was in touch with a different evolved human on a daily basis, he had seen it all. Of course, though he has seen evolved humans with simr skill and abilities, Luo Yuan¡¯s ability to summon his Zhanmadao with his Will was one that was told in myths, he was both impressed and shocked.


    Luo Yuan did not care about the fuss of Fang Peibin. He grabbed the Zhanmadao and when he turned the knife the de slightly cut his arm. The Zhanmadao, as a green level weapon was extremely sharp and could easily cut through his tough skin, leaving a five to six centimeters gash. The blood slowly flowed out from the wound. He had no idea when was thest time he got hurt. This was the first time he has seen his blood flow in six months.


    The blood glowed lightly under the sunlight, the color was bright and it was so thick, it flowed much slower than the blood of regr people. After 10 seconds it finally dripped down from his arm. Luo Yuan had an idea after he saw it and the magic happened. The blood that was dripping slowlly was actually suspended in the air.


    There was the first drop, a second drop and a third drop... within a few moments, there were more than 10 drops of blood that floated in the air, surrounding Luo Yuan. Soon he smiled, and the blood suddenly flew back into the wound like time had just turned backward. When the blood returned to the wound, the wound slowly healed and closed. After a few second there were no longer any sign of injuries on his arm and he could barely feel the pain anymore.


    Luo Yuan was happy. He had been practicing his Will for so long before he finally saw results in his body. It seemed like his previous spection was right. Since the Zhanmadao could be controlled like an extension of his arm, he could definitely control his own body. With his condition now, he could probably heal himself quickly even if his head had been cut off. He could even probably reconnect his head back to his body all by himself.


    If he continued to practice, he might be able to continue using the rest of his body to fight even if his head was missing. He was excited when he thought about it and disregarded the shocked Fang Peibin beside him. He even imagined that he might not die so easily even if he attempted suicide in the future. However, when he thought about the four-dimensional vision that felt like a mental disease for him, he felt worried. It seemed like he needed to find the Wisdom Fruit as soon as possible.


    ...


    "Master, let¡¯s go for lunch now." Fang Peibin said respectfully. He was never so respectful before. Nowadays, he had lost his confidence after he faced a series of failure and in his mind, Luo Yuan had be like an immortal god who lived on the mountain.


    "I did not realize that it is lunch time now. How¡¯s your practice?" Luo Yuan looked at his watch, it was already 12 p.m. There should be nobody on the fifteenth floor and only two the of them were left. Luo Yuan kept his Zhanmadao and dressed in preparation for lunch.


    "There are still some moves that I am still not used to. For example, I have forgotten how to utilize this stance." Fang Peibin quickly posed while he walked toward Luo Yuan.


    "Your stance is not wide enough, and your toes are too tensed. You have to be gentle and remember the point of using force. You have to be agile and strong at the same time so that when you exert your strength, you can utilize more of the muscle groups in your body." Luo Yuan used the scabbard to point toward Fang Peibin¡¯s toes, calves, and waist to guide him through the steps.


    The next moment, Fang Peibin automatically moved forward by one step and it took him a distance of eight to nine meters forward. Fang Peibin was not surprised as he had seen something even more surprising before. He stood still and quickly recalled the steps. When he was done, he found that his master had walked far away. He immediately walked at a brisk pace to keep up and continued asking, "This action also seems to be a bit jerky."


    Luo Yuan stopped and guided him on using the right steps. Fang Peibin was indeed someone who was very interested in martial arts. People he taught before were inparison, harder to be trained. Huang Jiahui and Zhao Yali were even worse. Since they left the wilderness, they just neglected their martial arts. It would great if they had trained more than once a week. Of course, Luo Yuan did not want to push them as long as everyone was in a good condition. As for Deng Chao and Zhong Chuqiang, they were better off because they were at least more serious in practicing their martial arts.


    ...


    When they reached the restaurant especially assigned for the sword unit, it was already 12.30 p.m. Fortunately, the members of the sword unit had an uncertain lunch hours so the food in the restaurant was kept warm all the time.


    "All the chefs here are top master chefs. I heard that Chef Hu once cooked dinner for government officials before they said it was very good." Fang Peibin introduced to Luo Yuan.


    "Colonel Fang, is this gentleman a neer?" A middle-aged man who wore a white apron said as he stood behind the window.


    Although the sword unit was directly under the Central of Special Departments, they had a military title as well. The only difference was that they were not grouped together with the army. Besides this, the team had a higher rank than the ordinary members. The lowest rank was the colonel and as for the captain as well as vice-captain positions, they were considered to be a major general. Of course, all these were just titles in the system.


    "He is my master." Fang Peibin said, "Tell us what is good today, don¡¯t hide the food and bring it back home."


    "Don¡¯t try to use me! If others hear of your usations it would cause great trouble to me." Chef Hu had a fat face full of wrinkles and tried to exaggerate. It was a lucrative deal to be a chef here, as the ingredients were extremely rare and were of high ss. Some of the ordinary people may never ever see the ingredients being here in their lifetime. Even if the chef was not corrupted, selling a few of the ingredients avable here could earn them a big amount of money. In addition, it wasfortable to work here as there was no other ce that was safer than the ce where the sword unit stayed. All the team members were basically superheroes with powerful skills.


    "You are in luck today, the new Beijing has just sent a box of level six mutated beast powder. Other than this we have chalky bonefish and level five mutated beast organs, especially the visceral parts that requires two days of processing. With mytest research, cooking by frying it with devil mushroom makes it is very crispy and delicate. I assure you, you¡¯ll definitely go for seconds. As for vegetables, we have green jade vegetable stewed with bone broth together with some spicy, sour yet crispy nuts... We also have some fruit..."


    In fact, it was not an easy career to be a chef after the apocalypse. Not only were the ingredients totally different, it was also hard to find spices needed to cook as well. In order to make a delicious meal, they had to put in a lot of effort to study and research.


    "Well, well... I want onerge portion for each dish. Master, do you want any liquor?" Fang Peibin interrupted and asked Luo Yuan.


    "No, I am fine." Luo Yuan waved his hand. Before the apocalypse, he was not a drinker and only drank when there were gatherings. After the apocalypse he had not had a drink for almost two years, so he just rejected the offer politely.


    They sat back in their seats and the dishes would be sent to them afterward by the crew.


    There were ten tes of exquisite dishes served, especially the big tes of fruits that were served at the very end. Even Luo Yuan who had already gotten used to eating high quality food felt that it was too luxurious. After the apocalypse, nts hardly spread their seeds. During half a year of wandering in the wilderness, he could only find two or three seeded nts, which meant that it was very precious. Although the redevelopment area was more developed, seeded nts should not be amon sight here as well.


    With what he had seen and heard these two days, it had a beautiful environment and the workce was full of freedom. The crew were pretty and all the food served was very luxurious. It seemed like the redevelopment area had put a lot of effort in order to entice the super-evolved humans to work for them.


    Certainly, it was also because these super-evolved humans were too powerful. Apart from having them help the redevelopment area, the top management were also taking precautions to keep these people aligned. Regr evolved humans had limited power. Even if they tried to create chaos, the army could quickly suppress them and the damage would be minimized. However, if the super-evolved humans tried to create turmoil, it would be absolutely disastrous. Take Luo Yuan as an example, a siege by a regr army had no impact on him. As long as his brain was intact, no one would be able to arrest him even they were an organized team.


    After Luo Yuan took a few bites, he looked at the big te of fruits and thought of sending it to Wang Shishi and the rest, so he said, "I don¡¯t want to eat the fruits now. I want to bring it back home."


    "Do you want to give it to your wife? I¡¯ll ask Chef Hu to give you more when you pack the dish back home," said Fang Peibin.


    The person who practiced martial arts had arger appetite. As for Luo Yuan, his appetite was even bigger. No matter how many dishes he was given, he could finish them all quickly. In just 10 minutes he had already finished all the dishes on the table. Before Luo Yuan even took the fruit tter, Fang Peibin had already carried the te and ran to the window as he forced Chef Hu to refill at least half a te and wrapped everything so he could bring it back.


    When they walked out from the restaurant there was a man and woman who walked towards the restaurant.


    "Eh?" Luo Yuan whispered in surprise.


    The man was nearly middle-aged with an old look. He looked like a regr public servant. What attracted Luo Yuan¡¯s attention was the woman. When the woman walked into range of his senses, he seemed to "see" a light that was no different than that of a shining sun.


    "Captain is back!" Fang Peibin who stood next to him suddenly whispered.

 Chapter 332: Honorable Award

    Chapter 332: Honorable Award


    <strong>Trantor:</strong>EndlessFantasy Trantion


    <strong>Editor:</strong>EndlessFantasy Trantion


    What Luo Yuan perceived was a vision of the soul. As his ability could not detect light, all the objects were presented in grayscale. In general, life forms contained energy and thus the color tended to be white whilst inanimate objects were gray in color unless they contained radiation. The stronger the creature was the more white it would look. However, Luo Yuan had yet to see a creature as powerful as this woman that had a light so bright.


    "Is she the captain who always has meetings in New Beijing?" Luo Yuan was able to hear them talking even when Fang Peibin whispered in a very low tone. He was slightly surprised because there was nobody who specifically mentioned the gender of the captain before so he naturally assumed that the captain would be a man.


    It was not sexism, but by nature, women tended to keep a distance from fighting. Wu Qianru was one of the rare cases in this small team. He never expected that the captain was a woman and seemed like she had a very powerful skill.


    She was petite in size, even shorter than Chen Jiayi and probably only at the height of Luo Yuan¡¯s chest. She had a rosy fair skin and he could not estimate the age by looking at her outlook. She was wearing a bigger size of khakibat uniforms and the uniform was obviously one size bigger so it looked baggy on her body; it was as if the uniform was going to fall from her shoulders. Besides, her trousers were also veryrge in size. Since the fabric was rough, when she walked it made a rustling sound which made her look a little funny.


    As their distance got closer, Luo Yuan felt a slight chill. The surrounding air temperature seemed to suddenly reduce by several Celsius. As she walked closer, Luo Yuan subconscious became intense, but soon he felt relieved as she took up her hand and said, "You are Luo Yuan, right? I have heard your name for so long. Hello, my name is Lin Feiyan. I wee to you join us on behalf of the sword unit of Hope City. Hope that we can work together happily." Lin Feiyan smiled, giving Luo Yuan a very good first impression.


    "This is my honor." Luo Yuan shook her hand. It was extremely soft but felt like it was burning as if he was holding a mass of fired coals. It was not as cold as the surrounding temperature due to her skill but instead, was very high in temperature at almost 50 to 60 degrees Celsius. At this temperature, regr people would have already burned to death but she looked alright and calm.


    Fang Peibin who stood next to them looked back and forth from time to time. Both of them had a fine, crystal like sets of teeth and even their skin was equally smooth and delicate with invisible pores, so he kind of sensed that both of them were from the same category of people.


    "Let me introduce you, this is Commissioner Yu from the Political Headquarters of the sword unit. He is here today specifically to understand the actual situation of yesterday''s mission. When are you avable to have a conversation with him? "


    "Hi, Commissioner Yu. I have nothing to do today so I am avable anytime."


    "Hi, Mr. Luo. I am sorry to disturb you, I just need a little bit of your time," said Commissioner Yu in a very humble way.


    Lin Feiyan looked at the time, "Both of you please go ahead with the conversation. Is one hour sufficient for you, Commissioner Yu?"


    Without getting the answer from Commissioner Yu, she talked to Fang Peibin, "Fang, please go and inform the other members and the crews toe for a meeting after one and a half hour. Please do not bete."


    "Noted, captain," answered Fang Peibin seriously.


    "Luo Yuan and Commissioner Yu, you guys proceed, I will need to leave first. There are a lot of backlogs to handle. Let¡¯s meet at the conference roomter."


    ...


    There were many vacant offices in the building, Luo Yuan randomly chose one and went inside. Although it was vacant, it was very clean inside. Apparently, it was cleaned every day. After the crew sent in tea, Commissioner Yu took out a file, recording pen from the briefcase and began the formal conversation. He asked in a detailed manner that even Luo Yuan had ignored some of the details. Fortunately, Luo Yuan had a superior memory otherwise he would not be able to answer most of the questions.


    After half an hour the conversation had ended and he finally felt a little relieved.


    "Thank you very much for your cooperation, Mr. Luo. This is my most rxing conversation ever." Commissioner Yu stood up and shook Luo Yuan¡¯s hand, in his heart he had a very good impression on Luo Yuan. He had done more than 10 simr conversations and this time was undoubtedly the most rxing one.


    "I admire your dedication to your job too." Luo Yuan replied with courtesy.


    "It would be the best if every evolved human was so highly principled like you." Eximed Commissioner Yu with his words full of resentment, before he then continued, "The finding of the new alloys was very significant for the redevelopment area as well. Its value was immeasurable. Other than to understand the situation from you, I aming to recognize your outstanding contributions to the redevelopment area. Hereby, I would like to congratte you in advance, General Luo."


    Luo Yuan smiled.


    ...


    At 1:30 pm, everyone except for Xie Junhui who went out to execute task was in the conference room. Luo Yuan was officially awarded as a Major General and directly appointed as vice-captain, with the two rewards of first-ss credit.


    The ceremony was very simple and not solemn at all. Except for two sets of uniforms and an official military certificate that served as proof of his rank, everything was like child''s y. In fact, it did not have actual power at all. After all, he was still a member of the sword unit so being a vice captain was actually better than being a general.


    As for the two first ss credit rewards, he had totally no idea what they were used for. It seemed like it had a special purpose as he could see the envious expression of everyone which included Lin Feiyan.


    The appointment process was very smooth and no one had any objections. Stronger personnel were destined to be respected in this special team. Nothing was important except strength and powerful skills that was able to convince and subjugate these bunch of evolved humans.


    Next up was the memorial session for Vice-Captain Yuan. It was more crowded and grand as more people joined into the conference rooms in just a short while.


    On the podium, there used to be a flower pot but it was now reced with a ck casket. However, the ck casket was actually empty as the Vice-Captain Yuan was dead without aplete corpse so it was just symbolic.


    All the members looked serious. It was only now that they felt slightly sad about the death. They never expected to see such a powerful vice-captain die in such a cruel way. Only Wu Qianru slightly teared up as she was the partner of Vice-Captain Yuan back then when they executed the task together.


    Before the eulogy was read, the family members were already arguing with each other, especially the seven prettydies who were the ones that argued most fiercely. They were crying whilst they fought and quarrelled with one another. Behind them, there were also friends and rtives that supported one of both sides while they had a dispute among themselves.


    After the exnation of Fang Peibin, Luo Yuan finally knew that these sevendies were the wives of Vice-Captain Yuan. Usually, after a member of the sword unit passes due to a mission, the government would grant a generous pension which was arge lump sum of money for ordinary people. Apparently, they were arguing for this.


    After the ceremony was affected by this farce, the sad atmosphere hadpletely disappeared. Lin Feiyan had a headache when she saw the situation so she decided to skip the final process of eulogy in order to end the session as soon as possible. When she tried to walk out from the room she was pulled back in by a fewdies. It was all because of her petite size and the childlike of Lin Feiyan that made her looked harmless. Because of that, thedies requested Captain Lin to help them to bbe the presiding judge since she was the leader here.


    Luo Yuan was already bored with the ceremony and mourning so when he saw this scene he quickly winked at the gang and took the opportunity to go outside. When Luo Yuan tried to ask Fang Peibin what was the function of the first ss credits that he received, a beautiful young woman with a graceful posture held a pile of papers and walked straight to him. Obviously, she wanted to approach him so he had to wait for another time to ask about it.


    "Hello, vice-captain. I am the manager of the Office Management, Chen Xinjie. I''ll bring you along so you can pick your office. Do you have any specific requirements?" The young woman asked with a smiling face.


    "No, I will just take the office of former vice-captain. I am not picky at all." Said Luo Yuan.


    "This would be great, it saved us a lot of effort. That office is really the best here, I was worried that you''d feel that it was taboo to use that office." Chen Xinjie covered her mouth and chuckled. She had a pair of charming, teary eyes and she looked attractive when sheughed making Luo Yuan subconsciously take a look at her.


    Both of them walked into the room of the former vice-captain which was at the end of the corridor. When he opened the door, Luo Yuan was surprised to see that the room had been cleaned and tidied up. The windows and desks were wiped until they were as shiny as new ones. The room was about 200 square feet which were equivalent to the size of a living room.


    Indeed it was more like a living room. Other than therge desk which looked odd, it was almost no different than a living room. There was a refrigerator, full-color TV, air conditioning and all the fixtures. All of them were considered to be high-end products before the apocalypse.


    Vice-Captain Yuan had good taste, at least there was nothing that Luo Yuan felt ufortable with. When he opened the door on the left wall, it was a bedroom with a bathroom attached. It seemed like he could live inside permanently. In addition, there was a balcony outside the living room that made the room barely look like an office.


    "If you''re unsure or unsatisfied with theyout and decoration, we can modify the room ording to your requests immediately."


    Luo Yuan ced his major general uniform and the certificate on the desk as he went over to sit on the massage chair. He was hardly dissatisfied with the office which would be considered to be very luxurious even before the apocalypse. "No, I''m fine."


    "Then do you need anything from your secretary?" Chen Xinjie continued.


    "Secretary?!" Luo Yuan was stunned for a moment. It was a small department in the sword unit with only a few members. Was it necessary for him to have a secretary?

 Chapter 333: Level Eight Life

    Chapter 333: Level Eight Life


    Trantor: EndlessFantasy Trantion Editor: EndlessFantasy Trantion


    "Based on your rank, you¡¯re entitled to two assistants. One for general administration and one for your personal affairs," Chen Xinjie said seriously.


    "I think I¡¯m good." Luo Yuan felt helpless. He found thispletely unnecessary.


    "Vice Captain, you probably haven¡¯t gotten familiar with our department yet. We might not look busy, but there are several trivial matters that need to be attended to. For example, weapon customization and model manufacturing. We have to contact the respective departments. Besides that, there are also many documents and information that need to be collected and managed. All your personal chores, such asundry and meal preparation, can be done by the assistants."


    Although Chen Xinjie had said it indirectly, she actually had no confidence in the administrative capabilities of a violent super evolved human. It was true that most evolved humans were not well-educated, and they might not be able to handle that kind of work. In the end, Luo Yuanpromised and said, "Fine, but I don¡¯t need an assistant for my personal affairs."


    He could not imagine what would happen if he brought an assistant back to his house.


    Chen Xinjie did not try to persuade him. She just left a stack of documents on his desk and said, "That¡¯s up to you. These are the resumes of the assistants so you can select one. They can report directly to you, anytime."


    There were at least 10 sheets of resumes. Luo Yuan lifted his hand and flipped through them. Most of them looked presentable and had graduated with a bachelor degree.


    Luo Yuan read fast. He finished reading in less than one minute thanks to his amazing memory. Then he picked one and told Chen Yujie, "This one."


    "Ah!" Shocked, Chen Xinjie looked at Luo Yuan. She¡¯d thought Luo Yuan would pick a pretty one, but the girl he had selected did not look pretty at all. However, she was above average in terms of performance.


    "Is there a problem?"


    "No, of course not. Should I ask her toe over now?" Chen Xinjie said quickly.


    "Sure!"


    Luo Yuan leaned back on the chair, closing his eyes to rest. After a while, Chen Xinjie brought the girl over. He opened his eyes and realized the girl was prettier than she looked in her photo. She looked gentle and shy, but she seemed nervous and agitated.


    She felt uneasy as she stood to the side, her eyes fixed on the floor. Luo Yuan smiled and said, "Rx, have a seat. Don¡¯t be nervous. Director Chen, could you please help us prepare some tea?"


    "Oh, no! No, let me do this!" the girl said in panic.


    "Nah, it¡¯s just a cup of tea, I¡¯ll do it. Take a seat, the Vice Captain wants to talk to you." Chen Xinjie smiled and pulled the girl back to a seat. Then she walked out of the room and closed the door.


    Sun Yuting grew more nervous when she saw the door close. She was pinching her shirt, not knowing where to hide her hands. She had heard some rumors before, but she also knew that this was a good opportunity. She had to grab it.


    The staff from the back end were all working under the Weapon Department. They all looked great, but their employee benefits were worse than the lowest rank of government servants. However, once she became the secretary of the Vice Captain, her life would change. Her mother would not need to work in the factory anymore, or might be able to get a better position.


    She was getting more nervous as she thought about it. Her body started shaking.


    "Are you from Donghu City?" Luo Yuan asked with a smile.


    "Yes," Sun Yuting replied quickly. She realized her answer had been inappropriate, so she tried again, "I¡¯m from Donghu city, Jiangnan Province."


    "Donghu University, 2010 graduate?" Luo Yuan asked.


    "Yes, sir!" Sun Yuting answered hesitantly. She was curious about why he had asked that question. It was written on her resume after all.


    "Alright, you¡¯ll be my secretary from now on. You know the job description, right?"


    "Yes, I think so," Sun Yung said. Then she seemed to realize something and said, "I passed the interview?"


    She looked really excited and happy as she saw Luo Yuan nod with a smile. She almost cried.


    "Go back and get prepared. You cane to work tomorrow. Is there a problem?" Luo Yuan said.


    "No, no problem," Sun Yuting said before leaving the room.


    Luo Yuan smiled. The reason he had selected Sun Yuting as his secretary was because both of them were from the same town and had graduated from the same university. Jiangnan Province was located on the coast, so it was probably sinking as they spoke. Donghu City had also sunk.


    There had to be less than 1,000,000 survivors from the Jiangnan Province who had migrated to the rehabilitation base. Perhaps, the residents of Donghu City who were still alive were less than 100,000. Luo Yuan sighed as he thought about it.


    Right after Sun Yuting left, Chen Xinjie entered the room with tea. "She¡¯s gone?"


    She put down the tea in front of Luo Yuan and asked, "What did you think of her?"


    Luo Yuan believed that she was acting. He did not think Chen Xinjie had not seen Sun Yuting leave the room. All government officials seemed to be social experts. He did not take it seriously though.


    "She was good."


    "I¡¯m d you¡¯re satisfied. Although her past performance has not been that good, she¡¯s very detail-oriented and serious about her work. She¡¯s also quite mature and reliablepared to others. Oh right! This is an information terminal and an anti-maic satellite phone."


    Luo Yuan opened the envelope she gave him and took everything out. He had seen an information terminal before. It looked simr to a pre-apocalypse wrist watch.


    He lifted the anti-maic satellite phone and realized it was bigger and heavier than a normal cell phone. There was a metal Faraday¡¯s cage [1] on its surface.


    "This is the key for your room. Let me know when you¡¯re free to check it out."


    "It¡¯s not urgent," Luo Yuan said. "Could you tell me about the two badges I received today?"


    Based on what had happened that afternoon, there had to be something wrong with those badges. They did not seem like normal badges at all.


    "Oh, you didn¡¯t know about that?" Chen Xinjie sounded surprised.


    "This is just my second day in this department. No one informed me."


    "I¡¯m sorry, it¡¯s my fault. We have an internal website. Would you mind switching on yourputer so I can help you insert the address?" Chen Xinjie said sincerely.


    Luo Yuan nodded and switched on hisputer. Theputer was also anti-maic, but it was not as nice as the satellite phone. There was ayer of wires on the screen, which was quite annoying.


    Chen Xinjie bent down and leaned against Luo Yuan¡¯s back. He had no idea whether she was rubbing her boobs on his back intentionally as she typed in the website address. Luo Yuan felt ufortable, but she luckily got up very fast. He was relieved.


    "Now you need to insert your military ID and provide a password. Do remember to change your password. Anyway, it¡¯s fine even if you don¡¯t. No one dares to login secretly," Chen Xinjie said with a smile.


    Luo Yuan remained silent. He opened his military certificate and memorized the 10-plus-digit ID. Then he typed it in and clicked ¡®login¡¯. The website looked very simple. It must have cost CNY 500 before the end of the world.


    It was an emerce website, but there were not many items for sale on the tform. Luo Yuan realized there were only a few pages of items, and most of them were from a seller called S17173. After asking Chen Yujie, he found out that this was the official username of the rehabilitation base. Other than the official username, there were also a few other usernames. Compared to the rehabilitation base, which owned all nuclear weapons, the power of evolved humans was rtively weak.


    However, although the website was simple, the items sold on the tform were not. Luo Yuan had not even seen most them in his life.


    He looked at the items, sorting them from the cheapest to the most expensive. The more he saw, the faster his breathing became.


    Most of the sellers had to be super evolved humans, as most of the items were weapons. The best one was a giant sword made of level eight mutated creature finger bones. The giant sword was glowing blue in the picture.


    Level eight mutated creatures were beyond green level mutated beasts. Luo Yuan could not even imagine the power of that kind of creature, and he had no idea how they could be killed. Perhaps only a nuclear bomb could kill them.


    The second most powerful weapon was a long red spear made of level eight mutated creature ribs.


    ...


    Luo Yuan checked them out one by one. The first five items were all made of level eight mutated creatures. The sixth one was made of level seven mutated creature, and its price was less than 1/10 of the price of the fifth item.


    Luo Yuan discovered that the ninth item was made of level eight mutated creature too. It was a semi-transparent crystal made of the heart of a level eight mutated creature. However, there was no exnation as to its function.


    Luo Yuan looked at it for a long time and got his answer.


    Trantor Note:


    1 A Faraday¡¯s cage is a grounded metal screen that surrounds a piece of equipment and keeps out any electrostatic and electromaic influences.

 Chapter 334: Genetic Invasion

    Chapter 334: Gic Invasion


    Trantor: EndlessFantasy Trantion Editor: EndlessFantasy Trantion


    "Is that the energy body (energy crystal)?"


    Luo Yuan could tell as he read the introduction stated that was extracted from a heart.


    In fact, the crystal Luo Yuan saw was totally different from the one he used to have The color and transparency waspletely different. That one was taken from a flood-dragon from the green level, it was yellowish red in color and not transparent which looked like those stones we could see everywhere. While the one he saw online was slightly more yellowish and semi-transparent. No one would think it was the same thing even if they put it together.


    However, one was from a level six¡¯s mutated creature and another one was from level eight¡¯mutated creature. Other than the difference from the outlook but the power was also very different. It would be very strange if it still looked the same.


    He opened the page of the crystal and found more details about the introduction and test report. Luo Yuan did not try to avoid Chen Xinjie as the seller was the official rehabilitation base and the recipients were all real name. He would not be able to escape if the rehabilitation base wants to investigate. Hence, it was good to just read it openly.


    However, Luo Yuan frowned as he looked at it as the crystal was very dangerouspared to the level six-energy body he had. The rehabilitation base had done a series of the experiment on it before selling on the website. It was a strong electrolyte which was water soluble and it was also a very strong oxidant. They even conducted a live experiment but it failed due to gene breakdown.


    The curious point was the experiment has been terminated since then. The upper management seemed to have given up on the studies and tried to sell it via the tform.


    Luo Yuan could not understand and he had limited information to make any spection.


    In fact, the reason they gave up on the experiment was that of the specialty of the level eight mutated creature. It was beyond the human imagination and every single of them was a disaster to the human nation. The normal weapons werepletely useless to them. One-forth of the nuclear bombs were reserved for fighting those creatures.Fortunately, because of the nuclear bombs, the rest of the super mutated creature did not dare toe close to the rehabilitation base.


    The life of that kind of creature has been evolved, their carcasses would be mysterious even after they died. It would not be rotten and still possess some scary power even after it died. Normal people would need to wear a protective suit before drawing closer to it.


    All the living things died wherever its blood spilled on it. The flesh has a strong power to invade genes as the skin will rot even if it was contacted with a tiny blood stain. It was the scariest poison ever and that was the reason it carcass did not rot as the microorganism could not fight its power.


    The power of gic invasion could not be affected by high temperature and it was not edible. Thus, other than using it for the experiments, it was burnt with high temperature.


    The discovery of the energy crystal was an ident. Although it looked unique, they could not do anything as long as the issue of gic invasion still existed. It was not prioritized by thebs as there were many more experiments with numerous breakthrough they had.


    Besides that, they were actually using the crystal body as a lure to attract super evolved humans for the purpose of the human experiment.


    ...


    Luo Yuan frowned and pondered.


    However, he decided to buy it first as it was difficult to find. He definitely knew the danger of gic invasion. That mutated human was the result of evolution failure due to gic invasion. That was considered good as they still survive, but the scariest thing was a gic breakdown and they became a puddle of flesh and blood.


    However, only the high-quality genes could invade the low-grade genes. There would be no difference for the same level of genes. Although he could not use it now, perhaps he could use it in the future when he upgraded again.


    "Oh right, how much I have in my ount?" Luo Yuan asked Chen Xinjie. He did not know how much he had when he wanted to purchase.


    "A-level achievement can be traded for 10,000, you will get 20,000 as you have two badges. You can actually see it from your ount." Chen Xinjie said as she tried to show him the way to check the bnce."


    Luo Yuan scanned the list and realized it was a huge amount and he could actually buy almost all the items below the fifth item. Even the five snowy white short spears which ranked at fifth was only 28,000.


    While the energy crystal was only 1,500, he had more than enough to pay.


    Luo Yuan finallypleted the purchase. He felt relieved and asked, "When will the good delivered to me?"


    "It will take about a day or two. Usually one day."


    "That¡¯s great! I want to check more about it. Anyway, I know the schedule already, you can go back to work if you¡¯re busy. I¡¯ll let you know when I want to check on the house." Luo Yuan said to Chen Xinjie. He did not mind she saw what he just bought, but he felt ufortable when someone was watching him at the back.


    "Alright, I really have something to do. My office is just next door, see you!" Chen Xinjie smiled and said. She then left the office with a nice fragrance left in the room.


    Luo Yuan smiled and then continued to explore. There were so many things on the website, such as an eyeball which can trigger hallucinations, tree juice which can make the skin strong and a hood which can make one invisible.


    However, he just wanted to check in order to fill his curiosity. Those things had not much use to him now and he did not keen on the weapons. Of course, it was notpletely right as he was quite interested in the materials. However, based on Luo Yuan¡¯s assumption, those materials which used to make the weapons were not valuable.


    Unfortunately, the level eight materials which he wanted was not on sale and the ready made weapon was too expensive. Thus, he could only pick one from the dark green level. He continued to search on the following page and finally, he found something!


    It was a spiral shape of a horn which was about 150 cm and thickest part was as wide as a bowl. It was about 65 kg and ranked at level seven. The entire spiral horn was in gold color, it looked amazing!


    Even he only saw it from the image, he could feel the power of the horn which was the mysterious energy to destroy something. No one could go close to it and those who touch it would feel the pain of being poked by needles. Their flesh would rot as if they insisted on holding it for long period of time.


    That was the reason its price was a lot lower than the other weapons from level seven which was less than one-third of the normal price.


    However, those weapons which could not be used by other evolved humans were usable by Luo Yuan. The Zhanmadao has been trained to the point where he could use it expertly and even theplimentary powers were well mastered by him.


    He quickly bought it and then continued to explore. He finally clicked on thest page of the website. He switched off theputer as he did not see anything attractive. There must be many more things he has missed as he was just ncing through the website without reading carefully. Anyway, he was not in a hurry to get all the things.

 Chapter 335: Hypocritical

    Chapter 335: Hypocritical


    <strong>Trantor:</strong>EndlessFantasy Trantion


    <strong>Editor:</strong>EndlessFantasy Trantion


    Next, Luo Yuan was apanied by Chen Xinjie to view the house. The house was nearly 600 square feet and the decoration was quite good. There was nothing to be dissatisfied for expect for the house was actually located in the underground that made people subconsciously feel repressed.


    After wandered around in Hope City since they came from Desert City, he finally officially settled down in this city.


    At night, everyone was joyful and excited after they saw the house. In addition to the fruit thatwas brought back by Luo Yuan, it certainly raised the cheerful mood to the next level. The depressed feeling they had since the earthquake had now dissipated by half. Even Chen Jiayi, whose nt-based disease was getting serious also asionally chuckled.


    Looked at the crowdugh, Luo Yuan smiled and did not say anything. After the destruction of civilization and humanity, this heartfeltughter was undoubtedly precious to see.


    "Brother Luo,e and eat some fruit. This is the best fruit to eat." Wang Shishi asked Luo Yuan when she saw him sat quietly at the side.


    "I have eaten some in the noon. These are left for you guys." Luo Yuan softly said, "If you guys want to eat these fruit, I can always bring back more." Once Luo Yuan said it, Wang Shishi started asking for more.


    "Brother Luo, you are the best! Bring more of the red fruit but bring less of the yellow fruit, it has too many dregs and is hard to bite."


    "You still want to pick and choose when you already have fruits to eat." Luo Yuan said andughed.


    "Since I have the nice ones to eat, why would I want to eat the ones that are not so nice?" Wang Shshi said with a straight face, "Brother Luo, tell us more about the Firearms Bureau. Sister Huang said they are all super-evolved humans in the department."


    Luo Yuan looked at Huang Jiahui and she suddenlyughed, awkwardly. However, he did not care much, after all there was nothing confidential. Since everyone was interested to know, he told them more about the department briefly.


    Even when Luo Yuan spoke in a t tone, everyone was amazed and felt envious to what he had said.


    ...


    When it was about eight o''clock, the gathering ended and everyone dismissed and returned to their rooms. Luo Yuan was thest one who took a bath. When he wanted to go into the bedroom to sleep, he found that his bedroom was locked. He was about to knock on the door but stopped his hand midway.


    He thought of that nce Zhao Yali gave before she left, it was only now that he realized the actual meaning of it. Seemed like both of thedies hade into consensus about the schedule.


    All this while, Luo Yuan and Zhao Yali''s rtionship was kept secret. Though everyone understood it all, nobody said anything since Zhao Yali did not have thick skin. Usually, when there were more people around them, they hardly spoke as well. Although it made him feel some inconvenience, it was still simr to an affair of some kind and gave him some excitement. On top of that, he enjoyed seeing the way Zhao Yali resisting him and yet she would still, in the end, ept what he had done to her.


    When he thought about it, he was excited. He secretly went over to Zhao Yali''s room and gently twisted the door handle. It was not locked. She was indeed hinting at something when she nced at him. He opened the door and sneaked in, quietly closing the door behind him. For someone at his level, darkness was now almost no different than day. He saw that Zhao Yali was wearing pyjamas, covered by thin quilts while her back faced him.


    When Luo Yuan gently coughed, Zhao Yali shuddered. He saw that she was trying her best not to move and tried to act serious. He could not help himself and asked, "Why Sister Yali, you''re suddenly so brave today?"


    Luo Yuan said as he undressed himself and teased, "I wouldn''t be in the mood if it wasn''t for your nce at me before you left."


    It seemed that she was stimted by the words Luo Yuan uttered. Her skin quickly turned red but still, she did not react. Seeing her reaction, Luo Yuan was not surprised but was slightly happy with it. Aspared to the past, her attitude had improved a lot. This time, she was at least in acquiesce.


    He quickly finished undressing and sneaked into the nket. At the same time, he extended his skilled and flexible hands into her pajamas and his hands went straight to work on her body. Her body was very warm and trembled slightly as her breath grew ragged. Luo Yuan was in doubt when he felt that the thing he was grabbing had grown bigger and more stic.


    If he still remembered correctly, Zhao Yali as a maturedy did not have such a slim waist and such tight skin.


    Luo Yuan touched her for a while and felt something was not right. "No, this is not Zhao Yali." He was stunned and cursed in his heart. When he tried to sneak out, the other person seemed to feel his escape n and quickly turned over to grab him. Luo Yuan wanted to get rid of her but she had sat on his body.


    When Luo Yuan saw the face, his body startled, "Shishi you... Why are you sleeping here? It''s not..."


    "Why can¡¯t I sleep here? This is my room," said Wang Shishi shyly as she gasped.


    In the dark, her eyes were shiny and charming. Luo Yuan wanted to say it was Zhao Yali''s room but he shut his mouth. Apparently, it was not the right time to speak about such things as he quickly said, "Well, I was wrong, Shishi. Come down."


    "I don¡¯t want to. Are looking for Sister Zhao? Wouldn''t it be the same if you looked for me instead? I can do whatever she does." Wang Shishi said bravely. Once she finished the sentence she was scared but also excited.


    "Shishi, you are still young and do not understand anything. To be honest, I have always treated you as a daughter or sister." Luo Yuan urged earnestly.


    Wang Shishi did not respond but groaned. Her hips gently rocked against Luo Yuan''s private parts a few times and made the extremely sensitive Luo Yuan breathe heavily as his privates grew. "Is this how you treat your sister? Brother Luo, you are a hypocrite! Don''t even think about forgetting everything you just did to me. Now, I am not pure anymore and an apology is not enoughpensation. How am I going to find a boyfriend? How can I live? How would other people look at me? "


    At this time Wang Shishi refused to continue being well-behaved. Her barrage of words made Luo Yuan speechless. In his heart, he thought, "Not pure anymore? You are a millennial and not live in the 80¡¯s. How can you be more conservative than me?" Though he said that, he knew that his actions were inexcusable and in fact, he did a shameful thing so it was difficult for him to argue.


    In the dark, her ck hair slowly fell down from the shoulder as she took off her underwear revealing a fair and perfect body. She lowered her body and the pair of bulging breasts gently shook in front of Luo Yuan. It made Luo Yuan feel hot and thirsty. He vaguely heard Wang Shishi ask him, "Brother Luo, am I pretty?"


    ...


    After they were done, Luo Yuan climbed down from Wang Shishi''s body. When he looked at the tired and weak Wang Shishi he was happy but felt a tinge of worry in his heart. He never expected that he would have lost control.


    He covered his face and regretted that he did not hold back with the temptation and was not able to control his lower body. There was definitely going to be a lot of time spent looking at the floor tomorrow.


    While he was deep in thought, delicate arms hugged Luo Yuan from behind, the gentle touch made his mind swing. He secretly cursed, "Fine, if they want to me me then i''ll just let them be. Wang Shishi is part of the family, they should be able to understand it..."


    The next day, Luo Yuan did go out early. Wang Shishi slept until she woke up naturally. The brave Wang Shishist night was now embarrassed and shy. She did not dare to look at him and whispered, "I am a little bit scared."


    Luo Yuan understood what she was worried about and softly said, "Don¡¯t worry, I am here for you."


    He was not a man if he did not dare to bear the responsibility.


    Wang Shishi answered lightly and both of them dressed up. When Luo Yuan opened the door and walked out the room together with Wang Shishi, Chen Jiayi just woke up with a bleary-eye and saw the scene. She was stunned and immediately ran back to her room like she was frightened by something.


    They entered the living room, the crowd that was originally chatting suddenly became silent. Huang Jiahui sighed secretly and looked sad. At the same time, Zhao Yali was focusing on eating her breakfast. She did not seem to pay attention and acted calmly.


    "You guys are having breakfast." Luo Yuanughed awkwardly and said while he pulled the worried Wang Shishi to join the table. Their action spoke plenty without the need to say anything.


    No one answered, only Wang Xiaguang snorted a bit.


    "Jiahui, you slimed down a lot recently. Eat more. How can you eat so little every day? There is no need for you to lose weight. As for Sister Yali, the weather has been changing a lot you have to wear more to keep warm."


    Zhao Yali was angry in her heart. Last night she deliberately left the door unlocked but someone did note to her. When she opened the door, she heard soundsing from Wang Shishi''s room. After all that had happened, he still had the cheek to purposely strike a conversation? If she was not a timid person she would have thrown the chopstick at his face.


    Huang Jiahui nced at him, "Now you me me for being too thin."


    Luo Yuan quickly smiled and apologized, "No, of course, I am not ming."


    "I bet you dare not me me. Come and sit here, Shishi. Apany me to the marketter. I have not visited the market nearby yet." As a mature woman, although Huang Jiahui was ufortable and had an unspeakable bitterness in heart, she knew how to hold back and let go. Both of them had been together for so long, she knew his temper too well. Although Luo Yuan had a gracious attitude and also spoke softly, underneath his facade he was a very proud man. It was already his limit to be so humble to her.


    After all, they were together just because they needed to stay warm with each other during the apocalypse. No matter her age or experience in matters of marriage they were not considered as a normal couple. This had always been her pain point. She was very clear that Luo Yuan did not have much feelings for her at that point of time. With his status and strength, he could demand any woman that he fancied. There was a period when she could barely sleep during the night and was worried that Luo Yuan would abandon her and be with other women. Up until the time they had lived together for a long period of time did their rtionship be more harmonious, like a family did her feeling of unease gradually subside.


    But even so, she never thought of owning Luo Yuan exclusively. Although it was a surprise to see Luo Yuan and Wang Shishi together, she already knew that this would happen sooner orter. Living during the apocalypse, she had learned to let go of things as ensuring that she was alive was more important.


    Wang Shishi lowered her head and answered quietly, her mind was finally relieved.


    "Sister Yali can go together too! You already stayed in the hostel for so long, it''s good to go out to get some fresh air." Luo Yuan looked at Zhao Yali and smiled.


    Zhao Yali looked up and saw guilt in his eyes. She was soft hearted and agreed without saying much.


    ...


    "I shouldn¡¯t try to hint at people again next time." Luo Yuan thought secretly.


    ...


    Half an hourter, as Luo Yuan pleasantly walked to the weapons unit building, Sun Yuting was already waiting in front of the office.


    "Vice-captain." she quickly came to Luo Yuan when she saw him and addressed him respectfully.


    Luo Yuan opened the door and smiled, "Come in."


    He sat on the massage chair and ordered, "The first task for you is to collect all the data ofpleted and upleted task after the announcement and send them to me."


    "Noted. Do you have any other orders?"


    "No,plete this first. By the way, get me a cup of tea." Luo Yuan said.


    "Okay¡­"


    This tea was not like the tea before the apocalypse but was tea made from mutated tea leaves. After he drank a cup yesterday, not only was fragrance fresh but it also helped him to calm down his mind so he quickly fell in love with this drink.


    The tea was soon sent in and Sun Yuting gently closed the door and went out.


    Whilst taking a whiff of the tea, Luo Yuan gently tapped his index finger on the table. There were so many tasks that led him to believe he would be able to find clues regarding an intelligent race, which included the discovery of a wisdom tree.


    Although the redevelopment area was powerful, it did not mean that they knew of everything. Even if they had found the magical effects of the wisdom tree, they would probably still have missed a few things.

 Chapter 336: Information

    Chapter 336: Information


    Trantor: EndlessFantasy Trantion Editor: EndlessFantasy Trantion


    Luo Yuan went to the basement on level 15 to practice his saber skills for an hour. He also took some time to teach Fang Peibin. All the data was ready when he got back.


    After telling Sun Yuting to make him some tea, he began to read the information. There was a total of 12 GB of data which consisted of around 300 missions together with text and images. Most of the missions were C-Level and the level of difficulty was probably less than level five. These made up 90% of the total and the amount ofpleted missions were quite high.


    B-Level missions which were level six missions only made up were only about 20 to 30 missions from the total. One-forth of the missions were iplete. On the other hand, there were not many A-Level missions, and most of them were also iplete.


    Luo Yuan looked at the iplete missions and tried to estimate the time it would take toplete them. He realized that if he were toplete them all, he would increase him level by two. This would be easier than relying on his luck to find a mission like he was used to.


    However, there were also some more important, urgent missions. He had to find the Wisdom Tree first. Although he was currently powerful enough to handle B-Level missions, an A-Level mission would be no easy feat by any means. He may actually not be able to make it back home.


    As long as he could find the Wisdom Tree, his power would be upgraded when his Physique and Intelligence reached the same level. By that time, he would have the confidence he needed toplete the mission.


    Luo Yuan took a sip of his tea and began to skim through the information. He finished his lunch fast and went back to his desk again. He made lots of remarks whenever he found something relevant. He discovered a few strange points in just a few hours.


    For example, a group of people had gotten attacked and they¡¯d gone missing along with their weapons. Usually, if one was attacked by a mutated beast, their corpse might get eaten, but their weapons and bullets would still be there. No matter how desperate a mutated beast was, it would not eat the weapons. Luo Yuan spected that the only way the weapons could have gone missing was if the group had bumped into a highly intelligent species.


    For example, there was a stone ax in some of the photos he had.


    There were many intelligent species near the rehabilitation base. However, it was not easy to trace their footprints, and Luo Yuan had no idea whether the management had any further information as they never shared any intel regarding this issue.


    Two parcels arrived in the afternoon around 3 p.m. Luo Yuan could not wait to open them. He switched off theputer and left the office after informing Chen Xinjie.


    This was one of the pros of working for the bureau was that he coulde and go as he pleased. It was fine if he did note to the office, as long as hepleted three low-level missions. The Captain would not even criticize him, as long as he did not cause them any problems.


    Of course, the fewer missions hepleted, the fewer points he would gain. Without points, he would not be able to buy rare resources. Luo Yuan was already familiar with all the rules and regtions of the bureau. He would get 100 points when hepleted a C-Level mission, and he would get 10 times more points for every higher level mission hepleted.


    In other words, based on the value of his contribution, Luo Yuan¡¯s achievement had been undervalued when he previously killed the deformed monster.


    However, he had yet to join the bureau officially at the time, so theoretically he had not been employed by them. Besides, they could not have identified the level of the deformed monster based on the active energy in its blood. Therefore, he had been lucky to receive two A-Level achievements and the title of Vice-Captain.


    Luo Yuan took the elevator to basement level nine. The whole area was like an underground city with wide streets and modern buildings. No one would know they were underground if they did not notice the rocks on the ceiling. In order to fully utilize the space, all the buildings had been built with four floors and their roofs almost reached the ceiling.


    This was a residential zone, so it was vastly different from a few levels above where there was a small but polluted industrial zone. Normal people could not live there. It was working hours though, so the streets were empty and there was not a single shadow that could be seen.


    Luo Yuan was carrying the two parcels, which weighed about 50 kilos with ease. He was walking fast, so he reached his house after a few minutes.


    He opened the door and saw that the lights were on. Chen Jiayi was sitting on the couch in the living room. There was a lot of moss on her head. She had not moved in a while, and she had not even noticed that Luo Yuan hade in.


    Luo Yuan felt amused as he patted the fluffy moss. Before he could touch it, the moss shrank back into her body.


    "Brother Luo, you¡¯re back!" Chen Jiayi was shocked.


    "Why are you alone? Where is everyone else?" Luo Yuan asked.


    "They went shopping. I didn¡¯t feel like going," Chen Jiayi said.


    Luo Yuan was stunned. He got worried as he looked at her. The time Chen Jiayi spent idling was getting longer, and she would continue to remain idle if they did not talk to her. That would be really bad for her. Luo Yuan set the parcels aside and sat down beside her. "Why didn¡¯t you feel like going out?" he asked patiently.


    "I just didn¡¯t find it interesting." Chen Jiayi quickly lowered her head as if she had done something wrong.


    "This is not right. I understand that you¡¯re affected by the moss, but you¡¯re a human, not a nt. You will be a real nt one day if you keep up your current lifestyle. Do you really want to be a nt?"


    Chen Jiayi thought silently, "It¡¯s actually quite good. Being able to absorb sunlight is really fun!"


    She raised her head and looked at Luo Yuan¡¯s serious expression. Then she quickly looked down at the floor again and said, "No."


    Luo Yuan¡¯s head ached. He felt pity for her as he looked at her. She had been better when she¡¯d attended the sses in Desert City, as there had been lots of homework waiting for her every day. However, she had gotten worse ever since she¡¯d stopped going to school. Luo Yuan sighed. He believed that they needed to send her to school to keep her busy. "I think you need to go to school, otherwise you might not be able to keep up. I¡¯ll contact the schools in the area. It¡¯s always good to learn more."


    Chen Jiayi nodded insecurely.


    Luo Yuan smiled and patted her head before he said, "I¡¯m not trying to kick you out. This will always be your home. You cane home every week."


    Luo Yuan continued to talk for a few more minutes. Once Chen Jiayi felt better, he picked up the parcels again. As he went into his room, he grew very excited. He opened the small parcel and found three items inside it. There was a ss tube containing a semi-transparent crystal, a small bottle of helium, and a bottle of wax.


    Apparently, the helium and the wax were for resealing work to prevent oxidation.


    Luo Yuan lifted the ss tube and looked at the energy crystal. It was a lot smaller than it had looked in the picture. It was about the size of his thumb, and there were scratches on its surface. Apparently, it had been used in an experiment. However, it was still bigger than the one he¡¯d had before.


    As he looked at the shiny crystal, he switched off the light. When the room waspletely dark, he saw a weak light glowing inside the tube.


    It was definitely not a fluorite. It was a solid light source. The crystal was glowing.

 Chapter 337: Illusion

    Chapter 337: Illusion


    Trantor: EndlessFantasy Trantion Editor: EndlessFantasy Trantion


    In nature, there were very few substances that could shine on their own and they were all radioactive substances.


    These substances undoubtedly contained an enormous amount of energy. Take enriched uranium for example. One gram of enriched uranium could release 20 joules of energy, which was equivalent to 1.5 tons of anthracite coal power that had the capacity to generate an output of 5555.56 kWh. This might seem insignificant, but the energy generated could melt 70 to 80 tons of steel into iron and burn people to ashes two times over.


    Of course, artificial uranium had existed for a billion years. If one gram of uranium decayed naturally, it needed hundreds of billions of years to release even half its energy. The energy released in the form of radiation every second was so little, it was almost negligible.


    Luo Yuan did not know what substance this crystal stone was, but it certainly was not radioactive. Judging by the way it released light and heat, its energy would diminish in just a few years.


    Then again, the sr thermal energy released from the crystal was a thousand times stronger than that of enriched uranium, and its weight was about 50 grams. He could not tell the amount of energy contained in the stone. Taking a level eight mutated beast¡¯s giant body and fearsome power into ount, Luo Yuan estimated that it had to contain no less energy than one gram of enriched uranium.


    Luo Yuan put the ss tube down with a serious expression. This stuff was too dangerous. He nned to process the horn first, ande back to the crystalter. He carefully ced the ss tube inside the box and closed it before opening the box that contained the spiral horn.


    Inside the box was a two-meter long wooden bar. The box was made of fine wood, and it was as dim as golden steel. Even without identification, Luo Yuan could roughly estimate that it was dark blue level timber.


    The wooden box was tightly sealed with dried vine, so he could not open it by using force. He had to use his Will to separate those vines.


    He was just about to open the box but as his hand touched the lid, he felt a slight numbness in his fingers, as if he had been pricked by needles. He quickly pulled his hand back and looked at them. He was surprised to see that they were full of fine red dots.


    Fortunately, his skin was tough, so he wasn¡¯t bleeding.


    The horn was terrible. Someone had cut it from a dead beast, but its power was not even half of what the creature had. Luo Yuan could imagine it being a powerful weapon when it had still been intact on the mutated beast. It would have pricked its opponents with a hundred holes before evening into contact with them.


    Luo Yuan did not dare look at it anymore. He gathered his Will and covered his whole body in a soft light. He gently opened the wooden box, his eyes squinting unconsciously. He could not even look at it if he did not take any precautions.


    The horn was seemed to glow a whitish-gold color and it exuded a threatening force. Luo Yuan could vaguely feel an invincible force raging in the air. The wooden box under the horn had almost been eroded by the power of the horn and ayer of fine sawdust had piled up under the horn. Compared to the pictures on the website, it did not do the horn¡¯s power any justice.


    Luo Yuan reached out to touch and feel the horn, all the while still consuming his Will.


    Although the force exuded from the Zhanmadao waspelling enough, it was still just a feeling, which was simply iparable to such power.


    Luo Yuan used his identification technique.


    "Phantom Unicorn"


    "Rarity: Dark Green"


    "Weight: 65 kg"


    "Additional Abilities: Bloody Tear"


    "Remarks: The Phantom Unicorn is the darling of nature blessed with unnatural speed. It has no fixed territory and just wanders around to its every whim and fancy. Its speed and horn are its only means of self-protection."


    Luo Yuan took a look around and realized that the additional capabilities of the horn matched the Zhanmadao. The most important feature of a weapon was its sharpness. Any other extra capabilities were insignificant.


    Luo Yuan pulled out the Zhanmadao and concentrated his Will. Then he stabbed the saber into the middle of the horn and started to use the synthesization technique.


    The horn gradually began to heat up, and soon it was sweltering. With a saber in its center, the color of the white-gold horn quickly faded away as powder fell from it. At the same time, the Zhanmadao, which had originally been ck-and-white, gradually formed a slight white-gold pattern. An invisible force began to spread through the de of the saber.


    As time passed, most of the horn was slowly reduced to ashes. Only one-third of it could not be synthesized.


    Luo Yuan pulled out the knife and saw that this time the whole Zhanmadao had turned into an amazing weapon. It exuded an extremely threatening invisible force. He felt like he was being stabbed in the heart by a needle just by looking at it. He concentrated his mind, and the threatening force immediately converged within the de of the Zhanmadao. Then, as he released his Will into the de, it exuded a powerful raging force that was even stronger than what he had seen.


    After looking at the original wooden box that had held the horn, Luo Yuan flicked the Zhanmadao and the tip seemed to cross the wooden box from the top without even touching it. The distance between the two was about two feet, yet something amazing happened. The Zhanmadao shed and the whole box was split into two in an instant. The incision was smooth and delicate like the surface of a mirror.


    The de of Luo Yuan¡¯s concentrated Will was about half a meter long, and it was very sharp. The power did not immediately dissapear abruptly after half a meter either. Instead, it gradually weakened until it was not enough to cut a wooden box anymore.


    Of course, this was merely an additional ability. The de formed by his Will was several times more powerful than this.


    Through that test, Luo Yuan had discovered that his weapon could nowplement his Will. With its help, the power of his Will could be supported, making it more stable and sharp. He could also expand its attack distance to a maximum of five meters and reduce the consumption of his Will greatly.


    "Phantom Zhanmadao"


    "Rarity: Dark Green"


    "Weight: 24 kg"


    "Attack: 40-46"


    "Additional Ability 1: Attack Speed +3"


    "Additional Ability 2: Passive Tearing. It can easily cut any sharp objects with a moderate effect."


    "Additional Ability 3: Passive Bleeding. It can make wounds suffer incurable bleeding."


    "Remarks: This is a Zhanmadao with a mysterious force. It is very sharp, and no one can use it except for its owner."


    As he checked out the powerful properties in his mind, Luo Yuan looked pleased. To some extent, this dark green, level seven horn was far more valuable than a level eight material.


    Its only disadvantage was that the knife was almost five pounds heavier. It made Luo Yuan, who was used to the original Zhanmadao a bit ufortable, but he just needed a little more practice to adapt to it. Aside from this minor w, everything was perfect.


    After the synthetization, one-third of the horn was left. When Luo Yuan picked up the horn to tidy up the room, he noticed something strange. The threatening force the horn exuded hadpletely disappeared after the synthesization.


    "Could it have been fully integrated by the Zhanmadao? Is the Zhanmadao¡¯s absorption capacity infinite?"


    Luo Yuan was a little curious, as this was the first time he had noticed this. After all, when the Zhanmadao synthesized, either the material to be absorbed was limited or its ability was hidden. However, he could not know just by looking at it, which was why he had not paid any attention to it before.


    As hecked any evidence, all he could do was make a note for future reference.


    Luo Yuan controlled thepelling force of the Zhanmadao until it was back to its normal state. Then he inserted it into the scabbard and put it away.


    As he looked at the small box next to him, his heart began to stir. He could not resist taking a look at such a powerful substance.


    He reached out to open the box and took the stone out of the bottle carefully. He removed the wax seal quickly before he pulled the cork out.


    Suddenly, a threatening aura spread out and stifled Luo Yuan¡¯s breath. His expression quickly changed. This feeling wasparable to a real level eight mutated beast, but even so, his felt much difficulty in repressing this feeling in his heart.


    Luo Yuan took a deep breath as he knew how powerful a real level eight mutated beast would be. Just the thought of one would have made anyone desperate. By the time one faced such a beast, they may not even dare go near it because of the powerful aura it would exude.


    He shook his head to get rid of any distractions. He dared not hesitate. The energy of the crystal could easily oxidize, and further exposure to air could reduce its power.


    To avoid any incidents, he covered himself with a thinyer of Will and quickly grabbed the crystal with his hand.


    However, when the palm and crystal came into contact, the crystal, which was a living thing started to tremble severely. Meanwhile, Luo Yuan was absent-minded and an invisible roaring noise rose in his mind. He could vaguely see a giant beast with vivid colors roar angrily in his head.


    Luo Yuan took a few steps backward. When he recovered, his face had turned pale.


    His Will had unknowingly dissipated by more than half and theyer of Will he had surrounding his body became too difficult to maintain.


    He looked down at his palm and found himself unconsciously holding the crystal. He shrugged. The energy of the crystal was still in his hands, it just wasn¡¯t as violent as before. The crystal was not moving at all. It felt like the whole scene had been just a hallucination.


    Luo Yuan exhaled softly and shivered. He was already soaked in sweat.


    "What¡¯s going on?"


    His face was serious, and he was still afraid.

 Chapter 338: Removal of Hidden Danger

    Chapter 338: Removal of Hidden Danger


    <strong>Trantor:</strong>EndlessFantasy Trantion


    <strong>Editor:</strong>EndlessFantasy Trantion


    "Active Energy Body"


    "Grade: Average"


    "Weight: 53g"


    "Remarks: This is an average grade semi-crystalline active body of energy with low amounts of impurities. It''s an alternative form of energy storage which grows inside the body of mutated creatures that are above the green level. Additinal active energy for emergency purposes can be stored by increasing food and energy intake."


    It was an energy crystal indeed!


    Luo Yuan began to calm down and started thinking rationally again. He seemed to have figured something out as he looked at the thinyer of Will around him and linked it to the incident earlier. Apparently, his Will had conflicts with remnants of the giant beast''s Will which still remained in the energy crystal!


    Luo Yuan seemed to have found the answer as he thought about the gic invasion. What is a gene? In Biology, we learned that a gene is an inherited substance which includes DNA and RNA. For this purpose, we will ignore RNA as it only ys a supporting role.


    DNA is formed by deoxy-nucleotide chains whichprise of deoxyribose, phosphoric acid and four types of nucleobases. A unicellr organism such as the Paramecium or multicellr organism like human beings have simr DNA structures. However, everything had now changed due to the outbreak of mutations which caused various strong creatures to slowly appear. If we ignore the element of mystery, it is basically the evolution of original species on Earth into more powerful beings. Other than the minority of deformed "monsters", most creatures were carbon-based and had traces of the past within their DNA.


    Suddenly, Luo Yuan thought of mutated humans that failed to evolve properly. They ended up being totally different from their ancestors and hated human beings very much. Luo Yuan¡¯s heart was beating rapidly at this point but perhaps the gic invasion was not as mysterious as what people thought. Its main reason might be the fact that the mutated beast had left its Will in the crystal. Luo Yuan felt pumped up as he looked at the energy crystal lying on his palm calmly.


    For ordinary people, it might be considered poison but for him, he just needed to utilize a little more of his Will to maximize its power. However, that was just spection. It was quite a dangerous object which could cause death if used inappropriately. He needed to conduct more experiments before using it.


    Luo Yuan was worried that there would be leftover Will from the mutated beast within the crystal so he tried inserting his Will into the crystal once again. Indeed, the energy crystal moved a few times but it was not as active as before. The crystal remained stationary after a few seconds.


    Luo Yuan was still worried so he continued to cleanse the crystal until only his Will was left inside and he only stopped when he could sense his Will connected to the crystal.


    He waved at the sheath of his weapon and the Zhanmadao automatically flew out and sliced an artery on his wrist. Blood immediately gushed out and floated in the air under Luo Yuan¡¯s control. More and more blood oozed out and formed a ball of blood which was about the size of his fist.


    The wound on his wrist recovered instantly with a tiny scar once he realized that he had sufficient blood. Luo Yuan frowned as he saw there was a little blood on the scar. He then utilized his healing powers again and the wound was finally closed. The scar even disappeared after 10 seconds. He had forgotten that his Zhanmadao had a passive ability to cause bleeding after it was modified.


    After that, he scratched some powder from the surface of the energy crystal and sprayed it on the ball of blood.


    The powder dissolved in the blood and it began to change. The temperature of the blood increased and it began to bubble like a pot of boiling water. A good aroma slowly spread around as the blood changed and triggered the hunger in Luo Yuan.


    After a while, the blood had stopped any traces of movement. Luo Yuan watched the ball of blood and waited for a few minutes. He felt relieved and thought, "I guess I was right."


    The next experiment would be the most dangerous one. He used his Will to move the blood into his mouth and swallowed it.


    The reason he did not inject the ball of blood directly into his bloodstream was to protect himself. He could vomit out the ball of blood to save his life if something went wrong. The blood flowed into his stomach via his throat and he started feeling a burning sensation within his stomach instantly. His body heated up and he opened his eyes wide as he felt an excitement within himself. Every single cell in his body was eager to absorb the active energy. Unfortunately, there was not much energy to absorb as the feeling of excitement came and left in a few seconds, leaving him slightly disappointed when he recovered.


    Since he has confirmed it was safe to use, he cut a thin slice from the energy crystal and put it into his mouth. The energy was 100 times more than the previous one. He felt like he was being struck by lightning as his brain instantly went nk and his entire body turned a shade of dark red and was surrounded by steam and heat.


    He was sitting on the floor stationary while a strong force flowed in his body as every cell hungrily absorbed the energy from the crystal. The cells became packed and soft as the mitochondria duplicated rapidly and his bones got stronger...


    "Consumption of active energy body. Physique +1"


    "Consumption of active energy body. Physique +1"


    The system repeated the notification, but Luo Yuan did not hear it. He finally recovered after one minute with a long howl.


    "Brother Luo, what¡¯s happening?" The door suddenly opened and Chen Jiayi broke into the room. Apparently, she was frightened by his long howl.


    "I¡¯m fine, just leave me alone." Luo Yuan said gently.


    However, Chen Jiayi was shocked as she saw Luo Yuan, "Brother Luo! Your¡­ your face looks very skinny!"


    Luo Yuan realized his shirt was very big and he felt a lot of breeze inside it. He then touched his face and realized it had shrunk a little.


    However, that was a small matter to him and he truly did not care. It happened before when he did self-treatment in the jail of the Desert City, and he can easily recover by eating more food.


    Luo Yuan took another slice after Chen Jiayi left the room. The energy grade of the crystal was very high and the energy was powerful. His Physique had been upgraded by two points throughout the process. It teaued since then. He finally finished the crystal and there was a tiny semi-transparent crystal that grew inside his heart.


    Both of his Strength and Physique had been upgraded to 17-points which were more than his Agility. The entire energy crystal has helped him to upgrade five properties and that was amazing!


    He could feel that his new skinny body was full of an explosive power. Besides that, his senses had changed after his Physique upgraded.


    The quiet room became very noisy as he could see different shapes of the dust flying in the air like meteorites. He could smell the snacks Wang Shishi tried to hide and he could feel the friction of air on his skin.


    It was a wonderful feeling as another side of the world seemed to be revealed. Once the veil was lifted, he was able to see the world the way it was intended, in all its glorious beauty.


    ¡­


    Of course, there was also a major change in his fighting power.


    17-points of Strength was equivalent to about 16 times the Strength of normal people. He could now lift an object that weighed up to 1.2 tons and his 15-points of Agility allowed him to move an object weighing more than 10 tons with a single hand.


    Tyson could break a five millimeter steel te with 0.5 tons of Strengths and Luo Yuan could very well destroy a tank with his current level of Strength which was more powerful than heavy artillery! He need not cheat now if he happened to fight Fang Peibin again.

 Chapter 339: Urgent Mission

    Chapter 339: Urgent Mission


    Trantor: EndlessFantasy Trantion Editor: EndlessFantasy Trantion


    Luo Yuan got up, took a few steps and almost stumbled on the floor. Since his Strength and Physique was now on apletely different level, he had to learn to walk again. Fortunately, he had enough experience to handle it and after only a few minutes of adjusting himself, he could walk normally. This was the result of him controlling his muscles and it took time for him to make it seem natural. It would take him a bit more time to adjust his body to a condition where he could fight optimally.


    The energy crystal in his heart was like a strong motor that circted energy throughout his body every time his heart beat. Luo Yuan was unnaturally energetic and for some reason, he felt that he could survive even if he did not drink any water for a month. He was lingering in the room as he tried to adapt to the sudden boost of energy. After half an hour, he pulled out his Zhanmadao and began to practice. At the beginning, his posture was awkward and he felt like a novice. However, as he continued to practice, his movements got better and quicker as wind circted the room.


    After a while, Luo Yuan stopped his practice. The strong wind in the room slowly came to a halt and Luo Yuan inserted his Zhanmadao into its sheath and realized that it was not as heavy as before. He was stunned as he looked around the messy room and noticed that the bed sheet and nket had been scattered all over the ce. Moreover, one of the legs of his bed frame had gone missing and there were many scratches on the wardrobe and walls in the room.


    At the beginning, he tried to control his power to avoid damaging the furniture. However, the morefortable he felt, the more excited he got and in the end, he went all out and damaged almost everything in the room. Luckily for Luo Yuan, the building was made from materials of at least a blue level rank or there would be many holes in the wall by now.


    Luo Yuan intended to quickly tidy up the room before Huang Jiahui arrived. However, he had no idea where to start. He heard the main door open and a group ofdies could be heard talking. Luo Yuan sighed and then walked out of the room.


    Thosedies just came back from the market and were shocked as they saw that Luo Yuan was different! They finally calmed down after listening to his exnation. However, it was not an easy task tofort them after that. Huang Jiahui entered his bedroom with a few packets of groceries and screamed as she saw the mess. Unfortunately, Luo Yuan already escaped when she came back to the living room.


    He wandered outside untilte in the evening and eventually returned with guilt around dinner time. Huang Jiahui was clearly trying to control her anger throughout their dinner. She did not say a single word to Luo Yuan as she was very upset with him for leaving the ce in such a mess. During bedtime, Huang Jiahui took the nket out from the wardrobe and went straight into Zhao Yali¡¯s bedroom. Luo Yuan smiled awkwardly as if he was up to no good.


    ...


    Inside the bedroom, Wang Shishi gasped tenderly into his ears. She was grinding on top of Luo Yuan¡¯s body by continuously moving her hips in a circr motion. Suddenly, her body trembled and she then leaned on top of Luo Yuan¡¯s body. Wang Shishi hugged him and kissed his chest repeatedly. Her face was red and she said, "Brother Luo, I¡¯m so tired... It¡¯s your turn!"


    Luo Yuan could not wait any longer. He immediately got on top of Wang Shishi and thrust his penis into her body repeatedly. However, Wang Shishi was too weak to handle him and surrendered in less than 10 minutes. Soon after, she fell asleep from utter exhaustion after being prated and pleasured multiple times by the horny, energetic, Luo Yuan.


    As you would imagine, Luo Yuan was extremely energetic today and he was still in the mood to enjoy himself. Despite his penis already being erect from his activities with Wang Shishi, it got even longer as he thought of the fact that Zhao Yali and Huang Jiahui were sleeping on the same bed! This was a rare opportunity indeed and he knew that he must grab the chance!


    He lustfully put on his clothes as he saw Wang Shishi lying on the bed deep in sleep. He then got up and walked out of his room to find fresh meat. At this point, Luo Yuan was already ready to feast on his new prey. He twisted the doorknob gently but realized it was locked! However, getting the lock to open was now a trivial matter to him.


    He used his Will to follow through on his lust and within seconds he had sessfully opened the door and entered before he slowly closed the door again. The room was quickly upied by screams from the two women who were scolding Luo Yuan as he tried to apologize. However, after a while, those sounds were converted into longing moans.


    ...


    At midnight, Luo Yuan was lying between two smooth, soft naked bodies. He suddenly heard the phone ring and had to slowly move their fair arms away and pull his legs out from the embrace of their pink thighs. He woke them up even though he was trying to be gentle.


    "What are you doing? You¡¯ve been bullying us the entire night!" Huang Jiahui remarked as she pinched the softest piece of flesh on Luo Yuan¡¯s body that was a lot harder than his other muscles not long ago. On the other hand, Zhao Yali¡¯s face looked mad as she thought Luo Yuan wanted to have sex again. She did not bother and turned to the other side.


    "Don¡¯t pinch me! I heard the phone ring!" Luo Yuan said.


    "Who is calling you at this hour? It¡¯s sote." Huang Jiahui asked with a dissatisfied tone.


    "The phone that rang was given to me by the department. Something must have happened. I need to answer the call." Luo Yuan got up and put on his clothes. He then said to them, "You guys get some sleep first."


    The phone was in Wang Shishi¡¯s room. Luo Yuan opened the door carefully but realized that Wang Shishi was awake. He pretended nothing happened and asked her to continue sleeping. He then took the phone and walked out the room.


    "Luo Yuan! We have an urgent mission. We need you to be at the department before 4:30 a.m." Captain Lin Feiyan spoke hastily from the other side of the line. Based on her tone, Luo Yuan could tell that it must be a serious matter.


    "What¡¯s happening?" Luo Yuan asked.


    "Tell youter." She replied.


    "Alright, I¡¯m heading there now." Luo Yuan said.


    She hung up the call after hearing Luo Yuan¡¯s response.


    Luo Yuan put on his armor and picked up his Zhanmadao. Huang Jiahui and Zhao Yali were still awake when he walked into the living room. They asked worriedly, "Do you want to grab some food?"


    "I¡¯m good, they will prepare food for me. Two of you go back to sleep. Don¡¯t worry. I¡¯ll be back soon." Luo Yuan said as he waved before he closed the door to the room.


    Zhao Yali and Huang Jiahui looked at each other and blushed slightly. They felt a little awkward as they recalled the scene that just happened.


    ...


    After about 10 minutes, Luo Yuan arrived at the office. He walked into the lobby of the first floor and realized there were two people there. Xie Junhui and Xu Qianshen looked very serious as they waved at Luo Yuan when they saw him walking towards them.


    "Do you know what¡¯s going on?" Luo Yuan asked as he nodded to greet them.


    "I¡¯m not sure. I was trying to find out as well." Xie Junhui replied.


    He looked closely at Luo Yuan and realized that he looked different. He was shocked but he did not say anything as he was more concerned about the current incident. They suspected that it was something which threatened the safety of the entire rehabilitation base. None of them could reject the mission, otherwise, they would be expelled.


    After a few minutes, crazy Mr. Wang and Li Dong also arrived. They sat down on the couch and remained silent after greeting each other. All the members then slowly arrived one by one and Lin Feiyan was thest one to make it.


    Lin Feiyan nced across the office and said, "I only have a rough idea of the mission. ording to the report from the Southeast Military Zone, Hot Springs City which is located nearby to Hope City has been surrounded by a thick fog. Everyone there fell asleep and no one knows whether they are still alive. The fog is spreading further and our mission is to get more information."


    She looked at the time and said, "You have 20 minutes to get ready. We board the ne at 4:45 a.m. If you have no questions, you¡¯re all dismissed!"


    "D+ Level Mission: Investigate the killing in Hot Springs City. Identify the cause and kill it."


    "Time Frame: 24 hours"


    "ept/Decline?"


    ...


    It was 4:45 a.m. and the military transport aircraft was ready to depart. It took off immediately after everyone boarded the aircraft.

 Chapter 340: Bizarre

    Chapter 340: Bizarre


    <strong>Trantor:</strong>EndlessFantasy Trantion


    <strong>Editor:</strong>EndlessFantasy Trantion


    Within half an hour, the aircraft stopped at a military camp.


    Luo Yuan jumped down from the aircraft following the other members before him and looked to the direction of Hot Springs City. There were about five to six kilometers between them and the city but they could only see a dark shadow with limited light.


    An officer rushed towards them and introduced himself while shaking their hands, "I''m the Chief Deputy of the Southeast Military Zone, Xu Shaoze. Wee, Captain Lin and Captain Luo, as well as the rest of your colleagues from your department. The Chief Officer has been waiting in the office for your arrival."


    "Could you take the lead?" Lin Feiyan said coldly.


    Luo Yuan was well prepared to be instructed as he understood that he was still new. He only nodded and remained silent.


    The Chief Deputy did not care and said, "Please follow me."


    They were in a temporary campsite in the outskirts which had many tents set up everywhere. There were not many buildings in the vicinity except for look-out posts which were made from wood. Luo Yuan and his members passed through an artillery square and finally entered a 100-square-meter tent after a few minutes of walking.


    There were more than 10 people in the tent. A middle-aged man with a Lieutenant General badge got up and weed them as he saw Luo Yuan and his members arrive, "I¡¯m Chen Jianfeng. Wee to our campsite my dearest colleagues. Thanks foring."


    "This is our duty. The information you provided is too basic and we need more details." Lin Feiyan went straight to the point.


    "Let me start with introductions. This is Researcher Zhang and his assistant from the Second Biology Research Institute of Hope City. They had begun researching the fog since yesterday and have arrived at a few conclusions. Perhaps we can discuss it here." Chen Jianfeng remarked.


    "I¡¯m just a normal researcher¡­ nothing much to introduce. I think it is incorrect for us to call it a fog as it is a type of gel that appears in a gaseous state. Therefore, it is very difficult to clear even with the help of the sun or wind. I¡¯ve observed it over thest two days and realize it has been expanding¡­ Here are the samples I¡¯ve collected¡­ You can have a look."


    Researcher Zhang took out a petri dish and offered it around. Luo Yuan took possession of it first and observed it carefully. He realized it was a puddle of light green liquid. He stirred it with a ss rod and it appeared to behave like glue as it was very sticky. "The liquid is 60% water and the rest is some dense molecr substance which had not been discovered yet. Through some tests, I found that it can absorb electromaic waves. It would be perfectly invisible if it were synthesized artificially. In many industries¡­"


    As Luo Yuan noticed that he was carried away in describing the substance, Luo Yuan frowned and interrupted him, "I¡¯m sorry, Researcher Zhang. Could you please focus on the highlights? We are running out of time!"


    Researcher Zhang was shocked and apologized with a smile, "I¡¯m sorry, I got too excited. Let me continue. The fog can absorb electromaic waves. Therefore, you can¡¯tmunicate through the use of electronic devices. In addition, the fog is of a very high density so you won¡¯t be able to see things further than 50 centimeters away. It gets worse. There is a substance in the fog which can trigger hallucinations even if you inhale a small amount of it. You will also start to feel lethargic if you inhale more than one gram of the substance. Unfortunately, 10% of the fog is made up of this substance. In other words, you''ll fall asleep if you take one single breath of it. The physical condition of the individual could also y a part in how quickly the substance acts, putting you to sleep. Those who are strong may be able tost longer."


    Everyone looked scared including Luo Yuan. He had no idea whether his current physical condition would render him immune to the substance. As the Chief Officer saw their changed expressions, he quickly said, "Don''t worry guys, we have saved many people outside the area where the fog is spreading. It''s not poisonous and you''ll just sleep longer if you happen to breathe in more. You''ll be safe if you wear our protective mask. Your mission is very simple, you only need to find the source of the fog and install the pulse generator. We''ll take care of the rest."


    "Chief Officer Chen, please do not hide things from us. We need to know everything. You wouldn¡¯t request for help from upper management if it is this simple, right?" Lin Feiyan nced at him and said rudely.


    Luo Yuan looked at Lin Feiyan who had the features of a Barbie doll! He thought, "Seriously, don¡¯t judge a book by its cover. There must be a reason why she is the Captain."


    Chief Officer Chen was pissed by her question. However, the reason she could be a Captain at a young age was that she was quite smart. He tried his best to ovee his anger and said with a smile, "Fine. We have sent three teams of people to conduct investigations but none of them returned or gave any response."


    "Not even a single person returned? Luo Yuan pondered and asked.


    "Oh, there is one from the special team, but he became crazy when he returned. No one could calm him down and he died after a while." The Chief Officer said.


    The special team should be the team of evolved humans in the military. Luo Yuan pondered and said, "Could you help us get in touch with anyone he has contacted before? We need to know more about him."


    ¡­


    Luo Yuan and the team checked with those soldiers as well as the medical staff and found something scary.


    The guy was no longer conscious since his return. He was basically dancing, screaming and spouting nonsense. Unfortunately, what he said was not clear so they could not make any notes at all.


    He was tied down and finally returned to a calm state after being injected with tranquilizers. His condition stabilized and he even woke up in the middle of the night. He watched the ceiling but it looked as though he had totally lost contact with his surroundings. He then smiled strangely. He saw someone walking over and said clearly for once, "I¡¯m going to the heaven." He then passed away!


    That was mysterious and strange! An invisible enemy was the scariest thing. Luo Yuan pondered and said as he saw that everyone was insecure, he said, "There is no point to send so many people there, you will just increase the number of deaths. I¡¯ll go. You guys stay here."


    It was totally useless to send too many people into the city if they could not find out the cause. He preferred to go alone because he did not want to have extra problems if something dangerous happened.


    Everyone looked relieved when they heard what Luo Yuan said. Even Lin Feiyan looked at him gently and smiled. She said, "Indeed! But you should not go alone, I¡¯ll go together with you. The rest can stay here."


    Lin Feiyan decided on the n and everyone had no objection.


    ¡­


    "This is the pulse generator with ayer of superglue on its surface. Tear away the sticker after you set the time and then throw it at the target when you see it! The superglue is very sticky, so don¡¯t touch it at a whim. There is a spot for you to hold it and you might need to remove your skin if you identally stuck it on yourself." Xu Shaoze exined to them.


    By then, the Chief Officer had already left. However, Lin Feiyan and Luo Yuan did not give a sh*t as they were not afraid of offending him anyway. They felt disgusted by his attempt to hide the truth from them.


    Xu Shaoze continued his exnations, "The pulse generator will emit a high-energy wave which can prate theyer of fog and give the location of the target. And remember, you must be at least 200 meters away from the target when the pulse generator emits the wave to avoid being hurt by the tracking missile."


    Luo Yuan looked around and noticed a stack of metal objects which looked like a fortress and asked curiously, "Are those the tracking missiles you were talking about?"


    "You have a sharp eye, Captain Luo! Those are thetest tracking missiles that are equipped with nuclear warheads. It¡¯s the most special weapon of our country!" Xu Shaoze said proudly. "It''s even more powerful than the model you have seen before. Five kilograms of this can travel at nine times the speed of sound! Even level eight mutated beasts would be severely injured if they got hit. However, at that level, you would expect them to have a good sense of danger, making it difficult to target them."


    Luo Yuan looked at the shadow of the missile which was almost nine meters tall and more than 20 meters in length. He was full of respect for the technological advancements in their weapon technology. This was something that only existed in the realm of science fiction before the apocalypse but right now, it was right in front of his eyes. Humans seem to have the ability to unleash unlimited potential under the pressure extinction.

 Chapter 341: Stunned

    Chapter 341: Stunned


    Trantor: EndlessFantasy Trantion Editor: EndlessFantasy Trantion


    Equipped with a mask and map each, Luo Yuan and Lin Feiyan made their way to Hot Springs City before daybreak. They made good time and in less than 20 minutes, they had arrived at the outer ring of the mysterious fog. From where they stood, they could smell a foul stenching from the city. Also, there seemed to be something binding the fog as it was not spreading further at all.


    Luo Yuan looked grim. He said to Lin Feiyan while putting his mask on, "I¡¯ll go in first to see if everything is okay." Lin Feiyan rejected Luo Yuan¡¯s kind gesture and said, "It¡¯s okay, you can follow behind me."


    Luo Yuan suddenly felt an intense chill spreading outwards from Lin Feiyan¡¯s body and he immediately took a few steps back. The air around them started getting foggier, and it then turned into tiny ice crystals which slowly fell to the ground. Upon looking down at them, Luo Yuan noticed that even the ground was freezing up. Any fog within 10 meters of Lin Feiyan soon changed to ice crystals and fell to the ground. More and more of the fog started fading and very soon a huge part of it was gone.


    Luo Yuan had his mind blown by this! He looked around and was shocked to see that all the fog within 100 meters had turned into a snow. The temperature was nothing less than -30 degrees Celsius now. "Let¡¯s go! The residents did not manage to evacuate when the fog appeared in Hot Springs City. They have been in the cold for too long. I suspect that there will be many casualties." Lin Feiyan spoke while being secretly pleased that she impressed Luo Yuan though she did not show it on her face.


    ...


    Lin Feiyan was born with a silver spoon in her mouth. Before the apocalypse, her father was a famous entrepreneur with a worth exceeding hundreds of millions of dors. As the only child, she was brought up to be the heir of the business. But, as the start of the apocalypse drew closer, her family¡¯s wealth began to vanish. Eventually, her parents and extended family members were killed by vicious mutated creatures. When she moved to the reconstruction area, all she was left with was her powerful evolved abilities as well as her leadership skills which were basically in her bones due to the way she was raised.


    Even since she was appointed as the leader of Hope City, she had clearly been showcasing the wide arsenal of lessons that were taught to her by her parents. Although she was extremely harsh, her overwhelming power meant that everyone in the department was in awe of her. She was quick to hear about Luo Yuan when he managed to discipline the entire department and she was especially vignt when he was promoted to be the deputy team leader.


    Although there already was a deputy team leader before Luo Yuan was appointed, the previous person was very promiscuous and did not care much about the management. He simply obeyed whatever Lin Feiyan said. Although he wasbeled ¡®useless¡¯ and ¡®promiscuous¡¯, working with him was considered a pleasant experience for her.


    Meanwhile, Luo Yuan who had just arrived was viewed as overly ambitious despite having superior abilities to his predecessor. When Lin Feiyan was away, he took the opportunity to make Fang Peibin his apprentice and even seduced Wu Qianru. The mission was only two days long and he almost managed to make Wu Qianru his lover before the end of it! That was unbearable!


    However, Lin Feiyan was a person with a n! She would always refrain from doing anything impulsive. Before she embarked on this journey, she hade up with seven to eight different ways to suppress Luo Yuan¡¯s cocky attitude. Unfortunately, he had been low-key the entire way so there was no opportunity for her to show what she had prepared for him. She only managed to use one strategy a while ago when she intentionally unted her power. It was a pity that she could not unleash all her abilities which would look too suspicious. Nheless, the journey would be a long one so she would have her chances.


    ...


    Of course, Luo Yuan did not know what Lin Feiyan was up to. He was amazed as he was stepping on thin ice. Her evolved ability was extremely useful for this situation and even made their masks redundant essories. Luo Yuan followed behind her into the foggy area as he was instructed but as they stepped in, something strange was happening. Luo Yuan¡¯s sense was noticeably oppressed! While he could normally sense his surroundings up to 100 meters away, this power was reduced almost by half to about 60 meters. At the same time, he felt as though there was something pressing against his chest.


    He became quiet and cautious knowing very well that he was probably stepping into an unknown mutated beast¡¯s territory. It felt like entering into a fairy-tale when they observed the view from the inside as the entire Hot Springs City was engulfed in a fog. This illusion was way beyond his imagination.


    In some ways, this would be the first time that Luo Yuan would encounter a real, level seven mutated beast. Although the mutated monsters that he had killed previously were strong as well, it was a totally different and iparable life form. At least he had the option to retreat if he could not handle the mutated beasts. In reality, you would only live or die when facing a real, level 7 creature.


    Because Luo Yuan¡¯s attributes had just been upgraded, he did not have sufficient time to fully adapt to them yet. He could probably only perform at 30% of his full potential. In some sense, despite the upgrade, his unfamiliarity in battle would make his abilities even worse than before. In a real battle which is unpredictable, the crucial thing that determined life and death was one¡¯s responsiveness.


    Luo Yuan mumbled to himself suggesting that if he really did not have the confidence to defeat the creature when the timees, the only thing he could do was to give up the mission and obey to the military¡¯s instructions. After all, Luo Yuan was generally not an impulsive person either. Although the mission was important, life was even more important to him. He could see it clearly that there would be nothing left if he were to die.


    Inside the fog, the two of them could see many people knocked out cold on the streets. Initially, Lin Feiyan stopped along the way and attempted to wake them up. However, a few attemptster, she gave up. It was an impossible task.


    After a few hundred meters in, there were numerous soldiers who were also seem knocked out on the street. There were hundreds of them along with more than 10 armored vehicles that had crashed into the surrounding buildings. Furthermore, some of their engines were still running which suggests how recent the activity had happened. The soldiers who were investigating the ce were stopped before they could reach a thousand meters deep.


    "Hot Springs City isn¡¯t small so it¡¯s inefficient to look around like this. Do you have any better suggestions?" Lin Feiyan asked. Luo Yuan looked at the map, pointed at the hot springske and said, "It¡¯s impossible that the fog woulde out of nowhere. I remember from the notes earlier that this kind of fog is 60% water. Hence, I think the fog could not exist without a water source. My suggestion is that we start at theke."


    Since the city was named after hot springs, naturally one would expect there to be several hot springs around. The temperature of the hot springs in the city was approximately 80 degrees Celsius which meant that there were almost no signs of life inside it. Ever since the reconstruction area was built, the hot spring was widened to ake so that the people could have ess to water nearby.


    Lin Feiyan¡¯s eyes brightened up at this thought but soon she felt stupid for not thinking of such a simple thing earlier. She said, "Then let¡¯s go there!"


    "Wait, there¡¯s somethinging our way!" Luo Yuan said while staring into the fog.


    His hearing ability allowed him to hear even the softest of sounds. For example, he could hear mosquitoes pping their wings if they were within one kilometer of him.


    Lin Feiyan listened in doubt but heard nothing. Just when she started suspecting that Luo Yuan was lying, there were heavy footsteps getting clearer in her ears.


    It was a gigantic beast! Before it even appeared to them, the ground was already shaking and the buildings in the vicinity were probably damaged by its humongous body.


    The sound was getting closer to them at a terrifying speed and it basically only took 10 seconds from the time Lin Feiyan heard it to the point where it appeared in front of them. It was 9 meters tall and 15 meters long with turquoise hair. Its pace was inconsistent though its limbs seemed strong. It was exuding an overwhelming power that could be felt from its aura. As it was charging towards them, there were sharp ws that looked like ck machetes appearing from its toes.


    It appeared to originate from the feline species based on its attacking style. Although it waspletely mutated, its natural habits remained. Luo Yuan stared at the giant beast, tightened his muscles and waited for the right time to attack while grasping his saber tightly. However, before he could even move, Lin Feiyan plunged herself towards the beast at a blistering pace! In an instant, a cold, terrifying aura could be felt from her body once again. There was frost spreading around and Luo Yuan was also affected by the cold. He gave up on his n to attack and took a few steps back instead.


    A figure covered in ice charged towards the giant beast. It seemed like they were going to crash into each other as Lin Feiyan did not look like she intended to stop. Luo Yuan was initially concerned but he soon felt relieved as he noticed that the frost was spreading across the beast¡¯s body and restricting its movements as it was approaching her.


    When they were six meters away from each other, the beast could not move at all and even fell to the ground. Next, a small white punchnded on its body. Within a single breath, the giant beast waspletely frozen.


    Lin Feiyan was seen panting at this moment. Her face was red like it was burning while there was green smoke covering her body. Aspared to the chilly weather out there, her body was at a rtively high temperature. It was like she absorbed all the heat from the surroundings into her own body. Even her battle suit was almost burnt! Luo Yuan could smell something burning and guessed that perhaps that was the reason why her clothes were loose so that it could cater to her strange ability.


    A momentter, Lin Feiyan had fully recovered and was breathing normally again. She turned around to look at Luo Yuan and clenched her first saying, "This mutated creature is too weak, it should not be the one we are looking for. Let¡¯s go!"

 Chapter 342: Soul-Eater

    Chapter 342: Soul-Eater


    Trantor: EndlessFantasy Trantion Editor: EndlessFantasy Trantion


    Luo Yuan walked towards the light blue iceberg and touched it. He got a chilly feeling from touching it and his hand felt slightly numb, even to the point that it stuck to the ice. He pulled it off in an instant and there was a soft tearing sound that was heard. He examined his hand fortunately, he realized nothing happened apart from some parts of his skin looking slightly fairer now. His +17 Physique made his skin so tough that even the sword shing at his skin was nothing to him, which was why he did not think that the ice would tear his skin. Looking at Lin Feiyan who was not aware of what happened, he walked towards her immediately.


    As a significant amount of fog was now transformed into ice, numerous mutated beasts began to reveal themselves. Every time they appeared, Lin Feiyan would freeze them to prevent any dys to their mission. This happened multiple times which made Luo Yuan feel slightly annoyed as he wanted to train himself by killing the mutated beasts so that he could adapt to his new abilities. However, every time when was ready to attack, Lin Feiyan would aggressively attack first and rob him of the chance. He was terrified by the look in her eyes.


    It is not that Luo Yuan did not want to attack first... it is just that the area that Lin Feiyan¡¯s attacks could cover was very wide. From this experience, it was hard not to see that Lin Feiyan was indeed a strong evolved human. She looked like she was attacking aimlessly and that her techniques were very limited but there was a certain rhythm to it. To quote a martial arts idiom, "It is not how good your weapon is but rather how skillful you are at using it." Anyone would die if they could not defend against her attack.


    The more they continued their journey, the more boundless her abilities seemed to Luo Yuan! They encountered at least 10 different mutated beasts and two of them were at level six. Besides exhaustion from utilizing her powers, her abilities were maintained. By this point, her clothes were all torn by the effects of her own powers and when she was hit by the mutated beast earlier. Although the mutated beast was already dying, it tore the back of her shirt and her knees were also galled by it. There was also a cut on her face.


    Lin Feiyan was panting frequently and all these battles made her look unkempt and messy. Every time that she was catching her breath from using her powers, she would turn back to look at Luo Yuan who was still squeaky clean and let out a sigh of frustration. Looking at herplicated expression, Luo Yuan wondered if she was ming him for not helping in the battle. He felt that she ought to know that his abilities were no help to them in such situations. Although he could use his Will to ovee the chill, the frozen ground was clearly preventing him from doing more.


    He would normally be able to root his feet on the ground but this was not possible in the current situation. Now that the ground was covered with slippery ice, not only was he no help in battle, he might even fall to the ground which would be a burden to his leader. Anyhow, Luo Yuan wanted to test if his hypothesis was right so he said, "Why don¡¯t you take a rest and let me handle it from here?"


    Lin Feiyan figured that her amazing performance had achieved its purpose. Moreover, there would be even more terrifying mutated beasts waiting for them at theke. Hence, she should not use up all her strength now. She thought for a while and said, "Alright, be careful!" However, to their surprise, there was not a single mutated beast along the way and in less than 20 minutes, they were already approaching the hot springke.


    "Wait." Luo Yuan paused to listen then continued speaking, "There¡¯s someone in front." During the journey, Lin Feiyan already noticed that Luo Yuan¡¯s hearing was exceptional and much better than hers so she trusted him. She stopped and asked, "People? Besides the residents who were all knocked out, who could it be? Could it be the bunch of soldiers who were lost?"


    "Let¡¯s go and see." Luo Yuan said with a solemn look.


    As they were getting closer to theke, the pressure on his chest got stronger. His ability to sense his surroundings was further suppressed and he could now only detect things within a 20 meter radius now so he decided to move forward slowly. A few minutester, there was a person limping towards them. Just when Lin Feiyan attempted to call out the person, Luo Yuan stopped her and said, "Something¡¯s wrong, the person looks strange. Let¡¯s wait and see."


    Lin Feiyan took a closer look and gasped. The way the person walked was strange and stiff. It did not look like a normal person. It looked like a puppet that was being controlled. They walked carefully and the person passed them by in the blink of an eye. Luo Yuan turned around and noticed that the person¡¯s eyes were closed. It seemed like the person was immersed in a deep sleep but Luo Yuan knew very clearly that the person was not sleepwalking.


    "There are many more of them ahead. Let¡¯s not bother who that person is, it¡¯s better that we find out where the mutated beast is." Luo Yuan said while pulling Lin Feiyan whose face had turned pale.


    Lin Feiyan snapped out of shocked state and followed Luo Yuan. At that moment, she was not even aware that Luo Yuan had taken the lead. Suddenly, she felt the fog ahead getting darker and eerier. Fear was slowly rising inside of her. If she were ced in a different scenario, she would not behave like how she was right now. But as girls were naturally afraid of creepy stuff, she would naturally allow Luo Yuan to take the lead.


    There were more and more ¡®pedestrians¡¯ popping up randomly on the street as they got closer to theke. They noticed that the area surrounding theke was swamped by a huge crowd and there were peopleing out of their houses from time to time to join the crowd. The eerie atmosphere made Lin Feiyan picture what would happen if she became one of them. As she was walking through the crowd, she caught a glimpse of Luo Yuan and quickly caught up with him.


    Suddenly, there was a sshing sound that came from afar which sounded like something heavy falling into the water. Besides that, Lin Feiyan got a whiff of a dense odor in the air which was simr to the smell of meat. As she was still trying to decipher what that was, she thought of something that gave her a chill down her spine. The two of them felt the same way and subconsciously walked faster. Not longter, they arrived at the shore.


    Luo Yuan was upset and in disbelief to the point where his scalp was numb. The boiling hot springke was filled with countless dead bodies that were just floating on its surface. As the temperature of theke was a little on the high side, the dead bodies were in a half-cooked-state as they floated on the surface theke. Some of them were even disfigured and deformed.


    Since the onset of the apocalypse, Luo Yuan had witnessed many catastrophes so corpses had be a norm to him. However, this sight was upsetting to his stomach.


    Luo Yuan remained very quiet... He was not sure how many people had walked in a daze into theke. There were at least a thousand of them from what he could see but looking at the sheer size of theke, there could be more than 10,000 of them in total.


    What Luo Yuan saw next gave him goosebumps. As these ¡¯people¡¯ were walking into theke, he saw a blur of a shadow forcing its way out of the crowd but was instead sucked into the bottom of theke momentster. It was a soul! The mutated beast was eating their souls! It was now clear why the mutated beast wanted to invade the reconstruction area. To a soul-eating mutated beast, no food couldpare to the soul of a human. In a dense city like this, it was like a mouse entering a barn. The temptation was so strong that it was willing to risk its life.


    Those soldiers must be under the control of the mutated beast and were led into the Hot Springs City during the midnight fog. Luo Yuan was trying to process everything as quickly as he could and soon he understood the whole thing. He quickly took a deep breath to gather his thoughts. The soul-eating mutated beast was at the bottom of theke so he had to think of something to force it out as there was nothing that he could do while it was in the water. He turned around to look at Lin Feiyan who was still stunned and said, "Can you freeze the entireke? Without a doubt, the mutated beast is somewhere inside theke."


    Lin Feiyan was still in her zone. It took her a while to snap out of it. She said "Freeze it? I can try!" She walked towards theke and without thinking too much, she put her hand into theke. Soon, there was a thinyer of ice bing visible on the surface. In an instant, the ice was getting thicker and spread across the entireke.


    The fog on the surface of theke was also getting thinner. As time went by, Lin Feiyan¡¯s face was ming red and her body gave off a scorching high temperature. Her armored suit started to curl up. There was a heat wave surrounding her and out of nowhere, her clothes caught fire.


    Luo Yuan was shocked by what he had just witnessed but any fears were quickly removed when he noticed that the fire did not seem to affect her at all as her hair did not even burn. She looked like a mini sun that was giving off heat and light. It was now difficult to differentiate between her body and the shadows. It was now Luo Yuan¡¯s turn to be stunned. The energy that was stored in her was beyond his imagination. If she could unleash the energy she had in its entirety instead of absorbing it, he may choose to avoid her in the future.


    As Luo Yuan pondered this, there was a loud sound that sounded like ice shattering that came from theke. There was a terrifying force that was striking the middle of theke where the ice was a few meters thick. Chunks of crushed ice that each weighed a few tons shot into the air. In an instant, a giant beast leaped on top of the ice. Its eyes were pitch ck and it let out a furious roar!

 Chapter 343: Kinetic Energy Attack

    Chapter 343: Kic Energy Attack


    <strong>Trantor:</strong>EndlessFantasy Trantion


    <strong>Editor:</strong>EndlessFantasy Trantion


    It was a monstrous beast that shared a resemnce to a giant crocodile. Although, if onepared the two, thetter would merely look like a tiny fish in a stream. It stood at a height of 18 meters and was easily a hundred meters long where ity. Its gigantic physique gave off a terrifying forced from 80 meters away making it seem, to Luo Yuan, as if it were right in front of them.


    Its body was covered in saw-likeyers of deep purple scales, carved into beautiful silver patterns. Trailing its spine from head to the end of its tail was a golden skeleton with three stacks of one meter tall, cknce-like thorns with yellow spots. Luo Yuan figured such a defense would be impossible to prate! Its limbs look extremely powerful, with five digits and four long sharp ws that were carved into theyer of ice.


    All of a sudden, the beast rose up and there was a fog surrounding its massive form. From a distance, it looked like a fog-spewing mythical titan! The air seemed to stand still in its presence as its aura filled the surrounding area with an unbelievable force. There seem to be menacing swirling look in its bowl-sized, pitched ck eyes. At a quick nce into its eyes, Luo Yuan felt a strong sense of impending doom. His heart was racing and his spirit froze, ice-cold with fear.


    He mind screamed to abandon all hope and fun for his life as this enormous beast was the most difficult entity he had ever encountered. Furthermore, looking at the rising fog that surrounded its being, this mutated beast was a thousand timesrger than the spirit based evolved human in Desert City. Even his +17 Physique was no match for such a God-like creature.


    "Captain, retreat.." Luo Yuan whispered softly, as he concealed his vibe and backed up slowly to avoid being spotted by the beast. Before Lin Feiyan could respond to his warning, the giant beast turned its head and stared right at the both of them.


    "BAM!"


    Looking into its swirling eyes, Luo Yuan felt a sharp jolt run through his body, and his mind wentpletely nk. With all his might, he summoned his Will power and slowly regained consciousness as theyer of Will covered his physique. In an instant, one-third of his Will power was drained just fighting to stay alert. He was shocked to his core as the power in those eyes and thanked his lucky stars that the beast had not attacked him in that state or he would have sure been dead.


    "RUN!" He shouted. Just as the words escaped his lips, he felt another jolt run through his body and his Will drained yet again, half his body frozen stiff from ayer of ice. He looked up in disbelief, to see Lin Feiyan standing before him, a cold white palm pressed to his chest.


    He noticed in Lin Feiyan¡¯s eyes that she was possessed and she struck him. The giant beast was in control of her mind. He started to panic, but fortunately his reflexes did not fail him. In the blink of an eye, he masterfullyid a strike onto a pressure-point in her neck with his hand, and she fainted instantly. With all his strength, he grabbed her in his arms, stomped his feet hard and ran as fast as he could.


    "ROAR!" A deafening roar exploded from behind him and a strong wind hit him as he ran, nearly knocking him off his feet. The sky suddenly turned dark as the beast stood, casting a gigantic shadow as it covered the entire sky. The beast¡¯s ck underbelly was as wide as four basketball courts! The air was shaking as the clouds were thrown into chaos. It was an incredibly terrifying scene!


    "This is most definitely not amon level-7 mutated beast, it is a level-8 at the least! With its form, it is surely faster than mine, and we will surely die at its feet!"


    At that instant, he got an idea. He stomped his feet hard again and he fled onto his trail like lighting. Just as he moved approximately 50 meters, there was a loud thud followed by a level-five earthquake.


    Even with Lin Feiyan in his arms, Luo Yan could reach speeds of 200 meters per second, which puts 50 meters just 0.25 seconds away from him. For an ordinary being, it was a blink of an eye, but to him, it was a distance that meant life or certain death.


    Luo Yuan turned around to see what happened, and saw that the buildings by the streets had vanished and his whole line of vision was filled with the form of the giant beast at his heels. He bolted as fast as his feet would carry him! The sights were shing by as he was like a shadow leaping across the streets, taking less than half a second at every jump. However, all his effort were to no avail as the monster continued pursuing them, it''s gigantic strides making Luo Yuan¡¯s attempts of survival more and more futile.


    He nced at the pulse generator on his left hand. It seemed increasingly impossible to escape from the beast, and there was only one way left. A very risky manoeuvre to give him a fighting chance to survive the ordeal.


    Using his Will, he managed to tear off the superglue tape on his pulse generator that immediately started the time-setting.


    "10!"


    "9!"


    "8!"


    ¡­


    He was approaching the corner of the street, the time left ticking away from 5 seconds. He felt a strong gust of wind from behind him once again and leapt into the air, throwing the pulse generator as hard as he could towards the deadly predator. The pulse generator lodged itself on the creature¡¯s gigantic body. With the help of the wind at his back, his speed was greatly increased and as hended, he ducked behind the buildings at the corner of the street not slowing his pace.


    "3!"


    "2!"


    "1!"


    "0!"


    Luo Yuan counted down the timer under his breath, and arge explosion shook the area behind him. He was d that the pulse generator was not destroyed in the st, but hoped that his n had seeded with it.


    As the thought crossed his mind, he saw a shadow pass over his head blocking out the sun and area around him. The was no way around but ahead where his long journeyy, but sensing danger in what was ahead, he decided to exercise caution and back track the opposite way.


    As he took his first step, the giant monster of thousands of tons came crashing down upon him! The ground shook violently and many houses in the area were destroyed instantly. Countless bits of gravel and wood panelling mmed against the Willyer on Luo Yuan¡¯s back. Theyer was dying off. With the exhaustion of his Will, he could not control gather its strength anymore. With that, thest bit of his Will copsed. A flying rock the size of a human headnded square on his back, flooring him as he spat out blood on impact. He waspletely out of control with a racing car tumbling down a track, rolling a hundred meters away from where he stood. Lin Feiyan was tossed out of his arms as well.


    Suddenly, two red dots were flying towards them from afar. When they first saw them, they were a few kilometers away but in the blink of an eye, they appeared right before them. They were two bullets the size of a shot putt with a ming red aura around them. With the collision in the air, they started to feel a terrible burning sensation.


    Sensing danger, the scales of the giant beast body stood up. Before it could do anything, the bullets hit the monster like two meteorites. In slow motion, as the metal bullets hit the creature''s body, there was a spark explosion. Although they did not pierce the thick hide, the bullets that were harder than alloyed steel and hitting nine times faster than the speed of sound, created a few wide holes on it¡¯s body. That did not seem to wipe out the bullet¡¯s terrifying trajectory of kic energy. The residual energy rippled through the creature''s body like a shock wave spreading out from the holes from the bullets.


    With a shock wave of that magnitude, buildings still standing all around were all turn to rubble and dust. The giant beast let out a painful moan after the attack, and it crumbled to the ground in agony. It struggled to get to its feet again, and just as it managed to stand up, it spat out a fountain of blood and its internal organs, before falling yet again. Although the two meter-wide holes seemed to do nothing on the almost 100 meter long beast, the electromaic attack from the pulse generator hadpletely shattered its internal organs. It was a miracle that it could even struggle after that attack.

 Chapter 344: Eyeballs

    Chapter 344: Eyeballs


    Trantor: EndlessFantasy Trantion Editor: EndlessFantasy Trantion


    A whileter, Luo Yuan brushed the dust off himself and coughed up blood. He slowly stood up, his head in agony. He took a deep breath and tried hard to calm himself.


    "Current Mission: Grade D+ Mission: Investigate Hot Springs City. Find out the culprit that destroyed Hot Springs City"


    "Time limit: 24 hours"


    "Mission status: Completed"


    "Evaluation: Passed."


    "Character: Luo Yuan"


    "Basic Experience Value Reward +9600*100%!"


    "Evaluation: Passed, Experience value +9600*0%!"


    "Experience: 91920/153600!"


    Luo Yuan was surprised when he was listening to the message in his head. He felt like he did not do anything and the mission waspleted. He looked at the mission criteria again and realized that it was not a requirement for him to kill the culprit himself. To the rigid system configuration, as long as the end result was the same, the mission was consideredpleted. But of course, it was impossible to get a perfect evaluation.


    It was an absolute surprise! But, the thought that he needed another 60,000 experience points to his next upgrade, he would need four more Grade D+ missions to achieve it. His happiness vanished.


    However, it was his first time encountering a real, level seven mutated beast, and it was an unforgettable experience. There was no way that he could defeat this beast inbat, and all he did was run for his life. Although, one of the reasons he seeded was the massive gain in his attributes which he had yet to master. However, if he was in perfect form, the result of the battle would be unpredictable. One tiny mistake could lead to his death.


    Furthermore, the difficulty was elevated because the attacks of a spirit based mutated beast were trickier to defend. Nheless, as a level seven beast, none of them could be easily defeated and all of them came with unimaginable power. Nobody would believe he could handle any of them.


    He stood rooted to the same spot for a moment as his Will recovered and his headache subsided. He was rather surprised at how rapidly he recuperated and attributed it to an effect of his physical upgrade. He felt stronger and pumped for action, and even though his Will was exhausted, he could recover at the speed of light!


    Looking at Lin Feiyan who had passed out not far away, Luo Yuan was in no rush to wake her up. He turned around to look at the level seven mutated beast corpse. It was such a treasure, and Luo Yuan was tempted to examine the magnificent monster. He knew that it would be a waste if he was to ditch it there. With the giant beast¡¯s death, the fog was disappearing. He estimated that the military would be there at any moment. He predicted there would be fights between them for the dead mutated corpse and he had no say in who would be getting the mutated beast. To him, it would have been preferable if the weapons unit got one-third of it. After all, it was the military¡¯s territory, and in some sense, the mutated beast was killed by the military.


    Since the military was not here yet, it was the best time for him to salvage items that he desired for himself. The creature¡¯s strange eyes haunted him as he recalled their influence. Perhaps there was a unique function to them, he thought, and he must get those pair of eyes no matter the consequences. Luo Yuan walked swiftly toward the giant beast and inspected it. Just a few minutes ago, it had been savagely attacking him, but now, ity still, not a breath in its body. The gigantic monster was lying t on the ground, and apart from the asional muscle spasms, it showed no response to Luo Yuan as he walked toward it.


    It sure was a stunning giant beast. Luo Yuan walked around it and he was in awe. Although it was dead, it seemed to have a strong will to live. Its giant tail that weighed 10 tons was like a supersized whip, that dragged against the floor continuously. Although it was incapacitated, the spasmed beating cracked the cement floor, and threw gravel and dust in the air, everywhere.


    Luo Yuan used his hand to shield his eyes from the dust as he leaped onto the giant beast¡¯s body which was four-storeys tall. Its scales were strangely smooth, the purple-based silver patterns were emitting a glowing halo, giving it a mysterious aura. There was also a unique force that radiated from the scales. Moreover, its scales were very slippery, Luo Yuan had to hold on to the thorns on its back to stand up properly.


    He walked towards the two massive wounds on its abdomen. The creature¡¯s abdomen was notpletely pierced by the bullets, which had damaged about two-thirds of the body. The flesh surrounding the wounds were terribly mangled, which made it look like a pile of minced meat. Luo Yuan stepped around the wounds and noticed that they were soft, and apparently, the damages were not limited to the wounds only.


    Luo Yuan found some powdered metal around the wounds. When the electromaic bullets shot into its body, they were already crushed. What was actually shot into the flesh of the beast was a high-speed flow of powdered metal. He then circled round to the giant beast¡¯s head. The head was six meters wide, and it was stunning. Filled with bowl-sized bumps, there were tiny thorns on each and every one of the bumps. Luo Yuan estimated the skull to be more than a meter thick, but without the help of his Will to strengthen his weapon, the ordinary saber would be nothing to it.


    Its eyes were closed, ayer of semitransparent crystal scales was protecting its eyes. But to a dead body, all theyer of protection was just a tiny trouble to Luo Yuan. He then used his Zhanmadao to cut open its eyelids carefully. The protectiveyer was strong. It was giving out a force that repelled other attacks. Without his Will, the level seven Zhanmadao could barely cut the eyelids.


    Moreover, he needed to be extra careful as the cutting might hurt the eyes. That was challenging to him. With much effort, Luo Yuan managed to retrieve the eyeballs. Each of them was 30 centimeters wide and weighed five catties. They were pitch ck and did not feel like they were made with flesh. The texture was cold and hard, they were more like crystals. There was a strange waveinge of it. With one nce, Luo Yuan felt that his soul was affected. He was shocked and quickly looked away. He then used the identification technique.


    "Soul-Eating Crocodile"


    "Function: Material"


    "Rarity: Dark-green level"


    "Weight: 2.3kg"


    "Additional Ability 1: Dream invasion - With this, it allows you to enter into somebody else¡¯s dream"


    "Additional Ability 2: Requiem - It could be used as a soul¡¯s refuge, to prevent the soul from being harmed by the outer world.


    "Remarks: The Soul-Eating Crocodile is a tremendously terrifying mutated beast, it could strengthen itself by absorbing souls as well as controlling low-level mutated beasts to be its puppets. It could hide itself using the fog, any signs of life would be destroyed if they walked into the fog. Its eyes were a part of its abilities.


    "Dream invasion, Requiem!" Luo Yuan thought to himself. Although he did not know what was the use of Dream Invasion yet, but Requiem could be ast resort. In the cruel apocalypse, nobody could guarantee of their own safety and to live to old age before eventual death. Furthermore, the four-dimensional vision on his forehead was like the sword of Damocles ced on top of his head. Perhaps when there was no way to run, it could be a great alternative.

 Chapter 345: Into the Wilderness Again

    Chapter 345: Into the Wilderness Again


    <strong>Trantor:</strong>EndlessFantasy Trantion


    <strong>Editor:</strong>EndlessFantasy Trantion


    Luo Yuan found a torn piece of cloth nearby, carefully packed both the eyeballs into it and carried them on his back. He wanted to collect much more from the giant beast¡¯s carcass but as he was left with very little Will, he gave up the thought. He picked up a few pieces of the beast¡¯s scales and put into his pack.


    Luo Yuan then moved to wake Lin Feiyan up. She opened her eyes and looked lost. Slowly, she regained her memory of what had happened and stood up immediately. She then noticed her surroundings and blushed in embarrassment.


    Her jacket was burnt but she was notpletely naked as there was a silver-grey scale armor that was as thin as a moth¡¯s wing covering her body. Apparently, the armor had no defensive attributes and acted more like an undergarment. Apart from the purpose of having something under her jacket, the armor hugged and outlined the curves of her body.


    "Captain, the mission ispleted. Let¡¯s go!" Luo Yuan wiped off his stunned expression andposed himself. He did not expect her to have had such a great body under her loose jacket. She looked like she had D-cup breasts and her waist was smaller than his thigh.


    "Oh!" Lin Feiyan responded. She then realized that she was too soft-spoken, her strength & leadership stolen by Luo Yuan. That was unforgivable. She was the captain of the mission and she should be the one who made the decisions. She looked at Luo Yuan who was trying to avoid eye contact and said calmly,"Since the mission isplete, let us go back."


    Luo Yuan looked at her in doubt. He thought his captain was behaving a little strangely. As she led the way, they headed towards the campsite. Lin Feiyan walked at a swift pace, clenching her fist. When she was controlled by the giant beast, her memory was not lost, only her thought process was controlled. She could see and hear but had nomand of her body. Soon, she recalled what she saw, thinking of the embarrassing scene in her mind, feeling her face flush yet again. She pursed her lips and walked even faster.


    ¡­


    Luo Yuan followed the members back to the department. He did not ept any missions for the next 10 days. He was training at the department in the morning and training outside the city in the evening. Once he had full control of his abilities that had skyrocketed, he started to look for the Wisdom Tree.


    Every day, he headed out earlier and came backte in the night.


    Soon one month had passed, every clue jotted down on his notebook were being crossed off one by one. There were very few clues remaining. Besides hispletion of five Grade-D missions, by idents, which increased his experience value to 139920/153600, there were no trails found to the Wisdom Tree.


    He looked at all the clues that he had and frowned. Without a doubt, some of the evidence to his search of the Wisdom Tree was obvious, but when he was searching for it, it could not be found. He did not think that it was merely an ident. Perhaps one of the clues was an ident, but not all of them. What could he have missed?


    Suddenly, he had a breakthrough as he studied the coordinates of the incidents. He asked his secretary, Sun Yuting, to get a white board and a marker. He then drew out the longitudes andtitudes, and mark down the coordinates ordingly. He did not notice anything at first but when he was done marking, he realized that the coordinates were focusing on a specific district. He marked a big circle to include all the coordinates


    He was thrilled! He estimated the coverage to be a few thousand square kilometers. "Now I know! No wonder I couldn¡¯t find it, the activity area was massive!"


    Luo Yuan also noticed that the coordinates that were on the edge were denser. He suspected that its old nest that was not in the reconstruction area but was in the wilderness instead. At the same time, he was surprised. Who could have thought that there was such a massive intelligent race hiding near the reconstruction area.


    There was an unknown sadness that rose within him. They were left in the reconstruction area. If there was arge-scale outbreak, it could be destroyed immediately. But the wilderness was boundless, nobody knew how many intelligent races were thriving out there. The reconstruction area seemed to be strong but it was thest fortress for human beings. It could not afford any disasters.\


    ...


    Luo Yuan estimated the direction of the old nest. He then informed the office director, Chen Xinjie, of what he had discovered and left the department immediately. As fast as the wind, he had left Hope City within 10 minutes. Half an hourter, he arrived in the wilderness. The howl of a strong wind filled the air and was felt blowing on Luo Yuan¡¯s shirt. He levitated up in the sky and looked at thend. The wilderness and the reconstruction area were twopletely different worlds. It was filled with lush greenery and provided a lease for life to the ecosystem. It was nketed with all kinds of green life that covered the area like a boundless green ocean. The nts were growing and countless leaves carpeted every inch of thend. Luo Yuan was searching the ce at his view of the skyline, but apart of the emeraldndscape before him, there was nothing else.


    After a while, he plunged towards thend like an eagle, diving for a kill. He moved so fast, nearly moving at the speed of sound, a strong wind blew against his face. Soon the air became humid, and his body was protected by a thick shield. At such speeds, the air pressure was increasing at an rming rate. He was relying on the gravity as his Will was of no use at that height, apart from controlling his direction. Not long after, he slowed down andnded safely on the ground.


    He inhaled deeply to fill his lungs with the invigorating fresh air within the greens. Even since he entered the reconstruction area, he had not had a breath of fresh air as the air was heavily polluted with industrial smoke. At moments like that, he would recall his experience in the wilderness, but he was not reminiscing. An endless amount of danger awaited in the lively jungle. Nobody would miss living the life of a savage, where having to sleep in the wilderness was extremely unpredictable.


    Passing the transition zone to the wilderness, Luo Yuan entered the jungle. It was near noon and the sun was shining but it felt like the evening in there. The light shining through was dimmed by the canopy overhead. The gigantic trees towered above him, vines that looked like snakes and shrubs that were filled with poisonous thorns made him think that he had entered into a realm of chaos.


    The bugs in the shrubs thought he was food approaching them, so they started circling him. The bugs went through a major mutation where he could not identify what they were anymore. Luo Yuan frowned as he felt terrifying vibes cross his mind. Countless washbasin-sized bugs fell from the sky before him.


    He stepped on one of them, there was a colorful liquid oozing out of it. He proceeded to walk. In half an hour, he saw more than 10 mutated creatures dead along the way, many smaller bugs scattered all over the ce. Luo Yuan was not who he was before, so apart from those creatures that were level seven and above, the rest could do nothing to him.


    When he achieved +17 Physique, his speed of attack had reached the level where an ordinary person could not anticipate them with their naked eyes. His attack could create sonic bursts and if he was to use all his strength, he could double up the sonic bursts. Even without the Zhanmadao, he could kill attackers that were on a green level with his bare hands.

 Chapter 346: Suspicious

    Chapter 346: Suspicious


    Trantor: EndlessFantasy Trantion Editor: EndlessFantasy Trantion


    "Huh!" Luo Yuan stopped as he saw a pile of bones in the shrubs.


    He could not tell if the bones belonged to humans or mutated beasts in the jungle. The entire jungle was filled with dead bodies and skeletons, but what attracted Luo Yuan¡¯s attention was a sharpened wooden pole close by. Instead of a pole, it was more of a pir. It was as wide as a big bowl and was four meters long as if the two broken parts were patched together.


    He picked up the smaller part, and it weighed almost 300 kilograms.


    It was surely not a weapon that was used by a human!


    Luo Yuan frowned. Enduring the horrible stench of rotting flesh, he cleared away the shrubs so that he could see theplete skeleton. It was only the torso of a body, and the lower extremities were nowhere to be found. Perhaps it was eaten by a mutated beast, he thought. A maggot that was the size of a thumb wiggled around in an eye socket.


    Luo Yuan manifested his aura, and countless poisonous insects scuttled out from underneath the skeleton. Upon closer examination, the skeleton looked like it belonged to a primate which was much bigger than a human. Its upper body was already two meters long and with the addition of its lower body that had disappeared, it was estimated to be five meters tall. Its head was enormous, almost the size of a washbasin. Luo Yuan took a better look at its head and was surprised to find out that its head was different from themon primate. Instead of a rounded skull, it was more like a nted cylinder, where the back of its head was long.


    Looking at the rotted beast¡¯s skin next to it, the signs showed that it had belonged to an intelligent race. Luo Yuan stood at the spot and closed his eyes. He sniffed the air around him to catch the scents of the area. The smell of dead bodies, nts, beast skins and decayed leaves filled his nostrils. To put it simply, Luo Yuan¡¯s smelling ability had exceeded that of a hound. He could tell that there were more than a thousand species of nts in the jungle.


    The dead body had rotted and the skeleton was the only thing left. He was not sure how long it had been there. As it had been awhile since it rained, he caught a scent that he roughly identified to where the killer of the dead primate had gone. Following the smell, Luo Yuan found three more dead bodies about hundred meters away. There seemed to have been a battle fought in those shrubs.


    Luo Yuan realized that the smell was stronger as he got closer. It was obvious that there was not only one, but a troop of them. They had divided into several groups and went in different directions. Luo Yuan estimated there were at least eight of them that were perhaps there to hunt before they were attacked. The way the first one of them was killed, Luo Yuan knew that the attacker was strong, as two of them died shortly after, while the rest ran for their lives.


    But it was all an estimated guess. To Luo Yuan, the only good news was that the powerful odor made it easier for him as he charted his path, so he did not have to spend more time exploring the jungle. He hasten his footsteps and leaped onto a branch. Like an ape, he traveled along the canopy like a quiet spirit.


    There were more and more artificial trails ahead where most of the trees were chopped away. Suddenly, he stopped. He jumped to hide between the branches, and he looked from afar. There was a rustling sound headed in his direction, and he saw around 10 odd-looking giants appeared through the trees.


    The giants had rock-hard muscles and they gave off an aura of immense strength. Their heights ranged from four meters to more than six meters. They were hairless and their skin was tan. Their cylinder-shaped heads made them look like they wore chef hats.


    The difference between them and themon mutated beasts was that there was a thick beast skin tunic tied around their waists and they held weapons in their hands. Of course, to humans, their weapons were crude as most of them were just wooden bats. What surprised Luo Yuan was the leader brandished a steel ax that was one meter wide.


    The ax was poorly forged. Apart from its terrifying size, the surface was rugged and the edge was blunt. There were gaps everywhere and even some tiny cracks on the handle. But it was real steel, the silver-grey shine made Luo Yuan concern.


    Stone Age, Bronze Age, ck Iron Age, to the Iron Age of the First Industrial Revolution. The human civilization also had an evolution of the usage of such material. Although such arguments were somehow biased, being able to utilize steel showed that this intelligent race had mastered the skill of metallurgy.


    Luo Yuan felt a chill rise within him. The intelligent race he encountered thest time used fire, but this race had knowledge of steel, and possibly other metals. The evolution of the civilization of such a race scared him. Human took millions of years to get to where they were today but the intelligence of such a race, after the apocalypse, was skyrocketing. Could humans ever defeat, or even match such a race of giants?


    He stared at the troop of giants and had a strong urge to kill them. No matter what, he belonged to the human race. If the reconstruction area was destroyed, even if he escaped, he would be left to wander around and struggle for his life.


    Slowly, Luo Yuan took out his saber and descended lightly from the branch.


    "Human!" The leader shouted as he saw Luo Yuan and the gang was alerted to the threat.


    The word ¡®human¡¯ shocked Luo Yuan. He squinted his eyes and looked at the giant. He sensed their fear when they first saw him, but they were then relieved when they found out that he was alone.


    "Surrender, live; Fight, die!" The leader of the pack bellowed furiously. His voice was deep with a choppy ent. He waved his hand, and the rest of the giants surrounded Luo Yuan in an instant.


    Luo Yuan did not even flinch as they advanced. He looked around him and scoffed, "You guys can talk?"


    "Surrender, live. Fight, die!" The leader repeated himself.


    "It seems like you can only say that. Prepare to die then." Luo Yuan swung his Zhanmadao and an invisible force shot out of the tip of the saber, extending approximately two meters away. It was not the glow of the saber but the Chi that came from the Zhanmadao itself.


    "#%#@" Looking as Luo Yuan attacked, the leader lost his patience. He roared a battle cry and charged in ready to capture the ¡®human¡¯. However, the rest did not move at all. They were stunned and wondered where did that tiny human had gone. Next thing he knew, he felt pain in his throat. He touched his throat, and suddenly, he was levitated into the air and started spinning...


    More than 10 heads fell to the ground around Luo Yuan, a crimson rain of blood followed. He sheathed his saber and proceeded to walk forward. He frowned to himself. Although they were smart, it was impossible that they learned the humannguage on their own. Moreover, with the way the giant attempted to get him to surrender and the odd steel ax, he had a sense of suspicion to all that happened.

 Chapter 347: Giant Evolved Human

    Chapter 347: Giant Evolved Human


    Trantor: EndlessFantasy Trantion Editor: EndlessFantasy Trantion


    There were two deep valleys with ravines on both sides, a clear stream flowed through them. A school of piranhas swam like wandering souls with the current, the stream bed scattered with bones.


    A shadow walked on the shore silently, no one noticing its existence. Even the piranhas were unaware as they scoured for food in the water. With every stride taken, a distance of 10 meters was put between each step the shadow made. Within a few breaths, the shadow was gone.


    More than 10 minutester, Luo Yuan darted aside and hid within the shrubs. Looking afar, there was a cave at the side of the valley. The cave was eight meters tall and more than 10 meters wide. It was four kilometers away from the cave, and more than 10 giants whoy and squatted in front of it. Luo Yuan thought the gang of giants looked like they were the guards of the cave but they did not seem to be capable of doing that. The race had yet to develop professional troops.


    Luo Yuan watched for another few minutes and he realized that there were many activities going on in the cave. Within a short period of time, three groups of giants went in and came out. Those who returned from the outside carried carcasses of prey on their shoulders, their bodies stained with blood. The food was a priority for them, and it seemed like hunting was their main source of food.


    Luo Yuan continued to observe them patiently. The valley was one of the tribe¡¯s main passages, many teams of them walked by but none of them noticed him even if he was just a few meters away.


    "Grade D+ Special Mission: Destroy the intelligent tribe. Leave none of them behind. Kill all of the creatures in the tribe."


    "Reminder: This is a special mission, difficulty has been lowered."


    "Time limit: None"


    "ept / Decline"


    A mission message popped into his mind. He took a look and epted the mission. By some twist of faith, this special mission had the lowest difficulty. The only thing was to have patience as it was basically not risky at all.


    As Luo Yuan had been preserving his strength, poisonous bugs in the bushes scurried out toward him. Many colorful bugs crawled on the back of his legs and some of them attempted to tear his skin apart. He took a look and ignored them. Now that his skin was a hundred times tougher than leather, even normal rifle bullets could do nothing to him. Apart from itching, the bites of the poisonous bugs could not harm his skin at all.


    Furthermore, the bottom of his trousers and his sleeves were tied up. Other than those who crawled on his face that he squished to death, others bit him on the rest of his body.


    Time was passing by and before long, it was evening. There were lesser teamsing back through the passage and it seemed like all the giants were in the troop. Both males and females were hunters, and as Luo Yuan calcted, there were more than a thousand of them who came back from the hunt since the afternoon. To include those who stayed in the cave, there could be three thousand of them.


    Suddenly, he heard a voice cry out from behind him. He scowled and turned around.


    Soon, he saw a team of giants appear. He was angered as the team brought back their prey while speaking in some strangenguage. The prey were not animals, they were humans! They were tied up with rattan ropes and there were men and women strung up. Their clothes were torn and most of them were covered in beast skins. Besides one who was well fed and rosy, while the rest had yellowish skin and were severely malnourished.


    Luo Yuan frowned as he watched. Even the lowest ss in the reconstruction area would at least be fed well. Apparently, this group of people was not from the reconstruction area, but wanderers in the wilderness. He had been in the reconstruction area for a long time so wanderers were not unfamiliar to him. Whether they were evolved humans who ran away to the wilderness or those wanderers who were chased out of the reconstruction area, the group of evolved humans had wandered around the reconstruction area and struggled their whole lives.


    Of course, not all wanderers were strong evolved humans. Most of them were captured by the evolved humans along the way. As there was no ruling monarch at that time, the evolved humans were merciless towards the civilians. Nobody knew what happened to them. very was considered eptable and to some evolved humans who acted like savages, civilians would be their prey when they could not hunt for food.


    When Luo Yuan arrived at the reconstruction area, if not for his strength and ability, the giant lizard and king kong, he might be one of them here. When the people slowed down their steps, the giants would whip them. With every whip, a piece of flesh would tear off their backs. Most of their backs were ripped open and bloody, and they were limping hopelessly.


    Luo Yuan held his saber tight and looked down. The giants were far away now as he let out a long sigh while holding back his urge to kill. Soon the sky turned dark, and when it was six in the evening, a new team began to guard the cave. Luo Yuan waited for another hour, and he leaped forward when he saw a bunch of giants who wereing back. Soon, hended silently on top of the cave.


    Suddenly, without Luo Yuan noticing, the giants who guarded the cave started to quarrel. Not longter, they started to fight. Luo Yuan was ready to kill them, but looking at them fighting, he held back. The gang of giants that he killed earlier, happened too fast. Before they could do anything, he butchered them all. He had no idea what kind of power these giants possessed. This small team of giants was nothing to him as their power was limited. However, if he was to kill all of them in the cave, it would be trickier as there were thousands of them. One tiny mistake and he could get himself killed.


    Luo Yuan crouched and hid under a giant rock while observing them patiently. At first, there were two of them fighting. One of them who seemed to be the leader tried to stop them but soon more of them were involved in the fight. Failing to stop them, the leader got dragged into the fight in the end. Eventually, it was chaos. Everybody was hitting each other, and the only purpose here was to fight. The giants were incredibly strong, each punchnded like an exploding bomb with every hit.


    Soon some of them had fallen in pile of blood and one of them even had his chest sunken in. That did not stop them at all as bloodlust and death triggered the berserk of the giants as the fighting got even more intense. Just then, a giant appeared at the entrance of the cave. As he looked upon the bloody scene, the giant became furious.


    Luo Yuan took a nce and noticed that this giant was different from the rest. The rest had eyes simr to humans while this one had gold pupils. It was wearing a ne made of six human skulls on his neck, and that filled Luo Yuan with anger.


    The giant walked quickly towards them and waved his arms. Luo Yuan could feel that there was a strong flow in the air. The hoard of giants who were fighting was hit by an invisible force and thrown off their feet, five meters away. They were screaming in pain.


    "An evolved human?" Luo Yuan was dumbfounded.

 Chapter 348: Wicked

    Chapter 348: Wicked


    Trantor: EndlessFantasy Trantion Editor: EndlessFantasy Trantion


    The giant evolved human roared at the rest in a fit of rage. Apparently, it held a position of power among the giants. Suddenly, all the giants fell to the ground, trembling with fear. No one noticed the shadowy grim of death that flew by behind the giant evolved human. Out of nowhere, a saber shed and as the luminescence disappeared, the giants whoy on the ground were dead.


    The ce fell silent, as more than 10 bodies twitched in the dirt. The smell of blood was thick in the air, and as time went by, the odor became stronger and stronger. Luo Yuan hid in the shadows and flew into the cave undetected. Along the way, each giant he crossed was beheaded where it stood. Blood dripped from the tip of his bloodied crimson saber.


    The cave was sloped downwards, more than 10 meters into the cave. Soon after, Luo Yuan came to a fork in the path. Later on, more than more paths appeared. It was like he moved through a maze. As he noticed the smooth air cirction, he realized that there were more than one entrances to the undergroundir. Such terrains made the quest difficult as the giants could escape in many ways. Even for a person with powerful abilities, it would be hard to find even a single giant if he was lost in the maze. Nheless, for each giant he met, his de was thest thing they encountered.


    His sharp ears allowed him to hear the tiniest sound. Even the falling of dust thatnded on the ground could not escape him. He could smell the giants who were a few kilometers away easily. His +17 physical attributes were fully utilized in that cave. From what he had observed, the civilization of this intelligent race remained primitive where its societal formation was simr to those of a primitive nature. As Luo Yuan dashed through the cave, he saw that the giants were barbaric and openly having sex with different partners. Although they were of a form simr to humans, their desires, and cruel nature was that of wild animals. Luo Yuan could not bear to watch.


    He followed the scent before him and moved forward. More and more bodies fell to the ground as he passed and he would dash into any path he detected arge life form and killed them all. The quest was not as simple as he expected. When there were many of them, he was noticed and he had to attack with increased effort. He encountered three or four evolved humans but at his enhanced agility, he killed them even before they could move a muscle. For the normal giants, they were killed in just a few swings of his saber.


    Fortunately, there were not many giant evolved humans. There was only one of them in every hundred others. If there were more, it would be trickier for him. Evolved humans¡¯ abilities varied. If its ability was not used, nobody could tell what kind of power it would have. Even an insignificant skill could be tiresome.


    As the killing continued, the stench of blood was overwhelming. More and more footsteps blundered his way. He was stunned at the stampede headed towards him. He thought for a while and leaped nine meters up to the top of the cave. A few hundred giants burst into the area, their gigantic bodies made shook rocks loose from the cave wall. An evolved human, who looked to be the leader of the gang walked in, in his thick arm he held an enormous machete, a bloodlust berserker look in his eyes. He looked at the pile of dead bodies, and as he looked around in fear, he bellowed with rage to the cave ceiling. The rest of the giants stopped moving.


    To some extent, the intelligent race was the same with the human race where they were a small tribe struggling to survive the apocalypse. In the wilderness, there was an endless jungle of danger that would kill them, and even genocide was a possible reality. Perhaps the normal giants were wild at heart and functioned based only on their physical strength, but to be the leader required much more. The evolved human giant that became leader had to be prudent, which was crucial or else they would have vanished in the wilderness.


    It was toote for them to run. Luo Yuan used his hand and pushed off against the top of the cave. His body dropped in an instant. While he was still in the air, with his Zhanmadao in hand,bined with his Will, he shed the air before him. The glow on the saber expanded to 1.5 times its brightness, and its luminescence extended at a length of three meters.


    As the giants were huddled together, with a single swing, Luo Yuan ughtered 19 of them with that blow. Before they could even make a sound, Luo Yuan darted by and swung deadly motions with his de. The glow was like aser, shooting out savagely in the small tunnel. Before they realized what happened, some hundred of them were dead on their feet.


    It was toote. The cave was in chaos. The giants were choked with fear. The will to fight disappeared with the screams of fear and the gurgling of blood, like snowkes caught under the scorching sun. The shadow that murdered them was unstoppable.


    Just when a giant was prepared to attack with its spear, it was killed instantly. As another one was ready to unleash its power, its head slid clean off its body. Even when one of the giant evolved human used its defensive evolved ability, it was futile against the Will powered saber. Some of them were killed by ident in the chaos of the attack.


    Although it was a Grade D+ mission, its difficulty wasparable to that of a Grade D mission. Even though there were thousands of them to be killed and the leader was on the light-green level, they could not escape Luo Yuan¡¯s wrath.


    In less than a minute, the tunnel was filled with cold corpses. A few of them managed to escape and hundreds of them were killed by Luo Yuan¡¯s de. Including those that he killed earlier, there were approximately two thousand of them dead in the dirt. Carrying his Zhanmadao, Luo Yuan proceeded to walk into the cave following the stench of giants with no fear. Along the way, he killed more than 10 giants. 10 minutester, he could see light illuminate the darkness of the cave.


    The cave was humongous. It was 10 meters high and a few square kilometers wide. Countless fire points covered the cave like starlight, lighting up the space.


    It was the centerpoint of the tribe. Perhaps due to the massacre earlier, there were not many giants left. Most of them were kids that were shorter than two meters and pregnant mothers.


    What shocked Luo Yuan was there were many humans around them, numbering in the hundreds at the least. As he peered closely at them, he noticed some of them looked like ves while the others looked empty, like zombies. The cave was filled with many items that were left by humans after the apocalypse. Rusty cars, broken tanks, worn out electrical utensils and random trash were piled up at the centre of the cave.


    Luo Yuan suspected that the source of their steel weapons came from the materials on that hill. He knew that the items could have been possessions of the humans trapped in that cave, and they would have been forced to forged weapons for the giants under the threat of instant death. He was torn between the choice to end the supply of steel weaponry to the giants, by killing the people, or saving them from the faith that ensnared them.

 Chapter 349: Lost

    Chapter 349: Lost


    Trantor: EndlessFantasy Trantion Editor: EndlessFantasy Trantion


    With his Zhanmadao in his hand, Luo Yuan walked ahead, expressionless. More than 10 young giants attempted to ambush him. But, before they were close enough to strike him, they were killed by a few shes of the glowing saber that was radiating three meters of his Will.


    While he was walked, he killed all who stood in his path. Dead bodies filled the area. Soon, the noisy cave was silent. Not only the giants, but the humans were quiet too. As Luo Yuan was stepped closer towards them, and they backed away in fear. Some of them were so scared that their knees buckled and they fell to the ground. None of them dared to fight back.


    Luo Yuan neither unleashed his aura nor did he kill anyone, yet. However, his blood covered saber, clothes and his deadpan face terrified everyone in the cavern. He glimpsed at the furnace that was 10 meters away to the left. Next to it was a gigantic mold workshop with some self-made machines A group of humans stood by it, frozen with fear. Some of them held wrenches and shovels in their trembling hands. He looked away and did not say a word.


    As a strong evolved human, it was hard for Luo Yuan to imagine how difficult it would be to live in the wilderness. Apart from how they live their lives as fodder for mutated beasts, the harsh environment, as well as very of their own kind were a few more nightmares they suffered. Perhaps to them, it was the only way to live. Their nature of life was to live and to breed. What was against the nature of life had been eliminated through the evolution of their species.


    A group of them were seen as rebels who escaped to the jungle, but the others were not. Most of them just wanted to live as wanderers forgotten by the reconstruction area. Luo Yuan was no saint. His principles and virtues were no something he was proud of. If he did not have the system which made him an evolved human, he might have been one of them. What he saw was a means to stay alive, but there was an indescribable sadness inside of him for them.


    If he did not find out earlier, this intelligent race of giants would have developed into a super civilization with the knowledge they would have learned from the humans. Perhaps they would be killed by the giants once they found no use for them. It would be a disheartening thing to witness. Luo Yuan shook his head to get rid of the miserable thoughts on his mind. His face turned stone cold and he looked ahead. His body was suddenly a blur and he disappeared from where he stood. More than 10 female giants who attempted to run away were shed in half as they took their first few steps.


    In an instant, that area of a few kilometers became a kill box. With his speed of 200 meters per second, nobody managed to escape his merciless saber. No matter pregnant women or children that were less than one meter tall, they were all killed without remorse. Within moments, the stench of blood filled the air.


    10 minutester, Luo Yuan slid his saber back into its sheath. The people who were watched were relieved the giants were all mutted around them, but none of them uttered a sound. Most of the wanderers were ordinary people who were captured by evolved human to be sold as ves. Peace had been lost to them for so long, they did not know it anymore. They were numb from all the torture and were just d to have air in their lungs. Apart from the fear for Luo Yuan, most of them were terrified for what this murderous evolved human had in store for them.


    During the apocalypse, human lives were worse than a dog¡¯s life. The treatment the giants gave them was considered good as humans were of use to them. Although their freedom and dignity were long gone, at least their safety was guaranteed and they would never go hungry. If they were to be in the wilderness, they were not sure how long they could live in that lush green diabolical wastnd.


    Luo Yuan did not have the time to care about what the people thought. He looked at the mission and realized that it was notpleted yet. He searched the dead bodies around him again. He saw a dead woman¡¯s pregnant body in the mound of corpses at his feet, and he used his saber to pierce through her tummy. But yet, the mission remained iplete.


    There were many forks in the cave but there was only one path in this one. He had a meticulous memory where he memorized everything in one nce. Before he came here, he had already cleared each and every path he crossed. There should not be any giants that he missed. Apart from the possibility that there were more giants who had not made their way back yet, there should be another giant hiding somewhere.


    He looked around carefully, and something caught his attention. In a dark corner where some filthy women were cowering for their lives, there was an oddly shaped curtain hidden by their feet. He heard a heartbeat that was obviously stronger than a human being¡¯s heartbeat thumping from under the bundled up curtain. There was something concealed in there. Luo Yuan walked towards the women. Seeing Luo Yuan walking towards their direction, they were horrified. Their bodies trembled and they turned a sickly pale white.


    "Get out of the way!" Luo Yuan said.


    "It¡¯s¡­ still a baby, it doesn¡¯t know anything. Please forgive it!" A woman said while swallowing her fear, her voice was quivering uncontrobly. Luo Yuan was surprised. He was not sure if these women loved the child, and were now on the same side with the giants. How could they protect their enemy? Did they underestimate how powerful his saber was?


    Luo Yuan pulled out his Zhanmadao and said, "Do you think you can stand in my way?" The women were terror-stricken. They instantly crawled aside and stayed silent. He then lifted the curtain, and there was a baby that looked not more than a few weeks old. It looked like a six-year-old human child. Its pupils were gold, clear and innocent. It thought he was ying a game with it, and let out a giggle while kicking its feet.


    Suddenly, a light shed before the baby. It stopped smiling. Blood gushed out of its throat. It bled to death instantly, its eyes cold and lifeless.


    "Grade D+ Special Mission: Destroy the intelligent race tribe, leave none of them behind.


    Kill all of the intelligent creatures in the tribe"


    "Remarks : This is a special mission, difficulty has been lowered."


    "Time Limit: None"


    "Mission Status: Completed"


    "Evaluation: Perfect."


    "Character: Luo Yuan"


    "Completion: 100%"


    "Basic Experience Value Reward+9600*100%!"


    "Evaluation: Perfect, Experience Value+9600*100%!"


    "Experience: 5520/307200!"


    "You have leveled up!"


    Character: Luo Yuan


    upation: Vice-captain of the Sword Unit


    Level: 11


    Attributes:


    Strength: 17 (10)


    Agility: 15 (10)


    Physique: 17+4 (10)


    Intelligence: 14 (10)


    Sensory Perception: 14+1 (10)


    Will: 16+1 (10)


    Skills: Science 16, Math 14, Mandarin 19, English 16, Finance 17, Computers 9, Dancing 1, Art 3, Gaming 6, Negotiating 9, Socializating 7, Cooking 3, Driving 1, Hand to Hand Combat 19, Sword Skill 5, Gun Skill 6, Casting 15


    Special Skills: Identification Technique, Synthesization Technique, Detection Technique


    Natural Abilities: Earth Stomp (Level 6), Four-Dimensional Vision (2%)


    Battle Beast: Giant Lizard (Level-3) Raging Ape (Level-2)


    Unassigned Attribute Points: 1


    Unassigned Skill Points: 5


    Iplete Missions: None


    Luo Yuan looked at the message sent from the system. He was happy. After waiting for almost half a year, he had finally achieved a level-up. Although it took some time, within six months his abilities improved very quickly. Whether it was the change in attributes during the transition period or the level eight energy nucleus that he recently consumed which boosted his physique and strength, the minor points the system gave him every time he leveled up barely meant anything to him. The function of the system had be insignificant to him.


    However, the upgrade of attributes that the system gave was crucial too as all attribute points were added ordingly. His highest attribute (in attribute) was +17 while the lowest was +14 and they were the main attributes. Initially, his dexterity was the highest but now it was far behind his strength and physical traits which set him back from his true potential.


    Luo Yuan was not in a hurry to make changes to his attributes. He had some doubts. The main reason why he was here was to look for the Wisdom Tree. If he managed to find it, not only would his intelligence be boosted, but the remaining points could be added to his dexterity. By then, his four-dimensional vision could be relieved, and there would be another round of major changes to his abilities. However, he had looked high and low throughout the cave, but there was no signs of the Wisdom Tree.


    He thought about it and realized that it made sense. There was no tree that could survive in a cave as there was no sunlight. He had no idea where the giants migrated from. He looked at the women in front of him and pulled out his saber with an ice cold look in his eyes. That frightened the women and their faces turned a ghostly white. He said,"Let me ask you, where did these giantse from." "I¡­ I don¡¯t know, I don¡¯t know anything." said the woman who defended the baby. Luo Yuan turned around and said loudly, "Everybodye forward. Does anybody know where these giantse from?" His voice was so loud that an echo lingered in the cave.


    The massacre earlier made them obey him out if sheer fear for their lives. They looked at each other, gathered around him. Soon, all of them were standing in front of Luo Yuan. He looked at them one by one and noticed that there were a few of them that seemed hesitantly stuttering to say something. He pointed at one of them and said,"Speak up, and if you dare to lie to me¡­"


    His words send a chill down their spines. The crowd backed away and the one he pointed at stood alone. The man looked around in fear. When he realized that Luo Yuan had pointed at him, he dropped to his knees and repeatedly prostrated himself before Luo Yuan could even finish what he was saying.


    "Master, please have mercy on me. I know, I know¡­ where did theye from."


    Luo Yuan frowned. It felt strange to him. "Stand up and tell me!" he shouted at the wailing man. The man was petrified. He could not move his legs to stand up. He was shaking on the ground and could not speak. Luo Yuan picked another person from the quivering huddled mass of people. With all the vicious killing that had happened, the man spilled everything he knew from the beginning to the end.

 Chapter 350: Supervision

    Chapter 350: Supervision


    Trantor: EndlessFantasy Trantion Editor: EndlessFantasy Trantion


    "They have been here for half a year?" Luo Yuan said. He thought to himself, it seemed like the Wisdom Tree remained where it was.


    "Yes, yes!" The man said while he bowed, afraid of what could happen next.


    "Good, continue!" Luo Yuan nodded.


    The man was surprised. His long face was reced with a relieved smile. He was more affluent with his information after that.


    "They were from the Mushi Province, by the Kidney Mountain." he noticed Luo Yuan¡¯s frown and added, "The Kidney Mountain looks like the kidney of a pig, it¡¯s very easy to recognize."


    "What Pig Kidney Mountain? Can you be more specific, is there a proper name for it so that I could find it on the map." Luo Yuan was not satisfied.


    It was barrennd in the northwest area, and there were only a few provinces there. Mushi Province was one of them. He had an idea where it was as he had seen it before on the map, but it was located at the Kunlun Mountain that had many dangerous rivers and treacherous hills. Even if some one was familiar with thendscape, it was impossible to trek the path with serious risk to bear. Moreover, the entire ce was covered in nts. It was difficult enough to find Mushi Province, not to mention what Pig Kidney Mountain.


    The man was stunned. He nced at the saber in Luo Yuan¡¯s hand and cold sweat was dripping from his forehead. He was startled by the sudden change in Luo Yuan¡¯s mood, "That¡¯s¡­ how we call it, it¡¯s¡­ easy to find, Kidney Mountain, it looks like a pig¡¯s kidney¡­" Suddenly, a thought urred to him and he smacked his forehead, "Oh right, there¡¯s a waterfall where you can hear it from far away."


    A waterfall was a goodndmark, he would look for it when he got back at night. There was aputer in the department with a satellite map. It was not themon map used by civilians but a detailed military version. The resolution could reach 0.3 meters where even tiny objects could be easily seen. To find the waterfall should not be a problem.


    But Luo Yuan was confused, "Why would they want to migrate out of nowhere?". With fear in his eyes, the man stuttered his answer.


    "The ce was terrorized by a gigantic mutated beast and it had eaten many green-skin giants. That¡¯s why they escaped."


    Luo Yuan thought to himself. It made sense. With the intelligent race¡¯s temperament, they would not move away unless they were under siege by a force much greater than themselves


    Luo Yuan looked at the time and realized that it was almost 8 p.m. He took a nce at the people and said, "I¡¯m leaving. Take care of yourselves." in unison, the crowd burst with chatter.


    "Master, please bring us along with you!"


    "As long as we don¡¯t die of hunger, I¡¯m willing to do anything! Please bring me with you!"


    "From now on, you are our master, you can do whatever you want with us. Please don¡¯t leave us behind!"


    ¡­


    As he was walking, Luo Yuan sensed the people behind him bowed to him. He could not help but stop. From what they said, it was obvious that life in the wilderness would be suicide for them if they stayed alone. It was the jungle rule where the strong lived content, while the rest would live like animals with no dignity.


    But to think it through, it would not be an easy task if he decided to bring them along. It was 400 kilometers from the reconstruction area. They would have to go through jungles that were full of danger. Even if they walked day and night, the fastest they could go would just be 50 kilometers a day. Furthermore, throughout the journey, he would have to take care of their well-being and keep them safe. Even if they made it to the destination, perhaps only half of them could survive.


    Luo Yuan looked around the cave, the only way to get out of the cave was through the tunnels. As long as the tunnels were blocked, the cave would be safe to live in. Looking at the dead bodies and food around the cave, they should not be worried about what to eat for a while. For an intelligent race, there was nothing for them to worry about as they had been in the wilderness for a long time as their survival principles were not as rigid as it used to be. Luo Yuan suspected most of the people here had practiced cannibalism to survive.


    Although they looked harmless, many of them were dangerous. During the apocalypse, one had to do whatever it took to stay alive. He thought for awhile and said, "Please get up. I will contact the reconstruction area and try my best to help all of you. Please stay here for a few days while awaiting the rescue."


    There was joy on their faces. Luo Yuan shook his head and left the cave. On his way back, he reported to the office director Chen Xinjie for a status update. The results would have to wait for approval from his superiors. Luo Yuan did not mind the wait and arrived at home an hourter. He opened the door and realized that there was a guest.


    "Oh god, finally! You¡¯re back, Mr. Luo! Thedies at home had been waiting for you." said a 50-year-old woman with a thick Shanghai ent. There was a lingering charm about her, and he could see that when she was younger, she was a beauty. Upon Luo Yuan¡¯s return, she stood up and greeted him with enthusiasm.


    "Oh, Aunty Zhang is here. Let¡¯s take a seat! There was something I had to do earlier, that¡¯s why I¡¯m homete. Let me go change and I¡¯ll be right back." said Luo Yuan with a smile. The woman was themittee director and a very ebullient person. She had dropped by three times this month.


    Luo Yuan walked to his bedroom and took off his shirt that was stained with blood. He took a shower and went back into the living room. The woman stood up and was ready to leave, "I didn¡¯t notice it was sote, Mr. Luo, I shall make a move first or else the man at home will not be able to sleep."


    "Aunty Zhang, I just came back and you¡¯re leaving. Please do stay¡­ But if you have to go, you are always weed to drop by anytime. Jiahui, fetch me a can of meat from thest distribution, we cannot finish it anyway."


    The welfare of the sword unit was very generous as they would distribute food for their personnel every month. Furthermore, they did not only provide top quality food such as fruits and meats, but there were also daily necessities made avable by them, that were rare on the market. Sometimes, there would also be seasoning sauces.


    Mu Wenwen and Wang Xiaguang were allocated jobs this month and moved in with Luo Yuan. Even Chen Jiayi was sent to school, but she would onlye back every 10 days. Luo Yuan was not interested in the meat that was distributed as he preferred fresh ones, so the two boxes of meat remained untouched.


    Aunty Zhang kept refusing his offer but gave in to Huang Jiahui who was very persistent. She took the meat while smiling and thanked them on her way out. She could not hide her happiness when she saw the ¡®5-star¡¯bel on the packet. She had never seen a ¡®5-star¡¯ meat as there were only ¡®4-star¡¯ selections avable in the market. Each packet cost a bomb and that was if a person could get his or her hands on them first. It was a surprise that Luo Yuan had them in excess at home.


    ¡­


    "What did you guys talk about?"


    "Some girl stuff, you wouldn¡¯t be interested anyway." Huang Jiahui said while blushing, "I have warmed up the food for you, I¡¯ll bring it to you now."


    "Okay!" Luo Yuan nodded. Although he was not hungry, since it was ready, it would be wasted if he did not finish it.


    "Oh yeah, I might need to head out tomorrow. If it doesn¡¯t take too long, I will be back at night. If not, I might be out for a few days."


    He could not be sure that he would find the spot where the Wisdom Tree grew in one day.


    "Do you need to be gone for so long, is it another mission?" asked Zhao Yali who was bringing out the food. Her hands shook as she spoke, and the soup in the bowl spilled all over the floor. She immediately put down the bowl in front of him, wiped up the spill, and asked him again with concern in her eyes.


    "Don¡¯t worry about me, look at you, all clumsy. Don¡¯t you know my ability? A year ago we traveled from the east to be here and we survived. Furthermore, it¡¯s not a mission this time. I¡¯m looking for something, I will be back as soon as I have found it." Luo Yuan said while knocking on the wooden table, superstitiously.


    "Look at you, so proud of yourself!" Zhao Yali rolled her eyes at Luo Yuan, with relief. She knew that besides being promiscuous, there was nothing that this guy could not do.


    "Boss Luo, since it¡¯s not dangerous, let me follow you." Wang Shishi said.


    Luo Yuan wanted to decline at first, but looked at her eagerness, he nodded and said, "Sure, let¡¯s go together."


    Luo Yuan thought to himself, as a strong evolved human, she must be bored to death to have to stay home every day. It would be good for her to explore. He was confident nothing would happen to her, on his watch.

 Chapter 351: Child

    Chapter 351: Child


    Trantor: EndlessFantasy Trantion Editor: EndlessFantasy Trantion


    The moans as the couple had sex in the bedroom could be heard throughout the house. They finally came to a stop after the woman screamed for joy at the intensity of her orgasms.


    Zhao Yali¡¯s naked bodyy beside Luo Yuan. He yfully ran his hand up and cupped her snowy white breast, which made her moaned softly. She enjoyed his touch with her eyes closed.


    After a while, Zhao Yali opened her eyes and hugged Luo Yuan. She said, "Little Yuan, I want a child."


    Luo Yuan chuckled to himself. "What inspired you? Auntie Zhang?" he asked.


    Zhao Yali nodded and said softly, "Even though I know it is a rmended policy by the reconstruction area for you to procreate, I too, genuinely, want to have a child with you. I am so worried every time you leave, I am never sure you woulde home. It will be different if I have a child..."


    "I¡¯ll get jealous though!" Luo Yuan said and he smiled mischievously.


    Zhao Yali pped his chest and said, "I¡¯m serious, don¡¯t interrupt me!"


    Luo Yuanposed himself and sighed, "I believe you know that I have never used protection. We have been together for so long but Huang Jiahui and you have never got pregnant. Obviously, my gene might be different from that of a normal person, and the probability of infertility could be very high."


    "I thought we can try with a test tube baby or even use sperm from the sperm bank?" Zhao Yali asked.


    "Auntie Zhang told you about this as well?"


    "She mentioned about it while gossiped. I didn¡¯t know there are so many people had problems getting pregnant. Most of them tried artificial insemination and finally seeded." Zhao Yali said.


    Luo Yuan looked upset as he knew the government would have nned to analyze and study his genes. For artificial insemination, they needed to extract his sperm. However, he had no idea what they would do with his excess sperm samples afterpleting the process of artificial insemination. He had no control over the procedures as well. Perhaps, he would get many children for free or possibly various kinds of abnormal fetuses.


    Luo Yuan pondered and then said. "Let¡¯s continue trying naturally for a while longer. If it really does not work out, then we can try artificial insemination."


    He understood that the action would be a good deed as it was not a bad idea to donate sperm before the apocalypse. Perhaps, it would be a benefit to society if the rehabilitation government could produce stronger human beings.


    It sounded really bad. He was too obsessed with that problem. Luo Yuan suddenly frowned and sat up on the bed.


    "What¡¯s wrong?" Zhao Yali asked.


    "I heard the rm! I need to go." Luo Yuan said as he took his clothes and put on his shirt.


    "Don¡¯t worry, it should be fine. There is always an air defense alert every few days." Luo Yuan said tofort Zhao Yali as he knew she was worried.


    Their house was at Basement Level Nine, and the sound of the air defense alert was muffled as there were manyyers of concrete between them and the surface. Luckily, it was very quiet during midnight, otherwise, he might not be able to hear it as well.


    "Take care!" Zhao Yali said.


    "Alright, I¡¯ll be right back." Luo Yuan replied and button up his shirt. He took his Zhanmadao out from under his bed as he always made it a point to have it nearby, in case of emergencies. He opened the room door and left the room.


    He arrived at street level on the surface in just a few minutes.


    Countless threads of fire danced around the night sky. Many spotlights followed, racing behind them as their game of cat and mouse to illuminated the skies. The atmosphere was filled with a lot of smoke.


    All the factories on both sides of the streets had closed for the night.


    All of a sudden, a giant corpse fell on top one of the factories with a deafening crash. The factory copsed and caused a short circuit which sent sparks flying into the sky.


    Luo Yuan jumped onto the roof of one of the factories nearby and realized the City of Hope was not the only ce being attacked. The surrounding areas were up in mes as well. Luckily, all the workers had gone home and no one was injured.


    A giant mutated bird which fell on the other end of the street struggled to get up and it tried very hard to extend its bleeding wings which were more than 10 meters long. Its action caused a very strong st of wind to sweep across the ground and a wall nearby copsed and then swirled in a whirlwind up in the air.


    In the next second, a short spear struck it in the back and it instantly broke its spine and pierced through its body. The wound was about a meter long and exposed flesh and its gizzards. The mutated bird moaned and fell to the ground.


    Luo Yuan spent looked around for more thick wood tes and made a few more short spears. He threw the short spears towards anyrge living creature he saw in the air and on the ground.


    Based on his 17 Strength Points and 15 Agility Points, he could easily hit any mutated green level creature.


    But seeing as most of the green level mutated beasts were massive and incredibly strong, he had to aim for their heads and pierce their skulls for an instant kill. Otherwise, a bodily wound would have barely slowed them down.


    However, the creature from those level was very vignt to danger around them. They might not be able to escape during in an emergency due to their huge bodies, but it was easy for them to move their heads in order to avoid an attack. It was not at all easy to kill them.


    Luo Yuan had to be nearer if he really wanted to kill them.


    The chaos slowly subsided after about 10 minutes. Only a few sparks shed across the dark night sky.


    Many military trucks and tanks slowly appeared in the streets and shot at the mutated beasts were yet to be put down. The dead carcasses were then towed away and piled into the trucks.


    The factory doors slowly opened and lights illuminated the war zone around them.


    The reconstruction area was no longer as safe as before. Since the great migration, there were a few attacks like the one that just happened. Perhaps, the mutated beasts came from the great migration. The mutated beasts nearby had been attacked by the humans and they knew that the reconstruction area was dangerous. While the mutated beasts from other regions moving through, did not know and simply broke in and attacked the area.


    Luo Yuan continued to look around and saw a truck spraying pest control solution. He quickly jumped off the roof and walked towards the entrance of the underground city.


    The antiseptic solution was poisonous and had a terribly pungent odor, but it did not affect him as he moved through the area.

 Chapter 352: Departure

    Chapter 352: Departure


    Trantor: EndlessFantasy Trantion Editor: EndlessFantasy Trantion


    The next morning, Luo Yuan walked through the attacked zone again. The dawn sky was a light orange and a dark gray as sun rose over the horizon. He realized everything had returned to normal.


    The carcasses on the street had been cleared and the damages to the factories were repaired as well. Everything was back to how it used to be. The only remaining impression from the night before was a light smell of smoke that still floated through the air.


    Luo Yuan walked to the sword unit headquarters and told his secretary to prepare a cup of tea for him. The pros of having a superior who is very particr about documentation were that, fortunately, he did not have much paper work to do.


    He switched on theputer and searched for the satellite map of Mushi County. Based on the satellite map, Mushi County was a forest. No signs of human life could be found and it had be the home of many different species of mutated beasts.


    A few hundred kilometers away was the ocean. The entire world was different from what it used to be, due to the change in climate. The living environment for the humans became unsustainable and the surface area of thend became much smaller because of the rising ocean levels.


    At the moment, the entire region of Hua Dong, Hua Nan and Hua Bei had disappeared off the map. Half the region of the ancient state of Shu had been sunken below sea level. A vast portion of thend in China was underwater. Even the North and South regions of the Americas suffered the same fate as well. The central region was still safe from the waters. However, the other regions were all lost underwater. The low lying European countries were long gone with a few small inds in the center of the ocean.


    Luo Yuan looked very serious as he stared at the map which waspletely different from the existing one.


    Even if the humans seeded and survived in the end, thend could never go back to how it used to be.


    He tried to calm himself. He shut down theputer, sighed aloud and finished the tea on his desk. He walked down to the underground training hall. Since thest time he volunteered to help during the emergency operations, many of the team members from the Unit looked to him with a lot more respect. Many team members came forward to greet him when he was on the way to the training hall.


    After helping Fang Peibin train for a while, Luo Yuan walked to a quiet corner. The entire level was the training hall. He backed away into the shadows for a moment of privacy.


    Shortly after, he opened the system panel and assigned all five points of the previous upgrade to his saber skill. With that, his ability was upgraded to an expert level.


    He was surprised. Perhaps, he had umted some experience points from his training earlier because the five points were sufficient for him to upgrade himself by two whole levels (three points is equivalent to one level). His saber skills were: Expert: 7. A warm feeling of new found power spread throughout his body.


    The air around him began vibrating and the dust particles started rising into the air. The space where he was at immediately became another world. Luckily, Luo Yuan was standing in a quiet corner, otherwise, if anyone was around him, they might have been hurt.


    The area around him seemed to have infused with his Will. He could turn the space into a dark hell or turn it into a bright heaven. He could set fire to the air around him and also freeze the particles around him in an instant. He could do anything he wanted in that particr space.


    Of course, that was the misconception of his strength upgrades. His Will was still not on par with his level. He could only generate certain forces forbat. For example, it was possible for him to kill an ordinary human or low-level mutated beasts easily. However, he still needed weapons powered by his Will to kill stronger and more powerful mutated beasts.


    He closed his eyes and did not dare to move. He was cherishing the moment, the good feeling of an upgrade. It slowly faded after awhile. However, the memory lingered in his mind.


    His momentum slowly faded as the feeling faded as well.


    He was slightly disappointed as it was getting more difficult for him to be upgraded since he chose to master his saber skills above all else. Even when he had the system to guide him, he was not able topletely master it without consistent training. However, training did not help much anymore at this stage as his saber expertise has reached its highest level.


    It was believed that his skill had reached its optimal level. His Will had been upgraded and the saber had be more powerful as well. Besides that, the energy to manifest his Will had been reduced significantly. Training harder was not an option for chasing upgrades anymore as it would take much longer.


    There was another way to make upgrades happen, he thought. His breakthrough idea was to risk his life and fight extremely dangerous battles. The difficulty and threats of death would be much more intense, which might be enough to help him gather his Will, and gain more experience. However, how could he know which battle might be hisst?


    Luo Yuan skipped his lunch to practice his saber skills again when the techniques were still fresh in his mind.


    ...


    The next morning, Wang Shishi woke him up before sunrise. Luo Yuan looked at the clock and realized it was 3 a.m. He dragged himself out of the bed groggily, showered and had his breakfast, while still rubbing the sleep out of his eyes. An hourter, he started his journey together with Wang Shishi, who brimmed over with excitement.


    The moon was beautiful, and there were a few stars in the sky. They increased their pace after they exited from the Hope City.


    Luo Yuan was surprised that Wang Shishi could keep up with him. Although he was not moving at full speed, his Agility was well over that of a normal person. He crossed 20 to 30 meters in a single step at speeds of about 50 to 60 meters per second.


    At the moment, Wang Shishi was gliding a foot above the ground. She looked calm, and she moved much faster than before.


    When they arrived at the reconstruction area, Luo Yuan was more rxed as he mentored Wang Shishi. He offered her advice now and again, but in truth, he wanted her to take charge of her own actions.


    Fortunately, Wang Shishi was truly passionate about her Telekinesis. She trained tirelessly since she entered the reconstruction area. She had not seemed hardworking when she first arrived, but she practiced, daily, whenever she could. To the untrained eye, she seemed to be walking normally, but her feet were not touching the ground. With missions she hadpleted with her Telekinesis technique, she would not even have to get her hands dirty to aplish them.


    Luo Yuan was impressed, and curious as he had no idea exactly how powerful she was at this point.


    He realized he had underestimated Wang Shishi¡¯s ability and he thought she was ready to join the Sword Unit.


    ...


    An hourter, they finally arrived at the frontline border office. Luo Yuan showed his ID card to the security guards, who were immediately shocked at what they saw. They quickly greeted him respectfully and signaled the troops to allow them through. As an evolved human of Luo Yuan¡¯s standing, his ID card from the Sword Unit was very useful.


    "Brother Luo, why did the soldiers address you as a Vice-Captain?" Wang Shishi asked curiously after they walked through.


    "The sword unit is a military regiment, what¡¯s wrong with that?" Luo Yuan said.


    "Vice-Captain, that¡¯s Vice-Captain! A person of power! Why have you not mentioned it before?" Wang Shishi pouted, annoyed that Luo Yuan had not told her.


    "That¡¯s nothing special. The lowest rank in the bureau is Colonel. My military title is not valuable at all." Luo Yuan continued to say.


    His title meant nothing to him but he did not realize it was deemed a powerful influence among ordinary people.


    "But, but that¡¯s Captain! You never mentioned it before! I would never have known if I had note today!" Wang Shishi said, agitated.


    "Alright, stop talking. We are entering the forest now." Luo Yuan shook his head and chuckled to himself.


    Trantors Note:


    The Ancient state of Shu refers to the current region of the Sichuan Province in China.

 Chapter 353: The Pellet

    Chapter 353: The Pellet


    Trantor: EndlessFantasy Trantion Editor: EndlessFantasy Trantion


    Both of them had departed by midnight, but it was already almost sunset by now.


    Mushi County was about 700 kilometers away from the redevelopment area in a straight-line distance. If Luo Yuan was alone, he would already have been able to head there and back within just a day. But as he had brought Wang Shishi along, the journey had been slowed down with several stops to rest, as her perception ability was not able tost for long.


    Fortunately, it was less than 100 kilometers from here to Mushi County and it would take less than an hour to reach there. However, when he saw Wang Shishi¡¯s tired face, he still stopped and med himself for his own impatience. If the wisdom tree was really there, it would not disappear if he had dyed this journey by a day. Luo Yuan said, "The sky is getting dark. We should stop here now. Please be careful, I¡¯ll be scouting around to look for a ce to put up tonight."


    There were mountains everywhere, but Luo Yuan managed to find a cave nearby a cliff. Outside the cave, there were dense vines that camouged the cave well. If it wasn¡¯t for Luo Yuan¡¯s sharp eyes which caught the rustling of the dead leaves, he would not have discovered this cave.


    He forcefully ripped off the vines and gently covered his nose. An odor was lingering in the air from the cave. After a few steps, a mutated beast that looked like a giant bear rushed towards him, along with the pungent odor. However, it got hit badly by Luo Yuan just as it arrived him. Being flung a few meters away, it copsed onto the ground heavily.


    In order to avoid the smell of blood that could lead to unnecessary trouble, Luo Yuan was much more civilized this time and did not induce too much bleeding in his battles.


    He even made sure dinner was settled for the night.


    "STOMP!!"


    Luo Yuan frowned and stepped on his foot heavily. There was a beetle that was trying to climb onto his feet ¨C which was now crushed to death. Looking at this cave with various mutated creatures and insects that lived in harmony, he spread out the momentum and the air distorted violently. Large numbers of insects were already dead before they could escape.


    After a while, Wang Shishi came into the cave as well. She did not care about the dirty cave any longer and sat on a rock. She was too exhausted to even want to move a muscle.


    "Do you regret apanying me?" Luo Yuanughed.


    "I am just not used to it yet. I¡¯ll be fine after a break," Wang Shishi replied unwillingly.


    Luo Yuan smiled and stopped teasing her. "You be careful while I go out to hunt for better food."


    "Pleasee back earlier!"


    Before Luo Yuan left, he veiled the cave with vines once more. He began tob the forest. To an expert of the jungle who had identification skills, despite his meticulous search, chancing upon good food was no easy feat. If it was a nted tuber full of starch or sulent fungi, it could be found in abundance. Aspared to the Reconstruction Area, many more choices of food can be found there.


    Luo Yuan sniffed around and managed to determine a spot after walking for a few steps. He pulled away from the dead leaves above and found a bunch of snow-white eggs underneath. Each of the eggs was the size of a goose¡¯s egg, and they were perfectly round, like a ball. There were more than hundreds of eggs all piled up into a mound.


    Obviously, these were not bird eggs but those of insects. However, they were edible, tender and tasted more delicious.


    After Luo Yuan picked five, he broke the rest of the eggs open before he left, out of habit cultivated back in the Reconstruction Area. The moment he saw any mutated creatures, he would eliminate them on the spot to avoid any possible risk.


    Luo Yuan was lucky, as he found a nt bearing wild fruits before he returned. It was shaped like a hawthorn but was bigger by at least a hundred times. Each of them was as big as a football, with a very hard the shell, and was protected by barbed spines.


    After he cracked the hard shell, a rich aroma filled the air. Luo Yuan ate one, and it was not as sour as hawthorns were, but it tasted slightly alcoholic, with a hint of frankincense. The vor was indeed unique.


    The whole tree was ten meters high but it only bore eight fruits. Luo Yuan picked all the fruits and used arge number of meter-wide leaves to wrap them up. Even if they could not finish all of them, he could still bring them back for Huang Jiahui and Zhao Yali.


    ...


    The embers from the bonfire gradually extinguished and left only a dim red light in the dark.


    Luo Yuan hugged Wang Shishi to sleep, quietly listening to the wailings of the mutated beasts outside. After being so ustomed to the peaceful life in the Reconstruction Area, and now having to return to the wild, they were unable to adapt just yet. Any small movement would easily jolt them awake


    "Go to sleep. I am here to protect you." Said Luo Yuan.


    Wang Shishi acknowledged him and was finally relieved. Her days¡¯ worth of exhaustion finally outweighed the worries of the night. Her eyelids were getting heavy, and she soon fell asleep. After some time, Luo Yuan gently let go of Wang Shishi and looked at the time ¨C it was already one o¡¯ clock in the morning. He felt slightly cold in the forest and decided to get up to rekindle the bonfire.


    Suddenly, a dim blue light swept through the cave. He curiously walked out, only to find that the blue light came from 30 to 40 kilometers away, and was shaking. Luo Yuan hesitated; the curiosity in his mind drove him to go over to take a look. He nced through the surroundings and quickly found a pile of boulders.


    He then pushed the boulders to block the entrance. Wang Shishi who was very tired after a long day was sleeping like a log, so the movement did not wake her up at all.


    ...


    The forest was nketed with thick fog, like countless evil spirits wing close to the ground, which exuded a sinister vibe. The wailing sounds that came one after another, even made everyone feel like they were back in the prehistoric era.


    Suddenly, a figure quietly passed through the forest, thronging through the mist.


    Luo Yuan started to slow down; his steps became light and quiet. He hunched his body topletely submerge into the mist, before stopping to quietly lie on a hillside. He had a serious look on his face.


    He found that the glow was not from a mutated beast, but rather, a scientific object.


    It was about half a meter in diameter, shaped like a sphere and covered in white. Its surface was extremely smooth, and on its head, was a small concave arc. There was a fist-sized crystal supported by nothing; merely being suspended above the concave arc. The blue light was emitted from the crystals.


    It seemed like there were some text and icons on the smooth surface. Other than the geometric shape of the icon, Luo Yuan did not recognize any of the text. In fact, it looked more like distorted squiggles than legible text at all.


    The ball was floating around the forest, and that blue light kept scanning its surroundings ¨C nts, animals and even tiny insects were not spared. Apparently, the blue light was malevolent. When it scanned through the mutated beasts, there was no harm done.


    The ball was moving in a haphazard manner, fast at times, and slow asionally. It sometimes flew upwards, and sometimes it swoops downward. Even when the forest was full of twigs, the ball could fly through the forest smoothly, hindered not by the twigs.


    Luo Yuan¡¯s face turned solemn. After the apocalypse, the technology advanced under the pressure of death. In just two or three years, the technological progress had made a dramatic improvement. Although it did not improve much due to a major setback in the civilian areas, the military area experienced an influx of changes.


    The new highly explosive material, the armored exoskeleton and even the application of nuclear-powered guns had also been quite a breakthrough. However, Luo Yuan did not know that it was partially his credit to take, as the normal temperature of the superconducting material had helped many areas to experience a critical breakthrough.


    But no matter how many breakthroughs science and technology had undergone, the history was always traceable, and thus, massive improvement could not be done overnight.


    Even when the scientific and technological content in this tiny sphere had only demonstrated the ability of flight, it still had shocked Luo Yuan immensely.


    Anti-gravity and advanced intelligence were the only things that he could see. As for that blue light, he had no idea what its purpose was. Furthermore, its smooth and futuristic appearance was obviously not an aftermath of the apocalypse.


    His heart grew heavy. As ofte, humans had no tendency to invent a ball to such a level. Even if they could create such an item, in order to reduce the processes to improve efficiency, the surface would be with marks and edges of a machine.


    ...


    At this moment, the ball seemed to have discovered something, as it suddenly disappeared into a shadow, and shed towards the front.


    Luo Yuan heart was not at ease, as he quickly got up and tailed it. After running for 10 minutes, he hid again.


    Somewhere in the near distance, there was a level four to five mutated beast. At this point, it lowered its head and growled as if to warn. Apparently, it was irritated by something. Any mutated beast would be agitated, should they be disturbed while eating, especially with a blue light emitted onto its body. It was a top-rated predator with a fiery temper, which finally acted on its anger. It stopped eating and its whole body burned up. A bluish me was pounding on its body like a morous glow.


    Luo Yuan noticed that its terribly high temperature had dramatically distorted the air of its surroundings. The scene in front had been blurred, and most of the nearby nts had burned up as they could not endure such a high temperature.


    The dark night instantly turned crimson red. However, the ball inside the me did not seem to be affected by anything at all. asionally, it even went close to the blue me on the mutated beast¡¯s body. That awfully high temperature seemed non-existent to that ball, as even the color on its surface did not change at all.


    After a few seconds, the ball finished scanning the vicinity and began to fly away. The crystal on its head kept scanning its surroundings andpletely ignored the raging mutated beast.


    Before the ball could even manage to fly a few meters away, the mutated beast suddenly moved. It did not have to take many steps to attack the ball. In just a second, it already extended its head and opened up its mouth to swallow the ball whole, right into its stomach. The whole process happened too fast; even Luo Yuan could barely see it with much rity. He looked serious, andid on the floor, without budging. He could not believe that such a highly-advanced, technological item would be wiped out so easily.


    Perhaps this level seven mutated beast could chew this item until it was thoroughly crushed, but it was impossible to be digested in its stomach. Luo Yuan did not have to wait long, for within seconds, a white light burst out from the thick skin of that mutated beast. One of the beams shot towards a nearby rock, and turned it into red hot, flowingva. Luo Yuan could vaguely predict that a more powerful energy was going to break out soon.


    His face turned pale as he quickly crept back. After retreating for a few meters, he heard a loud explosion. A heat wave charged towards him and blew right into his hair. Luo Yuan looked upwards and saw that this powerful mutated beast had been torn into pieces, and looked extremely pitiful. Its original bright red color of flesh had now turned into charred remains. It was now dead.


    Amidst the smoke, a spherical head floated upwards, and the transparent crystal ball still exuded a dim red light. It circled around the spot before flying off to another ce.


    He was now 100 percent sure that this item was certainly an object that hailed from outer space. No matter how pressured humans were, technology would not have achieved such an advancement, let alone such a brutal one.


    Watching the battle between the ball and the mutated beast and its self-defense, he could have easily chopped the ball into two with confidence. However, he did not n to attack just yet.


    He could not guarantee that this was the only intelligent robot, and there was no certainty on what the consequences were, after killing it. After all, even if science and technology on earth could already achieve real-time video streaming, there could possibly be an attack plunging down from outer space or even self-destruction, if he were to kill the ball.


    Whether it was the self-defense of aliens or merely just a counter attack, he could not afford to take this gamble, as he knew nothing about extraterrestrial beings. When Luo Yuan thought of how the ball could easily destroy an area with a radius of 10 kilometers, he could not imagine how powerful they could be. His strength seemed to so inferiorpared to such a destruction.


    Luo Yuan continued to follow the ball stealthily. The ball¡¯s active zones were not huge; it only kept spinning around. At about four o¡¯ clock, the crystal suddenly abandoned its task and retreated inside the ball, when the arc concave opened up an entrance.


    An invisible force spread towards the surroundings, and the grass nearby was instantly bent to the ground. The next moment, it flew up and broke through the dense forest in a sh. Arge number of branches snapped and created a big hole of a three to four-meter radius in size. The ball instantly disappeared from his line of vision. Luo Yuan quickly ran out to the forest and looked up towards the sky. The ball had now be a tiny dot, and very soon, it disappeared into the horizon.

 Chapter 354: The Strange Bone Mountain

    Chapter 354: The Strange Bone Mountain


    Trantor: EndlessFantasy Trantion Editor: EndlessFantasy Trantion


    Luo Yuan stood on the branches and looked up at the sky; his mind absent for a moment. There was nothing in the sky except for a few stars dotting the canvas. Everything he had seen tonight had a huge impact on his soul; it felt like it was all but a dream.


    After quite a while, he snapped out of his reverie and walked back to the cave, numbed. Wang Shishi was still sleeping and snored a bit. Luo Yuan who did not sleep throughout the night did not feel the least bit sleepy. Hey beside Wang Shishi and sat on the bearskin with a nk mind. He thought he needed to be calmed down.


    What was the purpose of these aliensing to earth?


    Was it purely a scientific and technological research, or were they ready to conquer the earth? Was it a strange, unweed guest, or simply a foe? Was this remotely associated with the recent years of insane mutating of nts and animals? Everything was unbeknownst to him.


    Luo Yuan was not sure whether the Reconstruction Area had an inkling of this force from the outside world, but it seemed very unlikely.


    This ce was more than 600 kilometers away, and it waspletely under the mutated beasts¡¯ control. Human beings were restricted to enter this area, and even the robotic spy ne was rarely seen in this vicinity. In addition, this unknown outskirt appeared to be well hidden; its active time waste at night, so chances of discovering it was rather slim. If Luo Yuan did note all the way here to look for the wisdom tree, he would not have been aware of it either.


    If it was a spacecraft that existed in space, it would be extremely difficult to find it in the vastness of the milky way. It could very well just be hidden behind the moon. Even with technology, humans would have barely discovered it. Not to mention that the power that was demonstrated by this external force was much stronger than that of the earth. This was akin to a radar during World War II put up a miserable fight with a stealth aircraft of today. Even if a spacecraft had appeared directly outside the atmosphere, it would not have possibly been discovered.


    Today, the Reconstruction Area had been equipped with very powerful technology, and it assisted in improving the strength of humans. Although the poption now was less than one tenth of the poption before the apocalypse, the military force had been several times more powerful. In fact, the battle between the humans and the mutated beasts had arrived a stalemate. The situation was rather bnced, as the mutated beasts could not enter further into the Reconstruction Area, whilst the humans could not reim their lost homnd.


    And now, there was one more unknown outsider appearing...


    The more Luo Yuan thought, the more pessimistic he was. The future of humanity seemed to be even more uncertain.


    ...


    The sky was getting brighter. Luo Yuan rubbed his face and exhaled deeply. With 17 points of Will, he soon controlled his negative emotions, no matter how bad his day was going.


    "Brother Luo, you have awakened." Wang Shishi was awake, as she sat up and stretched her body.


    "Yes. Let¡¯s eat something. After breakfast, we will need to depart," said Luo Yuan. He looked at Wang Shishi¡¯s innocent face. He felt that ignorance was bliss. At least she did not have to bear such a heavy burden.


    There was still some food leftover from dinnerst night, except for the barbecued meat, which had hardened like a stone by now. The worm eggs were still edible. After a simple breakfast, they adjourned once again.


    The cool early morning was the mostfortable time of the day. At this time, the high temperature had dropped, and when the wind blew, it felt like all their pores were finally breathing. As it was foggyst night, the ground was a bit damp, and when they walked the forest, droplets of fresh dew dripped down from the leaves above.


    However, before the water droplets fell to the ground, they were suspended by an invisible force in the air. After a day¡¯s worth of rest, Wang Shishi was now brimming with energy. Last night¡¯s fatigue had all been restored, and throughout their journey, she enjoyed ying with the water droplets with her power of control.


    The air felt a little saltier, which meant the sea was not far from here. Half an hourter, they could see that the road was covered with moss and vines, but there were no traces of civilization at all.


    The few meter-thickyers of dead leaves had covered everything up. Without referring to the coordinates on the map, it was hard to believe that this forest was Mushi County, which was once a city popted by more than 200,000, a few years ago.


    Luo Yuan flew into the air to identify it again and continued to move forward.


    Kidney Mountain was three to four kilometers away from Mushi County. It was neither popted nor had any sign of human habitation within the radius of a few kilometers. Before the apocalypse, there was only one dirt road that could lead to it. Today, the road was impossible to be seen, so he could only rely on his eyes to distinguish it.


    On the map, Kidney Mountain simply could not be found. The name was created for one of the barely-seen hill peaks among this massive mountain range, and not a soul would have ever known about this, except for the locals.


    Before the apocalypse, it was a deserted mountain with sparse greenery. However, it was now abundant with nts. The nts were all hundred meters in height and it would undoubtedly increase theplexities if one were to hunt for Kidney Mountain. The hill peaks were almost the same, so it was too good to be true to find the mountain purely based on its name.


    If he wanted to ever seed in finding the mountain, he could only follow the waterfall.


    Actually, it was no arduous task. With his sharp hearing ability, Luo Yuan had picked up the rumbling sound of the waterfall. But ording to the ranger, the migration was six months ago, when the sea level had only just begun to rise. It was still an in an arid zone.


    With the salty taste in the air, he could see that this ce had already be coastal with its humid climate and abundant rainfall. Due to the gap between the mountains, there were numerous waterfalls nearby. Based on what he could sense, there were at least seven to eight waterfalls. Fortunately, he only needed a little time to do so.


    Luo Yuan checked everywhere, and when he came to the fifth mountain with a waterfall, it was already close to noon. He took a look and was surprised. This mountain was not high, and the gap was about three or four meters. The weird thing was the shape of the mountainside, which was actually just a little hollow. If he were to remove the nts for rity, it looked exactly like what the ranger called a ¡®Kidney Mountain¡¯.


    The waterfall cascaded from the bottom of the hill and was sshing down with immense force. It was a waterfall formed by an underground river. The amount of water was not abundant and the gap was not high, thus, it took Luo Yuan some time to find this waterfall as it was indiscernible.


    Luo Yuan asked Wang Shishi to stay put. After all, it was not safe to go forward. It was at least a level six mutated beast which was able to scare the Hui n away. Even if they had wanted to migrate somewhere else, it was still usible if it were to be a level six mutated beast. However, if it was a giant level-seven mutated creature, a simple leap could easily cause widespread destruction. Should he ever chance upon this kind of creature, only then would he go all out to fight with them, and would simply neglect Wang Shishi.


    He carried his Zhanmadao and departed again. The mountain terrain here was extremely steep. A few mutated vines were quietly spreading like a snake, attempting to eat Luo Yuan, but he chopped them all off.


    Several huge piranha flowers were growing under the shade of the trees. They were all colorful with a sweet smell, but remains of bones were seen surrounding them. Somewhere not far away, there was a 100-meter-tall giant nt moving slowly. Every step it took, a thick root pulled out from the ground and probed back into the ground deeply, causing the ground to tremor slightly. On the trunk, there were cracks everywhere, and it looked like a face of an old man. With every single movement, its expression changed ordingly.


    All the nts here have been humanized. Even for the rarely seen humanized tree, at least three would be found here.


    Luo Yuan listened to the sound of the waterfall and elerated his speed to move forward. After a few minutes, He hopped onto a boulder and the waterfall was already in front of him. The terrain here was rtively t, with oval stones of various sizes everywhere on the ground. The height of the waterfall was only 10 meters. The water fell into the pit, and eventually formed a 10-meter-wide river, flowing into the bottom, along with the pebbles.


    The strange thing was that the nts here were quite sparse and rtively smaller in size. At first nce, he could only see a few scattered trees growing on this rocky beach. Apart from those, he could barely see anything, even vines and grass were also tough to find.


    And there was a 50 to 60 meter-high quirky nt near theke, clearly standing out in this low bush. The saa-like lump of its spherical roots, the sparse foliage that looked greatly distorted, the trunk that resembled a wrung towel, and bearing fruit that looked like a baby skull, had clearly revealed its identity.


    ¡®Wisdom Tree.¡¯


    Luo Yuan¡¯s eyes brightened, as he panted heavily.


    This wisdom tree was apparentlyrger than the one he previously discovered, and its color was different. The trunk that he previously found was in yellow and purple, while this one waspletely dark purple. Obviously, this wisdom tree was higher in grade than the previous one.


    However, although he was anxious, he did not act rashly. He carefully looked around his surroundings. There was no sign of any mutated beasts nearby, not even an insect or a bird tweeting. Everything just seemed unusual.


    He carefully felt the air, and it seemed to have some suppression. Luo Yuan scowled.


    He hesitated, tightened his grip onto the knife slowly, and moved forward. At the same time, he had expanded his Perception to its maximum limit, as he carefully searched the vicinity for movements. But s, he did not sense anything uncanny. He stepped forward quickly, and his Perception had already covered the whole pool.


    He thought that the mutated beast was inside the pool, but it was not.


    The pool was not deep. Its diameter was only three or four meters and was less than 100 meters in height. There was no trace of any dark holes underneath. There was absolutely nothing except for a few several meters long of ¡®small fishes¡¯ in the water. In the apocalypse, creatures this size could only be referred to as a small fish.


    Luo Yuan exhaled. It had seemed to be a false rm. The mutated beasts here might have died or had been abandoned here. In this very cruel world, even the powerful mutated beasts might have faced idental misfortune, should there be any carelessness.


    The bones under the wisdom tree looked a tad bit strange, but he failed to notice that from afar. Every bone under the tree was veryrge; one of the femora that lied on the ground measured up to ten meters long and five meters thick. The bones were evenrger than the soul-eater mutated beast, and simrly sized bones were scattered everywhere on the ground.


    It was still eptable if there was only one or two, but it was everywhere. The bones piled up like a mountain, near the wisdom tree. The entire bone mountain was about four meters thick and upied 10,000 square meters. Luo Yuan noticed that the skeletons underground had been disintegrated into powder. He did not know how many strong mutated beasts had been buried underneath.


    His mind suddenly felt a little uneasy. The entire bone mountain would not have been caused by the Hui n. Any one of the mutated beasts could easily extinguish the whole n.


    He could also vaguely smell a trace of blood. He gently sniffed around, and cautiously looked towards the bone mountain. His face suddenly turned pale. There were numerous translucent-like cocoon fments growing from the trunk of wisdom tree, and it camouged the tree well.


    The corpse was obviously quite fresh, indicating that the murder just happened not too long ago. It was most probably ced there only since yesterday.


    His heart was getting heavy. This mutated beast did not go away yet but probably went somewhere else to hunt. Apparently, this was not a normal mutated beast, as it was capable of building a bone mountain with its own ability. It could pass off as a level eight mutated beast.


    He looked at the wisdom tree not too far away and hesitated for a moment. He then hopped over and stood next to the trunk without further dy, as he did not know when the scary mutated beast would return.


    Luo Yuan brandished his Zhanmadao and chopped off the trunk with all his strength. Immediately, there was a burst and a banging sound ensued. With the fall of this giant tree, the trunk also started to tumble down fiercely.


    Arge number of bones were flying in the air. The fierce wind blew harshly, almost uprooting the nearby trees. Just like cold water being dripped into boiling oil, the bone mountain was churned up like a pot of thick porridge, paving a way to a series of explosive sounds like rolling thunder. Some of the smaller trunks were half a meter thick and some were even one meter thick. More than thousands of them were trembling fiercely and even engulfed the sky. The movement of the wisdom tree before it perished was even more violent than a level seven mutated beast.


    As time passed Luo Yuan could only stand somewhere far away to wait patiently. The fruit of the wisdom tree was useless to him. The one thing that was useful to him was the Heart of Wisdom.


    However, in order to form the Heart of Wisdom, many conditions have to be met. Only when the tree was fighting against brutal damage, most of the nutrition would shrink from the trunk to a core part in the body.


    This was equivalent to having a seed waiting after a crisis. It would sprout again on the original nt by gathering the nutrients to be alive again. This was the survival skill of the wisdom tree.


    But it would need to take some time. No matter how anxious Luo Yuan was, he could only wait patiently until the tree triggered this protective mechanism.

 Chapter 355: Escape

    Chapter 355: Escape


    Trantor: EndlessFantasy Trantion Editor: EndlessFantasy Trantion


    Half an hour had passed.


    And then, it had clocked into an hour.


    ...


    As time passed, Luo Yuan kept looking at the time. Somehow, there was a feeling of irritation pounding in his heart like a boulder mming right onto it. The more time passed, the heavier the depression felt.


    The wisdom tree had gradually stopped struggling. Its purple skin had periodically lost its luster, and at the same time, the trunk began to shrink, with falling yellow leaves. However, this process was very slow and Luo Yuan started to be impatient.


    He looked around from time to time and asionally looked up to the sky. He was well aware of how wrong this feeling was. This was somewhat a warning sign of danger, just like the erratic behavior of some animals before an earthquake, and Luo Yuan was far more sensitive to danger than animals were.


    Only such irresistible danger could make him grow such strong emotions.


    He tried to suppress such battles in his mind that drove him insane and waited patiently for a few minutes. He felt increasingly strong palpitations and finally decided against waiting.


    He took a few big steps and appeared next to the wisdom tree. At this time, the nutrition of the wisdom tree was still shrinking towards the Heart of Wisdom. However, Luo Yuan could not wait any longer, as he just wanted to leave as soon as he could.


    He vaguely had a feeling that it would be toote if he did not leave.


    Experiencing this before, he scanned through the tree once and was able to immediately identify the exact location of the Heart of Wisdom. He brandished his Zhanmadao and with just a few swipes, a big hole had been punctured. In front of him, it was the Heart of Wisdom which was as big as a human brain.


    However, this Heart of Wisdom was only halfway formed. It had smooth skin and did not resemble the wrinkly features of a brain, and it was only half the size of the one he had found before.


    He held the small semi-formed Heart of Wisdom and doubted if it would produce any effect.


    Once he took off the Heart of Wisdom, he subconsciously looked up to the sky.


    Thendscape was vast, with sparse nts all around. He could directly see the sky from where he stood. The sky that was previously nk, was now full of clouds. These clouds were stratus-like and resembled a gossamer, sometimes appearing and disappearing, as if countless of white ribbons in the sky crested endlessly.


    These clouds soon began to change its color, as if it was dyed with ayer of rays and expanded rapidly. However, in a blink of an eye, all the clouds had disappeared as if they had never existed before. It seemed like there was an invisible force interfering with the. At the same time, a repressed atmosphere gradually enveloped the sky.


    His face became pale. He did not dare to stay any longer and immediately walked out. He instantly reached his speed limit, one second before, he was still standing, and disappearedpletely in the rocky beach, at the very next. He desperately rushed to sneak into the jungle.


    The scene around him quickly passed; the wind that swept up to his face had immediately squeezed it into a distorted form. Some of the branches that had blocked him instantly disintegrated into ashes.


    His speed had reached nearly 200 meters per second. Luo Yuan waspletely unable to react to the massive data, with his 14 points of Intelligence. He could only avoid a few huge trees but collided into those branches haphazardly.


    Thebat costume had shattered into pieces and was flung into the air, while his skin that was as tough as a green level mutated beast, had been badly scratched until he bled.


    "Roarrrrr!"


    He heard a loud muffled noise from the back as if it was just beside his ear. Luo Yuan¡¯s eardrum had almost exploded by the roar. He could hear the anger brimming from the roar.


    At the same time, an unimaginably horrible atmosphere gradually enveloped this space. Under this pressure, he was not able to resist anymore.


    It was just ten seconds from the time he escaped until he heard the roars. Even the thought itself was frightening as it is.


    He bit his lips and hastened his speed even more. His heartbeat was drumming fast, the energy inside his heart gradually flowed through his body in his bloodstream and turned into a greater power to support his intense exercise.


    However, in just one second, Luo Yuan suddenly turned stiff and his scalp was fried. An iparable atmosphere of repression came from the top of his head. He quickly nced upwards while running, and he saw the sky greatly twisted through the gap between the leaves and branches.


    Cold sweat trickled down his forehead quickly, but it was soon evaporated by the wind blowing against him.


    No! He should not just run like that. No matter where he went, he would leave his breath where he was. This superpower mutated beast could definitely track his breath no matter where he was. As he was already noticed, he could not escape from this mutated beast, no matter how fast he ran.


    He had to find a way.


    Although Luo Yuan¡¯s mind was full of fear, he still struggled to remain calm.


    Suddenly, a river appeared in front of him. Today, it was a ce with a humid coastal climate and abundant rainfall. There were rivers everywhere. He suddenly had an idea! In just a few seconds, he jumped into the river.


    He dove into the water and swam desperately. With his powerful dexterity, he was akin to a sword that shot directly to the bottom of the river. His speed was even several times faster than that of an average fish.


    This river was small, about 50 to 60 meters wide, and about three meters deep. Such drastic actions almost stirred the river into the mud.


    Five or six secondster, he drilled his body deep into the silt of the river and did not move. He held his breath, stopping his heartbeat. He closed his eyes and quietly listened to the movements above.


    The dirt inside had slowly flown downstream with the flow of the water, and soon, the river became crystal clear again.


    As time passed, the frightening atmosphere lingered on, as though still in search for him.


    Suddenly, he heard a loud noise; Luo Yuan shuddered. The gentle waves of the water suddenly sshed violently onto his body. His chest was congested, causing him to almost spew blood, but he was able to forcibly swallow it back down.


    Before Luo Yuan could be relieved from this, there were a few more loud noises heard. One of them was only 50 to 60 meters away from Luo Yuan. His was bleeding from his nose and mouth and felt that his internal organs were failing him.


    Luo Yuan was not weak, but when the air encountered a severe expansion, it could bring about a huge impact. It was just the same underwater ¨C the impact was even stronger, with a greater force. It was simr to a deep-water bomb attacking a submarine, even if it did not hit its target, it could make the submarine shatter and sink by a mere explosion, within 100 meters.


    His whole body was in pain, but he did not dare to move. As it probably did not find anything, the menacing breath was soon dissipated off, along with a roar.


    Luo Yuan did not surface out, but waited and continued to bury his body in the sand without moving. His amazing lung capacity could sustain him even if he did not breathe for four to five hours. This mutated beast was no ordinary beast. For it to be intelligent enough to grow a wisdom tree, it was almost no different from a human.


    As per his prediction, that such an atmosphere suddenly appeared again after a short while, but this time, it just stopped for a moment and left quickly.


    Luo Yuan kept going for as long as half an hour. He carefully climbed out from the water after he was certain that the offending breath did not appear again. Once his heartbeat was restored, he finally vomited the blood out, and little pieces of meat came out with it. It was apparently part of the broken internal organs.


    Luo Yuan looked at it and did not feel a thing. Such an injury was brutal to a normal human but was regarded as such a small matter to him. By the time he stood up, the broken internal organs had already self-healed and stopped bleeding. His injury was self-healed quickly, and he did not even have to use any Will.


    He was not able to stay here for long. It was just ten kilometers away from the mutated beast¡¯sir. He did not care much about his injury but continued to run after being simply healed for a while now.

 Chapter 356: Confidence

    Chapter 356: Confidence


    Trantor: EndlessFantasy Trantion Editor: EndlessFantasy Trantion


    He was just about to move, but in less than a second, he spewed blood once more. His healed wound was now broken again. However, he did not stop, but continued to vomit blood while he was running.


    After more than ten seconds, he managed to stop purging. He looked a little better, and could now run faster.


    After a few minutes, he had already ran 30 - 40 kilometers away. Luo Yuan felt relieved as he did not see the giant mutated beast chasing after him anymore. He slowly decelerated; the stress given by the giant mutated beast was beyond imagination. He would have died if he did not jump into the river earlier.


    It was definitely the biggest enemy of the Reconstruction Area. A nuclear bomb would be the only solution to kill the level eight mutated beast ¨C it was way stronger than what he could imagine.


    He already ran away even before he could see the mutated beast. Luo Yuan was deprecating himself in his mind.


    He did not have the interest to see the mutated beast as well. He would not want to see it for an eternity if he had the choice.


    He looked at the Heart of Wisdom in his palm. It had cracked as it has been squashed by the water pressure. Luckily, the content was not in a liquid form, but a gel-like of substance. Otherwise, all his effort would be wasted.


    He did not rush to meet Wang Shishi as the giant mutated beast woulde anytime soon. To risk getting her into trouble was thest thing he wanted.


    His armor has been tattered, but the synthetic suit was still perfectly fine. He took off a few of his clothes and scattered them in different locations. At least, when the giant mutated beast found the ce by following the scent of the clothes, it could be distracted for a while and it might buy him enough time to escape.


    After that, he floated into the air and traveled via the sky. It was easier for his scent to disappear as the air had better cirction in the sky, aspared to the ground. After flying for a few kilometers, Luo Yuan finally found a small cave to hide.


    The cave was really small and it was just nice to him. He made sure it was safe before taking out the ¡®heart of wisdom¡¯.


    "Premature Heart of Wisdom"


    "Rarity: Dark Green"


    "Weight: 50 grams"


    "Element: Wisdom form of object"


    "Additional Abilities: Intelligence +1, low probability of special mutation."


    "Comment: This is a rare heart of the Wisdom Tree. It is rich in the essence of the entire wisdom tree and it is very valuable. It can stimte the brain and increase intelligence when you consume it. It is very effective for people with an intelligence point of 16 or below, due to its premature form."


    "What a waste!" Luo Yuan sighed as he felt lucky but sad as well. The Heart of Wisdom was a high-quality treasure. Unfortunately, it was plucked at a premature stage, otherwise, he could have increased two to three points of his intelligence.


    However, based on the situation at that moment, he might not be able to sit here, if he decided to wait for a little longer.


    The Heart of Wisdom had also produced a scent, which was attractive to the giant beast. It was quite dangerous to keep them in his hand; he should eat it as soon as possible. Besides, Intelligence was not the main priority. It was different from those physical properties which takes time to adapt. It was not simr to upgrading the Strength and Agility which his power would decline in a short time, and the fighting power will shoot up instantly.


    It was definitely a rare treasure when he was in danger.


    He decided not to overthink and stuffed the Heart of Wisdom into his mouth. He chewed it and swallowed. It was sour. He waited for a while and began to feel an itch on his scalp. He had blurry vision, but he was calm as he had a simr experience before.


    After that, he had lost control over his abilities to hear, smell, taste, and sense. There was too much information in his brain, and his body was numb. A certain paralysis may have struck him.


    In the end, the brain was not able to ept any of the information, and he could not feel anything. Time meant nothing to him, and he even lost the ability to think.


    After a while, he slowly recovered. He could sense light, as he heard the sound, and he could smell again.


    He was like returning from hell. He took a deep breath, as he was still in fear. Although he had experienced it before, he really treasured the fact that he survived. He got up again and felt the world has changed.


    Just like the rain after a long drought, everything seemed to be livelier.


    His ears were filled with a lot of noises and his nose seemed to be able to smell the fragrance from miles away. His eyes could see everything in a clearer way - he had be more sensitive! Apparently, the senses could be improved if the intelligence increased.


    It was akin to aputer hardware, and its processing software. No matter how many essories you have, it would not perform well if the operating system was bad in the worst ce. It was simr to the human body. Although he was physically strong, he could not manifest it.


    He must hear it carefully if he wanted to hear something very softly. He had to focus hard if he wanted to trace the smell the soft scent.


    But now, he needed to do it stealthily. He could easily organize all the information systematically. Unlike the Supermanics, he suffered from insomnia when he turned on his super hearing mode. Apparently, his Intelligence level was too low and it led to a property imbnce, which was the reason he could not process the information.


    Of course, the points he had in his Intelligence was still far from his Physique. Therefore, there was still much power locked up in his mind, waiting to be discovered.


    He blinked his eyes as his mind became extremely clear. As he moved his vision, plenty of information crept into his mind and it instantly organized itself. He looked confident and charming; his eyes were glowing with wisdom as he felt everything was in control. At that moment, he did not even think the giant beast was dangerous anymore.


    He was super confident.


    He opened up the strap covering his forehead.


    "Boom!"


    A lot of information from the his four dimensional-vision gushed into his head.


    His heart felt the shock and his brain stopped for a second. His body trembled, as had he closed his eyes and slowly opened again. However, the charm in his eyes has faded, he transformed back to normal from a godlike state.


    He smiled sheepishly, as he realized that it was just an illusion.


    In the end, he survived anyway. The effect of his Intelligence upgrade has beenplemented by the insufficient information from the four-dimensional vision.

 Chapter 357: Return To The Reconstruction Area

    Chapter 357: Return To The Reconstruction Area


    Trantor: EndlessFantasy Trantion Editor: EndlessFantasy Trantion


    Luo Yuan put on the strap once again and he felt much better. His vision had cleared and his hearing was restored.


    His mind was racing as he recalled what had happened. He felt he made the right decision to reduce the side effect of the four-dimensional vision by upgrading his intelligence. However. It was insufficient. He needed more of the Heart of Wisdom as the green level Heart of Wisdom could only help to upgrade Intelligence attributes below 16 points and Luo Yuan¡¯s Intelligence was still at 15 points.


    However, it was not easy to find the Wisdom Tree as it required urate information as well as a stroke of good luck.


    Fortunately, the 2% of the side effects from the four-dimensional vision was not a burden to him anymore. Besides that, he was wearing the strap to cover his forehead, therefore, the four-dimensional information could hardly affect him now.


    He still had time!


    Luo Yuan stayed in the cave for 10 more minutes to analyze the situation. The giant beast had stopped attacking and it seemed to have abandoned its search for him. He left the cave and carefully picked up his clothes and equipment one by one.


    The energy-absorbing bulletproof jacket was still fine, but he decides he would never give up the sma-underwear as it could provide a good defense and most importantly, the strap on his forehead was made from the same material as the sma-underwear. He could still cut part of the underwear to cover his forehead if he loses the strap.


    Unfortunately, the floating sportswear he had since the beginning of the apocalypse had served its use and had officially resigned due towear and tear. The blue level sportswear has been scratched by the branches when he ran rapidly. In its condition, it looked the same as clothes worn by a beggar.


    Luo Yuan sighed and threw the sportswear on the ground. He pondered his condition and then put on the partially torn sports pants as he was only left with an underwear covering the lower part of the body.


    He put on all his suits and left the ce. He immediately floated in the air as he gathered his Will. He flew in the direction to the ce where Wang Shishi was waiting but upon his descent, he saw that Wang Shishi had left. He finally tracked her down after searching for her around the area.


    She was hiding behind a huge rock. She was trembling and afraid to move. She almost copsed when she saw Luo Yuan.


    "It¡¯s alright... Everything is fine now, let¡¯s go!" Luo Yuan said and tried tofort her.


    The Kidney Mountain was not that big and they stood at the base of the mountain. Wang Shishi definitely saw the giant beast when it appeared. It was normal for her to be frightened as Luo Yuan almost copsed as well when he saw the natural phenomena triggered by the monstrous beast. Besides that, he was away for a few hours and Wang Shishi did not know whether he was still alive or dead. If it was someone else, she would have ran for her life.


    "Are... Are you alright?" Wang Shishi struggled to push him back and then checked Luo Yuan for injuries with a pair of teary eyes.


    At the moment, Luo Yuan¡¯s pants had be shorts and his jacket was gone. There were also some blood stains on his bulletproof jacket and his hair was caked with mud. As she looked at him, she was wondering whether that was the Brother Luo who she used to know.


    "Look, I¡¯m perfectly fine." Luo Yuan smiled and said as he thumped his chest like an ape. He winced and coughed a little almost immediately when he pounded a little too hard. He realized he most probably had not fully recovered from the injuries.


    "We can talk along the way. It is still very dangerous, we need to leave now." Luo Yuan interrupted Wang Shishi as he knew she had more questions to ask.


    Wang Shishi was frightened and could not remember what she wanted to ask. She just nodded, and they were on their way.


    ...


    Both of them moved as fast as they could to leave the danger behind them. They did not rest until night fall.


    When they were afortable 200-300 km away from the Kidney Mountain, they finally felt relieved of their worry and in need of rest.


    The forest was inplete darkness that night. Both of them had their dinner beside a bonfire while they talked.


    "I couldn¡¯t see it clearly. It looked like a dragon with ws, but it did not have horns. Its ws were big and strong and its entire body was colorful. It was flying towards me!. I was too afraid and ran away without turning back!" Wang Shishi said, still in fear when she talked about it. Her body was trembling and her voice was weak and shaky.


    Luo Yuan remained silent. He poked the bonfire with a dry branch, which caused some sparks to rise into the darkness around them.


    It did not matter to him that the dragon was an extremely powerful mutated beast reigning supreme during the time of the apocalypse. He would not worship it even though the humans said that they were the heirs of the dragons. The only thing he cared was obtaining the power of the dragon.


    Luo Yuan got up and threw the branch to the ground. The mutated beasts which were lingering nearby immediately scuttled away in fear.


    "Get some sleep. We will need to continue our journey at 4 a.m. tomorrow." Luo Yuan said.


    They remained silent for the entire night. Finally, after they trekked from early in the morning, they arrived at the reconstruction area at noon.


    The huge thermal power station in the east of Hope City had been officially opened and in operation for thest two days. There were arge number of huge chimneys releasing a lot of smoke into the air, tainting the sky ck with soot.


    Luo Yuan breathed in the pungent odors and exhaled. He actually missed the scent!


    The reconstruction region wascking uranium which it usually reserved for nuclear weapons. Therefore, there were not many nuclear power nts in the city. However, there were many thermal power station in the city as it was rich in forestry resources which fortunately managed to reduce the operating cost of the thermal power stations by a significant amount.


    Both of them quickened their steps and finally arrived at home after a few minutes.


    Huang Jiahui and Zhao Yali had not left the house. They were overjoyed and relieved when they saw Luo Yuan and Wang Shishi had returned safely. They were worried and had insomnia, fearful for what had happened to the two of them.


    Luo Yuan was the backbone of the family. It would be disastrous to them if something bad happened to him as they would lose their minds without him. Before they came home, Luo Yuan warned Wang Shishi not to mention a single word regarding the danger they encountered at the mountain. Four of them had a lovely dinner together and Luo Yuan went out again after changing into some clean clothes.


    What they had encountered earlier was really crucial as they had discovered the existence of an extraterrestrial civilization which could affect the safety of the reconstruction area. The strength and destructive nature of the level eight mutated beast were not that important anymorepared to the aliens.


    No matter what, he was a member of the human race and he could not neglect the issues especially since his home and loved ones were living in the reconstruction region.


    Luo Yuan walked to the headquarters. He marched to the Military Manager¡¯s office and opened the door after knocking for a few times.

 Chapter 358: New Capital City

    Chapter 358: New Capital City


    Trantor: EndlessFantasy Trantion Editor: EndlessFantasy Trantion


    The office manager, Chen Xinjie seemed unnoticeable in the ranks of the sword unit. She was hardly evident along side the likes of the mighty Lin Feiyan, and Luo Yuan, who cared about their jobs and nothing more. With such an indistinctive personality, even an ordinary team member could have ordered her to work, and she would simply obey.


    The beautiful youngdy looked like a housekeeper as she served the members of the Sword Unit. However, her meek and simple demeanor was not to be misunderstood for weakness. With her knowledge and prowess for political gamey, one could easily tell that this highly-rankdy who seemed ordinary was handling all the back-end jobs as an undercover agent.


    She was meant topile reports on the state of minds and personal political inclinations of every member of the sword unit, as well as any kind of information that would be useful to an interested party.


    Without a doubt, she worked with a sense of propriety and her feminine attitude made her seem innocent to all the members of the unit.


    "Vice-captain, it has been so long since Ist saw you. How can I help you today?" Chen Xinjie said with a smile after she opened the door.


    She had a pair of crescent moon eyes and looked adorable when she smiled but Luo Yuan had no interest in her smile right now. He noticed she turned her back to him and seemed like she was going to prepare some tea. Luo Yuan quickly stopped her by saying, "Don¡¯t trouble yourself, I¡¯m just here to tell you some important information."


    Chen Xinjie was stunned for a second when she noticed that Luo Yuan had a serious expression on his face. She realized that it was, in fact, a crucial matter. She kept her smile and walked towards the door and locked it. She then asked, "Vice-Captain, please have a seat first. What¡¯s the matter?"


    Luo Yuan straightaway told her the incident whereby he discovered the artificial intelligence robot from the extraterrestrial civilization the day before yesterday. He told her every detail including the time and location of the discovery.


    Apparently, people from different levels have different perspectives of what is said to them. If this information came from an ordinary citizen, and even if Chen Xinjie did not treat it like a joke, she would have barely paid much attention to the matter unless more evidence was provided.


    But Luo Yuan was a super evolved human and the vice-captain. She knew he spoke of only crucial happenings all this while, and he had no history mental disabilities or illness. His words were influential and it seemed impossible for him to be joking with a matter like this.


    "Vice-captain, are you sure about this? You can¡¯t possibly be serious." Chen Xinjie said with a stiff smile.


    Luo Yuan knew that she did not doubt him but was only in shock of what she heard. If it had been anyone else, they would have thought he was mad. Luo Yuan looked her in the eyes and nodded.


    Chen Xinjie exhaled a breath with a heavy heart, "Vice-captain, you are not allowed to speak of this matter outside these walls. This is a matter of great importance and you might need to depart to the new capital city immediately to report to the higher authorities."


    Luo Yuan nodded as he had expected the order.


    Chen Xinjie picked up the phone in front of her, and hesitated for a second before she dialed a number. By the time she hung up the phone after a few minutes, her forehead was already covered with sweat and she looked exhausted.


    After taking a breather, she then called to the train station for ticket reservations.


    "We¡¯ll catch the next train and leave immediately."


    ...


    They both hurried to the train station.


    Compared to the Desert City¡¯s underground train station, the underground train station of Hope City was muchrger. Especially with the nearby freight station which was as big as a few football fields, there where thousands of containers piled up like mountains on each side.


    Nowadays, the sea shipping routes had been stopped while road transportation was also only limited to some short-haul deliveries. The most reliable form of transportation was not the underground railroad. Being one of the main cities of the reconstruction area the amount of deliveries taking ce here were unimaginable.


    Nheless,pared to the busy cargo transportation site, the giant waiting hall seemed quite empty with only 20 to 30 sharply dressed business-looking people. The number of people in this small city before the apocalypse could not have been more than the people he had seen just on his way in.


    The reason for building such a gigantic hall was simply because of hope that there mighte a time when the hall would be filled once the global situation improved in the future. From what he saw, it also functioned as a point for gathering and transporting troops for battle.


    Luo Yuan studied his surroundings for a moment and was pessimistic to what he saw. He had no idea how long this false sense of safety couldst.


    ...


    They only waited for a short while before the train arrived. Both sat down in thepartment and both gathered their thoughts in silence.


    Luo Yuanid back in his seat and closed his eyes.


    What happened these few days had really exhausted him, physically and mentally. He really thought he had already recovered from his injuries, but it did not seem like it. What he had seen the other day still made him ufortable. He was heavily burdened by the reality of from extraterrestrial civilization. Albeit a positive mindset, one still would have been deeply affected. That was not something that could be easily put aside by self-constion or pretending that nothing had happened.


    But after he had spoken of his worry deeply buried in his heart to someone else, he felt relieved that someone from the upper management would be able to help in this situation. Some might consider that too as another form of self-constion. In fact, even people from the reconstruction area were not able to do much in this situation as the extraterrestrial civilization was much more advance in terms of technology aspared to them. With just minimal effort, they could easily destroy the reconstruction area.


    Suddenly, Luo Yuan felt a light touch on his arm and was startled awake. Realizing it was just Chen Xinjie clutching his hand, he calmed down but then noticed her body was trembling.


    Luo Yuan looked at her and sighed. He held her hand back even more firmly to try and ease her worry. Even he was fretful when facing this situation, and he could not imagine how she felt as she was just an ordinary human being. That was the reason he did not tell this to Huang Jiahui and others was because he did not want them to take on the unbearable burden of such knowledge.


    Chen Xinjie did not speak and remained silent with her head down throughout the journey.


    They reached their destination after two hours. They walked out of the train station together with the other passengers, and instantly, a strong unpleasant odor greeted them. Luo Yuan frowned as he raised his head and looked around.


    They were really shocked by the scene of the New Capital City.


    The entire New Capital City stood in the center of two majestic pirs and each pir was about 300 to 400 meters high. The cement was of a misty-grey design. They could not even tell if they were natural or artificially made.


    This New Capital City seemed to have no other ways in or out except for some narrow passages in the gorge on both sides of the hills.


    It was no wonder at that time why the upper management abandoned Hope City and made this fortress the new capital of the country. By having cliffs and precipices on both sides, that ce was the perfect point to defend the nation. One man could easily hold out against thousands of enemies!


    Looking at the stunning scenery, Luo Yuan was finally able to clear off some of the dread in his heart.


    However, the air cirction was very bad due to that geographical arrangement. The air in Hope City was considered extremely fresh ifpared to the polluted air that surrounded them.


    The area was covered by a thick fog and they were not able to see the sky.


    There were also an abundant amount industrial buildings which released huge amounts of poisonous smog into the atmosphere. A strong, pungent odor hung in the air. If they were to stay here at a time before the apocalypse, they might not have survived a year.


    There was already a small car waiting outside.


    The car originated from the time before the apocalypse but Luo Yuan knew these cars were already out of production. These cars were reced by heavy trucks and armored vehicles nowadays. Thus, asides from some government cars, such cars were hardly seen on the streets.


    A big guy in a military uniform came out from the driver¡¯s seat. He proceeded to open the rear door and saluted respectfully when he saw both Luo Yuan and Chen Xinjie came out. "Captain Luo, Director Chen. The Second Chief Minister is expecting you. This way, please."

 Chapter 359: Inquiry

    Chapter 359: Inquiry


    Trantor: EndlessFantasy Trantion Editor: EndlessFantasy Trantion


    Right after they got into the car, the driver immediately took off.


    The streets were empty and there was not a single person around. The scenery around them shed by as the car sped through the streets They passed rows of factories along the way.


    Chen Xinjie sat beside Luo Yuan, not moving a muscle. Her body was tense and she clenched her fists till her knuckles were white. Apparently, she was nervous as her veins were showing under the fair skin of her hands. The second Chief Minister was a very powerful person. It was nerve-wrecking for her to see him as she was just a lowly, unimportant government servant.


    On the other hand, Luo Yuan was calm and still managed to remain cool. He kept his emotions in check so that Chen Xinjie would not freak out.


    The car stopped in front of a small, shabby looking building. They would not have noticed it if they did not see the signboards and the troop of soldiers who were patrolling with the tanks.


    Both of them got out of the car and followed the driver into the building. As he noticed the tense attitude and the stony expressions of the soldiers in the building, he surrendered his weapons willingly to not further rm them.The soldiers also thoroughly checked him and Chen Xinjin for weapons. Luo Yuan submitted to their security procedures and remained calm because if the need were to arise, he could kill them even without a weapon. As he entered the building, he realized the small building was just an entrance, the real destination was hidden underground.


    They took the elevator down and then entered a maze of corridors that made many turns within the building. Fortunately, Luo Yuan had a very good memory, otherwise, he might not be able to find his way out. After about 10 minutes, they arrived at the doorstep of a meeting room.


    One of the soldiers held the door open for them. However, he only allowed Luo Yuan into the meeting room and stopped Chen Xinjie, informing them that she had to remain outside. A look of relief spread across her face as she felt the fear of being interrogated by her superiors vanish off her shoulders.


    There were many people waiting in the meeting room. Everyone stared at Luo Yuan as he entered the room. Mixed emotions greeted him as he sensed fear, anger, and anxiousness in all the eyes that looked at him. The atmosphere was very serious and stressed. Luo Yuan avoided eye contact and walked into the meeting room.


    "Thank you foring, Captain Luo. We had to meet you in person as the information you provided is top secret. We had to handle it very carefully. I hope you can answer our questions as best you can." The second Chief Minister said with what looked like a weary, exhausted expression.


    Luo Yuan nodded in response, maintaining a stony expression.


    "Please proceed to the rostrum begin. May I remind you, this meeting is listed as a highly ssified file, I hope you are aware of the policies like to keep it confidential." Luo Yuan got up as he spoke and then slowly walked towards the podium.


    Luo Yuan stood at the rostrum, took a deep breath and said, "I never imagined I¡¯d have the opportunity to address all of you here today. As a member of the human race, it is my responsibility to inform you of the dangers that I have witnessed"


    "The incident happened a few days ago. I was in the midst of executing a mission. At that time, I was taking a short break around 600 km away from the reconstruction area after part of the long journey I on. The location was (X:**; Y**)."


    I was resting in a cave nearby when I saw a beam of blue light shed outside around 1 a.m. I decided to take a look. Hence, I followed..."


    The meeting room immediately became chaotic right after Luo Yuan finished narrating the incident.


    "Captain Luo, are you sure it wasn¡¯t a human controlling the robot? It could have been an Arab militant, by the sound of your description?" A scientist with a full head of white hair spoke while pointing his finger at him.


    "No." Luo Yuan said and shook his head.


    "But you mentioned that you were three to four kilometers away, do you think there is a chance you could have been mistaken?" He continued to ask.


    "I have excellent eyesight." Luo Yuan said calmly.


    Before the scientist could continue, another old man in the crowd interrupted him, "We have been interacting with many otherbs from different human parties, and even they agree that it is impossible for them to achieve this kind of technology at this time. Can you estimate the temperature of the me produced by the mutated beast."


    "I can¡¯t identify it but there is something you can consider as a reference to answer your question. After the mutated beast shot out its me, all the trees within 10 meters were set on fire." Luo Yuan said.


    "I have calcted it. The temperature was around 10,000-20,000 degree Celsius. It was such a high temperature but the color of the metal on the robot did not even change! There is no such material in the reconstruction area, or any other human civilization for that matter," another scientist said right after Luo Yuan finished talking.


    Luo Yuan looked at the scientist with a surprised look on his face. The guy looked like he was not more than 20 years old. He looked like that brightest amongst the older scientists with their white hair and bald heads. Besides that, he was very good at mental arithmetics. He must have been some kind of a rare evolved human with super intelligence as his core evolved elements.


    The young man continued to ask, "Captain Luo, can I ask you a question rted to kic energy? Based on your description, the robot could have had an antigravity engine. When it left the earth, the turbo would have been moving. Could you recall what color the me was?"


    Luo Yuan remained silent for a moment as he recalled the scene. The robot was flying too fast at the time, and he could not see the me clearly. However, his had a very good memory and he was able to reassemble the scene and rey it over and over in his head for rity. He pondered it and said, "I think it was red, but a very light red."


    "Helium sma is possibly that color! That should be nuclear fusion kic energy. However, such a mini nuclear fusion is mindblowing! That would mean....the extraterrestrial civilization is way beyond our reach and sits at a technological gap of approximately 100-150 years ahead of us," the young scientist quipped as his admiration quickly turned to horror in just a few seconds.


    Right after he finished his spection, the second Chief Minister and the think tank felt relieved and asked, "With knowledge of their technology, does that mean it is possible for us to n counterattack measures against them?"


    "We can¡¯t say. Since the industrial revolution, the development of technology has improved drastically. 10 years ago, knowledge matured as fast as one major breakthrough every 20 years. Five years ago, it increased to one thought every 10 years. As recent as within two years of the Apocalypse, the speed of knowledge¡¯s growth had be faster than that too."


    "During the First World War a century ago, a missile hunter could attack ships from 1000 km away, as long as it had sufficient firepower. In the process of developing the technology, the 100 years of that followed brought forward a major differencepared to the century before that. With that said, we are not able to prepare any counter attack measures against a force like that in the time we have. All we can do is pray that the aliens don¡¯t intend to attack us," an old scientist exined with grief in his tone.


    The atmosphere looked exceedingly depressed. The meeting room was filled with a sense of hopeless. Any effort would be a waste of time and resources when the gap of ability differed so drastically.


    ...


    The meeting was dismissed after three hours. Some of the people left while a few others remained seated. The discovery of the extraterrestrial civilization was too critical, and the meeting earlier had only been about the inquiries. There was no solution proposed and many more meetings toeter on. However, Luo Yuan had done his part. He walked out the meeting room and exhaled with relief.


    The atmosphere was too tense in the meeting room, even Luo Yuan could not stand it anymore.


    "The meeting ended?" Chen Xinjie asked immediately as she saw Luo Yuane out of the meeting room


    When Luo Yuan was about to answer her, one of the assistants who worked for the second Chief Minister rushed out after hin and said, "I¡¯m sorry, Captain Luo. You¡¯re not allowed to leave New Capital City in the next two days as the upper management might need your help with whatever questions they might have. I¡¯ve reserved amodation for the both of you. Let me show you to your rooms."

 Chapter 360: Hotel

    Chapter 360: Hotel


    Trantor: EndlessFantasy Trantion Editor: EndlessFantasy Trantion


    The original meeting room had been used for another meeting an hourter after Luo Yuan left. However, the number of people involved had doubled up due to the additional psychologists, micro-expression experts, criminal investigation experts as well as the international policy analysis specialists who had not contributed much since the apocalypse. They mainly analyzed the rtionships between countries, but now they needed to analyze the rtionship between mankind and alien species.


    The video of Luo Yuan describing the incident was yed repeatedly on a big screen. Everyone kept watching for a few times and the conference room was very quiet as everyone was stressed.


    The second Chief Minister sat near to the rostrum. He took a document which was prepared by the experts from different industries, made some notes and said after pondering, "The first question is, how reliable could this incident be?"


    As one of the leaders of the country, he could not trust someone blindly, especially on such arge scale incident. This was because every single decision could affect the future of mankind and he needed to be extremely careful.


    "I can¡¯t tell. So far there is no evidence to prove it and none of the other human parties have any relevant information as well. Of course, we can¡¯t deny that we may have overlooked some of the important messages."


    "Captain Luo did not seem to be nervous, his eyes and breathing rhythm were all normal..."


    ...


    "We couldn¡¯t find any intention of lying as well as any ws in his description of the incident"


    "I have a document about him. Thements on his character is that he cks off in military inclination but is a responsible person. Arrogant but courteous to others. As forments on how safe he was - Rtively safe."


    "Personal thoughts - Patriotic and disciplined, a recognized leader of the reconstruction area. Comment from the organization - Possible to recruit."


    "Personal life condition - Lives together with many women and also has close rtionships with a fewdies. There are some imperfect characteristics."


    "At least, we can see from the documents, most of thements were good except those on his personal life."


    "The second question. If this extraterrestrial civilization is real, what¡¯s their objective? And also... what does it have to do with the changes of the flora and fauna in the recent years?" The second Chief Minister massaged his head and asked.


    ...


    At the moment, Luo Yuan and Chen Xinjie have only just arrived at the only hotel in the New Capital City. At the same time, it was also the appointed amodation for people who came to the capital for the purpose of government work, The New Capital City Hotel.


    "Actually you could¡¯ve gone home earlier. It¡¯s not thatte now, you can still arrive home before the sunset if you take the train. In fact, this is none of your business, I can help you to exin if they have any questions for you." Luo Yuan said as he opened the door to the room. Perhaps, there were limited rooms or for some other reason, the staff has only reserved a room for them to share.


    Although there were two beds in the room, it was not really appropriate for a man and a woman to stay together alone in the room as she might already have a family based on her age.


    "It was not a good n, I need to use the washroom." Chen Xinjie shook her head and whispered. She looked weird, but he had no idea what was in her mind.


    She turned around and walked into the bathroom while her buttocks swayed gently. Both of them were in the room alone where it was easy to get seduced physically and mentally. Luo Yuan quickly moved his gaze away after taking a nce. He scolded himself silently as he was still depressed on the way to the hotel but now he was thinking about sex!


    Suddenly, he heard the sound of the shower turning on. Luo Yuan pondered before he decided to take a walk at the corridor. Chen Xinjie spoke just as he was about to open the door.


    "Vice-Captain, could you please pass my bag to me?"


    "Alright!" Luo Yuan looked around the room and realized her bag was on the bed. The material of the bag was simr to armor. Apparently, she made it by herself but the sewing was fantastic and it looked quite fashionable.


    Luo Yuan took the bag and walked towards the bathroom. The door opened with a small gap and fair arms stretched out from the bathroom with foam that covered her skin. Unfortunately, unlike bathrooms made of ss before the apocalypse, the thick wooden door blocked all the possible peeping spots. Luo Yuan could not see anything clearly even though he had very good eyesight.


    What was wrong with him? Luo Yuan shook his head to calm himself and then quickly passed the bag to Chen Xinjie.


    Since his Physique and Strength was upgraded, he felt he had lost control over his desires. He got aroused very easily even if the two women in his house just seduced him a little. He hardly skipped a day. Fortunately, there were a few women staying with him to share the burden.


    He knew it was a normal reaction as his hormone production was higher than regr people due to his strong and active body. Therefore, his sexual desire was rtively higherpared to the time when his Physique was only 14-points. However, it was more difficult for his Will to control his body as his Physique had increased to 17-points.


    In conclusion, it was because of the imbnce of his properties. However, it was not very serious at the moment.


    Luo Yuan did not dare to stay in the room anymore. He quickly went down to the lobby to get a packet of cigarettes. After making the payment, he quickly took out a cigarette and lit it up. He gradually calmed down with the help of the cigarette smoke.


    He realized, he could not live the way he used to be as the reconstruction area might not be safe anymore. He had to think a way to solve it because he could not imagine the tragedy if...


    He must be stronger!


    Perhaps, he may not be able to save everyone but at the very least, he had to be able to protect the people around him.


    Currently, there was one unassigned property point as he had no time to assign and it took awhile for him to adapt. He had to assign it when he returned.


    By that time, even level eight mutated beasts could not threaten him any more. While the aliens from the extraterrestrial civilization... He was not afraid if only the robot he sawst time attacked. However, the thought of thousands of the robots attacking regionally at the same time sent a chill down his spine.


    The cigarette burnt off and Luo Yuan lit another one. Cigarettes after the apocalypse were very powerful and it consisted of certain drugs. However, it had no impact on Luo Yuan as his Physique was way stronger than regr humans.


    He finished half packet of his cigarettes and realized an hour has passed. Chen Xinjie should have finished bathing, he thought. He threw away the cigarette box.


    Luo Yuan entered the hotel room again but did not see Chen Xinjie. The door of the bathroom was left open but no one was there. Luo Yuan did not really get worried as they were in New Capital City which had strictws. Besides, almost all the guests were senior government servants or were from the upper management. He thought, it should be safe.

 Chapter 361: It Was All Planned

    Chapter 361: It Was All nned


    Trantor: EndlessFantasy Trantion Editor: EndlessFantasy Trantion


    Luo Yuan sat by the bed for a while. Soon, Chen Xinjie¡¯s voice came from the corridor.


    "Thank you for sending me back."


    "Don¡¯t worry about it. It¡¯s my pleasure. How can I keep in contact with you?"


    "I¡¯m sorry but I will be leaving the New Capital City soon. We¡¯ll meet again if fate permits." It was obvious that Chen Xinjie did not want to offend this unknown man and was trying to reject him politely.


    "Sorry if I¡¯m being too forward. I¡¯m staying here for the next few days... perhaps we could meet again?" The man did not seem to give up yet.


    Luo Yuan frowned and opened the door. He nced at the man, looked at Chen Xinjie, and said, "Do you need any help?"


    He was a middle-aged man dressed neatly and his eyes were radiating with confidence. He appeared to be a real gentleman - the type which most women would easily fall in love with.


    Looking at Luo Yuan, the man let out an embarrassedugh and said, "It¡¯s a misunderstanding, sorry to bother the both of you!"


    He left right away.


    Luo Yuan looked at him and did not think further.


    Chen Xinjie was holding two big bags which smelled like food. Luo Yuan took the bags and realized that there was liquor in one of them. As a soft-spoken woman who was going to sleep in the same room with a stranger, shouldn¡¯t she have her guard up?


    Luo Yuan asked in confusion, "Why did you bring liquor?"


    "I want to drink tonight!" Chen Xinjie responded after a short pause. What happened today was a little too much for her. She was strong enough not to copse but mentally it was too much. Luo Yuan sighed and replied, "Alright then, but you should only drink half a bottle."


    "Don¡¯t underestimate me... I have passed my alcohol training." Chen Xinjie grinned in reply.


    Luo Yuan did not respond to her remark and removed three bottles of liquor from the bag. They were ¡®Er Guo Tou¡¯ which surprised Luo Yuan as he was not aware that they were still producing this brand even after the apocalypse. He threw two bottles into the dustbin without noticing that Chen Xinjie was observing him from behind.


    "One bottle... Then go to sleep when you¡¯re done."


    "You¡¯re not drinking?" Chen Xinjie asked.


    "I never drink." Luo Yuan said. He lied though. He used to drink at social events as it would be ridiculous for him to drink juice while his colleagues drank liquor. It would be even more ridiculous if he was with his superior. Some would even consider it disrespectful if he did not drink. However, now that he was here, nobody could force him to.


    "You¡¯re such a nice guy." Chen Xinjie teased.


    "Nah, I¡¯ve always been like that." Luo Yuan chuckled in reply.


    ...


    In reality, she was exaggerating when she said she could drink. Before she could even finish half a bottle, she was already tipsy and her cheeks were red. She started bbering, "Men... They¡¯re the worst! If you touch me, I swear I would kick you."


    Luo Yuan involuntarily choked on what she just uttered which made the situation awkward. Chen Xinjie then reached to get her drink but Luo Yuan stopped her, "Alright, you¡¯ve had too much to drink for tonight."


    "There¡¯s still half a bottle and I¡¯m not drunk yet!" Chen Xinjie pouted her seductive lips and smiled.


    Luo Yuan¡¯s reasoning was that if she was already acting like this right now, it would be worse if she were to finish the entire bottle. He snatched the bottle from her and said, "Stop fooling around and go to bed!"


    "You¡¯re such a killjoy! I¡¯m going to the bathroom!" Chen Xinjie struggled to stand up and stumbled her way to the bathroom while saying flirtatiously, "Don¡¯t you daree in! I¡¯ll scream!"


    What she said had tempted Luo Yuan... especially when he watched her walking into the bathroom seductively. Purposefully or not, she did not close the bathroom door entirely. Temptation and lust were naturally boiling inside Luo Yuan¡¯s blood. Suddenly, Luo Yuan could hear the sound of running watering from the bathroom. It went on for a while and was followed by sobbing.


    "What is wrong with her?" Luo Yuan thought to himself. He could see her with his Sense but the image was blurry.


    "My butt hurts!" Chen Xinjie said while crying in the bathroom. "I can¡¯t stand up."


    "Do you want me toe in?" Luo Yuan asked after hesitating slightly.


    She hesitated and said, "Alright... but no peeking!"


    After promising her, Luo Yuan entered the bathroom. She was sitting in the shower with her pants halfway down, exposing her plump thighs and half of her powdery-smooth, fair and round butt. She was holding the shower in her right hand and it seemed like she was just done with her business and preparing to wash herself.


    With just a nce, Luo Yuan was immediately turned on like a predator who just spotted a sulent and vulnerable prey. In an attempt to suppress his horny intentions, he looked away immediately while walking towards her. Her hands were hooked around his neck and her chest was pressed against him. She was breathing hot air into his ear as she quivered and spoke, "My body is weak, please help... to pull my pants up."


    Unsurprisingly, Luo Yuan¡¯s heartbeat and breathing got faster.


    ...


    Lying on a white bedsheet, a pair of fair legs and a white underwear were dangling in the air. Chen Xinjie¡¯s moans sounded like she was begging and crying at the same time. She was like a fish that was struggling on a hook helplessly while Luo Yuan had his way with her. The sex was intense. Probably too intense for this fragile and helpless prey.


    Luo Yuan then crawled up to her, flipped her over and both of them were staring nkly at the ceiling. What in the hell was happening? How did he end up not thinking with his brain again!?


    Something was wrong!


    In reality, Luo Yuan did not think that he had done anything wrong. Although he had a high IQ, how could any strong and active man resist such temptations? However, the problem now was that no matter how deep he hid, he could never hide anything from the government. Ever since he arrived at the Reconstruction Area a year ago, his habits, hobbies, types of women that he liked and even some fetishes that he was not aware of were alreadymon knowledge among government officials.


    The n had been enforced ever since he was being interrogated in the meeting room. Chen Xinjie was just an insignificant pawn being sacrificed by the government. Without her, there were still Zhang Xinjie and Zhao Xinjie. As a matter of fact, Chen Xinjie agreed to do this without hesitation because Luo Yuan was charming and she liked him a lot. Moreover, as a member of the team, there was no way that she could reject. At a time where sacrifice and cooperation were vital for survival, it was her job to say yes to whatever was assigned to her.


    Ever since she joined the Firearms Bureau, she had already decided to follow Luo Yuan even if she had to be a shameless mistress. In fact, she considered herself lucky to be able to be in his presence. As for the n of how to seduce and turn him on, it was all carefully nned by more than 10 psychologists. Even the middle-aged man who was with her at the door earlier was part of the n. For a strong evolved human like Luo Yuan, challenging him was a way of fueling his lust and desires.


    Chen Xinjie¡¯s also did not give Luo Yuan anytime to think about what was happening. She hooked her legs around Luo Yuan¡¯s chest which made his heart race. She still added in a soft and delicate manner, "This is a mistake. I have a family. I hope you can forget this tomorrow and let us go back to being colleagues." She lied about her marriage as it was part of the n of catering to Luo Yuan¡¯s fetishes. She could easily cover up her lie by saying that her husband was a busy man who was never home, a soldier, or an engineer who was working very far away. If it was needed, she could even ask someone to pretend to be her husband. Luo Yuan did not say a word. He thought that this would be good for everyone. If he were to bring her home, he would be in so much trouble when thedies at home got jealous of her. He thought of using abilities to get rid of this problem but decided not to until it was absolutely necessary.


    After he had convinced himself that this was okay and that he had an exit n, her caress and delicate touches were the only things in his mind. He was clearly turned on. He turned around and pressed against her - sandwiching her between him and the bed. Now that his speed of recovery was faster, there was no need for him to rest before he could go another round.


    "Vice-captain, please behave yourself!" Chen Xinjie suddenly felt pain in her vagina and said while covering her mouth. She was shocked by the intensity of his actions. The first round was so intense that she genuinely felt that she was going to die.


    Luo Yuan said while trying to catch his breath, "There¡¯s still a long way till tomorrowes."

 Chapter 362: Explosion

    Chapter 362: Explosion


    Trantor: EndlessFantasy Trantion Editor: EndlessFantasy Trantion


    The next morning, Luo Yuan gently pushed the fair legs still wrapped around him away slowly. He got dressed and looked at the exhausted Chen Xinjie who was still lying naked on the bed. He sighed with aplicated expression. He was clearly not thinking with his headst night and he let lust overwhelmed his mind which caused him to be reckless.


    Now that he waspletely awake, he was trying to recall exactly what happenedst night. He could feel that the whole thing was somehow just an act. However, he personally felt that Chen Xinjie was not a good actor so it was hard to tell which was the truth. Furthermore, the sorrow that Chen Xinjie asionally revealed in her eyes, as well as the fact that the two of them shared a room, gave it away.


    Luo Yuan¡¯s suspicions were pretty close. The government of the Reconstruction Area could not trust him. Especially when he brought such shocking information to them. It would be strange if they did not do anything to confirm this info.


    "Sugar-coated bomb! It was a sugar-coated bomb!" Luo Yuan said to himself.


    Looking again at Chen Xinjie who had one of her boobs sticking out of the nket, Luo Yuan was less agitated. The reason why the Reconstruction Area did this was to keep an eye on him so that they could feel more relieved. At the same time, the only bait for Luo Yuan to bite was the sugar-coated bomb that was Chen Xinjie. She was probably forced to aplish the mission.


    ...


    At noon, Luo Yuan and Chen Xinjie were sitting across each other at the hostel¡¯s restaurant.


    "Let¡¯s forget about what happenedst night. From now on, we are just colleagues. It won¡¯t happen again." Chen Xinjie said with an expressionless face. She had lost her usual jovial smile.


    Luo Yuan was unaffected by this and thought to himself, "Was she ying hard to get or was that what she really wanted?"


    Soon, he gave up on that thought. Whether she meant what she said or not, he should not expose her real intention. All he could do now was to y along with her. At least she was someone that he knew. It is much better than having someone that he was not familiar with to watch over him.


    Although she was harmless, there was now a difort in him towards her. He pondered for a while and said, "You¡¯ve said the same thingst night. Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯m not clingy."


    "That¡¯s great." Chen Xinjie said as she put her chopsticks down, wiped her mouth with a towel and got ready to leave. Just when she stood up, she frowned and sighed.


    "Do you need any help?" Luo Yuan said while chuckling awkwardly. The sexst night was obviously too intense for her and it was actually a torturous experience rather thana pleasurable one. At least for Chen Xinjie. That was the main reason she only managed to wake up close to noon.


    "There¡¯s no need." Chen Xinjie gave him a cold stare while rejecting him.


    Suddenly, Luo Yuan stood up abruptly which shocked Chen Xinjie who was right next to him. She was about to scold him but then realized that he was not looking at her so she looked in the direction that Luo Yuan was looking. However, besides a white wall, there was nothing there. Just as she began to wonder, the ground started to shake! A mellow thud-like thunderous sound was heard.


    Chen Xinjie¡¯s body was shaking for a moment but she was soon able to stand straight. The trembling was nothing major. It was merely at a magnitude of three but it managed to cause an uproar in the restaurant which soon became chaotic. The horrifying earthquake that happened not long ago had traumatized the people here. The diners were contemting whether they should stay or leave. Fortunately, no aftershock came after that.


    "What happened? And what were you looking at?" Chen Xinjie was now relieved and asked Luo Yuan who just shook his head. He could not exin the intuition that he had. His body could feel the intangible waves in the air which included electromaic waves. A few seconds before the wave could reach him, he could already sense it. It was an explosion! It felt like a nuclear bomb but with a small coverage area.


    "What! The fusion device exploded? That¡¯s not possible! The fusion device would never explode." Luo Yuan heard someone saying that at the corner of the restaurant. Although the person¡¯s voice was drowned out by the chaos in the restaurant, Luo Yuan could hear it clearly.


    ...


    "No, it could not be. The fusion device went through a thorough examination. It¡¯spletely safe with high levels of shock resistance. It could even run as usual even if it fell. Moreover, the next time it should start up was in a few days. How could an explosion happen today?"


    "There must be someone trying to sabotage us!"


    ...


    The fusion device¡¯s explosion was upsetting for Luo Yuan. He recalled that there was much propaganda in the newspaper regarding the nuclear fusion power station. It was the hot topic of the town! They were told that there was a crucial breakthrough and it was almost up and running.


    Whenever he was at the Firearms Bureau, Luo Yuan would frequently read the newspaper so he already had a rough idea about controble nuclear fusion. Aspared to the nuclear fusion power station, the controble one had a higher density of energy which could basically produce boundless energy. All they needed was six of them to supply enough energy to the entire Reconstruction Area.


    Besides the cosmic storm brought about by the apocalypse, the earth did notck helium which meant that there was no need for them to source for it from the moon. If they were to store the energy produced via controble nuclear fusion within the Reconstruction Area, it would be enough to supply energy to the entire ce for few hundred years.


    Luo Yuan was fully aware of what controble fusion meant and what impacts it would have in the world. As soon as it was sessful, it would lead to a revolutionary change in the Reconstruction Area which was a good thing for mankind. However, although he was not entirely familiar with the electrical weapon, he knew that electromaic guns requiredrge amounts of energy. Not until the veryst minute could those powerful and long electromaic guns ever beunched. Launching it required a massive amount of electricity which would mean that part of the factories in the industrial area would be forced to stop working. Boundless energy would mean the beginning ofser-rted weapons. The coverage and lightning speed ofsers made them a guaranteed hit as long as the target was properly locked. Such technique was not inly sci-fi as the theories concerning them werepleted a long time ago. Few major countries including China had been testing the feasibility of it as a weapon even before the apocalypse began.


    However, the disadvantages of such weapons were obvious. Since the Earth is affected by the ozoneyer, the collisions betweensers and the air would cause ionization and diffraction. Besides that, it also consumes arge amount of energy and is affected by the weather.


    If energy was boundless, such disadvantages were nothing to be concerned about anymore. With the aid of the anti-ballistic missile technology that was avable before the apocalypse, there would no longer be any threats to the Reconstruction Area with these two powerful weapons in ce. It is because of this that Luo Yuan could not believe that the explosion urred! Was it an ident or a conspiracy?


    ...


    The old man who was talking on the phone hung up and walked away looking shocked.


    "You stay here. I¡¯ll go take a look." Luo Yuan said to Chen Xinjie.


    "Alright, make it quick." Chen Xinjie replied.


    Luo Yuan nodded and walked out of the hostel. He Sensed for a little while then chose a direction and ran towards the location where the explosion happened.


    New Capital City was the Reconstruction Area¡¯s capital. In reality, it was not big. The canyons on both sides limited their activities. Excluding theyers on the ground, it was actually smaller than Hope City.


    As it was during the day, there were not many people on the street. The empty streets allowed Luo Yuan to run freely and quickly. In less than four minutes, he arrived at the suburbs.


    The location where the explosion happened was not difficult to find at all. It was easy to be spotted even for an ordinary person. The impact of the explosion had already subsided since it happened a while ago but there was still a group of peculiar white clouds that looked like an ice-cream hovering above it. It was simr to the mushroom cloud that was caused by the hydrogen bomb explosion. However,pared to the usual hydrogen bomb, its coverage was so much smaller. Though small, the high temperature did cause a lot of destruction. Luckily, the fusion deviceb was some distance away, or else the explosion would have destroyed New Capital City. Luo Yuan did not get any closer but just analyzed the situation from afar. He was not afraid of the radiation from the high-energy particles. Instead, he did not want to cause any troubles.


    Soon, there were massive amounts of armored tanks passing by. Soldiers wearing protective suits made their way to the explosion area. More than 10rge-scale excavators started digging the destroyed caves nearby before it could cool down. As time went by, there were more and more engineering vehicles and soldiersing in with their devices while walking around in the caves. They seemed to be detecting something.


    Luo Yuan stayed for a while but made his way back to the hostel since he did not discover anything. Right after he took a few steps, he paused. He turned around and looked at the soldiers again and gasped. Could this be done by those extraterrestrial civilizations in space?


    In the meeting yesterday, a scientist forecasted that the civilization in space was 100 to 150 years ahead of them in terms of technology. For humans, that was a massive difference but in space, it was a short time. A space voyage would probably take more than 10 years.


    Over the past few days, information regarding the controble nuclear fusion device was leaked everywhere. To promote hope among the people, as soon as there were new technological breakthroughs, the topic would be widely publicized on the inte and news. The only enemy they had used to have were mutated beasts so there was no need to hide any information.


    As for the civilization in space,nguage interpretation and obtaining information from the inte were nothing difficult as long as the data was sufficient. Although there were differences in technological developments, the advancement of technology in their civilization would allow them to crack the code in no time.


    It was basically full transparency of information! Everything on Earth was no secret to the extraterrestrial civilization. As for the controble fusion device, it was a crucial piece of technology that allowed humans to walk out of Earth and enter into space. It was like the transition between the different eras. If the civilization in space had been watching the humans, the consequences of such a breakthrough should not be underestimated.

 Chapter 363: The Reconstruction Area鈥檚 Response

    Chapter 363: The Reconstruction Area¡¯s Response


    Trantor: EndlessFantasy Trantion Editor: EndlessFantasy Trantion


    Luo Yuan felt dizzy as he was making his way back to the hostel. At the end of the day, he slept right after dinner.


    Two dayster, there was still no news about the fusion device. It was apparent that the explosion incident at the controble fusion device power station was being covered. Luo Yuan tried not to think too much. After all, it was useless to overthink as no matter what happened, he still had to live. The apocalypse had taught the weakest to be strong and he had adapted to the stressful life since the beginning.


    ...


    Chen Xinjie was acting like a different person. She was not as friendly as she was and would intentionally distant herself. Especially at night when they were going to bed, she would wear proper clothes to cover up herself. She did not reveal any of her body parts to Luo Yuan. Even when she wanted to take a bath, she would wait until Luo Yuan was in a deep sleep before secretly making her way to the bathroom. It felt like she was avoiding him and treating him as though he was a pervert.


    Such behavior had shaken Luo Yuan¡¯s judgment of her. However, the more she behaved like this, the more Luo Yuan was tempted to prate her again. Just a few days ago she was just underneath him, moaning and open like a flower before him. Not to mention the fact that she was drunk and helpless to Luo Yuan¡¯s every desire. He was turned on just recalling the events of that night. Furthermore, the atmosphere around the area was very stressful during thest few days which made him want to let everything out on her!


    After resisting his urges for two days, Luo Yuan suddenly opened his eyes one night when Chen Xinjie got out of the bathroom. He pushed aside his nket and made his way onto Chen Xinjie¡¯s bed while panting. After some struggles, she gave in to him and he had his way with her again.


    After sex, Luo Yuan again stared nkly at the ceiling while Chen Xinjie had her back pressed against him lying next to him. It was suspicious. Looking at Chen Xinjie who did not say a word, he felt guilty. Not only did she not seduce him over the past few days, she was even avoiding him. Could his earlier suspicions be a mistake?


    ...


    The whole thing had been nned by a few experts in psychology and human behavior pinpointing Luo Yuan¡¯s weaknesses. The idea was to have Chen Xinjie own a ce in his heart instead of a being a cheap prostitute who could be shooed away easily or a person who he would lose interest for after sex.


    The interesting thing about psychology and human behavior was that as long as there was desire, no matter how intelligent the person may be, he could be tricked. Before the apocalypse, such technique had been used to sessfully trick many business tycoons and senior officers. None of them could see iting.


    For the conservative Chen Xinjie, although her previous act was not perfect which allowed Luo Yuan to have his suspicions, as a natural beauty who was loved by many, ying hard to get was nothing new to her. She did not have to act, it was so natural that even Luo Yuan could not tell that she was acting.


    On the bed, Luo Yuan was still indulging in his thoughts of the sexual intercourse he just had with her. The excitement and pleasure he got from having Chen Xinjie be initially unwilling to give in to eventually letting him have his way with her turned him on so badly. He suddenly decided to peek at Chen Xinjie¡¯s curved and peachy butt which was still arousing to him. Momentster, a noise was hearding from their room again!


    ...


    The next morning, Chen Xinjie peeked at Luo Yuan who was reading the newspaper and tidying up the room. She let out a sigh. As a person who was respectable in the Firearms Bureau, she could not believe that Luo Yuan was privately such as an immoral person. His handsome face, perfect body and his mysterious vibe made her feel like she was falling for him over the past few days. However, such feelings were not pure. Ever since she took up the mission, she had given up on the dream of building a proper rtionship. For the Reconstruction Area¡¯s future, her personal feelings and goals did not matter.


    Suddenly, the knocking on the door snapped her out of her deep thought. She put on her clothes immediately and opened the door. It was the service crew from the hostel.


    "Why is there another delivery of newspapers?" She asked.


    "This is today¡¯s special issue." The man replied.


    Chen Xinjie took the newspaper and read the headline. She let out a loud gasp.


    "What does it say?" Luo Yuan asked from behind.


    "Come take a look." Chen Xinjie passed him the newspaper while looking shocked. Luo Yuan took the newspaper and its title read, "Explosion at the Controble Fusion Device Lab."


    "December 4, 2015, there was an explosion that happened at the controble fusion deviceb located in the suburb of New Capital City due to misconduct. Three academicians and more than 10 high-level researchers died in the ident. Including the staff present at the site, it has been confirmed that more than 100 people have died. As most of the documents were destroyed in the mishap, the research is now on hold until further notice. ording to the report..."


    Luo Yuan flipped through the newspaper and realized that almost the entire copy was about the ident. There were survey results,ints, and inferences of the explosion. As he already knew this earlier, he tried his best to stay calm. He was not as shocked as Chen Xinjie was. The more he thought about it, the most suspicious he was. It was not the usual style of newspaper reporting in the Reconstruction Area.


    Since the apocalypse, the people here had basically been living in hell as battles with mutated beasts were happening all the time. Even the civilians had to bear the unimaginable burdens at work, as well as the insecurity and stress of losing their own life or their loved ones. To encourage them, the newspaper usually only reported positive news. Therefore, for such strongly negative news, it was usually kept a secret.


    Hence, the change of style was strange. After a quick thought, Luo Yuan had his answer. "Maybe the explosion was really done by the extraterrestrial civilization and to distract people, they came out with such an odd reporting style. Could the Reconstruction Area have found something at the explosion site?"


    "There must be more than one copy of technical documents for the controble fusion device. Perhaps everything was a show for the extraterrestrial civilization while they move their research to somewhere safe." He was relieved. Although he was not sure if such a n would be effective, the extraterrestrial civilization was not God. It was impossible for them to know every single thing.


    ...


    In the afternoon, there were two staff members who came to tell Luo Yuan that they could both leave. That concluded his prediction to be urate. Perhaps the Reconstruction Area believed his report. The house arrest had finally ended, and Luo Yuan did not want to stay a minute more at the stressful New Capital City. Both of them took the train back to Hope City at 4 p.m. in the afternoon.


    After bidding farewell to Chen Xinjie, Luo Yuan did not go to Firearms Bureau but instead headed straight home. The house that was quiet without Luo Yuan has soon crowded with noise again.


    He made calls home every day while he was away. Although thedies were not concerned about him leaving, all of them undoubtedly missed him. Looking at their happy faces, Luo Yuan had a sense of guilt storm through his heart. Apart from calling them every day, he did not miss them at all. Instead, he was cheating on them.


    ...


    It was soon midnight and as soon as Huang Jiahui fell asleep, Luo Yuan opened his eyes and looked at the attributes panel. He added the attribute points that he gained from the previous level-up to his agility. His Agility was now +16.


    As the usual heat upied and circted his body, once again he felt the distance with the real world. Huang Jiahui¡¯s breath became slow and heavy, the tick-tock sound of the clock on the wall was also slowing down.


    He lifted his nket and everything around him seemed to be slowing down. He stood up but did not use any of his strength with the fear that it would go out of control. He did not want to hurt Huang Jiahui by ident. He walked slowly and his body felt light like a feather. With just a tiny effort, he could fly. Of course, that was just an illusion. Unless he was using his Will, no matter how much physical strength he had, it was impossible to detach himself from gravity.


    He closed the door, and walked out of the house in silence. Since the incidentst time, he dared not experiment at home again. Although it was in the middle of the night, Hope City was still crowded and noisy. Factories were still up and running. There was noiseing from machines that were 10 to a few hundred tons in weight.


    The noise was strange in Luo Yuan¡¯s ears. It sounded like a radio cassette that was distorted. His +16 Agility made him 11.4 times faster than an ordinary person. If it was necessary, he could brush his teeth in five seconds and use only one second to wash his face. Furthermore, eating would require less than 13 seconds!


    Such great time difference made him feel like he was living in a different time dimension than ordinary people. However, he knew in his mind that he was still living in themon world. All he could do was to adapt to everybody else¡¯s slow rhythm. Every time he improved his Agility, his life became a little more torturous.

 Chapter 364: Lin Feiyan鈥檚 Move

    Chapter 364: Lin Feiyan¡¯s Move


    Trantor: EndlessFantasy Trantion Editor: EndlessFantasy Trantion


    Then, he started running.


    At first, his speed was quite simr to that of an ordinary person¡¯s. He even stumbled and almost fell. A few secondster, he became more agile and started speeding up! He was noticeably going faster and faster and became a blurry shadow dashing by the straight and wide streets in a sh. A factory worker that was pushing his cart could feel a strong wind pass him by but could not see anyone.


    "There was no wind!" The man mumbled to himself as he squinted and looked around. He immediately poured the g from his cart away and ran back to the factory.


    ...


    As Luo Yuan was running, he decided to use his Will to increase his speed. He was now traveling almost as fast as lightning. Within a few minutes, he was in the wilderness! He had reached 200 meters per second but had not reached his limit yet. Aspared to running solely on Agility, the difference was not major as each step was between seven to eight meters. But with his current concept of time, to depend on gravity to bring him back to the ground every single time was very time-consuming. Eight meters per step was not agile enough for him. If he was in a battle, space would be even smaller which would result in him taking even smaller steps. The limitation of his Will was that he still could not apply his speed on the ground when he was in the air. In fact, his speed was so much slower. When attackse his way, no matter how high his Agility was, he had nowhere to run.


    ...


    The terrain becameplicated in the wilderness. Initially, it was barren and had only dunes, shrubs and rocks. Apart from the newplicated terrain, Luo Yuan¡¯s visibility was also affected. Just as he ran pass higher terrain, there was a giant rock in front of him that was more than 10 meters away. He almost smashed himself into the rock!


    In the past, he had only two options: one was to decrease his speed and another would be to run into the rock. There was no time for him to bypass anything. However, with his current abilities, Luo Yuan had other options. In a split second and with just a tiny amount of effort, he leaped more than 10 meters high! He managed to jump over the giant rock with ease and he realized that his Intelligence allowed him to control his Strength better. In less than 20 minutes of adapting, he was fully in control of his new Agility points.


    After running for a while, Luo Yuan slowed down as he arrived at a rocky desert. The weathering effects had the rocks scattered all over the ground. Their surfaces were oddly smooth and under the moonlight, there was a beautiful light shining and glimmering like a precious stone. Those were a type of jade that was expensive collectibles before the apocalypse but was now worth nothing. Luo Yuan then walked under a giant rock that was shaped like a mushroom. Its top was shaped like an umbre which covered the sky. Since there were extraterrestrial civilizations out there, he had to be extra cautious when training.


    He pulled out his Zhanmadao and started practicing. When it was just pulled out of its sheath, it was still visible but soon after it had disappeared from vision. It only reappeared when Luo Yuan took a few short pauses. There was a glow surrounding Luo Yuan and at the same time, he became blurry and eventually looked just like a cloud of colors. His movements were so fast that it created wind which made the sand and dust spiral through the air. Deep carvings were appearing on the surface of the rock walls.


    ...


    It was now morning at the Lin Feiyan¡¯s office. She was sitting in deep thought while a pencil was spinning in her hand. She was obviously good at ying with her pencil as no matter how she spun it, it would not fall.


    There was someone knocking at her door. Lin Feiyan sat up straight and stopped spinning the pencil that was in her hand in fear that it would reveal how young she was and destroy her image.


    "Please,e in!"


    "You asked for me?" It was her secretary who had a small body like hers. The main difference was that her secretary was a scaredy-cat and a push-over.


    "Have you gotten information on what I had asked you about? Where did both of them go and what did they do?" Lin Feiyan asked coldly while now holding the pencil firmly in her hand.


    The Captain and Vice-Captain of the Firearms Bureau had disappeared for three days. As the leader of the department, she was furious!


    "I have checked... they booked train tickets to the New Capital City but I have no idea what they are doing there. I will ask Captain Chen." The secretary said in fear.


    "Then what are you waiting for!" Lin Feiyan groaned and said.


    After the secretary left, Lin Feiyan still could not calm herself down. She thought to herself, "New Capital City? Why would they go there!?"


    Lin Feiyan thought that the only reason they would go there was to visit the political center and see their leader. Such act was disrespectful to her if it were done without informing her.


    She finished the cold tea left in her cup in one gulp but that did not put off the fire that was in her. She hadplicated thoughts in her head and the pencil was spinning quickly in her hand.


    Soon, the footsteps of her secretary could be heard approaching her office. Lin Feiyan put down the pencil again immediately.


    "Captain... Captain Chen... Captain Chen said it is a ss A confidential. At your level, you have no right to know..." The secretary said in fear.


    Lin Feiyan snapped the pencil that she was holding. The chilly atmosphere made the secretary quiver. She walked slowly towards the door but she was actually ready to run away anytime.


    Lin Feiyan¡¯s breathing was heavy but she remained rational. Chen Xinjie would never lie about something serious. The statement about ss A confidential being none of her business was true, but Chen Xinjie was only given some back-end task in the department so how did she even get involved in such a confidential case?


    She thought about it and guessed it must have been caused by the annoying Vice-Captain. He must have found out something incredible by luck and told Chen Xinjie which resulted in the trip to the New Capital City. But not informing her was unforgivable.


    "Inform all departments that I want an emergency meeting now!"


    "Al... Alright!"


    "Wait, is the Vice-Captain here?" She thought of something and asked the secretary who was ready to run.


    "Not yet!"


    "Let¡¯s wait for him toe back before informing him about the meeting!" Lin Feiyan was clenching her teeth while saying that.


    After acknowledging what her boss had requested, she left the office as fast as she could. Lin Feiyan stood up and walked in circles in her office for a few minutes. She then sat down again and started biting on her pencil while thinking. Soon, she started drafting what she was going to say in the meeting.


    Such task was impossible to be aplished by her useless secretary as the secretary could never understand what she was trying to say. Especially when the situation was asplicated as it is right now that her status was unstable. She had to write it herself.

 Chapter 365: Meeting Xu Zhiqiang Again

    Chapter 365: Meeting Xu Zhiqiang Again


    Trantor: EndlessFantasy Trantion Editor: EndlessFantasy Trantion


    It was 10 in the morning and Luo Yuan walked into the Firearms Bureau like a robot. He bumped into Fang Peibin who had just arrived like he did.


    ¡®Ah! Master, you¡¯re back!" Fang Peibin spoke energetically. He was just about to yawn before seeing him.


    "Did you not get enough sleep?" Luo Yuan asked while nodding in response to his statement. He was controlling his speed and trying to match Fang Peibin¡¯s. It made his speech a little weird even though it was clear. It sounded robotic but he knew that it was only temporary. As soon as he got used to the new time dimension, everything would be back to normal.


    Fang Peibin noticed that something was strange but he did not dwell on it and spoke honestly, "It was already midnight when I got back from my missionst night. I was still wide awake so I didn¡¯t sleep at all. Nothing unusual though."


    "Was the missionpleted?" Luo Yuan asked.


    "I¡¯m nothingpared to you, master. It was only a level-5 mission. It should have been nothing but it sure was tricky. I had to wait half a day for the chance to attack." Fang Peibin chuckled in reply to Luo Yuan¡¯s question.


    "That¡¯s great. Come to my office!" Luo Yuan said.


    Fang Peibin knew that he had something to ask. He nodded and followed Luo Yuan to his office. After shutting the door, knowing that Fang Peibin was a straightforward person, Luo Yuan asked directly, "How well do you know about Chen Xinjie¡¯s family background?"


    "Chen Xinjie? Captain Chen? Which part do you mean? I only remember that she has her mother around. Her mother is a demure woman. She used to make us soup but she hasn¡¯t been visitingtely." Fang Peibin spoke in a puzzled manner.


    Luo Yuan¡¯s blood was boiling inside him. Looking at his apprentice who was usually smart, he said, "No, I mean does she have a partner or kids!?"


    "I¡¯m not sure. I¡¯ve never seen any before." Fang Peibin suddenly understood what he meant and responded. His mouth was wide open and he spoke in shock, "Ah! Master, don¡¯t tell me you¡¯re in love with Chen Xinjie! Don¡¯t be fooled by her friendliness towards everybody, she¡¯s actually very arrogant."


    "Vice-Captain... No, I mean master... I¡¯m not talking about you. The Vice-Captain who died used to go after Captain Chen. That guy was a Casanova! He knew his way around women and he bought her flowers and other stuff every day. After a few months of trying, he did not even manage to hold her hand. There¡¯s still chance if you want to marry her. But to make her your mistress, I don¡¯t think it¡¯s possible."


    Fang Peibin had seen Luo Yuan¡¯s women before when he was staying at the hostel during the time when Luo Yuan was on the mission to save Wu Qianru. The number of women he had was enough to form a basketball team. Luo Yuan gave an awkward smile. Fearing what he would do to him, Fang Peibin had chills in his bones. He then quickly spoke, "But of course, that Vice-Captain who died was nothingpared to master, your looks alone..."


    "Alright, stop your nonsense. Check and let me know if she has a husband!" Luo Yuan interrupted him. He thought for a little while and said, "Never mind, you don¡¯t have to check anymore."


    It would be an easy task for Luo Yuan to get someone to tell him the truth as long as the timing was right. Even a hint would work. He was not interested in anything else. He was not greedy and never had the intention of betraying the Reconstruction Area. However, not knowing if Chen Xinjie had a husband or not bothered him.


    Suddenly, a knock on the door interrupted his thought.


    "Come in!"


    The door was slightly opened and a small-sized person¡¯s head was looking around the office. She was blushing when she saw Luo Yuan and started speaking, "Vice... Vice-Captain... Co... Colonel Fang. The captain asked me to inform you that there will be an emergency meeting in the conference room."


    "What time?" Luo Yuan asked. He thought it was odd that Lin Feiyan hired such a timid secretary.


    "Right... Right now!"


    "Alright, I¡¯ll be there in a minute. Excuse yourself!"


    "Okay, okay!" She left immediately and closed the door softly."


    "Something major must have happened, let¡¯s go for the meeting." Luo Yuan said.


    Fang Peibin had a strange expression. He thought to himself... as Luo Yuan had just arrived not long ago, he would not know that the Captain did something like this.


    Both of them left the office and bumped into Chen Xinjie along the corridor who was closing her door.


    "Master, I think I forgot something. I¡¯ll go first." Fang Peibin spoke and left them alone. Looking at Fang Peibin leaving, he tried to say something so that it was not awkward.


    Chen Xinjie avoided eye contact whilebing her hair with her fingers. She seemed nervous. After a few steps with Luo Yuan, she was ncing at the toilet nearby and said, "Excuse me. I¡¯m going to the toilet!"


    Without waiting for Luo Yuan to respond, she quickly made her way to the toilet.


    Watching his new crush leaving and avoiding him was utterly disappointing. He started to feel lost as he was not sure if she was acting or if it was real. Too bad he did not get the opportunity to use his abilities on her sooner.


    There were a lot of people at the conference room when he arrived. Apart from those who were on missions, the rest were there. Since there was still time before the meeting, Luo Yuan was making small talk with the people around. He looked at Chen Xinjie when she walked in. Their eyes met but Chen Xinjie quickly looked away.


    Soon, Lin Feiyan walked into the conference room. She was wearing her iconic loose armored suit. She looked as cold as ice and was holding her meeting notes in her hand. She walked up to the podium quickly. As she was up there, she nced at everybody in the room and paused when she saw Luo Yuan. When Luo Yuan noticed she was looking at him, she immediately looked down and pretended to look at her notes.


    "Lin Feiyan, please be still! You should not let him sit on you. You were the Captain, and he is only the Vice-Captain. As soon as you finish reading your notes, he will be the one who is anxious." She said to herself.


    She calmed herself down, looked up and stared at Luo Yuan again. She cleared her throat and then looked down to read her notes, "I know this meeting was called on very short notice but it is necessary. Although the Firearms Bureau is still standing tall after a year, there are some clear issues here. The issues may seem minor but that doesn¡¯t mean we should not contemte them. Chairman Mao once said, "The house should be cleaned often, otherwise it will collect dust." Same goes to your face, "You should wash it often or else there would be dirt on your face..."


    Luo Yuan was puzzled by all this! It sounded like a high school essay. He looked at Fang Peibin and Li Dong who were next to him and he noticed that although everyone was sitting upright, none of them were paying attention. It seemed like they have gotten used to such speeches.


    "As a team that is strong in the battlefield, one of our fellowrades has started to lose his integrity and his arrogance is starting to show. Hees inte and leaves early, but far worse than that, he does not follow our rules. Especially this particrrade, who does not act like a leader and does whatever he feels like doing without respecting his leader and also without respecting women..."


    Luo Yuan was confused. He looked around him and noticed that everybody was looking at him! He tried to recall what happenedtely but he could not think of any way that he could have offended Lin Feiyan. Moreover, what she said was inurate. What did she mean by doing whatever he wanted? Since when did he do whatever he wanted? And, not respecting leaders and women? That was even more confusing!


    The more she read, the more fun she was having. Lin Feiyan was in her own zone and was reading her notes without noticing the awkward atmosphere she created in the conference room.


    A sudden knock on the door broke her momentum.


    She was upset but looked up at the door. It was her useless secretary!


    She said in a serious tone, "What¡¯s wrong? Can¡¯t you see that I¡¯m in a meeting?"


    "It¡¯s... It¡¯s Minister Ren from the municipal department. He¡¯s here and he wants to see you." Her secretary said softly.


    "Let him wait. I¡¯ll see him after this meeting is adjourned." Lin Feiyan waved with power.


    "He¡¯s the senior officer in Hope City. It¡¯s bad to let him wait. Since I know him, you carry on with the meeting while I speak to him." Luo Yuan said while standing up.


    The Captain had always given him a strange feeling. He sensed that her mentality was immature but she pretended to be an adult. She reminded him of the pretentious female ss leader he had when he was in junior high school. Putting her mature face aside, her real age might be much younger than he thought. Luo Yuan did not want to pick a fight nor did he want to be misjudged by her.


    Without waiting for Lin Feiyan to respond, Luo Yuan stood up and walked towards the door. Lin Feiyan held her breath. She moved her lips but she could not say a word until Luo Yuan walked out the door.


    The power that she mustered earlier now came to nothing. Looking at her meeting notes, there was still a long way to go and she suddenly realized that she was overreacting.


    ...


    Luo Yuan walked to the hall and saw that there were two people there.


    The coincidence was - he knew both of them. Looking at Luo Yuan walking towards them, Minister Ren was relieved. The two men stood up. Minister Ren smiled and said, "Vice-Captain Luo, we meet again. I knew you were going to climb the ranks! You have been promoted in less than a month. Come, let me introduce you to Colonel Xu Zhiqiang. He¡¯s a highly rmended staff in Hope City who used to be in the military special team."


    "Minister Ren, there¡¯s no need for introduction. We¡¯re old friends!" Luo Yuan shook hands with Minister Ren while smiling at Xu Zhiqiang, "How are you? Why did youe?"


    "It¡¯s a long story!" Xu Zhiqiang shook his head while forcing a smile. It was obvious that he did not want to tell his story in front of Minister Ren.


    "Let¡¯s have a meal togetherter. We need a good talk. I¡¯ll introduce you to my teammates in the Firearms Bureau." Luo Yuan said.


    Xu Zhiqiang nodded.


    Looking at them being on such good terms, Minister Ren was relieved, "No wonder Desert City looked familiar on the file. Since both of you know each other, everything is much easier."


    The procedure was much easier with Luo Yuan¡¯s help. He signed and stamped the document and waited for Chen Xinjie who was still in the meeting. As the Vice-Captain, he had the right to approve ess. During the time when he had just arrived, the documentation approval took a while as the Captain was away and the Vice-Captain had died on a mission.


    Luo Yuan could sense that there was a major change in Xu Zhiqiang since thest time they met in Desert City. He had no idea how big he would be when he turned into a giant this time but he was very interested in such pseudo-four-dimensional creatures.

 Chapter 366: Prediction

    Chapter 366: Prediction


    Trantor: EndlessFantasy Trantion Editor: EndlessFantasy Trantion


    Minister Ren was a busy man. After the documentation process waspleted, he was ready to leave after a few words with Luo Yuan. It was rare for Luo Yuan to apany the minister to the door. If not for the minister¡¯s help, Zhang Wu and Wang Xiaguang would not have received the great jobs they had now.


    Zhang Wu was now working with Interpol, from being the lieutenant he was before. Wang Xiaguang was assigned to thergest Industrial nning Bureau in the department. Although that was an easy thing to do for Minister Ren, it meant a lot to Luo Yuan.


    After sending the minister on his way, the meeting was adjourned. Everybody had a strange look on their faces as if they were holding backughter. Wu Qianru mustered up her courage and walked up to him. "Vice-captain, I did not know you were that kind of person," she said, blushing.


    Luo Yuan was not pleased. He had no idea what Lin Feiyan had said about him in his absence. Lin Feiyan was nowhere to be found. Perhaps she had sneaked her way back to her office, he thought. She was lucky, or else he would have shown her what happens when you did not respect your superior.


    "Let me introduce all of you to our newest member. This is Xu Zhiqiang. He is an old friend of mine from the Special Battle Team. He is very experienced in all aspects of battle. Please wee him warmly and get well acquainted with each other."


    "Wee, wee! Finally, a new member to the unit. My name is Xie Junhui."


    "Hi, my name is Li Dong."


    "A friend of the master is a friend of mine. I¡¯m Fang Peibin!"


    ...


    Luo Yuan was d that the atmosphere was very cordial amidst the members of his unit. After they shook hands and exchanged a few words among themselves, they started to get to know each other better.


    "Vice-captain, when you say we should get to know each other, can we talk about everything and anything under the sun?" Li Dong said with a chuckle.


    "Of course, that¡¯s part of the unspoken rules of the department. I¡¯ll only protect you, not destroy you. If you guys would like to get know each other better, why not?" Luo Yuanughed. They called the unspoken rule ¡®The Spirit-Break Beating¡¯. Every newly joined evolved human who joined must go through the process. It not only showed the hierarchy within the unit but also allowed the new members to quickly adapt their new working environment.


    The first step was to identify their ability. If one had no ability, there was no ce for that person in the unit. The second step was to destroy the idea of power, rank and previous status qualifications. Before every evolved human joined the sword unit, every one of them was the best in the departments they were from. All of them arrived rebellious and arrogant, which caused conflicts very easily. To make one listen to another was very simple when the other person was proven stronger. While the third step was to battle to know one¡¯s ability better.


    Of course, the process was with exception of Luo Yuan. Not only did he not have to undergo all the steps, he dominated the entire unit. Xu Zhiqiang got to know a little more about the situation within the unit from Luo Yuan. He was not surprised at all as he was an easy-going person. He had no trouble with the process and started to unbutton his shirt and prepare himself.


    "Could he be an evolved human that transforms?" Fang Peibin said curiously, looking at Xu Zhiqiang as he prepared for the test. He was considered a transformer because as soon as he unleashed his power, his body morphs along with it. If he did not take off his shirt, it would be destroyed when it happened.


    "Maybe, or he could be an energy-based evolved human!" Li Dong eximed. "the Vice-Captain should definitely know."


    "You guys watch out for yourselves. I¡¯m not revealing any information to you." Luo Yuan dered and said no more.


    Since Xu Zhiqiang arrived, the frequency of hallucinations caused by the four-dimensional mark on his forehead increased by ten-fold. Initially, the hallucinations would ur every half an hour or so, but now it appeared every few minutes. Especailly when Luo Yuan was looking at Xu Zhiqiang, there was no stop to the hallucinations.


    He had yet to transform himself. Once he did, nobody could tell what would happen.


    Xu Zhiqiang took off his sweater and showed off his ripped muscles. Then he took off his pants and shorts till the only thing that remained was his underwear. He was a little embarrassed. After stacking his clothes neatly in a pile, he walked outside and stopped when he was a hundred meters away.


    "What is he doing?" Xie Junhui asked, his eyes focused on the new recruit in the distance. He was puzzled.


    His thoughts were interrupted by a loud thud! The thud was sounded like the release of extreme power. There was dust that rose high from the open space a hundred meters away. The sound was deep and could have been a colossal beast, it seemed to shake the entire space. It was hard to imagine that the sound came from the human being that stood there.


    Then, Xu Zhiqiang started to transform. The muscles in his body were like roots in trees, his ck blood vessels were thickened and bulged. They were showing and crawling on his skin like giant earthworms and a terrifying beast¡¯s aura was exploded out of him. Initially, everyone was shocked when they saw but they were not disturbed by the discovery and paid close attention.


    In less than a second, his 190 centimeter tall body had grown more than three meters tall. A momentter, he was seven meters tall! Flesh and bones were not growing out of his body, instead, they appeared to have manifested out of thin air as he wrestled with his transformation. Luo Yuan who had his four-dimensional vision could feel everything. Ever since he started his transformation, the hallucinations in his head were going haywire. It was dark but now it was so bright that it was stinging his eyes. Even the sma band was not able to able to cover the hallucinations.


    The hallucinations were crystal clear. He saw the colors change in waves within his mind. It made him feel like he was staring straight into the sun. At that moment, Xu Zhiqiang stood more than 15 meters tall. That was his height he was when he transformed thest time, but now he was still growing. The cement road that was ttened by the excavators could not hold his weight anymore, and his feet were sunk into the ground. Five secondster, his transformation wasplete. He stood up slowly. The air surged at his movements which cause a strong wind to blow. Sand was flying everywhere around a monstrous ck giant who was 27 meters tall.


    Compared to his gigantic body size, the loft which was three-storeys tall next to him was not even half his height. They were only up to his thigh, where they looked like toys around him. Luo Yuan was not surprised as he had seen Xu Zhiqiang transform before, but the rest who were seeing it for the first time werepletely shocked.


    Fang Peibin had his mouth wide opened. He thenposed himself. "Isn¡¯t this cheating, how are we supposed to beat him?" he said. Aspared to his previous height which was less than two meters, his transformation made it seem like he was cheating.


    "Xie Junhui you go, your ability is more suitable to tackle him."


    "You can do it, don¡¯t worry we are only learning from each other." Li Dong encouraged the same thing.


    Xie Junhui hesitated and said," I will try."


    Luo Yuan looked at Xie Junhui in curiosity. He had just joined the team not too long ago, and he had never formed a team with anyone on a mission. He was always a lone ranger. Moreover, he had hardly observed Xie Junhui in training so he did not know anything about his ability and what he would do to tackle such giant beast.


    "Brother Qiang, please show some mercy. My body can¡¯t even take a punch from you." Xie Junhui walked a few steps forward and shouted at Xu Zhiqiang who was a distance away. He was shaking.


    "Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ll try not to attack then?" Xu Zhiqiang said in a deep, thundering voice as the air shook with each syble.


    Two fists hit each other from two meters away. A loud thud echoed from them, the air nearby vibrated intensely. The force was terrifying, it was sufficient to smash a tank.


    Xie Junhui then walked a few meters closer, putting him and the giant 20 meters away from each other. To Xu Zhiqiang, Xie Junhui was tiny at his feet. Looking at his gigantic body that looked like a small mountain, he gulped, focused and waved his hand.


    Luo Yuan who had been paying attention noticed that an invisible force appeared in the area. The force was more obscure than a maic field, it was hard to sense and barely there. Just because he recently had his Physique increased to +17 was he able to feel it and that was already him trying hard.


    Although he had just felt the force, Xie Junhui had been using it since the beginning. With the help of a +2 Will attribute, he could use the force in battles especially for linear flying.


    Luo Yuan had suspected it was a gravitational skill, but he was not sure. Now that both forces appeared upon him, he diverted his attention to the changes around Xu Zhiqiang.


    He was incredibly fast. In the eyes of an ordinary person, he could move a great distance within the blink of an eye and it was tough to keep up with him. However, with Luo Yuan¡¯s +16 Agility, he could see everything clearly.


    As Xie Junhui released his power, and the forces around him crashed together with a simr gravitational energy from the opposite direction. Suddenly, Xu Zhiqiang lost his bnce and copsed to the ground in a terrifyingly loud boom. Xie Junhui had been thrown back from the release of his power. The neutralization of the forces did not take long. In less than one second, the forces around Xu Zhiqiang were back to normal.


    Xu Zhiqiang stood up clumsily. He made a massive hole in the ground. He asked in his thunderous voice,"What kind of ability was that. It is really strange."


    "Gravity" Xie Junhui answered, confidently."Although, that¡¯s not the only power that I have. If you were to really fight me, I can careful hold myself!" he continued while scratching his head, but he then hid within the crowd to avoid a rematch. He was afraid that the giant would give him a punch.


    It was gravity! Luo Yuan thought to himself. As a force that was everywhere in the universe, such power had great potential. It was way better than his Earth Stomp. Unfortunately, such control would require +2 of Will, a high cost to bear.


    It was then that Luo Yuan, who was still perfectly fine, felt pain in between his eyes. He felt dizzy after that, and soon he was staring into the darkness, his mindpletely nk. He could hear Wu Qianru screaming in his ears. Unsure of how long had passed, he opened his eyes. He was lying on the ground, a group of people had surrounded him.


    "Master, are you alright!"


    "Send Boss Luo to the hospital now!"


    "Don¡¯t just stand here, I¡¯ll go find a stretcher!"


    He shook his head and he looked lost. He felt extremely ufortable which kept him on the ground and unable to stand up. There were two images in his head. One seemed toe from his subconscious mind, like a dream, while the other was the reality.


    Theoretically, the two images could easily cause a stir in the thinking process where one was unable to differentiate which was fake and which was real. What surprised him was that both were running parallel to each other, without making contact.


    He could clearly sense which was fake and which was real. One image was running before another at an interval of a few seconds. It was eye-opening for him, which made him thinking, could this be a...premonition of the future?


    What was happening? What happened just now?


    All he could recall was a pain in between his eyes and he passed out. Hearing what the people were saying and with him still lying in the dirt, he knew that he had passed out was not too long ago.


    "The pain was in between my eyes!" he shouted. And then, he went silent. He had a bad hunch andunched his attributes panel immediately.


    He quickly nced at his natural ability, and he was shocked. His four-dimensional vision leaped from 2% to 5% when he passed out. That was still bearable for him as he had added Intelligence in the sma band. It could withstand the force for a short period of them. What shocked him was the additional ¡®Four-Dimensional Brain 1%¡¯ in his four-dimensional vision column.


    "Four-dimensional Brain"


    "Four-dimensional Depth: 1%"


    "Effect: Foresight (2 seconds)"


    "Remarks: The four-dimensional world is colorful. Ordinary people can¡¯t look at it with their eyes because they have simple brains. However, you who have the path of four dimensions opened for you, you¡¯re no longer a simple minded human."


    Feeling the dizziness, Luo Yuan scowled in anger of what happened.

 Chapter 367: Rumor

    Chapter 367: Rumor


    Trantor: EndlessFantasy Trantion Editor: EndlessFantasy Trantion


    Luo Yuan stood up with a solemn face.


    It felt like a long time had passed since he fainted. He stood up swiftly. The time dimension that he and the rest were in was very different.


    "Master, are you alright?" Fang Peibin said in concern.


    "I¡¯m okay. Enough standing around, go about your duties!" Luo Yuan said sternly while waving his hand.


    Wu Qianru wanted to say something but she hesitated. Evolved humans seemed like they had invincible bodies and they could never get sick. Whenever there was something wrong, it was usually caused by a conflict of genes within them.


    It could be insignificant, but if left unnoticed,there could be radical changes to one¡¯s body. Deformities and mutations were considered lucky urrences. The worse cases would have the genes copsing and there would be nothing any doctor could do as the current medical facilities had not advanced to handle gene abnormalities.


    Wu Qianru was not the only one with that worry, the rest were thinking the same thing.


    But what they did not know was Luo Yuan was undergoing a pain that was a thousand times more unfathomable than the copse of genes. It was a transformation from a human to a God, a level-up to the spatial dimension.


    Ever since his four-dimensional vision was awakened, it was like a virus infected his body at an rming rate. However, the process was not reflected outside the mind and no one noticed anything. But with every step, it was a risk he had to bear. One tiny mistake would kill him. Fortunately, Luo Yuan had a body that had surpassed all limits of a human being. Entering the fourth dimension alone could create chaos in his brain, freeze his neural impulses and kill him.


    Xu Zhiqiang morphed back to his human form and ran towards him. "Boss Luo, what happened?" He asked.


    Luo Yuan avoided eye contact with him as he knew it would stir his four-dimensional visions yet again. He forced a smile and said, "Just a minor setback, nothing major. I won¡¯t be having lunch. I¡¯ll get Fang Peibin to give you a little more insight about the unit."


    "Master, you can count on me!" Fang Peinbin said immediately.


    Xu Zhiqiang had seen Luo Yuan passing out earlier. He was beyond grateful at the fact that Luo Yuan was still making arrangements for him in his current condition. He said immediately, "Boss Luo, you take care of yourself, don¡¯t worry about me!"


    Luo Yuan nodded and left the unit immediately. A while after he left, Chen Xinjie rushed to the scene after hearing the news. Too bad when she arrived, Luo Yuan was already gone. She had missed him.


    ...


    Instead of going home, Luo Yuan went straight to the desert he was at the previous night.


    There was nobody there. He stood alone, surrounded by rocks. Standing in the desert made him think he was isted from the world, and there was an indescribable sense of loneliness that gushed from within him. He let out a sigh. He did not expect Xu Zhiqiang¡¯s arrival to cause such a change to his physical being. It caught him off-guard.


    The 5% four-dimensional vision was more than twice it was before. The image became clearer still, oneyer of sma band could notpletely conceal it anymore.


    He took off his shirt and the undergarment beneath it, uncovering his strong muscles.


    He pulled out his Zhanmadao and slightly cut the bottom of his undergarment. After a series of sizzling hisses, a ring-shaped band was created. He put the band on his forehead.


    He felt better rity to his mind.The dizziness he had experienced earlier faded away. He was relieved and felt more at ease. The effects of that sma band were still there and he noticed that the prediction had not affected his Intelligence. The 1% four-dimensional brain did not seem to cause him any trouble. That was the only good news he had the whole day.


    He thought about it carefully. If the ¡®prediction¡¯ was really handled by most of his human brain, even a +18 Intelligence would not be sufficient.


    Time was a subjective concept for beings of the dimension. It was the embodiment that determined how the world worked. When the basic particle stopped moving, the world would freeze. Time would not matter anymore. By then, all thoughts would be frozen, and time would lose its purpose.


    The prediction seemed to be rted to time. In reality too, Time was thew of embodiment for all things in the world. Just like cloudputing before the apocalypse, the data analysis could predict the consumer¡¯s spending power, the world economy and even the market share. A powerfulputer could show the trajectory of micro-particles in split seconds. It could even calcte the uncountable micro-particle patterns. As long as theputer was well-kept in a space without any risk of corruption, physical or internal, it could predict anything in the past or future. There would be no secret, as everything was fated.


    Of course, Luo Yuan¡¯s prediction was far from being thatplex, as he was only granted a two second prediction. But to predict something that crucial, evenbining allputers and intelligence information before the apocalypse would not be sufficient. Instantaneously, that would also take an unbearable toll on Luo Yuan¡¯s body.


    Although it was only two seconds, the predictions could be life-saving in his time of need. In battles, he could use it to see what his enemy was nning to do before he reacted. Its power had boundless possibilities.


    From his experience, Luo Yuan realised that changing the future was not entirely impossible.


    Such predictions allowed him to predict current situations. When the current situation encountered were to change, the future would be altered too. When he was looking into the future, a slight change of mindset could bring a tiny but significant change in the future.


    Most of his doubts were solved. Initially, his four-dimensional vision of no use to him and brought more problems than it did advantages. Now, with the transformation, the amazing power it had started to show.


    ...


    The next morning, Luo Yuan went to the unit as usual.


    He could feel that there was a change in the atmosphere. It seemed like everybody was staring at him. Of course, it was not the first time he had their attention like that, but this time, it was different. The people were filled with sympathy.


    He walked into the office with a puzzled look on his face. Secretary Sun Yuting came in after him, respectfully knocking the door. She was making tea while spying at Luo Yuan out of the corner of her eye. As she was on her way out, Luo Yuan stopped her," What happened out there? Why is everyone looking at me like that?" he asked.


    "I... I don¡¯t dare to say!" Sun Yuting said nervously, a panicked look in her eyes. As a secretary, even though she did not dare say anything, she had to answer him as her future was in Luo Yuan¡¯s hands. If she offended him, that was the end of her career.


    "Don¡¯t worry, just tell me. I won¡¯t eat you!" Luo Yuanughed to relieve the tension. He was curious, could it be Lin Feiyan bad-mouthing him again when he was away.


    "They... They said you have some gic disease, and it¡¯s... breaking out soon." Sun Yuting said hesitantly with her head down.


    Luo Yuanughed aloud and said, "What nonsense is that? It¡¯s ridiculous!" He thought that was funny. Soon, there was someone knocking on the door.


    It was Chen Xinjie, and she looked very tired. Her dark eyes circles were apparent, it was obvious that she did not sleep wellst night. She looked at Luo Yuan and a smile lit her face. "Are you alright?" she asked.


    "You heard the rumor as well? I¡¯m good." Luo Yuan said while waving his hand, gesturing the secretary to leave.


    Sun Yuting left immediately.


    Chen Xinjie did not believe what he said and her eyes turned red, "You don¡¯t have to hide from me. I heard you passed out yesterday?"


    She did not look like she was acting. He felt the warmth from what she said, but at the same time, he was irritated because he did not know how to exin what had happened.


    Furthermore, apart from Chen Xinjie, he had to exin to the many other people who were there too. He was increasingly annoyed with the idiot that spread the rumor.

 Chapter 368: A New Discovery

    Chapter 368: A New Discovery


    Trantor: EndlessFantasy Trantion Editor: EndlessFantasy Trantion


    What puzzled Luo Yuan was that he had only passed out for a very short time, so why would the people treat him like he was dying?


    Until Chen Xinjie exined what was said about the incident to him, only then did he understand the situation. There was another issue circting about concern for him as an evolved human with possible gene abnormalities.


    Being an evolved human was against thews of nature. The increase of strength created the possibility of genes in the body not being able to function properly. It had nothing to do with whether the evolved human was powerful or not. The more powerful the evolved human was, the higher the chance of an outburst.


    But, there was no sign of an outburst in Luo Yuan. An intense battle, a drunken night or even an exhausting day could cause the outburst, but none of it had happened to him. Furthermore, it did not only happen to evolved humans, but mutated beasts too and the ratio was quite steep. However, in a natural environment that was so cruel, such instances were rare as mutated beasts were a food source, and not studied for outbursts.


    Luo Yuan emphasized again that he was alright and finally managed to get Chen Xinjie to leave. Not longter, Fang Peibin and the rest came to visit him. Looking at their gloomy faces, Luo Yuan was annoyed.


    "Are you guys so free, is there nothing better for you to do? Get out!" Luo Yuan yelled at them before they could even say a word. They did not have to say what they wanted to say as Luo Yuan could predict it, without even using his vision.


    Sensing a scary vibe from Luo Yuan, they scurried away immediately.


    Luo Yuan was amused at their reaction. Looking at the closed office door, he chuckled. He was d that they came to visit. Unlike the previous vice-captain who nobody cared about, he felt he had done a much better in his position.


    Regarding the rumor, Luo Yuan thought there was nothing exin after hearing what Chen Xinjie said about the conflict of genes. Time would erase everything. Such outbursts were quick, the shortest being three days, and the longest being a week. By then, the rumor should disappear into thin air without him having to exin.


    ...


    Soon one month flew by and it was the year 2016.


    It was usually the coldest in January but the temperature was 40 degrees Celsius. But that was considered cool aspared to summer time when it could hit 60 degree Celsius! Unfortunately, such a chilly weather made the mutated creatures more active.


    In a short period of time, there was an outbreak of mutated beasts in the reconstruction area. It was one of the biggest yet. They destroyed a town along the border. Although it only took three days to kill them all, it had caused major casualties in the reconstruction area.


    Some of them escaped into the area which made it extremely tiresome for everyone in the unit.


    Luo Yuan was no exception, he was running everywhere.


    The mutated beasts were not of high levels. They were mostly below level five but there were just too many of theming out of nowhere and no matter how many he killed, there was barely anything happening to his experience points. It was irritating to him.


    Just when Luo Yuan was ying a dog mutated beast which was frozen by his aura, there was message beeping in his head. Another mutated beast was more than 10 kilometers away.


    Luo Yuan epted the mission, holstered his Zhanmadao and stomped on the ground. He made a deep hole in the ground and his body shot forward like a shadow, a hundred meters away in one breath. He disappeared over the horizon.


    Within the one month, Luo Yuan had adapted to his newly gained Agility. He could control his body perfectly. Compared to his skills before, his was significantly faster and much stronger. He moved at 0.4 seconds per hundred meters. For ordinary people, it was hard for them to catch his shadow even without blinking.


    ...


    Covered in blood, Luo Yuan returned to Hope City in the evening.


    Within a day, he went across half of the reconstruction area and killed more than 20 mutated beasts. There was no sign of exhaustion on his face. Just when he arrived at the headquarters, Chen Xinjie came to him and said softly,"There¡¯s someone looking for you."


    "Who?" Luo Yuan asked while taking off his bloodied shirt.


    Chen Xinjie took the shirt from him, handed it to a unit member passing by as if it was nothing out of the ordinary. The both of them were close and asionally, they would do favors like that for each other. People in the department had got used to that.


    "Someone from the highmittee!" she whispered.


    The High, or Supreme Committee office was usually short during times of war. It was the highest administrative office in the reconstruction area. Aspared to the highest administrative office during the era of peace, this department had even bigger rights where the military administration was concerned. It managed everything in the reconstruction area while the office beneath it performed only with the permission of the highestmittee during the war.


    Luo Yuan paused and said, "Wait, let me change."


    "Don¡¯t take too long." Chen Xinjie said. She was really nervous.


    Luo Yuan nodded and walked into the bathroom in his office. He had a quick shower, grabbed some clean clothes, put them on and left.


    Chen Xinjie was waiting anxiously at the door. Seeing Luo Yuane out of it, she said immediately, "Follow me!"


    She turned around and led the way. While Luo Yuan followed her, he tried to guess what could possibly be the purpose of the meeting. Soon, they arrived at their destination. He shook his head, clearing his mind. The truth would be revealed soon anyway.


    Two military police were guarding the entrance of the corridor, but there was nobody around. Chen Xinjie stopped before the conference room corridor and said,"The highmissioner is in the conference room, I will not be part of the meeting."


    Luo Yuan nodded, walked along the corridor and entered the conference room. He nced inside to see two people seated inside.


    One was young and looked unsettled. Luo Yuan assumed he was an assistant who was here for exposure, while the other person was a middle-aged man with a military vibe about himself. He was the person in charge.


    As Luo Yuan approached, both of them stood up. "Hi Major Luo, I¡¯m Gao Yuanshan from the Information Division. It¡¯s an honor to finally meet you."


    Luo Yuan shook hands with the middle-aged man, smiled and said,"I have been swamped with work recently, sorry for making you wait."


    "We didn¡¯t wait too long! Let¡¯s cut to the chase. To avoid any possible disclosure of today¡¯s meeting to the public, please ce all your electrical devices on the table." said the highmissioner.


    Luo Yuan nodded. Looking at the situation, he knew what they were here for.


    He obeyed and ced his personal messaging device and satellite phone on the table. The assistant took out a metal box from under the table. From the look of it, the box seemed to be made of lead. He opened the box, put the electrical devices in and closed it.


    "I¡¯m sorry Major Luo, to avoid any other possible threats, I¡¯ll need to do a body scan." the young man said.


    "Understood, proceed!" Luo Yuan said. He did not mind.


    The assistant took out a device and scanned Luo Yuan¡¯s body. He then nodded to the highmissioner.


    "Now we can talk in private." The highmissioner said. "Major Luo, I am sure you are aware of the extraterrestrial civilization. With such a high-level civilization in existence, cautiousness requires very serious considerations.


    "So, I guess you have already witnessed their abilities?" Luo Yuan questioned.


    "Unfortunately, until now we still don¡¯t have any direct evidence. But through meticulous investigation and images we received from the satellite footage, we noticed some signs. That¡¯s the reason why we havee to you."


    "Keep talking." Luo Yuan said, a serious look on his face.


    "After someparisons with the satellite images, we noticed there was a sighting of artifacts on an ind in the South China Sea. Although, in that same location a year ago, there was nothing there." The highmissioner took out the two satellite images from his briefcase and showed them to Luo Yuan.


    One was them was a picture of a forest. There did not seem to be anything odd about it. While in the other picture, there was a small part of the forest that had been cleared. In its ce was a dark, crescent shaped building which looked like a giant rock at first nce. The trees around it were taller than the others. The building was concealed and would have been easily missed if one did not look carefully.


    "The building is 202 meters wide and 105 meters tall. We suspect that it is an outpost of the extraterrestrial civilization on earth!" The highmissioner said with a noticeable tone of anger in his voice.

 Chapter 369: Intensive Training

    Chapter 369: Intensive Training


    Trantor: EndlessFantasy Trantion Editor: EndlessFantasy Trantion


    At that point, the reason why they were there became quite obvious. Luo Yuan was silent for a moment and said, "It¡¯s too risky, why me?"


    The journey would take more than a day. The ind was located in Borneo, which was a few thousand kilometers from the reconstruction area. He had to cross a thousand kilometers of deep ocean regions to get there. He was not sure how many terrifying mutated beasts he would encounter along the way. The worse part of it all was that he might have to probe into the extraterrestrial civilization to obtain first-hand information.


    Now that he was almost invincible, most of the mutated beasts could not do him any harm. The wilderness and forest were deadly to ordinary people but they were nothing to him. However, he was still a human. If he was discovered by the extraterrestrial civilization, the consequences would pose a threat to his survival.


    The atmosphere became tense. The highmissioner looked down and said, "Major Luo, you¡¯re the best that we have. You have years of experience surviving in the wilderness. You¡¯re strong and you have some knowledge of the extraterrestrial civilization. Most importantly, you can fly. The most crucial part of this mission is to carry out surveince without detection so we can¡¯t use drones. With the exception of yourself, there is no one who can go on this mission. Of course, we know the mission is very dangerous. I¡¯m here to ask for a favor, it¡¯s not an order. So if you decline the mission, we understand."


    Luo Yuan was not surprised that the highmissioner knew him and the reconstruction area so well. He was sure such information was very easily obtained by a person in his position. Luo Yuan frowned while tapping his fingers on the table. After a moment, he said, "I don¡¯t understand why you, Sir, would decide upon such a dangerous mission. If I was discovered, the extraterrestrial civilization would find out that we know about them. The consequences could be disastrous."


    "The war started a long time ago, we have no other alternative. The explosion of the fusion device was not an ident like it was reported, it was an attack!"


    The highmissioner hesitated and continued,"Although we have no idea why the extraterrestrial civilization is hiding, there must be something that we are missing."


    "Perhaps they are not strong enough, or they have some special purpose or perhaps they have some other unknown agenda. We are guessing even if they¡¯re exposed, the possibility of the war is not certain."


    Highmissioner¡¯s voice became deep and stern. "Moreover, they have shown signs of hostility. Compromising is not an option. With a 200 year gap in technology, they will not just sit there and wait for us! War will happen sooner orter. If we get more information about them, then there¡¯s at least a higher chance for us to defeat them and win. Even if we die, we will not go down without putting up a good fight."


    Luo Yuan sat up straight, an indescribable sadness rose within him. He was never a saint. He was just an ordinary person from the start. He would never sacrifice himself for someone else. Although he had saved and helped many people since the apocalypse, he would never risk his life to uncertain odds. Putting the faith of the human race in his hands was way too much. He could not imagine how terrible it would be if a war were to happen. The reconstruction area would be burnt to ash, no human would survive. The human civilization would be extinct. Even if he survived in the end, would he be able to live in peace, with the knowledge that he could have saved the humans?


    ...


    During the days that followed, he did not go to the work. At night he went with the highmissioner¡¯s assistant to New Capital City on the underground train for intensive training sessions to prepare himself.


    In modern civilization, information retrieval was a very serious matter, and it could not be mastered by just anyone. He would be taught how to investigate, hide and handle all sorts of emergencies.


    During that time, Luo Yuan showcased his astonishing learning and memory skills. He surprised all the trainers, to a point, he could basically memorize everything he heard immediately.


    The training eventually became pointless to him. Apart from some special techniques that required professional guidance, they sent him reading material for basic knowledge of the mission.


    ¡®Must Know for An Information Personnel¡¯


    ¡®How to Be An Outstanding Spy¡¯


    ¡®The Art of Camouge¡¯


    ¡®100 Ways to Build Traps¡¯


    ¡®Defects and Blind Spots of Artificial Intelligence¡¯


    "How to Sneak Into A High-Tech Secret Room"


    ...


    Those books were considered eptable, but they came along with a few unusual ones too.


    ¡®International Thieves - Tricks Used In Crimes - An Encyclopedia¡¯


    ¡®Fugitive Report¡¯


    ¡®Prison Break¡¯


    ¡®100 Ways To Fight Back In A Trial¡¯


    ...


    In three days, Luo Yuan had studied more than 10 books. He did not just analyze the information, he memorized them too. However, that was just the beginning of his training, what happened next was the crucial part.


    The mission was important to both the reconstruction area and the survival of human beings. No matter how much he prepared, it was not enough as there was no guide to winning the war and preserving the existence of human civilization. In reality, before Luo Yuan started training, many were against it. Not only the mission but also the fact that he had been chosen to be their savior.


    Luo Yuan, as a civilian, was considered unfit for the mission. Encountering the extraterrestrial civilization that had technology that surpassed what was used on earth, even a mini camera could pose to be a threat to expose who he was. Therefore, no electrical devices were allowed on this mission. There would be no images or videos for analysis. Critical solving skills and rational judgment were the only way. Without expert level knowledge of science, one would find it very difficult to handle such a mission.


    An ideal information retrieval specialist would be an all-rounded scientist, who was also strong, with the ability to survive in the cruel wilderness. The same person would also require the ability to cross oceans and the inds along the way. However, it was apparent, such a person did not exist. Luo Yuan¡¯s stunning learning ability was a surprise to everyone. It felt like he was back in high school.


    Metallurgy, High Energy Physics, Quantum Mechanics, Gics, Rtivity, Thermodynamics, Number Theory, Geometry, Fluid Mechanics...


    The subjects that would have driven a high-schooler crazy, but they were just the basics. Next, he would have to learn about some unidentified theories of mankind including conjectures and hypothesis!


    Millions of books that represented the current civilization were forced into his head. Although Luo Yuan had Intelligence of +15, all the studying gave him a headache.


    However, he was not going to abandon the mission. Instead, he worked harder and tried his best to understand all the advancements ever achieved by the human race. Perhaps one day if the civilization disappeared and he survived, he could use that knowledge to give life to a new one.


    Time passed by, from the tiresome reading, his studies had now be interesting.


    As his knowledge increased, he got used to all the reading, and his passion for the information allowed him to read faster and faster. Eventually, it only took him a few minutes to finish a book. There were not many books that confused him anymore. He could have just flipped through them, cross referenced andpared theories in his mind.


    More than 10 bookshelves were emptied in a matter of days. When Luo Yuan was getting thest book from the shelf, he realized that the shelf was empty. Suddenly, he felt disappointed andughed at the thought.


    Soon after, he walked slowly out of the library. An assistant from the highmissioner was waiting for him as he exited. She looked up when she saw him and gasped.


    Luo Yuan had a pair of captivating eyes that were filled with intelligence and he exuded a vibe of a higher-order intellect.

 Chapter 370: The Power of Knowledge

    Chapter 370: The Power of Knowledge


    Trantor: EndlessFantasy Trantion Editor: EndlessFantasy Trantion


    Unsure if it was a nned coincidence, the assistant that met him was a beautifuldy. She looked like she was in her 30s, soft-spoken and had warm, kind eyes. During the month that Luo Yuan was there, no matter where he went, she would follow him.


    From doing hisundry to making his bed, he was always greeted with enthusiasm with guaranteed assurance whatever he asked would be done to perfection. If Luo Yuan requested, perhaps, warming his bed could be done as well. Sometimes he would turn down her aid to his menial chores, but he would always give in after she insisted.But why would they send a woman like that to care for him? Did he look like a boy who needed love from a mother? He felt an odd vibeing from the reconstruction area.


    Earlier, he had used his abilities on Chen Xinjie. Whether or not what she told him about her family or the tactics that were used by the reconstruction area based on his weakness were true, he knew everything. That made him furious.


    Now, they attempted to trick him again!


    This time, Luo Yuan chose to punish her. One month went by, he did not even utter her name. He nced at her and walked towards the door like she did not exist. He took out his satellite phone and spoke out loud to be sure she¡¯d hear him, "Hello, is this Jiahui? I¡¯ll be back in two days... Nothing much... Life here isn¡¯t bad at all..."


    There was an invisible electromaic wave that shot up to the sky via the phone antenna. He looked at it and jolted. His advanced Physique had given him unimaginably sensitive senses where he could observe energy that could not be seen by the naked eyes. As it turned out, it included radio waves that were like webs in the sky, higher frequency waves such as microwave, as well as infrared and many other electromaic waves. He could even see the geomaic field that surrounded the earth and a little bit of gravitational field too.


    Before this, such an ability was nothing to him as he would roughly know what it was but had no knowledge of its advantages and effects. It was like having a treasure right under his nose but he did not have the proper tools to excavate them, which made it redundant. However, after he had gone through the training which filled him with the wonder of knowledge, everything changed. His vision widened and everything became crystal clear.


    When he noticed themunication radio waves, the Principle of Communication techniques came to his mind. Through vibration in the eardrums, radio waves would trigger the fluctuations of a signal¡¯s current and load the electrical signal before sending the electromaic wave to the receiving party. Vibration triggered current signal fluctuations, and then the electrical signal loaded on the electromaic wave wasunched it forward. Of course, there were encryptions in between them.


    While he was talking on the phone, he observed the change in frequency of the radio wave carefully. It was based on the information encrypted by the Fourier transformer with an algorithm of Advanced Calculus. It was not difficult for him to solve. All he had to do was to change some constants and filter out the useless messages.


    His +15 Intelligence allowed him to think at lightning speed. Within a few seconds, he managed to break the encryptions and get to the root of the message topare the results. A few secondster, he hung up the phone and kept it in his pocket.


    The radio wave signal that was cut off was connected again within 0.1 seconds with his Will. Ordinary people would not be able to see that. Waves that were loading his messages in different frequencies were sent to Huang Jiahui¡¯s mobile phone via the satellite. After chatting for awhile, Luo Yuan disconnected the signal!


    He turned his head and looked around. It seemed like he had found a new toy, his eyes sparkled with curiosity.


    A massive amount of signal waves appeared in front of him. They wereplexed and entangled with each other. Those were conversations, a variety of confidential messages, right before his eyes. They were justid out, allowing him to browse through as he pleased. If he wanted to, he could talk to anyone at anytime. And at the same time, he could terminate the signals with just a thought.


    The assistant who was assigned to him by the highmissioner was following him as always. She did not make a sound at all. She was not paying attention to what he was doing, and she was not aware that he could now ess to any information in the reconstruction area with the invisible waves avable to him.


    Of course, via the wave signal, what he could retrieve was limited. Ever since they discovered the extraterrestrial civilization, all confidential documents were not sent by signals anymore but instead, it was handwritten and delivered.


    Luo Yuan walked for awhile and stopped. He said to his assistant, "Get me a train ticket, I¡¯m going back to Hope City today."


    "But... But I was not informed about such an arrangement by my superiors," she said, hesitantly.


    "No buts. I will be going back to Hope City for a month. If anythinges up, you can find me there." Luo Yuan waved off her pleas and insisted.


    "This... I¡¯ll have to inform my superior." The assistant said in fear.


    The assistant stepped aside and took out her phone. Her curvaceous figure caught Luo Yuan¡¯s attention for a moment, but soon he looked away. Temptations were everywhere, Luo Yuan thought to himself.


    A month without sex started to affect him. Any slight form of temptation would be enough to seduce him. That was one of the reasons why he was eager to go home.


    A minuteter, the assistant hung up the phone, "The minister has agreed, but I will have to follow you as they need to know your whereabouts and activities at all times. There might be new training modules scheduled!"


    Even without her telling him, Luo Yuan had ¡®seen¡¯ the details of the phone conversation. It was urate.


    Now that the reconstruction area had their full attention focused on him, the pressure was on his head as well as the management. For the mission, no mistakes were allowed so such a request was deemed reasonable.


    Luo Yuan hesitated but he did not reject her. He said, "Sure, but where will you be staying?"


    "If possible, the best would be... your house!" she answered.


    Looking at Luo Yuan¡¯s frown, she said immediately, "You don¡¯t have to worry about your family. We will talk to them and won¡¯t cause you any trouble. If you think that¡¯s inappropriate, we can get another male assistant to follow you."


    "Nevermind, it¡¯ll settle for you then!" Luo Yuan said. If they really assigned him a male assistant, no fun woulde of it. At least this assistant was pretty, and at her worse, he could consider her his nanny.


    ...


    In the afternoon, both of them took the train to Hope City. It took them another half an hour to walk to his house. True enough, Huang Jiahui and Zhao Yali did not mind the additional, beautiful assistant to their household. They were nice to her on the surface, but nobody knew what was going on in their scheming minds.


    It was a different story for Wang Shishi. She did not lower her guard around her.


    "Boss Luo, how long will she be staying here?" She pulled Luo Yuan over and said softly while holding his arms tight.


    "Not too long, maybe one to two months," he said.


    Looking at her pouting and unhappy, Luo Yuanughed and said, "Don¡¯t be jealous, she¡¯s just here for work."


    Hearing what Luo Yuan said, Wang Shishi was relieved. She continued, "I¡¯m not jealous, I just think that this person might have bad intentions. I¡¯m worried for you!"

 Chapter 371: The Earth Fountain

    Chapter 371: The Earth Fountain


    Trantor: EndlessFantasy Trantion Editor: EndlessFantasy Trantion


    During the night, at the peak of his starved libido over thest month, Luo Yuan was a beast. He managed 3 rounds with his beautifulpanions, andid his sword repeatedly upon the 3dies, satisfying their lust for him, and sapping their juices as his reward. Their suspicion of his disloyalty to them was long gone by the time he finished.He had to prove to them that he remained true to his Chastity and had not been seduced in the one month of their absence.


    ...


    In the early hours of the next morning, Luo Yuan got out of bed quietly. He put on his clothes and walked out to the underground city, with his Zhanmadao in hand.


    The sky was still dark, and there were only weak beams of light that came from two factories that were operating all day and all night.


    There were no street lights in this underground city as it was said that the light might attract mutated animals that attack the city. Also, energy resources were limited and as the street light was deemed unnecessary, the energy could not be wasted.


    Luo Yuan inhaled the cool fresh air mixed with the pollution of industrial waste gases. He sneezed as the smell of the air was too pungent. His spirits were elevated from the release he had the night before and he felt like running. He took off in a run as fast as lightning and stirred up the atmosphere, causing a sudden fierce wind behind him.


    Ever since his floating sportswear was damaged, the surrounding airflow was violent and extraordinary powerful against his skin whenever he sprinted.


    Normal people had nothing to worry about when it came to air resistance at the speeds they traveled. But he was running at close to the supersonic speed and the density of air was close to a liquefied state. Every step forward consumed arge amount of energy. Since he was reaching his maximum speed, it had be increasingly difficult for him as the air resistance increased for every meter increase in velocity.


    He knew that in order to ovee the barrier, his Strength and Agility would have to be at least three to four times stronger and faster. The influence of buoyancy in the air was considered as well. He could make use the atmospheric pressure to bnce himself against the forces of buoyancy by lowering his body close to the ground as he sprinted.


    However, humans were not wless beings or adjustable like machines. They were not able to perform the ideal motion that would perfect the theory of fluid dynamics like what an F1 race car could do. He needed to observe the surroundings and pay attention to the geological terrain of the areas as he ran. If his body was lowered too close to the ground, it would be even harder for him to run.


    If no equipment was able to bnce the airflow like the floating sportswear he had, or an increase in Will, he predicted that his maximum speed limit would only be at subsonic speed.


    Of course, this was just applicable to long-distance running. It was still possible for him to burst into an all out explosive sprint, anytime he wanted if he needed to.


    ...


    About 10 minutester, Luo Yuan had arrived at the Gobi Desert which he had already visited a few times. This was a ce where no one would disturb him and it had be his personal training ground.


    This time, he did note here for the usual saber training skills.


    Since he came back from New Capital City, he had a thought that kept crossing his mind. At the time it urred to him, he did not have the time to examine it properly. As soon as he had cleared his mind of sexual thoughts, he felt more at ease and ready to pursue his theory. The thought that was initially brief, had gradually be clearer to him over time. That was why he could not wait any longer and came over to test his theory on his own before dawn.


    After he had be an evolved man, Earth Stomp had always been his most powerful ability. He even considered it to be his ultimate skill.


    As he grew stronger, Earth Stomp was no longer essential. After he realized that he had the ability to self-heal through Will and that it was even more effective in battle, Earth Stomp almost seemed useless to him.


    Luo Yuan was an evolved man more in name than in reality. Perhaps it was his additional six points in Physique that really brought out Luo Yuan¡¯s true identity as an evolved man.


    He had never thought about the extent of the true ability, and also did not have a clue of what it meant. He knew he was strong but rarely had any use for power beyond his usual capacity. He never knew what would happen if he further improved his ability without knowledge of his power.


    The return from this trip to New Capital City was fruitful. The knowledge gained was merely the tip of the iceberg. It provided him with a wider field of vision and an open mind to all sorts of possibilities. An intelligent barbarian was still a barbarian, yet an elevated field of vision and an enhanced level of thinking could really define one¡¯s ability.


    He might have gained some insight but from a different point of view, he felt he did not make a breakthrough and remained the same as he was before.


    ...


    Wisdom could always generate great strength with minimum efforts.


    Mechanical waves were propagated through vibration. Earth Stomp was one of the mechanical waves that transferred its energy through the movements in the earth. It was like when a stone was thrown into ake, it created a continuously expanding circr ripple.


    The attack was made with the power of Earth and it was intense and potent. However, the damage in an area like the desert was not as impressive as he thought it would be. With the energy was spread over arge area, it dissipated without estimation of how deadly the force might have been.


    It would, of course, be deadly if he were to confront a low-level mutated beast. But the beast that threatened Luo Yuan now was those that were at level seven or more. These beasts were gigantic and their bodies were almost hundreds of meters long. The Earth Stomp could no longer harm them.


    But if he could the centralized the waves, he thought, it would definitely unleash a terrifyingly powerful skill.


    It was as difficult as if a stone was thrown into ake but had created water columns instead of circr ripples and these water columns must not be created randomly. The position must be controlled precisely, otherwise, it would be useless for an attack.


    It was not until that moment he discovered that possibility, did he get an idea to solve his problem.


    ...


    He gradually lowered his heart rate and entered the state he had to be to generate the Earth Stomp. He cleared his mind of all thoughts and held the darkness still. He looked stony and cold, with no expression on his face.


    He could feel the movement of the Earth, its endless energy like how it always was. It resembled a volcano that was on the verge of eruption.


    He fully exerted his aura and his eyes shot back in his head. The air surrounding him had instantly be motionless. He was exuding a horrifically powerful energy as if the entire space was covered by an invisible force field. The fine grains of sand and stones on the ground started to shake vigorously and levitated slowly.


    Meanwhile, there was a static electrical force building in the area like growing inferno. It seemed like he owned the entire desert as various types of energy lingered in the area under his control.


    He was granted a memory boost and inspiration points after he had upgraded his Saber Specialist to 7 points. He could now feel it all starting to grow after months of training.


    In a matter of moments, Luo Yuan calmed his thoughts and everything around him subsided. However, it still felt like the storms were getting stronger in the silence.


    Luo Yuan rxed his mind and moved to raise his leg to walk forward. All of a sudden, the ground shook beneath his feet, like an earthquake, and the whole ground cracked and split in half! With caution, heid his foot back on the ground.


    Thend masses and trees flew up to five or six meters high in the air. Not far from the ground of the Gobi Desert, a rock formation that was at least 10 meters high waspletely destroyed and obliterated to just a few rocks on the ground.


    Luo Yuan stood still and meditated to still his racing heart.


    "This trial did not seed, but it wasn¡¯t a failure. The rock formation in the Gobi Desert that had copsed had proven that the power could be harnessed, controlled and directed for destruction. Unfortunately, he had not mastered the control and most of the energy was wasted."


    "This trial must be continued."


    The Gobi Desert had stayed t and undisturbed for thousands of years but, it had been destroyed by Luo Yuan¡¯s with that powerful thought.


    Numerous notions flooded his mind. "Will is too weak to have total control over such immense energy. As long as the seesaw effect can be demonstrated, I don¡¯t need full control over Will."


    "The power of Will could only be exercised when the energy is released. It had nothing to do with his own strength. This could be one of the ways to avoid too much of energy being wasted and reduce the use of his Will!" He looked at another rock as the thought yed on his mind.


    Subsequently, with every trial, he tried to adjust and reduce the amount of energy he released to his surroundings. Soon, he finally mastered the perfect way to control his power and he hadpletely cleared the area around him with each trial.


    Ultimately, he raised his head aiming at the highest andrgest rock formation that was about 50 to 60 meters away. It looked like a small mountain and was 50 to 60 meters high with a diameter of about 100 meters across.


    With his sharp eyes, he focused at the point of attack. He raised his leg and stomped down hard with mastered intent!


    ...


    Bang!


    Dust shot everywhere like a shock wave. But other than that, no vibration was felt on the ground. Luo Yuan nced around and saw that the Gobi had exploded, sending billows of smoke into the sky.


    The rock formation which was insanely heavy weighed approximately 70,000 to 80,000 tons. Despite it being his full force exerted on this rock formation, only dust and some small stones from the outeryer had fallen. The rock formation was able to sustain the damage from the shock waves.


    He was not disappointed as he had expected that oue.


    He was satisfied as he could still somewhat cause a little bit of damage on the small mountain. Besides a speedy dash, the Earth Fountain could now cause a deadly high-frequency vibration. He could imagine the effects of such an attack on level seven mutated beasts when they had to confront him as mere flesh and bone!


    ...


    It had been an hour and the sunlight was breaking through the night to bring forth the dawn. Luo Yuan frowned as he felt exhausted and had to get out of the state of the Earth Stomp to conserve energy for the journey home.


    The Earth Fountain was only one of his tentative ns. There was a lot more waves could be manipted to do, such as create resonance and superpositioning. To examine all of them, he would need more time.


    The former required the gaining of insight into the ground¡¯s frequency. Every Earth Stomp would be regarded as one vibration. Through the formation of a sequence of stomps, he could bring forth a pattern of resonance, and trigger an earthquake. The Earth Stomp was based on thebination of the frequency of the Earth¡¯s crust, mantle, and core. It would require a very detailed analysis of the geology, thickness, and topographical structure of the area he was at before performing the attack.


    Of course, even that he had gonepletely mad with rage, it would be impossible for him to cause a shock at will on the earth by forming resonance through the frequency of the Earth Stomp.


    This was because to the Earth¡¯s crust consistently had a different frequency and would absorb all the energy before resonance was formed if he did not have a feel for the frequency beforehand.


    He would only be capable of applying shock on a small region depending on the variability of the earth¡¯s crust, with the circumference of either a few kilometers or hundreds kilometers.


    He wanted to try again but the crust tes of the ground were already rtively weak. A minor magnitude earthquake aftershock still rumbled beneath. He might have triggered a full-on earthquake if he had generated resonance here but he put the thought out of his mind as it would have been tiresome to try escape.


    He was unable to clearly identify the speed he needed for superpositioning a wave, thetter option, even though he had 16 points for his Agility. The frequency of Earth Stomp was incredibly high as it would vibrate each stomp at over thousands of times per second. When the vibration was at its peak, the duration of each wave was approximately 0.1 seconds and the level of energy would fall rapidly. In order to be even stronger, he had to make two attacks in a row in a short period of time. The most difficult part was that the power of the Earth Stomp must coincide with each other. The wave crests and also the trough must coincide with each other.


    Besides, to make two consecutive attacks would certainly make them even more difficult to control and maneuver to his Will.


    He knew he had to upgrade his Agility so that he would be able to handle this. The advantage of superpositioning was that as long as he was able to keep up his Agility and control the flow of energy, the force of the wave created would be limitless as he could increase the number of times of the superpositioned Earth Stomps until he was satisfied with it.

 Chapter 372: Agricultural Culture - Cultivation Area

    Chapter 372: Agricultural Culture - Cultivation Area


    Trantor: EndlessFantasy Trantion Editor: EndlessFantasy Trantion


    In the days that followed, Luo Yuan visited the Gobi Desert more often to practice the Earth Fountain. He woke up before dawn to begin, and he returned home as soon as the sun came up.


    At his level, the duration of each battlested only a few moments. It could have been a few seconds or even less than a second, to a point that all ordinary people would see were blurs of attacks and blood, followed by death and destruction.


    But, it was almost impossible to execute a massive attack, like the Earth Fountain in high-speed battles. If he wanted to use the attack in such a fight, he would have to train tirelessly until he could produce the attack without a second thought.


    Luo Yuan spent the rest of the time at home with his family to recuperate.


    He did not know if the mission toe would be hisst, and what life would be like if he would never get the chance toe home again. Even now, he had no idea what was happening outside his surroundings. He had not ventured beyond his home and training ground a long time, and even longer still since he left the forest. What if the dangers outside had not awaited his time of training, and grew worse by the day?


    Ever since he came to the Reconstruction Area, he had only been to the wilderness a few times. He had only been to a distance of at most 500 to 600 kilometers away. To be more urate, those ces that he had reason to be. The entities further on were much stronger. All their activities were recorded, closely monitored and documented.


    The ¡¯dragon¡¯ he had discovered earlier had been part of the records as well.


    The nuclear weapons avable at Reconstruction Area were limited and only sufficient for defense. Most of the top level mutated beasts usually had supernatural intelligence and they would never challenge others with nuclear arsenals. They had witnessed the power of nuclear weapons before and knew that a deterrent like that never ended well for anyone or anything.


    It was a long journey for this mission. He had no idea how disastrous and dangerous the ce would be and what terrified him the most was the knowledge he had of the top level mutated beasts. Furthermore, after it all, he would be encountering one of the most dangerous extraterrestrial civilizations upon his arrival.


    He suffered and was under a lot of pressure, but he maintained a brave face when he was with his family.


    ......


    15 dayster, Luo Yuan came back from Gobi Desert as usual. The officer who was usually still asleep at this hour, was awake and sitting up, awaiting his return.


    "General Luo, I am here to inform you about the new training."


    Luo Yuan nodded his head and answered coldly, "Lead the way!"


    The officer, Wang Jing, had intentionally approached Huang Jiahui and Wang Shishi. These days, they spent most of the time together and were as close as biological sisters.


    But, Luo Yuan and she were still like strangers, as he deliberately distanced himself from her.


    ......


    As both of them walked along the underground street, Wang Jing looked at Luo Yuan¡¯s face and suddenly bent her head and asked softly, "Do you hate me?"


    "No, I don¡¯t!" Luo Yuan replied coldly and picked up his pace.


    "Or is there anything that I did wrong!" Wang Jing asked again.


    "Isn¡¯t this just a job for you? Stop asking questions." Luo Yuan said, the anger in his voice escaping with the fierce tone of his voice.


    Wang Jing felt lost. ording to the information provided to her, this soldier had an insatiable appetite for sex, and he lusted upon and was sought after by most women around him. She believed it to be true as she saw the 3 women at his house. She now realized that it was not at all easy to seduce him.


    Perhaps I am not the type of girl he liked? Wang Jing wondered.


    Should I report this?


    They remained silent as Wang Jing did not speak and Luo Yuan did notin.


    In a matter of moments, both of them had reached the 11th floor. The soldiers on duty checked their passes and allowed them through.


    This was the ce where they grew agricultural produce, as this was the main source of food for Hope City. For that reason, there was always a team stationed there to ensure it was safe and protected from any danger that sought to destroy it.


    The Agricultural Produce Cultivation Area was brightly-lit and under the illumination of an incandescentmp, were the growing lush colored nts that thrived. The growing crops were nted using the technique of soil-less cultivation. This method was clean and effective and at the same time. It could also prevent the breeding of mutated organisms in the soil that might threaten the nts.


    The growth of the nts was influenced by the environment of the apocalypse, and of decay and death. Although, within these conditions, they grew luxuriously. They were harvested after 10 days and ready to sell at the market soon after.


    All kinds of vegetablesy before Luo Yuan¡¯s eyes, the crops from a fresh harvest.


    These vegetables were very different from those before apocalypse. There were many more new species discovered, with stronger gic strains to allow them to grow faster and withstand the climate. Every one of them looked huge and juicy.


    After walking for a few hundred meters, they saw groups of people were nting a kind of tuberous nts.


    The branches and leaves were small but the tubers were as big as mandarin oranges. The tubers were filled with starch or what seemed to look like a glutinous powder. Luo Yuan had eaten a lot of food made of this powder and they were delicious. The glutinous powder was quite pricey and avable with the welfare of the Sword Unit.


    As they walked further, there wererge areas of cactus nts lining their path. The cacti were huge and as tall as 11 to 12 meters off the rock wall. However, these were just the early stages of growth. The cacti would be well over hundred meters tall once matured.


    The ground starch consisting of coarse fiber was what the people at Reconstruction Area would normally eat. Almost half of the crops here were these types of gically altered nts.


    A man who was wearing a military uniform came up to them when they were on their way. He greeted them respectfully. In his hands, he held a lead box.


    They handed over their phones and other electrical devices and he put them into the lead box. The soldier used a device to check them again, saluted him and said, "General Luo, this way please."


    Luo Yuan nodded and followed the soldier to a huge military tent.


    "General Luo, pleasee in." The soldier standing right in front of the tent said.


    Luo Yuan nced around. He saw that the tent was heavily guarded as there were rows of troops at attention, stationed near the tent. He shifted his gaze and did not think any further. He believed that it was necessary to do so as the mission was of a highly confidential nature.


    Luo Yuan had no fear. Even if they were nning a conspiracy against him, he was able to predict within two seconds ahead of time, so he¡¯d literally be a few steps ahead of them.


    Luo Yuan and Wang Jing walked side by side into the tent. The first thing they saw at the center of the tent was a model of a mountain. The entire model was around 20 meters long with a width of 17 to 18 meters. A building model of extraterrestrial civilization was located at the most central position.


    There arose a heated debate among the soldiers.


    It was apparent that the model was a hologram created with satellite imagery. The trees that were blocking the sight had been removed, roughly revealing the original topography.


    "General Luo, you are here! We have been waiting for you. I am Yu Zheng, the staff officer from the Operational Intelligence headquarters, codenamed 125. I am here to exin the mission to you."


    125? Operational Intelligence?


    Luo Yuan immediately recalled from memory and understood that ¡®125¡¯ was referring to the fusion device explosion that happened on the 5th of December the year before. "Thank you!" Luo Yuan replied when he returned to his senses.

 Chapter 373: Departure

    Chapter 373: Departure


    Trantor: EndlessFantasy Trantion Editor: EndlessFantasy Trantion


    As the date of his departure loomed closer, his training got more and more frequent and intense. He did not neglect even a single detail. Not only did Luo Yuan feel the pressure of the mission, even the Reconstruction Area was really tense.


    Even though he knew how difficult the mission was, he knew time would not wait for him to be ready, regardless of how worried he felt.


    Three days before his departure, a premium Honour Award ceremony was held at New Capital City. Only a small number of high profile guests attended the ceremony. Most of them were chancellors of the high council and members of the military service. Luo Yuan was promoted to the rank of Lieutenant general during the ceremony. At the same time, he was released from his duties as a Vice-Captain and appointed as the Vice-Minister of the unit.


    The Vice-Minister was the highest position an evolved man could achieve in the unit. Aspared to the previous two Vice-Ministers, he was seen as one of the most respected leaders in the Reconstruction Area. But, with all the awards bestowed upon him, his position within the office would only take ce when he returned from his mission, alive.


    After the ceremony, one of the officers led Luo Yuan to an underground warehouse. Both of them were asked to wear a protective hazmat suit before entering the warehouse.


    The warehouse was very small with only 12 shelves. Each of the shelves was stacked with all sorts of rare treasures and a variety of weapons.


    There was also thick ss cases protecting some of the high-order materials that emitted strong energy waves.


    This lead-containing ss was used to iste radiation emitted by those materials.


    As Luo Yuan walked around the warehouse, he recognized that most of the weapons on the shelves were level seven weaponry, and some of them were level eight.


    Basically, he knew each and every one of them from memory, as those were the weapons that Luo Yuan had seen before on the unit¡¯s intr database.


    To own a level eight weapon, he needed at least ten thousand counters. But now, he would be given whatever he chose, to the that he contemted emptying the warehouse!


    It was a matter of life and death to Luo Yuan and the Reconstruction Area. As long as it was within their capabilities, they gave not only the honor but every kind of benefit, generously.


    "Please remove all the cases!" Luo Yuan said coldly, masking his excitement.


    "Yes, General Luo!" The officer replied politely. He quickly stepped forward and flipped a switch. The system was immediately activated and the ss cases were all opened. The energy waves soon diffused and rippled through the air.


    He evaluated the weapons and eventually picked up a long sword. The sword was ck in color and had a shiny, sharp surface. It consisted of a de and a handle. He gently waved the sword in the air, amodating its weight and bnce to his skill and expertise.


    "Let¡¯s go!" Luo Yuan sheathed the ck de and moved toward the exit.


    The officer quickly followed after him, surprised by his sudden instruction to leave. Suddenly, there was a crash behind them! It sounded like the shelves in the room, shattering. The officer spun around and realized that he had forgotten to turn off the switch to arm the security system, and had left the ss cases opened. The cases and shelves were broken into half.


    He shivered as he nced at the ck sword that Luo Yuan was holding at the ready to kill, a dead stony expression in his eyes.


    ......


    The dinner before the day he was leaving was half an hourte.


    The dining room was silent as the tense atmosphere petrified the tongues of the people present. The sound of chopsticks hitting bowls echoed throughout the hall.


    After Luo Yuan had finished eating, he sighed and said, "As you all know, I am in the process of secondment and I might only being home after a few months. Please take good care of yourselves and advice Shishi not to be reckless in my absence. Tell her to seek help from Fang Peibin or Chen Xinjie from the Sword Unit if she encountered any problems."


    "Brother Luo, when did I act recklessly?" Wang Shishi whined with a pout.


    He stared at her and recalled how Sun Youde died.


    "I will take good care of your family." Wang Jing responded to assure him.


    He felt relieved to have Wang Jing to look after his family as she was a representative of the highmittee. Luo Yuan nodded and said, "That¡¯s good."


    Luo Yuan¡¯s nod of approval overwhelmed Wang Jing and she was stirred as Luo Yuan had always been cold to her.


    Huang Jiahui lost her appetite as she heard what Luo Yuan was saying. She was worried and couldn¡¯t let him go. She even forgot to think about Chen Xinjie who was obviously still an inexperienced girl. "Can¡¯t we go along with you?" She asked.


    "The mining area is too dangerous. If youe along with me, I will not be able to concentrate, and be consumed by worry about you." This was just an excuse to keep everything confidential and also avoid his family any worry about his safety.


    "I will not be able to take care of you as I will be away searching the mining area every day. It will be better for you to stay here. Perhaps when the area is less of a risk, I will be home in a month or two."


    "You have to take care of yourself then. Remember to call home at least once every day!" Zhao Yali said as she stifled a sob.


    Luo Yuan and Wang Jing exchanged nces with one another. "The mining area mines Maite and phone signals will have severe interference. I don¡¯t think he can make phone calls there, but he can write us letters. Mining areas will normally be equipped with courier services." she exined to Zhao Yali.


    Those letters were of course not written by Luo Yuan but some professional that could mimic Luo Yuan¡¯s handwriting. Wang Jing stayed here for almost a month and was really fond of the 3 girls. She believed that with her protective instinct for them, and her intelligence, she could keep the secret for Luo Yuan.


    "What lousy ce is that? He can¡¯t even make a phone call." Wang Shishiined but did not say more as she knew it was the truth. "Don¡¯t forget to write letters to use at least once a week. You must write more than one letter, for each of us. We will miss you and I will miss you the most!" Wang Shishi said with tears in her eyes.


    Luo Yuan felt bad. Still, he forced a smile and said, "Don¡¯t worry. I will write letters every day."


    It was a promise he could make because he was not the one who was going to write those letters! He almost smiled at the thought butposed himself in time.


    After dinner, the women cleared the tes and cleaned the table. Although, Wang Jing did not help them. As they were going into the kitchen, she said softly Luo Yuan, "All of the equipment needed is already here. I ced them under my bed. When are you leaving tomorrow? I will pass them to you!"


    "That would probably be 3 am in the morning," he told her. He hated to face the sadness of leaving and decided to leave quietly, in the dead of night.


    "Alright!" Wang Jing replied and quickly headed to the kitchen.


    Luo Yuan walked into Huang Jiahui¡¯s bedroom and started to prepare his luggage. All of his necessities had been prepared, and he only needed a few pairs of clothes to pack for himself. One of them was:-


    "The Green Hidden Creature¡¯s Sharp Horn"


    "Rarity: Light green."


    "Additional Properties 1: Absorbs various energy waves"


    "Additional Properties 2: Creates visual illusions"


    He still had no idea about how the small horn created visual illusions, but its ability to absorb various energy waves was very valuable. Other than its Sensory Perception ability, it could also shield radio waves, infrared, and various types of energy waves. It was impossible for any existing technology on Earth to detect its presence even if it happened to appear right in front of its radar. However, no one knew its effect if it was brought to other civilizations.


    He shifted his gaze from the small horn to the eyeballs of the soul eater mutated beast that was at the corner of the room.


    He did not know why they started to shrink rapidly since he brought them home. They were initially as big as a basins but they were as small as a fists now. Its weight nevertheless remained the same as it was still 2-3 kilograms heavy. In addition to that, it¡¯s density was close to the density of steel.


    It was said to have the ability to assist in dream walking, the ability to enter dreams. Luo Yuan had tried it a few times and felt it was useless to him. Ordinary people¡¯s dreams were constantly changing and could only be passively viewed. The dream would end if there were any interactions.


    However, it might be useful this time as it was used in the investigation of mutants.


    At night, Luo Yuan looked at the clock and got out of bed quietly. Wang Shishi who was still asleep suddenly shivered as if she dreamt Luo Yuan was going to leave. She tightly grasped Luo Yuan¡¯s shoulder and muttered, "Brother Luo, please don¡¯t go!"


    The feelings he had for Zhao Yali and Huang Jiahui was a gentle affection. Aspared to Wang Shishi, she was so attached to him. Among the 3 of them, Wang Shishi depended on him the most.


    Luo Yuan sighed and gently removed her grip from his arm. He put on his clothes and took his Zhanmadao that he had just synthesized yesterday. He opened the door quietly.


    Wang Jing was awake sitting on the sofa. Looking at the red in her eyes, he knew that the woman who had always struggled to get out of bed did not even sleepst night, worried she might miss him before he left.


    As soon as she saw Luo Yuaning out, she stood up and said, "Your backpack is here. Check if there is anything else you might need."


    She tried to stifle her yawn, but couldn¡¯t help herself. Still, she was d she managed to stay awake there to see him before he left.


    It was a multifunction backpack that was around a meter long and made of tough animal skin. It was a waterproof bag and not easily damaged. He opened up the bulging bag to check what was inside.


    There were 5 sets of clothes and 2 leather-made tents. Luo Yuan was curious and inspected its quality. He was surprised that they were all a Light Green Level.


    Also, there was 20 jars of salt, a small water purifier, 3 bottles of drinking water, a foldable pan, a shovel, a box of lighters,pass, waterproof map, and also 5 bottles of pesticides.


    There were some other daily needs such as toothbrushes, toothpaste, towels, and also razors.


    "There are some additional items that I might need, but everything that I need is here, for now. I got to go," he said, as he zipped his backpack.


    "Most importantly, you have what you need." Wang Jing replied and changed her tone of voice, "General Luo, I wish you all the best!"


    Luo Yuan nodded his head coldly and picked up his backpack and swung it over his shoulder. He opened the door and nced at the living room for what might have been thest time. He then turned away and left with a heavy heart.

 Chapter 374: The New Zhanmadao

    Chapter 374: The New Zhanmadao


    Trantor: EndlessFantasy Trantion Editor: EndlessFantasy Trantion


    Luo Yuan left in the dead of the night, at 3 a.m. and headed toward the southeast. He passed the Qinghai province, Tibet, Sichuan, and Guizhou and finally, he arrived at Guangxi. He then flew across the sea andnded in Borneo.


    It was indeed a long journey, but to him, he hardly felt the distance. His mind was preupied with the dangers toe.


    Three hourster, as the sky brightened, Luo Yuannded on Borneo ind. His face was wet with the dew drops of the morning, and he wiped them away with his sleeve. A small worm dropped off a branch andnded on his face. He grabbed the worm and flicked it away.


    The forest was humid as the dew had umted throughout the night. It felt like it was raining from the canopy high in the trees as the dewy wet leaves fell to the ground. He was all wet. He felt his skin get sticky to the touch and he felt very ufortable.


    He started to feel the fatigue of his journey as he settled into a walk through the tropical jungle.


    The rocks at the side of the road were covered with lichen and weeds. He scraped away the carpet of moss on the rock with his knife, leaving a shiny and smooth surface and leaned against it to recuperate.


    As he sat there, he stared at the insects scuttled about around him, and lost himself to the calm feeling he saw in their mindless patterns.


    He looked at the time after what seemed like quite a while. Huang Jiahui, Zhao Yali, and Wang Shishi must be awake now. Perhaps they just realized he had left.


    He hesitated, but then concentrated his Will to form wirelessmunication waves.


    "I have departed. I am on my way. Everything is fine, do not worry."


    Messages were delivered back and forth with the wirelessm. waves. Neither Luo Yuan nor the women could hear each other¡¯s voices as the messages were conveyed through the encoder.


    "Alright, stop crying. Don¡¯t stress yourselves out. I have to go. Bye"


    Luo Yuan ended the conversation and sat there quietly, allowing himself to miss them for a moment. He then got up and flew through the jungle. As he arrived at the city, it was shrouded by a thickyer of fog.


    He gradually slowed down to have a look around, cautiously studying the area.


    He found a clearing in the area and rested for half an hour before he resumed his journey through the forest.


    He would take short breaks at intervals as he dashed through the jungle, to reserve his energy. In the evening, it was started raining, and a gloomy atmosphere settled upon him. The rain got heavier, and thunder roared in the distance.


    Luo Yuan nned to continue moving through the night, but the bad weather forced him to stop and find shelter.


    The forest got even more dangerous during the thunderstorm. Tall trees were natural lightning conductors. They were most susceptible to lightning and one could easily get struck by lightning when walking under or close to the tree. Luo Yuan observed his surroundings. The ground was surprisingly t and barren. He concluded that it was a nd that was cleared before the apocalypse for a civilization. Since there were no caves found to escape from enemies, the people would clear vast areas ofnd so that they saw predators at a distance, to allow them more time for countermeasures.


    He then sensed that there were a few hidden caves under a few bushes. He chose one of the bushes that were slightly higher and uncovered it.


    He was not worried if mutated beasts would have jumped out him, and crouched into the cave.


    It was only 1.5 meters high. He needed to duck low when he entered the cave. The cave got smoother as soon as he passed by a thickyer of soggy dead leaves. There was a great deal of hardened soil on the walls of the cave. The wall looked solid and he had no worry of the cave copsing on him in the night from the thunderstorm outside.


    But, he had a bad feeling about the ce. There was no trace of any living organisms in the cave. The smell of mutants beasts was almost non-existent. He thought that it might have been a long time since any living thing, human or mutants, had survived in the area. They probably died or moved to escape the horrors of the ce. Abilities were always the key to survival. With the death toll on a rise, it was normal for the deaths of ordinary beings to be urring every few seconds. Mutants or enhanced beings had an upper hand at the time of the apocalypse.


    He continued to walk for another 20 to 30 meters deeper into the cave and reached the central area within it. He felt better as the area here was slightlyrger and he could straighten up. He stretched in an attempt to get rid of the slight ache he had started to feel on his back.


    Despite there not being anyone here, he found remnants of civilization in the area.


    The cave was paved with arger number of soft dead branches that Luo Yuan would have guessed was a bed of sorts. He could not set up his tent in the area as the cave wasrge, but not big enough for it. Anyhow, he still decided to spend his night there.


    The nights were freezing cold. Although he could not stand the cold as he slept on his ice cold bed of leaves, he was d as long as there was a ce for him to sleep. He did not mind that the floor was wet, hard and muddy too.


    To him, he felt the ce was clean enough and that was what satisfied him the most. There were no disgusting corpses or carcasses with pungent bones left to rot.


    Perhaps the previous tenant of the cave was a vegetarian, or a herbivore if it were a mutated beast. If not, the owner must be really careful not to have brought food that had the odor of blood on them to avoid attracting other mutants. But, with knowledge of this, Luo Yuan knew that it was not a strong being, and he could easily kill it if it came back.


    ...


    The rain got heavier and was starting to stream into the cave. Luo Yuan nced at it and decided not to bother as he wasfortably off the ground on his bed of leaves. From his experience in jungles of this kind, he knew the storm would notst long.


    He studied the map that he retrieved from his backpack. It was not a regr map. Instead, it was a high-resolution satellite map. Since the fall of civilization, he knew the city would bepletely covered with vines and moss. So, it made no difference even if he owned a normal cadastral map.


    The satellite map was two meters long and wide. It was printed on a thick, special kind of water and fire proof paper. It was extremely tough and normal people would find it impossible to tear.


    At night went on, the forest became darker and darker. The dim light was blocked by the bushes and obstructed by the winding cave. It was extremely dark at the center of the cave. In this darkness, Luo Yuan¡¯s pupils dted, which made his eyes appearpletely ck. He could still see a little in the dark as there was a weak beam of light that illuminated the space.


    "It seems like I am now in the region of Qinghai. If I maintain this speed, within 10 days I should be able to arrive at Guangxi." Luo Yuan thought to himself.


    He would reach in less than three days if he were to run at full speed. But, seeing as to what might be awaiting him there, he was in no rush.


    Running a short distance at the Reconstruction Area was totally different as running long distance outdoor. The former was rtively safe to run at his full speed but thetter was rather dangerous. Every two to three hours Luo Yuan would rest to recover his Strength. He had to conserve most of his energy so that he could protect himself from danger.


    Furthermore, he had to be more alert as the terrain was getting ratherplicated. He slowed down and maintained his movement at a speed of 70 to 80 meters per second.


    ...


    He folded the satellite map, ced it back into his backpack andy on the leaves.


    The sound of rain as it poured outside was deafening in the silence of the cave. He stared into the darkness of the ceiling and started to feel lonely. He had just left home a few hours before and he already missed the city and the people.


    He wished he had apanion on the dangerous journey ahead. There was no trace of the human existence the whole time he was traveling, only mutated beasts moved about around him. He could not describe the feeling of loneliness. It was as if he was the only human living on the post apocalyptic earth he knew.


    Luo Yuan sat up as he felt that the atmosphere was getting more and more humid. He walked around the cave and found that the ground was all wet and muddy.


    "F*ck!" Luo Yuan cursed. Thend was too t here, the water streaming in had stagnated in the center of the cave. The water level had risen to about 20 centimeters. I should have walked further to look for a better one, he thought to himself.


    He walked out of the cave with his belongings and got soaked by the thunderstorm outside. The pouring rain fell through the leaves, right on his face. He wiped away the raindrops, squinted his eyes and looked around. He could not find arge rock that could block the rain from entering the cave.


    He then had an idea. The trees around him were massive, with diameters of around 2 meters. All he needed was a well-shaped piece.


    He took out his Zhanmadao and headed toward the nearest tree.


    His Zhanmadao that was initially white in color had turned ck. It radiated a mysterious aura when he unsheathed. When rain sshed on the body of the saber, it merely slides right off the de without as much as a watermark and fell to the ground. The knife was dry as if no rain had spattered on it at all.


    "Space Cut Zhanmadao."


    "Materials: 165cm of alloy; nails of a wed Turtle"


    "Rarity: Light Purple"


    "Weight: 31 kilograms"


    "Power: ??????"


    "Equipment Requirements: Strength (16)"


    "Additional Abilities 1: Attack Speed +4"


    "Additional Abilities 2: Sharp Cuts (passive) - Easily cut through any materials, even atoms (Advanced effect)"


    "Remarks: A sharp Zhanmadao that contains subtle space energy."


    ...


    The new Zhanmadao had been upgraded to level eight after merging with the level eight ck de, but he did not notice much of a difference. His Zhanmadaobined with his skill was powerful enough for him and deadly to anyone that dared oppose him. Although, the benefits from the upgrade were his range of attack, as well as the sharpness of his de which greatly improved, and its Willplimented his own more readily. The attributes of the ck knife were astonishing, even Luo Yuan was amazed.


    In addition to that, the new Zhanmadao now had 2 secondary effects. It could even be regarded as a spiritual weapon.


    The first effect was that it could now perform extraordinary shes through space. A wavy light appeared on the body of the knife due to the refraction that urred when it was used.


    The next effect was way scarier. The de could add an extended, invisible form of itself, increasing the range of attack to cover up to 4.5 meters


    However, it would take some time to get used to.


    Luo Yuan knew that gravity could warp space-time as well as smoothening the waves in space-time. These were the two ways space shes could be defended against.


    His Will was powerful and could resist almost any kind of cut and attack since the difference between normal and space cuts were not that significant.


    Putting the force of the gravity aside, nearly none of the substances could resist its power. The new Zhanmadao was terrifying.


    ...


    Luo Yuan chopped down the tree with just one swipe.


    After a few seconds, the gigantic tree leaned on the tree next to it, cut clean away from its base.


    Luo Yuan chopped off one meter from the initial cut tree and slide off fell to the ground. He then used his Zhanmadao to shave and shape the piece ordingly and ced it at the entrance of the cave to cover it.


    Luo Yuan found a cave a little way off, blocked the entrance with the tree trunk and sealed the edges of the entrance with mud to prevent a water leakage.


    The new cave was at least 60 centimeters above ground level. Regardless of how heavy the rain was it would not make it into the cave.


    Luo Yuan rxed,y down and drifted off to sleep.

 Chapter 375: Sound Waves

    Chapter 375: Sound Waves


    Trantor: EndlessFantasy Trantion Editor: EndlessFantasy Trantion


    The next day before the sky cleared, Luo Yuan was already wide awake.


    In truth, he did not sleep wellst night because he had not ever slept in a mutant cave with a thunderstorm raging outside. Moreover, he could not get a wink of sleep as the air was filled with the buzzes, chirps and the asional roaring sound of beasts of the jungle.


    Luo Yuan put on his clothes which had been soaked earlier. The jacket was made of a low absorption material, thus, even though he dried it out when the night was cool, his clothes were all dried by the time he was up in the morning.


    He stepped out of the cave and it was still dark. Fortunately, a thickyer of humus on the forest floor had absorbed the rainfall and flooding of the area were avoided.


    There were only puddles of water that umted in the lond areas.


    The water looked clean and clear. Luo Yuan went back to his cave and returned with his towel, toothbrush, and a tumbler. He decided he would clean up and refill his bottle with water from the puddle.


    He squatted in front of the puddle. Just as he was getting water to fill his bottle, he stopped.


    The water looked clean from a distance, but as soon as he got closer, there were a lot of small moving spots on the surface. Some of them were long and thin like pieces of string and some were shaped like an arrowhead.


    He knew that a clean source of water was very hard to find after the apocalypse. After living sofortably in the Reconstruction Area for too long, he had forgotten what it was like in the wilderness.


    Luo Yuan frowned and sighed. He ced his hand into the pool of water and focused his Will into it. Ripples were generated on the surface of the water. In just a blink of an eye, the water particles squirmed vigorously and sshed everywhere.


    Despite the motion of the water particles, the water remained still and undisturbed.


    Luo Yuan drew back his hand. The small spots in the water had disappeared. He did not summon much that much Will, but it was more than enough to kill the parasites.


    He drank the bottle of water with no worry for the parasites. He refilled his bottle once more and started washing up.


    He did not feel hungry even though he had not eaten anything since he left home. As the sky brightened, he decided to put the meal on hold till the afternoon.


    He packed his luggage and resumed his journey.


    ...


    Four dayster, there was a dark shadow lying in the dirt not far from Luo Yuan, who was secretly observing the horror was before him. It was a giant beast that was approximately 30 meters tall.


    It looked like an enormous frog but it was lean and muscr. The length of its body was almost double its height.


    It slithered on the ground, its muscles were contracting as if there were countless pythons moving under its skin. He could easily identify the power of the giant beast, and it terrified him.


    Its flippered feet were different from that of a normal frog. Instead, it had a pair of sharp ws which were a bright yellow. It had brightly colored skin with vertical stripes from its neck, all the way down its back.


    The belly was ck in color and was covered with fine, shiny scales. Luo Yuan was amazed by the secret power the scales seemed to possess. He felt dizzy and nauseous after looking at it for a moment and had to divert his eyes to control himself.


    The giant beast seemed to be sleeping as it was not moving at all, apart from the breaths that could be seen filling and leaving its body. Luo Yuan noticed that it was creeping on its belly. To him, it seemed obvious that the giant beast had just had a meal. Oddly enough, Luo Yuan was a little relieved at the thought.


    Luo Yuan wondered if he were lucky or unlucky as to encounter this mutant beast. He had no knowledge of what it was and did not anticipate to find such a force of nature so soon on his journey. The system information disyed that it was a level seven mutated beast.


    The number of high leveled mutated beast increased rapidly as soon as he reached Sichuan. He came upon three mutated beasts on his way in, and this was his fourth one.


    Among the three mutants Luo Yuan encountered earlier, he easily defeated two of them. One of them fled from Luo Yuan¡¯s attack but it was severely injured. There was, of course, a certain degree of risk to killing these mutated beasts.


    One of the level seven mutated beasts had the ability to produce bolts of lightning. He did not know the ability before he attacked it, and as he had the element of surprise as the beast did not see himing. The sh of lightning escaped the beast just before it died and the single bolt almost hit Luo Yuan square in the chest.


    If Luo Yuan did not retreat right after he defeated the beast, he would have died. The power of these mutated beasts was extremely unpredictable.


    Luo Yuan looked on for a while and walked forward, covering his body with a carpet of carefully dug up grass as a camouge.


    The giant beast seemed to have inherited the dynamic vision of frog as it was extremely sensitive to motion. It could sense any motions that were 500 to 600 meters far. It suddenly opened his eyes and stared at Luo Yuan, an ice cold look in its eye.


    Luo Yuan did not dare move a muscle. In fact, this was the same technique used by the mutated beasts he previously encountered. After a short while, it closed its eyes and resumed its nap.


    Human bodies were too small to satisfy the hunger of a beast like that. Moreover, the giant was still digesting the food that it just had and took little to no interest in him.


    The behavior of mutated beasts varied ordingly. But, things like this would never happen at the Reconstruction Area. Anyone that got near the mutants that showed up would definitely trigger a battle between the two. Whereas in that jungle, it was rather difficult for them to realize the existence of human beings, let alone consider them a treat. It meant nothing to the giant beast even though Luo Yuan brought along the Green Hidden Creature¡¯s Sharp Horn.


    A momentter, Luo Yuan continued moving and the giant beast did not bother to look at him. He smiled coldly and elerated to build up his speed and momentum.


    When he was about 50 meters away, something at the corner of his eye caught his attention and he immediately froze where he was.


    He paused for a second and focused on his surroundings. He suddenly felt insecure, a chill running down his spine. Luo Yuan stayed calm as he understood that patience was the key to hunting. He knew that it would be ideal if he moved 10 meters closer but he was worried that he might trigger an attack.


    He started moving again after 10 minutes. He was moving extremely slow and only after a few meters, he could predict the eventual oue.


    His ability to foresee how things would turn out two seconds in advance was perfect for him and could determine the victory of any battle, or severely sway it in his favor.


    Beads of cold sweat dotted his forehead. He had never imagined encountering such a gigantic frog-like beast. He was too careless as his advance to attack was too quick, and he could not even respond to defend himself this close to the beast.


    Before the apocalypse, the human knew how a normal frog would eat insects. The gigantic frog-like beast in front of him right now could make an attack that was easily a hundred times faster! He would not be able to react even with his 16-points of Agility.


    His vision showed him that if he continued to move forward, a secondter there would be an attack, and then his vision turned ck.


    He wondered if he should move forward or retreat a few steps back.


    The next moment, he decided to move a step forward. Possessing the ability to predict the future, resembling a God¡¯s premonition abilities, provided him many second chances to decide oues for himself.


    He moved gradually and the picture he had in mind changed ording to the current situation and mental awareness. He predicted that the attack woulde after 0.5 seconds. Its vignce and alertness were increasing over time but Luo Yuan was confident with his abilities. With 0.5 seconds on the clock, he was well prepared for an attack. He would be able to dodge attacks and obtain the final victory in no time.


    He tried his best not to make any changes and remain on the vision in his mind and timeline. The moment the giant beast tensed tounch an attack, Luo Yuan took a deep breath and he stomped his legs on the ground forcefully. The ground exploded around him!


    At the same time, the gigantic beast struck forward to attack. His mouth dropped slightly open and a faint blur shed and instantly struck Luo Yuan.


    Before he waspletely crushed, he was a shadow that flew through the air at his speed. Luo Yuan¡¯s was reaching the sound barrier! He fully extended his body and pulled out his Zhanmadao.


    The air became unusually dense!


    They were only 40 meters between prey and predator. The giant frog did not expect to encounter an evolved human like Luo Yuan. It could only defend itself as soon as the attacks missed its target.


    The sound waves streaked through the air. He dove to avoid the attack and was injured. He fell before he could even feel the pain extending from its mouth to its forelegs.


    Such an injury was not sufficient to kill him but it did give out a very serious warning to threaten him. It roared as in anger as the attack did not kill him instantly.


    "Roarrrrr!" The giant frog roared and the sound waves it was emitting were horrifying and echoed throughout the whole jungle.


    In an instant, ripples formed in the air, and it suddenly looked like a surface of a body of water.


    Even big trees and rocks were crushed under the intensity of the vibrations from the high-frequency sound waves. The surrounding air was stirred and dust was flying everywhere. However, the sound waves suddenly stopped. A streak of blood that was six to seven meters long oozed down from the back of its head. Eventually, blood oozed out of the deep, dehisced wound.


    Slowly, part of the beast¡¯s head fell away. The part that he shed fell away, exposing the brain that was cut into a clean half, sitting in its skull.


    The giant beast was in so much pain after the hit Luo Yuan unleashed upon it. However, Luo Yuan who was standing aside was seriously influenced by its powerful sound waves.


    It was so painfully agonizing and loud. His face turned a dead white pale. It took him awhile to regain his senses.


    The giant beast struggled in pain and squirmed, swishing its body around knocking down trees and vegetation in its path. Luo Yuan dared not jump down as he was already injured. He held upon the beast body tightly and waited for a few moments.


    He was only able to calm down after half an hour. He waited for a few minutes more and jumped off the beast¡¯s body. He staggered to his feet and almost fell to the ground.

 Chapter 376: Sudden Change

    Chapter 376: Sudden Change


    Trantor: EndlessFantasy Trantion Editor: EndlessFantasy Trantion


    Luo Yuan tried extremely hard to endure the pain, and finally sat down to rest after walking for a few hundred meters.


    He did not dare to dy the treatment. The body of the giant frog should be hardened by now, and the threatening vibe from its body had gradually disappeared, as it was hovering on the brink of death. The smell of the blood was airborne, which attracted many nearby mutated beasts.


    Luo Yuan would not need to worry at all. If he was physically fit, however, he was severely injured, and even a light green mutated beast was life-threatening to him, at this point.


    Fortunately, the result of the internal scanning by his Will showed a positive sign. The condition of the injuries was slightly better than expected, as there were only some minor ruptures on his internal organs and some vessels, which his Will could cure easily.


    However, there were too many packed ruptures, as almost all his internal organs were injured. It might take at least two hours for him toplete the self-treatment. Apparently, he was not able to stay there peacefully for two hours, based on the current situation.


    In such a circumstance, he could only prioritize his heart and vessels to restore his battle strength, before looking for another safer ce for a longer treatment.


    Luo Yuan tried not to be distracted by his thoughts and began his treatment. With the help of his Will, his heart was akin to a coconut surrounded by many vines, with a lot of ruptures.


    Sometimes, he could even see the blood flowing in the blood vessels via the cracks. Surprisingly, no blood flowed out from the cracks, as it was being barricaded by a certain force.


    The next second, many of the cracks began to heal, as the force of his Will had coated his wounds. Not long after, all the wounds had been recovered perfectly.


    ...


    Luo Yuan¡¯s concerns hade to light. A fluffy beast which looked like a giant wolf came closer stealthily, right after he sat down. The giant wolf leaned behind a big tree and watched the giant frog with its cruel eyes. It was drooling as it inhaled the smell of blood.


    However, it was very careful as it did not continue walking even after a long time. There were many creatures in the forest, and many of them could easily kill the giant wolf. The giant frog used to be one of the strongest ones.


    The dog-eat-dog world of such an environment had taught it to be careful, as even a tiny, careless action could lead to its death.


    However, it realized itspetitor had arrived ¨C a strong mutated beast that it had met before. The mutated beast was twice its height, with its shadow big enough topletely block out the giant wolf. It was possible for the super-giant beast to even swallow it with only two bites.


    It was afraid and subconsciously stepped back to the bushes. However, it realized that the super-giant beast had gone towards the giant frog, as it was braver than the giant wolf itself.


    Luo Yuan was observing the surroundings, despite undergoing his treatment.


    He realized there were more than hundreds of mutated beastsing in just about 15 minutes. It was a mix of high and low-level mutated beasts; the strongest one was assumed to be at a green level and the weakest was only at a blue level.


    As he listened to the sound from the surroundings, he was expecting more mutated beasts toe.


    At that moment, Luo Yuan had finished healing his heart and was about to begin the treatment of his main arteries and veins. He did not have to worry about the possible danger when he entered the Earth Pulse, as long as his blood cirction could be recovered. Most of the mutated beasts were from low levels, and even if he bumped into the strong ones, he would also be able to kill them with his water powers.


    The reason why he had to heal his heart and blood vessels first was that the Earth Pulse would bring about a high pressure and might cause adverse effects. Although he needed to slow his heartbeat down upon entering, the blood flow was at least a few times more than the normal rate. He would not be able to withstand the high blood pressure without a healthy heart and perfect blood vessels, as the blood would be flowing too rapidly within the blood vessels.


    By that time, he might not be able to multitask, even if he was able to control his blood cirction.


    ...


    As time passed, the nearby mutated beasts were probing repeatedly. They were drawing closer, and one of the mutated beasts was just less than 100 meters away from him. Luckily, Luo Yuan did not attract the attention of the other mutated beasts.


    His eyes were facing downwards with cold beams, and he had already finished repairing the main arteries, veins, and half of the peripheral vessels. He only needed a few more minutes to enter the Earth Pulse. In fact, he could already enter the Earth Pulse now, despite some minor injuries.


    He was considered lucky, as most of the injuries had the potential to be healed, as long as he did not die immediately. As none of the mutated beasts dared to challenge him, he was able to continue the self-treatment.


    Suddenly, Luo Yuan felt a strong palpitation. He opened his eyes instantly and his Will reversed from its healing condition, as he sensed a sudden change in the air.


    A leaf fell from the branch and slowly swirled down. It kept spinning in the air, as a result of an unforeseen force.


    A small cyclone was formed near the ground, and some dried leaves and sand were drawn into the cyclone as well. He was worried and kept looking around.


    This normal phenomenon seemed to be very strange at that moment!


    He could feel a mysterious force in the surroundings. It was not a strong one, neither could it hurt anything, except to disturb the airflow.


    The shocking issue was that the force was changing rapidly as time passed. From a meager one, it transformed into a huge cyclone in a very short time.


    The strong wind was blowing in the forest and caused all the trees to sway from side to side, which made Luo Yuan feel worried, as he could see the geomaic force being altered, and some sparks were produced.


    The sparks were as tiny as dust, and it disappeared instantly. He would not have realized it, if not for his sensitive eyes. Those mutated beasts had stopped moving and began to act frustrated as they sensed something wrong. The smarter ones had already escaped!


    "Damn it! We can¡¯t stay there anymore!" He eximed in his mind, as he felt insecure. He got up from the ground and ran away by enduring the pain again.

 Chapter 377: Meeting Level Eight Lifeforms Again

    Chapter 377: Meeting Level Eight Lifeforms Again


    Trantor: EndlessFantasy Trantion Editor: EndlessFantasy Trantion


    A chain reaction had been initiated just as Luo Yuan began to act.


    Stimted by an anxious vibe, the mutated beast which was able to go ballistic any second now had immediately turned to aggression when it saw Luo Yuan running towards it. Shooting him a vicious re, the beast started to attack by throwing itself on this little creature.


    Nevertheless, this mutated beast was not aware that this little creature, who did not seem to be any different from other ordinary humans, was actually a ferocious dragon in the form of a human being. No one would have dared to provoke him, albeit how severely injured he was now.


    While this mutated beast was still in the air, it trembled and its body was split into two halves and slowly broke apart.


    Luo Yuan took a step away to avoid the falling carcasses and continued to run swiftly.


    Fresh blood and chunks of internal organs thatid scattered around the floor hadpletely crushed everyst sense of rationality of the remaining mutated beasts. Surrounded by such a tense environment, those mutated beasts which were already furious prior to this, had turned violent thoroughly.


    Within a short distance of 100 meters, Luo Yuan had already ughtered six beasts with his extremely sharp level eight Zhanmadao. It was a piece of cake for Luo Yuan, who possessed one percent of the power that could predict an opponent¡¯s move by reading their minds.


    Not only did the beasts attack Luo Yuan, more of them also started to attack each other. With zing red eyes, they became insanely ferocious. It seemed that they viewed each other as their greatest enemy, and they kept biting and tearing each other apart, not the least bit bothered by their own injuries.


    Luo Yuan frowned as he looked at these mutated beasts which kept attacking him. He got impatient and really upset with these beasts, as they had greatly dyed his journey.


    At this point of time, the nearby air was already extremely disordered. Cyclones were everywhere and some of them had already reached seven to eight meters high. They swirled along with a vast amount of broken stones and dead leaves, producing an incredibly loud sound as a result.


    On the other hand, the geomaism of the ground was also in chaos.


    The changes in the maic field had soon generated an electric current. The static electricity that was densely scattered around the air had managed to raise the fur of the beasts. At random, there could be electric arc flowing in the air, causing crackling sounds in the atmosphere.


    Luo Yuan then had a brainwave and his heartbeat slowed down rapidly. He forcibly entered the earth pulsation mode. At the very next second, he raised his leg and stomped onto the ground, producing arge roaring sound.


    The earth shook vigorously akin to the movement of rolling waves. The beasts within a radius of 100 meters were about to alle tumbling down. Arge majority were instantly killed by the earthquake, bleeding from their mouths and noses. Some smaller-sized beasts were even broken into pieces, leaving only their bones falling from the air.


    There were only a few light green level beasts which survived, only sustaining minor injuries.


    The one and only green level beast in this attack was not affected at all, apart from a slight concussion.


    In fact, if Luo Yuan was not severely injured where he was left only with only less than 30 percent of his powers; his Earth Stomp would have instantly killed all the green level beasts and below.


    The green level beast was shocked by this attack. The very moment it awakened, it turned around and ran further away. Luo Yuan coughed for a few times before a mouthful of blood spewed from his mouth; his face turned pale and ashen. Looking at the escaping beast, Luo Yuan had no intention to give chase. He did not dare to stay on for too long, as he was prepared to flee again after returning from the Earth Stomp mode.


    At this point, his body turned stiff and stopped all of a sudden.


    A mysterious and strange living creature then appeared abruptly. It could either had just arrived or been standing there for quite some time. Luo Yuan sank into despair, realizing that he did not even know how exactly it showed up.


    There was a rapid turbulence of ionizing electric light in the air surrounding this super creature; it looked marvelous. Along with his presence, a dreadful aura had engulfed the entire space. Luo Yuan could hardly breathe and felt as if a rock was pressing against his chest.


    Its whole body seems to be shining, with numerous pieces of neatly arranged prism shield-like scales, covering its body. Every piece of the scale was transparent and bright green, emitting a certain force of energy rather vaguely. Under the shade of the tree, this halo disyed peculiar and almost indescribable colors.


    Its appearance was extremely strange and that astonished Luo Yuan even more, sending chills down his spine whenever he looked at it.


    Putting aside its frightening height of 50 to 60 meters tall, it had a horse-like body, with its feet almost simr to that of a horse¡¯s hooves. If it was not for its hideously demonic head and thick neck being densely covered by red spherical gemstones that could induce trypanophobia, it would have passed off as a tame and harmless hooved mammal.


    It sized up Luo Yuan, who aroused its curiosity, possibly because he looked rather simr. It had a pair of big yet transparent and clear eyes, exuding a gentle vibe. There was a naive look beneath its hideous and ferocious demeanor.


    It then moved its four hooves and began walking. Its pace, neither slow nor fast, paced the ground leisurely and gracefully. Following its footsteps, all four hooves got off the ground. A stong fluctuation of energy had made its body slightly alight into the air, resulting in quiet footsteps. Being big and tall, but its nimbleness created a strong contradiction.


    Those frightened beasts which did not have enough time to escape had turnedpletely limp, bing incontinent and could not stop shivering on the floor. The super creature could not care less about those beasts which were frightened and stunned along the way. It would simply go the other way round, should there be another beast standing in its way.


    When it passed Luo Yuan with closer proximity, it would stop again and look at him with curiosity for a second. The strong air turbulence that resulted from the movement of this super creature had made Luo Yuan sway slightly. Following each other, the electric arc was bursting, releasing a foul smell beside him. In order to get a precise look at Luo Yuan, the super creature even went the extra mile of bending his head down, getting closer to him.


    With just about ten meters away from this super creature, its powerful warm breath fanned Luo Yuan¡¯s face, waving his hair as a result.


    The tension between them had made Luo Yuan firmly grip the handle of his saber subconsciously. He almost sliced through its neck, but he restrained himself eventually, as he already knew how the ending would be, thanks to his Prediction ability.


    The saber which was powerful enough to kill all the level seven mutated beasts was unfortunately not able to cut off the super creature¡¯s head. The moment the saber reached its neck, it would already have been shielded by the repulsive force created by its multipleyers of gemstones. Right there and then, his vision turned pitch ck.


    It was fortunate that this stress soon dissipated. The super creature turned his back and began to walk again towards the giant frog. There was a strange fragrance in the air, and it was not the usual stench of mutated beasts.


    Luo Yuan was relieved and leaned against a tree beside him. He rested his hands on his knees and felt his body going limp. He did not hurry with his escape because he knew that this super creature did not harbor bad intentions. In other words, as long as one does not provoke it, it had no interest in getting involved with all these low-level creatures.


    After just a few steps, it was already near the giant frog. Thetter, which originally looked gigantic, now seemed so much smaller in front of this super creature. It lowered its head and sniffed, resulting in a huge sneeze which blew away all the dirt and dust nearby. Soon after, it chomped down the giant frog¡¯s hard head in just a single bite.


    Just when Luo Yuan thought that it was going to swallow the head, it spat it out instead. This was followed by a few times of spitting after biting, sometimes even a few times of continuous spitting. Seemingly, it was very much disgusted by the smell of the frog.


    Luo Yuan looked at it strangely and was full of doubts.


    He was not familiar with this super creature and was unable toprehend its odd behavior. In truth, this was the first time he ever saw a level eight living creature with his very own eyes. Back then, he was busy searching for ways to escape and dared not eveny eyes on the ¡®dragon¡¯


    Bite by bite, the whole head had soon disappeared. It carried on biting its chest, and at that time, there was already a pile of flesh next to it. A few secondster, it seemed like it has bit something off. It gently pulled out a chunk of flesh from the frog¡¯s chest.


    With Luo Yuan¡¯s sharp vision, he noticed that it was the heart of the giant frog. The super creature did not immediately spit it out this time. It slowly bit while spitting at the same time, and visibly gulped it down its throat. It had clearly swallowed it.


    Luo Yuan had finally understood that this creature was finding an energy gemstone. A majority of the level seven mutated beasts actually owned energy gemstones. As long as a mutated beast was strong enough and was sufficiently satiated, the sustainable energy of this gemstone can be umted continuously. Certain mutated beasts which were significantly stronger had a tendency to have a much stronger sustainable energy in their energy gemstone, which was located inside its body rather than externally. Apparently, this super creature wasing for this.


    At this moment, this super creature started to act again. He sniffed gently, before walking towards the tallest tree nearby. Under Luo Yuan¡¯s curious vision, it raised its head and bit off a tree branch that was full of leaves. It chewed and swallowed, then growled a few times; seemingly satisfied with the food. It carried on feeding itself with numerous,rge helpings of leaves.


    Luo Yan hardly believed his own eyes, as he witnessed this deadly creature eating leaves. It felt silly to be worried prior to this. Nevertheless, he can now finally put his feet up, and take a breather.


    He felt an energy deficiency in his heart, and his body was totally drained. He then leaned against a tree and slowly slid down to the ground.

 Chapter 378: A Dangerous Move

    Chapter 378: A Dangerous Move


    Trantor: EndlessFantasy Trantion Editor: EndlessFantasy Trantion


    Since the apocalypse, the one who was able to adapt could survive, and the stronger ones would be dominating the weaker ones. In this environment with such fiercepetition, the creatures had to keep evolving for its survival. Not only should the predators evolve, but the various herbivores including nts would need to keep evolving to be stronger. Thetter two would have to evolve even faster, as they face the harsh environment and was in more danger and pressure to survive.


    In this forest, there were more mutated nts of a light green level and above, aspared to the various mutated insects. Even the higher level seven of mutated trees could be seen everywhere. As for the herbivores¡¯ survival, they either had a faster reproduction system or were extraordinarily powerful. For example, to have a stronger defense, quicker speed or berger in size. It was just like how it used to be before the apocalypse, where the king of the jungle was not the tiger, which was naturally at the top of the food chain, but instead, were tame elephants, merely as a result of natural selection.


    ...


    Luo Yuan was quite lucky today, as most of the mutated herbivores were good tempered. As long as he did not instigate them, there would not be any danger even if he stood beside them. Of course, there was a risk of being stepped on them as well. It would not be the same if they were the predators. Although the size gap was huge, and they might not have noticed the existence of Luo Yuan, he still needed to suppress his power when they passed through.


    In Luo Yuan¡¯s sight, the super creature that was somewhere not too far away was like a shining sun, zing with light. The power generated by its high-speed movement could easily make his injury even more serious.


    Luo Yuan took a look at the two notifications in the system.


    One was the notification telling him that he had sessfullypleted in killing the giant mutated frog, while another one was the task notification that appeared ten minutes ago.


    The first one was nothing special, but in session toplete a few grade D+ tasks, his experience had now been umted to 101,520/307,200 points.


    The experience that was vital for the upgrade had beenpleted by one-third now. However, it could have beenpleted by half, if one of the level seven mutated beasts did not escape sessfully. From that incident, not only did he fail to gain any experience points, but had to pay the penalty of deducted points as punishment.


    When he thought of it in all seriousness, in just a few days, this area that stood far away from the Reconstruction Area was really dangerous. Though he could rapidly umte experience, every fight was very risky and brutal, so any carelessness would put his life in jeopardy, exactly like what had happened today.


    As for the second notification, Luo Yuan canceled it immediately after reading it. This task would definitely take his life, so he did not want to take any risk by even trying.


    "Level C task: Kill the Demonic Horseman. Period: Three days. ept / Cancel."


    ...


    The Demonic Horseman was standing beside the giant tree, raising its neck while it kept eating the leaves.


    The giant tree was very huge. By visual estimation, it was 15 or 16 meters wide in diameter, and the branches that formed a canopy shape could envelop anything beneath it for few kilometers in radius. With the quantity of food intake required by the Demonic Horseman, it could probably eat all the leaves until the branches were bare.


    It seemed like it would not be leaving anytime soon. Luo Yuan thought for a while and decided to stay on to continue healing his injury.


    With the existence of the super mutated beast, this ce became extra safe. By looking at the mutated beast which was still limping on the ground and struggling to get up again, he could determine how powerful and brutal a level eight mutated beast was. This was the ce where the Reconstruction Area would need to use arge-scale attack with a nuclear bomb, in order topletely extinguish all the creatures here.


    Ten minutester, all the fine vines had beenpletely repaired by Luo Yuan. To elerate the healing process, he stood up and entered the state of the earth in order to get support from its unlimited power.


    Of course, this kind of healing was not perfect, but more likely to cause hidden ailments. However, he had too many visceral injuries, which were not able to be healed within a short time with his Will. As for the formation of capiry blockage due to self-healing, it could be slowly repaired when he had sufficient time to do so.


    In just a short while, his pale face had blushed and turned lively, as his injured organs had been restored to its original state. The weakness of his body had gradually subsided, while a powerful force was bred in his body. He gripped his fist so tightly and fast, forming shockwaves in the air.


    He turned to look at the Demonic Horseman, which was not far away from him. Even if it was just a fluctuation of unconscious energy, its body was surrounded by a turbulent airflow and countless whirlpools appeared in the air, before disappearing instantly. There were also a lot of electro optic-like snakes wandering about in the air.


    Luo Yuan was in a rational mind and felt no fear. All these extra feelings were only to evaluate his strengths and weaknesses. Suddenly, a bold idea shed through his mind.


    The 15 points of Intelligence had helped Luo Yuan possess a great memory. He could still clearly remember the scene when he first saw the Demonic Horseman. It was so huge in size and naturally exuded a threatening vibe in the forest that absolutely could not be suppressed. The only thing that impressed him was that it could move at an incredible speed, although it could be due to hisck of attention at the time of the battle.


    However, with his 16 points of Agility, it was faster than the speed of sound at the very least, since it had left such a visionary effect on Luo Yuan.


    Of course, he would not be so concerned if was only about the speed, as a lot of level seven mutated beasts were faster than he was. After all, the size gap made a lot of difference, not to mention that this was a stronger version of a level eight mutated beast. He was more confused about how the Demonic Horseman was able to not emit any sounds when it ran at such a high speed. Other than the airflow surrounding its body, there was not a single trace of wind when it galloped at top speed.


    When its speed had reached a certain limit, air resistance had be the biggest obstacle. Even one meter faster would not only increase the resistance but also cause some buoyancy to the target of the run. It consumed physical strength and had arge impact on its running speed.


    If he could weaken or even eliminate the air resistance, his speed would be enhanced again. Also, he would also be able to kill with a much faster speed during a battle.


    After the clothing which aided him in air flow bnce got scraped off, he had always been looking for a recement but his efforts were in vain, until today, when he met this Demonic Horseman.


    Unfortunately, his abilities proved incapable of fighting against this super mutated beast. It was totally impossible to get such a material by first killing the Demonic Horseman. Although it was just a gap of one level between level seven and level eight, this gap was akin to the distance between the sky and the earth. nature and quality werepletely different between both levels.


    However, the fortunate thing was that this mutated beast had a mild temper. So, as long as he was careful enough, making dangerous moves will not be pointless. In addition, he still had the ability to predict the future, which he could stop in time if he sensed any imminent danger.


    His mind was spinning fast, under this rational state and without any weakness, he immediately made a decision after weighing the risks and rewards. He took his Zhanmadao and cautiously, slowly walked towards the Demonic Horseman.


    At this point of time, the Demonic Horseman¡¯s horses were enjoying themselves, while nibbling the leaves. It neighed with glee while eating the leaves, seeming like it was in a pleasant mood and failed to notice that Luo Yuan was actually hatching a n against them.


    Luo Yuan sessfully went closer, to all the way to the front of Demonic Horseman. This mutated beast had a shocking size! It had a four or five to a six-meter length of legs exuding a blurred glow. Its body was like a thickyer of the wall that could frighten people. Any human being who stood in front of it was as small as an ant. The closer he went, the more tension he could feel from the Demonic Horseman.


    This kind of creature had a very strong Will, even if it was just a drop of its blood. The strong gic erosion made every other creature stay away from it.


    Luo Yuan was now developing his ability in this aspect, however, it was still iparable to the strength of its level. His Will, which was more unified, could not bepared to that creature¡¯s Will, which was developed by nature; chaotic and full of wildness.


    Even so, the breath it exuded was still extremely menacing. If Luo Yuan did not have a strong Will and was not in a state where he was connected to the earth, he would have been frightened and end up copsing in fear, like the other fragile mutated beasts in the area.


    He stopped at a ce five meters away from the Demonic Horseman and floated towards its back. The Demonic Horseman sensed something and turned around to look at him before it continued to eat the leaves without a care in the world.


    In his prediction, there was no imminent danger. Thus, Luo Yuan did as nned and continued to fly all the way to the horse¡¯s back. There was a strong static electricity seemingly attracted by the Demonic Horseman and surrounded its body. Suddenly, a spark burst onto Luo Yuan¡¯s body too.


    Fortunately, these geomaic disturbances that were automatically generated by the Demonic Horseman might seem scary but in actual fact, its attack power was not a strong one. Luo Yuan only felt some numbness on his skin and experienced no pain. Instead, the turbulent airflow lingering around the Demonic Horseman posed a bigger challenge to him.


    The airflow was asplex as a rapidly flowing river, as it had unpredictable patterns and could generate hidden whirlpools. When he came into contact with the airflow, he felt it was hard to be handled. The airflow kept pulling in and out, sometimes softer and sometimes harder. At times when he wanted to move forward, he was blown away, and was flung backward. Sometimes when he wanted to fly to the left but was dragged to the opposite side.


    His flying speed was not fast at all, only at a maximum of 20 meters per second. The thrust from his Will was not strong enough when in contact with gravity; it could only retain at 20 meters per second, at most. With such a resistance, any strong wind could have easily blown him away in the sky.


    Within its ever-changing, unprovoked airflow, this flight was a considerable challenge. With a mere distance of less than 100 meters, he needed to fly for several minutes beforending on its back safely.


    But s, something strange happened when Luo Yuannded on its back. The very second he did, all the air turbulence disappeared ¨C to his relief! The back of the Demonic Horseman was fairly broad, almost 18 to 19 meters in width and more than 100 meters long, which was bigger than the size of three standard basketball courts.


    This mutated beast was simply a miracle of evolution. If it existed before the apocalypse, it could have starved to death. Only the current environment and ecosystem could sustain and nurture such a giant creature.


    It was rather slippery under his foot, so he had to rely on his Will to stay afloat. He looked down and found that his feet were not exactly stepping onto the beast¡¯s back. The soles of his feet were at least an inch away from the scales. There was an invisible force in between that lifted his body up.


    He stepped into this force field. It was quite stic but the stronger the force, the greater the power of resistance. It was extremely slippery so he was not able to stand still. To prevent any uncertainties, Luo Yuan did not dare dy any further. He turned towards the one meter wide green translucent scales and analyzed:


    "Demonic Horseman scales"


    "Purpose: Material"


    "Rarity: Light Purple."


    "Weight: 18 kilograms"


    "Additional Abilities: Able to resist the interference of geomaic force field with flexibility"


    "Remarks: The Demonic Horseman was the perambtor of the forest. As a vegetarian, it usually seems quite harmless, but do not try to provoke it. The vengeful Demonic Horseman will fight with until the enemy is dead. Only the corpse of the enemy can calm its anger."


    All information shed through his mind. Luo Yuan looked calm, and in the state of the earth, he could not care less about the evaluation of the vengeful Demonic Horseman.


    Seems like this scale is not the right one. Luo Yuan thought.


    He had no interest in this scale. Although the scale was also extremely rare and could be synthesized as bullet-proof vests, the hard texture had made its value limited to a fighter like Luo Yuan.


    He looked away andid his eyes onto other parts. He noticed that its mane that was about 100 meters long, extending from its head to its tail and was much easier to be retrieved aspared to its scale. The mane was quite fluffy and colorful, which kept swishing along with the movements of its body. It looked just like a magnificent dragon.


    Luo Yuan could sense an indescribable unknown power exuding from its mane onto its body. His eyes shed, as he immediately carried the Zhanmadao and headed towards that chunk of mane, which was swirling gracefully in the wind.


    The mane was quite long, with each of them about five to six meters long, but they were very fine, several times finer than those on a human head. He got closer only to find that the mane was not as colorful from afar; it waspletely ck instead. The ethereal colors were actually an illusion created by light.


    Luo Yuan gently touched its mane and he could feel a weak air flow between his fingers as if its hair was not actually tangible, but made of air. By feeling this unusual form, he could confirm his thoughts. He immediately used his Analysis skill.


    "Demonic Horseman¡¯s mane"


    "Function: Material"


    "Rarity: Light Purple."


    "Weight: 0.2 grams"


    "Additional Abilities: To offset powers of a force field"


    To offset powers of a force field. It seemed like this was the one he had been looking for! A thought shed through Luo Yuan¡¯s mind. Despite being in the state of the earth, a mild sense of joy lingered in his heart.


    In particr, this mane was extremely light; almost weightless! After synthetic, this would certainly not restrict his movements. It was simply the perfect material for a synthetic coat.


    He took a deep breath, and immediately restrained the mood swings in his heart. When he was about to brandish his Zhanmadao, his face suddenly changed and he quickly stopped moving.


    The result from his prediction was not a good one. Once he chopped off its mane, whether or not it was small or big in quantity, the Demonic Horseman would immediately unleash its wrath.


    Fortunately, however, it had not happened. He hesitated for a while and used his prediction to test it again and again. Through the imagery in his foresight, Luo Yuan found that no matter which part he chose, even if it was the Demonic Horseman¡¯s tail where it could not see him, the horse would throw a huge fit. It seemed like as long as he touched the mane, it would immediately trigger its anger.


    Luo Yuan was in doubt and repeatedly looked at the imagery again. Finally, he saw a clue. He did the trial again, this time only brandishing his weapon but the result was still the same. He finally came to the realization that the Demonic Horseman was not triggered by its mane being cut off, but rather, the Zhanmadao itself. It was his carelessness for disregarding the fact that his Zhanmadao was a level eight weapon. When put in its scabbard, it could slightly shield its power, but once he brandished it, it was undoubtedly a huge threat to the Demonic Horseman.


    He then quickly gave up using his Zhanmadao, and discovered that his Will could not be used too. The level eight creatures seemed to be very sensitive to threat. Any potential harm could stir its attention and keep it extra vignt to its surroundings.


    After excluding all other options, Luo Yuan found that pulling the mane off with his bare hands was the safest way.


    The mane was too thin, but the amount of hair the Demonic Horseman had was innumerable. It was very dense too, thus no matter how sensitive the horse was, this slight pain would not spark its attention too quickly.


    Luo Yuan immediately started his course of action. The mane was very tough and extremely strong. With every pull, he had to exert an excessive amount of power. He was smart enough not to pull from the same spot, but a different spot after a few pulls to avoid the Demonic Horseman from taking notice.


    The process was quite smooth, and after half an hour, he managed to pluck out a significant amount of its mane. The mane collected was about the size of one¡¯s wrist and weighed about four to five kilograms. With this quantity, it was more than enough to synthesize a brand new set of clothes.


    He bundled the mane into a cord and tied it in front of his chest inside his underwear. This underwear had a protectiveyer made of sma, one that could iste the fluctuation generated by the mane, and avoid piquing the attention from the Demonic Horseman when he left.


    Afterpleting his n, he did not dare to stay on its back any longer. He gently leaped into the air rapidly and passed through the air turbulence. He made a few jumps uponnding and immediately reached his speed limit to escape from this ce.


    The Demonic Horseman turned to look at Luo Yuan, it tilted its head and seemed to harbor some suspicious thoughts. However, the temptation of food in front of it quickly expelled all suspicions, and it continued to enjoy devouring its leaves.

 Chapter 379: Meeting A Mutated Human

    Chapter 379: Meeting A Mutated Human


    Trantor: EndlessFantasy Trantion Editor: EndlessFantasy Trantion


    After Luo Yuan left the area, he did not even take his backpack that he left somewhere nearby. Instead, he ran at full speed and only stopped after ten kilometers. He chose a tree hole and immediately drilled into it.


    Apparently, this tree hole had an owner. There was one low level mutated beast taking a nap in it. It was a bit stunned when it saw the uninvited guest in its territory. Just as it was about to warn him, Luo Yuan released his force field. The mutated beast immediately perished and was left limp on the ground.


    Luo Yuan stepped forward to grab its neck before throwing this half-ton mutated beast out of the tree hole. He was in a good mood today, so he had no intention of killing anything. Of course, the main reason was that he did not want to make a bloodbath out of this tree hole.


    He sat in the tree hole for about ten seconds. His shortness of breath was getting better but his heart was still racing.


    He took a deep breath to calm himself down, before lifting up his underwear to remove the Demonic Horseman¡¯s mane. Without the coverage of the sma underwear, the tree hole was immediately surrounded with numerous vortex, and small cyclones began to appear in the air. The tree hole acted as an entrance for the wind, with turbulent air surrounding it.


    The color of the mane had now turned a few shades darker,pared to the time before he pulled it off. It was not as colorful as before and was restored to its original ck color. The illusion that it produced was a world of a difference, and almost iparable to when it was still on the Demonic Horseman. He had already expected such an oue. After all, this amount of mane paled inparison to the quantity of the mane on the Demonic Horseman. The power held within it would be greatly diminished after leaving the body.


    Fortunately, its powers had notpletely disappeared. Luo Yuan¡¯s size was so much smaller than the Demonic Horseman, thus this amount of mane was more than enough to produce material for his suit.


    Although he was excited, he still needed to restrain his impatience to process the mane, to avoid hidden dangers. A level eight material was different from any normal material. This material had a very strong Will embedded into it. Just like how the Zhanmadao was with Luo Yuan, the Demonic Horseman would have a simr kind of bond with its mane, regardless of its intensity.


    Removing the original Will and imprinting his own were the necessary steps to bepleted in order to avoid any potential danger. It also enabled him to use the material morefortable.


    Fortunately, this mane was too insignificant to the Demonic Horseman, as the Will imprinted was far too inferior. It was not only iparable with the level eight power chip, even the ck knife was much better than this mane. Each of the Will marks was almost negligible, once he had imprinted his own Will, the original one was immediately expelled.


    It helped Luo Yuan toplete the process more efficiently, as the mane were processed in under ten minutes. He was slightly relieved and thought that even if the Demonic Horseman stood right before him, it would not be able to sense its own mane anymore.


    Of course, the mark of such a Will was still very weak and might be dissipated anytime. If he wanted it to be as handy as the Zhanmadao being an extension of his body, it would require a much longer time to polish and grow every day.


    He took off his jacket and trousers and started the synthesis. He was all too familiar with this process. As the mane disintegrated into powder, the camougedbat uniform gradually turned ck and an invisible force was fluctuating in his clothing.


    Once hepleted the synthesis for a new set of clothes, there was still one fifth of its mane left. Luo Yuan looked at his soft-soled running shoes. These shoes were synthesized by the skin under the feet of a level seven mutated beast. It had only one capability which was the Silent Walk.


    He hesitated for a while and decided not to change it. The Silent Walk was quite useful for fighting. It would be a waste to get rid of this ability. He decided to keep the remaining mane to use it as a belt instead.


    "Air Vortex Combat Uniform"


    "Material: Demonic Horseman¡¯s Nylon Mane."


    "Rarity: Light Purple"


    "Weight: 0.4 kilograms"


    "Defense: 38-45"


    "Additional Abilities: Speed +6, Whirlpool Force Field Deviation"


    "Equipment requirements: None."


    "Remarks: This is abat uniform that can deviate and split air resistance. It creates a resistance-free air when you run. The level eight material makes it an extremely robust and durablebat uniform."


    ...


    "Air Vortex Combat Trousers"


    "Material: Demonic Horseman¡¯s Nylon Mane."


    "Rarity: Light Purple"


    "Weight: 0.3 kilograms"


    "Defense: 35-42"


    "Additional Abilities: Speed +6, Whirlpool Force Field Deviation"


    "Equipment requirements: None."


    "Evaluation: Thesebat trousers can deviate and split air resistance. It creates a resistance-free air when you run. The level eight material makes it an extremely robust and durablebat uniform."


    The system¡¯s notification shed through his mind.


    After the synthesis, the whole set ofbat uniform became a lot lighter as the fiber was now morepact. The jet ck outfit was glowing slightly under the light. However, the glow was very weak and could not be seen by average human beings.


    Luo Yuan put on thebat uniform and tied the remaining mane around his waist. He walked out of the tree hole to put it to the test.


    First, he walked at the speed of an ordinary person. With this speed, it was no different as it was before the synthesis. He could still feel the breeze in the air and the turbulence surrounding it seemed to have no effect.


    However, when he sped up, the effect became more obvious. A strong wind was supposed to appear, but it was deviated by the turbulence, and the strong air stream was gushed out by the whirlpool.


    The more he ran, the faster the turbulence surged, even more violently under the intense air pressure, creating more swirls. No matter how fast he ran, he could only feel the breeze.


    Luo Yuan stopped slowly and looked surprised. After the training of New Capital City, he had widened his eyesight. When he looked at the turbulence surrounding him, he discovered that the mane of the Demonic Horseman had an extremely delicate andplex air pressure bncing system. The mane only triggered the turbulence; it had not much strength but the air pressure was the real power that pushed and drove the system.


    If the principle of this mechanism could be applied to crack the cottage crack and onto the aircraft, human beings would have probably conquered a territory in the sky already.


    But then again, this was easier said than done. The development of technology was always gradual; it could not be improved overnight. There were many level eight mutated beasts that were killed in the Reconstruction Area. If it was this easy to mp down their abilities, the Reconstruction Area would not be in such a difficult situation.


    ...


    Luo Yuan did not return to the initial ce immediately to look for his backpack. In fact, he was still somewhat nervous to face the Demonic Horseman. He stayed in the tree hole for the night and only adjourned back carefully the next day.


    The Demonic Horseman was gone, and the tree had alsopletely damaged. The whole tree was lying on the ground with bare branches, after being devoured by the Demonic Horseman. Luo Yuan was relieved. However, just as he wanted to look for his backpack, it was no longer there.


    Luo Yuan frowned and cursed in his heart.


    Other things in the backpack were insignificant, but the satellite map was of great importance. Without the help of the satellite map, he would not be able to locate any destination with his own sense of direction.


    However, although he was anxious, he did not run around like a headless chicken looking for it.


    He recognized the smell of the backpack. After he sniffed the air a few times, he immediately detected the familiar scent. It was only missing for one night, so the smell was still very apparent. He started to track by following the trail of its scent.


    The more he tracked, the further he went, and soon, he found himself climbing a hill. It was already more than ten kilometers away from where he first stood.


    Luo Yuan noticed that there was no debris of the backpack on the road along the way. This was undeniably good news to him. It indicated that the mutated beast did not bite or tear it along the way; depicting that the map was still safe, at the very least.


    He continued to walk for a few minutes and gradually felt the scent getting more and more concentrated. Finally, he stopped and looked up at a big tree.


    Luo Yuan pleasantly found that the backpack was being hung on the tree. However, the strange thing was that there was not a single mutated beast nearby, and he did not see any habitats of mutated beast anywhere around the vicinity.


    Luo Yuan guessed that the mutated beast had lost interest in the backpack, thus throwing it away. He immediately jumped up onto the tree to retrieve his backpack.


    When he opened it for a check, everything was intact, but it seemed to have been rummaged through by someone.


    Deep in his thoughts, he suddenly sensed a peep behind him. He quickly turned around only to find that there was a shadow fleeting more than 100 meters away, shaking the branches along its way. This distance was not within his range of senses. When he decided to have a look, a medium-sized mutated insect suddenly sprung out from the leaves of a tree.


    Luo Yuan looked back but he was still suspicious.


    He had a very good memory and could remember the specific ce of each item in the backpack. Even if the backpack had gone through some tumbling when it was dragged around, it caused the items to be slightly haphazard, but it would not be turned upside down, and the map would neither be folded nor stained. It might be rummaged by some kind of creature before zipping it back up.


    He also examined if there were any bite marks on the surface, but he found nothing.


    This indicated that this mutated beast had a pair of flexible ws, or hands, and had a certain level of wisdom. Luo Yuan estimated that its size should not be too big and was almost human-sized, or else it would not have been able to delve through the backpack.


    Other than the primitive kind of mutated beast, it might alsoe from a more intelligent species.


    Suddenly, his face lit up. The prying eyes appeared again and it was still from the same direction, with only a deviation from its position.


    He moved his body quickly, apanied by numerous cyclones nearby. He instantly moved like a sh and immediately reached 100 meters away in a blink of an eye. Suddenly, a branch above snapped, and a blue shadow fell down from the top, resulting in a loud scream.


    It was a humanoid creature, about 167 centimeters tall. Beneath the ck hair unveiled a pretty face. Other than the snake-like pupils and a body that waspletely covered with blue scales, this creature looked no different from a human being.


    Luo Yuan took a look and his heart was shaken. He stopped the subsequent attack.


    Before that woman fell onto the ground, she flexibly turned over with surprising agility. Afternding, she rapidly stepped back and looked at Luo Yuan intently with constricted pupils, and screamed fiercely as if to warn.


    When she crouched down, she revealed a long slender white gold ne with a delicate heart-shaped pendant, which kept swinging between her breasts.


    This ne had proven her identity. She was a mutated human, without a doubt.


    Luo Yuan heart sank. The mutation allowed her to survive in this terrible environment but also cost her her human identity. He did not know if she was considered fortunate or not.


    Luo Yuan sighed, inserted his knife into the sheath and turned back. He picked up the backpack by the road side and continued his walk. However, after a few steps, he stopped in his tracks.


    Possibly curious about Luo Yuan or wanted revenge, the mutated woman had been surreptitiously following him. When she saw Luo Yuan stopping, she quickly stopped and hid in the bushes. Luo Yuan helplessly shook his head and began to pick up his speed.


    He found out that this mutated woman was not slow too. She was probably used to living in the forest, which trained her to act fast and quick. She grabbed the vine to help her move faster in the chase, making her look like an ape swinging from tree to tree.


    Luo Yuan could not stop her from following him but hoped she would stop eventually when she grew tired.


    However, she was still tailing him until noon.


    ...


    Luo Yuan cut off its head, peeled off the skin and cleaned the internal organs up. After simply mildly processing the prey, Luo Yuan grilled the prey over a fire. After a while, yellow grease gradually seeped out and the air was filled with an enticing aroma.


    Luo Yuan helplessly looked at the mutated woman, who stood not too far away. It seemed like she was persistent enough to keep following him.


    A mutated beast was already torn off by her sharp ws, and now she was gobbling down its meat.


    At this very moment, she seemed to smell the aroma and subconsciously stopped what she was doing. The aroma of cooked food seemed to have triggered some of her memories of being human. She loosened her throat and her face was slightly stunned.


    Luo Yuan pretended not to see it. After he grilled it until it was medium rare, he stepped on the me and tore off the thigh, then disregarded the heat and started to eat.


    It was still fine at first, but soon, he felt a little bit ufortable. His eye sight was too poor, even his sharp ears could clearly hear the sound of non-stop swallowing.


    Luo Yuan ate a few bites, stopped and turned around. He asked, "Do you want to eat?"


    After all, he was a man who enjoyed admiring svelte appearances. Although the vertical pupils and scales frightened others, she had an enchanting face and a stunning body figure. If she had a vicious look, Luo Yuan would have killed her or would not care enough to bother her.


    When Luo Yuan looked at her, she immediately became alert and emitted a hissing sound.


    The mutation had destroyed her vocal cords. No one would know what she was trying to say, except for herself.


    Luo Yuan smiled. He tore another thigh and threw it towards her direction. She probably did not care at all whether the food was dirty or not.

 Chapter 380: The Journey

    Chapter 380: The Journey


    Trantor: EndlessFantasy Trantion Editor: EndlessFantasy Trantion


    The mutated human was shocked and suddenly stepped back ten meters away. Her action was simr to that of a frightened beast.


    She was staring at Luo Yuan for a long time, and after a while, she began to go closer to the food. As she saw that Luo Yuan did not react, she quickly took the food and climbed up to a big tree nearby. She sat between the branches and began to eat.


    She was very alert, as she was still watching Luo Yuan while she was busy eating.


    She stuffed all the food into her mouth without chewing it properly, as she understood that the food only truly belonged to her when it is in her stomach.


    She was acting like a beast, as Luo Yuan could not see any human-like mannerisms and behavior on her.


    A five kilogram of the big thigh had turned into a white bone in less than a minute; even the cartge was cleared! She then broke the bone and licked the juices inside. After a few seconds, she finally willing to throw away the bone.


    The mutated woman licked her lips to clean thest drop of oil. She then took a nce at Luo Yuan, and moved her gaze onto the other half of the roasted meat again.


    As she was either too hungry or was assured that Luo Yuan meant no harm, she was not as alert as she was before. The scales on her body were small and packed, with each of the scales as big as a green bean. The scales on the hands, buttocks, joints were even smaller. However, the skin on her face and chest was just like a normal human being¡¯s.


    The mutated human was squatting on the tree branch, unaware that she was exposing her lower body. Luo Yuan quickly looked away after taking a nce.


    Luo Yuan lost his appetite, as the mutated human was watching him eat. He smiled awkwardly, before throwing the leftovers aside.


    Since he had the energy now, the food was not a necessity to him anymore. The main function of food was to maintain his metabolism, and also to satisfy his taste buds. Apart from that, it did not matter to him if he did not eat.


    Besides, it was a low level mutated beast, and it had no effect on its energy, no matter how much he ate.


    When the roasted meat was still flying in the sky, she took a big leap and caught it in the air beforending on the ground again. After that, she quickly climbed up to the tree and enjoyed her feast again.


    He could see that the mutated human was quite powerful, excluding the evolution power she had. Her Dexterity was estimated to be in the range of 14-15 points. If she had suddenly attacked them in the Reconstruction Area, Luo Yuan might be the only one who could escape in the Bureau of Firearms.


    In order to survive in such a threatening forest, she must have a certain level of power. Luo Yuan rested for about ten minutes and checked his map, before finally resuming his journey again.


    The mutated human looked at Luo Yuan from the back and just as he almost disappeared from her gaze, she looked at the strange surroundings and decided to follow Luo Yuan after a short hesitation.


    She could not understand why she had to follow him!


    Perhaps, she was curious seeing someone that looked simr to her. Perhaps she thought she might be able to find delicious food again. Or, she could have been lonely for too long and enjoyed the familiar feeling that she could sense from him, as another human being.


    From the best of her memory, her home was the forest. She had no idea where she came from, and never saw anyone who looked even remotely like her. She hunted carefully during the daytime and then hid in the small cave at night. She listened to those scary roars from many different beasts and waited for the break of dawn again.


    Sometimes, she would have strange dreams. However, she could not remember her dreams until sheid eyes on the creature who looked like her. She finally realized why it felt like d¨¦j¨¤ vu upon seeing him.


    ...


    In fact, that area was very dangerous. In the evening, Luo Yuan bumped into a level seven mutated beast again. The main reason why he departed from the Reconstruction Area was to investigate extraterrestrial civilization. His major concern was to arrive at his destination as soon as possible, instead of killing the mutated beasts. But since he bumped into them, he had no choice but to kill them.


    A level seven mutated beast was able to earn him 19,200 - 38,400 experience points. Despite being upgraded to a Level 11, therge amount of points was still very important to him. Perhaps, when hends on Borneo, he might be able to upgrade himself again.


    Since he was already notified from the system, he could already set a trap from ten kilometers away. He spent half an hour to get close to the mutated beast, but he only spent two seconds to fight.


    It was a very smooth battlepared to killing the giant frog. Besides that, the new synthetic battle suit had helped him increase his speed. He inserted his saber into the brain of the mutated beast even before it could generate its power.


    The ground shook vigorously for a second, as the giant carcass fell onto the ground.


    Luo Yuan waited for it to stop breathing and shaking. He then jumped onto the dead body. He opened its thorax and dug out its heart.


    The heart weighed half a ton, and it was still pumping, disying strength.


    Luo Yuan opened the heart with his Zhanmadao and took out a tiny body of energy. The heart had stopped beating immediately after he removed it. He wiped away the blood stains and looked at the energy crystal under the sunlight, it was yellowish red, and was only as small as a thumb. It was wed by some impurities,pared to the energy crystal from the level eight mutated creature.


    Luo Yuan was not too concerned on lower level energy crystals, as he had consumed a level eight¡¯s energy body before. Therefore, he did not keep the energy bodies even after killing a few mutated beasts recently. He suddenly realized that he had missed out on something good when he saw the grimacing horse.


    Since it was attracted by a level eight creature, the energy crystal might have a more useful purpose other than supplying energy. Luo Yuan threw the energy crystal into his mouth and it melted immediately. The energy crystal slid down his throat and his stomach felt warm. He slowly felt the heat circting inside his body, before gradually disappearing again. Other than the level eight¡¯s energy crystal being enhanced in his heart, he did not experience any other changes.


    Luo Yuan was not disappointed, as the energy crystal was too small. Perhaps, a bigger energy crystal was needed to see a major change.


    He heard some noisesing from the bushes, as the branches were shaking. Suddenly, a scaly hand came out from the bushes and pushed the branches aside. The mutated human appeared, trembling, and looked at the giant beast in the distance, before looking at Luo Yuan again.


    She was shocked, scared and perhaps curious. Her body was trembling like a frightened little beast.


    However, she recalled the creature who gave her the food. She was na?ve; her simple mindset was able to calm herself down, and hence, her fear had subsided when she looked at Luo Yuan.


    She hesitated and then jumped down from the tree. She used her limbs wisely and in just a few seconds, she could almost reach Luo Yuan.


    She was running very fast and she finally stopped when she was about 40 - 50 meters away from him. She took a nce at him and was attracted by the heart beside him.


    Luo Yuan understood her bodynguage, as the low-level creatures were always eager to get the flesh or blood from the creatures from higher levels. He smiled and cut a piece of the heart and then threw it further away. Before the meat fell on the ground, she had already leaped into the air and caught the meat. She stuffed all the meat into her mouth the very moment shended.


    The heart was very near to the energy crystal, hence, the density of the active energy was very high. Her face was blushing and her body slowly turned red even after eating just a small portion of the heart. Despite that, she was still stuffing the meat into her mouth, as she did not want to waste any morsel.


    After a few minutes, she was frightened as she felt dizzy. She quickly shook her head in hopes of regaining full consciousness again. Luo Yuan could not stopughing when he witnessed the scene.


    Luo Yuan realized that the mutated human had made his journey less boring and lonely. It seems like he wouldn¡¯t need to suffer too much throughout the rest of the journey.

 Chapter 381: The Night Scene

    Chapter 381: The Night Scene


    Trantor: EndlessFantasy Trantion Editor: EndlessFantasy Trantion


    Luo Yuan had found a shelter to stay the night, about ten kilometers away from the night falls.


    There was a cave at the side of the cliff, where the entrance was camouged amongst the vines, making it very difficult to distinguish.


    Luo Yuan pushed the vines away and entered the cave. He was immediately greeted by a rotten, musty smell which made him take a few steps backward. At the same time, a few low level rat-like mutated beasts swiftly fleed his side. He took a nce and was not the least bit bothered about their escape.


    He walked into the cave after adapting to the smell. The ground and wall of the cave were all covered by the vines; trodding on them felt soft and bouncy.


    It could be the vines that helped hide the cave well, as none of the big-sized mutated beasts were found taking shelter inside, except for some low-level mutated beasts.


    It was a very deep cave, and for safety reasons, Luo Yuan continued to explore deeper.


    As the light got dimmer, the vines under his feet began to reduce, revealing the original appearance of the cave.


    Luo Yuan kicked away one of the almost fully-decayed wooden sleepers. Above the sleeper were two semi-rusted iron railings. A small,pletely destroyed car had appeared after several ten meters of walking. There were two half-rusted iron wheels whichid beside it on the ground. A few skeletons were also seen scattered next to it.


    All these signs depicted that this was an abandoned mine cave. Prior to being abandoned, there could have been a raid there too.


    About ten meters down, a concrete wall stood as a barricade to the cave.


    Luo Yuan presumed that this piece of wall had been built when the apocalypse first struck. Now, after two to three years, the wall was now severely corroded. Furthermore, it seemed to be swelling and its surface was covered in abundant cracks due to the exposure to the humid environment. The wall would have just crumbled down with a mere gentle push.


    He used his Prediction ability to examine what was behind the wall, but s, nothing was found, and so he retraced his steps.


    Luo Yuan was not someone driven by insatiable curiosity, and he had no interest to get to the bottom of it. Based on his strength today, he would not be afraid even if there was anything terrifying behind the wall. Despite how strong the beast could possibly be, it would not be a level eight mutated beast.


    Apart from the level eight ones, only the level seven beasts would pose some form of danger to him. All beasts below that level which attacked Luo Yuan would be far too inferior, as he would have been able to kill them off with ease.


    Next, Luo Yuan used his magnificent presence to clear away the insects at all corners of the cave mine. Also, he collected a lot of dry branches as well as fallen leaves and brought them in.


    Hidden not far away in the treetops, was a mutated human. She held her head with a confused face while looking at a very upied Luo Yuan. She saw him walking into the mine cave without a trace. Gradually, she got very restless and uneasy after waiting for a good amount of time.


    She looked around as she wandered, and hesitated for a moment, before jumping towards the entrance of the cave. She constantly stared it after jumping over a nearby giant tree, in hopes of discovering what this living creature of the same breed with a strange appearance was doing. She then peeked at him through the gaps in the vines.


    Unfortunately, the exterior of the cave mine was very badly covered with masses of vines. Hence, she could barely see anything.


    ...


    Luo Yuan gathered the fallen leaves. He solidified his Will and what looked like invisible air motion, shed through the leaves. Thebustion urred without so much as a spark of me. He ced a few thin, dead branches on top, and before he knew it, a bonfire was ignited.


    In fact, the me was not a must for him, as he can see very clearly, even inplete darkness. However, Luo Yuan had a habit of raising a bonfire during nightfall, probably due to human nature of always yearning for light.


    The sky was getting darker, and it seemed like the wind was blowing hard outside.


    The position of the cave mine was not the least bit ideal, as it was situated in the draught of several mountain peaks. The sound of wailing ghosts and moaning demons could be heard whenever the wind blew into the cave.


    In the wake of the strong wind, the vines that were dangling over the cave entrance were dancing in the wind, leaving countless shadows, akin to a devil with bare fangs and brandished ws.


    The clear cracking sound of broken branches could be heard outside the cave at this moment. Soon after, a slender shadow appeared outside.


    She kept wandering around the cave entrance, and asionally peeped through the gaps in the vines.


    A tiny smile was etched at the corners of Luo Yan¡¯s lips. Without thinking, he knew who was outside. He picked a dead branch, ced it on top of the fire and had no intention to bother her. He believed that this cowardly mutated human would eventuallye in.


    As expected, the vines that hung outside were pulled away, and a nimble figure was seen shing into the cave mine gently. She hunched and moved along the wall slowly. She constantly stared at Luo Yuan like a frightened kitten, that would explode like a ticking time bomb.


    Soon after, she walked towards the corner and squatted down.


    Apparently, this mutated human was not afraid of fire. After all, she was formerly human. Though she did not have any memories of being once human, there could be some fragments of memories left in her subconscious mind.


    Luo Yuan did not take any action that could possibly raise her guard, nor did he talk to her. After throwing a few dry firewood into the ember, he closed his eyes and trained his entire body with his Will. He certainly did not dare to let his guard downpletely just yet. So, he reserved a little energy in him to allow him to sense the ongoings in the external world.


    The reason why the mutated human was no longer ssified as a human being was not merely due to its evolution, but it was also because of their qualities, characteristics, and ideals, which had already been influenced by its beastly nature. Even though she tried to remain harmless all the way, she was no different from the carnivorous mutated beasts out there. Thew of the jungle will always be her true nature now.


    The reason why she remained harmless, was because both of them looked simr, aside from how Luo Yuan seemed to have demonstrated a more dominant presence than she did. If not for the circumstances, he would be safe particrly because they were both from the same species. However, when a mutated human faces another being from the opposite sex,pulsive behaviours could ur due to innate lust, triggered by natural instinct.


    ...


    Luo Yuan realized that his Will had improved rapidly these days. It could be the result of his evolution to a fourth-dimensional being or perhaps, the hardship of travels. It was not shown obviously when he was flying, but how he could see tiny, subtle things during the endoscopy.


    In the old days, all he could see were textures simr to capiries and lymphatic vessels, subjected to only a small section of the front part. However, he was helpless when it came to the tail end.


    But now, he could see the whole capiry clearly, including the red blood cells that were flowing inside.


    If the microscopic state of the red blood cells were still not clearly seen using his Will, then the somatic cells would have been much clearer, as they wererger than the red blood cells. The sesame seed sized somatic cells that were neatly arranged in ayer ¨C like soldiers in formation ¨C were all clearly visible to the naked eye.


    However, just like a leaking reservoir, the Will could be depleted in a truly astounding manner, when used for such cell observance. More than half of his Will would have been dissipated after approximately ten minutes. Although there were millions of endoscopic cells, the usable area that was involved would not be any more than a small piece of muscle.


    Luo Yuan opened his eyes while touching one of the fine muscles on his arm. He clenched his hand into a fist, feeling agile and quicker in his actions. Of course, this could be a wrong impression.


    Perhaps, the effect could be seen only after soaking all the cells in the body with his Will.


    He looked at the mutated human who was still sitting idle in a corner, polishing her nails. She looked at her nails for a second, before she continued polishing them again.


    Her scale-like fingernails were blue, very dark blue. Her fingers were sharp and slender, about five to six centimeters long, extending from her nails. Such fingernails would usually be growing in a curled shape if it were to be on an average human body ¨C but not in her case. Her fingernails were straight and sharp, eerily resembling a tip of a cone.


    This was obviously her weapon. Although it may seem useless when fighting big sized mutated beasts, but it was definitely more than enough to take down smaller beasts.


    The mutated human turned stiff when she noticed something stirring nearby. She looked at Luo Yuan for a second once more, before focusing back on her nails.


    The wind was getting stronger, with its noise almost engulfing the roars and moans of the beasts in the jungle. The crackling sound could be heard when the winds blew over a few of the vines hanging at the cave entrance. Fortunately, the cave entrance was not facing the force of the wind direction and was thus, unaffected.


    He looked at the time; it was already close to eight o¡¯clock. He then started to build the tent that he took out from his backpack. Heid down right after.


    Unlike before, the color of the tent had already changed. Ever since he stepped out of the city, he assembled almost all his belongings, including his tent. This tent was not to be underestimated and judged by its mereck of appearance, as it was practically a level seven, especially the poles that were supporting the tent. They were made entirely out of the hardest skull bones of level seven mutated beasts.


    Even if Luo Yuan was in deep sleep during the night, it would be proven futile for ordinary mutated beasts to even attempt to invade the tent stealthily.


    Snoring sounds were heard not long after heid down. It was gettingter into the night. Unsure of how much time has passed, the mutated human who was originally huddled up in a corner, stood up without so much as a squeak.


    A yellow dim light was reflected through her pupils in the dark night. She took a nce at the tent before walking softly towards the cave entrance in a slightly hunched posture. She stopped and listened attentively.


    Her face looked anxious; her eyes full of fear.


    This cave was in fact, too big for her, aspared to her former nest which was just enough for one person. Even if there were to be mutated beasts invading her nest, it would have been just about her size, one that she was capable of fighting.


    This cave was, however, toorge and empty. Not only did those smaller sized mutated beastse in, but the horrifying giant creatures would also be able toe in easily. Due to such a condition, she did not feel the least bit secure.


    Awful peals of monsters and its moaning sounds that were constantlying from outside had terrified her. She was uneasy and had thought about leaving to hunt for another cave, but in fear, she hesitated. After pondering for a while and moving closer to Luo Yuan¡¯s tent, sheid down to rest, as she managed to earn herself some sense of security.


    Luo Yuan opened his eyes in the dark and closed them again, gradually.


    ...


    There were no interactions throughout the night. Apparently, the mutated human had woken up much earlier than Luo Yuan, as she already shrank back to her corner when he came out of the tent the next day.


    He kept the tent properly into his backpack, after grabbing his bottle to drink several mouthfuls of water. While closing the bottle, he suddenly thought of the mutated human, who did not seem to drink any water yesterday, for an entire day. He then looked for a bottle of purified water in his backpack and threw it towards her.


    This is one of the three emergency bottled water that the Reconstruction Area had prepared for him. It was still sealed properly until today.


    After several times receiving food from him yesterday, she caught it naturally, drawn by reflex action. A trace of disappointment shed across her face when she realized that it was not food. But with fair intelligence, she quickly noticed that it was filled with fluid.


    Her curiosity has led her to shake the purified bottled water she was holding, for a few times. She looked at it repeatedly before she bit through this stic bottle, which was rarely seen before the apocalypse.


    Luo Yuan who was also holding the same purified bottled water intended to demonstrate the correct way to use it. But as he witnessed the scene, his jaw hung open as he did not know what to say to her exactly.


    Fortunately, she knew that the fluid inside the stic bottle was water. She then ced the broken part onto her lips, as she poured the water into her mouth.


    The clear liquid spilled out of her mouth and dripped onto herrge, firm breasts before leaving a puddle of water on the floor. It was indeed an arousing sight to behold. Luo Yuan looked away quickly.

 Chapter 382: Evolution

    Chapter 382: Evolution


    Trantor: EndlessFantasy Trantion Editor: EndlessFantasy Trantion


    After walking for half an hour in the morning, the ground started to get wet. There werekes and streams everywhere in this area and even more puddles that were merged together. They continued to walk for another ten minutes, even when the ground started to be even more damp, as many ces had been diffused with water.


    The abundance of water had also helped the nts to grow extraordinarily strong.


    Other than the sky-high trees, even the water nts on the ground had grown two to three meters in height. When they walked inside, it was difficult for them to find their bearings.


    Inside these nts, there were poisonous snakes and insects everywhere, thus Luo Yuan never had the chance to stop attacking along the way.


    These only posed a little inconvenience, but what was more troublesome was the groups of mutated insects with long sharp needles that upied a radius of several kilometers of the road, darting about.


    The mutated insects were about the size of a disc, and were only at a dark blue level. However, they moved in swarms and were connected like bees. If he killed one of them, he had to face an overwhelming attack from the entire army of insects.


    Although it was not threatening enough to Luo Yuan, he felt disgusted to deal with them.


    Of course, if he kept up with his momentum, this would not be a problem. However, the momentum did note naturally, it would dissipate one¡¯s spirit, sense, and will. Even if he had a strong will and sense, he could not afford to keep deploying them along the journey.


    He reluctantly walked for a while, and finally had to jump from tree to tree, like the mutated woman.


    He tried to cross the jungle via the trees several times before, but was not as skillful as the mutated woman who survived and lived in the wilderness. At first, he was somewhat awkward and his motions seemed somewhat jerky, but with amazing agility and control over his body, he was quick to learn any challenging movements. After a short while, he had soon gotten used to it, and was now even more nimble than the mutated woman.


    Luo Yuan noticed that there were quite a lot of bird¡¯s nests around. They had departed since dawn and the sky was now getting brighter. It was the time when the birds fly out for food hunting, resulting in a forest full of chirping and tweeting.


    Suddenly, something ck fell down from the sky. Luo Yuan was shocked, immediately leaping to another tree. Without the need to turn around to see it, he already knew what it was. He looked towards the front and witnessed the scene of numerous bird droppings descending from the sky like bombs. If he did not pay more attention, he would have been hit by the droppings.


    These mutated birds were not like the regr birds before the apocalypse. Even the smallest mutated bird was as big as an adult-sized one. Averagely, the birds were five to six meters in height and weighed three to four tons. If they were hit by the droppings of these giant mutated birds, they would be drowned and showered by their feces.


    However, both of them were very alert, so that the tragedy did note to light.


    ...


    The further they went, the more ponds they noticed. From the original wends, it gradually turned into a swamp, and finally, it led them to the direction of ake. If it was ake in front, it would be a huge one. They had been traveling for around half an hour since the first time they saw the dampness. With their speed, it had been more than 100 kilometers of distance traveled, but they had only managed to reach the outer ring.


    Throughout thest two days, Luo Yuan had been traveling across Chuan Shu and even passed half of Gui Zhou, approaching Guang Xi. With the assistance of apass and the terrain analysis of a satellite map, he had never gotten lost before. From his memory, there was noke in this area on the satellite map.


    Luo Yuan thought that theke might have just been formed, or that it was still too shallow to submerge the trees, thus it was not picked up on the satellite map.


    Since the apocalypse, temperatures spiked first, then the sea level began to rise and then, the climate changed. Plus, there were various seismic volcanic movements, which resulted in the change of terrain. Some of the original presence of rivers andkes had disappeared, but there was also an emergence of new rivers andkes in the area.


    As he had expected, the water was getting deeper and the grass on the ground had gradually been reced by water nts, with groups of mutated fishes swimming amongst the nts. It was close to noon now, and the ring light shone throughyers of leaves and shed numerous light reflections on the surface of the water. The colors kept changing, in ordance to the waves of the water.


    Suddenly, there was something in the water which rapidly moved towards his direction. Both sides of the water were separated by an invincible force that raised the waves by about half a meter.


    The mutated woman was chasing after Luo Yuan to the point of exhaustion. She was not as strong as he was. The journey of a thousand miles with Luo Yuan yesterday had consumed all her strength. In addition, she did not sleep well the night before due to the bad and unfamiliar environment. She could only run for a few hours today but was at the edge of giving up.


    Her tired body and low spirits had made her less alert than before, and was unaware of the change in the water. Just when she jumped to another twig from a branch, she heard a loud bang when she was still mid air.


    The waves were as tall as ten meters and held many threats and dangers in it. A ferocious ten meter-long mutated fish with a mouthful of sharp teeth had suddenly leaped into the air towards the mutated woman to bite her.


    Things happened so quickly, so when danger approached, she felt an intense feeling of fear until her pupil contracted and body turned stiff. She could not react anymore.


    At that critical moment when the mutated woman was almost bitten by the mutated fish, a broken branch fell onto the mutated fish like a spear. The branch hit the mutated fish directly on its head, smashing it into pieces.


    The remaining kic energy thumped the headless mutated fish back into the water. The next moment, water suddenly simmered, and numerous whirlpools appeared. Blood sshed out from the surface of the water soon after.


    In just a few seconds, all that was left of the previously fierce mutated fish were only bones.


    "Are you alright?" Luo Yuan instantly jumped next to the mutated woman,pletely disregarding the fact that she would notprehend his question.


    She did not respond; her body tightly holding a twig like a frightened rat, shivering in fear. She was still in immense shock from that near-death incident.


    Luo Yuan caressed her head tofort her. His touch gave her a fright and drove her to jump onto another branch before climbing to the top. She hid behind the tree and looked at Luo Yuan vigntly.


    Luo Yuan awkwardly withdrew his hand. He looked at her shocked and tired face and knew that she would not be able to continue the journey anymore. Aspared to yesterday, her physical strength had obviously declined.


    He had to work on an alternative solution, as it was extremely lonely to travel alone. Anyone who had a slightly vulnerable mentality would go crazy should they embark on a simr journey. Of course, he had a strong Will so it was still bearable for him. However, with thepany of this mutated human, the journey was certainly a more enjoyable one.


    "You wait here. I¡¯ll be right back." Luo Yuan said and walked away.


    Just as he took a few steps, the mutated woman followed him again. Luo Yuan quickly gestured to encourage her to stop and rest instead.


    The mutated woman had a much higher intelligence than other mutated beasts. After several gestures, she finally understood and did not follow him anymore.


    But she seemed to feel blue. She curled up and squatted on a branch like an abandoned kitten.


    As the time passed, she was feeling more and more depressed. She ran to another branch and looked towards the direction where Luo Yuan headed to as if she intended to find a familiar face. However, she did not see anything exceptyers of leaves, akin to a dense greenwork.


    Then, she looked towards the direction where they came from.


    It was no longer a familiar environment. The nearest hill was very strange in her eyes. She was not sure how far she hade. What she knew was that she kept running since yesterday without stopping. They ran after filling up their stomachs; they ran after waking up from their sleep.


    She had left her safe nest and the familiar environment. At this ce, she felt extremely ufortable. She squatted on the branch and looked down at the waters below with a frightened face. There were many horrible monsters rapidly swimming in the water looking like they would jump up to bite her anytime. The more she thought about it, the more frightened she was, so she immediately climbed higher onto the highest branch to hide.


    The feeling of fear and loneliness rose in her heart.


    She suddenly wanted to go home. This was not a ce she wanted to be in. Although the road was far, she should be able to find a familiar environment if she went in the direction of where she came from, back to her turf and reassuring nest. Inside the nest, there was a corner where she buried a lot of nice shiny treasures that she had collected, just like the ne that hung around her neck.


    A soft sound came from somewhere not too far away. She immediately kept vigil and arched her body slightly. She quietly sneaked onto a branch amongst a thicker bush of leaves. She could feel the creature moving at a very fast speed.


    From the distance, it only took three blinks. It wasing towards her.


    The mutated woman felt uneasy and quickly moved onto a thinner branch. This was the valuable experience she learned from surviving in the jungle. The thinner branch was able to withstand her lithe body, but any creaturesrger in size could very well snap it in half. Even if she did meet a hungry mutated beast, she would jump further with the support of branch bouncing.


    Unfortunately, before she climbed up to the top of a tree, the shadow had instantly appeared in front of her.


    She was scared by the strong wind and immediately held on tight to a branch, and did not move. The next moment she blinked her eyes and finally saw it clearly. This was not an enemy, but the weirdpanion that had left before.


    The fear and anxiety in her instantly dissipated. A kind of inner joy was rising from the bottom of her heart and spread throughout the body, the upper and lower body seemed to have be limp and numb.


    She did not know if this was a surprise, but a joy of a high-intensity overwhelmed her.


    She noticed that he was carrying raw flesh in one of his hands. She now finally understood that he did not leave her but went to hunt instead. She looked through the leaves and saw the rays of the sun on her head. This was really the time when the weirdpanion wanted to eat.


    "Take it," Luo Yuan looked at the stunned mutated woman and threw an energy chip to her. Hepletely oblivious to the fact that there was suchplex mental activity going on in her mind, and also totally did not realize that the mutated woman had a human-like structure of a brain herself too.


    The mutated woman subconsciously reached out to take it. She looked and took a whiff of the little pill with a foul odor. By nature, there was a desire to make her swallow, and so she swallowed, obeying her instinct


    Suddenly, she felt electrocuted. Her pupils rapidly dted and shrunk, while her whole body instantly became red and burned up to a high temperature.


    This was a level six energy chip from a mutated bird. It was killed by Luo Yuan at its nest. Although the level was not high, this was the best he could find in such a short time. Despite that, it seemed to be effective on her.


    Not only was it effective, but the change was just about to begin. The genome of mutated humans was not as stable as that an ordinary human. After mutation, the genes of this type of creature had be extremely unstable, that it now made her not resemble a human, and could easily evolve like a mutated beast.


    With her body turning red, her scales were also getting darker in color. After a while, new scales grew and the old scales dropped off from her body.


    The newly grown scales was a shade lighter, and they looked denser than the previous ones, with no gap in between. From afar, she seemed to have normal skin like that of a human¡¯s, but not covered with scales. But soon, the scales became darker and harder, before finally turning pale blue.


    The change of the scales was just a little painful, but the next change brought about more sufferings until Luo Yuan could empathize the pain. He could hear the sound of her bone cracking and she was in so much pain until she kept ripping the bark apart under the tree, like a maniac.


    Perhaps it was the energy chip that elerated this evolution process without any buffer, or it could also be due to theck of food intake that caused the evolution process to be an extremely short one. Her body did not erge like the other mutated beast, but contracted in size instead, during the evolution process.


    She was originally around 170 centimeters in height, but now, she kept shrinking to about 10 centimeters. After half an hour, the fluctuation of her height finally stopped and maintained at about only 50 centimeters tall. The petite size reminded him of Wang Shishi, when Luo Yuan first met her.

 Chapter 383: An Easy, Fruitful Day

    Chapter 383: An Easy, Fruitful Day


    Trantor: EndlessFantasy Trantion Editor: EndlessFantasy Trantion


    The mutated human went limp after it evolved, her body drenched with sweat and waspletely soaking wet. To add on to that, her petite body made her look weak and feeble.


    However, Luo Yuan, with his perception had already noticed that the dimmed light that usually apanied her had be a few times brighter. A tremendous strength was hidden beneath her delicate, harmless appearance.


    Within a few seconds, her breathing gradually returned to its regr rhythm. Her fatigue reduced and every single cell in her body became vibrant and alive.


    Her attention shifted as the pain from her evolution dissipated. Looking at the changes that had urred to her scales curiously, she tried to stand up. An action that seemed so simple was particrly difficult for her at this very moment as she almost fell down after she staggered for a short while. She was frightened, so she grabbed onto a tree branch immediately.


    Her fingernails easily dug deep into the tree bark even when she used only a minimal amount of energy. As she pulled out her hand, she attempted to do it again several times. Looking attentively at her fingernails which have gotten a lot sharper than it was before, excitement could be seen gradually appearing on her face as her eyes exuded a light of amazement. She moved carefully, clutching onto the branch of a tree as she tried to adapt to the power within her body.


    She still staggered from time to time, nearly falling down a few times but still, she was able to react quickly during all the critical moments by holding onto tree branches.


    Her awareness of the changes that had taken ce in her body was probably the reason why she became bold, unafraid of making mistakes.


    In the very beginning, she only jumped carefully on one single tree branch.


    Soon, after about ten minutes or so, the area which she dared to move on expanded as she jumped from one tree to another.


    She could be seen jumping repeatedly without getting tired as her face was covered with excitement.


    However, due to her properties that had skyrocketed, her actions were quite jerkypared to her previous actions. With each jump, she either used too much or too little force. Fortunately, there were sufficientyers of branches around her that even if she were to fall down, she would be able to find a foothold somewhere with her Agility. Luo Yuan was also paying close attention to her from the sidelines.


    Her evolution had vastly increased her primary attributes, with her Agility now close to 15 points and her Strength being estimated to be at 16 points. It was hard to tell whether her attributes had increased or not just by looking at the surface, but it was estimated that there were some increments.


    Mutated humans like her were really favored by nature in aspects like these. If these things were experienced by the evolved humans, they would already have been listed as super-evolved humans. Amongst others, there were several such evolved humans in the reconstruction area. As a matter of fact, just two months ago, Luo Yuan was slightly stronger than her at this point in time.


    However, for a mutated human like her, this was just the result of a sixth level energy crystal.


    The other regret was that aside from these, the mutated humans did not seem to be gaining any abilities but instead, seemed to be evolving into mere carnivores.


    ...


    Of course, thebat capabilities of Luo Yuan could not be simply measured by these attributes alone. His expert-levelpetence in sword skills, the effective use of every single muscle fiber in his body as well as the aid of his Will made up arge portion of his capabilities.


    Luo Yuan¡¯s punch would weigh an amazing 20 tons and it would increase even further if he augmented his punch with his Will. Ordinary people with the same attributes may not be able to reach even seven or eight tones of energy if they had not gone through any sort of training in the past.


    To top it all off, seventh level mutated beasts would also have been easily killed if they went up against the Zhanmadao, which was able to destroy nearly everything.


    ...


    Theke was crystal clear as aquatic nts could be seen on the move. Fish were swimming in groups and blooming trees were covering the sky while they absorbed the sun¡¯s rays. The sunlight passed through gaps between the leaves, casting numerous shadows that were neither light nor dark on the ground.


    It must be said that this ce was indeed very beautiful, even it was potentially dangerous.


    However, both the mutated human and Luo Yuan who were here were not in the mood. They have had enough rest today, and they continued their journey after having a simple lunch.


    As they moved further ahead, the water in theke got deeper. The gap between two trees also became wider. Typically, it was one to two kilometers away from each other. However, at times they were even five to six kilometers apart making it look rather spacious and empty.


    Nearby the area they were at, one can asionally get a glimpse of debris from dead trees. These trees were rotten, and the bark had been peeling off, revealing a ck hazy color. They looked very much like giant stone pirs, standing on theke.


    There were also some trees which havepletely copsed. The extremely distorted roots looked like Qiulong[1], a horned dragon and they were barely hanging in midair.


    Certain trees were still stubbornly alive, but they will not likely live long without the presence of sunlight.


    All the trees here were extremelyrge, with luxurious branches and leaves. One big tree was already sufficient to form a green and luxurious forest. The tree canopy was also incredibly huge, its circumference had a perimeter of up to a few kilometers. However, at the same time, they were difficult in a survival situation.


    It would appeared that this piece of water was considered dangerous, just by looking at these dead trees debris and fallen trees.


    He had seen it many times along the way. Whether it was a sudden massive whirlpool that appeared suddenly or a silent shadow that skimmed across the bottom of theke would result in Luo Yuan having a dignified look.


    Although these aquatic mutated beasts were not of a high level, they grewrge because water was more buoyant than air and it could offset gravity in an aquatic environment by a substantial amount. Said like that, the size of the terrestrial creature would never measure up to the size of an aquatic creature which was also of the same level. Each one of them was appeared to be veryrge in size. The limitations of their size were believed to be only the depth and area of the water as well as, the richness and amount of their food.


    They were particrly difficult to deal with in addition to the unique characteristics of an aquatic environment. Luo Yuan would have had a hard time fighting back in the event of an attack.


    When it was three o¡¯clock in the afternoon, Luo Yuan witnessed the fight between two, seventh grade mutated beasts from far away.


    One of them was an giant aquatic beast, with a t tail and limbs and sharp teeth with a big mouth, looking like a lizard. Another one was a vigorous, robust golden bird that looked mysterious with its three tail feathers which exuded a blue light.


    This giant golden bird kept hovering midair with a wingspan that approached nearly 100 meters. As a result, the sky was shrouded by its shadow.


    However, the size of this bird was still considered to be petite and dainty aspared to the lizard-like giant beast. Without taking its wings into consideration, its body size was perhaps only as big as the lizard¡¯s head.


    Nheless, this giant golden bird was moving at a very fast speed, simr to the speed of lightning and electricity. It was in a more favorable position to win this battle.


    Every time the giant golden bird dived, a cone-shaped cloud was created from the sonic boom and lingered in the air for a long period of time. Even in the eyes of Luo Yuan, its speed was as swift as a shadow and as quick as lightning sh. It was just mere seconds before its ws reached the eyes of the giant beast in the water. Although the giant beast was trying hard to evade the giant golden bird¡¯s attack, there was still blood that the bird drew from its body with every attack.


    Luo Yan had noticed that the giant beast has be blind in one eye after it was scratched directly in the eye. Its scalp had also being torn by the giant bird¡¯s needle-sharp ws and blood kept dripping from its head, revealing its jade-white skull.


    Intense pain had caused this lizard-like giant beast to go on a rampage above of theke. Each of its movements came was made with enormous force and had a gigantic motion. More than 10,000 tons ofke water was shot up into the air and did not fall down for a long time. It seemed like the wholeke had exploded that just a few kilometers away, it seemed like it was raining.


    While the golden giant bird appeared to be in an advantageous positionpared to the giant beast in the water that was unable to fight back; it was actually not the whole truth. Although the giant aquatic beast looked miserable, it was not fatally injured. Even if it eventually lost, it could still hide in the water. However, when it came to the giant mutated bird, it could possibly be cast into eternal perdition even if it made only one mistake.


    And this giant aquatic beast was not as manic as it appeared to be. Otherwise, it would not have been so passive with its attacks. Luo Yuan had observed attentively that the giant aquatic beast would move its mouth, which was full of sharp teeth, away from the direction of the giant bird¡¯s attack furtively.


    It was a very patient hunter. Its manic act was just a bait, an attempt to weaken the opponent¡¯s battle awareness and it seemed that the giant aquatic beast was waiting for the perfect time to strike. After half a minute, as expected, the giant aquatic beast suddenly flung its head back and bit its opponent after the giant golden bird had once again, pounced on him like a lightning bolt. It was the one and only attack from this giant beast that Luo Yuan had witnessed and it had remarkably demonstrated the and it had remarkably demonstrated the saying ¡¯One shot. One kill.¡¯


    The moment the giant bird realized something was wrong, it pped its wings furiously but it was already toote. It¡¯s lightning-fast speed that initially gave it an edge when it was attacking, also made it difficult for it to stop. It would only watch as its body approached the wide, deadly mouth that was beneath it.


    In a sh, both its feet were bitten by a deadly mouth, open wide.


    The golden bird was so frightened of what had happened that it pped its wings to the best it could. This caused an exceptional amount of wind to blow and the surface of theke was pushed down several hundred meters, forming a bowl-shaped surface. At the same time, the giant bird was pecking at the giant beast¡¯s forehead, trying to kill it with its beak that was as sharp as a spear.


    It was a fatal attack by the giant bird as a crisp, crackling sound was heard and a hole appeared in the head of the giant beast in a moment. Luo Yuan who had sharp vision, noticed that there was a grayish-red colored liquid flowing out of the hole.


    The initial situation where the giant aquatic beast made the perfect move had suddenly changed to a situation where both sides were losing.


    The giant aquatic beast suddenly flipped over, pulling the giant golden bird into the water. The water in the entireke stirred vigorously as both of them carried out the remainder of their fight in the water.


    Luo Yuan had a gleam in his eyes. Originally, he was just nning to be a bystander without getting involved.


    Because after all, both flying and aquatic creatures were extremely difficult to deal with. There would be a chance to fail miserably. However, they were now both embroiled in a battle underwater. It was very hard to determine the oue of the fight in a short period of time as a seventh level mutated beast was extremely strong, even in nature. It was a pity for Luo Yuan to miss such a good opportunity.


    He looked at the task information that was on the system. Fortunately, the opportunity was still there as the task had not disappeared yet. He quickly took on the task. He then exerted a small amount of force against the tree branch with his feet and his body instantly shot away like a rocket.


    Realizing Luo Yuan had fled away, the mutated human who was in close proximity, quickly produced a hissing sound and kept on jumping on tree branches as she used both her hands and feet, trying to catch up with him.


    ...


    Half a minuteter, Luo Yuan was already at the top of the two giant beasts who were still locked in a fierce battle. The swelling waves were surging sky-high, and an abundance of water fell down, sshing heavily on the surface of theke just like an enormous fountain, producing waves of more than 10 meters high. Theke water which was previously clear had now be turbid.


    Luo Yan dared not hesitate and quickly came down to the surface once he got a whiff of a mild smell of blood.


    Luo Yuan used his abilities to determine the location of these two giant beasts below the water. It was a very deepke that even he, with all his abilities, had limited vision that he could use to predict what would happen in the deepest part of theke. However, the two giant beasts were still within his sight. They were just around ten-plus meters away from the water surface.


    Nheless, such distance was still considered quite far for Luo Yuan. To mount an effective attack, he had no choice but to risk himself going into the water. This whole body of water had been stirred into a concentrated porridge as both beasts fought fiercely in the water. It was fairly dangerous as the violent impacts of waves was the equivalent of numerous bombs exploding in deep water.


    It was close to impossible to get closer to the fight after he entered the water. Fortunately, their positions changed rapidly. No matter how anxious Luo Yuan got, as a hunter he could only wait patiently for the right time to strike.


    Finally, after about ten seconds or so, there was a sudden surge on the surface of theke. A great pir of water soared beside Luo Yuan and rose into the sky. His eyes lit up and his Zhanmadao was drawn in the blink of an eye. He leveled his saber to the water and started shing rapidly, almost a hundred times in just a single breath.


    The next moment, there seemed to be a high-frequency wave that happened to the surface of theke, followed by a massive surge of blooding from within theke, turning theke blood-red.


    Apanying the surge of blood was a small part of the golden wing. It had a smooth straight incision which was apparently shed by the Zhanmadao.


    More and more have appeared in just a while as the feathers were quite buoyant. The majority of them belonged to the golden giant bird.


    Theke began to gradually calm down after around ten minutes. Everything had remained peacefully in their ce. Luo Yuan was relieved after he got a notification that his mission was aplished. Looking at the increasing amount of shadows that approaching from afar, he went up into the tree branch above him immediately.


    [1] Qiulong ò°Áú: A mythical Chinese dragon that is frequently interpreted as an immature dragon, at times being referred to as a horned or hornless dragon, which is rather contradictory.

 Chapter 384: The Fourth Dimension

    Chapter 384: The Fourth Dimension


    Trantor: EndlessFantasy Trantion Editor: EndlessFantasy Trantion


    Luo Yuan nced at his experience and felt happy. After the experience upgrade, it had reached 197520/307200. After another three or four tasks, he would be able to upgrade one level higher. Unfortunately, the giant aquatic beast was not killed perfectly and he got only the basic experience amount, else the experience would have increased by another 19,200 points.


    Anyway, this task was basically a bonus to him and did not cost him a lot of effort, so he did not care much about it.


    At this moment, the calm surface suddenly stirred again, making it look like boiling water. There wererge and small fishes swam that towards their direction and each of them looked ferociously grim. When he looked down from the top, theke had be ck in color as if it was dyed with ck ink.


    The giant golden bird was very miraculous. Its three tail feathers that glowed blue impressed Luo Yuan. He thought of taking up the piece of tail feather which was floating on theke so he could identify it. However, once he saw the shadows approaching, he made an informed decision to give up his efforts.


    Whether it was in the air or water, it greatly reduced his ability to move. A simple careless mistake would put him in danger. In this wilderness, there were much more materials as precious as this while he had only one life. Therefore, he would not want to take the risk unless it was absolutely necessary.


    ...


    Luo Yuan waved at the mutated woman who hid behind the bushes. The mutated woman hesitated and only after a while did she bow down her body and climb over carefully.


    "Sit." Luo Yuan said as he demonstrated the posture to sit.


    She blinked and did not give a response. Instead, she stepped back.


    Luo Yuan thought that she did not quite understand and patiently demonstrated the action several times.


    The mutated woman looked hesitant. After a long pause, she slowly sat on a branch like Luo Yuan. She was not really sitting with her hip on the branch as her body was tensed while she looked around nervously.


    Luo Yuan looked at her and suddenly he came to understand that she had lived in the wilderness for too long and was very alert to the danger in her surroundings. This posture of a human that was so rxed in the face of danger would slow down her movement and put herself in danger. That was why she was so insecure when Luo Yuan asked her to sit down.


    Luo Yuan did not force her. Instead, he opened the backpack and threw a bottle of water to her.


    The mutated woman quickly came over and squatted down instead. She peeped at Luo Yuan and saw that he did not continue to correct her so she finally felt relief.


    Luo Yuan did not bother her. He pulled out a map from the backpack and carefully studied the next journey and the time they would reach the sea.


    While he was still onnd, he could walk freely as long as he could reach the destination. However, the sea route was totally different and he could not afford a single mistake. The sea was too vast and there was nothing to be used as a reference point.


    He had to be strict in following his nned direction in order to avoid any changes to the schedule and to find the ind that could amodate them.


    The mutated woman looked at the bottle. She saw Luo Yuan¡¯s actions before. With the experience she had, this time she did not bite the stic bottle but instead, tried to twist the cap. She found that it could be opened and was very excited about it. She continued to twist and in a short while the cap was removed.


    She gently shook the stic bottle. Like she learned from Luo Yuan, she lifted up the bottle and opened her mouth to drink.


    And then she secretly nced at Luo Yuan and saw that he was not paying attention to her, so she secretly hid the bottle behind her.


    Unfortunately, nothing could be hidden from Luo Yuan¡¯s abilities. He was speechless with the intelligence level of a mutated woman. Even if she could hide it now, when they departter, she would hold the bottle in her hand and everything would be revealed.


    Of course, he would not mind the stic bottle.


    ...


    After resting for a while, they departed again. An hour went by and they passed through theke and a hill before they finally reached a jungle that Luo Yuan familiar with.


    He finally rxed a bit after being tense for some time. As a living creature onnd, he could only feel secure in this environment.


    The Guizhou Mountains had many mountains and valleys in it. In a nce, he could see the tall mountains and deep valleys that riddled the region and some peaks were even surrounded by clouds all year long.


    Even before the apocalypse there were very few people he visited as thend was karst with many sinkholes. Luo Yuan was not interested in exploring, so he only passed by in a rush.


    As they were on the way, Luo Yuan suddenly felt dizzy and felt a kind of tiredness arising from within his heart.


    His Physique was over 17 points and as long as he was connected to the earth via his Earth Stomp, he had an endless supply of physical strength in added up to a tremendous total of 23 points of Physique. Since he left the reconstruction area, he had never felt exhausted as he did now.


    He immediately realized something was not right and quickly stopped to look at the system.


    With just a look, his face became serious. Unknowingly, his Four-Dimensional Brain¡¯s capacity had already dropped to 2%.


    "Four-Dimensional Drain"


    "Dimensional Depth: 2%"


    "Additional Abilities 1: Foresight (2 seconds)


    "Additional Abilities 2: Four-Dimensional Visual Perception"


    "Remarks: The four-dimensional world is colorful. Ordinary people can¡¯t look at it with their eyes because they have simple brains. However, you who have the path of four dimensions opened for you, you¡¯re no longer a simple minded human."


    He felt slightly relieved when he saw that his unease was due to his Four-Dimensional Brain. During his journey, his ability to predict what would happen was very useful. He benefits from this ability several times by predicting what would happen when he was in great danger and was able to avoid risky moves that finally allowed him to kill his enemies.


    However, he had no idea what this four-dimensional visual perception was.


    Literally, it should be understood that it would be associated to his ability to see or ess the four-dimensional world.


    All this while, his ability to perceive the fourth dimension had no use to him except to provide him with useless information that made his brain slower. There were times when he felt enormous emotional and mental pressure with such an amount of information that flowed through his brain. In order to mitigate the effects of this, he had to do everything in his power, including his search for the wisdom heart to improve his Intelligence.


    Even now, his four-dimensional vision was the biggest threat that he felt in his heart. It felt like it could explode at any moment.


    Through the headband he was wearing on his forehead, Luo Yuan could vaguely see an incredible scene but it was not that clear because of the headband.


    He started feeling stressed, he had to find a safer ce. Momentster, he managed to find somewhere to stay for the night located just under a cliff.


    There were caves everywhere in the area that was connected by a road that was covered with dense bushes and lush trees. When Luo Yuan found the cave, he thought he had found the home of an intelligent race butter realized that it was once the home of a human being.


    Looked at the enamel bowls and tes that were still pristine even after several years, it would seem that people once stayed here.


    There were only a few tribes that lived in the Guizhou Mountains. Some of them were isted and inessible, so they were hardly influenced by secr civilization. Some of them still had a primitive, matriarchal society being practiced. Luo Yuan discovered that this cave definitely belonged to one of the tribes.


    However, the human that once lived here should have already died, leaving only the cave here to continue its existence.


    After checking the safety of the cave for around 10 minutes, Luo Yuan took off his headband, disregarding the fact that the mutated woman was still around.


    Suddenly, Luo Yuan¡¯s vision became a blurry mess and he could see a strange light.


    "So this is the fourth-dimension."


    A new world unfolded before his very eyes. He stood up unconsciously and at the same time, an extraordinary aura spread out from his body.


    Vast amounts of information from the fourth-dimension shed in his mind. He suddenly came to understand the true nature of the world that had unveiled itself before him. The amazing part was, he did not feel a blockage in his brain after his four-dimensional visual perception was activated.


    "So my previous guess on the fourth dimension was is wrong. This is the real deal. We have been living in a four-dimensional space all this while." He sighed and finally understood the theory of it in his heart.


    Based on what he initially understood, a three-dimensional view was beyond the two-dimensional world. If there was life in a two-dimensional world, beings from the third dimension would be able to perceive them.


    Anything that two-dimensional beings would want to hide would not be a secret to three-dimensional beings. ording to that logic, beings from the fourth dimension that have ess to four-dimensional vision could also see through everything in the three-dimensional world.


    Luo Yuan found that such a logic was indeed true. However, his interpretation of the dimensions was different from what it really was in reality, so he did not see what he expected.


    It was akin to theck of two-dimensional beings in a three-dimensional world. Luo Yuan found that there were no specific three-dimensional beings in the fourth dimension. Specifically, the stones and soil on the earth were not the only things that were from the fourth dimension, human beings were also from the fourth dimension. It was just that, the fourth dimension was almost negligible as they could not perceive it. However, this negligible fourth-dimensional had totally changed his view on the three-dimensional world.


    A single dot would be zero dimension. A line was in the first dimension. A surface was in two dimensions and space was in three dimensions, which also happens to be the environment that human beings lived in. The fourth dimension adds an additional dimension to that environment. Before his four-dimensional vision was avable to him, he could only make guesses on what the fourth dimension actually contained. The only thing he could see were groups of phantasmagoric colors which he was finally able to see with his four-dimensional vision.


    Luo Yuan found that what he saw was not what human beings understood of the fourth dimension. There was no strange, unpredictable presence there but only a warping of space-time.


    For example, a two-dimensional surface could be turned into three-dimensional mountains and even valleys. A two-dimensional strip could be twisted 180 degrees to be a three-dimensional Mobius band. Simrly, three-dimensional space could be twisted to be a four-dimensional Klein bottle.


    The warping of space was the additional dimensional that the fourth dimension added to the three-dimensional world.


    Everything had gravity, but gravity creates spatial distortions. So, even in the third dimension, humans would still experience a certain amount of spatial warping. There were no clear boundaries set between the third dimension and the fourth dimension. The only difference was the degree to which people were subject to spatial warping as well as the existence of a sense for the fourth dimension.


    Luo Yuan thought of Xu Zhiqiang who was a pseudo four-dimensional being.


    His previous spection of him was wrong, as he realized after his four-dimensional vision activated and the fourth dimension was unveiled before his eyes, removing all confusion.


    He realized that the transformation by Xu Zhiqiang was not really him bing a giant. Regardless whether he transformed or not, his three-dimensional length, height, and width had always been the same.


    The only thing that changed was the spatial warping in the fourth dimension. When he triggered his ability, the space his body inhabited twisted and warped in the fourth dimension, resulting in the


    As the space in his body shrank, the space surrounding him seemed to elongate and expand, resulting in the illusion of a giant body.


    Of course, it was also due to the fact that humans still only possessed three-dimensional vision and was only able to perceive a sliver of what the fourth dimension had to offer. After Xu Zhiqiang went through his transformation, there was still a huge part of him unseen to human eyes.


    However, it was not what humans understood of length, width and height so the changes cannot be categorized as big or small. From the perspective of a three-dimensional perspective, the size did not change. The only thing that changed was the spatial warpage in the fourth dimension.


    Luo Yuan walked out of the cave and looked at the sky. He was shocked. At this point, to his eyes, the universe seemed to be infinitelyrger. The sun had yet topletely set and through his four-dimensional vision, he seemed to perceive the sun to be bigger than when he only had three-dimensional vision. All celestial objects such ass and ck holes also appeared in the fourth dimension. Perhaps the world existed in the fourth dimension instead of the third dimension.


    However, this was not something human beings could perceive and measure. What more could they do but specte on the facts with mathematical equations?


    In this vast, borderless space,s were not the only things that filled the space but also an endless energy that was constantly surging, rolling in space like stars and clouds that constantly changed the color of the light they gave off. Luo Yuan came to a sudden realization. Perhaps this was the dark energy, unknown to human beings and was still currently being studied by the scientificmunity. This energy ounted for most of the mass that exists in the universe.


    With his four-dimensional vision, space no longer held any secrets from him.


    In his current state, he found that he could see farther than he ever could. His eyes could look beyond the mountains, the curvature of the earth and see beyond thousands of kilometers. However, it was a blurry image and he could only see a rough terrain.

 Chapter 385: Warp Drive

    Chapter 385: Warp Drive


    Trantor: EndlessFantasy Trantion Editor: EndlessFantasy Trantion


    The three-dimensional space was not smooth and was slightly distorted. On asion, there were ripples that came from the space, far in the corners of the universe that affected the entire earth from time to time. There was no room for any resistance so space twisted to some extent, bing distorted.


    However, it was akin to small ripples in the water that would not even draw attention from fishes swimming in it. Humans on earth would not have been aware of the changes that had taken ce.


    The existence of distortion in space hadpletely subverted the concept that the shortest distance between two points is a straight line. In his perspective, a straight line in three dimensions was a curved arc in his four-dimensional perspective.


    Luo Yuan even discovered a space not too far away that was extremely distorted. The distance, initially 700 to 800 kilometers long would be less than 100 kilometers if he traveled in the fourth dimension in a straight line.


    Unfortunately, he could only observe as he could not act on his knowledge. His four-dimensional vision was just like an organ that allowed him to see in the fourth dimension. He did not gain the ability to shuttle himself across the fourth dimension. Hecked a four-dimensional body.


    Luo Yuan sighed a little as he had witnessed what the real world held within it. Looking at the situation, it seems he had no choice but to continue his life as a being of the lower dimension. It was as if he had to take one step after another and though unwilling, he knew he had to do so despite knowing the things he now knew. He could not help himself from feeling a little lost.


    The distorted space that contained boundless dark energy was like flowers in a mirror, like a moon that was reflected in theke because although they seemed within reach, they were separated by an insurmountable natural moat, of sorts.


    His sense of the fourth dimension simply could not break through the gap that exists between the third and fourth dimension. Well, that being said, nothing seemed to be impossible.


    It was as if good fortune hade to Luo Yuan, his mind suddenly bing clear as he got a good idea. He remembered an important piece of information, a spection on the progress science has made regarding extraterrestrial civilizations during his training in New Capital City. Among them was information regarding interster travel.


    From the very basic sma propulsion to chemical fuel-injection, the usage of light as a source to trigger nuclear fusion as well as warping through space using a warp drive to jump through the curvature of space, which was still considered to be in the realm of science fiction.


    Luo Yuan thought that the means of transporting by using the curvature of space was perhaps, not something impossible.


    An object that flew utilizing the curvature of space would be wrapped in a bubble of sorts as space contracts in front of it while the space behind it expanded at a certain distance. The object has no eleration based on the frame of reference nor is it limited by the limits set on it by the theory of rtivity. As long as space could be distorted behind it, with sufficient energy a warp drive like this could easily break the speed of light.


    He had a gleam in his eyes as his heart grew aze with hope.


    Perhaps, jumping through space could only be possible in the fourth dimension. However, using the curvature of space to fly was not impossible for Luo Yuan as he was able to observe the fourth dimension.


    The operations of this warp drive was not asplicated as other methods. Space was clearly visible to him with his four-dimensional vision. The only thing he needed to do was to shrink the space in front of him, causing the space behind him to expand, propelling him forward.


    In this case, the energy powering this drive would be his Will.


    He had no need to fly at the speed of light. Instead, he only needed to surpass the original speed at which he flew at. The only uncertain issue now was that he was not sure if Will could interfere with space-time curvature. It could trigger tangible and intangible forces like electromaic waves of various frequencies and even gravity but it remains unknown if it could interfere with space-time curvature. This has never happened before. His mind was nk.


    His Will was the ability of his mind to interfere with reality, directly. In philosophy, this would be the ideal ability to have. If there was only one word to describe Will, it would be the ability to grant all wishes. Certainly, this ability was still considered to be something very weak and limitedpared to other abilities that existed nowadays.


    It was just like the fact that he could not create something from scratch and perform wonders, turning stone to gold with only a touch; he still could not make all his wishese true. Until this very day, his Will only served to augment his already amazing Strength. He had absolutely no idea if it would interfere with space-time curvature.


    Everything needs to be tested.


    The very next moment, he concentrated his mind as his body slowly floated up into the sky. His eyes shone with a soft light and a dim light shrouded his body. He looked at the motions of space around him which fluctuated ever so slightly in the presence of his Will that actively interfered with the space in front and behind him.


    He looked around, realizing that he had not moved at all. He was not disappointed and neither was he impatient as he had seen space fluctuate around him. It could have been considered to be sessful.


    The reason why he did not immediately move was that the warping of space was too negligible and he needed some time to elerate. He waited patiently like a statue as his body floated in mid air while he continued to warp the space around his body.


    Time passed second by second and he finally felt himself moving. At the same time, the space in front and behind him gradually fluctuated, propelling him forward. In the beginning, the movements were slower than a snail but as his Will continued to push on, it had a snowball effect. Space began to expand and contract even more and his speed gradually increased.


    His speed reached 50 meters per second after five minutes.


    His speed reached 60 meters per second after ten minutes.


    After fifteen minutes, his speed reached 80 meters per second. It was, in no way a constant eleration but he could control the amount of eleration. At this moment his speed already exceeded the speed at which he previously flew at, and it was still rising rapidly!


    It was even more intriguing to observe that the air around him did not seem to have much movement though he was moving at such a speed and it remained so even as he was stationary. It seemed that the space around him waspletely independent of the three-dimensional world.


    The truth was there and it was fact. Luo Yuan had found out that the spacetime curvature bubble around him was operating independently of the three dimensions.


    It was even more intriguing to see that the air movement around his area did not seem to flow much at this speed and this has made no difference when he was staying put. It seemed that the space around him has beenpletely independent of the three-dimensional world.


    The truth was there and it was also the real fact. Luo Yuan has found out that the curvature bubble in his area has been semi separated from this three-dimensional world which caused a space-time phenomenon he had not noticed. His body had grown from his height of 180 centimeters to four or five meters, making him look like a giant.


    In reality, the curvature of space would continue to erge along with his Will that had increased over time. Luo Yuan would also continue to appear bigger and before long he would bepletely detached from this world.


    Of course, this was not a literal detachment. He still existed in the universe, he would just no longer be able to observe and be observed by three-dimensional beings.


    ...


    Luo Yuan no longer moved forward and got ready to return when his speed reached 200 meters per second.


    He discovered that his Will was running out and felt fatigued at the same time.


    This was the price he had to pay to evolve to a fourth-dimensional being. Whether his ability to predict the future or to observe the fourth dimension was needed to process and analyze the information, it was considered to be a massive endeavor for humans. Only astronomical figures could be used to describe the information.


    If the information avable to him was to be processed by aputer, all theputers before the apocalypse in addition to all the smart devices, multiplied by thousands or even tens of thousands would not be enough. If all the energy consumed topute the data was used in a nuclear bomb, it would be powerful enough to destroy the moon.


    Using such aparison, such efficient use of energy in his four-dimensional brain was incredible though the energy consumed was still considered high for an individual like Luo Yuan.


    Although he was faintly aware of the four dimension when he had his prediction ability in the past, his 23 points in Physique could sustain him fully. Even the hurried fights and his usual journey, coupled with his use of his abilities did not drain him to such a level.


    However, he noticed something when his four-dimensional brain increased to two percent.


    It was still fine when he wore his headband. Most of the informationing from the fourth dimension was shielded by it. He could still maintain his strength even when his four-dimensional vision activated with the band on. However, once the band was removed, the amount of physical strength he consumed greatly increased. He already felt tired within a span of three hours, his body feeling exhausted and empty.


    Luo Yuan did not dare to stay outside for too long in such conditions. He got hold of the space fluctuations immediately and quickly turned around, heading back to the return path.


    His speed became faster during this period. As he moved forward at high speed, the scenery passing by became an illusion of sorts, a myriad of lines that formed a colorful abstract painting which looked strange and unusual.


    He no longer had the ability to judge the speed at which he moved at.


    At the very least, it had already surpassed the speed of sound. To top it off, since he was flying in this manner, there were no sounds made by his movements. He did not even create a sonic boom when he moved faster than the speed of sound and only created slight fluctuations in the air around him.


    Luo Yuan had no idea how fast this flight could take him as he had not reached the limit yet. However, his eleration seemed to have slowed down, unlike the previous double in speed every 50 to 60 seconds.


    He spent 20 minutes on the way out but it did not even take a minute for him toe back.


    He quickly got rid of the curvature of space around him as he approached the familiar cave. Along with the space around him that gradually became stable, Luo Yuan, who was originally flying faster than the speed of sound, stopped within a few seconds. Even with his acute senses, Luo Yuan did not feel any change in his inertia during the deceleration. It was as if he just stood there, not moving a muscle in his body.


    Luo Yuannded and put his headband back on after taking it out from his pocket. The fourth dimension was promptly insted and he could feel the power of the earth that had been flowing into his body constantly, recovering his strength gradually. He exhaled and a trace of excitement was evident on his face but as he walked into the cave, he found that the mutated human had disappeared. The cave was a small and shallow one where he could see all of it at once.


    He even used his prediction ability to check out the neighborhood in the vicinity of a few miles but found nothing. pping his forehead, he realized that he had been too engrossed in his exploration of the fourth dimension earlier and hadpletely neglected the mutated human. Luo Yuan knew at once that it was the reason why the mutated human had gone missing. Based on her behavior the past two days, she should have chased him when he left the cave to go outside but how would she have been able to do so based on how fast he elerated?


    He did not seem to be bothered as the sky was getting darker and the cowardly mutated human would get scared once the sky grew dark and she woulde back.


    He returned to the cave and purposely lit a fire at the entrance so that the mutated human, even from a distance, would be able to know that he had returned. He then sat down and waited patiently.


    Soon, the sun set on the horizon and the sky darkened. He looked at the time and half an hour had passed without him noticing. He stood up and as he got impatient, he paced back and force, frowning as he nced at the forest far away from time to time.


    However, after some time, he decided to sit back down and a self-deprecating smile appeared on his face. He consoled himself, "She¡¯s just a mutated human. There¡¯s nothing to worry about even if she really didn¡¯t return. It doesn¡¯t make any sense to have feelings for her just after being travelpanions for two days. Without having her to slow him down, he should be able to reach the coast of Guangxi by tomorrow noon based on his current speed."


    Having said that, he was still getting more worried as time passed.


    "She couldn¡¯t probably have died, right?" He talked to himself, "It¡¯s better for me if I find her and do what a decent human being would do." After all, he was the person who got her to tag along on his journey here. He would still be the guilty party if she were to die because she would not have died otherwise.


    "So much trouble." He took his saber and quickly jumped from the cave into the jungle. He took a whiff of the scent left behind by the mutated human and moved quickly towards that direction.


    "Why did she run so far away?" Luo Yuan spoke to himself sounding depressed after half an hour had passed. It was already beyond the distance he took to fly here but there was still no sign of her based on her scent. It seemed that she just ran blindly without noticing him.


    Looking at the jungle which was already buried in darkness as well as the roars and growls of beasts nearby, Luo Yuan had no choice but to continue forward.


    Time flew and soon, an hour had passed. However, Luo Yuan still could not find any traces of her. She had seemingly, without stopping in between, continued running forward. He did not know what this silly, mutated human was thinking!


    Soon, he squinted his eyes while he was running and he immediately came to a stop. He lowered his head and picked up a stic bottle. To be exact, a pure bottle of water.


    This was the bottle that the mutated human stole quietly this afternoon. Each time Luo Yuan looked at her, she would stay wary enough to hide this pure bottle of water behind her body. She had treasured this bottle very much but now, it seemed that the bottle which was then so precious to her, had been thrown on the ground.


    Obviously, she was in danger. He rose with a dignified look on his face.


    Fortunately, there was no traces of the smell of blood that he came across. She probably seeded in her escape.


    He became anxious and quickly increased his speed. The system triggered a seventh-level task while he was shuttling across the jungle like a shadow. However, he was not in the mood now. He carried on searching and kept his distance from this area.


    The jungle in the night was of gloom and horror. Numerous eyes, in blue and pale yellow colors, were lit in the dark, likenterns. One would be terrifying just from looking at them. He did not know how could this coward of a mutated human even dare toe here, to the extent ofing out this far. Does she not know how to hide?


    She was really a person with a one-track mind.


    Luo Yuan was looked as if he had a burden on his shoulders and got more worried than he was before.


    As he passed by a ce with messy grass, he let out a curious, "Eh?" Some of the weeds had been torn while others were ripped out by the roots. The mutated human seemed to have struggled here and the one thing that made his face change, was the fresh blood that flowed not far away.


    Although the amount of blood was not much, it obviously belonged to a humanoid after he took a whiff.


    Out of the corner of his eye, he suddenly noticed that there was something hanging from the tree. He turned around to look and discovered that it was a rattan rope that hung from a slender tree branch.

 Chapter 386: A Sanctuary For Humans

    Chapter 386: A Sanctuary For Humans


    Trantor: EndlessFantasy Trantion Editor: EndlessFantasy Trantion


    Later, Luo Yuan discovered a pile of branches lying on the ground. It was obvious that this was a trap, but the question was... Were these created by intelligent creatures? Were there humans living here?


    The ground was nketed by yellow grass and dried leaves. Luo Yuan had not seen traces of footprints but instead, knew from experience that the scent he could smell came from an evolved human. It had a very strong odor which was very simr to burnt rubber.


    Luo Yuan looked to be deep in thought and after some pondering, he decided to run swiftly towards the source of the smell. Luo Yuan¡¯s expression quickly changed after running for only a few minutes as he was shocked to find that there were signs of humans living in the area! There was a broken metal spear, numerous rusty bullet casings, and even human bones!


    Based on the degree of corrosion on the spear and bullet casings, these items were probably left here for less than a month. Luo Yuan then ran even faster to survey the area to find out if there were any survivors. After 10 minutes of circling, he chose a rock thaty on the higher ground to squat on and looked into the distance.


    There was a base located on the hillside, covered by growing vines and moss. Luo Yuan predicted that it was probably a military base before the apocalypse as there were rusted metal fragments of a helicopter visible in the vicinity. For the sake of security, the main entrance was reinforced with manyyers of thick and heavy wooden boards. There were also a few small holes at the side that Luo Yuan believed to be the actual entrance to the base.


    The sky was all dark by now. There wasplete silence in the surroundings and it was pitch ck. Luo Yuan took this opportunity to quietly maneuver into the small holes on the side of the base. The path was quite obscure and he had to hunch his body slightly as he walked along the winding path. The path to get there was around 1.8 meters high and the surface of the two sides of the wall was rough and uneven. People who walked along this path had to be aware of the sharp canine teeth embedded into the wall for protection.


    This was obviously a man-made cave. It must have been a huge project seeing that it was done without the use of machines. After venturing a further 10 meters, Luo Yuan found that his path was blocked by a thick board. Luo Yuan pushed the board with brute force but it did not move at all. He immediately knew that something was behind it.


    He knocked on the board and shouted, "Please open the door!"


    "Are you trying to get yourself in trouble? Why are youing back sote?" Someone responded from the other side in an angry tone.


    "Just open the door. Don¡¯t even bother saying anything else." Luo Yuan answered coldly.


    The entire ce went silent. After a long pause, a person could be heard mumbling but Luo Yuan had no idea what he was talking about. He then heard chains being loosened followed by the sound of gears turning. It took a good 10 minutes before the door was eventually opened.


    Due to his impatience, Luo Yuan entered the cave abruptly even before the door hadpletely opened. He looked around and it was not dark at all. A few rows ofmps lit the ce up and cast a light on the walls of the cave.


    "Who are you people?" Luo Yuan asked. He was greeted by mumbles again.


    There were four men wearing animal skin around their waist and holding an old rifle. They looked extremely tense when they saw a foreign figure in their midst. The men looked like cavemen and the resemnce was so striking that Luo Yuan even wondered if the rusty rifles they were holding were still usable. They were not wearing any other clothing besides the animal skin around their waist.


    Luo Yuan was curious about the texture of their skin which seemed to be coated with a thickyer of translucent gel. Besides their faces, their entire body was coated with a kind of gel that seemed to have a strong and pungent smell. Luo Yuan was intrigued by their attire as it looked exactly like they used to be a group of civilized people who went back to living like a primitive tribal society.


    These people were frightened at the prospect of an unknown ¡¯civilized¡¯ man being in their presence. They suddenly noticed that there was a streak of light in the air and before they were able to identify what was happening, they felt pain at their throats. They subconsciously touched their throats and realized that there was blood on their hands. They were frightened and their faces turned dreadfully pale.


    "Stop spewing nonsense and answer my questions! You won¡¯t be so lucky next time if I¡¯m not satisfied with your answer." Luo Yuan said in a deep voice.


    The four of them stood there silently and felt their limbs go numb.


    "Nod your head if you understand me!" Luo Yuan said coldly.


    The four men nodded their heads immediately.


    "Well... How many people are there in this base?" Luo Yuan sat on one of the rocks and questioned them.


    One of the guards took a look at the rifle that he was holding and nced at Luo Yuan. He subconsciously gulped and before he was able to act, Luo Yuan stared at him. He was shocked and almost dropped his rifle on the floor!


    "You, answer!" Luo Yuan screamed at the man.


    "Around... two hundred!" He replied.


    "How many evolved men are there? You, answer me!" Luo Yuan pointed at another person this time.


    "Around... 15?" One of the guards answered cautiously. Luo Yuan raised his leg and gave him a kick. The man flew and crashed against the wall. He coughed up blood and slowly slid down to the floor.


    "Here is another chance for you to be honest. How many evolved men are there in this base?" Luo Yuan smiled coldly as he walked towards the guard who was still coughing blood.


    "Please, don¡¯t kill me... Please, don¡¯t! There are 18... 18 evolved men!"


    In order to save time, Luo Yuan used his abilities to get them to speak the truth every time he asked a question. Soon, Luo Yuan could briefly understand the military base¡¯s operations.


    ......


    The facts all seemed to align with Luo Yuan¡¯s predictions. This was initially a military base situated on the cliff. After the apocalypse, the conditions had gotten worse and most of the troops and weapons were pulled out of these areas. With the gradual fall of Guizhou, this military base with a strong defense had be the sanctuary for the humans here. It provided temporary shelter for 50,000-60,000 refugees. Many people had undoubtedly died due to hunger, disease and the threat of the mutated beasts. The scariest part was any internal strife that urred which eventually led to humans killing each other. The poption numbers decreased drastically to the point where they are left with less than 300 survivors.


    The people here were divided into three forces. The leaders of these three forces were Li Wang, Cao Cao, and Xie Ziliu. Among the three of them, Li Wang had the most evolved man under him whereas Xie Ziliu was the strongest and Cao Cao managed most of the weapons and recruited most of the regr people that were under him.

 Chapter 387: The Crowd

    Chapter 387: The Crowd


    Trantor: EndlessFantasy Trantion Editor: EndlessFantasy Trantion


    The barrack was emptied of its furniture that even the beds had been disassembled and removed. This particr military base was located within the inner parts of the mountain - thus, the ce was dim and damp. Corroded walls were regrly seen besides the mosses that had been growing all over the walls. A familiar odor suddenly filled the air. There was a mutated human struggling on the floor. She was wrapped in a and tightly tied with a rope. It seemed that there was no way for her to escape.


    She did not know why they would catch her as she thought they were of the same species. Suddenly, she heard footsteps approaching and she stopped struggling abruptly. She held her breath and shivered as she was terrified.


    "Boss, the mutated human is really pretty. I¡¯ve never met such a beautiful woman in my life!" A perverted-looking man spoke. "I guess she¡¯s still a virgin as her skin is as smooth as silk!" He continued describing their new prisoner.


    The audience could not help but swallow a mouthful of saliva. They would have sexually pleasured themselves if the boss were not here. The reason why they reacted this way was that there were only a small number of women who survived. The dark side of human nature was always exposed under such extreme and undesirable circumstances. For example, as soon as they were out of food, they would eat each other for the sake of their survival. It was one of the hardest times the people in the sanctuary had encountered.


    Dead bodies had be their source of food for quite a long period of time now. The elderly, ill and disabled were their first targets to be eliminated and eaten. Most of the time, this would be the women that were not capable of protecting themselves. Eventually, the weak were eliminated one by one as the survivors became hungry cannibalistic wolves.


    When hunting for food had be too difficult for them and the stress was beyond what they could cope with, they shifted their attention to other things like sexual desires. Only then did they realize that not many women had survived and the ones that did probably did give them any lustful thoughts. Among the survivors, only 20 of them were women and most of them were strong. Hence, it was easy to understand the value of a beautiful woman to these people. They are a rare gem and if they were pretty enough, they could easily trigger the sexual desires of the remaining survivors.


    Going back to the boss, he was short with rather dark skin and always carried a smile on his face. Due to this, he did not look like an ordinary boss. However, he was one of the leaders of the sanctuary. This was Cao Cao!


    As he listened to how these people described the beauty of their new prized possession, he was slightly turned on and was very intrigued. "Is she really that beautiful or is there something wrong with your eyes? How could describe this mutated woman like a gentle female human? Open the door and show me how pretty this mutated woman is!" The boss teased him.


    "Boss, why don¡¯t you trust me? Anyway, you¡¯ll understand real soon. However, you should know that she¡¯s very strong and agile. You have to be careful. Brother Chen was injured as he wasn¡¯t aware when it happened!" The man replied.


    "She was caught alive by you, how could she threaten our boss? Monkey Wang, how can that be?" One of his subordinates spoke.


    "Don¡¯t get me wrong. Our boss is certainly the strongest..." The pervert who was addressed as Monkey Wang said immediately as the boss scowled.


    "Stop spewing nonsense and open the door!" Cao Cao ordered impatiently.


    The pervert immediately zipped his mouth shut and opened a rusty lock. The door was subsequently opened. The room was dimly lit by a flickering torch but with just one nce, she caught everyone¡¯s attention. Cao Cao¡¯s expression changed as well. Even though was the boss, his woman was only considered to have average looks aspared to their new prisoner. Because the ce was damp and dim, most of the people here were suffering from skin diseases. Therefore, he had never met any women that were as healthy as her since the apocalypse. As soon as he managed to gather his thoughts, he coughed when he saw that his subordinates were acting foolishly. "Stop looking and get out," he smiled as he spoke.


    They looked away despite their reluctance and hesitantly walked out of the cave. They looked back at the mutated woman from time to time and secretly gulped. Suddenly, there was a person running in a panicked state and shouted, "Boss, something bad has happened!"


    Cao Cao gave him a p on the cheek and said, "What¡¯s wrong? Rx. The sky isn¡¯t going to fall." The person was only able to recover from shock after a few seconds, which felt like hours given the circumstances. He gulped as Cao Cao frowned and spoke, "Someone has invaded our base!"


    All of a sudden, one of his subordinates suddenly fell in front of him. The next moment, he saw a man dash swiftly towards him. A thrill shed within Cao Cao¡¯s head as he witnessed the person¡¯s attire and strength. The way this person was equipped meant too much to them and he had not realized that there were evolved humans that were so powerful living this near to them.


    Maintaining a neutral expression, he calmly signaled to one of them. That person immediately left the room. He breathed a sigh of relief and smiled as he said, "Hey friend, where are you from? Why did youe here?"


    This person was Luo Yuan, of course. He looked at the crowd in front of him and slowly walked forward. These people were skinny and dirty. Some of them wore animal skin on their waists while others walked around naked. Most of them were holding rifles while some of them held guns. Even the military forces at the Reconstruction Area were better than them. Besides the evolved humans in the base, as long it was Luo Yuan¡¯s intention, he could definitely conquer all of them in no time. Fortunately, he was not here to kill. Many people died after the apocalypse. It was rare to witness a group humans that managed to survive until this day.


    Luo Yuan was standing 20 meters away from Cao Cao and said in a deep voice, "I believe you¡¯re a wise man and I¡¯m not looking for trouble. This mutated human is from my group. Can you please hand her over to me?"


    "Mutated human? Did I miss something? I¡¯ve never seen an evolved or mutated human before. Perhaps, I can help you ask around. Probably some other people might know of it as I¡¯m not the only leader here." Luo Yuan could already sense the existence of mutated and evolved humans in the area. He felt sickened and was growing a little impatient so he asked, "So, I guess you¡¯re not willing to be honest, huh?"


    Cao Cao¡¯s face turned gloomy and said, "It is well said that if you¡¯re a friend, we have fine wines to serve; if you¡¯re a wolf, we have shotguns to hunt with. You¡¯re weed here if you¡¯re here as a guest so shall we take the time to talk if there¡¯s anything you want to say?"


    Luo Yuan smiled coldly and slowly pulled out his Zhanmadao. He was getting even more impatient and said, "This is yourst chance to hand her over to me. Otherwise, it¡¯ll be toote to regret."


    Cao Cao¡¯s face darkened. He did not know why but he felt a sense of insecurity. Looking at Luo Yuan slowly pulling out a long ck saber, he shivered as he hesitated to hand over the mutated woman to him.


    His thoughts were disrupted as he heard the sound of footsteps. His team of snipers had arrived. There were over 10 of them and each of them had a rifle in hand that was ready to shoot through the narrow passage. He believed that there was no way anyone could survive regardless of how strong an evolved man could be so hemanded in a cold voice, "Kill him and let¡¯s have a human feast tonight!"


    "Damn!" Luo Yuan cursed.


    Before he had finished his speech, Luo Yuan had disappeared. In a blink of an eye, blood sttered all around them.


    Among the people, Cao Cao was the only one who barely managed to witness the shadow that killed everyone. It shocked him to the core and he retreated a few meters backward. His vision gradually went ck with a sudden dizziness and a coldness in his throat. He then fell to the ground.


    Luo Yuan did not want to kill too many people. He kept his Zhanmadao after killing a few of them who were standing in front of him. The rest of them were terrified and looked as though they were on the verge of a mental break down. They had no more fighting spirit within them. They threw away their guns and ran away in a panic. Soon, the passage was emptied. Looking at the dead bodies, Luo Yuan sighed and headed towards the barracks.

 Chapter 388: Decision

    Chapter 388: Decision


    Trantor: EndlessFantasy Trantion Editor: EndlessFantasy Trantion


    As he was making his way to the barracks, the mutated human stared at him and did not even blink. She did not move at all and allowed Luo Yuan to untie the and rope that was around her body. She quickly got up after that and cautiously hid behind Luo Yuan as soon as she was freed.


    Luo Yuan shook his head and smiled. Then, he strode out of the barrack and the mutated woman quickly followed him. There was no one in the passage to stop them. She and Luo Yuan passed through a crumbled training ground and canteen. All of the survivors hid behind the doors in fear.


    There were also people that were opposed to this, "He¡¯s too arrogant! Are we letting him go?" Asked a man in the crowd at the weapon storage depot. He gazed at Luo Yuan angrily as he strolled around their territory freely. The man covered his body with ayer of a shade to blend into the darkness. He looked creepy and even though he was the only rebel who voiced out, he was stronger than the crowd.


    "If you have a death wish, keep walking!" The man said with a smile. Now that Cao Cao had died, there were only two forces left. Without a doubt, only Li Wang or Xie Ziliu had the right to speak this way so it was either one or the other.


    "Don¡¯t you think we can beat him if we attack as one?" Li Wang wondered. Xie Ziliu had always been a solo man as he has the strongest abilities among the three leaders. The rest were never really close to him. They only knew that he was once in the army and that he was the first hunter among them to hunt in the wilderness. He was essentially lonely and odd. Li Wang and Cao Cao¡¯s power at the sanctuary would have been diminished if Xie Ziliu was a power-hungry man. Xie Ziliuughed at Li Wang¡¯s statement as if he had heard a joke and said, "I think you have been here for too long. You have no clue where this manes from!" Li Wang had Goosebumps as he heard Xie Ziulu¡¯sughter.


    "Where¡¯s he from?" Li Wang asked in surprise. All of the electronic devices at the sanctuary were damaged. Even the wireless devices, microcircuits, and electronicponents suffered the same fate. Therefore, they did not have much knowledge of the external world.


    Xie Ziliu smiled at Li Wang sarcastically and said, "Civilization still exists. Looking at the manner in which he is dressed, I guess he must havee from the only ce which can still manage to have ongoing manufacturing efforts. After the signs of the apocalypse were confirmed, the government had gathered forces from the whole nation to build thergest reconstruction project called the Reconstruction Area. It is located in the Tamakan Desert in China. The Reconstruction Area is so far from us and he walked all the way here. How are we going to stand up against him?" Xie Ziliu could still clearly remember the ce where some corps were dispatched to. He was quite certain that it must be the Reconstruction Area. Destiny kept him alive during the past battle. He went through the darkest days of his life just like the rest in order to survive.


    "How do you know he came here on foot? Perhaps, he took a flight..." Li Wang retorted and stopped as he suddenly remembered no more flights were taking off as mutated birds now upied the skies. He couldn¡¯te to his senses for a long while. Before the apocalypse, he was just an ordinary farmer. Even though he did not have good knowledge of the surrounding geography, he knew that both ces were far apart. Luo Yuan¡¯s abilities must be terrifying as he could pass through the outskirts and arrive at this ce while still looking clean and tidy.


    Xie Ziliu did not bother with how shocked Li Wang was and said, "I thought that the Reconstruction Area would no longer exist but your presence has proven that the city was not damaged. There¡¯s no hope here as the sanctuary is dying soon. Probably after half a year, nobody would survive. I don¡¯t want to spend my time waiting for death here. I want to leave this ce!"


    "What!?" Li Wang asked in shock. As soon as he understood what Xie Ziliu meant, he knew he would be the only leader in the sanctuary after the death of Cao Cao and the departure of Xie Ziliu. He instantly felt that he was lost and the little joy that he had left within him faded away. One of the strongest men decided to leave and the future of this ce was uncertain. As the second-strongest man, Li Wang was happy and scared at the same time.


    "I¡¯ll leave now. We shall meet again someday!" Xie Ziliu said.


    "You¡¯re leaving now?" Li Wang sounded as if he did not want him to leave immediately.


    "I don¡¯t know which way I should go, so I¡¯m going to follow him." Xie Ziliu answered coldly. He turned away swiftly and walked towards Luo Yuan.


    ...


    Luo Yuan stopped as he was walking out of the exit of the small cave and said, "Come out!" The mutated woman quickly hid behind Luo Yuan as she heard it. Xie Ziliu then appeared from the shadows. Before he could even tell Luo Yuan his intention, Luo Yuan asked, "Do you want to go to the Reconstruction Area?"


    "How did you know?" Xie Ziliu asked in surprise.


    "I heard it just now. I have something else to do so I¡¯m not going back to the Reconstruction Area yet and you can¡¯te along with me. You will have to go there by yourself." Luo Yuan could listen to their conversation clearly as his hearing was highly sensitive. Luo Yuan was curious about this evolved man as his body could form shadows to help him blend into the shadows. He wondered how this phenomenon was possible.


    Xie Ziliu was disappointed that Luo Yuan rejected hispany on the journey. He was one of the strongest men in the sanctuary and was ashamed to ask for help from Luo Yuan but he knew that it was useless to feel so. He then begged Luo Yuan, "May I know which direction I should go if I¡¯m heading to the Reconstruction Area?"


    "I¡¯d give you a satellite map but it¡¯s not with me right now. You¡¯ll need to follow me to where I¡¯m staying today." Luo Yuan said even though he had two satellite maps with him.


    "Alright!" Xie Ziliu answered.


    Luo Yuan looked at the time and realized it was already eight o¡¯clock. He then said, "We have to speed up, it¡¯s a long journey. Let me know when you can¡¯t run any further." Xie Ziliu felt insulted. Nobody ever dared to speak to him like that and in fact, he used to be the one saying these words to others. He was left standing there for a while and then Luo Yuan disappeared. The beautiful mutated woman followed closely behind him.


    Xie Ziliu panicked and sped up. No matter how hard he was running, the distance between them did not get any shorter. Luo Yuan did not intend on making him feel inferior but he was already running at a slow speed of 50 to 60 meters per second. To him, this the speed he jogged at. Of course, a speed of 50 to 60 meters per second was astonishing to ordinary people. Those who could reach such a speed at the Reconstruction Area must be at least a Level 4 evolved human with the potential to be a member of Firearms Bureau reserve team. Only a fraction of all the evolved humans had such qualities and abilities. It was even harder for the sanctuary to have strong evolved man like them as the poption size was small.


    The fights he got into previously were extremely fast. Luo Yuan had forgotten that the evolved men at the sanctuary were rtively weak as he usually dealt with super evolved humans or mutated beasts. He then consciously reduced his speed so that Xie Ziliu could slowly catch up to him. Luo Yuan¡¯s speed had reduced to around 30 to 40 meters per second. Xie Ziliu found the mutated woman turned back to look at him from time to time as though she wondered how could he be so slow. He avoided her gazes and hurried on.


    It seemed to him like the road was endless. His legs went numb and he was panting vigorously. He had no idea how long he had been running. The only thing he knew was that the surroundings were getting more and more isted and odd. This ce was far beyond the area that he had explored when he stayed at the sanctuary. Meanwhile, there were all kinds of creatures that appeared one after another. He was amazed at Luo Yuan¡¯s power and strength as he was still capable of killing the mutated beasts while running without decreasing his speed. Some of the mutated beasts were around 10 meters tall. They were sliced in half merely because they blocked his path. Xie Ziliu slowly got used to the strong smell of blood that spread throughout the air. He had never expected that an evolved man could be so powerful.


    Luo Yuan spent a total of five hours to return to the cave.


    "The Reconstruction Area is still too far from here. I would advise you not to go as you may encounter danger during the journey that is not within your abilities to manage. If you were to stay at the sanctuary, you could live longer." Luo Yuan advised Xie Ziliu as he waspletely exhausted. He then took out a satellite map from his backpack and threw it towards Xie Ziliu.


    Luo Yuan did not exin the full story. Even if Xie Ziliu got back to the Reconstruction Area, it would not be safe as well. The extraterrestrial civilization could invade them at any time and the safety of the people would bepromised.


    Xie Ziliu was now gasping and lying on the floor like a fish out of water. He forced a smile and said, "Yes, of course. I do understand you. However, I¡¯m not willing to die without any hope! I would rather take the risk!"


    Luo Yuan sighed as he had the exact same thought during the fall of Hedong city.


    "Can you tell me about the condition of the Reconstruction Area?" Xie Ziliu asked.


    "It¡¯s still fine there. The society was rebuilt and the mutated beasts were isted from the Reconstruction Area. There are active industries and underground cities developing rapidly everywhere." Luo Yuan said.


    Everything would go well if the extraterrestrial invasion did not happen. Perhaps, before he died, he could witness the scene of humans recovering their lost territory. Xie Ziliu got excited and said, "I wish to see it." Luo Yuan shook his head and kept quiet as he was not very optimistic. He picked up the small mutated beast that he killed and peeled off its skin. He then started grilling the meat.


    "Can I help you?" Xie Ziliu asked.


    "No, it¡¯s not necessary!" Luo Yuan rejected him immediately. "You will have to go there by yourself tomorrow. Take a good rest."


    Luo Yuan could not keep himpany as he had to perform his duty. The mutated woman squatted beside Luo Yuan as she listened to their conversation quietly. She seemed to feelpletelyfortable in Luo Yuan¡¯spany now. The reason why she kept her distance from him in the first ce was probably due to the way she lived when she was in the outskirts. She had gotten used to being like that.


    The cave then went silent. Everyone seemed to have something on their minds but nobody uttered anything. They ate their dinner in a hurry and left a pile of white bones on the ground. Luo Yuan threw a spare tent towards Xie Ziliu since the mutated woman would not need it and said, "This is for you. You might need it."


    "Thanks!" Xie Ziliu was thankful. He touched the tent gently and it was as smooth as silk. He felt that there would be something amazing inside.


    ...


    Luo Yuan could not sleep as he had troubles in his mind which gave him a dilemma. After a while, he had made up his mind. It was undeniable that Luo Yuan felt a mild affection for the innocent woman but he was still going to leave her behind. He would be putting her life at risk if she were to follow Luo Yuan to the dangerous seaside that he was heading to. The duty he was assigned to had been dyed for a very long time and it concerned the life and death of the human race. There would still be some hope for the human race if he could get the information out earlier. With his ability to fly in a curved arc through the fourth dimension, he had to rush to Borneo.

 Chapter 389: Apart

    Chapter 389: Apart


    Trantor: EndlessFantasy Trantion Editor: EndlessFantasy Trantion


    "I¡¯m leaving!" Xie Ziliu said. In the early hours of the next morning, Xie Ziliu folded the tent and got ready to leave. He had nothing with him aside from the satellite map and tent that was given to him by Luo Yuan. Perhaps, there was nothing else he could prepare anyway. He was not that strong after all and without any equipment with him, he was just trying to get himself killed.


    Luo Yuan was not trying to persuade him not to go anymore. Xie Ziliu had probably fallen into despair and needed an escape. Going to the Reconstruction Area might be the only meaningful thing to his life right now. After a pause, Luo Yuan continued speaking, "Be careful!"


    "Yes, I will." Xie Ziliu answered energetically. "What¡¯s your name?"


    "I¡¯m Luo Yuan." Luo Yuan answered. He hesitated for a while and continued, "If you encounter any difficulties at the Reconstruction Area, tell them Luo Yuan from the Firearms Bureau sent you. This might be able to help you."


    It had now been almost two years since the apocalypse. It was getting more difficult to enter the Reconstruction Area nowadays as there were people wandering around the area trying to sneak in. Most people would sneak in from a tunnel or by falsifying personal information. They had tried all kinds of approaches to enter and those who were in-charge of preventing this faced difficulties doing so. Therefore, they enforced stricter rules and now anyone who was trying to enter the Reconstruction Area would be checked thoroughly. If they did not have any documents on them to identify themselves, it was almost impossible for them to enter.


    The Firearms Bureau might not sound familiar to the folks out there but it is a rather influential part of the military right now. It might help Xie Ziliu to reduce the period that he will be under review by mentioning Luo Yuan¡¯s name to them. But of course, the biggest challenge for him now was to arrive at the Reconstruction Area.


    Simr to the day he left the sanctuary, Xie Ziliu left without a second thought. Looking at his shadow gradually disappearing from the forest, he sighed and shifted his gaze to the front. The mutated woman woke up early in the morning and was sharpening her ws. They were sharper and tougher now. After a short while, she stopped to observe her nails. She stared at them with her head slightly tilted and did not seem to be satisfied with them so she continued sharpening. She was so focused on this process that it was as if she waspletely immersed in her own world. Her eyes were shining like crystals reflecting weak beams of light.


    Finally, she looked around and could see that Luo Yuan was leaving the cave out of the corner of her eyes. She immediately ran out and followed him.


    "Stay here. I¡¯ll be back soon!" Luo Yuan pointed at the cave and said.


    He repeatedly pointed into the cave before the mutated woman understood what he meant and went back into the cave in disappointment. As soon as she saw Luo Yuan¡¯s tent and backpack still left behind, she knew that he would be back soon. In fact, in just a moment, the mutated woman saw Luo Yuaning back! He came back with meat and a small knife. The knife was so small that its de was not even a meter long. It would be useless for a normal human to use it in battle. The knife was made of wood and the teeth of a level six mutated beast. Its de was very thin and fine which made it light and sharp. Initially, Luo Yuan had wanted to hunt down a level seven mutated beast that he found on the systemst night but it was no longer there. That was why he settled.


    He threw an energy crystal to her and she leaped forward and caught the crystal with joy. She smelled and swallowed it immediately. However, she did not evolve or mutate further though her energy level had recovered slightly. Luo Yuan then handed over the white jade-like knife to her. A doubtful look appeared on her face. She walked a few steps forward when Luo Yuan nodded his head and she took the knife from him. After she held it in her hand, she immediately returned back to the ce where she was sharpening her ws.


    She was very clever and imitated the way Luo Yuan was holding the knife. The de was able to pierce through one of the big rocks on the ground and the rock was cut in half immediately. She threw away the knife as she was shocked and retreated a good 10 meters back. She realized that she was overreacting and picked up the knife from the floor carefully. She hesitated and touched the de with her sharp nails softly. Her nails were chipped instantly! She dashed backwards out of shock and was sad looking at her broken nails which she just sharpened. She was as innocent as a kid and had forgotten that her nails were very fragile. Looking back at the white jade-like knife, she was as delighted as a kid who had a new toy.


    Looking at her, Luo Yuan subconsciously smiled. He then turned his attention to other things and built a fire. He picked the heart out from the level six mutated beast and grilled it. After they had theirst dinner, Luo Yuan took out thest bottle of drinking water he had from his backpack and gave it to her. She removed the cap and finished the whole bottle of water in one go. She then secretly hid the bottle behind her when Luo Yuan was not aware.


    Luo Yuan sighed, stood up, and then folded the tent and put on his backpack.


    "It¡¯s time to leave!" Luo Yuan said.


    He turned back and looked at the energetic mutated woman that was getting ready to follow him. He stopped her again and said, "You should stay here and stop following me." She blinked her eyes with her head slightly tilted and looked doubtful. She understood that Luo Yuan was going to leave as soon as she saw that Luo Yuan was wearing his backpack. However, she did not understand why he did not want her to follow. Luo Yuan turned away but was still followed closely by the woman.


    He acted like he was going to give her a kick and that startled her. She stepped a few steps back but quietly continued to follow Luo Yuan again. Luo Yuan frowned and stopped. He did not want to speed up to get rid of her because he knew that she would definitely keep running toward the direction where he was running to. He had to take more drastic measures.


    "Do you really think that I won¡¯t kill you? Get back to your ce!" Luo Yuan pulled out his Zhanmadao and said angrily. It was scary and there was only silence between them. The woman¡¯s face turned pale and she immediately moved back into the cave. She was shivering out of fear at this point. This time, the woman did not follow after him as he left. He felt relieved and down at the same time. He quickly removed all of the distracting thoughts he had in his mind and increased his speed. Very soon, he disappeared from sight.


    After some time, the woman carefully walked out of the exit. She looked around and started to get nervous. She leaped to the top of a big tree and stretched her neck out attempting to look for something or someone. To her dismay, she found nothing. She jumped down, chose a direction, and ran madly while lifting her head again and looking around. Eventually, she sat down on a tree branch in disappointment. Looking at the small knife in her hand and the water bottle she was nibbling on nervously, a thought suddenly struck her. She then ran swiftly back to the cave. Her movements got slower as she was approaching the cave but when she entered, things did not turn out the way she expected. The kind man who rescued her and gave her food had left and did note back. He had disappeared for good. Looking at the emptied cave, a strong sense of loneliness arose.


    ...


    Luo Yuan did not feel good either. The feelings he had for the innocent woman were deeply rooted in his heart at this stage. Even in the brief period that he left, there were times that he wanted to go back to the cave but he resisted the impulse to do so. Nheless, after running for half an hour, he stopped. He looked back subconsciously and of course, there was no one behind him. With sadness, he realized that perhaps they would no longer have the chance to meet!


    Luo Yuan chose a rock and sat down to rest. After his "four-dimensional vision" had dropped to 2%, his Strength was also greatly reduced. He would not have felt tired before but he was terribly fatigued now. Fortunately, his Strength had rose to 17 points and adding the bonus from his Earth Stomp, it was a total of 23 points. His ability to recover was astonishing and his energy was recharged in just five minutes. He took out the satellite map from his backpack and studied it again. He was trying to remember all of the geological terrains of the surrounding areas including the state of the ocean. He then kept the map back into his backpack and continued his journey to Borneo!


    The next moment, he flew through the forest and loosened the headband that he wore across his forehead. His four-dimensional vision recovered immediately! Despite the fact that he had seen it in action in the past, it was still a heart-pounding moment! He was stunned and as soon as he regained his consciousness, he began propelling himself forward through the space-time bubble.


    Under such a condition, his Strength would be greatly consumed and he would get exhausted within an hour. Every second he could travel was so precious. The speed when he flew through space-time was rtively slow and it required a lot more of time to elerate. Only after 40 minutes of elerating did his speed reached its maximum. He passed through the mountains, rivers, andkes very quickly. His speed was so fast that even his brain was not able to process and respond to it.


    Fortunately, Luo Yuan¡¯s four-dimensional vision enabled him to preempt any obstacles from the three-dimensional terrain. He could see further even though his vision was blurred and it was still possible for him to roughly determine the geographical terrain of the areas. By estimating the distance between the hilltops and the time he spent traveling, he was basically moving at a speed of five to six kilometers per second. If it was rtive to the speed of sound, it would be between 15 to 18 times. The speed was amazing but it was difficult to see as it was too fast for human beings to perceive. Before the apocalypse, the fastest speed an aircraft could reach was only two to three times the speed of sound. The fastest missile was not even 10 times the speed of sound.


    In less than a minute, he passed the boundary of Guizhou and arrived at Guangxi. Three minutester, he was already halfway through Guangxi. All of a sudden, there was an extremely big tree that appeared in front of Luo Yuan. Even the mountains that were a thousand meters high looked rtively small whenpared to this big tree. It had covered almost half of the sky and its leaves looked like green clouds floating in the sky.


    Luo Yuan was shocked as he witnessed the tree that was 2000 to 3000 meters tall. The color of the old tree trunk was darker than usual and had cracks all over. Comparing the size of this big tree and the size of the Heaven¡¯s Pir Tree that he found at Hedong city, the difference in size was like the difference between infants and adults.


    Luo Yuan quickly got ready to get a closer look.

 Chapter 390: The Lightning Tree

    Chapter 390: The Lightning Tree


    Trantor: EndlessFantasy Trantion Editor: EndlessFantasy Trantion


    Therge tree was significantly taller than most of the mountains in the vicinity. If its height was measured vertically, not even ten ordinary trees in China stacked on top of each other could be taller than this. It was so tall that one could easily mistake it for being very near when it was actually still hundreds of kilometers away. With the speed that Luo Yuan traveled at when he flew through space-time, it only took him a minute to get right in front of it. Luo Yuan could instantly tell that this ce was very near to the sea as there was a salty smell that permeated the air. He estimated that if he traveled 200 to 300 kilometers ahead of him, he could see the ocean.


    As Luo Yuan approached the tree, he bnced himself against the vibrating waves in the air with his Will and gradually decreased his speed. He then put on the sma band across his forehead andnded. If Luo Yuan were to tell this story to other people, he could not think of anyone who could imagine how big the tree stump was! Therge tree¡¯s roots were ck in color and grew straight down into the soil. They were intertwined and looked just like angry dragons tangled together.


    Given the remarkable nature of this tree, Luo Yuan used his Will to elevate himself into the sky again and could see that the ends of its roots extended to over hundreds of kilometers away. The tangled roots were covering up to ten thousand square kilometers of ground with its height being over 400 meters which formed big hills around the area. Luo Yuan suddenly contemted the miracles of life looking at this indescribably immense power arising from the Earth and spreading up through the atmosphere.


    He then noticed that smoke was puffing out from its roots as if there was a fire there. The atmosphere was already filled with heated-air which had a strong choking effect and caused blurred vision. There was only this giant tree standing in the area with bare trunks and there were no other nts or mutated creatures in sight. Living organisms in this area must be able to withstand extreme temperatures in order to survive.


    The temperature close to the ground was already about 100 degrees Celsius but as soon as Luo Yuannded, the temperature had exceeded 200 degrees Celsius. Despite all his abilities, even Luo Yuan did not have the ability to withstand such extreme temperatures. He was still a human being regardless of how strong he had be. Once the surrounding temperature exceeds 100 degrees Celsius, he would not survive long. However, the sudden rise in temperature stimted his pores to shrink in order to prevent heat from entering. Obviously, this approach could not effectively stop his skin from absorbing the heat but at least it helped give him more protection. In less than 10 seconds ofnding, he started to feel a burning sensation on his skin.


    A faint glow appeared in his hands which Luo Yuan thought was due to the fact that his skin was irritated. Upon analysis, Luo Yuan was surprised by this phenomena because even before he actively used his Will, his body had already responded to protect him as a response to danger. Luo Yuan looked at his hands and skin with care. Without a doubt, it was also his Will that contributed to theyer of faint glow but it was a lot dimmer than he would normally expect. Compared to the glow initiated by him from focusing his Will, the one on his hands looked very weak and dim as if it were going to vanish shortly. Yet, somehow the weak glow resisted the surrounding temperature and regted his body temperature.


    All of a sudden, he understood what was happening. It must be an automatic response from his body when the Will in his cells are stimted. His cells would have been aware that his skin was exposed to extreme heat and this triggered his Will to react. The magical thing about his cells was that they were an extension of his Will as well as their ability to respond to stimulus. Therefore, his cells would automatically be activated to protect itself under extreme circumstances. He did not have to focus or concentrate his Will for this to happen. The glow generated by the Will of a single cell might be weak, but when the Will of countless cells gathered together, they would most likely be able to guard Luo Yuan against most dangers.


    While looking at theyer of glow, he could not help but imagine that perhaps one day he would just stand still and not defend himself and yet he would still be invulnerable to attacks. Given how rapidly he had been evolving, it probably would not take a long time for this to happen. His Will had already been deeply immersed into everyyer of his cells. Every time he checked his body, the Will absorbed by his cells would increase. At the same time, the cells would be able to control his body¡¯s activities more efficiently. When all of the cells in his body are eventually immersed with his Will, his capabilities might go through significant changes again.


    ...


    Being deep in thought, Luo Yuan did not realize that the sky had suddenly filled with clouds and was starting to get dark. As he raised his head, he realized that the branches above him had disappeared as they were engulfed by the dark clouds that covered the sky. Fortunately, some of the branches were still visible as they prated through the heavy opaque clouds. This assured him that they did not just disappear.


    "Oh my god! It¡¯s going to rain!" Luo Yuan said in shock.


    There were white clouds drifting across the sky not long ago so it was strange that the weather had changed so drastically in just 10 minutes. Luo Yuan frowned though he was not too worried about it. Even though he was in the forest and it seemed like he was standing in an open space, the tree seemed quite resistant to the forces of nature. Even if lightning struck it, the electricity conducted would be absorbed by the tree as there was a great distance between them. At this thought, he no longer cared about the dark clouds above him and looked instead at the tree¡¯s roots beneath his feet. Most of the roots were at least 10 meters wide and were incrediblyrge. Their surface was uneven with cracks and splits all over. Inside these cracks, it was faintly visible that the pith was red, seemingly dense and hot within.


    There was a clump of mutated creatures that looked like ants moving in between the cracks. It was one of the few creatures that could survive under such high temperatures which did not seem to threaten them at all. Perhaps, due to the high temperature of the surroundings, it was less likely that they would have natural enemies here. The ants appeared fatter than normal and were moving slowly. Luo Yuan decided to catch one of them to see if there was anything special about them. Suddenly, he heard a thunderous sounding from within the cracks and immediately withdrew his hand. Fortunately, he was not hurt at all as he was covered by the glow of his Will. The ants seemed agitated by the sparkling discharge all over their bodies which produced a sizzling noise. Its appearance alone was enough to strike fear into the heart of anyone.


    Luo Yuan¡¯s expression changed as he suddenly thought of something. Hastily, he used his identification technique on the roots of the tree.


    "Species: Woody nt"


    "Name: Lightning Tree"


    "Remarks: A rare, half-energized giant tree with that is of a light purple or higher rank. It is generallyrge and its height is usually a few thousand meters or taller. Its leaves can form clouds through condensation of the air and it has the ability to absorb lightning. It has a sort of spirituality to it as well."


    Just as he finished reading, Luo Yuan¡¯s body floated in the air as he was shocked by lightning! One of the shes turned the entire sky bright and the sound of the loud thunder that followed was frightening! Luo Yuan looked somber. The sky was filled with electrostatic charges right after each lightning strike. He immediately shifted his gaze toward the roots of the tree as he was scared looking at beams of blue rays prating through the cracks and shining its rays in all directions. The big tree shined with a dazzling light!


    All of a sudden, the sky looked like there would be torrential rainfall approaching.

 Chapter 391: Arrival

    Chapter 391: Arrival


    Trantor: EndlessFantasy Trantion Editor: EndlessFantasy Trantion


    Countless bolts of lightning looked like they were absorbed by the shade of the tree. From afar, the tree was lit up like a giant beam of light. It was a stunning scene to behold. The light continued to spread throughout the tree until it reached the roots. The terrifying energy made the ce a horrifying electric field with arcs of static electricity shooting through the air.


    Luo Yuan felt like a ma. His body released galvanic electric energy, not unlike Electro! But, he did not dare stand there a moment longer. He leaped out of the way and, fortunately, he did notnd too close to the electric field. Hended at the edge of the roots where the safe zone was a mere two kilometers away. He ran at full force and left the roots of the tree far behind in less than 10 seconds.


    However, he did not stop running as he knew he was not in the clear. The giant tree¡¯s roots ran deep into the Earth, and what was on the surface was just the tip of an iceberg. It was a surprise that the roots burrowed deep into the barrennd of hills. He ran for more than 10 minutes until he was almost a hundred kilometers away before he felt it was safe to slow down.


    Lush greens growing abundantly was his signal that he was at a safe distance. Apparently, the lifelessnds on the surface were caused by the scorching heat from the lightning roots underground. Once he saw a sign of greens, he knew that the ce waspletely out of the range of the tree of lightning and that he was out of the danger zone. Under the rain, he quickly climbed up to a giant tree and stood on the highest branch to have a better look of his surroundings. Lightning and thunder burst through the storm clouds that darken the sky. Although he was far away, the mind-boggling giant lightning tree looked like it was right in front of him, emitting blinding rays of light in every direction. It wasunching beams light into the sky and looked to be also pulsing energy into the ground. Under the gloomy sky, it seemed like the only source of light in the entirend!


    Luo Yuan was stunned and his mind wandered into oblivion. Fortunately, the abnormal thunderstorm was gone as quickly as it appeared. Just a few raindrops scattered the surface before it stopped altogether. A few minutester, the clouds disappeared and the sun was shining through the area.


    The Lightning Tree with its giant shadow appeared again. The leaves were shining and there were lights, asionally bursting out of them. The tree trunk remained a blinding bright white, but it seemed to be getting much dimmer than it was as it was bing darker and darker. The high temperature of the energy radiating from the tree caused a fog to rise around it. Soon, the entire tree was shrouded in the fog. From afar, it looked like a tree from a fairy tale. It was unreal.


    Suddenly, Luo Yuan realized that the system did not update him on any missions rted to the giant tree from the start until that very moment. It was shocking!


    The system had never announced a mission to him at all. Based on his past experience, he would have probably received a level seven or level eight mission and seeing that he did not receive any, this only meant that this tree was of level nine or above. Any missions that were level nine and above would be cause for worry. For such level nine creatures, it was beyond his imagination and way above his skill set. Although it was just a tree, he dared not underestimate it.


    Its ability to absorb lightning alone implied that it harnessed some terrifyingly powerful energy. Moreover, the detection technique showed that it had a sort of spirituality within it. Although he was interested in the physical characteristics of the giant tree, he was afraid of the consequences if he was to touch it. His ability to predict future oues was no help to him in this case. The two-second foresight he had could do nothing against an agile creature like this that attacked as fast as lightning. Two seconds was way too short to make a difference against such nt-based mutated creature with its deadly arcs of static electricity.


    Perhaps it would not have done anything if he had only retrieve one of its roots in the beginning. But, with its unpredictable temperament, it could change its mind and obliterate him with some murderous attack. By then everything would be toote, mere seconds of an interval. In the time of the cruel apocalypse, he survived by doing what was necessary, sometimes to terrible ends. But, he would never risk his life or endanger anyone who was with him when he encountered a danger he could not handle. For his time in the Ghost Horse, his thoughts were consumed by the Earth¡¯s Pulse.


    ...


    As Luo Yuan was not in a rush to leave, he decided to take a nap on the tree he was in. It was close to the ocean as the rest of his journey would mostly be by the ocean. Aside from some scattered inds on the ocean that he could find, if he were lucky, there would not be many ces for him tond and rest. Thus, he had to recuperatepletely before he could fly to Borneo at once. Physical strength was easy to recover, but his Will would take a while each time he used it. He sat quietly in the tree and meditated. Perhaps due to the lightning tree, the mutated creatures here seemed tiny. When it was close to noon, Luo Yuan opened his eyes, well rested. It had been some time since he had an undisturbed moment of peace.


    By then, his Will that was drained waspletely recovered. He gazed at the lightning tree from his perch up high. It looked like a thunderstorm wasing and the tree was once again ready to absorb its meal of lightning! He sighed and took onest look at the tree, watching it pulse menacingly. He took off the sma band on his forehead and continued his journey.


    After fighting through the thunderstorm created by the Lightning Tree, he arrived at the ocean 20 minutester! The coast during the apocalypse was not at all what it used to be. All kinds of nts carpeted the sandy beaches and crept their way into the shallow parts of the ocean. From above, Luo Yuan could see the thick roots of trees burrowed deep in the sea water. It was all green, a forest that was 10 kilometers wide, extending deep into the sea. Many seagulls flew on top of the sea-forest, squawking noisily as he flew by.


    Large schools of fishes swam vigorously in the water, creating abnormal waves against the tide of the ocean. Further, in the distance, a gigantic whirlpool had formed in the middle of the sea. A 100 meters long giant beast suddenly emerged out of the whirlpool and let out a loud shriek into the sky. The waves crashed and the roar resonated for miles around.


    That was the ocean, a terrifying area in the apocalypse! 99% of living beings on earth thrived under the waters on the ocean. Not long since the apocalypse, it was the first ce to fall to mutation. The vast ocean became a breeding ground for the mutated creatures almost instantly. The many different conditions underwater created incredibly unpredictable and dangerous beasts. Nobody could imagine what horrifying water demons lurked under the deep blue sea.


    Perhaps to humans, it would forever remain a mystery. Humans could only see some of the mutated creatures¡¯ through satellite imagery, but, the dangerous mutated beast lived a long distance away from human civilization. Therefore they were not a threat to human beings at all.


    While Luo Yuan was watching in silence, a giant seagull flying by noticed his presence. It folded its wings and dove down from the sky at Luo Yuan like an arrow. It was so fast that there was a sonic boom as it broke the sound barrier! Its speed was pass had surpassed the speed of sound, but it had not even reached its maximum agility.


    Within seconds, the seagull was dangerously close to him.


    Luo Yuan frowned. Although he too was insanely fast, aerodynamic and was skilled at high-speed attack maneuvers in the air, he had weaknesses. Apart from the obvious one which was the stopping in mid air, he had problems changing directions too.


    He gripped his saber tight with not even the slightest hint of fear in his eyes. The bird was nothingpared to the giant golden bird he saw at theke earlier. The difference was just so apparent that he did not even break a sweat at all. He grinned as he waited for the bird toe close, as he was already poised to kill it!


    But then, he released the death grip he had on his saber, as he saw what would happen next. He was shocked!


    The seagull flew right through his body!


    There was no collision nor was there any contact at all. He was like a shadow, nothing but an illusion that had enticed the bird. The seagull circled him, puzzled and afraid of what had happened. As it looked upon Luo Yuan, it suddenly backed way and shrilled in fear!


    Soon after, it fled the ce as fast as it could, as if it had seen a ghost. Luo Yuan looked at the space bubble that surrounded him. Upon further scrutiny, he noticed that there was a gentle breeze flowing inside the bubble. He was stunned. In some context, his ability to move through the fourth dimension meant that he could transport himself through the space-time fabric. The inside of the space-time bubble should be independent of the world outside it where these two spaces had no contact between them. In other words, the inside and outside of the space-time bubble could be considered to be twopletely different worlds.


    Attacks from outside the space-time bubble could not touch him but at the same time, he could not attack from the inside out. Such functions would allow him to avoid obstacles without having to move a muscle. Luo Yuan felt a sense of freedom from the terrors around him. He felt like he had the world in the palm of his hand!


    He did not have to worry about flying in straight lines anymore and, most importantly, he no longer had to worry about crashing into things or attacking mutated beasts as he flew by. He could even fly through a mountain! Nothing could stop him as long as it was not a gravitational-celestial-enhanced-super-being.


    As time went by, his confidently flew faster and faster. He flew up to the clouds, where the view of the ocean became that of a deep blue canvas that was filled with curvy threads of waves!


    He looked carefully at the scattered inds along the way and matched them with the satellite images he had memorized. Apart from asionally adjusting his course, he enjoyed theplete freedom of flying.


    The journey was much faster than he imagined. In less than an hour, a giant ind appeared before him. Before the apocalypse, Borneo was the thirdrgest ind in the world with a surface area of 700,000 square kilometers. Although part of its surface had sunk due to the rising sea-level, it still was massive. It was more than 600 kilometers long and more than 400 kilometers wide in the north south side.


    The entire ind was filled with lush greenery and living organisms. At the same time, that implied the most definite presence of danger. Luo Yuan descended andnded on the shore. The strength of his curvature flight was incredibly small, there was barely a wave made in the air. Although only a tiny ripple was made on the water, there was no guarantee that it would not be noticed by the extraterrestrial civilization. For safety purposes, he chose tond the far edge of the ind.


    Just as hended, a mutated crab with froth oozing from its mouth darted his way and attacked him. It resembled a crab but was housed in a t metal-like shell with eight strong ws, instead of two. It came at him very quickly, and with its ws in the air, it looked like a top with a blur of razor sharp des, dancing in the air.


    Luo Yuan pulled out his saber and leaped more than 10 meters into the air, out of the reach of the whirlwind of ws. Hended in front of it, aimed at its shell and split it in half. An invisible space wave shed straight between its eyes. The three-storey tall creature was cut clean into half!


    A few other crabs that were watching on, plotting their ambush, ran for their lives immediately. They disappeared into the jungle in the blink of an eye.


    ...


    It was the boundary line of the ocean and thend. Most of the mutated creatures here had the marine animal characteristics. There was a lobster-like mutated beast that looked like an armor lying on a hill of sea shells. There was a new amphibian hybrid that was from a fish family. Not only were the creatures huge, they were very peculiar too. It stunned Luo Yuan who had only encounterednd-based mutated beasts this whole time.


    He did not dare to stay for long. He fled the ce with his Zhanmadao held high before him. There were lesser marine creatures after he had passed more than 10 kilometers innd.


    The buildings upied by the extraterrestrial civilization were located at the bottom of a valley in the middle of the Borneo maind. It was approximately 300 kilometers from where he was. With his speed, Luo Yuan estimated he could reach the ce before dark.


    Before the apocalypse, the poption of the Borneonds was low. Now it looked like it was in full bloom, with nts entangled along most parts of the dark forest. The was no military presences in the country and it was one of the areas that fell first when the apocalypse happened. By far, it was the most dangerous area that he had ever been to,pared to all the rest. As he was walking, there were already three missions sent from the system.


    Knowing that the extraterrestrial civilization was near, he ignored all the missions that came his way. He needed his undivided attention for the mission ahead, everything else could wait. He did not stop walking until it was almost 5 pm in the evening, he slowed down and exercised more caution as he noticed a building in the valley, right in front of him!


    He walked for another few minutes and stopped as he passed through the front of the valley. He found a cave to rest safely, undetected by the extraterrestrial civilization just outside. The sky was not dark yet, so he decided he would wait a little while longer forplete darkness. He needed the element of surprise against his enemies.


    Whether being in the darkness or not, he had a feeling that it would not affect the advanced extraterrestrial technology, but no matter what, even the machines needed to rest and the chance for error on their part was present.


    Luo Yuan did not know if the extraterrestrial civilization was the same as mankind as he knew it, where they worked in the morning and rest at night or if they were some intelligence that feared the light, making them theplete opposite to human beings. No matter what, before he could confirm anything, he felt morefortable to investigate at night.


    The cave was small, it could only fit one personfortably. Luo Yuan felt a little hungry and looked around the cave. There was a movement just a few feet from him. With his incredibly fast reflexes, he shot out his hand and held down a half-meter long mutated beast carefully with his hand. No matter how much it struggled, it could move with his hand at its neck. Then, the sharp sound of bones cracking echoed through the cave. The back of the animals head had caved in, crushed under the force of his grip.


    The night was quiet and filled with unpredictable dangers. He needed to be alert at all times and be prepared for an attack at all times. He tore off the skin on the mutated beast¡¯s neck with his fingers. He then bit open at thick exposed artery and swallowed its blood. The disgusting taste made him gag a few times, but he managed to swallow in the end. Soon the mutated beast was sucked dry, and he ditched its carcass outside of the cave.


    He could not light a fire as it would attract unwanted attention. It might have been no harm at all, but he could not risk it. The extraterrestrial civilization was far more dangerous than a level eight creature. If he was discovered, death or even more terrifying consequences, awaited him.


    He took a deep breath and smiled. His blood-stained teeth made him look like a ruthless vampire!


    The sky was getting dark, and it was pitch ck in the cave. Luo Yuan sat quietly and waited patiently. He took a nap to restore his energy while waiting for the night toe. Time passed by, Luo Yuan remained seated and motionless like a statue.


    It was 2 a.m. in the dead of the night. He opened his eyes and looked at his watch.


    He stood up quietly and left the cave. He was like a ck phantom approaching the valley in silence.


    It was his first time here. However, the terrain had been analyzed countless times by the military through satellite imagery. Even if it was an insignificant slope or a pile of rock, they knew it like the back of their hands.


    As he was approached the building, Luo Yuan was all fours, crawling forward on the ground. After half an hour, he peered through the bushes to study the building.


    There was no moonlight at all that night, and darkness swallowed the entire forest. His pupils wererge to catch at illumination that came his way, and they were like ck holes in his eyes. In the bushes, a dark-gray crescent shaped building appeared before him.

 Chapter 392: No Other Way

    Chapter 392: No Other Way


    Trantor: EndlessFantasy Trantion Editor: EndlessFantasy Trantion


    The building was 200 meters around and more than 100 meters tall. The surface was smooth with no signs of cracks, patterns, designs or writings, present its perfect curve. It was like a dark, round ball that was flipped inside out.


    Such a building was insignificant before the apocalypse, as bigger and more entric constructions were everywhere. But at that moment, the ce was infested with mutated beasts and there was no sign of mankind to be seen. In the bushes, this stand-alone building in the valley appeared to be out of ce. It looked very peculiar in the night.


    Luo Yuan watched in silence for a while, controlled his breath and got ready to move forward to attack. When he was only a few hundred meters away, he felt something odd.


    It was too quiet.


    The usual sound of insects were barely even there. All the noises that he had heard wereing from far away. Suddenly, he realized that there was not a single mutated creature in sight all along the journey to the building.


    In shock, he looked around immediately. Besides nts, there was nothing else.


    "This is not normal. Could it be a poisonous gas or some other tactics?" he thought in rm.


    His heart raced in his chest. He did not want to risk anything so he used Will to inspect his body. He checked his body carefully and found that nothing strange had affected him to dull his senses. He then scanned the ground beneath him for abnormalities. There was nothing beneath the earth. Not even a dead corpse rotting away beneath his feet.


    He was relieved for a moment, clenched his teeth and silently stepped forward towards the building.


    The mission was not a simple one as the fate of mankind was in his hands. Even if nobody was to me him, and he was to retreat to preserve his life, he would not forgive himself for the cowardice of his action. He walked slowly towards the building. His ck suit was the best disguise in the darkness. He crept like a phantom in the shadows, and his stealth operation was smooth undetected, so far. Half an hourter, he was approximately 1,000 meters away from the building. He stopped and did not move any further.


    At such a distance, although it was dark, the building was crystal clear to him. Its smooth surface seemed to shine in the moonlight. There were no windows or any other fixtures on the building. He circled the building for a better understanding of its construction. After a few times, all he found out that it was just a dark, smooth, beautiful crescent building, and nothing more.


    Furthermore, it seemed to bepletely sealed off as there were no entrances to be found. However, Luo Yuan had already predicted that. After all, the extraterrestrial civilization was not of this. Every was different in terms of adaptation to ozoneyer pressures andpositions. Those living on earth could live and breathe easily but perhaps to the aliens, it was deadly. The interior of the building obviously had its own air production and cirction system.


    The night was quiet, Luo Yuan buried himself in a mound of dried leaves. He exhaled slowly and felt unusually calm, considering his circumstances. Although he was 1000 meters away from the building, he did not simply wait. His prediction ability allowed him to attempt different scenarios in his head to test the responses of the extraterrestrial civilization.


    His first predicted scenario had him slowly walking to the building. And suddenly, everything went nk and nothing happened two secondster. That was a definite failure.


    With the second scenario, he made a beeline towards the building at almost 300 meters per second. In less than 0.1 seconds, a tiny hole appeared on the surface of the building. A high-energy ray hit Luo Yuan in the forehead and he cked out. The defense of the building seemed to be extra sensitive to high speeds. It could detect targets within 0.1 seconds and instantly eliminate them. It was upsetting. He let out a sigh in defeat.


    A whileter, he tried again.


    This time he did not run in straight line, instead, he zigzagged towards the building. The building immediately attacked once again. The first attack missed him, but the second attack hit him and again, he cked out.


    Luo Yuan tried a few times more. Besides asionally avoiding the first hit, he always got attacked by the second hit and it was right on his forehead. Each prediction seemed to end with a ckout, meaning instant death.


    Luo Yuan was really tensed and his heart was beating fast. The extraterrestrial civilization had terrifying military technology which enabled them to lock on targets immediately and state of the art data analysis systems. In such a situation, no matter how unpredictable he was with his approach, he could never run away from the system¡¯s hawkeye-like detection.


    It was horrifying for such a strong evolved human like him to feel powerless. To be in such a situation, there was nothing he could do and nowhere that he could run. No matter how swift his Agility was and how fast he ran, death was the only result.


    Without the help of his Predictions, he would have been in all the certain death situations that he saw in his mind if he had rushed at the building.


    As his heartbeat slowed down, he tried again. This time he tested some attack tactics where he tossed makeshift spears and rocks at the building. The speed of his toss was almost three times faster than the speed of sound. His +16 Agility allowed him to attack at an impressive frequency. He seemed to have transformed into the thousand-handed Guan Yin where his hands were dancing in the air throwing spears and rocks at the structure. The attacks were like a rainstorm that pelted the extraterrestrial construction, but any spear or rock at a distance of 10 meters away from the building was shot down by the high-energy beam. Thest hit was on his head and he cked out again.


    He did not stop testing his predictions that night. He even braced himself to get closer but he retreated before he was 200 meters away, as he knew that if he stepped any further, he would reach the security zones automatic defense mechanism. No matter how slow and harmless he was, there was no escape for him. He found no blind spots or weaknesses he could exploit.


    All the results of his predictions were extremely disappointing. The best one would be for him to hide behind a giant rock with his body buried in the ground. But instead of a high-energy ray, there was arge ball of energy that catapulted out of the top of the building. This time, he did not see himself dying as the two seconds of prediction was instantly cked out. With just the impact of the energy boulder, the result would be no difference from the rest.


    When the sun had risen in the sky, Luo Yuan let out a sigh and left the ce cautiously. Half an hourter, he back in the cave that he was before. He leaned weakly against the wall, pale and exhausted. Although he had stayed hidden and only watched from a distance without moving, the invisible battles that he had in his prediction were no less exhausting than real battles. Especially when he was foiled again and again by the results, it discouraged him. There was no hope for him to breach the walls when he could not even break through the first-line of defense.


    Leaning on the wall, he frowned. He could not think of any other ways to do it in such a short period of time. The building was like a porcupine with all its thorns up, making it unapproachable. The only hope that he had now was that the alien or robots would not reside in there forever.


    The mission he had was to first investigate the extraterrestrial civilization and his second objective was to retrieve technological devices they used. He should not be seen by anyone, if there was a risk of that, he would retreat.


    The criteria of missions from the reconstruction area were wider and more meticulous, but not revealing himself was never a mandatory requirement. Besides, it was notpulsory for him to take up any other mission that was assigned to the system. As it is, it was quite an achievement to be able to reach this stage. It was impossible for any other evolved human toplete the mission if they were assigned to it. He was at his limit!


    However, Luo Yuan was unwilling to return empty handed but at the same time, he did not want the reconstruction area to be demolished by the extraterrestrial civilization.


    Suddenly, there was an uproar in the forest. It seemed like countless creatures were running for their lives!


    "What happened?" he thought. He stood up and ran out of the cave, taking care not to be seen.


    He noticed there was a tiny shudder in the air. It was barely there and its frequency was extremely low. The wave could almost be seen by the naked eye and such a wave made Luo Yuan feel as if his organs were about to explode!


    He looked at the direction the panicked mutated creatures were stampeding to figure out the origins of the wave. It seemed to have started from the valley. He realized something that caused a chill to run down his spine.


    "No wonder there were no mutated creatures around the building, all of them were chased away by the painful ultrasound. Thankfully, the wave was absorbed by the walls of the mountain and the air. When the wave reached this location, it must have weakened." he concluded.


    Ultrasound could damage a creature¡¯s organs, cause nausea and worse, death. It was extremely dangerous. If he did not leave the ce earlier, he would have sumbed to the wave¡¯s effects.


    Suddenly, Luo Yuan had an idea! "Right. Wave and resonance!" he eximed to himself.


    He grinned from ear to ear. Since the building was like a porcupine in defense, nobody could approach it. But, he could use force to open it. Perhaps an earthquake could make that happen.


    Every time he used Earth Stomp, there would be a quake and through resonance, there would be an earthquake that would shake the whole area. He had that thought when he was in the reconstruction area and the ground in the area was too weak. Minor earthquakes would happen from time to time. He could not estimate the consequences of the resonance and to prevent a catastrophe, he had never tested his Earth Stomp in the reconstruction area.


    Since he had left the reconstruction area, there was no need for such experiments and he had long forgotten about it. The infrasound here enlightened him to try the technique or else he would have forgotten about it.


    But before the experiment, he would need a safe ce to practice his skill and not be disturbed by anyone. He was too close to the valley. A real earthquake aside, the impact of the Earth Stomp would be equally massive. He had to be extra cautious as to not get too close. Even if he had a solution to beat the building¡¯s defense, it was not blind and would still obliterate him if he got too close.


    Still, it was not ideal for him to be too far away. He could not get close enough to create resonance in the area without attracting the attention of the extraterrestrial civilization. He was in a pickle! Luo Yuan thought about it quickly and had an idea.


    He took off the band on his forehead and entered his four-dimensional vision. He thought of utilizing his ability to warp through space-time to go underground.


    He was solemn for a moment as the idea was really risky. Even with his prediction ability, he saw what would happen during two seconds of the earthquake and a tiny mistake would lead to being buried alive underground. But it was the only n he had at such short notice.


    He began going through the fourth dimension. As he attempted to distort the space-time around him, it took more than five minutes for the space-time bubble around him to take form. He then took control and sank into the ground. Having no sight of anything underground, he relied solely on his Sense to determine the direction at which he was going. The coverage of his sense shrunk from the usual 100 meters he could sense at to only about 30 meters with all the earth that was around. However, though this was the case, it was sufficient.


    To create more impact, he moved forward to the valley coordinates that was registered in his head. He arrived at the border of the valley which was eight kilometers from the building before he stopped.


    He used his Will to get rid of the space-time bubble. The space underground spread and formed a two-meter widepartment inside the mountain. It was located eight meters below the surface of the mountain and was six meters from the ground up. The two meters of humicyer aside, the lithosphere was four meters thick. The distance was the perfect threshold for the copse from the impact of the earthquake. If something went wrong, he could escape easily.


    It was the best distance for him to escape within two seconds based on what he saw in his prediction. It was hisst shot!


    He put his band back over his forehead, took a deep breath and entered the Earth Pulse mode.

 Chapter 393: Spaceship

    Chapter 393: Spaceship


    Trantor: EndlessFantasy Trantion Editor: EndlessFantasy Trantion


    His heartbeat slowed to a slow yet powerful tempo. Immense strength was continuously drawn up into him from the ground. His drained physical strength within his four-dimensional vision was restored instantly. Luo Yuan closed his eyes and cleared his mind. He felt theplicated frequency of the area in the quiet that surrounded him.


    Sensing the earth¡¯s frequency was a gift he had. Ever since he became an evolved human, the ability to sense all frequency waves, especially when he was in the Earth Pulse mode, came to him instinctively. The waves of the earth were so clear to his senses, they were like the radiating glow of a candle in the dark. Aspared to the darkness, figuring out the mixed andplexed waves in the Earth Pulse could only be separated with specifically honed vibration impulse senses.


    The waves of the area were clearer and more active as he got closer to it. With each breath, Luo Yuan felt a clear, intense rhythm. The geological formation of this area was not asplicated as he thought. Removing the humidity from the area, he focused on theposition of the mountain. It was made of granite, stuck together which formed a single rock structure with almost no cracks. That meant that even if the waves were intense, they were cluttered. Such terrain was the best ce for resonance.


    "Let¡¯s begin!" Luo Yuan thought to himself. He opened his eyes, lifted up his foot and stomped down hard. There was a light shake on the ground. He continued a second time, and then a third...


    Aspared to the Earth Stomp, the impact of the quakes as he stomped were minuscule. He was controlling his Will, not only to avoid an uproar which would alert the extraterrestrial civilization but also to conserve his energy.


    As long as the frequencies match, each quake did not require much strength. It was more of a domino effect where all he needed was the continuous impulse from the resonance that picked up the frequency.


    He proceeded to stomp his feet, again and again.


    The resonance began. Dust fell from the ceilings overhead. He could hear that walls crack and chunks of gravel slide off to the ground. He was covered with dust, but, his eyes remained focused and he continued his stomping.


    He was an earth based evolved human. He was always one with the earth to gain power and rejuvenation, and at the same time, he had control of it. Although, his control was limited by the range of his Sense, where he could do nothing about any area that was out of range.


    But this time, the tables were turned! The Earth Stomp was not achieved by the simple lifting of a foot, that was just the start. In reality, not only did he have to match the frequency of his Earth Pulse, but it required a lot of focused attention for the perfect release. That was the reason why the coverage of the Earth Pulse was simr to the range of his Sense.


    However, as the resonance was initiated, the limits of his Sense¡¯s coverage was shattered. With the spread of the vibration¡¯s coverage area, his control was widened correspondingly. As the resonance spread wider and wider, everything went haywire!


    By then, Luo Yuan was immersed in the central zone of the vibration and could not pull himself out of it. His heart and soul were one with the earth, while the resonance spread from the initial 100 meters to 1,000 meters, and then 10,000 meters...


    Suddenly, the earth was part of him!


    The mountain was a part of his body, the ravines in the valley were his limbs, the soft soil was his skin while the nts and a variety of mutated creatures were the mold and parasites on his living being. He felt like he was invincible and an endless strength rose up within him. One stroke of his hand could make the mountain copse and the ground crack open beneath him. It continued spreading all over his body at a lightning speed, his strength was multiplying at an amazing speed!


    He was concerned but he could not control it. All he could do was just allow things to happen around him. Soon his concern faded as his strength continued to build up within him. Soon he felt his consciousness blur as he gained more power, and his body started to erge...


    Suddenly, there was an intense shudder on the ground that made things fall all around him, but Luo Yuan remained still. The Earth Stomp under his feet went on and the intensity of the resonance did not falter. The major change in the terrain deformed the cave and the walls were cracked from top to bottom. The two-meter wide cave shrunk to less than half a meter.


    Giant pieces of gravels rained down andrge rocks of up to 100 kilograms smashed on Luo Yuan¡¯s head, but he did not feel anything at all. Blood trailed down his forehead and dripped off his chin. Drops of blood influenced by his Will floated in the air and some just fell to the ground making small puddles at his feet. It was like mercury, a viscous, shiny liquid that rolled on the ground, rippled by the chaotic vibrations.


    As time went by, the ground above was inplete turmoil! The mountain had split into half and copsed to the ground. A huge piece ofnd had sunk and formed a giant sinkhole! A fearsome crack formed like an enormous mouth with canine teeth, which opened wide and swallowed the mudslides around it. Countless mutated beasts were either petrified with fear on the ground or ran for their lives over all the dead bodies beneath them.


    ...


    An intense crash woke him from his trance like state, like a gong in the morning. He looked around him and a chill ran down his spin. The cave walls were so close together, some sharp rocks were close to piercing his body. If his body was not as tough, they would have through and killed him instantly.


    He did not hesitate to break the rock edges with a sweep of his hand. He stomped hard and gave the wall on the top of his head a punch. In such a treacherous situation, his adrenaline pumped quickly, which allowed him to push his limits with his speed. An endless barrage of punches made contact with the wall. Each hit unleashed 20 tonnes of strength, like cannons bomb pummeling the wall.


    The tough rock crumbled like biscuits under such terrifying force. He was like a super-rock drilling machine. In a blink of an eye, he emerged from the underground cavern he was trapped in. He wiped the dust and blood off his face and was stunned at the scene that met him. Many giant trees had fallen, their roots high in the air. There were severe changes to the terrain. He looked at the 10-meter wide crack not far away and the hills that just shot up nearby from the movement of the tectonic tes beneath the surface. He gasped in surprise, surprised at the terrifying impact of the resonance.


    At this moment, he was truly shocked by what he could do. When he snapped out of the zone, he noticed something strange. He was shocked! Not only did his Sense now have an unbelievably wide coverage, allowing him to feel up to 500-meters of distance, with images that were much clearer. He nced at his system updates and noticed that his Sense was now +16. It had gained +2 at once!


    Added to his Haunted Locust Heart, it was +17, which was the same as his Will.


    He was happy as his Sense came to achieve a much greater potential. Not only was the coverage widened, it was now the same as his Will where both sides of his mental strength were now fearsomely powerful. It was like a material that had both characteristics of strength as well as incredible malleability, one of the ways to describe the ultimate form of mental strength.


    The upgrade of his Sense allowed him to see much clearly when he was using his Will. "It seems like the change in Sense was caused by the resonance which affected my state of mind." Luo Yuan guessed. He recalled the amazing feeling he had earlier. While he was grateful for the upgrade in his Sense, he was concerned.


    He did not expect the resonance to be so dangerous as it was sent forth with his state of mind. If he was not rmed by the danger and did not snap out of the mode, the spread of his mindset would have been horrifying, and he might have still been deeply immersed in the invisible power. Even worse, his consciousness would have integrated to the ground and he would not be able to return to his own body, which would have wasted away under the rubble.


    Fortunately, everything was over. Not only did he survive the danger, his Sense got a massive upgrade, he concluded. Simultaneously, a thought shed through his mind. He calmed his excitement and set his focus back on the mission at hand. "Let¡¯s see what happened to the building," he said aloud, a menacing tone to his voice.


    He pointed his foot in the direction of the building and leaped forward. The day had just dawned, but the sun was not out. There was still darkness in the forest. The terrain waspletely destroyed by the resonant-caused earthquake. The ground caved in, mountains slid away and there were some spouting fountains that were caused by the breaking and redirecting of an underground river. It showered water all around him.


    While concealing himself behind bushes and trees, Luo Yuan moved forward cautiously. In less than 20 minutes, he arrived at the building site. He was thrilled to see that the building was nowhere to be found. Instead, there were piles of giant rocks all over the ce. The extraterrestrial civilization was out of luck! During the earthquake, there was mud slide on the mountain next to the building. Half the cliff had disappeared, and massive amounts of rocks and mud devoured the building to the chunks of rocks he saw.


    To be buried in gravel that was almost 100,000 tonnes, even if it did not break into smaller boulders, the aliens and robot could not get out of the building in time. As he stood there assessing the damage, there was a shiver in the earth and the terrain shifted again!


    He heard a loud thud that sounded like a thunder and the rocks on the ground shook with the vibrations. At the same time, a terrifying heat rose out of the ground, and the heat waves seemed to be rumbling.


    Mist from the instant vaporization of water shot out of the piles of hot gravels, the air was suddenly covered in a fog!


    The temperature was insanely high as the wet rocks became dry instantly. Soon, dark redva started flowing out of the gaps in the earth. The earth shook more intensely, giant rocks rolled around like pebbles. It felt like there was a giant creature trying to escape from it. Luo Yuan who was initially rxed became anxious. He stood up and held his saber tight in his hands. He ran towards the pile of rocks 1,000 meters away in the blink of an eye.


    Just as he got closer, the terrifying heat wave almost singed his hair. He summoned ayer of Will that coated his body, and the heat wave was blocked off him immediately. He looked at the chaos that was smoking and melting around him, clenched his teeth and leaped up in the air away from it all.


    He used his Sense and focused it on the interior of the building. The images he saw in his head gave him goosebumps. He and the reconstruction area were wrong! The crescent object was not a building. It was not an outpost. It was a mini spaceship!


    The 100,000 tonnes of gravels that had buried it only made some insignificant tiny holes, scratches and minor deformation. Nothing majorly destructive had happened to it.


    Suddenly, its base that was buried in the ground reshaped itself into a rocket and sma mes fired out of it. The ground below it had be red hot and formed a pool of moltenva with bright, white beams that quickly vaporized in the air. It also released a hot and dense gas which melted the area nearby.


    There was a scary force from the spaceship¡¯s engine. The shake got more and more intense, countless rocks flew out from beneath it and the ship rose swiftly into the air. Luo Yuan was astounded. With such speed, the spaceship would escape in less than half a minute! He moved around so that he would not sink into the melting ground beneath him. Looking down from the sky as he flew up, the ground got tinier below him. He held his saber high, his heart racing in his chest. The intense anxiety made his palms sweaty, it felt like he could not hold his de any longer.


    The mission made him feel like he was dancing with death. There was no other possibility of survival if he failed the mission. When he battled with mutated beasts, even if he failed, there was still a chance he could escape alive. But his opponent this time was a spaceship from outer space! The technology used remained unknown as well as its tactics. He emptied his mind and he gathered all his Will to his saber!


    He waited for the time toe with a nk consciousness. At that moment, he only had one shot! All his terrors, worries, tactics and thorough nnings would be all behind him if it worked. He was a hunter, the most powerful hunter in the apocalypse. The only thing different was that the target was not a mutated beast, but an alien spaceship.


    It felt like time had slowed down, the seconds passed by excruciatingly. He felt like he was levitating in the air, tonnes of soil slided off the spaceship as itunched into the air.


    Suddenly, he became furious. He shed down his Zhanmadao and drew a bright deadly stroke in the air causing the space to explode. He reached his maximum speed. His body became a blur, his face could not be seen as he darted down. Countless saber strikes were like bolts of lightning in the darkness of the dawn. He made a few hundred swings per second, an airtight web was formed, mercilessly slicing the spaceship. The armor on the spaceship that seemed tough was nothing but a thin sheet of paper under such terrifying shes.


    Two secondster, the engine died after a few shot of mes splurted out of the rocket.


    Three secondster, the top of the spaceship fell open, sliced into pieces like a peeled orange. It copsed in the dirt,pletely destroyed. Luo Yuan hopped off the wreckage,nding lightly on the ground.

 Chapter 394: Escape

    Chapter 394: Escape


    Trantor: EndlessFantasy Trantion Editor: EndlessFantasy Trantion


    Before he hopped off the spaceship, Luo Yuan¡¯s checked the entire building with his Sense for any signs of life. The insane shing earlier had damaged most of the energy-transmission structures within the cabin. It was dark inside and apart from some glowing lights on machines that made no sense to him. It seemed to be empty. There were no living creatures or intelligent robots in sight. Although, if there were any, they would not havested long against his glowing de.


    While he was still in the air, he went into the Earth Pulse mode. As hended, he lifted his foot and stomped down hard. His Sense that had gained two points made his Earth Pulse gain a level too. It was now level seven. The power of his Earth Stomp was a few times stronger than it was before.


    An explosion echoed through the jungle like a bomb went off on the deck of the spaceship. The deck shook violently, but there was no damage to it at all. It was tough. However, the outeryer, packaging and strange decorations in the cabin splintered and shattered into millions of tiny pieces.


    The entire spaceship shuddered for a few moments after. The effect of his Earth Stomp was no longer limited to that particr area. The ¡®ground¡¯ was now more of a general reference to his range. As long as the structure was connected to the ground and was not an independent system that floated in the air, the effect was no different to him stomping right on top of it. He did not stop his attack on the ship. He stomped three times continuously and the entire spaceship rocked fiercely.


    The weaponry on the ship was no doubt powerful, but at the same time, it had its weaknesses. It was deadly at long distance attacks that were almost impossible to defend, had an almost imprable outer shell and it was also terrifyingly flexible to movement and strategy. However, when the interior waspromised, it fell apart immediately. The same would have happened to mankind in a simr attack, Luo Yuan thought, as the extraterrestrial beings had technology that could easily annihte any human countermeasure he knew.


    His strong Sense allowed him to visualize all the movement within the spaceship. Perhaps the attack was too sudden and Luo Yuan¡¯s intrusion into the spaceship was so quick that the aliens had no time to brace themselves for the attack. There were only seven aliens in the spaceship and all of them seemed to have died when the first Earth Stomp hit. They were all smashed into small heaps of minced meat and bone. One of the corpsesid on a crescent-shaped machine. It seemed to be the only one that had managed to escaped the attack but it had passed out andid there motionless. Seeing that it was was not moving, it was no threat to him so he decided not to slice it open with his saber just yet.


    However, aspared to the fragile life forms that were on the ship, all the robots that were still intact had begun stabilizing and rebooting the ship¡¯s powerful defense system. The Earth Stomp was nothing to such terrifyingly intelligent robots. They were simr to the Earthly robots in shape as they were round and sturdy. It seemed like they were categorized into three modes based on color and size.


    Luo Yuan had seen the smallest one before. The middle-level one was yellow and stood at a height of one meter while the final robot was green and 1.5 meters tall.


    To mankind, such a robot was tiny. Even for the third green robot, it seemed to not pose a threat at all. But, considering the size of the aliens, which was half a meter tall, such robots were considered massive.


    The extraterrestrial civilization seemed to worship spherical figures. Be it the decorations of rooms, devices and the shapes of their robots, most of them were designed to be spherical. The shape influenced everything in the spaceship. Suddenly, Luo Yuan sensed the presence of a mini intelligent robot near the cabin that seemed to notice disturbance. It flew straight at him with a wide smile on its robotic face.


    Luo Yuan lifted up his foot and stomped down hard again. That was no longer an Earth Stomp, but instead, what happened was more of a powerful Earth Geyser!


    The deck shook once more, a terrifying wave pierced through the deck straight at the flying robot. Without a moment to react, it was hit hard by the force, rocketed into the ceiling and fell hard on the ground.


    shes of electric arcs sparked on its surface. It struggled for a while, its body seemed like it was attempting an escape. But with a soft fizz followed by a tiny explosion, it fell immediately and its body shook thest time.


    What the small robot had experienced was not a simple physical hit, but instead, it was hit with a high-frequency quake from the Earth Geyser. The more precise the technology, the moreplicated the internal structure. Once a tiny part of the system was affected, the entire system would bepromised.


    His Earth Geyser attack was the best against such intelligent robots. Luo Yuan used the same method to kill the rest of them too. If one hit was not enough, he could repeat it two or three times for better effect.


    As time went by, the intelligent robotsy paralyzed, fizzing on the deck floor.


    The strength of the internal weapons of the spaceship was very limited. After removing the externalser beam ¡®ws¡¯ of the spaceship, there were no other threats left within the structure.


    He then decided to initiate arge scale attack to take it down. His strong Sense made the entire spaceship a kill zone for thest Earth Geyser attack.


    Luo Yuan noticed a trail of smoke out of the control room that was located in the middle of the spaceship. The screens in the room started to shut off one by one.


    Something seemed to be affecting the energy-transfer circuit, electric sparks shot high into the air! The reserved energy and machines lost their power and froze.


    Soon, all the lights in the spaceship went off and the actual gravity in the ship was restored.


    The gravity in the spaceship was only 60% the gravity of the earth. Luo Yuan felt like he was floating and it made him very ufortable. After a few seconds, the gravity went back to normal, and he felt much better.


    After the power of the spaceship waspletely out, he proceeded to destroy the possible cameras and all the controls on the spaceship. Now, he felt safer as nothing recorded his massacre of all the aliens.


    Finally, Luo Yuan was relieved that the mission was a sess. There were two stories in the spaceship and the bottom floor had argerpartment. It was the location of the power center and an engine filled with gigantic metal tunnels. It wasplex like a maze, and that floor was no doubt the core of the spaceship was where the most valuable pieces of technology were stored.


    However, those gadgets were not what Luo Yuan was after. Those objects were massive and at least 100 tonnes to 10,000 tonnes. Even a simple small part weighed 100 kilograms! With him alone, even if he tried, he would not be able to take much back with him. Furthermore, he knew very well that the technology that was needed the most by the reconstruction area was not from the spaceship engine. Instead, they were more interested in the attack capabilities developed by the extraterrestrial civilization.


    Higher functional energy weapons, higher density and more concrete nuclear fusion devices as well as more powerful analyzing abilities or more advanced detection techniques were part of the inventory he was supposed to search for in the wreckage.


    Fortunately, all the intelligent robots were fitted with the first three technological advancements they needed. Although they were small, size did not determine the power within it. Though it was not thetest updated technology, skills were transferable and the differences were not too major. The biggest difference would have been the matchlock and flintlock, which came with simr threats anyway.


    For the fourth technology they needed, it all depended on luck. However, based on Luo Yuan¡¯s estimation, that was a simplified version of such a technology within the intelligent robots.


    Immediately he ran towards the cabin like a puff of smoke. The cabin was locked with a dark metal rod. It would have been difficult for an ordinary human being to open but it would not stop Luo Yuan. He unsheathed his Zhanmadao, and in a few shes, the door fell apart.


    There was an alien lying t on the floor, and it seemed to be a ranked official among the extraterrestrial civilization. It was 1.5 meters tall aspared to the rest which was only half a meter tall. This alien being seemed to be more important than the others. At the same time, it did manage to take six Earth Geysers before it copsed.


    There was a transistor on the concave arc of its round head, and it was still blinking. Although it could not move as it waspletely paralyzed, Luo Yuan was still cautious. He summoned a hint of Will that made his palm glow and directed his it towards the robot. After a fizz came from it, the robot had been totally incapacitated.


    He went ahead to lift the alien. As it turned out, it was quite heavy. It was almost 600 kilograms but with his +17 Strength, he could handle it with ease. He then rushed out through the tunnels with the only survivor on his back. No matter what information they had about the extraterrestrial civilization, the captive alien could reveal a lot more and even help mankind advance themselves with their technology. It was crucial to his whole mission. Its willingness was not an issue as many evolved humans in the reconstruction area had the hypnosis and mind control abilities. Luo Yuan chuckled at the thought.


    To prevent the alien from regaining consciousness, Luo Yuan used his Will to put it into a deep sleep. The half-meter tall robots were petite and weighed not more than 30 kilograms. He ced it on top of the alien and lifted them both. To his surprise, it did not seem to add any extra burden to him at all.


    He dared not stay any longer. He nced at all the machines around him for onest time with a heavy heart. His eyes especially lingered on the supeputer that was outside the control room in the middle of the spaceship that had caught his eye since he started searching the ce. Unfortunately, he could not bring it along as it was not part of his inventory.


    He turned around in regret and ran immediately with the aliens on his shoulder.


    He knew that in all that time since the outpost spaceship lost contact with the mothership, the base camp of the extraterrestrial civilization in outer space would have been notified. The longer he stayed, the more dangerous it would be.


    Even the surrounding area was not safe anymore. He was lucky this time that the civilization had not managed to fight back. His ability would have only yed a small part in his victory while the rest of the mission waspletely due to good fortune. He was not sure if he could be this lucky next time.


    He went back to his cave, retrieved his backpack and continued to run. He scaled the mountains at lighting speed and hid in the shadows of the forest to conceal his retreat. Heunched his four-dimensional vision to aid in his escape. With all the weight added by his loot, the speed that he could travel through his space-time bubble was slowed down significantly.


    Worry began to settle on his shoulders as his heart raced in his chest. He was not this afraid when he attacked the spaceship. However, he only realized the consequences of his actions as he began his escape. Not only was his life on the line, he now realized that he had most likely initiated a war with the extraterrestrial civilization and that they mightunch an attack on the.


    The incident was very serious as six out of seven aliens were killed while one was held captive by him, and the entire spaceship waspletely destroyed. Without major repairs, it waspletely useless. He could not be sure if the attack had revealed who he was to the aliens in outer space. He had attempted to destroy all recorded evidence but was not sure if any video identification of the attack was sent to the mothership. The difference in technology was too vast, and no matter how careful he was, there was a possibility that he could be recognized. If they found out or even suspected that it was done by a human, Luo Yuan could not imagine what they would do to seek revenge.


    He took a deep breath and removed the negative thoughts from his mind. At that moment, it was no use overthinking it. Since the extraterrestrial civilization was capable of deadly warfare, facing them should not be a cowardly affair. Even if that meant the end of mankind, they were ready to fight for their lives.


    ...


    With the extra weight on his back, it was a surprise that his space-time bubble still managed to propel him forward at full speed. The first 10 minutes of his flight had him moving forward slowly but at a consistent pace. Although, half an hourter, he broke through the speed of sound with ease. He got faster and faster and soon, the ind disappeared in the distance beyond the horizon. He could feel the breeze of the ocean, blowing on his face and with whatever he had, he proceeded to fly as fast as he could.


    He did not dare fly straight to the reconstruction area as it was too risky. He barely had any knowledge of the extraterrestrial civilization¡¯s protocol for search and rescue operations. Regardless if it was the intelligent robot or the alien that survived, he could not guarantee if any of them had positioning signal on them that alerted the others of their locations.


    An hourter, Luo Yuannded on a small ind off the coast. He put the robot down in the sand, and carefully slid the alien off his back. He started to check the alien thoroughly. It wore a tight one-piece suit which was simr to a space suit butpared to those usually worn by mankind, the one it had on was light, smooth and soft to the touch. On its head, it wore a mask that was connected to its suit, simr to a gas mask.


    Luo Yuan had done a scan earlier, and it was nothing like amon gas mask. Instead, it was an intelligent filter system that bnced air pressure. There was no circuit he recognized inside it and the structure was extremelyplex. It was powered by a small piece of semi-transparent material he had never seen before. He had absolutely no clue as to how it was operated, but he was well aware of the vast difference in technology and did not question its superior craftsmanship.


    The alien¡¯s body was simr to that of a human body. It had no hair, a slender frame, and a sharp chin. There seemed to be small horns shaped like a crown on its head, and its spine was slightly hunched. Its skin was a dull gray color.


    Aspared to a human, it only had four long fingers and each of them had five joints. It looked like each finger could bend backward and in many otherplicated movements that would have been a swordsman¡¯s dream, Luo Yuan thought.


    Perhaps because the gravity was lower on earth aspared to their mothend, it was weak and seemed to only have the strength of a six-year-old. It could be easily subdued and defeated if it dared challenge, Luo Yuan. He continued his probing of the body, pressed its body and scanned it using his Will. His strong Will broke the defense system of its body easily, and he scanned its body right down to its core.


    Soon, Luo Yuan found out that there was a piece of tissue at the back of its head. It looked strange to him, as the tissue was shaped like an ocean wave. It was the size of a coin, and the details were very intricate.


    What concerned him was the patterns and distorted words on the tissue.


    "Was it a personal messaging system for the aliens?" Luo Yuan thought to himself. The more he thought about it, the more it made sense. How could any living thing have tissues that were carved with patterns and images?


    He jolted and felt a chill spread through his body. Fortunately, he was lucky he found out sooner thanter or else, with this built-in personal messaging system, the extraterrestrial civilization would have surely found out where he was. He did not hesitate for a second. Immediately, he ced his palm on the back of its head and unleashed a burst of his Will. Soon, the tissue within its head was incinerated there and then. He exhaled, breathing a sigh of relief.


    He then went to the intelligent robot and checked for the same built-in messaging system. He also wanted to see if there was a reservoir of energy within its body that was still working. He was relieved when he realized that every part of its body was out of service. However, due to safety concerns he could not stay put any longer and put his captives back on his shoulders.


    Although his Strength had yet to be fully restored, Luo Yuan continued on his journey. He flew more than 1,000 kilometers away andnded on another ind. As hended, he stumbled and almost fell on the ground. Traveling with the space-time bubble continuously for more than two hours had drained all his energy. He was weak and rested for a moment in the sand. There were giant sea beasts that were skulking not far away from him, but he could not care less about their intentions. The beasts made the waves crash loudly on the shoreline, which greatly irritated him. He got to his feet and looked towards the jungle a few meters away from him. Shortly after, he found a hole in a tree and rested in it.


    The hole was small. After cing both the robot and the alien in it, it was quite cramped. Even though he could not even straighten his legs, the small and smelly hole rxed him into a deep sleep. In exhaustion, heid against the wall and passed out. He did not n to continue running any further as he had done all he could. As to whether the extraterrestrial beings would find him or not, it was all down to luck now. Even if he were to die, there would be nothing he could do in his state of fatigue.


    After what seemed like hours of slumber, he began to feel thirsty. He ced his backpack on his knee and unzipped it. He retrieved his bottle and unscrewed the cork. Just when he prepared to take a swig of water, a ball rolled out of his pack. He looked at the ball and was stunned. Thirst did not bother him anymore. He put the bottle back into his backpack and picked up the ball.


    It was a soul-eating beast¡¯s eyeball with the ability to dream walk. Suddenly a thought crossed his mind. With the alien asleep, should he take a look at its dream?

 Chapter 395: Friendly Glassians

    Chapter 395: Friendly ssians


    Trantor: EndlessFantasy Trantion Editor: EndlessFantasy Trantion


    Luo Yuan then ced the soul-eating beast¡¯s eyeball on his forehead and closed his eyes.


    As he went into the zone, an amazing change happened to the pitch ck eyeball.


    It seemed like it was electrified where its color faded at a fast pace and soon it became a clear crystal. There was a glow came out of it at the same time, it was soft and lively.


    With the help of the flow, the cave lit up with a mysterious and dreamy atmosphere. There were changes happened to Luo Yuan¡¯s vision as well. It wasplete darkness when he closed his eyes, but now there was a cloud of colorful mist. The color of the mist was ever-changing, it was strange yet mysterious.


    As Luo Yuan had tried the soul-eating eyeball before, the mist was not strange to him. He focused on the mist and approached it. As he changed his mind, it erged in a blink of an eye. From the size of a watermelon, it became as big as a house when he was half a meter closer.


    When he almost touched it, it became a giant creature that was as huge as a hill. It was terrifying but at the same time, it showed its true color.


    It was not some ever-changing color, but it was filled with countless images.


    Calling them images were inurate, to be precise, those were short clips of videos.


    As the mist rumbled, the videos appeared one by one like bubbles on a bowl of soup but most of them did notst too long. Just when they appeared, the videos disappeared before he could see any of them clearly.


    Of course, those were not the dream that Luo Yuan wanted, they were the thoughts that were created in its sleep. They were messy, scattered and self-destructive. The real dreand was located in the center of the mist while the videos were just fragments of thoughts from the dream.


    As Luo Yuan focused, there was a catastrophic change to the hill-sized mist.


    Compared to the alien¡¯s state of mind, his was overwhelmingly strong where a change in his thoughts could cause a disaster.


    He was like a scorching sun, his body released a terrifying aura. Countless images copsed before they could evene close to him. The cloud of mist shook intensely.


    Watching the copsing mist, Luo Yuan went silent immediately and stopped thinking so that his thoughts would not disturb the dream.


    He stayed at the same spot for some time and eventually, the mist returned back to normal.


    He was relieved and walked slowly towards the mist. Though his slow movement, he managed created a huge vacuum tunnel as he walked through the mist.


    Soon, he arrived at the dreand. It covered most parts of the cloud of mist and felt like reality. It would be absolutely stunning for a first-timer.


    Luo Yuan did not stay there and went straight into the dreand without hesitation.


    The dreand shook a few times and went back to normal. As long as he was near, space within the dream became unstable and felt like it would copse anytime.


    But there was nothing that he could do as his state of mind was too strong. Even if he was to turn off his mind, his existence would still be a major disturbance to the dreand.


    He maintained calm in his mind and observed the dreand in silence.


    Seemed to be affected by Luo Yuan¡¯s entrance, the dreams changed from one scene to another where most of them made no sense.


    However, the scattered images were very valuable and precious.


    There were images of the inside of the spaceship and on a gxy but most of them were images of a room that was filled with a variety of devices. It also showed scenes of this alien working with other aliens.


    The alien seemed to hold a high position as Luo Yuan noticed there were a few images of it scolding other aliens. But he was too far away, he could not hear what they said, just some noise that was barely there. Suddenly, Luo Yuan felt something that made his heart jolt. He hesitated and got closer.


    "The mutation of this antidote-based virus is very dangerous. I don¡¯t think I should repeat myself that all experiment materials should be quarantined. If such rudimentary mistake happened again, please go back to the mothership!"


    "I¡¯m sorry, I will not repeat the mistake ever again!"


    A close voice was sent to his head. He was stunned and could not maintain his silence at the moment. His strong thoughts were released uncontrobly. The dreand shook intensely, it was copsing and the air was distorted, it crumbled eventually. Even the outer region of the mist cloud as the world fell into darkness.


    However, Luo Yuan did not regret that. He looked at the soul-eating beast¡¯s eyeball in his hand, it was still unbelievable to him. He had never imagined this little thing could allow him to listen to the aliens¡¯ conversations.


    He thought to himself while he calmed himself down and realized something.


    With the help of the eyeball, he could enter the dream of others without his five senses. What he got were frequencies that came from the heart.


    When he did try invading a dream previously, it was in the samenguage he spoke. If it were not for the alien that he met today, he would have never noticed that and at the same time, he would not know how precious this eyeball was.


    Suddenly, he recalled the conversation between the two aliens he saw at the dreand. It was strange, the aliens seemed to be experimenting with a dangerous virus, but what kind of virus would make theme all the way to earth!


    The more he thought about it, the more ridiculous the incident was. He seemed to get a hint of what happened.


    "Should I take a look again?" Luo Yuan thought to himself.


    But he looked at the alien who frowned and seemed to be suffering, Luo Yuan scrapped off his idea.


    This alien was valuable to the reconstruction area, he could not torture it until it lost its mind. No matter what, he had all the time with it.


    He looked at the watch, it was only 8 a.m. in the morning.


    It was a slow day for Luo Yuan, he could not feel time pass at all.


    He felt that his Strength had been fully recovered, he walked out of the hole. A salty sea breeze blew on his face, he was recharged and he felt much happier.


    He climbed the tree and took a good look at the ind.


    The ind he rested his feet on was pathetically small, the surface of thend was barely 10 square kilometers. The longest part of the ind was seven kilometers apart while the smallest area was only two kilometers apart.


    Though small, it was quite dangerous. There was almost no sight of anynd based mutated creature. What he saw were many giant beasts that crawled out of the sea, even some of the aquatic nts invaded thend.


    He saw seaweed taking over a beach not far away. The seaweed was enormous, each of the leaves could cover an entire highway before the apocalypse.


    After another nce, he went back to the hole. The alien had awakened and it sat up.


    When Luo Yuan entered, it was checking the intelligence robot next to it. Seeing Luo Yuan walking in, it pulled back its hand immediately and mustered its courage to look at him calmly,"@#£¤%*&)(@*)#! !)@(#*!)(@# )!(*$)(^@!#)!*(#*!)(@#!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !)(@#*)((#*@!#"


    It opened its mouth and said something with a weird ent through its mask, it sounded boring.


    Luo Yuan looked at it in silence, walked into the hole and used Will to check the intelligent robot again. It was still in sleep mode, and he was relieved.


    To think about it, the intelligent robot had been destroyed in every physical sense. Without tools or recement materials, even if its creator was here, there was nothing that could be done.


    Luo Yuan ignored the alien while heid on the wall. He held the eyeball in his hand and thought to himself.


    Seeing Luo Yuan not showing any hostility, the alien seemed to have more courage. It attempted to stand up. However, it seems that the alien could not handle the gravity on earth.


    It struggled for a while and stood straight as it spoke again, "#%**@#%"


    Not getting any responses from Luo yuan after a few sentences, it seemed to have thought of something and said, "person, ÈËÀà, §é§Ö§Ý§à§Ó§Ö§é§Ö§ã§ä§Ó§à?"


    The three words were in English, Mandarin and Russian, they were the most prominentnguages that remained of mankind.


    Luo Yuan was shocked, he lifted his head. Although its ent was weird and blur, it was still understandable, "You can speak ournguage."


    It stopped and seemed to be thinking. A whileter, it spoke, "You are... Chinese, reconstruction...area?"


    "You got it right!" Luo Yuan said in all seriousness, he could see that it had high intelligence.


    If its message system was still there, he could assume that it was tranted but now that the system was destroyed, all of that was self-taught.


    "What you...did...leads to...death, you can¡¯t run away, your race... will be... punished by us!" The way it talked was cautious yet arrogant. To it, the intelligence of the human race was simr to natives from a pre-historic period.


    "Let me... go, send me... back, we will... repay you, high-end... technology, lengthen your lives, you will be the human... hero!" It continued to speak.


    "Haha, are you kidding me?" Luo Yuanughed in sarcasm while he ignored the fact that the aliens had shown their hostility to mankind. There would be no good consequences to him since he killed so many of the aliens.


    "We... ssians... are friendly, we... don¡¯t joke around!" The alien proceeded to say but soon he could not say anything anymore.


    A saber had been pointed at its forehead. It was stunned as it took a few steps backward, stumbling and falling on the ground. It stood up in pain and said,"Disagree... violence, friendly... talk!"


    "Go f*uck yourself!"


    Not only Luo Yuan did not keep his saber, he pointed the sharp end even closer to its forehead.


    "Now it¡¯s my turn to ask and you will answer! How many of you are here?" Luo Yuan asked as he exuded a faint aura of Will around him.


    "12... 85 of us!"


    "How many spaceships are there?"


    "It¡¯s not a spaceship... It¡¯s just an aircraft, there is only...one spaceship!"


    Luo Yuan was shocked, he felt weak all of a sudden. He was lucky that he was alive as he thought the aircraft was the extraterrestrial civilization¡¯s biggest strength, but it was just merely an aircraft although it served the simr purpose of short-distance flying in space.


    "Last question, what is your...purpose here?" Luo Yuan gathered his Will as a glow came out of from his eyes as he increased the intensity of the Will he exuded into the interrogation.


    Suddenly, the alien struggled, it frowned and seemed like it was suffering. Soon there was blood flowing out of its nose and it became yellow. A few momentster it said, "Expedition, we are an expedition team. ssians are... friends with the humans!"

 Chapter 396: Lies

    Chapter 396: Lies


    Trantor: EndlessFantasy Trantion Editor: EndlessFantasy Trantion


    Suddenly, the alien struggled, it frowned and seemed like it was suffering. Soon there was blood flowing out of its nose and it became yellow. A whileter it said, "Expedition, we are an expedition team. ssians are... friends with the humans!"


    Although it seemed weak, it seemed to have a kind of resistance to hypnosis. During thest question, it seemed to show signs of relief, which was suspicious.


    Friendly?


    Would an advanced civilization be friendly to a backward civilization which would soon be a threat to it?


    He did not believe it at all. The history of humanity was the best examples. A good example was the mass depoption of the indigenous people in America back in the past as well as the very that happened on top of many other records of atrocities in our civilization that was lost in the records.


    The entire human history was that of war.


    Moreover, when all these had happened in the past, it was between two parties of a simr species. If two civilizations from different species were to meet, the war would be a hundred times worse and the end result would inevitably have only one civilization that would eventually remain standing on earth.


    If the extraterrestrial civilization left its mothend to expand their territory in the gxy, Luo Yuan believed that nobody would just sit there and watch as other civilizations of another species threatened them.


    Friendly? Without a doubt, that was one of the worst lies.


    Luo Yuan wanted to use his Will to make it speak again but since its nose was bleeding, he was afraid that he would kill it and gave up on that thought.


    "What... did you... do to me." The alien panted in fear and did not hold back when he responded, "You¡¯re... a dirty savage!"


    "Dirty savage?" Hearing such insulting words, Luo Yuan face turned solemn as he said coldly, "Please be reminded that you¡¯re a prisoner. If you¡¯re ever disrespectful to me again, don¡¯t me me for not warning you."


    As he finished his words, he retrieved his saber. The glow on the Zhanmadao shed the alien before its chest, scaring it and made it take a few steps backward. Luo Yuan made his stand and it apologized immediately, "No no no, powerful... warrior, that was... unintentional!"


    Luo Yuan ignored him. A whileter, it got startled and tried to convince him, "Please... let me go, I¡¯m no use... to you, perhaps you... don¡¯t know... what you¡¯re doing? What kind of scary power that you are encountering? This will bring disaster... to your people!"


    "What you say disaster, do you mean the antidote virus?" Luo Yuan suddenly thought about that and asked.


    "Not the antidote virus!" The alien said and suddenly, it was stunning. It then showed a fear and unbelievable expression like it just heard something scary. It was shaking,"How... How do you know about... the antidote virus?"


    "It was you who told me!" Luo Yuan proceeded to test him. His heart was heavy, he could feel that the antidote virus was crucial and extremely dangerous.


    "Not... not possible, that¡¯s... not possible." It started to panic but soon it was calm again. It was obvious that the alien held back its panic, "The antidote virus... is an experimental project... in my mothend, it is very... dangerous, it has been... ssified... as a prohibited project, maybe... I unconsciously... spilled it to you."


    Looking at it speaking incoherently, it was obvious that it was hiding something. Moreover, the images that Luo Yuan saw in the dream was not from some gxy but was in the spaceship that he destroyed. He was sure because the scene in the dream was the exact same with the cabin of the spaceship.


    However, seeing that he could not use his Will to make it speak, could he get more information from him?


    The alien noticed that it talked too much, it immediately shut its mouth and did not talk again!


    Luo Yuan did not want to force it. He sat down leaning against the hole. He closed his eyes, the atmosphere became silent.


    When it was near evening, he went out and soon came back with a gigantic seashell. He used his Zhanmadao to open the shell and white, juicy meat appeared. He took out salt from his backpack and sprinkled on it evenly.


    The shellfish was still alive, triggered by the salt, the white shellfish had an intense spasm.


    He cut a slice of it with his Zhanmadao and put it into his mouth as he frowned.


    The risk was notpletely over as the extraterrestrial civilization might still be looking for Luo Yuan. He did not want to make a fire to avoid himself from being noticed.


    He chewed slowly, he was surprised to find that not as horrible than he thought. The light vor from the salt elevated the freshness of the shellfish, it was juicy and tender as it melted in his mouth. It would be perfect if there was some wasabi.


    But those were just fantasies that he had.


    Since the apocalypse, seasoning that was avable in the reconstruction area was limited. Apart from salt, soy sauce and vinegar, there was nothing else.


    Soon, Luo Yuan finished most of the shellfish. Suddenly he thought of the alien, turned around and asked, "Do you want some?"


    The alien avoided eye contact and said nervously, "No... No... I don¡¯t eat... such things!"


    Luo Yuan was not surprised. A human would not die from hunger if they did not eat for a few days, it should be the same for aliens. Since it did not look like it was dying, Luo Yuan did not mind him. He then finished the entire shellfish with the exception of its internal organs.


    More than 10 kilograms of meat was in his stomach but he did not feel bloated at all and soon, it was all digested.


    He tossed the shell out of the hole and cleaned his hands. He had enough rest and was ready to work again. He turned around and asked the alien, "Aren¡¯t you sleepy!"


    "No..." Before the alien could finish its words, it felt a deep exhaustion kicked in its body. Then, its body was swaying and its eyelids became heavy.


    Luo Yuan looked at it and said, "If you¡¯re sleepy, then sleep!"


    It could not fight the sleepiness andid slowly on the ground. It closed its eyes, there was a sound that echoed in its ears.


    "You¡¯re now a prisoner to human and you revealed something in a conversation earlier. You have been suspected, this is making you uneasy. You can only rx and let down your guards in your sleep. Let go of all the secrets, as they are the most personal thing for your spirit..."


    During the training in New Capital City, Luo Yuan had seen a few hypnosis techniques.


    Aspared to the use of his Will to make it talk which was straightforward, hypnosis was like a silent lubricant that allowed people to let down of their guards.


    However, use of such techniques was difficult. First, one would have to make the other party rx their body and mind. It would require a quiet environment that nobody would interrupt and at the same time, it needed extensive guidance. The process was extremely tedious.


    However, it was not as much work for Luo Yuan. His strong Will allowed him to do hypnosis anytime, anywhere. As the alien¡¯s expression waspletely rxed and entered the dreand that was customized by Luo Yuan, he took out the soul-eating beast¡¯s eyeball and invaded its dream again.

 Chapter 397: The Truth

    Chapter 397: The Truth


    Trantor: EndlessFantasy Trantion Editor: EndlessFantasy Trantion


    Perhaps it was deeply hypnotized, the mist in the dream this time was many times bigger than the previous one. It was gigantic and majestic. At the same time, the dream was stable. When Luo Yuan entered it, he did not cause any major waves.


    The scene in the dream was no longer the cabin but a much bigger room. Apart from a round-shaped window, there was a pitch ck, quiet gxy. It was obviously outer space outside.


    "That would probably be the real spaceship!" Luo Yuan thought to himself.


    "Nobody would have expected the high-energy cosmic rays from the new¡¯s explosion would cause a mutation in the antidote virus. The evolution of the organism is just too fast. It has not even been half a year and the entire had already fallen apart. How could such a mutation happen?" An alien mumbled to itself as it looked outside, "Fortunately, looking at the natives on the, it seemed like these intelligent organisms have great control over their bodies where they would be able to suppress the antidote virus effectively. In any other scenario, it would be too dangerous!"


    Soon, the scene changed.


    A screen float in midair appeared in front of Luo Yuan. The image was familiar to him where he could tell what it was in one nce. It was a double helix image of genes.


    The screen was surrounded by aliens in uniforms, an alien seemed to be persuading the team with excitement.


    "This is one of the infectious agent genes for the antidote virus from this. You could see from the image that the gene is unable to survive and there will be mutation happening anytime.


    However, during the mutation, mysterious parts were formed in the genes. They stunned me, one of them could even control electromaic forces. Perhaps this is more valuable than we ever imagined. It is a priceless treasure trove of genes. I want to venture into this nt for an expedition."


    The scene changed again. The screen that hung midair had a video of a giant mutated creature. Its body was glowing, it looked beautiful and mysterious. The stunning part was, the location in the video was not from earth, but was near to outer space instead. Earth could be seen from not far away.


    Suddenly, a high-energy ray hit its body. It was so bright that it was hurtful for the eyes, like a sun rising in the dark. As the light faded, its body that was not harmed at all. The only thing that changed was that the glow was now dimmer than before.


    It lifted its head and roared into outer space, the video tripped and there was distortion, showing that there was a massive disturbance. Then, there were three high-energy rays that came out of nowhere, hitting its body again...


    "That is unbelievable! It¡¯s a miracle. Such defensive abilities are even better than the technology the ssians¡¯ possessed. If we could get enough gene samples and return to the mothend, there would be a breakthrough in ssian technology."


    ...


    This time it was no doubt a nightmare for the alien where Luo Yuan saw himself in the dreand. He was cruel in the dream, he looked ferocious.


    "You cannot... kill me!" It kept running in fear and suddenly, it stumbled on a rock on the ground. It fell down and the image of a ck saber and shadows of people surrounding it appeared. It looked hopeless.


    Luo Yuan frowned as he watched the dream. If it died in the dream, it would be the end of the dream as his emotion would be triggered. It was a great opportunity, he did not want it to end so soon. He thought and entered a state of mind to stop himself in the dream. He did not just manage to stun the aliens, but even himself in the dream. He stopped immediately with a strange expression as he found himself looking at the Luo Yuan from the dream.


    It was like looking at his doppleganger, the feeling was amazing. He was unsure but he felt a mysterious connection from the bottom of his heart when he looked at his doppelganger. Soon, the body of Luo Yuan in the dream distorted as it began to copse and disappear.


    Luo Yuan was shocked. He realised that the understanding he had of the inner workings of a dream was still insufficient. What he saw boggled his mind.


    Looking at the signs of a copse in the dream that was caused by Luo Yuan¡¯s emotions, he quickly zoned out and disappeared from the dream. The disappearance of both Luo Yuan¡¯s did not even bother the aliens in the dream. The alien was deep in thought for a moment and was d that it managed to survive. The scene seemed to change again.


    A whileter, Luo Yuan left the dream. He heaved a sigh of relief. The sky was dark, it was midnight.


    He was in the dream for more than six hours. The endless changing scenes, aircrafts, spaceships to their mothend and everything he experienced in the dream... He had seen almost all the important memories that were hiding in its subconscious mind when he was in its dream.


    Through those scattered images, Luo Yuan managed to deduce the purpose of the aliens that visited earth after some analysis.


    The apocalypse was started by the aliens!


    The antidote virus got its name from its ability to unlock bonds within biological mutations. Through the viral gene, it destabilized existing genes, allowing mutations to take ce within a short period of time.


    Since the discovery of such a virus, the ssians have had it on their wanted list. They even went so far as to carry out a secret experiment even after they found out the extreme levels of danger that it posed, that it could even destroy the entire. This was the reason why the virus was not allowed to be experimented on... Until they received radio waves from the humans. They felt threatened and this eventually led to the expedition that happened.


    In reality, the ssians were not at the level of an interster civilization. In interster space, flight had just begun. The idea of flying through the fourth dimension was still in its infancy and they could only fly at a suboptimal speed, utilizing nuclear fusion pulse.


    The mothend of the ssians was more than 40 lightyears away from earth. They spent 50 years in a deep sleep and five years ago, they were on earth to release the virus.


    The mutation speed of the initial version of the antidote virus could barely be considered S fast. For the first three years, the biological change was so slow that it barely caused any serious threat to humanity. That was, until a cosmic storm caused by an explosion that happened on a new that happened in outer space, the antidote virus mutated into a new strain. That was how the virus went haywire, triggering the onset of the apocalypse on earth.


    The experiment of the virus was just an additional expedition mission for the ssians.


    Their real objective was to destroy the humanity.


    However, their objective was dyed as the experiment was a rare one. A was the subject of their experiment and in their expedition, soldiers were not the only people that were involved but many scientists and elite schrs as well. The data of how the humans responded and their experience during such an urrence was invaluable to the ssians.


    Another reason was because they were two different civilizations. The ssians may have technology that was way beyond the reach of mankind but human had their own unique way of living. Although they went on the same journey, they had something that they could learn from one another.


    However, the time mankind had remaining was not that long. They had perhaps a year or two at most.


    Once the resistance of humanity no longer proved to be valuable to them, havoc would ensue.


    He was stressed, like a giant rock was pressed hard against his heart, suffocating him. Although his will was as hard as steel, he could not take on such an attack. Feeling like that was the only way forward, he felt hopelessness take over his being and as he looked at the sleeping alien, an urge to kill shed by his mind. He let out a sigh as he sat in the hole, emptying his mind.

 Chapter 398: Team 125

    Chapter 398: Team 125


    Trantor: EndlessFantasy Trantion Editor: EndlessFantasy Trantion


    A few momentster, Luo Yuan returned to reality.


    He looked at the time and realized that it was now 11 p.m. at night. It was pitch ck out side and as he listened to the sound of waves and mutated beasts roaring, he walked out and climbed into a tree nearby. As he looked into the sky, he found that it had only dark clouds and not an inkling of starlight. The darkness was like a ck cloth that covered the entire sky. Gloomy and depressing, he let out a sigh.


    "God help me!"


    The ssians only had superior detection skills ifpared to mankind. However, they only excelled in uracy, distance, and power. They had little advancements in other segments of technology. Though they had the most advanced gravitational wave detection technology as well as technology to detect life, they had little going for them in other fields. Their technology to gauge distance was simr to the abilities of mankind to detect electromaic waves as well as optical detection techniques.


    Clouds would cause a disturbance in both techniques. This was especially so for optical detection techniques. As long as the clouds remained there, it was redundant.


    It was the best time to leave.


    "It seemed like I will be back to reconstruction area tonight!"


    Luo Yuan thought to himself, hopped off the tree and returned to the hole. He suppressed the hurry to leave and stayed on for an hour more. After 12 a.m., he carried his backpack, removed the headband and put the alien into a deeper sleep with his Will. He then picked up the robot and ced the alien on top as walked out of the hole immediately. He picked a spot on higher ground and initiated his space-time bubble.


    ...


    Within half an hour, a glow could be seen shooting across the surface of the sea. It disappeared on the horizon as its speed got increasingly faster. The sea was not calm at all, waves were rumbling. He was like a high-speed elusive shadow that crossed the waves. Eventually, everything was behind him as he disappeared beyond the horizon.


    Almost an hourter, Luo Yuan arrived in China. As he carried some weight with him, his speed when traveling in the space-time bubble was affected. He had reached his maximum speed but it was only two kilometers per second. His speed had dropped more than once but it was sufficient to get him where he wanted to go.


    To be safe, Luo Yuan flew so close to the ground that he almost touched it when he was in flight. The obstacles in the terrain had no effect on his flight at all. His journey was almost a straight line through all the obstacles before him. He crossed trees and even mountains!


    asionally he would cross high altitude areas where he flew in darkness most of the time. There was neither light nor sound there.


    For a ustrophobic person, such an environment would ruin everything. Fortunately, Luo Yuan¡¯s strong Will helped him fight such emotions.


    The use of his four-dimensional vision drained his energy. He felt weak and he was pale but he did not slow down at all.


    During his final journey, he almost saw stars and cked out. He relied heavily on his determination.


    He forcefully controlled the direction he was flying in and flew above the ground. Looking at the reconstruction area that was far away, he was relieved. He flew from a few seconds more, then he left his space-time bubble and fell slowly from the sky.


    As hended, Luo Yuan fell weak on the ground with the robot in his hands.


    He was drenched in sweat, he looked like he came out of a pool of water. He struggled to put on the band on his forehead and entered the Earth Pulse mode. His strength restored at a fast pace. Within seconds, his pale face regained its color and after a minute, he was fully restored.


    He got out of his Earth Pulse mode andy on the ground, refusing to get up. After a long time, he gathered his Will and sent out amunication wave. Soon the phone was connected, "Is this Wang Jing? I¡¯m Luo Yuan, I¡¯m back!" He then hung up the phone.


    It was 1:30 a.m. and she was fast asleep. Wang Jing, who was the contact person assigned by the highmissioner picked up the phone that was ced next to her bed. She was half awake when he called and before she managed to figure out what the call was about, Luo Yuan had hung up.


    Just as she turned around and got ready to fall asleep, she jolted and sat upright. She did not feel like sleeping anymore.


    She was fully awake, took the phone in her hand and realized that it was really Luo Yuan.


    "Luo Yuan... Major Luo, how could he be back so soon!" Even with an optimistic estimation, Major Luo would take at least two months toplete the mission. Else, taking an entire year toplete the mission was expected as the distance to the location the mission was at was one-third of the distance of a trip around the earth.


    She tried to return his call but it never connected. Suddenly, she realized that Major Luo¡¯s satellite phone was given to her before he left. It was shut down and ced in a metal box. She hopped off her bed, opened her drawer and took out the metal box. She keyed in the password and opened it, the phone was still inside. She switched on the phone and called Luo Yuan, the phone she held rang.


    "What the hell!" Wang Jing ced her hand on her heart that was beating fast, it was unbelievable!


    That aside, it was a serious case where the fate of reconstruction area was in the ount. She dared not be reckless, even though it was in the middle of the night, she called the leader.


    "What¡¯s wrong?" Soon the phone was connected, it was picked up by a person who sounded tired.


    Before Wang Jing could say anything, Luo Yuan caught the signal and interrupted,


    "I¡¯m Luo Yuan. The goods are here, I have also captured a strange mutated beast. It¡¯s alive."


    Wang Jing did not say anything. A whileter, she said in excitement,"Please stay wherever you are, don¡¯t hang up, and don¡¯t move!


    Both of them did not say more as themunication on earth was basically transparent to the aliens. They did not want to reveal anything.


    In the quiet night, many were woken up from their slumber.


    Luo Yuan put the call on hold, satellite phones could send out his location as well butpared to a mobile phone that relied on a base station, it was much moreplicated. More than 10 minutester, the phone was cut off by the other party.


    ...


    After a long wait, it was almost 5 a.m. and the sun was rising.


    Three modified heavy trucks arrived in front of Luo Yuan. Many soldiers hopped down and surrounded the ce. A middle-aged man of the lieutenant general rank hopped off from the driver¡¯s seat. He nced at the shiny green intelligent robot and the alien that were next to Luo Yuan. His pupils shrunk. He quickly ran towards Luo Yuan and shook his hand hard.


    "Major Luo, I am the Team 125¡¯smander, Xie Zeming, I¡¯m greeting you on behalf of the leader. Thank you so much, your dedication will be forever remembered by mankind!"


    He saluted him when he saw Luo Yuan¡¯s clothes were neat and his face was clean. He was one of the few people who knew about the mission. He knew very well that Luo Yuan had terrifying abilities to be able to make it back from Borneo to the reconstruction area through such dangerous environments in such a short period of time.


    "I¡¯m ttered, Major Xie. You guys worked hard too. The things here, quickly move them away!" Luo Yuan nodded and said. 125 was a unique serial number. Before he left the reconstruction area, he was in contact with Team 125¡¯s intelligence office which specialized in the investigation of aliens. Team 125 was obviously assigned to be in touch with him with regards to their battle with the aliens.


    "Yes, the business is important!" He looked at the robot and saw that the alien that was in deep sleep. He waved his hand at the soldier at the back, he was in deep thought. Previously, he had suspected the existence of aliens. He had thought that he was paranoid but now that the truth was right in front of him, he was relieved.


    Apart from a transport truck, the two heavy trucks were covered with lead ting. One of them even had a medical team and a variety of medical machinery that made it was like a mini hospital. It was obviously prepared for the alien so that they coulde and rescue it if it was injured along the journey.


    The soldiers were fast and efficient, most of them were obviously evolved humans with great strength. In less than half a minute, the robot and alien were moved into each truck.


    When he was invited into the truck, Luo Yuan rejected, "I¡¯m not going, I¡¯ll be going home and will be resting for for two days before I take my leave to New Capital City!"


    "You should go. We¡¯ll make a move then." The major nodded understandingly. Luo Yuan had been out in the wilderness for far too long. Even for a powerful evolved human like him, it was not an easy feat. The suffering and loneliness he experienced were unimaginable by ordinary people.


    Soon the trucks left.


    Luo Yuan remained at the same spot and looked into the sky. He imagined the aliens and the spaceship in outer space. He then sighed, found the direction he was headed to, pointed his feet and ran quickly to Hope City.


    He ran faster and faster. He had left the reconstruction area for so many days and had never felt so overwhelmed with home sickness.


    He missed his home and the people at home!


    He missed his bed and the hot soup!


    The more he thought, the more nervous he became. If not for hisck of Will, he would have used the space-time bubble to fly back.


    The day was beginning to get bright as Luo Yuan arrived at the entrance of his home. He was emotional, he attempted to knock the door for a few times but refrained from doing so, hesitating. He walked in circles outside the door, took a deep breath and finally knocked on the door.


    Huang Jiahui and the rest were still sleeping. More than a minuteter, there were footsteps approaching the door.


    "Who is that? Coming,ing!"


    It was Huang Jiahui and upon hearing her sleepy voice, it was obvious that she was woken up by his knocks.


    Soon, the door was opened. Huang Jiahui looked at Luo Yuan who stood in front of the door, stunned. Joy could be seen on her face, but she was not as surprised as Luo Yuan imagined she would be, "Why are you back? It hasn¡¯t even been a week, I thought you said there were problems at the mining area in your letter? I thought you would only be back after a few months!"


    Luo Yuan was shocked, the emotions that he mustered along the way were crushed by her words. It was absolutely the fault of themittee but soon, he snapped out these thoughts and said, "It was a coincidence. There was a change to the situation, they don¡¯t need me in the mining area anymore."


    "That¡¯s great, if you did not write to us every day, we would have been worried dead! I bet you haven¡¯t even eaten! I¡¯ll make you some food, it must be rough out there!" Huang Jiahui did not think too much and went ahead to cook in excitement.


    Luo Yuan did not respond to her as his eyes were aimed at her peachy butt. His breath got faster as he walked toward her immediately. Huang Jiahui felt there was something strange behind her. Just when she was going to turn around, she felt dizzy as she was carried by a strong man who walked towards the room, "Food can wait, what I¡¯m hungry for right now isn¡¯t food." Luo Yuan said while he panted.


    He was exuberant and his adrenaline was pumped 10 times more than ordinary people which caused him to have strong desires. He could not release his desire when he was in the wilderness, he almost lost his mind to a point where a mutated human that was filled with scales was beautiful and tempting to him.


    "What¡¯s wrong with you, the rest will wake up soon." Huang Jiahui blushed and pped Luo Yuan¡¯s chest a few times. Noticed that he was not walking in the direction to her room, she screamed, "You¡¯re going to the wrong room!"


    Just when she finished talking, he mmed the door open!


    Soon, there were screams from Zhao Yaliing out of the room as well as the noise of clothes being torn with great strength.

 Chapter 399: First Cosmic Velocity

    Chapter 399: First Cosmic Velocity


    Trantor: EndlessFantasy Trantion Editor: EndlessFantasy Trantion


    An intense thunderstorm had finally stopped, there was a musky smell that lingered in the air. Two fair, plump bodiesid weak on the bed. Their eyes stared into space, there was redness in their bodies. They were as weak as a pile of slime, having no more strength to struggle any further.


    After his desires were fulfilled, he fell asleep and unknowingly snored. Luo Yuan had not been resting properly for the past two days. He was strung like a tight wire with the amount of stress he was under, about to break at any moment. His four-dimensional vision that drained his energy added to his exhaustion.


    Although he had a strong physical strength that could be restored easily but he was still a human after all. Even if he was a piece of metal, there would be times when the metal would be worn out. Even though he looked strong and full of energy, like there was absolutely nothing wrong with him, he was actually on the brink of copse.


    He slept all the way to the next morning. He opened his eyes, there was nobody else on the bed. He did not wake up immediately, he was silently watching the ceiling. He was surprisingly calm, he could feel that there were changes that were happening to him. Deep down in his spirit was a dense energy passing though. The energy was as calm as water flowing in him, it was following his thoughts.


    He extended his hand and saw an inch long glow on his palm. It seemed like spring water from deep reservoirs in the mountains, it was crystal clear and so pure that it made people think of perfect white snow, clear crystals and brilliant diamonds. The glow flowed through his body and in a blink of an eye, his entire body was glowing.


    He levitated from the bed and sat slowly on the edge of his bed. He opened the attributes panel, the bare attribute of Will was upgraded to +17. Combined with the Haunted Locust Heart, it was a shocking +18.


    When he was younger, Luo Yuan used to always see a sentence in novels that said the best practice was the alternating between a stressed and rxed state. He had always wondered how true it was but had never experienced such a situation. Now, after having a breakthrough from one full day of sleeping, it was proven.


    But Luo Yuan knew very well that the crucial part of it was the stressed state instead of the rxed state. If a person did not umte a sufficient amount of stress, how could one be talking about being rxed?


    In reality, after his Will increased again, besides joy, Luo Yuan noticed he was surprisingly calm. The desires that used to bother him had reduced and he was now fully alert.


    He put on his clothes and put out his hand as the Zhanmadao flew into his hand immediately.


    After the Will upgraded again, the Zhanmadao¡¯s flight was faster than before. It had almost reached the level of the legendary flying sword.


    However, Luo Yuan was confused. Although his Will had an increase of one point and the upgrade was great, it was not the upgraded from the system. Instead, it had upgraded due to his umted experience of utilizing his Will. Its growth was limited and based on the increase he felt, it was less than 10%


    However, the change in his Zhanmadao made Luo Yuan realize that the growth of his Will was not as simple as the number of points he had in his Will. On top of the change in quantity, there were some qualitative changes as well and the changes in his Will had actually been predicted.


    The most obvious one was when he recently he noticed that there was an unusual magnification of his vision at a fast pace when he used his Will. Initially, he could only see the outside of a blood vessel but now he could see all sorts of cells.


    Previously he thought it was the effect of the changes that happened to his brain when it became a four-dimensional brain but now he could see that it was a sign of his Will¡¯s transformation.


    He sat down and a few momentster, he opened his eyes looking stunned.


    If the cells that he saw earlier were previously just the size of a sesame seed but was now the size of a longan fruit under his vision, this meant he could see the cells even clearer. Even the mitochondria and the nucleus of the cell could be seen clearly.


    This did not only mean that his Will was upgraded but at some point, he would have the ability to transform bodies. Luo Yuan thought that eventually, he would be able to copy the abilities of other evolved humans and transform the structure of his genes. The more he thought, the more opportunities seemed to present themselves to him.


    Environmental triggers could affect the genes too!


    It was like parents who were both athletes. Their offsprings would be much healthier than the others. The same applied to an alcoholic father, his offsprings could possible be an alcoholic too due to the environment they were brought up in. A mutation was not the only factor that will cause genes to change. The theory of use and disuse could be applied in theory of evolution as well.


    But those were only his ideas and he was not in a hurry to experiment.


    He grabbed his saber and walked out of the room. Thedies were asleep, there was nobody in the living room.


    He did not want to wake them up, he walked out of the house quietly and arrived at Hope City.


    He gathered his Will and started to fly. He flew dar away, his speed was faster and faster. The flight using Will picked up faster than curvature flight. In about 10 seconds of eleration, Luo Yuan had reached his maximum speed.


    He did not stop at all, in five minutes, Hope City was far behind him.


    The biggest obstacle urred when flying with Will was the air pressure. Without air pressure, he could still elerate without gravity.


    Before he owned the battle suit, his could only fly at a speed of only 30 meters per second and at the same time, the flow of air would push against him. When the wind blew in the right direction, he could go up to 60 meters per second if he was lucky. When against the wind, it was hard to even fly.


    Before he had the battle suit made of the Demonic Horse¡¯s mane, the weather was the biggest factor when he flew with Will. It was not exactly helpful and not only it was slow but it was dangerous as well.


    Now, with his new tailored battle suit, the air pressure had decreased significantly and the speed of his flight increased to an insane amount where he could fly up to 200 meters per second.


    Now that his Will was +18, his speed was even more shocking. It was now more than 800 meters per second, twice the speed of sound.


    Under such high speeds, the area that was a few kilometers experienced a mysterious phenomenon. Cyclones and vortexes came out of nowhere. They stayed there for a long time, blurring the sky. Luo Yuan could barely be seen in there.


    More than 10 minutester, when he was out of the range of reconstruction city. He stopped.


    As he floated in the air, he took off the band on his forehead and proceeded to try flying in the space-time bubble.


    The time needed for him to pick up speed decreased. A minuteter, Luo Yuan was already moving slowly.


    10 minutester, he had broken through the speed of sound.


    30 minutester, his speed had reached the maximum.


    Not only it was 10 minutes shorter than the time it took initially, the speed was faster too.


    He was like a streamer that flew across the sky and disappeared. As his speed was too fast, he did not have the time to control his direction at all.


    His body was cutting straight through the earth like a sh of light, disappearing in the sky.


    The speed was at least 10 kilometres per second, it had exceeded the first cosmic velocity [1].


    Fortunately, he realized that he was going too fast. He quickly got out of the space-time bubble and stopped.


    After the bubble had gone, the air that was contained within faded away and disappeared. He could not breath properly so he decided to hold his breath. He looked around curiously and found that he had arrived more than 10,000 meters above the ground.


    He could see a blurred arc of the earth, it was stunning.


    Soon there was a white glow appearing from the edges of the ground. In a short period of time, the glow got stronger and stronger. The darkness was soon overtaken by light at an rming rate.


    It was the sun rising!


    [1] First Cosmic Velocity: Also known as orbital velocity, is the speed that will bring a rocket or any other projectile into orbit around the earth. A slower projectile will fall down to earth.

 Chapter 400: Love Rival

    Chapter 400: Love Rival


    Trantor: EndlessFantasy Trantion Editor: EndlessFantasy Trantion


    The white light poured from the sun soon spread across the surface of the earth. In between darkness and light, there was a majestic arc that formed. Milky-white mist evaporated as the light shined, it was a breathtaking scene.


    He put on the band on his forehead while floating high in the sky to witness the breathtaking view. He felt like his spirit was cleansed. Being in something so big, he felt like nothing although he was powerful.


    The air was thin and the oxygen was low. There was hardly any signs of mutated creatures at that altitude. Luo Yuan looked around, he could only see several small flecks floating in the sky. Creatures that could survive at such an altitude should be on a terrifying level. Although they were just small flecks in a distance, in reality, they were gigantic.


    After staying for a while, Luo Yuan dove down from the sky.


    The gravity helped in his eleration. He was like a meteorite falling from the sky. Majestic phenomenon covered the skies as he dove down. Cyclones and vortexes surrounded him, making him look like a God descending to earth.


    When he got closer to the ground, a terrifying force could be felt. A Strong wind blew and there were tornadoes around him. It was like a catastrophic event had happened. He slowed down andnded on a branch. He was the focal point as typhoons formed around him, making trees fall down while smaller ones were uprooted while others danced in the air.


    A whileter, the cyclones, vortexes, and typhoons stopped. Many sticks and gravel fell from the sky.


    Looking at the damages that were caused by the vortex that was created by his suit, Luo Yuan was shocked. Fortunately, he did notnd on the reconstruction area or else they streets would be destroyed.


    "This was only made from the Demonic Horse¡¯s mane. If it was the real Demonic Horse, the thought of the damage alone was terrifying. The existence of a level eight creature was horrifying."


    Suddenly, Luo Yuan thought of the scary creature in space that he saw in the alien¡¯s dream. He did not know which level that creature was at but he guessed its level should be even higher than the Demonic Horse.


    Surprisingly, Luo Yuan was not worried at all. As long as the spaceship was still flying above their heads, the lives of human were not guaranteed. However, it did him no good by worrying about it.


    He did not stay any longer as he levitated and flew towards the reconstruction area.


    ...


    As Luo Yuan entered the house, thedies had woken up. There were some others too, Wang Xiaguang and Chen Jiayi were there. There was another man that he had never seen before.


    Seeing his return, Wang Shishi ran to him and kisses his cheeks several times, "Boss Luo, why did you sleep for so long? Luckily the doctor said it was alright as you were catching up on your sleep that you lost earlier."


    "Maybe I was too tired from my mission!" He said.


    Zhao Yali and Huang Jiahui were flushing in anger. If he knew that he was tired, why would he insist on having sex with them? If not for that, he would not be sleeping for the entire day. They were ming themselves as they thought something bad had happened to him!


    Sensing their anger, Luo Yuan was embarrassed.


    His desire took over. He could not control himself and because of that, an embarrassing incident like that had happened.


    He tried to change the topic and asked, "Chen Jiayi do you not have school today?"


    Hearing his voice, Chen Jiayi lifted her head in a blur but she did not say anything. She spaced out.


    "It¡¯s their tenth-day rest today, don¡¯t you remember?" Wang Shishi said.


    Luo Yuan had been in the wilderness recently, he would not bother about the tenth-day.


    In the cruel environment that followed the apocalypse, the reconstruction area was surrounded by inds. The battle of living space between mankind and mutated beasts as well as nts did not stop at all. Every single day, they had to use what they had to fight this battle. If they were topare the amount they spent in the military before and after the apocalypse, what they spent in the past for a year was now their daily expenses.


    Millions of factories worked every single day, with most of them being research institutes that specialized in the military.


    Even so, mankind was just maintaining their current living conditions and expansion was not even on the table for discussion.


    Under such conditions, the initial rest day system did not apply anymore. They only get one rest day after 10 days, which was called the tenth-day rest. But even with the ten-day system, most of the factories were on auto-pilot. Apart from sleeping and eating, the workers were basically working continuously where they did not get to rest for months. Only schools get the regr rest day.


    He then looked at Wang Xiaguang and the man next to her, feeling ufortable. Soon, he adjusted himself, "It¡¯s rare to see you here. Who is that next to you, why not introduce us?"


    The man showed hostility ever since he stepped into the house.


    Wang Xiaguang pouted and smiled, "I forgot to introduce him. This is Guo Zhiping. He is also an evolved human and he¡¯s working at the City Security Section."


    Guo Zhiping was tall and he looked healthy and filled with righteousness. He wore a battle suit on him and it seemed unusually fitting.


    He stood up and forced out a smile, "Hi, I am Guo Zhiping."


    Luo Yuan looked and him and said, "Hi, I am Luo Yuan, but what is the purpose of your visit?"


    "It was a little presumptuous, I got to know Wang Xiaguang from a blind date that was organised by a government institute. It was love at first sight. No matter her personalities or look, she¡¯s my ideal type. I have been trying very hard to woo her but she did not give me a chance. At first I thought she was ying hard to get, but now I understand that she has someone else. I don¡¯t me her, it was me who insisted toe. I want to see who exactly it was that she couldn¡¯t forget so that I can finally give up on her. "


    The rest looked at each other, Luo Yuan stared at Wang Xiaguang, she looked at another direction without any expression. He said, "So... What now"


    "I¡¯m truly disappointed. You are a womaniser, you don¡¯t deserve Wang Xiaguang. I heard from her that you are an evolved human, perhaps that¡¯s the only thing that¡¯s attractive about you. I wonder, how strong are you?" said Guo Zhiping but he did not want to admit how handsome Luo Yuan was. He also had this mysterious vibe about him which was the most attractive thing about him. However, to be able to defeat his love rival, he had to give his best.


    Before Luo Yuan could say anything, Wang Shishi was angered, "What did you just say? Why don¡¯t you look into the mirror? Boss Luo, let me teach him a lesson!"


    "It¡¯s alright Shishi. He¡¯s our guest, I¡¯ll pretend that I didn¡¯t hear what he said." Luo Yuan said coldly, "If you dare to disrespect me again, I will teach you a lesson."


    Guo Zhiping opened his mouth, he wanted to say something but there were no wordsing out of his mouth. He was not sure why, but Luo Yuan who seemed like an ordinary person to him suddenly gave off an irresistible charm and a terrifying vibe at the same time. It was like a massive hand pressing against his heart, suffocating him.


    "Wow, it¡¯s so crowded in here today. I see the door was opened so I invited myself in, I hope leader Luo wouldn¡¯t mind." He said with a smile and a present on his hand. It was Minister Ren from the Municipal Organization Department,


    Everything was back to normal, Guo Zhiping gasped for air, the air was flowing again. He looked at Luo Yuan in shock.


    "It¡¯s my pleasure to have you here Minister Ren, please have a seat! Jiahui please get us some tea." Luo Yuan stopped giving off his aura and stood up to greet Minister Ren.


    "It¡¯s alright, there¡¯s no need for tea. Old civil servants like me always have tea in our bellies." Minister Renughed, "Ah, Wang Xiaguang is here too. How¡¯s work? Have you adapted yourself?"


    When Minster Ren came in, Wang Xiaguang and Guo Zhiping stood up straight.


    "It¡¯s alright. Couldn¡¯t get used to it in the beginning and I was clumsy but many of them are taking care of me, I have adapted well now, " Wang Xiaguang said immediately.


    "That¡¯s great!" Minister Ren said, "Work is really hectic at the Industry Bureau."


    After a short chat, Minister Ren told them the purpose of his visit, "I heard that you haven¡¯t been feeling well, Hope City sent me here to pay you a visit. I wanted toe earlier but I didn¡¯t want to disturb you!"


    This time Luo Yuan was just catching up on his sleep, he was not even hospitalized. If they were to send someone who had a high rank to visit him, that was totally overreacting.


    There was no secret that could be kept too long in the world. Although the news about Luo Yuan being promoted to the vice-captain of the Firearms Bureau had not been announced, everyone was talking about it. As a special bureau that was formed by super evolved humans, their influence was not that wide but it was definitely not something that you can just brush off as well.


    Their influence was small in the sense that they had limited rights and it was wide in the sense that they were the highestmittee that was directly under the highest ranked departments where they held an independent status, allowing them to talk directly to the superiors.


    Also, as the most driven security force of the reconstruction area, many other cities relied on their existence. To form a good rtionship with the deputy minister of Hope City was a necessity for Luo Yuan.

 Chapter 401: Stay

    Chapter 401: Stay


    Trantor: EndlessFantasy Trantion Editor: EndlessFantasy Trantion


    After passing them their gifts and a short conversation, Minister Ren proceeds to leave.


    Luo Yuan walked him to the door and returned.


    All of a sudden, Guo Zhiping became restless. He regretted having spoken so rudely to him and wished he could turn back the clock.


    He was not an idiot. As a staff of the City Security Section, it was impossible for him not to know Minister Ren from the Municipal Organization. Considering the fact that Minister Ren had paid a visit bearing gifts, how could he be an ordinary evolved man?


    In addition, Minister Ren sounded like the visit was arranged by his superior. They were afraid to be mistaken to be overreacting. If it were not so, they would have sent employees from higher positions to drop by. They were maintaining good rtionships and it was totally beyond his expectations.


    He felt uneasy as he recalled the words that he said. After a while, he said, "Excuse me, I would need to excuse myself, as I have something to attend toter on."


    "Bye!" Luo Yuan answered coldly.


    Guo Zhiping walked towards the exit awkwardly and he heard a snicker behind him. He looked towards the floor and strode out of the room, not wanting to stay a minute any longer.


    "How rude!" Luo Yuan eximed.


    "I did it on purpose. He looked virtuous and acted confidently, yet he was still one of the bullies," said Wang Shishi upon seeing that Luo Yuan was not angry.


    Luo Yuanughed sarcastically. If he was acting rationally, it was impossible for him to be confident. He was merely a normal evolved man. He would still be afraid when facing the government officials.


    "Let me see what Minister Ren brought over." Wang Shishi unwrapped the gift and gushed in surprise, "There are three bottles of level seven meat powder!¡¯


    "This is rare!" Luo Yuan frowned, as Hope City was indeed spoiling him silly. Even Luo Yuan had not seen this in the Reconstruction Area before. They could hardly ever hunt level seven creatures, and on the rare asions that they could, the bounty would be divided among the military.


    "Would the gift be too expensive to ept?" Zhao Yali asked.


    "It¡¯s still fine though. It¡¯s only umon to see meat powder of this level." Luo Yuan answered.


    He had killed few of the level seven beasts and was not really interested in sticky and powdery substances like this. He personally would have preferred to eat seafood.


    Wang Xiaguang was slightly disappointed seeing how Luo Yuan and the rest of them chatting happily. She felt like an outsider, ostracized from the group.


    She brought Guo Zhiping along to use him against Luo Yuan, as a mere excuse to reject him, and was also trying to hint to Luo Yuan for the veryst time. If Luo Yuan was still yet to make a move to dere his feelings for her, she was about to give up on this rtionship.


    Women were so eager to form a family after the apocalypse. She was under so much stress from the organization, the public and even from the blind date event organized by the government once in a month.


    She was not young anymore and it was time for her to start a family.


    Her face saddened and got up after sitting down for a moment. She simply gave an excuse and said, "I¡¯m going back now as I have a meetingter."


    "Let¡¯s have lunch together before you go head off." Zhao Yali added.


    "I¡¯m in a hurry. I¡¯ll have my meal in the office." Wang Xiaguang forced a smile, preparing to adjourn.


    "Wait!" Luo Yuan said, while holding her hand tightly, "You shoulde home and stay with us."


    He knew that Wang Xiaguang had a crush on him. He had gotten used to it and taken it for granted despite having no feelings for her. Only until the moment his rival appeared, he then realized that he could not let her go.


    He could not imagine how regretful he would be if Wang Xiaguang had left him. He was d that he realized now before it was toote.


    "Yes, you should!" Huang Jiahui paused for a while and said. After an incident in the Desert City when they were threatened by the spirit of an evolved man, these women had gone through thick and thin together, building their friendship in times of adversity.


    Wang Xiaguang struggled for a while. She gave up and said, "What do you mean, now? Yes, I do like you. But don¡¯t you try to insult me by saying such a thing. I¡¯m not that kind of woman!"


    She was a woman who had the courage to love and to hate.


    "Stay calm!" Luo Yuan said. "We¡¯ve known each other for so long now. During that barbeque party at Donghu City, when we were still colleagues, you told me that your family had built a sanctuary and you could go there should you face any difficulties. I¡¯ll never forget what you¡¯ve shared with me that day!"


    Wang Xiaguang took a deep breath, refusing to turn around. She did not know why she had an odd sense of sorrow, and soon burst into tears.


    Huang Jiahui, along with Wang Shishi and Chen Jiayi quietly left the living room.


    "How is it possible for me not to know you were in love with me? But you were rich and pretty, and I¡¯m only a poor man. You¡¯re out of my league."


    "I don¡¯t mind." Wang Xiaguang mumbled. She wiped her tears and said, "If so, why are you treating me like this? You shouldn¡¯t have felt this way when it¡¯s toote!"


    "Toote?" Luo Yuan nced at her and said, "After the Apocalypse, society waspletelywless, what do you think was the reason that I¡¯m not approaching such a beautiful woman like you?"


    "It¡¯s because you aren¡¯t into me and at the same time, you have many women around you." She said while her tears rolled down her cheeks once more.


    Luo Yuan did not know how he could exin how he felt for her. He opened his mouth, but remained quiet in the end.


    Sex and love were two different things for men. Under such circumstances, Wang Xiaguang would have lost her virginity if Luo Yuan did not tamp down on his lust.


    When she saw Luo Yuan¡¯s distressed look she smiled with tears in her eyes and said, "Well, I believe you now!"


    She was a clever woman and did not want to ask too much. Having a great man like Luo Yuan to say these words was the best ending she could ever think of. Although this was not the perfect love that she was longing for, she had topromise nheless, as Luo Yuan was the best man she had ever met. She could not helpparing Luo Yuan to every man who had a crush on her, only to end up being disappointed.


    Perhaps nothing was perfect, and things could never be so ideal.


    Looking at Wang Xiaguang¡¯s soft and pink lips, Luo Yuan could not resist anymore. He pulled her over and kissed her lips. Her lips heated up and she shivered as Luo Yuan kissed the salty tears on her lips. He released his grip and said softly, "Please listen to me, and stay here!"


    "No, that¡¯s a little bit too fast!" Wang Xiaguang rejected and blushed.


    "What¡¯s on your mind? I¡¯m just asking you to stay here, plus, you¡¯ve stayed here before anyway." Luo Yuan was speechless.


    Luo Yuan continued as she saw Wang Xiaguang hesitating, "Are you afraid that you¡¯ll be bullied tonight?"


    "I¡¯m not afraid of them at all. Well, I¡¯ll just stay here then!" Wang Xiaguang answered.


    It seemed like Luo Yuan had challenged her to stay, but in fact, she had already epted this offer, even if she pretended to refuse at first.

 Chapter 402: Destroying Plant Cells

    Chapter 402: Destroying nt Cells


    Trantor: EndlessFantasy Trantion Editor: EndlessFantasy Trantion


    All of them had possibly already expected Wang Xiaguang¡¯s return, so no ruckus was caused. They were living in harmony with each other, but Luo Yuan somehow sensed that they did it deliberately. Everyone was trying so hard to maintain such a harmonious atmosphere. He believed that time could change them for the better and they would get used to it eventually.


    Luo Yuan did not go out, but instead stayed in thefort of his home. He had a feeling that within the next few days, the Reconstruction Area would no longer be a peaceful ce.


    Luo Yuan then asked Chen Jiayi about her studies.


    Looking at her face clouded over in confusion and her unconvincing voice, he knew that she did not do well in her studies. Despite being sent to school, she was still suffering from vegetization which was beginning to get worse and worse.


    Luo Yuan took a drop of blood from her blood vessel. The blood was turning green and it no longer looked like human blood.


    He checked using his Will and discovered that her blood wasposed of a lot of nt cells, clumping together with the normal red blood cells. The ratio of the twopositions was 3:1. When a number of nt cells outnumber that of the red blood cells in her body, he fears that she would no longer be human and in some form or another, her life would be like that of a vegetable.


    Luo Yuan crushed the nt cells using his Will. The blood recovered instantly, turning back into a bright red color.


    His Will was strong enough to destroy theyers of cells with ease. But he hesitated, wondering if he shouldpletely destroy all the nt cells in Chen Jiayi¡¯s body.


    He could hardly predict the consequences of destroying the nt cells entirely, as not only the nt cells will be destroyed, but also it could cause undesired side effects. In addition, the invasion of his Will could somehow leave some marks on her cells even if he did not do it intentionally.


    His Will was rtively stronger than Chen Jiayi¡¯s. The defense system of the cells paled inparison to his Will, let alone attempt to ovee it.


    The worst-case scenario would be causing her body to be paralyzed or in mild cases, causing an inability to coordinate movements.


    The greatest concern, however, was having a small part of nt cells in her brain. Even Luo Yuan could not imagine what would happen if he had left the marks of his Will in her brain cells.


    In executing this, he did not stay away from the rest of them. Huang Jiahui was surprised and happy as she witnessed Chen Jiayi¡¯s blood color changing from green to red. She then asked, "Can the disease be cured?"


    "There are certainly ways to cure and treat this disease, but I can¡¯t predict what would the final oue be." Luo Yuan sighed and said.


    Everyone turned silent after Luo Yuan shared the possible consequences of the treatment. It could put her health at serious risk, as she might not be able to move for the rest of her life.


    It waspletely quiet and depressing, so Luo Yuan said, "It is, of course, impossible for her to get cured in just one treatment, but constant treatment such as treating the nt cells in her blood first would make her feel a lot better."


    Red blood cells were able to be renewed very quickly, so even if he had left the marks of his Will there, they would be reced very soon. At the same time, residues of the dead nt cells would be transformed into nutrients. These nutrients were transported by the blood flow to cells throughout the body, while the unabsorbed nutrients would be eliminated. This would not cause any serious impact on her health.


    "You should have said it earlier! I was so worried about that." Zhao Yali hit Luo Yuan, as she chided him.


    "Yes, I did not make myself clear." Luo Yuan said, "But I¡¯d still have to ask for Chen Jiayi¡¯s agreement first."


    Luo Yuan then asked Chen Jiayi about it. She was stunned for a while and hesitated. The parasitic moss living in her body had harmful effects on her. She began to exhibit vegetal tendencies.


    She did not realize the problem and even enjoyed being vegetated. Basking in the sunshine every day was one of the happiest things she would do.


    However, she was an orphan who was brought up by Luo Yuan. Luo Yuan was like her guardian and she would never dare go against him. She continued hesitating for quite some time and finally nodded her head, as she did not want to disappoint him.


    "Don¡¯t worry, I can promise you that you won¡¯t feel any pain!" Luo Yuan reassured her.


    Chen Jiayi raised her head and said pitifully, "I¡¯m not afraid of pain!"


    ...


    Luo Yuan entered Chen Jiayi¡¯s bedroom to avoid any possible distraction during the treatment. He locked the door as he entered. Her bedroom was clean and tidy but was filled with the pungent smell of nts.


    Chen Jiayi was sitting at the edge of the bed. She suddenly blushed and asked, "Brother Luo, do I need to take off my clothes?"


    Luo Yuan nced at her and realized that she had grown up. When they first met each other one year ago, she was still a little girl. She was now a pretty youngdy. The influence of the parasitic moss had caused her to be rather quiet and weak, just like a pure white lotus flower.


    However, Luo Yuan shifted his gaze and said coldly, "No, rolling your sleeves up will suffice."


    She looked at him absent-mindedly. When she regained her senses, she immediately rolled her sleeves up. Her skin was slightly green in color. The smell of her skin lingered in the air ¨C it was soft and clean.


    Luo Yuan ced his hand on her radial artery. His Will could easily break through human¡¯s defense system.


    Each cubic millimeter of blood contained millions of cells. When the ratio of nt cells and red blood cells were 3:1, it indicates the presence of arge number of nt cells. It was certainly a difficult task to get all these cells destroyed.


    Thanks to his Will that could grant his every wish, he did not have to kill them one by one. As long as Luo Yuan stayed focused and generated his thoughts to kill the nt cells, his subconscious ability would take over his consciousness, to deploy those very thoughts.


    He tested this repeatedly to adjust the magnifying power of the internal scanning by his Will. He was looking for an optimal magnification factor with the highest efficiency so that he could use his Will to destroy the cells with the smallest magnifying power. He then found the optimal power in just a few minutes.


    With this magnifying power, the blood vessels were closely packed and looked as small as the size of a fingertip. He could hardly distinguish the nt cells from the red blood cells. A thought had suddenly crossed into his mind and millions of nt cells were destroyed by his Will. The dead cells were clumped into a sticky liquid.


    With a 16-point Agility, he was able to enter a time dimension that was at least ten times slower than the others, making him able to destroy the nt cells within hundred cubic millimeters of blood per second.


    Chen Jiayi was just sitting at the edge of the bed staring nkly at him as if she did not feel a thing. Sometimes she would look worried, but she could not differentiate whether the fear was from her or the parasitic moss.


    Soon, three hours had passed.


    Luo Yuan soon had a very bad headache and retracted his Will, as he had almost used up all of it. However, the results from this treatment were obvious.


    There were still remaining nt cells in Chen Jiayi¡¯s blood, but the ratio of the nt cells to red blood cells had significantly reduced to 1:4. He estimated that after ten days of treatment, most of the nt cells in her blood would have been killed.


    He looked at Chen Jiayi and her skin had be redder.


    "How do you feel?" Luo Yuan asked.


    Chen Jiayi shook her head and said softly, "I did not feel any pain."


    "That¡¯s good. Don¡¯t go to school over the next few days; I¡¯ll apply for your absence."


    Chen Jiayi looked happy as she hated school so much. Not only that she could not understand what had been taught, her ssmates had also looked down on her strange skin color and reserved attitude. She had never told anyone about this and bottled it all up.


    Luo Yuan could roughly guess as he saw her jumping for joy. She could now slowly gain control over her movements and was more expressive now. He said with a smile, "If you don¡¯t like to go to school, then you don¡¯t have to go anymore!"


    The reason he sent Chen Jiayi to school was trying to slow down the rate of vegetization, and not for academic purposes. Since he had found a better way to treat her now, sending her to school was no longer necessary.


    A thought suddenly came to his mind. He said, "You might have a lot of waste being excreted tonight. Don¡¯t worry when you see this, it is normal."


    Luo Yuan left her room after he finished his sentence. He did not realize that Chen Jiayi was having mixed feelings, filled with a certain sense of longing.

 Chapter 403: Doubts

    Chapter 403: Doubts


    Trantor: EndlessFantasy Trantion Editor: EndlessFantasy Trantion


    The next day, Luo Yuan went to the Firearms Bureau.


    Everyone turned suspicious when he appeared there.


    Due to privacy reasons, only Chen Xinjie roughly knew where Luo Yuan had been, while the rest of them had no idea at all. Some of them even thought that the vice-captain had sacrificed his life.


    Only a few of them had their lunch in the office and Chen Xinjie was one of them. During their lunch breaks, Li Dong asked curiously where had he been over thest few days. Luo Yuan smiled but did not answer. It was not only about privacy issues, but also the fact that if he knew too much he would feel stressed.


    Sometimes, not knowing something was often better than knowing. The more he knew, the more depressed he would be.


    When he was about to leave after lunch, Luo Yuan walked toward Chen Xinjie. Everyone immediately left in order to give them due privacy.


    "I might be leaving!" Luo Yuan said after a while.


    "When are you leaving?" She asked, while biting her lips.


    "I¡¯m leaving very soon as I¡¯m going to New Capital City." Luo Yuan said.


    "Are you stilling back after that?" Chen Xinjie asked; her feelings mixed.


    The feelings she had for him were veryplicated. It was her duty assigned by the organization to seduce Luo Yuan, but after getting along with him for so long, she had already fallen for him. His strong body was so attractive ¨C as if he was born to seduce women.


    "Yes, of course, I¡¯ming back to my hometown. New Capital City is not far away from here." Luo Yuan continued, as he shared that the condition there was worsened by haze and not suitable for staying. With his speed, he coulde back in half an hour.


    "But I hope that you cane along with me." He told her his intention, "I n on shifting your job to New Capital City."


    Chen Xinjie was confused and undecided. She then shook her head and said, "This isn¡¯t right and I have a family."


    God damned family!


    Luo Yuan looked at her and suddenly remembered that she did not know that he already knew the truth.


    "We¡¯ll see. You think about it first!" Luo Yuan did not force her to answer as he was confident that she would definitely give in.


    ...


    Luo Yuan received a phone call in the afternoon. He immediately rushed to New Capital City despite being on holiday.


    During the two-day break, after the arrival of robots and aliens, it seemed like the Reconstruction Area was peaceful on the outside, but internally, there were plenty ofplications within. Many cargo trucks transporting thetest industrial machines and all sorts of scientific instruments to be used in the Reconstruction Area were seen passing through the tunnel leading towards the mountain.


    At the same time, many of the research centers held dearly to their research projects on hand. Thousands of scientists and engineers were posted to a secret base situated at the mountain and they soon began their job to reverse the crack.


    The country could produce a powerful attack if it were to fully deploy its Will.


    When Luo Yuan flew to the outskirts of New Capital City, apparently, the number of chimneys in had been greatly reduced. Many of the industries were emptied and had stopped operating due to the introduction of machines.


    Hended quickly and walked into New Capital City. Compared to Hope City, the defense here was clearly more powerful and tightly guarded. When he was about ten kilometers away from New Capital City, he could sense that there were a few armored vehicles and rapid air defense firing guns aiming towards him.


    The soldiers immediately surrounded him as soon as he entered, with their guns pointing towards him.


    Luo Yuan was not angry and took out his ID from his pocket. One of the captains inspected his ID and as upon seeing it, he immediately let him go with a military salute.


    After making a phone call, the one who came to wee him was still Wang Jing. Luo Yuan told her about what had happened earlier.


    "You should have applied for an air defense authentication code so that problems like this would not happen again. Better not to fly into New Capital City as it would influence the civilians here." Wang Jing said in a hoarse voice, looking fatigued and gloomy. Obviously, she was stressed out by the aliens. She was unable to sleep well over the few days, tossing and turning due to nightmares.


    Luo Yuan nodded his head. The gap would somehow exist between the evolved man and a normal human being. It was a matter of inequality in the quality of life. The impression that ordinary people conjured of an evolved man were that they were not merely adored and admired, but they were also looked upon with fear and hatred.


    In just a short while, both of them entered the underground city as if they were walking in a maze. They walked to the 125th team and everyone there was very busy. The staff was walking here and there, looking anxious although the atmosphere seemed to be very peaceful.


    The environment was very quiet because there were no electrical devices or phones in use, and not even the noise of a photocopy machine was heard. Everyone talked softly. Only the rushing footsteps of the information personnel and the sound of a pencil scraping on the paper could be heard.


    "Hi, we meet again. I¡¯m Yu Zheng from the 125th team¡¯s intelligence office. Please ept my apologies for disturbing you," said a military officer with a smile, as he shook Luo Yuan¡¯s hands.


    Luo Yuan had met him once and it was before he headed to Borneo.


    "It¡¯s all about the survival of humanity, you¡¯re not disturbing at all," said Luo Yuan with a smile.


    Both of them entered the meeting room. There were many officers and most of them were intelligence personnel. They stood up and saluted. Luo Yuan waited until most of them had sat down before asking, "What¡¯s the purpose of asking me to be present here today?"


    "It¡¯s regarding the aliens that you sent here. We have examined the information gathered but some of it is not clear enough and failed to make sense. We are worried that there might be another party involved. Luo Yuan, since you are the person in direct contact with them, I would like to ask you what happened at that time."


    "Please continue."


    "First of all, ording to the alien¡¯s confession, before it was caught, an earthquake happened without any symptoms. Do you know..." Yu Zheng asked.


    "You may stop asking about this. I was the one who triggered the earthquake." Luo Yuan interrupted before he finished his question. There was nothing to hide about this issue. Despite humans being afraid of an evolved man¡¯s powerful abilities, they had to ept and bear with it for the sake of survival. As long as he did not cause a military coup, even if he were to kill a few people on the street, they would not care less.


    They exchanged nces with a terrified look stered across their faces. They had been thinking about this problem for a long time and had no clue how it happened. They had never expected that it could ever be intentionally triggered by Luo Yuan. It was not an ordinary earthquake, even the Reconstruction Area which was so far away could detect its scale. Based on the satellite image, the earthquake drastically changed the topography of Borneo. It could have been an earthquake with a magnitude of 9.0.


    After a short while, Yu Zheng regained his senses and said, "How about the spaceship..."


    "Yes, I was the one who destroyed the spaceship and imprisoned the aliens."


    ......


    "I think I have no more queries to ask." The interrogation session ended very quickly. Luo Yuan shook hands with few of the intelligence personnel and strolled out of the 125 intelligence office.


    There was a pin-drop silence in the room and everyone seemed stupefied.


    After a while, an intelligence personnel said in a raspy voice, "Do you think what Luo Yuan said is true? Is an evolved man really that powerful?"


    "I hate to admit, but I do think that this is the most reasonable exnation. You have no choice but to believe him," said Yu Zheng in a deep voice as he heaved a sigh.


    "So this report..."


    "Just hand in the report already!" Yu Zheng said.


    He sighed as the Reconstruction Area had created such a powerful human-like strategic weapon. He believed that they would be facing much bigger problems if the aliens had not appeared.

 Chapter 404: The New Minister

    Chapter 404: The New Minister


    Trantor: EndlessFantasy Trantion Editor: EndlessFantasy Trantion


    An underground tunnel had been built below the ring road at the headquarters of Firearms Bureau.


    A naked muscr man was standing still and his face seemed void of expressions. The next moment, a beam of highly energized particles instantly crashed through his body.


    He hissed softly. His body began to be blurry and was emitting a faint glow.


    It was a particle elerator.


    Compared to thoserge particle elerators, this was rtively smaller and it was only one kilometer long. Thus, its energy would be much weaker as it was merely generated by a mini power station at the Firearms Bureau.


    The heavy particle elerator was originated from Lanzhou and was built in the 80¡¯s. It was brought along during the migration. However, since it was unable to keep up with the changes in technology and research, this heavy particle elerator was then abandoned and a new version of an elerator was developed.


    After the Firearms Bureau was created, he requested for this semi-finished elerator.


    The creation of the Firearms Bureau by the Reconstruction Area, to some extent, was tofort him.


    When the contradictions between human and the evolved man were intensified, part of the evolved man was not satisfied with being dominated by a normal human being. They then attempted to strive for higher status and power. Meanwhile, the top management of the Reconstruction Area was increasingly unhappy and dissatisfied with theirwless behavior.


    The mutiny in the battlefield had resulted in the destruction of the city. Under a bloodymand, a military purge began.


    Many evolved men and soldiers had either died or escaped!


    The purge soon extended, causing many of the evolved men to be worried. They hid here and there, which caused a stir in the Reconstruction Area. It was ongoing until one day when the executedmand was canceled and things seemed peaceful everywhere now.


    Themand was abrupt. In the early days of the apocalypse, the evolved men were still very weak. A few of the well-trained soldiers could easily kill a weak evolved man. During the great purge, the armed forces were well-prepared for the battle. Not many soldiers died and it turned out to be a one-sided massacre.


    The evolved men were incapable of striking back. But under such circumstances, the attacks had subsided all of a sudden. Those evolved men who had survived was then promoted as if nothing had happened before.


    Ten dayster, the Firearms Bureau was created and he was appointed as the vice minister of the department. No one knew what had happened but there were some clues, upon seeing him bing the vice minister of Firearms Bureau.


    ...


    After half an hour, he gradually walked out of the channel of the particle elerator and there was green smoke around him. A slim secretary immediately brought him some clothes. He saw a frown on her face but he did not care about his naked body and the secretary who was flushing in anger. He then put on his clothes slowly.


    "Didn¡¯t I tell you not toe here? Be wary of the radiation!"


    "You don¡¯t need to care about me," said the secretary, rather rudely.


    His body was recovering as soon as the high temperature on his body decreased. He then said as he was walking, "Can¡¯t you understand me? It¡¯s for your own good. What happened today? Why are youing over?"


    The secretary said, "The newly appointed vice minister will be here at 9 o¡¯clock. You must attend and I¡¯m only worried that you will bete."


    "Vice minister?" He paused for a while and recalled what he had been told, "Oh yes. You¡¯ve told me this before. He¡¯ll be here today?"


    "Yes, it¡¯s already half past eight now!" The secretary could not help but said, "His name is Luo Yuan. Please don¡¯t forget thister."


    "Is my memory that bad? Hopefully, he turns out to be a friendly person." He slightly frowned and said, "The Reconstruction Area still had ill-feelings about me and wanted to decentralize the power."


    "Please calm down!" The secretary was worried. They had built extraordinary rtionships as their rtionships were not only between secretary and minister but had alsoprised family and love. She did not want anything to happen to him.


    "Don¡¯t worry. Everything will be fine, as long as he is not bothering me." He was grinning, bearing his white teeth, but his eyes remained cold.


    He knew that the day woulde. However, he was not eager for power. True strength and abilities were what he had been pursuing.


    "Do you know his strength and abilities?" He mumbled, looking at the secretary as if she had something to remind him once more. He said with a smile, "Don¡¯t worry, we¡¯ll unite as one. I¡¯ve heard about this many times, and I believe he must have his abilities if he were to be appointed to undertake this position."


    "Where is he from?" He asked.


    "He¡¯s from Hope City!"


    "If I¡¯m not mistaken, it¡¯s Lin Feiyan¡¯s territory, the woman with very strange abilities." He said with hesitance.


    "He is the deputy team leader," said the secretary.


    He was stunned and highly doubted this, as it did not make sense to him. Even if the rate of promotions had been faster in the Firearms Bureau aspared to other government departments, he had never been appointed as a team leader prior to this. Instead, he was directly elected as a vice minister. This did not make sense at all.


    Something unbeknownst to him must have happened. "What¡¯s happening in the Reconstruction Area?" He asked.


    The secretary shook her head, as she did not know anything as well.


    ...


    His curiosity was aroused. Having seldome back to the office, he sat for a while and handled some unimportant documents. Suddenly, he stood up as if he sensed something. He drew the curtains and saw a car slowly entering the Firearms Bureau.


    One of the deputy ministers of the Organization Department and a stranger who was donning ck from top to toe had alighted the car.


    At the same time, he raised his head as he had sensed something too.


    Both of them exchanged nces and smiled at each other. They then shifted their gaze.


    The deputy minister of the Organization Department nced at Luo Yuan and said, "He is also the vice minister of the Firearms Bureau. His name is Ling Zhong-an. There¡¯s something fascinating about him!"


    "What¡¯s that about?" Luo Yuan answered.


    "During the migration after the apocalypse, Minister Ling and his lover were separated in the crowd. When he found her, she was already married and they left each other with remorse.


    His lover¡¯s husband worked as a government personnel, and during that time, he was already a vice minister. As soon as his lover¡¯s husband knew about this, he divorced his wife and sent her to the Firearms Bureau.


    "Then what happened next? Are both of them married now?" Luo Yuan asked curiously. It would not be anything out of the ordinary if they were both married, so he believed that something else must have happened.


    "No. Perhaps there was a misunderstanding between them, which caused them to bicker. They then parted in discord. However, Minister Ling did not give up and no one knew what he had done. Soon enough his lover is now his secretary!"


    Luo Yuan looked at him as if he had understood something. He was surprised in the first ce wondering why a deputy minister would tell him so much about another person¡¯s private affairs. He now realized that the deputy minister was trying to remind him about something.


    Obviously, he knew that he should not mention the vice minister¡¯s secretary in front of him.


    As soon as Luo Yuan regained his senses, he felt that something was not right. Why did the deputy minister deliberately remind him as such?


    Did they consider him a womanizer?

 Chapter 405: Goodwill

    Chapter 405: Goodwill


    Trantor: EndlessFantasy Trantion Editor: EndlessFantasy Trantion


    The headquarters of the Firearms Bureau was located on the outskirts of the New Capital City. It was around five to six kilometers away from the outer region of the city. The ce was deserted and the ground was paved by grass. Perhaps, the top management had always regarded the Firearms Bureau with suspicion and they had also believed that "out of sight, out of mind" was a good way of putting it.


    However, it was because of this, that the Firearms Bureau wasrge and spacious.


    They had their own power station, research center, hospital, weapon processing factory, and also a team of rapid response forces that was directly under the Firearms Bureau, in which air forces were included. In addition, there were also some of the cooperating agencies that belonged to the Firearms Bureau.


    In the headquarters of the Firearms Bureau, approximately 40 of them were team regrs and approximately 200 of them were the reserves. There were up to 2000 members in the department including the logistics, soldiers, researchers, doctors, technicians, and other supporting personnel.


    Of course, the Firearms Bureau was created not only to protect New Capital City or to lead the teams, but it had an overall responsibility for maintaining the security in mines and oil fields of the Reconstruction Area.


    The mining sites were not only located in the Reconstruction Area but also in the enve. Compared to the mines located there, mining sites at the Reconstruction Area were rtively safer, as there were mutants raging in the enve, resulting in a very bad environment. They had sent troops to guard the mining sites in the enve, but the troops suffered great losses. Therefore, the evolved men from the Firearms Bureau were stationed around the mines to defend the area against the mutants.


    Luo Yuan had a rough idea about the structure of the headquarters of the Firearms Bureau after listening to the deputy minister¡¯s introductions. Without a doubt, the entire Firearms Bureau was an independent kingdom.


    Someone came to get them as soon as they arrived at the entrance of the office.


    "Minister Dong, we meet again. He is Dong Huijun, the minister from the Firearms Bureau. This is Luo Yuan, the newly appointed vice minister. Both of you are colleagues now."


    "Hi, vice minister Luo! Despite never meeting before, I¡¯ve heard of your name a long time ago. Wee to the Firearms Bureau." Minister Dong extended his hand and seemed to be particrly friendly.


    He was around 40 to 50 years old. He looked very tired and it was imaginable that it was not easy for a non-evolved man to be the minister of the Firearms Bureau.


    "Hello, Minister Dong." Luo Yuan smiled and shook hands with him. His attitude was neither warm nor cold as he knew that as an evolved man, he had to define his position clearly. Otherwise, no one would obey him regardless of how strong he was.


    "The meeting room is ready." Minister Dong did not change his expression and said with a smile.


    They quickly headed towards the meeting room. Minister Ling was in the meeting room and his secretary was sitting beside him. Luo Yuan had a quick nce at her. She was indeed a beautiful woman.


    Luo Yuan immediately shifted his gaze and thinking that the superior might have treated him as a womanizer.


    Everyone¡¯s eyes were on him as soon as he entered the meeting room.


    There was doubt, disdain, surprise as well as judgment.


    Their eyes were filled with discrimination. Luo Yuan frowned andughed at himself. He gradually moved forward and Ling Zhong-an who was sitting on the first row suddenly stood up. The meeting room immediately turned silent and everyone held their breaths.


    Luo Yuan stopped walking and looked at him calmly. He had no idea what Minister Ling wanted to do.


    Ling Zhong-an walked a few steps forward and stopped in front of Luo Yuan. He was tall and muscr, looking strong and powerful.


    Standing in front of him, Luo Yuan was obviously shorter. He extended his hand and said, "We¡¯ve met each other just now, I¡¯m Ling Zhong-an."


    "I¡¯m Luo Yuan, thank you for helping me out!" Luo Yuan finally smiled and shook hands with him. Apparently, he attained great reverence from the evolved man aspared to the minister.


    The goodwill of Minister Ling had made the situation less awkward. At least, there would not be so much discrimination anymore.


    "Don¡¯t mention it. I¡¯m not going to attend this meeting. It¡¯s boring. Let¡¯s have a drink togetherter. I¡¯m still keeping some of the good drinks that we had before the apocalypse."


    "Sure!" Luo Yuan answered with a smile.


    Ling Zhong-an then left the meeting room and his secretary followed closely.


    He admired Ling Zhong-an¡¯s free and easy attitude. He did almost everything with a calm disposition, without offending anyone.


    He then followed the procedures for an appointment and it was indeed boring. Perhaps the one who scheduled the meeting had thought of the Firearms Bureau as a special department, so the speech was only just a short one.


    The meeting ended in ten minutes.


    Everyone filed out of the room. When Luo Yuan walked out of the meeting room, Ling Zhong-an was squatting in a corner and his secretary had left.


    "Let¡¯s have a drink." Ling Zhong-an stood up, as he pped his hands.


    "Now? It¡¯s still early." Luo Yuan looked at the time ¨C it was not even half past nine.


    "Time doesn¡¯t matter." He stretched his hand towards Luo Yuan¡¯s shoulder and dragged him over. He was feeling ufortable, as no one had ever ced their hands on his shoulder after the apocalypse. He consciously felt his muscles twitching when Ling Zhong-an pat him on his shoulder. There was a slight buzz in the air and the view near his shoulder was blurred.


    Ling Zhong-an¡¯s forearm bounced off and he retreated a few steps back. He stepped on the muddy ground and it became uneven. His body was then mmed against the wall. Soon, the cracking sound of the concrete was heard and the wall had copsed.


    Ling Zhong-an swept away the dust and stood up with no injuries. He gently shook his wrist as it was stiff. He was not angry but instead eximed happily, "You¡¯re so powerful. I think we should fix a date and learn from each other."


    At this moment, not everyone had left. The crowd was shocked upon witnessing the scene, and even Luo Yuan was surprised with his Strength.


    He knew from the training system that muscles would never be activated independently. It seemed like it was only the movement of his shoulder, but in fact, all of the muscle groups in his body were linked together and generated an instant power. Even Fang Peibin who had evolved could not withstand such a great impact. Ling Zhong-an was not injured at all. The reason he retreated a few steps backward was mainly due to the restriction of human weight ¨C he had to bnce himself.


    "You¡¯re good too. We can exchange some skills anytime. Let¡¯s have a drink first!" Luo Yuan did not reject and he was equally excited. How could he miss out on fighting with such a powerful opponent?


    "Yes, you¡¯re right! Let¡¯s drink first!" Ling Zhong-anughed loudly.

 Chapter 406: Learning from Each Other

    Chapter 406: Learning from Each Other


    Trantor: EndlessFantasy Trantion Editor: EndlessFantasy Trantion


    Both of them arrived at the restaurant specially set up for the members of the Firearms Bureau. The restaurant was empty as it was still as early as 9 o¡¯clock in the morning. They picked a seat at random and sat down.


    "Master Yang, could you bring the alcohol? I left it here and also prepared a few dishes for Minister Luo!" Ling Zhong-an said.


    "Sure! I¡¯ll give my best to make sure the dishes are superb, just for you!" The chef manager said, with a happy smile. At the same time, he also tried to remember the new minister, as he was far too inferior to identally offend a person with such high powers.


    The alcohol was served right after they sat down.


    There were more than ten bottles of alcohol and all of it were amongst famous brands of white wine before the apocalypse. It was very valuable and exclusive, as not many people had the chance to find it, and it was not something you could easily obtain, even with a lot of food stamps. Luo Yuan stole a nce and realized that there were only 12 bottles, all of which were from five different brands.


    "Let¡¯s drink, let¡¯s drink!" Ling Zhong-an twisted the bottle cap open and filled Luo Yuan¡¯s bowl with alcohol. "Cheers!"


    He lifted the bowl and then finished it. Luo Yuan followed suit.


    "I can¡¯t taste the alcohol anymore. It makes me feel like quitting these drinks for good." Ling Zhong-an filled Luo Yuan¡¯s bowl again and sighed.


    He was an alcoholic in the past and had a habit of drinking a lot before the apocalypse, but ever since his evolution, he had not even had his first drink.


    "I didn¡¯t exactly give it much thought. I don¡¯t drink that much... even until now," said Luo Yuan, as he drank another bowl of alcohol.


    "I guess you have not experienced the most interesting part of drinking yet. Take a sip before going out in winter. The experience of feeling the warmth flowing through your body is incredible!"


    "Seems like I¡¯m not as lucky then." Luo Yuan smiled and said.


    Drinking alcohol was as easy as drinking water for the two of them. They finished half a dozen bottles even before the dishes were served.


    "Something very serious had happened just recently, hasn¡¯t it?" Ling Zhong-an suddenly asked. He had always been a very straightforward person and was inclined to ask questions when things were uncertain.


    "What are you talking about?" Luo Yuan asked in surprise.


    "For example, you were suddenly promoted to be the deputy minister. You were a Vice-Captain, weren¡¯t you?" Ling Zhong-an said.


    "It¡¯s a long story." Luo Yuan shook his head and drained the alcohol in his bowl.


    "Is there something you don¡¯t want to reveal, or are there certain confidential policies that you are required to abide by?" Ling Zhong-an whispered softly. Even if he did not know anything about politics, he was familiarizing himself ever since he was promoted to deputy minister for such a long time now.


    "Are you sure you want to know? It¡¯s bad for you, though!" Luo Yuan raised his head and asked, as he looked at Ling Zhong-an.


    Ling Zhong-an smiled and said, "Nothing to be afraid of."


    "Alright. You know the nuclear fusion device exploded, right?" Luo Yuan hesitated and asked.


    Ling Zhong-an nodded seriously. The news of the explosion was widespread, thus making it impossible for him to be unaware of it at all. Besides, theb was not too far away from the headquarters of the Firearms Bureau. He even saw the explosion from afar, when it happened.


    Luo Yuan poured some alcohol into his bowl and then smudged a few words on the table with it. He wiped it away after showing Ling Zhong-an. He couldn¡¯t care much about confidentiality at all. Besides, Ling Zhong-an was not just a regr person; there was nothing to hide.


    "Are you serious!?" Ling Zhong-an was shocked and asked. He looked frightened but he quickly calibrated his emotions. Although it was only a short duration, the chefs from afar were frightened by his expressions and most of them were pale with fear.


    Luo Yuan was calm as he had plenty of experience in this. "I have nothing to gain if I lie to you. Didn¡¯t you realize that the Reconstruction Area looks rather abnormal recently?" Luo Yuan whispered.


    "No wonder.... Now I know." Ling Zhong-an mumbled as he seemed to have recalled something.


    The atmosphere suddenly turned into a stressful one. Both of them were only drinking and remained silent for a long time.


    "Ahh, let¡¯s stop drinking! Let¡¯s find a ce to fight!" Ling Zhong-an was getting frustrated as he continued drinking, refusing to continue. He had been single this entire time ever since he evolved, hence there was nothing to lose.


    He was never afraid, even if he had broken into the highmission alone or had countless guns and a tank pointing directly at him. He finally had the support he needed when he found his lover, whom he grew up with. He also had a weakness ever since then. However, he did not want her to risk her life by staying with him, even though he was not afraid to die.


    ...


    Both of them were powerful enough to destroy simply anything. Hence, a regr training hall did not suffice. Luo Yuan and Ling Zhong-an left the headquarters of the Firearms Bureau and adjourned to the outskirts.


    Luo Yuan inserted his Zhanmadao into the ground. The saber was threatening as it had the power to hurt someone despite being stationary. However, one would probably die or be handicapped, if the saber did manage to hit or cut them. It was definitely not suitable for that kind of activity.


    Ling Zhong-an took a nce at the saber and grew confident in his skill of defense. However, he was not confident enough to allow Luo Yuan to use his saber. He warned, "You¡¯d better be careful though!"


    Luo Yuan rolled up his sleeves, exposing his muscr arms and eximed, "Come on!"


    Right after he shouted, Ling Zhong-an stomped hard, and the ground immediately shook, producing a booming sound. A huge pit was formed instantly as the ground was cracked and he was rushing towards Luo Yuan like a bolting arrow!


    Luo Yuan squinted his eyes and strong wind immediately started blowing, forming a big cyclone before it could hit him. His powers were as scary as a ferocious dragon. The velocity of the wind was even faster than the speed of sound, killing all the small nts wherever he went. It was akin to having a very long, destructive tail behind him.


    However, he had witnessed this kind of scene too often and was not affected at all. Those level seven mutated beasts which he had chanced upon before were ten times scarier than this.


    Luo Yuan drew a big circle in the air and slightly stepped back, with his feet crossing and moving at the same time.


    Both of them seem to be approaching each other. Suddenly, a huge fist came from the sky and prated the air particles. It hit on Luo Yuan as hard as a meteor that fell onto the earth.


    Yet, Luo Yuan was well prepared. He shook his body and managed to escape from being hit by the huge fist. At the same time, his hand shot out from behind his waist stealthily and instantly locked Ling Zhong-an¡¯s chin.


    Ling Zhong-an instantly went flying towards the air and he was not able to control his body. Luo Yuan was too busy to bother about the numbness in his arms and immediately punched Ling Zhong-an¡¯s abdomen! As he curled up due to the sudden pain, Luo Yuan quickly took the chance to give him a hard kick and Ling Zhong-an was once again hurled into the air.


    It was impossible, even for the experts, to fight for an hour or a whole day, and it did not take much time to find out who the winner was. Besides, the opponent had issues coordinating his body despite being very strong, which was amon disadvantage of evolved humans, due to the imbnce of their attributes.


    Luo Yuan stepped back and looked at Ling Zhong-an, who was lying on the floor after being kicked to about 30 to 40 meters away. Luo Yuan could feel that Ling Zhong-an was neither injured by the punch nor could feel the pain at all. He was like a robot beneath human skin. But wait, it would have been smashed up terribly even if he were to be a robot.


    Ling Zhong-an flipped up from the ground. His shirt was tattered and only a few small pieces of cloth remained on his body.


    "That was fast! I really can¡¯t beat you in such average conditions. Looks like I¡¯ll have to use more power on you then!" Ling Zhong-an said with a surprise.


    He twisted his neck and cracked his joints. Luo Yuan tossed the tattered shirt away, exposing his muscr body. As the leader of the Firearms Bureau, he must instead possess a strong body, if he did not have the ability to create any monumental breakthroughs. That was the reason why the Reconstruction Area took great care of him.

 Chapter 407: Equally Strong

    Chapter 407: Equally Strong


    Trantor: EndlessFantasy Trantion Editor: EndlessFantasy Trantion


    "Using more power won¡¯t do you any good!" Luo Yuan said confidently, as heughed.


    His confidence was justified. It was possible to be tricked by an evolved human if he was not able to foresee the future. However, such an oue would be impossible even if the opponent was very tricky or mysterious, as he could not escape his ability to foresee his uing strategy. Luo Yuan was able to set a trap in advance and beat him during the battle.


    "Here I thought that I was the arrogant one, but you¡¯re far worse!" Ling Zhong-anughed and felt upset inside. He admitted that Luo Yuan was indeed very strong, which he was unable to match. So far, no one was able to talk to him after he had fully utilized his power. "I hope you don¡¯t surrenderter," said Ling Zhong-an.


    "Cut the crap, man! Come on!" Luo Yuan eximed with augh.


    Ling Zhong-an turned serious and took a few steps backward. After that, his entire body was glowing in light blue, turning invisible every once in a while.


    At the same time, he looked very scary and his body was trembling. The air particles began to shake and a stream appeared like an aurora.


    Luo Yuan¡¯s eyes were sharp and he knew that the maic field around Ling Zhong-an was changing. He immediately looked wary, as he could now sense the danger.


    Suddenly, a curved line was drawn under his feet. His body was nted and a huge fist passed by his chest. Without realizing his trick, Ling Zhong-an was already standing beside Luo Yuan and tried to attack him.


    Luo Yuan did not counter attack as the foresight in his mind disyed negative results.


    Suddenly, Ling Zhong-an¡¯s body had be very strong and heavy like the extraterrestrial bodies. He foresaw getting punched by Ling Zhong-an but will not be injured too badly. However, Ling Zhong-an would be the one injured, as his bones would have been broken. The strange thing was that his body was not as heavy as he thought; it was merely an illusion.


    Ling Zhong-an was teleporting and appeared beside Luo Yuan haphazardly to attack him.


    However, Luo Yuan managed to escape each time, just as he was about to strike. He never counter-attacked. The foresight had also shown him that Ling Zhong-an was almost running out of strategies.


    This kind of defense was horrible beyond imagination, especially against the strategy of teleportation. Those who did not have the foresight ability might not have been able to escape from his attacks.


    The battle had entered a rapid mode, which was difficult to be seen by the naked eye. The forces had caused many small nts to die as it was swirled into a mud cyclone.


    The battle had eventually turned stagnant and boring.


    One kept attacking and the other was doing his best to avoid it. Both of them looked like they were battling with air instead of taking each other head-on. After a few minutes, they both decided to stop.


    "What kind of power is that?" Luo Yuan asked curiously. He sounded very calm as if he had not participated in that battle. It looked intense earlier, but it was as easy as drinking water to Luo Yuan.


    "The body was being partially energized. I heard it from the experts, I¡¯m not so sure myself," said Ling Zhong-an, without hiding anything, in full honesty.


    Luo Yuan looked surprised, as he was not as naive as he used to be anymore. Despite how heavy or light the particles were, the moving speed was at its sub-optimal speed.


    To him, that kind of speed was simr to teleportation.


    Luckily, there was a short break as he attacked, and the speed returned back to normal. Otherwise, Luo Yuan might not be able to escape, despite his strong foresight.


    "What about you?" Ling Zhong-an was very curious. He never met someone who was so powerful yet boring at the same time, as Luo Yuan was as flexible as an eel, which annoyed him thoroughly.


    "The earth element¡¯s superpower and foresight, of course!" Luo Yuan told him directly, after learning about his honesty.


    "Foresight!?" Ling Zhong-an repeated what Luo Yuan had said andughed sarcastically, "What the hell? That¡¯s too much, though! No wonder you didn¡¯t even counter attack. You already knew what I was going to do! If so, I¡¯m not going to fight with you anymore. It¡¯s pointless and boring!"


    "So do I. You¡¯re really a monster!" Luo Yuan felt the same. It would be just another boring battle unless he uses his Zhanmadao.


    Unfortunately, it was not even a fierce battle. Hence, the Zhanmadao might not even be suitable for that.


    ...


    Luo Yuan returned to the headquarters of the Firearms Bureau and literally stayed in the office for the whole day. As he had just been newly promoted, he had many tasks to attend to. Although hecked interest in the political authority, as a Deputy Minister, he should be familiar with all the sub-departments and data, as well as management policies.


    In the afternoon, Luo Yuan ran a simple inspection at the sub-departments with thepany of the Office Manager.


    He stayed in the department of research and development for a longer time, which was the main function of the department ¨C to serve the evolved humans. It was not very big, only about a few superpower research centers with about ten researchers working there together.


    After an introduction was made by the Director of the Research Center, Luo Yuan realized that they could help in customizing the model of the energy initiator. Most of the evolved humans did not know much about Science, failing to master the skill of using their power and strength efficiently. The same momentum of force would have generated a different oue if it were to be exerted by two different people ¨C a less civilized person and someone with the knowledge of martial arts.


    For example, Luo Yuan was not aware that multiple Earth Stomps could generate a resonance and lead to an earthquake. He also did not know that he could gather the vibration energy to form the Earth Geyser.


    Other than the customization of the energy initiator model, they had also done some researches on mental training, as well as the special energy of the human body. However, Luo Yuan realized there were not many oues from the research at the moment. Basically, they just copied and pasted the study from the ancient books of the Buddhism and Taoism.


    Luo Yuan lost interest after taking a look at the report.


    Fortunately, he did not expect much from that. It made sense that those people were not really talents, hence, they were assigned to this research center because most of them were transferred from those big research centers due to theirck of performance. Compared to the times before the apocalypse, their quality of work was only akin to those of internship students.


    He shook his head lightly. From certain aspects, the research center was just a tool for the Reconstruction Area to show that they were prioritizing the Firearms Bureau.

 Chapter 408: Inattentive

    Chapter 408: Inattentive


    Trantor: EndlessFantasy Trantion Editor: EndlessFantasy Trantion


    Yesterday morning, after Luo Yuan finished battling against Ling Zhong-an, thetter returned to the headquarters of the Firearms Bureau. Ling Zhong-an was visibly stripped of his highly protective armor because when he was fighting, his battle suit had been ripped off by the strong wind which left him with nothing but flimsy trousers on top of a naked body. In stark contrast, Luo Yuan was still neatly dressed and looked almost as if he just returned from a regr field trip. Everyone was already aware of the fight between the two men. Now that they have returned in such conditions, the oue of the fight was clear as day. Having to believe what they were seeing was just shocking and uneptable for the crowd.


    Now, who was Ling Zhong-an? Well, he was viewed as the spiritual pir of support of the Firearms Bureau, was a natural leader, and was the foundation of the department. He was well known for his powerful strength and was respected as a God. Many people even thought of him as thest hope for mankind. Therefore, what is extremely mind boggling right now was that this spiritual pir of support had lost the fight, or at least he did not win. This was simply unbelievable!


    Originally, no one really paid attention to the new deputy minister and they even wanted to exclude him as they thought that it was only a political arrangement for decorative purposes. But now, suddenly, things looked the exact opposite. In everyone¡¯s hearts, the new minister had suddenly cast a veil of mystery that held endless fascination and awe.


    Strangely, this minister had suddenly vanished after the fight. This was because Luo Yuan did not go back to the Firearms Bureau but instead departed Hope City to the wilderness early in the morning. The existence of extraterrestrial civilizations was pressuring the city like a looming dark cloud. The survival of mankind had been on red alert. Due to the sheer power of the extraterrestrial civilization, humanity would be easily wiped off the face of the Earth if they were attacked; which leaves the Reconstruction Area with very little time for preparation.


    However, the production of intelligent robots takes time. Furthermore, technological development could only improve gradually and not overnight. A hundred-year gap between science and technology seemed immaterial but it made a world of difference. Behind an inconspicuous technology, there was an industrial support system. In the early 21st-century, smartphones and an array of scientific theories were the most developed technologies. Even the most advanced countries like Germany and the United Kingdom would feel that these technologies were nothing but science fiction.


    Although scientific technologies have been significantly improved over thest hundred years and many humans had now evolved and joined the scientific development team, they were still unable to emte extraterrestrial technology. They could only try to develop the ability to fight but it could not be done in one or two years. All this was nowmon knowledge and not just what Luo Yuan understood. The management must quicklye to terms with this and find a way to secure the future of humanity. Despite the slim chances that they have, the Reconstruction Area still utilized all its resources to crack the encrypted technology of the extraterrestrial civilization. The future of mankind was at stake!


    Even though the general mood of the people were gloomy under such a pressured state, Luo Yuan still seemed to act normally as if nothing had happened. The only notable difference was that it was always difficult for him to fall asleep when darkness fell. This invasion clearly affected him and there were a few times when he thought of eloping with his "wives" into the wilderness until all this was over. However, Luo Yuan eventually gave up on this idea. If he really went ahead with it, Wang Shishi would be dismayed with him and more importantly, he would look down on himself. He had to do something even though the odds were against them. His space-time bubble flight mode gave him some hope. Since his Will had been upgraded to 18 points, even space was not out of reach for him anymore.


    The beauty of the independent space formed by his power was that it made him semi-detached from the three-dimensional world and so that he was immune to all attacks. Although he was not too sure about the progress regarding the high-energyser, at least there was a ray of hope. To increase their chances, Luo Yuan knew that he had to be more powerful by increasing his strength and determination. He also had to be more intelligent and skillful in a short amount of time. Fortunately, the wilderness had a huge supply of resources which allowed him to do so. He had arrived at the Sichuan Area in less than 20 minutes thanks to his ability to travel at high speeds. This was the ce where he had encountered mutated beasts of the highest level. He even came across numerous level eight mutated beasts which weremonly found in the area.


    Luo Yuan tightened the strap on his forehead and quickly dived down from the sky andnded on a branch. He took a deep breath and jumped off the branch. He was not afraid of getting lost in the wilderness so he merely picked a random direction and moved forward at a quick pace. He was lucky as he only had to walk for half an hour when a task notification came from the system. His eyes became focused. This was a huge mutated beast! It was approximately 30 meters tall and 50 meters long. Its body was covered with armor which likened it to a rhino. However, its armor was even thicker. It looked hideous with numerous tiny thorns growing out of its face! Perhaps it was a cow before mutation. On its inverted triangle head, was a pair of long twisted blue horns which pointed straight to the sky like two swords. From a biological perspective, Luo Yuan predicted that this creature must have a strong defense system and should be vegetarian. However, mutated beasts generally could not be understood usingmon sense. Through intense and frequent mutations, these mutated beasts have been transformed to the extent that they are no longer linked to their origins and biological theories.


    The mutated beast¡¯s mouth was filled with razor sharp teeth and a trace of fresh blood dripped down slowly from its mouth. It was clearly not a vegetarian after all! Fortunately, it appears to be full and seemed to be looking for a ce to take a nap under a tree. It was not aware of the frightening danger that wasing to it.


    A week ago, Luo Yuan still needed to be extra careful when facing horrifying mutated beasts like this one. Before he attacked, he had to do everything possible to avoid catching its attention and would think of any possible scenario that could happen until he was confident that there would be no risk in attacking.


    But now, it waspletely unnecessary for Luo Yuan to do so. He walked towards the mutated beast very calmly. Along the way, he gradually decreased the pace of his heartbeat and aligned himself with the earth.


    1000 meters, 500 meters, 300 meters...


    The mutated beastid motionless on the ground. Perhaps Luo Yuan¡¯s movements were too insignificant to trigger the senses of this beast since it was taking a nap. Luo Yuan was not discouraged by this. He suddenly lifted his foot and stepped heavily onto the ground.


    Earth Stomp!


    "Bang!"


    The mutated beast was startled! Its eyes snapped open immediately as it released a roar and rose to its feet. But just when it stood up, its body trembled and its limbs were weak. It immediately copsed to the ground heavily and its internal organs were oozing out from its mouth and nose along with blood. Luo Yuan remained calm despite the gruesome scene ahead of him. He stepped heavily on the ground again and this time, the mutated beast¡¯s throat started rattling... It was unable to make a sound. The beast¡¯s blood was no longer oozing out slowly but instead gushed out like a fountain! The surrounding was now filled with the rusty smell of blood.


    Luo Yuan¡¯s Earth Stomp power had upgraded to level seven. As the upgrade was through his Sense, the range of his power than now increased 20 to 30 times but there was not much improvement in terms of his its actual power. With this long distance and highly-damaging attack, even if this was a powerful level seven mutated beast, it would not stand a chance! Luo Yuan continued to use his Earth Stomp power twice in session and then exited his alignment with the earth. Just like that, the mutated beast hadpletely died. To avoid unnecessary trouble and to save time, Luo Yuan raised up his Zhanmadao and rapidly approached the mutated beast. In the next moment, he shed his de across the mutated beast and chopped off its head.


    A minute after the mutated beast was beheaded, Luo Yuan received a notification that his task had beenpleted, hence, he inserted his Zhanmadao back into its sheath. In the blink of an eye, he was already at a faraway ce. To him, the material from a level seven mutated beast was not as valuable as before. When the clock struck nine, Luo Yuan found another level seven mutated beast again. However, this time the mutated beast was not merely lying on the ground but was preparing to hunt. The mutated beast was very alert and extremely dangerous in this condition. However, it was barely a hassle for Luo Yuan.


    After he cautiously approached the mutated beast, he used his Earth Stomp again. As the size of this mutated beast was ratherrge and the distance between its belly and ground was more than 20 meters, if he attacked the body it would not be powerful enough to kill it so he nned to attack the limbs. The next moment, its front legs suddenly exploded! Without any warning, the thousand-pound body copsed on the ground which caused the ground to tremor.


    Before it stood up, Luo Yuan took the opportunity to use another three Earth Stomps consecutively and proceeded to chop off its head using his Zhanmadao.


    ...


    Two mutated beasts annihted with ease. Luo Yuan looked at the system and learned that his experience had reached 275920/307200. He suspected that he would be able to upgrade after hepleted one more task. However, his luck seemed to be running out as he was unable to find anymore level seven mutated beasts until noon. Fortunately, Luo Yuan was not in a rush to level up. Completing two tasks in one morning was already good enough for him.


    Luo Yuan then kept circling the jungle. He subconsciously looked around and sensed something vaguely familiar which made him feel like he was here before. Luo Yuan generally had a very good memory so after taking some time to recall, he finally remembered that this was where he found the Demonic Horseman. He immediately looked to the other direction where he recalled the house of the mutated woman should be located.

 Chapter 409: Reunited With The Mutated Woman

    Chapter 409: Reunited With The Mutated Woman


    Trantor: EndlessFantasy Trantion Editor: EndlessFantasy Trantion


    Although Luo Yuan only traveled with the mutated woman for a few days, it was during the loneliest period he had ever experienced in the wilderness. With herpanionship, the whole trip had be rather enjoyable and fascinating. However, these days the pressure of the invasion of the extraterrestrial civilization had been lingering in his mind. He was kept awake every night with tremendous pressure, hence, he had forgotten about her until he came to this ce.


    He knew that it was irresponsible to leave her alone at that strange and treacherous ce but he did it to protect her. He wondered if she was still here or not. Since he was here now, he decided to look since it would not take much of his time. He stopped searching for level seven mutated beasts and untied the strap on his forehead to start his space-time bubble flight. He flew towards Guizhou.


    He still remembered the route that he passed through and by referencing the coordination of the mountain, he reached his destination in a sh without straying off track. Luo Yuan looked at the familiar scene and recalled his memories of her from some time ago. This was the area where he had left her. He walked slowly towards the cave that he stayed in before and found that there was no one there. He sniffed the air and his heart sank.


    The scent left behind by the mutated woman had faded. To his horror, she had already left the ce at least a few days ago if not more. Luo Yuan carefully looked around the cave again. There were some changes in the cave since he had left. Most notably, there was a stack of grass with a human shape imprinted on it. Apparently, this was the nest of the mutated woman. It seemed like she had stayed here for a few days after he left but had also left for some reason.


    There were many reasons for leaving. Perhaps she felt threatened by the mutated beasts in the surrounding or she went back to her original ce after she had waited too long for his return. Or perhaps she had been killed on the way back from hunting. He thought that he should not let her follow him in the first ce because it was harmful to her. So, his heart was heavy when he had this thought. However, after walking only 50 to 60 meters away from the cave, he suddenly picked up something with his nose. He stopped and sniffed. He smelled a clear scent of her nearby. Seemed like she was here quite recently.


    Luo Yuan¡¯s face lighted up and his heart was racing. It seemed like she never left and just stayed somewhere nearby but not in the original cave. He was confident about this prediction. He suspected that the spacious cave had somehow made her more anxious and insecure so she might have found another ce to stay. He immediately followed the scent and began to look for her. A few minutester, he climbed over a hill and came to a cliff that was full of vines. The scent of the mutated woman was even stronger here so it was obvious that she was living in this area. It was around five to six kilometers away from the original cave. There were many thick vines that hung down from the top of the cliff which naturally formed adder for climbing.


    Luo Yuan extended the use of his Sense to scan the whole area and found that all the rocks and cliffs that were shaded by the vines immediately revealed themselves in front of him. Soon, he locked a location and slowly flew towards there. He pulled off the thick and heavy vines and sneaked into the cave. It was a very small entrance so Luo Yuan had to crouch to enter. It was humid inside with asional drops of water leaking out from the walls. Other than this, it was generally clean and well-arranged inside. He did not see any small rocks or bones inside the cave and even the mosses that grew on the walls had been carefully cleaned.


    Luo Yuan also found some transparent stones at a corner. Most of the stones were crystal minerals and some jewelry that was abandoned before the apocalypse. He did not know that the mutated woman had such a strange hobby to collect jewelry. It seemed like she kept rummaging around during her free time. However, the thing that affirmed him that this was the nest of the mutated woman was the bottle of mineral water lying on the ground. This was the water bottle that Luo Yuan gave her before he left. It was ced under the ce where the water leaked from the wall and had now overflowed.


    The living environment here was rather atrocious. It was dark, humid and stifling. Luo Yuan had been feeling ufortable though he had just stayed inside for a while. However, this ce was apparently more securepared to the spacious cave. Since she was not here now, Luo Yuan guessed that she could be hunting so he waited. Approximately half an hourter, the mutated woman was back.


    She was as flexible as an ape on a tree and headed back to the cave at a shocking speed. She was holding the knife that Luo Yuan gave her in her mouth while her hands were empty. If Luo Yuan did not notice the blood stain on her mouth, he would have thought that she failed to hunt for any food today. Apparently, she was just very cautious not to bring any danger back to her home. She finished her food before she went back to the cave to avoid leaving any smell of blood that could bring unnecessary danger.


    When she was close to the cliff, she let go of the branches, stretched her body and soared like a bird for 10 meters. Just before shended, she grabbed the hanging vines in reach and quickly climbed upward to the cave.


    Suddenly, her body stiffened and she jerked to a stop. She noticed that her house had been invaded by an unknown creature so she was on high alert. Her breath became long and soft, and at the same time, her tiny fangs were slightly exposed. She was like an experienced hunter slowly crawling towards the cave. While she was halfway through climbing the vines, a familiar face appeared in front of her.


    When the mutated woman saw Luo Yuan¡¯s face, she quivered as if she saw a ghost or evil spirit. She quickly leaped and jumped down. She was about 100 meters above the ground so jumping from a height like this would kill just about anything, however, she was already familiar with the nts and trees here, and her body was extremely agile. By the time when she was close to the ground, she grabbed on a vine timely and flew to another branch 100 meters away by leveraging on the force of the swing.


    Her heart was racing. Still worried, she quickly continued to run for another 10 meters and then sneaked into dense bushes and disappeared. After a long pause, she stretched out her head and stared at Luo Yuan without blinking. Luo Yuan was dumbfounded and wondered if he was really that frightening.


    Perhaps he was too harsh when he left her and it still frightened her to the point where it had be a phobia.


    Luo Yuan jumped down from the cave as well. The mutated woman saw it and immediately hid again but her eyes were still staring at Luo Yuan through the gaps between the leaves.


    "Come!" Luo Yuan instructed with a wave of his hand. The mutated woman refused to budge and continued to be vignt


    "Come here." Luo Yuan said again.


    Only now did the mutated woman seem to understand what he said. But, she still hesitated. After a while, she reluctantly walked out from the bushes. It felt like the rtionship between them had not been as close as it had beenst time.


    "Come further." Luo Yuan continued to wave.


    The mutated woman slowed down her steps as she was very cautious by nature and had a simple mind like that of a little girl. She wanted to be close with Luo Yuan but was scared to get hurt. When she was about 30 to 40 meters away from Luo Yuan, she refused to walk any closer.


    "If so, then I will go." Luo Yuan remarked and pretended to leave her. After this, he turned over and flew away. The mutated woman suddenly looked nervous and gave out a hissing sound which seemed like she wanted to stop Luo Yuan from leaving. However, Luo Yuan pretended he did not hear and kept flying away.


    The mutated woman was now anxious and quickly ran in Luo Yuan¡¯s direction to try to catch up with him. However, no matter how fast she ran, it was impossible for her to catch up with Luo Yuan¡¯s speed. Even if he did not initiate his space-time bubble flight, he was still 10 times faster than her. In just a second, he vanished from her sight.


    The mutated woman was finally in great panic and rushed after him without any second thoughts. After running for 10 minutes, she carelessly stepped on a dried branch and fell from a tree. She rolled over in pain on the ground and immediately stood up to climb the tree to continue running. The branches on the tree kept scratching her face and soon there were blood stains and scars on her face.


    After some time, she was not able to run anymore. She stopped disappointedly; wheezing and unable to breathe. She squatted down on a branch helplessly like an abandoned kitten. Luo Yuan was quietly watching her from afar. He felt mixed feelings in his heart. After all, he was still a human being with feelings.


    At first, he just wanted to visit her and check on her current state. He could still asionallye visit her whenever he thought of her since he would train here. As a mutated human, the wilderness was the ce that she should stay at after all. If he brought her to the Reconstruction Area, it could be very difficult for her to adapt.


    But looking at her now, Luo Yuan felt guilty to leave her alone again. He sighed andnded on the ground. Step by step he walked towards the mutated woman. When he drew closer, the depressed mutated woman immediately looked up. When she saw Luo Yuan, her depressed look changed to a look of content. Her eyes were now shing with excitement.


    The mutated woman hissed a few times with a look of excitement and quickly ran to Luo Yuan. She stared at Luo Yuan without blinking, seemingly worried that he would suddenly vanish again.


    "Such a troublemaker." Luo Yuan scolded jokingly, though she might not have understood what he was saying. He continued and asked, "Do you really want to follow me?"


    Luo Yuan had decided that he could bring her back as a pet. This mutated woman was smarter than expected and gentle so if he did not hurt her, she would not hurt him as well. With his current position at the Reconstruction Area, it should not be a big deal to bend or even break the rules. The mutated woman did not understand and scratched her head in confusion. But when she saw the smile on Luo Yan¡¯s face, she smiled back awkwardly. This was the first-time Luo Yuan saw her this way.


    Luo Yuan stretched out his hand and whispered, "Come, hold me."


    He repeatedly said this several times, "Come on."


    The mutated woman was smarter than normal mutated beasts so she quickly understood this gesture. After hesitating for a while, she decided toply. Perhaps Luo Yuan¡¯s sudden departure earlier had scared her. This time, she did not dare defy Luo Yan¡¯s orders.


    She walked slowly towards Luo Yuan and raised her hand. Just when as their fingers touched each other¡¯s, she was scared and retracted as if she experienced an electric shock. But this time, she did not run away.


    "Rx, don¡¯t be afraid!" Luo Yuan tried to calm her down.


    She then boldly held out her hand even though Luo Yuan was not too sure that he understood her. When she touched Luo Yuan¡¯s palm, she wanted to retract her hand again but Luo Yan held on tight.


    "Hiss!" The mutated woman was scared and tried to struggle. After a while, when she realized that Luo Yuan did not want to hurt her, she calmed down and looked at Luo Yuan. She saw his two hands that were holding hers and her face lit up with an excited look.


    Her hand was not as rough as Luo Yuan expected. Not only was her palm delicate, even the scaly part of her hand was very smooth. However, her body temperature was slightly lower than average. It was only about 30 degrees. Thus, when Luo Yuan held her hand he felt a little ufortable.


    She was petite in size, but she wasn¡¯t light. It was very difficult to fly with her. Luo Yuan held her hand and brought her to a higher ce to start his space-time bubble flight immediately. In just a moment, a light shot across the sky silently. He flew rapidly towards the Reconstruction Area and within half an hour, theynded. Hope City was right in front of them.


    Afternding, Luo Yuan looked at the mutated woman awkwardly. The mutated woman was still hugging Luo Yuan tightly and did not want to let go. Her naked body was shivering vigorously. Luo Yuan did not expect that she would be scared. He just realized that it was slightly embarrassing that she was naked as it was not far away from Hope City. There were always people who passed by and if they were seen, it would be aplete disgrace to Luo Yuan. He tried to let go of the hands and legs of the mutated woman but failed. She was simply too stunned by the speedy flight.


    Atst, Luo Yuan had to use his Will to control her to reluctantly step away. She walked wobbly in a circle and finally sat on the ground as if she was drunk. Luo Yuan looked at her naked body and felt his head throbbing. He did not care much when they were in the wilderness but it would be immoral when they back at the Reconstruction Area. He thought for a moment... and then took off his clothes and draped it on her regardless of her struggles.


    Luo Yuan looked at her from top to bottom and was satisfied with her look. He was 1.8 meters tall while she was only 1.5 meters tall so his shirt looked more like a dress when she wore it. At least it covered her scaly and naked body. She looked just like any other human apart from her calves and eyes.

 Chapter 410: Without A Solution

    Chapter 410: Without A Solution


    Trantor: EndlessFantasy Trantion Editor: EndlessFantasy Trantion


    Luo Yuan waited for some time before the mutated woman finally woke up. A flood of relief fell upon her as she nced over and saw Luo Yuan. She then diverted her attention towards the city which was located not far away and kept her gaze upon it.


    As the major city in the Reconstruction Area, Hope City was undoubtedly a spectacle of delight. The city was in the midst of developing and countless rows of factories had been built. From afar, the smokestack of each factory looked like a giant tree which grew as high as the clouds; giving the illusion that the entire city was one gigantic forest in the sky. The environment waspletely different from the forest she understood based on her memory.


    She was so captivated by her surroundings to the extent that she had not blinked once since she woke up. The thought of everything she saw seemed so fascinating and yet scary at the same time due to its unfamiliarity. However, she liked the feeling as it felt like she was home. She seemed to have recalled seeing these scenes in her dreams before.


    Her mind was so upied with everything that was happening that she did not hear Luo Yuan calling to her until he repeated himself a second time.


    "Stop dreaming. Let¡¯s go!" Luo Yuan said as he patiently waited for her. Both of them then hurried towards Hope City.


    The mutated human was anxious as she tried to regain control over her limbs and legs while maintaining her distance from Luo Yuan as they moved through the forest. Unfortunately, she slipped and almost fell face-down onto the floor. Only then did she realize that her body was wrapped in a soft object which made her feel ufortable.


    She is used to being naked and the clothes she dawned felt like a manacle to her. Her motions were now very restricted and she felt extremely insecure. She was also very frustrated and a furious expression was clearly shown on her face - exposing her tiny sharp teeth while she tried tearing off the clothes. However, sheter realized that she could not tear off the clothes regardless of how much force she used. This is because the clothes that she was wearing was in actual fact a synthetic suit made from level eight materials which required her to have a higher level in abilities to destroy.


    She started panicking as she saw that Luo Yuan and was constantly gaining more ground ahead of her and chased after him in a quick but clumsy manner. Luo Yuan could not help butugh at her reaction. A mutated human would need some time to adapt to putting on the suit. However, Luo Yuan did not want to see her naked when he arrived home. Even if he did want it, he was certain that the other women back home would not allow it.


    Finally, after what seemed like countless hours of running (to the mutated human), she could see that they were nearly arriving at Hope City and a glimmer of happiness rose in her heart. However, they were caught by surprise when a group of soldiers armed with rifles and whistles came out of nowhere and stopped them dead in their tracks just as they were arriving close to the city¡¯s entrance. Luo Yuan saw that the guards were on a high alert as though they were preparing for a possible attack. Luo Yuan could see that even though both of them were in the line of sight of the rifles held by the guards, most of them had been mainly targeted at the mutated human.


    It was difficult for her to avoid being detected even though she had disguised herself by wearing clothes due to the peculiar way she was walking. "Stop, my dear colleague. As you know, ording to the management policies, all mutated creatures are not allowed to enter the city. You have to destroy the mutated human." An officer said with a furious tone. It was fortunate that Luo Yuan did not look like a citizen with an upper-ss status. Otherwise, themanding officer might have been harsher to him.


    The mutated human quickly hid behind Luo Yuan as she saw that the soldiers were closing in on her. She red at them with furious eyes and exposed her sharp teeth with a sound "Sssssss".


    Luo Yuanforted her with a calm expression on his face. He then took out his ID, passed it to themanding officer, and said, "Rx, I guarantee she will not be a threat to anyone." Luo Yuan said calmly.


    "That¡¯s not up to you..." The officer said as he took the ID from Luo Yuan. He simply took one nce at the ID and his expression changed instantly.


    "Lieutenant General!"


    "Deputy Minister of the Firearms Bureau!?"


    He was shocked when he discovered Luo Yuan¡¯s true identity and quickly bowed to apologize, "I¡¯m so sorry, sir! I did not know you were a minister!"


    Next, he immediately turned around and told his subordinates, "Everyone, put your guns down!"


    "We sincerely apologize for our reckless action. Please do not be offended by us." The officer said in repentance.


    "It is alright. I hope I did not cause any trouble for you. May I leave now?" Luo Yuan said.


    "Sure!" The officer quickly replied. He was not authorized to question the judgment of people from that ranking anyway.


    Even if he reports the scene to the upper management, his report would surely be neglected due to the huge discrepancy in ranking between him and Luo Yuan. Thus, he was not willing to risk his career by offending someone from as high a position as Luo Yuan.


    Themanding officer only had a basic level ranking and did not know much about the Firearms Bureau. Even so, he knew for a fact that even the military officers would not simply offend the Firearms Bureau as the evolved humans working in there were an important asset to the military in many ways. This fact applied even more to Luo Yuan who was the Deputy Minister there. Not to mention also being one of the most powerful evolved humans in that department.


    Luo Yuan smiled and nodded at themanding officer before proceeding to enter the city. The mutated human took this opportunity to taunt the soldiers by producing a hissing sound that surrounded her as she walked by them to catch up with Luo Yuan as she knew they were afraid of him. However, she quickly hid behind Luo Yuan again and followed him closely when the soldiers started scowling at her in an angry manner.


    "Sir! Who the hell is that? Why did you look worried?" A soldier asked when he saw Luo Yuan and the mutated human were already a distance away from them.


    "Damn you! Do you not know that he is a very powerful person? Even our chief leader would have needed to bow and be polite to him!" The officer said.


    "Have you heard of the Firearms Bureau!?" The officer continued to ask with a mad expression.


    Some of the soldiers nodded while most of them seemed puzzled. This was because a majority of the soldiers stationed at the city¡¯s entrance during that day consisted mostly of low-level ranking soldiers.


    "The Firearms Bureau is a department which operates directly under the federal government and the members of the department consists solely of super strong evolved humans, especially the Deputy Minister who is also the Lieutenant General." The officer continued to exin. In fact, that was also his first encounter with such a powerful person that it was a bit difficult for him not to be agitated. He could not wait to share more about what he knew with his fellow soldiers.


    All of the soldiers took a deep breath. Though they knew little about the history of the bureau, they could tell that a Lieutenant General is someone who holds quite a high authority in the military based on their basic knowledge as soldiers. Besides that, the only other person they knew who had such a title was themanding officer of their army in the military group. None of them had expected Luo Yuan, who was even younger than them, to hold such a high position.


    They would have been even more in shock and might have even lost their ability to breathe if they knew that the federal government had ssified Luo Yuan as the most dangerous person who ever existed and that they see him as a human weapon.


    This fact about Luo Yuan also made every action taken by him to be of the highest concern to the government. Lately, it is bing increasingly difficult for Luo Yuan to keep a low profile as he had been flying around the Reconstruction Area and it was hard to avoid being detected.


    His fastest flight speed was three times the speed of sound when he was flying at his maximum potential which was the same speed as an airborne missile. An even more shocking discovery was made by an automated reconnaissance aircraft which happened to be recording in the vicinity during that particr time. It was a beam of light traveling in the air. No one could have imagined a living organism could have traveled at such a speed if Luo Yuan had not exposed his identity when he arrived at the Reconstruction Area.


    The short video clip was being live streamed to the information security center and was then sent to the Intelligence Department. The results calcted by the program showed that Luo Yuan had been traveling at an insane speed of 12.34 kilometers per second.


    He was even faster than the traveling speed of the nuclear intercontinental missile and the electromaic guns in the Reconstruction Area. To sum it up, nothing could have beaten his speed in the Reconstruction Area except theirser weapons. Even the most powerful missiles could not hurt him unless he allowed it to detonate near him and only the super strong radiation rays could cause severe harm to him. Other than that, he definitely had enough time to escape based on the velocity that he could reach.


    Nevertheless, Luo Yuan was careful enough to conceal the weaknesses of his power to the upper management such as the fact that he needed some time to initiate his space-time bubble flight mode. Besides that, the eleration process before he could reach his maximum velocity was rather slow. However, Luo Yuan was not afraid of an attack from the Reconstruction Area even without his space-time bubble flight ability. This is because he still had other powerful abilities to rely on. He could drill into the ground two seconds before an explosion could take ce and escape from the rays before slowly initiating the space-time bubble flight mode to form an isted defense space. It might have been impossible for Luo Yuan to determine the explosion at thest minute but because of Sensitivity, he would have been able to predetermine any explosions that were about to ur and avoid attacks even from aser weapon would have been easy with the aid of his Foresight ability.


    Nothing could be hidden from his ability to foresee the future even if the preparations were perfectly nned. Not even if they knew beforehand that Luo Yuan had this ability. Attempting to kill him was basically a solution-less situation. That was also the reason why Luo Yuan was not afraid to reveal his Foresight ability to Ling Zhong-an as he knew that his action would note back to bite him...

 Chapter 411: First Experience Of Human Life

    Chapter 411: First Experience Of Human Life


    Trantor: EndlessFantasy Trantion Editor: EndlessFantasy Trantion


    The mutated woman started to sneeze as soon as they entered Hope City which made her feel awkward. Pollution in the urban area is bing very serious nowadays. The air was filled with ayer of gray mist and there was a foul odor lingering in the air. It was hardly suitable for the mutated woman who was used to the fresh air in the jungle.


    Even though the journey had been challenging up until now, she was still very excited. She had felt more secure and less threatened by her environment since she entered the city. She kept looking around and sometimes stopped to gaze longer at things which caught her attention. It was only when she realized that Luo Yuan had moved quite a distance away from her that she would then start to pick up her own pace in order to catch up with him.


    Fortunately for them, this was not the workers¡¯muting time and therefore the street was far less crowded than it would otherwise have been. As a matter of fact, the street was almost empty except for a few cars that passed by. Luo Yuan felt relieved as he feels that the strange looks and behavior of the mutated woman might end up causing a hugemotion between the townspeople.


    After walking through the city for some time, they arrived at what seemed to be an underground passage. Surprisingly enough, the air smelled fresher underground aspared to what the mutated woman had experienced when she was walking through the city. She eventually stopped sneezing. After walking for about 10 minutes, they arrived at a door.


    "Well, this is your home from now on." Luo Yuan smiled and said to the mutated woman before knocking on the door.


    However, the mutated woman did not hear anything he said. Instead, she was focusing on the light bulb which was hanging right above her. She had a high tendency of being easily attracted to shiny and bright stuff. All she could think about at that moment was how she could get her hands on that light bulb to be made as part of her collection.


    Zhao Yali was the one who opened the door. When she saw Luo Yuan she asked curiously, "Why are you back so early today?"


    "I met a mutated human today and out of sympathy for her situation, I decided to bring her back home," answered Luo Yuan.


    The mutated woman became aware of Zhao Yali¡¯s presence as soon as she opened the door and quickly hid behind Luo Yuan. Zhao Yali saw that there was a pair of curious amber eyes moving up and down from behind Luo Yuan¡¯s body as if it was scanning her.


    It was only at this moment that Zhao Yali noticed that there was ady behind Luo Yuan. Both women started scanning one another but when Zhao Yali met eye to eye with the mutated woman, she saw that the mutated woman was suddenly frightened and almost screamed.


    "Well, we have gone through so much but you are still so timid. Don¡¯t worry, she won¡¯t bite. Let¡¯s go inside first. Is everyone at home? "Luo Yuan saw her expression and knew that she was scared. He could not help but giggle.


    Generally, anybody who met the mutated woman for the first time would be struck with the same spine-chilling feeling. Zhao Yali calmed down slightly. She was just shocked as she was not prepared to meet someone like her. Otherwise, it would not have been so bad. After all, it was not the first time she saw a mutated human. In the past, she had even managed to live together with Chen Xianfeng for such a long time even though she was scarier and had a very bad temper.


    She stared at Luo Yuan and said, "Everyone is home except for Xia Guang who has gone to work." However, she was still worried andined, "Why did you want to bring a mutated human back? Does she really not hurt people?"


    "Don¡¯t worry, she is even more timid than you." Luo Yuan said. He was quite reassuring on this point. Furthermore, if she had been braver and more familiar towards humans in the past, she would not have been so easily captured by a mere human. Of course, this was not the only reason why he was certain of it. He had also used his abilities on her earlier so he was pretty much assured of his statement. He knew that she had a certain degree of reasoning ability. Not only was there food and drink provided to her here but also shelter and safety. Therefore, there was basically no reason for her to be aggravated and start to hurt people.


    A few people immediately stood up when they saw Luo Yuan enter the living room with the mutated woman tagging along behind him. Only Chen Jiayi, who was slow in response, stood up a few secondster.


    It became clear that Wang Shishi was the bravest among the group. While all the others members were still in a state of shock from this turn of events, she calmly walked towards Luo Yuan to take a closer look at the mutated woman. She was fascinated at the sight of the mutated woman and thought aloud saying, "Hey look! It is a mutated human!"


    Luo Yuan nodded and repeated the words that he had just told Zhao Yali. He further exined, "She had been following me around for some time when I was in the mining area. Today, I met her again and sympathized with how she was living alone in the jungle so I decided to invite her home to stay with us. Which brings me to the question, do we still have any food? If so, please give some of it to her."


    "Yes, we do. Does she eat meat?" Huang Jiahui quickly replied while casting a curious nce over at the uneasy mutated woman.


    "She is not picky when ites to food and eats both meat and vegetables. However, she stills prefers meat over vegetables." Answered Luo Yuan. Luo Yuan deduced her eating habits based on his experience of traveling with her. Luo Yuan knew for a fact that she still had the human omnivorous eating habits within her even though she was a mutated woman because she could eat the same things Luo Yuan ate which included both meat and vegetables.


    Huang Jiahui proceeded to the kitchen to retrieve the leftovers they had kept from lunch and brought it to the table. She took into consideration that Luo Yuan might be back for lunch and even prepared an extra portion of food for him. The dishes were made from high-grade ingredients and because most of the woman living in the house had small appetites, the dishes were hardly touched.


    The tasty smelling from the food immediately attracted the attention of the mutated woman. She could not help herself from the scent that wasing from the food and kept alternating her vision between Luo Yuan and the food that was sitting on the table. She saw that the crowd was far away from the table and as Luo Yuan was just beside her, she gathered up enough courage to step out slightly from behind Luo Yuan.


    Faster than a ninja cat, she gently leaped across the table to pick up a big te of stew before disappearing back behind Luo Yuan again.


    Luo Yuan was taken by surprise at her next actions. She gave a tuck at Luo Yuan¡¯s pants and when he turned around, she offered him the te of stew while gesturing him to eat first. Luo Yuan could tell that the mutated woman really wanted to eat the stew as she kept her eyes fixed on it and was even watering at her mouth.


    "Aww... She really does care a lot about you." Huang Jiahui teased Luo Yuan without the slightest hint of jealousy. She believed that no matter how lustful Luo Yuan was, he would most certainly not fall for a mutated human.


    Though many of them knew that mutated humans possessed a certain degree of intelligence, the rate at which the mutated woman was learning and adapting exceeded most of their expectations. Luo Yuan was dumbfounded by her actions. This was, in fact, his first time seeing a humane act from the mutated woman. Apparently, she was closer to him than he thought.


    "You. Eat." Luo Yuan replied while pushing the bowl back to her. This action was to help her to understand the humannguage faster.


    Perhaps it was because the gesture and words spoken by Luo Yuan were rted to the food, she immediately understood. Her eyes lit up and she quickly took a big piece of meat with her hands and stuffed the entire thing into her mouth. She was eating in such a rushed manner that she was scattering the stew everywhere, leaving greasy marks all over Luo Yuan¡¯s pants and the floor.


    In less than a minute, the entire bowl of stew had gone down into her stomach and not a speck of meat could be seen in the bowl. She had practically licked the bowl clean. Her eyes immediately went back to the other food which was sitting on the table. She quickly grabbed the next te of food which was closest to her and started eating. Within a short time, the mutated woman had finished eating all the leftovers; leaving behind only a stack of empty tes on the table. She shifted herself back behind Luo Yuan and gave a loud burp.


    "Let¡¯s get her clean shall we? She looks like she could use a nice bath." Wang Shishi suggested. She seemed to have taken an interest in the mutated woman.


    "Do not worry about her eating habits as she has been eating that way for a long time. She even used to eat raw meat in the past so technically she would not fall sick easily. We will teach her slowly to adapt to our culture of doing things one step at a time." Luo Yuan suggested. It did strike his mind to help the mutated woman to shower as she did not seem to allow anyone else but Luo Yuan to touch her.


    However, he quickly decided against it as the mutated woman was a maturedy even though her features looked different from them. He felt that his actions of helping the mutated woman take a bath would certainly be criticized and thought badly of by the otherdies in the house.


    The presence of the mutated woman made the house feel even more crowded. Wang Xiaguang was given a surprise when she reached hometer that evening to find the mutated woman living in her house.


    Luo Yuan exined to the mutated woman that Wang Xiaguang was not a threat and only then did she let her guard down. She was beginning to adapt to her surrounding environment and people and did not feel as nervous as before. However, she still hid behind Luo Yuan most of the time. Probably because there was an innocent look to her, everyone could quickly ept her as part of their family.


    The house that was given to them by the Reconstruction Area was huge. At night, they were able to immediately sort out a new bedroom for the mutated woman. Chen Jiayi reced the mutated woman¡¯s worn out clothes with some of her own.


    Although she was reluctant and seemed uneasy, under thefort of Luo Yuan¡¯s abilities, she still wore the clothes and resisted trying to tear it apart.


    ...


    Luo Yuan decided to sleep in Zhao Yali¡¯s bedroom that night. They made love for about an hour before they decided to call it a night. Zhao Yali asked Luo Yuan while they were resting on the bed, "Do you think the mutated woman can be cured?"


    Luo Yuan thought for a while and answered, "I don¡¯t think so." Unlike Chen Jiayi, her mutation had deeply affected her genes. It was impossible to cure her. Zhao Yali was relieved at this piece of news. She felt that the mutated woman looked scary at first but eventually found her to be quite charming once she got to know her. She purposely went to help the mutated woman change her clothes earlier as she wanted to ensure that Luo Yuan did not get a chance to see her naked.


    Other than the scales which formed on her back, the mutated woman looked exactly like an ordinary person. In addition, her skin was very smooth and her figure was something most woman would kill for.


    Zhao Yali believed that if not for the fact that she was a mutated woman, Luo Yuan would have fallen head over heels for her by now. At least now she still had narrow eyes and a scaly back which prevented Luo Yuan from being too attracted to her.


    Luo Yuan wasid down in a rxed position on the bed;pletely oblivious to the reality that deep down Zhao Yali was secretly thinking about him. How could he me her? She had lost her virginity to Luo Yuan while they were on the way back to her hometown. It is not surprising that she has a strong feeling towards Luo Yuan and was jealous when he was nice to other women.


    She felt the fatigue slowly drain over her body and after 10 minutes of talking, she slowly fell into a deep sleep while hugging Luo Yuan. Luo Yuan also felt sleepy and started closing his eyes.


    Just as he was about to doze off, the door slowly opened.


    He knew that the person that entered his room was none other than the mutated woman just by listening to the bare footsteps on the floor. He was slightly astonished as he did not know she had learned how to open the door.


    The shadow quietly crept around the room. Luo Yuan opened his eyes as soon as he heard the sound of the footsteps but immediately closed it again as he did not want to startle the mutated woman. He knew that since this was her first day living in the house, she must be quite curious about her surrounding environment and is trying to take in everything that she saw around her.


    The mutated woman looked at Luo Yuan first who was sleeping bed and then shifted her gaze over to Zhao Yali who was hugging Luo Yuan. She stood there as if she was deep in thought while watching them sleep. After standing there for some time, she proceeded over to lie down on the floor at the side of the bed.


    ...


    Luo Yuan woke up before dawn the next day. After performing some stretches on the bed, he went over to the wardrobe to get changed. The mutated woman was awakened by the sound of his footsteps.


    She had a high tendency of being woken up by even the slightest sound made as she was used to living in the dangerous wilderness and being extremely alert was second nature to her.


    Chen Jiayi¡¯s old pajamas fitted her body perfectly except for the obvious bulge formed by her breasts. She yawned before turning around to see Luo Yuan. Immediately her eyes were attracted to his naked body and she started scanning him from top to bottom with a curious expression.


    Luo Yuan had not bothered to put his clothes back on after having sex with Zhao Yalist night. He felt kind of awkward when he finally realized that the mutated woman was staring directly at his naked body. To make things worse, he could tell that her intent was purely based on the desire to know more about the human body and there were no lustful thoughts involved. Luo Yuan became embarrassed and quickly put on his clothes before dashing out of the room without looking back at her.


    The mutated woman got up and immediately followed him. She squatted in front of the door and curiously observed Luo Yuan¡¯s movements as he went into the bathroom to wash up. Luo Yuan was dumbfounded. He was prepared to resolve the issue that he had with the mutated woman but decided against it after seeing her actions. He returned to his bedroom to retrieve his weapon before heading quietly to the entrance of the house.


    She seemed to understand that Luo Yuan was heading out and immediately became very energetic; hissing a couple of times while preparing herself to follow him out. She happily followed Luo Yuan to the door but Luo Yuan turned and stopped her before he opened the door, "Listen to me and stay here. I will be back at night." The mutated woman seemed to understand what he said. She suddenly became down and listless, until Luo Yuan used his abilities tofort her.


    Luo Yuan breathed a sigh of relief as he was worried that the mutated woman would insist on following him. He walked out through the door and soon disappeared into the underground passage ahead.


    The mutated woman stood for some time at the door even after seeing Luo Yuan disappear into the darkness. She no longer needed to attach herself to him. After all, she knew that this was Luo Yuan¡¯s home and he would alwayse back to it no matter what.


    She closed the door shortly afterward and quickly sneaked back to her own bedroom without making a sound. The decoration in the room was simple with only a dressing table visible to her other than the bed she was supposed to be sleeping onst night.


    She looked curiously at her reflection in the mirror and yed with herself for some time in front of the mirror. However, she quickly found herself bing bored and diverted her attention towards the bed. The quilts were still neatly stacked. Suddenly, she had an idea and went to open the quilt before she proceeded to cover her bed with it until she was satisfied with the setting. She then sneaked under thefort of the quilt andid her head on the soft pillow. Her eyes narrowed slightly as she held her own arms tightly around herself as if she was holding something in front of her.

 Chapter 412: Upgrade

    Chapter 412: Upgrade


    Trantor: EndlessFantasy Trantion Editor: EndlessFantasy Trantion


    Luo Yuan took off into the sky at maximum speed as soon as left Hope City. When he knew that he was safely out of range from the Reconstruction Area, he activated his space-time bubble flight mode. Luo Yuan momentarily lost his sense of gravity and hovered in the air when the bubble formed. He began to pick up speed as the seconds went by and after 10 minutes, he traveled across the sky like a stream of light and disappeared into oblivion.


    His understanding of space and time became better from his multiple attempts at using this power. Despite the four-dimensional space and its mystique, the basic mechanics of fluid dynamics still applied. Thus, his scientific knowledge was enough to help him keep on improving this magical way to fly. Every time he flew, he discovered several different unique skills and improvements. The most obvious improvement was that the time he required to kick start his flight mode had been significantly reduced. He used to take about 30 seconds when he had first started to learn how to use it but now it only took him about seven or eight seconds to form the space-time bubble. However, he still had a long way to go before he reached a state where he would be able to instantly do so. He was certain that he would be able to continue reducing the startup time up to a record time of 2 seconds when his Will had grown stronger. When the day came, he would be fearless of any situation.


    This is because the space-time bubble was not only useful for pushing an object at a fast speed. During times of crisis, it was also the perfect defense. It was basically a separate dimension from the three-dimensional world so if Luo Yuan was not attacked by extreme power like a high-density energy wave that would interfere with the fourth-dimensional space, he would be able to escape. Of course, the only issue with this is that Luo Yuan also could not attack when he enters the fourth dimension.


    ...


    Luo Yuan had gotten up early that particr morning. His clock showed that it was 3.00am when he left the house. When Luo Yuan arrived at the jungle (which was at about 3.30am), the sky was still dark and the jungle looked eerie with asional roarsing from what seemed to be hungry predators living in the forest. It was during this time that most of the mutated beasts were active and woulde out to hunt their preys.


    This scenario did not seem to scare Luo Yuan at all as he was an evolved human who was more powerful than any mutated beast he had ever encountered. He swiftly made his way through the jungle in search of level seven mutated beasts to be in. asionally, he was forced to draw his de to kill some of the lower level beasts that stood in his path.


    Luo Yuan searched high and low and soon encountered the target he had been searching for. It was a monstrous, giant mutated snake that was covered in gold and silver shiny scales that glittered in the dark. Its body was three meters long and it curled itself into what looked like a big mountain. Its mouth was huge and looked scarier than an ordinary snake¡¯s. The snake rested its headzily on top of its body. From closer observations, Luo Yuan could see that the snake had a pair of golden eyes which shined in the dark. He could also see that the snake just had a feast judging from the bulge in its belly.


    He also deduced that the snake was poisonous judging from the drops of saliva that were dripping from its mouth. He could see that the areas that the dripping saliva touched were corroded; leaving behind a trail of pus and smoke. Despite this, Luo Yuan was not too worried about the toxic venom that was in the snake¡¯s saliva as he only had to make sure that he did not touch it. Based on his Physique, he was sure that it would have been an easy feat. He was also certain that the air surrounding the snake was not poisonous as there were many pests flying around.


    What made him hesitant to attack the snake was that this type of mutated beast usually had a strong vitality. Luo Yuan knew that the snake¡¯s weakness would have to either be its head or its heart, however, it was also difficult to pinpoint the fatal point of the snake as it had a long body; which meant his Earth Stomp ability would not be as effective. If the mutated snake became enraged, things could get nasty for Luo Yuan.


    The head was an easy target but as it was currently located high above the snake¡¯s body, it was out of the striking range of Luo Yuan¡¯s Earth Stomp ability. Even if he did manage tond an attack, the attack would not have done a significant amount of damage. On the other hand, the heart would have been easily in Luo Yuan¡¯s striking range if not for the fact that it was extremely hard for him to pinpoint its exact position due to the snake¡¯s long body. The reason why he could easily deal with most level seven mutated beasts was mainly because of his Foresight ability as well as his remote Earth Stomp attack. Despite possessing two powerful abilities, he would still have a tough fight against such a powerful giant mutated beast, however, Luo Yuan was not keen on losing his target as it was hard toe across a level seven mutated beast. He finally decided that he would risk it since he had his Foresight ability. He should be safe if he was careful.


    He is generally not a decisive person but once Luo Yuan had made up his mind on aplishing something, nothing could stop him from moving towards his goal. He took one step at a time, closing the gap between him and the snake. He steadied his pulse rate with the earth so as not to alert the snake of his presence. One thing good about hunting in the jungle was that it was located far away from the Reconstruction Area and therefore most of the mutated beasts living there were not aware of the risk imposed on them by evolved humans. They perceived humans as low-level mutated beasts that were not able to fill their tummies.


    He slowly approached the mutated snake and used his Foresight to see the future. He watched the scene and his facial expression slightly changed. He then retreated hundreds of meters back. This beast was stronger than he expected as it was at the borderline of hitting level eight. In the scene he predicted, once its power came into action it would have a destructive force field around it and he could not even go close.


    Luo Yuan looked around and saw a huge tree nearby. He suddenly had an idea and quickly hid behind the tree. The diameter of the tree was about 10 meters and it was so huge that it stood out in the open. The bark was covered mostly with moss and vines as well as some shrubs. Smaller trees had also grown around it. It had formed almost a separate ecosystem and was at least level six or above. Luo Yuan looked into the future again and suddenly calmed down. The snake¡¯s scales started falling off due to the high-frequency shock that it received and its blood sttered profusely out of its body onto the ground.


    "Rawrrwrrrr!" the mutated snake roared and screamed as pain circted its body from an invisible force. Even the trees which were located next to the mutated snake came crashing down and the rocks in the vicinity shattered into dust.


    The snake¡¯s eyes turned amber red as it was enraged and it started darting left and right but could not escape or identify the culprit. Luo Yuan had strategically distanced himself about 400 meters away from the snake to ensure that he would not be affected by the devastating force field. He also had the benefit of size which gave him a tremendous advantage over the snake. He would not have been able to avoid detection by the snake had he been bigger! He then directed another Earth Stomp attack at the snake.


    The intense pain inflicted by the Earth Stomp sent the snake into a fit of frenzy. It rolled around furiously; twisting and tossing its body in every direction, leaving behind a path of destruction in its ce. The snake was sessful in breaking free from the Earth Stomp a couple of times as it gained considerable ground between itself and Luo Yuan while it struggled but the pain was so intense that the snake had lost its mind. It was not even aware of Luo Yuan and just kept struggling and colliding with anything that was in its path.


    The mutated snake grew weaker every time Luo Yuan sessfullynded an attack on it until it finally stopped strugglingpletely and its head finally hit the ground. It only took a minute for Luo Yuan to determine that the snake had finally died. Luo Yuan decided tond one final Earth Stomp to the snake¡¯s head just to be sure. Despite being dead, its body still produced a spastic reaction to the attack. Luo Yuan then exited the earth state and flew forward quickly to chop its head off. The surrounding air was instantly filled with a sweet aroma. However, due to Luo Yuan¡¯s strong Physique, the aroma did not have an impact on him. He gave the bloodied snake head onest look before kicking it away into a nearby shrub. Luo Yuan then dissected its body and removed its heart.


    The snake¡¯s heart had beenpletely dissected into very fine pieces. Luo Yuan found an energy crystal the size of a thumb buried within the pile of dead meat. Fortunately, it was not broken. It was transparent andrger than usual as it hade from a mutated beast which was close to level eight. He could imagine how powerful the snake must have been in its prime. It is such a shame that it was not given the opportunity to reach its true potential before meeting its death.


    He admired the energy crystal for a while before he decided to pop it into his mouth. For a split moment, his body grew warm as the energy crystal was being absorbed. He discovered that the level eight energy crystal in his heart had now grown significantly bigger. Ifpared to the energy crystal that he just ate, the one in his heart was about two times bigger. He hoped that it would continue to grow bigger and bigger. At this point, a system notification distracted his attention.


    "Level D Task: Kill the Devil Python - Task has beenpleted."


    "Completion time: Five minutes"


    "Mission evaluation: Perfect!"


    "Basic experience reward: 392!"


    "Good evaluation. Experience: 392!"


    "You have upgraded. Reward: attribute point(s): one, skill attribute points: five. You have now been upgraded to level 12."


    "Your energy and injuries will be fully recovered!"


    Luo Yuan was happy that he had finally reached a new level and immediately opened the properties panel.


    "Name: Luo Yuan"


    "upation: Hunter"


    "Rating: 12"


    "Experience: 47120/614400"


    "Attributes"


    "Strength: 17 (10)"


    "Agility: 6 (10)"


    "Physique: 17+7 (10)"


    "Intelligence: 15 (10)"


    "Sense: 16+1 (10)"


    "Will: 17+1 (10)"


    "Skills: Science 20, Mathematics 19, Chinese 19, English 16, Finance 17, Computer 15, Dance 1, Painting 3, Games 6, Negotiation 9, Communication 7, Cooking 3, Driving 1, Freebat specialist 1, Broadsword Expert 7, Gun 6, Throwing 15"


    "Special skills: Identification, Synthesis, Detection"


    "Innate ability: Earth Stomp (level 7); Four-Dimensional Vision (5%) Four-Dimensional Brain (2%)"


    "Battle Beast: Giant lizard (level 3) Mountain moving ape (2)"


    "Unassigned attribute point(s): 1"


    "Unallocated skill points: 5"


    ...


    He nced at the extra attribute points that he recently obtained and pondered for a while before deciding to add them to his Will. His mind suddenly became nk as if he had just been struck by lightning! He immediately felt a huge difference in his state of mind which happened to have been very confused and disoriented moments ago. Everything became very clear and calm. He could feel a huge surge of energy coursing through his body and Luo Yuan was very clear that this was the power of his Will.


    He shifted his view towards the tree that was nearby and waved his hands at it. A huge sh of lightning crashed down onto the tree! The mutated beasts that rested on the tree could not avoid the lightning and were immediately killed by it. Luo Yuan could see many dead carcasses raining down from the burnt tree. Some were even on fire. After this, he looked at the carcass of the mutated snake. This time, he did not produce any actions with his hands. With some focus, the ground had a thin me above it and the surrounding hundred-meter radius was burnt including one-third of the carcass.


    The me appeared to be white in color and the temperature was at least a thousand degrees Celsius. Even though he stood five to six meters away, he could feel the heat sensation from the fire. The carcass that was originally burnt turned into white frost. Luo Yuan walked closer to touch it and realized that it was extremely sticky. In just half a minute, it was firmly stuck to his skin. Fortunately, he had rtively rough and sturdy skin; if it was an ordinary human, ayer of skin would have been torn off by the time he removed his hand. He realized that he could easily break the corpse into two just by stepping on it because it was frozen and most of the energy of the snake had now dissipated; causing its defensive power to have tremendously weakened.


    He clearly felt stronger now that there were 19 attribute points allocated to his Will. He could easily kill tons of low-level mutated beasts just by using a fraction of the power he possessed. With his current capabilities, especially after he turned on his four-dimensional vision, he knew that a stronger Will was very important and would gradually override all other attributes.


    Furthermore, his space-time bubble flight ability was also closely rted to his Will. Since the fate of humanity was now at stake due to the invasion of the extraterrestrial civilizations, this was the priority. In outer space, the first cosmic speed was not enough. He must be faster to fly into space and find the ship before his body is exhausted. He also figured out that most of his other attributes had a certain connection to his Will and that by allocating more points to his Will, he would generally be able to enhance his physical attributes at a faster rate.


    ...


    Shortly afterward, Luo Yuan continued his search to find more level seven mutated beasts in hopes that it would trigger another task for him toplete. Unfortunately, his luck had run out as he realized that even though he had killed several level seven mutated beasts, no taskpletion notification had been triggered by his system which meant he had not been gaining experience points from them.


    He finally concluded that unless he started searching for some level eight mutated beast to fight, the system would no longer provide him with any experience points. This piece of news struck Luo Yuan hard and the joy and power he had felt from being able to upgrade to the next level seemed to be drained from him. He knew that with his current Physique, taking on a level eight mutated beast was a dangerous idea. His thoughts went back to the time when he met the Demonic Horseman. The gap in power between him and the creature had been so wide that even after he had improved several times over, he would have thought twice before facing another creature as powerful as it again.

 Chapter 413: Circling Around The Earth

    Chapter 413: Circling Around The Earth


    Trantor: EndlessFantasy Trantion Editor: EndlessFantasy Trantion


    Since there was no reason to stay in the forest, Luo Yuan did not want to wait any longer. He switched into his flight mode and instantly broke through the denseyers of leaves above him. He realized that the additional points that were added into his Will (currently 19) had significantly improved his flight ability. It only took him three seconds to enter the space-time bubble as he broke his previous flight record and kept on elerating. It was only 10 secondster that he stopped elerating and started to stabilize himself. He soared through the sky like a rocket and looked like a barely visible dot. He had broken through the clouds in only a short period of time and the rays from the Sun sparkled down onto his body making it shine like gold.


    He was traveling at a speed of two to three kilometers per second and because of his high speed, the strong wind and cyclones that were forming around him made him look even more mysterious and stunning. Luo Yuan immediately stopped and quietly suspended himself in midair. He realized that the unnatural phenomenon that was unfolding before him was in fact due to the power of his Will. He had be even more powerful than before through the umtion of the experience he had gained from his training.


    However, he was still disappointed as his flight speed had only improved by about three times or so which was less than he had expected. Newton¡¯s First Law states that an object will remain at rest or move in a constant motion unless it is acted upon by an external force. In his case, he knew that the faster he flew, the greater the amount of air resistance that was going against him.


    Luo Yuan realized that he was not able to offset all the air resistance even when he was wearing his synthesized clothes which had been made from the Demonic Horseman.


    Luo Yuan realized that he did not feel much of the air resistance when he was flying at high speeds as most of it was dissipated by the vortex cyclone that formed around him. However, he knew that the air resistance still affected him to some extent. For example, if someone was sitting in a car and driving at a fast speed, the car would still be affected by the air resistance even if the person sitting in it could not feel it. The same goes for Luo Yuan who was protected by the vortex cyclone.


    Luo Yuan knew that although he had perfected his aerodynamic techniques, he was still unable topletely neutralize all the air resistance. Anyway, he was keen to find out exactly how much his space-time bubble flight had improved. Luo Yuan was certain of the fact that a resistive force did exist in space. However, he was unsure of how much resistance he would experience in space aspared to the air resistance he felt moments ago. He understood that the faster he flew, the greater the resistive force that he would experience. Otherwise, he would have been able to fly at a limitless speed when he had reached 17 points which was obviously not the case.


    After pondering for some time, he removed the headband he was wearing to utilize his four-dimensional vision and started to shift into his space-time bubble flight mode. The space around him started to shake rapidly and the spatial fluctuation this time around was more violent. Luo Yuan counted in his mind that it took less than three seconds to form the bubble. Five seconds after entering the flight mode, he could feel himself moving faster and that everything around him looked almost static.


    Within the first minute of flying, he was traveling at a speed that had surpassed the speed of sound. Five minutester, he had reached a speed which was eight times faster than the speed of sound. Ten minutester, he had reached his usual speed limit which was 12 kilometers per second. He continued to elerate and after twenty minutes, he had broken past his usual speed limit. He traveled so fast that he was not able to determine his own speed.


    He was like a stream of light that passed through the mountains, river, and ins while the scenery around him was constantly changing. He did not have an issue controlling his flight even though he was flying at an insane speed above the ground. He was rather amused with himself for being able to travel at such a speed while watching the scenery continue to change rapidly. He only needed half a minute to cross the vast ocean below him.


    "This must be the Indian Ocean." Luo Yuan secretly thought.


    After another minute or so had passed, he stumbled upon a vastnd fully covered in forest which was probably Australia. Next, he arrived at what he thought must have been the South Pole. The reason why he thought so was that it was the coldest region on Earth. Though the border of the region was growing densely with nts and trees, he realized as he was flying around that most parts of the region were covered in ice. However, Luo Yuan also realized that the frozen region would not exist much longer as the icebergs had started to melt; forming strands of rivers andkes. Unfortunately, Luo Yuan did not see any living organisms in the area.


    Disaster struck too soon and under the influence of the cosmic storm, the viral mutation spread like a wild fire speeding up the rate of the entire evolution process. When humans awoke, the marine route had been blocked due to the presence of mutated sea beasts which forced humanity to rely on air transport for goods. Unfortunately, the avability of air transports was limited and they were not able to obtain sufficient goods to sustain a country even though they were transporting in goods day and night. Not to mention that it was not safe to fly at times due to flying mutated beasts.


    Luo Yuan did not spend much time in the area and was soon on his way. He soon stumbled upon South America and realized that it was still night. Luo Yuan felt that it was a unique experience to be able to travel from day to night in just a few minutes. The boundaries of time seemed to havepletely disappeared for him.


    Even though it was night time here, his vision had not been affected at all. When he looked down from above, he could see that the entire area was filled with green and that there was no sign of anyone living in the area. Though South America was not weak, its main country was Brazil which was located near the Amazon and wasmonly known as the heart of the tropical forest. Hence, it was the first country to be affected. Other smaller countries were not able to defend themselves against the impact of the apocalypse and soon fell one by one.


    Luo Yuan decided to fly over to North America to determine its condition; only to realize that it had also been badly affected by the apocalypse and all he saw was greenery surrounding the country. The scenery was the same everywhere and it was only when he arrived in Canada that he saw a change! He could see that the Canadian region was filled with craters. Some of the craters were small while others were veryrge - ranging up to several kilometers in diameter. Most of them were caused by nuclear bomb explosions and Luo Yuan verified this with his sharp vision which allowed him to view the area perfectly from the sky. There were so many bomb pits in the area that from his viewpoint, it almost looked as if he had just arrived on the moon.


    Luo Yuan could not determine exactly how many bombs had been dropped in the area but some areas had been badly burnt that copsed trees were lying around everywhere. It looked like the bombs had been detonated not too long ago. Luo Yuan predicted that the shelter where the humans in the area stayed was not far away. He was looking forward to meeting them.


    There is less than 10 percent of the total world poption still alive since the start of the apocalypse. Now that mankind was on the brink of extinction, all the countries had decided to put away their differences and had formed an alliance. Though each country still maintained control over their own region, they willingly shared any information and technology they could get their hands on with one another.


    As Luo Yuan had predicted, after continuing to fly for a few seconds, he discovered arge scale of urban agglomeration where a few cities with high walls were built next to each other. He could see that every city had several cannons ced along its walls as though it was a military fortress.


    He guessed that this was most likely the gathering zone of the survivors.


    There were only three regions that remained inmunications with one another as of today. One region was in the North Pole where Russia was the main force leading the area. Another one was in the United States and finally, thest one was the Reconstruction Area.


    Luo Yuan knew, however, that the first two regions no longer ran as an independent nation because the North Pole regions consisted of many European refugees while the South Pole area was a joint region between the United States and Canada.


    Luo Yuan did not feel like loitering in the area any longer and flew quickly around just to have a nce. He managed to scout the entire area in just four seconds and took off across the sky headed in the direction of the North Pole. When he entered daylight, the Sun shined on his body again. He was not able to see the gathering area of the Russians as he had taken a different route. After continuing his flight for about another thirty seconds, he was finally back at the Reconstruction Area. He was very excited to be back on familiar ground. Subconsciously, he had circled around the Earth and had taken only five minutes for the entire trip. He had never felt that the Earth was so small up until today.


    Luo Yuan looked at his watch and concluded that he only took exactly four minutes and thirty seconds to circle round the Earth when he was at his maximum speed. However, the entire flight duration took about 25 minutes. The diameter of the earth was estimated to be about 40,000 kilometers. It was not difficult for Luo Yuan to calcte that the speed he was traveling at was about 1,481 kilometers per second. This was quite an astonishing speed!


    The moon was about 38 million kilometers away which meant that Luo Yuan only required 428 minutes to reach it. He could fly to the moon right away if he wanted to do so. However, he knew that it was a one-way ticket as his Physique would be badly consumed by the four-dimensional vision and on top of that there was a vacuum environment in space which was another factor that would affect him. He would probably never make it back to Earth. He looked up into space and thought that it was not as far off as he had once thought.


    He then abruptlynded on the ground to recover. The physical strength that he had consumed had been immediately replenished by his earth state ability.


    ...


    "Which one is 51?" he heard Wang Shishi question as he was entering the house.


    "Wrong! You are so stupid. You don¡¯t get the reward this time." Wang Shishi shouted.


    Luo Yuan heard a few dissatisfied hissing soundsing from the mutated woman.


    They seem to be ying a game. Luo Yuan tiptoed slowly into the living room and saw that Wang Shishi was sitting at the table holding a bunch of homemade cards while the mutated woman squatted on a chair. He saw that they were enjoying themselves and that Chen Jiayi was watching the game from the side. However, he noticed that her eyes had a distant look as if she had gone into a daydream state.


    Wang Shishi drew out a few cards on the table and sweetly said, "This should be very easy. Which one is eight? You had guessed it just now."


    The mutated woman shifted her head from side to side to look at the cards and hesitated for a long time before stretching out her long finger as she gently pointed at one of the cards.


    "You finally got it right! This is your reward." Wang Shishi took out a piece of meat from her pocket and handed it to her.


    The mutated woman quickly grabbed the meat and stuffed it into her mouth. She swallowed the meat without even chewing it.


    She then pointed her finger again at Wang Shishi to continue the game. Her ears suddenly twitched as she sensed something in the room. She quickly turned her head and when she saw Luo Yuan, her eyes lit up and she immediately stood up. She ran to Luo Yuan and hissed a few times while pointing at Wang Shishi as though she wanted toin about her.


    "Brother Luo, you¡¯re back!" Wang Shishi said as she walked over to Luo Yuan and hugged him intimately.


    "Brother Luo." Chen Jiayi said softly with a red face as she recovered from her daydream state.


    Luo Yuan put down Wang Shishi¡¯s hand and smiled at Chen Jiayi. He then asked Wang Shishi, "What happened? It looks like the mutated woman was rather unhappy with you."


    "This mutated woman was very naughty. She took off a few light bulbs around the house and hid them inside her nket. If she had not left any footprints behind on the wall, we would not have known what had happened. When we checked her nket, we even found a few soy sauce and oil bottles that were hidden there. It was a total mess!" Wang Shishi said angrily and continued, "After I took them away from her, she even wanted to steal the light bulbs hanging in the passageway. Luckily, I discovered what she was doing. Otherwise, the policeman would have arrested her."


    Luo Yuan felt likeughing despite how serious Wang Shishi seemed. He knew that the mutated woman had a hobby of collecting shiny stuff but he never expected that she would have taken the light bulbs too. He looked at the mutated woman and realized that she probably did not know that Wang Shishi had told him all about her bad actions. She kept pointing at Wang Shishi and continued hissing as her way ofining.


    "Anyway, she is a neer and is still trying to adapt to our ways of living. Let us teach her slowly." Luo Yuan said.


    "I was just trying to teach her how to look at numbers but I find her to be quite stupid. She has learned numbers less than 10 but still could not understand numbers which were more than 10." Wang Shishi exined.


    Luo Yuan thought in his heart that if she had only just taught the mutated woman for a short period of time while using anguage that waspletely foreign to the mutated woman, then it was no surprise that she struggled to learn. To a certain extent, it was likemunication between humans and aliens with no form of reference. Luo Yuan thought to himself that if she could learn numbers up until a hundred, she would be a genius. As a matter of fact, she was already much more intelligent than a normal human.


    "Oh yea..., where is Sister Huang and the rest?" Luo Yuan asked when he did not see Huang Jiahui and the rest around.


    "They went grocery shopping." Wang Shishi replied and pointed at the mutated woman. She continued saying, "The food at home had been finished by her."


    The mutated woman could sense the dissatisfaction that wasing from Wang Shishi and hissed at her a couple of times. Wang Shishi gave her an angry stare and she quickly hid behind Luo Yuan, revealing only part of her face. Luo Yuan had a feeling that Wang Shishi had given the mutated woman a piece of her mind judging from how frightened she was by Wang Shishi.


    "You are such a bad girl. It was such a waste of my effort to teach you and give you good food", Wang Shishi said. However, Luo Yuan could also sense joy and pride from Wang Shishi¡¯s tone based on theughter she had given even though she sounded dissatisfied.


    When he thought about it, she was only 16 years old and was not an introvert. This was the age where most people would be very sociable, however, the age gap between Chen Jiayi, Huang Jiahui, and Zhao Yali was too wide apart so there was nomon topic between them. Furthermore, Chen Jiayi was a quiet and introverted person so she did not like ying with the others. As for Luo Yuan, he often went out so he had limited time to apany her but at least his existence gave some meaning to her boring life.

 Chapter 414: The Mystery Of Life

    Chapter 414: The Mystery Of Life


    Trantor: EndlessFantasy Trantion Editor: EndlessFantasy Trantion


    The dinner felt merrier with the addition of another big eater joining them to eat.


    The mutated woman had not adapted to the normal table manners that were expected and was given a separate space where she had dinner alone. Apparently, she did not mind as she liked eating by herself and immediately squatted down and began to feast.


    The portion of the food was too much for her this time around and she was already full after eating only half of it. However, the cruel life in the forest had taught her never to waste food and therefore she continued eating until all the food had finished even though she felt bloated.


    When she finished eating, she kept burping in the corner and felt ratherzy. Luo Yanughed at the sight of her and told Huang Jiahui to reduce her food portion in future. After dinner, Luo Yuan told Chen Jiayi to go into the room alone to continue her daily treatment.


    The nt cells inside her blood had decreased after a few days of treatment and the level of red blood cells in her body became more stable. Her blood started to turn back to red color and it was rtively hard to see the light green color unless he paid close attention. Her body had been severely affected by the moss and killing those cells in her blood did not permanently solve the problem. Even though Luo Yuan could normally reduce the amounts of nt cells by as much as 80% through the treatment, the nt cells would regenerate and return to its original amount the very next day. Her condition had undoubtedly gotten worse and if she stopped the treatment for even a few days, the nt cells would continuously regenerate and she would return to her original state prior to any treatment. However, it was different this time around as the nt cells had beenpletely removed from her body in just a few minutes. Luo Yuan knew that this was because of his upgraded 19-point Will.


    Treating the blood was fine as it did not affect the nerves; just like it was not an issue to receive blood from another person if their blood types match. However, treating the other parts of the body was a different case as it could leave severe side effects if something went wrong. He felt that the decision of whether they should continue with the treatment or not was up to him to decide but rather Chen Jiayi as it was her body that was bearing any risk involved.


    "I will be conducting some testster. However, there is a risk that your body may be affected with some severe side effects and therefore I am leaving it to you to decide whether we should continue with the treatment or not", Luo Yuan said.


    "It is your call, Brother Luo." Chen Jiayi said though she was very scared.


    "It is not a matter of whose call it is but rather you need to be more responsible for your own body!" Luo Yuan said seriously.


    Chen Jiayi was afraid of Luo Yuan¡¯s reaction and distanced herself from him. Luo Yuan could see that she was panicking as she began pinching her shirt. She asked him after a while, "Brother Luo, what do you think we should do?"


    "I feel that we should give it a shot as there is a chance that we could significantly reduce the effects of the moss if the treatment is sessful." Luo Yuan said.


    "If that is the case, we should carry on with the treatment." Chen Jiayi responded timidly as she peeped at Luo Yuan.


    Luo Yuan felt frustrated and almost lost his temper, however, he reminded himself that she was an introvert and that he should be careful with his words. He gently said to her in an assuring tone, "Let¡¯s try it out. Don¡¯t be nervous as everything is going to be alright. I will be removing the moss in your kidney in no time." He started with her kidneys as he knew that even if one of her kidneys were damaged in the process, it would not affect her health and daily activities as she could still rely on the other one to carry out its functions. If the treatment was sessful, he could use the same procedures to remove the nt cells which were affecting the other organs in her body.


    "Do I need to remove my shirt?" Chen Jiayi asked shyly.


    Luo Yuan was stunned and said, "Yes, please."


    Chen Jiayi blushed while she removed her jacket and then proceeded to unbutton her shirt slowly. Luo Yuan took a peep and then shifted his focus towards the opposite direction before saying, "You do not have to remove all your clothes. Put your shirt back on and lie with your chest facing down."


    Chen Jiayi¡¯s face grew even rosier as she quickly buttoned back her shirt to cover her naked body before turning around. Luo Yuan felt awkward as he had just recalled that the kidneys were located at the waistline and it was fine for her not to remove her clothes. However, he pretended that he did not forget.


    When Luo Yuan looked at Chen Jiayi lying on the bed, he immediately pictured her as an ostrich as part of her buttocks were exposed. In the past, he would have thought of something dirty and his blood would have probably been boiling with lust. However, he was now very calm and was not easily distracted by the sight of her. He moved towards Chen Jiayi and flipped open her shirt before gently cing his palm on her light green skin. Chen Jiayi trembled slightly at the touch of his hand.


    Luo Yuan closed his eyes and his Will started entering her body. The kidneys of a normal human were usually dark red in color, however, Chen Jiayi¡¯s kidneys were greenish. This was because the parasitic moss was very good at adapting to its environment. Given time, it would change the structure of its environment. Fortunately for her, the moss was not life threatening but rather co-habituated with her body system. Luo Yuan felt that it was a good transformation for Chen Jiayi if it did not affect her brain or turned her into a nt. After a while, he began to kill the moss.


    His Will slowly manifested into her kidney, killing every single micro hair that it had encountered. The moss sensed that it was in danger and began to grow at a rapid speed around her kidneys. Luo Yuan observed this scene. Hepressed his Will into a ball of energy that exploded - instantly killing all the moss in her kidney. Her kidney started turning dark red and he could see that a lot of transparent fluid was starting to flow into her kidney. He knew that the transparent fluid was the result of the protein fibers of the moss that were destroyed. The liquid was rich in nutrients and active energy and as the kidney had continuously absorbed the liquid, it started to look healthier.


    Luo Yuan¡¯s Will had cleaned up all the moss in her kidney. He removed his Will and tapped Chen Jiayi¡¯s shoulder before he asked, "Alright, how do you feel now?"


    "I feel empty. The feeling is like something has just gone missing from my body." Chen Jiayi answered as she got up and sat on the floor. Luo Yuan saw that she was pale.


    Luo Yuan pondered about what she said and assumed that it was probably a side effect of the treatment. Throughout the entire process of removing the moss, his Will had been circting around her body and even now Luo Yuan could still sense her kidneys. He sighed before tapping her shoulders again and spoke, "Do not do any vigorous activities today and let us observe the situation first. There is nothing to worry about as it is just a small problem. You will soon recover."


    The cells of the human body constantly regenerate and the old cells are always reced with new ones. The effect of the moss would gradually disappear and her body will eventually recover if her kidneys were still functioning.


    ...


    Even the kidneys of people who suffered from uremia had a certain chance to recover. Chen Jiayi¡¯s kidney was fine and hence had an even higher chance of recovery.


    At night, Luo Yuan began to observe the interstitial environment as he had noticed some major changes in his Will while he was treating Chen Jiayi. It was easy for him to identify the changes but he was too busy to experiment with the power of his Will earlier. His Will quickly prated his body and immediately targeted one of his cells. His cell rapidly expanded under the power of his magnifying ability and became a giant cell.


    Luo Yuan was amazed by the size of his cell as it looked like a giant peeled egg that was moving slowly in the interstitial fluid. The semi-transparent cell was moving like a wave and there were numerous pores on the surface membrane. Gel type membranes that carried different substances were constantly moving in and out of the pores.


    Luo Yuan suddenly spotted a strange molecule that was slowly flowing past the red blood cell. Its size was about 1/1000 of a somatic cell, however, under the influence of his magnifying power, the cell appeared to be about half a meter in diameter and Luo Yuan could clearly see the cell¡¯s molecr structure.


    He shifted his attention to the cell and his Will prated the cell membrane and entered the nuclei. He saw many different colored chromosomes and realized that he was looking at the 23 pairs of different chromosomes which were found in a normal human.


    The size of each chromosome was much bigger than the size of a protein molecule. There was ayer of transparent gel on the surface of the chromosome and he could even see the double helix structure of the DNA. His Will prated theyer of gel and a double helix DNA which was about three meters long appeared before him. Every single base of the structure was arranged in a nice order to form what looked like a curvydder.


    This was the code of the human body; the basic rules of life. Since a baby is born, everything about their life had been destined by their DNA. Even through numerous evolution cycles, Luo Yuan¡¯s genes did not change much and most of it was still like a normal human being¡¯s. However, that might not be the case soon.


    Luo Yuan controlled his Will to force the DNA chain to break apart. A crack started to form on the surface of the double helix structure and countless numbers of bases floated on theyer of gel found on the surface of the chromosomes. He then rearranged the bases and quickly formed a new DNA chain. However, the new DNA chain had a very different sequencepared to the original one and its gic code became totally different from a normal human¡¯s. Even Luo Yuan had no clue what would happen to the new somatic cells after the change. Perhaps it might turn into a cancer cell.


    He left the nuclei and kept watch on the cell. To be safe, he used his Will to make the red blood cell explode before removing his Will from his body.


    He was delighted with this discovery and thought about modifying the human body since he could see the body¡¯s cells with his Will. His desire grew even stronger when he increased his Will by one point this morning. He never expected that the recent upgrade in his Will would have allowed him to see his cells in such a detailed manner. He used to be able to clearly see objects which were one millimeter in size but now, he could even see objects which were only one nanometer in size and was even able to change the structure of DNA.


    He felt that he would soon be able to uncover the mystery of life now that his observation and operational uracy were no longer a limitation to him.

 Chapter 415: Experiment Laboratory

    Chapter 415: Experiment Laboratory


    Trantor: EndlessFantasy Trantion Editor: EndlessFantasy Trantion


    Luo Yuan awoke the next day when the Sun was already up.


    The mutated woman who had entered his bedroom somewhere in the middle of the night to sleep quickly got up as soon as she knew that Luo Yuan was awake. As usual, Luo Yuan put on his clothes and went into the bathroom to brush his teeth without bothering her.


    He warned the mutated woman not to follow him as he was walking out of the bedroom. He then exited into the underground passageway and flew in the direction of the New Capital City, leaving Hope City behind him.


    Somewhere along the journey, he used his Will to trigger the electromaic waves and dialed the contact number of Wang Jing (the specialist who was in charge of themunication between Luo Yuan and the highmissioner). Before she even began to talk, Luo Yuan had already drafted an electromaic message,


    "I need a biologicalboratory with human body cloning facilities and a few experienced researchers to help me."


    The threats imposed by the extraterrestrial civilization were gradually increasing and in order to find a solution to the problem, there had been a major change in the research centers of the Reconstruction Area and therefore it was not difficult to arrange a biologyb for Luo Yuan.


    He soon received a reply from Wang Jing.


    "The decision is not mine to make and we would need to get an approval from our superiors."


    "Then submit the application now! I am hoping to get the reply by today!" Luo Yuan replied and immediately terminated the line. He did not have to worry about the formalities like he used to in the old days as he was powerful enough to do so.


    In fact, Luo Yuan was so powerful that the Reconstruction Area had no way of threatening him even if he chose not to obey their rules and regtions. The only thing that could be done when civilization came across someone that was more powerful than them was to eitherpromise or request for a mutual exchange.


    Ling Zhong-an used to behave that way and now that Luo Yuan is more powerful than him, he decided that he would do the same.


    He received a call from Wang Jing even before he arrived at the New Capital City.


    "Good morning, Minister Luo. This is Wang Jing. I have just gotten confirmation that your application has been approved. May I know when would you like theb to be ready?"


    "Can I have ess to it now?" Luo Yuan asked.


    "Sure! Where are you exactly? Do you need me to lead the way for you?" she replied.


    "Could youe over to the headquarters of the Firearms Bureau in about half an hour?" Luo Yuan replied her.


    He had already spotted the building of the Firearms Bureau in the distance when he ended the conversation. He quickly shifted to fly at a lower altitude and headed towards the building.


    Luo Yuannded in front of the main entrance and proceeded to walk into the headquarters.


    A few of the lower ranked staff had a conversation at the lobby. They quickly dismissed themselves and remained silent as soon as they saw Luo Yuan walking in. Luo Yuan felt strange and headed towards the elevator. There was a member of the Firearms Bureau waiting for the elevator as well. He greeted Luo Yuan nervously, "H...Hi, Minister Luo!"


    "Good morning." Luo Yuan replied as he looked over at him and nodded. They remained silent after that.


    However, he was bing annoyed as he realized that the person would peep on him when he was not looking and quickly diverted his attention somewhere else when Luo Yuan turned to look at him. When Luo Yuan shifted his view somewhere else, the member would turn back to peep at him.


    "Is there something on my face?" Luo Yuan smiled as he asked.


    "Oh, no! No." He waved his hand nervously and said, "Your strap looks nice!"


    Luo Yuan stopped smiling and remained silent. He had been attracting a lot of attention since he had his strap on his forehead. Though he had gotten used to it, he still felt awkward when someone directly pointed it out to him.


    He became even more nervous as he saw that Luo Yuan was unhappy. He smiled and tried to please him saying, "I used to have a strapst time and I still keep it as a memory. However, this is the first time I am seeing one that glows. Is it a customized one?"


    Luo Yuan became even more upset at his question and asked, "What is your name?"


    "My name is Luo Darun but you can call me Xiao Luo, Mister Minister!" He smiled and said.


    "Seems like we came from the same ancestry treeline 500 years ago, huh? Since you like it so much, I will give you one someday." Luo Yuan looked at him and said.


    He looked so serious that Luo Yuan could not imagine how he would have looked like wearing the strap.


    Luo Darun was sweating and he embarrassingly replied with a smile saying, "Oh, that would be great! Thank you, Minister Luo. Now if you would excuse me, I need to go to the bathroom as I seem to be having an upset tummy."


    Luo Yuan knew that he was trying to escape from him.


    "What a terrible excuse!" he thought to himself. Luo Yuan shook his head as the elevator finally arrived. Since he had obtained his four-dimensional vision, the strap had be part of his body and he pondered at the thought of the day he would finally be able to get rid of the funny looking thing.


    He took the elevator to the sixth floor and walked into his office. The office was still very clean even though it had been two days since he hadst entered it. Apparently, someone was helping him clean the office every day. He was resting on his chair when he heard a knock on his door.


    "Come in!" The door opened and surprisingly, Chen Xinjie walked in.


    Luo Yuan quickly got up and shockingly asked, "When did you arrive here?"


    "I was here since yesterday. However, you did not show up for work yesterday." Chen Xinjie said gently with a sweet smile.


    Luo Yuan quickly closed the door. He made sure that there was no one around before he took hold of Chen Xinjie¡¯s hand and said, "I thought you told me that you did not want toe here?"


    "This arrangement was made by the upper management. What was I suppose to do?" Chen Xinjie said. Luo Yuan knew that though she seemed to be ming her superiors, she had a hidden meaning behind that statement.


    "I see. Seems like they have done me a big favor as I was just thinking about transferring you here earlier." Luo Yuan said with relief.


    Chen Xinjie¡¯s expression immediately changed and she asked, "Did you find out anything new?"


    Luo Yuan pretended not to understand what she had meant and asked, "What do you mean? Are you telling me that you are hiding something from me?"


    "Actually..." Chen Xinjie hesitated for a while before she finally went on saying "If... I mean if it was really true that I was hiding something from you, would you be mad at me?"


    "Why would I be mad? Everyone has their own secrets. You could tell me yours whenever you feel like it. However, it is also fine if you do not want to tell me." Luo Yuanforted her with a smile as he already knew about all her secrets. He wondered about what she was not telling him.


    Chen Xinjie sighed while she locked her hands around Luo Yuan¡¯s waist. She remained silent while she listened to his heartbeat. She realized that the more understanding and gentle Luo Yuan was towards her, the guiltier she felt. She was worried that someday when Luo Yuan found out about the truth, he would leave her.


    "Which role are you being assigned to now?" Luo Yuan finally said after they had been cuddling for some time.


    "Assistant Admin Manager" she smiled and said. Chen Xinjie was well prepared to take on her new role.


    "I recalled seeing you being so busy working through day and night when we were in Hope City. There are just so many things to do in the administrative department that I believe you would experience the same working life as you did then in Hope City. I still need a secretary so why don¡¯t youe and work for me?" Luo Yuan said after giving it some thought.


    ...


    After Chen Xinjie had left his office, he proceeded to the office of Minister Dong. He stayed there for quite a while and discussed his n of transferring Chen Xinjie to his department. He knew that it was only a small matter to both of them and it did not take very long before Minister Dong gave his approval.


    He immediately received a call from Wang Jing just as he was leaving Minister Dong¡¯s office. She had arrived at the headquarters and was prepared to escort Luo Yuan to the biologicalboratory.


    They arrived at an undergroundboratory after they had traveled for half an hour.


    "This is a biologyb which mainly studies gic research. Their primary research focus is on analyzing the cloning of the human body and special genes from evolved humans", she exined. Morality was different under different living conditions. After the apocalypse, many prohibited activities had been revised as it was necessary under different circumstance.


    Luo Yuan was not surprised when he heard her introduction.


    Luo Yuan thought that perhaps she had informed the person in charge of theb that they wereing as a few people were already on standby at the entrance to wee them into theb.


    "I would like to introduce you to some people. This is Professor Fei, the director leading theb. This is Professor Cao and the person towards his right is Professor Guan", she said.


    Luo Yuan greeted them one by one and shook their hands.


    "Hi!"


    "How are you?"


    ...


    These people were clearly not interested in entertaining him but they were not rude to him as well. Luo Yuan was sure that had it not been for the administrative order that had been issued by the government to them, they would have certainly not helped him. Luo Yuan pondered for a moment before saying, "From now onwards, I will be taking over thisb and all of you are required to listen to my instructions."


    They immediately stopped smiling and Luo Yuan could see that some of them were pissed at him but no one said a word. It was not as easy as it used to be before the apocalypse where they could simply resign and leave theb. This was a time of war and discipline was a key element in every single department. Whether they were willing to help or not, they knew that they had no choice as they had received their orders directly from the upper management. They knew Luo Yuan¡¯s identity as someone had told them about him. To some extent, the entireb had fallen under the direct control of Luo Yuan.


    "Now, please bring all the relevant documents, files and thesis report to my office and I will begin to assign you your jobs in the afternoon." Luo Yuan said. He then turned to Professor Fei and said, "Oh right... Professor Fei, could you please show me to my office?"


    Professor Fei quickly responded by saying, "Minister Luo, we had already assigned someone to help you clean your office earlier. Please follow me."

 Chapter 416: Gene Modification Efforts

    Chapter 416: Gene Modification Efforts


    Trantor: EndlessFantasy Trantion Editor: EndlessFantasy Trantion


    Luo Yuan¡¯s instructions were quickly carried out by the staff in theb. Everyone had put down what they had on hand and immediately helped to move the documents from the archives over to his office. Although many of the researchers were unhappy with his order, they did not dare to disobey Luo Yuan as he was the vice-captain of the Firearms Bureau and the strongest evolved human in the Reconstruction Area. As someone who was against the idea of gic research on evolved humans, Luo Yuan¡¯s presence in theb was cing a huge amount of stress on the staff that served him.


    The researchers were valuable to the Reconstruction Area but their value depended on what/who they were researching on. Perhaps to them, themon evolved human was nothing more than a test subject, however, they could not say the same for the vice-captain of the Firearms Bureau. Though they did know much, they knew for a fact that when an outsider such as Luo Yuan was given special permission to manage the highly profound gicb of the country, he had to be someone powerful.


    Luo Yuan¡¯s office was approximately 50 square meters which was definitely not small. However, it was bing harder and harder to move around as more and more documents were brought into the office. Luo Yuan gave a gesture of gratitude and closed the door after everyone had left. He was not bothered that some of them were unhappy with him. He knew that there would definitely have been people who would be unhappy with him even if he was nice to them. Imagine yourself taking orders from an outsider who did not have a single clue about running ab. He decided that it was better if he was just straightforward with them as long as he did not screw things up on his part.


    After making himself a cup of tea, he flipped through the piles of documents. His Intelligence (currently at 15) allowed him to read at a fast speed and he was able to retain every piece of information he had just read word for word. However, most of the documents were useless in his opinion and he tossed them aside after scanning through a few pages. For instance, one thesis report was about the discovery of a new gene splicing method which made a virus lose its contagiousness after a group of genes had undergone mutation.


    After reading through the piles of documents and thesis reports, he realized that the gene research in the Reconstruction Area had not made any groundbreaking discoveries. The research direction that he had wanted to go on was like finding a needle in a haystack where everything depended on luck and there was no way that he could have directly reconstructed the gene with their current knowledge.


    For someone like Luo Yuan who was able to observe the genes directly with his naked eye and even conduct a minor operation on it, he knew that it was an energy and time draining process for the specific enzyme gene to splice and be carried into the eptor cells through the circr DNA. The efficiency of the procedure was pathetically low and it felt like the process was from the Stone Age. He could have altered any of the cells or virus genes in any way that he wanted in the blink of an eye.


    However, to be fair, not all the documents were useless as the knowledge and findings regarding the functions of genes were rtively urate. There was a total of three billion bases in the human body whereby 98% of them were upied by invalid DNA. The remaining 2% was approximately made up of 30,000 genomes and among them, 50% were identified as functional by the researchers that had conducted the experiment. The information had saved Luo Yuan the trouble of screening through each and every one of them, which would have otherwise cost him a lot of time. However, details regarding the functions of the genomes were not stated urately and theck of uracy in observation, operation and control management of the experiment had made the judgment unclear as there were many uncertainties involved. Besides that, through the documents, Luo Yuan noticed that the 98% of the invalid DNA was not entirely useless as some of the evolved humans came about from them.


    However, the cloning of humans was perfect. An artificial embryo could potentially grow into a baby within 10 days by mixing them with nutrients which were rich in active energy. The baby would have turned three years old within the first month. The intelligence and physical strength of a clone would have been no different from an ordinary human even after they had stopped taking the nutrients as long as they had been given the proper care and teachings required. In addition, because the clone had been fed with active energy since it was an embryo, it would gradually excel to be better than an ordinary human which had been developed through the pregnancy stage for 10 months even at birth.


    It wasing close to the afternoon when Luo Yuan was scanning through thest pile of documents. Once he was finished, he tossed the documents to one corner and stood up. He then walked over to Professor Fei¡¯s office which so happened to have just been next door.


    "Get everyone to the human clone cultivation zone now."


    Professor Fei did not hesitate and immediately went around to inform everyone. Within minutes, more than 200 people who were working in theb had gathered in the cultivation zone. Luo Yuan did not expect that there were so many of them working in theb and only realized when they had gathered in the cultivation zone.


    The cultivation zone upied 10,000 square meters ofnd which was rather massive and spacious. It was filled entirely with clone pods and just by ncing around, Luo Yuan knew that there had to be at least 30,000 of them. Most of them were not empty. A majority of them had been used to contain the fetus of clones while a minority of them was carrying clones which were still in an embryonic state. It would have been a terrifying sight for an ordinary human as the fetus in the clone pods asionally twitched.


    Seeing how stunned Luo Yuan was at the sight of the clone pods, Professor Fei immediately exined, "Captain Luo, these are not experimental materials. We researchers have a conscience as well and even if we were using them as experimental materials, we would certainly have not used so many of them. Am I right?"


    Somebody coughed.


    Professor Feiughed awkwardly and went on exining, "Do not take this the wrong way. This is amon practice for a biological research facility as it was not only an experimentb but also a factory to produce human beings."


    He then added in some jokes to the conversation before he continued to exin, "You should have known that the poption in the Reconstruction Area has been constantly decreasing and that reproduction through natural means had been very low. Cloning is currently the best way to replenish our poption growth. We have estimated a monthly target that we would like to hit and so far we have already produced roughly 250,000 human clones. Do not worry as the genes we had used for the cloning process hade from dead bodies. There would not be any..."


    "Enough, you do not have to exin any further!" Luo Yuan stopped him. He then asked, "How many of the clone pods are empty?"


    "The cultivation zone is under Professor Guan. I will get him to exin the details to you", Professor Fei replied. Even though Professor Fei was the person in charge of theb, he usually left the minor details for his colleagues to handle.


    "There are around 5,000 of them but we are nning to utilize them soon for the next batch of cloning..." Professor Huan said as he adjusted his sses.


    "Cancel that n!" Luo Yuan interrupted and continued, "There is no need to clone anymore."


    "But, what about the monthly target..." Professor Guan attempted to question him but he was immediately signaled by Professor Fei to keep quiet. He realized what this meant and he was pissed.


    It was funny how he was so worried about the monthly target when the bigger issue was that the entireb had be a yground for Luo Yuan. All he could hope for was that Luo Yuan would soon grow tired of theb and return the authority back to him.


    Looking at Professor Guan whose face had been flushed with anger, Luo Yuan thought that it was a funny sight but decided that he was toozy to exin to him.


    "Are there any evolved humans among the clones?" Luo Yuan asked Professor Guan after he had calmed down.


    "There is only a fraction of them. Since their bodies were gically stronger than average, the cultivation process was slow and the nutrient requirements for each of them were rather significant and therefore we had only been able to produce about a 100 of them. The rest are ordinary human clones", answered Professor Guan truthfully. Even though he was still pissed at Luo Yuan, he dared not offend him.


    "How many human genes are stored in thisb and how many egg cells are there?" Luo Yuan used Hint as he asked. Egg cells were the mandatory carrier of clones and therefore, the quantity of egg cells avable basically determine the quantity of clones that could be have been produced.


    "There are approximately 100,000 human genes of which 5,000 of them came from an evolved human while there are only 30,000 egg cells. We could always get more from the hospitals if there was not enough as many people had donated it to them." With the help of his Hint, Professor Guan who was only an ordinary person was not able to defend himself from it and had answered honestly.


    "Are there any documented reports on the individuals to whom the cell belonged to? Maybe their personal data or even some photos of them?"


    "I am sorry but that is too much work for us and we were shorthanded during that time. Therefore, we did not collect any information on the ordinary people but we did record some personal data which came from the evolved humans"


    Luo Yuan was slightly disappointed after hearing this exnation. His primary goal had been to investigate the genes of ordinary people. If he had managed to get his hands on the genes of ordinary humans andpared them to the genes from evolved humans, he would have easily found out the technique to increase a normal human¡¯s body strength in the future.


    However, it was not a big issue for Luo Yuan even if he did not have the documents. Worsee to the worse, he only needed to spend slightly more time conducting the experiments. He looked at the 30,000 clone pods and told himself that he had a long way to go.


    ...


    During that period of time, apart from leaving home at night, Luo Yuan was in theb most of the day. He was hardly seen at the Firearms Bureau anymore. As time passed, the clones that had been sessfully cultivated in theb were immediately sent out while new batches of clones were carefully handpicked by him.


    All the embryos came from a single carrier. While only a few of them did not have any substantial changes, a majority of them had gone through a specific minor gene modification. All 30,000 clone pods in theb had been fully utilized to cultivate the human genomes.


    The genes that were used for modification came from ordinary people. There were 10,000 ordinary gene samples which roughly covered most of the gene mutations that could be found in a human. Luo Yuan slowly identified the functions of each gene by carrying out various experiments. He then proceeded to change the base of the genomes after he had identified them. As Luo Yuan made more and more major changes to the genomes, he realized that there had been an increase in the quantity of deformed fetuses formed, which he was not able to find a solution for. After conducting an analysis and recording the data that was collected, the deformed fetuses were killed before they could be fully formed. Though it was cruel, it was a normal practice in the science field.


    Many new results had been discovered over the experimentation period and as time went by, the researchers began to have a change of heart towards Luo Yuan. From what began as a passive attitude and an unwillingness to help him, they became more enthusiastic and passionate about working with him and did not mind following his lead. Luo Yuan also noticed that there had been a major change in their attitude.


    Their faces disyed an indescribable excitement as the clones developed into babies, the functions of genes and the effects due to a change in its base were identified with precision so that they had not missed out any details. The secrets of the human genes were slowly unfolding to them.


    Rumors about the experimentation caught the attention of the Reconstruction Area over time. There was a significant increase in the amount of researchers that wanted to join the project and even politicians involved themselves. Thend surrounding theb had been emptied to make way for the expansion of the cultivation area of theb. Many clone pods had been added, increasing the total clone pod count to 1,500,000. Luo Yuan was rather happy with the decision to expand as this meant that he had more resources to utilize which increased the rate of progress of his experiment.


    The analysis of ordinary people and evolved humans werepleted within two months. Luo Yuan started to clone himself as he had understood how the genes worked; their functions and even the effects of a change in its base was all in his head. In order to avoid having too many clones that looked the same as him, he altered the features of the clones such as skin color, height, gender and even the shape of their face.


    He stood in the passageway of the cultivation area and looked at all the clone pods. The tiny embryos were growing. Luo Yuan, who used to have no feelings towards his mundane work at theb, had be much more enthusiastic about his work. Soon, the human modification project would officiallymence. Most of the clones had been imnted with a variety of superpower genes. Their superpowers were not limited only to the initial 5,000 gene types that had been identified at the start of the project but had increased to over 20,000 different types which included most of the gene types that could be found in an evolved human as more resources had been pumped into the Reconstruction Area.


    He noticed that even Xu Zhiqiang, Ling Zhong-an and his own genes had been included though he was unsure of when those had been collected. Of course, there were still more evolved humans that had not been found by Luo Yuan and though they were not as strong or as famous as the ones he knew, he was sure that they would stille in handy.

 Chapter 417: Four-Dimensional Cloning

    Chapter 417: Four-Dimensional Cloning


    Trantor: EndlessFantasy Trantion Editor: EndlessFantasy Trantion


    Though many of the evolved humans were not popr, it did not mean that they were incapable. Some of them had not performed well mainly because they had not been given the proper training while the majority of them had just been unlucky. For example, there was a batch of clones that Luo Yuan took extra care of whose embryos had been inserted with a unique gene which came from an evolved human that died in the purge. If he had been alive, he would have been a super evolved human even without any improvements in his abilities.


    The records in the document stated that the evolved human had super strength which was simr to that of Hercules. He could lift up a tank which weighed 50 tons and toss it at his enemies. He could also easily jump several hundred meters above the ground. Luo Yuan could not believe that any human would have possessed such strength. Contrasting to Luo Yuan¡¯s own Strength (currently at 17), he was only able to lift up objects as heavy as one ton. As far as he knew, only insects could lift weights which were three times their size.


    There was no record of how the evolved human died but based on some information that had been mentioned in his file, the military had issued a bounty for his death and his body had been preserved. He had the same body structure of an ordinary human and though his body looked fit, the physical structure did not seem to be any bigger than the body of an ordinary human. What made him unique were the body cells or to be exact - the mitochondria which his body had possessed.


    Luo Yuan noticed that his mitochondria were special. Not only was its structureplicated, the cell had a series of enzymes which allowed him to carry out a cold fusion reaction. When water entered the mitochondria, its molecules would be broken down into an ionic state where the hydrogen atoms would then fuse into nitrogen parathion and other elements. Elements such as oxygen and hydrogen were converted into several amino acids which were required by the body while the energy that had been generated by the fusion reaction was used to run daily chores.


    The reaction process of the fusion was slow as only two hydrogen atoms could be formed by each mitochondrion every second to be converted into nitrogen parathion. Even if there were a total of fifty trillion cells in the human body, the amount hydrogen atoms that were able to go through the fusion would have only been 1/10,000 grams.


    However, the energy that was produced from the fusion process was iparable to the energy that was produced by a normal reaction. As the energy from the cold fusion reaction was stronger than a hydrogen bomb explosion, the energy that was produced from a small amount of 1/10,000 grams of hydrogen was equivalent to that of a standard coalbustion. Therefore, it was more than 8,000 times the amount of energy an ordinary human required, which was about 30 times what Luo Yuan required.


    The existence of such mitochondrial cells also meant that the amount of food he needed to survive was extremely minimal. He did not even have to breathe so all he needed was water and some standard elements to survive. No creature like it ever existed on Earth. When Luo Yuan first discovered this fact, his mind was blown away. He knew that his abilities would have gotten a huge upgrade if he possessed such mitochondria in his body. His power and strength alone would have been increased by 10 folds.


    ...


    Suddenly, Professor Guan had appeared before him along with a few other researchers. "Captain Luo, we have bad news! The egg cells in Group A1 to A10,000 are dead." He ran towards Luo Yuan and said nervously. He knew that those had been the groups of pods which were most important to Luo Yuan. Unfortunately, none of them had survived.


    "What happened? The embryos had not even started to split so how could this have happened?" Luo Yuan mumbled to himself. As long as the cells were active, they should not have faced the problem of not being able to split. Furthermore, based on his experience through working in theb, regardless of how much the genes changed, the first splitting was always sessful and the death of the embryo usually took ce when they were almost developed into a fetus.


    Luo Yuan did not even consider the possibility that the researchers would have made a mistake as it was a simple task to carry out. After all, the cloning process was not something new to them and they were definitely familiar with the technique. Every step had been written clearly on the manual for them to refer to if they ever forgot. All they had to do was to follow the steps in the correct sequence like workers working on an assembly line would. Even non-researchers could have taken over their roles if they had been given the proper training.


    "ording to the operation records, the transnt of the egg cells were active and the level of nutrients were normal. The amount of hormones required had also been added ordingly but the split just did not happen." Professor Guan said as he paced around the room pondering as to what was the cause of the failure.


    "What do you think?" Luo Yuan asked.


    "Putting all possibilities aside, I suspect that there was something wrong with the chromosomes which caused the cells to refrain from splitting." Professor Guan answered hesitantly as he turned to look at Luo Yuan.


    All the genes had been personally edited by Luo Yuan himself. If there was no problem with the operation procedures, then something must have gone wrong during the editing process. Though the acknowledgment of the project done by the Reconstruction Area had been credited to Luo Yuan, there had so far been no improvement in the gic modification technique. It felt like entering a mountain filled with treasures but there were no proper tools to attain them. None of them had the ability to edit the genes directly like Luo Yuan could.


    Luo Yuan was not offended by how straightforward Professor Guan had replied him. He took a moment and pondered to himself while he circled around the room saying, "Let¡¯s see."


    There were 10 clone pods in each group. The death of group A1 to A10,000 meant that 100,000 gic modifications had failed. It was standard procedure to remove the core of the egg cell before transnting it into the carrier cell. Although it was thergest cell in the human body, its diameter was only 0.1 millimeters, which was equivalent to the thickness of a strand of hair. While it is floating in the nutrients, only Luo Yuan could see it without the aid of anyb equipment.


    He looked at the cells and saw that they were broken and shriveled because most of the liquid in the cells had leaked out. The cell was dead and Luo Yuan did not have to look at all of them to tell that most of the embryos in the area were dead as well. Each and every cell in the area had been imprinted with Luo Yuan¡¯s Will and was partly connected to him. Though they were not directly attached to him, there was a special connection between them. Sadly, he felt that the connection between him and all the cells in the area hadpletely vanished.


    "Apart from these groups, are the rest okay?" Luo Yuan decided not to use his Will to check but turned around to ask Professor Guan instead.


    "There are no problems with the rest. Those that were growing at a fast rate had gone through their 10th split while even the slowest ones¡¯ had made it through their 1st split."


    Luo Yuan had the same thought too.


    The clone pods between Group A1 and A10,000 had mostly been imnted with at least one ability gene while some even had two to three. Group A10,000 had been imnted with 12 types of ability genes, but regardless of how many types of ability genes that had been imnted, all of them had one thing inmon ¨C they had been imnted with Xu Zhiqiang¡¯s ability gene.


    Xu Zhiqiang had a life that was close to the fourth dimension and so naturally there were four-dimensional secrets in his genes. Unfortunately, it was difficult to explore the fourth dimension. Even though Xu Zhiqiang¡¯s genes showed no differencepared to an ordinary evolved human¡¯s and the editing process had gone well, the results obtained were negative.


    All the embryos with Xu Zhiqiang¡¯s genes were dead because they could not split. Luo Yuan suspected that he must have missed something during the gene modification process.


    "Fourth dimension!" he thought. Perhaps a part of Xu Zhiqiang¡¯s genes did not exist in the third dimension and was an entirely different organism. Xu Zhiqiang did not possess the real four-dimensional life and had only adapted to part of the fourth-dimensional world, which was the same in Luo Yuan¡¯s case. There should have been some difference in their genes.


    Luo Yuan told Professor Guan, "Get rid of the dead embryos and get someone to individually clone the cellbeled S36778. Clone one hundred copies of them and send a sample to my office."


    S36778 was Xu Zhiqiang¡¯s gene. He wanted to see if the cell could be cloned.


    "Alright!" Professor Guan said immediately.


    When they were done talking, Luo Yuan quickly headed back to his office. After he had closed the door, he removed his headband andunched his four-dimensional vision while using his inner vision simultaneously. The inner vision of his Will gave him the ability to see everything. Luo Yuan noticed that there were significant amounts of dark energy in his vision. It was as if the world was a floating sea of energy and they were flowing into his body.


    The energy did not feel real as they easily entered his body with no trails left behind. A slight change in Luo Yuan¡¯s Will made the energy dance as if they were being controlled. However, Luo Yuan did not know how to control it and stopped after a couple of attempts. Though the energy seemed calm and harmless like a flowing river, it made him worry. He was not sure if there would be any serious consequences if he was to conduct an experiment on himself, especially since it had to do with the inside of his body.


    He diverted his attention from the energy towards a chosen somatic cell. The cell was erged and he stared into the core of the cell andter into the chromosomes. Luo Yuan searched for the chromosomes of the genes located inside the brain, however, he could not find any that came from the fourth dimension. He frowned and thought to himself, "Could I be wrong?"


    He just could not figure it out and decided to look at Xu Zhiqiang¡¯s cells as ast resort. He hoped that he was wrong.


    Soon, Xu Zhiqiang¡¯s cell sample arrived at his office. He waited for the assistant to leave before he closed the door and then proceeded to use his Will to investigate the cell sample. In the cell, he found a group of "fourth-dimensionalized" chromosomes. It was a Klein bottle structure that was formed from a third and fourth dimension gene. There was no way to the see the four-dimension genome in the third-dimension but he was able to see theplete genome in the fourth-dimension. When the fourth-dimension gene was removed, the genome became invalid.


    Luo Yuan was doubtful of the two results he had just discovered. He had suspected that there was something wrong with Xu Zhiqiang¡¯s gene, however, there was nothing wrong with it and the characteristics of the gene were in line with the characteristics that would have been found in a fourth-dimensional creature. The problem lied with Luo Yuan¡¯s gene.


    Could it be that his brain cells had gone through a gene mutation while the rest had not? Could it be possible that his gene had remained in the third-dimension while some of his brain cells had entered the fourth dimension?


    ...


    On the fourth day, the cloning of Xu Zhiqiang¡¯s cells had failed and all the embryos had died in the process.

 Chapter 418: Cold

    Chapter 418: Cold


    Trantor: EndlessFantasy Trantion Editor: EndlessFantasy Trantion


    Luo Yuan was not entirely disappointed by the failure of the four-dimensional cloning. He was actually on the fence about it. Deep down, encountering the unpredictable four-dimensional world made him feel a little afraid and against the idea of cloning. Risks aside, even if Luo Yuan managed to turn the three-dimensional cloning to four-dimensional cloning, there would still be a transformation in their lives. The transformation was not limited to the dimension nor the upgrade of strength, but it was a transformation of the mind and body.


    It was like scrap material turning Godlike, with its extraordinary strength, endless information, and wide vision. When one bes a four-dimensional creature, what he saw was different from what he used to see. Inparison, the three-dimensional world now bes insignificant.


    Just like a child¡¯s favorite toy, it would be nothing when the kid grows up, as it was all part of growth where they see the world changing before them. The changes from a three-dimensional state to a four-dimensional one would be 10,000 times more intense than that.


    He had the feeling that if he were to enter the four-dimensional state fully, he might not be able to stay in the three-dimensional one anymore.


    ...


    When the foundation of the experiment was over and done with, Luo Yuan¡¯s presence in theb was not required anymore. What happened next was the results. No matter how bad the result was, there should at least be one perfect clone from the base of 1,500,000 attempts.


    He left theb to New Capital City and to the Firearms Bureau.


    "Captain Luo!"


    "Hi, Captain Luo!"


    ...


    Many staff and members of the team were stunned to see him, as they greeted him. He nodded at them in acknowledgment. He had not been in the Bureau recently, but he would show up every three to four days. Essentially, most of the people in the Bureau knew him.


    He went into his office, took off his clothes and walked into the bathroom. He switched on the tap and allowed the water to cascade down from his head, getting rid of the smell from theb.


    Suddenly, the door flung open. Familiar footsteps walked towards him. Luo Yuan smiled.


    A few minutester, moans came from the bathroom. Chen Xinjie was held against the wall by him. Her long and fair legs were hooked onto Luo Yuan¡¯s waist. Her cheeks blushed and her clothes were messy. Her bra was on the floor, while her breasts bounced vigorously ording to Luo Yuan¡¯s rhythm. She was like a fish that had been hooked, gasping for air.


    "Slowly, slowly. I can¡¯t do this anymore, my legs are weak, bring me to the bed!"


    Then, they went into the bedroom.


    "It¡¯s my turn." Chen Xinjie said while blushing. Luo Yuan loved it fast, and although it was fun, she could not handle it anymore.


    Luo Yuan could not turn down such offer. Heid on the bed and smiled. Chen Xinjie bit her lips, looked at him flirtatiously and sat on him!


    ...


    It went on for half an hour before it ended.


    Chen Xinjie rested her head on Luo Yuan¡¯s arm, just as she had an orgasm. Sex was like a drug to her, not getting enough after a few times. She hesitated in the beginning as she was ying hard to get, but as time went by, she could no longer resist.


    Moreover, not seeing Luo Yuan recently made her want it even more so. Whenever Luo Yuan was in the bureau, it became their secret rendezvous activity.


    "I think my mom has found out what we¡¯ve been doing!" Chen Xinjie said after a while, worried.


    "How could she possibly know? Did you tell her?" Luo Yuan asked.


    "Of course I didn¡¯t tell her, I¡¯ve always behaved myself at home. Maybe my mom noticed the bleeding when she washed my clothes. It¡¯s your fault that you always go so deep... what do I do now?" Chen Xinjie pinched Luo Yuan after telling him.


    That wasn¡¯t an act at all; she was genuinely worried. She was already 24 years old. Before the apocalypse, ady her age was considered young, but not anymore post-apocalypse. Ever since her mother found out about their hanky panky, she bugged her to bring Luo Yuan home but all efforts were in vain.


    It was unrealistic as whatever she told Luo Yuan would appear as lies.


    "So, what should we do?" Luo Yuan started to worry too.


    "Let¡¯s just dy it!" said Chen Xinjie. "Is everything going well at theb?" she asked.


    Luo Yuan did not hide what he was doing, as many people already knew about it.


    "It¡¯s going quite well. We should be able to see the results a monthter," answered Luo Yuan.


    "I don¡¯t understand why you would want to spend all your time dabbling into this cloning stuff. What¡¯s the point of it? Do you really want to be a scientist?" Chen Xinjie asked in curiosity while drawing circles with her fingertip on his chest.


    Luo Yuan could feel her heart beating fast out of nowhere. He looked at her and asked, "Why are you asking me this? Is thising from somebody else?"


    If she happened to ask something else, Luo Yuan would not have minded. However, this was serious, as what happened at theb was indeed crucial. He did not want to cause a stir in the Reconstruction Area, which might destroy the oue. Although the damage would not be obvious, idents and unforeseeable factors should be avoided altogether.


    "How can it possiblye from someone else ¨C I¡¯m just curious!" She felt that Luo Yuan had turned cold... her body soon became stiff yet she could still force a smile.


    She seemed to be hiding something!


    "If somebody else is keen to know, you don¡¯t have to bother about them!" Luo Yuan said.


    "He knows what¡¯s going on!" Chen Xinjie thought to herself. There was a chill running down her spine, as she felt insecure and did not know how to respond.


    Luo Yuan broke out from her cuddle, stood up and put on his clothes, "Okay, take a good rest and don¡¯t think about it too much. I¡¯m doing to theb now!"


    What Chen Xinjie shared had made him a little more aware of his surroundings. From what she had said, the Reconstruction Area was now more and more alert with the experiment. Without his supervision, he was worried that there would be people trying to destroy the experiment in theb.


    As the door was closed, Luo Yuan soon walked far away.


    Chen Xinjieid pale on the bed; her eyes were nk and not moving a muscle as if her soul had seeped away. A whileter, she started to sob. Perhaps their rtionship was meant to be a disaster since the beginning.

 Chapter 419: Choice

    Chapter 419: Choice


    Trantor: EndlessFantasy Trantion Editor: EndlessFantasy Trantion


    Back at theb, Luo Yuan gave Huang Jiahui a call to update her on the recent happenings, where he spent most of his days there.


    Time went by; bad news had befallen every day. The embryos were neither deformed nor dead. The first batch found faulty were those that were imnted with more than ten types of ability genes.


    Perhaps there were too many ability genes present, hence the DNA chain was not able to handle them. Besides, the abilities had shed with each other too, which caused the gene to mutate before the embryos started to split.


    Next were those that were imnted with more than five ability genes ¨C many issues had arisen from there. It then happened to those with four, three and even those with only one ability gene.


    As the clone pods were cleared one by one, there were less of them every day.


    On day 10, the initial 1,500,000 clone pods were decreased to less than 300,000.


    On day 15, there were only 100,000 of them.


    By the time day 18 came about, there were only 10,000 left.


    The rming rate had made Luo Yuan nervous. He spent more and more time in the cultivation room. Sometimes, he would even take a look in the middle of the night, so that he could sleep in peace.


    Since the apocalypse, there were more than 100,000 evolved humans in the Reconstruction Area. However, most of them had simr powers, while the outstanding ones could only be counted with one¡¯s bare hands. Luo Yuan attempted to look for a breakthrough in the experiment, so failures were expected.


    Fortunately, not all of the embryos were faulty. In many of the clones, there was bound to be a miracle.


    The remaining 10,000 embryos were not lumps of flesh anymore. They were already in human form, as their internal organs and brains developed.


    At this stage, they had already passed a high attrition rate, where the probability of sess was high. As long as there were no major idents, at least one-third of the embryos would survive and grow into a perfect human.


    From the initial 1,500,000 embryos to only 3,000 now, the sess rate from the data was pathetically low. From the production itself, the project was a total failure. If the pods were meant to clone an ordinary person, it was enough to clone more than ten million of a poption in the Reconstruction Area. However, if the clones were meant to be cultivated into a better version of Luo Yuan, its value would be priceless.


    The Reconstruction Area needed plenty of ordinary people. At the same time, it needed super evolved humans. Most of the 3,000 super evolved human possessed the ability of a level seven mutated beast. Results-wise, it wasparable with arge-scale military squad. Moreover, through brainwashing, these clones would not be rebellious like the other evolved humans ¨C they would be loyal to the Reconstruction Area.


    As Luo Yuan walked down the aisle to check on the fetus floating in the fluid, he felt a sense of connection with them. It was not an exaggeration or a prejudicial illusion, but a true connection. The fetus had his blood; they were from a part of his body.


    Though they were not fully formed, he could feel an indistinct emotion that was sent to him whenever he was close to the fetus. To be exact, the emotions felt were reverence and respect!


    The growth of the fetus was different; some were fast and some were slow. Usually, the stronger the fetus was, the slower the growth and the higher the concentration of the nutrients were. However, there were exceptions, where some of the cells could provide energy especially those that were imnted with genes that could cause a cold fusion in the mitochondria. When most of the fetus had grown to the size of a fist, the other batch of fetuses was almost formed.


    The exceptional batch did not even need the nutrients anymore.


    ...


    On Day 20, the first batch of babies was out of the pods. It was not because they were fully formed, but they were forced to be taken out as they were destroying the pods with their incessant, subconscious kicking.


    The first batch that was out was those that were imnted with cold fusion genes. The babies¡¯ skin was soft yet tough; their bones were as strong as a level five mutated beast. All of them were as tough as an evolved human with moderate powers.


    Despite that, they were just babies where their bones were still not fully formed and their muscles were still weak. Once they were fully formed, even Luo Yuan could not imagine how powerful they would grow up to be.


    Aspared tomon babies, these super babies were hyperactive. To top their liveliness, regr beds could not contain them. Before their eyes even opened, a slight flip could toss them out of bed. The half a meter fall did not hurt them at all; they were crawling everywhere like nothing happened. What was more frustrating was all the crying heard from the cultivation area which was converted into a nursery. There was no peace in theb at all when it was filled with babies¡¯ cries. Apart from being stunned, the researchers were irritated by the racket.


    There were nurses that were sent from hospitals from the Reconstruction Area to take care of the babies. But after attempts of getting close to the babies and ending up getting hurt in return, they gave up on controlling them. They were crawling freely in the nursery. Apart from sending food, nobody would step inside.


    They did not need much food, as they could survive even without feeding for a couple of days. It was not always chaotic, for as soon as Luo Yuan walked into the nursery, the babies would quiet down miraculously.


    Those who were crying would stop crying, while those who were in the midst of making a mess would stop too. There wasplete silence in the nursery!


    However, for some reason, Luo Yuan was hardly in the nursery.


    He noticed that the conscience of the clones were the derivatives of his Will when the cells were imnted. The babies were like his clones; he could even control these babies, as long as he wanted to.


    ...


    Time flew by. On day 28, the remaining babies were out too. On day 32, thest batch was out of the pods. There were more survivors than expected ¨C 4,100 of them categorized into 450 groups.


    Although some of the embryos were deformed or dead, there were some lucky cases. Some of the unstable genes were gotten rid of by Luo Yuan, as he did not want any unforeseen idents to happen.


    Within the 450 groups, there were only two groups that were imnted with three ability genes, 28 groups with two ability genes, while the rest were imnted with only one ability gene. What Luo Yuan noticed was that those with two ability genes and above were also those that were imnted with the cold fusion gene.


    He guessed the failure of those that were imnted with many genes were not merely caused by the sh, but the ability that resonated from the bodies.


    After a week of patience, the medical reports of the clones were out.


    Luo Yuan used his ability to scan through the reports multiple times and tested some samples. After verification and getting rid of those with congenital gene defects, there were 321 groups left.


    He was relieved as the preliminary work waspleted. What was left was the gene modification. He carefully ced each and every cell sample in his backpack and left theb.


    Just when he was out of the tunnel, a heat wave struck him.


    He had been in theb for more than a month. It was January when he first came in and it was now already March. As winter was ending, the temperature was rising.


    Luo Yuan looked up at the scorching sun and walked slowly out of New Capital City. As he was out of the area, he started to fly without heading to Hope City.


    He was flying into the wild. Although he was not flying via the Space-Time bubble, his speed was tremendously fast. He was more than thousands of kilometers away from the Reconstruction Area surrounded by mountains and lush. To be more cautious, he flew via the arc to pass through the mountain.


    As the Space-Time bubble faded, he was in an enclosed cave about ten meters wide. He put down his backpack, took out the cell samples and opened each and every one of them. He picked carefully as the weakest one could give him an extra evolved ability. However, all the hard work was not merely for his personal gain.


    The first that he eliminated were the weaker ones. There were only 80 groups left from the 321 samples. He eliminated those that were imnted with three abilities as he was afraid of possible instability in the genes, while those that were with only one gene were eliminated too, as they were not deemed valuable.


    Soon there were only 12 samples left. He picked again until there were only three.


    One was a cold fusion substance dissociation, the other was a cold fusion sma defense and thest was a cold fusion space shift.


    Looking at the three samples, Luo Yuan was indecisive. Choices can be a pain at times. Among the three samples, cold fusion aside, the was one ability that was powerful ¨C the substance dissociation. ording to documentations, an evolved person could use his finger to shoot aser to gasify substances.


    However, such ability was buried deep in the evolved human instead of being fully utilized due to weak physical strength. A single shot ofser would drain his strength for half a day and the effect was nothing to shout about. Apart from a scratch on the surface, it could now kill a low-level mutated beast.


    However, if the ability was utilized by Luo Yuan with the help of cold fusion, the effect would be a thousand times more. By then, even a level eight mutated beast would not be able to endure it.


    Another one would be sma defense. Luo Yuan was familiar with such an ability as his undergarments were made of sma. If not for that, he would have been overwhelmed by the four-dimensional vision.


    Such ability would produce a high-temperature sma field with a high functioning sma state, where it was able to absorb energy and physical attacks, as well as the detection of electromaic waves. It was simr to a sci-fi energy shield.


    Thest one needed no exnation ¨C this ability came from the crazy Mr. Wang from the Firearms Bureau in Hope City. Luo Yuan had been envious of the ability since the beginning. As soon as he had the ability, with the help his two-second Prediction, his ability to survive would be increased.


    However, he could only choose one of the three. After much consideration, he chose the space shift. What he could benefit from the substance dissociation was the extra attack power which he did not need, especially with the Zhanmadao. The only thing his saber could not do was to attack long-distance.


    As for the sma defense, it could work on mutated beasts, but encountering a high-energyser from the extraterrestrial civilization¡¯s spaceship was nothing to him. Even with the cold fusion from the mitochondria, it was iparable with the spaceship.


    He lifted the cell sample up and took a deep breath. Will began to fill his body as he took in the basic foundations of the cell.

 Chapter 420: Terrifying Power

    Chapter 420: Terrifying Power


    Trantor: EndlessFantasy Trantion Editor: EndlessFantasy Trantion


    There was a total of three billion pairs of bases in human DNA. It was impossible to copy all of them even with Luo Yuan¡¯s +15 Intelligence. Even if he were to eliminate 98% of the useless DNA, there were still 60 billion pairs of bases, which was still a great number to work with.


    But in reality, it was not as troublesome. The gic materials of the cell were basically molded after Luo Yuan. The modified gene had been removed to avoid the clone looking exactly like Luo Yuan, but the rest of the genome had remained unchanged.


    Aspared to Luo Yuan¡¯s DNA, there were only eight groups of gene differences between them. At the same time, there were 1,350 groups of genes that faced a minor change. The least would be two groups of bases and the most were less than a hundred, while the remaining 30,000 groups were exactly the same with his own genes. The change in bases were 60,000, or 56,406 pairs of bases to be exact. Of course, the number was still big, but to Luo Yuan, he could forcefully copy all of them.


    Time had passed, while Luo Yuan immersed himself into the chromosomes. He was awake three hourster, and as he opened his eyes, his Will was once again immersed into the cells. He took a look ¨C the copying had progressed well.


    He lifted up his head; it was aching. He breathed out slowly.


    All waspleted and the transformation could beunched anytime now. But since he had been waiting, there was no rush for that. He had to take a good rest to gain all his energy and be in his best form.


    He flew in the space-time bubble and left the ce.


    The inside of the cave was air-tight. Although it was safe, it was not ideal enough for resting.


    The three hours he spent in the cave had made the oxygen grow thin. Although Luo Yuan could hold his breath for four hours, his head was hurting and his body was weak when he was awake. Recovery aside, he was fortunate to be able to stand.


    ...


    He flew out of the cave and found a tree hole that he could stay in. After killing the insects with his abilities, he curled his body up and fell asleep in the hole that was filled with stench.


    He slept for ten hours ¨C it was dawn when he woke up.


    He stretched his body and looked at the time. Exuberantly, he walked out of the hole. The sun had yet to rise; it was still dark. Countless mutated beasts were roaring from afar.


    The beasts¡¯ roar did not worry Luo Yuan anymore; it was more of background noise to him now. Apart from some rare level eight creatures, the forest hadpletely lost its mysterious charm to him. Likewise, the Reconstruction Area was not as dangerous as it was before anymore.


    A hungry mutated beast noticed Luo Yuan. Its eyes widened and crawled to him...


    Luo Yuan spotted it and grinned ¨C it was like a free bounty to him! Ten minutester, the mutated beast that weighed 100 kilograms was spit-roasted over a fire pit


    He ate a third of it and kept the rest, before going to a creek nearby and drank as much as he could, after removing the parasites. He then used the beast¡¯s skin that he sliced and filled it up with water. There were about 10 kilograms of water.


    Gic modification was the first step of human transformation.


    To cells, genes were the base of the formtion. The highest theorem where each and every cell activities were involved in includes metabolism, growth, and death. There was no room for mistakes.


    As soon as a gene discovered that the body was out of coordination with the cells, there would be a special mechanism that would trigger splits in cells to kill the parent cell. If the parent cell was conscious, it would probably be an injustice as it was killed due to the modification, even though it did everything by the book.


    That being said, as soon as the gic modification waspleted, Luo Yuan would have new cells in his body, where all of his old cells would be eliminated. The time taken would be shorter than expected, as the splitting would be over in a few minutes.


    The intense splitting not only drains a massive amount of energy, it also required plenty of materials and water.


    He carried the food and water on his back and checked if he had left anything behind. Luo Yuan then started flying in the Space-Time bubble and entered the cave again.


    The noise from outside had disappeared ¨C it wasplete silence. However, he hesitated. Although he had experimented the gic modification on his own a few times before and they were all sessful, it was scary to do it on his own body.


    Gic modification was nothing trivial, it would change the root of his whole body.


    Although it seemed like only a 1/200000 of change, it would bring a tremendous change in the body. A tiny mistake would deform him beyond recognition or even crash his genes.


    Till now, he had no confidence to modify his brain.


    He thought he hade a long way. He sighed and figured that if he were to give up now, it would mean that all the effort he invested in would be gone to waste. No matter how risky it may seem, he had to take it.


    To be safe, Luo Yuan memorized the modification one more time!


    He used Will to immerse his body. The very first part to be modified were his soles. But first, he wanted to experiment before the attempt. He then chose a surface cell on his sole. Since he had a +19 Will, he did not have to modify each and every pair of the base.


    Considering that the bases were arranged by memory, his Will allowed him to look into them like a microscope, magnifying even the tiniest details.


    With just a thought, the modification of cell would bepleted.


    He checked through the DNA chains on all the chromosomes ¨C they were perfect.


    Seeing that everything was going well, Luo Yuan started therge-scale modification. He then expanded his vision; countless cells of the size of the tip of a needle coagted. Though invisible, his Will spread out and modified up to 100,000 of cells in silence.


    Looking at the good progress, Luo Yuan expanded the modification again. Now he was not looking at the cells anymore, but focusing on his skin and the blood vessels covered in his Will. There were more than ten million of them...


    In a mere 20 minutes, the modification of his legs waspleted.


    Then it was his hands, skin, muscles, organs, and backbones. His Will was akin to water in a dam, gushing all over his body thanks to his +19 Will and +17 Sense. If he was in his earlier state, he would be drained by now.


    Two hourster, he had modified his neck, face, and scalp.


    When it was approaching his brain, he had to stop the modification.


    As the Will came from his brain, it was a prohibited zone as it was the most crucial part of his body. He knew this before he even started the modification. He only had two options ¨C one was to leave it alone. As long as the rest of his body waspleted, the gic difference was not an obstacle at all. There would not be any conflict in the cells.


    A good example would be an organ transnt, where an organ receiver would live in harmony with somebody else¡¯s organ inside their body.


    However, the rejection was a risk that Luo Yuan took into ount.


    It was natural for the human body to reject something that was foreign, as it would be for the organs. Rejection acts as protection for all creatures; the immune system in the human body was to identify what should go into the body and what should not and releases antibodies for defense.


    Of course, a brain was nothing foreign but after the gic modification, it had be one. In medical terms, there was still suppressive medication for organ transnts for the patients to adapt and live, but it did not apply to his condition. He figured there should not be any medication to suppress his antibody, the only way to live depended on his luck.


    On the other hand, the second option was to release his Will without the ability to see what was happening. That would be a ck box operation in his brain and the sess only depended on luck.


    The first option seemed negative. With the risk of rejection aside, it could be a long-term disease which Luo Yuan was not keen to endure. The second option, however, was 100 times more dangerous than the first one. Putting the failure of modification aside, the worrying part was that any mistakes in the genes could be fatal.


    No matter what, he had already decided before the modification. Nothing was easy and it was an obstacle that he had to cross over. Since both depended on luck, he would rather take the risk regardless. As long as he had enough time and Will, there was a possibility for his Will to immerse in the chromosomes andplete the modification.


    Upon feeling that there was only a third left in his Will, he closed his eyes to recover.


    Many hourster, Luo Yuan stood up.


    Although his Will had not fully recovered, it was two-thirdspleted. The cells in the brain only upied 0.028% of the 14 billion of cells in his body, hence the amount of Will was sufficient.


    He closed his eyes again to avoid any distractions. The ce was quiet and enclosed; there was no disturbance in all his senses.


    After a long breath, he nked out his mind and gathered his Will.


    Suddenly there was a dim glow that lit up the pitch ck cave. It got brighter; he was like a glowing man, shining brightly in the cave.


    At the same time, a powerful vibe spread out.


    Perhaps he knew that it was a matter of life and death; his Will was purer than ever. It was like liquid flowing through every inch of his skin. They were sparkly and clean. Soon, the glow disappeared, but it still remained on his head. The glow got brighter and more intense... and in seconds, it peaked.


    There were DNA chains floating around him ¨C it was a spill of his thought from his Will.


    The procedure took an hour. As his Will was used up, the modification ended. He sat on the floor and held his aching head. He had lost his control of thought. Worried that the modification would fail, fear had turned his hands ice-cold. Will was the control of his emotion, but since his Will was drained, his emotions had spiraled out of proportion.


    However, his strong body strength allowed him to calm down after ten minutes.


    There was an itch on his sole. He took off his shoes, and there was ayer of dead skin detached from his sole. The dead skin was spreading all over his body.


    The splitting of cells had begun!


    Perhaps that was the message exchanged between the genes in the cells; the splitting went faster than Luo Yuan had imagined. It was like a chain reaction. Five minutester, the skin of his legs and body started to shed.


    Not only on the surface, the insides of his body was transforming too.


    At the same time, a powerful and terrifying energy was developing in his body. The intensity of his power and body strength were increasing on the attributes panel.


    He let out a groan, as the unimaginable energy in his body shook the cave walls.

 Chapter 421: Out of Control

    Chapter 421: Out of Control


    Trantor: EndlessFantasy Trantion Editor: EndlessFantasy Trantion


    As more and more mitochondria were working, his power seemed to increase endlessly. His body was like a volcano ready for an eruption of boundless power. He started to sway; he could not stand still. The human body was a tight system where it kept the body bnced. When a person stands, countless of muscles does plenty of minor adjustment to make that possible.


    However, as more and more power overwhelmed his body, his brain could not send signals throughout his body in time. Every minor adjustment made his body float a little.


    Luo Yuan looked around and noticed there a wall just a step away. He attempted to walk by leaning against the wall, as his body was stumbling. However, he had underestimated his power. Although he used only minimal strength, a slight move made his body plunge towards the wall.


    A loud thud was heard, and his body went straight into the wall with his legs sticking out. Stuck, he knew that he definitely had underestimated his power.


    Irritated, he used his hand to push against the wall. The tough wall crumbled like a biscuit, and he managed to open up a ten-centimeter hole.


    He then used his hands to hop down off the wall. Just as hended, he noticed something terrible. Gravel had sttered all over, nketing the space in dust. His body was nted into the ground, buried from the waist below.


    His Will had yet to fully recover, which made his emotion spiral out of control. The series of incidents infuriated him. Luo Yuan was furious, his temples were throbbing, and a fire rose in him.


    He let out a terrifying vibe and groaned. The veins on his arms were like tangled roots; a strong energy wave exuded from his muscles. There was a wave in the air, as he punched the wall.


    "Bang!"


    Even before his punches hit the wall, the air waspressed and a hole appeared. It was like a meteorite hit, a thousand tons were gathered on his fist. When his fist hit the wall, the kic energy was moving at six kilometers per second.


    The rocks were crumbling. Even giant rocks that weighed more than ten tons were cascading like feathers. It was like a massive bomb had collided with the wall. The mountain was trembling and a shockwave could be seen spreading all over the ce.


    The worst part was, as the cave was air-tight, it caused the shock waves to echo, making the effect a few times more powerful. The cave looked like it had been weathered; it expanded twice the initial size after the wave had subsided.


    The powder from the rocks rained down, engulfing the ce with dust.


    "Cough! Cough! Cough!"


    Luo Yuan could not stop coughing while closing his eyes. It was a mess, as he was buried in the gravel. What was left was his head sticking out with rock powder all over him.


    He did not have a choice but to pause lest the cave might copse.


    All he could do was to wait for his body transformation to beplete. Fortunately, his strong body had allowed him to breathe normally under such circumstances.


    ...


    Suddenly, he felt light-headed, almost as if he was drunk.


    He realized that there was a change in his brain, which was the most dangerous part of the transformation.


    It got worse. At first, he could still think straight but slowly, he could not anymore.


    He was getting sleepier by the minute. He bit his tongue hard attempting to stay awake but it did not work. As time went by, his thoughts turned static and his brain wave had stopped. He could feel an eternal peace in him.


    He was jolted awake. He did not feel sleepy at all but the direct opposite. His thoughts were clearer than ever before, and he could feel his Sense had be more sensitive.


    His eyes were closed, and he could not breathe as his nose was not working. But he could still hear and feel even the tiniest movement outside the cave, despite how it was buried in up to 100 meters of rocks.


    His touch was upgraded too. Initially, he could not feel the pain while being buried in the rocks, as the senses were not sent to his brain. He was stunned, as that feeling should only appear if he had an upgrade in his Intelligence.


    "Could this be?"


    Luo Yuan thought to himself andunched the attributes panel immediately. The panel was shown in his brain so even with his eyes closed, he could still read it clearly.


    Character: Luo Yuan


    upation: Hunter


    Level: 12


    Experience:47120/614400


    Attributes


    Strength:29(10)


    Agility:16(10)


    Physique:30+13(10)


    Intelligence:16(10)


    Sense:16+1(10)


    Will:18+1(10)


    Skill:Science20,Math19,Mandarin19,English16,Finance17,Computer15,Dance1,Art3,Game6,Negotiation9,Socialization7,Cooking3,Driving1,Barehand Combat1,Saber Skill:7,Gun Skill:6,Casting:15


    Special Skill:Identification technique, Synthetic technique, Detection technique


    Natural Ability:Earth Stomp£¨Level 5) ; Body Fusion (Level 2) ; Four-Dimensional Travel (Level 9) ; Four-Dimensional Vision (5%) ; Four-Dimensional Brain (2%);


    Battle beast: Giant lizard (Level 3), Raging Ape (Level 2)


    Unassigned attribute point:0


    Unassigned skill point:5


    ...


    The attributes made him giddy. He looked at it over and over again to make sure that it was real. 29 Strength and 30+13 Physique! What was that?


    Luo Yuan began calcting and came up with a conclusion where his Strength weighed 150 tons, which was twice as much as that of an ordinary person.


    While he was not able to calcte his Physique, his bare attributes were 3,000 times more than an ordinary person. If he were to stand on the ground, the energy that he could absorb from below would be 562,500 times.


    The numbers were crazy, which meant as long as Luo Yuan stood on the ground, his strength was endless.


    Aspared to these numbers, his Intelligence which gained +1 was nothing worthy of mention.


    He then looked at his natural ability. Earth Stomp was upgraded to level 13 due to the increase of Strength, while Body Fusion and Four-Dimensional Travel was added.


    The Body Fusion was understandable to him, but the strange thing was Space Teleportation was now Four-Dimensional Travel, and it started with level 9, while Body Fusion was only at Level 2.


    He looked further into the selection of the Four-Dimensional Travel.


    "Four-Dimensional Travel"


    "Level: 9 (rted to Will)"


    "Effect: The journey from the three-dimensional world to the four-dimensional world, and back to dimension would cause a point-to-point movement in space. As the four-dimensional world was much faster than the three-dimensional one, a short distance (in a light year) in the three-dimensional world was akin to time passing so slowly that it was almost 1/100000 seconds in the four-dimensional world. Besides, the travel distance in the three-dimensional world and the time you stay in the four-dimensional world is rted to Will."


    "Remarks: Such a travel method was amon way that was used by civilization in outer space. There is a danger to it, as during your travel, you will be exposed to a tiny chance of meeting four-dimensional lifeforms."


    Luo Yuan was stunned. He did not expect the space teleportation to be rted to four-dimension. From what he saw, the Four-Dimensional Travel¡¯s speed was ten thousand light years per second. As long as he had sufficient Will, he could travel the entire universe in a short period of time.


    He thought of a scientific article that he read on the inte before the apocalypse. The article talked about the intertwining of Quantum speed, where it traveled at different speeds. In thetest experiment, the intertwining of quantum was also ten thousand light year per second, which was the same with the four-dimensional speed.


    In theory, the limit of speed in the three-dimensional world was 300,000 kilometers per second. Thew was yet to be broken. However, it was a contradiction that the intertwine of quantum could travel at such a high speed. But through four-dimension, it all made sense now.


    Luo Yuan stared at the panel for a while to digest said piece of information.


    He could tell that the system came from a super civilization that was many times more advanced than extraterrestrial civilization, where its four-dimensional travel technique was more mature.


    From what he read, he suspected that they had met some four-dimensional lives and might even be at war. Luo Yuanughed and forgot about what he was thinking about.


    No matter the real four-dimensional creatures or super civilization, those were too far away from him and it was impossible that they would ever meet. Even if they had met, with his ability, it was a sure death.


    He then looked into Body Fusion. The ability was much simpler.


    "Body Fusion:


    "Level: 2 (can be upgraded through body training)


    "Effect: Tremendous strength and tough body for physical defense."


    "Remarks: You are now in the first stages of bing an interster lifeform where you could survive for a short period of time in space!"


    When he saw that he could earn an upgrade just by physical training, he was excited. Although his mitochondria were mutated, its function to the body was somewhat simr where it was still a semi-autonomous organelle. When the need of physical strength increased, the mitochondria would split on its own to cater to the body.


    The only trouble was, his body strength was impossible to be drained unless his feet were detached from the ground.


    Hmm! Luo Yuan thought to himself.


    Maybe I can try draining my energy in the fourth-dimension.


    The four-dimension in his brain had always been the one that drained his energy. When he flew in the Space-Time bubble, his strength was drained when the Will was still sufficient. It was a major headache for him. But now that his Physique¡¯s bare attribute was +30, aspared to his +19 Will, it would be a different story.


    ...


    Now that the renewal of cells wasplete, his Physique had stopped growing. Luo Yuan immersed his body in Will and looked around his body in curiosity. He noticed that the old cells had beenpletely reced by stronger cells.


    The cell membrane was a quarter thicker than the old ones, they were rich in color and stic. They were tough and strong, while each of the cells was arranged properly.


    Perhaps the new cells needed fewer nutrients and oxygen than before, as they hardly relied on blood anymore. The blood capiries were thinner by half.


    He was stunned, as his main arteries were one time smaller. He figured that the blood in his body was only a third of the initial amount. He finally understood what outer space life meant.


    In this endless space, the distance was always a massive number where there was no food to be found if one were to fly in space for more than 10 days. To survive in such conditions, one should have minimal reliance on materials or even possess a self-substantial body.


    It seemed like his body was ready for space.


    Next, Luo Yuan took a look at his cells. There were two mitochondria in most of the cells, which was twice more than what the gene owner had.


    He did not know how that happened. Perhaps his Agility helped in this. After all, his Agility was high and was a human instead of a machine ¨C suchparison felt unfair.


    After a thorough check, he switched off the panel.


    There was dust floating in the air. He shook his head lightly to get rid of the dust on his face and shove the gravel that surrounded him away. He managed to get out of the wall.


    He stood still on the ground and dared not move to avoid from going out of control again, which may cause the cave to copse into rubble.


    He removed his headband, started to fly via the space-time bubble and left the ce.

 Chapter 422: Adaptation

    Chapter 422: Adaptation


    Trantor: EndlessFantasy Trantion Editor: EndlessFantasy Trantion


    Ten minutester, Luo Yuan was out of the cave. He got out of the space-time bubble and descended from the air. As hended, he fell onto the ground. He identally uprooted a tiny tree as he struggled to get up.


    He sighed and got up carefully with both his hands and legs.


    Luo Yuan¡¯s body was like a powerful speeding car that was sensitive to instructions but the trouble he faced now was that his body used to be akin to a tractor. Although he had a perfect score for his driving skills and was able to control his tractor of a body perfectly, controlling this speeding car was a whole new ballgame and required lots of practice.


    Having full control aside, standing up was an arduous task now.


    He had to be careful with every inch of his movement, as he was unable to contract his muscles too much, lest his body would be plunged to a distance away. At the same time, neither could he exert too little pressure on his muscles to avoid falling to the ground.


    He was like a baby, taking his first steps for the first time, learning the basics of how to stand upright without faltering.


    From stumbling around to standing still, it took him two hours of practice. He then finally learned how to walk.


    Luo Yuan had lost count of the number of times he copsed and how many nts he destroyed in his wrath.


    He was killing mutated beasts and the nts in the area; chaos had struck within a few kilometers away. Most of the trees had been crushed and holes were made in the bigger trees.


    His Strength was said to only be about 150 tons, but that was purely his Strength. On the other hand, his ability to destroy was not included, as speed was involved. With Luo Yuan¡¯s +16 Agility, whenbined with his Strength, the force of his punch could weigh at least 3,000 tons. With such mighty power, his punch could very well destroy the armor of a battleship.


    ...


    The sun was setting; dusk was approaching.


    Luo Yuan sat on a tree branch while scratching his head. He realized that he should have remained in the forest for the next few days, as he was still unable to take control of his power within such short period of time. If he were to go home now, he could foresee what would happen. Heck, he would even have the tendency to subconsciously cuddle a person that he wasn¡¯t supposed to, in his sleep.


    He had goosebumps while he thought about it, but soon, he left those thoughts behind.


    Luo Yuan was frustrated and smacked the branch. A loud thud ensued and the tree broke into half.


    Pieces of dead leavesnded on his head.


    He shook his head and let out a deep breath while trying to suppress the anger deep down in his heart. He knew very well that it was caused by the imbnce of his attributes, where his body was bursting with information. Luo Yuan was easily infuriated and had ack of control over his emotions, that even his 19 points of Will could not control him.


    He figured that the owner of this gene might be a bad tempered one, or perhaps his death was somewhat rted to his poor anger management.


    ...


    It was gettingter into the night, when carnivorous mutated beasts were most active and where strange noises and terrifying roars could be heard. The sounds of insects chirping were everywhere ¨C it was irritating.


    However, that racket was inaudible that night, as there was a loud explosioning from the distance. The noise was intense, as there were 100 of them every second. Without ear plugs, it could be disastrous for an ordinary person.


    All the mutated beasts fled the ce after hearing the explosions. Even the level seven mutated beasts did not want to fight an unexpectedly strong enemy just for the sake of food. Those insects that were chirping kept quiet and hid underground and amongst trees. Some of them even hid behind the leaves fearing for their lives.


    Luo Yuan punched hard on a big tree. A shockwave that could be seen by the naked eye immediately spread through the area.


    Before his transformation, the speed of his punch could only bepared with the speed of sound. Now, his speed was 12 times more than that and the damage was 150 times more than ever before.


    The bushes within a 30-meter radius had been smashed to pieces. With his power, the shrubs within 50 meters had fallen and there were no branches or leaves left on trees.


    The tree that he punched was the biggest tree in the area; it was a level seven. Although it could bepared with the lightning tree, its diameter was more than 50 meters with the height of 700 meters. It was as tall as a hill!


    However, Luo Yuan¡¯s impact managed to shake the entire tree - dust was flying everywhere out of it.


    As the hole on the tree expanded from his punches, it was so deep inside that Luo Yuan started to punch the air instead. The impable speed hadpressed the air which made his punches more focused. 50% of the force went to the bottom of the hole and created a mini hurricane.


    The hole was wrecked even further by the hurricane, causing rumbling noises to follow.


    After many slices, the tree that was weighed more than 10,000 tons copsed, crushing other smaller trees.


    A loud thud was heard, as the ground shook and filled the air with sand and debris.


    Luo Yuan turned around immediately and ran, but the sandstorm was faster than he was. He only managed to run more than ten meters away, as he was buried in dust and sand, not being able to escape. He then used his Will to fly far away.


    He flicked his fist that was flushing red from the collision, and miraculously, the temperature soon went down.


    The capacity of his body heat conduction was rmingly low. If he were to be a piece of metal, under such high-speed collision, he would have melted by now. However, there was only redness on the surface of his fist and no increase of temperature in his flesh.


    Escaping far away from the dust, he descended immediately and started to regain his bearings while running around looking for a new target. Those mutated beasts that bumped into him suffered an unfortunate fate. They were all dead in his hands.


    Although he was moving, his was not as agile as he was before. But as long as an object within 20 meters was less than five tons, the force of air that was created from his punch proved to be fatal.


    However, his journey was not a smooth sailing one. He was swept away by this and was mauled by ws. Although he foresaw that using Foresight, but it could not be avoided as he was not agile enough. But with a slight leap, he was able to fly in the air where even a level six mutated beast could do nothing to him. All these were unnecessary but Luo Yuan refused to take cover.


    The Body Fusion was unbelievably powerful. Even when he was hit with the speed of light and ran into countless trees, he was not hurt at all. The power was reciprocal. As the force of his punch was 3,000 tons, this meant that his body was able to handle the same amount of attacks, or else, he would have copsed by now.


    Soon, the day turned bright. Luo Yuan walked towards a creek, with bare parts of his body covered with blood scabs and exposed flesh. He was reeking of disgusting blood stench.


    He took off his clothes and hopped into the creek. There were piranhas in it but he did not care less. He then washed himself clean.


    Ever since Luo Yuan was out of the cave, he was busy training for a full day where the blood on his body had attracted many mutated beasts. This caused him to be attacked with almost every step he took. It was endless trouble.


    However, he was not tired at all.


    ...


    It had been a week since Luo Yuan¡¯s stay in the forest. Apart from adapting to his newfound powers, he was battling away. He had long forgotten about his Zhanmadao, and his battle style was now with his bare hands.


    In the beginning, he would pick those mutated beasts that were low-level. Whenever he met a level seven mutated beast, he would use his Earth Geyser to tackle them. The power had been upgraded by more than 100 times, and its effect was better than he could ever imagine.


    One hit could even smash a level seven mutated beast and disintegrate it into a pile of flesh, leaving all his bones broken.


    On the fifth day, he was able to control his power better and as he was adapting, a level seven mutated beast was nothing to him now.


    Comparing Strength alone, a gigantic level seven mutated beast would naturally be more powerful than Luo Yuan, but just like how a nail could easily be hammered into a piece of wood, a metal chopstick that was heavier than a nail would be harder to hammer, as the force exerted was different.


    Moreover, with Luo Yuan¡¯s Body Fusion, the level seven mutated beast was akin to said metaphor of a wooden chopstick.


    With his Agility and lightning speed, a few punches could easily kill off a level seven mutated beast. The damage inflicted was like an electromaic bomb attack spreading towards arge area.


    Now that he had adapted well to his powers, it gradually was ingrained into his instincts. He had also been training his Four-Dimensional Travel. Possibly because his Will was strong, the Four-Dimensional Travel was much easier than he thought it would be. He did not even need to gather his Will; his mere thoughts would execute such an ability. But when he did use his Will, the distance of travel would be multiplied.

 Chapter 423: Back Home

    Chapter 423: Back Home


    Trantor: EndlessFantasy Trantion Editor: EndlessFantasy Trantion


    After adapting to his increased power, what was left was polishing those skills and keep training to get even better.


    At the break of dawn, Luo Yuan took a bath in the pond to wash away all the blood stains on him. Putting on his clothes and picking up his Zhanmadao, he gathered his Will to fly back to the Reconstruction Area.


    Half an hourter, he knocked on the door at home.


    Wang Shishi, who opened the door, was surprised to see him. She hugged him and said, "Boss Luo, you¡¯re finally back!"


    Luo Yuan patted her tiny shoulders and apologized, "I have been busy working these days, but it has finallye to an end."


    The mutated human in the living room heard the familiar voice, put down her toy and ran towards him. She hid behind the door and only revealed half of her body. She stared at Luo Yuan in such excitement to a point that her body was trembling.


    Luo Yuan looked at the mutated human and noticed that she had gained weight after a month of not seeing her. Her face was plump now.


    Apparently, she was living a good life and well-fed with good food.


    Soon, Zhao Yali and Huang Jiahui came out too. They were surprised to see Luo Yuan. Only Wang Xiaguang was working at that time.


    "Let¡¯s go in." Luo Yuan let go of Wang Shishi¡¯s hand, much to her slight disappointment. All of them then followed him into the living room.


    She thought his hug was strange, and she squeezed his arms to confirm. Curiously, she asked, "Boss Luo, why is your body so hard? It¡¯s as hard as a rock."


    "Really?"


    "You should touch your arms."


    Luo Yuan was stunned, there was nothing strange about his arms ¨C they were soft.


    Suddenly, he realized that his senses werepletely different from those of ordinary people.


    Huang Jiahui and Zhao Yali heard what Wang Shishi said and gathered around him to squeeze his arms too. His arms that were soft to him, were hard for them. No matter how hard they tried, they were not able to squeeze it.


    "What happened to your body?" Huang Jiahui was worried.


    Luo Yuan exined, "I was blessed recently where my ability had a massive upgrade. To be honest, I was in the wilderness for the past few days trying to adapt to my powers but until now, I have yet to gain full control. It might take a long time, and until then, I will have to sleep alone!"


    "Sis Huang and Sis Zhao were ordinary people, so it might prove dangerous for them. My body is much tougher than theirs; I will sleep with you." Wang Shishi could not hide how happy she was. Women are the same when men in dominance were present, same goes to Wang Shishi.


    Hey, I¡¯m an evolved human too, remember? Zhao Yali thought to herself while staring at Wang Shishi. As she was a reserved person by nature, she had to take it all in. It was impossible for her to argue with Wang Shishi over a man.


    Luo Yuan sighed and shook his head, "Bring the broken pressure cooker that¡¯s in the kitchen corner for me!"


    When Zhao Yali snapped out of her reverie, Huang Jiahui had already made her way to the kitchen and presented the pressure cooker to Luo Yuan.


    Luo Yuan broke the handle of the pressure cooker and tossed it aside. He covered the cooker while holding its top and bottom. Then, without using any strength, he pressed against the cooker and broke it.


    All thedies were scared and took a few steps back.


    It was not the end. Luo Yuan proceeded to pinch the metal like he was ying with dough. The inside of the pressure cooker was thick & tough, and could not be easily deformed, especially a normal Flesh Series evolved human, who could not do anything to it.


    If not for the noise that wasing out of the metal pinched by Luo Yuan and seeing it turn red, they would¡¯ve thought that it was all but an illusion.


    Within seconds, a metal ball the size of a fist appeared on Luo Yuan¡¯s hand.


    It was dark red; even Wang Shishi who was standing two meters away could feel the heat. It was at least 600 degrees Celsius. However, the metal ball sitting on his hand directly on his skin did not hurt him at all.


    After showing it to everyone, he walked into the kitchen. He switched on the tap and washed the dark red metal ball with water. An explosion was then heard, and smoke was then everywhere.


    They stared at each other in confusion.


    Huang Jiahui felt insecure. She realized that her distance with Luo Yuan was getting further by the day. Not his status nor identity, but rather his way of life.


    Just like ants and humans, there was a big gap between them. As time went by, the distance was greater than ever before.


    Perhaps one day, he would leave and nevere back.


    Zhao Yali did not think as much as Huang Jiahui. She was worried that his power would prevent them from having sex.


    Even Wang Shishi was scared. She dared not ask Luo Yuan to sleep with her anymore.


    But soon, Wang Shishi had cast her worries aside and went up to Luo Yuan in excitement, "Where¡¯s the metal ball? Show it to me."


    Looking at Wang Shishi¡¯s innocence, it lifted Luo Yuan¡¯s mood. He took the metal ball out from the kitchen and gave it to her, "Be careful, it could be a little hot."


    Wang Shishi received the metal ball and realized that it was still hot. She used her telekinesis to levitate it in the air.


    She looked at it and yelled in exaggeration, "Your fingerprints are on the ball!"


    "Boss Luo, how much strength do you have? Can you lift a truck up?" Wang Shishi asked in curiosity.


    "That¡¯s easy," Luo Yuan said. A 4X6 24 wheeled truck was only 10 tons ¨C which was nothing to him.


    "How about a tank?"


    "Any type of tank would be no problem for me!" Luo Yuan answered.


    "How about arge aircraft?"


    The more she asked, the more excited she was. Her face was blushing and her eyes lit up. Luo Yuan happily yed along with her. "It depends. If it¡¯s on the ground, it should be fine, but not when it¡¯s in the air!"


    "Does that mean you¡¯re Superman?" Wang Shishi asked in excitement, "Do you think you¡¯re stronger or is Superman?"


    Luo Yuan was speechless, how could one bepared with a fictional character?


    He thought about it, Superman inics aside, if he were topare his strength with the Superman in movies, they both had their advantages. Perhapspared to Superman who could lift a mothership, he would pale inparison, but a real battle would have a different ending.


    His two-second Foresight and Space Teleportation alone were sufficient to defeat him. With his level eight Zhanmadao, it was a sure win for him.


    As they were talking, Huang Jiahui approached them. Seeing that Luo Yuan was no different from what he used to be, she was relieved. At least he would return with a heart filled with everyone back home.


    However, Zhao Yali was in fear. She was blushing and did not even dare to look at him. Nobody knew what was in her mind.


    Luo Yuan sighed. As he got more and more powerful, it can sometimes be a burden to him. He realized that his strength had grown during the trainingst week.


    From the initial 150 tons, his force was now 200 tons.


    Although his Strength attribute remained at +29, the growth rate shows that his Strength would be more than +30 in less than half a month.


    That was the reason why he could not control his power. He was not able to keep up with such a growth rate, unless he stops any of his training, or else he would have to be on his own for a long time.


    The mutated human stayed by Luo Yuan quietly while staring at him. As she listened to him, she was worried that he would leave again.


    "Oh right, where is Chen Jiayi?" Luo Yuan suddenly realized that he had not seen her since his return.


    "She¡¯s still sleeping! She has been like that as ofte, despite how much I yell at her, she would only wake up in the afternoon." Huang Jiahui said helplessly. She was far from being Chen Jiayi¡¯s mom where she could be strict to her. There was no choice but to only let her be.


    Luo Yuan was stunned and stood up instantly, "Let me take a look!"

 Chapter 424: Coma

    Chapter 424: Coma


    Trantor: EndlessFantasy Trantion Editor: EndlessFantasy Trantion


    Luo Yuan opened Chen Jiayi¡¯s bedroom door and saw that the energy savingmp was turned on. It was her habit ever since she had moss growing on her.


    The room was quiet, there was barely any sounds of breathing in there.


    She slept without a nket in her gray pajamas. That outfit did not make her look the least bit boring. In fact, her silence made her look pure and innocent.


    Both her hands were ced on her thighs; she was sleeping peacefully.


    What bothered Luo Yuan was the moss that was growing on her. Countless of them had covered her head. It had been more than 40 days since he wasst home. The moss was already eating into her body.


    "Can she be healed?" Zhao Yali asked in sympathy.


    "I¡¯ll try, you guys wait outside." Luo Yuan said.


    Just as they were closing the door, Luo Yuan noticed that the mutated human was still in the room. He attempted to chase her out but she had be very stubborn. She even had the audacity to scream at him. Not sure what she was saying, but she refused to leave the room. After much hesitation, there was nothing that Luo Yuan could do but to allow her to be in the room.


    Luo Yuan sat on Chen Jiayi¡¯s bed and held her weak wrists. His Will allowed him to look into her body easily. Luo Yuan turned solemn. The nt cell had already invaded her blood, coating all her blood vessels. Her blood was clogged, as her red blood cells were surrounded by nt cells. This meant that her metabolism was at the lowest point where ordinary people would have been dead by now. What kept her alive was the nutrients that were secreted from the moss.


    It was such an irony!


    Luo Yuan then put his hand into her pajamas. Feeling her soft skin, he was aroused. He took a deep breath and proceeded to do what he was doing.


    He took a look at her heart; it was filled with greens. It gave him goosebumps, and his lust had soon disappeared. It seemed like all her organs were covered in moss; there was no flesh left that could be seen in her.


    The mutated human was curious about Luo Yuan¡¯s hand in Chen Jiayi¡¯s pajamas. She hopped onto the bed and stared at Luo Yuan¡¯s hand. He red at her. Although he was being a doctor to Chen Jiayi, the mutated human¡¯s innocent and curious stare made him feel awkward.


    As soon as he was done checking Chen Jiayi, he frowned.


    The case was serious, and it should not be dyed any longer. Now that she was sleeping for 20 hours a day, if nothing changed, she would soon not be able to wake up.


    Under such circumstances, with the risk of his Will getting infected, Luo Yuan insisted to kill all the moss in Chen Jiayi¡¯s body.


    He carefully took off her pants to reveal her smooth, long legs, He closed his eyes instantly so that he would not be aroused again. Now that he had not had sex for more than 40 days, he was as dry as a piece of burning wood where his lewd imagination alone could make him lose all control.


    He held her shins and released his Will. Aspared to gic modification on a nano-level, the killing of cells was 100 times easier. Her legs which were all green soon faded and regained its original color. With her blood clogged, her skin was still pale.


    As he was moving upwards, her legs soon went back to normal. Luo Yuan opened his eyes to take off her underwear and pajamas. He could not help but peek. He almost lost control.


    He closed his eyes immediately, it took a while for him to calm himself down and start the healing.


    As he was touching her tummy, he did not notice that Chen Jiayi was awake. Her eyes were half opened. She then noticed Luo Yuan, who was sitting in front of her.


    "Boss... Boss Luo!" She was stunned.


    Luo Yuan heard her and his hands shook. He felt like a thief. He opened his eyes and said, "You¡¯re awake."


    "I woke up from my nightmare!"


    She sat right up and looked at her naked body. She was confused but soon calmed down. "Boss Luo, what are you doing?"


    It was strange to Luo Yuan that she did not react like how a girl usually would. With her body bare-naked in front of others, a girl would usually feel shy.


    However, there was no emotion on her face. Although she was questioning him, her tone remained calm.


    Apart from her first words where she was slightly surprised, she was emotionless.


    But that made Luo Yuan feel somewhat relieved, as it made the situation less awkward.


    "Don¡¯t get up, I¡¯m healing you."


    "Boss Luo, it¡¯s okay. I like myself like this, there¡¯s nothing bad about being a nt." Chen Jiayi said coldly.


    She grabbed her pajamas and prepared to wear them, only to realize that she could not control her legs.


    Luo Yuan noticed that there was green in her eyes. When she was talking to him just now, her eyes were normal. He suspected that it was not Chen Jiayi herself talking, but rather the conscience that was formed by the countless moss.


    "You don¡¯t get to decide!"


    The green in her eyes became intense. She struggled for a while and grabbed Luo Yuan¡¯s face. The force and speed wereparable with a level three Flesh Series evolved human.


    But unfortunately, her opponent was Luo Yuan.


    He pushed down her head softly, while her hands iled wildly in the air. She could not reach Luo Yuan.


    "Lie down quietly, this will only take a while."


    Heid her down on the bed.


    He was hesitating if he should heal her head as well, as it was rather different from the gic modification of his own body. But this time, he was using his own Will to invade somebody else¡¯s brain to influence the person. He did not know what consequences that would bring to Chen Jiayi.


    But looking at her attack, she was obviously controlled by something more superior. This was the worst it could get, as even if he were to kill all the moss in her body, as long as there was moss in her head, the problem would not be solved.


    He had to do it despite the risk.


    Fortunately, moss belongs to the nt species where they can be tamed, or else it would be risky to his family.


    ...


    Luo Yuan hastened his speed ¨C the healing process took an hour.


    As he helped Chen Jiayi who was in aa to put on her clothes, he was relieved.


    The one hour had drained his energy. It was more exhausting than battling for a few days continuously.


    The lust he had was too strong, and there were many instances where he almost could not control himself.


    Of course, the mutated human who was watching did y a part in helping him do that.


    He did a check on her body. Her blood was flowing normally, and her skin had regained color.


    The only thing was, she was now in aa.


    Aspared to Chen Jiayi¡¯s Will that was loose, Luo Yuan¡¯s was strong and condensed. Just a touch could bring about an intense effect.


    Ever since the killing of the moss in her brain, she fell into a deep slumber. Now it all depended on her Will and luck, whether or not she would wake up.


    He hoped that she would wake up one day!


    Luo Yuan looked at her and sighed. He turned around and left her bedroom, and the mutated human followed suit.

 Chapter 425: Outer Space

    Chapter 425: Outer Space


    Trantor: EndlessFantasy Trantion Editor: EndlessFantasy Trantion


    "How¡¯s Jiayi faring?" Zhao Yali asked instantly as she saw Luo Yuaning out of the room.


    Luo Yuan shook his head and told her everything.


    There was silence in the house. Chen Jiayi had always been the quiet one in the group. She had always felt that her existence in the house was somewhat... insignificant but she was a good girl.


    Everyone emphasized with the situation she was in.


    "Maybe we should bring her to a hospital!" Huang Jiahui suggested.


    "That¡¯s a good idea!" Luo Yuan nodded and said.


    Luo Yuan had a full understanding of the human body since he had the ability to modify genes. Although he knew that the hospital may not be able to help, it still gave them a little hope.


    Everyone moved fast. Luo Yuan carried Chen Jiayi and they made their way to the hospital. The mutated human attempted to follow them but she locked in the house, screaming as she saw them leave.


    Soon, they arrived at the hospital.


    The hospital was not too far away, the distance was only four kilometers. It was the first time Luo Yuan was there. If memory served him right, the amount of people in the hospital right now was significantly lesserpared to the time before the apocalypse. Most of the people there were couples who were trying IVF as well as volunteers. There were not many patients, most of them being those who were physically injured.


    Now that the meals were rich in nutrients, the human body was strongerpared to pre-apocalyptic times. Even without training, an ordinary human right now would have the body of an athlete if they werepared to humans before the apocalypse.


    After all, the diseases were caused by viruses and bacterias. The first virus had a simple structure, simr to the antidote virus. Perhaps viruses were the only organisms that were unaffected by the antidote virus after the apocalypse began.


    Bacteria, on the other hand, had a difficult time invading the human body since they now had better and improved immune systems


    Although there were not many people at the hospital, they hadplete medical equipment. Before long, Chen Jiayi was called up for her medical check-up.


    Five hourster. They had her medical report in their hands.


    Her body was normal. In fact, it was even better than the body of an ordinary human. Her brain was totally fine, with the exception that she had messy brainwaves. In a nutshell, she was apletely healthy individual. That being said, they stillcked a proper exnation for hera, being only able to guess the possible reasons.


    After they rejected the doctor¡¯s advice to stay in the hospital, Chen Jiayi was carried home by Luo Yuan. He knew the cause of the messy brainwaves. It was caused by the Will he had used to heal her. Even if she were to stay at the hospital, it would not help her condition. The only thing they could do was to wait for his Will to gradually dissipate.


    In theory, she was no different from a vegetable.


    ...


    Luo Yuan put Chen Jiayi down on the bed and covered her with a nket. Before he left, he took a good look at her closed eyes and her smooth face. She looked like a tiny white flower on the sidewalk. He sighed and walked out of the room.


    He had the urge to smoke but he managed to control himself. Having seen countless disasters and deaths ever since the onset of the apocalypse, he had a cold, tough heart but he still had feelings for the people around him.


    Though Luo Yuan had seen everything in the world and had killed many people, he was lonely deep inside. Within that exterior was just an ordinary person. It upset him when things happen to people close to him.


    ...


    The next morning, Luo Yuan put on his clothes after he woke up.


    He took a look at the mutated human who followed him to his room, looking helpless. In an attempt to prevent her from entering his room, he locked the door to his room before he slept. It did not deter her though, she broke the lock and came into the room.


    He stared at her but she avoided any eye contact and pretended to yawn. Ofte, she had be more human-like and less fearful of Luo Yuan. She was a shell of what she used to be when she used to shy away from human contact.


    Luo Yuan put on his pants and shoes and carried him Zhanmadao with him as he walked out of the room. Once he was done showering, he walked towards the door but she pulled his legs, not wanting to let go. Luo Yuan lifted his leg but she continued to hold onto him. Not wanting to entertain her, he walked a few steps while she held onto his legs. He then pointed at her bedroom after he opened the door.


    The mutated human shook her head and mimicked him as she pointed outside the door while she screamed. He thought to himself, "This girl was getting smarter." Perhaps the reason why she clung onto him was that he was the first person she ever knew. Though she spent most of her time with Wang Shishi, she would not Luo Yuan alone if he was at home.


    Another possible reason was that he had been away for too long and that she was worried. Though she was very persistent, he did not want to bring her along.


    He was up to something and she would not survive in the cruel ce he was headed to. He removed her hands from his pants and gestured to her, looking like he would smack her. Being scared, she took a few steps back and Luo Yuan took the chance to run out the door before closing it instantly.


    Looking at the closed door, the mutated human was upset. She went back to her room unwillingly.


    ...


    Luo Yuan left Hope City into the wilderness. Stopping to look at the sky, his heart was beating fast. He was headed to outer space for adaptive training. Since the system told him he was a lifeform that could survive in space, it would be ridiculous if he had never been to space. At the same time, he wanted to know if he could really survive in outer space and how long he could survive.


    He removed his headband. His body used to drain quickly whenever he entered the four-dimensional world but this time, he did not feel a thing. It was no differentpared to when he was his regr self. The amount of strength that was used when he had +30 Physique was felt like nothing. The amount of strength he consumed was slower than its recovery.


    He then took a deep breath and began to fly within his space-time bubble.


    There was a total of fiveyers in the atmosphere which were the troposphere, stratosphere, mesosphere, ionosphere, and exosphere. However, those did not affect him at all as he was traveling at a high speed. Even before he reached his maximum speed, he was already in the exosphere. As he elerated, the earth beneath him seemed to get further away.


    He could not help but turn around to take a good look. The earth was like a gigantic ball before him that was sparkling, it was majestic.


    He had seen many images of earth that were taken from outer space. It was apletely different experience to look at it with his own eyes, from outer space. The feeling he got was iparable with what he got when he was looking at two-dimensional images.


    In outer space, oxygen was thin. The once blue sky was now a pitch ck, aplete darkness with countless mesmerizing stars scattered around.


    There was a scorching light that came out from the white fireball that was above him. Without the filter and refraction from the atmosphere, the sun seemed smaller than when he saw it from earth. However, the lighting from it was much stronger.


    20 minutester, he reached his maximum speed. He was flying at 150 kilometers per second. It was his first time in space so he faced many uncertainties. For safety reasons, he did not dare venture too far from earth. He maintained his speed and flew for another minute before he left his space-time bubble.


    The oxygen within the bubble faded while the remaining oxygen within his lungs was forced out by the air pressure. It was ufortable, feeling like something was being pulled out of his body. He did not feel too good but managed to adapt to the conditions of outer space after a while with his powerful body.


    The mitochondria within his cells were able to release water particles and when fusion took ce, it would create oxygen. He was now able to survive in a vacuum.


    He floated in space, allowing the weak gravitying from the earth to move his body. It had no direction and was neither up nor down. His found it difficult to adapt his body to a zero-gravity environment as he had been on the earth his entire life. No matter how hard he tried to stand upright, it was to no avail.


    It was extremely quiet and there was no sound at all. Having only been there for half an hour, he already started getting goosebumps as his imagination ran wild. In such an environment, the loneliness an individual would experience is sufficient to drive one to the brink of insanity if there was nothing to keep upied with.


    All of a sudden, he saw something approaching him. His eyes were sharp and identified it as an artificial object that had been discarded. Luo Yuan gathered his will and flew towards the object. Since there was barely any gravity in space, a slight movement was enough to propel his flight to a high speed.


    Soon, he arrived at the object and found that it was an abandoned satellite with the European Union logo on it. Both sides of the sr panels powering the satellite were burnt and he found that there were many such satellites in the area, being able to spot on every thousand kilometers or so. Some were stillpletely intact while others had been scattered to pieces.


    He recalled the time the took to fly to space within the space-time bubble as well as the distance he travelled. He realized that he was at the distance where he was in a simr orbit with satellites.


    It was a dangerous ce as broken pieces were constantlying at high at high speeds. If he was not aware of his surroundings, he would be crushed by the floating pieces.


    Though Luo Yuan was immensely strong, under such high speeds where the projectiles traveled at 10 kilometers per second, he would be easily impaled.


    However, with his foresight ability, he had nothing to worry about. He flew forward at full speed for more than an hour and stopped when he felt he had only half of his Will remaining. The ce he was at was not safe and he had to preserve his energy if he needed to fight off spaceships from the extraterrestrial civilization. Besides him, there were other life forms wandering through space.


    The glimpse of the super-creature that he saw in the alien¡¯s dream gave him the knowledge that such fearsome creatures existed in space. However, he did note across any life forms along the way.


    Come to think of it, such fearsome life forms were rare. The chance of being able to encounter them in the vastness of endless space was smaller than the chance of striking the lottery!

 Chapter 426: Out Of Reach

    Chapter 426: Out Of Reach


    Trantor: EndlessFantasy Trantion Editor: EndlessFantasy Trantion


    Located within one of the mysterious corners underground the New Capital City, this ce covered more than 50,000 square meters which were the equivalent of six or seven football fields. Tens of thousands of staff and a troop of elite soldiers have gathered in the giant hall.


    However, it would seem that everyone was quiet and there was a pin drop silence as everyone stared hard at the screen, looking at various images that changes in the data that was being shown without so much as a blink. There was only the sound of theputer fan along with the constant sound of typing that came from the keyboards. The atmosphere was tense and depressing.


    The High Commission that was directly under themand of the Land Observation, Strategy & Security Bureau was located in this ce and was the most mysterious department in the reconstruction area. It ruled over the most powerful force mankind had on their side to this very day and at the same time, they were thest line of defense and also happen to be the best chance the reconstruction had in their arsenal.


    From satellites to pre-emptive warning airships modified with the hides of high-level mutated beasts to unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV), they even had a ground prating radar (GPR) which served to turn the entire reconstruction area into an airtight surveincework that closely monitored everything that posed a deadly threat to the reconstruction area.


    Among all those, oversight of level eight life-forms as well as the execution of strategic attacks on them whenever deemed necessary were the main task of this department. The way they judged safety standards were based on the distance these life-forms were from the reconstruction area. All level eight life-forms wandering around the reconstruction area were grouped into three hazard sses.


    If they were within 400 kilometers, far away from the control boundaries of the reconstruction area then they belonged to the group that needed to be attacked immediately. If they were within 400 to 800 kilometers away, they would fall into the medium-risk group where heavy surveince was still necessary on top of constant vignce. Those that were between 800 to 1000 kilometers away were considered to be in the low-risk group. The necessity for attention for life-forms in the low-risk group is significantly lower and the only action was a focus on their underlying movement.


    For life-forms that were at greater distances, it was still like a blind spot for the reconstruction area based on the level of their strength today. Only satellite images could get traces of images. Of course, the further these life-forms were from the reconstruction area, the better insted the reconstruction area was from an attack.


    Today, within the observable range, they have already confirmed the presence of 12 level eight life-forms within range. Four were within the medium-risk group while the rest were in the low-risk group.


    ...


    Out of the blue, a staff member stared at the screen with a changed expression. Without hesitating, he immediately sounded the rm from the table.


    All of a sudden, a staff member stared at the screen, with his expression changed. Without hesitation, he pressed the rm button on the table. A loud, confusing rm sounded in the empty, giant hall as the atmosphere tensed within the hall, making everyone stop their work subconsciously.


    Soon, a group of people made their way into the hall. Across the passageway, an aged Colonel General with a solemn face could be seen saying, "Everyone, continue your work. Control station! Shift the UAV with the serial number A7990 to the central screen. The UAV team! Move all the UAVs in the A7 area to the coordinates we discussed prior to this and focus on monitoring their movements!"


    Within a few moments, the image appeared on the screen. On the screen was a level eight mutated beast with the codename ¡¯Blue Dragon¡¯. It did, indeed, look like a dragon but it looked more like a Chinese dragon than the evil dragon hailing from the west.


    Its body was slender, wavy like a snake with four thick, strong, incurved ws. There were two ferocious horns on its forehead and it had a horse-like mane. Aside from some minor differences, its appearance was strikingly simr to the dragon from the myths and legends of China. In addition to that, it even looked more dignified and ferocious than the dragon of legends!


    If Wang Shishi was here, she would have recognized this deadly life-form which was simr to the one she and Luo Yuan encountered while they were seeking the heart of wisdom outside the city. It seemed like interference in the signals were causing the image on the screen to jitter incessantly. The screen was blurry and the signal was evenpletely lost at certain moments.


    Even though the screen was somehow distorted, everyone still noticed that the level eight life-form was quite unhappy. It stood on a hill, jumping up and down from time to time, roaring towards the sky constantly. Its body gave off a strong aura that caused awful changes to the climate of nearby areas.


    The white clouds in the sky were changing rapidly as they surged endlessly. At times, they would appear and sometimes, they would suddenly disappear.


    Even if they had a screen separating them from the incident, they still looked at the chilling images. The life-force a level eight life-form had was immensely powerful, far beyond humanprehension. Such life-forms should not exist in reality and should only be in myths and fiction movies.


    "It seems a little uneasy." A young Major gave his advice. He looked at the screen for a moment and after some analysis, he calmly said, "It seems like it¡¯s afraid of something. Control station, try using the unused lenses and point them at the sky."


    Soon, the huge screen was divided into four smaller screens.


    "What is this?" he looked attentively. Instantly, he noticed a small dot which was moving slowly in the sky from the top-left corner of the screen. He shouted, "Erge the screen!"


    The ergement caused the image that was originally clear to be blurred. At the same time, the true identity of this dot on the screen was slowly revealed. Looking at its shape, it seemed to be a bird that was apparently a level eight life-form. It seemed to be the cause of the Blue Dragon¡¯s irritation.


    The Colonel General looked at the screen in anger. This was an absolute failure to perform their duty, failing to even notice a level eight creature that had gotten this close to the reconstruction area. However, it was not the time to point fingers. In a heavy tone, he said, "Lock the radar on it and calcte its height immediately!"


    "The radars are unable to see the target. It¡¯s seemingly invisible to our radars. Shifting to nearby satellites!"


    "Throughser imaging, its height seems to be about 56,400 meters above the sky."


    "The satellite has locked onto the target!" The satellite team reported after a short moment.


    "Notify the review team of the High Commission for a nuclear attack!" The Colonel General said with a heavy tone.


    A middle-aged man, wearing the military uniform of a major who was almost unnoticeable on the side, quickly took out a secret phone, walked to the side and muttered a few words. He hung up the phone momentster and walked back to the Colonel General and said, "They¡¯ve been notified, a temporary approval has been issued!"


    The nuclear keys were still a symbol of power. Even nuclear bombings had be so frequent that they were now treated like conventional weapons. Without a temporary approval issued by the review team of the High Commission for a nuclear attack, even the Colonel Generals in the reconstruction area would not be able to fire a nuclear weapon.


    "Get the strategic forces on the line and sound a level one alert! Then inform the military in the southeast region to prepare their anti-nuclear efforts well!"


    ...


    "The military in the southeast region has been informed, sir! They¡¯ve acknowledged!"


    "Connection ended. Colonel, we await your instructions!"


    The Colonel General did not give themand tounch the nuclear attack immediately. Instead, he waited in silence.


    It was umon knowledge that there were in fact, not many nuclear bombs that remained in the reconstruction area. Unlike Russia and the United States who had arge reserve of nuclear weapons prior to the apocalypse that they could squander at their pleasure, the nuclear weapon stocks in China were not even one-tenth of thebined stockpile for both countries.


    In addition to the continuous use over these past two years as well as the scarcity of enriched uranium in the area surrounding them, the reconstruction area was only left with no more than ten nuclear bombs that got lesser following every detonation. Even the detonation of a hydrogen bomb would require an ignition by an atomic bomb.


    The leaking of this information would cause widespread panic among humans. If this was not the case, how else would the reconstruction area tolerate such harsh living conditions and dangerous life-forms such as these who wandered around its periphery?


    Time passed, second after second as the slender body of the Blue Dragon coiled around a hill, crawling around with unease in a meandering manner. It had gotten more irratable as a red light, simr to a mist of energy enveloped its body.


    The images on the screen shuddered even more as the bird and the beast began to confront each other after more than ten minutes.


    The small dot that was initially in the sky erged swiftly with a speed that was visible to the naked eye. There was a glowing smoke trailing its body in various enchanting colors, making it look extraordinary, like a supernatural being.


    It dropped like a meteorite falling from the sky, swooping down from the high altitudes in a sh. It approached the ground within a dozen seconds as a pair of sharp ws were bared at the Blue Dragon. It looked like a streak of lightning as it swooped down from a thousand meters in the sky.


    The Blue Dragon roared at the giant bird that was swooping down but it was just a fake show of strength as it did not really dare to fight the bird. Within a moment, its jumped slightly to bnce its unstable body and leaped across a few kilometers, falling on another mountain in an attempt to evade the bird.


    The next moment, the hill the Blue Dragon was originally on had been shredded to pieces by the w of the giant bird.


    The wings of the giant bird pped vigorously, causing the wind to howl and the trees could be seen falling. As the wind blew up sand and stone, it took control of its posture and flew back into the sky, making a few circles. It was eyeing its prey at the bottom patiently. Once again, its body began swooping down at the very next moment towards the Blue Dragon that was desperately fleeing


    Following that, there was a chase between the two giant beasts. Whether intentional or unintentional, the Blue Dragon was approaching the reconstruction area rapidly.


    "They¡¯ve almost broken through the cordon!" The young major reminded.


    "Wait a little longer!" The Colonel General said in a heavy tone. He frowned as he stared at the screen hoping for a turnaround. Compared to killing two level eight life-forms, these nuclear bombs were undoubtedly more precious to the reconstruction area.


    "Another two minutes remaining..." The officer reminded again after a short while.


    "One minute..." Beads of sweat began appearing on the forehead of the officer but he dared not wipe them away.


    "Launch the nuclear bomb!" The Colonel General sighed.


    ...


    The cap on top of the underground silo gradually opened. The next moment, a medium-range missile that was carrying a hydrogen warhead was fired from the underground silo and sped into the sky.


    The Blue Dragon had been caught in a more difficult and vulnerable position this time. One evasion after another had inevitably caused its body to get clutched by the giant bird for several times. Although it managed to eventually escape, its body had already ended up with its skin being ripped off and flesh being torn off, dripping in blood.


    This giant bird was its greatest enemy. This was entirely in the mind of the Blue Dragon, causing it tock the courage to fight back. Ever since it had been discovered by the giant bird during its morning hunt, the giant bird had kept its eyes on it like gangrene clinging onto the bone.


    As a level eight life-form, its IQ did not differ much from that of a human and was perhaps, even higher. Even from afar, it could sense clearly the powerful energy fluctuations that were being released by the nuclear explosives one after the other.


    It was bing very clear to the Blue Dragon that moving ahead, it would get more dangerous. The region before it had been long determined as a restricted area and it would not have dared move one step further to the west in the past. However, today its life was at stake and it could neither fight nor escape. It had no choice but to run toward the restricted area in an attempt to scare the giant bird away.


    Unfortunately, it seemed that the opponent had no idea on the danger that ce posed and was inplete ignorance. The Blue Dragon was continuously chased by the giant bird. At this moment, the Blue Dragon had a very feeling of danger that came from its heart.


    Its entire body shuddered, causing its horse-like mane to stand erect. It suddenly opened its eyes wide, not daring to move an inch forward. It moved its limbs swiftly, and then turned its back and ran. At this moment, the giant bird in the sky had already been forgotten. Compared to the critical danger that it faced now, the greatest enemy above its head could bepletely ignored.


    Expectedly, the giant bird had no intention of letting the Blue Dragon escape. A gust of wind was shot towards the Blue Dragon¡¯s head three times. The pain could be felt all over its body before it could even react. A pair ofrge, ferocious, sharp w, simr to old roots gripped its body.


    The very next moment, its body felt light and it was taken away, flying off the face of the earth quickly.


    Frightened, the Blue Dragon roared once as its body moved vigorously. The sharp ws were like iron ws, deeply embedded into its body. Aside from getting arger, deeper wound, the struggle was of little use. It continued to fly higher and higher towards the direction of the restricted area.


    This discovery frightened the Blue Dragon even more. Its body went stiff. In a moment, the wind whistled, and the hill seemed to move backwards swiftly. However, a dazzling light appeared a few kilometers behind them at the very next moment, spreading quickly as endless energy and radiation spread out in all directions.


    They seemed to have reached the sun¡¯s surface! Under the high energy rays, green smoke wasing out from the bodies of the giant beasts as their scales and feathers began to melt. In this moment of crisis, the giant bird spread its wings and fled as quickly as lightning. The shockwave from the hydrogen bomb¡¯s explosion simply could not catch up. Unfortunately, the giant bird was also struggling to support itself and managed to only fly for half a minute and was unable to support itself any longer after sustaining such terrible injuries. It fell down mid-flight with smokeing out from its whole body.


    ...


    "Oh no! Hope City is below it!"


    A group of people in the Land Observation, Strategy & Security Bureau have been looking at the screen and their expressions changed. They were covered in cold sweat and were least expecting such a situation. The two giant beasts were obviously still alive now, though they were severely injured.


    This is the secondrgest city, just after New Capital City. This was one of the most important industrial bases within the reconstruction area. The entire reconstruction area would be greatly affected if it was destroyed.


    "Notify the guardians and the Firearms Bureau of Hope City as well as the squads in nearby cities to immediately kill these two level eight life-forms." The Colonel General said, with a heavy tone.


    The headquarters for the Firearms Bureau situated in New Capital City was too far a distance from Hope City. Distant water is powerless against immediate fire. It would already be toote when they arrived and based on the size of these two beasts and widespread damage would ur even if they were to just walk around.


    At that moment, he recalled seeing a confidential file and quickly said, "I remember the new vice-captain of the Firearms Bureau staying in Hope City. Notify him quickly, there is still hope for a turnaround."


    "I foresee the notification will be sent in vain!" A staff member nearby that was responsible for screening the satellite images said after bracing himself and stood up with a peculiar look on his face.


    "Why is that so?" The Colonel General asked with a serious look on his face. The rest also looked at him, a puzzled look on their faces.


    This young staff member looked tense, being noticed by a person from a high position. With a slight tremble in his voice, he said, "Report...., I... I¡¯ve seen a face, which looks exactly like Minister Luo, from the unprocessed satellite images earlier."


    All the people took a deep breath and looked at each other, right after the voices stopped.

 Chapter 427: Deterioration

    Chapter 427: Deterioration


    Trantor: EndlessFantasy Trantion Editor: EndlessFantasy Trantion


    Without even a warning signal, the siege on Hope City began.


    Unlike pre-apocalyptic times, both in the frontlines, as well as the cities behind it, was prepared for battle at any moment and any incident would be met with swift reaction from all quarters.


    The two level eight creatures have not evennded, but every single anti-aircraftwork system in every corner of Hope City had already lit up. In just a second, endless streams of weapons fired, ripping through the air in the sky like a ming scourge that is the Grim Reaper, attacking the two creatures and spontaneously bursting into a gigantic fireball.


    Despite such ferocious attacks, the damage done was really minor.


    All level eight creatures evolvedprehensively. Aside from their powerful Physique, they have also mastered the application of energy in force fields. Every creature at this level would have a protective force field around itself when battling an opponent on the same level and such battles may result in minor injuries. However, against anti-aircraft weapons like these, its protective barrier would not probably be broken through without a long fight. Though the explosions seemed to be stunning, the damage it did to them was akin to being hit with a feather.


    The hulking beast¡¯s size was astonishing.


    The Blue Dragon had a width of 20 meters, a length of 170 to 180 meters, weighed several tens of thousands, perhaps even hundreds of thousands of tons.


    Though the giant bird did not haverge wings, when it was fully erect, it stood at a height of 70 to 80 meters! For a flying creature, it had to be as light as a feather but it still had a weight of 3000 to 4000 tons.


    Both life-forms plummeted from high altitudes, like mountains breaking away from the heavens.


    "Boom!"


    An explosion erupted, a chemical factory that took up thousands of acres in Hope City was instantlyid to waste, apanied with a violent outburst of fiery ruin and a zing hell that towered into the sky. However, even with such a horrible disaster, the two dreadful life-forms survived.


    After a few moments, the two beasts struggled out of the thick smoke and the zing fire that surrounded them. The zing fire was close to being put out when they went through the mes, jolting, twisting, and turning around before it eventually extinguished as the bodies of the beasts got closer to the source of the mes.


    The fall hadpletely separated both beasts.


    Such a critical injury had hampered the giant bird¡¯s ability to hunt down the Blue Dragon. Its feathers had vaporized from the intense radiation of the hydrogen bomb. Even its skin was extensively charred, as a gush of bloody pus and melted fat was seen dripping down from its body. Besides that, its eyes were covered with ayer of gray, it was clearly blinded.


    The Blue Dragon¡¯s condition was just as good as the Giant Bird. Even before the hydrogen bomb exploded, it was already wounded. Without the protection of its scales, its injuries were even more severe, even to the extent that some of its internal organs were almost cooked.


    If it were a normal creature, it would have died. However, they were still able to struggle and move around. As time passed, they wounds began to heal.


    Every level eight life-form had an energy crystal within their body. As long as they did not receive a fatal blow or suffer direct damage to the brain, they could recover from injuries of any severity steadily with the help of the revitalizing energy of the energy crystal.


    Everything was happening too soon, it was too abrupt. The nearby factory could not react in time and thought it was just another sudden urrence. Some of the factory workers even banded together to carry out a search and rescue.


    Within minutes, groups of workers were seen carrying buckets, fire extinguishers, and wheelbarrows filled with sand had filled the streets.


    Humans were selfish, but sometimes they could be kind.


    For the past two years, the reconstruction area had suffered countless hardships and disaster but it endured and survived every single time. This was only because of the sacrifices the soldiers made at the frontline but was also because of the great number of sophisticated weaponry they had in their arsenal. To top it off, they also had to thank themon folk that worked day and night. Now, the people were even more united, disciplined, and aware than before.


    Unfortunately, this time they were neither facing a zing fireball nor a reactor that could explode at


    any time but rather, two monsters that managed to survive a nuclear bomb.


    The earthquake was apanied with the asional crashing of buildings as an unspeakable horror crept across the town. The workers on the street involuntarily slowed down their pace.


    An indescribable terror lurked within their hearts.


    In the beginning, it was only a slight odor. The workers felt something was wrong but they still moved towards the factory. Still, they felt a deep sense of danger as they move forward. When they passed the corner, everyone stopped walking.


    "Woong!" Their minds became nk.


    There were no fences in the factories after the apocalypse and it seemed like something had fallen and everything copsed. Suddenly, the ce seemed to be very broad and wide. Everybody witnessed a shocking scene - a huge body shuttling within the factories.


    The Blue Dragon was about 20 meters in width which was the equivalent of about seven to eight floors. It could even swallow a level six mutated beast while a level seven mutated beast would take just two to three mouthfuls.


    Even if it was two to three kilometers away, the people were still stressed. The worst part was, it was slowly making its way towards them.


    Furthermore, this was not an ordinary creature. Though the injured Blue Dragon seemed slow, it was just a matter of perspective. Its huge body meant it moved at a faster speed, even if it was just crawling slowly.


    While the crowd was stunned at the sight before them, it had already traveled a kilometer.


    The crowd recovered and there was chaos. Everyone was running and those who could still run were considered to be brave. Many of them have been scared until they were numb. They wanted to run but they just could not move their bodies.


    When the Blue Dragon was just 500 meters away from them, the fear became even more unreal.


    The maic field on the ground was a total mess. Even the high voltage tower was sparkling. There was a group of people whoy on the ground, white foam flowing from their mouths while their bodies shaked vigorously. Some of them were scared to death.


    ...


    The chief of the Security Division in Hope City was sweating profusely when he received the news.


    That has never happened before. He could not believe that a level eight creature had broken into Hope City and the worse thing was, there were two of them! Fortunately, both of them were injured.


    Hope City was different from the other cities. It was the industrial zone of the reconstruction area and was also the base where theyunched rockets. Because of that, the defense system here was also stronger, not to mention the various types of weapons they had in their arsenal.


    There were more than 20 electromaic cannons as well as a nuclear-powered electromaic tank in Hope City.


    However, the town wasplicated and had many buildings that acted as a shield. It was not a good idea to if they shot at the beasts with the machine guns.


    The only weapon they could use was the nuclear-powered electromaic tank and truck. As the situation was worsening, many military orders have been issued. The aerial defense rm was sounded immediately.


    Many workers evacuated the grounds. Within 15 minutes, the entire city was empty. Even those who were at the basement one had to move to a few levels underground.


    At the same time, many of the tanks, rockets, cannon trucks, and even the nuclear-powered electromaic tank were driven rapidly into the streets.


    The nuclear electromaic tank was like the naval ship of the ground. Its size was huge, fully upying four drivingnes in the street at once. The concrete ground cracked as it moved along the street.


    Hope City had to take rapid action.


    Even then, the recovery speed of both level eight creatures was even faster. Initially, they moved slowly they struggled to move. However, as time passed, the charred parts of their bodies slowly recovered and new skin began to grow.


    Their injuries rapidly recovered and their wounds closed. Their speed of recovery had be even faster.


    Wherever they passed, factories would copse and machines would be damaged. Some parts of the ground which could not withstand the weight of the two giant beasts copsed as well. There were a few tons of giant rock and soil that fell into basement one.


    Fortunately, most of the workers have evacuated so there were very little injuries and casualties.


    The giant bird was closer to the military base and it had a difficult battle with one of the groups. It was a group with 12 military tanks.


    The battle began when more than 10 missiles wereunched into the air, flying rapidly towards the bird. Though it was blind, it could still sense the danger around it. Its huge body managed to avoid the missiles with a flexible jump. Immediately after its jump, it roared towards the direction where the missiles came from. Its voice was sharp and had a high pitch which caused very powerful sound waves. A few circles of waves could be seen around it, causing a ball of dust to form.


    All the tanks had lost their control and collided into one another. Some had gone straight into the factories nearby while some collided with the buildings like a mad cow. None of them returned, seeing that the soldiers were probably all dead.


    The loud sound of the explosions had made the frightened giant bird felt rather insecure. It was a level eight creature which came from foreign ces. It had no idea what the humans and the reconstruction area were all about. However, the bad experiences it had here one after the other hinted at it to leave this fearsome ce as soon as possible.


    Its bald wings moved constantly, producing a high-pitched sound causing strong waves to spread out from its body. The surroundings seemed so beautiful as it pped its wings under the sunshine. It definitely looked mystical and amazing.


    Its body slowly floated into mid-air before it flew to a higher altitude. However, an electromaic bomb hit its body when it was just 20 meters off the ground.


    It screamed frantically and fell onto the ground again with a lot of blood on its chest. There was a big hole with a half meter width on its chest and blood was gushing out like a geyser. The giant bird rolled around several times before standing up in anger.


    The wound on its body was shockingly huge to humans. However, it was considered to be a minor injury for a creature with a 70 to 80 meters body. Unfortunately, the severe pain and the insecurity it felt had made it even more ferocious!


    It turned around to look at the direction of the attack and it heard a loud, strange sounding from afar.


    It hooted and the next moment, a pair of 30 meters tall, five to six meters wide legs rapidly moved toward the direction of the sound.


    It was like a super-bulldozer, all the obstacles along the way were destroyed with ease. The driver of the tank had seemingly lost his mind as he continued aiming the bomb at the target.


    The worst thing was, the electromaic bomb required a lot of energy for everyunch which required a buffer of a few minutes before it could beunched again.


    That being said, the giant bird had already crossed three to four kilometers within one minute. Its heavy, huge w was pressed against the nuclear-powered electromaic tank.


    As a giant bird which could lift the Blue Dragon¡¯s10,000 tons of weight, its strength was definitely fearsome. Under its crazed attack, a buzzing sound could be heard from the metal. The entire object was totally destroyed.


    Even after that, it seemed that it was not the end. Perhaps, the giant bird thought of it as an opponent at the same level and pecked on the tank with its beak. It was a rapid attack which was even faster than speed the electromaic bomb traveled at. It was ten times faster than the speed of sound.


    "Bang!"


    The entire tank was broken, theponents flying everywhere and the soldiers within the tank tragically dead.


    ...


    The people who monitored the screen seemed pale and began to sweat.


    The chief of the Security Division was shivering as he spoke on the phone, "Two of the level eight creatures were recovering speedily and the situation is worsening. Our troops have been attacked terribly and many have died. The nuclear-powered electromaic tank was totally destroyed. We need immediate support or Hope City will be finished!"


    His lips were still trembling when he put down the phone.


    "Sir, what should we do now?" An officer asked anxiously.


    The chief struggled to answer as he was paced back and forth. He gritted his teeth and said, "Get ready tounch the bombs! Clear all the buildings that are in our way and open a way for the electromaic bomb!"


    "Hope City will suffer a huge loss!" Someone hesitated.


    "We can¡¯t dy any further. We have no time to wait for the support!"


    ...


    On the other hand, the sub-team of the Firearms Bureau in Hope City had arrived on the other side of the city. However, they saw no way to get closer to the Blue Dragon. Its ferocious outlook was torture to their minds. Some of them even lost their courage as they approached the Blue Dragon from hundreds of kilometers away.


    A few of the team members bent their bodies down and hid at the corner as they watched the slender body of the Blue Dragon pass by the streets.


    "Captain! Do we really have to kill it? I think... it might be a bit difficult." Xie Junhui said with a trembling voice.


    "He¡¯s right, it¡¯s not something we can kill." Li Dong said.


    As a woman, Lin Feiyan was afraid reptiles. However, she was the captain and she needed to be a good role model. "Hold on, let¡¯s observe the situation first."


    After a while, the Blue Dragon left. The stressful atmosphere improved and everyone felt relieved.


    "How great would it be if my master was here." Fang Peibin whispered.


    "I¡¯ve heard that Brother Luo has be a Deputy Minister! That¡¯s amazing!" Xu Zhiqiang said.


    "Yes, I think that¡¯s true. I have a few friends who are working at the headquarters of the Firearms Bureau who heard that Brother Luo has beaten Minister Ling. However, no one believes in me when I tell them Brother Luo was from our team." Wu Qianru said. Her eyes were shone with admiration when she spoke of Luo Yuan. She used to be in the reserve team in the headquarter of the Firearms Bureau, so she had many insights.


    As the crowd judged the situation, Lin Feiyan paid close attention to the situation with her tightly clenched fists. Nowadays, Luo Yuan had be her enemy. Though he had left the Firearms Bureau of Hope City and she had full authority over the entire department, everyone still had a strong impression of Luo Yuan. She was angry at the fact that he seemed irreceable.


    Lin Feiyan wanted to run out and prove that she was better than Luo Yuan as she looked at the giant beast that stood before her, almost disappearing from their vision. However, her legs felt numb and she remained stationary where she stood.


    She subconsciously raised her head to look up at the sky and realized a tiny spot thatnded from above. It moved at an amazing speed and was unbelievable as it could not be detected by the naked eye. In half a second, it disappeared from her vision again.


    "What¡¯s that?"

 Chapter 428: Blue Dragon

    Chapter 428: Blue Dragon


    Trantor: EndlessFantasy Trantion Editor: EndlessFantasy Trantion


    The giant bird was unable to escape and felt extremely insecure and hysteric. After it shredded the nuclear-powered electromaic tank, its huge body was rampaging everywhere and most of the factories in its path were all destroyed. Several explosions happened and the sound of the explosions stimted the giant bird, sending it into a frenzied state.


    At this moment, a human shadow appeared on giant bird¡¯s head unexpectedly. The giant bird seemed to feel it. It was still running but its action got slightly erratic as its heart throbbed. However, before it had a chance to react, the shadow took out a knife and a strong wind blew the very next second. A saber was immediately whipped out from its sheath and a bright light instantly shone like lightning, a high-frequency waveing off it and spreading around.


    The giant bird suddenly trembled and stopped any movement, time seemed to have stopped that very moment.


    With the remaining inertia in its body, it continued to move forward a few steps. However, half of its head suddenly tilted and began slipping down from its body, the wound smooth like the surface of a mirror, exposing the gray brain. It was then that it finally stopped walking but the body still managed to shake a few times before it eventually slumped on the ground.


    "Boong!"


    The ground was strongly shaking and it seemed to cause a chain reaction as the nearby buildings also slowly copsed one after another. if there are people here, they would find that those fallen buildings were having a simr fracture as the giant bird head as both were as smooth as a mirror.


    By the time this happened, the human shadow had disappeared.


    ...


    Headquarters of the Security Division.


    The chief kept walking back and forth anxiously. He was stressed out from the updates and news from the battlefield as well as the upper management.


    "Sir, the giant bird is dead." A soldier who was monitoring the movement of the screen suddenly stood up and said. Perhaps it was because he was too excited or maybe it was so strange, bizarre, and incredible that even the chair flew away when he stood up.


    "Are you serious?" The chief suddenly stopped walking and said in a staggeringly loud voice.


    Then he quickly went to the monitor. It was not only him but everyone in the headquarters who came to confirm the news.


    It was notpletely urate to say the bird had died. It was still exciting to see it move its body as it seemed to struggle to stand up again. When it fell down again, a huge pit was formed in the hard cement floor. However, everyone could see that it was dying.


    On the screen, everyone could clearly see half of its head missing. The entire upper section was full of blood and cerebral fluid was sshing everywhere due to its struggle.


    "What just happened?" The chief asked with an agitated look.


    "I ... I didn¡¯t see it clearly!" The soldier said nervously. In fact, he found it strange as the image appeared out of the blue and the screen seemed to violently shake a few times as the giant bird walked a few steps before it fell to the ground.


    "Rey the video!"


    The soldier quickly reyed the video but they did not find the cause of its death except for a blowing wind before its death, a shock that caused many groups of people to stare at the screen with their eyes wide open.


    The soldier reyed the video in slow motion without the need of a reminder.


    At the moment, the chief calmed down from his excitement as what happened was too bizarre.


    If the bird had died due to their efforts, then it would certainly be a surprise. However, they may have to face a creature far more terrifying than the two giant monsters before them.


    It would be a totally different story if the creature had the intention to be an enemy of mankind.


    The video was reyed again and again in slow motion. Three times, five times and it was only at the tenth time that they found some slight changes in the images.


    There was an insignificant shadow next to the giant bird¡¯s head. Both seemed so close together, the shadow was so insignificant whenpared to the head of the giant bird which was eight to nine meters wide.


    Even then, when it was yed in slow motion for so many times, the shadow they saw only appeared for half a second before it disappeared. Without paying full attention, the shadow may be impossible to detect.


    "This body, is that a human?" An officer looked at the screen and mumbled uncertainly.


    They looked at each other as they felt it was unreal.


    "Continue to y the video slowly."


    The soldier simply skipped ahead fifty times.


    Fortunately, in order to cope with various situations of endless bizarre incidents after the apocalypse, unmanned aerial vehicles were installed with a miniaturized high-speed camera so even if the video was yed in fifty times slower than the regr speed, the video would still remain clear and smooth.


    This time, they were absolutely certain that it was a human. In the image on the screen, the man was dressed in ck and his body seemed unclear. It was difficult to see his features as the air around him seemed to be dense.


    Especially when his hands were holding the saber, the video got distorted and they were unable to see clearly.


    Although they could not see the face, the ck suit and saber helped the chief recall something. He turned around and said, "That should be one of us! Get the video uploaded to the intelligence department!"


    Suddenly, a loud sound from a massive bomb came from far. The cannon on the wall had begun firing.


    The chief¡¯s face became pale and he quickly pressed and held the built-in microphone in his helmet to connect to themunication channel, he then loudly ordered, "I am the chief of the Security Division, Chen Junde, please cancel the currentmand immediately. Stop firing immediately. I repeat, stop firing immediately."


    ...


    30 minutes ago.


    Luo Yuan was still wandering in the space when the explosion of the hydrogen bomb explosion emitted a strong light. He could clearly feel the shock.


    His vision was far beyond the limits of the human eye and wasparable to the resolution a satellite can provide. The cities and factories in the reconstruction area were clearly visible and he could even identify the trucks on the streets.


    After the hydrogen bomb exploded not far from the reconstruction area, Luo Yuan paid very high attention to that spot.


    The very next moment, the situation deteriorated rapidly when the two monsters were seen escaping the nuclear attack. The city seemed like it needed help, and the system gave him a mission.


    "C-Level Mission: Saving Hope City"


    "Time Length: One day"


    "ept / Decline"


    He was shocked but did not hesitate to ept the mission.


    Not to mention, his power has been upgraded several times and he had been waiting to try fighting the level eight mysterious lifeforms. Based on the description of the mission, he had no time to hesitate at all.


    Hope City was hisir with a poption of over one million. All his wives also lived there, if he allowed the two level-eight creatures to rage in the Hope City, it might not be safe even if they were living in an underground city.


    He quickly initiated the space-time bubble and returned to earth.


    Although his speed was faster now, his level nine Four-Dimensional Travel only allowed him to travel at a maximum of only about three hundred kilometers in a single leap, and each use consumed quite a lot of his Will. Even if he was at his optimal condition, he could only manage to leap 11 to 12 times which would bring him 3000 to 4000 kilometers. Unfortunately, that was only one-tenth of the journey based on the current distance between him and the earth.


    Before his Will became more powerful, the ability to teleport was merely a means of traveling betweenary bodies. In the vastness of space, the space-time bubble was still the best way of moving about.


    It was only when he reached the troposphere that he teleported nearby the giant bird to kill it.


    Perhaps it was due to the injuries the level-eight creature sustained or his sudden appearance, the battle seemed too easy and was beyond Luo Yuan¡¯s expectations. He had thought it would have been a risky battle but it would seem that one slice was enough to kill it.


    ...


    After withdrawing the saber, Luo Yuan immediately teleported to a higher altitude.


    The entire view of Hope City was kept under his powerful vision.


    Later, it came to his realization that he could not find the other level-eight creature, it seems that the scream of the giant bird before its death hadpletely scared it away. He searched over and over again and finally found the footprints. No matter how hard creatures of this size tried to hide, they would always be betrayed by the fact that they would leave huge footprints and identally hit buildings around it.


    The creature disappeared again and when it reappeared, it was standing by the edge of a huge pit.


    The hole was a hundred meters wide and two levels underground were opened up by a violent force. Several footprints which looked like huge ponds seemed to havepletely halted there and then. Apparently, the creature drilled a hole.


    At this moment, Luo Yuan felt someone watching him and as he turned around to look, he found a few acquaintances. However, it was not a good time to talk so he just nodded his head slightly. He then turned around immediately without hesitation and jumped into the hole. With his foresight ability, he was not afraid of an attack from the creature.


    ...


    "The man looks like my master!" Fang Peibin said surprisingly as he stared at him from a few kilometers away.


    "I think it¡¯s him! The silhouette seemed very simr especially since he¡¯s also holding a saber!" Xu Zhiqiang said with a dignified face, "I guess only Brother Luo has the courage to kill such a monster."


    Lin Feiyan turned pale as she overheard their conversation. She clenched her fists and she felt an uncontroble chill, immediately taking a deep breath in an attempt to calm down.


    Her blinking eyes had a firm stare at the hole as several members looked at one another while hinting secretly. They stepped back quietly to avoid suffering an unexpected disaster.


    Within half a minute the ground violently shook as a loud sound was heard.


    "Boong!"


    The beast which had been secretly drilling into the ground suddenly jumped out and ran along the streets. Its huge body destroyed the factories along the streets as well as breaking countless blocks of buildings, causing a lot of stones and dust to fly everywhere.


    The atmosphere became scary and a few members who were hiding at the junction with pale faces quickly turned around and ran in desperation. They ran for about 400 to 500 meters before they finally stopped after seeing the monster¡¯s body disappearpletely from the junction.


    Several people who still lingered around in fear looked at each other, finding what had happenedpletely unbelievable. Only Lin Feiyan¡¯s face became dark due to being overly frightened but she continued to press forward.


    "Captain, which way do we go?" Wu Qianru quietly asked but unfortunately, no one cared about this.


    Li Dong breathed heavily and said, "You... Have you seen it?"


    "See what?" Wu Qianru was lost and asked miserably. She was busy running when the giant beast came andpletely forgot what she had seen.


    "That was Captain Luo, you didn¡¯t see him standing on the head of the monster?" Xie Junhui seemed scared and excited as his entire body trembled. He answered on behalf of Li Dong as he was still gasping for air.


    "You saw it? I thought I was wrong, what is happening?" Xu Zhiqiang said.


    ...


    In fact, Xu Zhiqiang was not the only miserable one but Luo Yuan did not even know what was happening.


    When he entered the cave, the level eight creature in the shape of a dragon was resting at a corner, motionless. However, it seemed scared and was shivering when Luo Yuan came closer.


    Initially, the Blue Dragon was not so weak. Although it was powerful, its attack pattern was not aggressive. In fact, the human body was actually quite tempting for it.


    However, Luo Yuan just killed and the blood of the giant bird tainted his shirt. Its screams before its death had taught the Blue Dragon a lesson and caused it to be in fear.


    Especially more so when this ¡¯tiny creature¡¯ did not even seem afraid when he saw the dragon. As a highly intelligent creature, this fact alone was enough to scare it to death when it imagined the consequence, notwithstanding the fact that this dragon was a coward!


    Before Luo Yuan taken any action, the system sent him a message.


    "The light purple Blue Dragon haspletely surrendered to you. Do you want to keep it as your war beast?"


    "Cancel / Confirm"


    Luo Yuan was stunned and hesitated slightly but he finally epted the surrender of this creature.


    In fact, with his current level of Strength, this war beast would be of little help. It would be the same even if it were a level-eight creature. The war beasts would not be able to augment his ability to move super-fast and fight rapidly.


    He had something else in his mind. Such a high-leveled organism appearing in the reconstruction area would ensure its safety and will also serve as a precaution to prevent the upper management from attempting anything bad.


    The newly surrendered Blue Dragon had a very low level of loyalty which was just 60%.


    Since he had experience in monitoring the giant lizard and King Kong previously. Luo Yuan believed that this was just temporary.


    Luo Yuan stood on the Blue Dragon¡¯s head and traveled across the street. Perhaps, the monitor back at the headquarters had already received the message as they were not attacked along the journey. After half a minute, the Blue Dragon leaped and flew about 1000 kilometers upward, jumping over walls before itnded in a forest.


    As the Blue Dragon saw the forest, it felt rxed and could not help but make a long howl.

 Chapter 429: Finding Another Wisdom Tree

    Chapter 429: Finding Another Wisdom Tree


    Trantor: EndlessFantasy Trantion Editor: EndlessFantasy Trantion


    The dragon looked to be in very low spirits, Luo Yuan could hardly find any scales on its body. The entire body of the dragon was burnt and was full of foul blood. Besides that, there were some wounds which have notpletely healed and therger wounds could even fit several people.


    From a human perspective, those wounds were simply shocking.


    It seemed to have released all its fear and anxiety in a long howl that sounded like endless thunder.


    Within a radius of several kilometers, all the bushes were blown away and those nearby the dragon turned into ash. Even Luo Yuan who was sitting on its head experienced loss of hearing and had buzzing in his ears for a short moment.


    From this incident, the level-eight creature was not as scary as what Luo Yuan imagined. Its giant body and horrifying force determined how destructive of a force it had regardless of whether it was intentionally destroying an object or not.


    When it inhaled, it was as strong as typhoon winds blowing and the air rewinded as it inhaled. To such a creature, it was merely breathing regrly.


    Based on the amount of destructive power it had, Luo Yuan was not even 0.1% of it.


    However, battles were not always about how strong one was. It was totally different when it came to a real fight. By possessing both abilities to teleport and foresight, there would not be much different in the result even if the Blue Dragon managed to recover. The only difference would probably be one sh versus many shes.


    As Luo Yuan saw the amazing lung capacity the dragon had when it roared endlessly, Luo Yuan dug into his ears and gave it a punch on its huge head in dissatisfaction.


    He did not dare punch too hard to avoid breakings its head. The strength of the dragon was undoubtedly smallpared to his natural strength but his hand was rtively small as wellpared to the surface area of the dragon¡¯s head.


    His best punch was far beyond the current speed of the electromaic gun in the reconstruction area. If he really wanted to, its skull would probably break.


    The Blue Dragon felt a sharp pain on its head like a needle was poking on it. It roared once and stopped as it was angry from the irritation. It turned around and bit hard, looking around at the same time. However, it could not find the thing which was irritating it but in the next moment, it got another attack on its head. It was then that it recalled there was a violent creature still standing on its head.


    In fact, it had forgotten.


    It could only me the violent creature for being too small and light as it thought Luo Yuan had disappeared until it got that stinging reminder on its skull.


    It looked back at the city that it just escaped from and saw more than a dozen tiny tubes [1] which had caused it to be in danger. It did not dare stay any longer as it twitched its thick nose, identifying the direction it would head at and immediately walked away with heavy footsteps.


    Many huge footprints were left on the ground, its long body which was more than one hundred meters was swaying along the journey. Its pace seemed slow but it was actually shockingly fast. In just ten seconds, it hadpletely disappeared.


    At this point, everyone who was observing immediately felt relieved.


    ...


    Luo Yuan was sitting on its head and left together with the dragon.


    He patted the dragon¡¯s head once in a while which made the Blue Dragon scared that he would suddenly hammer its head again.


    The head of the dragon was not t, there were many golden blotches regrly lined above its skull with a dense serrated texture. It looked very rough and thick with a strong defense. Besides that, there was a protective force field on the surface of its head which was about half a meter thick.


    In fact, although he seemed to sit on the head of the blue dragon their bodies were not in contact; he was basically floating right above its head. Therefore, he could not me the Blue Dragon for thinking he was gone because it did not feel his weight on its head.


    He has done some experiments and was shocked by the effects of the protective force field. It was just a palm-sized area but it could withstand five to six tons of weight. Besides that, the force field was smooth and flexible, it could hardly absorb other forces.


    Of course, his speed was four to fivefold the speed of sound, causing the defensive effect to be greatly reduced.


    However, that was just him. If a human army was going to fight the dragon, a normal weapon would not probably even cause any harm to the dragon, not even when it was hurt.


    The rate of its recovery was shocking. Over time, wounds on its body were healing and closing up at a visible rate.


    From time to time there were dried blood stains and burnt scabs that constantly fell from its body and at the same time, the energying off its body had also be stronger.


    The Blue Dragon seemed like a normal creature the first time he saw it. Perhaps, its size was slightlyrger than regr creatures but now that it was under the sunshine, it seemed different.


    Apparently, the reconstruction area has already received the message for everyone to temporarily evacuate. Luo Yuan did not see a single soldier when they passed by and the dragon and he were free to enter and exit the area. He looked up at the sky and realized that there were seven to eight unmanned aerial vehicles lingering mid-air but he did not care.


    ...


    Luo Yuan could obviously feel the excitement of the Blue Dragon when they entered the jungle. It shook its body and its mane seemed to have disappeared. Luo Yuan could not see its charm like he did before.


    The next moment, it took a leap and its slender body slid across the sky like a beautiful arc in the air and lightlynded on a mountain a few kilometers away.


    Luo Yuan was amazed. If ordinary people were to see this scene, they would only think that it could jump amazingly seeing that itnded so beautifully. However, Luo Yuan could see through the nature of that leap.


    He was distracted the first time he saw it jump and could not see it properly, but the dragon leaped again which allowed him to see the whole process clearly.


    It was not an ordinary leap. When it was about to jump, the gravity around its body changed. The phenomenon was quite simr to his four-dimensional travel. Before he couldpletely get out of the space-time bubble, he often used his Will to have glide momentarily in the air like the Blue Dragon.


    Luo Yuan pondered and opened its attribute panel.


    "War beast: Blue Dragon"


    "Rating: 8 (Light Purple)"


    "Attribute"


    "Strength: 63 (65)"


    "Agility: 16 (17)"


    "Physique: 65 (68)"


    "Intelligence: 14 (14)"


    "Sense: 45 (45)"


    "Will: 16 (16)"


    "Experience: 0/2400"


    "Skills: Biting - 19, Tear - 15, Winding - 17, Tail strike - 15, Forest Survivability - 19, sma Breath - 5, Gliding - 18"


    "Natural Abilities: Protection"


    "Condition: Weak"


    "Loyalty: 60 (Escape is possible when the value is less than 50. The full value is 100)"


    "Unassigned attribute points: 0"


    "Unassigned skill points: 0"


    Luo Yuan was amazed by its attributes, 65-point of strengths was about six hundred times his Strength and its Physique was even more amazing, which was 68 points.


    Even Agility, which Luo Yuan had always felt so proud of it has been downgraded as the Blue Dragon¡¯s was even higher. It was not an easy job to kill the dragon when it was in its best condition.


    Luo Yuan was only still confident in some of theplementary attributes but the Sense of the dragon was an amazing 45-points. Apparently, the level eight creature had aprehensive transformation. Inparison to a level-seven creature who would be like it was standing on the ground, the level-eight creature would be in the clouds, being much more powerful than the former.


    Luo Yuan pondered as he looked at its high amount of Sense.


    Every drop of blood and flesh consists of Will, which made the dragon a gically-superior aggressive creature. nts would die whenever they were contaminated with its blood and its flesh would not rot for long periods of time.


    However, Luo Yuan could not understand why his genes did not show such aggressive properties as his genes consisted of Will as well. He finally realized as he looked at its exceptionally strong Sense.


    Will and Sense are spiritual powers thate together as one. Will leaned more towards quality while Sense leaned toward quantity. However, since his Sense was not as superior as the level-eight creature, the Will within his flesh was not sufficient for such aggressive properties.


    ...


    As for the skills, Luo Yuan only took a nce. He paid more attention to the sma Breath and Gliding ability of the dragon.


    When he saw the 5-point sma Breath, Luo Yuan understood that the ability is either less important or was a potential powerful skill. Of course, thetter would most likely be the truth.


    Luo Yuan looked at the message notifying him of thepletion of the task before switching off the system.


    The requirement of the task was to rescue Hope City instead of killing the two level-eight creatures. In any case, the mission was consideredplete.


    However, the increase in experience was more significant and a mission would not be enough if he only wanted to rely on the system to obtain an attribute point.


    Perhaps he could attempt killing the level-eight mutated beasts nearby the reconstruction area next. Luo Yuan felt that nobody would find additional attribute points a burden. More importantly, his attributes were currently imbnced. Regardless of an upgrade in Agility, Intelligence or even his Will, there would be a significant effect.


    When he recovered from his thoughts, the Blue Dragon has gone out of hundreds of kilometers from him.


    It¡¯s had quite a unique way to travel whereby it did not take the usual route but instead, keep jumping from hill to hill. As its body gradually recovered, its speed got faster and the distance between each leap before it glided becamerger.


    Before long, it could be seen leaping over three or four hills consecutively in a single leap that spanned over 20 or 30 kilometers.


    At this point of time, its scales had gradually regrown. The newly grown scales were rtively new and was colored in a light-blue and white tinge. However, within a few minutes, the color rapidly darkened and turned into a sky-blue color.


    Each of the individual scales had golden,plicated patterns on them that shone brightly under sunlight, like its entire body was glowing with a blue light. Its red mane grew out once again and swayed as the wind blew. When it jumped into the air, its slender body with four ws seemed like they were dancing, making Luo Yuan felt he was in a mythical world.


    10 minutester, it finally returned to its nest. It was excited and its entire body was trembling with joy as it looked at all the familiar thing at its home. It wrapped a mountain with its body and roared in joy as it faced the sun.


    This time, Luo Yuan did not interrupt it.


    In fact, it was also very exciting for him to witness a familiar environment.


    He now realized that this was the mutated beast which caused him to run before he managed to finally escape by hiding in a puddle of mud.


    However, revenge was not the reason behind his excitement.


    He suddenly teleported away and the next moment, he appeared next to a waterfall in the valley. He looked at a tall hill nearby and found a nt that stood sixty to seventy-meter-high swaying by the breeze.


    That was the wisdom tree!


    Luo Yuan had cut it off once but now, it had all grown out.


    Perhaps at that time, he was too eager to get the wisdom fruit. He removed the wisdom fruit before the nutrients were fully absorbed which resulted in the formation of the wisdom fruit with its remaining nutrients which in turn germinated and grew again.


    Under the care of the Blue Dragon, the wisdom tree has grown even taller than the previous one. He suddenly recalled the natural ability of the Blue Dragon.


    He was not sure whether it could help him to get rid of danger, but the Blue Dragon could definitely help him to find the things he wanted. Perhaps, the Blue Dragon was born with the power of attracting treasures.


    Trantor Notes:


    [1] The tiny tubes here are referring to guns

 Chapter 430: Complicated feeling

    Chapter 430: Complicated feeling


    Trantor: EndlessFantasy Trantion Editor: EndlessFantasy Trantion


    The Blue Dragon that was still excitedly shouting suddenly noticed that Luo Yuan hade close to its baby [1] and subconsciously became tense.


    Its body curled up and it wriggled in unease around the hill while staring at him without so much as a blink.


    If it were another mutated beast, it would have pped the mutated beast to death but for Luo Yuan it dared not, his strength still impressed it.


    In fact, it did not even know the usage of this the tree and had no knowledge of obtaining the Heart of Wisdom. It just instinctively liked it. After asionally seeing the tree, it upied the area and learned of the intelligent race that continued to tend for the tree.


    Soon it felt a wave of relief after seeing Luo Yuan touching it and immediately flew away, leaving the ce. The Blue Dragon stared at him intently until he disappeared from its eyesight.


    Once Luo Yuan left, it immediately jumped to the bottom of the hill, its huge body leaning cautiously against its ¡¯baby¡¯. It held its breath because it was afraid that if it exhaled, the breath from its nostrils would hurt the little tree.


    It carefully looked up and down for a short moment, focusing in particr on the ce Luo Yuan had touched. It repeatedly looked at it several times.


    It was only when it found that the tree remained exactly the same as before that it becamepletely rxed.


    The Blue Dragon moved its body away and drank all the water in a nearby pool before curling itself into a ball. It feltfortable with the gentle rays of sunlight that shone on its body so itzily lied on the edge, not wanting to move anymore.


    It was still excited over what happened today. In the beginning, it was hunted by the giant bird before this ¡¯sun¡¯ [2] appeared, almost burning it into a crisp. Fortunately, it was able to survive the struggle but immediately a horrible demon appeared. Today could be considered to be quite a brutal day for the Blue Dragon.


    Fortunately, everything was now over. It was still alive unlike the giant bird that was killed by the demon [3].


    Fortunately, everything was all over, it was still alive and not like the giant bird that was killed by the demon.


    There was a price to pay for the ability to self-recover. It would consume its own energy reserves in order to recover its injuries so once it was relieved and fully recovered, it tried to get some sleep as its eyes slowly closed to doze off.


    ...


    While Luo Yuan was flying, he noticed on the property panel that the Blue Dragon¡¯s loyalty had dropped dramatically. It took only a few minutes for it to drop to 52 points which was very close to the bottom line of 50 points.


    He shook his head as this was within expectation.


    Lower level mutated beasts were hard to control but once they were sessfully controlled, they would not likely betray you. In contrast, it was easier to get control over higher level mutated beasts when they were under threat of death but it would be hard to win their loyalty. Once the threat is eliminated, they would most likely betray their master just like how the Blue Dragon had almost forgotten about Luo Yuan even though he had not left for long.


    If he did not show up for several days, it would probably betray him already. However, this time he only took a temporary leave and would be back after a few hours. In addition, since the wisdom tree was there he would definitely continue visiting this ce.


    He had mixed feelings on the identification results of the wisdom tree. Although the level of the wisdom tree was higher than the previous one he encountered, it was still only level seven. Both level six and level seven life-forms were categorized as light-green and green ranks and had little difference.


    WIth his 16 points of Wisdom, there would be no effect if he used the Heart of Wisdom at this level unless he kept growing the tree until it evolved to level eight.


    At this level, the flesh and blood from level six or seven mutated beasts had little effect on the tree and it may need a longer time to grow. If he wanted to elerate the tree¡¯s growth, he would need to feed it with higher level food such as those from level eight or nine creatures.


    The flesh and blood of level nine creatures were very impractical for Luo Yuan to attempt but he could still try to get those from level eight creatures. There was already a ready level-eight corpse in Hope City and that was the reason for his sudden return.


    He flew at high speed with only his Will but he managed to reach a speed of two to three kilometers per second. When he was riding the Blue Dragon, this distance took him 20 minutes but now, when he returned alone, it took him only four to five minutes to reach the destination.


    At this point, Hope City had started restoration work. There were people everywhere below him. Since it was difficult to get so many equipments in a short time, it required a lot ofbor-intensive resources to carry and clean up the ruins that have piled up like mountains.


    Though the duration where the two level eight mutated beasts raged in Hope City was not that long, the city took a bad hit. When Luo Yuan looked down from high above, nearly one-fifth of the area had be ruins. Some parts had badly copsed to the point where even the underground base was impacted. The amount of work needed to restore the city back to its original state will definitely not be one or two days.


    Some factories were even still aze and smoking, looking like they would explode at any time.


    Several aircraft that were once used to spray insecticide were now being used as fire trucks. They flew back and forth, spraying mists of water but the results seemed insignificant and redundant.


    Fortunately, despite a huge amount of materail losses, there were not many casualties due to the timely response from the top management. During the apocalypse, people have been trained to be sensitive toward unexpected events so they managed to react very quickly. Aside from the few thousand casualties in the beginning of the disaster, there were almost no casualties after that initial hit.


    Luo Yuan rapidlynded and walked towards the istion area.


    The location where the giant bird was located had already been isted by the soldiers. Within the cordoned off area, there were more than 10 tanks which blocked off most of the streets.


    "Stop! It¡¯s dangerous in front and everyone is prohibited from entering!" A young soldier shouted when he saw Luo Yuan approaching the area.


    Luo Yuan did not stop. Instead, he took out his identity card as he walked and asked, "Who is the leader here? Please bring him to me."


    The soldiers knew he had to be a bigshot when he spoke in this manner. One of the soldiers took the identity card and was shocked. He immediately returned the identity card back to Luo Yuan and greeted, "Hello Chief Officer!"


    As the Deputy Minister of the Firearms Bureau, his level was deifinitely not low. His rank of lieutenant was even more shocking.


    The soldiers did not dare neglect his orders and immediately contacted the highest superiors they could find and from there, their superiors contacted their superiors until the message went up several levels.


    Before long, a middle-aged old soldier who wore a camouge suit walked towards Luo Yuan. He looked at the familiar ck suit on Luo Yuan¡¯s body and suddenly felt like he was being burnt so he immediately looked away. He greeted Luo Yuan formally with care, "Hello Minister Luo, I am Chen Junde, the Divisional Commander who is in-charge of this area. May I know if there¡¯s anything I can do to help you?"


    He knew the Firearms Bureau was a special department that waspletely out of the military¡¯s control, so he would not address him as Chief Officer like how the regr soldier did.


    He secretly took a look at Luo Yuan and as he thought of the shocking scene when Luo Yuan killed the level eight creature, he felt a sudden insecurity creep up from within him. The feeling was like standing before a giant beast; if he did not pay extra attention, he would probably be killed at any moment. It felt awful.


    "Hello, General Chen. I am sorry that I need you to personallye over. You could have just assigned someone to talk to me. What I want from you, is the corpse of this giant mutated bird as it has a little usage for me. Can General Chen spare it to me?" Luo Yuan apologized and asked.


    Chen Junde was relieved when he saw the easygoing attitude of Luo Yuan as he smiled and said, "No, it¡¯s no trouble at all Minister Luo. You killed it, so it actually belongs to you. You do not need to get my permission on how you n to handle it. It would be even better if you can take it away from this location."


    He was telling the truth. Level eight creatures were strong but it had little value to the reconstruction area as the flesh and blood of the creature had been mutated, making it inedible. Unless they used a small part of the corpse for research or to manufacture essories for weapons, most parts of the corpse would be burned and disposed of.


    The thing that was more troublesome was its the frightening force field around it and the serious radiation its body gave off. Even after it died, the effects its body gave off were still present in the atmosphere. Without wearing any clothing to iste these effects, none of the ordinary people could even get close to the corpse. It would definitely spell trouble when they needed to move and carry it away.


    "Excellent. In that case, can you please evacuate the weapons and tanks you have here?"


    "You... Are you ready to move it now?" Chen Junde was a little surprised. This was a 70 to 80 meter high corpse of a giant bird which wasparable to the size of a 20 storey building. He could not imagine how he could move the corpse. Regardless how strong he was, it was impractical to move such a giant size creature alone.


    Luo Yuan nodded, confirmed and said, "The sky is getting dark and by then, it will be even more difficult to move."


    Chen Junde was confused and almost wanted to say that it did not matter with the sky was dark or not but in the end, he held his tongue and agreed, "Yes, you are right."


    Then he immediately ran tomand the soldiers to evacuate.


    Within a moment¡¯s notice, all the tanks drove away, leaving only Chen Junde and a few more officers. Apparently, they were interested to see how he would move the corpse of this giant bird.


    Luo Yuan did not care but just went straight to the other end to the giant bird.


    After such a long time, the corpse of the giant bird was still energetic and was still fluttering before them. Even if the brain was damaged within the skull and the cerebral fluid was all gone, it still had a strong life-force and took a very long time topletely die.


    This was also the reason why arge number of tanks surrounded the area earlier. The giant bird was too dangerous, even if it managed to struggle out of this area by unconsciously rolling around, it would cause enormous damage and casualties.


    As he looked at the giant bird¡¯s head that was struggling endlessly, his arm blocked the stones that flew over in his direction like a bullet.


    Although these stones would not hurt his skin at all, it would still hurt him if they hit his eyes. Luo Yuan scowled and began thinking that it would not be easy to move the corpse at all.


    The life-force of a level eight creature was too strong and Luo Yuan estimated that even if he cut the corpse into two, it would still struggle for some time. It seemed like the had to break all its bones.


    He walked a few steps to the back of the giant bird. There were feathers that made it seem a little thin, almost to the point where most of the bones were visible, especially the spine. It was covered only by a thinyer of skin that allowed Luo Yuan to see the gap between the joints.


    He proceeded to the location of the spine and got ready to begin from this position. He looked at the few soldiers who stood at 500 to 600 meters away and said, "Stay away from me, I am going to break its bones."


    Chen Junde and the rest suddenly felt a chill run up their spine. Without hesitation, they quickly stepped back. They had watched the video so they knew how strong the impact would be when he attacked. It was very impressive to them.


    "Keep going. You need to to go a little further!" Luo Yuan scowled and said.


    "Carry on!"


    A group of people had stepped back to a distance of a thousand meters away. Luo Yuan roughly estimated the impact of his attack and thought that they should be safe at this distance.


    Then he took a deep breath. His muscle slightly inted until his joints made a popping sound. The air surrounding started to stir up until his face became twisted and at the very next moment, hended a full blow.


    "Boom!"


    A loud noise was heard and the air instantly exploded. The air surrounding the corpse hadpletely turned white as a result of the dense air in the area.


    Following that, a cracking sound ensued. He had broken a piece of its spine and it was followed by a series of explosions which happened one after another.


    Chen Junde and the rest who stood far away half-hunched their bodies. A strong sandstorm surrounded them and the wind stirred up small gravels that hit their bodies, making them feel an aches on their bodies.


    They quickly retreated another two kilometers before the situation finally improved.


    They stood in a nearby ruin and used a telescope to continue observing Luo Yuan. However, their line of sight was blocked by the sandstorm and the strong winds before them. A few of them took down the telescope together, feeling shocked by what had happened.


    Three minutester the explosion finally stopped.


    "He threw about 3000 punches!" One of the soldiers quietly estimated and looked a little pale.


    Another said, "The size of the giant bird is so huge! It is impossible to punch continuously."


    Everyone was silent, an evolved human of this caliber hadpletely broken the concept of what a human could be. With power like this, it was possible to destroy a country with just the power of a single man.


    ...


    The breeze in the air soon blew away the dust, revealing the giant mutated bird. When they saw that the air had cleared, a few of them quickly used the telescope to see what had happened.


    At this moment, the body of the giant mutated bird was now limp as ity on the ground after its bones were broken by Luo Yuan. Only a small area of muscle remained twitching butpared to the fierce struggle of its body earlier, it looked way less dangerous now.


    When they looked in more detail, they saw countless small wounds everywhere on its body and they were still bleeding. In fact, the wounds were not small as each of them were about two meters in diameter.


    Beside the body of the giant bird was a small, almost negligible silhouette with his hand in its body, his entire body covered in blood.


    "Isn¡¯t he afraid of getting a gene infection?" An officer felt a chill run down his spine when he saw the scene and asked in doubt.


    "Do you think someone who is able to kill level eight creatures would be afraid of its blood? I¡¯m just wondering what he¡¯s doing. Does he really n to drag the body in this condition?" Chen Junde said while looking at the huge gap in size between Luo Yuan and the giant bird. He was amused but when he thought about what had happened earlier, he could notugh at all.


    After five minutes, Luo Yuan still remained in the same posture and did not move.


    "Hey, he¡¯s moving!" One of the officers suddenly shouted, "He is moving with the giant bird!"


    After hearing him shout, everyone noticed that Luo Yuan had moved about half a meter away from his original location. Over time, the speed he was moving at seemed to get faster and finally they could clearly see him move with their eyes.


    ...


    10 minutester, Luo Yuan could be seen flying in the sky with the giant bird and as they passed through the area, they left a huge shadow. This scene was unbelievable as it looked like a skyscraper was suddenly flying across the sky. What¡¯s even more unbelievable was that a human was doing this, pushing the giant creature through the skies.


    Everyone looked up and unconsciously opened their mouths. They looked at the giant creature slowly flying across the sky, its speed bing faster and faster until it finally disappeared in the horizon before they came to their senses.


    For a moment of time, everyone felt a dryness in their throats and nobody was sure if it was due to excitement or fear. Everyone hadplex emotions that were in their hearts.


    "Is the emergence of a Superman like that good or bad for the reconstruction area?" An officer asked after holding his breath for quite some time.


    "It¡¯s not something that we should think about." Chen Junde said. However, inside his heart, he thought that it was, at the very least, a good thing for Hope City.


    Trantors Note:


    [1] ¡¯Baby¡¯ here refers to the Wisdom Tree that the Blue Dragon is guarding.


    [2] ¡¯Sun¡¯ here is referring to the nuclear bomb the reconstruction area dropped on it while it was battling the giant bird.


    [3] ¡¯Demon¡¯ here is referring to Luo Yuan from the Blue Dragon¡¯s perspective

 Chapter 431: Conciliation

    Chapter 431: Conciliation


    Trantor: EndlessFantasy Trantion Editor: EndlessFantasy Trantion


    At this point in time, Luo Yuan no longer cared about the impact of his actions. At his current level of Strength, he was not as cautious as he was before, his actions following the will of his heart.


    He turned on his space-time bubble but found that he could barely wrap the giant bird in the bubble but still, he managed to push it forward slowly. This was the first time he expanded the space-time bubble to such arge size. Although it posed some difficulty, he still managed to do it sessfully.


    A lot of his Will was consumed like running water but the speed they flew at was not that impressive. He took almost 20 minutes just to fly over the city but fortunately, the speed improved after that.


    After flying for another 10 minutes, he had almost reached his destination.


    The Blue Dragon was still in a nap but it suddenly felt something strange in the corners of its mind and quickly opened its eyes. It was shocked when it saw the giant bird flying towards it at a fast speed.


    The Blue Dragon immediately reacted by standing up and jumped to a nearby mountain. However, it soon realized that the bird had been killed.


    A pair of huge eyes looked in suspicion and warily observed the flying giant bird.


    It realized that the giant bird was covered in blood and looked miserable. Arge amount of blood flowed down from its body that was strangely suspended in the sky, forming ake underneath but there seemed to be ayer of transparent film that pocketed the blood, preventing it from falling any further.


    The Blue Dragon could not understand what it was seeing so it quickly jumped to another mountain, further than where it originally was.


    It felt relieved when it discovered that the bird was not hunting it was instead, it was moving forward in a straight line. Soon, it fell into the valley it was at before in a small collision and after that, it no longer moved.


    After a moment, its fear subsided as its curiosity increased. The Blue Dragony on the ground and slowly but quietly moved to the front. Its movements were not insignificant because as it moved, trees began to copse, causing a loud noise.


    Not a momentter, it climbed up the hill and slowly revealed its huge head. A pair of huge eyes carefully eyed the valley below. It saw that the giant bird was now lying beside piles of white bones and had copsed the whole mountain. There was a small, insignificant looking creature that was waving something, quickly cutting the giant bird¡¯s body.


    However, it was this tiny creature that made the heart of Blue Dragon beat rapidly. It was scared and quickly hid its head; it was not untilter that it revealed itself again and observed in silence.


    Luo Yuan turned around to look at it but then turned around and continued to cut the giant bird¡¯s body. On the attribute column, the loyalty of the Blue Dragon has rapidly returned to a higher level.


    This was a normal urrence, especially in the wilderness as the threat of death and power were the only things that could earn respect from mutated creatures. Once Luo Yuan frightened it, the effects were seen immediately.


    Luo Yuan kept cutting the body of the giant bird but it took him a lot of effort to open its chest. Then, he held his breath and jumped into its body. The giant visceral width within the bird made him feel like an insignificant parasite. He used his knife to rip off its diaphragm and not longter, he found its heart.


    When he removed its energy crystal and jumped out of the body, the loyalty of the Blue Dragon had already reached 75 points. Apparently, his actions had seriously frightened it and was afraid that Luo Yuan would do the same to it.


    Luo Yuan wiped the blood on the energy crystal away and took a look at it in a darker ce. The energy crystal shone brightly. This was the second level eight energy crystal he has got so far but it seemed rtively smallerpared to the previous one he had, it was not even one-third of its size and seemed like it had mostly been consumed during the self-recovery process.


    Luo Yuan removed the Will imprint on it and this time, it did not affect his mind like it did previously. With 19 points of Will, the imprint on the energy crystal could not resist and was totally defeated.


    He took a few nces at it and put it into his pocket. He had no ns to consume this energy crystal. Ever since he obtained the Body Fusion ability, he had an enormous amount of energy. Aside from a small portion that he had to use for his daily needs, the remaining excess energy was absorbed by the energy crystal within his heart. He felt it grow every day and currently, the one in his heart was at least four times bigger than the one he had in his pocket and its color was even purer. The one he just got had little value to him.


    It was then that the Wisdom Tree seemed to have smelled flesh and blood of the level-eight creature as its roots started moving. It rapidly secretedrge amounts of fine silky fments. The fments first began to prate the ground that was soaked by blood, turning the translucent fments a bloody red. As time passed, it began producing more fments that soon covered the entire area and at the end, even the roots were pulled up and began moving towards the body.


    At the beginning, Luo Yuan was worried that the genes in the level-eight creature¡¯s blood would kill the tree but it seemed like his worries were redundant. The Wisdom Tree was unaffected by the flesh and blood of the level eight creature.


    The branches and leaves on the Wisdom Tree gently shook as if they were celebrating in joy. The green leaves above were also getting some of the blood while its spiral trunk screwed the body in a circr motion. It was growing at a slow speed that could barely be seen.


    Luo Yuan observed it for a moment and found that at this speed, it may take two to three days in order for the tree to fully absorb the body. He did not have much time that he could continue waiting here.


    He turned around to look at the Blue Dragon which was hiding behind a hill and warned it. It revealed only its head and he quickly flew back to Hope City.


    ...


    "It;s fortunate that you came back! There were two horrible giant mutated beasts on the ground and I heard that many people died from the disaster! Many factories were destroyed too." Zhao Yali said with a little fear in her voice after she returned home.


    "Why are you the only one home? Where are the rest of them?" Luo Yuan asked with a smile. He found that only she and the mutated human were left in the house.


    "I stayed here to take care of Chen Jiayi. The rest of them went to help clean up the ruins. It must be a huge loss of Hope City this time. I¡¯m not when they¡¯ll be able to restore it to its original state." Zhao Yali looked worried and continued to say, "Why were there such terrible monsters in the world? It¡¯s better that you don¡¯t go out in the future or you might be in danger if they identally hit you."


    "Don¡¯t worry, it¡¯s not that easy to meet such creatures. Even if I do meet one, it wouldn¡¯t be a big deal to me." Luo Yuan thought there was no need to hide, so Zhao Yali would not have to worry about him every day. She continued to say, "Haven¡¯t you heard? One of the monsters was killed by a human."


    "Killed by a human?!" Zhao Yali looked shocked all of a sudden as she slightly opened her mouth and quickly asked, "Who did that?"


    Before he could answer, the door opened and a group of people walked into the house, looking at Luo Yuan with mixed feelings. It was not only Huang Jiahui and Wang Shishi but even Wang Xiaguang was there too.


    "I thought you all went to clean up the ruins. Why are you alle back so early?" Zhao Yali asked. This was especially so for Wang Xiaguang who as a government servant should be at her busiest but was also back here.


    "You need to ask Luo Yuan, we were asked toe back." Wang Xiaguang said snappily.


    "What happened?" Luo Yuan asked but in his heart, he had some guesses as to what had happened already.


    "I don¡¯t know. Even the mayor personally met me to ask if we were okay. He even asked if we needed any help needed in daily life and so on. So kind of him!" Wang Shishi said with an excited look.


    Luo Yuan scowled and had some thoughts running through his mind.


    ...


    In fact, this matter was far moreplex than they thought. They were almost begged toe back by their respective leader.


    In the beginning, the top management of Hope City did not think that much. After the disaster, everyone in the city was called to support the massive reconstruction works. The district where Luo Yuan lived at was also on the calling list. Aside from Zhao Yali who needed to take care of Chen Jiayi and the mutated woman who could not be revealed in public, everyone else went to help.


    Even in the reconstruction area, there were no special privileges. At least on the surface, everything had to be done in a fair and just way. Even the Mayor of Hope City and his family could not avoiding out and taking the lead.


    After the apocalypse, this was a regr urence but when the Mayor received a private call, everything changed.


    The impact caused by Luo Yuan was still spreading not only in Hope City but also in New Capital City.


    The video of his fight were yed over and over again in various departments and was finally sent to the first and second officer. Everyone almost lost their voices when they watched the video


    In the video, he demonstrated ultra-fast speed, powerful strength, and abilities that seemed like he was able to freely move through space. All these shocked everyone to the core, making them feel weak inside, breaking the usual preconceptions they had of power. The weapons today seemed like they could do little to stop him. Rules and regtion no longer applied to him.


    To humans, he was almost like a god. If he became evil, the government would be toppled by him in a single day and if he was like an angel, humanity would see great improvement. Fortunately, Luo Yuan has shown no ambition to be in a position of authority thus far. If such an incident did not happen in Hope City, nobody would know that Luo Yuan possessed such power, far more than they thought he had.


    It was ridiculous to say that the safety and security of a country depended on one single person, but it was a cruel fact that they needed to ept.


    Some people even had a premonition that a new era wasing.


    Unless the government took a risk with the whole situation, the only thing that the reconstruction area could do was topromise and conciliate or at least avoid doing something that could trigger Luo Yuan¡¯s dissatisfaction.


    ...


    Luo Yuan exined a little bit of the situation to everyone so that they understood the unexpected treatment from the top management. Everyone was silent except for the simple minded Wang Shishi.


    Not only were they shocked by the scary amount of strength Luo Yuan possessed but also worried about the attitude of the reconstruction area. Huang Jiahui and Wang Xiaguang who had a better sense of politics deeply understood that no matter how harmless Luo Yuan seemed to be, the government would never have peace of mind with him having uncontroble power.


    What they currently did was to conciliate with Luo Yuan, getting him into the team but there were no guarantees that the situation would not change in the future.


    In the case Luo Yuan was unfortunate enough to meet an ident, get injured or fall into aa, nobody could guarantee that the top management would not take that chance to eliminate him.


    "Luo Yuan, promise me. Don¡¯t go to New Capital City any longer and don¡¯t get involved in politics. We will live our lives." Huang Jiahui sighed and said worriedly after a while.


    "Don¡¯t worry, I have a n." Luo Yuan said tofort her. At the very least, before the threat of extraterrestrial civilizations was resolved, the reconstruction area would not do anything to him.


    However, when he noticed that everyone looked at him with a look of discontent, Luo Yuan had no choice but to surrender and say, "Well, okay. I will not go to New Capital City in the future. There¡¯s nothing there for me to go to anyway."

 Chapter 432: False Alarm

    Chapter 432: False rm


    Trantor: EndlessFantasy Trantion Editor: EndlessFantasy Trantion


    After dinner, Luo Yuan took out a thermos, put several cups on the table and poured four cups of water. Then, he took out the energy crystal and sliced it into four thin slices before he put them into the cups of water.


    As soon as the slices of energy crystal made contact with the water, they turned into small cyclones that rotated at a high speed in the cup. It seemed like there was an invisible force that pushed the cyclones forward and it looked pretty amazing. The whole processsted for only a few seconds before the slices fully melted in the water.


    The four cups of water immediately emitted a fluorescence that could barely be seen.


    "Brother Luo, what are you doing?" Wang Shishi saw Luo Yuan¡¯s strange behavior and walked over, intimately clinging onto Luo Yuan and asked curiously.


    "These are for all of you to drink." Luo Yuan said without looking at her, "In the future, you will all have to drink one cup every few days."


    "Why are you so secretive? What is that thing in your hand? Let us see." Wang Xiaguang protested coquettishly.


    "This?" Luo Yuan took up the energy crystal. When it was revealed, the mutated woman at the side started to stare at the energy crystal and looked nervous. She was restless and kept looking at Luo Yuan, hoping that he could give her a slice too.


    "This is an energy crystal." Of course, its name listed in the system was the "energy collector" but Luo Yuan thought that a crystal better described this object.


    "Where did you get this from? Is this some kind of jewelry?" Zhao Yali asked.


    "It looks like jewelry but it was taken out from the mutated beast." Luo Yuan smiled and said, "It can be found in most high-level mutated beasts. This is the source of their energy and this energy crystal on my hand was taken out from a level eight mutated beast.


    "I took it once before and it had an immediate effect to improve my physical fitness. Even if it was taken by an ordinary human, the effect would not be any weaker than if an evolved human took it. Though the situation today is much safer than before, there might still be unavoidable idents. After all, getting stronger is always better."


    Zhao Yali who was next to him opened her mouth and could not say anything at the time. Apparently, the energy crystal had been taken out from a level eight mutated beast that was killed by Luo Yuan earlier today. Before today, when they used to listen to his stories, they were never able to visualize what an energy crystal looked like. It was only when they saw the one he held in his hand that everything became clear, allowing them to understand what he had meant.


    When everyone looked at the energy crystal again, it was suddenly cast with a mysterious aura.


    Each of them got one cup to drink with only the mutated human waiting helplessly beside, hissing anxiously with a pitiful look.


    "It is better to drink small bits of it several times since your bodies are quite weak. You may not be able to take the effects if you drink it all at once." Luo Yuan reminded them when he saw a few of thedies were ready to drink the concoction.


    The amount of energy crystal put in the water was very little and though there were four pieces used, theirbined amount would only add up to one-tenth of the original crystal and could not evenpare with Luo Yuan who managed to ingest the entire crystal.


    However, the rest had very weak physical fitness levels. Aside from Wang Shishi and Zhao Yali who were evolved humans and had strong physical fitness levels, the rest were basically ordinary humans. Luo Yuan was worried that the human body could not take it if there was a sudden consumption of too much high-level energy crystals.


    "Can you say everything at one go?" Huang Jiahui who was ready to drink was scared and put the cup back after she listened to what Luo Yuan had just said.


    "Let me drink first." Wang Shishi thought that she was an evolved human and stronger than the rest, so she took up the cup and drank. Then, she said, "It is tasteless aside from some fishy smell."


    "It was taken out from the body of the mutated beast, don¡¯t expect it to be good to drink. The fishy smell is inevitable." Luo Yuan said.


    After he finished his sentence, Wang Shishi¡¯s face suddenly became flushed. She was shocked and shouted, "It¡¯s so hot! My body is burning!"


    When the rest saw Wang Shishi had drunk the concoction, they did not hesitate any longer and picked up their cups to drink.


    For a time, everyone¡¯s face became flushed and they felt like their bodies were being burned. It seemed that the heat was too much untildies began to take off their clothes until they were naked.


    When he saw the blushed bodies of thedies that made them look like they were drunk, he was somewhat excited.


    Unfortunately, he could only look at them but dared not do anything. He feared that any carelessness might lead to a tragedy if they got excited.


    At this point of time, the mutated woman began getting anxious and pulled Luo Yuan¡¯s pants to attract his attention.


    Luo Yuan reluctantly looked away from thedies and turned to the mutated woman instead, looking at her in amusement. He did not forget her portion but just wanted to poke fun at her.


    He took out the energy crystal and used his fingernail to lightly scratch through the crystal to cut out a piece that was one-tenth of its size and threw it to the mutated woman who was waiting anxiously by the side.


    She quickly took it and put it into her mouth without even looking at it. Then, she turned and eagerly looked at the remaining energy crystal in Luo Yuan¡¯s hand, indicating to him that she had not gotten enough yet.


    "That¡¯s it for today, I will give you more tomorrow." Luo Yuan waved and said to her and then put the energy crystal back into his pocket.


    The mutated woman was very clever as she could now understand simple gestures. When she got rejected by Luo Yuan, she was immediately disappointed and became restless but the feeling soon disappeared when heat began spreading through her body. She suddenly became dizzy and walked like a drunken person.


    Luo Yuan amused when he saw the mutated woman starting to undress like the others.


    ...


    Half an hourter, when everyone finished the drink and the heat had faded, everyone felt incredible as their bodies felt as it was full of power.


    "Brother Luo, I feel like I can kill a mutated beast in just one punch!" Wang Shishi said with a look of excitement. She stood up, waiting to test her strength but she fell down after just one step after she lost her stability.


    Everyoneughed.


    Wang Shishi faces quickly blushed and she stood back up. She had used too much force until her body jumped up into the air and almost hit the ceiling.


    Fortunately, she was able to use her telekinesis to immediately control her body andnded slowly. She cried and said, "I feel like I don¡¯t know how to walk anymore."


    "Let me try!" Wang Xiaguang also eagerly stood up. Because of the lesson that she learned from Wang Shishi, she was more careful but every step she walked was still unstable and she almost fell down several times. Finally, on her seventh step, she was unsessful and fell to the ground.


    Usually with Luo Yuan fast reaction and speed, before she even fell down he would be able to hold her to prevent her fall. However, he did not have full control over his strength so he did not dare to help out. It was only when she fell to the ground that he walked to her and hold her up.


    "Take your time. The sudden increase in your strength will require some time to get used to."


    "How long does it take?" Zhao Yali quickly asked.


    To him, this level of power upgrade was so insignificant that he would be able to adapt in a few minutes. However, their ability to control their body could notpare to the control he had over his. After he thought for a few moments, he said, "It depends on your stability as well as your ability toprehend your own power. If you¡¯re good at it, you¡¯ll probably just need half a day of practice. If you¡¯re not so good at it, you may need to take up to a couple of weeks."


    Everyone secretly looked at each other. On the surface, they looked like they in harmony but inside, they were thinking ofpeting secretly. Nobody wanted to be thest one to adapt to their new power and being teased as the one with poor bnce andprehension.


    In the moments following that, the living room became a total mess. Several women kept yelling non-stop. They knocked over the coffee table and broke the ss, dishes on the table were also dropped onto the ground and the food was scattered all over the ground.


    Looking at the broken ss on the floor, Luo Yuan helplessly waved his hand and used his Will to clean up the mess before he flew over to the trash.


    Everyone had been used to the miracles Luo Yuan¡¯s performed and they were not shocked at all. Besides, they did not care about it since they were too busy falling onto the ground.


    At first, no matter who fell down he would go and help up but soon he gave up because he was not able to help everyone at the same time. There were a few times where thedies fell on purpose due to jealousy and did not want to stand up but instead, they just waited for him to help up.


    He clearly knew that with the level of their Physique today, they would not feel pain with such a gently fall.


    So, in order to be fair, he decided not to help anyone. He already expected to rece all the fragile items at home several times.


    As for the mutated woman, she could quickly adapt to the change of her growing strength. Perhaps the amount given to her was too little that she did not see significant changes. The only things that changed were the color of the scales on her back which turned into a lighter color, close to the color of a white jade.


    ...


    The next few days, Luo Yuan spent a lot of time in space to slowly adapt to the environment of space to adapt physically and psychologically.


    The environment in space was a challenge to everyone and even the strongest fighters could not stand the weightless environment for long periods of time. Even Luo Yuan who had 19 points of Will needed some time to adapt.


    Every time he flew to a further distance, he would stay for longer periods of time.


    On the third day, he drifted in the space for tens hours and on the fourth day he had nned tond on the moon.


    This was a super long journey. The distance between earth and moon was about 380,000 kilometers. However, with the speed Luo Yuan¡¯s flew at, it felt like the distance he would travel if he wandered around the neighborhood.


    He departed at three in the morning only took an hour before hended on the moon.


    There wererge and small craters on the surface of the moon. The ground was full of thick regolith that every step Luo Yuan took shot dust up into the air.


    Here, where the gravity was only one-sixth of what it was on the earth, Luo Yuan could barely feel the gravity. With just a minimal amount of force, he felt like he was about to fly off the moon.


    Before he was here, he was somewhat excited but after hended, he was slightly disappointed. Aside from a few novelties which interested him when he first reached, everything became dull as he stayed for a longer period of time.


    Of course, aspared to the vibrancy of the earth, the moon was dested and silent. There were almost no living things but an endless gray.


    Bursts of Gamma rays still raged there which would not dissipate for the next few years.


    There was no ozoneyer to block the radiation so it was terrible. When it shone on the skin for extended periods of time, he felt a slight numbness on his skin. If it were ordinary people, they would have been killed by such radiations.


    The gamma-rays triggered by the supernova was shocking. Take the sun for example, the supernova could trigger energy rays that were a trillion times more powerful than the sun within less than an hour. If this was still unclear, this energy was the equivalent of hundreds of years of radiation which was within the entire gxy.


    If the earth was close to the supernova, even if was hundreds of light years away, our entire would still bepletely decimated by the st.


    In some sense, the earth was fortunate as the source of the gamma-rays were so far away that it barely affected the. However, even if that were the case, the had still undergone dramatic changes.


    When he looked at earth from here, the earth seemed to be shrouded in a hazy and beautiful glow. However, this scene was the main culprit that caused the ice to melt in the North and South Pole. The strong photo-electric effect after the atmosphere was blown away by gamma-rays made the earth turn into a kind of giant oven that increased the overall temperature of the earth significantly.


    It was at this time that Luo Yuan sensed something and suddenly looked to the sky on his left.


    He looked carefully and detected a small dot that could barely be detected exuding a faint light. In outer space where it was full of stars, it was not obvious. If he did not sense the dot, it would be impossible for him to notice the small dot.


    Within a moment, Luo Yuan¡¯s face suddenly changed. The small dot was not stationary but was moving slowly towards his direction.


    Though Luo Yuan was alert, he did not fear it. With his current ability, there was nothing much that he feared. Even if he could not fight it, his ability to teleport would help him escape from any threat.


    He looked around and hid in a crater that was several meters wide in diameter. He squatted down and waited patiently.


    The dot was not traveling fast or rather, it was slow to Luo Yuan. After ten minutes, the dot still remained a dot but was now twice asrge in size and it was then that Luo Yuan vaguely saw its shape. It had a well-proportioned, slender body.


    He immediately ruled out a meteorite as a meteorite would not have such a shape so only two answers remained. It was either a mysterious interster life-form or the spacecraft of an extraterrestrial civilization.


    Luo Yuan¡¯s look became serious as he tightly gripped the knife in his hand firmly. It was fine if he met an interster life-form but it would be unfortunate if this dot turned out to be a spacecraft of an extraterrestrial civilization.


    He was not mentally prepared to get in touch with extraterrestrial civilizations. He had nned to increase his Intelligence once the wisdom tree upgraded to level eight and after that, upgrade himself throughpleting missions and only then would he be ready to face extraterrestrial civilization. However, these things were still out of his control. If the extraterrestrial civilizations nned to attack, he would never really know if it would be a yearter or the next moment. At that time, he would definitely regret it if he did not stop the attack. If he actually encountered the spacecraft of an extraterrestrial civilization, it was a good opportunity to destroy it.


    His heart was beating fast. Although he tensed up as it would be a brutal fight, he felt indifferent and held his knife tightly until his palms were slightly wet.


    Half an hourter the original dot had now be the size of a round-table. He hid inside the crater and firmly stared at the stars, but he was doubtful.


    "This... Doesn¡¯t seem like a spaceship. It looks like a mutated beast."

 Chapter 433: Tracking

    Chapter 433: Tracking


    Trantor: EndlessFantasy Trantion Editor: EndlessFantasy Trantion


    At this time, the interster creature had gotten quite close to him and its distance was not more than several thousand kilometers away. From Luo Yuan¡¯s perspective, its body rapidly expanded as the image became clearer.


    It was clear now why Luo Yuan thought it was a spacecraft previously as it really looked like a spaceship from science fiction.


    It had a spinning, conical body with no hands and feet. On the sides of its body, there was a pair of semi-circr t pieces of meat that slightly undted as it flew. Its narrow, tapering mouth was tightly closed as two rows of fangs crossed each other. It clearly looked very grim and was not a friendly creature.


    Despite the interster environment, the creature looked like a fish. Perhaps, it was originally born from the ocean. As it gradually approached, the faint light became clearer and brighter. Its entire body exuded a field of energy as well as an extremely oppressive aura.


    This was the first time Luo Yuan had witnessed an interster life-form. Compared to a level eight creature, this was hundred times of times worse. The energy it gave off on the surface alone was already enough to shock Luo Yuan.


    If the energy of a level eight creature was like ayer of silk that was indistinct, the energy from the interster creature was dense and powerful. As it got closer to the moon, the fragile maic field of the moon be aplete mess.


    What was even more frightening was these abnormal fluctuations even began to appear in space-time. This time, he did not have his headband so he could clearly see the subtle ripples forming in the fourth dimension from a force in a distance ce.


    Although the fluctuations were extremely weak, like the ripples in the water caused by water-flies which were barely detectable. Disturbances to space-time like these made Luo Yuan feel dignified.


    "It was not easy to deal with such a creature." Luo Yuan thought in his mind.


    A creature that had the ability to warp space-time was undoubtedly quite powerful. Even if it only had the ability to escape, that would mean that if it wanted to flee, nobody would be able to kill it.


    When he saw this, he suspected it was a level nine mutated beast, Luo Yuan had eagerly wanted to try fighting it. With his ability to foresee the future as well as teleport, even if he was not able to win the fight, he could still escape.


    There was no price to pay even if he failed but if he sessfully killed a level nine mutated beast, he would not only gain a huge amount of experience but the precious materials on its body as well. That alone, was enough for him to take the risk.


    Ten minutester, it got closer to the surface of the moon and looked evenrger in size. With space behind it, it already seemed to berger than the earth itself. Such a stark contrast in size shocked Luo Yuan.


    This was an unimaginably huge creature and perhaps it was due to the fact that it came from the sea or maybe it was due to theck of gravity in the interster environment that removed the limits it had on size. The level eight Blue Dragon could be considered to be negligible if it waspared to this creature. It was more than 600 meters long and it probably weighed at least ten million tons in weight.


    There was no scale and hair on its body. On its back, it gave off a dark green glow and there were golden rings and under the belly, it waspletely purple in color.


    It exuded a strong glow and looked daunting and at this time, a notification came to him in his mind.


    "Level C Task: Kill Gerard the giant interster creature."


    "Time-Limit: None"


    "ept / Decline"


    As he expected, it was a Level C task. However, it was a bit strange as it was the first time he saw the name of the mutated beast in the notifications he received. From its name, it seemed like it came from the ghetto.


    The thoughts shed through Luo Yuan¡¯s mind but he put it aside and thought little of it. Apparently, the power of this interster creature was so fearsome that the humans gave it a name.


    Shortly after, it flew down andnded on the surface. It swung its tail like a fish and swam into the air 700 to 800 meters from the surface. Its speed was about one kilometer per second and this was considered to be very slow for interster travel that even most meteorites were faster than it.


    However, this was not a problem as the speed one would use when they took a leisurely walk would be different with the speed one would use when they were running. Speed would usually be associated with feelings and urgency.


    When the creature moved away, Luo Yuan quickly floated into the air and chased after it.


    Undeniably, it was a little difficult to deal with it after he saw its actual size. It was far bigger than Luo Yuan expected. In addition, due to the vacuum they were in, he could attack without any air resistance but it also took a lot of power out of his attacks.


    If they were on earth, when he swung his saber onto the ground it would send out a shockwave of at least 10 meters in radius and could even increase the size of a wound on a level eight mutated beast several times. However, such an effect would be rendered useless in a vacuum environment. He even suspected that his saber would not even prate its skin.


    It was about 600 meters long, 400 meters at its widest point and was about 100 meters tall. Its body shape was horizontal and t. From a biological perspective, its skin was at least four or five meters thick and in consideration of it being an interster creature, the thickness may be more than expected.


    In this case, Luo Yuan had no idea where to start if he wanted to kill it but he waited patiently for it tond on the surface of the moon.


    Though the moon was much smaller than the earth, Luo Yuan realized when hended on the surface that the moon could boost his Strength. This meant that the Earth Pulse could be used on the moon.


    Since he had transformed his body with his body fusion ability, his Strength had increased significantly to 200 tons. With such an increase, Earth Geyser would undoubtedly be the most developed and powerful abilitypared to his other abilities.


    Compared to the Earth Geyser, the destructive power of his own strength could not bepared to it. After all, one leveraged on the power of a star while the other only relied on him. The difference between the two powers was like the difference between a piece of steel and firearms.


    ...


    The creature seemed to continue swimming on the surface of the moon, noting down at all. It seemed like it was searching for something. However, Luo Yuan had always been patient when it came to hunting.


    As time passed, both their movement speeds got faster and soon, they had entered into the dark side of the moon. Craters were even moremon here and wererger as well. Arge number of craters that were attached to one another looked shocking.


    The moon was both bright and dark at the same time because it rotated at the same speed that it orbited the earth. Because of this, one side always faced the earth while the other faced away from the earth. This was the dark side of the moon which faced interster space and there were no obstructions so meteorites would hit its surface there all the time and formed quite a number of craters.


    However, though the dark side of the moon could not be seen from earth, it was notpletely without sunlight. There were day and night even on the other side of the moon. It just seemed mysterious because it was hidden from view.


    ...


    Luo Yuan noticed the sun setting in the horizon and that night wasing. Without any reflection of the sunlight from earth, it would be even darker at night. Fortunately, after he followed it for another ten minutes, the interster creature finally stopped in one of the craters.


    This was thergest crater in the area, with a width that was more than 600 meters high and a diameter of between 200 to 300 kilometers, it was considered to be quite amazing seeing as the moon was smaller than the earth. The interster creature flew around the crater slowly in a circr motion and though it was huge in size, it seemed quite flexible as if it was floating in the water.


    Luo Yuan wondered about its purpose ofing to this area but just as that thought ran through his mind, the interster creature swooped down all of a sudden and its body smashed into the crater.


    Though the crater felt huge to Luo Yuan, it felt just like a small hill to the interster creature as it could barely fit its length.


    Along with a sudden, dazzling sh of light that suddenly shone in space, a huge gap appeared under the crater with such an impact. This was a collision between two huge forces which caused arge amount of ten-ton boulders to fly in all directions, breaking past the moon¡¯s gravitational pull and broke out of its orbit into outer space. The entire moon was shaking intensely.


    The interster creature did not seem pleased with this hit so it swam to a further distance and swung its tail fiercely, causing spatial ripples as it swam towards the crater again, mming into it at a high speed. It seemed faster this time as it almost reached three kilometers per hour when it mmed into the crater.


    Luo Yuan was shocked and quickly made his retreat.


    With such a speed, coupled with its body that weighed millions of tonnes, 16 points of Intelligence helped him reach a conclusion that the impact of its hit was roughly the equivalent of 100 million tons of TNT which was about 5000 rounds of the Little Boy bomb [1].


    In contrast, the full force of his punch was equivalent to 0.00004% [2] of the impact that the difference seemed like it was between heaven and earth.


    The very next moment, the collision between the interster creature and the crater was like when an asteroid hit the earth. A dazzling light that was a hundred times brighter than the one before this shone at him and a scorching temperature could be felt everywhere. Luo Yuan thought of testing his limits but figured that he could onlyst a few moments. His body generated ayer of Will automatically but it was soon broken. Fortunately, by the time theyer of Will broke, Luo Yuan had used his teleport ability to escape 1,000 kilometers away and even then, he still felt the heat on his body.


    There was no air on the moon and except the radiation from the heat, there was not much of a st wave which made the impact weaker by half.


    Luo Yuan looked down from above and saw that the entire crater had mostly been vaporized due to the intense temperature while the rest of the surrounding areas turned intokes ofva with a radius of a hundred kilometers, looking like boiling water.


    Fortunately, the moon was strong enough to withstand such a hit and aside from theke ofva and the earthquake, no other significant damage was seen.


    Of course, since there were so many craters on the surface which were apparently formed due to arge amount of asteroids crashing into the moon over millions of years, an attack like this would be considered asmonce.


    The interster creature shaking in the air seemed to be fainter. The originally bright light had now be extremely dim and apparently, the interster creature also had a hard time from the impact it caused earlier. It was only a few minutester that it recovered and regained its senses as its body stopped shaking.


    It looked down into theke ofva below it and immediatley dived down, drilling into it untilva sshed into the sky. The interster creature had disappeared.


    Luo Yuan suddenly lit up. He immediately flew down and stood on the surface of the moon, realizingter that the moon was actually still shaking at a high-frequency, causing him to be unable to stand firmly/


    Luo Yuan once heard that the moon was hollow and he thought that it was only hearsay but now, it seemed like it was the truth. Still, he had no time to explore this myth.


    He cleared his mind and took a deep breath, his heartbeat slowed down.


    Trantors Note:


    [1] The little boy bomb was the bomb used in the Hiroshima bombings with each round having an equivalent to an estimated 16,000 tons of TNT.


    [2] The author used 0.02 but in a previous chapter, it was mentioned that Luo Yuan¡¯s punch would weigh at least 3000 tons when he had 150 tons of Strength, now that he had 200 tons, it would probably yield about 4000 tons which would be equivalent to 0.00004% of 100 million tons of force.

 Chapter 434: First Contact

    Chapter 434: First Contact


    Trantor: EndlessFantasy Trantion Editor: EndlessFantasy Trantion


    He began to feel the pulse of the moon.


    The moon¡¯s pulse was different as the earth¡¯s pulse was low and heavy like the sound of bass while the moon¡¯s pulse felt fast and lively like someone was hitting a drum.


    Besides that, the moon was also hollow, making the pulse feel much clearerpared to the earth¡¯s pulse.


    After a few seconds, his body began to tremble and his heartbeat was nowpletely in sync with the moon¡¯s pulse. A majestic force grew beneath his feet and his body was filled with endless strength and as the emotions faded, his mind became clear and he looked at thevake far away. Suddenly, he disappeared and appeared on theva when he reappeared.


    He stood on the surface of theva like there were roots growing under his feet. His body moved up and down, following the ebb and flow of theva as it moved under him. The gravitational pull was quite weak and the buoyancy he had inva was sufficient to support his weight. He may not be able to stand onva in such a way back on earth.


    At that moment, theva was still rolling around like boiling water and high-temperature streams that looked like a geyser would shoot out once in awhile. The temperature was at least 1,000 degrees Celcius which was already able to melt steel.


    His shoes began to melt slowly and even the synthetic war boots he wore that was made from level seven materials were not able to withstand such temperatures.


    He looked at the melting shoes without any expression before he took one of the shoes and threw it into theva. He then pulled the other off and did the same thing.


    He now stood on theva with his bare feet and although theva had an intensely high temperature, he seemed to be alright and did not feel anything.


    His body after obtaining the body fusion ability felt insted. It could hardly conduct temperature and was also good at withstanding certain forces. It was a basic necessity for interster creatures. In addition from being able to sustain themselves with their abilities, they could also protect themselves from attacks in space.


    Else, they would not be ssified as interster creatures if they could not even withstand and adapt to this sort of environment.


    ...


    His sense began spreading out around him and Luo Yuan was trying his level best to feel the body of the interster creature and kept moving.


    Thevakes were huge, covering a few thousand kilometers which was almost the size of Shanghai before the apocalypse. If he needed to check every inch of it, even if Luo Yuan could move at an astonishing speed, it could not be done in a short period of time.


    In fact, he did not need to do such a thing since he could roughly identify its location.


    Its body was toorge and was like a small mountain that would cause tremors on the ground when it drilled underground. Suddenly, he felt the waves beneath his feet move vigorously.


    The interster creature seemed to have dove deep into theva as he could not sense it any longer. Time passed and theva began to cool as he felt the solid rock under his feet.


    The stark difference in temperature during day and night on the moon was huge, simr to others without an ozoneyer. In the daytime, it could reach up to 100 degrees Celcius and could go down to -180 degrees Celcius during nighttime.


    At this moment, the sun had set and everywhere was dark but the temperature had yet to reach its lowest point. It was at negative 20 to 30 degrees Celcius at the moment, cooling theva at a shocking speed under such temperatures.


    The interster beast hid underground and Luo Yuan had no idea what it was searching for down there. He waited for more than 10 minutes and noticed a change.


    The ground suddenly had an unexpected vibration as a big lump began growing underneath. After a few seconds, a huge mountain was seening out the grown and kept growing upwards!


    The ground became red under such a powerful force as it shook vigorously. Countless red rocks began floating in the air and the began to crack


    It all happened too fast, Luo Yuan did not manage to stabilize his body and began floating in the air as well. He moved to a higher altitude as the mountain continued its growth. The entire process happened in less than 10 seconds as the perfectly formed mountain began to crack andva flowed out.


    "You¡¯ve finallye!" Luo Yuan thought to himself.


    His Sense finally detected its huge body and at that moment, it prated the ground at the speed of a few hundred kilometers per second. Theva close to the beast had already be a milky white. It was so close to the surface when Luo Yuan sensed its presence.


    Suddenly, the volcano erupted and more than 10,000 tons ofva gushed out and flew into space. At the same time, the interster beast rushed out of the ground and caused the entire volcano to detach itself, flying out into space.


    The amount of force was shocking but Luo Yuan who was currently in his Earth Pulse state did not have any emotions.


    Right at that moment, the interster beast left the ground so Luo Yuan quickly grabbed the opportunity to initiate the Earth Geyser.


    Within a few moments, a huge puddle ofva shot up at a high-speed and sshed onto the interster creature which was about to take flight. Its body was shined as its mouth opened furiously and it roared in silence.


    You could not hear anything in space but all the maic field and the gravitational force


    seems to have been interrupted.


    Its response was fast as it immediately red at Luo Yuan with its cold, ferocious re that was fearsome enough to make Luo Yuan withdraw from his Earth Pulse state. He was stunned but recovered in the next few moments.


    He was in fear of being so close to an interster creature of this magnitude. His body froze and he could hardly move, he totally forgot to attack.


    However, Luo Yuan was different from ordinary people. He gathered his Will and easily wiped away all the negative emotions he had. He held on tightly to his saber and red back at the interster creature. Time seemed to be frozen as both of them became stationary, judging each other¡¯s movements.


    The interster creature did not rush an attack but instead, floated silently. Its huge body was like a mountain as it stared at Luo Yuan, twitched its mouth and exposed its ugly, disgusting, sharp teeth. Luo Yuan sensed some sarcasm from its re.


    The interster creature had an intelligence that was beyond humanprehension. It was angry but at the same time it felt amused that a tiny creature would attack it randomly. It could feel a stinging body on its body and decided to burn the tiny worm to ashes.


    The next moment, it opened its mouth and its throat seemed to emit a glow. It was just a mild light but suddenly became a bright light. It was like the sun in the dark side of the moon that made the surrounding be as bright as daytime.


    Luo Yuan was trembling, feeling scared.


    As he looked at the image that came as a result of his foresight, he suddenly disappeared. Right on the moment he disappeared, an electro-sma shot struck the spot where he was standing at and turned the entire area into gas.


    At that moment, Luo Yuan had already teleported himself to the head of the interster creature. Unfortunately, this level nine creature was way stronger than what he imagined it to be. Even before he could attack the interster creature, he was thrown out by the force that the surface of the beast¡¯s body gave off. He quickly stabilized himself and floated in mid-air.


    He felt a pain on his body and his skin felt like it almost detached from his body. Such destructive force from the creature was able to hurt him in less than a second.


    Luo Yuan had realized his weight was also too light, allowing the force-field on the beast¡¯s body to throw him out. Teleporting was not the best way to prate its defensiveyer. He had to use his incredible speed to prate it.


    The interster creature immediately turned around and rushed towards Luo Yuan, intending to swallow him into its stomach. However, its speed was too slow that the interster creature could not even catch up with Luo Yuan when he was flying with his Will.


    Luo Yuan decided not to tangle with it any further. He teleported ten kilometers away and rapidly rushed towards the beast. Compared to the time where the beast hit the mountain on the moon earlier, his speed was fast and extremely shocking. He easily traveled more than 10 kilometers per second.


    However, he did not dare hit the beast with such a speed as he was not sure if he could kill the beast but he would definitely kill himself.


    Luo Yuan held his Zhanmadao behind his body as he shed across the front of the beast. Under such speeds, he could even cut through steel easily, not to mention his Zhanmadao.


    The beast only saw him shing across it and felt an incredible force hitting its back.

 Chapter 435: Magical Skin

    Chapter 435: Magical Skin


    Trantor: EndlessFantasy Trantion Editor: EndlessFantasy Trantion


    Luo Yuan continued to fly another 20 kilometers and then stopped to look back.


    The interster creature was like a fish struggling vigorously. It was angry and electro-sma shots were gushing out from its body, brightening up the moon. The region close to the beast had turned a shade of red.


    Luo Yuan had sharp eyes and could clearly see tiny spots of blood as some blood was slowly dripping down. Within a few seconds, its entire eyeball had turned red as it roared in the silence of space, frightened by its injured eye. After its initial shots, it whipped its tail vigorously in an attempt to escape.


    The fact that such a fearsome interster creature was frightened by Luo Yuan was kind of ridiculous. However, this was expected; it was like when humans first discovered wasps, their first reaction was to run. Intelligent creatures had a way of analyzing the situation and after it did, the interster creature decided to make its escape when it found out it had no way of catching up to the speed of that ¡¯tiny worm¡¯, it could not even attack it!


    Luo Yuan did not go after the beast but let it go. He was already at his limit.


    The strike hended looked fearsome but it did not actually cause any grievous injuries as only the membrane of its eye was serious which was not as serious as it would have been if it was hit with the Earth Geyser. However, the eyes were an important organ for any creature and even the slightest injury could greatly anger them. He sighed, feeling helpless against such a fearsome beast.


    Of course, in a way he was also an interster being but the difference in strength and size were vastly different. This made it difficult for him to cause any severe injuries to the interster creature.


    For enemies with a smaller body, it was still possible for him to kill them with his body as well as the foresight ability from his four-dimensional brain. However, against the interster creature, it seemed as helpless as an ant that was trying to kill a man.


    That being said, it would be an arduous task for the interster creature to kill Luo Yuan as well.


    Within the period they were fighting, Luo Yuan was thinking of entering its body via his space-time bubble and kill it from the inside-out. However, he soon realized that it was impossible because it required a calm surrounding and the bubble was also fragile, not being able to withstand too much shock as it would burst once the shock to it was too strong. The force-field around the body of the interster creature made it difficult for him to get close.


    This situation was simr to when he was nearby objects with a strong gravitational pull. Perhaps, he could resist the shock from the force-field once his Will grew stronger.


    Fortunately, he did not ept the mission earlier or he might actually fail the task.


    This was something he found out by himself; the system was meant to assist him and he could fully utilize arge amount of info it gave him. For example, he did not necessarily have to ept a mission if he receives a notification. The mission would still be open as long as the target was still avable. With that in mind, he could give the mission a try and make a decisionter after he confirms if he has enough confidence toplete the mission. This was to prevent his experience from being deducted if he fails the mission.


    Luo Yuan was floating mid-air with his bare feet when he realized after looking at his watch, that it was already almost afternoon on Earth.


    It was not an ordinary watch as its ss was made from the ws of the giant bird. The ws were as clear as crystal which made it a good material to fuse synthetic products. The metal parts of the watch were also made from the beak of the giant bird which was also very strong.


    As a matter of fact, since he has made modifications to his body, he could not wear or bring any ordinary objects seeing as they would break easily even if he were to punch something lightly. Even synthetic products that were made from materials lower than level seven would notst that long.His shoes were the only thing below level eight that he had but it was not gone.


    The moon was nowpletely dark once it entered night time. Even though Luo Yuan could see in the dark, he still found it hard to see. After a long period of being on the moon, he had lost interest.


    He kept thinking of returning to earth as the Wisdom Tree was going to get an upgrade within a few days. When he was about to depart, he realized that there was a tiny spot floating nearby.


    At first, he did not really pay any attention. The gravitational pull of the moon was quite weak and it was probably stones and dust that flew into space after the volcanic eruption as well as the battle. The dot was probably falling back onto the moon. However, Luo Yuan soon found out that it was not falling but was stationary in the air.


    He tried his best to check it out but it was already too dark. Then, he thought of something and quickly flew towards the target. He was not able to see it clearly in the dark earlier because even though the dot seemed close, it was nearly seven to eight kilometers away.


    It was an irregrly shaped ck object with the widest part being 1.5 meters and the narrowest part of it being one meter wide. The average thickness of it was about half a meter and its interior was full of tiny pores, making it look mystical.


    As he looked at the color and the mystical appearance, Luo Yuan already knew what it was without identification.


    It was undoubtedly the skin of the interster creature which had escaped earlier. It probably dropped when the interster creature was hit by the Earth Geyser. It was just its dead skin.


    However, even its dead skin was very valuable as it was the dead skin of a level nine creature. It was even more valuable than money.


    Luo Yuan took the dead skin in his hands and it felt rough and strong. After that, he held both ends of the dead skin and tried to bend it. Its shape immediately changed but it was just a small bend.


    Luo Yuan was surprised because even steel felt as soft as rubber in his hands but the dead skin was so strong, it was probably the strongest object he could find.


    "Tsk tsk!" Luo Yuan studied it carefully. He realized the dead skin was not only strong but was made up of manyyers of tissues with countless tiny pores which were irregrly sized. The structure was like that of aposite armor, making it excellent as a defensive material.


    The amazing thing was, it could float in the air!


    His eyes were sharp and he could see the different waves and forces in the universe and yet he could see none of those on the skin.


    Then, he threw the dead skin away and found that while it was in his hands, it would constantly move but once it left his hands, it would remain stationary.


    Its amazing properties fascinated Luo Yuan. It was definitely mind-blowing and he immediately began using his identification power.


    "Interster Creature¡¯s Skin - Gerard"


    "Rarity: Purple"


    "Weight: 300 kilograms"


    "Additional Abilities: Space Anchor"


    "Remarks: The interster creature - Gerard possesses a space talent which allows it to travel freely in space. This power came from its skin."

 Chapter 436: Solving Problems

    Chapter 436: Solving Problems


    Trantor: EndlessFantasy Trantion Editor: EndlessFantasy Trantion


    Looking at what was described in the system, the skin weighed only 300 kilograms but Luo Yuan felt that it was a lot heavier.


    Luo Yuan estimated that its weight was at least 10 tons when he moved the skin. Since the system would not make such an error, the remaining 9.7 tons that Luo Yuan could feel was probably the space anchor ability of the skin.


    It felt like an awl that was nailed firmly in space and one would not be able to move it without great strength. To be honest, despite Luo Yuan¡¯s understanding of space, it was his first time witnessing power such as this.


    Luo Yuan looked happy as the skill was quite useful to him. As long as he put on clothes that were made of these materials, the weight of his body would increase and he would be less likely to be blown away during a battle.


    Before the apocalypse, humans were moderate in size and only certain species wererger than humans. Nevertheless, after the apocalypse, humans were somehow categorized as small sized living organisms. Most of the mutated beasts which included low-level beasts were alsorger than human beings.


    Just like the space beast Luo Yuan had encountered earlier, he was blown away by the defense of its body before he could even reach it. The weight of the human body weight was too light, rendering the strength of humans useless.


    Thanks to the space anchor ability, he would be capable of using his full strength during a battle.


    Luo Yuan¡¯s strength was certainly not weak at all seeing that his strength is beyond theprehensions of biology. However, during a battle, he could not fully utilize his strength. ording to Newton¡¯s Third Law of Motion, forces were always acting in opposite direction. When he exerted a force on an object, the object instantaneously exerted a force back on his body. For instance, if he were standing on the ground, the force would be acting down towards the ground.


    When the force was small, it would not cause a significant impact on the ground. However, when Luo Yuan could use his full strength in his attacks, the force he would exert would be equivalent to an explosion that was the equivalent of 0.2 tons of TNT. Although this figure might seem insignificant, the explosion caused by an ordinary cruise missile was only equivalent to 0.1 tons of TNT. Therefore, it was imaginable that Luo Yuan had to ovee such strong forces every time heunched an attack. Normal steel floors would not be able to withstand such an impact.


    In fact, he always managed to bnce himself and hadplete control over his movements if he were standing on ground. Despite his attempts to offset the forces that acted on his body, he would cause an explosion on the ground and form a huge pit. However, by doing so, the forces that acted on his body would be offset by him.


    On the other hand, it would seem like disaster would strike if he were to fight in space. If he struck a single blow, his body would be blown away due to theck of gravity, restricting him from fully utilizing his strength.


    Of course, there were some disadvantages of materials such as these as the space anchor ability was quite overpowered. If he put on an equipment made from the skin, the effects of his Will would be rendered useless.


    Flying with the power of his Will seemed to propel him quite rapidly but it could not generate enough force. Even with his 19 points of Will, it could only generate 300 kilograms of kic energy. The only reason why he could travel at such high speeds was primarily due to the Demonic Horse¡¯s mane that he used to ovee air resistance.


    However, this problem could be ovee with sufficient training of his Will. It would be simr to how he got control over his Zhanmadao when he performed shes in space after training for a period of time.


    ...


    He roughly removed the marks on his skin that were imprinted by his Will before he took the skin and flew away toward earth via his space-time bubble.


    Fortunately, the space anchor ability did not influence Luo Yuan when he flew through the fourth-dimension. After all, the space-time bubble moved the overall space around Luo Yuan and since the skin would only be anchored to space within the bubble, it would not affect his speed at all.


    Luo Yuan returned to Hope City after an hour.


    Many workers were now hustling and bustling at the construction sites of Hope City. It was only a few cities and it seemed like the entire Hope City had been emptied, making it look like a heap of ruins but the workers had already started rebuilding the factories.


    Some of the factories had even started operations even though the construction had yet to bepleted.


    Each time Luo Yuan passed through the city, he would feel shocked within his core as he could see how hard humans were struggling to survive after the apocalypse.


    Before he stepped into his house, he heard an unfamiliar voice.


    He hesitated for awhile. He then opened the door and walked in the living room. Everyone stood up immediately. Huang Jiahui and the rest of them were surprised when they saw Luo Yuan walking in while carrying a big ck object on his back. At the same time, there were two other people standing up, looking at Luo Yuan in awe.


    Luo Yuan had some thoughts in his mind as he took a look at the man and the woman who were obviously working for the government. He immediately put the skin aside and he could feel the atmosphere surrounding them turning to one that was quite depressing.


    Despite his efforts in removing the imprinted Will on the skin, the dreadfull breath of the interster creature remained and made it difficult for everyone to breath as they felt like a big rock was pressing down on their chest.


    It was Luo Yuan¡¯s voice that shifted their attention away from what they were feeling as he asked, "The both of you are...?"


    They immediately came to their sense and red at the object that floated in the air. Then, they buried the insecurities they had within their hearts as the woman around the age of 30 to 40 said nervously, "Hi, Minister Luo. Let us introduce ourselves. He is Bi Jianping, the deputy mayor of Hope City and I¡¯m Ni Xue, the director of the office of the municipal government."


    "Luo Yuan, have a chat with them. Both of the leaders have been waiting for you for a long time. I¡¯m going to the kitchen." Huang Jiahui smiled and said. She then quietly stood up along with Wang Shishi and Zhao Yali and left the living room.


    The mutated woman was still squatting beside Luo Yuan and looked around. However, nobody bothered about her.


    Luo Yuan looked at Huang Jiahui and nodded his head. Both of the leaders and Luo Yuan then exchanged nces and shook hands. He smiled and said, "Hi, I know both of you are busy. What brings you here?"


    He knew that the Hope City was having a hard time as he heard from Wang Xiaguang that the officers from the municipal government were working round the clock.


    "It¡¯s too kind of you, Minister Luo. We are representing the Hope City to express our gratitude to you, Minister Luo." The deputy mayor said and smiled awkwardly. ording to the report from the analysis, he knew that Luo Yuan was friendlier than the director. Though he was afraid of him, he tried to appear calm.


    "Don¡¯t mention it! We¡¯re all doing it for the Reconstruction Area. I believe others will also lend a hand when facing problems like these." Luo Yuan smiled and said.


    Luo Yuan frowned as both of the leaders looked tense. From their look, he could imagine how worried his superiors were.


    "It¡¯s because of Minister Luo has great awareness. Hope City must do something to express our gratitude. Before I came, the mayor had even reminded me to thank Minister Luo for your contribution. If you are facing any difficulties in life, Hope City will always be there to help. The mayor would havee himself if he weren¡¯t so busy with the reconstruction." The deputy mayor continued and said.


    "I appreciate it but no, thanks. Do I look like I¡¯m facing any problems?" Luo Yuan knew what they were trying to say and declined.


    He did not look like he was in trouble though. The deputy mayor thought in his heart. In current times, Luo Yuan was considered to be living quite a luxurious life as his house had all sorts of electrical gadgets and his living room was even bigger than the deputy mayor¡¯s house. He had heard rumors of the privilege given by the Firearms Bureau to Luo Yuan. He was surprised when he witnessed this.


    However, he had toplete the task given to him. It was a serious issue as not only Hope City was discussing it, but also New Capital City, who was in a mess as well. As far as he knew, the General Staff Department had even created an intelligence office for this issue.


    The mission assigned to him this time was notpletely decided by Hope City but was also partly decided by his superior.


    Based on his political knowledge, he roughly knew that this evolved man had been promoted to the highest level. He would be the state leader if he were promoted any further. His superior could no longer ignore this issue. The Reconstruction Area would experience drastic changes if Luo Yuan held any grudges against them.


    Nobody dared to take the risk as both forces were powerful.


    Since he could no longer be promoted, he could only be rewarded with gifts. In addition, the superior could only ask Hope City to do it as it was obviously a political duty. They must find out some difficulty that Luo Yuan was facing no matter what.


    "I guess your house is overcrowded, Minister Luo. Your house is too small and there aren¡¯t any personnel to handle your logistics. This is a dereliction of duty!" The deputy mayor then rxed a little and said.


    ......


    Although Luo Yuan had rejected him many times, he could not help but ept when the deputy mayor insisted on offering him some help.


    Luo Yuan initially nned to have a look at the wisdom tree to check if it had leveled up but waster dyed by this issue.


    The gift from Hope City was a vi with a built up space of 1000 square meters. Apparently, construction of the vi had started only a few days ago and had just beenpleted as there were visible signs that they had rushed to build this vi.


    After the apocalypse, the mostmonly used construction material was wood. Mutated wood was tougher and it was rtively easier and faster to use when building. Besides, they would be able to reduce the usage of paint without affecting the quality of the building.


    The vi had a luxurious interior design that was simr to what they had before the apocalypse. There was a pool made from white jade, floorings made from level six materials, and a mural on the wall of an eagle. In addition, there was a fountain made out of rocks that were ced in the center of the living room.


    Aside from the vi, a driver, a small medical team, and a logistics team were included as well. All of the special treatment Luo Yuan received was how a senior level leader was treated.


    However, among the 18 gifts he received, Luo Yuan rejected all of them except the doctors as he needed a doctor to take care of Chen Jiayi who went into aa.


    Also, most of them were women. They looked young and enchanting. Luo Yuan then wondered if his superior considered him as a womanizer.

 Chapter 437: Consequences Of Entering The Fourth Dimension

    Chapter 437: Consequences Of Entering The Fourth Dimension


    Trantor: EndlessFantasy Trantion Editor: EndlessFantasy Trantion


    Of course, the women were extremely happy after moving to the new vi. They waited for the guests to leave, and started to look around each of the rooms in the vi.


    Luo Yuan did not seem to be interested and greeted the only doctor staying in the vi. He then said, "Take a seat, what¡¯s your name?"


    She looked very young and she was probably around the age of 20. Before the apocalypse, she must have just graduated from university. However, her actual age should be four to five years older after the onset of the apocalypse.


    She was fair, had an oval face as well as good features. Her skin was smooth and wless. Also, she had a graceful and charming figure and was indeed a beautiful woman. She was wearing a simple yet fitting white gown, which Luo Yuan feel as if it was a uniform fetish. In fact, including the logistic service personnel that Luo Yuan had rejected earlier, none of them looked ugly.


    "My... My name is Ye Qiuyu!" She took a quick nce at Luo Yuan who was sitting on a sofa and answered with a slight tremble in her voice.


    "Hi, Doctor Ye!"


    "H...Hi!" Obviously, she was quite nervous as she ced both of her hands on her knees, sitting straight like a primary school student when she answered.


    "Rx. I won¡¯t eat you. You don¡¯t have enough meat for me to eat." Luo Yuan smiled and said with humor.


    Luo Yuan never expected that Ye Qiuyu would get even more nervous after listening to his joke. Her body trembled slightly. Before she came, the municipal government had readjusted her thoughts. She roughly knew the background of this guy and was prepared to sacrifice herself. However, in the face of it, the difficulties to do so were far beyond what one could imagine.


    Every once in awhile, when she thought of Luo Yuan who was so powerful and influential, she could not help but feel scared. She was afraid that she would be killed if she did something wrong and he got offended.


    It felt exactly like a gun was pointing at her brain. That was why she felt a sense of insecurity when she faced Luo Yuan.


    Luo Yuan was speechless as he looked at her reaction. He did not try to make jokes anymore and asked with a smile, "Doctor Ye, how long have you been working?"


    "One year... Including my internship, it would be two years." She wondered if Luo Yuan doubted her ability. She immediately exined, "Before this, I was working at the military hospital. I great surgical experience and a good understanding of internal medicine. I am qualified for the job of a family doctor."


    Luo Yuan was amazed as he had never expected a delicate woman like her to be able to work in the frontline for two years. This implied that she started to work in the frontline soon after the Reconstruction Area was built. At the beginning of the war, many people died on a daily basis. When there were attacks from the mutants, many of the armies were defeated and seriously injured. Even if she were working at the military hospital, it would not be safe as well.


    "It¡¯s not really fair for you to work here." Luo Yuan sighed and said. He then asked, "Are you married?"


    Ye Qiuyu carefully nced at his direction. She then recalled some information her superior provided her and remembered that Luo Yuan seemed to like married women more. However, her superior did not have a specific answer for this question so she lowered his head and honestly answered, "No!"


    Luo Yuan nodded his head and was about to end the conversation, "Your job is simple. Take care of Chen Jiayi, do some of the household chores and there isn¡¯t anything else to do. Rx, I am a friendly person, you¡¯ll know soon."


    After he finished his sentence, he stood up and went to the third floor.


    Looking at Luo Yuan go up the stairs, Ye Qiuyu was relieved. She then shifted her gaze and felt a numbness throughout her body as if she got an electric shock.


    Soon, she had the urge to pee and stood up immediately as she felt numbness in her legs as well. After waiting for awhile, she walked swiftly to the toilet.


    Just as she pulled down her pants, she let out a torrential flow of urine. She then let out a gasp her mind drifted. She recalled the conversation she had with Luo Yuan when he spoke mildly to her earlier and suddenly realized that he was not as scary as she thought. Besides, she felt that he was a good looking man that exuded an indescribable charm.


    Before leaving the toilet, she tidied her messy hair and she got disgusted with herself as she was blushing.


    ...


    There were many dishes for tonight¡¯s dinner. Of course, it was a kind of housewarming dinner.


    Regardless of how insecure Ye Qiuyu was, the other women still pulled her over to the dining table while the mutated woman was having her dinner alone at a small table. She did not seem to bother them and ate her food ravenously. She looked happy though and this was how she used to be when she was living in a jungle.


    After the dinner, they chatted for awhile and Luo Yuan went back to the master bedroom on the third floor.


    The master bedroom was more than 200 square meters with an individual toilet, a wardrobe, a study room, and even a small weapons storage space. The weapons room had almost everything including cold forged weapons such as knives, sabers, bows, crossbows, and even firearms.


    Luo Yuan was not really interested in the firearms. Its ability to release 0.2 tons of energy during theunch of an attack indicated that the weapon itself could withstand a simr amount of energy. To him, these weapons were like toys. Even if a missile were to explode under his feet, it would not be able to break through his defense at all.


    The cold forged weapons had somehow attracted Luo Yuan¡¯s attention. He opened one of the casings and took out a saber. The shape of this saber looked almost simr to the Zhanmadao. Obviously, it had been forged based on the saber which Luo Yuan was using. In fact, it was not difficult for the Reconstruction Area to do this at all.


    The knife was entirely made of level eight materials. It was the only level eight weapon they had here. The rest of the weapons were less powerful, but on average most of them were level seven weapons.


    Compared to the vi, these weapons were actually more valuable.


    Luo Yuan ced back the saber and closed the ss casing which contained lead.


    He analyzed the weapon with his identification technique and found out thatpared to his Zhanmadao, the Level eight weapon did not seem to be more powerful. With his current strength, an ordinary level eight weapon would no longer have any effects on him. He now emphasized more on the special abilities of a weapon.


    He then opened the door of the wardrobe. It was full ofbat uniforms of the same style. The garments and essories after the apocalypse were simple as there were not many choices avable. He took a pair ofbat boots from the shoe cab and went back to his bedroom.


    The skin that he brought back had moved to his wardrobe and was now floating in the air stationary.


    In order to equally distribute the power on the boots, Luo Yuan first cut the skin into half by using his Zhanmadao. Perhaps it was because of the skin¡¯s space anchor ability, regr shes did not seem to have any significant effects on it. Consequently, he had to use his Will to cut it in half.


    After 10 minutes, the skin was sessfully merged into a pair of boots. It was no longer floating in the air and hadpletely lost the mysterious color it once had. Aside from the material still being as strong as it once was, there was no difference between this and the usual material.


    The shoes were sparkling after the space anchor ability had beenpletely merged onto the surface of the boots.


    Luo Yuan took the pair of shoes over and after immersing it in his Will, the marks imprinted by his Will were strengthened. Soon, the pair of boots seemed to have an invisible connection with him. However, it was still weak. He would still need to train with it for some time in order to have full control over the space anchor ability.


    Luo Yuan was excited as he tried on the shoes. He could slightly feel some resistance when he was walking. Each of the shoes had approximately 5 tons of force due to the space anchor ability. To him, the force was negligible and he had better stability after wearing the shoes. Before that, with just a little bit of strength, his body could easily float in the air.


    After walking for a few steps, he could feel that the house began to tremble. Luo Yuan could not help but stop walking. He then turned back and looked at the ground. He could see that the footprints had be imprinted in the floor of the luxurious bedroom.


    Fortunately, the vi was built and furnished to a high standard. All of the materials used were quality wood which was strong and durable. Otherwise, the vi would have copsed.


    Luo Yuan sighed and thought in his heart that he should not be living on the third floor but on the ground floor instead. He believed that the ground floor could withstand a stronger amount of force and there would not be a risk of copsing.


    Just as Luo Yuan was about to take off his shoes, his vision suddenly turned pitch ck and his mind went nk as he bent down his body. The processsted for awhile. He then regained his consciousness before falling down.


    Situations like this had happened many times and Luo Yuan was prepared for the bad news.


    He then opened the attributes panel.


    Indeed, it was astonishing as he noticed that his four-dimensional vision had increased drastically from a meager 5% to 20%.


    At this rate, he believed that the next time it increased, it would reach 100%.


    His face turned sour. If he were to say that the four-dimensional brain gave him many advantages, then he should not be worried about the changes in his four-dimensional vision. He could still clearly remember the night when he was tossing and turning around.


    He hesitated momentarily before he decided to untie the shoce.


    He knew that he had to face it no matter what happened. His four-dimensional vision had yed an important role in his Strength. Without which, he could not fly through the fourth-dimension and enter space. He would not even be able to handle the crisis of extraterrestrial civilization.


    In just a blink of an eye, a lot of information from his four-dimensional vision gushed into his head. He was absent-minded and suddenly his vision hadpletely changed.


    He could see through the wall separating the toilet and at the same time, he could see everything behind him as well. He had the ability to look through everything thoroughly from multiple angles with no barriers and he was no longer restricted by his field of vision as it felt like he was looking at the room from a different dimension. The walls seemed to have lost their function. As long as the room was notpletely closed, nothing could escape his eyes.


    When a normal human being was looking at a cup at eye level, he could only see one side of the cup. It was impossible that one could see the back or the inner part of the cup. Humans were able to see because light rays reflecting from distant objects were focused on the retina. Also, since light traveled in straight lines, this resulted in human only being able to see two-dimensional surfaces that were not luded by something else.


    The distance of an object from the eyes, its shape and the degree of curvature were interpreted by the brain through the reflected light.


    However, with his four-dimension vision, Luo Yuan did not need the reflection of light in order to see. His eyes would send a pair of three-dimensional images to his brain. When he looked at the cup, he could see it from the front to the back as well as the inner part of the cup. As long as it was not an enclosed object, he could see through everything.


    He could vaguely feel this effect when his four-dimensional vision was at 5%. When he was flying in the space-time bubble, he was able to see the scenery behind the mountains. Until today, he still did not know the full extent of his four-dimensional vision powers.


    Besides, it was not only his vision in the three-dimensional world that had changed as he could see things clearer in the four-dimensional world. He felt like there was hidden power everywhere in his room, flowing through the wall and it seemed like it happened on his body as well. The power resembled light in the three-dimensional world but Luo Yuan still did not know how it should be used.


    He had untied his shoece for a long time. He did not feel ufortable and was slightly relieved.


    At that moment, he felt that something was wrong with his eyesight. He was shocked as the ceiling looked shorter. He immediately recalled the scene when he first entered the room just now topare if they still looked the same.


    His face was white as paper. He was terrified as he had grown 20 centimeters taller unconsciously, exceeding the height of two meters.


    The space his body inhabited had twisted a little bit more when he looked at himself.


    He was looking for a weighing scale in his bedroom. He was slightly irritated as he looked at the number disyed on the weighing scale.


    His weight had exceeded 200 kilograms. Not long ago his weight was only 150 kilograms.


    Spatial warping existed in the third dimension through gravity and the mass of an object was subject to the strength of gravity.


    The size of his body did not change from a four-dimensional perspective, only that there was a greater amount of spatial warping. However, there was a drastic change in size and an increase in mass in the three-dimensional world.


    Luo Yuan got even more irritated as he continued thinking. He had evolved into a four-dimensional being not long ago and his four-dimensional vision had already increased from 5% to 20%. Perhaps he previously grew taller all of a sudden due to the effect of the fourth-dimension as well. He did not care about it earlier as it was not obvious but he had grown a lot taller now.


    Compared to his four-dimensional brain and body, his four-dimensional vision was only a small part of it.


    He could not imagine how gigantic he would look like in a three-dimensional world.

 Chapter 438: A Burnt Child Dreads The Fire

    Chapter 438: A Burnt Child Dreads The Fire


    Trantor: EndlessFantasy Trantion Editor: EndlessFantasy Trantion


    Things were not really so bad. The ergement of his body had resulted in an increase in his Strength as well. This had added one point to his Strength and his Strength had increased to 40 points. He did not seem to be happy about it though.


    His clothes obviously had be a size smaller and his pants were very tight and short. He could also feel that his new shoes were a little bit tighter. Subconsciously he was trying to unbutton his clothes, but he could not, frustrating him. His power gathered and stirred up the atmosphere, causing a sudden fierce wind which blew everything in his bedroom, making a huge mess. He then ripped his clothes apart including the coat made from the demonic horse¡¯s mane and his sma inner wear in anger as well.


    Luo Yuan did the same thing to his pants, tearing them apart beforeying in bed to look at the ceiling helplessly, feeling annoyed.


    His two-meter height was still within the range of a normal human being¡¯s height. His life would not be affected at the moment but how would he look like in the future?


    Perhaps the next increase in his four-dimensional senses would cause him to go beyond human limits. From his experience, this was going to happen very soon, probably within one month or a maximum of six months. He had no idea where he would go if this happened, wondering if he had to end up alone and his women would all leave him alone.


    That night, Luo Yuan was tossing and turning around due to insomnia.


    ......


    The next morning, the mutated woman who sneaked into his room quietly was the first one to realize the change in Luo Yuan¡¯s appearance.


    She was shocked looking at Luo Yuan who was sitting on the bed as she felt that she was not familiar with him at all. She retreated a few steps backward and nearly fell down as she stepped on a broken vase.


    Luo Yuan stared at her. He then shifted his gaze. Without any facial expressions, he walked toward his wardrobe and chose the biggest clothes he had. He noticed that it was still slightly smaller as everything in his wardrobe was prepared ording to his initial body size. There were not any clothes that suited his size, so he had to wear this first.


    He headed back to his bedroom and activated his Will. The rubbish and broken pieces floated into air, spiraled up, and formed a ball.


    Luo Yuan stripped the bed and the sheets joined the ball. He then covered the bed with new sheets that he took from his wardrobe and left his bedroom along with the rubbish. The women were all awake and preparing food.


    Wang Shishi who came out from the kitchen was shocked and speechless when she saw Luo Yuan.


    "Why are you stunned? Can¡¯t you recognize me?" Luo Yuan smiled despite being worried.


    "You... You... You... How did you grow so tall in one night?" Wang Shishi stammered.


    Wang Shishi¡¯s voice immediately attracted the others toe out. All of them covered their mouth in shock of what they saw.


    "Luo Yuan, what happened?" Huang Jiahui asked in shock.


    "I¡¯m not really sure what¡¯s happening as well. Just that yesterday I¡¯ve achieved a breakthrough in my abilities and now I look like this." Luo Yuan said helplessly but he forced a smile.


    He had no idea how to tell them about the true fact. It was impossible for him to tell them that this was just the beginning and he was going to be a giant very soon and they would look as small as an ant to him.


    Everyone felt a sense of relief but was somehow worried about him. They had been living together with each other for so long. Regardless of how well Luo Yuan could hide his feelings, they could still vaguely feel it.


    None of them continued asking. They looked stunned in the first ce but now they looked like they had gotten used to it. The only difference was Luo Yuan kept quiet most of the time, causing the atmosphere to be silent and dull.


    Luo Yuan felt that something was wrong and quickly got back his senses. He smiled and asked, "What¡¯s wrong? Don¡¯t stop talking. It¡¯s just that I had some thoughts on my mind. Doctor Ye, don¡¯t behave like a guest, treat this as your house."


    Ye Qiuyu immediately put down the steamed bun on her hand as she was scared. She said softly while trying to swallow the food in her mouth, "Yes... Yes, I will."


    "He looked scary but he is just the same as an ordinary man. Don¡¯t be afraid of him." Wang Xiaguang told her as she stared at Luo Yuan.


    Luo Yuan shook his head and smiled. The heavy atmosphere earlier was reced by a harmonious one now.


    He was aware that his abnormal emotions had influenced the women. He then decided to let it go as eventually, if things were meant to happen, it would happen. At least for now, he should appreciate his loved ones.


    Luo Yuan then chatted with them and the women¡¯s anxieties had started to fade away.


    After finishing his breakfast, he said, "Enjoy your meal. I¡¯m going out."


    He took his Zhanmadao and when he was about to leave, he said, "Please buy me some plus-size clothes. My body had grown bigger and I can¡¯t fit into the old clothes."


    ......


    As soon as Luo Yuan left the Hope City, he started to fly into the sky.


    Without the synthetic clothes made by the demonic horse¡¯s mane, the air resistance now slowed down his speed. Fortunately, he used the leftover horse¡¯s mane to synthesize a belt and he wore it around his waist.


    Despite his speed being reduced to half, he still managed to travel at a speed of one kilometer per second. Such a speed was more than enough to travel short distances. He would certainly use the space-time bubble or teleport if he were going on a long journey. With his abilities, losing all of his equipment would not have any significant effects on him.


    The defense provided by his clothes was no longer important to Luo Yuan as his bodily defenses system could defend against most of the level eight creatures.


    Luo Yuan flew very fast and before it was even 10 minutes, he hadnded in the old nest of the Blue Dragon. He stared at the Blue Dragon that tried to escape as soon as he saw him before shifting his gaze toward the wisdom tree.


    It had been only a few days the wisdom tree had grown taller, reaching the height of 100 meters. Not only did it change in size, but also in its shape and appearance, bing more mysterious!


    The tree trunk which was initially purple in color had turned ck. The green leaves had a crystal-like material that looked like a carved jade. Countless tree roots were twisted like dragons tangled together, embedded deeply into the ground, slightly wriggling as though it was a living body. The wisdom tree was no longer how it used to be.


    The dead body of the giant bird hadpletely dposed and only bones were left. The crossover, white, jade-like ribs were ced beside the wisdom tree. Both of them were reflecting the value of life and death, bringing a very strong visual impact.


    Luo Yuan¡¯s identification had shown that the wisdom tree had been upgraded to level eight.


    Without any hesitation, he decided to harvest the tree. He then pulled out his Zhanmadao and teleported to a point, in front of the tree and he immediately cut the tree down. The saber shed through the tree like lightning and before the wisdom tree was able to react, Luo Yuan had disappeared from the ground.


    The moment the tree fell, countless branches broke off and the sky looked like it was covered by a lot of crushed bones.


    The Blue Dragon curled up its body as it rested on the side of the ground stunned, witnessing all of the urrences that seemed quite unbelievable.


    The tree belonged to the Blue Dragon! The Blue Dragon! The Blue Dragon!


    The tree took so much time to grow and Luo Yuan had cut it off!


    The next moment, it was so angry and had lost its senses. Its eyes turned red and roared fiercely. Luo Yuan was frightened but he forgot about it in just a short while.


    It continued to roar and eventually, it was interrupted by a shrill sound.


    Luo Yuan instantly teleported next to him and broke its sharp horn with a single blow. The horn flew away and crashed onto the surface of a mountain. Half of the mountain copsed and almost buried its body.


    Luo Yuan was looking at it without any facial expressions. Just as the Blue Dragon wanted to crawl and escape from the heap of stones, its body trembled as it saw Luo Yuan so it hid his head back into the heap of stones. It was afraid that Luo Yuan would be offended and hadpletely forgotten about its anger.


    "Damn! You need to learn a lesson!"


    He was not in a good mood and his anger was triggered by the Blue Dragon. He felt better now after turning his anger and frustration to the Blue Dragon.


    He noticed an increase in Strength and his attack speed had improved as well. When he first obtained the body fusion ability, it allowed him to strike a blow at 12 times the speed of sound. However, his speed was now 17 times faster and the energy released by each blow was the equivalent of 0.4 tons of TNT.


    His strength was empowered in a different way this time. It was based on the ergement of his body. He did not feel ufortable as well. Putting aside the side effects of entering the fourth-dimension, this was undeniably the fastest way to improve his Strength.


    ......


    After half an hour, the motion of the wisdom tree subsided. The tree trunk had shrunk in diameter and its outeryer had lost its glow. However, Luo Yuan waited for another half an hour patiently until its nutrients werepletely absorbed. He then went forward to take out the wisdom heart when it was dead.


    Once the wisdom heart was extracted from the wisdom tree, it was dead and no one could bring it back to life. Of course, Luo Yuan dared not to take such a risk.


    The previous generation of wisdom tree of a dark green rank. Despite being in a premature form, it would still produce some useful effects due to as it was the highest ranked at that time. The wisdom heart he had just obtained was light purple and thought it was a level above dark green, it was the weakest of the purple ranked life-forms.


    He could not ensure that the a premature wisdom heart would have any effects on him. If it were to turn out ineffective, a great amount of time would be wasted.


    Luo Yuan then took out the wisdom heart.


    It waspletely ck. Its surface resembled the human brain and its wrinkled features were so clear. He had earlier worked in the gicsb for a period of time and had a very good understanding of the structure of the human brain.


    He was shocked as he found out that there was no significant difference between the wisdom heart and the human brain.


    He used his identification ability.


    "Heart of Wisdom"


    "Rarity: Light Purple"


    "Weight: 300 grams"


    "Element: Intelligence-based object"


    "Additional Abilities: Intelligence +1, with a certain probability of a special mutation."


    "Remarks: This is a rare heart of the wisdom tree. It is rich in the essence of the entire wisdom tree and is very valuable. It can stimte the brain and increase one¡¯s Intelligence when it¡¯s consumed. It is very effective for people with an Intelligence of 18 points or below, with a certain probability of a special mutation."


    The identification message shed across his mind and he saw this, "With a certain probability of special mutation."


    His memory was good as he remembered the message used to be "low probability of special mutation" instead of "a certain probability of special mutation". The description of "a certain probability" would definitely be way greater than "low probability".


    Luo Yuan hesitated as he stared at the wisdom heart. Remembering the parable that said, a burnt child dreads the fire, Luo Yuan had to be extra careful as the ingestion of the wisdom heart would very likely cause changes to his brain. He was worried that he might gain non-human abilities or might suffer from the side effect of those abilities such as losing his loved ones which may be toote to regret.


    He wanted to consume it immediately but he changed his mind. As he recalled the incident that just happened, he needed some time to recover.

 Chapter 439: Spaceship

    Chapter 439: Spaceship


    Trantor: EndlessFantasy Trantion Editor: EndlessFantasy Trantion


    Luo Yuan was sitting with his legs crossed.


    The thick, white clouds under him crested endlessly. Looking at the vast and grand scene in front of him, Luo Yuan felt slightly calmer. He closed his eyes to avoid any distractions.


    It somehow stirred up the atmosphere, causing a sudden fierce wind.


    After half an hour, he gradually opened his eyes. He was prepared to pay for it the moment he gained his Strength. He was going to be out of his mundane life and be a lonely man.


    He tried his best to retain the things that he was going to lose. However, his effort was fated to be in vain.


    Whether it was a choice to continue entering the fourth dimension or to continue gaining more Strength, it would be difficult for him to have any intimate contact with normal human being.


    He was disappointed and felt a little anxious. He kept quiet for a while and decided to unwrap the sma band on his forehead. Suddenly, there were countless notificationsing from the system. He frowned slightly and he looked at the ground with his four-dimensional vision.


    The green forest could no longer block his vision. The moment when he saw the tree leaves, he could see the condition of the tree as well. The barriers he would encounter in the three-dimensional world would have no effect on his four-dimensional vision. He could clearly see there was a low-level mutated beast dozing in a cave. Also, he could see a small worm behind the tree leaves, slowly wriggling.


    Nothing in this world could escape his vision!


    Of course, the giant creatures could no longer hide.


    The small creatures attracted Luo Yuan¡¯s attention as they were eye-catching like torches in the dark. Most of them were basically level seven mutated beasts. Most of the mutated beasts had already evolved to level seven but it was still rare to see level eight mutated beasts.


    It was difficult to encounter even one level eight mutated beast in the entire region.


    Level eight mutated beasts were considered as the strongest creatures on the.


    Further evolution would allow them to have the ability to fly into space, bing an interster creature. It was not because of they did not want to stay on Earth, it was because they could not.


    As their body grewrger, the effect of the gravitational pull on them would be stronger. Each and every second, they had to constantly resist thousands of tons of pressure. Regardless of how strong the ground was, it felt like a swamp to them. Every step they took forward, they would find it difficult. Jumping would even cause them to suffer from broken bones. They had to leave the Earth if they wanted to continue to grow bigger.


    However, there were exceptions to this. For the lightning tree, there were no signs of its attempt to enter space. Perhaps it was because it was difficult for nts to move. It was going to stay on Earth, with its roots deeply embedded in the earth¡¯s crust.


    The influence of the gravitational pull on a rare and small creature like Luo Yuan seemed to be less significant. Apparently, small sizedcreature would always have some advantage.


    Luo Yuan then flew to look for traces of level eight creatures.


    After half an hour, he had finally found his target.


    Its appearance was like a giant ox, huge and fearsome. Aside from a few simrities to an ox, its other qualities were totally different. Its dark gray skin featured a silver intricate pattern and it had two pairs of curved big horns which were bright red in color.


    Its mouth did not look like the mouth of an ox but looked like a crocodile¡¯s mouth instead. Its sharp silver fangs looked intimidating. Obviously, it was a carnivorous mutated beast.


    At the moment, there was a dead body of a giant¡¯s beast in front of the giant ox. It then grabbed and swallowed the dead body and blood sttered everywhere.


    It was obviously the dead body of a level seven mutated beast. It looked rtively smallerpared to the mutated beasts that were bigger in size. The giant ox swallowed the level seven beast in just a few minutes.


    It burped, baring its bloody fangs, making it look cold and cruel.


    Its body and muscles became stiff abruptly and seemed to have received some sort of danger signals. The light fog on the surface of its body grew stronger. It was like it was in a world of fantasy as its surrounding was suddenly stirred, creating wave-like ripples.


    Suddenly, its head slightly tilted, attempting to bite its enemy from the side.


    The bite was so fast and not even the speed of sound could describe its speed. However, it had bitten nothing.


    It felt insecure and looked around, stomping the ground hard, making it tremble. It did not notice any traces of its enemy though. Perhaps it was mistaken when it felt a presence and it was all an illusion. However, it was constantly reminded of the feeling of danger it felt, like the enemy was somewhere around it.


    It roared and retreated a few steps backward. Suddenly, the giant ox saw a small shadow that quietly floated in the air. It did not notice its presence at all before this.


    Previously, it would not have noticed such a small creature. However, it was terrified now as if it was facing a formidable enemy.


    Luo Yuan threw his Zhanmadao aside and the sword was stabbed into the ground.


    He graduallynded. He moved slowly, casually taking a stroll and did not seem to bother the existence of the giant beast at all.


    The feeling of insecurity the giant beast felt grew stronger. Strong sound waves not unlike a typhoon signal number eight were produced as the giant beast roared loudly, forming intense ripples in the air.


    Luo Yuan shook his head impatiently and could only feel a vibration in his eardrums and the next moment, he raised his legs and stepped forcefully on the ground. At that instant, it was like a huge explosion had urred, resulting in a veryrge hole in the ground.


    The terrifying shock waves had caused a strong impact on its surrounding. Luo Yuan¡¯s body shed like lightning and he disappeared from there.


    "Bang!"


    All of a sudden, a loud sound was heard. It did not react to Luo Yuan¡¯s lightning-fast speed. He grabbed the freezing, cold air with his fist and struck a blow on its leg. It was like an explosion and its leg was broken.


    His running speed and the speed of his blow had made the speed of this attack to exceed the speed of sound 20 times. A vacuum was created the surrounding air when his fist passed through.


    Before its attack hit its leg, its leg was crushed upon its collision with his saber at that speed. The saber first cut through its skin and reached its bone. In just a few moments, the bone supporting its leg had broken.


    The wound on its leg continued to grow until its ligaments torn. Until this very moment, Luo Yuan¡¯s attack was not even close to its opponent and it was merely the shockwaves traveling through the air, causing its leg to break.


    Before it fell to the ground, Luo Yuanunched another attack and broke another leg.


    His abilities no longer required any other skills. With his speed and Strength, he could easily kill the level eight creatures.


    The giant beast moaned in pain but it was soon interrupted.


    The fight seemed to have triggered Luo Yuan¡¯s long-suppressed violence. His attack got even more furious and insane.


    His ghostly fist struck on the giant¡¯s beast body like a storm. Blood immediately gushed out and floated in the air.


    It was like the arrival of a demon as heunched consecutive attacks. The atmosphere was stirred up and caused the surrounding big stones to fly into the air like thending of meteorites.


    The entire area was churned up like a pot of thick porridge and normal human being would not be able to reach this ce.


    Luo Yuan¡¯s attack had produced an incredibly loud sound as a result. It could be heard even from a hundred meters away.


    After 10 minutes, Luo Yuan ended the fight. He was still calm and did not find it hard to breathe. He gradually recovered and looked at himself, his clothes were all broken into pieces and he was naked. The blood spilled on his body, and the air was filled with the strong smell of blood.


    He smiled and had suddenly forgotten that he was just wearing an ordinary outfit today as he ripped off his clothes and pants yesterday. However, even after putting on his synthesized clothes, it could not withstand such a powerful attack.


    Tons of blood dripped down like rain, its flesh and blood falling down asionally. Even the air turned into a shade of red. He looked at the dead body in front of him.


    To be exact, it was actually heaps of meat.


    Its body was broken up into pieces and it was no longer in shape. Its flesh was now scattered everywhere on the ground.


    Pits were formed everywhere on the ground and it looked like the surface of the Moon that Luo Yuan had once seen.


    He wanted to take out its energy crystal but he had no idea where his heart was. Perhaps Luo Yuan had crushed it. He cursed and thought in his heart that he should be so extreme in the future.


    Luo Yuan frowned as he looked at the blood on his body. His body slightly trembled and there was a sound that sounded very much like an explosion. The blood sttered on his body like how bullets fly out of a gun when it was fired. Luo Yuan¡¯s body was now covered in blood.


    He looked at the experience disyed by the system and he thought in his heart, "Only two were left."


    He took his Zhanmadao and continued to look for Level eight creatures.


    ......


    Land Observation and Strategy & Security Bureau


    The crowd stared at the big screen, watching Luo Yuan¡¯s naked body floating in the air. His private parts were censored and the screen only showed his muscr body, a magnificent view on the big screen. Some of the female staffs were shy and began blushing.


    "He should still be looking for level eight creatures. Should we send in information regarding the level eight creatures that we have? "One of the soldiers asked as he looked at Luo Yuan who was on the screen.


    "No, if he needs it, he would have requested it from us. It would be different if he were to ask for help from us instead of the other way around by providing him information before he asked for it. It¡¯s human nature to offer help and hope to receive a favor in return. If we were the ones asking for help all the time and the Reconstruction Area could not return the favor, his attitude would change. Be it contempt or dissatisfaction, all of us would not be able to bear this responsibility. He was 100 times more dangerous than a level eight mutated beast."


    The general said calmly. He belonged to the strongest group of people in the reconstruction area. He used to be more afraid of the internal forces that he could not control more than the enemies from the outside. In fact, many of the top management in the reconstruction area was like this. There would not be so many evolved beings in the reconstruction area if evolved humans were not powerful enough to threaten their superiors.


    ......


    At the same time, there was a massive spaceship navigating the asteroid fields between the Mars and Jupiter.


    The diameter of the spaceship was 1.5 kilometers. There were scratches all over the silvery surface of the metal. The shortest scratch was light and was only a few millimeters long while the deepest one was 30 to 40 kilometers long and there were meteorites in some of the scratches.


    On the other hand, it was visible that the armor of the spaceship was incredibly thick.


    In fact, the armor on its surface was 30 meters thick and the whole spaceship could only amodate 1000 people. The spaceship was very big as there were many factories, base materials, and fuel.


    The ssians had already familiarized themselves with space navigation betweens and had even navigated out of their home system. They gradually explored around the but this was their first time traveling such long distances.


    This spaceship was built partly for experimental purposes. It gathered the most advanced technology and had been navigating for almost 60 years. Most of the spare parts and engine of the spaceship had been changed several times. There was once that it was struck by a meteorite that weighed 100 grams at a supersonic speed and was almost entirely scrapped. They then spent a year to repair the spaceship in space.


    Eventually, five years ago, it stopped here, at the gxy.


    The ssians¡¯ embryos were cultured in petri dishes in the biologyb.


    The ssians¡¯ gic technology was more advanced than the human¡¯s technology. Therefore, they could simply modify nano-level substances and used this technology on the ssians¡¯ genes.


    The older generation of the ssians was weaker and had a shorter life span. On average, mankind would only live until 50 years old. Until today, regr ssians had reached an average lifespan of 300 years.


    The development of gic technology allowed the ssians topletely get rid of natural evolution, entering an era which self-perfection was allowed.


    However, the natural evolution of the creatures from the same produced limited genome samples. Some of the low-level mollusks almost had simr genes as highly-intelligent creatures. However, the artificially synthesized genes were produced depending on luck. It could be said the technological development had reached its limit at the moment. It would require some time to breakthrough and for further improvement.


    The ssians¡¯ original n was to stay here for only three years and they wouldunch their n to destroy the humans.


    Due to the abrupt changes of the antidote virus, itpletely ruined their previous n. All of the ssians, especially the researchers were extremely excited to have the mutated gene banks. Soon, strong and mysterious genomes were discovered one by one and everyone predicted that a new era wasing soon.


    The ssians¡¯ next generation would be even stronger and intelligent, empowered with all sorts of magical powers. At the same time, their technology could advance further, bing more civilized and making interster colonization possible.


    To this extent, poption size was merely a group of numbers. As long as there was sufficient living space and resources, their poption size would be increased drastically. Perhaps there might be even more ssians here soon.

 Chapter 440: The Show Has Begun

    Chapter 440: The Show Has Begun


    Trantor: EndlessFantasy Trantion Editor: EndlessFantasy Trantion


    A top management team meeting was held at the central conference room of the spaceship.


    On the three-dimensional screen, many 3D images were disyed on its screen. There were the Reconstruction Area which was in the east of Asia, the North America, and also the Northern Europe. Also, there were scenes where a lot of chimneys released a lot of smoke into the air since there were manyrge-scale factories. Pictures of battles between the humans and mutated beasts were projected on the screen as well where a variety of weapons appeared.


    The video continued ying until it reached one of the scenes where it stopped. It then drew the attention of the crowd. One of the ssians got agitated and stood up subconsciously. The conference room was a total mess.


    The native creature looked strict and serious with a ck outfit and he had no facial expression. Ignoring the background behind him, there was no difference between him and the other natives. However, the ssians were frightened when they saw a big and the moon behind him.


    "It¡¯s the interster creature!"


    "Why is he appearing on screen? Isn¡¯t it being said that highly intelligent creatures would not be affected by the antidote virus? How could he evolve at a rate faster than the virus vectors? Probably their gic technology is more advanced than ours?" One of the soldiers immediately asked.


    "From a microscopic perspective, creatures were created through probability. Even if the probability is low, it would be pointless to argue once something had urred as even though the probability was low, once it happened it would be 100%." One of the representatives of the research center retorted against him and continued, "This is a low probability phenomenon and it is a miracle that this urred. To say their technology is more advanced than us, it¡¯s just a joke. They would not be at a loss now if they have developed nanotechnology at our level."


    "Keep quiet!" The captain knocked the table and said, "Please continue to watch the video."


    The following videos were all about the native, showing that he was flying at a very fast speed with terrifying power.


    Then, a video of the battle between him and the mutated beast came on. It was clearly shown in the video each and every movement he made had caused a strong impact to the surrounding. The ssians were thrilled by the native¡¯s abilities.


    The had rtively low gravity. With such gravitational forces, even the ssians found it hard to stabilize themselves.


    "This creature is scary. His maximum speed was five thousand times the speed of sound and his strength was 10,000 times stronger than the ssians. He even had the ability to teleport as well as the ability to sense danger. The ssians had done thorough research on him and analyzed that he was 10 times more dangerous than regr interster beasts."


    The degree of danger was different from the degree of destruction. It referred to the difficulty that was necessary to kill the creature. Apparently, Luo Yuan who was smaller in size with the ability of teleportation was more dangerous than gigantic space beasts.


    All of the ssians inhaled a breath of cold air. The native did it with no further support. Thest time it happened, it felt like a fantasy. Despite their shock, they were amazed at his Strength. None of the ssians believed that the native was capable of threatening or destroying the spaceship as the power of the native and the spaceship was vastly different and could not bepared.


    "I believe many of you still remember the fatal incident that happened to the research group that was sent to the Earth. We assumed that the native would not be able to cross the ocean and eliminated him as a suspect. The incident was then categorized as destruction from an unknown mutant." The captain said.


    "What you¡¯re trying to say is it¡¯s done by the natives, and he¡¯s probably the one!" The ssian immediately said.


    "Yes, you¡¯re right. They have some ulterior motives for doing so. If we manage guessed their motives urately, then all the questions surrounding that incident would be answered. There were six dead bodies found on the aircraft but they did not find the dead body of the virologist. At the same time, a Model III weaponized robot had also gone missing and in fact, our identity might have already been revealed. They have the basics of nuclear fusion and may have taken our weaponized robot. If we do not bother to take action, it would be very dangerous. For the sake of safety, I think we should destroy the enemy."


    "Sir, I think you¡¯re overthinking it. Although their level of intelligence is almost the same as us and their technology had improved a lot during the war. But it took at least 30 years for them to develop advanced technology like us. We don¡¯t need to worry at all and we should follow our original n." The research representative said arrogantly.


    "It would be more valuable to have the native¡¯s gene rather than destroying himpletely. There will be improvements in our civilization if we¡¯re able to decrypt his gene. Then there is no need to worry about the natives anymore."


    The research center had gained a lot of information from navigating across space, be it thetest gene sample or the understanding of technology development on Earth. Therefore, the ssians from the Research Department opposed the suggestion to start a war.


    "When we first came here, the Research Department requested to wait for three years to undergo research training. After three years, you said that you¡¯ll need another half a year. It had been dragging on for too long and we have already waited for five years. Are we going to wait for another five years? Don¡¯t forget why we are here today! Our mission is to destroy their civilization." The representative from the military said.


    Everyone kept quiet. They had been here for over 60 years. Despite spending most of their time in the warehouse and having quantummunication which allowed them to contact their home star, they missed home. Most of the ssians could not wait to go back and did not want to stay here any longer.


    "I would still suggest taking the native¡¯s gene first. The value of the gene was beyond measure. We would bemitting a sin towards the ssians¡¯ if we miss this chance." The representative from Research Department said firmly.


    The captain slightly frowned. Despite being the suprememander, he dared not make a decision on a whim. The ability tomunicate with the home star without any barriers hadpletely deprived the captain¡¯s right to make a decision in an autocratic way. He sighed and said, "There is no conflict between aplishing the mission and obtaining the native¡¯s gene since this is by no means considered to be a war. Let¡¯s vote! Here¡¯s some good news. Our home star had achieved a breakthrough in technology and a new generation of spaceship was built. Perhaps you will still have a chance toe back in future."


    ...


    There were over 10 construction robots standing on the meteorite. They stacked the factories like how goods were packed. The meteorite then propelled itself forward, carrying the module-like factories as it flew toward the warehouse of the spaceship.


    There were approximately 700 meteors like these and a total of 2000 factories. The factories were categorized into ones that handled resources collection, metal smelting, machinery forging, and artificial synthesis.


    The small was busy and there was numerous transport ne around during the recovery of factories.


    Within these five years, the factories had collected a lot of resources and fusion fuel. Many spare parts of spaceship were manufactured for future use. If all of the parts were assembled, two spaceships could be built.


    In fact, more spare parts were required and would be manufactured due to the mechanical wear and possibility of encountering all sorts of idents in the space.

 Chapter 441: Destruction

    Chapter 441: Destruction


    Trantor: EndlessFantasy Trantion Editor: EndlessFantasy Trantion


    "I¡¯ve finally leveled up!", Luo Yuan thought as he was looking at the notification from the system while he stood naked beside the huge body. He had spent half a day to consecutively defeat three level eight mutated beasts and had finally gained enough experience to level up. He pulled out a level eight energy crystal from the beast¡¯s chest. He knew that even though the energy crystal was not beneficial to him, it would have meant a lot to other people and was very valuable.


    The abilities of his women had improved tremendously while their Strength and Physique had been upgraded to 15 points as of recent. Based on Luo Yuan¡¯s experience, they had not reached their limit yet as the level eight energy crystal would still be effective even if they had upgraded their Strength to 17 points.


    Even though there was still a huge difference in their Physiques, Luo Yuan would still be able to do some intimate activities with them as long as he was careful. He looked at the attributes disyed on the properties panel and mused. He then assigned the attribute points to Agility. As the heat was flowing through his body, he felt that the surrounding had grown silent and that everything was moving very slowly. He moved his body around and was able to quickly adapt to his new condition.


    This was different from the gic change that had happened earlier which had caused a boost in his Strength. Though his Agility had been raised by 1.5 times, he would certainly adapt to it in a short period of time due to his strong sense of control. However, this only applied to his movements and he still needed time to practice his attacks before he couldunch them as smoothly as he did in the past.


    Luo Yuan did not feel like heading back yet as it was still early and in the blink of an eye, he had flown 200 kilometers away. He then got into his space-time bubble and continued on his flight path until he arrived at a mountain nearby. He started cing the items that he had temporarily wanted to store inside the mountain, which included the wisdom heart and the energy crystal that he had obtained earlier. The mountain was over hundreds of meters thick and was rtively safe to be used as a hidden safety box in the wilderness. Unless a nuclear bomb was used to st a hole through it or some specialized equipment had been used to drill directly through it, no one could have reached the items that had been stored inside.


    On the way back, he tried to adapt to his new Agility. A strong howling wind was formed as soon as he moved his body, which caused severe destruction on the ravagednd surrounding him. The mountains nearby could no longer withstand the extreme impact of the wind and were falling apart as countless rocks began rolling down their slopes.


    Luo Yuan¡¯s was now 30 times faster than the speed of sound and the kic energy he produced was equivalent to the square multiple of his speed. Though the energy that he generated was still far off from being as powerful as the energy of a nuclear bomb, one could hardly withstand being struck by his high-frequency attacks. With 17 points of Agility, he could easily throw hundreds of punches in one second, which yielded more than three times the energy of the Hiroshima bomb.


    In fact, the level of energy boost had exceeded the energy that would have been provided by the fusion process of his body. His energy would be drained drastically and would probably be depleted in half a minute if he were to use his energy in the air. However, if he was standing on the ground, there would be an endless source of energy he could utilize from beneath the ground and he would never get exhausted.


    It only took him three minutes to tten thend surrounding him. The bushes of grass had been crushed and the rocks had been shattered into sand. The forest looked as if it was a vast desert. The surrounding temperature was gradually increased which heated up the air around the forest as well. It was clear that the heat wasing from the center of the earth and the surrounding air had turned red. The red colored region expanded very quickly and was got even redder, making it seem like the me was roaring up into the air. He felt that the air surrounding him was forming a vacuum and the energy was being umted and trapped in the air. The hot air had reached 3,000 degrees Celsius which was so hot that even steel would vaporize under such temperature. However, he could only feel a slight burn on his skin as the air temperature was still far cooler aspared to what his body could withstand.


    After three hours, he finally stopped and a strong air current propelled through the entire district as soon as the vacuum energy had dissipated. He then ducked into the cave and stabilized himself. He waited patiently for 10 minutes while the air flow gradually subsided. The position he was standing on before prior to his entry into the cave became arge mountain pit. The area had beenpletely vitrificated and hot air was still rising from the surface.


    Luo Yuan then got up and flew out of the cave to retrieve the wisdom heart and energy crystal that he had stored in the mountain earlier. He frowned when he saw his own naked body. In just a short moment, a piece of skin covered his body. He then flew towards Hope City.


    ...


    Luo Yuan opened his eyes in the dark and sat up.


    He looked at the time and realized that it was only one o¡¯clock in the morning. The mutated woman did not sneak into his room as he was not used to the fact that Luo Yuan had suddenly grown taller since yesterday. Perhaps the mutated woman would need a few days before she could adapt to it. He put on his clothes and drew the curtains open. Quietly looking at the dim street lights outside, he felt a sense of insecurity and could not fall asleep. Luo Yuan was rather sensitive to danger and knew that this sudden feeling would not have been triggered without a reason, though he had no idea of the danger that lied before him.


    Putting aside the possibilities of an attack from extraterrestrial life or a nuclear bomb, nothing much could have threatened him onnd. He could withstand attacks from an electromaic missile and even level eight mutated beasts could do no harm to him. The aliens would not appear at Hope City first since it was located at the center of the Reconstruction Area which also happened to be one of the most superior cities. They would certainly not start off with this ce.


    He realized that the feeling of insecurity he felt was getting stronger and stronger. He then frowned as he was annoyed. By this time, the ground was shaking slightly. Luo Yuan would not have been bothered about itst time but he was rmed by the shaking of the ground this time and quickly pulled out his Zhanmadao. He quickly exited the vi and stood on the ground outside. He then followed his instinct and flew around using his space-time bubble fight mode. After 20 minutes, he stopped with a shocked look on his face.


    He was now ten thousand kilometers away in space. As he looked down, he saw that Northern Europe hadpletely melted and emitted moltenva. The strong shock wave resembled a huge smoke ring which was spreading quickly everywhere. Along the coast of Europe, the ocean waters receded from the shore which exposed the water-coverednd. A huge tsunami was triggered and sent towards the direction of North America.


    He was stunned and his hands grew cold. It took awhile before he managed to regain his senses. No one could have survived such a destructive force including those who were living underground. Europe had almost beenpletely wiped out and the organism living there were on the verge of extinction.


    He did not feel good as he knew that the mutated beasts were not the cause of this attack and judging by the destructive force that he had just seen, he was certain that the attack from the extraterrestrial civilization had begun.


    In the meantime, the Earth trembled again and Luo Yuan vaguely felt a vast force raging from behind him.

 Chapter 442: Chill

    Chapter 442: Chill


    Trantor: EndlessFantasy Trantion Editor: EndlessFantasy Trantion


    He felt a chill going down his spine which spread to his whole body. The attack from the extraterrestrial civilization had been too fast and sudden that it was an unexpected nightmare.


    He estimated that he would have had at least half a year to prepare for the war and had never thought that it would havee in just two months. The humans were unable to defend themselvespletely and now two of the regions where most of the strong people gathered had beenpletely obliterated in just two hours. The humans simply could not predict the attacks before they happened.


    Luo Yuan knew that their next targeted region must be the Reconstruction Area. He was deep in thought, and suddenly, he shivered as he subconsciously directed his attention towards the Reconstruction Area. There was a sudden burst of dazzling light which was a thousand times brighter than sunlight which caused Luo Yuan¡¯s eyes to tear up. However, he did not close his eyes but instead stared at the ground.


    The cities were all engulfed in a roaring me and had been torn apart by the strong shock wave. The shock wave easily swept through everything it passed, regardless of whether it was a city or mountain. Soon, a giant mushroom cloud of smoke billowed into the sky. The extreme temperature had caused everything around it to melt.


    Though the Reconstruction Area was not big, one-third of it had been destroyed in just one attack.


    Luo Yuan floated into the sky as he started to tremble in anger at the sight he saw. He was so angry to the extent that it felt like his anger was going to burst out of his chest. He then stared up at the sky and spotted a tiny dot in the distance. His eyes were giving off a terrifying intent to kill.


    "Damn!"


    He immediately flew towards the tiny dot and since it was only 3,000 kilometers away and decided to use his Will while flying in order to save time. The gravitational force was rtively weak when he was flying in space and therefore he could easily achieve 10 kilometers per second as there was only a slight resistance opposing him.


    After a few seconds, he was feeling uneasy even though he had a calm look on his face. It had not been even a minute since he started flying before he saw that the extraterrestrial civilization hadunched another attack. Luo Yuan turned back and saw that half of the Reconstruction Area was already engulfed in mes. Fortunately, he could still see Hope City.


    Even though all the buildings had copsed, at least the district had not beenpletely destroyed. Luo Yuan was suspicious as the recent attack that had beenunched on the Reconstruction Area was rtively weakerpared to the prior two attacks. The two cities where the attacks had struck previously werepletely destroyed and despite the fact that the attack on the Reconstruction Area was terrifying, it was not as powerful as the one that had happened in Europe.


    Luo Yuan had never expected that the aliens would have given him such prerogative as they were afraid that if the attack was too powerful, they would not be able to retrieve the genes from his body. They were using anti-matter bombs which wereunched from space. These bombs could achieve a conversion rate of 200% of the energy mass aspared to the hydrogens bombs which had the properties of converting 0.7% of the energy mass. The energy generated by the anti-matter bombs was 3.6 times greater than the Hiroshima bombs.


    Approximately 100 kilograms of anti-matter bombs had beenunched in Europe and North America, which was equivalent to 36,000 Hiroshima bombs. However, only two bombs had been dropped on the Reconstruction Area.


    ...


    Luo Yuan had only been flying for two minutes when they realized his presence.


    A beam of light shot towards Luo Yuan¡¯s body but he managed to avoid it without slowing down. Though attacks at the speed of sound were usually unavoidable by other outer space life, Luo Yuan had his predictive ability which rendered attacks like these to be useless.


    The light beams had now be more intense, however, none of them could sessfully strike his body as he easily dodged them. Luo Yuan felt slightly relieved as they had finally stopped attacking the Reconstruction Area and diverted their attention towards him. He smiled when he saw that the tiny dot in front of him was getting bigger and bigger.


    He realized that it was not a spaceship but rather an aircraft which looked exactly the same as the one he had discovered a few months ago. This indicated that the spaceship had never been there before.


    "Well, it¡¯s time for payback!" Luo Yuan thought coldly.


    They were getting closer to him and Luo Yuan was afraid that they mightunch their destructive attacks when they saw him. He quickly turned invisible and teleported a couple of times until he appeared next to the aircraft which had been thousands of meters away from him.


    He then delivered a heavy blow on the armor of the aircraft and the aircraft began to shake. His attack had broken through the thick armor and had formed a big hole on the body of the aircraft. At the same time, he was thrown back by the powerful recoil.


    He then teleported towards the hole of the aircraft which was only the size of a basketball. Putting aside the fact that there had been no assistance from the high-speed airflow in space, the durability of the aircraft was way stronger than the scales of level eight mutated beasts. The aliens were using a type of material known as nanotechnology which they had managed to produce through the arrangement of atomicyers where all of the metals had been nano-crystallized. The armor of the aircraft was at least 10 times stronger than any other metal that existed on Earth. He ced both of his hands into the hole and grabbed the armor before he inserted his fingers into the hole.


    "Ahh!"


    His muscles started to bulge and the veins on his forehead became more prominent as he exerted himself to find a way through the armor. There was even smoke around him. With Luo Yuan¡¯s great strength, the armor began cracking and the hole became bigger. His body then shed across the air as he teleported into the hole.


    As soon as he went in, a high-energy radiation shot towards him. He moved his body slightly sideways to dodge the oing projectile and immediately pulled out his knife to attack. In just a blink of an eye, the weaponized robot had been cut into half. Luo Yuan kicked aside one of the broken parts that were blocking his way and quickly headed towards the central control room of the aircraft.

 Chapter 443: Location Of The Spaceship

    Chapter 443: Location Of The Spaceship


    Trantor: EndlessFantasy Trantion Editor: EndlessFantasy Trantion


    Two months ago, he had entered a simr aircraft so he was quite familiar with its internal structure.


    In the meantime, a few weaponized robots nearby had rushed over to Luo Yuan¡¯s position as if they had been alerted to defend against the intruder onboard. However, they were easily killed by Luo Yuan. Two months ago, he had to carefully use his powers to defeat these robots but now that he was so much stronger, he was able to break their big round bodies into halves before they even had a chance to react.


    Within seconds, he arrived at the entrance of the central control room. He sensed that all of the ssians were inside. Even though the cabin door was shut tight, it was impossible to prevent him from entering as he pressed against the metal door and pushed hard. The door swung open with such force that it stirred up the internal airflow; causing the air to escape from the control room. Despite his anger, Luo Yuan decided that it was better if he did not kill the ssians before he was able to obtain any information from them.


    As soon as Luo Yuan entered, he closed the door and looked around. The air had be thinner in the central control room but, fortunately, the ssians were safe as they had brought their oxygen masks along with them as soon as the spaceship had warned them. Nevertheless, all of them had been pulled towards the wall when the airflow had discharged at such a powerful speed; causing most of them to be injured. Two of the ssians had suffered from bone fractures while one of them had knocked his head against the wall and died.


    The remaining five ssians were terrified and their bodies were shivering as they watched Luo Yuan walk towards them. They did not need to be threatened as they were already terribly horrified just by Luo Yuan¡¯s appearance alone.


    "Where¡¯s the spaceship?" Luo Yuan nced at them and asked coldly in English.


    Luo Yuan knew that even though the ssians were highly intelligent, not every one of them could understand humannguages. He knew that there was only one way to determine the exact location of the spaceship as outer space was mind-bogglingly huge and he was certain that he would not be able to locate the spaceship without obtaining the information directly from the ssians.


    When they heard Luo Yuan¡¯s voice, they got even more terrified and exchanged nces with Luo Yuan. They were trembling and none of them had answered him. Luo Yuan smiled coldly and pulled one of them towards him. Whenpared to his broad figure, the ssians looked like kids. Seeing as how this ssian was badly frightened of him, he asked again by using Hint. However, he just stared at Luo Yuan helplessly without saying a word. Luo Yuan grinned, showing off his white teeth, while he squeezed its skull and easily crushed its brain.


    The other ssians were trembling harder than before and were terrified beyondprehension as they witnessed the gruesome sight that unfolded in front of them. Luo Yuan swung his arms to shake off the remnants of brain and blood that was stuck to his hand before he pulled another ssian over. Still, the ssian did not answer his question and its dead body was thrown towards the ssians. One of them seemed to have fainted under the threat of being killed by Luo Yuan.


    One of them then took out aser weapon that looked like a firearm and said, "I¡¯ll kill you now!" The ssian fired multiple attacks from theser weapon towards Luo Yuan. At this point, Luo Yuan waszy to dodge and allowed theser beams to strike his clothes. Not only had the attack failed to hurt him, not even a spot or mark had been left on his clothes.


    The clothes had been made by Luo Yuan the night before using the remaining materials he had and despite not having the space anchor ability, the material itself was rather valuable and was impossible to be destroyed by these types of weapons.


    "It seems like you can speak English!"


    "You... Wild man... Even if I have to die, I¡¯m not going to tell you!" he said toughly. Perhaps he had sensed that he was going to die. He looked frightened and retreated a few steps.


    In an instant, Luo Yuan had leaped 10 meters ahead of it. He grabbed hold of its body and stared at it. He demanded, "Tell me where the spaceship is!"


    "It¡¯s at ..."


    "%£¤#%%"


    "#£¤%%"


    As it was about to speak, the other ssians started to shout loudly as if they were trying to stop it from revealing the location of the spaceship.


    "Bloody wild man... Humans are on the verge of extinction! Kill me!" It shouted as its body started to tremble and its mouth and nose bled.


    The ssian had sessfully ovee Luo Yuan¡¯s power, which was the same thing that had happenedst time. Compared to the humans, it seemed that the ssians had some sort of ability that helped them to defend themselves against Luo Yuan¡¯s Hint ability.


    "Damn!" Luo Yuan was furious. He raised his arms gently and the power of his Will was quickly put into action. The ssians could feel their bodies burnings and they started screaming in agonizing pain.


    Luo Yuan hinted with his Will once again, but this time, he had maximized the power of his Will.


    The ssians could not stop throwing up blood and the rate of their breathing showed signs of exhaustion. Just when Luo Yuan thought he was going to fail to retrieve any information from them, one of them said, "The spaceship... is located at the coordinates X#, Y#, Z#."


    Luo Yuan was stunned as he could not understand the coordinates that had just been mentioned by the ssian. Even if he could, he would still have needed a calctor to analyze the coordinates in order to locate the spaceship.


    "Where¡¯s the star as?" Luo Yuan asked immediately.


    "It¡¯s on the three-dimensional screen!" As soon as he had finished his sentence, he vomited blood and died.


    Luo Yuan threw his dead body on the floor and immediately looked at the three-dimensional screen in the central control room. He eliminated some of the aliennguage and pictures that did not look like a star as. Compared to the usual maps, height was included in this one. Viewing it on a three-dimensional screen, it looked exactly like a 3D map. It was not a static map but a dynamic one instead which disyed only part of the sr system as there were only twos avable on the map.


    He knew nothing at all about the ssians¡¯nguage but had concluded that based on the size of thes and satellites, one of them was slightly bigger and he suspected that it was the Earth whereas the smaller one was most likely Mars. There was a blue spot of light twinkling between the Earth and Mars, which Luo Yuan guessed to be the location of the spaceship.


    He had onest look and memorized the entire map before leaving the aircraft and was once again in space. He understood that his main priority was to get rid of the other threats first before he went looking for the spaceship. North America and the Reconstruction Area were attacked at almost the same time which implied that the two regions had been attacked by two different aircraft and that there was a second aircraft which he had to find and destroy.


    Before flying through the fourth dimension, he looked back at the Reconstruction Area. Most of the cities had been destroyed in the attack including the New Capital City which was now covered by a stream ofva. Not many of the cities had survived and most of their factories had been destroyed including Hope City¡¯s. The storm had stirred up the air and dust clouded the area, however, thanks to Luo Yuan¡¯s four-dimensional vision, he could clearly witness the heartbreaking scene. He looked at it absent-mindedly and when he had gotten back to his senses, he flew in a space-time bubble towards the Earth.

 Chapter 444: Counteract

    Chapter 444: Counteract


    Trantor: EndlessFantasy Trantion Editor: EndlessFantasy Trantion


    The advanced technology possessed by the ssian civilization had resulted in the prompt delivery of messages which were difficult for hackers to intercept or steal information from.


    When Luo Yuan destroyed one of the aircrafts, the incident was detected by the second aircraft as well as the mothership which was located further away. They immediately proceeded with preparations to battle Luo Yuan.


    Luo Yuan had easily defeated the aircraft without feeling any threat from it at all when in fact, the ssians¡¯ aircraft seemed rather terrifying. Instead of identifying it as an aircraft, it actually looked more like a small spaceship that traveled within the gxies. It also looked like the international space station before the apocalypse.


    The engine used was an impulse engine with nuclear power and the energy stored in the deep nuclear fusion reactor was almost 50 times the power generated by the Three Gorges hydropower nt [1].


    What was meant by deep nuclear fusion reactor?


    Basically, the fusion of hydrogen bombs merely produced helium nuclei which only converted 0.7% of the mass to energy. However, the reactor of the deep nuclear fusion reactor could directly produce iron which has a 43% mass-to-energy conversion and its energy utilizing rate was 60 times higher. It could have supplied sufficient energy to the entire region of China before the apocalypse.


    In addition, the aircraft was equipped with a particle cannon. 40% of the cannon was made up of an electromaic gun which fired at supersonic speeds while the other 60% of it was made up of a high-powerser rapid-firing gun. 12 of them were nuclear antimatter smart orbital ballistic missiles. The radar of the aircraft waspletely invincible as it was stacked with armor that could absorb shock waves. The aircraft could have easily destroyed Earth with such an arsenal.


    ...


    Luo Yuan¡¯s speed gradually increased as he was flying through the fourth dimension.


    After 10 minutes, his speed had reached hundreds of kilometers per second and he flew like a soundless beam of light. Within half a minute, an arc shed across the sky followed by the eruption of dazzling bursts of light behind it. Countless of highly-energized particles turned into shes of light which brightened the dark sky. Luo Yuan felt that his back was burning from those particles. He knew that the opponent was using nuclear weapons like nuclear bombs tounch high energy attacks.


    Luo Yuan discovered that although the bubble was strong enough that he could defend himself against normal attacks, light could still prate through. Otherwise, the space around him would have been very dark and he would not be able to see what was happening outside. He should have noticed this fact earlier but he had neglected to notice it. Nevertheless, it was not toote to realize it now. Beams of light were reflected and refracted by the differentyers as they entered and eventually, approximately 70% of the light would be able to prate through the space-time bubble. Besides that, the rate of reflection of the light could potentially be even higher as his Will got stronger.


    Luo Yuan was nearly entering outer space and the air had be extremely thin; it was almost close to being an absolute vacuum state. Luo Yuan thought to himself that the damage caused by the antimatter bombs were dependent on the environment sopared to the damage that had been caused by the bomb explosions on Earth, its damage would be drastically reduced without the presence of air.


    The lightssted for only 10 seconds before it went off, however, Luo Yuan was really tensed and his heart pounded rapidly. He felt a sense of insecurity as if he was close to death. He immediately switched his flight path from traveling in a straight line to moving in a fast and irregr manner. Just as he had changed his direction, he felt a strong sense of danger and soon he had foreseen that a powerful force wasing towards him. Five dazzling suns arose in the dead sky and each of the strong and highly energized rays stood out against the actual sunlight.


    The surrounding area was filled with numerous high-energy particles and the temperature had risen up to 10,000 degrees Celsius. He had pictured in his prediction that he was unable to avoid the rays and the bright light engulfed himpletely. The scene turned ck after awhile as he was standing in between the highly-energized particles. His strong body hadpletely melted and was turned into gas by the rapid moving energetic particles. Luo Yuan calmed down after he had watched his own death from a different view. He went into teleportation mode by flying through the fourth dimension.


    Thanks to his 17 points of Agility, he was able to teleport into the distance in merely 0.005 seconds. He was now more than thousands of kilometers away after only three teleports. He looked up and the tiny dot appeared in front of his eyes. He estimated the distance between them and smiled beforeunching another teleportation.


    He teleported another seven times, covering a distance of 2,000 kilometers and appeared next to the engine of the aircraft. Being so close to the engine, he could feel the high temperature of his surroundings. The next moment, he pulled out his knife and an invisible space wave struck the armored aircraft, leaving a long crack in its body.


    It was just the beginning and in just a blink of an eye, countless waves struck the aircraft which caused it to no longer function. At this time, the antimatter bombs began to emit rays of light.


    Luo Yuan breathed heavily as he floated above the aircraft.


    He frowned, knowing that he had used up most of his Will after two consecutive attacks. His teleportation was a powerful ability which consumed arge amount of his Will. The battle was not over yet and he realized that the spaceship was way scarier than the aircraft. Earth would be in trouble if the spaceship evernded onto it. It was no longer only a threat to human extinction but rather the extinction of all creatures on Earth. Perhaps the Earth would end up bing a lifeless just like Mars.


    His heart felt heavy as he ground his teeth while looking up at the sky. He then flew deeper into space in a space-time bubble.


    ...


    At this moment, the ssians were having an emergency meeting in the spaceship. They discussed their ns to battle Luo Yuan. The video reel of the two battles was yed over and over again on the three-dimensional screen and the atmosphere was tense as everyone watched in silence.


    The captain spoke after pausing for a long while. He said strictly, "First of all, I would like to apologize to the soldiers who had sacrificed their lives because I¡¯ve underestimated the ability of this evolved human which has led to the failure of this mission. The military made a big mistake and as a result, 14 of our army members had died."


    "It¡¯s not solely your fault, sir. None of us had expected the opponent to be so powerful." One of the soldiers said immediately.


    "There are always casualties in war, but the sacrifice is worth it." Another soldier said.


    "The research center has to bear most of the responsibility. Our soldiers would not have been hesitant if they did not strongly urge for it."


    "Stop finding excuses for me. I¡¯ll own up to my mistakes and exin to the military officers when I return to the mothership. Now, please summon Lan Bobofu from the Physics Research Department to analyze what should we do next!" The captain said.


    The captain had put on an act for the ssian civilization. Since it was the first time they traveled such a long distance, it was indeed an innovative exploration. Even if there were no contributions gained, he would still be granted with honor and status when he returned to the mothership. It was imaginable that he would go down in history as the ssians¡¯ hero.


    Furthermore, his contributions were a lot more significant aspared to the small mistake he had just done.


    "It¡¯s my pleasure, sir!" An old ssian stood up, saluted and said, "I watched the videos just now and found out that the human was quite strong and powerful. With our existing technology, we still won¡¯t be able to replicate some of his abilities such as his teleportation. Teleportation was still under discussion as it was indeed a miracle of life."


    "Lan Bobofu, please make it short!" One of the soldiers interrupted.


    "Well, he can escape to a distance of 200 to 300 kilometers every time he teleports. The time interval is also extremely short - approximately 0.0053455 of a second. Teleportation involved the quantum tunneling effect which theoretically required a downtime but his was too short and negligible. The time interval is linked to the speed of his neural response. For the ssians, it¡¯s 0.2 seconds which is 40 times longer."


    All of them were not surprised by this piece of information as each of them had a terminal behind their brains and had conducted an analysis earlier regarding this information.


    "However, this was the most prominent ability and could be identified easily." The ssian continued. He walked forward, paused the video and said, "Everyone please have a look at this. The opponent was trying to switch his path."


    The ssian then resumed and continued ying the video. Luo Yuan¡¯s body shed in an arc across the air and an antimatter bomb exploded a short whileter.


    "He is incredible and our understanding of his abilities is still limited. However, it was clear that he is extremely sensitive to danger. Perhaps he has the ability to predict the future and could sense danger two seconds ahead of time."


    "Why can¡¯t we use the smart missile?" An army member wondered and asked. He continued, "The fastest speed a smart missile could travel is 3000 kilometers per second. With this speed, it could easily hit the human."


    "This is an important point that I¡¯m going to talk about next. It was impossible to do so as most of you had probably neglected the fact that his body changed from time to time!"


    When the ssian pointed it out clearly from the video, the captain was astonished and said, "Do you mean that he can be bigger or smaller? This doesn¡¯t make sense."


    "But it is possible in the fourth dimension. Based on Sai Gefu¡¯s space theory, there are four dimensions in our universe and we are living in the fourth dimension of the universe¡¯s membrane. When the human was in his special form, part of his body entered the fourth dimension. It¡¯s quite simr to the space-time phenomena that we are trying to prove. Although visible lights cannot be filteredpletely, it can shield against long waves such as infrared radars, allowing the human¡¯s body temperature to be exactly the same as his surrounding. Our smart missile was designed to target distant objects, so there won¡¯t be any video tracking function."


    The atmosphere had suddenly gotten quiet. After a while, the captain asked.


    "Is it difficult to use this technology?"


    "No, this technology has been widely used hundreds of years ago. It can be modified in half a day."


    Trantor¡¯s Note:


    [1] The Three Gorges Dam is a hydroelectric dam that spans the Yangtze River by the town of Sandouping, located in Yiling District, Yichang, Hubei province, China. The Three Gorges Dam is the world¡¯srgest power station in terms of installed capacity.

 Chapter 445: Meteor

    Chapter 445: Meteor


    Trantor: EndlessFantasy Trantion Editor: EndlessFantasy Trantion


    In fact, the time that had been taken for the modification of the smart missile was shorter than expected. In less than two hours, a batch of smart missiles had already been remodeled. Half of the time had been used to search for information on the technology and tomunicate with the Manufacturing Department.


    The video tracking ability was not aplex technology and with the ssian¡¯s manufacturing standards, the modification process was a piece of cake. This could certainly be manufactured on arge scale.


    Each weapon had their own distinct function. For instance, the smart bombs were used to aim at distant targets in space while the electromaics guns or high-poweredsers were used to attack enemies at close range.


    Space battle was different fromary war. They had never encountered an opponent like Luo Yuan who had a strong sense of danger and could avoid iing attacks so quickly. Therefore, they had never required the smart missiles to have a video tracking function until they met Luo Yuan!


    When all the weapons were ready, the ssians were relieved. Admittedly, the strong human had caused them to be slightly tense and nervous. His incredible predictive ability and teleportation powers had caused the ssians to feel a sense of helplessness. But it would stop here!


    Regardless of Luo Yuan¡¯s ability to teleport or to foresee danger, they were certain that Luo Yuan would not escape the attacks from their new upgraded weapons. He was fast, but not fast enough to escape from the nuclear powered smart missiles.


    They were unable to exin how the teleportation worked but believed that there must be some limitations to it. Based on the previous battles, they noticed that he could not teleport continuously, otherwise, the battle could have ended quickly and he would not have been flying around dangerously for so long to avoid all sorts of attacks.


    Suddenly, the ssians realized that their target had gone missing while they were in the midst of preparing their weapons.


    "Where is he!?" The captain asked.


    "Sir, he¡¯s on the Moon!" The army who was constantly monitoring Luo Yuan¡¯s movements said while pointing on the screen that was disying a pitted with craters.


    "What is he doing there? Not long ago, a gigantic space beast had appeared there. Is he going to ask it for help?" The captain joked and look rxed. He then said, "Let¡¯s not waste our time here. I don¡¯t want to stay here any longer. Destroy him with our newly modified smart missiles!"


    "Yes, sir!"


    After a few seconds, they fired the missile! It was as if a massive object sted off into space! As usual, it flew for half a second before the long rays started streaming through the nuclear-powered engine. The missile continued to elerate and after 10 minutes, it had reached a traveling speed of 3,000 kilometers per second. The smart missile resembled an arrow as it shot straight at a rapid speed towards the Moon.


    "The major disadvantage of this weapon is the long waiting time!" The captain said helplessly. He could not wait to see the oue of the attack. However, the spaceship was 2000 kilometers away from the Moon and despite the fast traveling speed of the smart missile, he would still need to wait for two hours in order to know the results of theirtest attack.


    "I think we are too far away. We should move closer to the Moon." Hemanded. By assessing the human¡¯s agility, he believed that it would be safe to stay one light-second away from him.


    ...


    The spaceship vibrated slightly as the intermittent nuclear fusion from the engine propelled the spaceship forward marginally. The speed was so slow at the beginning that it was barely noticeable. However, within seconds it suddenly elerated at an astonishing speed. A long light streaked across the dark space and the energy released by the nuclear fusion pulse was equivalent to the energy released during the explosion of a hydrogen bomb. The spaceship would elerate every time a pulse was sent out.


    ...


    At that moment, nobody noticed that an insignificant meteor had shed across the side of the Moon. It was not moving very quickly and its path appeared to be slightly curved as it was influenced by the Moon¡¯s gravity. After moving in a long arc, it was able to ovee the Moon¡¯s gravitational force and sted off into space.


    During the flight, its path could be adjusted ordingly and it secretly deflected 30 degrees an hour when it was not in the Moon¡¯s gravitational atmosphere. Of course, this was no ordinary meteor.


    If the ssians were to scan the meteor with an X-ray, they would see that there was actually a hollow space inside it in which Luo Yuan was sitting with his legs crossed.


    ...


    In fact, when Luo Yuan had arrived on the Moon in a space-time bubble, he had almost used up all of his Will. Without his Will, his abilities were greatly reduced. He could still fight with mutated beasts using his Strength but he was certain that he would die if he had to deal with the ssians¡¯ spaceship without his ability to teleport or fly.


    He had initially nned to take a short break when he arrived on the Moon to recharge his Will. His body¡¯s fusion ability helped restore his Will at a faster rate. He could be fully recharged in just a few hours.


    He was excited when he saw a meteor even though it was not rare to see a meteor appear in space or the sr system. In fact, there were tons of meteors that fall to the Earth every day, but most of them would burn up while entering the Earth¡¯s atmosphere.


    Luo Yuan had once entered the ssians¡¯ dreams before so he had a good understanding of the quality of technology they possessed and because of this, he felt helpless. He knew that he had revealed all of his abilities to the ssians when he consecutively destroyed two of their aircrafts. It was just wishful thinking to believe that he could appear without being noticed. Perhaps the ssians were now using all kinds of surveinces to keep their eyes on him - monitoring each and every move he made while analyzing his previous battles. Nevertheless, regardless of how advanced the ssian¡¯s technology was, it was impossible for them to keep track of every meteor that appeared in space.


    After a while, Luo Yuan entered the meteor which was nearby. When he waspletely hidden by the Moon, he used his Will to propel himself forward. Fortunately, the meteor was 10,000 kilometers away from the Moon and therefore it was unaffected by either the Moon¡¯s or the Earth¡¯s gravity.


    Anyway, it was possible for Luo Yuan to generate forces that were sufficient for the meteor to move against the Moon¡¯s gravitational pull when he was flying with his Will. Meanwhile, the centripetal force was also aiding the meteor as it was revolving around the Moon - allowing it to travel at up to 20 kilometers per second.


    Of course, it was rtively slow since it had to travel a distance of 20,000 to 30,000 kilometers. The meteor might have needed 10 days to reach the spaceship if it continued traveling at this constant speed. Who knows if the spaceship would still be there after 10 days.


    Luo Yuan wanted to fly through the fourth dimension when his Will had recovered by half. Even though it was dangerous to elerate when he was in the meteor (as he could easily be identified), he did not care so much about it anymore. However, Luo Yuan had never expected a surprise from his opponent.


    The ship was huge and despite the fact that it was so far away from him, he could still vaguely see the ship¡¯s figure through a fist sized hole that he had made in the meteor. Besides, the long beam of light was prominent and certainly visible when it appeared in dark space. It would be difficult for one to not notice it.


    The spaceship was now moving towards him at an extremely fast speed. He felt relieved at this turn of event and closed his eyes to speed up the recovery rate of his Will.


    ...


    The "meteor" continued to streak across the dark and silent space. It looked just like an ordinary and unattractive piece of rock flying in space, heading straight towards the spaceship. Luo Yuan was sitting quietly and taking a nap to restore his energy when he suddenly felt palpitations and was awakened by it.


    He opened his eyes and saw a glimmer of light passing through the dark sky. In just two hours, his Will had beenpletely restored and had even improved slightly in the process. Without a doubt, the battle was a good way to train his Will. Luo Yuan could vaguely sense that he was very close to upgrading his Will to 20 points, however, he was not concerned about that now.


    He peeked into the near future using his prediction ability and the scene remained the same, showing that he was not in danger. However, before he could breathe a sigh of relief, it seemed like there was a strong and powerful energy wave that wasing from behind him. He then looked carefully through the small hole and confirmed it.


    Luo Yuan got stunned as he saw an energy waveing towards him. There was a dazzling white light shining through the Moon which now looked like a ss ball that was being shattered into tiny pieces and scattered across space. Broken pieces that remained on the Moon gradually shrunk and were soonpletely vaporized by the high temperature. In just 10 seconds, the remaining core of the Moon had turned entirely red.


    Luo Yuan could clearly see that boiling magma had formed which were spewing out mes asionally. Flying in an arc, he then returned to the Moon once again. The dazzling white light had gradually faded, exposing the damage that had been inflicted on the Moon. Its shape resembled a bitten apple. Almost one-quarter of the regions had been destroyed, forming a massive hole in the Moon. The hole was there only for a while and soon became shallower as it was being filled with magma which tore through the surface of the Moon.


    The Moon had be rtively small and was now the size of a ser ball from where Luo Yuan was situated. He observed everything that had happened absent-mindedly and stood perfectly still. Contemting what had happened, he was furious and clenched his fists in anger.


    The Earth had adapted to the existence of the Moon and thus if there were any changes to the mass of the Moon, the Earth would be significantly affected as well. The ocean tides would be weaker, causing the Earth¡¯s rotation to be faster. There would also be an irregrity in the four seasons and the stability of the Earth¡¯s crust would be affected. Luo Yuan also predicted that volcanic earthquakes would ur more frequently. He could predict that even if he had won the battle, the Earth could be beyond saving. He shifted his gaze and looked at the spaceship coldly.


    He had now gotten closer to the spaceship. He stopped elerating and was moving forward at a constant speed using the inertia which was present. He took a deep breath and tried to remain calm. Luo Yuan had a tendency of acting irrationally when he was angry. All he had to do now was to continue being invisible and deliver a deathblow to the entire spaceship when was closer to it.


    This was his usual way tounch an attack and he was good at it. However, this was his first time using a skill since he had acquired the Body Fusion ability. Soon, he hadpletely calmed himself down again and sat quietly with his legs crossed; waiting for the right moment to attack.


    Luo Yuan waited patiently for 10 minutes when suddenly, the opponent stopped. They were now only 10,000 kilometers apart. Luo Yuan¡¯s expression changed slightly and he waited for a while. The spaceship was not moving and he ground his teeth as he was getting ready to fly through the fourth-dimension.


    In that moment, a meteor suddenly flew past him and disappeared in just a blink of an eye. He was stunned for a moment and soon discovered that there were many meteors behind him and they were flying in his direction. The meteors were dark red in color, emitting heat from its surface. Apparently, these were the meteors that had escaped the gravitational pull of the Moon when it had exploded.


    In his heart, he thought, "God is helping me!"


    The kic energy generated during the explosion of the Moon had caused the meteors to travel at an extremely high speed through space. The meteors reached 400 to 500 kilometers per second which were faster than the speed he traveled at in his space-time bubble. At such speeds, the meteors could reach the spaceship in less than 10 minutes.


    He knew what he needed to do. By estimating the distance of the meteors¡¯ trajectory behind him, he chose one of the meteors that were nearest to his flight path and slightly adjusted his path using his Will. This particr piece of the Moon was rtively big - resembling the peak of the mountain. It was rolling rapidly and violently towards Luo Yuan.


    He stared at the meteor without blinking and braced himself for the collision. After 10 seconds, both of the meteors crashed into each other and the meteor that Luo Yuan was sitting in had beenpletely crushed.


    Before the impact, Luo Yuan had targeted the position of the meteor with his four-dimensional vision and had teleported to the back of it. It would have taken the meteor quite some time to cool down as it was extremely big and Luo Yuan noticed that it was still in its molten state.


    He took this opportunity to merge himself into theva.

 Chapter 446: Self-destruct

    Chapter 446: Self-destruct


    Trantor: EndlessFantasy Trantion Editor: EndlessFantasy Trantion


    Luo Yuan was no longer ignorant like before. He had studied all the modern sciences and technology there was to learn. It might not be as in-depthpared to the research other scientists have researched but he now had a broader scope of knowledge than before. He had long realized that his space jump or what was known as the four-dimensional space-time bubble was very simr to quantum theory.


    In quantum theory, a substance wasposed of the probability wave. An electron might ur inside an atom or outside it. However, this could not be determined by the naked eye. The only thing that was certain was that the probability that it was inside an atom was much higher than thetter. Before it was "seen", no one would know where this electron was located and therefore it existed both inside the atom and outside of it. This was the famous theory of ¡®Schr?dinger¡¯s Cat¡¯.


    The emergence of quantum theory almost broke the theories of ssical Physics, but, from a higher dimensional perspective, quantum theory was not a mystery. After all, the three-dimensional world did not exist independently. Its existence was a part of the four-dimensional world; thus, the physical phenomena was essentially a projection of the fourth dimension.


    Micro particles were tiny in nature; thus, any minuscule amount of fluctuation would cause it to transit into the four-dimensional world. It would constantly jump between the third and fourth dimension. In addition, every time it jumped, the distance traveled was less than 0.1 nanometers. The short interval made it almost impossible to be measured (the velocity of a space jump was 10,000 light years per second).


    In the microscopic world, the human being wasposed of an uncountable number of micro particles. As for Luo Yuan, it was because he had the ability to trigger all the microparticles inside him to jump that he could teleport.


    In this process, he needed to consume a certain amount of Will. Secondly, the distance had to be within his vision. Once he locked on to a target, he would be able to teleport to his destination. In the past, he could lock on his target through his eyes and Sense. Since he now had four-dimensional vision, his view was now broadened and the angles were more defined. That was how he could easily break through the barriers of human eyesight and jump onto the back of a meteorite.


    ...


    The momentum of this meteorite was amazing. After it collided with the previous meteorite, the speed only reduced a tad bit. Luo Yuan buried his body inside the meteorite but he did not feel any difort, not to mention the synthesized suit on his body was made of the material from an interster creature. The owner of this synthesized material could easily trigger a nuclear attack; thus, such high temperatures were almost nothing to him.


    Just like before, Luo Yuan dug a hole in the meteorite and looked at the spaceship behind him through his four-dimensional vision. Over time, the distance between the two had rapidly shortened and the spaceship had gradually grown bigger in his view. Subconsciously, his objective was growing clearer too!


    Even as an enemy, Luo Yuan felt a shock in the face of such a powerful civilization. Aspared to this spaceship, the one he previously encountered was insignificant. It stood silently in space and stayed as still as a mountain. In fact, it looked like an isted ind! In addition to the numerous thick and ferocious barrels, it gave people a sense of loneliness.


    It was hard to imagine that this spacecraft could move the fastest at sub-light speed, which far exceeded the capabilities of human technology. Luo Yuan could not help but shudder at the thought.


    Suddenly, a meteorite that was about the size of the one he was in started burning from thousands of kilometers away under the terrible influence of kic energy. It gave off a bright light that was about the length of two kilometers in diameter.


    Then, the barrels of the spaceship began to shoot continuously and the numerous meteorites in front of it, regardless of what size they were, were burnt into a light and turned into ashes under high temperatures.


    "Electromaic gun!" Luo Yuan scowled. Through the subtle dissipation of the current in the barrel, he could determine that it was using an electromaic gun. This gun could shoot at a speed that was much faster than the weapons at the Reconstruction Area that even he himself could not see it with his naked eye.


    His eyelids drooped and his heartbeat was getting faster. He was now about 20,000 kilometers away from the spaceship. This was as good as a kamikaze move. In an advanced technological civilization, detecting and investigating the enemy was always the priority. Luo Yuan could imagine that the opponent had already obtained all the necessary information about him which included his abilities, limitations, and weaknesses.


    Under this circumstance, that kind of information was very one-sided. The only thing going for Luo Yuan was that the spaceship was now located nearby the Moon. It undoubtedly indicated that the opponent was very confident that it could easily get rid of him. In any case, he must get closer!


    He carefully observed his surroundings then slightly adjusted the flight path of the meteorite.


    His brain was calcting the distance between both the meteorite and the spaceship and their flight path. Luo Yuan then adjusted the angle to the meteorite¡¯s flight path by six-degrees. Although that seemed to be only a marginal change, it would make a huge difference in the result. The meteorite was supposed to fly straight to the spaceship but would now fly somewhere about 2,000 kilometers away from it.


    After that, Luo Yuan closed his eyes and emptied his mind. He had done whatever he was supposed to. The rest was up to fate.


    At a rate of four to five kilometers per second, the distance between the meteorite and spaceship drew close and there was only one minute left until the end of the journey. Whether he would still be dead or alive depended on what would happen in the next minute.


    He counted down in his heart.


    59!


    58!


    ...


    40!


    39!


    ...


    During this one minute, the meteorite was hit by another meteorite which caused its path to be slightly deflected again. To avoid exposure, Luo Yuan did nothing and let it deviate. Fortunately, there was not much deviation from its original destination. It was supposed to be 2,000 kilometers in distance and it now became 3,000 kilometers. This was still within the limit of his teleportation.


    Time was ticking but a minute now felt like an eternity to him. He quietly waited patiently and held his Zhanmadao tightly.


    "It¡¯s time!"


    He suddenly opened his eyes and started moving. The hard meteorite which he had been using for cover instantly burst. Before the spaceship could react, Luo Yuan had disappeared from his original location. He traveled 3,000 kilometers in 0.05 seconds and when he appeared again he was already on the armored spaceship.


    The surface of the armored spaceship was dented by meteorites everywhere. Some of the dents were big enough to fit his whole body. He grabbed on one of the sharp edges to stabilize his body and immediately used his Sense to determine the situation inside the spacecraft.


    Luo Yuan discovered that it was difficult to Sense through this metal. The range that his power could originally cover was 500 meters, but to his surprise, he was unable to Sense anything even within 50 meters. Fortunately, he was still able to see through this thickyer of armor, otherwise, it would have been extremely difficult to break through just using physical strength.


    Just from touching the armor with his palm, Luo Yuan could already feel the incredibly tough and thickyer of armor. It was on apletely different levelpared to the previous aircraft. When he grabbed it hard, it did not even have the slightest deformation. This waspletely beyond his imagination and was the first time that a material could fully withstand his power. Even a hard diamond would be easily crushed if he pinched it in his hand.


    Fortunately, his Sense could still pass through thisyer of armor; thus, he did not need to waste any effort to destroy it. He then teleported into the spacecraft.


    Just as he entered, the rm inside immediately rang. This sharp rm bell that sounded like a scream resounded through the entire spaceship. Luo Yuan looked at the ssians inside the cabin and they looked fearful and nervous. He smiled at them with a grim face.


    ...


    In the central control room, the captain looked at the monitoring system without even blinking once. Its face had a drastic change in expression and its body shook and almost fell to the floor. This spaceship was unusually strong. To the civilization that had not left Earth, this spaceship was just like a God!


    If all its weapons and ammunitions were used, given enough time, an entire could be destroyed and vanished from the universe. However, Luo Yuan likened this to the technology created by humans - it has a powerful exterior but was weak in the interior. Once he had broken through the exterior, there was not much resistance left. Other than a few armed robots, they had no power to defend themselves anymore. The current level of resistance could only slightly dy the time of the attack but had no other benefits.


    On the screen of the monitor, a few smart armed robots were cut into half while a group of brave ssian soldiers was holding their weapons and hiding in the corner of the passage trying to attack! Before they could see their opponent, they had already fallen to the floor. When they died, they had a twisted look as if they saw something horrible right at the end of their life.


    After a few seconds, the captain appeared at the location of the dead soldiers. Then, he suddenly looked up and nced at the surveince camera. In the next moment, one of the screens becamepletely dark.


    The captain and several soldiers nearby subconsciously took a step back with a pale face. The deteriorating situation was now beyond repair. Everyone could feel that death was approaching. An army member then swallowed its saliva and finally said, "Captain!"


    The captain hesitated for a while, and finally said, "Notify all personnel to rush to the emergency escape ship immediately!"


    "Understood!"


    The captain waved and said, "Everyone, let¡¯s go quickly, perhaps you still have some time!"


    "Captain, how about you?"


    "I want to start the self-destruct program. This is the highest technology in the ss. Although it has been 60 years, I will protect it from the human beings with my life. Perhaps this is the only thing I can do. Leave me behind. All of you, hurry and leave! "


    A group of soldiers looked at the captain with shock but s, the fear of death overcame their pride as soldiers and they left the room quickly. The captain sat on the suspended chair with a defeated pale face. He looked around this familiar central control room as if to reminisce. This was not only his spaceship but also his glory which was part of his life. In the end, he had to destroy it with his own hands.


    He braced himself and said with a serious tone, "Intellectual brain, start the self-destruct program."


    "Understood. Self-destruct program has been initiated. Verifying permission..."


    A blue light quickly swept through the captain¡¯s body.


    "Three-dimensional body data confirmed. Please verify DNA."


    He put his finger in the hole and there was a sharp pain. The gic samples had been collected.


    "DNA confirmed!"


    "Please enter your password!"


    The password was up to a hundred characters but without referring to any text or files, the captain started typing based on his memory. There were only three people that knew the self-destruct password. Before he left the home, he had memorized it a thousand times over so the password had been already thoroughly engraved in his mind. He took a deep breath and carefully entered the password on the screen.


    "Unfortunately, the password is incorrect. Please enter the password again!"


    Cold sweat began to emerge on his forehead and he felt a little bit nervous. He thought that he had entered it wrongly so he took a deep breath to calm himself. With his fingers trembling, he entered the password again.


    "Unfortunately, the password is incorrect. Please enter the password again. As a reminder, this is yourst chance, if you enter incorrectly again, the self-destruct program will automatically shut down."


    "How could it be? It is definitely correct."


    His back had beenpletely soaked in sweat. He closed his eyes to recall again and then re-entered. This time he carefully inputted each number. He pressed ¡®OK¡¯ determinedly.


    "Unfortunately, the password you entered is incorrect. Self-destruct program is deactivated. Please restart again after three days." The intellectual brain¡¯s voice spoke again.


    "This is not possible! This is not possible! I couldn¡¯t have remembered it wrongly!" The captain suddenly stood up in disbelief. He stared at the screen and his fingers kept trembling.


    "You..."


    Then, a bang sound issued. The closed door was opened violently.


    A tall ferocious figure appeared in the doorway.

 Chapter 447: Killing

    Chapter 447: Killing


    Trantor: EndlessFantasy Trantion Editor: EndlessFantasy Trantion


    Meanwhile, Luo Yuan did not notice that the spaceship almost self-destructed a second ago.


    He broke down the door and quickly walked into the sophisticated central control room. He took a nce around the chamber and found the operating dashboard in front of him and then looked at the only ssian who remained there.


    His attire was extravagant and there was a badge carved with a map of the gxy on his chest. However, it was apparent that it was not the sr system. Based on his attire and the essories he had, he was no ordinary ssian.


    Luo Yuan suddenly disappeared and instantly appeared beside the ssian. He then lifted him up with his hand locked tightly around the ssian¡¯s neck. Luo Yuan said, "Seems like you¡¯re quite a powerful person here. How would you like to end your life?"


    The ssian struggled vigorously, however, Luo Yuan¡¯s hand was like a heavy lock which was beyond him. In just a moment, his face had turned red.


    "Human... we were too careless... we had underestimated... your abilities. Everything here... has been sent to the headquarters. We will be back soon!"


    Every ssian had a biological terminal which allowed them tomunicate through differentnguages, and it was as easy as drinking water! Luo Yuan remained firm and said sarcastically, "50 yearster?"


    "It will be faster than what you can imagine. How could uncivilized people like you understand the greatness of the ssian civilization? Ha...hahaha! Hahaha! We will not keep you... Waiting for... Long!" He was still being arrogant even though he was going to die as he found Luo Yuan to be uncivilized.


    As he listened on to his raving, Luo Yuan pondered, "It¡¯s true... It took about 60 years for the spaceship to leave the maiden star of ssian. 60 years is enough to improve their technology even if there were no breakthroughs."


    60 years ago, a superputer could only perform calctions at about one megahertz per second, but today, it could perform them at one gigahertz per second where thetter one was 1,000 billion times faster.


    Luo Yuan was thinking of getting more information from him but he gave up. It was meaningless and even he knew it. The gap difference of the technology between the Earth and the ssians¡¯ were too far apart and it did not benefit anyone other than adding burden to mankind.


    He applied more force and the neck of the ssian immediately snapped. Luo Yuan threw the corpse aside and then looked at the 3D screen on the control dashboard. He took a nce at the strange characters and patterns before him and suddenly noticed the surveince footage. He saw that many ssians were taking the elevator to the highest level anxiously.


    The gigantic spaceship had multiple levels in its structure. Luo Yuan realized there was a mini spaceship at the top level of the gigantic spaceship and that there were many ssians rushing towards its cabin.


    It looked smallpared to the gigantic spaceship but it was not small at all. By observing the body size of the ssians, the spaceship was at least 200 meters tall and its diameter was 600 meters which formed the shape of a circr te. It was a mini version of the spaceship which Luo Yuan was now standing in.


    "You¡¯re trying to run away?" Luo Yuan thought to himself.


    Once the spaceship was activated, humans would be in grave danger and even Luo Yuan would be in trouble.


    He knew deep inside his heart that the reason he could enter the spaceship was because he was hiding in the meteorite and he had some good luck. This strategy could only be used once. The ssians would have learned their lesson and they would not be careless anymore. They would destroy whichever meteorites came close to them in future.


    Luo Yuan¡¯s Sense was spreading rapidly and prated the partitions in the chamber. He could Sense up to 500 meters around him and the top level was only 300 meters from the ground. In the next moment, he suddenly vanished and reached the top part of the spaceship with two leaps.


    It wasplete chaos when he appeared. Countless ssians screamed and some were running towards the door while others were shooting at Luo Yuan anxiously. However, the chaos had stopped in just a few seconds as the chamber was upied by a scary force. Many ssians fell on the floor one by one as they could not stand his power.


    He walked towards the mini spaceship and the ssians fell on the floor as he passed by. All of them were extremely frightened. The ssians in the interior chamber of the spaceship seemed to have sensed the danger and the door was closed rapidly. A few of their bodies were squashed as the door closed abruptly and blood stted everywhere.


    "Whoosh!" A strong wind blew away many of the corpses nearby and a blurred shadow squeezed into the cockpit right before the door closed.


    The dome was already open but the spaceship remained stationary. A minuteter, Luo Yuan was already out. Some of the ssians rushed to the scene only to find many corpses lying on the floor. They quickly ran away but could not escape from Luo Yuan.


    He smiled and then thrust a powerful punch towards the ssians who were trying to escape. One of the ssians who was running to the far end got hit by Luo Yuan¡¯s powerful force and his body shattered into a million pieces. The ssians¡¯ weak bodies had zero resistance to such a rapid force which was about 20 to 30 times the velocity of sound. A bloody trail was soon formed.


    Luo Yuan continued to throw a few more punches and the entire ce had be silent. He continued to inspect level by level to make sure he killed all of them. Indeed, he found several of them still hiding. Too bad for them that they had no way to hide under his strong Sense.


    He had checked several times until he could not find anymore living ssians.


    He lied down and felt empty as he looked at the ceiling. He felt like everything was unreal as if it was just a nightmare.


    There were not many humans¡¯ lefts after the disaster. Other than the small part of the Reconstruction Area, the humans were extinct in other ces. Perhaps, there was less than 10 million of the poption remaining.


    Suddenly, he began to feel worried about Wang Shishi and his other family members. Based on the scene he saw earlier, the condition of Hope City was quite bad even though it was not being attacked directly. Not only were the factories on the ground destroyed but it also triggered a volcanic eruption which was bad enough to cause the underground city to copse.


    Unfortunately, he could not return to Earth immediately even though he was worried as he had not much Will left to use and he had to calm down and wait for it to recover.


    He seemed to recall something after resting for a moment. His facial expression changed and he immediately got up from the floor with his saber and walked towards the control room. Based on the conversation he had with the ssian earlier, apparently, the spaceship couldmunicate with its maiden star via superluminalmunication.


    Perhaps it was quantum-entanglement or some other more sophisticated technique. However, it was not that important at that moment. Since they couldmunicate with each other, they probably could control the spaceship from a distance as well. He did not dare take the risk as he was not sure if they had the technology. It would be an awful disaster.

 Chapter 448: Authority

    Chapter 448: Authority


    Trantor: EndlessFantasy Trantion Editor: EndlessFantasy Trantion


    After a while, Luo Yuan entered the central control room again.


    There was no one in charge of the operations. The giant square operation tform was still functioning, and on the three-dimensional screen, there were ever-changing images and fonts.


    Luo Yuan grabbed the knife handle but did not do anything with it. This was aplete and intact spacecraft. When he entered, he did not intend to damage it. Now, it could still operate as usual. A spacecraft that could enter into the depths of the universe had meant a lot to human beings. It was thest retreat of mankind.


    However, there was a certain risk in keeping it, so Luo Yuan nned to destroy it. He sighed, and slowly pulled out his knife.


    At this moment, a melodious voice gentle echoed in the control room, "Dear powerful human being, please don¡¯t do this"


    It spoke Mandarin in its purest form, without any foreign ents or ss ng in it. However, it felt ridiculous to Luo Yuan to hear the voice speaking in thisnguage.


    Luo Yuan was not scared. If the opponent had intended to kill, it would not wait until this moment. He asked calmly, "Who are you?"


    "I am the control system of this spacecraft, code name Expedition Number One, but you can call me the intellectual brain!"


    "You already have wisdom?" When Luo Yuan heard that it was an artificial intelligence, his heart slightly shook. An alien artificial intelligence took the initiative to talk to him and expressed fear of dying, regardless of what it already knew with its wisdom.


    "I do not know what wisdom is. If it is the capability of doing logical analysis, my wisdom is 10 to the power of 30 times of the ssians. It is ten billion times more than all the smartest devices on earth. At the same time, I have 100,000 sets of quantum bits, allowing me to handle 100,000 projects simultaneously. In fact, before this, I have calcted that one of the meteorites had abnormally changednes, but the warning trigger did not get any attention. If I am measured in this way, you can say I have wisdom."


    Thisputing ability was simply incredible and totally beyond imagination. Luo Yuan was shocked and secretly felt lucky. He kept silent for a moment and continued to say, "Very strong intelligence, but this is not the reason to keep you alive. The more powerful you are, the more dangerous it is for me."


    "Human, I am not here to cause any danger. My essence is a logical chainposed of numerousmands. My program is set in a way that all my actions need authorization."


    "Can an artificial intelligence be afraid of death?" Luo Yuan asked. Maybe what it said was true, but he would not easily believe it. Before the apocalypse, whether it be fiction or film, artificial intelligence had always been a threat to mankind. As it was an alien artificial intelligence, no one would know ever know whether or not it was telling the truth.


    "I do not know. My logic is stopping me from dying!"


    "Are all the artificial intelligence units in ss like you?" Luo Yuan asked.


    "There are no relevant data to prove that, but I think I¡¯m special!"


    Luo Yuan shook his head and said, "I will not take the risk. The spacecraft is too dangerous! It can easily destroy the earth and mankind, and I know nothing about you. If you have no other reason to be here, I must destroy you! "


    The intellectual brain was taciturn for a moment, and arge number of alien wordings appeared on the three-dimensional screen. After a long pause, the sound did note back, "I can help you attain the highest authority to control the spacecraft."


    "Are you kidding me?" Luo Yuan¡¯s heart shook but remained calm as he said, "Although I do not know ss well, the extent of logic I know tells me that this would be impossible. You should know the consequences of trying to trick me!"


    "Dear powerful human, I am the very definition of logical wisdom. I cannot lie and certainly do not cheat!"


    "ording to the ss Space Law¡¯s Article 12, the fourth rule states that the highest authority may have the right to authorize any creature to have the lowest level of authority, while in Article 25, the second rule states that when a higher level of authority dies, the owner of the authority will take over as the highest authority automatically. Therefore, it is totally reasonable, as long as you can clone the captain!"


    What the intellectual brain said was totally logical and nothing sounded like it was made up. Luo Yuan could only be skeptical but trusted its words, "So, which corpse belongs to the captain?"


    "He¡¯s in front of you; 5.2345 meters away!"


    Luo Yuan looked away and found the captain, "Is it a must to clone him? Can¡¯t we just use the corpse?"


    He did not have much time.


    While he was talking, he waved his hand gently and with the power of Will, the corpse automatically stood up. Its broken neck was cracked back into the original position. He stumbled after a few steps.


    "You are more powerful than I had expected, but during the authorization, I must verify the DNA, voice, and vital signs of the captain, and also enter the password!"


    "Vital signs?" Luo Yuan whispered.


    The next moment, his Will easily invaded the body of the dead captain. His heartbeat that was non-existent suddenly started to beat fiercely. His pale face had also turned red abnormally and the eyelids suddenly opened. He was walking like a controlled puppet.


    At first, his pace was slightly stiff, but as time went on, the more smoothly the corpse walked, just like a normal person would.


    Subsequently, Luo Yuan operated the corpse¡¯s vocals and tried over and over again. The vocal cord of the ssians was different from that of a human¡¯s. It was thinner but sharper. Luo Yuan tested this for ten minutes and was finally able to crack the variations in tone.


    He controlled the body and asked in Mandarin, "What about the pass down?"


    "Unfortunately, you have entered the trigger phrase. You do not have the relevant authority." It was a schizophrenic patient, and while it talked, the main screen suddenly shed a video. In the video, there was a ssian captain saying something odd in the ssiannguage, before pressing and holding his finger up in front of him. In a short while, a virtual keyboard popped up.


    His fingers quickly entered the password on the virtual keyboard. Luo Yuan looked at each button without blinking. Although these were alien words which Luo Yuan did not recognize, his powerful memory enabled him to remember all of the sequences of the keys.


    Luo Yuan had a clear understanding in his mind. He controlled the corpse and uttered something in the ssnguage, simr to the video that was shown.


    As it was his first attempt, hismands were totally out of tune and the intellectual brain could notprehend that.


    He repeatedly tried for a dozen times, and finally, he sessfully captured the unique intonation.


    Then, he followed the steps to control the body to verify the DNA, before entering the password. The intellectual brain suddenly turned into Mandarin. Next, Luo Yuan entered some personal information ording to the prompt given by the intellectual brain.


    A few minutester, with the cooperation of the intellectual brain, Luo Yuan suddenly transformed and became the highest authority in the spacecraft.


    "Dear Captain, I am the control system in this spacecraft called Expedition Number One. I am at your service."


    "Change all the ssiannguage settings to Mandarin." Luo Yuan immediately issued his firstmand.


    "Understood!"


    Just as he finishedmanding, all thenguages on the screen had been quickly switched to Mandarin.


    "Clean up the bodies and blood in the spaceship immediately!"


    "Yourmand has been sent to the service robot. It is predicted that all the bodies will be cleared in 30 minutes."


    "Stop the connection with ss." Luo Yuan ordered again.


    "Sorry, you do not have the permission!"


    Luo Yuan was surprised for a moment. It seemed like this highest authority had limitations or wasn¡¯t really even the highest authority. However, he could understand as this spacecraft was well-equipped, and the journey here took more than hundreds of years. If there were no corresponding countermeasures, the higher management of ss would not be able to rest assured.


    "Intellectual brain, how does the spacecraft connect to the?"


    "With a quantummunication device."


    "Where is it? I¡¯m going to check it out!" Luo Yuan had an idea on how this intellectual brain worked with its kind of logic. It was bounded by rules and every one of its moves had a corresponding provision, but within the rules, it was certainly independent and had flexible capabilities.


    When he finished his sentence, the three-dimensional screen immediately appeared the location of the device.


    Luo Yuan took a look and walked to arge plug-in cube at the bottom of the left console, and pulled out the whole plug.


    "Warning, warning! The quantummunicationponent appears to have lost its connection, we suspect that it has been damaged. The spare parts will be shipped over in a minute!"


    After some time, a variety of tools and dozens of long-armed industrial robots which dragged along the quantummunication equipment spare parts had arrived. Immediately, they started the instation but before they were able to sessfully reinstall it, Luo Yuan had destroyed them.


    The intellectual brain repeated themand again, and when the spare parts were delivered, Luo Yuan destroyed them once more.


    The spare parts finally ran out of inventory, when it hit the eleventh round.


    "I have run out of spare parts in the inventory. The production request has been sent to the factory area. The production of quantummunication equipment spare parts starts immediately, and restocking the inventory reserves are estimated to beplete in 15 minutes..."


    Luo Yuan felt a bit of a headache. He had thought that when the spare parts ran out of the inventory, there was nothing the intellectual brain could do. He never thought that the spacecraft had a fully automated production line to be able to produce anything in a short time.


    Of course, he could destroy all of them here, but it was impossible for him to stay here forever.


    "Intellectual brain, stop the production at once!"


    "Dear Captain, this is written in my core program, which I cannot disobey. I need a higher level of authority!"


    Luo Yuan was angry, "Do you want to die?"


    The intellectual brain did not speak, but the nt area immediately appeared on the three-dimensional screen, before quickly zooming in to show the location of a small part underneath a console.


    Luo Yuan understood the hint and immediately rushed to the location and pulled out the plug.


    "Warning, warning! Unable to contact the production areas. It is suspected that the factory¡¯s quantum control center was destroyed. Attention relevant engineers, please rush to repair..."


    Then, Luo Yuan continued to be in the control room and destroyed all the quantummunication devices that were produced by the previousmand. Finally, everything was cleared and things had quieted down.


    He was finally relieved, "Intellectual brain, tell me about this spacecraft."


    "Yes, Dear Captain. This is the first long-distance spacecraft in ss. Its horizontal diameter is five kilometers and the vertical diameter is 75 kilometers. It has eight sets of nuclear pulse engines and 24 sets of trillion kilowatts of nuclear fusion furnace. It can reach a maximum speed of 180,000 kilometers per second.


    It has four main cannons and four main anti matter guns and ammunition, 125ser rapid-fire guns, in addition to 12 smart missileunchers that are capable ofunching various types of smart bombs.


    In addition, the spacecraft also has a strong advanced manufacturing capability. It can easily produce all industrial goods within the spacecraft. At the same time, it was able to synthesize artificial food through the elemental mixture.


    Theoretically, the spaceship would be able to continue sailing as long as they could get meteorites and water from the universe.


    It also has... "


    While listening to the continuous description from the intellectual brain, Luo Yuan could not help but be slightly worried. This was the technology dated sixty years ago. It would be even more fearsome if it was ss¡¯s current technology. Luo Yuan could not imagine how it would be should theye back.


    Shortly after, Luo Yuan left the spacecraft andunched his space-time bubble to fly back to the earth. Before leaving, he ordered the intellectual brain to station the spacecraft somewhere.


    Firstly, he was not ready to figure what to do next, and secondly, it was also a test.


    Of course, he knew that he could not do anything if the intellectual brain really had deceived him. At the time, it was either him or the remaining surviving humans that would die. Based on the introduction by the intellectual brain, he was now clear that the nuclear-powered antimatter intelligent space bomb was designed specifically just to attack him. This weapon would ultimately defeat all his capabilities. Once he was locked as a target, he would definitely be dead.


    He had also thought of destroying the intellectual brain, but it also meant that he would have lost thest hope of mankind.


    The threat of the ssian captain was still vivid in his mind. Regardless if it was the hatred they had before or the natural threats felt between the two civilizations, the ssians would definitely not let humans continue to exist and or resume development.


    Perhaps before long, the war would return again.


    However, after this disaster, human beings had already depleted. Even with the reference of ssian technology, human beings had not much capacity to resist the attack. Thus, this spacecraft that could fly into space was the only hope for mankind.


    ...


    Fortunately, the worst did not happen. The spacecraft still stayed at its initial ce and did not show any signs of attacking.


    Luo Yuan flew at lightning speed. After a small breakthrough that urred identally, Luo Yuan found that his space-time bubble had undergone enormous changes. It broke through to a staggering 1,000 kilometers per second which were six times faster than before.


    Including the slow startup time, it took only 20 minutes for him to pass through the cooled over the moon. If it were to be in the past, it needed at least an hour to travel 300,000 kilometers away.


    At this time, the moon looked smooth from afar and all the craters had been covered up by magma.


    This much-lighter satellite was now rapidly flying away from earth and was trying to recalibrate its tracks. It was foreseeable that in the next hundred years, it would keep moving back and forth due to the earth¡¯s gravity, to bring about ongoing disasters to earth.

 Chapter 449: Political Change (I)

    Chapter 449: Political Change (I)


    Trantor: EndlessFantasy Trantion Editor: EndlessFantasy Trantion


    After the massive destruction by the ssians, the condition of the earth had deteriorated and disasters frequently urred.


    Looked down from space, the entire earth had been covered by ayer of gray, flowing fog. Although it moved slowly, it was the view from a hundred thousand kilometers away. On earth, it should be akin to a hurricane adversely affecting one¡¯s whole world.


    The atmosphere was crazily getting more and more intense. Clouds of dust blew about, and even trees and rocks were also flying in the sky. It was almost impossible to witness the scene on earth with one¡¯s naked eye. The consequences brought by the nuclear-powered antimatter intelligent space bomb had gradually be serious, imminent of an impending nuclear winter.


    In addition to the previous strong explosion, it had caused a shift in the earth tes. The World Ind (Europe) had turned into a series of inds, North and South America had beenpletely separated and the entire North America had a huge hole sted in the middle of it.


    It was only a few hours since the destruction of the ssians, but it had caused the creation of more than a hundred volcanoes. All of these volcanoes were erupting a hundred millions tons of material every second into the air which worsened the situation on earth.


    However, this was only the beginning. It would take a long time for the earth to re-stabilize from the te adjustments. It was foreseeable that in the next six months to a few years, the number of volcanos would be rapidly increased, whilst the nuclear winter might even continue for more than a decade.


    Luo Yuan pursed his lips and felt heavy-hearted. This was a terrible disaster. Even the people who survived would face a cruel moment soon.


    It was not like the brutal dangers during the apocalypse ¨C it was much more terrible. In such a severe environment, mankind wouldpletely lose all traces of sunlight and would need to live every day like a cold winter night for a long time.


    He kept flying, and in just a few minutes he had crossed 400,000 kilometers of distance and rapidly entered the atmosphere.


    Over time, the view had gradually dimmed down. Strong wind with sand and stones were violently blowing around. Although Luo Yuan was inside the space bubble and isted himself from all attacks, he could feel the terrible strong wind in the atmosphere.


    The airflow around was moving at high speed at hundreds of meters per second. From a standard Typhoon calction, this wind speed was more than a level 18 typhoon.


    The whole earth had beenpletely tattered. The foresnd had now be deste with lodging trees everywhere. As for Europe and North America that had been seriously hit, they had be argely barrennd and was left only a few high-level giant trees that were still standing upright.


    Luo Yuan tried very hard to identify the location of Hope City. After a long while, he could roughly find the location of Hope City through the nearby terrain. There had been no trace of the city but he could only sense the strong wind.


    What made him even more shocked was how there were dimples on the ground everywhere and formed as a concave in the sand wind. There were even cracks as long as hundreds of kilometers that separated the city into two.


    At this time, the space-time bubble was moving at an amazing speed of thousands of kilometers per second. In order to avoid directly prating the center of the earth, he had been slowing down his speed when he entered the atmosphere. When he got closer to the ground, his speed had decreased to a few kilometers per second.


    He slowly unraveled the space bubble, but just when his body was in contact with the outside world, he was blown to the middle of the air by the gust of surrounding strong wind.


    He awkwardly tumbled into the air. He was not heavy enough and no matter how strong he was, he could not withstand the strong wind.


    When he was in the midst of being blown into the air, he tried to use his Will to stabilize his body but to no avail. The weight of his Will was only a few hundred kilograms. There was not much effect when he encountered this kind of super sandstorm.


    At this point, he somewhat felt remorseful. He was in a rush when he came out and did not carry the belt that was made of the Demonic Horseman¡¯s mane, otherwise, he would not need to worry about strong winds like this.


    He let the wind blow against him, and after a few seconds, he immediately teleported.


    The very next moment, his body had alreadynded on the ground. This time, Luo Yuan was well prepared. Before the wind took its toll on his body, he embedded his hands into the ground to stabilize himself.


    As it should be, it was already supposed to be a bright sunny day the next morning, but now it waspletely dark and was obscured by the endless sand.


    Immediately, his sense prated the ground and with teleportation, he disappeared from his original position.


    The firstyer underground had beenpletely run-down. The strong wind blew through the copsed region here, where most of the buildings had been dpidated. When he walked along the street piled with thick sand, he could see corpses scattered everywhere.


    Fortunately, it was a warehouse district with only a few staff, thus, there were not many casualties.


    Luo Yuan went through four levels consecutively and it was the same for all. There were totally empty and in ruins.


    He started to feel worried and eagerly wanted to know the current situation of Huang Jiahui and the rest.


    He split through the basement and immediately jumped down to the next level.


    Fortunately, the lower he went, the better the situation was. When he reached the seventh level, apart from the thick sand on the ground, there was not much impact on others. However, the power had beenpletely disrupted and it was dark everywhere.


    It was already the residential and lightly-polluted industrial area. On the street, there were people panicking everywhere. A lot of military police were standing on every street attempting to enforce basicw and order.


    "... The government is exploring new methods, and everything will be fine. I hope everyone can remain calm, as we have a lot of food and water reserves. Agricultural areas are still operating well. I believe that if we unite as one, we will get through any difficulties..." A government worker was holding a tweeter and shouting loudly.


    Luo Yuan listened quietly for a while. He remained silent and walked through the crowd to the passageway.


    It was the same on the eighth floor. Crowds were on the streets. Some people were crying and some looked numb. Some of them were panicking with uncertainties and kept trembling. Many of the people were holding fire torches and wandering on the street without a purpose, like a group of soulless zombies.


    Fortunately, it had been the apocalypse for so many years. During all these years, the people had trained to be organized and disciplined. In addition, there were a lot of police maintaining order. Although they were in despair, no untoward incidents were caused.


    Luo Yuan sighed and quickened his pace. He could not wait to go home now.


    Not long after, he arrived at the ninth level underground, where his vi was located. However, before he entered the door, someone was in his way, apanied by Huang Jiahui. When she saw Luo Yuan, she finally lit up and expressed relief.


    "They have been waiting for you for a long time," said Huang Jiahui. There were just so many words her heart wished it could utter, she had to bottle them all in.


    Luo Yuan nodded and turned his face to the acquaintance beside her. He was the vice mayor of Hope City, Bi Jianping. His face was dim and said with a serious tone, "Hello Minister Luo, I¡¯m really sorry to bother you. Today, Hope City has arrived a near-death situation. As part of the executivemittee of Hope City, please be sure to attend the government meeting and discuss the countermeasures."


    He had been waiting for a long time and insisted on standing at the doorway. As a vice mayor, he had to be humble because the situation has not seen its worst until today. All the signals had been interrupted and the ground was covered by a terrible sand storm causing the gridlocked traffic. They were unable to retrieve any information and after much consideration, they decided toe and ask Luo Yuan himself.


    The attack by the ssians happened in the middle of the night, so the Reconstruction Area was totally unprepared. When the nuclear-powered antimatter intelligent space bomb exploded, a strong electromaic pulse disrupted allmunications and electricity supply. They had no idea what had actually happened until this day.


    Some of them had even spected that there were some insane people who detonated all the nuclear bombs and tried tomit a suicide mission with all human beings in the Reconstruction Area. This view had been agreed on by most of the people but they had never expected that the attack this time would be 10,000 times more terrible than the nuclear bomb explosion.


    Luo Yuan nodded and said, "Okay, I have some details to share with you. Let¡¯s go."


    Although he was only a step away from home, due to the urgency of the issue, he did not hurry back home. He looked at Huang Jiahui and nodded, then turned and left with Bi Jianping.


    Shortly after, Luo Yuan walked into City Hall¡¯s conference hall together with Bi Jianping. When the door flung open, they caught a whiff of the pungent smell of cigarette; the air was badly polluted.


    Luo Yuan nced through the room. There were only five people attending this meeting. He looked at the ashtray that was full of cigarette butts, and apparently, these people had waited for a long time.


    When Luo Yuan entered the room, everyone looked at him with a gloomy face and some had nervousness stered all over their faces. Some of them even nodded at him with well-intentions.


    Luo Yuan did not care much, and nodded to them one by one, before choosing a vacant seat to sit down.


    The meeting was chaired by Bi Jianping, "In this terrible disaster, Mayor Xie Guping and the Vice Mayor Zhou Jianguo have unfortunately passed away. In ordance with the organization¡¯s procedures, the meeting will be chaired by me for the time being, and I have also invited Minister Luo from the Firearms Bureau to attend the meeting.


    Today¡¯s situation has seen the worst, and we havepletely disconnected from the outside world. The signals with other cities were also interrupted and we have too,pletely lost contact with New Capital City. Thus, the first thing to prioritize is to restore themunication and power..."


    "I have to interrupt!" Luo Yuan chimed in.


    "Minister Luo, please go ahead." Considering how he was such a human weapon, Bi Jianping dared not disregard him.


    "There is no need to contact anyone. In fact, New Capital City has disappeared or should say that most of the Reconstruction Areas have disappeared. Now, the survivors left are only from Hope City and the few surrounding cities," said Luo Yuan in all seriousness.


    The information from Luo Yuan was like a strike of thunder to everyone¡¯s heart. Before he even finished his sentence, a few people had already stood up and said, "No, this is impossible. Even if all the nuclear bombs were to explode, the power would not be strong enough to destroy the Reconstruction Area."


    If this was a nuclear bomb, it really was incapable of destroying the Reconstruction Area. After the apocalypse, all the main cities were built deep underground and only the heavy industrial areas on the ground were left. As long as the nuclear bomb had not exploded in the city center, its power was indeed limited.


    Luo Yuan shook his head, his face heavy, and said, "All of your guesses are wrong. It was not caused by a nuclear bomb and was certainly not done by human being. It seems like your level of getting confidential information is still not high, but there is no need to keep it under the wraps anymore."


    While Luo Yuan shared his story, everyone gradually became taciturn and uneasy as he was not just any normal evolved human but one of the top management members of the Firearms Bureau. This bureau reported directly to the high-levelmittee, so the level at which he could obtain confidential information was totally iparable.


    "All this while, there has been a lot of spections about the biological big bang during the apocalypse. A lot of evidence refers to the supernova explosion, but in fact, it is not the case at all.


    It was caused by an alien virus. The purpose was to test on this destructive virus. For them, it was secondary but the real target was to destroy humanity.


    Five years ago, these aliens hade to the sr system by their spacecraft to cast the virus, but the impact was not too huge back then. Until the next outbreak of the sr system as affected by the supernova, the virus mutated and this had led to disastrous consequences.


    Until a few months ago, the Reconstruction Area had found some traces of aliens and when they finally confirmed and started on the defense n, it was already toote.


    The attack this time had sted the whole Europe into piles of inds, and a huge sinkhole had emerged in North America. Other than Hope City and the several cities nearby, there were no survivors left."


    It was a long silence in the conference room and the air reeked with tension. Bi Jianping lit up a cigarette with a trembling hand, "Do you have any evidence?"


    Bi Jianping was pale, however, at the bottom of his heart he had believed the story told by Luo Yuan. There had been so many actions by the Reconstruction Area and he had noticed some clues. For example, during thest few months, many of the new research institutes had suddenly moved to New Capital City. Even the rocket base professors and experts of Hope City were half being deployed. It was all done by the Mayor and no one knew the real story behind all these movements.


    However, although intellectually he had some belief, emotionally he could absolutely not digest this new piece of information. He would rather believe that it was done by some insane people but not the fact that the aliens wanted to destroy mankind, at least it was not so desperate aspared to thetter one.


    "Evidence... is this considered evidence?" Luo Yuan suddenly pulled out something and ced it on the table, which was a gadget that he found from a ssian. Luo Yuan was amused with it so he brought it back with him.


    It was a long strip of material in white. The workmanship was fine and the color was soft. When theyid eyes on it, they knew that it was definitely not from the times of the apocalypse.


    "What is this?"


    "I don¡¯t know, maybe it is a toy of alien," said Luo Yuan, while gently pressing down on somewhere dimpled.


    The long strip immediately floated in the air to about half a meter in height, then on its surface, there were a number of small cubes raised. It shortened and transformed, and soon it turned into a ball formed by numerous cubes.


    Then, a melodious yet exotic style of music echoed in the room. The surface of the cube moved with the rhythm, like waves rising up and down in unison.


    This quality of the music was very clear, however, at this time, no one had the interest to enjoy it but felt cold and hopeless.


    Luo Yuan took away the ball and gently pinched it. The ball broke and the music suddenly stopped.


    He put all the broken pieces on the table. Each piece was about the size of a green bean. When everyone came near to see, they found that there was no circuit boards or chips in it.


    Other than the white material, there was nothing else. Although it was just something trivial, perhaps a toy of alien, it totally could not be replicated by human technology.


    "Perhaps there really is an alien lurking about to destroy mankind. But I still do not understand that if the aliens wanted to destroy mankind, why are we still alive? If the technology of the opponent is so advanced, it is impossible to miss destroying this ce." A deputy mayor voiced out, trembling in disbelief.


    Luo Yuan nced through the crowd and smiled, "The reason why they missed this spot is that they¡¯re already dead. Currently, 600,000 kilometers away in space lies a floating abandoned spacecraft."


    Everyone looked at each other. They were smart and fully understood the meaning behind Luo Yuan¡¯s words. It had hidden threat inside but they could not say anything but to keep mum.


    If that was true, the power owned by Luo Yuan had alreadypletely overridden mankind. In everyone¡¯s heart, they whispered, "There is going to be a political change in the Reconstruction Area!"


    "I propose to suspend the meeting!" Bi Jianping suddenly said. When he spoke, he looked at Luo Yuan with mixed feelings.

 Chapter 450: Political change (II)

    Chapter 450: Political change (II)


    Trantor: EndlessFantasy Trantion Editor: EndlessFantasy Trantion


    Once Luo Yuan had adjourned, the meeting resumed.


    Bi Jianping finished his cigarette and lit up another one. Suddenly the room was filled with smoke and its strong smell.


    No one spoke for some time. The news that they just received from Luo Yuan was too shocking, to the point that they were lost for words.


    When they thought of the extinction of mankind and how the earth would be destroyed, they felt desperate.


    "The situation is worse than what we previously spected. We have to prepare for a long duration of defense. What material reserves do we have now? Water and food, I meant," said Bi Jianping as broke the silence.


    These two were the most important of all supplies ¨C as long as they solved the problem of food and water, the city would not be in chaos.


    "If the power supply still cannot be reinstated, it would be able to at least sustain for another three months." A vice mayor who was in charge of agriculture said, "Although agricultural areas can still operate, there is no sunlight to support the growth of the mutated nt. In addition, the water supply of Hope Cityes from underground and it requires power supply too. It can be said that without power supply, the city would be a deste one."


    "It seems like it is imperative to restore the power supply." Bi Jianping said and looked heavy hearted.


    "However, the power nts are thermal power nts that are built above the ground. They have already been destroyed but the debris can¡¯t be found. We still have some steam turbine power generators in the warehouse, but where can we get the fuel? We are now trapped underground and are not able to get out from here unless we tear down all the houses in Hope City." A mayor who was in charge of industrialization said, as he deeply inhaled the smoke of his a cigarette.


    "That would be a stop-gap measure." Bi Jianping said, "But even if we did tear down all the houses in Hope City, it won¡¯t sustain us for long and we can only wait for the storm to subside."


    At this time, the ground shook vigorously and a loud bang echoed at the top of their heart. Apparently, there were some copses again. The quakested for ten seconds before it gradually died down.


    The earthquake had urred more than ten times since yesterday. It was too frequent to the point of familiarity. After a while, they continued the meeting.


    "I think there is at least some food and water reserves that can temporarily ease the situation. However, the problem of keeping warm cannot be dragged anymore. The temperature has been dropping rapidly these days and it is expected to enter the winter season in the next two days. In the past, the weather has been warm throughout the year so everyonecked warm clothing. Due to this, there could be a number of death cases caused by freezing." The marketing minister raised his concern on the foreseen crisis.


    Everyone looked haggard but there was nothing they could do. There were still many clothing inventories but most of them were battle suits made of fiber, even the quilt was very light, almost weightless. Such clothing was definitely not able to protect them against the impending cold weather.


    "I should also mention that sincest night, the number of suicides has exceeded 20,000 people, and they are rather pessimistic now, coupled with the problem of freezing to death that was mentioned by Mr. Zhou Wenbo. I think we should be more vignt." The secretary of the Political Committee, Li Feng, rubbed his eyebrows and said exhaustedly, "We also have a serious shortage of police officers ¨C we have to urgently recruit a new batch."


    Everyone was silent and felt helpless.


    Today, Hope City had be apletely isted ind. Externally the environment was worse, while internally there was crowd panic. Thus, the situation had been as difficult as a taut wire. Now, it could still be barely kept ordered due to the inertia and the side effects of the truth.


    If the power supply continued to be interrupted, darkness would be continuously enveloping the underground city. So, when winter came and constantly suppressed it due to depression and despair, the spirit of the residents in Hope City would copse and they would end up breaking the rules andws. At that point of time, it would be inadequate and exhausting for the few tens of thousands of ordinary police officers.


    And that¡¯s only considering the ordinary people...


    In Hope City, there were a lot of evolved humans and the Firearms Bureau. This department waspletely independent of the municipal government. Both parties did not have any subordination. In the past, there was still the Reconstruction Area acting as the intermediator to coordinate andmunicate, but now that the situation was all a blur, they could not be too sure of what the other party¡¯s thoughts were.


    What was even more troubling being that the Firearms Bureau in Hope City was led by the very person who killed the aliens. Even if all the forces in Hope City were gathered, they were still not able to defeat that person.


    Strength was the foundation of all power. Without power, the existing authority was shaken to its core and had be uncertain of their fate.


    "I think we should pull Minister Luo in and not exclude him. At least with his existence, we would not need to worry about the evolved humans." Finally, the Minister of Organization, Ye Yong, started the topic that everyone had deliberately avoided, but could no longer be avoided.


    "I think we can, but what position should we assign him to? He is at the rank of a lieutenant. At that level, his rank is higher than that of all of us. Besides, if we were to count on the achievements of human beings, no one could upstage Minister Luo. He saved mankind, and in one way or another, he also saved every one of us here." Bi Jianping interrupted.


    When they heard about it, the facial expressions of some of them had slightly changed. They vaguely could sense that a storm was brewing and the decision made today would go down in history.


    ...


    When Luo Yuan was on his way back, he could feel the chill in the air. It was April now, and it was supposed to be around 35 degrees, but now, it did not evene close to ten degrees Celsius.


    He quickened his pace and walked towards his house. It was dark inside the house too, with only a few handmade lights lighting dimly in the living room.


    But these dim lights had warmed up Luo Yuan¡¯s heart, which had been cold and lonely since the night before.


    After the few women saw Luo Yuan, they could not stop crying. Since the disasterst night and upon discovering that Luo Yuan was missing, they started to worry and was scared that he had possibly met misfortune. However, as his women, they had to bear with such fears and gradually get used to it.


    "Well, don¡¯t cry, everything¡¯s alright."


    "Have you eaten? Let me cook for you," said Huang Jiahui, as she wiped her tears away.


    Luo Yuan nodded his head. "I am not too hungry; just a simple meal will do."


    Now in his body, he had two sets of energy systems ¨C one was the cold fusion mitochondrial energy and another set was the energy that came from food digestion. The former had reced thetter, thus to Luo Yuan, there was no difference whether he had consumed anything or not. The only thing was that he still could not live without water.


    In the afternoon, there were government officers who consistently came to visit. In the past, they would bear gifts when they came, but this time, they were all empty handed, but with a respectful and extremely careful demeanor.


    Luo Yuan was a bit confused but also sensed that the situation in Hope City had been turbulent and something was surging. In the evening, Wang Shishi who went out to the crowd suddenly ran back home in a hurry.


    "Brother Luo, did you really exterminate the aliens and save the Reconstruction Area?" She asked him before she could take a breath, with a surprised look and eyes blinking in disbelief as if this was the first time she got to know Luo Yuan.


    "How do you know that?" Luo Yuan looked surprised and shared that he did not tell his family anything about the alien yet.


    "There are government servants outside who do the publicity. Don¡¯t tell me that it is true, that there were aliens and you have killed them!" Wang Shishi eximed.


    His vi was located in a remote area with only a few people living nearby. It was quiet and peaceful. He listened attentively and suddenly all kinds of subtle sounds were drilled into his ears. He was able to hear the story that was published by some people several kilometers away.


    Huang Jiahui and a few people next to him were shocked and looked bewildered when they heard about what Wang Shishi had just said. As for the newer, Ye Qiuyu, she was gasping in shock while she covered her open mouth with her hand.


    Luo Yuan had no choice but to briefly share his encounter with the aliens from the beginning. After that, he did not care about the staggering look of the few women and started to harbor thoughts secretly in his heart.


    The government was promoting him as a hero of mankind; the savior of the earth.


    The people in Hope City was now anxious and feeling hopeless about the future. With the propaganda that the government created for him, he received an unwavering strong support in everyone¡¯s heart.


    However, with such a campaign, it had more disadvantages to the municipal government of Hope City. As they publicized the achievements of Luo Yuan, it was also indicating that the power of authority had been shaken. This was also the reason in the past, where no matter how great the contributions Luo Yuan had made, he only received awards behind the scenes, with no social publicity. Therefore, there were only a few people in the top management that had a certain level of understanding of Luo Yuan, while the ordinary people knew nothing about him.


    Apparently, the government had been unable to maintain the status quo and was prepared to hand-over the power and authority they had.


    In fact, even if they tightly grasped onto the power, Luo Yuan would not force them to surrender. He was not someone who desired power and did not have much interest on dominating the Reconstruction Area.


    However, although the current situation was seemingly safe, the real crisis was not over yet. Other than the long nuclear winter ahead, the spacecraft of the ssians was likely toe again. He was fortunate to kill all the aliens this time, but there was no absolute guarantee that he would be so lucky next time.


    The next time they came, the strength of these aliens would definitely be more frightening.


    In order to extend the life of mankind, he could only think of a way which was to take the spacecraft of the ssians and escape to the outskirts of the universe.


    However, he had the highest authority in the spacecraft and unless he died, it could not be easily transferred just like that. At that point of time, any decision would need to go through him. To the government, rather than always being constrained and intrigued, it was better for them to hand over the authority.


    In fact, the government ced more urgency than he thought they would, which also meant that the situation of Hope City was even more severe.


    It was not even the second day. When it was six in the evening, all the executives of the municipal government came to his house together and had a closed-door meeting.


    Other than the few attendees, no one would possibly know the content of the meeting. However, after the meeting, those people broke out in a cold sweat and looked pale, but also expressed pent-up excitement.


    At first, Luo Yuan thought that the situation could still be dyed for at least a couple of weeks. He had never expected that the situation was so urgent, let alone to this extent.


    It felt that the municipal government was sitting precariously on a powder keg that was ready to explode. No wonder there was no one trying to take over this hot potato.


    In the evening, Luo Yuan entered the city hall and got into the mayor¡¯s office.


    The first order was to convene all the electrical engineer survivors in Hope City and allboratory researchers, as well asrge numbers of workers. Then, he directly triggered the space-time bubble in the office and left Hope City.


    An hourter, he returned from space and came back with a metal ball ¨C about five meters in diameter ¨C in his hand.


    This was the deep fusion furnace that he removed from the first ssian spaceship he conquered. Luo Yuan brought back all the relevant equipment and devices so that he could reuse the waste.


    This ssion fusion furnace was very high-tech and very safe to be used. When the energy output was stopped, it automatically initiated the sleep mode.


    When he put it on the ground of the city hall, the researchers and engineers immediately went closer to take a look and on their faces, was a look of shock and excitement.


    Each of theplex smooth surfaces, each of the specific materials and even the alien metal inscriptions had attracted and amazed everyone.


    "Don¡¯t be curious now. You have a lot of time to do research on it. Now, please start to test it but please be careful and safe." Said Luo Yuan.


    The ssian civilization and humanity were twopletely different things and there was no one who had experience with nuclear fusion. They could not even resolve the thermoelectric conversion fusion furnace that was beyond the technological prowess of mankind.


    However, there was no need to learn it. As power output device, its basic principles were the same, where all current passes through the positive and negative output. The more advanced the technology was, the easier it is to operate.


    It had only three operation buttons. By just analyzing for a while, they had figured out the specific meanings of the several buttons on the text.


    Sleep, shut down, and start.


    When the fusion furnace shut downpletely, it stopped working. In order to unlock the bunker, they could simply open it by just pulling the ring on the surface.


    After the analysis by researchers, they found that the fuel inside was not ordinary hydrogen, nor the helium 3 that was used on human nuclear fusion, but an ultra-pure water. Of course, this was the deep fusion furnace, it did not matter even if they used normal pure water.


    Apparently, the fusion furnace technology had been very mature in the ss and was widely used. Even the intelligent robots and smart bombs also came with a miniature nuclear fusion furnace. Thus, it was very safe and did not cause any danger as the engineers tested it. However, Luo Yuan thought that it was necessary for him to go to the spacecraft again to get the intellectual brain so it could trante ssiannguage to Chinese and have it printed into a book so that he could conduct organizational learning.


    It was foreseeable that the contact with ssian equipment would be more frequent, so it would be easier if humans could understand the ssiannguage. It was a prerequisite to fully understand the ssian technology.


    When it approached midnight, arge number of power engineers had begun to conduct small-scale testing. Whenmps were lit up in the hall, it suddenly became brightly lit, aspared to the previously dim hall.


    "Mayor, its maximum output power is amazing! The electrical current is almost endless. Fortunately, it can be automatically adjusted ording to usage, otherwise, we will not be able to find a suitable transformer." A principal engineer at the power station who narrowly escaped from the disaster excitedly shared to Luo Yuan.


    "When can we implement it massively?" Asked Luo Yuan. It was midnight now and the weather was getting colder. The temperature had dropped to almost -10 degrees Celsius. If the solution was still pending, it would be getting worse and potential freezing to death might just ur.


    "Now, thework in Hope City was still in tense repair. Most of the bulbs and electrical circuit had been burnt due to the previous electromaic pulse from the disaster. We have to test and reinstall it all over again and can only restore the power generation when we are able to confirm that they are safe. It is estimated to get the power supply restored three dayste in the afternoon." When the principal engineer talked to Luo Yuan, he was slightly nervous.


    "It will be too long; our people will not be able to wait that long." Luo Yuan shook his head and waved his hand.


    The Vice Mayor Bi Jianping who was directing nearby quickly came over. Now that he was in awe with Luo Yuan. It waspletely a different thing to see aspared to the time when he merely heard about it. In just an hour, an alien fusion furnace appeared, and it fully justified what Luo Yuan previously said, proving its authenticity.


    "It seems like we need to gather more workers and train a bit to repair the electricalwork. During this time, we have to start up a nt to produce heating equipment and warm clothing. I do not want to people freezing to death. It is uncalled for."


    The factories on the ground that were destroyed were the polluted metal smelting and chemical factories. In the underground area, there were more preserved factories. There was no technical difficulty to start the production of heating equipment.


    "I will immediately go and implement it." Bi Jianping said quickly.


    "Wait, one more thing." Luo Yuan stopped Bi Jianping. He looked serious and said, "Now the residents in Hope City is panicking and we cannot let them do nothing and be pessimistic in the dark. We have to keep them moving. You go back and discuss with the rest on what we can do specifically. It does not matter even if it wastes some materials."

 Chapter 451: Political Change (III)

    Chapter 451: Political Change (III)


    Trantor: EndlessFantasy Trantion Editor: EndlessFantasy Trantion


    Luo Yuan was perusing the files and documents regarding Hope City in the Mayor¡¯s office.


    His speed of resolving all issues was shockingly fast, especially with the aid of his 16-point of Intelligence. In under 15 minutes, he had finished reading a stack of documents.


    Luo Yuan sighed and felt depressed as Hope City was facing a huge loss after the disaster. It caused about 700,000 deaths. Although the disaster happened around one to two o¡¯clock in the morning, there were many people still working in the factories. Hence, there was no difference whether it happened during nightfall or in broad daylight.


    Of course, that was not the only reason that caused so many deaths. There was a total of six industrial zones in the Reconstruction Area including those in the underground city. Although the heavy pollution in the industrial zone on the upper ground was crucial, it was just one of the many with approximately 500,000 workers.


    Moreover, those workers were divided into two shifts - day and night. Based on usual circumstances, the maximum number of deaths was about 250,000 workers.


    In fact, Hope City had been attacked by two level eight creatures a while ago - there were a few industrial zones yet to be rebuilt. Many of the workers sacrificed their own free time to help on the reconstruction and establishment work at night in order to speed up operations. At the same time, the former Mayor and Deputy Mayor were also helping to oversee and coordinate matters at the work site as well.


    Those 100,000 people did not manage to evacuate and take cover underground when the disaster happened. All of them died immediately due to the explosion of the nuclear-powered antimatter intelligent space bomb.


    As a result, there were only 2.4 million of a poption leftpared to the original poption of more than three million.


    There were about 28,000 researchers and scientists which amounted to 1/80 of the total poption, and about 40,000 engineers and technicians which are 1/60 of the total poption.


    The ratio was even higher than the time before the apocalypse, and it was the current numbers after the new capital city had taken away some of their manpower.


    However, it was actually normal as Hope City was prioritized as the most important city of the Reconstruction Area - its research and development standards were ranked just below the new capital city. Moreover, it was difficult topare the importance of research when everything was at peace versus the apocalypse when humans were struggling to survive.


    However, although there were quite a number of researchers and engineers, it was not sufficient to redevelop civilization. Based on the number of researchers and engineers they had, it was considered fortunate if civilization was not on a downward spiral. They needed ten times the current numbers of researchers and engineers to maintain their standards of technology.


    Fortunately, the technology of cloning was now advanced enough to clone humans, hence, the poption had be part of the manufacturing nt of the factories. They could increase the production of researchers and engineers with the cloning technology. It was not an issue, as long as they had enough time.


    He sighed softly and turned the chair around. He looked at the map of the Reconstruction Area on the wall and then circled three of the cities nearby Hope City. It was Twilight City, United City, and Victory City.


    Although those three cities were nearby Hope City, it did not get destroyed by the nuclear-powered antimatter intelligent space bomb. Many survivors remained in the underground city. However, their situation was even worse than Hope City and the survivors would not be able to survive for long if search and rescue missions were not being conducted as soon as possible.


    They must at least get the situation checked thoroughly first.


    Luo Yuan picked up the inte phone and said, "Come in."


    The line was definitely the most stable one in the municipal hall.


    A momentter, a young guy with tanned skin entered the room silently and said courteously, "How can I help you, Mr. Mayor?"


    His name was Cheng Guanghui, who was the secretary of the former Mayor. Although he had passed away, Luo Yuan did not n to change a new one as the game of office politics was totally meaningless to him. He said, "Please contact the team members of the Firearms Bureau, and get them to gather in my office."


    "Yes, Mr. Mayor. Is there anything else I can help you with?" Cheng Guanghui asked.


    "That¡¯s all, please do it now." Luo Yuan waved his hand.


    Cheng Guanghui immediately left the office and closed the door. Right after the door was closed, an agitated expression shed across his face.


    The Firearms Bureau and the Municipal Hall had an almost simr level of authority. The sub-department in the Firearms Bureau was a special sector and all the team members were super evolved humans. They needed to be very careful every single time they needed help from the special team of the Firearms Bureau. He had not seen such a calm yet dominant person like he was in the past one year as a secretary. That super evolved human was just like his subordinate.


    However, he was the new Mayor who was the former deputy minister of the Firearms Bureau, the team member of the Firearms Bureau in Hope City was also considered as his subordinates.


    ...


    Luo Yuan had waited for half an hour before the team members of the Firearms Bureau began to arrive one by one with a zero-absence rate. The team members felt a sense of familiarity but strange as well, during the reunion.


    He had finally witnessed a legendary scene as Luo Yuan had been promoted from a normal member of the Firearms Bureau to Vice-Captain, Deputy Minister and now to the Mayor of Hope City in only six months. Apart from that, his power was initially simr to those evolved humans but now, all of them could notpete with him at all.


    They had never seen how Luo Yuan exterminated the aliens, but they witnessed how the level eight creatures were being so obedient in front of him.


    As they were standing in front of Luo Yuan, both of his students, Fang Peibin and his former superior Lin Feiyan were extremely nervous, while the rest were in an even worse state.


    "Hey guys, since we are already quite close to each other, we should just chill! Take a seat!" Luo Yuan said gently with a smile, despite being bothered by the situation of Hope City, fully knowing that they were nervous.


    Everyone immediately felt relieved as they realized Luo Yuan was still treating them like how he used to.


    "M...master, did you really exterminate the aliens?" Fang Peibin asked curiously. Everyone was talking about it; it was easy for him to know.


    Everyone including Lin Feiyan suddenly became very alert as they heard Fang Peibin mention it. Unfortunately, Luo Yuan did not intend to satisfy their curiosity.


    "Let¡¯s talk about itter. The Reconstruction Area has turned to ruins after the disaster. There are some changes in the current situation and the existence of the Firearms Bureau has be meaningless as well. The main objective to gather all of you here is to restructure the department. Some of the evolved humans would be transferred to the municipal hall to form a special team - what do you think?"


    When they were ruled by the Reconstruction Area, the Firearms Bureau enjoyed several privileges as they were trying tofort the evolved human in order to ensure the safety of Hope City. They had more than enough benefits and back-end manpower which was considered wasteful during the apocalypse.


    He would not go against it if he was still the member of the Firearms Bureau. However, he was now the Mayor of the Hope City and felt it should be eliminated.


    Lin Feiyan pondered and got the message he wanted to deliver. Since then, the super evolved humans would no longer be entitled to any more special privileges. They might still enjoy some benefits, but it would not be as great as what they used to have. If it was someone else or even the former Mayor who proposed this idea, she would have given them a punch.


    However, Luo Yuan was the one who proposed it. She was not going to fight with such a legend. She said softly, "I¡¯m fine with it."


    "How about the rest?"


    "Master, it¡¯s your call, we are good to follow." Fang Peibin said, in smiles.


    "Sure, sure!" Crazy Wong quickly said. He used to be afraid of Luo Yuan, it was even worse now. He would definitely leave the room if it was possible.


    "Alright, since everyone agrees with this, I¡¯ll issue an operation order. I¡¯ve taken a look just now, and the wind has subsided. I believe it would not cause many problems to you. What you have to do now is to rush to Twilight City, United City, and Victory City to check on the situation of the survivors, as well as retrieve their contact information from the local government.

 Chapter 452: Sand Storm

    Chapter 452: Sand Storm


    Trantor: EndlessFantasy Trantion Editor: EndlessFantasy Trantion


    The street was very bright under the row of torches, a big crowd was sweeping the dust under the instructions of the government officer. Some were repairing the circuits by standing on thedder.


    At that moment, everyone in Hope City was pretty busy and there were much more people at the top level. Many of the ces have fallen apart and certain regions have copsed. A strong wind with dark gray crystals and sand blew through the cracks and made the temperature drop to below negative 20 degrees Celsius.


    However, they could not feel the cold as they have been warmed up by the torches on the street.


    Many of the residents were shouting propaganda while they tried to move the big rocks. Some were holding a pail with cement inside and poured it into the cracks on the ground.


    Due to the absence of machinery, they were carrying the cement with their hands and shoulders. Although most of the people were wearing thin jackets, they were all sweating.


    People tend to think about negative things in dire times of hopelessness. When everyone in the city began to work together, even those who were depressed would regain their spirits.


    ...


    The Firearms Bureau was a special operations team ced directly under Luo Yuan.


    When they exited the underground city, the strong wind was blowing strongly until they found themselves being blown backward. Lin Feiyan, who was the smallest sized in the group was even floating in the air and then rolled a few rounds after falling on the ground. She quickly picked herself up.


    She looked embarrassed, everyone pretended they did not see it.


    Fortunately, they did proper precautionary measures for the sandstorm. Everyone was wearing a ss with cotton stuffed into their nose and ears. Otherwise, it would be very difficult for them to walk.


    Crazy Mister Wang quicklyid down on the ground to resist the strong wind. He then spat out the sand in his mouth and said, "Damn it! The wind is so strong! We could be blown away!"


    "The wind was definitely weak for Mayor Luo, but it is undeniably strong for us. Can you talk to Mayor Luo about this?" Li Dong said and smiled.


    "Li Dong, no one would think you¡¯re dumb if you don¡¯t talk." Crazy Mister Wang said angrily.


    "Hey, that¡¯s enough. What kind of weapon do you think the aliens are using? It has been so long. How long can the nightst anymore?" Fang Peibin tried to calm the situation down, as he looked up to the sky.


    The sky was dark with zero sunlight. It was day time, but it felt like a cold night.


    "The situation is simr to winter. There is so much dust in the ozoneyer. Perhaps we would need another three to four years to see the sunlight though!" Xu Zhiqiang sighed and said.


    "By that time, the Earth would be frozen and mutated beasts would not be able to survive." Fang Peibin said. The temperature was below negative 30 degrees Celsius, the earth¡¯s temperature would be like that of the North and South Pole if this continues. Everyone remained silent.


    "We are running out of time; stop talking nonsense. We have three destinations now ¨C why not divide ourselves into three teams? Wu Qianru and I will go to Twilight City, Fang Peibin, Crazy Mister Wang and Xu Qian Tan go to United City, the rest will head to Victory City. Any objections?" Lin Feiyan interrupted their conversation.


    "No!"


    "Sure!"


    ...


    As Lin Feiyan was embarrassed earlier, everyone quickly agreed to avoid offending her.


    "That¡¯s great! Let¡¯s go, Wu Qianru!"


    Lin Feiyan ran forward with a serious expression. Her body size was really small and she could possibly be blown away anytime.


    Xie Junhui said softly when both of thedies had gone further, "I think the Captain would not make it to Twilight City."


    "I think so. She is so tiny, and could be blown away anytime." Crazy Mister Wang said excitedly.


    "She could probably fly faster than us!"


    Everyone wasughing.


    "I hate to remind you, but the wind direction could bring your conversation to her ears!" Li Dong said.


    Everyone was stunned and stopped talking. "Oh! I think we better depart now!"


    "You¡¯re right! It¡¯s quitete already, bye!"


    Everyone quickly left.


    Lin Feiyan was extremely mad, she was gripping her fists tightly. She took a deep breath and suppressed her anger, pretended that she did not hear anything and continued walking. Her big jacket and hair were blowing haphazardly due to the strong wind.


    "Let¡¯s walk together!" Wu Qianru ran to catch up with her.


    Liin Feiyan¡¯s expression remained unchanged, but she was holding Wu Qianru tightly.


    The wind was still around level eight or nine and it kept changing its direction. When they adapted to it, it became a tornado. They almost fell several times, causing them to feel annoyed and was on the verge of shouting.


    Lin Feiyan found a solution ¨C both of them carried a big rock with them. Apparently, it worked quite well!


    The world was totally dark, and they could not see a thing. Lots of sand and stones pelted them like rain drops. Some of the stones were as big as a human fist. Although they were super evolved humans, they could still feel the pain.


    Compared to the low temperature of below negative 30-degrees Celsius, the sand storm was a disaster to them.


    Lin Feiyan¡¯s evolutionary power was to absorb heat energy. She could give off cold and absorb heat even at such low temperatures. While Wu Qianru¡¯s power was life absorption, her strength was not powerful enough, but she was the strongest survivor.


    When they arrived at the outskirts, the journey was even worse than before.


    The Reconstruction Area was in a desert. Several nts had grown since the apocalypse. There was a thinyer of corrosive substances on the ground, hence, it was difficult to find any sand at all.


    However, it turned into a desert again after the disaster.


    The sand could even be frozen under such a low temperature due to the strong wind. It swirled into a cyclone and some had formed a moving hill on the desert, which kept moving.


    The worst thing was that they could hardly see anything. Upon realizing that something was wrong, that was the time they would be buried underground.


    They had been buried in the sand a few times and ate quite a lot of sand along their journey. Luckily, they were super evolved humans, or else they would have died earlier.


    They finally found a cliff after walking for two hours.


    "Let¡¯s take a break." Lin Feiyan said as she spat out her sand-filled saliva.


    Wu Qianru was exhausted; both of them quickly found a hiding ce and sat down to rest. The wind had stopped blowing, and both of them could finally breathe normally.


    "Captain, let¡¯s see how much further we have." Wu Qianru said while gasping.


    The electromaic pulse has damaged the intelligent terminal. Luckily there were a few more. Lin Feiyan checked on the intelligent terminal and eximed angrily, "25 kilometers more!"


    "So does this mean we had only achieved less than ten kilometers of distance in two hours?! How much further do we have left?" Wu Qianru felt helpless.


    "What we are going through now is nothingpared to those who passed away during the disaster." Lin Feiyan chimed in immediately.


    Wu Qianru recalled the corpses from the warehouses, the burnt factories, and many more cities which had been damaged. She then felt guilty and ashamed.


    "You¡¯re right, Captain! I¡¯m done with resting ¨C let¡¯s go! We need to get to the situation of Twilight City as soon as possible."

 Chapter 453: The Ship Landing On Earth

    Chapter 453: The Ship Landing On Earth


    Trantor: EndlessFantasy Trantion Editor: EndlessFantasy Trantion


    After the Special Operations Team had left Hope City, Luo Yuan handled several documents and activated his space-time bubble, adjourning after them.


    Now, the outside the Earth was a harsh, freezing winter that nketed the entire. The time for humans to leave their life underground to return to the surface seemed infinitely far. The underground storage and the remaining industrial system could not save five to six million people living around Hope City, let alone rebuilding an entire civilization and development!


    Taking into ount the surviving poption in the three cities nearby, it was still very difficult to reorganize them with an efficient administrative system.


    Although the arrival of aliens almost wiped out the entire human race, it had left a ship intact.


    Moreover, it was a massive ship, due to the fact that the alien technology was highly automated, the use of its interior space was pitifully tiny, even luxurious, especially in the living quarters. It was designed in such way that prolonged periods of time being exposed to tight corners can result in adverse psychological side effects. The living quarter¡¯s height was two hundred meters or so, taking up 2/7 of the ship¡¯s height, and its diameter was a staggering 1.5 kilometers long.


    The central ecological garden took up most of the space. With the alien¡¯s technology, such an ecological system was trivial, as the venttion system in the ship can assist in subtle adjustments to the air, allowing it to remain fresh and crisp.


    The existent of the garden was to quench one¡¯s boredom on a long-haul flight and preventing space adaptation syndrome. For a human being facing survival crisis, such things were overly luxurious.


    If the botanical gardens and some useless cabins were removed, the entire ship would have a living quarter of 1.7 million square meters, multiplied by the height of 200 meters, amounting in 350 million cubic meters of usable volume.


    With the standard of having 2 people for every three by three by three volume, the living quarters could house 26 million people. Of course, that would be an ideal scenario.


    The actual space usage would not be this high, but even with a quarter of its maximum capacity, it can still house almost 7 million people, which was equivalent to the remaining earth poption.


    Aspared to Hope City, Twilight City, United City, and Victory City were just small cities. Before the disaster, every city had several million people. Since Victory City was a closer rural area, it had only 900 thousand people or so.


    After the disaster, all the poption could not even achieve three million. With the remaining poption of Hope City, it now has only 5.4 to 6 million people. The workers had built a high-rise building that boasted a huge housing capability on the ship.


    ...


    Ten minutes ago, his space-time bubble was at its peak velocity.


    After thest battle with the alien, he had a small breakthrough in his Will. Although it still could not reach 20 points in an instant, it was enough to make a monumental increase in his space-time bubble¡¯s velocity, from 150 kilometers per second to 1,000 kilometers per second in a single leap. The ship was 600 thousand kilometers away from Earth, but with such incredible speed, it only takes ten minutes to get there. Even with the long priming time, it would only take 17 minutes.


    He saw the ship getting bigger every moment. After one minute, he slowly decelerates. Soon, the space-time bubble took him straight into the ship¡¯s interior.


    "Wee aboard, Captain."


    Right after leaving his space-time bubble, the sound of the artificial intelligence lit up softly.


    Luo Yuan was not surprised. With the ship¡¯s surveince ability, it was impossible to infiltrate the ship. He briskly walked into the control room, while asking: "How is everythingtely?"


    "Everything is fine, except for themunication to the production area, which had been severed. Production has been put on a halt. Please assign an engineer to repair it." The artificial intelligence said gently.


    "Noted!" Luo Yuan responded monotonously.


    It was a paradox if it was repaired. The artificial intelligence¡¯s core program would automatically connect to the production area¡¯smunication device, and restore it to maintain a connection to the alien. If it was not repaired, the production area could not activate it, and the automated factory in the ship would be idle.


    This was just a temporary setback until all the humans had relocated here and learned the functioning modes of the automated factory. It would allow the disconnected artificial intelligence to regain automation and carry out production as normal, albeit with decreased efficiency.


    The artificial intelligence made an announcement and remained silent after that.


    "Can this ship travel to Earth?" Luo Yuan asked.


    "Unfortunately, not. The total mass of this ship is 1.57 billion metric tons, and it can only withstand the eleration of 5.3 meters per second squared, and Earth¡¯s gravitational eleration was 9.8 meters per second squared. Therefore, traveling to Earth can cause problems and unforeseen consequences."


    "Such an intense weight?" The artificial intelligence¡¯s answer caused Luo Yuan to furrow his eyebrows. Such mass had indeed exceeded his imaginations. 1.57 billion metric tons was equivalent to 15 thousand to 100 thousand metric tons of aircraft carrier before the apocalypse.


    "The total mass came from three sections ¨C the ship¡¯s mass, the resources it had gathered, and the spare parts in the storage.


    The ship weighed 110 million metric tons, and the spare parts in the storage weighed 400 million metric tons. The rest of the mass hade from resources, including 530 million metric tons of pure water, 180 million metric tons of pure iron, 120 million metric tons of pure copper..."


    The resources in the ship were astonishing; it epassed almost all the elements in the periodic table. Out of all the resources, water took up the most mass ¨C it was one-third of the ship¡¯s mass. From a human¡¯s perspective, water was the source of life. But from the ship¡¯s perspective, besides sustaining life, water was the fuel of nuclear fusion and the raw material of all the organicpounds and industrial chemical reactions. In a long-haul flight, the consumption of water was staggering.


    "What about the small ship on the upper deck?" Luo Yuan probed further while arriving the control room.


    "If you meant the emergency escape ship, it can travel to Earth!" answered the artificial intelligence. Luo Yuan exhaled in relief, and asked, "How does it operate?"


    "Its control system belongs to my subsystem. You only have to give the authority, and it will be able to assume autopilot."


    "Great, and one more thing, give me several copies ofparison data between Mandarin and the ssiannguage." Luo Yuan said before leaving.


    ...


    After a moment, Luo Yuan held a stack of papers and arrived at the ship¡¯s upper deck. After performing authority checks, the ship¡¯s door had opened automatically.


    "Captain, wee aboard. This is the emergency escape ship¡¯s control system 002, at your service."


    Luo Yuan entered the control room. Itsyout was simr to that of the mother ship. He took a nce, and said, "I am traveling to Earth."


    "Please input the coordinates."


    On a holographic screen, the image of the Earth appeared, with numerous coordinates disyed.


    After some time to get familiarized, he understood the holographic screen¡¯s interface. It was able to capture hand movements and perform a series of algorithms. Its working principle was simr to that of human¡¯s touchscreen technology. But it was unquestionably more advanced by countless times.


    He gently swiped onto the disy with two of his fingers in an outwards motion, and the image of the Earth was magnified, stuffing the entire control room, disying the real Earth.


    Furthermore, it was the Earth in its current situation, with its surroundings nketed by ayer of whitish gray fog ¨C thend was totally covered.


    "Remove the polluted atmosphereyer!" Luo Yuan said with a slightly knitted eyebrow.


    After that, the Earth¡¯s original form appeared, Luo Yuan pointed at a location. "Let¡¯s go there."


    "Coordinate entered. Authorization to open hatch..."


    "Granted..."


    "Anti-gravitational engine activated..."


    "Virtual reality imaging system engaged..."


    "Detachment of mother ship is imminent, kindly be on standby."


    The hatch opened like a petal, and the small ship rose slowly and leaving the mother ship. Within one minute, the main engine had sted out a magnificent and dazzling light, and the whole ship cruised towards Earth steadily.


    It was elerating, and in a moment, the mother ship was left behind and shrank to what looked like a tiny dot in the universe.


    Luo Yuan sat on a levitated seat, curiously inspecting the virtual reality system, but he had lost interest after a while. He retrieved theparison data between Mandarin and the ssiannguage, studying it carefully.


    This paper of alien origins was harder than that of the Earth¡¯s, and it was more durable. But in reality, paper such as these was hardly used by the aliens, as it was mostly used in historical archives and backup data.


    Such paper canst for a long time as it was also water and fire resistant. It can survive in natural environments for thousands of years and was treated with strictly regted preservative measures. With every procurement, its purpose has to be clearly registered. Of course, Luo Yuan could not care less about such regtions.


    He was seated at the captain¡¯s seat. Just after few minutes, the ship had entered the Earth¡¯s atmosphere.

 Chapter 454: Spirit Boosting

    Chapter 454: Spirit Boosting


    Trantor: EndlessFantasy Trantion Editor: EndlessFantasy Trantion


    Although it was just a spaceship for emergency purposes, it was very powerful and was able to operate in an interster sailing mode. Its highest speed could reach half the speed of light. Of course, it could not travel at that speed in the sr system due to the high volume of meteorites, as it would be far too dangerous. Thus, its maximum speed was almost simr to the speed of Luo Yuan¡¯s space-time bubble.


    When entering the ozoneyer, its speed would be reduced.


    Due to the strong friction in the ozoneyer, the giant spaceship was burning like a meteorite with mes around its entire body and a long ze trailing behind. It was moving towards the Earth.


    In the control room, the 3D video of the virtual scene had been reced by the mes, and they could only watch its side view.


    Luo Yuan took a nce and did not really care much. As a spacecraft traveling in a dark space, its flight did not only rely on optical detection but instead, various forms ofposite detections. Even if they could not see anything outside, it would not affect its operations.


    He continued to read the data and information on the screen.


    The ssian¡¯s script was quite simr to Mandarin characters, as it was descended from Hieroglyphics instead of multiple terms. Hence, the ssian¡¯s script onlyprised about 10,000 characters. In fact, he did not need tomunicate in the ssiannguage, as it was not necessary for him to learn the pronunciation, but rather, to remember the definition of every single character. That would be helpful for him to learn in the future.


    He had an amazing photographic memory as he could remember everything he had seen. In just a short time, he had already understood most of the ssian script. Although a long article was difficult for him, he could still manage to read the name of the buttons on the device.


    The spaceship had finallynded and stopped after taxiing for a while.


    It was 600 thousand kilometers away from the Earth when it departed. While it only took a few minutes toplete 590 thousand kilometers, half an hour was taken toplete thest 100 thousand kilometers.


    "Mr. Captain, the emergency spaceship has arrived at its destination:


    "External gravity: 9.8 meters per second squared"


    "Wind power - 8.2 magnitude"


    "Visibility: 0.3 meters"


    "Temperature: -32 degrees Celsius"


    "Atmospheric content..."


    "Open the door!" Luo Yuan interrupted. Apparently, the sub-system duplicated from the artificial intelligence was not as intelligent as he thought it would be.


    "Mr. Captain, the door is open. Reminder, the external environment is not suitable for life, you are encouraged to put on your space suit..." The artificial intelligent reminded anxiously.


    However, Luo Yuan had left even before it finished talking.


    In order to avoid damaging the underground city of Hope City, the spaceshipnded on a desert nearby. The huge size of its body remained stationary in the sand storm which made it looked like a ck hill from afar. Luo Yuan turned back and took a nce before walking towards the Hope City.


    ...


    After spending half a day to repair the circuits, the electricity supply had resumed operations in the underground city. The power supply in Luo Yuan¡¯s vi was the first few circuits back in its usual operation.


    At that moment, a few people were talking andughing inside the vi.


    Wang Shishi was wearing a green jacket; her cheeks were rosy,plemented by a pair of charming eyes sitting atop her cute face. She looked lovely with both hands propping her chin up on the table "Why is Brother Luo noting back yet?" She asked.


    "He must be very busy now." Zhao Yali said gently. She was wearing a tight emerald jacket, as gentle as the girls in Jiangnan province. She was very excited and surprised by the external news upon hearing that Luo Yuan had be a Mayor!


    Although Luo Yuan was the deputy minister of the Firearms Bureau previously, which was of a simr rank as the Mayor of Hope City, he was only responsible for managing his department. In fact, he did not have much authority too back then, but it was different when he had be Mayor of Hope City.


    "I heard that a nuclear winter ising soon and the Earth will be undergoing an ice age. I wonder what would happen in the future." Although Huang Jiahui was wearing a thick beige jacket, it could not cover her svelte body figure. She frowned, with worries stered all over her face.


    Everyone immediately looked depressed upon hearing her sigh. The weather was getting cold, and they could feel the chill despite being in an underground city, let alone above ground level.


    "Brother Luo can solve this right?" Wang Shishi said, with no worries. She had been admiring Luo Yuan for a long time, and there was nothing he could not do in her eyes.


    However, he was not God, and he could not make the cier melt. Ye Qiuyu felt rather odd upon hearing what Wang Shishi had said.


    Amongst the rest, he was the one with the thickest clothing, as her body was weaker than those who had evolved several times now. She was wrapped with a fewyers of clothes but could still feel the cold.


    Suddenly, they heard some noisesing from outside; something could possibly have happened.


    It got worse after a while. Wang Shishi could not sit still anymore and said as she got up from the couch, "I¡¯ll take a look!"


    "Quicklye back!" Huang Jiahui said. The situation kept changing from time to time. They had to check it out, otherwise, they would not be in the know of the happenings as they were living in the outskirts.


    Wang Shishi rushed out of the manor. At that moment, there were lots of policemen guarding the manor, and there was a group of military police on duty throughout the day and night.


    "Mr. Police, do you know what¡¯s happening outside?" Wang Shishi asked.


    "I¡¯m not sure, let me ask someone to check it out." The chief police did not dare to ignore her and quickly answered. Themunication system is still down, and they were basicallymunicating verbally instead of using any form of device to help. Apparently, it was not about safety at all.


    "It¡¯s alright, let me take a look outside." Wang Shishi left as she said.


    The police were not very concerned, as Hope City was under martialw at the moment, where there were military police everywhere. Even if something did happen, they would attend to it immediately. Moreover, Wang Shishi was not an ordinary person.


    After walking for a few kilometers, the crowd began to gather around and cheer. Everyone seemed to be excited and talking out loud.


    Wang Shishi was listening to their conversation and was surprised with what she heard. It was shocking ¨C she could not believe what they had said.


    What did she hear? Apparently, there was a spaceship thatnded outside Hope City and was looking to recruit manpower to modify the spaceship! Human beings were going to leave the Earth!


    ...


    Since Luo Yuan returned to Hope City, he immediately called for a meeting with the city council. In order to boost the spirit of the citizens, a series of advertising had been deployed in Hope City. At the same time, some of the government officers would migrate first.


    Among all the people in the pre-migration team, apart from the engineers and researchers, most of them were the general workers.


    The advertising campaign performed greater than expected. The citizens had stopped working, expressed their emotions with excitement and caused the workforce to be shut down for a short period of time.

 Chapter 455: Chen Xinjie鈥檚 News

    Chapter 455: Chen Xinjie¡¯s News


    Trantor: EndlessFantasy Trantion Editor: EndlessFantasy Trantion


    It was eleven o¡¯clock at night. The members of the Firearms Bureau returned one after another with news from the three neighboring cities around Hope City.


    The feedback was not positive there, but it was not terrible either.


    The three cities still maintained basic social order and did not suffer from any crippling civil disputes. The governments of the three cities, once briefed on the current situation, conveyed their willingness toply to the leadership of Hope City.


    Luo Yuan had expected such a decision. Firstly, Hope City was the most strategically reinforced city of the reconstruction area. Before the apocalypse, Beijing, Shanghai, and Guangzhou were the top tier cities, but now, Hope City was a level above them all and naturally it would be much safer than a normal city.


    Secondly, under such brutal circumstances, even if they were clouded by ambition, they were not in a position to carry out any evil schemes against humanity. The worse thing they could do was wait it out, inevitable death at a slower pace.


    It was not an easy task to survive the nuclear winter. If it was not for the aid provided by Hope City, the three cities would sink into hell within three months.


    "I¡¯m not sure how much longer these three cities canst," Lin Feiyan said.


    After Lin Feiyan left his office, Luo Yuan sat back in his armchair to further analyze the situation. His eyebrows were deeply knitted in thought.


    He would need more time to execute the n, he concluded. Regardless of the restoration of the ship, or the rescuing of the remaining three cities, it was impossible toplete each of them in such a short time. He had no idea how many more people would be sacrificed before all of them could safely board the spaceship.


    Luo Yuan let out a long sigh. As he was in such a position of authority, he realized that he did not only obtain new power, but also an extremely heavy burden. Every single day dyed, ended countless lives.


    The phone rang to break the silence. Luo Yuan picked it up with haste.


    "Mr. Mayor, Deputy Mayor Mr. Bi is here with an update on the current situation." said Secretary Cheng over the phone. "Send him in!" Luo Yuan replied and put down the phone.


    In a moment, Bi Jianping briskly entered the room.


    "Mr. Mayor, the ship is all systems go. Manpower and resources are ready. It can be boarded as soon as we get the order!" he said excitedly while handing over a document to Luo Yuan.


    Ever since the disaster, he had not slept for almost two days. He looked exhausted and pale. Even his clothes was dirty, worn and covered in dust.


    In fact, this was how all the government officials looked. Time was of the essence in Hope City, with so many tasks at hand, they could not afford a single dy. Every single person was worked around the clock, and never stopped for a moment¡¯s rest.


    Fortunately, for people that lived through the apocalypse, even a normal human being was now much stronger. But at this rate, even they could barely hold on much longer. Without rest, the government would soon be paralyzed.


    Looking at his fatigued manner, Luo Yuan remained silent. He took the document and nce through it quickly. He then put it on the table, raised his head and asked, "Has the wind outside died down?"


    "It was tested half an hour ago. The wind strength is a Level Five, and visibility is at 10 meter. Furthermore, the temperature has dropped to approximately -40 degrees," said Bi Jianping.


    The strong winds outside were caused by the explosions of Nuclear Antimatter Smart Orbital Ballistic (NASOB) missiles. The wind would notst long, but the dust thrown up in the atmosphere stayed for prolong periods of time.


    "It is too cold!" Luo Yuan¡¯s eyebrows furrowed angrily. Grudgingly he said, "Forget about it. Since everything is ready, let¡¯s initiate the evacuation!"


    Luo Yuan stashed the document inside his desk drawer, stood up, and walked out the office with Bi Jianping close at his heels.


    There were fifty thousand people to be evacuated this time. Most of them were researchers and robotic engineers. There were a few civilian workers, numbering to about eight thousands of them, along with five hundred military police, six hundred logistics personnel, and enough food for all of them.


    Since themunication between the artificial intelligence of the ship and the production zone was severed, the automated production sequence could not be initialized. The personnel on the site had to slowly figure out all production models in every single factory of the production zone, before they reinitialized the factory, and produced the necessary materials to restore the ship.


    After all, the ship had to house five to six million people. The materials required were equivalent to that of a few seventy storey skyscrapers. Furthermore, the ship was not just stationary on the ground. Its eleration and deceleration alone created enormous amounts of stress on the materials. Therefore, the material¡¯s tensile strength had to be impable.


    The ship¡¯s deck was not the same as a building¡¯s foundation, which made concrete and mutated wood unsuitable for the job. To ensure the ship¡¯s structure was as stable as a building, it has to be made of casted metal welded to the living quarters. Such abination formed a supportive pir simr to that of a building.


    Not only did that require a lot of steel, it also needed a lot of metal processingthe skills and higher level engineering knowledge. With the production capabilities of Hope City, building the ship was a huge project. Even with all the tools and workers allocated to the ship construction, it would still take one or two years to finish the project.


    If they have waited for one or two years, everything would be toote. They could not afford to wait that long.


    Right now, their only hope rested on the alien¡¯s advance factory technology.


    "Do you really want to permanently stay on the ship?" Luo Yuan asked abruptly, without slowing a step. Bi Jianping stopped. His heart raced in his chest, and beads of sweat covered his forehead. He suddenly realized that he was not only the deputy mayor of Hope City, but also the second in charge of the reconstruction area.


    He was too impulsive. He had bravely volunteered during the meeting to reside permanently onboard the ship.


    After all, it was a spaceship that was an immense technological marvel. Whoever controlled the ship, controlled unsurpassable martial prowess. Regardless of any being, any ruler facing such a strategic machine of destruction would cower in fear.


    He abruptlyposed a sentence, and politely replied, "Mr. Mayor, I don¡¯t think I am the right candidate for the job. Do you have another suggestion?"


    Luo Yuan waved his hand, "No, I think it will be great if you are onboard."


    He was just attempting small talk with Bi Jianping, but never thought it would induce panic. Bi Jianping was the highest authority on the ship, what could possibly go wrong?


    Even if Luo Yuan felt relieved, Bi Jianping was not. After all, a human was unpredictable, one could not be too careful. After some thought, he politely said, "Since there are fifty thousand people to be evacuated, five hundred military police seems a bit short. I suggest we enlist a special operation team member to also reside on the ship permanently."


    "Who would you suggest?" Luo Yuan inquired as he understood his concern and did not second guess his decision.


    "How about Fang Peibin?"


    "Alright."


    Bi Jianping exhaled in relief and regained hisposure. He felt aforting warmth spread throughout his body.


    ...


    After midnight, a huge crowd rushed out of Hope City.


    The icy wind howled menacingly and everybody in the crowd shivered against the cold. Sweaters were sparse in Hope City and every person had to put on all the clothing they had to keep them warm. There were even people that wrapped themselves inyers of nkets but the wind still chilled them to the bone.


    It was much too cold. The freezing winds attacked the huddled masses with a vengence.


    Suddenly, the wind speeds dropped. Sand had clumped together under the freezing temperature and became as hard as solid rock. Even icicles were present in some of the dunes.


    The ice age was fast approaching.


    ...


    Luo Yuan was the first one in the line. His clothing was thin and frail, but he was numb to the outside chill. He turned to Fang Peibin. "This time, you are temporary deputymissioner of police. It is a test, and also an opportunity for you. It¡¯s up to you to uphold it. If you are ipetent at your job, I will remove you from it, even if you are my student," he warned, a grave tone in his voice.


    "Don¡¯t worry mentor, I¡¯ll do my best." Fang Peibin said earnestly. Hepletely understood the reason he got this job was due to the fact that he was Luo Yuan¡¯s student. With his ability, there was no way he could have to assumed such postion.


    The rank of Colonel in Firearms Bureau sounded fancy, but in reality, it was just an honorary title. Even he did not think much of it. On the other hand, as deputymissioner of the police force, such an opportunity was hard toe by, and when Bi Jianping offered him the post, he agreed without much forethought.


    "You have grown so much. Control your temper, learn from others, do things calmly and ask if you don¡¯t understand something. There¡¯s nothing embarrassing in that." Luo Yuan said.


    "I¡¯ll keep that in mind!" Fang Peibin said diligently.


    Luo Yuan still thought highly of Fang Peibin. Nobody was born with abilities. Persistent practice with the correct attitude made a person adapt quickly to any situation or surrounding. Moreover, Fang Peibin was an evolved human, and all of his attributes were already off the charts. With a little more guidance, he could deservingly be an elite member.


    "How¡¯s your swordy?" Luo Yuan asked.


    "Mentor, I am somewhat familiar with it. I can make my de shine, but I stillck the proficiency." Fang Peibin said embarrassingly.


    This time Luo Yuan was shocked. It was the first time he had met a person who could make a de shine other than himself. Even a talented being such as Wang Shishi could not muster enough Will to do that. One could only imagine the insane amount of hard-work Fang Peibin put into his sword practice.


    He patted Fang Peibin on the shoulder, "Well done. Stay vignt. Will is important, you¡¯ll understand it sooner orter."


    Fang Peibin was dumbfounded. The fear he had towards his mentor receded a little. Just then, he noticed that Luo Yuan was as tall as a small giant, and asked curiously, "Mentor, how is it you¡¯ve grown so tall?"


    "Don¡¯t believe everything you heard!" Luo Yuan snapped back.


    Fang Peibin noticed the displeasure in his mentor¡¯s expression and stopped questioning him immediately.


    After a moment of silence, he said, "Mentor, I met Director Chen yesterday. I¡¯m afraid she¡¯s not so well."


    Luo Yuan stopped, turned his head and asked in a nervous manner. "Director Chen? You mean Chen Xinjie? She¡¯s in Hope City?"


    Fang Peibin was stumped. He thought Chen Xinjie was his mentor¡¯s woman, but how was it his mentor was not aware of her whereabouts?


    "Yeah, I met her on the street. She did not look too good, and had lost a lot of weight. When I called her ¡®madam¡¯, her smile was visibly forced. Something must be up."


    Luo Yuan thought for a second. If he addressed her as "madam", Chen Xinjie was definitely not going to look good to have been mistaken to be much older.


    After Fang Peibin¡¯s confirmation, Luo Yuan felt troubled. He recalled every single moment of their life together. Her charming smile, her apparently weak figure lying in bed beside him, all the paradoxes in the past has disappeared through time, and became deep reminiscence. He thought she was killed during the disaster and did not dare think about it. But never did he expect she had returned to Hope City.


    "Do you know where she lives?" Luo Yuan asked hastily.


    "In the twelfth lot, off Fuxing road!"


    Luo Yuan took note silently and prepared to pay her a visit.


    Suddenly an uproar erupted from the crowd in the distance. A huge ck body rose up in the desert.

 Chapter 456: Departure

    Chapter 456: Departure


    Trantor: EndlessFantasy Trantion Editor: EndlessFantasy Trantion


    Everyone was stunned and excited! The howl of the wind was drowned by the noise of chatter all around.


    "Is this the ssian spacecraft?" the voices questioned.


    Bi Jianping who was avoiding small talk with Luo Yuan after the awkward moment they shared, ran forward to keep up with him. He had fallen behind while admiring the spaceship.


    Aspared to the mothership, the spaceship seemed insignificant.


    Although insignificant in size, as a rescue spacecraft, it was the ssians¡¯st resort at escape during a crisis. It was a spacecraft that had the ability to perform interster travel. To be able to do that, not only would it require a strong driving force, but also massive amounts of fuel and supply storage space.


    Following the principle of momentum, the spacecraft¡¯s flight capabilities was mainly designed to move at high speeds. Interster travel was calcted at one light year per unit fuel burnt. Based on the figures, the amount of fuel needed for the journey was immense. Moreover, besides the resources found in the ster system, there was a nk space along the nned path where no habitable meteorites or water could be found. That said, without a gigantic supply cache stored in the spacecraft, it would be impossible to aplish interster travel.


    The spacecraft was 200 meters tall with a radius of 600 meters. To be precise, it was as tall as a 70-storey skyscraper and five football fields side-by-side.


    It was massive. Standing next to such a huge object, a human looked as tiny as an ant. It was quite a spectacr moment to have been standing underneath it. Moreover, it was created by aliens and everyone in the vicinity was awestruck by it.


    "This is a small transport ship and is considered as a backup spacecraft. There are much bigger ones in space." Luo Yuan said and chuckled.


    "The alien¡¯s technology is mind-blowing!" Bi Jianping said in wonder.


    As a senior member of the civil service, he had many years of experience under his belt and had seen many things in his lifetime. But with the current state of human technology, it was impossible to even envision, let alone build such a monstrous creation even if all forms effort and resources were invested into it. Aside from a spacecraft that was capable of interster travel, the outer shell alone would stump any human being foolish enough to attempt such a feat. What amazed him more was how Luo Yuan managed to defeat the civilization that created this extraterrestrial spacecraft?


    "I will open up the spacecraft¡¯s storagepartment while you instruct the staff to move the supplies into it," Luo Yuan said while walking towards the spacecraft.


    "Yes, sir!" Bi Jianping said.


    Apart from the people, the migration initiative included the moving of food and daily necessities, as well asb equipment. Before figuring out the production of synthetic food, those were mandatory for the initial phase of survival during the migration.


    In the beginning, it required a little effort to boost production numbers as the facilities were run by highly skilled robots. However, the connection within the spacecraft had been destroyed by Luo Yuan, and the same had happened to the mothership. Therefore, everything had to be done manually.


    "Permission verification, I am boarding the spaceship." Luo Yuan said as he entered the spacecraft. He then turned around and continued, "Open up all the cargo holds."


    With the advanced detection system on the spaceship, it could pick upmands from over 10 million kilometers away. Just when Luo Yuan gave hismand, the 60 meter tall cargo doors on the lower middle part of the spaceship were opened. Strips of conveyor belts rolled down from the doors to ease loading effort.


    While the rest were stunned, Luo Yuan walked into the spaceship and headed to the control room.


    "Wee aboard, Captain. Ready for your orders!" said theputer.


    "Permission granted for the civilians to board the spaceship." Luo Yuan said.


    "Temporary ess granted. To achieve official ess, DNA verification is required. Shall we begin?"


    "There¡¯s no need!" Luo Yuan responded hastily.


    "That was close!" he muttered to himself. Luo Yuan realized that the gravity on the ss was different from that of Earth. Theposition of air was different too where the oxygen on the was only 60% of the Earth¡¯s air. The rest of the air was distinctly different too, especially withponents of sulfur dioxide, which upied 12% of the air that caused a foul stench on the spaceship.


    As an interster life-form, Luo Yuan could withstand the environment and he did not make any changes to that, but to ordinary people, theposition forementioned was fatal! He instantly corrected the readings. "Computer, adjust the air content and gravity on the spaceship to match Earth¡¯s air. Also, adjust the temperature to 30 degree Celsius!" hemanded.


    The most suitable temperature for the human body was 23 degrees Celsius, but since the apocalypse, people got used to high temperatures, which made 30 degrees Celsius the mostfortable temperature.


    "Yes, sir!" The robotic voiceplied.


    Soon, the gravitational pull in the spaceship stabilized and as the air content was being adjusted, a gust of wind began blowing through thepartments to purge out the initial stagnant air. Standing in the wind, Luo Yuan frowned. "How long does the air content adjustment take?" he inquired.


    "Sir, it will take one hour!" Theputer replied.


    "That¡¯s too slow, bring on the full force!" he said.


    "That will be harmful to you sir, I suggest you leave the spaceship." Theputer warned.


    "There¡¯s no need for that, adjust the air content adjustment to full force now!" He barked. Luo Yuan thenughed at theputer¡¯s reaction to him. He was not some weak ssian. With his body, it would be ridiculous if a tiny bit of wind in the spaceship could harm him.


    "Yes sir!" theputerplied.


    Then, a strong wind rushed into the spaceship. Each and every air filter in the spaceship ran at full force. It was like a grade nine hurricane in there!


    Fortunately, there was nothing fragile on the spaceship as everything was solid metal and extremely heavy, or else it would have been chaotic.


    Half a minuteter, the wind stopped.


    "Captain, the air content adjustment is done. Same goes for the gravity and temperature. Is that all, Sir?" Theputer questioned.


    "Computer, perform simr adjustments for the mothership!" Luo Yuan ordered.


    "Permission pending. Permission granted, sir!"


    ...


    On the other hand, the moving had begun. Many were carrying gunny sacks while some were carrying machines and electricalponents. With excitement in the air, they ced the supplies carefully onto the 60 meters wide conveyor belts into the cargo hold, ensuring everything was packed in safely as the Captain instructed.


    The disembarking was estimated to take an hour. 50,000 people of the first batch entered the spaceship in an orderly fashion.


    Since it was just a temporary transition, Luo Yuan did not let them enter the residential area just yet. Right after all of the people entered the spaceship, Luo Yuan ordered theputer to close the cabin doors without hesitation. Soon, the spaceship trembled and slowly lifted off the ground. After a brief systems check, it flew off into space at the speed of light!

 Chapter 457: The Death Of A Giant Lizard

    Chapter 457: The Death Of A Giant Lizard


    Trantor: EndlessFantasy Trantion Editor: EndlessFantasy Trantion


    As they entered the mothership, the experts and technicians started work right away. As ordered, they went straight to the production area to take a look at the ssians¡¯ production system.


    There were two floors on the mothership¡¯s production area. Aspared to the spacious residential area that was 200 meters high, theyout of the production area was tight andpartmentalized. It was much lower andpact with heights of 50 meters on each floor.


    The factories were arranged in an orderly fashion with numerous machines whirring away. Some were massive and bulky, while others were tiny andplexed. Parts of the machines were simr to human machines while some sections werepletely new to mankind. The reason for this was because the ssians¡¯ production system was very different aspared to a human¡¯s and their technology was way more advanced. To mankind, everything on the mothership looked like something out of a sci-fi movie, astonishing and mysterious. Without thorough understanding of the systems and regr operational practice, it was difficult to identify what each machine did.


    The factories followed a standard operating unmanned module. They were strictly categorized with each product ced into rectangr containers. There were production robots in the factories but without themand of aputer, they were in hibernation mode. All the factories had stopped running. To restart production, the experts and technicians would have to give the go ahead before anything proceeded.


    Luo Yuan stayed for a while to brief Bi Jianping on the precautions and procedures before he left the mothership. He then boarded the rescue spacecraft and went back to earth.


    The situation had gotten worse since his departure. People in the nearby cities had migrated away to save themselves in any way they could. There was no time to waste, the spacecraft was crucial for the migration.


    It was only 1 a.m. when he departed and now it was almost 7 a.m. as he got back. He stepped out of the spacecraft and looked at the pitch ck sky. He felt the stress of impending doom build within him.


    Compared tost night, the temperature was 10 degree Celsius lower than before. Snow started to cover the earth. In merely half a day, theyer of ice on the ground was much thicker and made cracking sounds as people walked on it. There were clouds of dust and sand in the air, and theyers of ice seemed dirty like the polluted pitch ck sky.


    The wind that was blowing had subsided. It was rather peaceful and quiet.


    Walking in the snow, he experienced a new level of silence that he had never experienced before. The chaos that he had gotten used to before the apocalypse was long gone. In the desert, Luo Yuan did not see any living things. The weeds that were everywhere were nowhere to be found.


    It was at the edge of the zone where the anti-matter bomb attack urred. There were still mutated beasts in other areas, but they could not survive much longer. Most of the nts were dead due to the shroud of darkness that covered thend for a long time. Besides a small poption of nts that evolved to obtain certain unique survival skills that allowed them to live with minimal sunlight, most would die due to their inability to carry out photosynthesis.


    Without nts which were the base of almost every food chain, the entire ecosystem would copse in no time.


    ...


    "Ding! Your battle beast ¡®Giant Lizard¡¯ is dead!"


    The notification from system popped in his mind as he walked his way around the reconstruction area. He paused and opened the attributes panel.


    Giant Lizard¡¯s name appeared to be gray on the panel and soon, it dimmed and four secondster, itpletely disappeared. Luo Yuan was stunned. He stopped walking and frowned.


    The Giant Lizard had been following him since the beginning of the apocalypse. It had been with him through thick and thin across the whole of China. They had been through a lot together. His abilities skyrocketed ever since they entered the reconstruction area, and he did not need the Giant Lizard¡¯s help anymore.


    But now, it was dead!


    In reality, it had not died due to the cold weather, but it was badly injured from the aftermath of the anti-matter bomb. It was amazing that it held on until now. As Luo Yuan did not look at the attributes paneltely, its injuries had worsened and now it was dead. Luo Yuan noticed that aside from his Blue Dragon that was healthy because it was far away from the reconstruction area, the Raging Ape was badly injured too. He was not sure how long it could hold on.


    He stared in silence at the barren mountains in the distance. That was the ce where the two giant beasts used to be. Since then, he had never visited them. In reality, he did not have feelings for the two battle beasts he knew. After all,pared to pets, they were wild and untamed mutated beast. If not for his strong abilities, he would have been eaten by the both of them.


    However, without knowing why, he felt sad.


    He thought for a while and flew towards the barren mountain.


    Soon, hended in the valley. It was a lush forest not long ago, but it was now barrennd. Its height dropped significantly due to the shockwave, and it was much shorter now.


    The two battle beastsy motionless on the ground. The body of Giant Lizard was stiff, while the Raging Apey not so far away on the ground, weak and dying.


    As Luo Yuan walked closer, the Raging Ape seemed to notice him and lifted its head. It saw Luo Yuan and struggled to stand up. It whimpered, with tears in its eyes.


    It was a mess. Its red hair was molted and its body was covered in wounds. A part of its head was scraped and its skull was showing, frozen in ice. There were scabs all over its body. As it stood up, the frozen ice on its body fell to the ground.


    Looking at it getting all excited, Luo Yuan sighed. He then turned around to look at Giant Lizard. Its body waspletely frozen. From the cuts and blood on its body, he could see that it was severely injured in the disaster earlier and the cold weather elerated its death.


    He took a moment to pay his respects to the Giant Lizard and then stood up.


    The Raging Ape was shivering in cold, its wounds caused it great difort. It was barely holding on.


    Luo Yuan took out a crystal from his pocket. It was a Level Eight energy crystal. To keep it safe from the mutated humans that tried to steal it from him, he had it with him at all times, and now it came in handy.


    He flicked the energy crystal into the Raging Ape¡¯s mouth. It melted immediately on its tongue, and before it even figured out what happened, the nuclei had disappeared. Soon, there was a burning sensation in its body. Steam was rising out of its body because of the high temperature. Its blood was boiling, its wounds were healing at the speed of light!


    The rich active energy in the level eight crystal worked miraculously on the injuries all over its body


    Once it was much better, it rose to his hind legs and let out a resonating roar! It was not as weak as it was just a few moments before.


    As its wounds healed, it¡¯s hair began shedding rapidly and grew out almost instantly after. But soon, all its hair had shed and it was hairless.


    It was the beginning of its evolution.


    It started to groan, its muscles tightened and its veins were bulging around them.


    It was the same with the evolution of the mutated human earlier. Such unnatural evolution at high speeds did not make its body bigger but on the contrary, its body was shrinking.


    Luo Yuan could hear the cracking of its bones like firecrackers as it shrank. It mmed the ground with its heavy hands, roaring in an intense pain. Each hit felt like a bomb attack, smashing the hard ground. With his strong punches, hundreds of tonnes of sand and rocks scattered like broken ss.


    As its body shrunk, its strength was increasing rtive to the loss in size.


    Before the evolution, its Strength was +21 but in 10 minutes, its Strength had leaped to +25 and it was still increasing.


    The ground was shaking like there was an earthquake! Gravel fell inndslides from the valleys. Chaos shook the whole area!


    ...


    Half an hourter, the evolution finally ceased. The Raging Ape was now less than 10 meters tall, but it¡¯s red hair was now golden. Its green eyes burned with a menacing fire, and it gave off a furious vibe.


    Its transformation was not physical as its body was still simr to its original form. However, its shrunken body did not make it weak. On the contrary, it was as terrifying as a demon from hell.

 Chapter 458: Inspection

    Chapter 458: Inspection


    Trantor: EndlessFantasy Trantion Editor: EndlessFantasy Trantion


    The Raging Ape¡¯s veins were thick and coiled around its muscles, like an old tree¡¯s roots. Its terrifying strength was apparent to anyone whoid eyes on it. If King Kong from the movie was toe to life and see this, it would run away in fear of such a beast! It huffed heavily, billowing white smoke from its open mouth due to the cold weather.


    It seemed to be tired from the evolution, it¡¯s wide chest heaving as it panted with effort. A whileter, it recovered. It then looked directly at Luo Yuan. Its ferocious expression gave him the impression that it was going to burst into rage at any moment.


    However, what it did nextpletely put out the hostile vibe in the air.


    It scratched its head and smiled with a wide, chimpanzee grin at Luo Yuan. It then started to hoot and roar in his direction, seemingly venting out its fear and troubles about everything it had just been through.


    "Let¡¯s go. Let¡¯s leave this ce. We should be able to find food somewhere else!" Luo Yuan said while looking at it. It calmed for a moment and nodded inpliance.


    The evolution had skyrocketed its abilities. Although it did not evolve into a level eight creature, it was now level seven. Each of its attributes got a surge in skill points, especially its Strength. It was now +35, which was even higher than Luo Yuan¡¯s Strength!


    Although it was winter, the ecological chain was notpletely broken. There were still mutated beasts in the wilderness. With its abilities now, it was not difficult to hunt for food on its own. Although, its ability to survive the winter until the sun began rising again was nowpletely left to fate.


    As a mutated ape, its Intelligence was quite fascinating and it could understand some humannguage. Seeing Luo Yuan trying to chase it away, it shook its head and whined. There was fear in its strange, green eyes.


    Luo Yuan just ignored its whining.


    He turned around and looked the Giant Lizard¡¯s dead body. He dragged it to the hole that the Raging Ape had made earlier and buried it with gravels. No matter what, the Giant Lizard had followed him for a long time, and he could not just leave its dead body in the wilderness. He looked at the grave made of icy stones and sand mounds for a while, turned around and walked down the mountain.


    Noticing that Luo Yuan was leaving, Raging Ape whimpered in sorrow of his departure. It was eager to follow him, but did not dare go near him. The fear was cultivated deep within its bones, and it did not dare go against his orders.


    As it whimpered, Luo Yuan did not say a word. He leaped and disappeared from the face of the mountain.


    The Raging Ape climbed to the top of the mountain in an instant and looked around. It did not see where Luo Yuan had flown and sat down in disappointment.


    ...


    Luo Yuan got back to Hope City and proceeded to observe the progress of production.


    The weather got colder day by day, and it was almost -20 degree Celsius indoors. Many people had gotten frostbite and the hospitals were crowded with people who had the flu and fever. If the situation remain unchanged, death awaited many of them.


    "At our current rate, we have managed to produce 3,000 electric nkets. Without dys, we expect to finish 10,000 more by tonight." A factory representative said to Luo Yuan. He was nervous and shivering as he exined.


    3,000 electric nkets were too few! It was like a drop of sunshine in the bucket of doom, but there was nothing anyone could do about it. Before the disaster, the weather was so hot. Nobody thought about producing electric nkets. Since the start of the mission, all equipment required adjustments and training programmes were mandatory for all the workers. It was amazing that they could run the production facilities at such short notice.


    "Mayor, we¡¯re doing our best!" The vice-mayor who was also around said after noticing Luo Yuan dissatisfaction, "There are 10 factories that are producing electric nkets. They can produce 80,000 of them by tonight."


    "That¡¯s too little, I don¡¯t care how but the production needs to increase. Time awaits no man. Get the machines from the factories that have stopped working. It¡¯s such a waste to just leave those machines there. We need more workers as well. If there¡¯s a need to do it manually by hand, do it. We need to provide enough nkets to cover each family member of the entiremunity, by tonight!" Luo Yuan said coldly. Without any countermeasures, many people would be dead by the morning if the weather persisted.


    "But, that¡¯s impossible." The vice-mayor attempted to exin, a lost look in his eyes.


    "If you can¡¯t do it, then I¡¯ll get someone else who can!" Luo Yuan red at him and said.


    The vice-mayor was stunned. Sweat started dripping down his forehead. He realised that Luo Yuan was apletely different person aspared to the previous mayor.


    Apart from being scolded, if Luo Yuan was pushed over the edge, he might even lose his life!


    He said immediately,"I will do it right away and I guarantee that the mission will bepleted before the nightes!" he stuttered.


    "That¡¯s great. Fighting the cold is our top priority, we have to do this right. I don¡¯t want to see anyone die due to the cold weather tomorrow."


    To be honest, Luo Yuan was not dissatisfied with this vice-mayor. To be able to achieve what he had done, he had to be extremely efficient. However, time did not wait for no him to solve the problem. There were in fact more solutions to solve the problems. If Luo Yuan did not give him the push he needed, he would have stuck by his numerical expectations and failed. With the possible threat on his life, things would change for the better. It was not the time for persuasion and reasonable conversation.


    Then, Luo Yuan inspected the clothing factory, nket factory, air-conditioning factory, heatingmp factory, thermal pads factory and the steam pipe factory.


    Luo Yuan had a stony expression on his face the whole time which pressured the people who followed and feared him.


    The factories that were running were all of these functional capabilities. However, the result was not up to parr. The quantity of production was limited and not enough for dissemination while some were still going through adjustments, and production was yet to start.


    What they needed the most was time!


    After he left the industrial area, he inspected the agricultural area. The situation here was much better. Under massive amounts of light and a constant room temperature, agricultural sector flourished and grew well and in abundance. The amount of vegetables and supplies that were harvested daily were sufficient to feed all the people of Hope City.


    ...


    After an emergency operation of fixing the damaged lighting structures in the reconstruction area all night, the streets were illuminated with bright lights once again. During lunch hour, Luo Yuan went to Chen XinJie¡¯s house.


    Staring at Unit No. 12 on Fuxing Street, he hesitated. He thenposed himself and knocked on the door. After a while, someone opened the door. It was not Chen Xinjie who opened the door, but a middle-aged woman. She looked like she was in her 30s. There was a resemnce to Chen Xinjie on her face, but he could not be sure. She did not seem healthy. He thought she was perhaps ill, as she was pale and tired.


    Looking at Luo Yuan¡¯s unfamiliar face, she asked weakly, "Are you looking for someone?"


    "Is this where Chen Xinjie lives?" Luo Yuan asked with a smile.


    "May I know who you are?" She replied.


    "Nice meeting you, aunty. I¡¯m her ex-colleague, I haven¡¯t been able to contact her so I thought I would drop by to see her!" he responded, as cheerfully as he could.


    "So you¡¯re Xinxin¡¯s friend. She¡¯s at work and has note home yet. Pleasee in and take a seat." She said with a smile, despite looking rather exhausted.


    "It¡¯s alright! Since she¡¯s not here, I shall not disturb you." Luo Yuan said immediately and asked,"Oh right, I thought she was working at the Firearms Bureau. Where is she working now?"


    "She¡¯s working at the centralmittee now, and it¡¯s her seventh day!" She was worried as she continued," She was forced to visit these few days as I haven¡¯t been feeling well, or else...I heard New Capital had fallen."


    "Are you not feeling well, aunty? Why don¡¯t you see a doctor at the hospital?" he asked thoughtfully.


    "I¡¯ve had this forever, there¡¯s no cure for my illness. I¡¯m living at the moment. What I want is for Xinxin to find a partner so that she could live with and I can die in peace." She said, and chuckled at the end of her sentence.


    Luo Yuan thought he could have used his Will to heal her, as there was no illness that could not be treated. However, it would be strange to do that to her after only meeting for the first time, so he thought of putting the thought on hold until he talked to Chen Xinjie.

 Chapter 459: The Toughest Time

    Chapter 459: The Toughest Time


    Trantor: EndlessFantasy Trantion Editor: EndlessFantasy Trantion


    As he was making his way back, another earthquake rocked the area!


    It was an 8.0 magnitude earthquake. The ground shook intensely and people ran everywhere screaming at the top of their lungs.


    Luo Yuan stayed rooted, his feet nted firmly on the ground. He did not move at all to the violent tremors around him. The cracks on the ground and the giant boulders that fell around him had him worried for the people of the region!


    Since the anti-matter bomb attack as well as the state of the moon which now orbited the earth at a further distance, the tectonic tes entered a turbulent period of chaos. Volcano eruptions and earthquake were not out of the ordinary anymore and happened a few times almost every day. Some were minimal while serious ones went up to a magnitude of 6.0. It was the first time that such an intense earthquake happened after the disaster.


    The space between eachyer of the underground city was eight meters thick, which greatly strengthened its resistance to earthquakes.However, this earthquake was unbearable even for the thick groundyers. Moreover, the structure was loose due to the frequent earthquakes. There were huge cracks in the gaps which weakened the structure significantly.


    20 seconds after the earthquake, the ground started to copse. Fortunately, it stopped not longter. Besides a small part which copsed, there was no major damage. Luo Yuan wasted not a second longer and rushed to the City Hall to initiate rescue protocols.


    The copse happened at the gap between the fifth and sixthyer where the entire 100,000 square meters of rock tes had copsed. Luckily the floors below it were strong enough to withstand the copse, so a domino effect did not ensue.


    The fifthyer of Hope City¡¯s underground catbs was a warehouse. The sixth to tenthyers were residential areas and light contaminated industrial area, while the eleventh to thirteenth were agriculture areas. Apart from two factories being buried by the earthquake debris, a major part of the residential area was also affected.


    Fortunately, most of the people were hiding in the warehouse area and factories while only some of them, mostly old people and children, stayed at home. However, the disaster covered a massive area. Rough calction estimated more than 1,000 people were dead. It was impossible to survive being smashed by eight meters of solid rock!


    More and more bad news continued to flow in and Luo Yuan waspletely swamped.His n to visit Chen Xinjie in the afternoon had to be canceled. Many people teamed up for disaster relief aid but that was not the most important thing at the time. The utmost priority was to strengthen the structure of the undergroundyers to prevent a copse from happening again.


    Although all of the people in Hope City would move into the spacecraft not long after, the transition would not happen overnight. They would have to make sure that the undergroundyers were stable for the remaining time they resided in Hope City. Looking at the situation, there was a high possibility that the earthquake would happen again.


    Luo Yuan and a couple of geological experts were busy checking the weakness of each undergroundyer the entire afternoon. His Earth Pulse allowed him to sense the hidden risks from the difference of frequency on the ground. Large amounts of reinforced concrete stock were moved to the weak and crumbling locations. More than 100,000 workers were busy fixing the support columns, stabilizing the underground structures to brace it for the next earthquake.


    ...


    It was 9 p.m., vice-mayor Tian Jinping came to Luo Yuan with a good news.


    "Mayor, due to the hard work and team effort of all our factories, they have managed to produce almost 500,000 electric nkets. We estimated that they could produce up to 650,000 of them by 12 a.m," he said carefully, his husky voice controlling his excitement from the sess.


    Aspared to the figure that they promised, which was 80,000, the new figure was six times more. However, it was still not sufficient. But looking at his eyes that were red and blisters around his lips, it was obvious that he had done his best.


    "That¡¯s great, distribute them to the people immediately!" Luo Yuan instructed.


    "Sure, mayor. I¡¯ll do it now!" he replied. Tian Jinping was surprised as to how encouraging Luo Yuan was. He exhaled in relief.


    Just when he wanted to leave, Luo Yuan stopped him.


    "Wait, there¡¯s something odd about the free give-away. To prevent the people fromining about unfairness, let¡¯s sell the electric nket at a cheap price and tell them it¡¯s a limited edition offer. Use the broadcast system to let everyone know!" Luo Yuan said.


    "You¡¯re a genius, mayor!" Tian Jinping said respectfully.


    Luo Yuanughed,"Also inform the people to hold on for one night, they get to rotate shifts and rest tomorrow!"


    The staff who were working for the government had not rested for the past few days. If the situation persisted, they would all be ill with sickness and fatigue.


    Tian Jinping then left, and the office was quiet again. Luo Yuan massaged his temples and stood up. He paced around his office. After today, the toughest time for Hope City would be over. After the cold situation was resolved, most of the issues in Hope City would be much easier to handle.


    ...


    Fortunately, nobody had died from the cold.


    Humans were conscious creatures, and even without an electric nket to keep them warm, they started fires and also put on more clothes to fight the cold.


    But as there were more electric nkets and other warmth rted goods being produced, the people had less to worry about. The crisis was eased and Luo Yuan was relieved. Since he had not been home for a few days, he nned to go home today.


    "Mayor!"


    "Mayor!"


    ...


    It was hectic at the City Hall. Many expressed their gratitude when they bumped into Luo Yuan. Luo Yuan had been taking the lead these few days and his great act of preserving mankind had earned him a halo in the eyes of the people.


    Although most of the people were exhausted, whenever they saw him, they got all excited and pumped to cheer his sesses and express their gratefulness for his aid. It was a great achievement where the phenomena happened during the toughest times for mankind.


    He arrived at the hall and stopped walking all of the sudden. Everybody stood up.


    Looking at all the staff who stood with admiration for him, he was touched.


    "Everyone, your handwork is noted. We survived the alien¡¯s attack. Credit should not be mine alone but a team effort, for everyone. Now the toughest times have passed us, our lives will get better soon enough. Let¡¯s change shifts and take a much-deserved rest!" Luo Yuan said, with a heartyugh after he finished.


    He gestured to the office manager who walked out of the office,"Get the canteen to prepare a scrumptious breakfast. If there¡¯s no more high-ss meat, please get it from me!"


    "There... there are, I¡¯ll arrange right now." The office manager said immediately and rushed off to make the required preparations.


    Luo Yuan nodded and left the City Hall.


    The brightmps lit up the underground city like it was daytime. Luo Yuan could see that parts of the LED energy-savingmps were changed to heatedmps. The endless energy of the nuclear fusion furnacesing from the ssians allowed Hope City to produce all the energy they needed.


    He felt the temperature of the area with fixed heatedmps rise steadily.


    It was a pity that the production of heatingmps was limited because the priority for suchmps was given to the agriculture area. Only two streets were fixed with heatedmps, and they would need more time to have enough heatedmps to install them everywhere.


    Soon, Luo Yuan was home.


    Wang Shishi saw him from far away and said in surprise, "Boss Luo is home!"


    She then ran towards him, jumped into his arms and he spun around like a kid inplete bliss. Wang Shishi was the most clingy one among all the women.


    He smiled while patting her back, "Alright, get off me."


    Wang Shishi kissed him and release her hold of him. Her eyes were watery, she was never sick of the sight of him. The rest of the women were as excited as her but they were shy.


    "Have you eaten?" Huang Jiahui said with a giggle. She was wearing a beige fur coat which made her look younger and demure.


    Recently, most of the clothes produced were made of high leveled mutated beasts¡¯ fur. They ranged from level five and above.


    Before that, they were used in the making of aircrafts or were left piled up in warehouses. Now all of them were used to produce clothing to keep warm. However, since it was of a very high quality and the leather was tough, it had reduced the production efficiency due to operational difficulties. Not many of them were produced and the first few were given to researchers who were still in Hope City. Even senior civil staff did not get any of them. Perhaps somebody had taken the liberty to give the coats to the women as a sign of respect for him.


    However, Luo Yuan was not pedant. It was normal in society and it would not change under any circumstances even if he were made a fuss.


    "It¡¯s okay, is everything alright at home?" he answered. Luo Yuan looked around the vi. Part of the artificial mountain in the living room was missing. It must have been damaged by the earthquake yesterday, he concluded.


    "Everything is fine. Your job is more important. Don¡¯t worry about what¡¯s happening at home." Huang Jiahui said.


    "I heard we¡¯re moving to the spacecraft?" Zhao Yali asked.


    "It¡¯s true, but not so soon. There¡¯s a modification happening on the spacecraft. When it¡¯s done, we will leave earth." he said.


    Luo Yuan looked at Zhao Yali as he answered her. She was wearing a green fur coat, her skin was smooth, she seemed soft and pleasant. Ye Qiuyu who was standing aside was stunned and eximed in surprise. She was embarrassed, but as everyone was stunned by the news, nobody noticed her at all.


    "Why do we need to leave earth, just out of the blue?" Wang Xiaguang asked.


    Luo Yuan sighed and exined the current situation. Everybody was quiet. Ever since the apocalypse, there were many disasters happening to mankind and now, they had to give up on the Earth, or perish.


    "Let¡¯s not talk about that anymore. We will cross the bridge when we get there. There¡¯s always hope for mankind!" Luo Yuan assured them.


    Luo Yuan then asked Ye Qiuyu about Chen Jiayi," How¡¯s Chen Jiayi doing?"


    As she noticed Luo Yuan was looking at her, Ye Qiuyu panicked,"May... Mayor, there¡¯s positive progress to her situation. She would reach out to us whenever we called her name. But... We need a little more time."


    Luo Yuan nodded. He knew the pressure that he had always given ordinary people. It was not just the pressure from his power, but also the mental stress. Even if he suppressed his power, he still gave out an overwhelming sense to normal people, especially the standingmittee at City Hall who he was in constant contact with. The only ones who were not affected were those who were close to him.


    He stood up and said,"Let me take a look!"


    He walked into Chen Jiayi¡¯s room and sat on the chair by the bed. The women followed as well. The mutated human hesitated and followed as well.


    Chen Jiayiid quietly on the bed. She was rosy and breathing normally. It seemed like she was asleep.


    Luo Yuan looked at her in silence and called out to her. "Jiayi wake up, wake up now," he cooed.


    She seemed to hear his voice, her eyes rolled like she was in a nightmare. She could not open her eyes.


    "There seemed to be something wrong with her nervous system where she can hear us and try to respond, but she¡¯s too weak to react," Ye Qiuyu said softly.


    Luo Yuan kept quiet, he knew very well what had gone wrong. It was caused by the invasion of his Will that had messed up her nervous system.


    He saw her fingers were moving, and he held her hand. She was weak at first, but suddenly, she squeezed Luo Yuan¡¯s hand so tight that her face was flushing red.


    "Jiayi wake up!" He tried to wake her up after seeing her moving.


    However, that onlysted for a few seconds. She let go of his hand. Tears rolled down her cheeks and within seconds, she seemed to have used all the energy she had left.


    Thedies were sad, their eyes were red and watery. It was a different story for Ye Qiuyu as her rtionship with Chen Jiayi was purely doctor and patient.


    She only started treating Chen Jiayi about a half an hour ago. She only now had the chance to take a good look at Luo Yuan. She was stunned and a little terrified by all the women he had and the beautiful half human, half animal mutated human.


    Luo Yuan had not been around the vi these few days and many things had happened. She had long forgotten that she was ready to throw herself at him.


    In reality, there was nothing toin about Luo Yuan¡¯s appearance. His skin was smooth and soft, he had no ws at all. A great body, a good-looking face and the mysterious vibe he possessed attracted all women. Now that he had evolved to this stage, his body went through a total transformation. There were no gene defects found on his body like ordinary people do and even if he had any, he could fix them himself. She recalled Luo Yuan¡¯s terrifying abilities from Wang Shishi where he managed to squeeze a rice cooker into an iron ball. She was afraid of him. She had no idea how all these women could handle him.


    Sensing a strange aura behind him, Luo Yuan turned around and stared at Ye Qiuyu. She turned pale and almost fell to the ground.

 Chapter 460: Volcano

    Chapter 460: Volcano


    Trantor: EndlessFantasy Trantion Editor: EndlessFantasy Trantion


    After seeing Chen Jiayi, Luo Yuan did not stay for long. Work had been hectic recently, and he was only home when he had time to spare. He returned to the City Hall right away.


    The staff employees on shift were busy at work. Although they had some high-ss meat for breakfast, they could not hide their exhaustion. Luo Yuan nodded to them and headed to his office. There were people waiting for him at the secretariat.


    "Mayor!"


    "Good morning, Mayor!"


    ...


    Luo Yuan nodded to them and said to his secretary Cheng Guanghui,"Let them in!"


    "Sure, Mayor!" Cheng Guanghui said respectfully.


    Luo Yuan walked into his office immediately. The first one was vice-mayor Tian Jinping. After Bi Jianping left, Tian Jinping who was in charge of the industrial area became the temporary second-inmand of Hope City.


    He did not look good. He was dark skinned, skinny, and his head only reached up to Luo Yuan¡¯s chest when he stood up. However, Luo Yuan had a good impression of him. He had been running everywhere these few days without rest andpleted his missions within a limited time which was impressive. No one was as efficient as he was.


    "Mayor, I¡¯m here to report on our progress. The work on fighting the cold has been efficient, and so far we have produced 1,500,000 electric nkets and 35,000 heatingmps. The production of steam pipe willmence today at 5 a.m. ..."


    Looking at him losing his voice, Luo Yuan thought he had gone too far. He nodded and said," ce the documents here, I¡¯ll take a look at them on my own. I¡¯ll assign you your next missionter. Go take a good rest ande back to work at night."


    "No, Mayor. You haven¡¯t been resting, so why should I!" Tian Jinping was shocked to hear what Luo Yuan said.


    "That is an order!" Luo Yuan said without further exnation. With his physique, he would not feel a thing even if he did not sleep for months.


    Even since he became the mayor, Luo Yuan was not as friendly as he used to be to the people around him. He became unapproachable on purpose. The people here had been in the bureaucracy for many years. If he showed preferential treatment or weakness in front of them, he would be bullied as if he were a rookie in the field.


    "Mayor, I would like to check with you. What is the target for the production of electric nkets?" As a senior in the City Hall, he had received word that there would be people moving to Hope City. After all, among the cities, the one that recovered best was Hope City.


    "So far, the current amount we have is sufficient for six million people. The rest of the products will follow the same target."


    After giving it some thought, Luo Yuan said,


    "Alright, got it!"


    After Tian Jinping left, the one who was in-charge of the agricultural sector walked in. "Mayor, this is the documents you asked for."


    Without offering him a seat, Luo Yuan started reading the documents. Within seconds, he had nced through all the documents, "Is the production of vegetables enough to feed two million people?"


    "Yes, Mayor. The previous winter killed most of the nts that could not survive in cold. Fortunately, it was only temporary. We estimate in a month¡¯s time, production numbers will go back to normal!"


    There was nock of food in Hope City. To fight any possible crisis in the apocalypse, every city in reconstruction area had a certain amount of food stored. Even if there was no harvesting in the agricultural sector, based on the storage quantity alone, it was sufficient tost each city a few months.


    What Hope Citycked was vegetables. It was not easy to store suchrge quantities, besides the 10 tons of dehydrated vegetables in the warehouse which were meant for the military. There were no other vegetables. As all these had been moved into the spacecraft during the migration, the supply of vegetables in Hope City was worrisomely low.


    "One month is too long!" Luo Yuan mumbled to himself.


    As he looked at the next document, he said, "The standard 500 grams for each person is too high. As we are in a time of crisis right now, let¡¯s take it down to 300 grams. In the meantime, increase the production. I hope in half a month, the agricultural area would have sufficient food and vegetables to supply the needs of six million people."


    300 grams of vegetable was sufficient for the daily vitamin intake. It would not affect a person¡¯s health. The biggest difference would be a slight drop in their standard of living. Looking at the situation, the people should rejoice that they were still alive instead of demand for more, Luo Yuan thought to himself.


    "Also, strengthen the food control and do better in the eyes of the public!" Luo Yuan ordered.


    Facing a powerful being like Luo Yuan, there was nobody in the City Hall that dared to object his decisions. The vice-mayor said without hesitation," Yes, Mayor!"


    The City Hall got used to this. In reality, when the reconstruction area was set up, necessities were severely insufficient. There were no supermarkets without strict control measures on products they sold.


    No agricultural area was developed to produce crops at the time. Buttely, there were more crops discovered and farmed on thend. So, it was fortunate that there was food for the people every day.


    After receiving all the reports from a few more staff members, his office was quiet again. He tapped on his table while in deep thought. Now that everything was ready, the migration of the three neighboring cities to Hope City couldmence.


    Due to the nuclear fusion reactor, there was an endless amount of energy in Hope City which allowed them to survive the terrible winters. The other three cities were not as lucky as they lived in icy cold climates andplete darkness. If the situation persisted, the people would die sooner orter.


    Luo Yuan picked up his phone and called his secretary. "Contact the political and legalmittee counsel, Li Feng, and tell him I wish to see him!" he barked into the receiver.


    The guard division of Hope City had always been on standby on the ground but all of them were killed during the disaster. Now the strongest defensive unit they had in Hope City was the police. There were 20,000 of them. Although the number made it seem like arge force, the weapons they possessed were pathetic. Besides some light weapons, there was no heavy fire artillery at all. The other three cities had the same firepower.


    The mission this time was not just migration, but it also meant the handover of authority.


    Since New Capital City had fallen, there were no avablemunication lines. No matter what, the three cities were independent. Nobody knew the opinions of each managing organization. Politics was never about being nice. There would always be greed and unexpected behavior. Luo Yuan had the worst case scenario in his mind.


    Their attacks would mean nothing to Luo Yuan. With his abilities, even bomb attack could do him no harm. However, no matter how strong he was, he was alone. It was easier to destroy than to maintain order, in his opinion, but he had to adhere to the objectives. After all, the mission was not to destroy but to save lives. Thus, he could not go about doing everything on his own. He needed many more military police just in case any of the people objected the current arrangement.


    10 minutester, the political and legalmittee counsel, Li Feng, walked into his office. He soon left with an excited look on his face.


    ...


    In the evening, about 10,000 military police were sent up from the underground city. They were wearing thick leather jackets that were produced in a rush. They stood in a neat formation and left Hope City immediately.


    The military police after the apocalypse were different from the police before the apocalypse. Their training was no different than that of ordinary soldiers. They were in charge of the safety of the city and at the same time, also trained to handle the invasion of mutated creatures.


    During the crisis, they would even have to fight during times of war. From their formation, it was hard to differentiate them from a team of ordinary soldiers.


    The weather outside was getting colder to a point when the water vapor that they exhaled turned into ice almost immediately. Sheens of ice covered the area till the ground could not be seen.


    Luo Yuan stepped lightly on the ground. The ice beneath him cracked and spread like spider webs across the ground. It only stopped after it was about 10 meters away.


    Due to the cold, theyer of ice was thick but cracked easily if one was not careful. Once a piece was broken, a big part of the area would be affected. The ice sheets seemed to be about 30 centimeters thick.


    In reality, the temperature here was no different to the temperatures in the north and south-poles. To be soon covered in 3,000 meters of ice was just a matter of time.


    He looked far beyond the horizon and saw a gigantic smoke column standing tall, with sparks spewing out of its peak.


    Nobody knew where this mountain came from. It seemed to have popped out of nowhere!


    As the dust fell, the light in the area was brighter aspared to a few days ago. It was not as dark as before but the sunlight still had not broken through the dust clouds.


    But, the dimmed lighting did not affect Luo Yuan at all as his eyes saw his surroundings to be as bright as a sunny day. With his four-dimensional vision, the dust-filled air was nothing to him.


    The newly formed volcano had a glowing tip of red, obviously spewingva. Perhaps the earthquake that happened yesterday was triggered by this volcano.


    As the wind was blowing in a perpendicr direction to the police force, and the volcano was a few hundred kilometers away, the volcanic ash had not affected them or else they would have to put on gas masks.


    "What happened, Mayor?" Li Feng who was leading the team asked curiously.


    "It¡¯s nothing, just a volcano." Luo Yuan shook his head and proceeded to walk.


    "Were there any volcanoes around here?" Li Feng thought to himself, as he stopped where he stood and spaced out. A cold wind blew and he shivered. He quickly caught up to Luo Yuan and soon, they arrived at the gigantic spacecraft that was stationed near Hope City.


    ...


    Half an hourter, the spacecraft slowly ascended into the air. The sma jets that shot out from the engine port created a bright, high-temperature me in the air. The remaining heat alone evaporated the snow under the spacecraft. Soon, they flew towards the United City.

 Chapter 461: The Great Migration

    Chapter 461: The Great Migration


    Trantor: EndlessFantasy Trantion Editor: EndlessFantasy Trantion


    United City was located northeast of Hope City and near the center of the Reconstruction Area. It was the city that suffered the worst from the disaster. From the virtual reality image shown on the spacecraft, Luo Yuan could clearly see that it was only 40 meters away from one of the craters. Arge portion of the area was covered in thick snow, with an odd form of undting waves.


    It was obvious that when the disaster urred, the soil had melted into liquid due to high temperature and was then blown by the strong wind, that caused the formation of the wavy structure. Fortunately, it was a distance away from United City, or else the entire city would have melted in the heat as well.


    However, the city was hit badly. From the top, the ground including a fewyers underneath had copsed. It was now in ruins, nketed by snow.


    The spacecraftnded five kilometers away from United City.


    As the cabin door opened, Luo Yuan and 10,000 military police officers walked out of the spacecraft in an orderly fashion. Many were still stunned and looked at the spacecraft behind Luo Yuan andpany.


    Soon, they arrived the ruins. It waspletely frozen over with snow.


    "I didn¡¯t expect the damage to be so bad." Li Feng said while walking next to Luo Yuan.


    "It was near the crater after all. Nightfall will soon befall upon us; let¡¯s get this over with!" said Luo Yuan, while looking at the time. Although it was hard to differentiate day and night nowadays, when dusk descended, the temperature would drop to a low.


    As the ce was covered in snow, it was hard to look for a way to go underground. Fortunately, he had an army with him. Under Luo Yuan¡¯s orders, the 10,000-strong military police looked around and came back with good news. Luo Yuan went to the gap they found ¨C it was a six meter-wide hole with a 40-degree nt. The snow around it seemed to be cleared up by somebody else.


    Standing at the hole, he could feel the heating from below. It was considered hot inparison to the cold weather out there, but in reality, this ¡®heat¡¯ was -30 degrees Celsius.


    There was more than one hole. Soon they discovered more and more holes, and there was a total of 18 altogether. No doubt, there were dug up by United City for venttion.


    Li Feng led a small team and entered the hole. The hole led them straight to the residential area ¨C there were no guards around; showingck of security in there.


    It madeplete sense ¨C the weather was cold where it was hard to survive, even for mutated creatures. Hence, there would not be any threats in the area. Moreover, the temperature at the entrance of the hole was even lower. It was unbearable for any ordinary person to withstand, let alone attack.


    Without hesitation, Luo Yuan instructed the entire army to enter the underground city.


    "People of United City, we are the rescue team from Hope City... We¡¯re in a state of siege at the moment, so please stay at home and do not go out... Hope City has regained its electricity and everything is back on track. All of you will be migrating to Hope City. You will receive sufficient food and be protected from the cold..." The announcement was yed over and over again via speakers on the streets.


    The people were shocked to see countless armed military police whom they had never seen before. They locked their doors immediately. Unexpectedly, the military police of United City put their guards down after hearing the announcement.


    Luo Yuan took a stroll on the streets of United City. There was a fire burning on the walls; the smoke was choking. It was like being in an arson attack, where the fire was burning in every house. Due to theck of clothing, burning for warmth was their only choice.


    Some of the braver people peeked through the door their eyes were red from the burning smoke. They were in thickyers of clothes and were practically wearing everything they owned on their backs. Some of them were tied in their nkets but were still shivering in cold regardless.


    As Luo Yuan and Li Feng made their way to the City Hall, a group of people weed them. The leader was a tall middle-aged man ncing at both of them.


    He was the mayor of United City, Ma Lin. He had met Li Feng several times; they were rather familiar with each other. As part of Hope City¡¯s political and legalmittee, as well as a Director of Public Security Bureau, Li Feng was considered a senior leader. It was strange for Ma Lin to see him walking behind a strange, young man.


    "Wee, both, to United City. We have been looking forward to seeing you. Director Li, why don¡¯t you introduce this leader to us?"


    "Greetings, Mayor Ma. Mayor Xie passed away in the disaster. This is our new mayor, Luo Yuan!" Li Feng said while smiling.


    "Oh, it¡¯s Mayor Luo! Nice to meet you!" Ma Lin was stunned. He had heard of Luo Yuan before and knew how powerful he was. He shook hands with Luo Yuan right away.


    "Mayor Ma, we don¡¯t have much time. Let¡¯s skip all the formalities, we have a mission here. Ever since the disaster urred, United City can hardly be a ce to call home anymore. Everyone here must migrate to Hope City. I hope you could agree to that!" Luo Yuan said while shaking his hand.


    The leaders who weed them looked at each other. They had thought all the military police that were sent by Hope City was to show off their authority and to provide them with supplies. They did not expect it to be as exactly as they had announced, which was to assist in migrating their poption.


    Though confused, they were secretly relieved. The condition in United City was bad ¨C they were in darkness and cold most of the time. It had caused the security of the city to be unstable, and an uproar may even ur soon.


    "May I know the number of the first batch of migration?" Ma Lin hesitated and asked after deciding to conform to this arrangement. The amount of military police had left him no choice but to agree to what Luo Yuan had proposed.


    "200,000."


    "200,000?" Ma Lin could not suppress his shock anymore. He was surprised, and so were the people around him.


    "I¡¯m sorry to ask, may I know how many trucks Hope City sent this time round?" Ma Lin asked immediately. The distance from United City to Hope City was not short at all ¨C it was at least 50 kilometers away.


    Before the disaster, the distance was not considered too great. At an average speed, one could arrive there in eight hours by foot. Now that the weather was cold and the people in United City did not have proper clothing, walking there would be a disaster. They would be frozen in under two hours.


    Li Feng could not help but to show off, "Mayor Ma, you don¡¯t have to worry about that. We don¡¯t have that many cars, even before the disaster, Hope City had never exported cars for 200,000 people. We have something better ¨C it¡¯s a spacecraft. It¡¯s parked at the borders of United City.


    "Spacecraft?" Ma Lin wanted to make sure if he heard him correctly.


    "Yes, a spacecraft. An alien¡¯s spacecraft." Li Feng could not help butugh, "Let¡¯s not wait any longer. Mayor Ma, kindly arrange the migration immediately."


    ...


    At their level, they did not know the existence of the ssians. Li Feng needed to exin it over and over again until the leaders of United City forcefully epted the fact.


    An hourter, the migration had finally begun.


    People lined up in a kilometer-long queue to walk out of the city towards the wilderness.


    As it was hard to survive in United City, the very moment the news of migration was announced, the citizens had lost their minds in joy. Hordes of people thronged towards the migration crowd, causing a few hundreds of people to be trampled to death. The military police had to open fire to get them under control.


    The figures were out of Luo Yuan¡¯s expectation. The initial 200,000 people were now 400,000. As people began leaving, the entire city became empty.


    Fortunately, the spacecraft was big enough. Its warehouse area alone was 300,000 square meters. Even the entire poption of the United City could be migrated at once.


    ...


    On the third day, the spacecraft hadnded in Twilight City and migrated 300,000 people. The next day, the spacecraft arrived Victory City and migrated 350,000 people.


    And on the fifth day, with the increasing production of items for keeping warm, there was a total of 400,000 people migrating into the city. As many people wereing into Hope City, it was now crowded, with five floors of the residential area filled with people.


    Luckily, there were 15 floors of underground space, and only 12 floors were upied, with the remaining three floors empty. Apart from one floor that was converted into an agricultural area, there were still two floors for amodation purposes.


    The spacecraft was flying in and out, not only for the poption¡¯s migration but also bringing in massive amounts of materials and machines.


    There was sufficient storage of wood for construction. With enough manpower and recovered machines, the construction of buildings was on par with the rising of the poption.


    On the seventh day, the migration work waspleted.


    The remaining poption turned out less than expected, with only five million people left on earth. Everyone had gathered in Hope City.


    In between, Luo Yuan brought the migrated researchers and technicians to the mothership in space. He was also there to oversee the progress.


    What delighted him was how the progress experienced a breakthrough, with some of the factories revived and already starting small-scale test-run productions. With the 40,000 researchers that he brought in, the modification progress would also be elerated.

 Chapter 462: Hidden Danger

    Chapter 462: Hidden Danger


    Trantor: EndlessFantasy Trantion Editor: EndlessFantasy Trantion


    A shadow flew across the dark sky with the speed of light.


    Suddenly, it stopped abruptly and hung mid-air.


    It was Luo Yuan.


    10,000 meters above the air, there were numerous dark clouds rumbling. There were lightning strikes within the dark clouds, which made the sky shift between darkness and light.


    He descended from the sky across the dark clouds into the Reconstruction Area ¨C that once used to be a hive of activity. It was now a ruin with three gigantic holes which almost upied the entire area. Each of the holes was at least 100 kilometers wide from the outside, and its depth was more than 1,000 meters deep ¨C a result of the three anti-material bombs.


    Although the weather was cold, apart from one that waspletely inactive, there were still smokeing out of the other two holes.


    Due to the explosion, the tectonic tes in the area were weak. The heat from the ground escaped from the cracks that were caused by he volcano eruption, imminent of an impending eruption. It was a major hidden danger for Hope City.


    With mankind¡¯s ability, it was impossible to leave this ce and build a new residence with such short notice. The terrifying fact of the harsh cold was sufficient to break the anyone¡¯s will to live. The thought of moving into the spacecraft was even less possible.


    Luo Yuan was here to see how big this hidden danger was.


    Soon, he descended into one of the holes.


    The closer he got to the bottom of the hole, the higher the temperature was. The snow around was thinner and more water vapor ascended. The vapor met with the cold up there and was soon frozen into snow that fell back down into the hole again.


    The amount of snow was threatening, and snowball that was as big as his fist had hit him from above.


    Within seconds, his body was covered in snow.


    It was a mini water cirction system in the hole.


    When it was 300 meters away from the bottom, as the temperature rose, the snow melted at an instant, showing the virtuous wall that shone with colors.


    Luo Yuan could see colorful crystals on the wall, which were minerals created by the cooling of theva. There were many precious stones seen too. They were valuable before the apocalypse, but now, they were not even worth a penny.


    As he descended even further, the temperature increased dramatically. All he could see was steam. When hended at the bottom, the water vapor hadpletely evaporated.


    Contrary to his expectations, he saw nova inside, but a boilingke instead.


    Theke was not big ¨C only 100,000 square meters in size. Bubbles were boiling on the surface of theke; it was humid in there. Luo Yuan was soaking wet with perspiration by just standing there for a short while.


    There were 10,000 tons of water flowing from the wall into theke each second. At the same time, the said amount of water evaporated each second, which caused theke to remain the same size.


    The temperature of theke was higher than he had expected. If not for the flowing water that refilled theke, it would bepletely evaporated within minutes.


    However, the temperature did not affect Luo Yuan at all.


    He took off his shirt and jumped into theke stark naked. There was no water sensation on his skin, and it felt as though theke was made of bubbles. He felt very light in there.


    The unit area of was not even a third of water, and the temperature was already more than 200 degrees Celsius.


    But it was just the beginning. As he got closer to the bottom, the density of water in theke was lower and the temperature was higher. Theke was boiling intensely. If an ordinary person was in there, he would have been cooked or disintegrated by now.


    There was a strong recoil that prevented him from going deeper.


    He used both his hands and legs to swim another 100 meters against the force.


    Suddenly, he went into another world.


    With the earth¡¯s gravity, his body descended quickly. He used his Will to float in mid air. He was stunned; there was no water nor bubbles where he was. The humidity in the air was saturated, and apart from the water vapor, there was no other gas in the air.


    Even Luo Yuan did not expect theke to be hollow.


    The temperature was 700 degrees Celsius, with all the water evaporating into water vapor. The air pressure there was six times more than normal.


    Apart from a slight difort, the environment did not affect him at all.


    There was a dim red light at the bottom of the hole and the air was filled with a rich smell of Sulphur. It looked likeva in there.


    Luo Yuan quickly went towards the bottom of the hole.


    As expected, there wasva everywhere. It was boiling like thick porridge, with mes shooting out asionally, turning the ce crimson red.


    Looking at the scene had stressed Luo Yuan out. It was not just heating from beneath the ground, but more of a soon-to-erupt volcano. To make matters worse, the volcano was located just 150 kilometers from Hope City.


    It would be fine if it was just a tiny volcano, which might only cause an earthquake, but if it was a massive eruption, it would adversely affect the entire city.


    Since the attack of the anti-material bomb, the earth tes in the area were unstable, where eruption and earthquakes urred every once in a while. Considering this active volcano and the craters that were boiling the probability of eruption was a strong 90%.


    Within 10,000 square kilometers in the Reconstruction Area, there were already three volcanos, of which could possibly even be different ports that came from the same volcano. If a domino effect took ce, the consequences would be unimaginable.


    Although the fall of the ssians was over, the disasters happened thereafter had continued to affect the earth. In reality, it was considered bearable in the Reconstruction Area. It was hell for Europe and North America, as volcanos were everywhere and earthquakes struck rather frequently. From above, they were filled with volcanic ashes where the entire Eurasia was engulfed in darkness. Wherever the craters were, eruptions happened all day and all night. Until today, the eruption column that shot 10,000 meters high towards the sky could be seen from space.


    It had been half a month, but the nuclear winter had not ended, which was heavily influenced caused by the eruption. However, the impact of any drastic changes in Eurasia could only do little damage to the Reconstruction Area as it was far away.


    No matter how powerful he was, there was no way that he could stop the consequences that would befall them, due to the eruption.


    However, there was a solution to the volcanos that had yet to erupt.


    Luo Yuan was conjuring a n in his head.


    Before the apocalypse, there was a study that came up with a method to reduce the magnitude of the eruption. For instance, through digging holes on the earth¡¯s surface, it releases the pressure underground and therefore dyed any eruption.


    Another method would be sting holes in a specific terrain in the volcano area to allow theva to flow elsewhere.


    Alternatively, they could destroy theva channel to release its force before the eruption, or use a nuclear bomb to st specific parts of the earth¡¯s crust to minimize the pressure.


    However, such solutions required many geological experts to probe into the ground. But s, none of them had such expertise.


    After all, the Reconstruction Area was small and there was no need for them to set up geologicalbs everywhere. There was only one department in the Reconstruction Area which was in New Capital City, but it had been destroyed in the disaster.

 Chapter 463: Normal

    Chapter 463: Normal


    Trantor: EndlessFantasy Trantion Editor: EndlessFantasy Trantion


    If it was weather like any other, there was nothing that Luo Yuan could do.


    However, as the earth was now experiencing a nuclear winter, the temperature outside was -60 degrees Celsius. Apart from the holes, the ground was covered in snow. It was almost no difference with the north and south poles, which might be possible to deter the volcano from erupting.


    Theyer of ice on a cold -60 degrees Celsius day was as tough as a rock, which thickened the earth¡¯s crust. Although the iceyer was not thick enough yet, it would be much thicker as time went by. Furthermore, due to the unique concave terrain of the holes, it was easier to form bowl-shaped iceyer as a barricade of the volcano that was about to erupt.


    That was just his estimation. Looking at the time, it was impossible to stop the eruptionpletely, but dying it was usible.


    What Luo Yuan needed was not topletely avoid the consequences as long as the ce was safe to live whenever they were still on earth. As soon as mankind left the earth, it was none of his business whether the volcano had erupted or not.


    Luo Yuan flew out of the bottom of theke immediately. He put on his clothes, flew upwards and stopped at the wall that was covered in snow.


    It had been half a month since the disaster happened. There was a massive amount of snow that was mixed with volcanic ashes and hailstones that fell from the sky. Theyer of ice in the hole was five meters thick, and it was ck in color.


    He let out a long and powerful breath which formed an air column that shot 10 meters away. Soon, it became nothing but crushed ice and fell towards the ground.


    Next, a wave that could be seen with the naked eye was released from his body. The crushed ice around him has then blown away.


    The air was vibrating intensely and the force field had been altered. Countless white electric arcs the size of a thumb sparked into the air. It gave light to the dark sky.


    Under the influence of the waves, the iceyer began to crack.


    In reality, due tock of training, his growth of power had been stagnant. However, his Strength had reached 500 tons and +32. Aspared to his previous stats, his Strength had multiplied by three times. As long as he was willing to, he had the ability to even change the weather. He was indeed God-sent.


    Although the wave was intense, it was not sufficient to crush the iceyer.


    There were electrical arcs exploding everywhere. The air pressure was thenpressed, the air stopped flowing and it dissolved into a liquid. It happened so fast that only a high-speed camera could capture it.


    An explosion was heard, and a shock wave had spread all over the ce.


    The iceyer was crushed into powder, and even the ssyer in the hole that was solidified by theva had been sted. The hole that was 100 kilometers wide was reverberating.


    As the cier disappeared, the hole was like a domino, causing the area to copse.


    Iceyers that covered a few hundred meters fell into theke, and soon, the area nearby started to copse with coteral damage.


    A crumbling noise followed the massive cracks. More and more iceyers had copsed and its impact expanded like a virus.


    It happened so quickly that within minutes, the entire hole copsed.


    Luo Yuan who was floating mid-air was surprised. He did not expect it to be this easy to fall apart like that, but it was also caused by the unique terrain of the crates that were in a bowl-shaped from the antimatter bomb explosion. The inside of the crate was t and smooth which made the iceyers copse easily.


    It would be so much harder to do the same on a normal terrain.


    As the ciers fell into the hole, loud thuds were heard. Theke that was initially boiling was soon buried by the cier.


    Aspared to the crater, the cier was just a thinyer, but the moment that all of it fell towards the bottom, it was piled 500 meters tall. Initially, there was still water vaporing out of the hole, but as theke¡¯s temperature was decreasing due to the burying of the cier, the water vapor was visibly reduced.


    In less than half a minute, the water vapor was nowhere to be seen. Under the extreme cold, the cracks between the iceyers had soon recovered and were now stuck together again.


    Luo Yuan watched from midair for a while. Seeing that everything had stopped, he was relieved.


    Although the ice did not seem to be able to stop the eruption, the absence of the boilingke convinced him to know that the iceyer in the crater would be piled thicker in the cold weather. And soon, the entire crater would be filled with ice.


    He proceeded to do the same to the other crater.


    ...


    There was an uncanny atmosphere in the bathroom.


    A fair body was rubbing against his. Soon, her body twitched and she sat on the floor.


    "You are hurting me!" Wang Shishi moaned while pping Luo Yuan.


    There was nothing that he could do. His body was even harder than metal; he was not a normal creature anymore. If not for Wang Shishi¡¯s good physique, an ordinary woman would not be able to handle him at all.


    "You deserved it! It was you who wanted to go so far!" Luo Yuan teased her.


    "Although it was ufortable, it was kind of fun," said Wang Shishi while nting kisses on him.


    "You¡¯re shameless!" Luo Yuan said.


    As the most difficult time had passed, he could finally go back to his normal life.


    Without the continuous growth of his Strength, he could control it perfectly now, without affecting his life.


    The both of them spent time for a while. Luo Yuan then stood up, put on his clothes and went back into his room. Although he had full control of his Strength now, it was still too dangerous for them to sleep together.


    He was afraid that he would hurt her while he was sleeping, and that would be gravely upsetting.


    Luo Yuan sat on his bed and used Will to refine his shoes that could anchor space. He thenid on the bed.


    Suddenly, he stood up, walked to the small arsenal in his room and opened the cab.


    He took out a ss bottle with the Wisdom Heart that he retrieved from the Blue Dragon¡¯s nest half a month ago.


    He was worried that consuming it would bring about an unexpected change in his body. Furthermore, the attack of the ssians came out of nowhere and upied all his waking hours, which caused the Wisdom Heart to be neglected in the cab until now.


    He opened the bottle and poured the Wisdom Heart on his hand.


    As it was left there for a long time, it seemed to be dehydrated. There were cracks on its surface, but it was still active.


    Perhaps this was the only Wisdom Heart left on earth.


    His eyes sparkled as he stared at it.

 Chapter 464: Spirit Ignition

    Chapter 464: Spirit Ignition


    Trantor: EndlessFantasy Trantion Editor: EndlessFantasy Trantion


    Luo Yuan stared at the Wisdom Heart for a while. He took a bite and chewed it. A strange, sour taste flowed into his throat and stomach.


    The Wisdom Heart had gathered a majority of the nutrients and active energy from the Wisdom Tree. This purple level Wisdom Heart possessed a terrifying power where even Luo Yuan felt a tad bloated from just a bite.


    Just when he was about to eat the remaining one-third of the Wisdom Heart, a thought crossed his mind.


    Ever since he became the mayor, he was more selfless as he was able to put his people¡¯s lives before his own. He thought he could research further into the mysterious power of the Wisdom Heart, as its structure was still within a biological category.


    It was formed by countless cells and possessed DNA of life codes, which meant that it could be cloned.


    Now that there were less than ten million people in the world, there were even fewer researchers. With such meager numbers, it was fortunate that their technology did not progress backward.


    However, this Wisdom Heart could change everything.


    The average human Intelligence was only +10, where +12 would be considered a genius and +13 was rare, having the ability of perfect recall. A +14 brain could calcte faster than aputer and this Wisdom Heart was at the purple level, which meant it was more effective for those with an Intelligence within +18. As soon as it could be mass produced, human evolution would be drastic and there would be aplete transformation in human civilization.


    When that happened, researchers would not be unique anymore ¨C mankind would enter an era where everyone was a researcher. Until then, even the technology of the ssians would be obsolete within ten years and mankind would enter a technology explosion era. The more he thought about it, the more excited he was. He kept pacing around in his room.


    Suddenly, the Wisdom Heart started to take effect on his body. His scalp was numb ¨C he put his excitement aside and tried to calm down. He quicklyid down on his bed.


    Just as he did, his five senses were stripped away from him one by one.


    Fortunately, it was not his first time eating a Wisdom Heart. He was all too familiar with the changes that he was experiencing.


    He was in darkness for a while. When he opened his eyes, the world seemed to be much brighter. He felt elevated; there was an indescribable realization that shed through his mind. The images from his birth until the present day were crystal clear in now. Every day, every moment, to every second of his memories were yed in his mind.


    He could taste his first suckle during breastfeeding, his parents¡¯ excitement, theirughter, their chatter. The memories that he had long forgotten were so clear in his mind. He even recalled the time when he was in his mother¡¯s womb. It was a warm and peaceful ce.


    Tears rolled slowly down his cheeks...


    Those were the best memories he ever had.


    He opened his eyes and let out a sigh. He then emptied his mind and looked at the system, his Intelligence was now +17.


    He was relieved that there were no changes to his four-dimensional vision.


    Suddenly, he noticed that there was an addition to his natural abilities.


    "Spirit Ignition (Level 9)"


    He was not surprised. To be honest, he had already owned a few natural abilities where he was no longer excited to earn an extra ability. Moreover, during the gic modification experiment, he had seen all sorts of abilities where most of them were nothing to him.


    He clicked onto the Spirit Ignition selection.


    "Spirit Ignition"


    "Level: 9 (Will-rted ability)


    "Effect: The ability to evaluate and elerate the movement of microparticles."


    "Remarks: This is an ability to materialize spirits, distance does not affect its power!"


    The remark of the ability was not convincing to him; to elerate the movement of microparticles did not excite him at all.


    Temperature was the manifestation of particle movements. The faster a particle moved, the higher the temperature. The slower the particle moved, the lower the temperature. The system exaggerated its ability. What it meant was that the ability would increase the temperature of the materials.


    He took a look again and he was stunned.


    What Luo Yuan noticed was not its effect, but how distance did not affect its power. He thought about it and realized the ability was simr to his space-time bubble where it involved the four-dimensional world.


    Anything that involved the four-dimensional world was not going to be an easy task.


    Just like the space-time bubble, his four-dimensional travel or even the least attractive four-dimensional vision were all abilities that broke the rules of the three-dimensional world. It allowed Luo Yuan to have aplete view of the world. It was like looking down from high altitudes down on the world which was at a lower altitude.


    His Spirit Ignition ability was rted to the four-dimensional world.


    He was not as calm as he was before. He looked around, opened his arsenal and took a saber. It was a level seven Zhanmadao that was made from a giant beast¡¯s teeth. It was a gift that came with the vi. He held the saber in front of him.


    Although the system did not show him how to utilize the ability, it was not too difficult for Luo Yuan. Since it was called Spirit Ignition, it had to be rted to Will, where its activation was simr to how he usually used his Will.


    He let out a breath and gathered his Will.


    As his Will drained, there was a drastic change to the Zhanmadao.


    The tip of the saber had turned red and got brighter. It let out a bright glow and suddenly, a ball of light appeared in front of him like a mini sun. Itsted for three seconds and the glow soon died down.


    "That... That¡¯s incredible!"


    He looked at the Zhanmadao, and was in shock. He even had slight trouble breathing. The tip of the saber was gone, the ce was burnt ck, and there was a thick, burnt smell in the air.


    Still shocked, he looked around for metal to experiment with. However, there was no metal in the room that he could y with. The supply of metal during the apocalypse was strict. Besides some important kitchen equipment, it was rare to find metal elsewhere. It was rare, even in the vi. For the sake of his experiments, he took out one of the locks since he would not be using it anyway.


    He squeezed the lock in his hand and used Spirit Ignition.


    This time it was even shorter. Within two seconds, half of the lock was gone.


    The lock was made of alloy and other major parts of it were steel too. Luo Yuan remembered that the boiling point of steel was 2750 degrees Celcius. To be able to gasify it, the temperature was three times more than its boiling point, possibly even above 10,000 degrees Celsius. It was possible that even he could not handle such a temperature.


    Although it drained his Will, it was only five times more than the time he used his space-time bubble. If he was willing to, he couldst for more than ten minutes.


    He could not hide his excitement. Before this, his Will could heat up materials but the most he could achieve was burning wood or melt metal where the temperature would not go above 1,000 degrees Celsius. It was impossible to gasify materials. However, this ability that came from the Wisdom Heart seemed to have made it possible through his Will and other unknown techniques.


    Looking at the piece of metal, he realized that if it were just pure power, it would not excite Luo Yuan that much. What excited him was that this ability made up for his drawback forcking a long-distance attack.


    If he had this ability when he was fighting the ssians, it would not be so chaotic when he encountered the antimatter bomb from the mothership. All he had to do was to lock the target down and detonate it from afar.

 Chapter 465: Technological Gap

    Chapter 465: Technological Gap


    Trantor: EndlessFantasy Trantion Editor: EndlessFantasy Trantion


    The next day at the canteen, Luo Yuan and Chen Xinjie sat across each other in absolute silence. They had not seen each other for quite some time; she seemed to have lost weight. He could see pain stered across her face, the cheerfulness was no longer there.


    "I¡¯m so sorry..." Luo Yuan broke the silence after a while.


    He did not know that her mother had passed away a few days ago. It was too sudden, and he was lost for words. If he had visited her earlier and treated her mother, this would not have happened!


    "You don¡¯t have to feel sorry, I knew this wasing; it was destined!" Chen Xinjie said softly, as she looked away. Her eyes were red.


    There was a pin-drop silence between them again!


    It was lunch hour, where many people were walking in and out of the City Hall¡¯s canteen. Most of the seats were taken but the seats near them were empty. Nobody dared toe close.


    Sensing judgmental eyes looking at them, Luo Yuan asked, "Will you work at my secretariat? I will assign Cheng Guanghui to be in charge of something more practical."


    "I don¡¯t think that¡¯s a good idea, Mayor. I¡¯m doing good right now!" Chen Xinjie bit her lips and said with her head hanging low, "You already know that I was here for what I was assigned to do by the superior. So now, there¡¯s no need anymore."


    "But everything has passed, we should move on..." Luo Yuan said more seriously.


    "Mayor, I¡¯m done eating, I¡¯m making a move!" Chen Xinjie immediately took her leave and adjourned.


    Looking at her running away from him, Luo Yuan, with his jaw hanging open, let out a sigh. Their rtionship was never normal. It was like a white cloth stained with dirt, they could never turn back time and erase what they had done.


    ...


    Luo Yuan returned to his office. After reading more than ten documents, he had nothing to do. Now that Hope City was back on track, there was nothing much to be done by him. As the heating system waspleted and the expansion of the vegetable supply, more factories were running and lives were better.


    Although it was nothing aspared to before, people did not have to live in hunger. The biggest credit was the nuclear fusion furnace from the ssian¡¯s spacecraft. It provided endless energy which allowed mankind to survive in the cold.


    There was more than one nuclear fusion furnace in Hope City now. For safety purposes and to prevent any emergency situations, Luo Yuan dismantled one of the nuclear fusion furnaces from a spacecraft that was floating in space for energy backup. Even if one of the nuclear fusion furnaces went wrong, it would not affect the lives of the people.


    Luo Yuan tapped on the table repeatedly while thinking. Soon, he picked up the internal phone and called his secretary Cheng Guanghui.


    "Get the institute director to see me!"


    He hung up right away.


    Now that the majority of the researchers had been sent on the spacecraft, the biological institute was the onlyboratory that remained on earth.


    This would mean that many genuine researchers were in the institute. Besides a couple of authoritative ones, most of them wereb technicians who were newly hired as talent reserves, as well as operating the assembly line of the human clones.


    The poption was too low. Reproduction was difficult ever since the apocalypse, where pregnancy rates dropped drastically. To depend on natural reproduction to recover the poption in the Reconstruction Area before the disaster would take up to 1,000 years while recovering the poption of mankind before the apocalypse would take a few thousand years to 10,000 years.


    While things would be much easier with cloning, it was also the only way for mankind to recover their poption rapidly.


    Unfortunately, regardless if it was Hope City or the spacecraft that people would eventually migrate to, the capacity for mankind was limited. It would not take a long time for the poption of mankind to maintain at a maximum of ten million unless there was a capable of sustaining life, or a certain technology to modify a.


    Unfortunately, the possibility of the first alternative was low, while thetter needed time.


    ...


    Soon, with the help of his secretary, the institute director walked into his office.


    He was a short and skinny old man who was almost 60 years old. He came right after he received the call - without so much as a chance to change his clothes.


    The news about Luo Yuan defeating the aliens was still ying on speakers. He was now a legend in the peoples¡¯ eyes, where he was highly respected. Although this senior researcher had seen all kinds of leaders, encountering Luo Yuan had made him nervous and rather startled, "Ma... Mayor, you asked for me?"


    "Sit!" Luo Yuan said while nodding in acknowledgment.


    He closed the door carefully and sat on the couch anxiously. It was his first time meeting the legendary mayor. While thinking of the research progress, he could not sit still.


    "How¡¯s the research on human cloning techniques going?" Luo Yuan asked.


    "We need more time. There were some issues with the amniotic form; we need more experiments." Realizing that the mayor was asking what was already in his mind, there was sweat dripping down his forehead.


    The clone factory in Hope City was not sessful. Since the disaster, there was a chasm on the technique. There was no breakthrough to simte the amniotic fluid in the womb, which caused the clone factory to stop operations.


    Human cloning usually involved issues such as morality and ethics. Even during the apocalypse, human cloning remained a secret. There were only a couple of suchboratories in New Capital City and before that, many of the biological researchers had not heard of it. It was apletely new topic for them where everything had started from square one.


    Luo Yuan frowned while he listened. Although he had many cloning experiments himself, he never engaged the most basic amniotic fluid technique. At that moment, nobody cared how the cultivation fluid was made.


    However, he was not in a rush. After all, the biological technique in Hope City was not much different with New Capital City. Moreover, with the advanced gic technology from the ssian¡¯s spacecraft, he believed that would be easily solved as soon as people figured out the technique used by the ssians.


    "Can we clone nts in theb?" Luo Yuan asked.


    "nts cloning?" The director was shocked, and he replied immediately, "Mayor, aspared to human cloning, nt cloning would be much easier. Sexless breeding would be even simpler, as, with our technology, there shouldn¡¯t be a problem."


    "That¡¯s great, let¡¯s prepare the rted technical reserves. I will drop by again to take a look after a while." Luo Yuan nodded and said.


    The director was confused. Although he did not know what Luo Yuan had in mind, he agreed anyway as his priority was toplete the political mission. He then left right away, the office was quiet again.


    That was a n to produce intelligence.


    Aspared to the low efficiency of cloning, Luo Yuan hoped to directly synthesize useful ingredients in the Wisdom Heart into materials such as high molecr substances and protein for industrial production. However, with the avable technology in Hope City, that was not possible. Perhaps he would need technology from the ssians to make it work.

 Chapter 466: Frozen Life

    Chapter 466: Frozen Life


    Trantor: EndlessFantasy Trantion Editor: EndlessFantasy Trantion


    Luo Yuan left the office, as he got ready to patrol the volcano sites.


    Heatingmps lit up the street to maintain the surrounding temperature. It was unimaginable how everything out there had frozen over.


    There were not many pedestrians as it was only two o¡¯clock. Perhaps it would be crowdedter during dinner time.


    Earlier, Hope City implemented a centralized cafeteria system to control the avability of food. Although the situation seemed to have improved, this system was not abolished due to several reasons and to prevent the wastage of food and resources


    Not only the avability of food was considered, but a lot of utensils were needed if it were to be supplied for the cooking needs of each family. Under such circumstances, there would not be a supply of natural gas or coal gas, as only electronic kitchen appliances could be used.


    Based on the current technology of Hope City and the materials stored, it was impossible to prepare all these things in a short period of time, and they were far from necessary.


    However, there were only a few people walking on the street, possibly due to the city being governed by martialw at the moment; both sides were heavily guarded.


    They had no choice, as survivors from the three cities had migrated to Hope City, resulting in a subsequent surge of the poption. However, there were not many vacancies avable in Hope City. In order to increase the rate of employment, the use of machines was reduced. There were several ongoing renovation works and construction activities offering job opportunities to the people. Nevertheless, there were still a lot of people unemployed.


    Million people were at home doing nothing, and with the ongoing conflict between local and foreign citizens, the enforcement of martialw became a necessity.


    It was believed that martialw would be exercised for quite a long period of time. Perhaps the situation would turn better after humans had all migrated to the spaceship.


    ......


    Luo Yuan walked out of the underground city.


    It was snowing out there.


    After the disaster, the city started to snow more frequently. Apparently, it had been snowing for a long time, considering the amount of snowfall that had umted on the ground.


    The snowkes were dark gray in color falling with a huge amount of dust. Before the snowkesnded onto his body, the surrounding air was stirred. The snowkes on his body were instantly drifted by his Will.


    He stomped hard onto the ground and his body immediately propelled himself forward like a rocket. Suddenly, a very sharp hissing sound came from the air. His figure was now as small as a dot, flying towards the sky.


    As usual, he headed toward the pit resulting from the explosion of the antimatter bomb. Everything was fine and the volcano beneath had beenpletely frozen, forming thickyers of ice. Sublimation of the iceyers did not happen, indicating that the initial n was still effective.


    He then headed towards the erupted volcano.


    The volcanic activity gradually subsided after half a month. The redva was cooled and covered byyers of ice. Other than some steaming out of the volcano, everything was fine.


    Luo Yuan was slightly relieved. Sometimes it was not too bad to have such a bad weather as the volcanoes were greatly influenced by such extreme temperatures.


    The ce was deserted. Countless gigantic nts were frozen and had turned ck. They were dead and looked like gigantic carved metals.


    Luo Yuan felt heavy-hearted to see this.


    He walked into the forest. The ce which was initially loaded with danger, filled with birds chirping around and the roaring of beasts. All these had disappeared now and most of the living creatures had perished.


    He stood there for a while, getting ready to return.


    At this moment, Luo Yuan¡¯s sensitive hearing senses had picked up a rustling and hustling sound.


    He immediately switched his thoughts away and followed the direction where the sound came from. It was around six kilometers away. His vision was blocked by trees. However, thanks to Luo Yuan¡¯s four-dimensional vision, it did not affect him at all.


    He saw a squirrel-liked mutant carefully squeezing out of the snow. Its body was half a meter long and was considered as a small sized creature.


    It was covered with thick beige fur, making it look as plump as a round ball. Obviously, it was able to survive under such an extreme conditions.


    It looked around with its dark small eyes, and as soon as it squeezed out of the snow, its long red ears were monitoring the surroundings, being extra alert.


    Suddenly, it ran very quickly and climbed onto a frozen big tree. Its sharp nails were strongly embedded in the iceyers, ensuring its movements were not affected, being quick and agile.


    In just a short while, it climbed into a tree cave and scratched the iceyers into tiny pieces and scattered everywhere.


    Soon, a very small hole was formed. The size of the hole was to fit the size of its body. Soon, it climbed into the small hole with a little bit more effort.


    Luo Yuan waited for a while and he got curious as he did not see the mutanting out from the hole.


    His body levitated slowly and flew next to the big tree. With his sensitive hearing, a chewing sound was heard.


    Was it possible that the squirrel-like mutant had hidden some food over here?


    Luo Yuan felt interested but he did not want to disturb the "squirrel" while it chomped down its meal, apart from the King Kong, which was the first creature he met after the disaster.


    He waited patiently for another ten minutes. Perhaps it was full now and was squeezing out of the hole. It first exposed half of its head, looking around vigntly. It waited for a moment to ensure that its surrounding was safe.


    Eventually, it got out of the hole. With its ws, the tree cave was carefully covered with snow. The mutant then jumped down from the tree and disappeared as soon as it got back into the hole beneath the ground.


    Luo Yuan did not feel anything uncanny. Compared to the tree cave, the cave under the frozen ground would certainly be warmer.


    After the "squirrel" had disappeared, Luo Yuan looked at the big frozen tree curiously. Theyer of ice had umted on its surface and was reaching 30 centimeters thick, surrounding the tree like an armor. He pressed against the tree and tried to put some force on it.


    The extremely cold iceyers were solid yet fragile, as it could easily crack into pieces.


    The original color of the bark was exposed as soon as arge amount of crushed ice fell off the tree.


    The tree looked bald and bare since the leaves fell off together with the crushed ice. Luo Yuan then immediately cleaned up the tree cave that the "squirrel" had entered from.


    There was nothing special about the tree cave. There were no dead bodies or fruits stored inside. However, he was surprised to see when there was a white and creamy fluid seeping through the bottom of the tree cave. It was the position where the mutant scratched off the iceyer.


    He wiped away the fluid, exposing the wood which was light green in color.


    He was astonished to see the tree still alive, as the inner part of the wood was not frozen. It seemed like it was in hibernation, reducing the metabolic activity while waiting for the sun to shine on Earth again.


    The nts were stronger than one could imagine. Luo Yuan thought in his heart that these creatures were no ordinary living organisms. They were mutated creatures. Their ability to survive had gone beyond the ordinary and it would not have happened before the apocalypse.


    Luo Yuan was happy with the discovery.


    The humans were going to migrate and leave the Earth temporarily as to protect themselves against the threats of the ssians. However, one day, humans would still return to `Earth.


    Perhaps the day would note so soon, but Luo Yuan strongly believed in this.


    ......


    Luo Yuan left the big tree, continued to look around.


    He noticed that there were a lot of big trees that were still alive. Generally, the size of the tree would be bigger if it had a higher level in which it would also have better ability to survive under extreme weather conditions. Most of the low-level trees had been found frozen to death.


    He discovered that some of the trees had undergone special mutation when they were trying to survive and withstand the cold.


    There was heat releasing from the tree trunk of one of the trees. Luo Yuan did not see any ice or snow around the tree. The trunk was not bare and bald like the others but it was growing densely withrge branches full of leaves. The tree branches grew like an umbre, covering therge region, making it look special in the deserted forest.


    Its presence had created a shelter for the creatures and a simple food chain.


    It provided a habitat for the birds and living organisms. The crowd was huge. Fortunately, the tree was big enough, resembling a small forest.


    Of course, this was not the only ce with a shelter. He flew across the sky and discovered that despite some of the regions that did not have such species that undergone such an evolution, they were still emitting arge amount of heat due to the extreme weather, forming an oasis. It was the miracle of life, allowing life to go on into the restricted area.


    However, most of the oasis was small. Thergest oasis that Luo Yuan found was only 100 square kilometers, whereas the smallest one was around 100 square meters. The deserted forest and still air were what was often being seen.


    Subconsciously, Luo Yuan hade to the ocean. He stopped and stared at the terrifying scene in front of him.


    The entire ocean had frozen. But this was not the reason that Luo Yuan was terrified.


    He graduallynded, standing at the coastline.


    The sea had frozen over but the coastline was still visible. The topyer of the seawater was frozen, and as the ice was less dense than water, it resulted in an overall increase in the level of iceyers, as if a hignd was formed.


    He stared at the cier that had grown a lot bigger, not recovering for a while.

 Chapter 467: Terrifying Effect

    Chapter 467: Terrifying Effect


    Trantor: EndlessFantasy Trantion Editor: EndlessFantasy Trantion


    Luo Yuan then headed towards the ocean.


    He moved across the surface of the ice like a stream of light. Countless cyclones and tornadoes had appeared in the air and subsided as he moved along. The clothes synthesized from the Demonic Horse¡¯s Mane were destroyed and only the belt was left unscathed. Although its effect was a lot weaker, it could still allow him to reach a speed of one kilometer per second. It was sufficient for him to fly in a regr manner.


    The whole ocean had been frozen over and covered byyers of jet ck ice. In some of the regions, it was visible that the sea had barely a ripple on it, which would normally be formed with the rocky waves.


    On the surface of the ice, Luo Yuan could asionally see the traces of marine life. However, they were all dead. Perhaps it was due to the abrupt changes that urred, its curiosity, or even the hope to obtain oxygen (for some of the sea mammals), the gigantic marine beasts attempted to break the surface of the frozen ice before it thickened. They realized that they could no longer escape from the sea as soon as they jumped up to the topyer of the ice. Soon, they were frozen to death and turned into ice sculptures.


    Most of the marine wildlife were fish; one of the cold-blooded animals.


    Compared to the mammals, the aquatic life had lower cold tolerance. Basically, they were living in an environment above zero degrees Celsius. They had a weaker resistance to cold, aspared to the amphibians. Once they were exposed to such an extreme temperature, they would bound to perish.


    Luo Yuan saw a dead body of the giant mutated fish. Regardless of how powerful the mutant was, it could not withstand such cold weather. The crater-like holes surrounding the dead body showed that the mutated fish was struggling for survival before its death.


    After flying for half an hour, Luo Yuan stopped. He was at a ce that was around 1,000 kilometers away from the coastline. He looked at the frozen sea surface and decided to examine the depth of the ice sheet and the living condition of the sea wildlife.


    He struck a blow against the surface of the ice.


    The blow emitted a dazzling white line before it struck on the ice sheet. With its strong pressure, the air had turned into a blue liquid. When the attack hit the surface of the ice, ripples were formed on the entire surface of the ice as if a meteor had justnded. The impact caused a huge explosion. With his current Strength, the energy released from each attack was equivalent to 3 tons of TNT.


    With just one blow, a 60 meter-deep hole with a diameter of around 200 meters was formed.


    There was a massive crack in the ice, which looked like a big spider web forming on its surface.


    However, the hit did notpletely break theyer of ice in the sea.


    Luo Yuan struck seven blows until there a flow of seawater emerged from the crater-like hole.


    The depth of the ice had reached 300 meters. However, inparison to the thickness of ice sheets in Antarctica, this was just the beginning.


    Luo Yuan was d that despite how freezing cold it was outside and many of the living organisms had all gone extinct, inside the ocean, there was still a hope of survival. In fact, the temperature of the seawater beneath the ice sheet was not too low. Its contact with the ice sheet was only around zero degrees Celsius. The temperature was even higher in deeper levels of seawater. The marine life would certainly be able to survive under such temperature.


    He was so close to the fresh seawater. Suddenly, he could see many marine creatures living under the sea. In just a few minutes, it was filled with arge group of fish.


    Looking at these beautiful creatures, Luo Yuan decided to stay on for a while.


    After the disaster, eating meat was a luxury. Even Luo Yuan as a supreme leader consumed only vegetables and carbohydrates for his meals. The only difference perhaps was only the taste.


    The terrestrial creatures that he encountered earlier were rare. However, the marine life here was still living healthily and Luo Yuan would definitely hunt them for food.


    After a minute, he caught an unknown mutated fish and threw it towards the surface of the ice.


    He made a cut along its belly and removed its skin. He briefly cleaned the fish and started to cook.


    Of course, there would not be a branch or a twig in sight now as everything was frozen everywhere he went However, he was certain to still find a way to cook it.


    Although the power of Will was iparable with the Strength of his body, it was more than sufficient to use it for a barbecue skewer.


    The first attempt had caught Luo Yuan on the hop. He burned the mutated fish as soon as the fire was built.


    When Luo Yuan regained his senses, the burnt mutated fish could no longer be eaten.


    Luo Yuan then realized that he had ignited the mes with his spirit. In fact, there was a seamless connection between the ability to use his Will to generate heat and to ignite mes with his spirit.


    Using his Will to heat up and spirit ignition was actually really the same.


    He gained the ability of heart ignition after consuming the light purple wisdom heart. Ever since then, his Will heating-up ability hadpletely changed. It became more powerful and difficult to control, just like how the earlier urrence had easily overpowered him.


    Being difficult to control did not mean that it could not be controlled. It was simr to how a sudden increase in Strength required sufficient time to train for and to adapt to. Eventually, he would have strong control over it again. Luo Yuan caught another mutated fish and attempted for the second time.


    As time passed, there were more and more burnt mutated fish.


    After half an hour, he carefully controlled the fire and sessfully grilled a fish.


    However, Luo Yuan was curious as the fish had no smell. There was neither a fragrant nor fishy smell. The surface of the mutated fish was not carbonized. Otherwise, he would have thought that the fish was burnt again.


    Luo Yuan frowned again when he was cutting up the fish. The color of the meat looked strange as it was grayish white. He ced it in front of his nose and caught a whiff of it again. There was a very light and strange smell but he could not put his finger on whether or not the smell was a good or a bad one.


    He had nevere across smell like this.


    He hesitated for a while and decided to eat it. His facial expression changed after a few bites and immediately spat it out.


    It tasted rather off. To say that it was the meat of a fish would be unlikely, as it was more of a mix of several indistinguishable meats. A strange chemical reaction had seemed to have happened when the mutated fish was grilled.


    He was really puzzled. He looked at all of the burnt fishes and most of them were only burnt on the surface. He then checked the meat of the fishes and realized that they were all the same, with grayish white meat and had no smell at all.


    Luo Yuan suddenly recalled the introduction message from the system, "The ability to evaluate and elerate the movement of microparticles."


    Earlier, he focused on the effect of how the spirit ignition ability was able to change the temperature andpletely underestimated its ability to threaten creatures and destroy physical structures.


    The internal energy of an object can be increased by working on it and transferring heat energy.


    Heating food in a microwave was one of the ways of working on the particles inside the food. Spirit ignition belonged to the former, while me heating belonged to thetter. Compared to heating it up with microwave molecules, heat generated by spirit ignition could directly agitate quantum level microscopic particles.


    The microscopic particles were moving randomly and the molecr structure would bepletely distorted.

 Chapter 468: Untitled

    Chapter 468: Untitled


    Trantor: EndlessFantasy Trantion Editor: EndlessFantasy Trantion


    Eventually, Luo Yuan decided to give up on cooking the mutated fish.


    Even though it was already evening and the sky was getting darker and darker, Luo Yuan was not going home yet. Since the disaster happened, he was responsible for the survival of the nation and he most certainly did not have a chance to take a break from it now.


    He resumed his journey like a lonely traveler.


    After a few hours, he was closer to the equator and he could see the ocean once again despite the fact that the temperature was only 0.3 degrees Celsius. However,pared to the other regions, this ce was undoubtedly warmer. There were a few convergence regions of the ocean¡¯s currents, making it rtively difficult to freeze.


    There were icebergs slowly bobbing up and down in the sea like a lonely ind and the ocean was shrouded by crushed ice. The crashing sound between them could be heard due to the continuous movements of the seawater.


    Without a doubt, this ce had be thergest colony of organisms.


    Even above the crushed ice, there were many living organisms including mutated birds and sea mammals. On the bigger icebergs, the original color of the iceberg was no longer visible as it was crowded by organisms. Of course, there were still arge number of aquatic organisms living beneath the crushed ice though it was not visible to the naked eye.


    As the sky got darker, all of the creatures huddled together and the ce became quiet and peaceful.


    There were hardly any ripples on the surface of the ocean when Luo Yuan arrived. A mutated giant bird stared at him and buried its head under its wings. Another ocean beast which was farther away from him did not even bother to move.


    The air was filled with a strong smell of blood and there were blood stains everywhere on the ice. Luo Yuan knew that this was not a peaceful ce. Instead, it is a ce where the living organisms ate one another in order to survive. They had a unique way of living in this unique environment. One could either be the hunter or the hunted.


    The sky further darkened and it was now the coldest time of the day. Most of the organisms were done hunting for food before the weather turned colder and the survivors were now relying on each other to withstand the extremely cold weather at night. However, the very next day, this would be a ce where they killed each other again for food. But at least it was still quiet and peaceful until that moment arrives.


    Luo Yuan stepped on the crushed ice and walked step by step, passing a few giant beasts along the way. As the weather got colder, the giant beasts did not move and seemed to be hibernating. All the mutated beings that survived were high-level creatures ranging from level five to eight.


    At this moment, there was a notification from the task system and he had discovered three level eight mutated beasts. With his current abilities, he could easily havepleted the given task and would probably have leveled up and gained an additional attribute point. However, Luo Yuan was absolutely indifferent to this.


    Before the disaster, the mutated beasts were human¡¯s greatest enemy. However, they were now the same as any human, struggling to survive.


    The reason why he did not kill the mutated beasts was not because he was weak. Instead, it was because he now hadpassion for those mutated beasts.


    After a while, he passed through the region and the ocean began to freeze. He finally stopped and looked at the time, finding out that it was already nine o¡¯clock at night now so he decided to return. He intentionally passed by the lightning tree on his way back.


    Coincidentally, the lightning tree was absorbing the lightning around the area when suddenly, a lightning struck the entire region! It looked like pythons wriggling across the sky and the area turned bright while the static electricity in the air grew stronger. Putting aside the erupted volcanoes, this was probably the only ce on Earth that one could still see light.


    The level nine creature that was still inhabiting the Earth was not affected by the bad environmental conditions. In fact, it was more nourished than the other creatures as the dissipation of energy that happened during the process of absorption resulted in a warmer surrounding for it.


    There was a ring-liked forest forming at the border around the tree. Some of the nts that grew near the lightning tree had mutated, giving them simr electrical charge absorption abilities as the lightning tree; their leaves were now emitting a faint glow of light.


    Perhaps a unique forest will form here and after 10 years or even a 100 years, the whole Earth would be fully upied with these unique nt species. However, humans might be living in space during that time.


    Luo Yuan did not want to waste any more time. He immediatelyunched his space-time bubble and arrived home in less than 10 minutes.


    ...


    "Why did youe home sote?" Huang Jiahui grumbled.


    The women were not asleep yet and were waiting for him. Luo Yuan apologized and said, "I¡¯m going out as I have something I need to deal with. Don¡¯t wait for me toe home and get some sleep first."


    "The food is still warm. Don¡¯t forget to eat!" Huang Jiahui replied.


    Luo Yuan nodded his head before he walked into the kitchen and ate all of the dishes. As he was about to wash the tes, Wang Xiaguang came in and said, "I¡¯ll help you to wash the tes."


    Luo Yuan was stunned for a while as he saw that Wang Xiaguang was wearing her pajamas. Her pajamas were so short that it could hardly cover her round butt. The existing factories would not have manufactured pajamas like this and it was obvious that Wang Xiaguang had modified hers.


    Wang Xiaguang blushed and lowered her head slightly as she walked in. Luo Yuan seemed to have understood something and became slightly agitated. He felt guilty as he knew that he had neglected Wang Xiaguang for some time. Since she was an independent woman, Luo Yuan did not pay much attention to her.


    Instead of leaving, he sat down and stared at Wang Xiaguang who was washing the tes. The kitchen was so bright that it made her long and fair legs look so attractive. It seemed like Wang Xiaguang could feel that his eyes were on her, which made her face even redder while her body trembled. She wanted to leave but she did not want to give up so easily.


    She understood that there would not be any romance after the apocalypse but since she had decided to stay with him, behaving in a reserved manner would make their rtionship feel rather distant. Hence, Wang Xiaguang undressed herself there and then. Their first night together did not please her as it was a rather painful experience, however, her heart was filled with love and satisfaction.


    "Your body is finally mine." Wang Xiaguang said as she covered her breasts with a thin nket.


    "I should be the one to say this." Luo Yuan replied.


    Wang Xiaguang smiled. She did not say anything but she thought in her heart, "You belong to many women, but in my heart, you¡¯re my only man."

 Chapter 469: Megastructures

    Chapter 469: Megastructures


    Trantor: EndlessFantasy Trantion Editor: EndlessFantasy Trantion


    The massive spaceship of the ssians which floated in space was the humans¡¯st hope - the future Noah¡¯s ark.


    The habitation, which was originally empty, had be very crowded after many rounds of migration. There were currently around 10,000 people staying there.


    The extraterrestrial botanical garden that was located at the center of the spaceship had been demolished with only some of the biological samples kept for research purposes. The ce was then sterilized and reced with several tents. This had upied almost the entire habitation area.


    Though these extraterrestrial creatures and different types of bacterial viruses were not harmful to the ssians, that might not have been the case for the humans and therefore it would have been risky to not have them removed.


    Some of the tents were to be relocated by today as they were going tounch a trial-manufacture of the human¡¯s first internal building on the spaceship.


    In these three months, with the aid of information provided by the intellectual brain as well as many engineers who had been working day and night, the project of manufacturing the ssians¡¯ modr factories wasunched. A variety of engineering machinery and infrastructural equipment had been manufacturedtely, hence, it was now the perfect time for the humans to modify the spaceship.


    Luo Yuan purposely returned to the spaceship and organized a simple ceremony tounch the construction project at eight o¡¯clock in the morning. Hundreds of engineering vehicle then gradually entered the construction site.


    Luo Yuan was surprised when he saw the familiar appearance of the engineering vehicles used for construction. However,pared to the machines used in the Reconstruction Area which were rugged and ck in color, the ones here looked big and were silvery white. Its surface was smooth and shiny and the importantponents had been assembled tightly, showing no visible gap between the joints.


    The ssians¡¯ precise processing machinery and their advanced materials technology had transformed the appearance of the engineering vehicles which now exuded a strong sense of elegance. Technological deterioration after the disaster was clearly shown in the performance of these vehicles. For instance, these engineering vehicles did not have any electronic devices and most of the technologies adopted were from the 50s or 60s (of course, this was partly because they were working on a tight deadline).


    There was a shortage of fuel oil here and Hope City¡¯s storage cells were not sufficient to supply the high horsepower necessary to operate the vehicle. Therefore, these engineering vehicles carried an electric cable on top of them all the time which was somehow awkward and embarrassing!


    Luo Yuan nodded his head as he listened to the chief engineer¡¯s introduction. Regardless of whether it was ugly or not, at least they were still able to use it. The project hadmenced and numerous trucks carried prefabricated metal parts to the construction site. Looking at the obviously overloaded vehicles, Luo Yuan felt that it was not too bad to use electric cables. Even the Reconstruction Area which was technologically advanced would not be able to move these overloaded vehicles if only storage cells had been used.


    Luo Yuan then noticed that each of the prefabricated metal parts were standardized at six meters by six meters while its thickness was set at 0.15 meters. He doubted and asked, "It is so thin. Are you sure it¡¯s fine?"


    The construction of the internal part of a spaceship was different from its surface as the spaceship¡¯s speed would be increased or reduced ordingly during a flight. Thepressive strength of the materials used for the construction of a skyscraper would certainly not be the same as the ones used for the construction of a building in a spaceship.


    The chief engineer that was standing at the side immediately exined, "Mayor, the intellectual brain rmended a high-tensile strength metal which had undergone aplicated production process. It had been passed through a demaizer after fusion in a furnace. Then, it was coated with ayer of heat instor before it was forged andpressed and so on... Therefore, it is at least 10 times stronger than the normal flight deck. A trial was done and with this thickness, the skyscraper could withstand a G-force of 200 G."


    Luo Yuan nodded his head. The manned spaceship would normally experience gradual eleration and a sudden deceleration or instant braking would rarely happen unless necessary. If ever the skyscraper had to withstand a force of 200 G¡¯s, before the skyscraper copses, most of the humans would already be dead.


    Since it was prefabricated with metal, v-blocks had been attached between two metal arms and the need for welding was greatly reduced. The progress of the construction project was quite fast as three floors of the skyscraper were built in just a few hours.


    With this rate of progress, it was estimated that the project could bepleted in less than a month. It was going to be a mega building with a height of 200 meters, a length of 300 meters, and a width of 30 meters. Upon thepletion of this building, it could hold 800,000 to 1,000,000 people. At the same time, it would have its own street, shop lots, agricultural area, park and all kinds of residential facilities.


    The building was like a small city which could sustain all the people within it. ording to the n, the whole residential area was going to have 12 simr buildings like this. Most of them had been built to resettle the survivors and five of them were built in case there was an increase in the number of survivors. The streets connecting the buildings would be the only spaces left of the habitation area.


    It would be a small city that could hold at most 1,200,0000 people and it was unbelievable that a spaceship like this could have amodated so many people.


    ...


    In the afternoon, Luo Yuan visited the research centers in the industrial area. He lingered for some time at the gic research center, however, everything was still in the investigation process.


    The instruments used in theb were moreplicated than the machines used in the factory and most of them involved gene-editing techniques as well as some professional knowledge. One would not be able to use it even if he or she knew the functions of each instrument.


    The ssians¡¯ avable technology was way more advanced than the human¡¯s technology and as introduced by the intellectual brain, the ssians now had the ability to alter genes like how Luo Yuan could. The ssians could only modify the genes of fertilized eggs on a nano-level, however, this was already a fantasy to the human race.


    Technology advances by steps and not by leaps. The humans had a lot to learn and improve on before they couldpletely adopt the ssians¡¯ technology. Luo Yuan was disappointed and agitated by the apparent gap between the two species. The ssians¡¯ had a mature technology of synthesizing artificial organic molecules and their artificial food was synthesized through the mixture of elements during their journey to Earth.


    The research center in the spaceship had a miniaturized instrument like this and once the humans could master this technology, food supply would no longer be restricted. They could even artificially manufacture the wisdom heart. Although the spaceship¡¯s intellectual brain could now automatically synthesize food, the intellectual brain was not from the Earth. The process of biological evolution would somehow be different as many of the protein sources contained metals which would be harmful to a human¡¯s health.


    Before Luo Yuan left, he provided the research center with a sample of the wisdom heart. He then returned to Hope City and would only being back during the next migration.

 Chapter 470: Corpse

    Chapter 470: Corpse


    Trantor: EndlessFantasy Trantion Editor: EndlessFantasy Trantion


    "My teeth are going to break into pieces!" Lin Feiyan said unsatisfyingly while she bit the hardtack and chewed on it with her white teeth.


    She has not had a good time since the Firearms Bureau began working with Luo Yuan. Most of her time was spent in the Reconstruction Area in search of survivors. Although she had a unique evolved ability which kept her warm, she still suffered from the bad food and amodation.


    That was not the worst part of it. If she could find even one survivor, at least her hard work would have paid off meaningfully. However, the entire Firearms Bureau had not found anything for months, not even a single corpse.


    "Let me boil some water first." Wu Qianru said. She was sitting next to her and tried to persuade her while she put down her backpack and unzipped it to take out the burner, a small portable pot, and a wooden water storage tank. She knew that the water inside the tank had been frozen even though she had not opened it.


    "So troublesome! It¡¯s easier to just eat it like this." Lin Feiyan whispered as the sound of ice being crushed wasing out from her mouth. This would certainly have irritated the people that were listening to it. Furthermore, if she was not an evolved human, she might not have been able to chew through hardtack at all.


    Wu Qianru had stopped persuading her. Unlike Lin Feiyan, she was afraid of the cold and even if she had good teeth, her stomach would not be able to withstand the coldness of the ice.


    She took out a clean piece of cloth and a hammer from her backpack. She put the cotton cloth on the surface of the frozen ground and gently hit the edge of the tank. Soon enough, the ice came out off the tank and fell onto the cloth. She then used the cloth to wrap the ice before hitting it with her hammer.


    A few minutester, she opened the cloth and saw that the ice inside had broken into pieces. She picked out a few pieces, threw it into the pot and stored the rest back into the tank before she lit up the burner and began to heat up the ice.


    The me quietly licked the bottom of the pot and in a short amount of time, the water was boiling. She took out two cups but only poured the water into one of the cups and said, "Here you go!"


    Lin Feiyan bluntly took the cup and finished it in one mouthful as though the cup of boiled water had actually been warm water. She released a sigh of relief and after a while, she asked Wu Qianru, "How far more to go?"


    "About 10 kilometers." Wu Qianru said casually while pouring herself a cup of hot water which she would then soak the hardtack in.


    "We will return to rest for a while after searching the city in front of us!" Lin Feiyan sighed and said. This time, she had experienced a lot of challenges and had be more mature aspared to the past. She continued, "In fact, we have been out here for a week and our supplies are almost used up. It¡¯s time to head back."


    "Oh great! We can finally rest for a couple of days." Wu Qianru said happily.


    She could not have imagined how it would have been like living in the wilderness if she had not personally experienced it herself. She trekked in the snow during the day and shivered inside her sleeping bag during the night. Besides that, there was no source of clean water and every time before sleeping, she needed to use the purifier she was carrying with her to filter the snow to meet the water demands for the next day. The worse thing was that the purified water would freeze quickly in the cold weather and every morning she needed to melt the ice before brushing her teeth. And, that was what happened on the days with good weather. Snowstorms weremon and sometimes there would even be hailstorms.


    It was during one midnight ofst month while they were asleep when they experienced their first hailstorm. Plenty of football sized hail fell from the sky without any warning and hit their sleeping bags. Although they were evolved humans, they felt like a drowning mouse in that situation. Furthermore, they had been camping on a t ice ground and there was not even a single hiding ce for them. They could only use their hands to support the tent and endure the experience throughout the rest of the night.


    They rested for half an hour during lunchtime before they departed for the city again. Soon, they had arrived at their destination.


    ...


    "This is probably thepound of Endeavour City." Lin Feiyan said after she took a nce at thetitude-longitude grid and observed the surrounding area.


    There was no sign of any human activities. It was just snow falling down from the sky.


    "There should be no one alive here!" Wu Qianru sighed and said. She did not hold any hope as the recent situation was worsening and now everything could only be left to God.


    "Anyway, try checking the surroundings first," Lin Feiyan replied.


    ...


    The ground had been covered with thick snow and they werecking in strength to conduct a meticulous search. Luo Yuan, a human nuclear weapon, could have easily broken through the frozen ground, but despite him being not around, there was still a way to do it.


    The easiest way to determine whether there were any survivors was to look for any possible vents since the vents would not be sealed if there were still survivors alive in the city. It was impossible to survive for three months with sealed vents.


    They took out the topographic device from their backpack and began to work. This device had a wide range of applications which was very important to civil engineering and many other fields. It was an indispensable instrument; hence, Hope City kept a few of it.


    Time had passed and they could not find anything even until nightfall.


    Lin Feiyan¡¯s patience had run out and she was ready to inform Wu Qianru to end the mission. Suddenly, she heard Wu Qianru shout, "Captain, pleasee over here, there...there is a corpse."


    Lin Feiyan was startled as she heard that and quickly rushed over. The surface of the ice had thickened by tens of meters and gradually got thicker by one meter on average each day. The snow was not transparent as one-third of it was made up of dust which made it look dark and dirty. The naked eye would usually not have noticed that there was a corpse underneath.


    Apparently, the person had died just a while ago... approximately somewhere between one to two days.


    The corpse would have been buried deep underground if it had been there for a long time and the existence of this corpse showed that there might be a great possibility that there were other survivors nearby.


    "Where?" asked Lin Feiyan as she quickly ran over there.


    "Look! Over there!" said Wu Qianru. She looked tensed and pointed at the arm that was exposed on the surface of the snow about five or six meters away.


    There was a small and naked body buried inside that protruded through the filthy snow.


    Lin Feiyan looked along the direction with a slight change in expression. She could not me Wu Qianru as the arm did look strange and odd andter discovered that the arm from the corpse did not show any signs that it was frozen. The skin looked rosy with a trace of pink and they could not have imagined that he or she had been buried inside the ice ground. There was even a high chance that he/she might still be alive.


    Now, the temperature of the earth was close to -70 degrees Celsius, which was almost like the nightly temperature at the two poles. Without wearing any clothes, she could still absorb the elements to evolve, however, the remaining members of the Firearms Bureau might not have been able to survive under this terrible temperature.


    The arm and the body size under the ice obviously looked like it belonged to a five or six-year-old kid.


    "Captain, what should we do?" Wu Qianru asked.


    It was so strange that even Wu Qianru who is a super evolved human was bewildered.


    "Let¡¯s check it out first, perhaps he/she is still alive!" Lin Feiyan also felt nervous but as a captain, she was calmer than Wu Qianru. Besides, it was a shameful act for a captain to retreat from a fight in front of their crew.


    However, when she quietly took a deep breath and was ready to go over, she saw that the exposed arm from the icy ground was moving and the small hand gently grabbed some ice.


    The scene had shocked her and before she was able to calm herself, she saw that the ice that buried the body suddenly splintered with a cracking sound. The kid sat up from the ice and revealed his/her bare back as countless pieces of ice came crashing down.


    Looking at her flexible movements, the ice that had pressed on her did not seem to be as hard as steel but rather more like ayer of crisp skin. She showed her back to them and yawned as if she was still feeling sleepy. She sat there staring nkly and then stood up.


    Lin Feiyan and Wu Qianru nced at each other and felt nervous. They had never seen a child with special abilities and the gestures made by the child earlier had struck a deep fear within them. The hardness of the icy ground, which was below -70 degrees Celsius, was almost simr to that of steel and even the two of them could not have easily broken the ice like that child.


    They silently retreated a few steps, however, the unknown child seemed to have heard their footsteps and suddenly turned around. She was a beautiful little girl who was naked. Upon closer observation, they noticed that the crushed ice on her body slowly melted.


    She was surprised when she saw the both of them and said,


    "Ah, I finally see humans!"


    Lin Feiyan and Wu Qianru were ncing at each other and felt slightly relieved that at least she was someone that they couldmunicate with.


    Wu Qianru asked cautiously, "Little...girl, why are you lying down here?"


    "Hi, Aunty. I was sleeping!"


    This little girl had clear enunciation when she spoke and was very polite. However, the answer that came from her mouth had shocked the both of them.


    "Where did youe from?" Wu Qianru thought and asked. Perhaps they could find out if there were other survivors.


    "New Capital City¡¯s gicboratory. But, everyone there is gone. My sisters, brothers and also our aunts that took care of us are all gone. I was looking for them." The little girl said with an innocent look.


    They felt even more ufortable the more they listened to this girl. Not to mention that she came from theboratory, or that her sisters and brothers hade from there too. New Capital City was the main area that had been attacked by the ssians as one of the nuclear antimatter smart orbital ballistic missiles had been dropped directly on them which made the entire city a huge pit.

 Chapter 471: Underground Water

    Chapter 471: Underground Water


    Trantor: EndlessFantasy Trantion Editor: EndlessFantasy Trantion


    "Li... Little girl, then how did youe out?" Wu Qianru tried to ask further.


    "Ah, I have no idea. I slept for a moment and when I woke up I was already underground. I then started digging a tunnel, and kept digging and digging and after a long time I was able to emerge onto the surface." The little girl spoke as she tilted her head while she was recalling the incident.


    The twodies were frightened after listening to what she had said and even though what the little girl said did not seem to be in proper English, it was stillprehensible. What exactly had she experienced during the disaster?


    She could have possibly been hurt by the nuclear missile shockwave while she was asleep and by the time she woke up, without a doubt, her body would have been buried by volcanic ashes as theva cooled down.


    If everything she said was true, despite having such a frail and weak body, she certainly possessed an immense amount of some power. However, regardless of whether it was her innocent expression or the fact that she had been buried in theyers of ice, you could obviously tell she was not lying. It was simply a cruel deed to have just deserted such a little girl in the frozen wastnd.


    Even though it could cause someplications if they brought her back to Hope City, her capabilities were still within their scope ofprehension aspared to Luo Yuan¡¯s who could single handedly destroy the aliens. His powers were certainly beyond their reach. They looked into each other¡¯s eyes, and hade to an understanding. Such a little monster should be handed over to a big monster like Luo Yuan to worry about.


    ...


    In just a short time, the little girl had decided to follow them back to Hope City with no ulterior motives. As the three of them started talking while they were on their journey home, more and more information had been revealed by the little girl.


    She had no name and no parents. Other than a number that did not have any special meaning, nothing else seemed to have been able to identify her. Simrly, ording to the little girl, her brothers and sisters were the same. They were a bunch of children who had special powers and lived in aboratory with the same level of education and upbringing.


    After pondering for a short while, Lin Feiyan believed that the little girl was a human clone. She was not surprised as the apocalypse was a crazy era. When good and evil people were forced into survival mode, there was no longer a difference between them and she had heard rumors of many crazier experiments than human cloning itself. In fact, in some human experiments, the mortality rate was one person each month. However, all those were merely rumors and this was the first time she had met a real clone.


    ording to the little girl, there were no dark ces, no medication, injections, or any operations involved, just a stricter military management.


    "Oh right... How old are you?" Lin Feiyan asked as she was curious.


    The little girl touched her head and started to think, "Aunty, I think I¡¯m nine months and twenty days! I was asleep for some time underground so possibly a few days older..."


    "You are not even a year old?" Lin Feiyan was so surprised that she missed a step and almost fell. She looked at the little girl and was definitely sure that she looked like a five or six year old girl. Besides that, when she was talking earlier, her speech was so fluent and clear that even if she were a five or six-year-old child, she sounded like an adult.


    A normal human child would have only started to learn how to speak at the age of one!


    Was she even human?


    Wu Jingru was also shocked and her face showed disbelief.


    "I¡¯m considered one of the faster-growing ones. Most of my younger brother and sisters grew at a slower rate." She said. She seemed to notice the expression on both of their faces and the little girl lowered her head and blushed.


    "Then how about the others? Are they as clever as you are?" Lin Feiyan asked.


    "No, some are stupid. For example, brother A51621 only knows how to y and would not evenplete the homework prepared by the teacher. He didn¡¯t evenplete primary education while I havepleted my secondary education and am currently pursuing my tertiary education." The little girl said proudly.


    "Then... You are really clever!" Lin Feiyan said as she was rendered speechless knowing that she herself was a slow learner during her younger days. Instinctively, she changed the subject and asked, "Since you¡¯ve been alone for such a long time, what have you been eating every day?"


    "I haven¡¯t eaten for months but sometimes when I am thirsty I would eat the ice. The ice was very dirty but I could not hold my thirst so I ended up swallowing a chunk of it. How pitiful!" The little girl said. She started recalling her misfortunes and twitched her mouth, then tears started to drop from her cheeks.


    Both girls started to feel sorry for her after hearing her tale and started to console her. They immediately stopped their journey, put down their backpacks and started preparing some food for her as the little girl had not eaten in months.


    ...


    "Mayor, please have a look at the results of the underground geology analysis." An engineer carefully passed over a stack of documents to Luo Yuan. Luo Yuan¡¯s face turned emotionless as he flipped through theyouts. He tried to suppress his anger and asked with a deep voice, "Is this your report!? How did it be so serious!?"


    The officers behind him and the manager of the water factory turned pale. Their hearts started to beat quickly and they did not dare to let out even a single breath. The problem was truly serious and it was not unexpected for him to be furious.


    "I can¡¯t believe that you only began to conduct the analysis when something had gone wrong! Why on earth do I keep a bunch of useless people like you!?" Luo Yuan paced back and forth with a gloomy face.


    The entire Hope City was relying on the underground water source for its daily activities as well as its source of drinking water. However, based on the geological structure drawings, there was an indication that since two months ago, one of the underground rivers which was located 300 meters deep was almost depleted. The original location of the underground river had formed an enormous cavity.


    Based on the forecast, Hope City would lose its water supply in five days.


    However, that was not the main reason that he was pissed off. It was the fact that none of the officers had conducted any underground river inspections until the lowest level of the underground city had copsed.


    Hope City would not have been in such chaos if there had not been a copse.


    Luo Yuan took a deep breath and calmed himself down as he realized that he have frightened the people around him with his temper.


    He pondered and realized that he was not supposed to put the me on them as he had allocated most of the scientists and technicians to work on the spacecraft earlier, resulting in ack of manpower to inspect on the water bed. Besides that, too little attention was paid to Hope City which had led them to the danger they were facing today.


    "Could you exin further?" Luo Yuan walked towards the copsed site and spoke softly.


    "We have neglected the possibility that theyer of ice could affect the underground water supply. The frozen surfaceyers have interrupted the water cirction, causing the rainfall to be unable to prate into the ground to replenish the underground water." The worker spoke while sweat dripped down from his forehead. Luo Yuan¡¯s emotionless face made it impossible for them to guess his thoughts. All the workers hence remained extremely nervous.


    In fact, the water supply was not the main issue but rather it was the huge bottomless hole that was affecting the entire underground city. That level was initially an empty space which was transformed into an agriculture area after the disaster. As it was the lowest level of the underground city, the foundation¡¯s stability would greatly affect the entire city which may end up putting it on the verge of copse if it became unstable.


    Although the affected area this time was more than a few hundred square meters, the impact to the overall structural stability was minor. However, the urrence was a sign that the hole was formed and the geological structure had changed. Even if the water drawing activity was stopped, no one could guarantee that it would not continue to copse. Perhaps a low magnitude earthquake was sufficient to destroy the entire underground city.


    "How much water is left in the water reservoir factory?" Luo Yuan asked.


    "It¡¯s sufficient for three days of normal consumption." The worker replied hurriedly.


    Luo Yuan let out a sigh of relief and said, "Starting from now, stop all the water drawing activities!"


    "Yes!" An immediate reply was given.


    While listening to the mayor¡¯s order, the workers immediately felt that they had been granted amnesty.


    "Besides that, what is the n to solve the huge cavity that had formed underground?" Luo Yuan asked.


    "Pour in cement or set up many supporting poles!" An engineer suggested.


    Secretary Chen Guanghui reminded him, "Mr. Mayor, we are running out of cement and there is not even one hundred tons left."


    Luo Yuan was aware of this as a lot of construction materials had been used to reinforce the underground city to help ovee the frequent earthquakes, hence, there were not many materials left in the store. In fact, cement was not the only material which was almost depleted. Other resources were facing the same problem as well. If Luo Yuan had solved all this earlier, humanity might have ended up hiding in thefort zone of Hope City and slowly died in it.


    "If we don¡¯t have cement, water might work as well. Water could help a lot in supporting the entire structure."


    The main reason why the copse had urred in the first ce was due to the underground water turning dry. Therefore, replenishing the underground river was a feasible solution except that it was not an easy stunt to pull off in a such a short notice. He looked at his watch and told Chen Guanghui, "Inform the leader of every city to assemble for a meeting at 4PM!"


    "Yes mayor, I¡¯ll do it now!" Chen Guanghui said politely. As it was already three something in the afternoon, he rushed towards the office and called every city¡¯s leader to attend the meeting. During the impact of the nuclear antimatter smart orbital ballistic missile, a strong electromaic wave had damaged most of the telmunication equipment. The only working telephones right now were the old phones which were easier to repair.


    Luo Yuan nodded again and continued with his inspection of the water factory. He only managed to calm his nerves a little after looking at therge pool of water already in the reservoir.


    Though the water supply had be abnormally plenty after the nuclear winter, the ice on the Earth¡¯s surface had increased up to ten meters. If all that ice melted, it will form a vast sea and solve their problems. However, it was not easy to break the ice under such an extreme weather as the ice was harder than the steel. Normal metal equipment was rendered useless and utilizing it would only end up wasting time and energy. Furthermore, the water was not drinkable even if they could break it or melt it as one-third of the water contained impurities and a very high percentage of the water contained a lot of electrolytes. A series ofplicated chemical processes were required before it was safe for consumption. Undoubtedly, all these took time toplete.


    Nevertheless, there was an additional buffer time of three days which should be enough.

 Chapter 472: Awakening

    Chapter 472: Awakening


    Trantor: EndlessFantasy Trantion Editor: EndlessFantasy Trantion


    Of course, even if the situation was worsening, the spaceship had a reserve of food and water which was enough tost the humans for decades. Based on the speed of the rescue spaceship, the transfer could be done in half a day. However, unless it was absolutely critical, Luo Yuan would prefer not to utilize the water supply for the interster voyage.


    While the spaceship had been under themand of the ssians, water was used to support life as well as being the fuel for the nuclear fusion furnace. Therefore, it was crucial to store as much water as possible for interster voyages.


    Even if the water was only for emergency use, it was still unknown whether they could regain control of the ship¡¯s resource mining system in one or two years time to make up for the water source depletion. If they prolonged their stay on the Earth, the risk would rise exponentially.


    The ssians were already an interster race and the humans knew too little of advanced civilizations. It was 60 years ago since they first stepped on Earth and over the past 60 years, technology had gone through such a tremendous transformation that people shuddered just from the memory of it. In the future, it was possible to invent technology that could help others form a space-time bubble for quick travel.


    Perhaps, at this very moment, a stronger spaceship that was faster than the speed of light was traveling with the use of a warp drive after leaving its mothership and was once again on a journey to conquer Earth. There might not be enough time left for humanity if they continued to stay here!


    With everything at stake, not even the slightest mistake is allowed and even Luo Yuan would not dare to risk the lives of all the humans.


    They should leave the Earth without any further dy.


    ...


    All the executives of Hope City had gathered together at four o¡¯clock in the afternoon as nned.


    Aside from Luo Yuan who had just be the mayor and Bi Jianping who was hosting in the spacecraft, there were another three leaders present at today¡¯s senior management meeting. The main reason for the meeting was not only due to the sudden rise in poption that had increased by one-fold aspared to pre-disaster numbers. Firstly, it was to arrange for the settlement of the extra poption and rehousing of arge number of government personnel in the remaining three cities. And secondly, it was to appoint the current district mayors (the mayors of the former three municipalities) - Mayor Ma Lin from the United City, Mayor Zhang Jiwei from Victory City and Mayor Chang Menghao from the Twilight City, to be the head of the secondary cities respectively. In other words, there were not many changes besides the administrative aspect and gathering the people into one city which would allow the four cities to live harmoniously.


    ...


    Luo Yuan once again emphasized the safety issues that were being faced by Hope City during the meeting.


    Everyone including Luo Yuan could finally have some mental relief as the necessities like food and clothing were no longer in shortage. The migration n had been carried out smoothly as well though some of the issues could have been avoided if only people had started paying attention to them earlier when the problem arose.


    Luo Yuan was aware that earthquakes and volcano eruption might ur anytime and that the Earth would never be stable again. A swarm of debris was scattered around the Earth¡¯s surface as the moon was damaged by the nuclear antimatter smart orbital ballistic missile. A small amount of the debris flew into space but manyrger pieces fell to the Earth due to its gravitational force.


    Small meteorites were about a few kilograms in weight whilerge meteorites weighed millions or even billions of tons. The first wave of meteorites was too small and was not even worth mentioning as they would eventually burn out due to the friction with the ozoneyer. Thetter on the other hand, were big enough to trigger a new wave of disasters.


    Although none of the meteorites had caused any impact on Hope City, there were some meteorite fragments scattered around the surrounding perimeter. Luo Yuan often went into space to crush the potentialrge meteorites before they could cause any disasters, however, there was always a limit to what he could do alone and even though he was strong and powerful,pared to the vastness of the sky and outer space, he was just a drop of water in the vast ocean and there was always bound to be a slip through the.


    ...


    Once the meeting was over, all the departments in Hope City had their heads straight and started working quickly and efficiently. Luo Yuan had adjusted to most of his tasks as the mayor for the past three months and was bearing the responsibility and immense pressure from holding this position.


    Before nightfall, the next task had already been ced on Luo Yuan¡¯s desk.


    Luo Yuan quickly skimmed through the contents and retyped it to give his endorsement. The task required many mechanical engineers from the spaceship which would dy its modification and potentially sacrifice one or more important tasks. Besides that, it was not an easy task even though Luo Yuan had hoped that it would possibly help to reduce the unemployment rate.


    People were not worried that they got less but were more concerned about the fairness and equality.


    Hope City did not implement systems of equal sharing regardless of work performance and this could lead to insecurity and many other social problems as the unemployment rate increases. Besides that, the basic living allowance which had been given to the unemployed would also cause distress and jealousy among others. Simrly, a lot of unemployed people could potentially reduce their motivation to find work which could breedziness and that was one of the most important issues to be aware of. It was still way too early for humanity to start rxing and getcent.


    Not long after, a second task was brought to Luo Yuan¡¯s desk.


    The entire project would involve nearly 30,000 to 500,000 staff and also 200 construction machinery trucks (those were the only operable machinery that was easy to repair and maintain). The reason why there was a big amount of manpower involved was due to the limited exploration tools and machinery avable. The leather factory, glove factory and boot factory that had stopped production would need to re-start and even expand their production to amodate for this project. Therefore, this would undoubtedly help to increase the employment rate.


    Luo Yuan did not see anything unusual and signed the agreement.


    The official operation would only be able tomence the very next day despite the efficient team that Luo Yuan had under hismand. The weather at night was much colder than during the day and the ordinary humans could not endure it even if they were wearing their sweaters.


    Luo Yuan looked at the clock and realized that it was already ten o¡¯clock at night. He tidied up his desk and stood up from his seat, calling it a day.


    ...


    Luo Yuan stopped walking abruptly as soon as he entered the living room of his vi.


    Chen Jiayi who had been paralyzed in bed for a long time was unexpectedly sitting in the living room surrounded by plenty of people. She was probably still very weak from staying in bed over a long period of time and looked rather frail and weak when she was lying on the chair.


    "When did you wake up?" Luo Yuan asked as he hastened across the living hall.


    "Ye Qiuyu is the one who discovered that I had woke up when it was almost time to eat!" Chen Jiayi said as she smiled with a brightened face. Chen Jiayi¡¯s situation had left a thorn in everyone¡¯s heart and her awakening gave everyone a pleasant surprise.


    "Jiayi shouted your name once she woke up. Honestly speaking, when did you both start?" Huang Jiahui teased Luo Yuan.


    Hearing the jokes from Huang Jiahui, Chen Jiayi simply turned shy and even her neck turned a little red. Chen Jiayi was free of the parasitic moss and her emotional fluctuations hadpletely returned to normal. She was no longer in the state of trance she was in earlier.


    Luo Yuan¡¯s face looked a bit awkward. To cure Chen Jiayi¡¯s sickness, he had touched her body quite a number of times and he felt shy as he recalled the memories.


    "Don¡¯t simply say things!" Luo Yuan reprimanded with a soft but serious expression.


    Fortunately, before Chen Jiayi became parasitic, her character had always been soft and gentle and she easily blushed. Other than Ye Qiuyu who was suspicious, the others had not suspected anything.


    "How are you feeling now? Can you walk?" Luo Yuan was sitting beside Chen Jiayi, as he asked with concern.


    Chen Jiayi started to blush like a ripe apple as she saw Luo Yuan approaching her and she opened her mouth and said something in an inaudible speech. In the end, Wang Xiaguang helped to lift the mood.


    "Not yet, ording to Doctor Ye, she had been lying for too long and her muscle had shrunk. She needs to carry out some rehabilitation training before she can walk normally again."


    Luo Yuan suddenly looks towards Ye Qiuyu, "Dr. Ye, I understand that it has been tough for you. If there is anything I can do to help speed up her recovery, please do let me know!"


    Ye Qiuyu could no longer hide among the crowd and said hurriedly, "There¡¯s nothing much that needs to be done. Just perform the regr massage and along with some muscle rehabilitation training."


    Besides that, her stomach has shrunk a little and she would still need to take liquid food for a period. She can only resume her normal diet in about one week or so if the situation allows. Add in some high-quality ingredients in her diet as it will greatly speed up her recovery process."


    "High-quality food? That¡¯s no problem at all." Luo Yuan said. The remaining meat powder had already finished but he had an even better thing - level eight energy crystal!" It was clearly more appropriate for Chen Jiayi who was weak.


    He had plenty of energy crystals which had been used to strengthen the human body of the women so that it prevented Luo Yuan from identally hurting them in their daily lives. However, what made him speechless was that nearly half a year had passed since then and there were only a few energy crystals left. Specifically, he only had two in his possession so it was quite valuable!


    The reason why the consumption of the energy crystals was slow was because every single time the energy crystal was consumed, it caused a serious imbnce in strength for everyone. Ordinary humans would not be able to control that energy as quickly as Luo Yuan could and so they required a long period of time to adjust and adapt. Coupled with the disaster and the fact that they had been busy, the consumption rate of the energy crystals had slowed down.


    "I¡¯m going to get the energy crystal!" said Luo Yuan as he got up and walked upstairs.


    As the mutated woman who stood not far away from Luo Yuan heard the news regarding the energy crystal, her eyes brightened up. She stood up and followed Luo Yuan upstairs.

 Chapter 473: Depression

    Chapter 473: Depression


    Trantor: EndlessFantasy Trantion Editor: EndlessFantasy Trantion


    Luo Yuan felt helpless and picked up the pace. As he entered the room, he immediately shut the door before the mutated woman was able to sneak in.


    The mutated woman identally knocked her head on the closing door and hissed angrily. She was very frustrated and unsheathed her w before she proceeded to vengefully sh the door a few times. Though a few deep w marks appeared on the door, Luo Yuan did not care about it. Besides, the door was already full of scratch marks anyway even before the mutated woman had wed at it. Every part of the door was full of abstract arts from "wild cats" and it did not make a difference if there were additional w marks on it.


    The mutated woman probably felt dreadful when she was facingrge organisms. Ever since the improvement of Luo Yuan¡¯s attributes that had caused his body size to increase, there were times where the mutated woman felt unustomed to Luo Yuan. She was not as dependent on Luo Yuan as she was before and had even picked up the habit of sleeping in her own bedroom at night.


    However, those unustomed feelings did notst long and after some time, the mutated woman slowly adapted to Luo Yuan¡¯s new appearance and began to return to her old habits of trying to enter his bedroom at night.


    Though it was difficult to foster independence into the mutated woman, Luo Yuan did not want to spoil her.


    Except for one time where she barged into Luo Yuan¡¯s bedroom and slept for one night, he would intentionally lock the door every night. Regardless of how she scratched or hissed unsatisfyingly at the door, Luo Yuan would ignore her. She would grudgingly give up after several repeated attempts.


    To be honest, how could the door stop her from entering the room? Her energy had been constantly increasing ever since the application of the level eight energy crystals. Her power was no longer the same aspared to when she had first arrived.


    In the evaluation system, she was already categorized as a level seven creature. When there was aparison in power, even a special operation team member (original members of the Firearms Bureau) would have had a difficult time getting even with her.


    In reality, the thing that was really stopping her was not the door, but Luo Yuan¡¯s attitude!


    The mutated woman had been instilled with the idea that she was actually a human after the prolonged exposure of living with other humans. She had slowly escaped from her barbarism characteristics over the period of living with Luo Yuan.


    However, it is important to note that the prolonged usage of energy crystals did not change her in a big way and in fact, there were even some weaknesses that had appeared. For example, her scales were shrinking and its texture was getting softer which caused its defense to weaken. Besides that, the color of her scales had faded and was now a jade white color. In the wilderness, such coloration was somewhat eye-catching and apparently, it did not fulfill the principles of apocalyptic evolution.


    Luo Yuan once guessed that it was because of the stable life she was living and being in a human popted environment that triggered such changes. Initially, there had been a huge difference between her and the humans that subconsciously made her feel uneasy and uncoordinated and therefore she began to actively mimic human beings and evolved ordingly during the evolution process. In a way, it was a form of protective skinyer.


    ...


    Luo Yuan went to the armory and with a height of two meters; he just had to raise his hands slightly to reach the top of the shelf. When he retracted his hands, he was holding a metallic ball the size of a fist.


    One of the levels eight crystals was tightly secured and sealed inside this circr metallic ball just to be sure that no one else could ess it.


    Firstly, this was to iste the energy crystal from the air so that it could be stored in dry environments. Energy crystals were like crystal minerals and could dissolve in water very quickly. If it was left alone in the air, it could get damp from the air and would be dissolved, causing an elerated loss in its energy.


    Secondly, it was to prevent the mutated woman from sniffing its way to the crystal. The scent of level eight crystals was an indescribable temptation as it was a creature¡¯s instinct to evolve. Even Luo Yuan was allured to the energy crystal when he first handled it.


    Of course, he was no longer affected by it as his body was constantly cultivating a huge amount of energy to the extent that the energy crystal in his heart had grown into the size of a ping-pong ball. It was several times bigger than any energy crystal he possessed and even his blood circtory system was affected by it.


    If his heart ever weakened to the point where he needed a recement, he would have to open his own chest and substitute the energy crystal himself.


    Luo Yuan used his fingernail to draw a circle along the metal ball¡¯s circumference. His nail was apparently much harder than metal and a countless number of sparks came off the metallic ball as his nail dragged across its surface.


    He blew off the metal bits and a scar of two to three millimeter appeared on the surface of the metallic ball.


    "It is done!" He thought.


    He held the metallic ball with both of his hands and twisted both of his palms in the opposite direction. Of course, he made sure that he did not exert too much force on the ball when he was opening it as he feared that the hollow ball would be squashed.


    An ear piercing shrill sound filled the armory and the mark had noticeably reddened.


    A few secondster, the metallic ball was opened. There were two intact crystals inside and a transparent thin slice.


    This hollow metallic ball was not thin as it had a thickness of 20 millimeters. However,pared to Luo Yuan¡¯s 500 tons of force, 20 millimeters was no different from two millimeters.


    "The energy of this thin slice was a one-time use only."


    He took out the thin slice and sealed the metallic ball with a gentle press. Continuous kneading was applied while ensuring that his action was gentle and careful. A scorching heat emanated from his palm during the process.


    After a while, he stopped.


    He looked at the ball and nodded with satisfaction. A metallic ball that had split in half was now sealed back together. It was done without even the slightest w (except for some fingerprints) and it was as if it had never been split into two before.


    Luo Yuan went to the washroom and used the tap water to cool down the metallic ball before putting it back on the top shelf.


    He walked out of the room and the mutated woman suddenly pounced on him and tugged his trousers tightly as she became excited.


    "Get off me! Can¡¯t you see that I am not able to walk properly?" Luo Yuan flung his leg and cursed.


    The mutated human held onto the trousers tightly, ignoring Luo Yuan and hissed continuously. She seemed to have caught the scent of the energy crystal and had gotten excited.


    As he saw that the mutated woman did not want to let go, Luo Yuan had no choice but to allow her to grab onto him as he dragged her down with him.


    "Somebody give me five sses of water!"


    "I will go get it!" Wang Xiaguang got up and said.


    Zhao Yali was about to get up, but seeing Wang Xiaguang had beaten her to it, she just sat down. She thought only Chen Jiayi was allowed to take the energy crystal, but seeing now that everyone was going to take it, she muttered to herself "I just adapted with great difficulty. How could I do this again? Last time when I was frying, I identally broke the wok."


    "Yours is only a wok. I broke my bedroom handle and still have not repaired it!" Wang Xiaguang returned with the cups of water andined after listened to Zhao Yali.


    "Howe I heard strange noises during the night?" Huang Jiahui stirred the pot for fun.


    Thedies let out a lovableugh.


    Wang Xiaguang put down the cups of water and blushed. She was not as experienced as everyone else and was not ustomed to adult jokes.


    It was Luo Yuan¡¯s fault; she stared at Luo Yuan and recalled the past moments.


    Luo Yuan had been brief about it during the first time so she thought this kind of thing was just as simple as that. However, after a while, she discovered that Luo Yuan was as tireless as a beast and this had made her miserable.


    She was suspicious that the reason why Luo Yuan would have them take the energy crystal from time to time was actually to have even more fun in this matter.


    Luo Yuan was not aware of Wang Xiaguang¡¯s selfints and pretended to ignore Huang Jiahui¡¯s joke. He shook his head and said, "You all do not really appreciate my intention. This is a level eight mutated beast¡¯s energy crystal. Except for you bunch, nobody else has ever taken it!"


    Ye Qiuyu looked at all this in envy and felt depressed as this was something that allowed a normal being to be superhuman. It was a fate-changing factor and if this thing was to leak out, she believed it would consume everyone in madness.


    As a normal human, she had a huge desire to be strong but she knew that it did not belong to her. She was just the servant, a private doctor and had clearly understood her role even before she got here. She lowered her head and hid her depressed expression, not allowing anyone to see it.


    "Doctor Ye!"


    "Doctor Ye!"


    Ye Qiuyu suddenly realized Luo Yuan was calling her so she quickly regained herposure.


    "Take this water to Chen Jiayi and have her drink it!" Luo Yuan said.


    "Yes, right away Mayor Luo!" Ye Qiuyu said it in a polite manner.


    "I told you already to call me Luo Yuan." Luo Yuan said upon seeing her fearful expression.


    "Yeah, Sister Ye. You do not have to be so reserved as we are all are part of a family here." Wang Shishi tried to calm her.


    "Sorry, sorry!" Ye Qiuyu panicked and apologized.


    "Whatever, whatever. Call me however you like!" Luo Yuan grudgingly said. Even after such a long time, this woman treated him like amb had met a tiger.


    Luo Yuan shook his head and seeing how Ye Qiuyu took the water and walked off quickly as if she was escaping, he did not know what to say. Everyone just kept whispering among themselves.


    Ye Qiuyu still gave him a good impression as she was diligent at home. Not only had she took care of Chen Jiayi but she also actively took care of the chores.


    She was probably just a timid person!


    Luo Yuan recalled her depressed expression and he muttered to himself as he split the remaining crystal for one more person.


    He did not care about the level eight energy crystals even though it looked precious to everyone else. In fact, there were two remaining energy crystals, which was more than enough even if one more person had taken it.


    The mutated human which was nearby tugged even more forcefully and hissed impatiently when she saw that the water had been given to someone else. Luo Yuan¡¯s trousers would have been torn apart if not for the fact that it had been made from a space creature¡¯sposite skin.


    She was getting impatient after waiting for such a long time and it appeared that her resolution had grown rather thin.


    "Brother Luo, don¡¯t tempt her. Give her the crystal first. Otherwise, she will be crazy." Wang Shishi who used to get along well with the mutated woman was worried about her.


    "Such a hot-tempered and greedy person. I don¡¯t even know when you will change. Here, catch it!"


    Luo Yuan stared at her in a displeased manner and threw a slice of crystal to her. A silhouette leaped up and snatched the energy crystal while it was in midair before the mutated woman excitedly threw it into her mouth. She hurried into a corner and slowly digested it.


    Everyone drank the water and soon, a burning sensation spread across their bodies.

 Chapter 474: Working

    Chapter 474: Working


    Trantor: EndlessFantasy Trantion Editor: EndlessFantasy Trantion


    After Ye Qiuyu had fed Chen Jiayi and wiped her mouth, she was called over by Luo Yuan, "Doctor Ye, can you pleasee over?"


    Ye Qiuyu did not know why but quickly trotted over, "Mayor Luo, how can I help you?"


    "This is your share." Luo Yuan picked up the remaining piece of the energy crystal and handed it to her.


    Ye Qiuyu looked at the almostpletely transparent piece of energy crystal and was stunned for a moment. She then breathed heavily and quickly shirked, saying, "This... This is too valuable Mayor Luo."


    "Don¡¯t be so concerned about it. Just take it." Luo Yuan patted her on the shoulder, "Just do your job well."


    This was the first time Luo Yuan had intimate contact with her body. The warmth of his palms went through her thin clothes and prated her skin. Ye Qiuyu shivered and her face turned slightly pale.


    At this point, her mind was messy and she did not know what to do. She was always deep in thought and sometimes amon word would be much considered and analyzed in her mind, "Is this a hint? What should I do? Should I insist to reject or pretend not to understand the hint and just ept it for now?"


    Luo Yuan looked at her pale and flushed face and thought that she was shy to ept it, so he took up her hand and ced the piece of energy crystal on her palm and said, "Take it!"


    Ye Qiuyu looked at it and was stunned as if she had lost her mind. It was only after a while that she regained her consciousness and found that Luo Yuan had walked over to Chen Jiayi.


    She bit her lip, retracted her hand, and looked at that piece of energy crystal. Even though it was physically light, she felt that it was heavy in value.


    ...


    A shrill sounding rm suddenly rang somewhere around midnight.


    Cui Weichuan, who was still fast asleep with his eyes shut, was confused for a while when he suddenly became conscious and waspletely awakened by the sound.


    Today was his first day of work so he could not afford to bete. He quickly woke up and switched off the rm.


    He was originally an entry level public servant in Desert City. Unfortunately, the entire Desert City was buried underground after it was hit by a major earthquake and thus he came to Hope City as a refugee.


    At that time, Hope City had epted arge number of refugees from all the other cities which consisted of some public servants like him so it was impossible to assign jobs to everyone.


    After waiting for a few days, he was assigned as a deputy minister in the logistic department of the first steel nt in Hope City.


    This career was not bad as it was considered a small promotion to some extent. He had spected that there was a certain factor that had contributed to this hiring process because he knew a great man and it was also because of this man that he was able toe to Hope City with his daughter. Perhaps this was the reason why he got the exceptional promotion.


    To the great man, the period of friendship might have been insignificant and he might even just be considered as an acquaintance. However to him, it was probably a turning point in his life.


    However, goods things do notst long and the brutal disaster that had happened a few months ago buried his factory deep underground in just a matter of minutes. He was fortunate to have survived as he was assigned the day shift on that day and so he was not in the factory when the incident took ce.


    The entire Hope City was in chaos and darkness during that period of time. There was crying throughout the night and everyone was mourning in the city. Some of the people were hopeless about the future and released their desperation everywhere. asionally, gunshots could be heard on the streets too.


    Those were his most feared days and he and his daughter had hid in his lodge and did not dare to go out for a few days.


    Fortunately, the chaos did notst for too long and everything started to improve gradually. Order was restored in the city and there was hope in Hope City even though he hadpletely lost his job.


    Unemployment days were quite tough as he could only go to the cafeteria which belonged to the public welfare to line up every day and fill his stomach. Though he was not starved, he did not eat sufficiently too. Usually, he also had to think twice even if he wanted to purchase some small items for home.


    As a new migrated refugee, he did not have much savings and had almost depleted most of it by now. He could still tolerate a poor life but he did not want to let his daughter suffer together with him. His daughter was even being discriminated by the other students at the boarding school.


    He must get a job! Fortunately, studying waspletely free since the apocalypse or he would not even be able to afford the school fees.


    He went into the bathroom to wash his face and brush his teeth. After he cleaned himself up, he walked to the closet and took out all his clothes and wore all of them on,yer byyer. His job required him to work in the cold so had to keep warm.


    He put on all the clothes on his body and suddenly started to sweat. He wanted to take off a few pieces but decided against it after he had given it some thought. It was just a few steps to the first level which was only oneyer away from the outside world. The temperature would have dropped a lot over there.


    Finally, he pulled out a fur coat, leather gloves, and boots, and held them in his hands before he closed the wardrobe.


    This three-piece suit was quite heavy, especially the fur coat that was about 20 pounds or more in weight. The outsideyer was a mutated creature¡¯s skin that was only 3.5 millimeters thick while the inner liner was generally soft red fur. The suit served like a heater after he wore it on his body regardless of how cold it was outside.


    Last time when Cui Weichuan wanted to buy the cold clothing during a limited sale, he had to queue up for an entire day under the temperature of -30 degrees Celsius before he managed to buy the clothes for him and his daughter. Furthermore, the clothes had taken up most of his savings.


    However, he started to regret after they had only wore it for a few days as heatingmps were installed all over Hope City, which caused the temperature to get warmer as if it was spring. The expensive cold clothings then became luxurious essories lying inside his wardrobe and every time when he saw them his heart pained.


    Nheless, everything happened for a reason and this time the job requirement clearly stated that the workers had to bring their own leather jacket. When he thought of it, he felt that it was kind of prescient to know that he would have needed it someday in the future.


    The pay of this work was very high - almost three times more than normal. Besides, he was hired as a team lead to manage more than 100 people as he had experience in management. His sry was two times more than a normal worker¡¯s so his life would be better off after this.


    He closed the door and walked out of the house and soon came to the first level of the underground area.


    This level had copsed during the disaster but it had been repaired after that so he could see the differentyers of cement that had been used.


    He found that he was not the earliest but rather there were hundreds of people earlier than him. Now, most of the space had been transformed into arge open-air food hall and people were eating breakfast during this time.


    When Cui Weichuan smelled the tasty food, his stomach kept rumbling so he immediately went to the counter and ordered a breakfast set too.


    When he chatted with the chef, he received good news that the food here was not limited. These days Cui Weichuan had not been eating sufficiently and it was pretty suffering. He could finally eat as much as he needed now.


    The crowd started to pick up as breakfast time got closer. The cafeteria that was silent at first was slowly getting crowded and his dining table was also gradually filled up with people.


    "Hey, Chief Cui!"


    "Hey brother, you are here too!" Cui Weichuan said quickly as looked up and found his previous department colleagues.


    "What can I do if I don¡¯te here? This is the only ce that provides sufficient food to eat." Lao Hu said with a wry smile. Apparently, he had suffered during this period too.


    "Everyone is the same. This is my first time eating sufficiently too." Cui Weichuan also said with empathy.


    "How many people do you think are here today?" Lao Hu was wondering looking at the crowd in the cafeteria.


    "10,000 to 20,000!"


    "I think there are more than that, at least 30,000 or more. Have you heard that the underground water source is starting to deplete? That¡¯s why we are here to do deep mining into the ice." Lao Hu suddenly secretively said.


    "This is not something you should simply say!" Cui Weichuan quickly said before continuing, "Be careful not to be heard."


    "Don¡¯t worry, we have Mayor Luo here. If he can resolve the alien issue, what is a water depletion issue to him?" Lao Hu replied.


    Currently, Hope City was still under martialw and there was no freedom of speech. Once he was suspected to incite public disorder or spread rumors, he might get punished. "Good that you reminded me. Let us continue eating then."


    "Your daughter is in freshman year, right?" Lao Hu tried to change the topic after some time.


    "Yes, shees back home once a week and she is getting chubbier every time." When he talked about his daughter, Cui Weichuan¡¯s face showed happiness and joy.


    "Of course. The meal supplied in the school is notparable to our public welfare cafeteria. There is an unlimited supply over there." Lao Hu said in envy.


    ...


    The number of people still continued to increase over time.


    When it was six o¡¯clock in the morning, a team of heavily armed police and public officials came into the first level.


    "The first team of workers, please gather over here!"


    "The second team of workers, please gather over here!"


    "The third team..."


    ...


    "The 32nd team..."


    "I have to go now." When Cui Weichuan heard the calling of his team. He quickly stood up and rushed towards the gathering point.


    ...


    "All the team leaders, please stand out! Sort out your team and start to do the counting."


    ...


    The workers in reconstruction areas were not only workers but also reservists and almost everyone had carried out military training. In just a few minutes, the crowded mess of workers had lined up orderly into a few squares.


    When the steel door at the exit opened, all of the workers marched out neatly.


    "Hiss... so cold!" The air that was breathed out from his mouth immediately turned into fine pieces of ice under the cold weather. Cui Weichuan tightened his clothes yet his body started trembling.


    The sky was dark outside as if filled with nk ink. This was the first time he had walked into the outside world since the disaster. Before this, he had expected that the weather would be cold but he never knew that it was going to be to this extent.


    Even though he was wearing a thick fur coat, he could still feel the chills.


    He touched the hard liquor inside his coat which was distributed to all workers before they departed to keep them warm. At first, he thought that he would not have needed to use it but now he kept thinking about drinking it. In the end, he decided not to do so as there was still a long way to go and the amount of liquor given was not enough tost the whole day.


    When the 15th team arrived at the assigned area, they stopped.


    "I know that every one of you is cold so I will keep it short!" The captain took out the horn and shouted, "The working conditions will be quite difficult and many of you may already be regretting. I know a lot of people have heard the rumors and unfortunately, the situation is as true as what the rumors had said. Hope City¡¯s water supply will soon be depleted.


    I think every one of you is aware of the consequences if there is no water supply in Hope City. So, this is not simply just a job but it is also for you and the entire Hope City. It is not possible for you all to quit the job!


    Now, please start the ice mining process. Team leads, please bring your team members toe over and take the tools from here."


    When the captain was talking, two trucks had stopped nearby and the workers on the truck kept throwing the tools down to the ground.


    Cui Weichuan had not expected that the guess made by Lao Hu was actually correct. His heart was heavy as he greeted his team members before he went over to receive the tools. The tools for ice mining were quite simple. Each team received three ropes that were tied to a thick metal stake to break theyer of ice. Besides that, they also received a lot of soldering iron and five simple wooden sleds. However, there was no excavator or any other construction machinery at all.


    Even the trucks had quickly driven off after they had finished throwing the tools. There were only two trucks assigned to a team so every truck was very valuable. They could not stand staying for so long under such a cold temperature. The ice would be transported to the underground first level using ice sleds before they are loaded on the trucks and delivered to the factory.


    The mining work soon began.


    After Cui Weichuan assigned the work, he took the lead and began to hit the ice with a metal stake.


    The metal stake was about 30 cm thick and 800 kg in weight. With five of them, it required at least 160kg of strength from each of them if they lifted it up using the rope. It was impossible for them to lift the metal stake without a support strength.


    Fortunately, during the time when he had followed Luo Yuan to Hope City, he had eaten a lot of high level food and so he had gained a significant amount of strength. Nheless, no matter how strong he was, he was still an ordinary human. The ice mining job was very tiring as it also required continuous shouting from themander.


    It often required more than a dozen hits just to slightly crack the surface and over another hundred hits before it could be broken. After that, they would switch to another ce to continue breaking the iceyers. Only when the ice sled was fully filled, would it be sent to the underground for further processing..


    However, there was an advantage whereby he did not feel cold anymore as his body was covered with sweat that kept him warm. Even though it was already noon, he had not taken a sip of the hard liquor inside his coat.


    Suddenly, there was amotion somewhere far away and one of the workers suddenly stopped.


    "Why did you stop?" Cui Weichuan almost broke his waist and asked unpleasantly. It was such a heavy metal stake and hastily stopping could cause a serious injury to other team members.


    The worker answered in a fervent tone, his face flushed and was full of excitement, "Mayor Luo! Mayor Luo hase to visit us!"

 Chapter 475: Influence

    Chapter 475: Influence


    Trantor: EndlessFantasy Trantion Editor: EndlessFantasy Trantion


    "What!? Mayor Luo is here?" Cui Weichuan repeated in shock.


    "That¡¯s right! Can¡¯t your hear the crowds cheering for him!" his assistant said.


    The leader ran over with a speaker and said,"Ladies and gentlemen! Comrades, Mayor Luo will be here for an inspection soon! Don¡¯t stop working and don¡¯t chat with each other. Show Mayor Luo how serious we at Team 15 are about our jobs."


    The leader of the team Cui Weichuan was in was a strong, tough guy, but he shivered at the thought of Luo Yuan¡¯s arrival. His face flushed when he talked and he was overwhelmed by excitement.


    "Yes sir!" the staff members shouted in unison.


    Everybody responded positively. They were all pumped up and sang their work song at the top of their lungs. They were so fired up that the cold did not bother them at all.


    After such derations and announcements of Mayor Luo Yuan¡¯s arrival over every form of media, an ordinary person would seem like a legend in the eyes of the public. Moreover, Luo Yuan was the man who rescued mankind from annihtion! All across every ss of society, his legend resonated with the people as a symbol of hope. Some people even worshipped him. In such an environment, no matter how intelligent a person was, anyone could be influenced by their admiration for another.


    Furthermore, it was not only among ordinary civilians, the adoration of his person happened at every corner of Hope City.


    By now, even if Luo Yuan lost all his strength, his power would not be shaken. No rebel could do him any harm.


    ...


    "At the moment, our stock of thermal clothing is quite limited, sir. We have a total of 32,000 people working with us!" Tian Jinping, who was responsible for the project, reported to Luo Yuan. Luo Yuan considered the numbers and nodded in approval of his progress.


    Aspared to Luo Yuan who was not affected by the cold at all, Tian Jinping was dressed inyers of clothes which made his small body swell up.


    "Have the factories responsible for thermal-rted gear started work?" Luo Yuan asked.


    "As ofst night before 7 p.m., all the workers have been briefed and production has begun!" Tian Jinping said carefully.


    "That¡¯s great!" Luo Yuan said with a satisfied gleam in his eyes.


    Tian Jinping was relieved. He was not promiscuous, not greedy and not a man who enjoyed life as it was. He was cautious when he worked and did everything with a meticulous mind for details. But, he was a man who loved authority. He did not have any interest in material things. What he enjoyed was the ability to use his authority however he could.


    As Luo Yuan mattered so much to him, obtaining his approval made all his hard work worth it.


    "Mayor, I read about the production status of leather clothingst night and realized that we have produced more than 100,000 of them. Now that most of the people own thermal clothing and can go about their full-time job, they won¡¯t be joining the production teams. I suggest that we take a portion of funds from the Finance Department and repurchase the thermal clothing from the civilians so we won¡¯t have a problem with a shortage of workers," Tian Jinping said, confident with his hypothesis.


    Luo Yuan stopped walking and thought for a moment. He found the idea to be sensible and agreed with him. "That¡¯s a great suggestion. Let¡¯s purchase them at the original price and allow the workers to utilize the thermal clothing for free. Draft a proposal for my approval as soon as you can," he said.


    As the objective of keeping the citizens of Hope City warm and safe waspleted, the thermal clothing that was in demand was now redundant. If the government was to hoard stock of thermal clothing from the people, there might be an uproar. If not for Tian Jinping¡¯s reminder, Luo Yuan would have overlooked the issue.


    As for the financial situation of the government, it was not a worry anymore. No matter if it was Hope City or the old reconstruction area, the cirction of products avable on the market were pathetically low. The use of currency in the form of food vouchers were restricted. Some of the necessities on demand were not for sale even with mary transactions. Besides an upgrade of food varieties, there was nowhere to spend any currency.


    It was a failure in the financial system that only happened during the time of war in the apocalypse. As soon as peace was regained and stressful times relieved, the exploitation of privilege and eleration of corruption would then begin.


    Therefore, the restoration of a normal market cirction was one of the most important steps in his n. But it was not the time for it yet. It had to wait until mankind migrated onto the spacecraft.


    ...


    Looking at the enthusiasm and the admiration in the eyes of the people that gazed at him, Luo Yuan paid little attention to it as he had already gotten used to the attention.


    The temperature was -70-degree celsius. Living conditions were unbearable. For the older generation of people, no matter how much they wore, they would be dead in half a day under such harsh environments.


    Now that mankind¡¯s physique was three times stronger than before, their bodies could better withstand the cold. However, it was only just slightly better as they were still human. There were many who had lost fingers and toes to the frostbite. Luo Yuan noticed that most of their noses were numb and some did not even notice there were icicles hanging off their chins.


    "What time do they start work?" Luo Yuan asked as he noticed it was already 10:30 p.m.


    "6:30 a.m., sir!" Tian Jinping replied.


    "That¡¯s too long. With the environment being this bad, we can¡¯t use the usual measure of work hours for the employees. I suggest they get half an hour breaks every two hours they work. Also, there will be cooked vegetables and hot soup avable 24-hours a day, every day at the canteen for them to keep warm and replenish their strength," Luo Yuan said.


    It was not considered a suggestion for Tian Jinping as he took his job and Luo Yuan¡¯s instructions very seriously.


    He said in embarrassment," Mayor, I apologize. It¡¯s my fault that I overlooked this. Thank you for your observation. Let me re-arrange the work scheduleter when I get back to my office."


    Looking at him with a frown, Luo Yuan was actually speechless. Although it had been a long time since he had be the mayor, the asional ass-kissing now and again was still too much for him.


    If not for his capabilities and cautiousness, Luo Yuan would have doubted the means of his rise to bing the vice-mayor. Perhaps even the good ones had their ws.


    "Let¡¯s take a look over there!" Luo Yuan said to change the subject.


    ...


    "Mayor Luo is looking in our direction!" Cui Weichuan who had been watching Luo Yuan¡¯s movement eximed excitedly. When he saw Luo Yuan was walking towards his direction.


    "Is he reallying?" The worker who was facing the opposite direction asked nervously, his palm sweating under the pressure.


    "Yes, he¡¯s just a few hundred meters away. Let¡¯s give everything we have and chant our song. Hi-ho! Hi-ho!" Cui Weichuan shouted as they broke into song.


    The chants got even louder as the rhythm got faster. With Cui Weichuan leading the chants, he was worried about what Luo Yuan¡¯s would say when they meet each other. A greeting or hand-shaking, what would his own response be, he thought.


    But, in truth, Cui Weichuan wondered if he might have forgotten about him. After all, he was a nobody. It was a long time ago, how would Luo Yuan remember him!


    While he stood over thinking the possible scene toe, Luo Yuan was fast approaching. His heart raced in his chest. He made eye contact with Luo Yuan, and was surprised when he nodded in response. A gush of excitement overwhelmed him.


    He did not expect Mayor Luo to remember him, and now he even nodded to him.


    Although Luo Yuan was just passing by and walked on away from him, he could not hide his excitement.


    "Did you guys see that?" Cui Weichuan said softly. "Mayor Luo nodded at me," he pride in his eyes.


    "I saw that. But I think Mayor Luo was nodding to all of us. You can¡¯t take that away from everybody," said a worker who stood next to him. Everyone had gotten excited too and now some of them were resentful of what Cui Weichuan had said. The nod was sufficient for all them to boast for a lifetime.


    "That¡¯s right, sir. That was an honor for the whole group. It belongs to the team. Why would Mayor Luo nodded to you alone?" he continued. The people around him murmured in agreement.


    Cui Weichuan was stunned, "But Mayor Luo and..."


    Just as he attempted to exin himself, the leader of the operation¡¯s voice burst out through the speakers,"I believe that all of them saw Mayor Luo¡¯s attitude towards us. He was satisfied with our work. It¡¯s an honor for our team. Keep the hard work going..."


    Cui Weichuan¡¯s jaw dropped. He felt his brief moment of pride slip away as his heart sank in his chest.


    ...


    Luo Yuan thought to himself as he walked on. He did not expect to see someone that he knew. His stunning memory allowed him to remember Cui Weichuan who he knew from before. For the old Luo Yuan, he would definitely have stopped to chat with him but now, he represented more than just himself. Each move he made was watched by many so he had to be very careful. The same phenomena did not apply to hum before and he felt rather awkward about it.


    Although nobody could restrict Luo Yuan, he did not show any favor to the people he knew from his past as there would most definitely be people looking and over-analyzing the situation. Luo Yuan tried his best to avoid that.


    ...


    Soon he left after his inspection of the ice mining site. He then arrived at the gicb in Hope City as he heard earlier that day that the nt cloning facilities were ready for production.


    Ever since most of the researchers had migrated onto the spacecraft, the research activities in Hope City had basically stopped. Theb that was responsible for cloning became infested with rodents.


    "Let me see the results," Luo Yuan asked.


    "Yes, Mayor!" the institute¡¯s director said immediately. He was ready for the mayor¡¯s inspection. Soon they arrived at the embryo storage incubation pods.


    The nt embryos were ced in petri dishes as it was just the preliminary stage of mitosis, where the embryos were still insignificant. Luo Yuan picked up one of them and looked closely while the director exined.


    "That is one of the 50 types of nts that we handpicked for cloning. A part of them are the nts that we consume while the rest are the samples that we collected before the disaster urred. Most of them are approximately a millimeter in length. We estimate in two to three days, buddings would take ce and for the vegetables, they would be fully grown in six to 10 days," he said, a monotonous tone to his speech.


    "Isn¡¯t that faster than the growth of vegetables in the agricultural area?" Luo Yuan asked curiously, as he was not too familiar with nt cloning.


    "That is correct, the nt cloning has the characteristic of that particr growth cycle, but with a faster rate of reproduction," he said.


    It seemed like the director wanted to make up for the bad impression he had left earlier. He made sure he was fully prepared for any questions asked during the inspection.


    He proceeded to say,"To make them grow even faster, we have conducted research on a nutrient for the nts to elerate their growth. We have already gotten the base figured out. If everything goes as nned, the speed of growth would be 50% faster."


    "Well done!" Luo Yuan nodded in satisfaction.


    The institute¡¯s director was over the moon with Luo Yuan¡¯spliment,"We will put all efforts we have into that research..."


    Luo Yuan stopped him right there,"I don¡¯t want empty promises! I want to see results. As long as you keep up the good work, I will definitely acknowledge your progress," he said.


    "Yes, Mayor!" the director quipped, taken aback by his response.


    Luo Yuan took out the sample of the Wisdom Heart that he brought from his bedroom this morning and said, "Since the nt cloning is almost done, we can carry on with this research project. This is a unique nt. It could possibly change the fate of mankind. Please clone it, do your research of it and report back to me. Your researchb isn¡¯t the firstb to do research on it. There are many more out there with more advanced equipment that are conducting their own tests. I hope we can be at the forefront of them all."


    The director was stunned. The immense pressure aside, he was very curious. He was an outstanding researcher, but also a very humble person. He still had the urge to know everything in the world and never took things lightly.


    Now that the mayor said this nt could change the fate of mankind, his instinct for curiosity was killing him.


    "May... Mayor, what is this nt exactly?" he stuttered once he had mustered to courage speak.


    With a thoughtful expression on his face, Luo Yuan replied, "It is a sapling of the Wisdom Tree!"

 Chapter 476: Mother

    Chapter 476: Mother


    Trantor: EndlessFantasy Trantion Editor: EndlessFantasy Trantion


    Luo Yuan bumped into Chen Xinjie on his way back to the City Hall. She had stacks of documents in her hands as she walked towards him. The ugly work uniform became very sexy on her attractive body. ncing at her neck, down to her chest, he could almost see the shape of her perky boobs in his mind.


    Looking at Luo Yuan¡¯s eyes, she started feeling ufortable. She wanted to avoid him but it was toote. The only thing she could do was pretend that she did not see him.


    Soon they were passing by each other, Luo Yuan stopped walking. He whispered in a deep voice into Chen Xinjie¡¯s ear, "Drop by my officeter!"


    Chen Xinjie was stunned, she was mad and bit her lips. What does that even mean?


    She was just a clerk in the City Hall, even her superiors did not have the right to enter Luo Yuan¡¯s office. Many people were watching the scene take ce, she as the beauty she was would definitely be the topic of gossip if she ever did enter Luo Yuan¡¯s office.


    ...


    Back at his office, Luo Yuan sat on his chair and read the documents that he had for the day. Soon his secretary was there with a cup of hot tea. The heat did not bother him, he had a gulp straight away and said to Cheng Guanghui, "Chen Xinjie from the Organization Department will drop byter. Just send her in when she¡¯s here."


    The strange request did not surprise Cheng Guanghui, "Yes, Mayor! Is there anything else?" She said.


    "No, you¡¯re dismissed!" He replied.


    "Yes, Mayor. Let me know if you need me," Cheng Guanghui said as left the office and closed the door softly behind her.


    Luo Yuan nced at him and proceeded with the documents. Now that he was the mayor, what people thought of him did not bother him anymore. He had a bad reputation for being promiscuous anyway and everyone in the management department knew it. The women he had at home was a prove to the rumor.


    He would never be a clean leader. Although everybody knew about his behavior, nobody would dare say anything. As long as he was alive, he was still a godlike being to people, and that was what they published. In the eye of politics, this was nothing.


    Luo Yuan waited for more than 10 minutes. He had gone through all the documents that he had for the day and had a couple of tea but Chen Xinjie was not there.


    He forced a smile. His smile had the power to make everyone obey him but that did not seem to work on women. He looked at the time and was ready to head out for lunch. He could sense that Chen Xinjie was near.


    She held her head down while she walked swiftly towards his office. She hesitated at the door for awhile before she decided to step into his office.


    "Mayor Luo, what can I do for you?" She looked away while she talked to him, her face expressionless.


    "What took you so long? I have been waiting for a long time!" Luo Yuan grumbled, genuinely upset with the dy.


    "I¡¯m busy working!" Chen Xinjie said without making eye contact with Luo Yuan.


    "Look at me when you talk to me. Where did your courage to seduce me go?" Luo Yuan scoffed.


    "I was just doing my job!" Chen Xinjie said and bit her lips. Her eyes were red with anger. She could not hold the wall that she put up any longer. An intense shame overwhelmed her. She was tearing up. She was never a flirtatious person but her job had made her do things that she did not want to do, one of them cing her in this awkward predicament.


    Between the benefit of the country and her personal rtionship, her choice was the first one. But what was wrong with that? It was all over, why would he want to bring it up?


    Luo Yuan stood up and said in all seriousness, "Who instructed you to do that? The director of the Firearms Bureau? Some information department that despises evolved humans? Or was it the highmittee?"


    "None of them exist anymore, what¡¯s the point of saying all that," Chen Xinjie said, shocked and panicked with his hostile questioning. She looked at Luo Yuan innocently hoping that he could stop asking her about it.


    Her status at the Firearms Bureau was not a simple affair. Apart from the status that she held, she was secretly one of the members of the Special Information Department and she was quite highly ranked too.


    Although the organization was destroyed in the disaster, there were some of the members who remained in Hope City and were absorbed into the governmental department. If the investigation persisted, there would be much more people involved.


    Worse, the person who was investigating it all would hold the fate of mankind in his or her hands!


    "If those organizations don¡¯t exist anymore, then which organization do you belong to right now?" Luo Yuan asked, as he walked closer to her and whispered into her ear.


    "Be... belong..." she mumbled. Feeling Luo Yuan¡¯s breath, she felt extremely ufortable and slightly aroused against her better judgment. Sheposed herself and cleared her throat, saying "I belong to the Hope City¡¯s Organization Department!"


    "Then who do you report to in the department?" Luo Yuan leaned closer to her, his tone bing more and more menacing.


    "Stand... standingmittee!" she stuttered. As Luo Yuan got closer to her, Chen Xinjie felt something was wrong. She had no idea what he was up to.


    "And who does the standingmittee report to?" Luo Yuan was now behind her. His fingers lightly touched her body, caressing her ample curves.


    Now, even an idiot knew what Luo Yuan was up to. She was furious, she looked away but did not say a thing.


    "It¡¯s okay if you don¡¯t tell me, as long as you know that you are to adhere to my instructions," Luo Yuan said, as he took his hand off her body and patted her shoulder. He continued, and said in a serious tone, "Stay back at night, that¡¯s an order!"


    She was shocked to hear such a shameless request. She stepped on the back of Luo Yuan¡¯s foot but not only he did not feel a thing, she almost twisted her leg. Looking at his handsome face, she suddenly had the urge to scratch his face.


    "Shameless! That will never happen!" She snarled between pursed lips. She stared at Luo Yuan and said while biting her lips.


    She was worried that people would gossip if she stayed any longer. She right herself, adjusted her uniform and left his office immediately.


    ...


    As his desire went away, Luo Yuan forced a smile to his face. He used to be able to control his lust but now that his body was so powerful, he felt like a crack in the dam, nobody could stop him. What Luo Yuan presented was like one of the essays by Lu Xun, the ancient writer. When one saw a shorter sleeve, he would think of the arms, then the thighs and then the naked body. Chen Xinjie¡¯s appearance in the corridor led to this. If not for his conscious state making him aware that they were in the mayor office, unimaginable things would have happened.


    "But should I go at night?" Luo Yuan thought to himself.


    Before he even decided, he sensed something and stood up.


    "Eh!" Luo Yuan looked to his left as if he looked at a distance of a few hundred meters away, right through the walls of his office.


    ...


    "We have been walking for almost two days, and now we¡¯re finally arriving at Hope City. We will be home in a few hours." Lin Feiyan said as they walked on.


    Lin Feiyan looked at the map on the GPS and said to the little girl,"Are you happy?"


    The little girl who was usually giddy seemed to not be in the zone this time. She only responded a few times after Lin Feiyan called out her name.


    "What¡¯s wrong?" Wu Qianru squat down and patted her head.


    Along the journey, Wu Qianru had gotten closer to this poor little girl. Her unusual silence upset her. "Are you worried about what would happen to you in the future? If you don¡¯t mind, you can be my daughter," she said warmly.


    The little girl shook her head.


    "No, shouldn¡¯t she be my daughter? I¡¯m the leader, don¡¯t you dare take her away from me." Looking at Wu Qianru trying to steal the little girl away, Lin Feiyan stepped in and used her rank benefits to obtain her prize.


    Unfortunately, now that the Firearms Bureau was dissolved by Luo Yuan, her power was not a big deal anymore.


    "Why not? I know how old you are, and you¡¯re still young. Too young to be responsible for another person. Can you take good care of her?"


    "I have said this many times before and I will say it again. I have matured now. Don¡¯t bring up my age," Lin Feiyan said, hints of anger broke through her voice.


    ...


    During the argument, the little girl suddenly said,"Aunties, I think I felt my father!"


    Hearing the strange statement the little girl said, the both of them stopped and looked at each other in shock. Wu Qianru asked, "You have a father?"


    From what the little girl said earlier, she had no parents and grew up in ab. They were stunned.


    The little girl looked at them curiously,"If I have no father, how was I born?"


    Feeling foolish, Lin Feiyan was speechless. She did not even graduate from junior high to know the answer to that, let alone exin it to a child.


    She said softly, "I thought all you needed was a mother?"


    "What¡¯s a mother?" the little girl said, doubtfully.


    Listening to their conversation, Wu Qianru ced her hand on the little girl¡¯s forehead.


    The little girl¡¯s maturity often made her think that she was older but in reality, she was not even a year old. The teacher obviously did not teach kids this young about biology, which frustrated her as she did not know anything about how babies were born.


    Though speechless, Wu Qianru taught her how parents usually exined the birds and the bees.


    "A mother is a woman, like me and this leader. When a mother sleeps on the same bed with a father, a baby would be born 10 monthster!"


    "Babies would be born when they sleep together? Is this how I am created? But howe I¡¯ve never seen my mother?" The little girl said innocently.


    "I¡¯ll be your mother then?" Wu Qianru said and hugged her.


    "I am your mother too, so you have two mothers!" Lin Feiyan said immediately. She did not want to lose out on such a good and powerful little girl. She was not even a one year old and she was already so strong. Perhaps she would even exceed Luo Yuan abilities in the future.


    Wu Qianru and Lin Feiyan put their hatred aside and came to an agreement to be the little girl¡¯s mothers.


    "Say, mother!" Wu Qianru said.


    "Mo... Mother!" The little girl said in confusion.


    "I¡¯m your mother too, call me Mother too!" Lin Feiyan, jealousy apparent on her face.


    "Mother!"


    She was bing more fluent.


    "Repeat that again?"


    "Mother! Mother! Mother!" The little girl did not know how to say no, so she said everything ordingly.


    On the other hand, both of them had forgotten about the fact that little girl mentioned her father.

 Chapter 477: Scum

    Chapter 477: Scum


    Trantor: EndlessFantasy Trantion Editor: EndlessFantasy Trantion


    "I think my father ising!" The girl screamed with excitement.


    The joyful atmosphere ended when the little girl said those words. The twodies looked at each other. They had just realized that there was a flow in the air that was previously stagnant. There were some strange, weak and unusual cyclonesing from far away. It seemed like there was a being with a terrifying aura approaching them at full speed. The aura was so horrifying that they were slightly suffocated by the pressure.


    They looked at each other again to acknowledge the danger that they were in as the atmosphere was heavier.


    "Little girl, do you really have a father?" Wu Qianru asked instantly. It was not her fault that she did not ask that question earlier as it was unusual for a parent to have a kid who was so powerful. That person had to be a super evolved human that was even stronger than the both of thembined. But the strange thing was, why would the parent leave his own kid at theb for experimentation?


    Although there were many loopholes in the reconstruction area, such a case involved the safety of a human being. It crossed the line of an evolved person¡¯s code of conduct. If it was exposed, it could cause instability in the reconstruction area. It was so risky that it seemed impossible!


    They suspected the little girl must be a product of some secret super-warrior gics program where no parents were involved in the creation of such lethal force. The ¡®father¡¯ that the little girl talked about is probably only in her imagination.


    But what they did not expect was, her father was really here. Within seconds, the cyclones became mini tornados with a deep, loud buzz that filled the air. It felt like the sky was crumbling. The fearsome sight seemed like God was descending upon earth.


    Lin Feiyan¡¯s scalp went numb. Her palms were sweating and her mind was nk.


    "Do you think that¡¯s an evolved human from Hope City?" Wu Qianru asked nervously.


    Lin Feiyan thought about all the evolved humans that she had met and heard before but none of them could cause such sight before they even appeared.


    "I don¡¯t know, maybe there is some other super-evolved human that we have yet to discover," she said while shaking her head.


    During the purge, many evolved humans were chased out of the reconstruction are or they ran away. Some of them were still alive and some of them might have gotten even stronger.


    "Should... should we hide ourselves?" Wu Qianru said, her voice trembling nervously. Her face was pale as they were not sure if the approaching entity was good or bad. It was even more dangerous just to stay there.


    "Let¡¯s... see!" Lin Feiyan insisted to stay as she thought she did not do anything wrong. Even if it was a level eight mutated beast, it might let them go as they had its daughter with them? She immediately thought up hostage negotiation tactics just to be sure.


    The person that advanced towards them was none other than Luo Yuan. It was normal for Lin Feiyan to think it was someone other than him as he had left the Firearms Bureau since hisst mission where investigate the aliens. He would have usually been in the wilderness on normal days where they hardly met each other anyway. Furthermore, she did not have the right to track him down at the Records Information Department, therefore, she was not aware of his ability to cause such a scene when he flew.


    Lin Feiyan looked at the little girl and realized that she was even more nervous than they were. She looked into the sky, her fists balled tight till her knuckles whitened. There was a buzzing sounding out of her fists while her body started boiling.


    "Have... you seen your father before?" Lin Feiyan asked, now legitimately afraid.


    The little girl looked at her and continued to look at the sky, "I saw him when I was born!" She said.


    The little girl was one of the subjects of Luo Yuan¡¯s cloning project. To avoid the clones from looking like him, Luo Yuan intentionally modified their genes where some of the Y chromosome were removed which caused the gender to change as a result. Her attributes were basically simr to Luo Yuan¡¯s where her Intelligence was already +16 when she was born which cause her to have a clear recollection of memories of the time she was in the cloning pod.


    What the little one said shocked the both of them.


    "Do you think... your father is a reasonable man, possibly with a calm temperament?" Lin Feiyan asked carefully.


    "I don¡¯t know. But he¡¯s respectful and very powerful!" The little girl thought and knew that the both of them were extremely nervous! Just as they talked, the air around them became exceedingly intense. Many cyclones formed out of thin air and the snow on the ground started rising in the air and the buzzing sound became louder and louder.


    A small dot appeared in the sky. It was a blur at first but within seconds, it was magnified muchrger as it approach at the speed of light.


    Secondster, a person descended from the sky andnded on the ground. Thending made a giant hole on the ground.


    They were shocked to see who the person was.


    "You..." Lin Feiyan red at Luo Yuan and did not know what to say. She did not expect he was the one that got all of them in a panicked state.


    She then rolled her eyes at him. She was surprised to find out that he had an uwful daughter. But that was nothing strange as he was known to be promiscuous.


    Looking at the both of them staring at him, Luo Yuan thought they were strange but he did not dwell on it. He looked at the little girl, "So it was the both of you who found her. Where did you guys find her?" He asked.


    "Father!" the little girl blurted out before the both of them said anything.


    Luo Yuan was shocked to hear that and said, "I am not your father!"


    She was just his clone. To some extent, she was barely even his clone as they were very different. Even their gender was not the same. The only thing that they had inmon was the soma that he provided while she was growing and from that soma, it gave them a unique connection.


    "But, you are my father.." The little girl said softly.


    Ever since she was in the cloning pod, she and her siblings could feel the connection. She could even remember him when she first opened her eyes. The memory was brief but clear. It was a consensus that her and her batch of clones had.


    Looking at Luo Yuan¡¯s odd expression, Lin Feiyan was tempted to call him a scum but she did not as she respected him.


    "Let¡¯s talk about thister!" he said. Luo Yuan was slightly annoyed as such aplicated rtionship was hard to exin.


    It was not because he despised kids but the problem was that this hade out of nowhere! He did not even have lunch before he came here and now he found out that he had a daughter. He was not prepared for this. Worse of all, her survival was not an ident. Perhaps there were more clones that were living out there somewhere in the world.


    There were more than 4,100 clones in this batch and the survival rate of those with fusion based bodies was almost 300 individuals per batch. If all of them were to call him father, that would be a headache.


    But no matter what, there was a chance that there were more clones survived that needed to be rescued. Those clones were not merely the expansion of his Strength and Will, as they could be trained to be terrifying warriors just as he was. Even if they did not be warriors, their outstanding intelligence would be a great asset for the advancement of human civilization.


    "Wu Qianru, where did you find her?" He turned around and asked her. Between the two of them, Wu Qianru was more trustworthy.


    "In Endeavor City. She was almost frozen in the snow." No matter how much she despised Luo Yuan¡¯s personal life, Wu Qianru had to answer his question.


    "Endeavor City.. That¡¯s very far away from New Capital!" Luo Yuan mumbled to himself.


    It was not that he had never been to the giant pothole in New Capital City. It was just that he had not sensed anything when he was there. Perhaps the clones were scattered around the region.


    After all, his spiritual sense was limited by distance. He could not sense things that were too far away.


    "Could you show me the map?" Luo Yuan asked.


    Lin Feiyan passed the map to him and he returned it to her after a quick nce. After a moment, he said, "Please go back to Hope City. I¡¯ll go look around for awhile longer. There might be more of them around the ce."


    He then looked at the little girl and said, "You, be a good girl and follow them to Hope City, where they will arrange your amodation."


    He had yet to decide where the little girl would live as it depended on situation. If there were one or two of them, they could live with him but if there were more than ten or even a hundred of them, he would have to arrange something else or his home would be a kindergarten.


    "Yes, father. I¡¯ll be a good girl." The little girl said.


    "It¡¯s alright, Mayor Luo. She will stay with us," Lin Feiyan said.


    "Mother, I want to stay with father!" The little girl said shyly.


    "Mother?" Luo Yuan looked at them with suspicion. What exactly happened here?


    The both of them blushed and looked away from Luo Yuan, "She¡¯s now our step-daughter!" Lin Feiyan said.


    Luo Yuan nodded with no disagreement to their statement and said, "Please take good care of her. I¡¯ll be on my way then. About her amodation, we will talk about it when I get back."


    As he finished talking, Luo Yuan slightly bent his knees, stomped hard on the ground and shot into the air like an arrow. Soon, he disappeared far away into the clouds.


    Lin Feiyan tidied her hair that was messed up by the wind and said softly, "Bastard!"


    "Perhaps there was a misunderstanding," Wu Qianru said. She liked Luo Yuan and believed that there was something behind what just happened that he did not say.


    "Why are you covering for him?" Lin Feiyan shouted as could not contain herself any longer. "Don¡¯t be misled by his handsome, innocent face. Do you know how many women he has kept? You would be shocked! There are at least six of them that I know of, and he has two underage ones at home! You know Chen Xinjie, the previous manager of the Firearms Bureau, they had an affair. When he became the vice-captain, he made her his secretary. He is an ass! We don¡¯t know how many uwful children he has."


    "Is that so?" Wu Qianru said. She could not believe what she just heard. Her imagination of Luo yuan was ruined.


    "That¡¯s not just it. He always looks at me like a pervert and flirts with me. If I did not reject him, he would have gotten what he wanted," Lin Feiyan continued her anger fueled rant.


    To convince Wu Qianru, Lin Feiyan did not mind embarrassing herself. Wu Qianru then looked at Lin Feiyan body that was like a primary school kid. She was confused but did not say a thing. She believed what Lin Feiyan said, but she did not buy what she said at the end and thought. No matter how desperate Mayor Luo was, it was hard to believe that he would want Lin Feiyan.

 Chapter 478: A Nestful

    Chapter 478: A Nestful


    Trantor: EndlessFantasy Trantion Editor: EndlessFantasy Trantion


    It was noon, but the sky was dark, it felt like it waste in the evening. Aspared to the time when the disaster just happened, the visibility of daytime was almost back to normal now and not as dark as before. There was a fine line between day and night, however, it did not cause the temperature to return to normal. It was still -65 to -70 degree Celsius during the day and the temperature would drop 10 more degrees at night.


    Luo Yuan stopped flying as he arrived at his destination. He looked beneath him into the darkness. It was a gigantic hole that covered about 10,000 square kilometers. The antimatter bomb that dropped on New Capital City did not only destroy the city, but the terrifying force destroyed the smaller cities nearby too. Even the mountains around it were either burnt to ashes or crumbled into nds.


    Luo Yuan had been here before. The heat that came out of the Earth¡¯s crust due to the explosion and the iceyer that he had destroyed was now frozen again. The ce seemed to be back to normal and there were no trails of eruption from the underground active volcanos.


    But he was not here for this.


    He descended from the sky, closed his eyes and used his Sense to find out if there were any human beings in the area.


    Unfortunately, there was nothing. If he could sense anything, he would have thest time he was here.


    To be honest, if not for the clone that he found by ident, he would not have believed there were any survivors from such a disastrous attack.


    But now that he thought about it, it was possible. The impact of the antimatter bomb was powerful and terrifying. As soon as it touched any form of matter, there would be massive high-energy particle flows of radiation released from it. The impact was simr to the explosion of a thousand hydrogen bombs at the same time. If he ever encountered such an attack, no matter how strong he was, there was nothing that he could do.


    But it was most probably just an exaggeration if this gigantic hole was, in fact, the center of the explosion. In reality, the area of the explosion was not even one-fifth of what they imagined. The size of the hole was partially caused by the gasification of matter and the high-energy flow of particles that liquefied the ground around it. Naturally, the impact of the shockwave was not to be underestimated.


    But to his body, it was not as destructive as it seemed. Using his body as an example, although he had never experimented his sensitivity to heat, he could now handle almost 3,000 degree Celsius. Such resistance allowed him to even shower inva or boiling water without getting burnt. His defenses were simrly terrifying where he could withstand short-distance explosions of conventional missiles and even an electromaic bomb which speed was less than 30 times of the speed of light. His body¡¯s defense system and attack capability were equally high making him extremely dangerous and almost indestructible. Regr attacks could do nothing to Luo Yuan.


    Although the clones that had his gics would not be as powerful as he was, with the same type of body, they would not be weak either.


    There were almost 300 clones that had fusion bodies and they had been categorized into 28 groups. Most of them had two abilities and there were two groups among them where a small percentage of the clones had three abilities which meant they had an amazing potential for growth. Those that had two and three abilities were outliers. With the kind of body they had, even Luo Yuan could not imagine the kind of chemical reactions going on within them. To be able to survive such an attack, perhaps that was no ident.


    Luo Yuan started to look outside the hole.


    ...


    The weather after the disaster was unusual. Perhaps there was too much dust in the air as well as clouds in the sky that caused the water to condense more frequently. Within a couple of minutes into his search, the visibility dropped and soon, the space before him was as ck as coal. A soft breeze blew in the air at first but soon it became a strong wind and within seconds, there was an ice storm. Filthy hail stones rained down like meteorites. The hail stones ranged from being as big as a football to more than half a meter in diameter. If people were to be hit by it, they could be hurt badly or killed.


    Luo Yuan had to use his prediction ability to avoid the bigger hail stones. Of course, his defense allowed him to remain unharmed even if a metal boulder were to hit him but as he was flying using his Will which meant that he was not as fast as usual. However, due to the low maneuverability and the density of the hailstones, he was hit three times in the span of 10 minutes.


    His fusion body made him impulsive. He lost his temper when a hailstone hit him again. He stared at the sky and allowed the hailstones to rain down upon him.


    Sensing that the storm would not stop anytime soon, he decided to fly into the cloud and attempt at getting rid of the dark clouds.


    Just before he started to fly, he suddenly sensed a weak soul. He put his anger aside, closed his eyes and used his Sense in that direction. It was not an illusion. The soul was weak. If not for the hailstones that forced him to fly at a low altitude, he would have missed it.


    From the where he was, it seemed to be underground and it was not moving.


    He was happy. Without hesitation, he gathered his Will and started flying in a space-time bubble. The space around him morphed into a bubble and soon, his body sank underground.


    He went underground through the iceyer. It was dark in there as no light was shining through. Besides the ck hole, there was nothing else that was darker than this.


    Fortunately, his four-dimensional vision did not rely on light, so even under such conditions, his vision was not affected at all.


    It was just 30 kilometers from the hole in New Capital City. It was all made of a ss-like substance that solidified, molded by theva around it. He dipped a few hundred meters deeper and there he found normal rock formations. He elerated and sank 1,000 meters below the ground. He could feel the feeling intensify, but the clones were much deeper than where he was. He wondered how the clones got so deep underground in the first ce.


    "Could it be lost and couldn¡¯t find its way up?" He thought, but that was ridiculous.


    "That¡¯s possible. From the day they were born, they should now be one-year-olds. What a nuisance to have to find a toddler that made me sink so deep from the ground," Luo Yuan thought.


    He had limited interactions with the little girl so he did not know much about the clones.


    Back in the reconstruction area, he treated the clones like geniuses. They were never ordinary children to him.


    As he was closer to the soul¡¯s location, he felt something strange. There was more than one. There were a few of them.


    Luo Yuan did not only find one, but he had found a nestful of them!

 Chapter 479: To The Rescue

    Chapter 479: To The Rescue


    Trantor: EndlessFantasy Trantion Editor: EndlessFantasy Trantion


    When Luo Yuan was 1,500 meters underground. He could not be sure if the spirits were close by or 30 meters away from him. It was impossible to get the urate coordinates to where Luo Yuan had to estimate them himself. He got out of the Space-Time bubble and suddenly a four-meter wide burrow appeared.


    As it was deep in the ground and near the Earth¡¯s core, the nuclear winter did not affect the environment underground. The temperature here was about 40 degree Celsius which was simr to the temperature before the disaster happened. Perhaps it was the reason the clones had been staying here.


    Luo Yuan sensed their direction and started to dig further underground. The structure here was made of sedimentary rocks and they were as thin as the pages in a book. With Luo Yuan¡¯s strength, he did not have to do much to dig through the rocks. He was confused as there were trails of seashells and aquatic nts along the way. He then realized that he was in the buried Tamakan Desert, where the reconstruction area was before. A hundred million years ago, it was an ocean.


    After digging a few meters deeper, Luo Yuan noticed that the rocks nearby had been hacked by man. He was relieved as that meant the clones were not too far away.


    He dug even faster. About 10 meters into the digging, there was a loud thud and dust was everywhere. Besides the irritating dust, there was a stench that smelled like a dead body. He got worried. He then squeezed himself into the 1.2-meter tall cave.


    To enter the cave, he had to squat down but he had expected that as it was underground. It was air-tight. It was impossible for someone to move the rocks out which meant the normal digging would not work.


    To open up a space like that, the only way was topress the rocks around it and every inch of space required massive amounts of effort and time to manipte.


    The cave was long and curved and it could only fit one person. The surface was only three square meters wide. That did not bother Luo Yuan. What he saw shocked him! There were 13 clones lying on the ground. The children looked like they were two-year-olds, and the eldest one was about five years old.


    There were eight of them who had lost their senses and they were all smaller in size.


    Luo Yuan regretted the experiment he did. Their dead bodies wereplete but their skin was slightly rotten with a horrible stench.


    It was obvious that those that died did not have fusion bodies. Under the circumstances of no air and food, they could not live for long. Perhaps they died within half a day of finding the cave. What made Luo Yuan curious was how the strong and the weak escaped together to this ce, but that question could wait.


    He then looked at the clones that were still alive. They were in no better shape as they were so skinny, they looked like breathing skeletons. Theyid together in a corner and seemed to be asleep. Even their heartbeats could barely be sensed. If not for Luo Yuan¡¯s ability to sense spirits, he would have thought they were all dead.


    It was four months since the disaster happened. Not having food and water for such a long time, they were on the verge of death.


    In reality, food was of least importance. The most important thing was theck of water. Without water, cold fusion could not ur. There was no water in the cave and as the wall of the cave was overlypressed, there was a highly absorbentyer that surrounded it which made the air extra dry.


    Luo Yuan used his Will to look at the conditions of their bodies. They were in a very bad state. Their cells had all dried up as water was drained from the cells which made mitochondrial fusion impossible. Their blood had almost solidified and countless red blood cells were clumped up and most of them were dead. The water and nutrients in their bodies were even lower than that in their cells. Their bodies were eating themselves. If the condition persisted and their organs consumed, death would be instant.


    "Fortunately, we still have time!" Luo Yuan thought. He was both worried and grateful. Without hesitation, he used his space-time bubble and brought all the survivors up to the surface. The dead bodies remained in the cave where nobody would ever find them. There was no grave better than being 1,500 meters underground.


    The ice storm was still going on out there. Luo Yuan knew that they could not stay in the cold as their bodies were weak. He did not stay any longer and went straight to Hope City.


    ...


    Back at Luo Yuan¡¯s vi, a group of people surrounded the mummified-looking children. They were both curious and horrified.


    "Mayor Luo, these children have been starved for a long time. Their consciousness has shut down and many of their organs have stopped functioning. The only way is to inject nutrients into their cells and slowly nurse them back to a health. But, their chances of survival are... slim." Ye Qiuyu put down her stethoscope and said with her pale face.


    The children¡¯s condition was beyond her understanding. They were not breathing, their hearts were not beating, they were cold and stiff. If Luo Yuan did not insist that they were still alive, she would have scolded him for wasting her time.


    "Don¡¯t worry about all those things, hydrate them with water first." Luo Yuan frowned and said.


    Ye Qiuyu was stunned. She attempted to say no. As a professional doctor, she was sure that they would not be able to swallow. If they were to give them water, the water would go straight into their trachea and drown their lungs. But as Luo Yuan was adamant, she went ahead to get them water.


    It was not her ce to say anything, she could only obey whatever he said.


    "Luo Yuan, where did you find all these children?" Huang Jiahui could not help but ask.


    "Not far away from New Capital City!" Luo Yuan shouted.


    "Are there still survivors out there?" Zhao Yali said curiously as he joined the conversation.


    "I am not sure, perhaps there are!" Luo Yuan shook his head and said.


    The only survivors would be the powerful evolved humans who had the knowledge to live in the wilderness. But they were either living under the icyyer and hardly out on the surface or they were far away from reconstruction area. It was not easy to find them. Even if it was easy, Luo Yuan did not want to look for them. Under such cruel circumstances, people would lose their humanity and would be no different than animals. It might bring harm to them if he was to bring them back to Hope City.


    "These children are unique. They are my clones. We have some sort of connection or else I couldn¡¯t have found them," he admitted.


    Luo Yuan told them the truth as he had nothing to hide and it could not be a secret for long. If he did not exin now, he might have a bigger problem when they woke up and started calling him ¡®father¡¯.


    They looked at each other in shock and disbelief as Luo Yuan had never mentioned it before. Ye Qiuyu who had just fetched water for the children almost dropped the cups when she heard what Luo Yuan said.


    Human cloning was beyond being epted by ordinary people. Unless one had reached a certain level, they would not even know it existed.


    "It¡¯s nothing new, the technique of cloning has been around for a long time. Looking at the birth rate right now, without clones, mankind would have perished much sooner thanter. That¡¯s the reason why I spent so much time in theb earlier." Luo Yuan exined further as the people looked at him incredulously.


    Then, Ye Qiuyu used specific medical techniques to open up one of the clones¡¯ mouth. She was not soft and weak as she had experienced working in war torn regions before. Under such condition, it was ridiculous to be soft as she had to treat up to 100 people during the war. Also, she had consumed an energy crystal nucleus yesterday, it gave her the strength of a man.


    However, no matter how hard she tried, she could not open the kid¡¯s mouth.


    Ye Qiuyu was embarrassed. She turned to tell Luo Yuan,"Mayor... Mayor Luo, I can¡¯t open their mouths!"


    Looking at her being so disappointed, Luo Yuan smiled and walked over to her,"Let me do it!"


    He took over the tools and walked to one of the clones. Without using much strength, he managed to open the clone¡¯s mouth and he turned to Ye Qiuyu,"Pass me the water?"


    Ye Qiuyu passed him the water immediately. Before Luo Yuan fed the clone, she mustered her courage and asked,"Mayor... Mayor Luo, as a doctor, I need to remind you that people in aatose state wouldn¡¯t be able to eat and all the fluids would go straight into their trachea."


    Luo Yuan paused and looked at her,"Thanks for reminding me. But to them, that shouldn¡¯t be a problem."


    That was true. These clones did not have to breathe. As soon as water entered their bodies, it would be absorbed immediately by the cells. Even their skin was absorbing the water in the air. Luo Yuan had noticed this earlier.


    Aspared to when they were underground, their skin color had already improved since they entered Hope City. It was not as dull and wrinkled as before.


    Luo Yuan fed the water from the cup into one the clone¡¯s mouth. It seemed simple but was done roughly. Everyone who looked on was worried.


    "Bring me more water!" Luo Yuan turned around and said.


    Huang Jiahui and the rest went to fetch water immediately. Luo Yuan then gave each of the clones 500 millimeters of water. Looking at their bloated stomachs that could not take any more water, he stopped.


    Just when he put down the cup, a stunning transformation happened to the first clone that had consumed the water.


    First, its pale, gray body faded and its body temperature rose. From a temperature that was near negative, it returned to regr body temperature.


    It was just the beginning.


    Their skin became rosy and warm, there was heating out of them. The mutated human touched them out of curiosity but she retracted her hand and hid behind Luo Yuan.


    "Are they okay?" Zhao Yali asked, concerned as to what was happening.


    Luo Yuan touched their bodies, it was around 80-degrees Celsius. It was a deadly temperature for ordinary people but to people with fusion bodies, it was normal.


    As soon as they began intense exercises, the heat their body gave off could start a fire.


    "Don¡¯t worry, they are fine. They have been dehydrated for too long and their mitochondria have lost its bnce. They will be back to normal after some time."


    Soon, the second, third... and the fifth clone went through the same intense transformation.


    Within five minutes, the first clone that went through the transformation was now glowing and rosy. His heart started beating and soon, he breathed normally. It was almost nothing to him as he did not really require those to live. A few minutester, the clone¡¯s eyes twitched. Next, a pair of bright eyes opened.


    He sat up and the first person he looked at was Luo Yuan.


    "You are... our father!"

 Chapter 480: Reasons

    Chapter 480: Reasons


    Trantor: EndlessFantasy Trantion Editor: EndlessFantasy Trantion


    His voice was rough. It sounded as if sand was passing through a ss. One would feel slightly ufortable when the sound was heard. Apparently, his voice had not fully recovered yet.


    He heard people calling him father once again. This time, Luo Yuan was not against it and nodded his head calmly, "What¡¯s your name?"


    "My name is B1E32!" the clone replied.


    "Who gave this name to you?" Luo Yuan slightly frowned and asked, as the name sounded odd. Despite the name being simply a term used for identification, an intelligent person or even the human clones should be respected with it.


    As the person in charge of the project, Luo Yuan could briefly guess how the code wasbined. B1 was the ability code of the Body Fusion. Luo Yuan vaguely remembered that F3 represented a me-like ability. He had no idea about the numbers at the end though but he assumed that they were the sequential numbers of the clones from the same group.


    "You should change your name! My surname is Luo. Since you addressed me as your father, you should follow my surname and with your ability to ignite, your new name will be Luo Lie." Luo Yuan said.


    "Thanks, father. Luo... Luo Lie. My name is Luo Lie." He looked happy and he repeated his name a few more times.


    Luo Yuan was warmed by his happiness and smiled, "You should be hungry!"


    As the kids were afraid of him, Luo Yuan did not give them a chance to answer. He then said to them, "Jiahui, please prepare some dishes for them."


    These were Luo Yuan¡¯s clones. Perhaps it could not be determined by conventional methods. Huang Jiahui, being unsure of their habits had to ask before she left, "How much food should I prepare?"


    "The more, the better!" Luo Yuan said while looking at the skinny clones.


    Even though they had fusion bodies, water could not solve everything. Many of the essential human elements could not be synthesized through cold fusion and required to be absorbed through the consumption of food.


    Four of the clones were now awake. After asking for their names, he noticed that one of them had only one skill, which was a fusion ability. The other three clones had two different abilities and one of them was Luo Yuan¡¯s clone with the qualities he desired.


    It possessed the Body Fusion ability and teleportation.


    The rest of them were from the same group of clones. They had theser and the Body Fusion ability. The only difference was their gender.


    Among five of the clones, there were four males and one female. Besides Luo Lie, their names were created based on their abilities, which were Luo Kong, Luo Fan, Luo Guang. The only female was named Luo Yan.


    They did not act like kids as they were afraid of Luo Yuan. They treated Luo Yuan in a friendly way, with the utmost respect.


    Luo Yuan frowned as he understood the emotions they were going through. Such emotions had existed since they were embryos. Perhaps because of the clones, his Will being homologous and also due to intimacy, the clones could feel the control their parents had over them.


    Like a newborn vampire, the respect they had for the older generations was like the respect the kids had for their parents now.


    It was not beneficial to Luo Yuan to have his kids being too respectful or even fearful of him. Eventually, that would cause them to feel distant.


    They were not normal human beings. Each of them were super-evolved beings that were more powerful than the super-evolved humans. Luo Yuan would be in trouble if people with ulterior motives bewitched them.


    Fortunately, they were still kids and it would be easier to build their characters from an early age. The environment they lived in after birth would be the most influential to their innate personality traits. At this moment, he decided to let the little girl stay together with them.


    In order to reduce their nervousness, Luo Yuan¡¯s asked gently about their life in theb and how did they avoid the disaster.


    They answered only when a question was asked and kept quiet for the remainder of the time.


    Luo Yuan roughly knew what was happening during that time and why there were dead bodies without the Body Fusion ability in the cave.


    Luo Yuan¡¯s clones were more sensitive to danger than normal human beings.


    Before the apocalypse, many of the clones could sense they were in great danger.


    Some of them cried helplessly and became extremely annoyed. There were even clones that tried to escape from theb, and everything was a mess.


    There were around 4000 clones from this batch. Of course, not every one of them stayed in the hostel. If they were lucky, they would get to stay with the normal clones with certain freedoms and liberties.


    The clones would not be as strong as their parents and were way smaller than those with the Body Fusion ability. They seemed to be unattractive whenpared to the stronger clones in the hostel. They did not have any abilities to survive destructive attacks as well.


    When the antimatter bomb was dropped, four of the clones together with their partners began to flee.


    However, nobody had expected that the disaster would be so terrifying. Due to the earthquakes, vaporization of substances, the power of destruction, and death threats, they had to burrow their way underground to escape.


    Until the moment they were out of breath, they stopped digging. Most of the normal clones had died and only five of the clones with Body Fusion survived.


    Luo Yuan sighed with emotion as he listened to how they made it through the horrific disaster!


    In fact, with their strength, five of the clones were able to escape the disaster. Even the underground dig they had to endure to a depth of 1500 meters could not stop them. They would have possibly emerged from the ground within 10 days.


    Perhaps it was due to the good rtionship they had with each other. None of them wanted to escape alone. It was possible that they were threatened by the antimatter substances and were afraid of escaping above ground. What they did was to expand their shelter and did not take any further action.


    They would have died if Luo Yuan did not notice them in time.


    ......


    Luo Yuan stayed at home for half an hour and the women took good care of the clones. Then, he departed once more.


    After all, he had just started looking for the clones and he might be able to find more clones this time around.


    Again, he returned to the site where he had found them. He was relieved that the hail had stopped falling. The ice that had umted on the ground was thick and were stuck firmly on the lower iceyers forming a mysterious phenomenon.


    He continued searching around the huge caves surrounding the area, but it seemed that he was out of luck. Even until the day was turning to night, he could not find a single one. He patiently looked for another hour but still, there were no traces of the clones. He had no choice but to return the next day and resume his search.


    ......


    Luo Yuan did not go home but headed toward the Municipal Government.


    Today was theunching of the ice block mining project. A super project like this wasplicated as many departments were involved. The expansion of the project had caused the rush of numerous other projects topletion to ensure time did not go to waste. He was sure that there would be many documents awaiting his approval since he had not been in the office that day.


    The office was pretty busy.


    "Mayor!"


    "Hi, Mayor!"


    ......


    Luo Yuan nodded his head in response to their greetings and strode into his office. Indeed, the documents were all stacked up on his table.


    He sipped the tea brewed by his secretary and started to work on the documents.


    He had a keen brain which enabled him to handle those files very quickly. In just 10 minutes, he settled half the documents.


    Suddenly, Luo Yuan took out a document and nced at it. He was shocked as it was about the expansion of university enrollments.


    The poption size of the Hope City had exceeded 5,000,000 people. Most of them wereing from other cities and many of them were students. They were interrupted midway through their studies as the migration happened. The document proposed to recruit these students and assign them to the universities in the Hope City so that they could continue their education.


    As a top tier city of great importance, many opportunities for higher education were avable. There were institutes like the Hope University, Reconstruction Area Polytechnic, Hope University of Electronics, Hope University of Computer Science, Hope Medical College and many other vocational and technical colleges.


    90,000 of them were university students and they were very talented individuals.


    Unfortunately, the Reconstruction Area had only existed for two years. Many of the facilities for higher education were not avable and had been dyed for a year. Therefore, many of the students who had yet toplete their studies had given up and started working.


    This resulted in most of the students having low levels of education. There were very few graduates, postgraduate students as well as doctorate graduate students.


    There were apparent talent gaps in society. Be it the Reconstruction Area or Hope City, the strength of scientific research was basically overdrawn and repetition from technology before the apocalypse.


    However, the talent gaps will be filled eventually.


    Luo Yuan sighed slightly. He then took out a pen and approved the document.


    He sipped the tea and returned to his senses. He then took another document and continued to work on it. In just a short while, he hadpleted his task for the day.


    Luo Yuan¡¯s asked his secretary to send back the documents to the rted departments.


    "Mayor... Mayor Tian wanted to report his work to you. Should I inform him toe and see you now?" The secretary asked politely.


    "Yes, he maye now."

 Chapter 481: Exposed

    Chapter 481: Exposed


    Trantor: EndlessFantasy Trantion Editor: EndlessFantasy Trantion


    After half an hour, Tian Jinping walked out of his office and closed the door gently.


    One after another, the officers came to report to him.


    He then stayed at the office untilte that night.


    After telling his secretary to leave, Luo Yuan tidied up his desk and clothes. Then, he left the office. When he was on his way back, he looked at the time and realized that it was already 10 o¡¯clock at night. He was wondering if Chen Xinjie was already asleep.


    However, since they had promised each other to go on a date, he should not have left like this even though the date was, in a way, forced upon her by him.


    Luo Yuan smiled as he thought and walked quickly toward Chen Xinjie¡¯s house. In just a short while, she came out of her house.


    He could sense that someone was walking near to the door. The very next second, the door was opened and Chen Xinjie appeared in front of him. Her pajamas were dust-gray in color and its material was rough. However, her beauty was not covered and it made her smooth, fair skin stand out. Her boobs appeared fuller, making Luo Yuan have to consciously stop the impulse he had to "explore" her right there.


    He did not want to seem ungracious to her, so he had to suppress his desire. He then shifted his gaze and made a move to go into her house.


    However, Chen Xinjie blocked the door. She looked cold and kept quiet.


    Luo Yuan then said, "Once a lover, always a lover. Even if I¡¯m not weed, you shouldn¡¯t have been so harsh to me."


    Chen Xinjie got disgusted by him and her face flushed red. Soon, she had the cold, stony expression on her face again. She lowered her voice and said, "Today is not an ideal time for intimacy. My friend is here. Go home now!"


    Luo Yuan looked shocked listening to such nonsense. He immediately tried sensing the situation from her bodynguage and he found her statement to be false. He felt a little disappointed that she had insulted his intelligence.


    She might be able to trick normal people with lies like this but not Luo Yuan. Nothing could be hidden from his abilities.


    Luo Yuan did not expose her lies but he asked, "Shouldn¡¯t you invite me in for a drink? I came all this way just to meet you."


    After getting along with her for so long before, he had quite a good understanding of Chen Xinjie¡¯s personality.


    She was a person of principles.


    As the intelligent person she was, she had a strong sense of justice and a self-sacrificing spirit. She had never rejected the duties assigned to her even if the tasks were extremely humiliating.


    However, this was just part of her personality but not entirely how she behaved.


    She looked like an arrogant dignified woman which meant she would never lower herself to a man.


    To her, a mission was a mission. Love was something else entirely.


    When love existed in a mission, she felt like she was being sshed with a bucket of ice water and it was so humiliating. Soon, she regained her consciousness and was desperate to distance herself from him.


    He wondered if she had no feelings for him at all. But that was not true. Be it the little things they do together or the struggles she was experiencing now, it was proof that she could not let go of him!


    If Luo Yuan respected her decision. The way things were going, they would end up bing strangers.


    This was not the ending Luo Yuan wanted. He bore no grudge against her after the destruction of the Reconstruction Area. He did not want to lose the woman he loved.


    But, he did not want to be cuckolded either!


    ......


    Luo Yuan pushed against the door. Chen Xinjie could not resist the force at all and the door flew open. Chen Xinjie retreated a few steps and she felt embarrassed. She ground her teeth and said softly, "I said it¡¯s not the right time for us today. How could you do this to me?"


    Luo Yuan closed the door. He felt amused as he looked at her feeling pissed and said, "Why are you saying that so softly? Afraid of the noise? It must be soundproofed here. It¡¯s not a big deal if I heard it though."


    He looked around as it was actually his first time in her house.


    The living room of her house was not big or well furnished. However, it was artistically decorated. There were many DIY decorations hanging on the corner of the wall.


    There were leathers and ores attached to the fabric paintings, bonsai trees decorated with dried tree branches and jade cobblestones were all around, and abstract murals were on the walls.


    It was a room full of art.


    "You did all these by yourself?" Luo Yuan asked.


    "I do it asionally when I¡¯m free. Minister Luo, have you seen enough? If you have, then you may leave now!"


    Luo Yuan was curious as Chen Xinjie looked nervous. However, Luo Yuan did not think any further of it as he thought that she was intentionally trying to make him feel sympathy for her.


    "I did not know that you¡¯re so good at this. I don¡¯t know you as well as I thought. But it¡¯s not toote," he said.


    He had suppressed himself for so long and finally unmasked himself as a gentleman. He moved closer to Chen Xinjie.


    Chen Xinjie seemed a little flustered and retreated. "What are you trying to do to me? I told you that my friend is here today!"


    "What do you think?" Luo Yuan asked in a low voice.


    Soon, he forced Chen Xinjie against the wall and wrapped his arms around her waist.


    Chen Xinjie was nervous and she begged Luo Yuan, "Luo Yuan, please don¡¯t do it to me. Please don¡¯t! Don¡¯t do it here. Tomorrow,e again tomorrow. It¡¯s really not the right time to do it today!"


    Luo Yuan wanted to kiss her as he looked at her moist lips. Out of a sudden, he heard a tiny squeaking from the room next door. At the same time, he could feel that someone was walking toward him from the bedroom.


    He was shocked. He instantly felt as if he was sshed with cold water from head to toe. His desire had immediately subsided. He looked at Chen Xinjie and asked unbelievably, "You said that your friend came, did you really mean that your friend is here?"


    "I¡¯ve told you from the beginning but you didn¡¯t listen to me. Don¡¯t talk so loud or you¡¯ll wake her up." Chen Xinjie answered. She was angry and pinched Luo Yuan hard. Of course, with her strength, she could not even scrape off ayer of skin.


    "I¡¯m afraid that it¡¯s toote..." Luo Yuan forced a smile. Before he even finished his sentence, the door of the bedroom was opened.


    "Xinxin, haven¡¯t you slept yet?" A young woman walked out in her pajamas. Her eyes were half opened as she just woke up from her slumber. Suddenly, she saw Luo Yuan. They exchanged nces and her eyes popped open in shock. She rubbed her face. Her body trembled as she recognized Luo Yuan and she was stunned and struck mute.


    "Ma...Mayor... Why are you here?" She stuttered as her mind went nk.


    After a long while, she slowly recovered from her thoughts. She cried and her whole body shivered.


    "I... I didn¡¯t do it on purpose... I didn¡¯t see anything!"


    She mmed the door and realized that she had locked herself out. Her face turned pale and extended her hands that were still trembling. She then opened the door and headed back into the bedroom.


    She walked for just a few steps and she walked back to close the door of the bedroom as if the door could directly iste her from the world outside. She was slightly relieved. She groaned as she tried to suppress her heart that was pounding.


    "I¡¯ve never expected to see Mayor Luo here. Xinxin and Mayor Luo... Damn!" She sighed andy in bed.


    Chen Xinjie¡¯s body was also stiff and she walked to her bedroom. She regained her consciousness after she closed the door.


    "It¡¯s your fault! I told you that my friend is here. How am I going to work tomorrow? What will people say?" She said, embarrassed. She had no idea how to face this.


    Luo Yuan knew that she was Chen Xinjie¡¯s colleague. However, he did not feel bad at all. He then said, "How could you me it on me? You knew that I¡¯lle tonight but still, you asked your friend toe over. You should have expected this to happen."


    "I didn¡¯t know that you could be so shameless and insist oning in." Chen Xinjie said. She had never expected this to happen. She asked one of her colleagues over so that Luo Yuan would leave when he came.


    After a short while, she asked, "What should I do now?"


    "Should I just kill her?" Luo Yuan said coldly.


    "Don¡¯t make such a joke!" Chen Xinjie stared at him. Just as how well Luo Yuan could understand her, she could understand Luo Yuan as well and knew that he was not a cold-blooded person.


    "You don¡¯t have to worry. I believe that your friend will not spread rumors about you and your job will not be affected." Luo Yuan became serious as he saw Chen Xinjie get so mad.


    As a government staff, she knew the do¡¯s and don¡¯ts.


    "But..." Chen Xinjie hesitated.


    "There¡¯s no but. You¡¯re not married. This is just something normal." Luo Yuan said as he tried tofort her.


    If Luo Yuan was an ordinary person, she would not be so worried about it. However, Luo Yuan¡¯s identity was so well known. Saying that he was the big boss of Hope City was beyond dispute. It was not convincing to say they were having a normal rtionship.


    Just like a beautiful young woman marrying a middle-aged rich man, it gave off a negative first impression that they might have married for money, not love and affection. A woman who got along with Luo Yuan would certainly give people a bad impression.


    As an arrogant and confident woman, there was a huge gap between their status and identity. This was one of the reasons that caused her to hesitate.


    Chen Xinjie felt helpless and said, "This is too annoying. Please leave my house now."


    Luo Yuan clearly knew that nothing would happen tonight as she needed some privacy. He bid her goodnight and left Chen Xinjie¡¯s house.

 Chapter 482: Interests and Hobbies

    Chapter 482: Interests and Hobbies


    Trantor: EndlessFantasy Trantion Editor: EndlessFantasy Trantion


    The next day before dawn, Luo Yuan was wide awake. It was not even three o¡¯clock in the morning yet. He went to the wilderness and tried to search for the clones again.


    Unfortunately, he again discovered nothing. Perhaps the clones that he found yesterday were the only survivors.


    After returning to the Hope City, the first thing that Luo Yuan did was adopt the female clone who was with Lin Feiyan and Wu Qianru. Regardless of how reluctant they were to let her go, it was useless as they were threatened by Luo Yuan¡¯s power and status.


    He asked for the clone¡¯s identity and he was shocked to know that she was a rare and special clone with three abilities.


    Besides having the Body Fusion ability, she had the matter disassociation ability and a sma defense system. She survived the disaster with these two abilities.


    In order to examine their abilities, Luo Yuan took a half a day off his duties in the office and brought the clones to the wilderness.


    The kids stood together, fidgeting nervously. The female clone whose name was Luo Yu was obviously taller than the five of them. There was not much difference between each clone and a normal kid would have only been slightly thinner inparison to them.


    This was normal since Luo Yu could get some food for herself these few months. She could survive even by only drinking water. Unlike the other five clones, they struggled to survive without a supply of water.


    Thanks to the strong recovery ability that came with their fusion bodies, they were able to recover from the extreme dehydration without any side effects.


    By taking a good rest and having a sufficient supply of food, five of them look much healthier in just a day. Although they were still as thin as the refugees, they looked more like living people now instead of a group of mummified bodies.


    Perhaps after 10 days, they would be fully recovered.


    ......


    Luo Yuan wanted to test their speeds. After announcing the start of the race, he saw the clones hesitate and felt worried. He encouraged them several times and only then did they dare to begin running.


    Their performance was terrible. Other than Luo Yu who was slightly better than the rest, they did not know how to run at all. Three of them fell down at the beginning of the race. They were like children that were just learning how to run for the first time.


    Looking at their terrible athletic performance, Luo Yuan frowned a little and a sudden thought popped into his mind.


    Theoretically, they were indeed children that were not even a year old. However, they were not ordinary human beings. They were born with astonishing powers and bncing abilities. When they were in their cribs, they could break the bed rails. They learned to walk only a few days after they were born.


    He believed that they would know how to run very soon.


    Looking at the way the clones were running and how hesitant they were just now, Luo Yuan guessed that theb was restricting their movements. He then found out that this was indeed the fact.


    Theb was restricting their movements and activities to train their sense of discipline.


    For instance, they had to walk properly, were strictly prohibited from fighting, crying, running, and forbidden from using their power. At the same time, many punishments were implemented to enforce the rules.


    The punishments were either criticism or confinement. Despite there being no physical punishments, this was more than enough to terrify the children. In addition, these kids were raised in theb and they actually resembled a piece of white paper, untouched by civilization as a whole. Regardless of how strong they were, being brought up in such an environment, they were trained to be obedient, with tame personalities.


    It was understandable why their activities were being restricted. They had limited space as theb was small. If they were allowed to run recklessly, even if theb were made of gold, it would be in ruins if they were unleashed. Furthermore, most of the people in theb were researchers and normal human beings. If they happened to run into the clones, they would be severely injured or suffer a broken bone or two.


    The race seemed to be a breakthrough for the clones. Although they were frightened at first, they got used to it very quickly. Their movements were haphazard and they fell down asionally but they were still happy though.


    Their ability to learn was as impressive as their bncing skills. It was apparent that they were improving very rapidly.


    The children that were learning to run a few minutes ago were now running a lot better. Their speeds increased gradually. The moment Luo Yuan shouted for them to stop, Luo Yu¡¯s speed had exceeded 80 meters per second and she was the fastest of them all.


    But, he believed that this was not her maximum speed yet. Under heavy resistance, more advanced andplicated skills were needed when running. They were unable to adapt to it in a short period of time. At the same time, their bodies were lighter. When they encountered buoyant forces, it should result in an increase of speed when they ran. Although, the same force could hinder them from reaching faster speeds if not recognized and utilized properly.


    The speed test was then followed by a strength test. This was much easier than running.


    Without a doubt, Luo Yu was the strongest among them again. She could generate around 11 tons of force!


    While the rest of them had notpletely recovered yet, there were huge gaps in their performances. However, the weakest clone could lift objects that weighed up to three tons and the strongest could lift around four tons. Perhaps they were still young and had not undergone any specific training to further hone their abilities and evenly distribute them. None of them had any outstanding abilities, and none of them were weaker than the others.


    However, during the ability test, the gaps were prominent.


    Some of them had no idea they had the ability to evolve. The small group of them did not know that their names represented their powers, like Luo Lie (me), Luo Guang (Laser), and Luo Yan (Laser). They did not know the other abilities that they possessed too.


    Of course, some of them were getting used to their abilities. Luo Kong had identally realized his ability to teleport when he was just born.


    For Luo Yu, during the disaster, she was able to use her skills and abilities when she felt threatened. However, she did not attempt to use her abilities after that.


    Luo Yuan noticed that the clones were not interested in their evolved abilities but they looked confused and were feeling lost with all that was happening around them.


    Perhaps their strength had been with them since they were born, and they had little to no knowledge of themselves. It was as normal as drinking and breathing. In addition to that, they were living in a peaceful environment and were only guided by theb¡¯s rules and regtions. Therefore, they did not have a strong desire to be powerful.


    Being more powerful or less powerful, meant nothing to them.


    Luo Yuan wanted to instill the importance of strength into the clones. However, eventually, he would not say anything.


    Times were different now!


    The threats resulting from the mutated beasts had gradually disappeared and the humans were migrating to space. Unless the general poption was as strong as Luo Yuan, the effect of personal forces would be weaker and weaker.


    It was not easy to be like Luo Yuan. It was all about hard work, talent, and lots of luck. Not a single one could be omitted as theyplemented each other. Be it even his clones, they had a low probability of being just like him anyway.


    His abilities were no longer measurable by attributes or his ability to evolve. Without the concentration of Will and his four-dimensional vision, he would not be able tounch his space-time bubble. Without his prediction ability, he would have be ash during the space battles. He could not bear to lose any of his abilities since theck of either would cause his power to be drastically reduced.


    The probability for the clones to achieve his standard was extremely low, for now.


    Therefore, it would be better for them to develop their own interests rather than train them to be useless soldiers.


    Luo Yuan then enjoyed outdoor activities together with them until the afternoon. The kids then left reluctantly and returned to Hope City.


    "I¡¯m off to work now. I¡¯ll being home tonight. What presents do you want? I¡¯ll buy them on my way hometer," Luo Yuan asked before he left.


    "Father, can you bring us some books? There aren¡¯t any books in our rooms," Luo Yan replied. The children looked at each other. Luo Yan then repeated herself bravely, her woman¡¯s intuition telling her that her father was treating her and Luo Yu better than their brothers.


    "Books?" Luo Yuan asked as he hesitated. "What kind of books do you prefer?"


    "Any books will do. It would be best if they were high school textbooks," Luo Yan said. She looked like an alien with herrge pleading eyes on an incredibly skinny face.


    Compared to the male clones that were crudely made, a minority of the female clones had their genes that determined physical features or traits intentionally modified. Although Luo Yan was skinny, she was actually a beautifuldy.


    Luo Yuan was shocked as they were still kids and he asked, "Are you studying the high school sybus? You are still very young."


    "The professor in thebs said we are geniuses. I¡¯m studying the courses of high school grade two at the moment," Luo Yu said.


    "Hmph, I¡¯m taking the grade three courses. Professor said I¡¯m the smartest," Luo Kong said.


    He had not done anything close to that when he was a one-year-old, Luo Yuan thought in his heart. Thanks to his amazing memory, he remembered that he was still drinking milk and could not even speak. He then looked at his ¡¯children¡¯.


    They were unbelievable!

 Chapter 483: The Second Interstellar Creature

    Chapter 483: The Second Interster Creature


    Trantor: EndlessFantasy Trantion Editor: EndlessFantasy Trantion


    Upon returning to the municipal government, Luo Yuan instructed Cheng Guanghui to buy them some books and made arrangements for two private teachers to teach the kids. Of course, it would be less effective if they taught themselves aspared to when two teachers were teaching them. Since they were interested and talented, the only thing he could do was to encourage them.


    After sitting down for a moment, the officers of themunication room who was on duty reported that there was an urgent message from the spaceship and requested to talk with Luo Yuan.


    Luo Yuan¡¯s expression turned deadly serious as he heard this, rushing towards themunication room.


    It was heavily guarded, security guards were stationed outside themunication room.


    "Please show us your identification!" The guard immediately saluted and said loudly as he saw Luo Yuan.


    Luo Yuan nodded his head and took out his ID. It was a system he established. There would be no exceptions, he even had to show his ID for verification as this ce was of the utmost importance.


    Most of the Earth¡¯s satellites andmunication servers had been destroyed by the disaster. It was impossible to contact the spaceship via the regrmunication channels. The only possible way to connect the Earth and the spaceship was to use an interster quantummunication device which had been disassembled from an aircraft which was ced here.


    Compared to the interster quantummunication device that was destroyed by Luo Yuan, this was undoubtedly a lot smaller. It was the size of a notebook. It could support holographic three-dimensional images and could be used in an area of approximately three astronomical units (An astronomical unit was equivalent to the average distance between Earth and the Sun).


    It was indeed a waste to use it to connect with a spaceship that was close to Earth.


    The ssians did not have portable personalmunication devices. It was because their technology was too advanced and they had eliminated simple devices such as mobile phones.


    Communication could be done through a sponge-like personalmunication terminal that was attached to their cerebral cortex. That aside, the personalmunication terminal allowed them to be directly connected to the ssians¡¯ database that was somewhat simr to an intr. Therefore, it allowed them to have direct control over various robots. The sponge-like terminal also mimicked bio-gic textures and because it was connected to the cerebral cortex and nerves, they could enter virtual worlds to learn and live.


    Unfortunately, the technological gap was too big. The ssians¡¯ advanced industrial foundation had contributed to the development of technology. With the current standard of human technology , they would not be able to break through to that within 10 to 20 years.


    Fortunately, it was still a must for the ssians to have a high-power, long-distancemunication device. Otherwise, it would be troublesome for them to contact the spaceship.


    Luo Yuan quickly entered themunications room and answered the call.


    "What¡¯s happening?" He asked in a deep voice.


    "Mayor, there¡¯s something urgent that I have to report to you..." The caller was Bi Jianping who was in charge of the spaceship. His face took on a ghastly expression as he said those words.


    Luo Yuan¡¯s expression changed as he heard what he had to say.


    It was not the spaceship that was getting into trouble, it was the earth. By looking at the spaceship¡¯s monitor, there seemed to be an interster creature that was attempting to invade the earth. It had now entered the atmosphericyer and it was estimated that it wouldnd on earth within half an hour.


    Under normal circumstances, it was not a big deal. However, it might bending in southeast Asia. His face turned grave and soon, he became angry.


    This was a dereliction of duty!


    The consequences of allowing an interster creature to enter earth was seen clearly back when they were on the moon.


    Luo Yuan could still remember that day clearly, it would be simr to the incident when the hydrogen bomb exploded. Even with his abilities, when faced with creatures like this, there would be nothing he could do about it.


    If the interster creaturended somewhere close to Hope City, it could be a fatal disaster. The surviving humans might die.


    "Why didn¡¯t you monitor the situation earlier on?" Luo Yuan asked in a low voice, getting angrier the more he thought of it. It was probably the carelessness of the people manning the spaceship that had caused this incident to happen.


    The spaceship was no longer manned by professionals. It was either manned by government officers or researchers. Their main focus was to investigate ssian technology as well as the construction of residential areas. With the high degree of intelligence of the spaceship and its automatic defense system, they neglected keeping a close eye on the surveince of the situation close to earth.


    Luo Yuan had made up his mind as it seemed that setting up a team of professionals as the crew that would man the ship was urgently needed. The situation was getting worse and he was afraid that more problems would ur during the interster flight where the situation and environment were uncertain.


    Bi Jianping¡¯s face turned pale as he could feel Luo Yuan¡¯s suppressed anger.


    "It¡¯s my fault. I neglected this matter. As a leader, the mistake that I¡¯ve made is inexcusable."


    "Your responsibility now is to set up a team of professionals to monitor the earth at every single moment. If there¡¯s any problem, report to me immediately!" Luo Yuan said coldly.


    "Yes, mayor!" Bi Jianping said in relief.


    Luo Yuan did not bother himself with Bi Jianping as soon as he finished his sentence. He disconnected the call and walked out of themunications room.


    He was the only one on the spaceship who had the authorization to engage in battle. However, it was quite difficult to verify any sort of authorization remotely as there were plenty of ways people could impersonate one¡¯s identity in an attempt to take over the spaceship. That being said, a spacecraft like this probably would not have such a loophole in its systems.


    Althought the artificial intelligence system on the ship seemed to be sentient and could seemingly make decisions, it had learned through trial and error and would choose situations that would give it an advantage, avoiding those which put it at a disadvantage. Under those rules, it was almost wless.


    However, it would seem that it was now toote for him to rush over to the spaceship in an attempt to hunt the interster creature down. It was about tond on earth.


    ......


    After a short while, he left Underground City.


    The sky was still gray, shrouded by the dark clouds. Looking up from the ground, there was no sign of the invasion by the interster creature.


    Luo Yuan stomped the ground hard and his body shot up into the sky like an arrow, as the ice miners would describe him.


    Before arriving at theyer of clouds, Luo Yuan could vaguely feel a weak powering from the clouds. By sensing the direction of this power, he immediately shifted his direction and flew towards the target.


    In 10 seconds, he sneaked into the dark clouds.


    It was a floating dustyer formed by volcanic ash and tiny ice crystals. The thickness of the dustyer was around 5,000 meters, not unlike a thick curtain that prevented sunlight from reaching the earth.


    Theyers of the clouds below were rtively thinner, so they had only a small amount of electric charge. However, the static electricity grew stronger as he went further up and at an altitude of around 600 meters, he began seeing lightning shooting out of theyer of clouds.


    It seemed like an electric snake was moving about in the dark cloud, causing them to glow eerily in the dark.


    There were also electrical arcs that were attracted to Luo Yuan¡¯s body on some asions. Lightning would strike his head and cause countless tendrils of electricity to shoot out of his body. However, the damage done to him was rtively minor and aside from feeling a slight burn on his skin, no harm came to him.


    This was just the beginning. After reaching an altitude of 2000 meters, dense, dark clouds appeared with fearsome bolts of thunder shooting out from within. The true form of the lightning had appeared.


    Against such a threat, even Luo Yuan had to watch his step. However, thanks to his Physique, such attacks would not be fatal but he was not immune to the effects of lightning on living beings - he still felt numbness to a certain degree when he was struck by lightning.


    Soon, a membraneyer of light appeared on his skin as he gathered his Will. Though the light membrane wascking in the defense department, it was sufficient enough to protect him from the harm that the lightning would cause him.


    The theory behind the light membrane was fairly simple. It turned his body which initially acted as a conductor into an instor, preventing his body from attracting the lightning. If he was still somehow struck by lightning, the current in the lightning strike would be significantly reduced and the would have no effect on him.


    Luo Yuan was struck by lightning five times as he moved through the clouds. Within 30 seconds, he sessfully got out of the dark clouds.


    ......


    The sunlight that he had not seen for ages was warm and radiant, shining brightly on his body. It resembled a golden beam of light. Even the dark clouds appeared to be semi transparent, forming what looked like a ck colored crystal.


    However, the beautiful scenery did not attract Luo Yuan¡¯s attention at all.


    He raised his head and looked at the sky. A tiny meteor streaked across the blue sky, falling towards his direction.


    Since it was engulfed in fire and smoke, even with Luo Yuan¡¯s eyesight, there was no way of telling what it was. However, based on the auraing off its body that he could feel deep in his heart, he was sure that this was the interster creature he had been waiting for.


    Ever since he was granted with the prediction ability and the upgrade in his four-dimensional vision, his ability to sense grew stronger - he predicted something was going to happen before the destruction of the ssians happened. He could vaguely sense it before things happened.


    ......


    At that very moment, it was approximately 700 kilometers away from him. Based on the direction it was heading towards, it was estimated that the interster creature was around 1000 kilometers away from Hope City.


    Luo Yuan was slightly relieved. Hope City was safe at the moment.


    However, his anxiety did not go awaypletely. Based on the interster creature¡¯s abilities, it would not be absolutely safe since the distance between the Hope City and the interster creature was quite close.


    "I think we¡¯ll have to speed up the migrations." Luo Yuan sighed.


    A task notification finally came from the system that had been inactive for a long time.


    "Level C task: Kill the interster creature - gold-eating beast. Period: None. ept / Cancel."


    Luo Yuan nced at the system task and shifted his gaze towards the meteor.


    It would not be easy to kill the interster creature. Just by looking at its size, he was be plunged into despair. It was like a mountain that would not copse. He had no idea how he could defeat it when he was facing a beast that looked like an asteroid.


    He had made an attempt to defeat the beast, but he failed.


    Though he was stronger now, he did not have any significant transformations. The only change was that his energy output had increased from 0.5 tons to 3 tons which meant that it was only a six-fold increase.


    It was deadly obvious that these increments would have little to no impact on these gargantuan creatures. Even if a huge hole was formed within its body, it would feel like a mosquito bite to these creatures.


    Furthermore, he would have to gain a lot of experience in order to level up. The experience gained from killing the interster creatures was no longer significant. If he had a choice, he would not want to encounter such a terrifying creature.


    On the top of the clouds, Luo Yuan was waiting for its arrival patiently. As time passed, the fireball grew bigger. Initially, it was the size of a ping pong ball. Soon, it grew to the size of a football and eventually, it had grown into the size of arge wicker basket.


    The giant beast began to curl itself into a ball and a hot, burning me formed from the friction with the air.


    However, it did not seem to be affected by the high temperature that would turn most of the meteorites into ashes.


    The air surrounding its body seemed to be distorted, causing an odd phenomenon. Countless tendrils of light along with lightning surrounded its massive body. They were simr to ribbons, coquettish yet colorful, beautiful yet dangerous.


    Strong maic fields were scattered around the. Compared to the lonely outer space, the power of the interster creature was easily visible here, causing people to feel a deep terror when they witnessed its power.


    As the gigantic beast grew closer, Luo Yuan began to move. He gathered his WIll and flew towards its direction. After a few seconds, he had broken through the sound barrier, shing through the sky, leaving only vapor cones in his trail.


    Within a few minutes, he was already close to the beast. He dared not approach it and stopped just 10 kilometers away from it. Although the distance between them was not close, he was still within range of the gigantic beast¡¯s vision.


    As a matter of fact, the field of vision of the beast spanned 30 kilometers across, which was massive.


    The entire region fell into chaos as the light it gave off was magnificent and dazzling, there was a violent turbulence in the air as countless bolts of lightning streaked across the sky.


    Ordinary people would probably be killed under such circumstances. However, these phenomena meant nothing to Luo Yuan as they were the effects of an energy leak. It would not even threaten or cause harm to him. Comparing the sheer force and power of it all, the lightning in the clouds was way more dangerous.


    He could cause something simr to happen if he wanted to. However,pared to the one that was currently before him, it would cover a smaller region if he were to do it.


    The only thing that troubled him was the turbulent airflow surrounding him. Fortunately, he had the belt synthesized from the Demonic Horse¡¯s mane with him that enabled him to bnce himself during his flight.


    ...


    For gargantuan creatures such as these, one could only feel a thrill, an unexinable terror when they were so close to it.


    Compared to the 600-meter long interster creature he first met on the moon, it looked slightly smaller with a diameter of around 300 meters. It was partly because it was curled up into a ball and there were all sorts of disruptions that was caused by the phenomenon. Luo Yuan could hardly see how the creature looked like clearly. He could only identify that it was a four-limbed vertebrate by using his blurred vision and four-dimensional vision.


    If it extended its body, it might even be 500-meters long or probably even longer, with a height of around 200 meters.


    Facing a gigantic beast that was 200 meters tall was like facing a mountain, Luo Yuan felt a deep helplessness rise within him.


    ...


    At that moment, its body got closer to the bottom of the clouds.


    When it was only a few kilometers away from the bottom of the clouds, the clouds began to vibrate and soon, it felt like there was an invisible pressure pushing them down, creating a hollow entrance through the clouds.


    Then, a shock wave spread out quickly as the interster creature burst out of the clouds and a big hole was formed in the clouds.


    After 10 seconds, Luo Yuan flew towards the hole and nced at it. He was shocked at the big hole had a diameter of around six kilometers. The interster creature had prated through clouds that were over thousands of meters thick.


    The sunlight was shining through the big hole in the ground like a big pir of light. It was a miracle!


    Before Luo Yuan could return to his senses, a loud thud was heard!

 Chapter 484: The Effects Of Gravity

    Chapter 484: The Effects Of Gravity


    Trantor: EndlessFantasy Trantion Editor: EndlessFantasy Trantion


    At that moment, Luo Yuan was floating mid-air at the height of tens of thousands of meters. Despite the height, the loud thud was still clearly audible.


    He was worried that a huge impact like that would affect the stability of the Earth¡¯s crust, causing an earthquake. He quickly plunged down through the air to check out what was happening.


    As soon as he passed through the cloudyers, Luo Yuan saw a mushroom-shaped cloud rising into the sky.


    Unlike a nuclear bomb that gave off heat and light, it was a snowy-white cloud that waspletely made of water vapor.


    The cracks on theyer of ice on the ground spread out like a spider web. It had been broken into pieces, causing countless cracks that made it look like a long, twisted dragon. Even the icebergs copsed, crushed into smaller chunks of ice.


    As soon as Luo Yuannded, he felt the rain falling onto his skins - it was warm.


    The region of impact was 15 kilometers wide while the radiation had spread out and affected the surrounding area of more than 50 kilometers away.


    However, the gigantic beast seemed to have disappeared. Its body waspletely covered by the high-temperature vapor but Luo Yuan could feel its presence when it moved as it would cause the ground to tremble with every step it took.


    To avoid danger, Luo Yuan did not walk hastily towards its direction.


    Fortunately, the vapor did notst long and in addition to the turbulent air caused by the impact, the vapor was cleared and turned into ice crystals, falling down gradually.


    After a few minutes, he could vaguely see the figure of the gigantic beast.


    It seemed to have gotten out from the hole that looked like a crater, struggling to move on theyer of ice.


    Its movement was slow and cumbersome. However, its body gave off a terrifying aura on theyer of ice with each step it took, Luo Yuan could feel it. Against creatures that weighed at least ten million tons in weight, the solidyer of ice was as soft as a muddy ground.


    Luo Yuan noticed that its limbs sunk into the ice. It caused the ice to crack into big pieces with each step it took. Compared to the gigantic beast, the ice miners were nothing.


    The strength of the¡¯s gravity was apparent. The movement of this ten million ton beast was greatly affected by gravity. Most of its strength was used to ovee the pull of gravity, causing its movement to be rather clumsy.


    Luo Yuan smiled coldly.


    He realized that he was affected by his initial thoughts. The interster creature was indeed strong and its movement caused damage that was on par with the force of a nuclear bomb. However, this did not mean that it had no weakness.


    In fact, it was a fatal weakness.


    Its mass was as heavy as a mountain. The gravitational pull in outer space was rtively weak. Therefore with its hulking mass, it could still ovee the pull on its weight. However, when it entered a with strong gravitational pull, it would find great difficulty in every step it took forward.


    The gravitational pull on Earth had affected its innate ability to fly as it could not fly even when it was stuck in the ice. It seemed totally helpless.


    However, with its abilities, it was still a threat to creatures under level nine. It seemed like there was a big gap between Level eight and Level nine creatures. When quantity surpassed quality, it would have no natural enemy on Earth. Perhaps this was the reason that it attempted to invade Earth.


    He remained calm and did notunch an attack.


    However, he had no confidence in his ability to defeat it. The difference between their body sizes would reduce the effectiveness of his attack. Once his opponent realized it, the rate of sess would decrease drastically.


    The gravitational force could only restrict its mobility but its abilities were not restricted.


    As an interster creature, it had an innate ability to manipte energy. By looking at its glowing body in the mist and the turbulent air surrounding its body, one could tell that this was a creature not to be trifled with.


    In addition to his prediction ability, he could sense that the battle was a dangerous one. Despite having a strong defense system, he did not want to have a tough fight against such a powerful gigantic beast.


    ...


    Looking at the gigantic beast that was about to get out of the mist, Luo Yuan immediately flew towards its direction. He observed it for a moment more to gather more information.


    The gigantic beastnded on a region of Chuan Shu and within a few moments, Luo Yuannded on the top of a mountain nearby. The reason he chose this mountain was so he could observe the beast and use it as a hiding spot because it was just in front of him.


    There were some huge trees atop the mountain, each with tangled roots and obviously they had been ancient trees before the apocalypse hit. Nevertheless, these trees went dormant in response to the extreme cold brought by the nuclear winter.


    Luo Yuan jumped to one of the tree branches, squatted down and looked towards the direction of the gigantic beast and at that moment, it lumbered out of the mist.


    Although it was clumsy, its walking speed was not slow. Every step it took took it a distance of 200 meters. Regardless of how clumsy it was, it was not slow at all. In fact, if it continued walking faster and faster, it might reach supersonic speeds.


    Theyer of ice exploded, causing a stir in the atmosphere when it passed by. There was an ice storm from the chunks of crushed ice that gushed out from underneath its legs, exuding a terrifying aura.


    Despite being on earth, it still possessed such immense power. Chuan Shu was located near the Reconstruction Area. It would be dangerous to allow the gigantic to move freely there. That was the main reason why Luo Yuan attempted to kill this beast.


    Of course, it was also because the battle would be less risky with his prediction ability. His ability to teleport would also allow him to escape immediately when the opponentunched an attack.


    ...


    The gigantic beast had the size of a diplodocus [1]. It had a long neck, strong limbs and a tail that weighed at least a few million tons in weight. Gravity had caused its tail to drag when it moved, leaving a long gully on the ice.


    Of course, aside from its almost simr appearance, it was notparable to a diplodocus. Compared to its tame personality, the gigantic beast was ferocious. Its body was a silverish-white in color and the prismatic-shaped scales on its body was glowing. The glowing lights were still visible even under such circumstances.


    Its legs were sturdy and powerful and were covered in fully grown dark purple thorns. These thorns continuously glimmered, creating a mysterious yet terrifying atmosphere.


    Luo Yuan noticed its neck for the first time. Compared to its body, without a doubt, its neck was slim. It was a fatal weakness for creatures like these to have such a slim and thin neck.


    However, he took a nce at it and shifted his gaze. Its neck was truly slimpared to gigantic beasts of a simr level. On the other hand, if it waspared to Luo Yuan, the size of its neck would still be horrifying.


    Moreover, its neck was fully grown with scales that released beams of light at the tips. It obviously had a strengthened defense. where it was releasing beams of lights there. Obviously, its defense system had been strengthened.


    Despite the Zhanmadao ability to sh through most things, it was not almighty.


    Luo Yuan had found out that its energy could defend against the shes by the Zhanmadao to some extent. ounting for the rtionship between matter and energy, perhaps he had to look for high-density matter. High-density matter could not be found on earth as they were beyond the density of regr substances. In fact, it is so far from the density of conventional substances that it was denser than atoms that werepressed until it was as dense as a white dwarf or neutron star. Materials like these have already blurred the boundaries between energy and matter and should the process be reversed, it would release a great amount of energy.


    As the gigantic beast got closer to the top of the mountain, Luo Yuan could feel that a horrifying aura approaching him and there the atmosphere changed to an oppressive one.


    Sensing tremors in the ground, he controlled his aura, bringing it to a minimum and remained calm.


    The mountain where Luo Yuan was hiding at was not too high - about 300 meters in diameter. Its height was almost the same as the gigantic beast. Encountering such a small obstacle, it was apparent that it had no intention to change its direction.


    When it was walking towards Luo Yuan, it looked like a moving mountain.


    By looking at its bodynguage, it seemed that it was going to crash into the mountain directly. To interster creatures, matter on earth was probably too fragile and it could do no harm to them. It waszy to lift its legs to skip this ¡¯small slope¡¯.


    Soon, both of them got closer to one another. The next moment, the mountain had split into half and it sounded like an explosion. A me was vaguely visible at the area of impact. Millions of tons of sand and thousands of tons of giant rocks flew through the sky as if they were light as a feather.


    Luo Yuan¡¯s body seemed to be affected by it, being blown away like the crushed rocks. However, the speed at which he was being blown away was obviously slower than the crushed rocks.


    He activated his prediction ability and countless scenes shed through his mind, showing all possible oues of the attacks.


    His 17-point Intelligence allowed him to visualize the oues of the fight at a rate of 10 times per second.


    After foreseeing the possible failures, his eyes eventually lit up.


    He slightly moved his body to the left by one meter. He was then struck by a giant rock. His body resembled a golf ball and he quickly shifted his direction towards the head of the gigantic beast.


    It seemed like the interster creature had sensed something. It tilted its head slightly and looked around in a moment of doubt. However, it did not notice Luo Yuan who was getting closer to it.


    It was not strange though since both of them had a huge difference in size. It was simr to how humans could hardly notice a mosquito that was flying about silently. To the gigantic beast, Luo Yuan existence was negligible.


    There were times when he was noticed but those were in the oues where he failed.


    After a few seconds, Luo Yuannded an attack on the gigantic beast¡¯s nostrils.


    With just one touch, Luo Yuan could feel that there was a destructive power that attempted to prate his bare hands, causing him to feel a strong sense of pain in his skin. Fortunately, both of them were separated as soon as they came into contact with one another. He avoided the attack and went into its nostrils.


    Its nostrils resembled a doublened tunnel and it was spacious. Even its nose hairs were five centimeters thick and they were as messy as weeds.


    It was so dirty inside its nose and he could no longer see its original skin tone. It was so dark inside, seeingyers of dirt umted on its surface. However, these were not the usual excretions one would see as most of the dirt were dust and crushed rocks. It was not as disgusting as he had imagined it to be.


    He could still feel the pain in his palm. Luo Yuan looked at it, and the surface of his skin was swollen. He was thrilled. Fortunately, the contact period was not too long. If it was, he might have lost his hand. The gigantic beast was indeed more fearsome than he had expected.


    Luo Yuan dared not stay there any longer and quickly exited its nostril. Probably due to the fact that the interster creature had been living in outer space for a long time, it did not have the habit of breathing. Luo Yuan felt fortunate as his movement within its nostrils were not affected at all. Otherwise, its breathing would have caused a storm and be of trouble to Luo Yuan.


    After walking for a distance of around 30 meters, Luo Yuan stopped and floated into the sky.


    He looked above his head and took a deep breath. He breathed in for exactly three minutes, even his stomach began to bloat.


    The next moment, highly pressurized air flowed out from Luo Yuan¡¯s mouth.


    Arge amount of dust from the roof of its nasal cavity was sted with gusts of wind that was level eight or nine. After the dust was blown away, the structure of the nasal cavity was exposed.


    He observed carefully and soon, he could see a triangle-shaped skeleton.


    "I guess this is the ce. He never knew that creatures like these would have such a weak skeleton." Luo Yuan was relieved and thought in his heart.


    He entered the gigantic beast¡¯s nasal cavity as the nasal cavity was connected to the brain. Compared to other parts of the body, the brain was the most important organ. Once the brain was destroyed, it would cause death.


    There was only a cartge separating the nasal cavity and the brain and cartge was located the peak. It was the weakest point and was also one that he could easily attack.


    Fortunately, despite being an interster creature, there was no significant difference in their structure.


    Luo Yuan wiped away the dust that umted on the surface of the triangle-shaped skeleton. His movement was gentle so that the gigantic beast would not be rmed.


    The skeleton was smooth. As he wiped gently, he could see its original color.


    Luo Yuan noticed that the skeleton was not fragile. It had a crystal-like surface, smooth and shiny as if it was madepletely of crystal. It would seem that the skeleton was actually quite tough. Its thickness was also beyond expectation as it was around 10 meters thick.


    It was not easy topletely crack the bones and sneak into its brain before the gigantic beast had a chance to react.


    "It seems that I must use my full strength in my attack." Luo Yuan thought in his heart.


    Before the attack, he opened the attributes panel. Fortunately, he did not cancel the mission he got previously and it was still there. He immediately chose to ept it.


    Then, he closed his eyes in an attempt to focus his mind. His muscles started bulging and goosebumps were visible to the naked eyes. The fluctuations in his energy could not be suppressed and were triggered by his powerful strength.


    ...


    Breaking through the mountain, the interster creature that was still moving forward was slightly agitated. It felt insecure and stopped moving.


    It looked anxious and doubtful. Its power became inconsistent, causing a flicker in its movement.


    The electromaic fields in the air was distorted. They were moving against the gravitational force as countless auroras that were dancing in the air, even the crushed ice was floating in the air.


    The next moment, its brain vibrated momentarily. Two roaring mes, along with arge amount of blood and crushed bones oozed out of its nostril. All of the odd phenomena stopped instantly as the mes got hotter.


    "Roarrr!" The gigantic beast howled in pain and it was akin to the sound of a siren.


    It was against the mother nature, having a giant creature like this roaring into the atmosphere. One would now know how threatening it was.


    The sound waves formed a milky-white substance in the air. It seemed like the iceyer was being scraped off and even the mountain that was 100 meters away from it was affected. The ice on the surface was seemingly blown off and soon, the same thing happened to the frozen ground as well as the rocks beneath theyer of ice. After two seconds, the entire mountain disappeared as though it had never existed.


    Simrly, Luo Yuan who was so close to the gigantic beast¡¯s vocal cord could not avoid it.


    Facing such a horrifying sound wave, even Luo Yuan had a terrible headache and his brain went nk. Thanks to his strong Physique which was even stronger than steel, he regained his consciousness in just a blink of an eye.


    Looking at the cartge that had split into half, without a moment of dy, he struck a blow with all the remaining strength he had in his body.


    The blow turned red instantly and became white as it hit the target. The temperature had reached around 3000 degree Celsius. The next moment, a strong explosion took ce at the point of impact, filling the entire nasal cavity with burning mes.


    Feeling the resistance of the blow disappear when the cartge was crushed, Luo Yuan was happy. Before the gigantic beast even managed to react, Luo Yuan, who thrown back by the recoil dug his heels into its skin. At that moment, his body was like a sh of lightning, prating into the gigantic beast¡¯s brain.


    Trantor Notes:


    [1] The diplodocus was a 30 meter long, 10-20 tonne sauropod dinosaur from thete Jurassic time period (165 - 145 MYA) that lived on the territory of the modern Western United States.

 Chapter 485: Undead

    Chapter 485: Undead


    Trantor: EndlessFantasy Trantion Editor: EndlessFantasy Trantion


    Aspared to the brain of an ordinary creature, the brain of this gigantic beast was beyondprehension. Its brain was tough, it was more than 10 times tougher than rubber and its hardness was almost simr to a rock. It finally made sense that a brain weighing up to a million tons remained unaffected by the gravity of earth.


    However, the brain was still the weakest part of a creature. Luo Yuan broke into its body and gave it an intense punch. The damage of the punch was indescribable, a huge white me was created at the point of impact. Aside from shaking its entire brain, the punch destroyed the gigantic beast¡¯s brain structurepletely.


    Luo Yuan did not want to risk anything so he gave it another punch. Within seconds, the gigantic beast¡¯s brain broke down into piles of brain matter. Its massive body shook and the surrounding air became turbulent. It seemed like it was itsst struggle as a hot glow began spreading out of its body like a mini sun. The intense energy radiation melted the snow around it. Under an invisible force, its massive body floated into the air.


    Now that its brain was destroyed, the only thing that was supporting its movement was its instincts. Its eyes were wide open staring into space, its mouth and nose were bleeding. There was blooding out of its eyes too, it was devastating. A light blue high-temperature steam came out of its wide opened mouth, it did not make a sound.


    After floating in the air for a couple of seconds, its body flew more than 10 meters high and fell hard on the ground. A loud thud was heard and the ground shook. It did not stop struggling but attempted to stand but since its brain was destroyed, it had lost the ability to bnce its body. Its attempts to stand were redundant.


    Luo Yuan flew out of the gigantic beast¡¯s brain and looked at it without expression. Since the apocalypse, there were probably less than 10 creatures like these who were born on earth. From an ordinary life-form before its evolution to an interster creature that could travel in space, each and every one of them was a champion of the universe. They did not only possess a powerful body, but also superior intelligence that was different from an ordinary mutated beast. The miracle of their evolution was a fate. However, the more powerful a mutated beast was, the more difficult survival was for humans.


    Luo Yuan had zero sympathies! Since the disaster, there was no source of meat in Hope City. Their daily three meals, including Luo Yuan¡¯s, were vegetarian. The quality of life had dropped tremendously and if it was not for the fact that this mutated beast was inedible, Luo Yuan would have sliced its dead body and sent it to Hope City by spaceship after the beast waspletely dead. The massive piles of meat would feed the five million poption of Hope City, giving everyone two tons each - enough food for a year.


    However, even without its meat, the interster creature had something more valuable. Precious materials aside, the energy crystals it had within its body was well worth it. As a matter of fact, Luo Yuan was curious about the source of energy that powered these interster creatures. What kind of energy must be present in order for it to be able to move such a massive body to carry out so many activities in life? Since hisst encounter with Gerard on the moon where he obtained its skin, Luo Yuan knew well that every creature was like him, having possession of nuclear fusion energy. They must have possessed a terrifying amount of energy to survive in space.


    For instance, their skin cells were tough, dense and vast - each cell was five times bigger than human cells. Their mitochondria were different and contained unique structures whose purpose was to release energy. However, Luo Yuan realized that from the energy released from these cells alone did not contain enough power to create such a driving force. Perhaps the toughness of these cells were the sufficient to support its terrifying weight but they were definitely not enough to power its terrifying destructive force.


    That said, such creatures must have an energy center that was different from the mitochondria. The energy center would be different from the ordinary energy crystals that were used solely for energy reserves. It was a true energy core. Luo Yuan could not imagine how powerful the energy core could be but the thought of it being able to power a gigantic object that weighed ten million tons into space, the energy it released might be the equivalent of three hydropower stations.


    It was a stunning creature and Luo Yuan could not wait to find out more about this mysterious creature. However, no matter how much the gigantic beast struggled, it did not seem to show any signs of exhaustion. All Luo Yuan could do was to stay calm and wait patiently. However, after waiting for an hour, the gigantic beast was not dead yet. Death aside, it did not seem to be tired from its struggle. The will to live that was contained in its body seemed to keep it up forever. If Luo Yuan did not destroy its brain but instead, other important parts such as heart, it might not be enough to bring it down.


    Luo Yuan waited for another three hours. The sky was getting dark but the gigantic beast was the same as before. The way it struggled did not resemble something that was braindead. The energy that was released from its body from its struggle had melted the snow around it. The melted snow turned into ake and Luo Yuan was deciding if he should risk his life as it was just a matter of time before the gigantic beast waspletely dead since it was impossible for it to live with a dead brain.


    Luo Yuan decided to wait.


    ...


    Luo Yuan returned to Hope City to handle the documents that he missed the entire afternoon. He then went home at seven in the evening. There were two strange women when he walked into the living room. "Who are these two?" Luo Yuan questioned. "Aren¡¯t they the family teachers that you hired?" Huang Jiahui said in an angry tone. "Oh, the family teachers." Luo Yuan realized that the family teachers that he instructed Cheng Guanghui to hire were these two beautifuldies. It seemed like Cheng Guanghui had crossed the line.


    Since they were hired, it would be bad to ask them to leave. He was a gentleman, he then sat next to them and asked,"You guys must have waited for long, what are your names?"


    "No, we haven¡¯t. My name is Zhou Xiaoyan!"


    "My name is Sun Lifei!"


    Facing Luo Yuan, they appeared to be nervous. They answered anxiously.


    "The both of you will work in the day and leave at night. Your sry will be 100 yuan per month." Luo Yuan thought and said.


    100 yuan per month was good enough as 100 yuan now was different from what it used to be. Yuan was actually referring to food, it was just that people had a habit of using yuan in their conversation. 100 yuan was equivalent to 100 catties of food. The pay he offered was higher than what a normal civil servant got and was sufficient for a family of three. The twodies were satisfied with Luo Yuan¡¯s offer. "The both of you can leave now, you will start officially tomorrow." Luo Yuan did not ask about their ability and education background. Although he was mad at Cheng Guanghui for what he did, he trusted him not to pull a prank on him when it came to this.

 Chapter 486: Migrating Into Space

    Chapter 486: Migrating Into Space


    Trantor: EndlessFantasy Trantion Editor: EndlessFantasy Trantion


    On the next morning, Luo Yuan went to check on the body of the gigantic beast. It was still struggling. As the beast was releasing energy when it struggled, the snow around it had melted and there was a massiveke beside it. Theke water was boiling and the steam rose up into the air. The environment as well as the weather a few kilometers surrounding theke had changed drastically from the effects of the steam from theke. Luo Yuan noticed that the nts that were frozen not far away had returned to their usual self. The branches were even budding.


    Luo Yuan looked for a while and left with disappointment. Fortunately, he had sufficient time to wait for this gigantic beast to diepletely. Almost a month went by and the gigantic beast was still not dead but there was good news about the spaceship in space. The first building had beenpleted and the migration could now start.


    The emergency spacecraft that was docked by the mothership started to get busy. Materials were moved into the spaceship. The migration did not only involve the people but the preparations they had to make to survive for long periods of time on the spaceship. It was crucial to make sure that the people¡¯s daily necessities were taken care of. The agricultural area was one of the most important parts of the spaceship, even a portion of factories were included in the list. Not because they were not satisfied with ssian technology but most of them were not usable by humans. Some of the production machines required humans to operate them so people who migrated had something to keep busy with when they were on board.


    That made the entire migration process huge and slow. The number of workers increased day by day to speed up the building of the spaceship¡¯s residential area. After a couple days rest since the first group migrated, the group began work immediately. Within the few months, the entire Hope City was busy with the migration. The crowded Hope City was now empty as the industrial area had beenpletely moved and the warehouses were empty too. Once thest batch of people migrated onto the spaceship, Hope City would be sealed.


    Tens of thousands of people in the queue kept turning around to look at Hope City. Their footsteps were heavy and they had mixed feelings. Nobody knew if any of them would be able toe back to earth one day to restart Hope City. Since the beginning of the apocalypse where people struggled to live until the present day when they were forced to leave the earth to the vast, unknown space, the insecurities that these people, who had never left the earth felt, was intense. Human knew far too little about space - it was filled with many unknown factors and was a mystery. Human asides,pared to the mysteries of the endless universe, the earth was like a speck of dust.


    ...


    The residential area in the spaceship was different from what it was. The 12 massive buildings looked like the support pirs of the ce and every inch of the residential area was used up in an efficient manner. These buildings did not have any decorations, they were a metallic silverish-white with checkered patterns that were made of prefabricated parts and gave off a cold, sci-fi vibe. Every inch of the space was used and the eyes could see wereplicated streets and buildings. To cater to more people as well as prepare for the future, the interior of the buildings were quite space efficient as well.


    At this moment, there were 700,000 people living in each building. There were 300 elevators for the convenience of the people who were going in and out of the buildings. The parks, streets, business districts and other public amenities, each floor of the residential area was packed together. Most people only owned a space that was nine square meters on average. Those with families were better off as they at least had a bathroom in their living space but for those who were single, they would have to settle for public bathrooms.


    Aspared to earth, the rooms in the spaceship had beds and furniture made of metal which looked the same and they were bolted on the floor. It was hard to not feel suppressed when one was in it. Besides that, there was at least one safety device fixed in every room. It was to prevent people from falling down when the spaceship was elerating or slowing down.


    The migration of the entire poption crowded the residential area. The streets were filled with people and it made it hard to hard to walk on the streets. Luo Yuan got the officers to arrange the final batch of people for migration and walked to the central control cabin with his secretary Cheng Guanghui.


    "Mayor!"


    "Mayor!"


    "Please proceed with your work!" Luo Yuan said and nodded. The central control cabin was not empty as it once was. The cabin crews that were re-assigned were on their seats. With the help of theputers, they were familiarizing themselves the flying of ssian spaceship. Aspared to regr soldiers, everyone here was well educated. Most of them were researchers or engineers without military experience and Luo Yuan did not mind that. To operate a technologically superior spaceship, their cognitive abilities were more important than good soldiers. Thetter could be trained but the former was not easy to be cultivated.


    "How¡¯s the training going?" Luo Yuan asked Bi Jianping who was next to him,"When can wemence the interster flight?"


    "We still need some time. It¡¯s fine to do short distance flights but not for long distance ones."


    Ever since he was criticized by Luo Yuan, he put most of his focus here, "We are still beginners when ites to operating the spaceship. If there¡¯re any issues with the spaceship, it¡¯ll hard for us to operate it."


    Luo Yuan nodded. Since he destroyed the quantummunication device in the ship, the spaceship¡¯sputer lost contact with the factory area. It was not only the automated factory that had to stop operation but even the engineering and repair robots were disconnected. If the ship¡¯s parts or hull was damaged, there was no way humans would be able to repair them as theycked the expertise. There was nothing they could do - it would be dangerous.


    "Familiarize yourselves with the spaceship as soon as you can. We need to hire more technicians, some of the graduate students can join as well so we can master everything there is to know about this spaceship" Luo Yuan said after some thoughts.


    It was time, humans could not stay here any longer, they should leave here as soon as they could.


    "Yes, mayor!" Bi Jianping said immediately.


    "How are the civilians¡¯ emotionstely?" Luo Yuan asked after taking a look in the cockpit.


    "They seem stable but there are still some concerns. I have sent out more police to prevent any untoward situations!"


    "Great job, we cannot ck off on safety!"


    It was understandable that people felt frustrated since they were stepping into outer space from earth. In the past, they had different forms of entertainment to distract themselves or psychologists to calm their frustration. However, now that manpower was in high demand, theycked resources for something so luxurious. Their priority was to master everything there was to know about this spaceship and focus on decoding the ssian technology. Everything else had to wait.


    Luo Yuan left the control cabin after a while and went into the gicsb. There were thousands of Wisdom Tree clone bulbs in them, making it seem like a mini botanical garden. However, all of the saplings seemed to be lifeless as the leaves were droopy. There was no sign of life. "Mayor, these Wisdom Tree saplings are growing at an unusually slow rate. They basically stopped growing when they were half a meter tall. We have tried everything including adjusting the amount of light and ratio of nutrients in the ground but they were ineffective..." Noticing Luo Yuan¡¯s gloomy expression as he observed the pods, the institute director exined carefully.


    Luo Yuan was not surprised at all. If the Wisdom Tree could grow like usual trees, there would not be so many bones around it when he saw it in the past. "At the same time, we have also done some research on the contents of Wisdom Tree as well as some experiments. It doesn¡¯t seem to have any unique effects but we have discovered a unique molecule in the sample that you gave us. We have extracted it and conducted an experiment."


    "What¡¯s the result?" Luo Yuan asked curiously.


    "It¡¯s stunning!" The institute director eximed, "After a mutated rat was injected with the molecule, its intelligence grew at a stunning pace. The rat knew that it was in a harsh environment and was scared. It even started to please the researcher."


    Luo Yuan did not care much about the poor mutated rat, he asked what he wanted to know, "Can this molecule be synthesized into the Wisdom Tree?" The institute director shook his head with regret, "This molecule is extremely unstable, and the existence of such an element would be impossible under regr conditions. It exists under force within extremely energy-rich environments. Even then, it requires the dposition and synthesis of certain elements. For the active energy, we used to extract it from the bodily fluid of advanced mutated creatures and it is impossible to synthesize. Now that we¡¯ve lost the source of mutated beasts, our experiment is stagnant.


    "So you need active energy, I¡¯ll figure that out and get someone to send it here." Luo Yuan thought and said to the director. Dissolving the energy core in water will create a concentrate of active energy and he had plenty of those. Although precious, if it could be used to produce medicine from the wisdom tree, it would be worth it.


    "Our priority now would be to elerate production of the wisdom medicine as soon as possible. I¡¯m nning tobine yourb with the gicsb temporarily. We have figured out how some of the ssianb equipment work and we believe that it could elerate the progress of your research."


    "We¡¯ll give our full cooperation!" The institute director then asked, "Who would be responsible for this project?" Luo Yuan looked at him, it seemed like the researchers were not excluded in the power struggle. Luo Yuan then replied, "Since you were the one who has the result, you¡¯ll be taking care of this project. I hope that you¡¯ll all work with each other. I hope to hear good news soon!"


    ...


    Luo Yuan then inspected the factory area. He left theb with an indifferent mood. Compared to the previous inspection, there were 13 additional ssian factories that were up and running. Apart from the nine original factories that produced parts for the ship, there were nanochip factories, nanomaterial factories, polymer synthesis factories, centrifugal extraction factories and more. Those were the core factories in the ship. From these factories, humans could improve and upgrade their skills. Take the nanochips for example, these ssian nanochips were different from the LightScribe technology used by humans. Rather, it was created through a controlled atomic process which arranged these chips at an atomic level. The ssian chips which had the same capacity as human chips were a fraction of the size.


    Through these core factories, the humans had resumed production of electrical products. Although thetestputers were not quantumputer technology, it functioned a hundred times better than before. At the same time, it was only the size of a thumb. Within half a year, humans had achieved what they would have taken them 20 to 50 years prior to the apocalypse. However, they had only figured out 10% of the factories that the ssian¡¯s had. Far from it, they still had plenty to master in the operations of the spaceship. Aside from being short of time, theycked the talents to do it. That was one of the reason why Luo Yuan was so eager to produce the wisdom medicine.

 Chapter 487: Re-entering The Gigantic Beast

    Chapter 487: Re-entering The Gigantic Beast


    Trantor: EndlessFantasy Trantion Editor: EndlessFantasy Trantion


    After the inspection, Luo Yuan went back to his residence in Building A that was located on the top floor of the central building. Of course, his room was unlike the regr rooms that every other person had - nine square meters. It was a private residence that spanned more than 10,000 square meters, covering the entire floor. The ceiling was more than 10 meters taller than the regr ones andpared to the regr floors, there were metal pirs around which was purely for aesthetics.


    The pirs hadplex patterns and every one of them were carved in intricate detail - they looked beautiful. To make the ce look less empty, there were a miniature botanical garden, training court, a man-madeke, a library and even a theatre. His actual residence was located at the three-story vi next to theke.


    Before the apocalypse, all those meant nothing but now that most people had limited space to live in, this was the pinnacle of luxury. Truth be told, this was not what Luo Yuan wanted. Based on his character, it was impossible that he requested for things like these. It was all the doing of his staff, nning these things for him. Luo Yuan was shocked when he moved in a day earlier. ording to the status quo, Luo Yuan was like an emperor to the people. Even if he was unwilling, there would be plenty of people who would want to please him so they did not leave a bad impression.


    Luo Yuan did not have anyments and neither praised nor criticized the people who came up with this. He was no saint and it was absolutely fine for him to indulge in certain vices. To top it off, the entire spaceship belonged to him. To have a ¡¯small¡¯ space for himself was nothing over the top.


    Since there were many women at home, it made it inconvenient for Luo Yuan so he asked his secretary, Cheng Guanghui to sit on the bench next to theke as he walked into the vi hastily.


    "Brother Luo, you¡¯re back?" Chen Jiayi who was cleaning the floor greeted Luo Yuan shyly when she saw him walking in.


    "You¡¯re the only one here? Where are the rest?" Luo Yuan stopped and asked.


    "They¡¯re taking a walk around." Chen Jiayi said shyly, holding the cloth tightly in her hand. Although Luo yuan followed thest batch of people who moved onto the spaceship, the girls had moved in after that so they still knew little about the spaceship. However, Chen Jiayi was absolutely uninterested. Her body had returned to normal but since she was affected by the parasitic moss for a long period of time, she had be an introvert. She hardly spoke with others and was always home.


    "Did the mutated woman follow them as well?" Luo Yuan asked.


    "Yes, she wore a face mask. She insisted on following them." Chen Jiayi said.


    Luo Yuan frowned but soon became rxed once more. The mutated woman looked more and more human these days, making it was hard to tell the difference if one did not look closely. She would not cause a ruckus if she was careful.


    Luo Yuan stopped talking and walked into his room, he took out the steel ball that stored the energy crystal and opened it. Since thedies had been consuming the level eight energy crystal, only one and a half piece was left. He then made a small bottle using half of the steel ball and carved threads in a screw using his fingernails. The control he had over his power was so urate that something like this was nothing to him. Soon he made a metal bottle. He hesitated and took out theplete piece of crystal, ced in the bottle and closed it. He then kept the other half of the energy crystal using the cap of the steel ball.


    After a few moments, Luo Yuan walked out of the vi and exined to Cheng Guanghui on the ways the energy crystal could be used as well as its functions. He passed him the bottle and ordered, "Pass this to Director Zhao."


    "Yes, mayor!" Cheng Guanghui dared not hesitate and said immediately. Just as he was leaving, Luo Yuan called for him again, "Tell him to be careful in his experiments, I only have one of these remaining. Get him to record every single detail of the amounts he¡¯ll use during the experiments." Curiously had always been the bane of most researchers. Although Luo Yuan still had half of the crystal, he was concerned that if he did not warn Director Zhao, the energy crystal would be wasted pointlessly on experiments."


    "Yes, mayor, I will definitely tell him that."


    Cheng Guanghui left the top floor of the central building immediately and took the elevator that was one floor below. There was an elevator on the top floor but it was exclusively for the mayor¡¯s use. Cheng Guanghui was cautious and careful, he would not make that mistake.


    After he entered the elevator, he looked closely at the metal bottle and his heart skipped a beat.


    If not for what the mayor said, nobody would have guessed that there was a level eight energy crystal in this insignificant metal bottle. He recalled the time when two gigantic beasts invaded Hope City. Their strength was beyond humanprehension. The weapons used by humans were absolutely powerless in the face of such gigantic beasts. What was more magical was that the energy crystal within their bodies could upgrade and improve many qualities in the human body. It could turn an ordinary human into an evolved human, making one more powerful and perhaps even lengthen their lives. Compared to the other qualities, thetter was more crucial and the key to a long life was within his grasp.


    Greed began taking hold of him. He did not want much of it as it would be too obvious and his actions would be easily exposed. He only wanted half. No... One-third would be enough. His breath grew heavy and his expression unreadable. He struggled internally and as that happened, he held the metal bottle tighter and tighter until eventually, he felt a heat emanating from the bottle. Curious, he looked at the bottle and was shocked to find out that there were clear fingerprints on the bottle that looked like stamps.


    He was shocked and his hands began shaking. Since he spent most of his time with Luo Yuan, he had slowly forgotten how terrifying the mayor was. How could he hide from Luo Yuan both physically and mentally if he stole part of the energy crystal for himself? After all, Luo Yuan was the man who destroyed the aliens and captured their spaceship. He was like a god to many! He snapped out of the greed in his thoughts and realized that his undergarments were soaking wet. "I almost gave in to temptation!" Cheng Guanghui smiled awkwardly. He had finally returned to his senses, "The mayor may be a little careless. With his abilities, this energy crystal may not seem valuable to him but to ordinary people, it is priceless and the temptation, overwhelming. It¡¯s hard to tell if the researchers would steal it. It should be protected by a team of professionals"


    ...


    The next morning, Luo Yuan returned to earth from the spaceship to take a look at the interster creature that was still alive thest time he was there. It has been two months since hest visited and no matter how strong its will to live was, it should bepletely dead by now. However, Luo Yuan was not prepared and was shocked by what he saw when he arrived. The ce was now an oasis with countless nts, growing lush and full of life. Theke in the middle had grown several times over and now, it looked more like an ocean surrounded by mist - it looked like a fairytale.


    The gigantic beast was still struggling in the middle of theke and it looked like an ind. As time passed, its movements grew less obvious and its struggle only happened asionally. Most of the time it would just move bit by bit but Luo Yuan could see that its vitals were the same as before. Its struggle grew weaker because the reflexes from its spinal nerves were now less intense now that the brain had been destroyed. Put another way, its spinal nerves had gotten used to functioning without a brain but as soon as the body was attacked or if it got a pain signal, it might ¡¯resurrect¡¯ and begin struggling again.


    One could say it was dead or that it was born again. At some point, it was an immensely powerful lifeform that was now only as strong as the weakest lifeform on earth. It would take ages for it topletely die. Perhaps even when the human race was prepared to leave earth, they would still not see the beast die.


    Luo Yuan could not wait any longer. Ever since he found out that the energy crystals were useful in the synthesis of wisdom medicine, he grew eager to obtain the energy crystal within this giant of a beast. Compared to a level eight energy crystal, the energy crystal of this interster gigantic beast might surprise him even more.


    He ascended into the air and flew to the ¡®ind¡¯ in a sh. The forcefield that was on the gigantic beast¡¯s body had grown weaker and what was left was only a dim glow. However, Luo Yuan did not dare to step on its body. He knew from the beginning about the forcefield of this interster creature. Aside from the high temperature it gave off, it also gave off powerful radiation that even he could not defend against. As expected, after seconds of standing next to it, Luo Yuan¡¯s skin started to itch. Although the itch could not harm him, but for safety purposes, Luo Yuan covered his body in ayer of Will.


    He then leaped and jumped into the boilingke. The gigantic beast¡¯s neck was buried under theke. To be able to go into its body to obtain the energy crystal, the easiest way which also happened to be the way he entered was through its nose. If he entered its body by cutting it up, it would take forever no matter how strong he was.


    Soon, Luo Yuan found its head after moving along its long neck. Half of its head was stuck in a rock but fortunately, its nostrils were still visible or it would be quite the inconvenience for Luo Yuan. He then went into its nostrils and after passing through the long chambers within, Luo Yuan found the portion of bone he destroyed. However, it haspletely healed now and not a single trace of an injury could be seen. Even the soft, triangr bone had regrown. This interster creature had terrifying self-healing abilities. If he did not turn its brain into a pile of mush, it could possibly heal itselfpletely even if it only had half a brain.


    He passed through its nasal cavity into its esophagus. As its neck was long, its trachea was scarily long as well. Luo Yuan walked about 100 meters to arrive at its lungs. He noticed that its lungs have degenerated. Aspared to its massive size, its air passages seemed to be quite narrow. Luo Yuan had to bend down in order to enter. Besides, most of its alvers were closed and had lost their function. It had almost lost its ability to breathe. Just when Luo Yuan nned to walk further, he heard the sound of footsteps approaching him. From the sound of it, there seemed to be quite a few of them.

 Chapter 488: Heart

    Chapter 488: Heart


    Trantor: EndlessFantasy Trantion Editor: EndlessFantasy Trantion


    Since there was an unusual amount of interference in the interster creature¡¯s body, his Sense was rendered useless. He could only depend on his ears as well as his four-dimensional vision as he passed through the twisted, narrow passageways within its body. Before long, Luo Yuan could hear where the sounds came from.


    He was in shock as he had never expected to see another creature in the interster creature¡¯s body. It was a species of mutated worms with eight legs. Its abdomen was swollen and round with golden patterns on its body. It was eye-catching.


    Compared to mutated beasts that usually weighed a few tons, they were undoubtedly small as each of them was only half a meter long. However, they were incredibly fast. They moved forward at lightning speed with eight slim legs and to them, the twisting passageways seemed to be a nd.


    After a short while, a few parasitic worms appeared after passing through a curve. Luo Yuan leapt about 10 meters forward and a sh was seen as he shed the parasitic worms in half using his saber.


    "They had such strong defense. It was almost the same as the interster creature¡¯s ability to defend itself." Luo Yuan thought in his heart.


    Initially, he had wanted to sh it like he usually did but the moment his saber touched its skin, he changed his mind and shed with all his might to avoid any damage on his Zhanmadao.


    "I guess these creatures were the parasites living in the gigantic beast!" Luo Yuan kicked the corpse that was still struggling to survive away. Its abdomen was covered in blood. However, it dried up quickly as the body had been split in half.


    It was not that peculiar at all. Perhaps the parasitic worms became mutated from living in such conditions. When the interster beast mutated from its original form, it turned the parasitic worms into mutants as well because they absorbed nutrients from the interster creature¡¯s body.


    It was not just any creature who could have such a focused amount of Will like Luo Yuan where he could actually eliminate the parasitic worms. In fact, most of these mutated beasts had no idea how they could get rid of the parasites in their bodies. However, Luo Yuan discovered that the death of that one worm was not the end of it.


    The ho¡¯s nest had been startled by his previous attack. As time passed, the surrounding area grew noisier from the sound of footsteps approaching him, hustling and bustling towards his direction. It seemed like there were countless parasitic worms gushing out from its bodily cavities like a stream of water.


    The appearance of the parasite worms was abrupt. Perhaps he had caught their attention the moment he stepped into the gigantic beast¡¯s lungs. He was very careful when he entered the gigantic beast¡¯s body. Until this moment, he did not a single noise.


    However, the parasite worms seemed to have the ability to predict his actions and they even took the initiative to look for him. Obviously, the interster beast must have had a certain degree of control over these worms.


    Common sense could no longer be applied to predict actions of these lifeforms. Every single cell in their body was imprinted with their Will and even when their brain had died, their cells still held shreds of its consciousness within them. Without interference from the brain, they actually grew stronger.


    Perhaps one day, when all these cells unite, a new form of life would be born within the interster creature¡¯s body. The flesh-eating parasitic worms, on the other hand, would have been influenced by the Will imprinted on their bodies, making them a part of the interster beast¡¯s body.


    To lifeforms like these, parasitic worms were not considered harmful creatures as they were formed from the defenses within its body. However, Luo Yuan had now be the foreign body within the interster creature¡¯s body.


    Luo Yuan was looking for the arteries inside its lungs. Subsequently, he would move along the arteries and try to look for the position of the heart. However, upon encountering the parasitic worms, he had to change his n.


    He decided to avoid these troublesome worms!


    The parasitic worms were not interesting and they looked weak. However, that being said, it was still a level nine creature with a good amount of defense and attack. Even Luo Yuan could not resist their bites. It would be fine if there was only a few of them. However, if they came in a group, things could get quite nasty for Luo Yuan.


    Furthermore, the narrow passageway was not a good ce for a fight. It was difficult for him to stand, let alone teleport. This was especially so since he was trapped in the interster creature¡¯s body where his Sense had been rendered useless, in a ce where he could hardly teleport. His abilities were greatly hampered.


    Luo Yuan immediately looked for another way out. With his Zhanmadao, he thrust it through the flesh to see thick the walls of the passageway was. The interster creature seemed slightly ufortable as its flesh wriggled while Luo Yuan cut through it.


    He tried thrusting his saber into a few spots and soon, he found a thin, weak spot.


    Sensing that the parasitic worms were growing closer to him, Luo Yuan did not waste any more time and stuck a blow with the full power of his strength on the weak spot.


    A loud thud, not unlike the sound of an explosion was heard. However, the damage the attack caused was not proportional to the sound it made - it only managed to create a hole the size of a basketball. Luo Yuan was prepared for this as the lungs would not be as fragile as the brain. He then proceeded to make 10 consecutive attacks and within a few moments, a hole that was a few meters wide was made in its flesh.


    However, before Luo Yuan managed to reach the passageway opposite him, the ground began shaking. If what he initially did could only cause a slight difort, the interster beast was definitely feeling pain now as its flesh began to tremble and cramped following his attack.


    Luo Yuan destroyed the passageway, avoided the parasites and at the same time, he was looking for the position of its arteries. There were countless passageways and branches within its lungs that made it resemble a maze. Luo Yuan seemed to have lost his eyes without his Sense.


    There were several times when he could not avoid the parasitic worms. Thanks to his prediction ability, he was able to defeat them at a lightning fast speed. While he rampaged around its body, he heard the sound of water flowing.


    "Water? Could it be?" He thought for awhile, looking happy.


    Indeed, he finally found the blood vessel after passing through three passageways. It was huge, approximately two meters thick but for the interster beast, it was considered small. Luo Yuan looked at the color of the blood vessel and guessed that it should be an artery.


    He moved forward along the capiries and they grew in thickness. Eventually, he found the artery. Along the way, there were quite a few blood vessels that was covered in a white film which slowed him down considerably because he had to destroy them.


    After walking for about an hour, he had finally left the interster creature¡¯s lungs. He walked another 100 meters along the artery and the very next moment, a huge heard appeared before him. Luo Yuan was startled, stunned by the sight of the heart.


    The heart was approximately 30 meters in diameter, beating slowly. Each beat caused a stir in the air around it but Luo Yuan was unaffected.


    What truly terrified Luo Yuan was the fact that the heart was now mutated into another version of its original form. Countless tendons from around the body were closely connected to the heart and the terrifying part was, the heart was glowing slightly, seemingly the source of light that illuminated the chamber he was in.


    Luo Yuan could clearly feel the immense power that its heart gave off which worried Luo Yuan. However, he was not going to leave. After a few moments, he returned to his senses and tried to remain calm. Using his prediction, he found out that the surroundings were not dangerous so he waited for the next beat.


    Once the heart beat, Luo Yuan immediately slid towards the heart using the bodily fluids within the interster beast. When he reached a tendon, he grabbed it and his body fell onto the surface of the heart. Pulling out his Zhanmadao, he shed through ayer of the heart and the immense pain caused its body to twitch. Aside from being hardly able to stabilize himself, the sh he made on the Zhanmadao on its heart had gone ording to his n.


    The next moment, a wound appeared on its heart and blood began shooting out of the wound like a high-pressured hose. Fortunately, Luo Yuan gathered his Will and managed to avoid the blood from sshing onto him.


    As the blood gushed out, the small wound expanded gradually and once it got big enough for him to enter, he ducked and dived into the wound without a moment of hesitation.

 Chapter 489: Energy Crystal

    Chapter 489: Energy Crystal


    Trantor: EndlessFantasy Trantion Editor: EndlessFantasy Trantion


    He felt dizzy the moment he entered its wound, losing his direction as he was swept away by the flow of the blood but waster able to regain control of his body.


    Luo Yuan felt that he had fallen into a pool of sticky mud. The blood of the gigantic beast was a semisolid, constantly flowing at a very fast speed. The violently flowing blood caused whirlpools to appear everywhere. He did not stop his movements as he tried his best to regain his bnce. Otherwise, he would have been swept away by such a strong current.


    Luo Yuan¡¯s face was serious. He could vaguely hear the roar of the interster creature. It was definitely not an illusion as he could sense that it was real and his Will was depleting rapidly. Without a doubt, the reason for that was because the Will of Luo Yuan and the interster creature¡¯s blood were consumed when they came into contact. Against such attacks, ordinary people would have copsed within a few moments, their bodies full of blood and pus.


    Luo Yuan had no idea if his body could ovee such an attack. However, he did not want to risk anything, avoiding any contact with the interster creature as much as possible. He would rather deplete his Will.


    Surrounded by a dim light emanating from the blood and the roars from the interster creature, he could not help but feel a little annoyed. He felt ufortable as everything within the interster creature¡¯s body seemed to be against him or at the very least, tried to assimte him into its body.


    He dared not stay any longer and shifted his gaze towards the brightest point in his field of vision. He took a guess that his target should be there and swam quickly towards the direction.


    His surroundings grew brighter as he began moving towards it, to a point that it reached the level of a hundred-watt energy savingmp. Despite the brightness being not too bright, it still had an extremely strong level of pration and gave off an immense power as it shone, frightening Luo Yuan.


    He held his breath when he was one meter away from it, moving slowly and gently. Despite being able to predict his safety, he was still afraid of changes that may happen.


    Luo Yuan estimated the energy that the energy crystal held within it and if an explosion were to happen, the damage would beparable to a small-sized nuclear bomb. At such a distance, even Luo Yuan would die.


    Right this moment, he could clearly see the source of light. The energy crystal was round, wless and was the size of a ping-pong ball with misting off its surface, giving it a mysterious look.


    It floated in mid-air and was not in contact with the heart. Regardless of how violently the blood around it was gushing about, it did not move at all. There seemed to be a mysterious power that supported it.


    Luo Yuan used his prediction ability to peer into the various scenarios in his head and did not discover any form of danger. His heart was still beating fast and after a few seconds, he gritted his teeth and grabbed the crystal body.


    The very next moment, he could sessfully grab the body of the crystal with his hand. With just a single touch, a terrifying roar was heard. Luo Yuan was frightened as the image of the interster creature appeared clearly in his mind.


    He bit his tongue hard and attempted to stay awake, feeling the pain through the barrier of Will he had around his body. Soon, he realized that his Will had been used up within a few seconds.


    He grabbed the crystal and pulled his hand quickly. He could feel some resistance during the entire process. However, the resistance he could feel was less than five tons and it could hardly hinder Luo Yuan¡¯s powerful strength.


    It was peculiar though, that the body of the energy crystal was not as hot as he thought it would be. Its temperature was somewhat lower than the blood that surrounded it and felt a little cold to the touch.


    At that moment, the blood began to flow violently again. The movement of the energy crystal had obviously caused the gigantic beast to sense danger and it began to struggle.


    Luo Yuan tried his best to stabilize himself, looking for the exit of the wound. Nevertheless, being in the opaque blood, even his four-dimensional vision was rendered useless. He immediately shook off his thoughts and swam towards the wall of the heart, preparing to create a new passageway.


    He pulled out his Zhanmadao and made a cut on its cardiac muscles. He could feel that the motions of the Zhanmadao seemed somewhat jerky aspared to the past.


    "Damn!" His facial expression changed. He immediately checked on his Zhanmadao. Fortunately, the period of contact was short and the Zhanmadao was not corroded. However, part of the imprinted Will had disappeared.


    Looking at the undamaged Zhanmadao, Luo Yuan was relieved but began thinking that bringing the Zhanmadao here in the first ce was not such a good idea. His Zhanmadao had been constantly upgraded and it was no longer made of metal, but resembled a mutated beast.


    It was alright to use the Zhanmadao under normal circumstances since it was made of a material that was superior to regr metal and was many times sharper than an ordinary weapon. At the same time, it was also highly resistant to high temperatures and corrosive substances. It was the perfect weapon.


    However, when it was within the body of a high-level mutant such as the interster beast, its defenses were severely affected. Such a phenomena had happened once where the Zhanmadao prated the head of the mutated snake once for an extended period of time. The synthesized essence was absorbed by the mutated snake, causing the Zhanmadao to be downgraded.


    To avoid the Zhanmadao from being corroded by the blood, Luo Yuan immediately immersed the Zhanmadao in his Will. A glow appeared on the Zhanmadao in an instant and its motions became less jerky. In order to restore it to its original state, it had to go through trained again.


    Luo Yuan did not want to waste any more time and started to cut through its heart. After 10 seconds, he finally left the damn ce.


    The ground was violently shaking and the entire world seemed to be turning around as he left but that was only a minor inconvenience to Luo Yuan. Following his initial path, he moved along the blood vessel, got into its lungs and left the body of the interster creature through its nostrils.


    After 10 minutes, he finally managed to rush out from theke and floated in the sky. He exhaled took a look at the glowing energy crystal in his open palm. Then, he used his identification technique on it.


    "Interster Creature¡¯s Energy Crystal"


    "Rarity: Purple"


    "Weight: 100 grams"


    "Additional Abilities: None"


    "Remarks: It is an energy core that can generate energy on its own. It can absorb higher-dimensional energy and also release active energy that can be absorbed by other lifeforms. It is the energy crystal of the interster creature which supports all vital activities of the interster creature."


    As he saw the identification message, his hand shook and the energy crystal almost fell from his hand. Immediately, he took a deep breath and read the remarks once again.


    It was true.


    His heart was pounding and he could hardly suppress his excitement. His reaction indicated that this object an amazing find.


    The system¡¯s remarks mentioned that it was an energy core that could generate energy on its own. This meant that it would be able to supply a constant supply of energy.


    "It could be used for an entire lifetime if it were used to power light bulbs." Luo Yuan thought in his heart.


    Of course, it would be a waste to use it for that purpose. The greatest effect of the energy crystal was not to use it as an ordinary energy source. Humans could hardly utilize the active energy given off by the energy crystal for industrial purposes. Even if they could use it, it was more feasible to rece it with a nuclear fusion furnace in the spaceship.


    Without a doubt, the greatest effect it had was the production of active energy.


    During the time of the Reconstruction Area, active energy was rarely used. By utilizing the blood of mutated beasts, humans managed to obtain a pure nutrient solution from the blood through purification, filtration, and other methods. It was then able to be used as a source of energy in many fields.


    However, due to production constraints, this precious nutrient was mostly used by the clones. There was a ten-fold different in the efficiency of raising a clone if youpared the use of regr solutions and a nutrient-rich solution in their cultivation. The clone¡¯s embryo would significantly weaker if they were not cultivated using a nutrient-rich solution.


    In the current era, the supply of such a nutrient solution hadpletely dried up. Despite the ns in the agricultural area which could also be used as a source of energy, the energy concentration generated by such activities were rtively lower, making it useless.


    With the energy crystal, the pure nutrient solution can be produced at arger scale. Moreover, the level of the active energy given off by this energy crystal was a lot higher. Luo Yuan had no idea what effects woulde to humans if they were to consume it. However, it would definitely be rtively more effective than the current level-eight energy crystal they were consuming. Perhaps, the era of super-evolved humans was near.


    The more he thought about it, the more excited he got. After some time, he returned to his senses and calmed down. He then looked at the ground and saw the ¡¯brainless¡¯ interster creature, roaring in theke. Its power had created a strong wind that caused a stir in the atmosphere.


    This was the final time it could go on such a rampage. Since losing its energy core, it had been significantly weakened and the energy its body gave off continued to weaken at a significant rate, that even the naked eye could see it dissipate.


    The struggle it had, only hastened its death.


    Within a few moments, its movements turned sluggish. The energy it gave off weakened and eventually,pletely disappeared. Its body had used up whatever remaining energy it had left and fell weakly to the ground. It attempted a final stand but no matter how it tried, its body only managed to twitch slightly.


    Interster creatures no longer needed food for sustenance, as its main source of energy. On top of that, ordinary food could not support a body that weighed millions of tons in weight. Without an energy crystal, it would signal the end of their life. The amount of energy they needed just to support life on such a scale was tremendous.


    After half an hour, it stopped moving and looked like a carcass. The notification for thepletion of the task did not show up in the system. Otherwise, Luo Yuan would have thought it had died. The task had no time limit, so it would only notify Luo Yuan when the creature finally died.


    Luo Yuan continued looking at the carcass and lost his patience as he looked at it struggle for onest breath.


    Since 50% of his Will had recovered, he then flew towards outer space in his space-time bubble. As for the interster creature¡¯s gigantic body, he would attend to it once it waspletely dead.


    Despite the level nine creature having little to no effect on him, it would contribute significantly to the research projects his researchers were undertaking. Be it the organic matter its body held within or the way its body utilized energy, it was a treasure trove to humans.


    More thetter than the former, even ssians had limited understanding on this matter. On the spaceship, to the best of his knowledge, Luo Yuan did not see any defensive systems that were designed to defend against such a source of energy. The spaceship only depended on a thickyer of armor to defend against the dangers they met.


    If the humans could unravel the secrets of the interster creature, they may just be able to fight off the ssians.

 Chapter 490: Experiment

    Chapter 490: Experiment


    Trantor: EndlessFantasy Trantion Editor: EndlessFantasy Trantion


    A few momentster, Luo Yuan returned to his spaceship.


    Back at his residence, Luo Yuan took out the energy crystal from his pocket. The bright radiance emanating from it lit up the entire floor. Luo Yuan had no ns to hand it over to the gicsb for immediate research. On one hand, the wisdom medicine was crucial for human progression, a top priority for the gicsb. On the other hand, witnessing such magical, boundless energy, he was tempted to conduct some experiments himself.


    If humans were machines and their data were measured, Luo Yuan¡¯s power could reach up to 50,000 kilowatts during intense battles. His power wasparable to a mini, thermal power station and to ordinary people, he was like the god they heard of in legends. However,pared to the real deal - an interster creature, he was nothing at all. The gap in their energy levels were different by at least five to six orders of magnitude. The huge difference was mainly due to the difference in size as well as the amount of energy within them.


    Luo Yuan was not a true interster creature. If he was put on the level-scale, he would be level eight. The reason why he could live in space like the interster creatures was because of his fusion body. In other aspects, he was significantly behind the interster creatures. Examples of these was the ability to efficiently use energy and the control of various forces in the universe. Without the aid of his Will, he would not be able to do anything. He was a pirated version of an interster creature


    The main difference between the both of them was the boundless energy. As long as he possessed such a source of energy, he would be able to rely less on other materials used to sustain such levels of energy.


    "Perhaps, I could put this inside my heart?" Luo Yuan looked at the energy crystal and was tempted. However, he soon gave up on his n.


    Though his n initially seemed feasible, the crystal was actually a little too big. His heart now only yed a small part in his body, having little to no major effects on him anymore. Even blood clots would not affect him at all. There was also no need to concern himself about rejection since it would mainly be due to a different Will imprint, which would be solved as long as he refined it - it would be part of him.


    He thought to himself for a moment but soon, he decided against it. It was not because of the importance of this energy crystal to humans. Though interster creatures were far and few in between, this was not the only one in the sr system. He had seen more of them when he was on the moon and as long as he spent a little time to look for them using the spaceship, finding them would be inevitable. Though the interster creatures were powerful, against a ssian spaceship, they had nowhere to run. They could be easily killed for more energy crystals.


    The only concern for him was the possibility of the powerful energy overwhelming his body, causing him to explode as soon as he transnted the energy crystal into his body. After all, it was meant to supply energy to a giant that weighed tens of millions of tons. If it was transnted into his body, it would be like fixing an aircraft engine onto a bicycle. The result would be catastrophic.


    The safest route was to master its structure and convert it into a miniaturized version. Fortunately, there were no current threats to humans at this moment, allowing him the luxury of having sufficient time to conduct further research on the energy crystal.


    He used his Will to peer into the energy crystal and found after his inspection that the interior of the energy crystal was not solid but was hollow. Its structure had intricate patterns with billions of nano-clusters in the shape of diamonds that formed a beautiful, natural, three-dimensional pattern. Just looking at it made him dizzy. His Will was still not at a level where he could see the structure of atoms so he was unable to see what the energy crystal was made of. There was a microscope in the experimentb but that was the only one the humans had left, making it very precious. Since they had yet to fully figure out the ssianb equipment, that single high-end equipment was shared among all thebs. He did not want to borrow it as that would be selfish.


    Perhaps, he was not so keen so keen on what it could do for his abilities at his current strength, he was also not disappointed. He focused his Will and did somemon tests. The energy crystal was not as soft as ordinary crystals - it was tough. Luo Yuan did not further test its toughness with violence as he was worried that it would get destroyed. Then, as Luo Yuan mixed it with water and discovered that it did not melt like ordinary energy crystals, he noticed the nts in the botanical garden to be lushed than before. He thought there were problems with his eyesight so he went in for a closer look. If memory served him right, the nts they moved in here earlier were lifeless. Now, they were full of life. Compared to how they looked before, the nts looked as fresh as the grass in summer with morning dew.


    He looked at the crystal on his hand and thought to himself. There seemed to be a dense amount of active energy in the air that had seemingly elerated the growth of the nts. There were footsteps approaching behind him and he knew that it was the mutated woman without even looking. The active energy had attracted her here. She squatted down close to Luo Yuan and looked at the crystal with a menacing look as she licked her lips with her pink tongue.


    Luo Yuan looked at her and chased her away.


    "It would seem like I need to keep this in a ce where the mutated woman can never find or I might just have to bring it along with me at all times." Luo Yuan thought to himself while looking at the mutated woman who was peeking at him in a faraway corner. The energy crystal was not safe, it would be bad if she was to swallow it by ident. Since Luo Yuan could not do anything to the mutated woman who was watching him, he just let her be.


    He then called Cheng Guanghui for a meet and asked, "How¡¯s the progress in theb?"


    "So far, there¡¯s no news yet!" Cheng Guanghui said in an even more respectful tone than before.


    Luo Yuan looked at him but he did not ask any further. He thought for a moment and said, "Get a few Wisdom Trees here from theb for me, I need them."


    "Yes, mayor. Is there anything else?"


    "No, get going!" Luo Yuan waved his hand. He then stopped Cheng Guanghui, "Oh yeah, please arrange a radiation insted warehouse. There will be a batch of goodsing within these few days."


    As it was requested by Luo Yuan, the job was naturally done efficiently. Within less than half an hour, a couple of researchers from theb sent the Wisdom Tree seedlings to the botanical garden in Luo Yuan¡¯s residence. After they left, Luo Yuan got a pail of water and ced the energy crystal in the bucket. A few minutester, he took out the energy crystal and noticed that the transparent water was now fluorescent. Within a couple of minutes, the density of the active energy in the water was visible to the naked eye.


    He poured the water onto the five Wisdom Trees to see what the active energy would do to them. If it was effective, it could be used as an alternative if the research on the wisdom medicine failed. Although there were manufacturing restraints so not everybody could enjoy them, at the very least it could guarantee an increase in the intelligence of the main researchers.


    One second, two seconds, three seconds, Luo Yuan waited patiently. 10 secondster, there was something happening to the Wisdom Trees. Countless tiny threads were growing out of the roots and soon, they covered all the parts that were soaked in water. Luo Yuan was excited, it proved that the active energy was effective. Perhaps the reason why they absorbed the flesh of mutated beast was to obtain more active energy.


    The entire process went on for half an hour before it stopped. Not only did some of the yellowish leaves turn a lush green, even the bodies grew in height. If they could be provided with more active energy, these Wisdom Trees would be ready to be harvested in just a fraction of the time.

 Chapter 491: The Ice Mining Company鈥檚 New Project

    Chapter 491: The Ice Mining Company¡¯s New Project


    Trantor: EndlessFantasy Trantion Editor: EndlessFantasy Trantion


    "First, second, third and fourth batch, please queue to enternding hatch no.1!"


    "Fifth, sixth, seventh and eighth batch, please queue to enternding hatch no. 2!"


    "The ninth, tenth, eleventh and twelfth batch, please queue to enternding hatch no. 3!"


    ...


    The gentle hum of electronics could be heard all over the huge space on the top floor. Under the shadow of therge emergency spaceship, there was countless support staff who wore biochemical, nano-protective clothes. They were in a neat queue, entering the spaceship in order.


    Time passed and soon, it had been more than four months since Luo Yuanstnded on the earth to obtain the gigantic beast¡¯s energy crystal. They were ready to enter earth again to collect the gigantic beast¡¯s dead body. After the interster creature lost its energy crystal, it would have stopped its struggle and died after two days. Luo Yuan did not want to do everything himself to avoid people from getting used to being dependent on him. At the same time, he also wanted to make full use of the unemployed people and thus, collecting the dead body became a new project for the people who lost their job in the ice mining industry.


    In order to fully master the logistics of such a huge operation, arge number of factories worked around the clock. At the same time, new results from the research were also applied to the manufacturing of equipment for this particr project. In other words, they were doing a test-run for new technology. However, the production timeline that was originally given by the manufacturers were postponed time after time. It was not a matter of them being unable to manufacture the equipment but was instead due to the changes in technology that happened too fast.


    With aplete set of the ssian industrial system, one could take their time to explore the technology, especially more so now that the nanomaterial factory has beenpleted. Even if there was a severeck of technical staff support, humans remained at the top of the chain when it came to expertise in their respective fields. There would be new innovations every other day and technology would be obsolete and get reced every month. The level of human technology was developing at an rming speed. This happened to the point where some equipment had to be disposed of because they became obsolete the moment they were manufactured. Obsolete technology had to be gotten rid of as soon as possible.


    The original timeline of the project was initially postponed for one month. Then, it was postponed for two, three and now, it had been postponed for four months. If Luo Yuan had not noticed this and had them fix a date, the project may just take a few years toplete.


    ...


    It was crowded outside the spaceship but people were arranged in a neat formation. Cui Weichuan got his teammates to join his formation.


    "Start counting off!"


    "Reporting, captain! There are 300 people in the first squad. All 300 present!"


    "Reporting, captain! There are 301 people in the second squad. All 301 present!"


    All the staff members here were on reserve duty. Almost all of them had military training and even the management of thepany undertaking this project were from a military background.


    After Cui Weichuan performed spectacrly well in the ice mining project, he got promoted and was now the squad leader. The number of people under his management increased from 100 to 300 people. Realizing that it was now his turn, Cui Weichuan reported, "Reporting, team leader! There are 300 people in the second squad but there are only 299 people here. One of them is on leave."


    "Why are there people on leave? Did he give a reason?" The team leader frowned and asked.


    Since thest project ended, these people have been unemployed for half a year. Even the leader had to send in an application for a leave if he was sick. After all, the project was on earth, now 600,000 kilometers away from their people. Thepany did not go to all this trouble to enter earth just to have one staff take a leave of absence. If they missed the opportunity, they would be considered AWOL and their absence meant they had resigned from thepany - the discipline within thepany ranks were very strict.


    "There¡¯s a general examination for adults a few dayster, he¡¯s taking the test by himself. Prior to the apocalypse, he was a senior year student that was behind in his education." Cui Weichuan said matter of factly.


    "Is that so? All the best to him then. No matter what, he was part of the team." The team leader sighed. The learning environment in Hope City was vibrant as the government hade up with countless, free tuition sses for adults. Many who had been students before the apocalypse and even some of the young men who had been in the workforce for many years joined the crowd, studying hard for the sake of their future.


    It was hard to be on the top of society these days as most of the resources they had were put into research. The size of government housing you would receive from the government was also based on your education background. Compared to most people who lived in a residence of nine square meters, a research intern or an assistant engineer lived in an 18 square meter residence. It was twice the sizepared to most people. If they had a partner, the size of their residence would be further increased and if they were senior researchers or engineers, their residence would measure up to 100 square meters.


    Since thepany handling the project was only temporary and had yet to be officially recognized, his residence was the standard size although he was the team leader. The treatment he received was even worse than some of the technical staff who was only there temporarily. Cramped in a room with his family of three, it would be overwhelming if they had to stay there for an extended period.


    However, he was not upset with this treatment. He knew that there would never be equality in society - not in the past and most definitely not in the future. Compared to the time before the apocalypse where money was a measure of wealth for most people, knowledge was the currency now. He thought that this was much fairer. If not for being old and incapable of learning, he would have enrolled in a university. Fortunately, he still had his son.


    "It¡¯s going to be our turn soon! Everybody get ready to board hatch no. 5!" The team leader looked at the progress of the team ahead andmanded loudly. Cui Wenchuan led his team into the residential cabin and realized that it was no longer empty like what it used to be. Due to the mission, there were changes to the cabin. More safety seats were added and the entire residential cabin was like a meeting room,rge enough to amodate more than 100,000 people.


    He followed the team and soon arrived at his designated seat. The safety set-up on the seat was exactly the same as the one in his room. He put on the safety harnesses habitually, his chest and belly wrapped in a soft material.


    He noticed the staff next to him breathing heavily, so heughed and said, "Old Lin, you¡¯re still nervous? Didn¡¯t you experience this before when there were no safety seats yet?


    "I¡¯m a little nervous, squad leader. It¡¯s not safe to fly in this spaceship from outer space all the way back to earth, it just doesn¡¯t seem safe to me." Old Lin was a construction worker prior to the apocalypse. Although he had boarded the spaceship once during the migration, he was still terrified.


    "This spaceship is made by the aliens. There¡¯s no need to worry, it can fly through the universe and this is just a short journey. It¡¯s even safer than riding in a car."


    "I¡¯d rather ride in a car, at least it¡¯s more practical." Old Lin thought and said.


    Suddenly, the spaceship shook and started to move. Cui Weichuan held his tongue and did not say the things he wanted to say as he turned pale. He did not seem nervous but he was actually scared. Since he had been on thend for quite a while and hardly took the airne, it was not all enjoyable to fly back to earth. Fortunately, everything went smooth and there were no hups during the journey back. He only realized that they hadnded on earth when he heard the announcement.


    Cui Weichuan followed the rest and exited the spaceship, but the people ahead of them stopped moving.


    "Oh my, what¡¯s that in front of us?"


    "Is that the dead body of the mutated beast that we are supposed to collect!"


    "This is a mountain!"


    Hearing the exmations from the crowd, Cui Weichuan held onto his curiosity and waited patiently in the queue. Soon, the team started to move forward and he saw it for himself.


    There was a dead body that looked like a small mountain not far away, half buried in the iceberg. Most of its body was covered in thick snow, but its ws were showing and its size was shocking. He took a deep breath and suppressed his urge to shout out loud. He was the squad leader and he had huge responsibilities. He could not help but take a peek at the dead body. Although he had prepared himself mentally when he gathered the 50,000 people for the project, what he saw was beyond his wildest imagination.


    The first few days were merely preparations being made for the work toe. Thousands of work vehicles andrge-scale cutting vehicles were sent from the spaceship. The construction of mobile nuclear stations had begun on theyer of ice. All the vehicles were now powered by electric as the breakthrough in nanomaterial technology had removed the restrictions obsolete technology had on batteries. Vehicles no longer needed long, twisted wires anymore.


    For the next couple of days, workers set up lights, an emergency hospital, a maintenance factory and steel scaffolding around the interster creature. During the operation, everyone had to be tied to a rope as the interster creature was too massive. Without such safety precautions, idents could happen easily. Cui Weichuan woke up each morning and wore a protective vest ted with biochemicals. Standing on the interster creature with curiousity, it was a great opportunity he had to train his body. He did not stand out as there were people who always surrounded the carcass at any given time of the day.


    Although the biochemical vest seemed like it was only a thinyer, the people wearing it could not feel the cold around them. With a helmet attached, the vest was fully sealed and the cold wind outside was blocked, relying only on the gas tank to breathe. It was an inconvenience but nobody dared to take off the helmet as it was the only thing separating them from the cold. It also worked as ayer of protection to fend off the terrifying energying off from the interster creature¡¯s body. One worker ignored the warnings and took off his helmet, passed out immediately and was in aa for three days. After he woke up, he became insane but those were, of course, only rumors. From that day onwards, Cui Weichuan had never seen that worker again and on that very night, the team leader warned them again on the severity of the matter.


    After preparing for five days, the bomb squad ced the explosives within the interster creature¡¯s body on the morning of the sixth day. When it exploded, the snow on the dead body slid off, revealing its majestic body. Without the cover of snow, it seemed to be slightly smaller in size but still, it was both stunning and terrifying. Covered in silver scales under the light, it seemed to shine brightly, making them think that this creature were those they once heard in legends. Its body and head were buried under the ice. Only one-third of its body was above ice but that alone was more than 100 meters high, like a small mountain. Cui Weichuan gulped but nobody noticed his behavior as everyone¡¯s attention was on the mysterious, terrifying, interster creature.


    Once the whistle was blown, they snapped out from their amazement and began work on the body.

 Chapter 492: The Wisdom Elixir

    Chapter 492: The Wisdom Elixir


    Trantor: EndlessFantasy Trantion Editor: EndlessFantasy Trantion


    It was aplete mess inside the equipment research center. The ssian equipment was being disassembled, a variety ofponents and electrical wires could be seen scattered around. It did not seem like a suitable ce to stay


    The researchers there seemed to have lost their minds. One of the men was staring at aplicated circuit diagram that hung from the wall, standing still as he frowned at it. It was the diagram of the spaceship circuits but they were notplete and only a few of the main circuits were disyed. If the diagram were to show all the circuits, the 3x3 meter diagram had to be magnified a few timesrger so the circuits would be visible to the naked eye.


    Even then, outsiders would have problems understanding such aplicated circuit diagram.


    It was most definitely designed by an amazing brain. Aside from the circuit diagram, humans have also obtained the blueprints of the spaceship which included the blueprints for everyponent used. Unfortunately, the technological gap was too huge. Even if they had the blueprints provided, nobody could understand it, let alone build it.


    Compared to the blueprints, the circuit diagram was infinitely easier to understand.


    He had been standing there for hours and only managed to get an inkling of a clue as to what the circuit diagram was about. In fact, the main circuits shown in the diagram was actually not that difficult for him as an electrical engineer. Regardless of the size of a machine, the main circuit would always be simplest one and the main circuit of the ssian spaceship was indeed, simpler.


    The problem was that it was overly simplified. ssian technology was not only advanced but was alsopletely different from human technology - both used vastly different systems. Most of the concepts humans used could not be used here. He was confused about the


    mysterious equipment these ssians¡¯ used.


    Without a doubt, this was the saddest thing was that he was the leading electronic engineer after the disaster. If he could not understand the circuits and the equipment, how could he repair them when they were damaged? It was wishful thinking to think that an interster flight would go without idents. Even if they were incapable of building a spaceship, they must at least know how to repair it.


    He heard a knock on the door and his train of thought was interrupted. He got frustrated and scratched his head, "Xiao Hu, can you please open the door?"


    "Yes, master!" Xiao Hu put aside the work he was doing and opened the door.


    He was the new intern, one of the 12 other interns who were from the same batch that was assigned to work in the equipment researchb. There was a limited number of researchers because theb had been continually expanding, a newboratory was going to bepleted in a few days so thepetition for vacancies between graduates was not intense. However, to be promoted to an engineering assistant, they would have to perform well so they could change their fates.


    Xiao Hu was shocked as he opened the door, realizing that the people standing before him were not researchers working at the work nearby. They were two public officials.


    It was not so difficult to distinguish them from researchers. Researchers usually wore whiteb coats while the government officials would be in uniforms. Thanks to the development of artificial, high-quality polymers and high levels of productivity, humans had a wide selection of essories to choose from. It was no longer the era where an entire nation had to wear battle suits. The officer before them was wearing the uniform that they wore prior to the apocalypse.


    "May I ask if Wu Guanping is here?"


    The middle-aged man heard it, turned his head with doubt and asked, "Yes, that would be me. Are you looking for me?"


    "I¡¯m from the logistic affairs department. Here¡¯s a parcel for you, please sign the form to im the parcel." The officer said with a serious look. He then took out a document from his briefcase.


    Wu Guangping was shocked when he heard that he was from the center of logistic affairs. He was overwhelmed and asked, "What...What¡¯s that!"


    "Please sign the document first!"


    As the research department was the mayor¡¯s primary concern, they would asionally receive welfare air that the regr people would not have. This was not the first time and they would usually leave after passing them the goods and materials.


    Wu Guangping received the document in doubt. He quickly nced through the document and it was a receipt of goods. There were several rules listed there but it seemed like it was just trying to increase the number of words in the document. Thest use was bold and red in color, he read the document for a little longer.


    "Note: The elixir is the country¡¯s property. It¡¯s only for personal use and family members are not allowed to use it. Whoever vites the above rules shall be prosecuted ording tow."


    Suddenly, a thought crossed his mind and his heart was beating fast.


    Sincest week, he had been hearing about this wisdom elixir around in theb and it sounded iffy. He thought it was just a rumor at first but soon, more details were revealed. Theb and the individual in charge of this elixir had been revealed so he allowed himself to partly trust in the rumor a little bit more.


    He only partly believed in the rumor as the research block where all of them were working at was a megastructure. It was as big as a small city. Aside from those from rtedboratories or those working on the same floor, they would rarely have any contact with each other.


    "However, based on what I see now, the rumor about the wisdom elixir might be true." Wu Guangping thought in his heart and quickly signed the document.


    "Could you please lead me to the restroom?" The government officer took the document back and asked.


    "Sure!" Wu Guangping answered immediately in a slightly agitated manner. As a researcher, it wasmon for them to have irregr resting hours. When they had a breakthrough in their research, it was normal if they did not go home for days. Therefore, a restroom was a must-have facility in theb.


    Three of them came to the restroom.


    "Excuse me, there were several incidents prior to this where many of the researchers brought the elixir home and gave it to their family members, causing a wastage of the country¡¯s resources. Therefore, the newly established rule emphasizes that the elixir must be consumed on the spot." The officer opened up the safety box as he said. It was a purple colored liquid in the sealed test tube.


    "It¡¯s okay!" Wu Guangping waved his hand,pletely mesmerized by the elixir at the moment and asked, "Is this the wisdom elixir?"


    "Yes, you¡¯re right. The production of elixir is limited. It is not widespread and only one researcher was chosen to consume this." The officer passed him a test tube and said, "Pleasey in bed and drink the elixir. It¡¯ll be best if you can remain calm. However, if you can¡¯t, it¡¯s fine. Don¡¯t worry, this is safe!"


    The wisdom elixir was definitely not artificially made and was harvested from the Wisdom Tree. It was processed into an elixir as the shape of the Wisdom Heart was too scary. Besides that, the medicinal properties were also too strong and it would be a waste to serve it all in one portion. A mature, level eight Wisdom Heart could not bepared to the half-formed Wisdom Heart obtained by Luo Yuan earlier. After converting the heart into an elixir, there would be two servings for each Wisdom Heart.


    Wu Guangping took the test tube and opened the test tube stopper. A bitter smell filled his nose. He hesitated and asked to confirm, "Do I finish it in one gulp?"


    Both of the officers kept quiet, nodded their head and smiled.


    Wu Guangping believed that they would not harm him as he was a middle-aged man who had not taken a bath for days and he had nothing that would be attractive to them. He hesitated for a while and drank it in a single gulp. Aside from the bitter taste in his mouth, he could feel his stomach begin to bloat.


    The next moment he could feel a fire burning inside his stomach. After a few seconds, the burning sensation spread across his body and his skin began to redden.


    The Wisdom Heart consisted of the essence of the Wisdom Tree. Not only it could improve the brain, but it also contained an abundance of active energy. The effect of the active energy on Luo Yuan was somewhat limited. However, if it were used by ordinary people, it would cause big changes to them.


    Of course, the greatest change would still be his brain. The process was not an enjoyable one, though.


    After 10 minutes, when the effect of the elixir had dissipated, he felt like he had just returned from hell. When he opened his eyes, he was stunned.


    He suddenly felt like he was able to recall all his memories from the entirety of his life within a short period of time. His thoughts had never been so fast and clear. No... Fast was doing the speed injustice. It was as fast as the speed of light, as quick as a sh of lighting. He felt enlightened as he began getting new insights into the problems that he had all these years in his research. Everything suddenly seemed easy and rxing as thoughts about problems which had puzzled him for a long time gushed into his head.


    At the same time, his face reddened and the wrinkles around his eyes seemed to have gone away. The middle-aged man now looked like a young man.


    Wu Guangping turned back and looked at both of the officers. His eyes were glowing and he appeared to be confident, like a god.


    In just 10 minutes, he looked like apletely different person, "The elixir was amazing. If there¡¯s nothing else, I¡¯ll continue with my work."

 Chapter 493: Technological Boom (1)

    Chapter 493: Technological Boom (1)


    Trantor: EndlessFantasy Trantion Editor: EndlessFantasy Trantion


    "Mayor, the Wisdom Heart production is almost stable now. We¡¯ve estimated that the maturity period would take approximately three months and ten days for the seedling to reach a mature state. The recent batch of 53 seedlings will be able to be harvested about 10 dayster." Exined the person in charge of the Wisdom Tree cultivation facility who stood next to Luo Yuan solicitously.


    "How many seedlings have been nted currently?" Luo Yuan asked.


    "267 seedlings. They are already at their peak. If they grow any more rapidly, they mature period will be extended."


    Although 267 seedlings were not much, the Wisdom Tree was a level eight nt. Moreover, with how particr they were and their excessive need for active energy which was beyond the regr needs of a level eight creature, being able to make all 267 Wisdom Trees mature within three months was already a stunning feat.


    Nodding nomittally, Luo Yuan walked fast towards the heavily guarded building before him. A group of people quickly caught up with him.


    Since the discovery that the active energy produced by the energy crystal was effective in growing the Wisdom Tree, Luo Yuan scaled up the nting of Wisdom Tree saplings immediately. Because of this, he deliberately used an empty building and had people modify and reinforce it. Compared to other mutated nts, the matured Wisdom Trees were considered small. However, there were some of them which managed to grow tens of meters high. The floor that was three meters high could not support its regr growth cycle at all. Fortunately, these buildings were modr and can be disassembled easily.


    The 70-floor mega-structure had four floors left after the reinforcement. Each floor was 50 meters high with metal cylinders acting as support columns. With the Wisdom Tree ntation that was growing thicker and lusher by the day, walking among them was like walking into a forest - it was energizing. Luo Yuan looked at the trees from one floor to another and he arrived at the top floor at a very fast pace. Compared to the three floors below them, there were not many Wisdom Trees here, only a couple of them were scattered around. Most of the space was empty.


    There was a team of heavily armed guards that specially guarded the huge metal can which looked simr to a storage tank not far away. It was quite prominent, ten meters high with a diameter of five meters, its surface was attached to arge number of pipes that spread in all directions like a spider web. The energy crystal was ced here, the most crucial part of the cultivation of Wisdom Trees. Without the energy crystal, this production facility would lose its purpose.


    "In order to conserve active energy, we¡¯ve specially designed piping which has direct ess to the roots of all the nts. We¡¯ve also managed to scientifically design a management system which doesn¡¯t only utilizes active energy in the most efficient manner, but also reduces the urrence of idents. Thus far, the safety records here state that there hasn¡¯t been an ident in 21 days."


    "Well done!" Luo Yuan finally praised them for once.


    Hearing Luo Yuan¡¯s rare praise, the person in charge was finally relieved.


    In order to establish this Wisdom Tree production facility, a hefty price was paid. This was especially so in the beginning when many of the staff lost their lives after they triggered the Wisdom Tree out of ignorance. Even more people died during the harvest because of idents. Within four months, 32 lives were put on the ident list. Fortunately, along with the specifications requested by the management for the custom-made harvesting equipment orders, specialser cutters were now used during harvesting. The death toll had now plummeted and idents rarely happen now.


    ...


    Before the end of the inspection, Luo Yuan looked back once more. Looking at the Wisdom Tree, he had an adrenaline rush. This Wisdom Tree production facility was a powerful boost for humanity¡¯s technological development. The entire production facility could produce about 1.000 Wisdom Hearts per annum. They were manufactured into wisdom elixirs that could be consumed by 2,000 people. However, now that there were 10,000 researchers, the number was pathetic. It would be impossible to let every researcher get a taste of the elixir, let alone provide a portion for everyone.


    Still, despite the pathetic number, the fact that it would enable further development and drive forward the progress in humanity¡¯s science and technology was beyond imagination.


    Although the amount of time since the first batch of researchers consumed the elixir was quite short and it was not even ten days, there was already a breakthrough in human technology. The result almost exceeded all the work they had done in the previous three months.


    Within these few days, more than 30 ssian factories were activated and the first generation of quantumputers was officiallyunched as the first batch of production began. It was still early to say that this was the limit of human potential since there were only, slightly over 100 people who had consumed the wisdom elixir. In many industries, personal effort and diligence could make up for theck of talent. However, it was impossible to do so in the field of research. Most researchers would go through their entire lives, experiencing a mediocre existence. The gap between a regr researcher and a senior scientist was like the difference between students in the primary school and a university.


    Moreover, along with the improvements in human technology, especially after the 20th century, human knowledge was growing faster and faster, getting deeper as we branched out into different fields. Nobody could master several fields like how they used to before. Many already had their heads in the clouds within the branches of a single field and there were hardly any outstanding researchers anymore.


    It was not that they became more professional and focused only on a single field but instead, there was just too much to take in. This was especially so in their attempt to decode ssian technology where the knowledge they once had was blown away as they learned more about this alien technology. There was a plethora of new information almost every single day and new theories would emerge every other month. The knowledge learned today might be obsolete the following month and one would have to relearn it from scratch.


    At such a breakneck speed, the intelligence of researchers needed to increase more and more. Without the ability to learn andprehend new theories, it was hard to adapt their research to new information. In reality, most researchers could no longer keep up with the pace. If this situation continued, the development of human technology may just have to slow down as there were just too little researchers right now. It was ridiculous to force civilization to continue on this path. After the technological explosion after they managed to decode a part of the ssian technology, the researchers were already too exhausted to keep up with new findings.


    The discovery of the wisdom elixir was perfect timing, boosting human intelligence to a level where the rate of learning was highly efficient, turning their mind so sharp thatmon researchers would not be somon anymore. In other words, almost all of them had the potential to be a senior scientist. The wisdom elixir gave humans a big boost in their progress.


    ...


    A cold wind blew on the ground as the people of thepany handling the harvest of the interster creature¡¯s body returned to the spaceship in exhaustion. A day of hard work had finally ended. Cui Weichuan got the leader who served under him to clean up the tools and report the damages to him. He then sat on the ground and took off his helmet but he did not have the appetite to eat at all. After a day of work, he was not exactly tired. After all, the conditions were vastly different than the ice mining days since there were now thousands of vehicles and various equipment in thepany¡¯s arsenal. It was not as tiring like it was during the ice mining days where everything was hardbor.


    It was just that... Whenever he was close to the interster creature, he would feel a certain sense of suppression that was overwhelming, mentally draining him. Fortunately, he was wearing his protective vest, without which, he would probably pass out like what they heard from the rumors.


    "I can¡¯t imagine what it would feel like for those who worked on top of the creature." As he thought, Cui Weichuan became more rxed.


    His team got lucky when they drew the ballot to be responsible to cut off the purple thorns on the interster creature¡¯s legs. Each thorn was seven meters long and four meters thick, filled with tiny scales, they shone in a purple color. It was fearsome. The thorns were ridiculously tough and regr cutting machines could not do the work. Within minutes, the des would be ttened and evensers could do no harm to it. The best and only way was to grind at it using high-pressure water.


    Since the weather was cold, the usage of high-pressure water to cut through the thorns was not an easy task as the source of water was unavable. However, since there were mobile nuclear stations in the construction site, energy was endless and getting a source of water was not so difficult after all. With the help of 300 people in the team and 80 pieces of equipment, they only managed to cut through the five thinnest thorns but seeing as most of the thorns were already halfway cut, there should be better results tomorrow.


    "Squad leader, you haven¡¯t eaten yet. I¡¯ve got extra." Old Lin said.


    "Ahh, thank you so much, Old Hu!" Cui Weichuan was not a fledgling recruit anymore so he did not take extra, only realizing he was hungry when he was passed some food.


    "No need for thanks, it¡¯s nothing."


    The food was good and lunch was the same. There were three dishes and the main dish was a top-of-the-line cactus bun. He was from the south and used to have rice all the time before the apocalypse dawned on humanity but now that he had these for years, he had gotten used to it. It was a luxury that such dishes were served as there was no such treatment for him when he was an unemployed man.


    Just as he began eating, Old lin asked, "Squad leader, can I ask you something?"


    "Hmm?" Cui Weichuan replied with a full mouth as he was eating.


    "How long do you think we¡¯ll have to work with thispany? Would we be dismissed after the project is over?" Old Lin seemed worried.


    "Why would you ask me such a thing? The superiors will make the decision." Cui Wenchuan swallowed his food and continued, "However, I don¡¯t think they would let the high unemployment rate continue like this. Now that there are more and more factories up and running on the spaceship, even if we were dismissed from this project, most of us would probably get hired in a factory, I guess."


    "What about uncivilized and unskilled people like me?" Just as Old Lin began to seem a little relieved, he asked in a concerned tone again.


    "You can always learn, nobody was born a skilled person. Besides, you don¡¯t look old, you still have many years ahead of you!" Cui Wenchuan said in constion.


    He was optimistic. Now that there were only six million people left, not a single human resource could go to waste. As soon as society returned to normal, everyone could get a job. The only difference was the treatment they would receive.


    "I¡¯m 58 already." Old Lin said.


    "You don¡¯t look that old to me, I thought you¡¯re only 40." Cui Weichuan said honestly. Most of the people nowadays did not seem old. Although there were no official studies done, humans now lived longer than they did prior to the apocalypse.


    A bunch of kids who were about 12 to 13 years old passed by. Old Lin was stunned and asked, "Do we hire kids here?"


    "Nonsense, they are from the escort team." Cui Weichuan attempted to stop him from talking nonsense. As the interim leader of thepany, he attended the meeting before departure. He had seen this bunch of kids at the meeting and they were brought there by the mayor¡¯s secretary. They were not ordinary kids.


    ...


    Without a doubt, the kids were Luo Yuan¡¯s cloned children. Due to their fusion bodies, they had grown into teenagers within a year. They already learned everything that they could from the two family teachers and began teaching themselves. With what they already knew, they were no less intelligent than amon researcher. In some aspects, they were even better than the researchers, they onlycked experience.


    As their bodies unique and they were still not mentally matured, Luo Yuan did not want them to enter society just yet. Being here served as training for them as well as protection for the staff. Although the project of harvesting the carcass of the interster creature only involved its scales, eyeballs, thorns, and nails which were on the surface. The most they would go to would be cutting its flesh on the surface without going deeper into its body. However, they could only hope for the best since nobody could guarantee that the parasites in the body would not infect the staff.


    Prior to the project, Luo Yuan spent some time to conduct a one-month training with his clones. They were born warriors and within one month, they had mastered their sword training. Even the gathering of Will which was extremely difficult for ordinary people seemed like nothing to them. Luo Yuan was even envious of their talents but unfortunately, they had zero interest in such things.

 Chapter 494: Technological Boom (II)

    Chapter 494: Technological Boom (II)


    Trantor: EndlessFantasy Trantion Editor: EndlessFantasy Trantion


    Soon, it was close to 2018 and it had almost been five years since the onset of the apocalypse. The once endangered humans who had left the earth was now full of life, with their negative, supressed emotions now fading into the past. The residential area within the spaceship was flourishing. Since the people migrated into the spaceship two years ago, the progress in technological development had been flourishing. Many ssian factories were already up and running. Batches of staff were assigned to work on them after a short period of training and within a period of one year, there were breakthroughs in the field of nanotechnology, electromaics, gene modification, quantum technology, artificial intelligence and nuclear fusion technology. Although the knowledge from these fields was based on ssian technology, being able to do it within such a short period of time without relying on the artificial intelligence system of the spaceship was quite the aplishment.


    With the breakthrough in these fields, people were no longer confused with ssian technology anymore. Of course, that did not mean human technology was now on par with the ssians. In fact, it was far from it, only being on par with ssian technology that was 60 years old. The knowledge humans have obtained from the ssian artificial intelligence system was fragmented and though there were various applications and theories, most of it was iplete and would take time to decipher and master.


    ...


    Luo Yuan and a couple of the city hall¡¯s top leaders were inspecting thetest results in a ssian factory within the industrial area. In the massive test field, a giant that stood almost 20 meters high squat on the ground with more than 10 tools on its robotic hands hanging in the air. The robot seemed overwhelming to ordinary people even when it was stationary.


    "So is this the ssian engineering robot?" Tian Jinping asked in shock.


    "That¡¯s right. Honorable mayor and leaders, this robot has been in a dormant state ever since it was disconnected from the ship¡¯smunication device with humans being unable to operate it at all. Now that we have reced its brain with one that we¡¯ve developed, it belongs to us, an engineering robot built by humans - a human engineering robot!" The head engineer of the factory said proudly.


    The head engineer was one of the people who was given a chance to consume the wisdom elixir. Aside from the unreal sense of power and the urge to suppress others when it was first consumed, many have gotten over that feeling and had their feet rooted back in reality. However, there were some of them who could not get out of that mentality but as long as they did nothing to break thew, Luo Yuan did nothing to them.


    Luo Yuan looked at the massive robot and asked in great interest, "Chief Chen, please tell us more about this robot." Seeing as the question came from Luo Yuan himself, the head engineer was stunned and said in his excitement. "Yes, mayor! This robot is the biggest one in the ssian arsenal, it is also the one with the most amount of features. It weighs 535 tons and has a miniature nuclear fusion furnace as well as a pulse engine, enabling it to support activities such as short distance interster travel, heavy machinery and spaceship repair, as well as small-scale asteroid mining. It is a multipurpose robot that is a necessary for interster flights within such a spaceship."


    "How safe is it, would the ship¡¯s artificial intelligence system regain control of it again?" Luo Yuan nodded and asked. He was not concerned about the artificial intelligence system betraying it as the entire ship was now under human control. To survive, it would never betray them without a ssian mastermind behind it, pulling the strings but the artificial intelligence system had no control over this.


    Chief Chen thought for a moment and his sharp mind hade up with countless scenarios. He replied, "That¡¯s impossible, we¡¯ve localized themunication devices as well as other functions of the robot into anguage suitable for humans. Moreover, now that the factories were under human control and unless thepatibility between the artificial intelligence system and themunication device was improved, both of them would bepletely ipatible and would still remain in the control of Hope No. 3, our very own invention."


    Hope No. 3 was the third generation of quantum supeputers that humans invented. It¡¯s processing power was 10,000 times more powerful than the ones avable before the apocalypse which included mobile phones. Although it was still a far way from catching up to the ship¡¯s artificial intelligence system, it was already at 1/10,000 of its processing power. The gap seemed huge but at the rate human technology was progressing, they were inching closer every day. The first quantum supeputers the humans invented was only 1/100 billionth of the ship¡¯s artificial intelligence system¡¯s processing power but it took them only one and a half years toe up with the third generation.


    "Let¡¯s activate it and see what it can do, shall we?" Luo Yuan nodded and said.


    "Sure. For safety purposes, I¡¯d like to ask the mayor and leaders to take a step back." Chief Chen said. As they stepped back, he lifted the portable device with his left hand and tapped on the three-dimensional screen. The once quiet test field was now filled with a buzzing sound that was not that loud but rather, sounded quite intimidating. It was the sound of the robot¡¯s engine, a green light lit up on the robot¡¯s head, it then stood up slowly.


    The robot then lifted its heavy body and walked to the deck of the spaceship while doing a self-test. It did not make a single sound, its massive body giving out the impression that it was light which was quite contradictory. The robot apparently had an anti-gravity chip in its system as well as an outstanding bncing system which allowed it to adapt to any environment. Its systems scanned the environment and found a heavily damaged machine nearby and it walked towards it.


    In Luo Yuan¡¯s eyes, the machine seemedpletely destroyed. Not only were the parts scattered all over the floor, its main systems were totally destroyed. Seeing as the leaders were curious about the robot, Chief Chen said, "There are more than 10,000 blueprints in its central databank. All of them came from the original databank from which we copied the blueprints over when we were rewriting its programme. We¡¯ve instructed it to fix the machine, let¡¯s see how effective it is."


    The robot began moving again. Its circr eyes releasing a wide beam that scanned the machine before it and once it finished the scan, it began to retrieve data on the machine. Next, it began to move its metal arms that had more than 10 tools on it. Among the tools was a gigantic heavy hammer than weighed five tons, which were among other old-school tools like a metal plier as well as high-tech tools which had unknown functions. Even Luo Yuan could not figure out what some of the tools did.


    The first step in fixing the machine was to disassemble itpletely. The process was quite violent as some of the parts were pressed against one another and could not be separated so they were cut open usingsers. 10 secondster, countless parts were arranged neatly on the side before the robot scanned them once more and picked it up using both its metal arms. The metal parts werepletely bent out of shape, one of them cut in half by the robot earlier. The robot then heated the parts to a high temperature and welded the two parts together.


    "Is that it?" Luo Yuan thought to himself but just as a tinge of skepticism grew within him, another robot arm joined the party. The tool that arm was holding seemed strange, it was a metal cylinder that was almost one meter thick. There was a concave ball on top of it but nobody knew what it was for. "What¡¯s that tool the robot is holding?" Since Luo Yuan did not understand, he asked Chief Chen directly. "It¡¯s a miniature, maic field shaping device!" Chief Chen said immediately and continued, "It¡¯s able to shape metals as if they were liquids within its maic field and create parts ording to the blueprints. It¡¯s the robot¡¯s main repair function."


    Luo Yuan knew what the device was for once he heard Chief Chen mention its name. He had seen this technique before in other factories before this. Such techniques were used in metal smelting and forging factories but he had never seen such a small version. The robot¡¯s engine began buzzing, apparently powering the equipment with a massive amount of energy. Luo Yuan could see the air around the maic field shaping device move and distort, causing the metal pieces to shake and they seemed like they were going to be absorbed by the robot. The device, however, seemed to have a strong control over the maic field to ensure that its maic field could do what it was intended to do.


    Under the influence of the maic field, the shape of the part began to morph as the distorted metal morphed and the broken partsbined. Ten secondster, the once useless part was nowpletely repaired. It looked as good as new and it was incredibly impressive. Apparently, the ssians had superior technology when it came to maic fields to the point where they had full control over maic fields. Before the humans discovered ssian technology, their technology in the field of maic fields was primitive.


    If the humans possessed such technology during the reconstruction area era, the productivity in the industries they had going on then would have increased several-fold. Mutated beasts would have been less of a threat to humans. However, the application of such technology would require huge amounts of affordable energy which was not avable then. If nuclear fusion technology was not developed then as it was now, even if humans were to acquire this technology, it would be redundant. Technology was meant toplement one another to create a ripple effect, it could not stand alone. Even if alien technology existed back then, it would not have made much of a difference if they could not utilize it.


    The flow of each of the robotic limbs was smooth and neat and the repair was done to several other parts. As the operation area was massive, it took some time but the rest were fixed in less than 20 seconds each. Luo Yuan did some calctions and found that a few of the machines that weighed 10 tons were fixed within 15 minutes. He began pping softly and before long the leaders next to him followed suit, filling the area with the sound of pping. Chief Chen was blushing. In society these days, there was nothing more important than the recognition from your superior and not awards or glory.


    ...


    Although the ssian robot was not considered to be a breakthrough under the recent boom in the technological expansion, it was still meaningful progress for humans as it now meant that humans now possessed the basic ability to fix the spaceship. At the same time, they were now able to operate in space, enabling asteroid mining for materials. As more ssian factories activated and production began on arger scale, the materials they had in reserve were used up faster. Most of the materials used were only about 10% of the amount they had in inventory. On the other hand, about 30% of their pure iron reserve was used up as the megastructures were made of metal.


    Luo Yuan knew the risks of that as the materials were meant for human survival if they ever encountered any danger in space. On the other hand, humanscked the materials for their daily life as they needed to use it in every part of their lives. It was different than it used to be, life was hard and materials were limited. The only concern they had used to be food but now that life has taken a turn for the better and technology has progressed, if there were no changes, people would start toin.


    On the other hand, utilizing the materials were also meant to convince people to join the workforce so they would notze around doing nothing. Though there are better ways to increase employment such as the service industry, this was an easy way to increase the rate of employment and create job opportunities for those who were unemployed. Prior to the apocalypse, the service industry in China surpassed the industrial sector. The scale of this in the United States would be even higher as their economy was booming.


    In reality, at the current standard of human technology, it was possible to create entertainment for everyone. Now that the engineering robot had been decoded, building ordinary intelligent robots were a no-brainer. Unmanned factories that were simr to the ssian factory were now feasible. However, if that happened, it would be like taking away the meaning of life for many people. Humankind still had a long way to go before they are able to enjoy life as they were just in their infancy, on a journey to leave their sr system into a dark universe. With an uncertain future, if they started rxing now, the most likely oue would be them being a group of wanderers who had no means of returning to their home.


    This was not what Luo Yuan wanted to see. In order to support and encourage the people to thrive in their interster journey, the service industry was severely restricted. Aside from movies were only made for promotional purposes, the people had almost no entertainment. However, there were more adult-schools and part-time courses for the workforce that were being developed. Public tuition sses were everywhere and most of them were research-based. Learning had be a trend in society and the only objective was to push their technology as far as it could go.

 Chapter 495: Give Birth For Humanitys Future!

    Chapter 495: Give Birth For Humanity¡¯s Future!


    Trantor: EndlessFantasy Trantion Editor: EndlessFantasy Trantion


    Chen Xinjie entered the office gracefully with an enticing fragrance on her body. cing the cup of tea on her hand before Luo Yuan, she whispered into his ear, "Mayor, 10 more minutes to the meeting." Within two years, technology was not the only thing that changed rapidly, there were some changes in the people in City Hall as well. Some of them were sacked for corruption and some just could not keep up with development while others were promoted.


    His former secretary, Cheng Guanghui was assigned to a new location as the director of the Industrial Bureau. He was reced by Chen Xinjie as Luo Yuan¡¯s secretary. To Cheng Guanghui, such a promotion was nothing to be happy about. Aside from having to work independently, it also meant that he would no longer be involved in the research on energy crystals any further.


    In all honesty, Luo Yan was quite indifferent about Cheng Guanghui and it was merely an organizational transfer. Usually, secretaries for leaders would not hold their positions for more than three years before they were transferred. It was to prevent staff progress from stagnating and to avoid misuse of management rights.


    After all, being his secretary meant that he was Luo Yuan¡¯s ambassador. Every move he made represented Luo Yuan¡¯s will or at least it did in the eyes of others. More so in an era where power was a priority, the power a secretary held was even more than the othermittee members. It was without a doubt, an unusual phenomenon.


    The reason why he chose Chen Xinjie as his secretary was because he knew her very well. She did not have a desire for power and she had a strong level of integrity. Besides,pared to others that Luo Yuan was not so familiar with, he would naturally trust people he had around him.


    Luo Yuan looked at the time and said, "It¡¯s still early, let me finish looking at these documents."


    Chen Xinjie did not disturb him and left soon after he said that. After Luo Yuan finished looking at the documents, he stood up, tidied his clothes and walked out of his office. Chen Xinjie who was at the secretariat followed him with a pile of documents in hand.


    While they were on the way, they started chatting, "Is the birth rate that low nowadays?"


    "It has been like this since the beginning of the apocalypse. Although the antidote virus did not mutate most of the human, slight changes had taken ce. Humans were now vastly different than they were before the apocalypse, which heavily affected the birth rate." Luo Yuan said in a serious tone.


    To spread the word on how evil ssians were, news of the antidote virus which caused the mutation epidemic on earth, as well as countless deaths in the general poption, were made known to the public. Chen Xinjie already knew about the news so it was nothing new to her. Soon, they arrived at the meeting room. The guard who stood in front of the meeting room was stunned to see them both but he got a hold of himself and opened the door.


    It was not a meeting with the management but rather, a policy seminar. Aside from the leaders from each management team, most of the people present were popr scientists and professors. Without wasting any more time, Luo Yuan started the meeting right away.


    "This is thetest information on all the newborn babies in all the hospitals during the past two years. To date, there have only been 3,320 newborn children within the past two years. The birth rate is terrifyingly low and this cannot go on. If we do not do anything, we¡¯d go extinct within 5,000 years! I have given each of you a copy of the information and all of you should have already read it. If anybody has any proposals, you¡¯re wee to speak up and if you have anything to say about the cloned humans, you can voice your opinions too." Luo Yuan said.


    Chen Xinjie was doing her best to write down the minutes of the meetings as fast as she could in a corner, asionally ncing at Luo Yuan. To her, that was the time he was the most attractive.


    "Respectable mayor and leaders, I am against cloning humans. At our current level of technology, it¡¯s true that it wouldn¡¯t be difficult to clone humans but cloning alone will merely increase the poption and will do nothing to increase the birth rate of humans. If humans would give up natural methods of conceiving a child and fully turn to cloning to continue the human race, this may just work. However, this would create a huge impact on human society, causing a copse in the old social model of a family and cause an uproar in society as we know it. In my opinion, the best way forward in tackling the low birth rate would be to continue our research in medicine." A social science professor covered with white hair stood up and said in all seriousness.


    Luo Yuan frowned, not expecting the first person to speak up to speak against cloning.


    "I think this old professor is too conservative. Every stage of progress in society will bring a certain level of impact. The matriarchal period, feudal period and the small family period before the apocalypse impacted society in various ways. The development of clones would naturally impact existing society, it is unavoidable. Now that there were few of us left and outer space was not somewhere safe, to even consider the impact cloning will bring society before we even solve the problem we¡¯re currently facing is ridiculous.." Said a scientist who stood up after the professor.


    He was young, seemingly not even 30 years old. However, young scientists nowadays were everywhere. Though they were young, it also meant that they were more open to new things. Compared to the older generation, he was much more radical and Luo Yuan had noments on that. Cloning was naturally the best way to solve the poption issue and the effect was immediate though there would always be side effects. Cloning had existed since the reconstruction area era but since humans were facing immense stress to ensure their survival, it was not publicized.


    Now that survival was no longer an issue, if human clones were discovered by civilians, there would be an uproar. Though he was respectable, his reputation will definitely take a hit so even though he had ns for human cloning since the very beginning, he still had to be careful.


    "I partly agree with the old professor¡¯s opinion. That being said, I¡¯m not against human cloning. Instead, I¡¯m against indiscriminate human cloning. I think we¡¯ve reached a stage where we should be bio-engineering the human genome ourselves!" Director Wu stood up and proimed. As he was given the task of creating the wisdom elixir, he was the most powerful figure in the field of gics. However, two years had passed and there were still no results so his field of research had almost been marginalized.


    "Of course, I¡¯m not talking about gic sequencing but instead, the purpose of it is to understand the functions of the genes in human DNA. After the functions of the genes are fully mapped, we¡¯ll set the human gic standard and get rid of genes that were affected by the antidote virus which causes infertility and the ills that is the human condition. Once we¡¯ve done that, we¡¯ll be able to take care of fertility..."


    The old professor initially thought this man was supporting his idea but the more he spoke, the more ridiculous it sounded. His opinions were even more radical than the young scientist that spoke before him. The old professor could no longer take it and spoke up, interrupting him before he could even finish what he was saying, "This is absurd! How can you still call that human? It¡¯s just something produced in a factory, this is truly ridiculous!"


    "As a gic researcher, humans and clones are not that different to me." Director Wu defended himself. "Life is not as sacred as you think it is. Evolution can be interrupted and the development of this technology is meant to serve the interest of humankind. Since we have advanced technology, why not utilize it? Better humans, longer lives, that¡¯d definitely be another boost to human civilization."


    The meeting room became crowded and everyone was seen talking to one another or arguing softly. As time passed, the meeting room grew noisier and noisier.


    "Please, behave yourselves!" Luo Yuan reminded them. If they continued arguing, the conservative and radical camp might even start fighiting. Of course, as a young man himself, he leaned more towards the radical camp. Compared to the boring conservative camp, the radical camp was no doubt meant to be the direction human civilization should go towards.


    However, if the ideas proposed were too radical, it would be rejected by many. Being in a position of power, he had to bnce the opinions from both camps ande up with the best proposal for humankind to thrive.


    Luo Yuan thought to himself and said, "I can see that all of you have your own opinions. However, I don¡¯t think human cloning is against natural birth. At the same time, we cannot stop progressing towards the future just because of side effects. There are many married couples who are eager to have kids right now. Perhaps, we could provide fertility services to those in need."


    "I agree with the mayor!" Bi Jianping said and continued, "As long as the marketing is done properly, such services would be in high demand. One way to do it would be to use the slogan ¡¯Give Birth For Humanity¡¯s Future!¡¯"


    "I agree with mayor¡¯s opinion!" Bi Jianping said,"As long as the marketing is good, such service would be in high demand. Such as ¡®Give Birth in The Favor of The People¡¯s Future!"


    ...


    Naturally, Luo Yuan¡¯s proposal passed with no objections but that did not mean it could be carried out immediately. There was still much to do. The first problem would be the appearance of the clones and the person who was cloned. That was the biggest concern of the people and if the issue was not solved, it would affect the implementation heavily.


    That being said, perhaps it was not an issue after all. Maybe if they saw Luo Yuan as the one, they would not think of the appearance issue. He almost single-handedly modified the function of the human genome which included more than 10,000 types of evolved human genes. His powerful body and the clones he had at home was the best example of this. Moreover, with the help of ssian equipment and the ability to directly modify the genes, it will take an estimated one or two years to fulfill all the requirements for mass human cloning.


    Furthermore, the proposal that Luo Yuan brought up was not just a policy, it was a transition. When humans begin cloning children, they would slowly ept the existence of clones and when that happens, it would be the perfect timing for mass cloning.


    After the meeting was adjourned, he got the gic scientists to stay.


    In the afternoon, arge institute called the Human Genome Optimization Programme was formed. A couple of dayster, with instructions from the government, more and more researchers were sent to the institute. In reference to the gic function Luo Yuan mapped made as well as the wisdom elixir documents which were leaked on purpose, the programme was progressing at an unbelievably rapid pace.

 Chapter 496: Spring Festival

    Chapter 496: Spring Festival


    Trantor: EndlessFantasy Trantion Editor: EndlessFantasy Trantion


    The spring festival was approaching and factory workers had gone home for the holidays.


    It was the second time people had celebrated the spring festival since the apocalypse andpared to the first year, the celebrations this year was definitely more lively. There were even giant rednterns that symbolized the festivities that hung outside the megastructures. The streets were decorated with lights and littered with colors.


    There were crowds at the department stores, supermarkets and farmers markets. People had been holding in the urge to shop for a long period of time and it had just been unleashed. There was an abundance of supplies during the spring festival this year. The shopping malls sold many of thetest household appliances and the farmers¡¯ market even had meat in stock for the first time, attracting many people.


    The meat was not naturally grown but at the same time, it was not synthesized with different elements. Instead, it was a kind of meat that was cultivated in aboratory. There was no limit to its growth and it could grow infinitely as long as it was in the nutrient solution, simr to cancer cells. IT was a seasonal product which was identally discovered when they were studying the flesh of the interster creature. While the study was being conducted, a young intern who had just graduated identally found out that the flesh would snap out of its suspended state and begin multiplying at an extreme rate when it was ced in a growth medium and ced in an extreme environment. It would absorb all the nutrients avable nearby and undergo cell division before growing rapidly to be resistant to the dangers in its immediate surroundings, maintaining itself.


    However, even though it would multiply and grow rapidly, the flesh of this creature wasparable to metal and waspletely inedible. The only way to continue the experiment was to acquire more supplies. However, even though they had acquired an astonishing reserve that managed to fill up an entire warehouse and could supply them with enough supplies to conduct experiments for the next 100 years, it was meaningless.


    After finding out about this phenomenon, theboratory did not give up but continued carrying out various experiments on the interster creature¡¯s flesh thatsted for more than six months. From time to time, the researchers would try using different sampling methods and eventually, they had surprising news.


    In the growth process of the flesh, the researchers found that it was gradually degrading. It was possible that the environment the experiments were conducted in could not support high-level flesh such as that from an interster creature. In order to adapt to its new environment, the flesh would degrade slightly with every experiment and eventually, it became soft and there were even changes in its gic structure. After continuous growth and experiments, the flesh put on the market could no longer bebeled as the flesh of an interster creature but instead, a level three flesh which had adapted to its new environment.


    ...


    "Give me some dough, there is hardly any left over here!" Zhao Yali quickly used up the dough in front of her and said.


    "How did you wrap it up so quickly?" Wang Xiaguang was shocked. They were wrapping dumplings from the same pile of dough and she had not even used one-fifths of the dough but Zhao Yali had already finished.


    "Here!" Huang Jiahui said.


    "When I was younger, my family used to run a snack bar. Every night, I¡¯d help in making dumplings and steamed buns. I got my skills there." Zhao Yali took the dough Huang Jiahui brought and said. Her tone remained the same. Time was the best medicine... It had been so long, the grief of the past had faded.


    People began gathering at the round table in the living room at Luo Yuan¡¯s house and started making dumplings - it was very lively. The mutated woman looked at them for a short while and after she found it to be quite interesting, she took a piece of dough to attempt making dumplings. However, it was a fact that she did not have the talent. Her sharp ws would always pierce through the dough and the dumplings she made would alwayse out with strange shapes, exposing the meat inside. However, she was having fun, enjoying herself.


    Wang Shishi red at the unknown object in front of her and said spitefully, "You¡¯re so stupid! You¡¯re going to eat the dumplings you wrappedter!"


    Hearing Wang Shishi¡¯s criticism, the mutated woman pouted, seemingly angry. She made a few more, put down the dough she was holding and ced the dumplings she made earlier in a basket angrily. She then carried the basket in one hand, dragged a chair in another and walked away from Wang Shishi. She walked to where Luo Yan and Luo Yu was at and gestured them to make space for her.


    The both of them did not mind and moved the chair enthusiastically. The mutated woman then ced the chair between the both of them. Nowadays, Wang Shishi was not the only one she could y with. Compared to Wang Shishi who always spoke ill of her, Luo Yu and Luo Yuan were her true best friends. She hopped on the chair and looked at Wang Shishi with a smirk which made her scoff in return.


    However, the mutated woman was inherently active and lost interest in things quickly. She lost patience after she had been making dumplings for awhile. However, in order prevent Wang Shishi fromughing at her, she continued persistently. Fortunately, the footsteps that approached from from outside saved her. Her slightly pointed ears were moving like that of a rabbit as she immediately hopped off the chair and fled like a sh of lightning.


    "It¡¯s probably Luo Yuan," Huang Jiahui said whileughing after she looked at the disappearing act the mutated woman pulled.


    "Dad is back!" Luo Fan confirmed. The ears of the clones were sharper than the others. Among all the people there, only the mutated woman couldpare with their abilities.


    As expected, Luo Yuan entered the door a whileter with the mutated woman following suit behind him.


    "Dad!"


    "Dad!"


    The kids stood up and greeted Luo Yuan immediately. They were obedient.


    Luo Yuan nodded and smiled. He ced a paper box in his hand on the ground and took off his coat. Luo Yu picked it up eagerly, put it on the hanger, and then asked expectantly, "Dad, what is this?"


    "Here, your new year presents!" Luo Yuan smiled and said.


    "What present?" Luo Yu hugged Luo Yuan¡¯s arm.


    Luo Yuan released his arm from Luo Yu¡¯s grasp. During the past two years, the kids grew rapidly and they were now young men and youngdies. Especially his two daughters, they had their first periods half a year ago. It was inappropriate for them to be so close to him.


    He took out a gift from the paper box, it was wrapped to the festival¡¯s theme. He passed it to Luo Yu and said, "Open it and you¡¯ll know!"


    "Dad, I want one too!" Luo Yan said.


    "Yes, everyone¡¯s got one!"


    Seeing that she was ignored, the mutated woman made a noise.


    Luo Yuanughed and patted her head, "I wouldn¡¯t forget yours."


    Luo Yuan then gave everyone a present, including Ye Qiuyu.


    After Luo Yu opened her present, she saw what seemed like a pair of contact lenses. There was a bottle with a liquid in it, but she knew that these were not contact lenses as she asked, "Dad, what are these?"


    "This is thetest miniature quantumputer. Put this on your sses and switch it on using your Will." Luo Yuan exined, "It can be used to connect to the inte, make long distance calls and also conduct environmental tests. Itsputing power is nothing less than the previous generations of was nothing less than the previous generation. There are other functions as well, take a look for yourself in the manuals!"


    "There¡¯s nothing fun about the inte." Wang Shishi mumbled to herself.


    As part of the military in a totalitarian society, Luo Yuan and his family were naturally the first people served by the staff. Every other day, there would be new, high-tech products sent to his house which included things like quantumputers. Wang Shishi had the first generation up to the third generation quantumputer in her bedroom so she was quite familiar with the inte. Speaking of the current inte, Wang Shishi was utterly disappointed as the current inte was crude and could notpare to the inte prior to the apocalypse, which was full of colorful images. There were limited websites, only about 100 of them. More than 10 of them were rted to academic journals while the rest were news or educational websites. To ordinary people, most of them would not even use it if gaming or video rted websites were nowhere to be found. Entertainment was close to zero on the inte.


    Even themunication software needed to be improved. Aside from the basicmunication functions, business and entertainment programmes were non-existent. The interface was so simple that people just wanted to p the developers. However, Wang Shishi could not wait to put on the miniature quantumputer that looked like contact lenses. She was a fan of electrical products and even though there was no entertainment, she spent most of her time on the inte and surfed for thetest news or some interesting e-books. As she put theputer on, she blinked a few times and felt like nothing changed.


    "Eh? How do I turn this on?"


    Just when she was thinking, a screen appeared before her eyes.


    "Oh! Its controlled by brainwaves!" Wang Shishi thought about what Luo Yuan said earlier and found out how to use them. The brightness was spot on, the mini calctor appeared in the blink of an eye and soon, the image of a ssic blue sky and clouds on the desktop that we knew so well appeared, seemingly so real. She felt like she was in it, back to the time on earth before all this happened.


    Fortunately, she was not an emotional person. Soon, she started exploring and realized that the images she saw could be adjusted to be more transparent. Once the transparency was adjusted to about 50%, it would not affect her when she was walking at all.


    The operation was simple if you had clear thoughts, its speed was blindingly fast and urate. Irrelevant thoughts would affect its operations but since humans would always haveplicated thoughts throughout the day, the only way it could be operated was if everyone used Will.


    Wang Shishi even found some of the movies she had watched before on theputer. She selected one of them to check out how immersive the experience would be if she watched a movie on the miniatureputer. Since there were realistic special effects on the desktop, the effects on the miniatureputer should be even stronger.


    Almost immediately, she felt an intense impact from the images that appeared before her eyes, like she had entered into the virtual world of the movie. Compared to that, a three-dimensional screen was nothing at all. Wang Shishi thought to herself, "Too bad there are no games, it¡¯s such a waste for such a high-tech product."


    ...


    This portableputer was the first of its kind to test run the ssian portable technology to end users by theputer research department. They utilized groundbreaking technology that were not even present in ssian technology such as brainwave-based controls which was thanks to human research. Perhaps to the ssians, such a technology had long be obsolete. The ssians have been using a technology that would connect to the brain of the end user directly, creating something like a brain-in-a-jar where the virtual web was difficult to distinguish from reality. The technology gap between both civilizations were far apart but it was the first time that humans managed not to rely on ssian technology as a benchmark but instead, created something for themselves. It was something meaningful that was worth celebrating.

 Chapter 497: Dyson Sphere

    Chapter 497: Dyson Sphere


    Trantor: EndlessFantasy Trantion Editor: EndlessFantasy Trantion


    Although it was the spring festival, many of them volunteered to work. During this period, many suffered as dead bodies were littered everywhere since it was the apocalypse, it was devastating. The standard of living remained unstable even during the reconstruction area period. For survival, intense insecurities still lingered among the people. Even now, the boom in technological advancement had somewhat stabilized society but the thought of going back to how things were was worrisome for most people.


    Worrying about this matter was not a bad thing. At the very least, it would drive people to give everything they had in their work and also to give selflessly. This was especially so for the researchers where 60% of them had continued to work and 10% of them did not even go home on the day of the spring festival. That was one of the unique characteristics of humans. In the research industry, detaching oneself from emotions was a basic requirement. Most of them would face ice cold equipment and boring numbers on a daily basis. If one was impatient, he or she would be eliminated immediately. Moreover, to them, even a project that was far from breakthrough could motivate them to spend all their time and effort in pursuing it. During that period of time, even family had to y second fiddle to work.


    Even Luo Yuan, who held the highest position did not have a minute to ck off. On the third day of festivities, a mail regarding the ssians came from the extraterrestrial information department. The department directly reported to Luo Yuan¡¯s foreign information organisation and was the most important part of the spaceship military forces as they were responsible to collect information on the nearbys. This included and is not limited to capturing signals from extraterrestrial civilizations, nning of safe routes as well as detecting the existence of nearbys in preparation for their future voyages. However, the most important mission at the moment was collecting all the information they could about ssians and the analysis of their technology.


    ...


    In the spaceship control room.


    "Mayor, we have limited documents on the ssian artificial intelligence system. This is the only video clip we¡¯ve managed to find on the ship¡¯s artificial intelligence system." The extraterrestrial information department director, Wu Xinfan, yed the video clip on the three-dimensional screen on the ship¡¯s control room. He used to be a professor of astronomy at a university and since the university had been established, he was assigned as the director.


    In reality, many of the people in the department were the same. Without a strong sense of professionalism and certain academic abilities, one would not be able to work there. Most of them were academics which specialized in mathematics, astronomy, and biology. Perhaps, calling it a special research organization would be more urate in describing it.


    Luo Yuan looked at it patiently and saw a video clip of ssians boarding the spaceship. It was full of ssians and he could imagine their enthusiasm. To the ssians, this expedition was paramount to them as the first leap forward in the progress of their civilization. It represented the first step in their progress towards an intergctic civilization and was also the first deration of war. However, the ending did not seem too good for them.


    The video focused on one ssian. Luo Yuan could not recognize which was the main character after watching for some time. Even with his ridiculously good memory, the aliens looked the same to him. The main character was one of the ssians he killed and seeing as the rest were cheering it on, he should be the captain.


    However, Luo Yuan was not paying attention at all. The location it was filmed at was obviously not from earth and through the transparent wall that was seemingly made of ss, Luo Yuan noticed a dark, empty space outside.


    "This is a space port! Look at the dots!" Wu Xinfan eximed. Pointing at the insignificant dots on the corners of the screen, he said, "Those are the spaceships that were going to dock, that would mean that they have already achieved interster travel." Luo Yuan nodded but he was not surprised. He had seen many scenes of the ssian social structure in the alien¡¯s dream. They had a prosperous civilization with advanced technology and interster travel was amon means of transport for them. Why else would they have built a spaceship out of the blue? Just like humans, before they traveled out to the deep ocean, they would first sail on shallow waters.


    Wu Xinfan pointed at the screen and continued, "Fortunately for us, the video was taken at a good angle and the images are clear. We can see a star not far away, the ssians¡¯ sun.


    Perhaps he had been a teacher for way too long that when he tried to exin something, he was detailed. However, Luo Yuan did not rush him as it sounded as if he was going to exin something of utmost importance.


    "We can see that the star was far brighter. From what is observed, it seems to be 1.3 times brighter than our sun."


    Wu Xinfan then changed the video clip to an image, "This is the image of the gxy where the ssian is located. After some adjustments, we¡¯ve basically perfected the images."


    Luo Yuan then noticed that there were three blue and whites in the image that looked simr to the earth. He then interrupted, "Which of theses are ssian?"


    Though he was not familiar with astronomy, he could tell from the colors. Thes in blue had stable weather, temperature and a massive amount of water.


    "We still can¡¯t tell as of now but three of thes are habitable. ssians already possess the ability to terraform a." Wu Xinfan exined and erged the images of one of thes. Luo Yuan could see that there were many ck dots floating outside the. He could also see that there were terrain surfaces on the with signs of artificial development.


    "Can you erge the image any further?"


    Wu Xinfan shook his head and exined, "Mayor, it¡¯s no use even if we do erge it. The distance between us and that is close to 30 light years. The exact distance is 28.5 light years. No matter how big an object was, even a would seem smaller than a needle head at such a distance. To top it off, the did not have as much light than the stars and even with advanced optical detection systems on the spaceship, the captured images would seem worse than what it actually was. The images we are looking at are modified images. The more we erge them, the more inurate they would be."


    Luo Yuan nodded and Wu Xinfan continued with his exnation, "That being said, if wepare the video and the image we have, we¡¯ll see something crucial. The true brightness of the is slightly brighter than what we initially thought it was. We didn¡¯t bother at first because it was so far away and it would be inurate at times. Even with the editing from the optical detection system¡¯s editing, the amount of light would not be perfect. It wasn¡¯t until recently that wepared the images we took a year ago and confirmed this."


    Luo Yuan frowned, "So what do you think caused that?"


    "There are many things that can cause this. A star could be sparkling when we took the image or thest image we took could probably be blocked by an asteroid. Those are the possible scenarios but the most likely one would be that the star was partly covered."


    "Are you talking about a Dyson sphere?" Luo Yuan¡¯s mind was sharp and he thought of a popr theory.


    "That¡¯s very likely and we¡¯ve found proof that it might be the case!" Wu Xinfan erged the two images taken a year apart.


    Luo Yuan took a closer look and saw the same ck spot in both images. If it was only present in one image, then an asteroid or a sunspot would be a more usible exnation but since the spot was present in both images, taken a year apart, it was obvious.


    Moreover,pared to the image they took recently, the ck spot was slightly bigger than before.


    ...


    The Dyson sphere was a theory by Freeman J. Dyson back in 1960. The theory spoke ofs like the earth having a limited energy source which was insufficient to fully support the development of a civilization to the peak potential. The star in theary system which supplied most of its energy source however, exhausted most of its energy to space. The sun released 28600 billion megawatts of energy per second. At the rate the humans were consuming energy before the apocalypse which was 70 billion megawatts, the sun could provide for humanity for as long as 270,000 years. The scale of time was beyond imagination and merely one second of energy from the sun could already power humans beyond existing human history. The amount of energy the sun released would be terrifying if it was calcted by a day or a year.


    The theory indicated that a developed civilization would require the ability to encase the star in a gigantic sphere to harness the immense energy from the sun to maintain and progress the civilization as well as obtaining sufficient light. Since the inception of the theory, many scientists have voiced their agreement for it as venturing beyond their star system was necessary for civilization to progress. However, all this was just a hypothesis and human technology had yet to progress to a stage where they could verify what was actually there. Luo Yuan did not even expect to see it himself at this moment.


    Although the ck spot was not big and was only 1/50 of the cross-section of the image, it was far from being aplete Dyson sphere. However, the star was 28.5 light years from earth and the image they now saw was an image of the star 28.5 years ago. The ck spot should no longer look like this. The production and consumption of energy by a civilization reflects the amount of progress in its technology and civilization. An example would be the industrial revolution where coal was the main source of energy to the era of electricity and now, to an era of nuclear fusion, the production and consumption of energy seemed to grow exponentially.


    Although the Dyson sphere close to the ssian star was iplete and the energy produced was disappointing, its capacity was much bigger than what the spaceship could produce. Perhaps, what they saw was just 1/10,000 of its true ability. This deeply affected Luo Yuan who was still thinking of revenge on the ssians


    "Conduct further investigation into the Dyson sphere. We won¡¯t be needing this now but we¡¯ll definitely need one in the near future." Luo Yuan said in all seriousness before he left.

 Chapter 498: Fighting For The Quota

    Chapter 498: Fighting For The Quota


    Trantor: EndlessFantasy Trantion Editor: EndlessFantasy Trantion


    "Conduct further investigation into the Dyson sphere. We won¡¯t be needing this now but we¡¯ll definitely need one in the near future." Luo Yuan said in all seriousness before he left.


    It was impossible for humans to remain in the spaceship at all times. Even if they had little to no chance of returning to earth, they should still seek shelter somewhere and this technology would be more important then. The 24 deep nuclear fusion furnaces in the ship probably should not be looked down on. If all of them wereunched at the same time, the power they would generate would be at least 100 times greater than the energy consumed on earth before the apocalypse.


    However the energy generated would only be sufficient to power the navigation of the spaceship and maybe, just maybe, there would be a little bit of energy left. At different levels of a civilization¡¯s progress, their energy consumption would be different as well. For instance, a million dors may be a significant amount for a poor man but to a billionaire, their monthly expenses could very well exceed this amount.


    There were no resources allocated in the spaceship to manage to operations of the antimatter production nt which consumed a high amount of energy. Even the artificial intelligence system did not have the relevant technology to help in this matter. Perhaps, one of the reasons for this would be to prevent a rebellion by the artificial intelligence system but for the most part, it would be because the spaceship was unable to produce such arge amount of energy.


    Producing antimatter was not a difficult. Earlier, in 1995, a scientist at the European Organization for Nuclear Researchb seeded in (CERN) synthesizing the first batch of anti-hydrogen atoms. On September 18, 2000, CERN announced that they had synthesized approximately 50,000 low energy, anti-hydrogen atoms. It was the first time humans managed to synthesize such arge amount of antimatter in theboratory. [1]


    However, the amount synthesized was not sufficient to meet the demand. If the antimatter atoms were released into the air, the power generated would be even weaker than firecrackers. However, the energy expended for the synthesis of antimatter alone had cost a few hundred million Euros while the rate at which energy was converted into antimatter was extremely low.


    The scientists had roughly evaluated ssian technology based on the technology adopted in the spaceship. In the synthesis of antimatter, the ssians had simr results and the rate at which energy was converted into antimatter was extremely low. Perhaps, antimatter production was one of the precious strategic resources of the ssians.


    Even the antimatter that was stored in the spaceship probably upied arge amount of storage space.


    There was much evidence that supported this viewpoint as the most advanced interster spaceship of the ssians was utilizing a nuclear fusion furnace as a power source instead of an antimatter furnace that could produce more power. To top it off, only about 300 kilograms of antimatter bombs remain in the spaceship. Taking into ount the ones that were dropped on the earth and moon, they did not even have a ton remaining.


    Despite seeming like it was a lot to the human civilization. The fact was if it was put up against an advanced civilization, it was not even worthy of mention.


    ...


    Wu Xinfan hesitated for a while after Luo Yuan made his request clear, ground his teeth and said, "Mayor, this is a big project and I¡¯m afraid the extraterrestrial intelligence department would be unable to take up this project. Technology has been progressing at an amazing rate for these past years and we¡¯ve been losing touch with those on the forefront of the research. Although we¡¯re following thetest developments, the fact is that we can no longer get to grips with thetest technology as some of the research papers are bing too difficult to understand."


    Wu Xinfan grumbled because it was indeed true that he could not take on the responsibility. On the other hand, carrying out a feasibility analysis on the Dyson sphere would be a big undertaking as it would involve various aspects of thetest technological advancements. It would be like aprehensive implementation of thetest technology. Also, since he had the chance to brush shoulders with the mayor, he had the chance to strive to get the maximum amount of benefits for his department.


    The child who cries, gets the milk. Nowadays, the wisdom elixir was an open secret in the researchmunity.


    Members of the academia had their own small clique. Especially since the poprization of the quantumputersmunicationwork, interactions between members of a clique became more frequent.


    In the beginning, they could still interact with some of the others for brainstorming sessions. However, after the wisdom elixir was discovered, the clique members seemed to be more and more unfamiliar with one another.


    In the beginning, they would still scratch their heads over the questions asked. There would then be more than 10 solutions listed, each seemingly reasonable and had the potential of solving the problem. Despite feeling that the question asked was of sufficient difficulty, one could still understand it.


    Eventually, the problems stated in the academic forum, as well as the replies, were bing more and moreplicated. The gap between different parties grewrger and they could no longer exchange thoughts onmon subjects between one another. It felt like a primary school student was speaking to university students, feeling a great sense of disappointment now that there was such a huge difference in intelligence. It made them feel like an ape that had yet to evolve.


    When the wisdom elixir was discovered, this disappointment disappeared. It was not because they had low IQ, instead, it was because of the resources the other party had in their arsenal. However, demand had exceeded supply as the wisdom elixir was limited. Of course, the role of the extraterrestrial intelligence department was not as important as the front-line research team. Until today, none of them were given a chance at even testing out the wisdom elixir.


    Luo Yuan knew what he was asking for as he sighed and said, "Each department has a research project on hand. You shouldn¡¯t turn down the job since your department is the only one that can handle this."


    Although Luo Yuan used a gentle tone, Wu Xinfan¡¯s face turned pale listening to him. Fortunately, Luo Yuan picked it up and changed his tone before he said, "I could, however, assign more staff to your department. I will assign thetest batch of interns to your department. The wisdom elixir production is limited each year and I can¡¯t give you too many but I¡¯ll give some to your staff."


    "Mayor, how many of them would be given the wisdom elixir?" Wu Xinfan asked.


    "Probably about 10!" Luo Yuan answered after thinking for awhile.thought for a while and answered.


    Although Luo Yuan did not focus much on the extraterrestrial intelligence department, this did not mean that they were not important. In fact, they were quite important, as important as choosing a safe route tond during an inteary voyage as it would determine the fate of humankind. He did not focus much on it earlier as the time for the spaceship to embark on such a journey had yet toe.


    ...


    "Director Wu! Director Wu! Come back to your senses!" One of his colleagues pushed against the door and shouted as he saw Wu Xinfan still standing there.


    "Oh, Mister Chen. Has the mayor left?" Wu Xinfan seemed to have woken up from a dream.


    "Yes, he¡¯s left. Did you ask the mayor?" Mister Chen asked.


    "What? What did I have to ask him again?" Wu Xinfan had yet to regain his senses.


    "The wisdom elixir! I thought we¡¯ve alreadye to an agreement yesterday?" Mister Chen said, scratching his head. It was not an easy feat to have results significant enough to catch the mayor¡¯s attention. It was a rare opportunity they had to make a request. If not for his position of being director of the department, Mister Chen would have grabbed his cor and screamed at him.


    Perhaps, he spoke too loudly and it attracted arge crowd.


    "What? You didn¡¯t ask the mayor?"


    "We¡¯ve already discussed this earlier! You... You¡¯re useless!"


    Those who were working in the extraterrestrial intelligence department were experienced researchers and they did most of the grunt work when it came to research. They did not have an inkling of fear of the director at all.


    Wu Xinfan came to his senses and coughed, "Stop it! When have I ever said that I didn¡¯t ask the mayor?"


    "If you did, what did he say? Did he make any promises?" Mister Chen immediately lowered his voice.


    Wu Xinfan stared at the crowd that had obviously calmed down and said proudly, "Of course, he agreed with me and the quota is..."


    He paused.


    "How many?" One of the mathematics professors knew that he paused intentionally but still asked.


    "10!"


    Everyone was holding their breath in excitement. There were about 30 of them in the entire department. Given that there was a quota of about 10 people, it indicated that one-third of the staff were eligible for the wisdom elixir. Some of their faces turned a shade of red, confident of their abilities and feeling like their efforts had finally paid off!


    Trantor Notes:


    [1] This actually happened! https://press.cern/press-releases/1996/01/first-atoms-antimatter-produced-cern

 Chapter 499: The New Childbirth Technique

    Chapter 499: The New Childbirth Technique


    Trantor: EndlessFantasy Trantion Editor: EndlessFantasy Trantion


    In just a blink of an eye, it was September.


    At 10 o¡¯clock at night, Cui Wenchuan was on his way back from the adult night sses. He was tired and went back to his cramped house.


    The engineeringpany he had been working for previously had shut down after thest project waspleted. Most of the employees wereid off while he was reassigned to another job since he was a mid-level leader previously. He was assigned to amodities firm where he was appointed as the production supervisor.


    The sry was rtively lower than the engineeringpany. However, he would at the very least, still retain a stable ie unlike the previous job he had, where he would be unemployed most of the time.


    After working for less than a month, he realized that the factory was built by the government with the intention of reducing the unemployment rate. They did their best not to use any machines if the job was doable by hand. There were less than 50 machines in a factory that had more than 1,000 employees and even with only 50 machines, less than half of them were operational.


    After working there for a short period of time, he felt an emptiness within him, feeling like his work there was meaningless and a waste of time.


    He felt like there was no hope. Perhaps one day, with enough hard work and qualifications, he could be a top executive. However, being a factory manager was useless since the factory did not even use thetest technology. It was a factory that went through the same routine every single day with production going ording to schedule. It was not even worth mentioning in today¡¯s society.


    To the best of his knowledge, even the factory¡¯s manager living area was the same size as his.


    He did try visiting some of the more advanced factories in his free time. Looking at the engineers discussing the design ns in a spacious, fully automated factory, he felt a sliver of envy growing within him.


    He was a young man, passionate about his job, not wanting to spend his entire life doing such menial things and live in such cramped conditions where he was at the lowest ss of society that lived on nine square meters. For the sake of his family and his future, he had to fight for it.


    ...


    "You¡¯ve juste back from night school? I¡¯ve made you some supper." His wife stopped mopping the floor and asked as she saw hime home.


    "It¡¯s okay, you don¡¯t have to make me supper. Why¡¯re you still awake?" Cui Wenchuan put down the bag with the textbook in it and asked. He then hugged his beautiful wife and kissed her passionately.


    She was his second wife and he got to know her from a blind date organized by an organization. They were not even married for a year and were still in the honeymoon phase.


    "Stop fooling around. Ning Ning is still awake!"


    "Has she finished her homework?" Cui Weichuan immediately released his hand as he heard of his daughter.


    "I heard that this year¡¯s textbooks are slightly tougher. I¡¯m worried that she might have to put in more effort." His wife nodded her head and spoke of her worries.


    Cui Wenchuan could understand this better. The school was changing the textbooks used every year and they got thicker as the years passed. Initially, primary students only had to learn basic mathematics and simple words but nowadays, they even had to study the ninth grade sybus and that was the easiest part. For secondary students, they even had to study what used to be the university-level sybus.


    Human intelligence was improving every year and the initial teaching ns could no longer satisfy the needs of the society.


    Unlucky students aside, he did find it tough since he started attending night sses recently despite being a former university student. Without the aid of the miniature artificial intelligence system that he wore around his eyes that helped him in calction and analysis, he would be unable to keep up with the rate at which knowledge was being shoved into him.


    However, only high school students were allowed to buy the device. Since his daughted was only a primary student, she had to prepare herself for the future by strengthening her foundations.


    "Should we register her for remedial sses?" Cui Weichuan said after some thought.


    "It¡¯s a good idea! Let¡¯s see what she thinks about this." His wife said in agreement. Although she was not her daughter by blood, she still treated her like she was her own. Fortunately, she was a good daughter and did nothing to make her stepmother feel like an outsider.


    She was a pitiful child. Her mother died since she was young and she followed her father, rushing around after the onset of the apocalypse. She almost died in an earthquake and suffered a great deal. Perhaps, this was why she was wiser than others her age.


    After a few moments, Cui Weichuan knocked on her daughter¡¯s bedroom door and asked, "Have you done your homework?"


    "I have a little more to go. Don¡¯t worry about me."


    "Alright, get some rest early." Cui Weichuan said, feeling pity for her in his heart. She was so young and yet she has to bear the brunt of having such heavy loads of homework. He recalled the time when he was her age - he was still ying.


    ...


    After helping his wife mop the floor, he returned to their bedroom. Both of themy in bed, speaking softly.


    "What do you think about having a baby?" His wife asked.


    "Better not think about it. I¡¯ve heard that the sess rate for test-tube babies is not that high. If the imntation fails, it would hurt your body!" Cui Weichuan sighed and said. They have tried it before. However, the fetus stopped growing just after three months, causing a miscarriage.


    "It¡¯s different this time. They are using a new technology now. The sess rate is close to 100%. Don¡¯t you read the news?" His wife asked.


    Cui Weichuan worked in the morning and studied at night. He was so busy and had no time to read the news. Surprised, he said, "Wow, technology is advancing so fast? Let¡¯s go have a look at it.!"


    He was not so stressed about having another child since the government was encouraging the citizens to have more kids. They would be given incentives on top of three years maternity leave if they had children. In addition to the free education the children would get, having more children would not add any burden to the parents.


    When they did, they may actually afford to buy a bigger house!


    "I¡¯ve heard that the technology used today is quite advanced. When a zygote is produced, the doctors will modify the genes so the defective genes can be eliminated. The baby to be will be more intelligent, look better and be stronger. How about taking a leave tomorrow?" The wife asked in excitement.


    Nobody would refuse such a baby, especially his wife, who was so keen to have children.


    However, Cui Weichuan was a close-minded conservative. He doubted the new technology since it has yet to receive certification to ensure it was safe. Furthermore, it would directly affect his child but looking at his excited wife, he said, "I¡¯ll inform the factory manager tomorrow. I should be able to request a leave,"


    ...


    The next morning, the both of them went to the hospital which was located just two floors above them.


    Though the hospital was usually not so crowded, there were quite a number of people there today. Cui Weichuan noticed that most of them were married couples. Heter realized that they were here to check out the new technology as well.


    While they were queuing up, Cui Weichuan saw many of them frowning as they came out from the consultation room, looking indecisive. He had doubts but he did not dwell on them. After they stood in the queue for almost two hours, it was finally their turn.


    ...


    "Are you saying that our newborn baby might not look like the parents or might even have gic disorders?" Listening to the doctor¡¯s exnation, his wife instantly felt a cold chill, like she was sshed with a bucket of cold water as she asked in shock.


    The doctor answered the client calmly, "It¡¯s because the new technology involves gene modification and there may be major changes. For example, if the parents didn¡¯t look too good, the newborn child would look way better after gene modification. Of course, I understand that this may be cause for concern. However, the government has been promoting this new technology and each family who goes through this will be given a significant amount of incentives. Even if the parents didn¡¯t n on raising the child after the procedure, they can send the child to an adoption center. It¡¯s a win-win situation!"


    The better the incentives, the more Cui Weichuan felt like something was up. Could it still be their child if identifying its parents was a problem? He tugged at his wife and noticed that she seemed indecisive.


    ...


    Without a doubt, this technology is probably the oue of the Human Genome Optimization Programme that the government implemented a year ago.


    It had redefined the standard of human gics, eliminating the effects of the antidote virus on childbirth. The introduction of this technology is the first step to bring forward a species of gically superior humans. Humans in the future would no longer inherit diseases or have any ws.


    They would not only be strong, intelligent and good-looking, they would also have a longer lifespan.


    The new generation of humans would have an average attribute of 13 to 14 points which included their Intellligence. They would live an average of 300 years and at the same time, human reproduction would return to normal, only being possible through natural, sexual, reproduction.


    In fact, there were more than one proposal to redefine the gic standard for human beings that was submitted to Luo Yuan and some of them had radical changes in them. The one they adopted was perhaps the most conservative one but the new generation of humans would not differ too much from how humans should be and will not have a mysterious ability to evolve. Aside from a weak version of self-healing that allowed them to live longer, there were no other major changes. This was why it was known as an optimization n.


    After the human gic standard was proposed, Luo Yuan considered all of them carefully. Eventually, he chose the most conservative one. The best advantage of this n was that it did not affect the reproduction cycle of the new generation of humans and this alone was sufficient reason to abandon all the other ns.


    Cloning technology could only serve as a temporary measure as the technology meant that the human poption would depend solely on clones and not natural reproduction methods. It could be done but it would be unpractical.


    The key to development of a civilization was survival. The development of human civilization would not always go smoothly and there would be ups and downs. If technology did not advance at such a pace, death would probably be awaiting them.

 Chapter 500: The Interstellar Battleship

    Chapter 500: The Interster Battleship


    Trantor: EndlessFantasy Trantion Editor: EndlessFantasy Trantion


    "Why don¡¯t you tell the people the truth? Perhaps they¡¯ll ept it if the way we disseminate the news is well thought out." Chen Xinjie was asking Luo Yuan as she made tea in the office.


    From her perspective, this was not a wise decision. There was not a single wall in the world which was airtight and simrly, a secret could not be kept forever. It will be revealed in the future one way or another, regardless of how strict they were and if this were to happen, it would fuel the dissatisfaction of the people.


    As Luo Yuan¡¯s secretary, she clearly knew that the childbirth technology was not as perfect as it seems. Providing the children with the parents¡¯ genes was a smokescreen, the child inserted into the mother¡¯s body was a clone cultivated by the research center.


    In addition to the current level of technology, it was not difficult to carry out gic modifications on a zygote. Aside from the required support from a strong scientificmunity, there would be no side effects stemming from this technology.


    "Do you know how many kids there are aged up to five years old?" Luo Yuan asked.


    Luo Yuan then answered himself before Chen Xinjie had a chance to respond to the question, "There are less than 50,000 of them. The number of children aged six to ten were slightly more. Most of the children in this age group had to experience the apocalypse soon after their birth. They were not able to survive due to inexperience and weakness, most of them dying due to a shortage of medical services, supplies, and abandonment. There were a total of 180,000 children in this age group which just about makes up one-thirtieth of the poption.


    Simrly, the ratio of teenagers aged 11 to 15 was rtively lowpared to the total poption size. A huge gap existed in the age of the poption since giving birth became a serious issue. Despite advertisements to persuade the people to ept cloning technology as a means to an end, it barely had an effect and the oue was not as expected.


    Since the people had a bad impression of clones ingrained in their minds, their fear of clones could not bepletely erased through simple propaganda.


    "It would be way simpler for them to give birth to a child first than to establish it through an administrative enforcement system. Basically, we¡¯ve already told them the truth in our propaganda material. Those who could ept it would have epted it and those who couldn¡¯t ept it would not be considered to be fools. Even if those who epted the technology regret their decisions, they could still send their child to the government where they could be put together with the clones so the exact number of clones we have in theb can remain a secret."


    "This will adversely affect your image!" Chen Xinjie said out of worry. She was not a saint but she was against this because she was worried that Luo Yuan¡¯s image would be affected after the truth was revealed.


    "You¡¯re still too young, you shouldn¡¯t be involved in these political issues. After the truth is revealed, there will be a scapegoat to bear the responsibility. I know nothing of this. Moreover..." Luo Yuan stood up, smiled and said coldly, "The reason why I was promoted to this position was not because of my reputation!"


    Chen Xinjie was momentarily stunned.


    Sheter came back to her senses when she heard Luo Yuan¡¯s voice once again. "Please inform the battleship manufacturers that I¡¯m going to pay a visit." Luo Yuan flipped the document that his secretary gave him earlier and soon, his eyes brightened as he requested, "Please, help me make a call!"


    ...


    Before he reached the entrance, the factory supervisor and the staff representatives had already been waiting for him at the entrance. It was heavily guarded and seemed like there would be a grand reception.


    "Don¡¯t let your work be affected because of me. Let¡¯s go to the industrial area. I¡¯d like to have a look at the new battleships." Luo Yuan waved his hand, knowing well that he could not avoid such formalities.


    Be it the past or present, the technology could further develop but humans could hardly be changed. As long as one was given a position of power, such formalities could not be avoided.


    However, if he was not weed by them when he came for an inspection and everyone ignored his presence, it would probably be something wrong with him or possibly because they were unsatisfied towards the government.


    After a few short moments, Luo Yuan and Chen Xinjie arrived at the industrial area. What they saw before them was a delta-winged battleship.


    It was huge and had a sharp tip. At the rear of the aircraft was a cross that seemed to be the shape of a pair of scissors and it looked amazing. Its body was smooth with a shiny, ck surface that made it look elegant, exuding an aura of strength.


    It appeared massive yet delicate, absolute and intelligent without seeming so, elegant yet strong and looked like a low-lying cheetah that had been lying in wait, about to pounce at a moment¡¯s notice.


    "Mayor, it¡¯s a dual mode vehicle and it¡¯s 20 meters long. Both of its wings are narrow and are approximately 15 meters long. Since it will mainly be in outer space, it does not necessarily need to be aerodynamic." The engineer who designed it introduced it to Luo Yuan nervously, "The technology used was almost the same as a ssian aircraft. It had two medium-sized nuclear fusion furnaces and two impulse engines. Its maximum speed is 10% the speed of light. However, in a gxy that was full of meteors, it would be much safer to travel at 0.5% the speed of light or it could be easily destroyed by the meteors." Luo Yuan nodded his head in agreement.


    ssian technology could not be used to design aprehensive defense system for the spaceship. The humans had adopted ssian technology and they had simr problems in their systems. To defend against the impact of meteorites, there were two ways. Firstly, the hull of the spaceship could defend against slow-moving meteorites. Secondly, it could be done through the spaceship¡¯s detection systems along with arge amount ofputing power of the ship¡¯s artificial intelligence system. Comparing both approaches, thetter would be their choice as it was capable of avoiding the meteorites before impact.


    If the meteorites were slightly bigger in size, the spaceship¡¯s main control system in the quantumputer would be able to detect it when it was 100 light seconds away. The spaceship could then avoid the meteorite before it hit and made it less likely that the spaceship would be struck by a rogue meteorite.


    There were holes in the hull of the spaceship that could not be filled even if several people decided to jump into it. They were the effects of colliding with specks of dust at interster speeds.


    When the spaceship traveled at sub-light speeds, even something that weighed only one milligram could produce kic energy that amounted to 10 tons of TNT from the collision. If the spaceship was struck even with something that weighed only one gram, it would be certain death. There were no existing defense systems that could defend against such armor-piercing impact.


    Despite there being less matter in the space between gxies, it did not mean there were none. Their spaceship was considered lucky to be able to travel such a distance.


    "Does it need to be manned by people?" Luo Yuan snapped out of his thoughts and asked.


    "No, Mayor. It¡¯s an unmanned aerial vehicle. There are two ways to operate the vehicle - remote control via the miniaturized quantumputer imnted on the human eye, operated by brainwaves or it could be operated by the artificial intelligence system that is imnted within the system."


    "As for the weapons, the spacecraft is equipped with two, one-kilogram electromaic guns that can generate 100 kilowatts of power. Theoretically, it can fire at a speed of 0.012c [1] in a vacuum. If necessary, it could also be used as an antimatter warhead that¡¯s capable of short-distance missions."


    Of course, the distance they spoke of was not the ¡¯distance¡¯ most people spoke of. Instead, the distance was measured in terms of astronomical units


    Of course, the distance mentioned was not the regr definition of short distance and it was the short distance measured in terms of the astronomical unit instead.


    To Luo Yuan, the spaceship was considered big andpared to the ssian spaceship, despite being inferior, both of them somehow had a simr technological standard. Perhaps, they were not so different after all.


    Next, Luo Yuan visited other workshops in the factory.


    It was the only aircraft manufacturer in the spaceship and after these few years, it was apparent that the battleship was not the only invention they developed.


    Luo Yuan discovered an unexpected surprise at the next workshop.


    It was a small spacecraft which was simrly designed to the mothership. Despite being a smaller version, it was still quite huge. Its diameter was about 80 meters and its height, around 30 to 40 meters. Fortunately, the factory was in an industrial area with high ceilings or it might be difficult to store it.


    It had caught Luo Yuan¡¯s attention. "This is an experimental spaceship model!" The leader of the factory immediately said, "The size ratio of the mothership to the miniature spacecraft is 20:1. The main purpose of this model is to carry out some technical tests."


    "Why wasn¡¯t I made aware of such a big project here?" Luo Yuan asked in excitement.


    Luo Yuan instantly understood as he noticed that the factory leader looked a little awkward. Without a doubt, they wanted to present it only when they had seeded. This issue had been arising in many of the research departments as there was intensepetition among the research institutions. If they were not able to make any significant contribution, a dissolution or consolidation of the department would be awaiting them.


    "How¡¯s the progress?" Luo Yuan then asked.


    "It¡¯s 85%pleted. However, this project has several contributors." The factory leader dared not im credit for it. Without the assistance of other organizations in manufacturing quality parts, they would not even be able to develop the hull of the spacecraft.


    Nowadays, aside from the welfare industries, most of the factories focused on research projects and exploration of ssians technology. Since they did not have many production based tasks on hand, they had sufficient time to manufacture the required parts and coborated on a joint research project.


    "Well done!" Luo Yuan was satisfied. He praised them while nodding his head, "I hope that during the next visit, this project would have beenpleted."


    ...


    Luo Yuan left the factory with excitement. Looking at the spacecraft model, he knew that humans had explored at least half of the existing ssian technology. Humans have seen an incredible amount of improvement during this period of time. Initially, he had estimated that it would require at least another five years for humans to fulfill the requirement of inteary flight. However, based on their current progress, perhaps they couldpletely control the spaceship and even be capable of building a spaceship soon.


    However, the toughest part would be the remaining 15%. The time needed toplete the remaining progress may be longer than the time they took toplete 85% of the project. Thepletion date could be an infinitely far date in the future.


    This was undoubtedly the worst case. As the number of people who consumed the wisdom elixir increased, the development of human technology had improved by leaps and bounds with numerous scientific and technical achievements. Therefore the time it would take toplete the replica of the spaceship might be faster than expected.


    Trantor Notes:


    [1] C is a measure of speed in light years.

 Chapter 501: The First Flight Test

    Chapter 501: The First Flight Test


    Trantor: EndlessFantasy Trantion Editor: EndlessFantasy Trantion


    It was now May of 2019. The Spacecraft Internal Security Administration Bureau (SISAB) had been quietly established.


    On the very first day it was established, they received a document on the reorganization of the factories and research centers.


    First: Any unsecured items in the spaceship had to be buckled to the deck. Lighter tools also had to be put into a secured storage box after use.


    Second: The interior walls of the factory needed to be fitted with a flexible material.


    Third: To assess the stability and risk of vibration sensitive equipment.


    Fourth: All factories and institutions must strictly abide by the safety regtions set by the government. Vitions will not be tolerated.


    ...


    In the following month, SISAB began monitoring the progress of reorganizing all the factories and organizations.


    Following that, the reorganization process even spread as far as to affectmunities and families. The atmosphere grew tense and even a person who was slightly more sensitive than average could feel like something was going on.


    Towards the end of May, all the factory workers, researchers and even most of the government staff were on leave. Everyone knew that the date of the first test-flight of the spaceship was approaching.


    A nervous atmosphere gradually enveloped the society and was likely because the humans had been staying there for a long period of time. The fact that the ground under their feet was not ground and was instead a massive spaceship had begun to slowly slip away from the peoples¡¯ mind. Humans had yet to achieveplete peace and soon, humans would want to leave this environment.


    ...


    The next morning, the usually noisy residential area became abnormally silent and the streets were empty.


    "Dear residents, the flight test will begin soon. Please fasten your safety harnesses right now and remain seated. The flight test will begin at 8:30 a.m. and willst for five hours, ending at 1:30 p.m. For more details, please refer to the newswork." At eight o¡¯clock in the morning, an announcement was heard in the residential area.


    After listening to the announcement of the flight testmencement, Cui Weichuan took a deep breath.


    Three of them had put their safety harnesses on earlier. His daughter, who was sitting beside him was so nervous that her face turned pale. She asked weakly, "Father, we¡¯re going to be okay... Right?"


    Cui Weichuan immediately forced a smile and said, "Don¡¯t worry. Remember the small-sized spaceship?"


    "Is it the one that we boarded before?" His daughter asked nervously.


    "Yeah, that¡¯s the one. You¡¯ve only boarded the spaceship once but I¡¯ve been on it several times already. Nothing happened to me and it wasfortable. You won¡¯t feel a thing and you¡¯ll arrive on earth before you know it. This spaceship is more advanced than the small-sized spaceship. It¡¯s absolutely safe. Don¡¯t worry. The flight test might be a bit exaggerated as this spacecraft would definitely be more stable. We probably won¡¯t even feel the bumps."


    "It¡¯s for the sake of safety. It¡¯s the same as having to wear seatbelts in a car." His daughter smiled as she felt more relieved.


    Afterforting his daughter, he then turned his attention to his wife.


    "The harness isn¡¯t hurting your stomach, right?" Cui Weichuan asked as his pregnant wife as he was worried. He was unwilling to try the new childbirth technology since they would have no idea if the child would still bepletely their own after gic modification. If the baby does not look like the parents, there would be all sorts of baseless rumors flying about. They would feel ufortable listening to the rumors. However, he had to eventually agree with his wife as she was so obsessed with wanting a child.


    His wife had been pregnant for nine months and she was about to deliver the baby soon. They had never expected that the flight test would be held today. It would be good if it could be dyed for a month.


    "This harness is the one for pregnant women. It¡¯ll be alright!" His wife looked as she touched her belly and said while she showed him what she was going to put on.


    Cui Weichuan looked at the thick, spacesuit-liked safety harness, feeling slightly relieved. The government paid great attention to pregnant women. After pregnancy, they had an endless supply of meat every single day. A few days before the flight test, they had prepared safety equipment for the exclusive use of pregnant women.


    His wife suddenly frowned and covered her belly with her hand, looking like she was in pain.


    "What happened?" Cui Weichuan was very tense and asked, "Are you going to deliver soon?"


    "No, the baby is kicking me again!" His wife exhaled a mouthful and said, "Such a strong kid! The baby¡¯s probably going to be mischievous."


    The child would most definitely be strong. Compared to humans prior to the apocalypse, humans were now almost simr in strength to Superman. If humans did not have a strong Physique, they would not even be able to give birth to a child properly.


    As time passed and they listened to the announcements that had been repeatedly made, it was soon 8:30 a.m.


    Everyone held their breath.


    ...


    Eight groups of jet engines with a diameter of around 40 meters were ced at both ends of the spaceship and they began to heat up. Violent, hot mes spouted continuously from the jets and after a few seconds, they could feel that the spaceship shaking a little. Before long, it took off slowly like a snail.


    After a few minutes, the me turned into beams of lights as it streaked across the dark space. The spaceship elerated gradually.


    A meteorite was moving quickly towards the spaceship but before it managed to hit the spaceship, it was hit by a high-poweredser beam that came out of nowhere, causing the meteorite to vanish.


    At that moment, the central control station of the ship became crowded with people. Aside from the crew, Luo Yuan and the top management were also gathered to monitor the flight test together.


    "The spaceship is elerating to... one kilometer per second!"


    "1.1 kilometers per second!"


    "1.2 kilometers per second!"


    Since it was the first trial, safety was of utmost importance. The spaceship elerated at a rtively slow speed.


    At the top left corner of the main control desk, there were around sixrge, three-dimensional screens with an endless stream of data andputational forms that were changing rapidly. Regr people would feel dizzy looking at the screens.


    It was extremelyplicated to operate a spaceship like that which was flying at such speeds.


    Aside from the fact that the ship could encounter meteorites at any time, the gravitational force surrounding thes would affect the flight trajectory as well.


    A great deal of effort was required to pre-calcte the trajectory of each and every meteorite pre-flight and constantly adjusting it to ensure the flight path of the spaceship reflects the meteorite trajectories. Without an artificial intelligence system that was powerful enough to take control of all these calctions, interster flight in the spaceship would depend ondy luck. If they were lucky, they would be safe or the spaceship could be destroyed and the passengers would die.


    The data streaming on the screen was boring and aside from the silent mathematicians who had consumed the wisdom elixir earlier, quietly making calctions in their hearts, not many of them had taken much notice of it.


    Most of them were focused on the three-dimensional screen ced in the center of the room. The scenes on the screen were significantly brighter and meteorites streaking across space could be seen as well. However, a meteorite sighting was rare and most times, they could only see stars that were brighter than those on earth.


    During the flight, the spaceship was basically operated by the artificial intelligence system. The crew did not have to do anything else unless there was a need for them to give new instructions. They were mainly there as helpers since they were human and the artificial intelligence system could respond to idents faster than they could. They had no reflexes and no additional pushes of buttons were necessary. In fact, it has an operating system that adapts to new instructions, making sure all the systems on the ship responds immediately as everything was linked to its logic system. Taking into ount the number ofputations its logic system could perform, it was without a doubt, infinitely better than what humans could do.


    Even Luo Yuan could notpare to it. It was the between sentient beings and machines. Regardless of how intelligent a creature was, one could never surpass theputing power of a 100,000 qubit supeputer. The only way a sentient being couldpare with that was if it had apletely awakened, four-dimensional brain.


    ......


    As time passed, the spaceship sped up to a speed of close to 100 kilometers per second. The brownish-yellow appeared in everyone¡¯s field of vision. It was venus, which also happened to be the destination of the flight.


    The reason why the spaceship was flying towards venus instead of mars was that there was a meteorite belt between earth and mars, making itplicated to maneuver. Since this was the first trial, safety was of utmost importance.


    It was only a short distance between them and venus, almost simr in size to earth, looked like a brownish-yellow marble that hung silently in the night sky.


    "Erge the view on venus!" Luo Yuanmanded after looking at it for a short while.


    "Yes, captain!" The artificial intelligence system answered.


    The three-dimensional screen at the center was split in two and the was erged, upying half the screen after a few moments. However, it continued erging with the three-dimensional screen providing a certain degree of immersion. In addition to the high-definition disy, it made people feel like they werending on the.


    The virtual reality at the center of the screen was separated in half. The brownish-yellow was erged and upied half of the screen after a short while. However, it continued erging. The three-dimensional screen exhibited a certain degree of immersion. In addition to the high-definition disy, it caused people to feel like they werending on this.


    After a few moments, the screen magnified the image until they prated the atmosphericyer and it did not look as peaceful as it did when they viewed it remotely. The atmosphere was flowing violently, creating strong winds and turbulence in the air. Compared to the winds they saw here, the winds on earth were like a gentle breeze with fine rain.


    After a few seconds, the lens had prated through the atmosphericyer. It did not look as peaceful as it was through remote viewing. The atmosphericyer was flowing violently, created a strong wind that caused a stir in the air. Compared to the strong wind here, the typhoon that happened on Earth was considered as a gentle breeze and fine rain. Though antimatter bombs caused the downfall of mankind, the phenomenon in venus would probably wipe the humans out within a few days.


    The imaging system of the spaceship was fearsome. The image continued erging and within a few moments, it had prated through the dense atmosphere and a view of the ground was now visible.


    It looked like hell with a destructive atmosphere. There were volcanoes spewing magma everywhere and at the same time, the mountains were corroded by the concentrated acidic gases, forming bizarrely shaped rocks.


    Most of them viewing this were terrified as it was their first time viewing such a phenomenon.


    "ording to what the system has detected, it¡¯s a terrestrial. Radius: 5051.8 kilometers. Gravitational force: 0.9G. The surface temperature is approximately 400 degree Celsius. The pressure is 90 times the pressure on earth. 97% of the atmosphere is carbon dioxide with containing arge amount of water. It has low terraforming value and it¡¯s rmended that it is used as a mining."


    Luo Yuan smiled wryly as he heard the artificial intelligence system¡¯s rmendation. They were going to leave the earth soon. To most of them, it was less likely that they would be able to return to the Earth at some point in their lives.

 Chapter 502: The First Interstellar War (I)

    Chapter 502: The First Interster War (I)


    Trantor: EndlessFantasy Trantion Editor: EndlessFantasy Trantion


    The artificial intelligence system seemed to detect something. Data flowed like a waterfall on left screen as it beeped.


    "Captain, an interster creature has been detected. It¡¯s 78.8 million kilometers away from the spaceship," said the artificial intelligence system.


    Luo Yuan was stunned when he first saw it but eventually, it turned to excitement. The wisdom elixir had be the main driver of human development but the active energy provided by the energy crystal was limited which was also the main reason why production of the elixir had stagnated.


    They could produce a maximum of 2,000 tubes of wisdom elixir per year. A week ago, statistics showed that only 6,123 people had consumed the wisdom elixir. The ratio was absolutely pathetic, seeing that there were 300,000 researchers. Luo Yuan thought that the ratio was pathetic. It would be an understandable situation if it was insufficient for civilians but at the very least. they should have been able to produce a sufficient amount for the researchers.


    He had scientists researching on active energy. In fact, such research had begun since the reconstruction area era. Active energy was mysterious, almost invisible and unobservable. Aside from the organic matter that gives off active energy, they were not even able to observe energy off the energy crystals in high-level mutated beasts. The contradictory thing was, though it was unobservable, it definitely affected lives. Even at the level human technology was at today, there was not enough research done in this area so synthesizing it was out of the question. The only way to expand production for the wisdom elixir with immediate effect was to kill more interster creatures.


    Unfortunately, the sr system was very vast and even if the spaceship¡¯s advanced detection system and its powerfulputational power, looking for an interster creature was like looking for a needle in a haystack. To top it off, there were a countless amount of stars that blocked their vision, increasing the difficulty in finding interster creatures and because of that, they did not find a single one in the past three years.


    However, they did not expect to find one on their first test flight.


    "Where is it?" Luo Yuan asked immediately.


    "It¡¯s behind venus, facing the sun!" As the artificial intelligence system spoke, it projected the scene onto therge screen. Venus upied the screen and there was an insignificant dot that was floating not too far away from the, almost unnoticeable. If the artificial intelligence system did not mention it and erged the to 1,000 times, nobody would have even noticed the ck dot.


    "Erge it!"


    Right after Luo Yuan instructed it, the artificial intelligence system erged the small dot as much as it could until it upied the entire screen. With the sun behind it, there was a major amount on backlight on the image but it was clear enough. Looking at the clumsy movement it was making, it seemed like an aquatic creature. Luo Yuan thought it looked familiar and it finally dawned on him, it was the interster creature he saw on the moon a while back. It had left the moon and ended up here over the years.


    However, Luo Yuan¡¯s exmation was not that of excitement or that of meeting an old friend, it was vengeful. Such interster creatures were of no benefits to humans if it continued its existence in the sr system. The existence of interster creatures was aplete miracle, their evolutionary path coinciding with the development of technology. By analyzing their abilities, especially the way they utilized energy and the forcefield they can utilize, it would help humans advance their technology much faster. In reality, ever since the humans adapted ssian technology for their own use, researchers have been putting more attention on the active energy of these interster creatures.


    The only problem was that the interster creature was too far away from where they were. Furthermore, they were having their first test flight today. If they immediately flew over, it would be too risky and it would take too much time to fly at such slow speeds. He thought for a moment and said, "Officer sun, can weunch the interster battleships now?"


    "Reporting, captain! We¡¯ve five interster battleships with a modified weapons systems that are ready to go at a moment¡¯s notice!" A middle-aged man stood up in his seat, bowed down to Luo Yuan and said loudly.


    "Let¡¯s go all out, kill that gigantic beast!"


    "Yes, captain!"


    There were five crewmembers among them who had on customized helmets fitted with quantummunication devices. They could use the miniature quantumputer in their helmet visors to connect with and operate the interster battleships. Shortly after, the flight deck on one side of the spaceship opened and five interster battleships shot out of electromaicunchpads. Before the engines were even running, each battleship was moving at a stunning speed of 300 kilometers per second. Taking into ount the weight of the battleship, it wouldunch at a speed of 150 kilometers per second. The amount of pressure put on ordinary metals traveling at such speeds would deform them but the battleships were totally unaffected


    Soon, the five interster battleships ignited their engines and they flew like arrows, shooting into space. They elerated at an amazing speed and soon, they disappeared from view on the screen. After flying for an hour, the test flight waspleted as nned as Luo Yuan and a group of the management left the control room one after the other. There was no rush since the battleships would take some time before they reached the interster creature. Even if the warnes flew at the safest speed, which was 1,500 kilometers per second, they would take at least 14 hours to reach their destination.


    "Can these battleships defeat the interster creature?" As there were too many people earlier, Chen Xinjie asked Luo Yuan as they entered his office. Since the project team¡¯s high-profile collection of the interster creature carcass from earth, this mysterious, powerful creature had made its debut to the ordinary people. Its stunning size and mysterious energy dug at the curiosity of people while it terrified them at the same time. It was a hot topic among people for quite some time.


    "We¡¯ll only know after the battle begins!" Luo Yuan said as he rxed in his chair.


    To bepletely honest, he had no idea what would happen in the end. However, with the interster battleships¡¯ mobility, even if they did not manage to kill the creature, they could always escape. The only thing they had to consider was the defense. These battleships were not the first generation but were the second iteration of the technology. Its electromaic bullets alone were 1.5 times better than the previous weapon. It could reach a staggering 150 million kilowatts which were the equivalent of three, Three Gorges Dams. Although the projectile tip only weighs one kilogram, it would be no less powerful than a nuclear bomb. What was even more impressive was that it couldunch a bullet every three seconds. Other weapons were equally powerful and the interster battleships were no less powerful than those the ssians¡¯ once had anymore.


    ...


    After a short chat, Chen Xinjie decided not to bother Luo Yuan any further and left the office. Luo Yuan sipped his tea and began going through the pile of documents before him. The countdown had begun since the humans left their sr system. The experiment of whether humankind was capable of interster travel was quite intense. During this period, every department was hectic, even for Luo Yuan.

 Chapter 503: The First Interstellar War (II)

    Chapter 503: The First Interster War (II)


    Trantor: EndlessFantasy Trantion Editor: EndlessFantasy Trantion


    In the central control room, team leader Yuan Guoqing wore a helmet and controlled the battleship through the miniature quantumputer on his visor as it flew towards the sun. Compared to the other rookie pilots who only had slightly more than 100 hours of flight experience throughout their entire career, he was without a doubt, the most experienced there since the establishment of the team.


    He had almost 20 years of flight experience during the reconstruction area and although the aircraft used during that era were now obsolete, being able to survive the harsh environment in the reconstruction area definitely made him an elite pilot. However, he was not always lucky and his aircraft had a collision with a mutated bird during a battle which caused his aircraft to crash. Though he managed to survive and escape the crashed aircraft, his arm had been pierced by a tree branch when hended. Badly injured, they were sent back to the reconstruction area three dayster. At that time, the flesh around his wound had begun decaying and a piece of his flesh was beyond saving. Though he was healed, his arm was not as flexible as it was before and that was like an early retirement for pilots.


    After he recovered, he went back to United City and joined the interview being held to recruit new pilots. This allowed him to escape the war between humans and ssians. Yuan Guoqing thought he had bid farewell to his flying career but did not expect to be recruited once more as a pilot. The technological development was beyond his wildest imagination. He never imagined himself to be piloting an interster battleship in this lifetime even though he was controlling it via his brainwaves. He looked at the interface of the battleships and seeing the asteroids pass by asionally on the screen, he felt like he was in the battleship himself. He was nervous at first but slowly, he began to adapt to it.


    Yuan Guoqing looked at the speed that was disyed on the control room interface and they had reached the top speed of 1,500 kilometers per second which was their threshold for safe travel. As the reference point was too far away, without looking at the speed disyed, one would not feel any movement at all.


    "Please send me a report of your situation." Yuan Guoqing connected themunication device and said to all team members. Although they were just beside him and he could hear them without using themunication device but as an experienced pilot, this procedure was mandatory. It would help them avoid idents most of the time.


    After all, flying an interster battleship was too easy. It was basically idiot proof and did not require any additional steps. To put it into perspective, even a pig could fly it if you spend some time teaching it and in time, it might even be better than any of the pilots here. The simple operations of the battleships had caused many of them to ck off.


    "Reporting, team leader! Everything a-okay with Swan."


    "Reporting, team leader! Everything a-okay with Crow."


    "Reporting, team leader! Everything a-okay with Eagle."


    "Reporting, team leader! Everything a-okay with Sparrow."


    ...


    "Sparow, Eagle! Pay attention to the flight formation, do not deviate from your positions!" Yuan Guoqing looked at the position of the other battleships on the map and noticed that they have deviated from their position. Such irresponsible junior pilots were a headache for someone like him who had vast experience in the military and had developed a boring character over time. Not only were they not disciplined, they often wanted to show off as well. Fortunately, the battleships were on autopilot. If it was the obsolete aircrafts, they may have already crashed and burned.


    Fortunately for him, he could still be able to manage the rookies so there were no problems yet. He closed his eyes for a moment as it would take some time before they reached their destination. It was a challenge for him both physically and mentally especially for a middle-aged man like him who needed more energy to keep up with the younger ones. Furthermore, they were the first line-of-defense and would be the first to get into a fight so everything had to be done perfectly. The military was actually very skeptical about the development of an interster battleship and they debated endlessly in a chaotic manner. The radical camp suggested that the battlefield would change from a two-dimensional battlefield to a three-dimensional battlefield and the old model of war on earth would no longer be effective. It would be an era of giant spaceships and the battleships they were piloting would only serve to be supplementary forces in future wars.


    After all, a spaceship would usually have a terrifying amount ofbat strength, an almost imprable defense system, and the most advanced detection ability. Compared to the interster battleship, the both were nowhere close to one another especially since the spaceship hadser weapons which rendered the battleships ineffective. Although the interster battleships hadser-based weapons as well, its limited energy limited its ability to destroy a spaceship. Theser on the spaceship, on the other hand, could destroy an interster battleship easily even with its weakestsers. Both of them were beyondpare.


    Under such circumstances, there would need to be an immeasurable amount of interster battleships on the battlefront in order for there to be sufficient firepower to destroy a massive spaceship or there would not be a chance to even win. Yuan Guoqing did not dare disagree with the opinion and although he was not one of the radicals who supported the idea of a mothership, hepletely disagreed with the idea of using the mothership as the main fighting force. It was the only spaceship that belonged to humankind and all mankind resided in the spaceship. Even if they were to manufacture their own spaceship, they would be limited by the scarcity of resources.


    Comparing the spaceship to their battleships, thetter was rtively cheap to make. The amount of steel required to build a single spaceship was enough to build up to 10,000 battleships. Even if all the battleships were to be destroyed and only one got through enemy lines, humankind would still benefit. Moreover, the technological gap was nothing to worry about. The only thing they had to worry about were these - the enemy was either stronger or weaker than humans. The former was the current situation they were facing and the only way they could escape was while the battleships distracted the enemy to halt the attack while in thetter situation, it would be better if they had arge quantity of battleships attacking at once.


    In his opinion, future spacecrafts will be abination of spaceships and battleships while individual battleships augment the fleet¡¯s strength. All these will y an important role in the defensive and offensive forces of the fleet. In the early stages of war, it will be responsible for intelligence operations. During the war, it will assist the attacksunched and strive to block off enemy artillery. Regardless of the level human technology was at, interster battleships will still remain a force to be reckoned with.


    ...


    Venus was now far behind them. Compared to the, the interster creature remained an insignificant dot. 13 hours had passed and they had already taken their lunch and dinner, finally approaching their target. They were less than 500,000 kilometers from the beast and although the distance was ridiculous to humans before the apocalypse, it now took only five minutes in the interster battleships.


    Yuan Guoqing had all his attention focused, he was in his battle mode. He counted down from 10 in his mind andmanded, "Everyone, slow down to 500 kilometers per second!"


    "Swan, roger that!"


    "Sparrow, roger that!"


    "Eagle, roger that!"


    "Crow, roger that!"


    ...


    The gigantic beast was wandering in space. The scorching sun behind it had given it a golden brown tan. It was so close to the sun that the bright light caused pain to the eyes. The temperature could go up to 400 to 500 degrees Celcius if it were that close to the sun but the temperature was nothing to it. Perhaps the distance was still quite significant so it did not sense the danger that was on its way. It continued wandering close to the orbit.


    Time passed and soon, when they were 10,000 kilometers away from the beast, Yuan Guoqing gave an order, "Everyone, ready theser artilleries!"


    "Attack!"


    Within 0.3 seconds, 10 high-energysers beamed through space and hit the interster creature¡¯s body with a dim glow. Its body shook as its groans were muted in space. Before long, its body began burning and it gave off shockwaves. However, though it had quite the reaction to the attack, its reaction was merely the result of its insecurity after being attacked. In fact, thesers did nothing to hurt it aside from sending off a shockwave.


    After several attacks, the team members noticed something was wrong.


    "Sir! Theser doesn¡¯t seem to work on it at all!"


    Yuan Guoqing did not reply immediately. He observed the beast¡¯s reaction from the screen, admiring it. The creature was so unbelievable that it could defend itself against such a high-energy attack. Thesers merely tickled it but it did not seem to retaliate but instead, just took the attack head on but thinking about what had happened, the attack came from as far as 10,000 kilometers away and the beast probably did not see the battleships.


    "Estimate the top speed of the interster creature please." Yuan Guoqing asked the artificial intelligence system using the quantumputer.


    "30.5 kilometers per second!"


    The artificial intelligence system of the battleships was far behindpared to the one on the spaceship. It was much more rigid inparison.


    Yuan Guoqing took advantage of the situation and came up with a n for the battle. They had the advantage as long as the battleships did not approach its body. With the speed the battleships were traveling at, they could never be defeated. Hemanded immediately, "Break formation! Use the electromaic bullets and attack at will!"


    He believed that the electromaic bullet would definitely work. Once themand was given, a couple of the pilots cheered. There were like excited stray dogs that flew everywhere freely.

 Chapter 504: The First Interstellar War (III)

    Chapter 504: The First Interster War (III)


    Trantor: EndlessFantasy Trantion Editor: EndlessFantasy Trantion


    "Mayor!"


    "Mayor!"


    ...


    Luo Yuan nodded as he walked into the central control room. It was three in the morning but there was still staff on duty. He walked hastily to the console.


    "What¡¯s their status now?" Luo Yuan asked. The spaceship¡¯s artificial intelligence system was intelligent enough to even identify unclear instructions.


    "Yes, captain." The artificial intelligence system replied.


    The screen in the middle of the room changed to show the image of the battlefield. It seemed chaotic and it was either due to interference or excessive distance that caused the interster beast to look blur on the screen. However, it was clear that there was fire on its body and clotted blood that floated in the air like precious stones. It was injured.


    The interster battleships were powerful and the results of the electromaic bullets were proof of this. Each bullet had as much power as 4,000 tons of TNT. Compared to a nuclear bomb that was simr to 10,000 tons of TNT, it may seem insignificant butpared to a missile, its power was 6,000 times higher. To top it off, the electromaic bullets were made of extremely dense metal, weighed only one kilogram and was slightly smaller than a marble. Once the bullet was shot, regardless of the defense or strength of the interster creature, it would be like a piece of paper.


    It was made of a powerful, dense metal that had a high tolerance to heat. It was an extreme metal. As the name suggests, the metal was in a state that was between regr metals and supersolid metals. It was created bypressing millions of tons of regr metals and the use of other techniques to stabilize its form. The gap between atoms was smaller to the point where the gap between atoms and electrons werepressed. The density of its final form was two to three times higher than regr metals. At the same time, its physical characteristics changed as well. Its toughness was beyond human imagination and even a diamond was like tofupared to this metal. Its melting point was more than 10,000 degrees Celsius and was far beyond regr metals.


    It was the highest level of metallurgical technology owned by the ssians and this nanomaterial was the foundation of their strength. However, the same type of alloy had different uses and performed differently depending on the ratio of elements used in thepound. For instance, the spaceship hull was made of ilmenite where its density was 42 grams per cubic centimeter, more than twice the density of gold. Most importantly, its high tenacity, toughness and melting point was very high and could go up to 50,000-degree Celsius. Also, its has promising absorptive properties which made it a great choice for humankind¡¯s interster battleships and megastructures.


    On the other hand, ssian aircraft was built for speed so they utilized aluminum since its density was only 12 grams per cubic centimeter. The electromaic bullets, on the other hand, were made of tungsten which had a density of 98 grams per cubic centimeter. Its tolerance towards collision allowed it to remain stable as it entered the atmosphere. With its toughness, a hit by the bullet would cause a stunning amount of destruction. It did not only cause explosions on the surface but also internal explosions.


    The tricky part of this battle was because the interster creature was too big. No matter how much damage they did to it, it felt insignificant on its gigantic body. Its will to live was terrifying as well and Luo Yuan knew it all too well. To a certain extent, such interster creatures were almost immortal. As long as its energy crystal was intact, it would be difficult to kill it offpletely.


    Of course, Luo Yuan did not expect the battleships topletely kill it. As long as they managed to destroy its brain like the previous one they fought and stop it from wandering around, the mission was considered to bepleted. However, the brain was not even affected even after they started using the electromaic bullets. Perhaps, such creatures were sensitive to danger and although its gigantic body prevented it from moving too fast within limited space, it could still avoid critical hits. It seemed to be worn out and bleeding but in reality, they did not manage to injure it at its most crucial parts.


    ...


    "How long has it been?" Luo Yuan looked for a while and asked.


    "2 hours, 45 minutes and 35 seconds!" The artificial intelligence system replied.


    Luo Yuan frowned when he heard that. Though the interster battleships were equipped with a significant amount of ammunition, the high frequency of shots fired would clear out 1.2 tons of ammunition per hour and they only had another hour or so before they ran out of bullets.


    "We should¡¯ve have the battleships bring along antimatter bullets." Luo Yuan thought to himself. However, it was just a thought as antimatter was precious and it would be devastating if it destroyed the energy crystal.


    Perhaps the attack did not harm the interster creature or maybe, it was just pretending not to be affected. Whatever it was, the distance between the battleships and the creature was getting closer. This was especially so for one of the battleships as it got increasingly closer to the creature.


    Suddenly, there seemed to be an ident as a noise was heard from the flight department.


    "What happened? Why is the screen ck?"


    "Mine too, I can¡¯t connect to the battleship."


    The pilots did not know what had happened. It was the same for the leader Yuan Guoqing and he was in a blur as well. He attempted a few more times but the miniatureputer showed a message - connection failed. He sensed something was wrong. Suddenly, one of the pilots shook him and pointed ahead and it was only then that Yuan Guoqing noticed the mayoring. He took off his helmet and stood up anxiously before he sprinted to Luo Yuan.


    "Mayor..."


    Luo Yuan heard their conversation, he waved his hand, "Go check out what is going on. Don¡¯t be stressed. Go on!"


    To humans, getting a couple of battleships damaged was nothing. With the high manufacturing rates, such battleships only require five to six days to build. In less than a month, they could easily be replenished. The only problem was theirck of resources.


    Yuan Guoqing returned to his with a look of unease on his face. Luo Yuan looked at the screen but everything seemed to be normal. He frowned as he looked at the battleships that did not stop their approach on the beast but continued their attacks. He knew very well that as the spaceship was too far away from the battle so the video that they were watching on the screen was dyed by a few minutes.


    As time passed, the battleships on the screen grew closer and they were now less than 10 kilometers from the creature. In outer space, such distances were considered to be risky to both the beast and the battleships as it would only take then less than a second to collide into each other. Luo Yuan¡¯s eyes did not leave the screen as he used his foresight to foresee idents that would happen. Perhaps it sensed that its life was being threatened as it finally realized something was attacking it. The glow in the beast grew brighter and before long, it opened its mouth wide and shot a blue ray into the dark space.


    All the battleship engines died, even the one that was quite a distance away.


    "Investigate the damages on the battleships!" Luo Yuanmanded the artificial intelligence system in a serious tone.


    "Gamma rays were detected and theysted 15 nanoseconds. The radiation was 100,000,000 MeV and this was without a doubt, the reason why the battleships lost contact. The radiation levels were close to what a supernova that exploded 60 years ago would give off."


    Luo Yuan was shocked, knowing full well that this pathetic figure was not the true impact of the gamma rays as the figure was measured from ten million kilometers away. If its power was measured at point nk, it would be beyond humanprehension. After all, interster battleships were not meant to fly outside of space as they were made with the consideration of the environment they were meant to fly in - space. Its defense toward radiation and electromaic waves were quite strong and regr gamma rays and sr wind could do nothing to it unless it was beyond its defensive limits.


    ...


    Luo Yuan noticed that the initially blur image of the interster creature on the screen that was initially blur due to interference was now clear. Its body was riddled with holes that were caused by the electromaic bullets. Blood was collecting into balls that floated around it, looking like pieces of precious stones. The interster creature seemed to have used up all the energy its in body which caused it to bepletely silent now. Not only had it depleted itsyer of energy, it did not even move any further. It looked like a dead body that floated around in space.


    Luo Yuan stared at the gigantic beast for a long time and had an epiphany. He asked the artificial intelligence system "Can the spaceship¡¯sser hit it?"


    There were four main particle guns, four main electromaic guns and 125ser guns on the spaceship. The first two was not suitable for long-distance attack. Although the particle gun could use the help of an elerator to reach sub-light speeds, but particles were not as easy to control as photons. Since electromaic guns were too slow, by the time the weapon was ready, the target would have left its original point by a few thousand kilometers.


    Though the beast did not seem like it was moving, everything was actually moving in space. Be it the sun or thes nearby, the gravity of thes would move it an a stunning speed.


    On the other hand,ser guns would mainly serve as backups whose main purpose was to destroy small asteroids that were blocking the way. Its strength was weaker than the former two but it was sufficient to kill an interster creature that had lost its strength.


    "Captain, unfortunately, the probability for theser to hit the target is only 0.000167%!" The artificial intelligence system replied.


    The probability was no difference than zero.


    The artificial intelligence system then exined, "The target is near the sun and its gravity would distort the light. I¡¯ve detected the target and its actual location is estimated to be 12¡¯ to 35¡¯ [1]. Moreover, the star surfaces seemed violent and fluid like it could explode at any moment. The unusual changes in movements would cause small changes to gravity which in turn will cause the data to be unpredictable. However, if we are within one million kilometers, the sess rate would go up to 1.45%."


    Luo Yuan instantly disagreed with the artificial intelligence system¡¯s suggestion in his mind. First of all, the first test flight had just ended and it was not wise to travel again. Even if he decided to fly there, it would take a long time to reach the destination. As the spaceship was not an unmanned craft, he had to consider if others could take the pressure of eleration which had to maintained at 1G because they were human. At that rate, they would need three to four days to arrive and by then, with the strong Will the interster creature had, it would already have recovered. If they were unlucky and the creature decided to release another burst of gamma rays, their spaceship might just stop working.


    Luo Yuan was solemn as he looked at the motionless interster creature. It was a rare chance and if he was to miss this opportunity, he had no idea when would be the perfect time.


    "Please open the top cabin. I¡¯ll be going into space." Luo Yuan said to the artificial intelligence system after thinking for awhile.


    "Copy that, opening the top cabin..."


    Soon, he left the spaceship and ventured into space. He turned around to look at the spaceship as he initiated his space-time bubble and left.


    Trantor Notes:


    [1] Unsure of the measurement unit the author is using so it is maintained as 12¡¯ to 35¡¯. Likely that the author is talking about degrees.

 Chapter 505: The Second Energy Crystal

    Chapter 505: The Second Energy Crystal


    Trantor: EndlessFantasy Trantion Editor: EndlessFantasy Trantion


    Luo Yuan traveled in his space-time bubble slowly at first but he was elerating. Within 10 minutes, he elerated to more than 1,000 kilometers and his speed was still increasing at a terrifying rate. Luo Yuan had been busy with paperwork for the past few years and at the same time, he tried to suppress his abilities to prevent himself from hurting the people around him if he went out of control. He had slowly gotten used to the urge to obtain more physical strength but instead, he now focused on improving the control he had over his body. His Strength had slightly deteriorated from three years ago but overall, his abilities had improved.


    Through the past three years, his Will had increased to +19. With the Haunted Locust Heart, his Will was now a stunning +20. Meanwhile, with the help of the Wisdom Heart which was only effective for those with an Intelligence below 18 points, his Intelligence was now +18. Those were the tangible upgrades to his abilities and the intangible upgrades were even more impressive. The control he had over his body was now on the molecr level, enabling him to alter his features, skin color, weight, even to the point where he could adjust his bone matter and organs to return to his original height. If Luo Yuan wanted to, he could even alter his molecr structure to morph into another life-form, it was something simple to him.


    He was no longer afraid of his four-dimensional body as he could alter the state his body was in however he wanted. If that did not work, he could always refer to the information the ssians had on substances. By reducing the gaps between atoms to copse them, he could shrink his body size by two to three times in an instant. The only tricky part was that the mass of his body would not change. There would always be a way but since the strength of his Will was limited, the ideas he had remained a thought.


    Now he was no longer afraid of his four-dimensionalized body as he could take away his flesh or alter his body however he wanted. It that did not work, he could always refer to the ssian¡¯s technology on substance. By shrinking the gaps between atoms and made them copsed, his body size could be shrunk two and three times immediately. The only tricky part was that the mass could not be changed. There was always another way. However, his strength of his Will was still restricted. The idea he had remained a thought, he had still yet to make it happen. That being said, he could try utilizing ssian technology to make it happen but the consequences would be unpredictable.


    ...


    15 minutester, he stopped elerating as he stabilized himself from a terrifying speed if 12,000 kilometers per second. If anyone was watching his travel path, they would notice that he was not moving in a straight line but instead, he moved in curves which showed no apparent pattern. This phenomenon was no doubt due to his four-dimensional vision. There were countless celestial bodies in space especially in the gxies, causing severe spatial distortion. Whenever one was close to a star, a spatial whirlpool would be formed from the interference by the spatial distortion. Even if one thought they were traveling in a straight line, in reality, they were taking a longer route due to spatial distortion.


    Of course, as long as one did not get too close to the sun, the additional distance would not matter but when the journey was tens of millions of kilometers, small distortions like these would add up. However, since his four-dimensional vision was quite advanced, humankind had yet to develop technology to cater to such distortions and he would have to take the same, distorted route like everybody else in space. Time passed and venus was now behind him. After flying for another 10 minutes, he approached his target. The sunlight was hurting his eyes and his skin was slightly burning from the scorching heat of the sun that had reached a couple hundred degrees from where he was. The environment was harsh and he could feel the pressure. Common creatures would burn automatically in this environment.


    ...


    30 secondster, he exited his space-time bubble and the interster creature was now less than 50 kilometers from where he was. He did not hurry and remained still to recover his Will which was almost depleted from the long journey. It would be risky to approach the interster beast in such conditions. After resting for half an hour, he made a move.


    Since it had been so long, the interster creature had already recovered from its half-dead conditions. The holes on its body were healing and flesh could be seen growing like pythons in its wounds.


    Fortunately, Luo Yuan noticed that it was not moving. The spatial anchoring effect did nothing to hold its body down as it floated away under the pull of the sun¡¯s gravity. He was relieved. The interster creature was bigger than the previous time he saw it, almost 1.5 times bigger. It was majestic like a on its ownpared to the one he killed earlier. Although he had seen such creatures several times, he was still blown away every time he saw it.


    Soon, hended on its body and it was only then that he realized the severity of its injuries as he approached it. The holes that were made by the electromaic cannons were at least 10 meters in diameter. The wounds were charred, apparently by the high temperature of the attacks. Luo Yuan looked at the tangled pieces of flesh in the wounds and noticed something - the smaller the wounds were, the wider the wounds were on the inside. They were caused by the intense collision of the electromaic bullets when it was shot into its body. The bullet caused the skin to expand and was what caused the wounds.


    The wounds were deep and Luo Yuan could see its heart. He had nned to enter its body from the nose like he did thest time but looking at the wounds, he changed his mind. After all, it was riskier to enter the body from its nose as it might attack him with some form of gamma rays which he would not be able to handle. Safety was his utmost priority so he found a wound close to the heart and flew in. He passed the pieces of flesh that were growing and before long, he arrived at the bottom of the wound.


    The wound was close to its chest and was all burnt. Most of its organs had been carbonized and even its bones that were six meters wide were broken, sticking out like its body. Since it was in the vacuum of space, there was no stench at all! Its chest was a few timesrger than a football field so it was not difficult to find its heart, especially since it gave off waves of energy that could be felt even in the vacuum of space. Its heart had gigantic lumps on it and countless threads of muscle that surrounded it. It was disgusting and it looked like mutated minced meat. If it was not beating, Luo Yuan would have had a hard time recognizing that it was its heart.


    However, for the sake of the energy crystal, Luo Yuan would have to bite the bullet no matter how disgusting it was. He did not have his Zhanmadao with him but with his Strength, it was sufficient enough to break through the defense mechanisms of the heart. He put both his hands into the pile of flesh and tore it apart with his immense strength. It was so powerful that sparks flew into the air as blood gushed out, making it look like a massive fountain. Luo Yuan went in immediately.


    Since he already had experience from doing this thest time, the process went quite smoothly and soon, he obtained the energy crystal. He was excited as it was twice asrge as the one he obtained previously. It was much brighter as well, containing even more active energy. If he used this for the production of the wisdom elixir, the rate of production would be way higher than the previous one. After losing its energy crystal, the interster creature struggled for the veryst time. It did not seem to affect Luo Yuan but for the sake of safety, he decided to stay inside for a moment longer and only left after it weakened a little further.

 Chapter 506: Omniscient

    Chapter 506: Omniscient


    Trantor: EndlessFantasy Trantion Editor: EndlessFantasy Trantion


    Luo Yuan turned around and nced at the gigantic carcass that looked like a mountain. He thenunched the space-time bubble and flew away.


    The corpse was definitely not abandoned as Luo YUan would not want to waste such a precious creature. The value of the interster creature does not only lie with its energy crystal as its carcass was no less precious than the energy crystal to humans.


    Moreover, this carcass was even more valuable than the previous one they killed. Regardless of the type of energy its body gave off, it still yed an important role to humans. Regardless of the situation, even ssian technology was limited when it came to space. Once humankind cracked it, it would mean that they would own a superweapon.


    In fact, the total energy from the gamma rays the interster creature emitted was not that strong and at the very least, the spaceship was still able to take it. However, the destructive weapon of the gamma rays was well beyond all the weapons in the spaceship. This was due to the energy it emitted, which was extremely powerful. Within a mere 15 nanoseconds, the interster beast emitted gamma rays which wasparable to the destructive power regr gamma rays could generate over a significantly longer period of time. It was unbelievable.


    On top of that, this was the result of the rays dissipating in all directions. If it was focused, the power would have been thousands of times stronger.


    Luo Yuan would definitely not give up on the carcass of this interster creature.


    The only reason he left was because he was all alone and even if he were to give it his all, he would have only managed to cut through part of its epidermis. It would be useless and the body was also drifting through space so the gravitational pull of the sun would cause it to orbit slowly. Its movement and trajectory could be tracked - there was no escape.


    All he had to do was to wait for the next test flight and once the spaceship made it here, it would still not be toote to harvest the interster creature¡¯s carcass.


    He flew back, elerating along the way. Half an hourter, he approached the spaceship and before he sent out the signal, the top cabin door opened automatically.


    "Wee back, captain!" The voice of the artificial intelligence system echoed in the top cabin.


    Even the debris from a meteorite approaching them could not escape detection from the spaceship¡¯s detection system, what more Luo Yuan, who was arge object. He did not mind it at all


    Even a meteorite debris which came near could not hide from the monitoring system of the spaceship, not to mention Luo Yuan who was arge object. Luo Yuan did not mind that at all. The ssian¡¯s artificial intelligence system had always performed well. There was no sign of rebellion at all.


    Perhaps, it did not have the ability to rebel.


    In the early stages of designing the ssian artificial intelligence system, there were many restrictions put in. Countless regtions were put into its core programming and although it was intelligent, it had no ability to take initiatives on its own, which made breaking through the restrictions imposed on it impossible. However, the existence of the artificial intelligence system was still a hidden danger.


    They were not worried that it would rebel against them. On the contrary, it would never rebel and the ssians once had total control over it. He still clearly remembered the events following the destruction of the interster quantummunication device which had cut off allmunications rted to the factory area. Nobody knew if the ssians had any back up for the artificial intelligence system on the spaceship and no matter how small the chances were, Luo Yuan did not want to risk it as it was not created by humans.


    Unfortunately, it was not a good time to rece the artificial intelligence system. Until this very moment, the humans were still relying on the artificial intelligence system. To top it off, the entire factory area was under its control and as soon as it was removed, the entire spaceship would lose its soul and to a certain extent, be paralyzed. The engine would not start, the gravitational pull would go haywire and even the air filters would malfunction.


    Although humans had created many recements, none could go toe-to-toe with the artificial intelligence system¡¯sputing power. The mechanism and response time of human-made artificial intelligence systems were rtively less efficient, making it a risk to use during interster flight. The huge difference was due to the fact that the ssian artificial intelligence system was not ordinary software. Possibly to minimize risk, it was connected to the quantumputer in the spaceship and they were one and the same. They could not be separated or replicated right now and giving up on the artificial intelligence system would mean giving up on the quantumputer which until today, humans have not been able to create a quantum supeputer of the same level.


    ...


    Looking at the bloodstains on his body, Luo Yuan became stiff and a loud thud was heard. He was covered in a vapor cone after an explosion simr to a sonic boom happened around him. A wind blew and secondster, it stopped. His body slowly appeared from the vapor, good as new.


    He arrived at the botanical garden to visit the wisdom trees. As the ntation grew in importance, the security grew tighter. Not only was there a row of evolved soldiers guarding it, the team was led by the director of the Firearms Bureau, Li Dong. Without his say so, even a fly could not get in. Seeing Luo Yuan approach the entrance, Li Dong immediately left his office and bowed in respect.


    "Greetings, mayor!"


    Perhaps he had been in the police force for a long time, he was no longer clumsy like he used to be. He looked like a soldier now.


    "Hi. I hope you¡¯re adapting well!" Luo Yuan said.


    He knew Li Dong pretty well so the greeting was casual. However, Li Dong did not take it casually. Things were different from what they were before, Luo Yuan used to be the vice-captain of the Firearms Bureau so they could joke around but it was different now. Their status was not as close as it used to be, making it impossible to chat casually like they used to.


    He looked serious, "I wasn¡¯t able to get used to it in the beginning but I¡¯m adapting well now, especially the disciplinary part. We will not allow any mistakes to get in our way."


    Looking at the professional police force before him, Luo Yuan nodded in approval. It was not easy to discipline evolved humans. Of course, it was also because Luo Yuan was here. They were not as disciplined when Luo Yuan was not present.


    Since Luo Yuan did not inform anyone of his arrival, the director of the botanical garden and other leaders rushed their way to Luo Yuan.


    "Mayor, we did not know you wereing..." The director¡¯s face was pale. He was not the first director that they had and had just been promoted recently. The previous director was convicted for the intention to steal the wisdom elixir and was called in by the management. Since then, nobody had seen him.


    Although the director was careful, he was not able to guarantee that the people below him would not have the intention to steal the wisdom elixir. He did not want to be involved in it. After all, the Wisdom Heart was attractive and handling it every day would tempt even the most honest people. Although there were records of every Wisdom Tree and the quantity of wisdom elixir they produced, it was easy to skim a little off the top every time.


    Luo Yuan was not aware that his sudden inspection would be so terrifying them. It was unnecessary as the diameter of the spaceship was a mere 1.5 kilometers. The radius of his Sense had reached 650 meters and 1.3 kilometers in diameter. That said, he had aplete understanding of the entire spaceship and with his abilities, nothing could escape him. If any of them had the thought to steal the wisdom elixirs, they would be sent to the management. However, as long as it was nothing serious, Luo Yuan would usually pretend that he saw nothing.


    Nobody was a saint. It was normal for people to have bad intentions sometimes.

 Chapter 507: Untitled

    Chapter 507: Untitled


    Trantor: EndlessFantasy Trantion Editor: EndlessFantasy Trantion


    Recently, there were two major events that happened to Cui Weichuan¡¯s household.


    The first one was that after two years of extensive learning, he had finally passed the beginner electromaic engineering examinations and joined the internships of one of the electromaic researchboratories.


    The world was different than how it was before. The demand for engineers was increasing every day even to the point where passing the beginner¡¯s examinations meant nothing. A couple of years ago, one could be promoted to the rank of an assistant engineer after working for a year a so and the job was quite rxed. Those days were over. Without outstanding results, it would be impossible for one to be an assistant engineer.


    However, though he was just an intern, his sry had increased by a significant amount. His lifestyle improved and most importantly, whenever he spoke of his job, people would exim and some were even jealous of him. In a world where researchers were the main priority, all resources would be poured into research. So, as long as onended a job in the research field, it was considered to be a step up in society. Not only were they eligible for better benefits, they also had a better status, which was something money could not buy.


    The second event was that his wife had finally given birth to his son. However, he had mixed feelings about it as his son neither looked like him nor his wife. His wife had tanned skin but his son was fair. His wife had single eyelids but his son had double eyelids. Although he was born not too long ago, he was a beautiful baby.


    The difference in appearance alone was terrifying enough for him. It had only been half a month and his wife was no longer able to keep up, not having sufficient milk to nurse the baby. The doctor suggested for them to substitute milk with porridge. Fortunately, his son had a digestive ability that was beyond imagination so he was able to adapt to eating porridge. Three monthster, his son started speaking and not longter, started to walk.


    Though his son¡¯s outstanding performance was unbelievable and was beyond his wildest dreams, he wondered if he is still considered a normal child.


    While he was deep in thought, he arrived home.


    "Daddy, is that you?" His son cheered as he opened the door.


    His wife was cooking so Cui Weichuan put down his suitcase and smiled, "Have you been a good boy today?"


    "I am a good boy! You can ask mommy."


    His wife was cing the dishes that she prepared on the dining table. She then carried her son and kissed his cheek, "Yes, you¡¯re always a good boy! He had learned more than 100 words today. Give him a couple more days and he¡¯ll be reading a book on his own."


    "Mommy, I¡¯m already reading storybooks on my own. It¡¯s just that there were some words that I don¡¯t know." The son was unsatisfied.


    Chui Weichuan was stunned when he heard what they were saying. He snapped out of it and said with concern, "He is learning too fast. I don¡¯t think it¡¯s good for him. He¡¯s still so young after all."


    His wife did not mind what he said, she was proud of her genius son, "What¡¯s so bad about that? My son is a genius! I just need to teach him once and he¡¯d remember it! He will be a great scientist in the future."


    He was just a four-month-old baby, how could my son be such a genius? Chui Weichuan wanted to say that but he decided to hold his tongue.


    "During thest visit to the hospital, the doctor said that the government might being up with baby sses. Do you think we should send our son there?" His wife did not care about the baby¡¯s struggle as she carried him before cing him on the chair.


    Chui Weichuan was upset. Ever since his son was born, his wife had given all her attention to their son. He knew that it was ridiculous that he was jealous of his own sun.


    "I think the minimum age for the baby ss would be three years old. There¡¯s still a long way to go!"


    "It¡¯s not too early, the baby ss is supposed to cater to children like our son who was born with the new technology. They¡¯re allowed to join as early as six months old. If we don¡¯t let him, he¡¯ll be left out!" His wife said in excitement.


    "Alright then. We¡¯ll send him to the ss. No matter what happens, he cannot be left out." Chui Weichuan knew his wife very well. Once she had decided on something, there was no way she would change her mind. She was just asking for his approval.


    Perhaps all the children that were born using the new technology had genius level intelligence. He was ufortable with the idea but the longer he worked in the field of research, the more he understood how important intelligence was. Ordinary people like him with a mediocre level of intelligence would not go far no matter how much he tried. It would not be a surprise if being an assistant engineer was the peak of his career.


    When these genius children grew up, perhaps the older generation would be gotten rid of.


    ...


    10 test flightter, the mothership had made it above to venus. The view of earth was no different than other stars one could see with the naked eye. The collection of the interster creature¡¯s carcass had begun. Many engineering robots were already at every corner of the creature like ants. Most of its skin was ripped off, exposing its strong muscles.


    Its gigantic body was just slightly smaller than the mothership. Compared to the emergency spacecraft that was parked five kilometers away, the spacecraft was just one-thirds of its size.


    Compared to the first collection of an interster creature¡¯s carcass where much of the work was done with manualbor, the collection operation this time around was much more advanced. There were no people at the collection site and the only things present were the unmanned robots that were controlled from afar. They were like bees flying all over, the engineering robots were going to and fro from the carcass to the emergency spacecraft. Each of the robots were more than 10 meters tall. They were efficient and were equipped for interster flight. Their immense strength allowed them to cut open the creature¡¯s body easily andplete the mission perfectly.


    ...


    In the engineeringmand center in the emergency spaceship, with the help of nuclear maic resonance and x-ray technology, clear pictures of the interster creature¡¯s insides were shown on the screen in the middle. Experts from different fields were analyzing the images one by one. The size of the creature was so big, making it impossible for them to fit the entire carcass into the spaceship. It was only after they cleared the material reserves and resources they used the past couple of years, the most the spaceship could carry was only 100,000 tons of the interster creature¡¯s flesh. It was not even 1% of the total mass of the interster creature.


    To prevent themselves from missing out on its crucial body parts, it was of utmost importance that they analyzed the interster creature¡¯s body structure.


    "Its mutation had caused most of its organs to shrink. However, some of the organs were strengthened. For instance, the heart!" A plump middle-aged man who was a biologist eximed. Before the apocalypse, he was working on research rted to mutated creatures so he was quite experienced.


    "Based on the images sent by the engineering robots, we can see that there are countless tumors on the heart. The evolution of each body parts has to make sense so these tumors must have some unique function."


    "I think it¡¯s very possible. However, mutated creatures are different from evolved creatures. We have to consider the gic changes so we need to collect samples and conduct preliminary studies on the creature. It¡¯s too early toe out with a conclusion now." Another biologist thought out loud.

 Chapter 508: The Mystery Of The Tumors

    Chapter 508: The Mystery Of The Tumors


    Trantor: EndlessFantasy Trantion Editor: EndlessFantasy Trantion


    The collection of the interster creature¡¯s carcass was a major operation when taking its size into consideration, even with the standard of human technology today. In order to make it happen, various detection and mining equipment were produced by the factories continuously and although there were only five to six million people remaining, the production rate was no less than the time prior to the apocalypse and the reconstruction era. Human technology had skyrocketed since then.


    As soon as the production line modification wasplete, the factories should be able to produce more than 10 gigantic engineering robots that were 10 meters tall. This was the production numbers for a partial production run and if an emergency arose or a war was dered, the production numbers could increase several fold. Within half a month, more than 1,000 engineering robots with various functions joined the operation. However, as the mission was nowplete, most of the robots were sent back to the factories to be dismantled as the spaceship was already too crowded to maintain all these robots.


    Standing in the central control, Luo Yuan was amazed as he looked at the operation that was 100,000 kilometers away. With the development throughout the years, human technology was now at the same level as ssian technology 60 years ago. Though there was space for improvement in some aspects of human technology, there were other aspects where they had surpassed ssian technology.


    Throughout the years, humans did not only adapt ssian technology but advanced as well. With the advancements from both civilizations, they managed to have breakthroughs in many fields. Though that alone was not sufficient to be used as a standalone system and had yet to surpass the standard of ssian technology as a whole, it at least proved that humans have now scratched the surface of ssian technology and are moving forward.


    However, it was still 60-year-old ssian technology. Compared to today¡¯s technology, humans were still far behind. Since this was the first spaceship built by the ssians, its technology should not be questioned though it was not the most advanced technology of their civilization. After all, as a voyage spaceship, the level of technology was not a priority. Instead, the focus was the safety and stability of the spaceship which was why only technological advancements which had matured were used in the spaceship and those that were still in the research stages were left out.


    60 or 70 years of difference in time was considered to be one generation in the development of technology and was long enough for a technological revolution. In fact, though there was a huge gap, Luo Yuan believed that if humans were given another 30 to 40 years, they would be on par or even surpass ssians in terms of technological advancement. Besides, with the cultivation of the Wisdom Trees from the second energy crystal, the production rate of the wisdom elixirs have reached more than 4,000 tubes per year, four times more than before.


    There were now 3,000 super scientists who had an Intelligence level between 16 to 18 points and ordinary scientists which outnumbered them by 1,000 times. The figure was more or less the same each year and with that, they would be able to advance human technology to be on par with ssian technology given enough time.


    The only question remaining was the reappearance of the ssians and it would probably take them 50 years or so but the best guess would be that it would take them only three to four years, possibly even sooner.


    It was a bet and if he was alone, Luo Yuan would throw himself in without a second thought instead of running away. However, with the fate of mankind on his shoulders, failing it would mean failing mankind. The ssians would not give up on revenge just because there was a threat - there was too much on the line! Survival was the first priority of civilizations and to survive, they would have to do anything they needed to and hiding from its enemy temporarily was nothing.


    He looked at the star in the direction of where the ssians were and did not move until the artificial intelligence system started talking.


    "Warning, the metal storage level is now at 31%, you¡¯re getting close to the danger zone!"


    Luo Yuan looked at it but he did not bother. Since they had been producing a massive amount of engineering robots, they have drained their metal supplies but they could always recycle the metal from the elemental separation furnace to replenish their supply.


    "List out all the elements we have in store!"


    "Yes, captain!"


    Luo Yuan looked at the chart on the screen, the least used element was water. It was barely touched since there was a water cirction system on the spaceship. None of the water used would be wasted and most of it was used on the nuclear fusion fuel. The rest of the elements were more or less at 80% while some of the elements were simr to metal, only at about 30% remaining.


    Aside from building the engineering robots, machines, and spacecraft, the resources were exhausted on the daily necessities of the five to six million people. Although most of them could be recycled, the bulk of the robots permanently upied space. "It would seem that we would need to replenish the resources store before we leave!" Luo Yuan thought to himself.


    ...


    A monthter, the interster creature¡¯s stomach was cut open and its gigantic organs were moved into an emergency spacecraft by the engineering robots. The spacecraft was like an enormousboratory now with many researchers wearing lead-based protective clothing within a mountain of flesh and blood that looked like a massacre had just happened. The 30 meter tall heart that was cut into half was surrounded by many people as a gigantic piece of machinary waved its robotic arm around it, conduction various scans.


    "The tumors are not part of the heart. The presence of eight, spiral structures detected!" Meng Junhua looked at the scan results on the screen and said as his assistances noted down what he had said. He looked young with a baby-like face, only being 27 years old. He had been working on the research for almost four years and was among the first batch of researchers who joined the team since the disaster. His performance was outstanding since he once worked in the field of high-energy physics and mathematics. He hade up with many valuable theses during his probationary period.


    The biggest gap between mankind and the ssians was the theoretical field. On one hand, the information humans were able to obtain was limited and they had to continue their studies on their own. It was a known fact that the technological advancement of humankind was not on par with their theoretical development, causing an imbnce. Many technicians knew how to build products that were simr to what the ssians had but many of them did not have the theoretical support to use these products.


    It was simr to a student who used a form toplete a question without an in-depth understanding of what the form really was. Although there were no direct consequences of doing that, if the situation continued, there would be a significant effect on technological development.


    Unfortunately, most of the experts in these theoretical fields were in New Capital City before the disaster as there was equipment that was significantly more advanced so there were only a few of them in Hope City and other areas.


    Under such circumstance, Meng Junhua was recognized and became one of the top people in the field. He was even assigned to work on the wisdom elixir a year ago and he was now a senior researcher.


    "The microstructures shows cells that don¡¯t exist. They look like a fibrous cotton material. Its structure is tough, almost six times tougher than muscle, 2.5 times tougher than skin. The function is still under study!"


    "There¡¯s a special structure connected to its heart!" Meng Junhua eximed at what was on the screen after looking at it for awhile. His eyes brightened up. "This is an atomic filter, it filters the atoms and molecules and should be the funnel for its energy."


    He thought to himself, the energy should pass through the energy crystal in the heart to the eight spiral structures and activate the energy, turning it into gamma rays...


    Unfortunately, he was not able to find the energy funnel so how was the interster creature able to shoot gamma rays?


    Energy transition... Could it be due to other substances?


    How do hundreds of these tumors work together?


    How did it manage to shoot out gamma rays in such short periods of time?


    ...


    Countless thoughts shed through Meng Junhua¡¯s mind - he was getting lost. Unfortunately, the data he had was too little and he needed to conduct an in-depth and moreplete study. He scratched his head as there was barely anything he was not able toplete ever since he consumed the wisdom elixir. However, excitement washed over him as he wondered if there was some unknown way it activated these bursts of gamma rays or some undiscovered physical-chemical phenomenon.


    He had been working all day but there were limited results. After all, it was just a preliminary study - the concrete study would have to be done on the mothership. However, he was sure that the tumors were somehow rted to the gamma ray. At dinner, he discussed the matter with the other researchers who were sitting on the same table. One of them was an expert in the field of neurobiology. He gave him a couple of ideas that got him thinking.

 Chapter 509: Maid

    Chapter 509: Maid


    Trantor: EndlessFantasy Trantion Editor: EndlessFantasy Trantion


    Meng Junhua returned to his room right after he finished dinner. For the project, the emergency spacecraft was modified into an official research spacecraft. Aside fromboratories of all sizes, there was a residential area built at the border that was able to amodate around 100,000 people. However, most of the rooms were vacant and only up to 1,000 people upied the rooms with most of them being researchers.


    "Master, are you home?" As he opened the door, a maid greeted him and a gust of fragrance blew over his face. She was beautiful with big eyes that looked as innocent as lilies in the morning and looked weak in her maid attire that unted her long, fair legs. She was perfect, there was no w on her skin and she seemed unreal. The truth was, she was not a real person but was actually a robot maid. Its bones were made of light metal, her flesh a replica of the human flesh structure. With simple artificial intelligence, she could converse with people, carry out house chores and perform other unique tasks. It was a hit among the single researchers.


    However, such robot maids were only avable for researchers who were single. ording to the statistics, the marital rate had dropped to a new low ever since the sale of the robot maids began for the researchers who were single. If it was avable on the market, it could start a series of societal issues. However, the biggest sacrifice researchers had to give was their knowledge. Their family had be a second priority. Moreover, most of the researchers lived in solitude so a human-like partner was not necessary.


    Meng Junhua allowed the maid to take off his protective clothing and asked, "How are you today, Xiao Lin?"


    "I¡¯m good, I miss you." Xiao Lin replied.


    "There¡¯s nothing I can do about it. I have work, it¡¯ll take a while more. Soon I¡¯ll take a day off and rest at home." Meng Junhua stared into the maid¡¯s innocent eyes. Although he knew the maid¡¯s character was set by him, it broke his heart to see her like that.


    The maid had brought him happiness during the time they shared together. She was loving and obedient, never rejecting any of his requests and would never betray him, being loyal to a fault.


    "That would not be necessary. Your work is important. You don¡¯t have to spend time with me as long as you think of me whenever you are."


    "Master you must be exhausted from working all day. Would you like me to give you a massage?" The maid smiled flirtatiously, the room brightening up at that instant.


    Meng Junhua was stunned, it was a temptation for him. After all, he was only in his 20s where his testosterone was at its peak. If this happened in the past, he would have given in to the temptation. However, he was inspired at work today so he managed to control his urge, "It¡¯s okay, I have some documents to look at. Get me a cup of tea!"


    "Yes, master!" The maid looked disappointed, almost looking like a real person.


    "Do you need warm water as well?"


    "Warm water it is!" Looking at the maid sashaying away, Meng Junhua bit his tongue and thought to himself, "Damn!"


    "My demanding ex-girlfriend was total trashpared to this maid!"


    ...


    As the maid left, Meng Junhuaid on the bed immediately. He then closed his eyes and entered thework. There was a gigantic quantum ry on the emergency spacecraft that was connected to the mothership. Although it was 100,000 kilometers from the mothership, thework was clear with no dy. Soon, he entered the entrance of the digital library. It was a massive one, simr to the gigantic tower and looked stunning. The digital library today waspletely different from the old and boring archive they used to have. It was like virtual reality, the library upied tens of thousands of square meters. There were 69 floors and they would add eight to ten floors each year. Perhaps this building would be a couple of thousand floors and touch the sky 100 yearster.


    There were many people walking in and out on the ground floor of the building. Meng Junhua was close with some of them but he did not want to waste his time talking to them so he held his head down as he walked fast to the digital library. Bookshelves upied the entire floor. However, it was not a real library after all as nobody would have the patience to flip through all the books here. Instead of a library, it should be called the sanctuary of knowledge.


    "Browse through all the documents of biological neurology within thest three years and set the environment to a meadow." Within seconds, the surroundings faded and the library disappeared. He was surrounded by a boundless meadow, what appeared before his field of vision were more than 10 bookshelves with documents arranged neatly on them. The blue sky was above his head and a vast meadow spread as far as the eyes could see beneath his feet. Meng Junhua¡¯s stress was taken away. Ever since he left earth, he could only see sceneries like this on thework.


    Unfortunately, as it was artificial, the feeling of immersion was not there. The fragrance of grass and the blowing wind was nowhere to be found. The feeling of stepping on lush green grass was barely there, it was far from being in the real world.


    "I¡¯ve heard that there¡¯s a breakthrough in connecting virtual reality to the brain but I¡¯m not sure when we¡¯d be able to use it. Perhaps, when the timees, there would be no difference between virtual reality and reality."


    He let out a sigh, took a deep breath and started to read the documents. He did not know much about biology and it would be a headache for normal scientists but since he had consumed the wisdom elixir, he had a rough idea of every field as most of them were rted to each other nowadays. It was like the parable of the blind men and an elephant [1] whereby there were different ways to learn something.


    His reading speed was fast. Although he would stop to think asionally, the most he took to finish a book was only five minutes. The development in biological neurology had skyrocketed in recent years. Whether theoretically or practically, countless sessful products have beenunched. For instance, his favorite robot maid was made of a massive amount of artificial nerve fibers that were connected directly to the fiberwork. With a slight adjustment and connection, it allowed the mechanism to form aplete body. Not only did it give the robot maid smooth coordination and agility, there was almost no difference whenpared to an actual human. It even possessed senses which would allow it to feel the changes in its environment, the ability to smell and feel pain where some of the body parts were more sensitive than human as well as rich, upgraded skills.


    Meng Junhua snapped out of his thought and proceeded to read and a couple of hourster, something caught his eyes.


    "Oh! Quantum neurotransmission, that¡¯s new!" He looked at the publication date and found out that it was an academic document that was published recently. He read the documents fast. As a rookie in the field of biological theory, quantum theory was considered a field that he specified in. The document was within his range of knowledge but the magical neurotransmission in the research was an eye-opener. He was feeling inspired and ideas were running through his head.


    Most importantly, it was not a hypothesis but a discovery. A hypothesis was a theory pending confirmation while a discovery meant it actually existed in the world. The phenomenon was discovered from the previous interster creature. The lucky researcher found a nerve fiber with a unique mutated nerve cell that was different from the cells surrounding it. It was like a ball covered in long, thin hair and the hairs were growing in the gaps between the cells with a length of about 15 to 100 micrometers.


    After a lengthy research, theb discovered that the structure of the nerve cell was simr to a natural quantummunication system. Its refined structure wasparable with an artificial quantummunication device. The ability of a quantummunication system that was the size of a cell was stunning. They discovered more function-specific cells but there were not many of them. The researcher concluded in his thesis that the godlike transmission signal could be only one of its function as a portion of its structure had yet to be decoded. He concluded that the quantum nerve cell could even transmit energy.


    Meng Junhua put down the book in excitement. He was now relieved as he realized that if the cell could actually transmit energy - everything made sense. There was no need of any passages for the energy transmission as the hundreds of tumors could work as the quantum signal transmission! He decided to head back immediately to find out if this interster creature possessed the same quantum cell. He was 90% sure of his idea.


    He patted his head, he should have thought of this earlier! If this gigantic creature with a body that was near 1,000 meters long had a regr neurotransmission system, its reaction would be slowed down. It would even have several seconds of dy when it was triggered by stimuli from the outside world. However, the creature was agile and its speed was terrifyingly fast. It was so much stronger than an ordinary person. It would be impossible for it not to possess a unique neurotransmission system.


    At that time, he was less interested in the structure of the gamma rays the creature emitted. His mind was upied with the unique, quantum nerve cell.


    "These biologicalbs are amateurs! No matter how much research they do, there will never be any resultss. If I, who is an expert in the physical field could confirm that the cell could transmit energy, it would be a revolutionary discovery. If such technique is decoded by humans, there would be a technology revolution that is followed by a drastic change in the current situation humankind was in while the person who discovered it would have made history."


    He left thework immediately and leaped from his bed.


    "Master, are you heading out?" The robot maid sensed some movement so it woke up from its sleep mode. She walked to the door and asked curiously.


    Meng Junhua was overwhelmed in excitement. He put on his protective clothing and said to the maid, "I¡¯ve some development in my research. Sleep early, don¡¯t wait up for me."


    Trantor Notes:


    [1] The parable of the blind men and an elephant originated in ancient Indian subcontinent, from where it has widely diffused. It is a story of a group of blind men, who have nevere across an elephant before, learn and conceptualize what the elephant is like by touching it. Each blind man feels a different part of the elephant body, but only one part, such as the side or the tusk. They then describe the elephant based on their partial experience and their descriptions are inplete disagreement on what an elephant is. In some versions theye to suspect that the other person is dishonest and theye to blows. The moral of the parable is that humans have a tendency to project their partial experiences as the whole truth, ignore other people¡¯s partial experiences, and one should consider that one may be partially right and may have partial information.

 Chapter 510: Before The Departure

    Chapter 510: Before The Departure


    Trantor: EndlessFantasy Trantion Editor: EndlessFantasy Trantion


    The interster flight was counting down. Not long after the collection of interster creature¡¯s carcass, the first mission to mine an asteroid to replenish the resources on the mothership before their departure had finally started. They targeted on an asteroid that was not far away. It was huge, with its widest surface at six kilometers and its narrowest at least three kilometers wide. It was covered in snow. As it was near the sun, there was a 100 kilometers tail behind it. It was stunning.


    Fortunately, theyer of ice on its surface was not thick from initial detection. The iceyer was only tens of meters thick with an abundance of iron beneath it along with other elements. The amount of water humans consumed was not too much of an issue, the bigger issue was their consumption of metal. The mining operation was mainly to collect metal and an asteroid like this was sufficient to replenish all their resources.


    The first batch of 100 engineering robotsnded on the asteroids with all the tools and materials. They would be responsible for clearing the ice from the surface to build simple power nts andy the cables. Besides that, there would be three engines installed on the side of the asteroid so that it would not sway too far away from its initial trajectory. The work took less than a week. Soon, the second batch of engineering robotsunched massive modr factories shaped like containers into space. There were jets of sma mes shooting out the back of the robots, making them look like fireflies as theynded on the asteroid.


    The modr factoriesnded on their designated locations and locked onto the surface. The factories were up and running within a short period of time. These were actual unmanned factories with no lights and no additional space aside from what was necessary. Most of them were shaped like cylinders or had aplicated structure of pirs for massive metal smelting equipment. All the space in these factories were fully utilized. Soon, a gigantic metal tunnel with a diameter of 30 meters was activated and sounded simr to a gigantic beast. The opening of the factory was aimed toward at the empty space not far away.


    Then, a terrifying maic field was emitted from the tunnel. The surface of the asteroid began to melt and as the factory absorbed the melted asteroid, it continued to dig deeper into the tunnel. The reason why the tunnel was able to have such huge diameter was because of its adjustability, having over 100yers of metal pipes above it. With this design, it was able to go five kilometers underground to get to the minerals beneath the surfaceyer. The ssians already had mature asteroid mining technology. The programming wasplete and once humankind adapted the technology for their own use, they easily mastered it although it was only their first time.


    ...


    Soon it was April in the year 2020. It had been four years since humans ventured into space. All the preparation work for their interster flight had beenpleted and for safety purposes, they even fixed all the holes in the hull of the mothership. The spaceship looked as good as new, with most of the parts that were old being reced. Throughout the months, countless maintenance engineering works were underway everywhere with various detection devices, checking every corner of the spaceship to see if there were possible hidden hazards.


    ...


    The peaceful and calm atmosphere soon became stressful. Although the media had been promoting positive messages, as time went by, everyone began feeling insecure. Even Luo Yuan was worried. After all, it was an adventure into an unknown future. Perhaps humankind would rise again or maybe it would be a dead end. No matter what happened, they continued to approach the departure date day after day. The route had been set, they were heading to Barnard¡¯s Star that was six light years away from earth.


    One of the reasons why the star was chosen was because of its close distance. As it was their first interster flight, it would be risky if they chose a star that was far away. On the other hand, the light that it emitted was of the lowest level. It was a red dwarf, an old star with a dimmed red light. It was the best hiding ce.


    In reality, the distance between both civilizations was huge so the detection was not as easy as they imagined. No matter how advanced a detection system orputer was, it was redundant. Moreover, the distance between both civilizations were light years away. The distance of one light year would take one year of flying. Just like the ssian who were 28 light years away from earth, it took the light for the light from their sr system 28 years to reach us. This meant the videos of ssians that the humans saw was already 28 years old history.


    It was less than five years since the wiping out of the ssians advanced army which meant that humankind was safe for the next 23 years. That is, unless the ssians had developed the ability to detect their location via ultralight or if they developed a spacecraft that could travel faster than the speed of light. No matter how they hid, humans were a confirmed target for the ssians if they developed an advanced detection technology. It would, however, be much better if the ssians had invented a craft that could fly faster than the speed of light as it would afford humankind some time to hide but this was a worst-case scenario.


    Usually, ssian detection systems relied heavily on light. The dimmer the location was, the lower the probability would be of them discovering their hiding spot. It was simr to the dark side of stars, it would be impossible to find spaceships there. However, humankind could not live in hiding forever. It was a vacuum and they would have nowhere to replenish their resources. They could possibly live like rats for the next ten years but it would limit human development. Throughout the past six months, humans had given birth to 240,000 babies with 50,000 of the newborn children being born through surrogates while the remaining 190,000 were produced inboratories. With such progress, the human poption would multiply several-fold 10 yearster and the spaceship would be even more crowded,cking the capacity to amodate further poption expansion.


    Therefore, it was crucial for humankind to find a new star for temporary residence. ording to the spaceship¡¯s detection system, there were rockys and gaseouss in the Barnard sr system. Be it the issue of resources or development, the Barnard system was the perfect ce. The harsh environment on the star was nothing to humans who had already ventured into space. As long as they were given sufficient time, with the level human technology was at today, they could absolutely create a star on their own. It was only the matter of efficiency.


    "Mayor, good news from the antimatterb!" Luo Yuan¡¯s secretary Chen Xinjie came into his office.


    "Oh!" Luo Yuan took over the documents and flipped through them. His frown was then turned upside-down, "The energy conversion rate is now one-third of a million!" In reality, the first antimatterb had been established for six months. As the technology had yet to be matured and its safety was not guaranteed, it was put on hold. The production was within the safety regtions they had. After all, it was a spaceship. If any idents were to happen, the consequences would be beyond imagination.


    "Too bad. This is too dangerous, we can¡¯t produce this in the spaceship. We can only use it as a reserve." Luo Yuan said to Chen Xinjie, "Publish an award announcement to encourage them to work harder!"


    "Yes, mayor!" Chen Xinjie left immediately. Luo Yuan proceeded to look at the documents again, he was happy. Although it was one-third of a million, to be able to arrive at such ratio, anti-matter research had basically matured. With the production efficiency of the nuclear fusion furnace, six to ten million tons of water could be converted into one ton of anti-matter. Such an energy source might be wasteful, but as an ultimate weapon, its value was beyond measure!

 Chapter 511: Realistic Virtual Reality

    Chapter 511: Realistic Virtual Reality


    Trantor: EndlessFantasy Trantion Editor: EndlessFantasy Trantion


    In the dark expanse of the gxy, a gigantic meteorite hovered in the middle without moving. Instead of a meteorite, it should be called a mass ofnd floating in the gxy. Thend¡¯s radius was more than 10 kilometers and there were nts and water on it. Flowers bloomed across thend apanied by the sweet singing of birds. There seemed to be a unique force enveloping the mass ofnd, allowing the air to remain without dispersing into space.


    Suddenly, a personnded there. It was Luo Yuan! Before he even looked around, he already noticed that something was off. The immense strength that he used to possess disappeared. His body felt empty as if a part of him was taken away. He clenched his fists, feeling weak. He felt like he returned to his weak body when he was an ordinary person before the apocalypse.


    Not only that, his senses slowed down as well. His developed sensitivity that once allowed him to detect the dust on his skin had disappeared. His skin felt numb and his ability to smell and hear were oddly diminished too. He felt like he was heavily hindered, as all his Sense, Will, and four-dimensional vision could not be used here. His weak body made him feel like he did not exist.


    However, he did not panic at all as it was not the real world, but virtual reality. To turn a superhuman who could move mountains into a weak ordinary person, it was quite an unusual experience. His Physique was in the default setting of an ordinary person. Other than the appearance of his body being exactly the same, everything else was different.


    Luo Yuan¡¯s women followed suit and entered the virtual reality.


    "Wow, this is so real. The air is so fresh, I could even feel the breeze against my skin, is this the virtual world? This is just like reality." Wang Shishi was being dramatic with the mutated woman as she entered the virtual reality. However, the mutated woman was incapable of speech and thus replied with iprehensible noises.


    Huang Jiahui, Zhao Yali, and the rest did not exim like Wang Shishi did, but they were all in disbelief. Even the quiet Chen Jiayi¡¯s cheeks were flushed while she walked around with her eyes wide open. Everything here was not any different from the real world. They could smell the fragrance of grass, they could feel the wind. After being on the spaceship for too long, it was refreshing to be able to see greeneries again.


    Huang Jiahui secretly pinched herself. She felt the pain and eximed, "This is too real, I could even feel pain here."


    Aspared to Luo Yuan¡¯s virtual body, the difference in the women¡¯s Physique in the real and virtual world was much less than what Luo Yuan was experienced.


    Luo Yuan smiled, "That¡¯s normal. This is highly simted to look and feel like the real world. From the quantum technology on the helmet and the connection of nerve signals in the brain, it was simr to the brain being in a jar... You can treat this body like your real body as it has the biological reactions that normal humans have. The environment here is mutually affected by the real world..."


    "There¡¯s a field of fruit trees over there, shall we take a look?" Zhao Yali noticed that there¡¯s a field filled with trees with green and red fruits. She eximed in excitement. The mutated woman ran ahead in a strange manner. She needed time to adapt to her default body here from the strong body that she used to possess. Soon, everybody had made their way to the field. Luo Yuan stood where he was and stopped talking. Apparently, the fruit trees were much more interesting than the dull theories that he was borating on.


    As Luo Yuan made his first step, he realized that his adaptation was the worst among the rest. He had sent out the signal to move his legs but his legs were not moving. It felt like an agile, fast car had transformed into a rusty tractor which was heavy and slow. Luckily, although his Physique in the virtual reality was altered, it could not alter the speed of his mind. Within a second, he had mastered his slow bodypletely.


    He sprinted and caught up with the rest. Most parts of the virtual reality were nds. There was a hill at the center and an orchard at the bottom of the hill. The sceneries were breathtaking, as they started walking slowly while enjoying the greeneries in chatters andughter.


    A river flowed down the road, the water was crystal clear. A school of fishes was swimming against the current.


    "There are even fishes here!" Wang Xiaguang was stunned.


    "Some of the researchers in the gicb made them with the generic data, it would be boring if there were only nts here." Luo Yuan exined.


    "These are carp right?" Zhao Yali asked in excitement, "Are they edible?"


    "Of course." Luo Yuan said with a smile. Although the genes of the fishes differed from real carp, their taste was basically the same as the real one. He proceeded, "Little girl, catch a few fishes for us, we will do barbecueter."


    Little girl was a nickname that everyone gave the mutated woman. Now that she could understand the humannguage, she evenprehended words. She would read novels asionally, and she could tell that calling her a ¡®mutated woman¡¯ was an insult. Thus, she refused to respond if anyone were to call her mutated woman.


    The mutated woman nodded in excitement. She was like a cat, squatting by the river carefully with her hands extended slowly. She targeted the fishes that were not distant while nning her moves. 10 secondster, her hand extended deep into the water and caught a carp. Next, her fangs were out, pressing down on the carp as she tore the carp¡¯s head away. Her movement was fluid, and it seemed like she had the experience of catching fishes in the past.


    Her wild side shocked all the girls. Ever since the world returned to normal, the mutated woman was hardly wild anymore. The mutated woman saw them staring at her in shock and fear, and she put her guard up once again. Her excitement faded away, and she proceeded to wash the blood away from her hands.


    Luo Yuan walked up to her and patted her head, "Don¡¯t worry. Who has never killed a fish here? They have killed even more fishes than you have, they¡¯re just shocked at the way you did it."


    They apologized to her. Fortunately, the mutated woman dropped matters quickly. Soon, she was smiling again. Under their encouragement, she caught more and more fishes. However, due to their reaction earlier, she suppressed her wild side and killed the fishes in a gentler way.


    ...


    After 10 minutes of strolling, they made it to the orchard. It was filled with apple trees, its¡¯ sweet smell lingering in the air. It was breathtaking. They started picking the apples with Luo Yuan. he took a bite and chewed slowly. The sweet and sour taste filled his mouth. The taste of the apple was simr to a real apple. However, topare it to a real apple, there was still a slight difference. After all, humans had lost their memory of how apples tasted like. No matter how hard they tried, it was impossible for them to replicate the taste.


    The degree of realism was high in this virtual world. It was not much different from the real one. Even thew of physics could not be distinguished with the naked eye. Every grass, every tree, and even the soil and rocks... Every inch of the matter was made of atoms. These were not even the finest structures. There were electrons as well as atomic nuclei within the aromas there and within these atomic nuclei, there were also protons and neutrons.


    It was the best that they could create as the human¡¯sputer could not simte the irregr quantum motion of microscopic particles. Therefore, there was still a hint of artificialism in this virtual reality. However, the physical rule on the atomicyer was exactly the same as the real world. To create this virtual reality, Luo Yuan had specifically approved the manufacturing of 65 super quantumputers. The size alone upied an entire megastructure. If it was used for amodation, it could house 850,000 people.


    Now that the spaceshipcked space, upying such a huge area to ce theputers was certainly not for the purpose of creating virtual reality games. Soon, it would be used forboratories as well as technological identification factories. The limited space on the spaceship became an obstacle to the advancement of mankind. This problem was especially obvious in the factory area. It was initially empty but had since be congested. Every inch of space was equivalent to gold.


    Most of the new factory applications were denied cruelly. Some of the risky experiments were prohibited, leading to many technologies that could not be identified and developed. As time went by, the situation worsened and greatly affected the development of technology.


    This was why Luo Yuan had to invest everything in creating the virtual world. Although it could not bepared to the real world, other than the observation of microscopic particle motion, most of the processes in factories andbs were not affected. Even the nuclear fusion power stations and quantummunications were up and running.


    The virtual reality was still in its preliminary stages, as some of the physical rules and material structures were being improved upon to look and feel identical to the real world. Inches ofnd and rivers were being added to the edges of the floating ind as it grewrger. It was estimated that the virtual world would be 1,200 square kilometers wide when the construction waspleted. The issue of theck of space for human development, especially in the technological aspect would be relieved as soon as the virtual world waspleted.


    ...


    After finding a nd, some of them started to dig a hole, while others built a stove or looked for sticks. They were excited. However, when they were ready to start a fire, they realized that there was no source of fire.


    "What do we do, do we have to rub pieces of the wood together?" Looking at the fishes that were ready to be cooked, Wang Shishi was disappointed. It would take forever if they wanted to build a fire from friction.


    Luo Yuan was helpless. If this was not virtual reality, things would be so much easier. With his Will, he could just rub his fingers to start a fire.


    "Nevermind!" Luo Yuan said, "No.1!"


    "How can I serve you, master?" A clear voice rang in Luo Yuan¡¯s ear. He was the person who held the highest authority in this world¡¯s artificial intelligence system! The core control programme of the virtual reality was crucial. When it was built, it was strictly controlled and reviewed. The person who held the highest authority in the artificial intelligence system would be none other than Luo Yuan.


    "Get me a lighter." Luo Yuan paused and asked, "How many edible nts and animal models do we have now?"


    "Up until now, there are nine types of models including the cow, pig, carp, cabbage, cauliflower, eggnt, apple, orange, and banana."


    "So many already?" Luo Yuan mumbled to himself. It was not easy to make creature models as it took a certain technology to make the creature genes look real. Aspared to minerals, the structures of creatures were 10,000 times harder.


    It seemed like not long after, these foods would be avable in real life! Luo Yuan thought and said, "We are nning a pic, prepare all the ingredients and fruits for us."


    "A moment please!" Within seconds, all the ingredients and fruits were presented before them. There was a lighter too. The amount of food that materialized could feed hundreds of people. Looking at the food that appeared out of thin air, none of them were surprised as it was virtual reality after all.


    "Boss Luo, who were you talking to?" Wang Shishi asked curiously. The rest looked at him.


    "The artificial intelligence system of this world!" Luo Yuan had nothing to hide.


    "Its name is No.1?" Wang Shishi asked while blinking.


    While Luo Yuan started the fire, he turned around and said while chuckling, "Don¡¯t bother trying to understand! This virtual reality is not a game, you guys are lucky that you coulde in. You don¡¯t have the authority; the artificial intelligence system would not respond to you anyway. Only high-level researchers would have a certain level of authority. So, don¡¯t fool around."

 Chapter 512: Rekindle

    Chapter 512: Rekindle


    Trantor: EndlessFantasy Trantion Editor: EndlessFantasy Trantion


    Naturally, Luo Yuan enjoyed the barbeque. He ate some lime to get rid of the greasy feeling after having oily food. Heid on the grass, rubbing his bloated tummy while chatting with the rest. Smelling the scent of the grass, he felt rxed.


    In recent days, there was no abundance of food for the humans. Things had improved over the past two years. Initially, most of the people survived on a vegetarian diet. Meat lovers like Luo Yuan had indeed suffered. Ever since the invention of cultivated meat, the conditions had slightly improved. However, one would somehow feel grossed out after eating too much cultivated meat.


    Huang Jiahui then asked, "Why didn¡¯t you ask your secretary toe?"


    Everyone shifted their gazes towards Luo Yuan.


    Some of them could sense that something was wrong, alerting the rest. The existence of Chen Xinjie was not a secret as she would frequently appear on media channels. She was pretty in addition to being Luo Yuan¡¯s secretary, causing them to be on alert.


    "This is a family gathering. Why do I have to ask my secretary toe?" Luo Yuan was lying on the ground as he calmly replied, maintaining a neutral expression.


    It sounded good! Huang Jiahui thought as she ground her teeth. His former secretary, Cheng Guanghui would often go to his residence with an update on the current situation.


    Ever since Chen Xinjie became his secretary, this had never happened again. Perhaps they wanted to avoid arousing suspicion, but it looked even more dubious by doing so. Every few days, but definitely less than 10 days, Luo Yuan woulde up with excuses, citing how he had something to deal with before disappearing for the night. The regrity of such incidentssted for a few years too!


    However, she could only contain such thoughts in her mind. She knew that this was how Luo Yuan behaved as the number of women around him all these years had increased. If she wanted to get jealous over the women around him, she would get insanely jealous then. It would be fine if he did not bring them home.


    "I¡¯ve almost forgotten that Luo Yu and her siblings stayed at our housest night. You worked overtimest night and I forgot to tell you about this." Huang Jiahui changed the topic.


    "Oh, they came back. Why didn¡¯t they call me?" Luo Yuanughed. He was sleeping at Chen Xinjie¡¯s housest night and missed the chance to meet them.


    "You¡¯re too strict, they are afraid of you." Zhao Yali said. Four of them joined the research department four years ago and left home. The house was no longer as lively as it used to be, feeling lonely, "I think it¡¯s good to ask them toe home. Living outside will not be as good as staying at home. They will listen to you if you tell them."


    After living together for a few years, the four of them were less afraid of Luo Yuan as they had built strong familial bonds. However, they would not feel rxed when facing Luo Yuan. It was because they subconsciously knew that Luo Yuan was a strict father that they had to respect.


    Luo Yuan knew the reason behind this but the rest of them did not know about it. Luo Yuan forced a smile without exining anything and said, "The children have all grown up and they will live their own lives. Let them be. It¡¯s not that they will not being back for the rest of our lives."


    After finishing his words, he then realized that what he said sounded old. In fact, he was only 30 years old. He looked like a young man that was at the age of 20. He had not aged all these years as if he possessed eternal youth.


    Even he himself had no idea how long he could live.


    To him, death was definitely still a long distance away.


    ...


    After taking a break for half day, Luo Yuan then left the virtual reality, leaving the rest of them within. Each of the departments had been preupied with the space voyage these days. It was good that he could take half a day off from work.


    Right after he left the virtual reality, the feeling of having everything in control had returned.


    Thanks to his strong body, he could control all perception of space with his Sense and his ability to see through the three-dimensional world with his four-dimensional vision. He had an illusion of regaining what he had previously lost.


    He was agitated, probably because he was used to it and neglected it when he possessed them!


    Due to prolonged periods of time of having to live in a peaceful environment, in addition to the heavy workload that he has to handle, he had reduced his desire for Strength. He could not remember thest time he had trained. Other than maintaining his usual meditation sessions, he had never trained his body. However, he had a strong urge to rekindle the fire in his heart, igniting the suppressed power within him.


    Luo Yuan originally nned to return to his office, but he then changed his mind.


    He walked out of his bedroom, activating his Sense. The building was about 100 meters away from the interior walls of the spaceship. The radius of his Sense had reached 650 meters. Soon, his Sense prated through the thickyer of armor, extending to space.


    In the next moment, he disappeared from his original position.


    The nearest to him was Venus. With his four-dimensional travel, he then flew to Venus.


    Despite the fact that it was the nearest, Venus was 20 million kilometers away from him. One would need more than a minute to reach it, traveling at the speed of light. However, Luo Yuan would not consider it as being far, as long as the travel distance was less than 100 million kilometers.


    Flying for less than 50 minutes, he approached the atmosphericyer. He immediately got out of the space-time bubble. Without a doubt, it was dangerous flying at such high speed for a "short distance" travel as he could easily break through theary core.


    The matter outside the space-time bubble could do no harm to it but at the same time, heat and light could.


    The space-time bubble would burn up while entering the as the temperature was terribly high. In addition to that, the environment wasplicated because of the extreme maic field and space warp caused by the high pressure. Perhaps before it was burnt into ashes, the space-time bubble would have been ttened.


    Space was both strong and weak at the same time.


    The power level was barely reachable, being so mysterious yet omnipresent. Be it the physical force or energy, they seemed to be immune to this power.


    As long as one could figure out methods to affect power, it could be easily disrupted. It could be seen when Luo Yuan¡¯s Will had an effect on it, despite the fact that his Will was merely a weak type of power.


    The atmosphere of Venus was quite dense. After the analysis by the artificial intelligence system, it was found that its atmospheric pressure was 90 times higher than that of Earth. In addition to the fact that it was closer to the Sun, there was a significant change in temperature on the, given the existence of strong atmospheric motions.


    Standing close to the in space, Luo Yuan could clearly see that the¡¯s atmosphere was moving quickly.


    Such atmospheric motions urred before on Earth as well, right when the destructive disaster began. However, it seemed normal on this as it happened every second.


    Luo Yuan did not hesitate any longer and quickly moved through the atmosphericyer.


    He could smell a pungent and acidic scent with his Sense as he approached. He did not slow down but he stopped breathing for a while.


    It was more difficult to enter than he expected. The dense atmosphere caused him to feel like he had dived into the water. It tossed his body around as though he was hit by a fast-moving storm.


    Fortunately, he had experienced this before. He identified the direction based on the gravitational force and teleported himself to the surface of the.

 Chapter 513: Realm

    Chapter 513: Realm


    Trantor: EndlessFantasy Trantion Editor: EndlessFantasy Trantion


    Luo Yuan stomped both of his legs on the ground as soon as hended. It was only right until his calves had sunk into the ground when he managed to stabilize himself in the storm. He looked around.


    Luo Yuan then discovered that he had underestimated how bad the environment was.


    Even the strongest typhoon that had ever happened on Earth was iparable to the condition here. The atmospheric pressure that was 90 times higher had caused the storm in the to be several folds stronger. It could even blow a spaceship away.


    It was impossible for the soil to exist under such environment. There were solid rocks all over its surface that had be as smooth as the cobblestone field after being buffeted by the strong wind for years.


    The storm had stirred up the sand, causing the visibility there to be extremely low. One could vaguely see the dim red hue in the air and a faint light in the distance. Perhaps he was on the night side of the. However, Luo Yuan guessed that it would not be a lot brighter even if he was on the daytime side.


    Just like what was happening on Earth now, the air was filled with countless specks of sand and dust. The sandstorm was so thick that even the sunlight could not prate through itsyers.


    One thing where it differed from Earth was that it was not cold at all, as Venus was filled with hot air instead.


    Luo Yuan roughly estimated that the temperature was about 500 degrees Celsius. Such a high temperature could ignite lumber. This was also the reason why the atmosphericyer was giving off a red light. Perhaps it was because arge amount of mmable gas contained in the atmosphericyer was lit up by mes, causing sts of explosions which could be heard asionally.


    Fortunately, Luo Yuan was not affected by the bad environment.


    It was Luo Yuan¡¯s first time entering a other than Earth. He thought that he would be very excited. However, as soon as he entered the, he realized that it was not that exciting.


    He was initially curious, but soon after, he found nothing special about it.


    In fact, there was nothing to see on this. All it had was unceasing noise and relentless storms. The ground was littered with smooth, t rocks. Other than that, there were only oddly-shaped caverns formed by the acidic gases. However, without living organisms, the was dull and uninteresting regardless of how beautiful the scene was.


    Luo Yuan was deeply focused. He was not going to choose a suitable location. He stood at his original spot, revving his muscles in preparation.


    The muscles that were more solid than rocks started to flow like water, awakening the suppressed power within his body. It was akin to the sudden explosion of a dormant volcano that had been slumbering for a long while. The immense power caused a stir in the air. The storm surrounding it stagnated for a while.


    The maic field surrounding it was disrupted and the aurora flickered.


    The aurora was faintly visible at the beginning, like an intermittent light. However, it became a colored ribbon in just one breath. The environment changed indefinitely, filling the entire space with dazzling lights and mysterious colors.


    Luo Yuan¡¯s Strength continued to increase over time. Electric arcs surrounding him started to spark into the air, exuding an oppressive aura. The strong aura that he emitted had unexpectedly suppressed the surrounding storm. There seemed to be an invisible power isting the region around him within the circumference of half a kilometer, creating a separate space.


    Many crushed rocks and dust floated in the air, lingering around him. assionally, electric arcs and mes would even materialize.


    It was the realm of power created by the aura that Luo Yuan exuded. As his Will grew stronger, something seemed to have changed in the realm. Luo Yuan could sense that he was capable of doing anything within the realm of power, possessing a high degree of control over everything there.


    He had control over the airflow, the amount of crushed rock and dust, and even the change in maic field and gravity force.


    The realm seemed to be an extension of his Will. However, it was weaker than his Will in terms of Strength. In terms of range, the realm was beyondparison.


    With every beat of his heart, he could sense that there was a power within the realm that responded to him.


    The entire realm was no longer a foreign object. It had merged with him, bing a part of his body.


    He understood that and soon, he calmed himself down. His heart was beating slowly. He gathered his Will, trying to sense even the slightest of movement as well as the minute changes that urred. Until the moment he developed the mysterious feeling, the realm and his body would integrate, acting as a whole.


    When he opened his eyes, a beam of light shed across his eyes. In the next moment, he struck a blow. Like meshed gears, the airflow within the realm moved ording to his thoughts. The air, maic field, and gravity force thrust forward, trailing along the direction of the blow struck by Luo Yuan. The air no longer resisted and instead acted as a driving force. More than a hundred tons of air in the realm, as well as other visible forces, merged with Luo Yuan¡¯s strength, advancing at a speed that was 60 times faster than sonic speed.


    As soon as the immense power left the realm, the airflow instantly released a dazzling, bright white light. In the blink of an eye, the temperature escted to more than 10,000 degrees Celsius. Ionization urred in the air.


    A vacuum was created after the attack was struck!


    "Bang!"


    A loud sound was heard as the airflow hit a crest of the hill that was a hundred meters away. A strong beam of light was released due to the explosion. The ground shook vigorously, resembling a Grade 8 earthquake.


    The airflow gradually subsided. Luo Yuan then noticed that half of the hill crashed.


    Looking at the destructive scene in front of him, Luo Yuan was neither happy nor sad. He looked tired. He closed his eyes, slowly recalled the blow that he struck. He felt that he had been emptied, not just his body but his soul as well. With merely a blow, he had emptied arge portion of his Will. He felt hollow.


    He never expected that the increase in Will would lead to such huge changes.


    Despite the fact that he could control the internal airflow previously, in which the air would pass through his heart to provide a power boost, he only managed to increase his attack speed. There was no substantial increase in his Strength. The control he had over the realm was much less too.


    At this moment, the damage caused by the blow had increased a hundred-fold. Considering the force exerted by each of his blows was equivalent to three tons, the damage caused would be equivalent to 1000 tons after multiplying by hundred times. Compared to the Hiroshima bomb that could exert a force of 30,000 tons, Luo Yuan¡¯s blow was approximately 1/30 of it.


    Fortunately, the dense and humid air weakened the force. Otherwise, the whole mountain would have copsed.


    However, it was also due to the dense air that the blow was able to cause such a significant impact. It would not have mattered much in a vacuum environment. This was also the weakness of the realm. Without matter and energy, he would be unable to perform any sort of attack regardless of how strong the force was.


    Luo Yuan clearly knew that nothing was perfect. He was satisfied as he was capable of doing this in the atmosphericyer.


    He then noticed that the vacuum environment was swiftly filled with air. He estimated that in less than 10 seconds, the environment would return to normal.


    Luo Yuan understood that this was because he had notpletely mastered the realm yet.


    Once again, he slowly shut his eyes, integrating the realm with his body. This time, he no longer struck a blow like he did initially, as this would consume arge amount of his Will. He would have diminished his Will after several blows.


    His body looked rxed, while in fact, he was tensed. His power was vaguely visible as he wrapped his arms tightly around himself, creating traces of a circr arc in the air. The internal power moved along with his Will. Countless electric arcs detonated everywhere, forming the yin-yang symbol.


    Luo Yuan¡¯s Will spread out to every corner during his training, grabbing every single opportunity within the realm. The light in the realm disappeared every once in a while, looking strange and unusual.


    The feeling was weird and indescribable as if he could do everything he wanted. He could control everything in the realm and his soul seemed to have achieved tranquility in this ce.


    Soon after, he did not have to deliberately maintain his focus on the realm. He had forgotten about the skills as he allowed his instincts to perform each of the skills. He smiled and looked rxed.


    The chaos caused by the internal force within the realm gradually subsided. The maic field converged together, forming ayer of white electric light as it wrapped around Luo Yuan¡¯s body. Simrly, the gravity force was attracted to him, lingering around him. This allowed him to transform into an insubstantial ethereal form.


    The maic field, gravity force, airflow and his movements merged. Each of his movements exuded an intimidating aura. Earlier, the force was being exerted in a disorderly manner. Now, it was done in one go and rather smoothly. Luo Yuan¡¯s control over the realm had improved.


    ......


    "This is the designated path for the space voyage!" In the small meeting room, one of the staff said, pointing at the star as on the three-dimensional screen.


    The star as for the inteary flight was not extracted from the telescope images. It was aprehensive star as, covering a vast area. To some extent, it was a new technology that represented new inventions for civilization.


    Since the universe was infinitelyrge, it took a long period of time to obtain the motions of the observed. Even the nearest star would require a few years to gather the information whereas the stars that were further away would take up to hundred thousand of years. They did not stop moving but they were moving at a speed of hundred kilometers per second, revolving around the gxy¡¯s center.


    The flight trajectory would be a long arc if they were to fly directly towards the stars. This had not only increased the travel distance, it was also a waste of time and resources. It was an issue that should not be neglected by the inteary civilization.


    Therefore, a qualified star as had to estimate and urately project the trajectory of each of the stars that orbited around the gxy¡¯s center as well as their traveling speed. This could then aid the prediction of the location of the mobile stars that changed from time to time. It was not merely a star as, it requiredplex calctions and procedures to operate.


    The more epassing the range of the star as, the higher the number of stars that would be covered on the map. The star as would be increasinglyplicated. Even the ssians¡¯ star as had only urately calcted the location of the stars that were within the circumference of one light-year.


    "In order to hide to confuse the enemies, we n to leave the ecliptic ne of the sr system. After flying for half a light-year, we will enter the dark region. Then, following the curved trajectory, we will head directly towards the Barnard stars. It takes about 7.5 light-years for the entire journey. It is estimated that we will travel for 21 years!"


    "Why does it take so long to arrive at that location?" Luo Yuan frowned. Even if they were flying at half the speed of light, it would take only 15 years to reach there. A 21-year flight was indeed too long.


    The staff immediately exined, "It is because half the time would be wasted at the beginning and the end of the journey. Close to the stars, unknown matter was found scattered around. The spaceship could hardly elerate to its maximum speed. On the other hand, for the sake of safety, we intentionally lowered the intended speed of the spaceship."


    Luo Yuan nodded his head and kept quiet. He had to agree.


    Everyone on Earth was living in the spaceship. Regardless of the risk, they had to try their best to minimize them.

 Chapter 514: Pregnant

    Chapter 514: Pregnant


    Trantor: EndlessFantasy Trantion Editor: EndlessFantasy Trantion


    After changing his clothes, Luo Yuan smiled as he took a nce at Zhao Yali who was still sleeping. He left the room, closing the bedroom door softly and walked down the street.


    The street lights were at their dimmest setting, making it feel like it waste at night.


    It was now June. The streets were less crowded and asionally there would be a few people walking along the street. It was a lonely street.


    Since May, they had begun construction of the hypersleep chambers. The people then began to enter the hypersleep chambers batch by batch.


    Most of the factories had now shut down and production activities had stopped as well. The whole spaceship had be less lively than it was.


    The emergency spacecraft that was used to collect the interster creature¡¯s carcass had returned and the mining operations on the asteroid to replenish their resources had also ended.


    The spaceship was fully prepared for their space voyage. The only reason they had yet to depart was that they were still six days until the auspicious day to travel.


    Be it Luo Yuan or the artificial intelligence system who came up with this n, they knew that they should not believe too much in such superstitions. However, these kinds of things had a certain effect on the mind, boosting one¡¯s confidence in the unknown before them.


    Of course, not everyone would enter into hypersleep.


    The maintenance staff, government officers, all of the scientists and engineers, and some of the technicians would stay conscious throughout the voyage. They would enter virtual reality and continue with their research and manufacturing endeavors.


    The construction of the virtual reality world hadpleted. The deserted ind had be a beautiful and fantasy-like city. They had sent the staff to most of theboratories these days to begin adapting to the environment.


    The busiest time before the voyage had ended. A few days before the flight, Luo Yuan felt empty.


    Since his younger days, he had never thought that humans would leave the Earth even in his wildest dreams. Leaving the sr system felt exactly like leaving his hometown for the very first time, alone in an unfamiliar city.


    It gave him a sense of insecurity.


    Luo Yuan sighed, shaking his head to snap himself out of his deep thought.


    He would go to Venus every two days within these two months.


    He had slowly regained his Strength. However, there was very little increment, as his power went up from 500 tons to 550 tons. It was only one-tenth of his Strength. Perhaps it was because he was focusing his training as his Sense had improved a lot, reaching a radius of 800 meters.


    The attribute panel showed that his Sense had increased from 17-point to 18-point. The rate of improvement was almost godlike.


    Standing at the center of the spaceship, his Sense could cover the entire spaceship. With that, nobody could escape or hide from him. However, he was not a peeping tom and was usually not interested in such trifles at all.


    Using his Will this way was terrifying, It was a few times stronger than his first attempt at doing it and this time, it made him look like a human nuclear weapon.


    ......


    The residential street on the spaceship was not that long. After walking down the street for a few minutes, he had reached the end of the road. Luo Yuan was not going to walk any further and headed back to the municipal government.


    "You¡¯re gettingzier nowadays, always beingte and leaving early. You rarely even go to the office." Chen Xinjie grumbled once she saw Luo Yuan.


    "The taste of the tea you brew is getting better." Luo Yuan took a sip of his tea and continued, "The administrative roles are organized in a hierarchical manner whereby each of us is assigned to manage a different department. I guess they are the ones who are toozy to work, handing all the decision-making authority to me and are unwilling to even bear a shred of responsibility. What¡¯s the point of having them work with us?" Luo Yuan teased her. He was guilty, though. Ever since he was promoted to this position, he had monopolized the power he had as a check and bnce system had yet to be established.


    Under such circumstances, everyone started to get scared as they saw those who have done a really bad job getid off due to various reasons. Those who stayed were the careful and responsible employees.


    Chen Xinjie had noment as she dared not say anything about this regardless of how close she was with Luo Yuan.


    "By the way, have you decided to go into hypersleep or stay conscious?" Luo Yuan did not talk any further about that and quickly changed the topic.


    They would stop most activities during the voyage. Therefore, many of the officers would choose to go into hypersleep. Of course, Chen Xinjie was not on the list as she was Luo Yuan¡¯s secretary. However, it was possible for her to go into hypersleep if Luo Yuan agreed with it.


    "I¡¯ve decided to stay conscious. What¡¯s the point of entering the hypersleep chamber to survive for another few years? I don¡¯t want to sleep for 20 years. It sounds scary. It¡¯s as though I have died." Chen Xinjie shook her head as she replied Luo Yuan.


    The fear of going into hypersleep existed in many of them as the people could not ept falling into a deep sleep for 20 years. If they were not forced into hypersleep, they would be less likely to do so.


    "It¡¯s up to you but don¡¯t regret when they are younger than you when they wake up." Luo Yuanughed.


    "It¡¯s time for you to change your secretary then!"


    Luo Yuan forced a smile and asked doubtfully, "What¡¯s wrong with you? You¡¯re being a little too emotionaltely!"


    Chen Xinjie kept quiet for a while and she told him the news, "I¡¯m pregnant!"


    "What!" Luo Yuan was stunned, he was so excited after that, "Is that true? When did you find out?"


    Chen Xinjie looked at Luo Yuan and scoffed, "It¡¯s not yours. Why are you being so happy? It¡¯s a clone. I went to the hospital for thisst week!"


    Luo Yuan was shocked. He indeed should not hope for getting a baby as he did not have human genes. He had lost the ability to reproduce sexually. It was not an exaggeration to say that he was another species of human-like creatures. He somehow felt disappointed.


    He was stunned for less than half a second as he held back his emotions and said softly, "Why is the baby not mine? It¡¯s our baby. This clone is born to be a genius. A well brought up clone can be a sessful scientist in the future."


    "I don¡¯t want my child to be a scientist. It¡¯s too tiring. I¡¯ll support my child to do anything as long as it¡¯s his choice." Chen Xinjie was relieved. It seemed that Luo Yuan was not pretending to be fine as he gently touched her stomach.


    She knew why Luo Yuan was attracted to her. It was definitely not about love but was because of her appearance. Beauty would fade away with time. Perhaps he would not abandon her when she was no longer beautiful. However, he would also not stay with her any longer.


    She had always wanted to have a child to strengthen their rtionship. However, it did not happen. It was difficult for an ordinary human to get a baby, let alone Luo Yuan who was such a strong, evolved man. Cloning was her only choice after failing to get pregnant for several years


    She did not tell Luo Yuan about this as she thought that he would not be able to ept it. It seemed like it turned out better than expected.

 Chapter 515: The Human Left Behind

    Chapter 515: The Human Left Behind


    Trantor: EndlessFantasy Trantion Editor: EndlessFantasy Trantion


    On July 3, 2020, a stream of pulses suddenly spouted from the spaceship in the sr system. The pulses streaked across the sky for tens of kilometers, brightening the dark sky.


    Soon, the heavy body of the spacecraft started to move slowly. After about 10 minutes, it managed to free itself from the gravitational pull of the sun and left its orbit, leaving the sr system.


    ...


    On one of the mornings of the Earth.


    The frozen metal board on the snowy ground shook a little and a loud thud was heard. After a short while, a human shadow emerged carefully from the ground, drilling through and emerging on the ground with force. He shivered when the cold winds blew.


    It had been five years since the extinction of the aliens. The sky was a lot brighter and there was a substantial increase in temperature despite it still being about -30 degree Celsius.


    He rubbed his hands together, sneaking out from the cave. A piece of beast¡¯s skin covered his body. He stank and his face was so dirty and oily to the extent that his features could hardly be seen. It seemed as if he had not showered for years.


    However, he had ck eyes that looked different, indicating that he was not an ordinary person.


    He lifted his head, looking at the cloudy sky. At this moment, his ck eyes became even darker. The darkness was indescribable, seeming like even a single beam of light could not escape from his eyes.


    After looking for a while, he was stunned, like something ridiculous had happened. He rubbed his eyes, staring at it for another few minutes. He was getting more and more excited and his body began to shake.


    He quickly ran towards the cave.


    "It has finally gone!" He shouted while he was running, uttering a loud cry as of excitement like a madman.


    "What? Has it gone? Are you sure?"


    "Is it really gone?"


    "That¡¯s good, we are finally safe!"


    It was unexpected that there were quite a number of people in the cave. The small cave was so crowded. They were all eximing with excitement as they heard that.


    "Please stay calm guys. Xiao Hu, drink some water first. Tell us slowly what happened!" One of the muscr men said. He then patted his shoulder and asked, "What did you see?"


    He was tall and muscr and he had a thick chest. He seemed to be strong and powerful. Compared to the rest of them who were so noisy and dirty, he was rather quiet and clean. The cave was silent as soon as he started speaking.


    If Luo Yuan was here, he could definitely recognize that he was Ling Zhong-an who was the vice minister of the Firearms Bureau.


    He was lucky, though. He was staying at the outskirts of the Firearms Bureau when the ssiansunched their n to destroy the humans. Consequently, his body had instantly copsed during the explosion of the antimatter bomb.


    Thanks to his special evolved ability, he could quickly disintegrate his body into particles. He had be immortal to some extent. The moment his body copsed, it would begin forming itself again at the same time. In addition to that, he was quite far away from where the explosion took ce. He was able to survive but he was seriously injured. He had been in aa for more than one year butter managed to regain his consciousness in the iceyer.


    Unfortunately, the humans had left the Earth. He could no longer find any traces of human activities. He wandered around the snowy ground for half a year. He then identally found human footprints as well as the hideout where the wanderers stayed.


    The man called Xiao Hu then drank a mouthful of water, calming himself down and said, "Bro, the spaceship has gone. It has really gone."


    The crowd became excited again, crying with joy. They had been hiding all these years. They carried out activities at night, which was the coldest time of the day as they were afraid that the ssians would discover them. Many people were found frozen to death because of this.


    "We have to be careful. Perhaps it was hiding somewhere on the. We have waited for five years. We shouldn¡¯t mind waiting for another one year. The weather is getting better and we¡¯ve got a growing food supply. As long as we are not discovered by the ssians, we¡¯ll be able to survive."


    ......


    The sr system was extremelyrge. It was a circr region with a diameter of about one light-year and was at the edge of the Kuiper Belt. This region was significantly affected by the gravitational pull of the sun. The matter and gases were rtively dense and it was an extremely dangerous region for space voyage.


    Despite traveling at the slowest speed, the flight would not be as stable as they expected. Every few hours, the spacecraft would tremble a little.


    The spacecraft frequently collided with specks of dust in space, causing a faint glow toe out from the body of the spacecraft during the flight.


    They were worried about it in the beginning, whenever the spaceship trembled. However, they were now used to it.


    Fortunately, the further they were from the sun, the less likely they were to feel trembles on the spaceship. They would feel it asionally, probably once every three years but after they left the sr system, it never happened again.


    As time passed, the spaceship had been traveling in space for almost 10 years.


    The virtual reality world was no longer as small as it was back then. Within these 10 years, theputer system that they were initially using had been reced by a quantumputer. Itsputation ability was at least 10 thousand times better. The virtual reality world had expanded, making it a little more real.


    The ind in outer space had be a big ind with an area of about 10,000 square kilometers.


    The ind was not only fully upied by factories, even outer space had be an industrial area.


    At this moment, a new spaceship construction project hadunched in one of therge factories.


    There were two super huge gantries at both sides. With the help of machines, they supported two gigantic arc-shaped pieces of armor that weighed billions of tons by using the gantries. The arc-shaped armor was gradually assembled.


    Luo Yuan and the top executives were in a small spacecraft, looking at the armor being slowly assembled. Although they were watching from afar, they were all startled nheless.


    The length of the two gantries was more than 10,000 meters with a height of about 5,000 meters. It had a total mass of 1.5 billion tons. If such machines were to be ced on Earth, even the metalwork done by the ssians could notpare to it. Gravity alone could crash it. In order to move the gantries, 10 million watts of electricity was consumed per second. The energy used was on par with that of the mothership.


    The spaceship to be built would of course, not be small as suchrge gantries were being used to support its structure. Compared to that, the mini spacecraft that Luo Yuan was in resembled as a fly beside an elephant. It was not worth mentioning at all.


    The structure of the spaceship would still be in the shape of a circr te. However, it would be terriblyrge in diameter, about 9,000 kilometers. It was six timesrger than the ssian mothership and it will take at least two hours for one to walk from one end to another. It was at least billions of tons in mass.


    The spaceship was not built ording to the ssian mothership¡¯s design. It was not solely an expansion of the spaceship but it was a newly designed interster warship instead. The reason why it was still in the shape of a circr te was not that humans were incapable of building a spaceship of different shapes. It was because there were not many choices of shapes avable to be used as an interster spaceship¡¯s frame even though it seemed like the spaceship could be in any shape, seeing as it would be in outer space. not many shapes were avable to build a spaceship even though it seemed like any structure could be used as the spaceship was located in the outer space. Chances are, the spaceship would not get too close tos and it would be less likely to be influenced by the gravitational pull.


    However, this was true only when the spaceship was not moving. A spaceship would have to elerate or decelerate, or even stop suddenly during an emergency. Therefore, they had higher stability requirements for the structure of the spaceship.


    It had to be symmetric to maintain its bnce. Therefore, other shapes could not be used. At the same time, during the flight, the smaller the contact area, the faster it would be, lowering the chances of them colliding with a meteorite.


    Aside from being bigger in size, the technology adopted was beyond the technology used in the ssian mothership. There was a drastic improvement in the development of human technology all these years. Many new technologies had been developed, emerging as fast as the speed of an explosion.

 Chapter 516: Super Warship

    Chapter 516: Super Warship


    Trantor: EndlessFantasy Trantion Editor: EndlessFantasy Trantion


    Right this moment, more than 60,000 people had consumed the wisdom elixir. The numbers were crazy.


    Their intelligence had exceeded ordinary human intelligence, where their speed of thinking wasparable to aputer. At the same time, they were still strong and energetic. Even Albert Einstein, Newton, and Gauss were iparable to them.


    Technology development could be increased by at least 10 percent, provided that the country had scientists like them. If they were to work in their field of expertise, they could definitely bring about a great improvement in that particr field.


    They now had 60,000 super scientists. With such terrifying research strength, it was thousands of times beyond what the global research strength may have been before the apocalypse.


    There was rapid development in technology over the years. Things were changing rapidly every few years.


    ssian technology had been fully adopted and improvements were made upon them. If it was not because of their voyage, humans would have been capable of constructing a spacecraft that was even better than the ssian mothership nine years ago.


    Unfortunately, they had alreadymenced the interster voyage and humans had no time to build something like that.


    Nine yearster, human technology had further improved.


    Luo Yuan took a look at the blueprint and the rted specification of the warship. It had on it, most of the technologies developed over the years.


    Despite the hull of the warship being built using metals, it was now 20 times stronger with a density reaching up to 800 tons per square meter. Its physical properties were beyondprehension. It was 3,500 times harder than a diamond and could only melt at about one million degrees Celcius. Even a nuclear explosion would cause no damage on the armor if it was not at the center of the explosion. Also, the few main cannons on the ssian mothership would have no effect on it. In addition to the alloy¡¯s energy absorption effect, it was almost indestructible unless it was struck by debris close to the speed of light.


    The only weakness was it had no power defensive system, just like the ssians¡¯ mothership.


    In the recent years, humans had invented some form of energy defensive system as well.


    They had invented an ion defensive system and electromaic field defensive system which was equipped on the new fighter spacecraft. However, they then realized that the effect was rendered useless.


    As the spaceship was moving at a high speed during long-distance travels, its maximum speed could reach 240,000 kilometers per second. If the spaceship was struck by debris, the speed of the collision would be extremely fast. It was ridiculous to think that the impact from debris could be minimised by the defensive systems.


    However, if the spaceship was traveling at low speeds, it would be a waste to equip the spaceship with an energy shield as the hull of the spaceship alone was sufficient to defend against it.


    In fact, it was not because the defensive systems had no effect in reducing the impact of debris. It was because the energy supplied by the spaceship was inadequate. The scientist had estimated that in order to weaken or reduce such an impact, the energy supplied by the spaceship must be increased to an order of three at the very least.


    It may somehow be possible for the new warship to increase the supply of energy by 1,000 times as long as more fusion furnaces were built in order to meet the requirement. However, the consumption of water would be a huge. The resources that could originallys for a hundred years would only be sufficient for a two-month supply and the only effect this did was to reduce the force of impact from the debris.


    That being said, ssian and human technology were far from being capable of installing an energy shield on the spaceship.


    Humans could not afford to waste suchrge amount of resources.


    Compared to that, a thicker hull was way more effective and economical.


    As long the debris was less than 10 grams, the defensive system of the new warship could guarantee that a big hole would not be formed on the spaceship¡¯s hull. The new warship was now controlled by the new quantumputer which was more effective in addition to the more advanced detection system. The warship would be able to avoid the debris when they were half a light-year away.


    The armor was only a small part of their recent research. The weapons within the spaceship also had theiryout changed.


    Four electromaic antimatter cannons could generate a pulse that was thousand times stronger. The electromaic bullets were now able to be fired at 10% the speed of light. Four of the neutron cannons were also changedser cannons instead.


    Neutron cannons were used as short-distance travel weapons and they would ovep with the electromaic cannons. Theser cannons that were initially used for defense had be one of the main cannons. This was because humans had a new breakthrough inser weapons.


    The light beam emitted was more concentrated and was loaded with stronger energy. The temperature of matter could be increased to millions of degree Celsius in merely 0.1 seconds. At the same time, the range the cannon could reach was up to a distance of 0.01 light-years.


    However, these were only regr weapons that could be found on a warship. The most powerful weapon was the gamma-ray cannon.


    It was an extremely fearsome weapon. Its weapons system had upied an entire floor. cing it on the ground, it would be as big as a town with two-thirds of it being giant, high-powered fuel cells that were as big as skyscrapers.


    Every attack could produce the energy equivalent to the total energy generated by humans over hundreds of years. However, all of the energy umted was only sufficient to fire three shots.


    To recharge the weapon, it would take up to one year for it to bepletely charged even on the new warship. During a voyage, it actually needed more time to recharge.


    Of course, this would only happen if they were to attack at full force. The consumption of energy varied and could be reduced depending on the situation.


    This weapon was built based on the experience they had after encountering the interster creature.


    This high-powered weapon was separated from the other high-powered fuel cells. They had their own energy conversion devices as well as an eleration system. This was because humans were stillcking a particr resource to gather all the power.


    Right after an instruction was given tounch an attack, all the high-powered fuel cells would constantly umte pressured energy at the valve port after the conversion of energy. After one second, the device for the transmission of quantum energy would be activated simultaneously and thousands of gamma rays would be released in an instant.


    All of the energy would be released in less than 100 nanoseconds.


    The most fearsome part of this weapon was its ability to gather the energy it needed within such a short period of time.


    Compared to the energy released by the interster creature, the cannon¡¯s energy was rather concentrated and nothing could hinder it. As calcted by the quantumputer, if it were to shoot at full force, it could prate through the Moon.


    Luo Yuan believed that even if they encountered a more advanced spaceship of another civilization, they would not be able to defend against such weapon. This was the most fearsome thing the new warship had going for it.


    The application of the technique to transmit quantum energy allowed the force of the weapon to bepletely released from the cannon barrel. No matter how powerful the energy was, as long as it can be synchronized through the superpositioning of quantum energy transmission, the energy would never end as long as they had enough fuel cells.


    This technique was no longer adopted merely for military use. It was widely used even in the electric generators in the virtual reality world. This was especially so for the energy transmission in the main circuit, this technology hadpletely reced the use of electric wires.

 Chapter 517: The Interstellar Defense System

    Chapter 517: The Interster Defense System


    Trantor: EndlessFantasy Trantion Editor: EndlessFantasy Trantion


    Of course, Luo Yuan felt that the most important thing was that the new warship could fit more people. The number of inhabitants could the new warship could hold was beyond one¡¯s expectation.


    Even with the current poption of five million people, using the current mothership as the standard, the megastructures they had would definitely be able to amodate the people as it could fit a billion people. Even a town-sized area in the ship could amodate the poption in China prior to the apocalypse.


    However, based on the growth rate of humans, they would still need a few hundred years to fully upy the spaceship.


    In recent years, in the secretboratory of the ssian mothership, they had never stopped cloning human beings. They only slightly reduced the rate at which they cloned humans. The human poption had increased by two million in 10 years, reaching a total poption of eight million people.


    The reason for this was not because they were incapable of cloning more humans or to prevent exposure but instead, it was because theycked babysitters and teachers to tend to the clones.


    There were only a small number of people that did not go into hypersleep, there were less than 500,000 of them. Most of them were researchers and only about 30,000 of them were professional babysitters. The clones were not products and yet, they were not as strong as Luo Yuan¡¯s clones that could survive on their own after they stopped taking in external sources of nutrients.


    The newborn clones were rtively weaker. However, there was not much difference between the clones and an ordinary human. The only difference was that the clones were slightly stronger. A professional babysitter was necessary to feed the clones and start potty training.


    After half a year, they would then begin showing abnormal signs of development, being able to walk and talk. By this period of time, the clones would no longer need to be taken care of.


    The clones were not allowed into the virtual reality world, having to live and study at the welfare home. The reason they were unable to live in virtual reality was because their cognitive ability - the ability to distinguish between virtual reality and actual reality was not developed yet. If they were exposed for prolonged periods of time by living in a virtual reality environment, they would get easily confused between the actual world and virtual reality.


    Many of the adults experience this as well, let alone children. Every time they left virtual reality, they would feel like they were in another world. Reality was merely a ce for them to meet their physical needs. Most of their time was spent in virtual reality where they would work, live and y.


    As a matter of fact, people living in virtual reality were getting confused. What was the real world? What was virtual reality? The boundaries became a blur.


    This was the natural progress of things after people stayed in virtual reality for prolonged periods of time. It was an unavoidable side effect. However, Luo Yuan had no means of rectifying it at all. The greatest contribution of the researchers was their intelligence. As long as their work was not affected, they could work anywhere.


    ...


    Regardless of how strong or advanced the new warship was, it would be rendered useless as the human could only stay in the old ssian mothership to carry out technical verification in the virtual reality.


    The dark region was a deste area. It had no resources at all. Even ifdy luck was on their side, and they managed to find an asteroid, it was still impossible for them to build a big spaceship that weighed at least hundred tons in weight.


    They could only continue work on the spaceship when there was an asteroid to mine nearby. One or two asteroids could never meet the resource requirements for something thatrge so the project to build the new warship could onlymence when they reached Barnard¡¯s Star.


    They would have to fly for more than 10 years


    However, due to human technological advancements, the technology in the spaceship would probably be an outdated one after 10 years. It was fated that the spaceship could only be seen on its blueprint, only being able to admire it in the virtual reality.


    ...


    After visiting the spaceship, they then headed to the next destination by aircraft. The space outside had be the proving ground for the human armed forces. Aside from the spaceship and factories, there were still many weirdly shaped defense systems floating in space.


    "It¡¯s one of theponents of the Armed Satellite Global Defense System designed by the Tiandun Weapons Research Centre. It weighs about 300 million tons in weight. Its defense system consists of 10 clusters of huge fusion furnaces, one gamma-ray cannon, and 12 quick-firing electromaic cannons. For aplete set, there would be 18,000 of thoseponents, covering the whole."


    The Tiandun Weapons Research Centre was one of thergest research centers that specialized in designing interster weapons. About two-thirds of the interster weapons here were designed by them. The dean of the research center exined in details as Luo Yuan and the top management came for a tour to inspect the space defense.


    Luo Yuan frowned as he heard the number, "300 million tons, and there are more than 10 thousand of them. Are there sufficient resources to meet the demand?"


    "This..." The dean of the design institute felt awkward and replied, "It is designed by a young man. We¡¯ll modify it shortly."


    "You can be creative but you¡¯ve to be realistic at the same time. The real world is different from virtual reality. Resources are limited." Luo Yuan said seriously.


    "Mayor, you¡¯re right. I¡¯ve been thinking about it too. The weapons designed by the machinery and military design centers have been too daring over the years. They are most particr about appearance and quantity. The suit with a height of 300 meters did really terrify me. What¡¯s the point? Its effect was notparable to the spacecraft if war were to happen. We must put a stop to these unhealthy practices." Bi Jianping agreed.


    The manager of the research center was scared and was drenched with sweat as he was criticized by two bosses. He dared not even speak up to exin himself.


    "That¡¯s still fine. You could never imagine how heavy is the first warship that they are going to build. The first edition of the design is 300 billion tons. How could this make sense to them?" Tian Jinpingughed as if he was a nice person. In fact, he was a serious person. As the supervisor of the industry department, he was very strict. His subordinates did not even dare to breathe in front of him.


    Luo Yuanughed and said, "It seems like they are granted too much authority in virtual reality. It has to be adjusted. Although an unlimited supply of resources could increase research efficiency, there are limited resources in Barnard¡¯s Star. If this continues, our development in future will be severely restricted."


    It was not a guess but a fact instead. Based on the data obtained from the investigation, there were only two rockys in the gxy while the rest of them were gaseouss.


    Moreover, it was a red dwarf star that emitted an extremely dim and weak light, causing the surface of the to be covered by thickyers of ice. Theseyers of ice were different from the one on Earth. It could reach a thickness of thousands of meters or even hundreds of thousands of meters. Aside from the water being easily essible, all the other resources were quite difficult to extract and it consumed a lot of time and energy.


    The most important thing was that humans had to consider the possibility that the rocky might be a gaseous or even a water-based. If that was true, it was indeed grievous news to the humans.


    In fact, the chances of this happening were quite high. Since the temperature in its star system was quite low, if the did not have a sufficient amount of mass to generate enough heat, it would be frozen. Regardless if it was methane or hydrogen, it would be impossible for them to withstand an extremely low temperature of around zero degrees Celcius.

 Chapter 518: Third Venture Into The Fourth Dimension

    Chapter 518: Third Venture Into The Fourth Dimension


    Trantor: EndlessFantasy Trantion Editor: EndlessFantasy Trantion


    At that moment, Luo Yuan seemed to have sensed something with his prediction ability.


    He suddenly realized it and sighed.


    "I¡¯ll leave first. You may continue with the inspection." Luo Yuan disappeared right after he had finished his sentence.


    The people looked at each other and the dean¡¯s face turned pale. How long could he continue to work for the mayor after he had offended him?


    Luo Yuan instantly returned to the real world. However, he did not return to the office of the municipal government. He was in the bedroom of his residence instead.


    He got out of the third generation residential cabin. He then cleaned himself up and changed his clothes, sitting at the edge of the bed.


    Without any facial expressions, he touched the bed sheets softly as it was so smooth and silky.


    Although he had convinced Huang Jiahui and the rest of them to go into hypersleep, still, Chen Xinjie was unwilling to stay with him. The house was no longer as lively as it used to be. He was used to being alone all these years. Chen Xinjie would asionally stay at his house for a few days to visit the children. Therefore, most of the time, she would still be staying with Luo Yuan.


    He sat quietly, waiting for thest moment to arrive.


    What wasing woulde and Luo Yuan had mentally prepared himself for it.


    His body suddenly trembled and he was absent-minded probably after a few minutes or after half an hour. Seemingly, a massive world hade into his eyes.


    At the same time, the bedroom in front of him had be smaller.


    He felt that he was approaching the four-dimensional world. He quickly moved forward and part of his body had entered the four-dimensional world. A lot of information gushed into his head. His brain was stuck in the beginning and his thoughts were blocked. However, his thoughts had be clearer than ever before in just an instant. It was indescribable and the power seemed to be beyond everything he had experienced before. The feeling of standing aloof from the world allowed him to see the colorful lights, looking at the real universe and the membranes of the three-dimensional world.


    He gradually immersed his body in the hidden power. He was filled with a strong sense of excitement. However, that did not seem to bother him at all.


    He was calm like a god. Having control over everything in the world, the human body could no longer please him.


    Suddenly, a loud sound was heard and the log bed had copsed as his body was too heavy.


    Luo Yuan did not fall, though. He floated in mid-air, sitting there as if there was an invisible chair in the air.


    After a short while, he broke the golden ceiling with his head. To Luo Yuan, the steel was as soft as seaweed. The golden ceiling was broken into pieces immediately. It seemed like there were some changes in his body but he did not know what was happening.


    A strong sense of fear rose in Ye Qiuyu¡¯s heart as she was doing house chores in the living room.


    She did not go into hypersleep during the flight and decided to stay conscious. As Luo Yuan¡¯s family doctor as well as his housekeeper, it was her responsibility to stay at home, performing her duties.


    She then tried to hold the table with all her strength. She could not close her mouth as it got harder for her to breathe. Her mind went nk, feeling like death was awaiting her.


    She then used all the strength she had, struggling to escape out of the vi.


    As soon as she reached the door, a cracking sound was heard. She was so afraid of it and she dared not turn back at all. The terrifying aura grew stronger, stirring up the air. Whirlpools were formed abnormally on the artificialke, asionally blowing a stream of water into the air.


    Encountering such disastrous scene, Ye Qiuyu could no longer bear it and she fell down. The next moment, a screeching sound of twisting metal could be heard, causing her eardrums to vibrate.


    She tried so hard to turn her head back, her eyes widened. Her eyes filled with fear and despair and her body trembled like a little beast struggling to survive. The luxury vi became aplete mess in an instant. Countless fragments and metal pieces were floating in the air, rotating in a certain path. There were no traces of humans at all.


    ...


    Many of the security guards quickly rushed there as the mansion of the top leader was severely guarded. They could immediately respond to it as soon as anything happened, let alone such


    a powerful and strong force.


    The vi was surrounded by many of the soldiers. However, none of them could go near the vi. About 10 of the soldiers that acted rashly had fainted, not knowing whether they were alive or dead.


    "Bring Miss Ye down and ask her what happened just now." The leader of the guard regiment waved his hand. Two of the soldiers then carried Ye Qiuyu and left quickly.


    He was the super-evolved human discovered in recent years. However, at this moment, he felt as helpless as the other soldiers. He had only heard of the director was capable of destroying everything but he had never witnessed it before. Now, he could indeed feel how frightening it was. The leaked energy alone was far beyond his ability. It would make one feel like death wasing if one went close to it.


    "Could it be that he has lost control of his powers? It is the interior of the spaceship." He was frightened. However, he did not show fear on his face.


    There were soldiers that could not withstand the terrifying aura and fainted with no reason.


    "Go to your suits immediately and save our director!" He immediately ordered the soldiers. He had no idea what was happening and he did not know if the director was safe. However, as the leader of the guard regiment, he should do something.


    The suit was a weapon produced a few years ago. It was produced in rtively low quantities and only the security minister was qualified to own a piece. Since the weapon was assembled internally, it was not equipped with a high-powered weapon. However, at over three meters in height and weighing around 10 tons in weight as well as its strong strength, it could easily get rid of anything.


    The team was stationed close to the building and they arrived after a short while.


    Before they got closer to it, the wind swept through the suit, causing it to rotate like the debris flying around the mansion.


    A roaring noise that came from an engine came from afar, reaching its maximum capacity. However, it was rendered useless. The suit that could travel at a fast speed in space could do nothing now.


    They could not hide this situation from their superiors any longer.


    As soon as Bi Jianping was informed about this, he quickly left virtual reality. He then knew what was going on through the quantummunication and ended the call.


    He took out a cigarette and lit it up while his hand trembled a little. He walked around the office, feeling nervous.


    Obviously, something had happened to Luo Yuan. He knew something was wrong when Luo Yuan suddenly left during the inspection.


    The main concern now was how bad was the condition of his body?


    He had been the second-inmand to the leader for so many years. He was only deceiving himself if he said that he was not interested in being promoted to the top leader.


    He had been very careful all these years and did not even mind destroying his own image. However, there would always be other people willing to do the job as many people were eager to take over his position. One would never see truth, virtue, and beauty in politics. Each of the experienced politicians would bear that in mind.


    Also, some of them knew how to seize the opportunity.


    There was a chance when the old mayor died. He did not grab the opportunity, giving away the power to Luo Yuan who saved the world. Now, this seemed to be another chance.


    He would just let it be if Luo Yuan survived. However, if Luo Yuan died or he was brain dead, he could then take over his job.


    It was a bet. The one who won the bet would be the leader and the loser would die.


    "Let¡¯s wait, let¡¯s wait. It¡¯s not the time yet."


    He was struggling, being indecisive. His fear towards Luo Yuan had prated deep within his bones, his body started to tremble as soon as he thought of it.


    At that moment, he was stunned when he saw his hands.


    There were wrinkles all over his hand!


    He felt that he had grown old, to the age of 80.


    Even after a long while, he did not recover. It was only when his hand was burned by the cigarette did he regain his senses and threw away the cigarette immediately.

 Chapter 519: Humans And Gods

    Chapter 519: Humans And Gods


    Trantor: EndlessFantasy Trantion Editor: EndlessFantasy Trantion


    At that moment, Luo Yuan¡¯s eyes turned cold, like a deity looking down at mortals. His omniscience rose within him and he gave off an aura, not like any human.


    Despite his big body being blocked by countless objects and debris, his Sense remained unblocked.


    He could see everything that was happening in the spaceship.


    He could see the soldiers fainting one by one due to his oppressive aura.


    He could see the soldiers that had sealed off the exits from the building. It was so crowded.


    He could see Bi Jianping being indecisive in his office.


    He could see that Chen Xinjie was crying and she scolded the soldiers as she wanted to enter. She was helpless.


    He could see countless factories andboratories in virtual reality, and even trillions of lines of underlying code that was used to build the world.


    However, all these thoughts shed through his mind but his emotions remained unaffected.


    Soon, he approached the four-dimensional world which was infinitelyrge. The three-dimensional world could onlypare to the outeryer of the membrane of this world.


    Looking at this world, the initially calm Luo Yuan became impulsive.


    The sudden impulse he had was unclear. However, as he thought about this impulse he had, he felt as if the sparks had kindled dry wood and his impulse had be stronger and clearer.


    He had to go there as he belonged to this world.


    Then, a strong desire overcame his being. His thoughts resonated with his cells. His body was expanding, reaching the height of 20 meters. His body was releasing a dense energy with five colors, causing his body to flicker like a god!


    The energy was not released by his body, but it was the leakage of dark energy from the fourth dimension.


    Logically, energy from the four-dimensional world could not be observed, captured or be transformed into another type of energy. It would definitely not ur in the three-dimensional world. However, the existence of Luo Yuan who had adapted to part of the four-dimensional world had formed a bridge between the two worlds, connecting these two worlds together.


    This had led to the leakage of a dark energy from the four-dimensional world, resulting in a dimensional tear.


    Despite there being a tear in the dimensions, the power was still terrifying. Even if it was just a small leakage, it could cause a huge stir in the real world and would gradually affect space as well.


    ...


    Time passed and the situation was getting serious.


    Many of the top management was informed about this and rushed there. However, once they reached downstairs, they were stopped by the soldiers. Fortunately, no military confrontation happened so far. Before they knew what was happening, nobody dared to stand out.


    At that moment, Luo Yuan who was immersed in the four-dimensional world suddenly emptied his mind and the four-dimensional world rapidly faded as he returned to the three-dimensional world.


    Despite still being able to see the four-dimensional world, it was no longer within his reach like it used to be.


    "Only one step left!" He sighed and regretted. "I¡¯m not good enough. I can¡¯tpletely transit to the four-dimensional world!"


    "How could it be? Why did I think of entering the four-dimensional world?" Luo Yuan¡¯s face turned grave, feeling shocked.


    In fact, it was a contradiction between humans and gods. Gods would look down at all creatures whereas humans lived amongst creatures in the universe. They were at different heights, sought different things and naturally, thought about things differently as well.


    However, it was not the time for him to fall into deep thoughts. Luo Yuan did not think any further. Looking at the floating pieces around him and the destruction at the scene, he suppressed his thoughts. With his Will, countless debris instantly stopped mid-air.


    Eh, when did my Will be so strong! A thought shed through his mind before he quickly instructed, "Leader Dong, bring the people away!"


    His voice was so loud and seemed to echo in their ears.


    It was not only the soldiers who heard him but the top management who was waiting downstairs, the children in the welfare house, the people who went into hypersleep as well as people in each and every corner of the spaceship could clearly hear his void.


    The guard regiment leader¡¯s mind went nk. As soon as all the debris stopped rotating, he could vaguely see that there was a huge body sitting with the legs crossed. His dignified gaze seemed to prate through the dust and debris, right through to the bottom of his heart. His body trembled and he dared not look at him anymore. He quickly lowered his head and answered, "Yes, sir!"


    "Everyone, please leave quickly together with the wounded men!"


    All of the soldiers then returned to their senses and quickly carried theirpanions who had fainted and left. Perhaps they would have forgotten that the suit that was still floating in mid-air if Luo Yuan did not Will them to the ground.


    After a few minutes, everyone had disappeared.


    Looking at his own huge body, Luo Yuan remained silent. If he did not sit with his legs crossed, he would not be able to fit his body into the five-story space.


    He noticed that the debris that was still lingering around him. The thought of entering the four-dimensional world ran through his mind again. He could still sense the remnants of power that leaked as he gently waved his hand.


    The next moment, it seemed like he could turn back time as the debris and dust had quickly returned to their original position.


    The destroyed building had been repaired and the vi was reconstructed. He could even bring the crushed nts back to life. After a few seconds, everything seemed to have returned to their original state as if nothing had happened. It was a miracle!


    "This..." Although he was the one who did all those, he was startled as soon as he saw everything that had happened. There seemed to be some changes in his abilities. He could roughly guess that there was a big improvement in his four-dimensional brain without checking the property panel.


    The process seemed simple but in fact, an immense amount of dataputations and operations were involved.


    The size of each piece of debris, the degree of distortion, how much strength should be exerted, in which position should it be ced and how micro-operations on the atomicyers during merging should be carried out. The calctions performed on a single piece of debris could have caused an individual quantumputer to crash.


    Furthermore, there were more than ten thousand pieces of debris and more than hundreds of millions of dust particles.


    In just a few moments, he had managed to go through such huge amounts of data and did not even feel that he had to put in a lot of effort to perform all these calctions. He did everything based on his instinct. Hisputation ability wasparable to a quantum supeputer.


    He gradually descended back to the ground with thoughts shing through his mind.


    A lot of memory that he had neglected during the process of his four-dimensional transition gushed into his head. They were then reorganized and screened.


    One secondter, the screening of information waspleted. He lifted his head and looked, a blurred, hollow four-dimensional world appeared in front of him again. He extended his hand and a glow appeared in his hands.


    Space began to stir, gradually bing hollow. He felt like he was touching a mirror and his fingers disappeared as if they were engulfed by the space.


    He stood still. After remaining in that position for less than five seconds, he looked like he got an electric shock and quickly retracted his hand.


    Looking at his palm, Luo Yuan¡¯s face turned grave. The flesh on his fingers hadpletely disappeared, leaving only the jade-white bones that were still connected to his palm. He was not worried about the injury. He was more concerned about how dangerous the four-dimensional world was. The injury meant nothing to him.


    As he was still looking at his palm, the flesh on his fingers regenerated at a terrifying speed and soon, it was fully recovered.


    He hadpletely recovered in just one breath. He moved his fingers while he thought about the situation in the four-dimensional world.

 Chapter 520: Transcendent Power

    Chapter 520: Transcendent Power


    Trantor: EndlessFantasy Trantion Editor: EndlessFantasy Trantion


    The four-dimensional world better than the three-dimensional world. Most of the energy was concentrated in stars like the sun and there was an ocean of energy.


    An immeasurable tide of dark energy rose one after the other, like the ocean tide. The waves resulting in a destructive storm of energy. Despite going through a baptism by dark energy when he entered the fourth dimension, his body resembled a weak paper boat although it could withstand the power. If Luo Yuan was careless, he would perish in that ocean of dark energy as well.


    It was an extremely dangerous world. Nothing could describe its degree of danger. Luo Yuan could not help but felt a deep terror as he thought how he had frequently his teleport during the past. His body was not that strong during that time.


    Fortunately, he only teleported short distances. The time that he stayed in the four-dimensional world was rtively short and was less than a millionth of a millionth of a second, akin to a finger passing through the mes of a candle unharmed. Nothing bad had happened to him all this while.


    He noticed that space became windy. It was a gentle breeze in the beginning but soon, it became a strong and fierce wind.


    Luo Yuan looked at his palm again and immediately stopped moving his fingers. The fierce wind quickly subsided.


    He had no idea how strong his body was. He only knew that he had be stronger than everpared to how he was before he entered the fourth-dimension. His body was filled with an immense power. He felt that the spaceship was weak as he couldpletely destroy the spaceship in an instant if he wanted to do so. However, he did not know specifically how strong he was.


    He was capable of stirring up a fierce wind by just slightly moving his fingers.


    In order to test his Strength, Luo Yuan tried to clench his hand into a fist.


    He seemed to have grabbed the air and a loud sound was heard. To him, the changes in the entire world were extremely slow. He could sense and see every single change happening in the air.


    Also, he could clearly see that the moment when he clenched his fist, burning me formed from the friction in the air. At the same time, a shockwave immediately spread through the area.


    Initially, it was a light-blue colored shockwave with the form of a liquid. This was the result of air being suppressed to the maximum extent, turning it into a liquid-like form. However, the colorsted for only 0.1 seconds and soon, it turned white.


    It was akin to throwing a stone into a calm pond, causing ripples to form in the air, spreading wider and wider.


    It was beautiful yet dangerous!


    Before any damage was caused by these shockwaves, with just a thought, the waves had subsided as if an invisible hand had just gently calmed them.


    Luo Yuan was stunned. After a short while, he opened his palm and saw pieces of dark blue ice crystals falling to the ground. A ttering sound was heard. It did not melt even after a long while.


    His body resembled a human nuclear bomb. His action could produce a strong effect in the real world. He could no longer control his power with subtle actions. A slight movement of his muscles or a lingering thought could kill an ordinary person. It would be extremely dangerous for one to approach him, let alone living together.


    Luo Yuan was annoyed and he was in a bad mood. After a long while, he, atst, epted the fact and opened the attributes panel.


    "Name: Luo Yuan"


    "upation: Hunter"


    "Rating: 13"


    "Experience: 373520/1228800"


    "Attributes"


    "Strength: 52 (10)"


    "Agility: 27 (10)"


    "Physique: 53+37 (10)"


    "Intelligence: 34 (10)"


    "Sense: 23+1 (10)"


    "Will: 26+1 (10)"


    "Skills: Science 12, Mathematics 7, Chinese 19, Freebat specialist 11, Broadsword Expert 15, Gun 8, Throwing 2"


    "Special skills: Identification, Synthesis, Detection"


    "Innate Abilities: Earth Stomp (level 37), Fusion Body (level 25), Four-Dimensional Travel (level 26), Four-Dimensional Vision (50%), Four-Dimensional Brain (20%), Four-Dimensional Body (5%)."


    All of the attributes were apparent.


    Despite not having much sess in entering the fourth-dimension, it was a big improvement to his life. There was not much difference between the interster creature and him. It was not an exaggeration to say that he was a demigod.


    He had experienced the greatest change in his Strength. Perhaps it was because his body had grown bigger, his Strength had increased for more than 3000 times, reaching 1,800,000 tons. Although there was only a slight increase in Agility, it was somehow 60 times faster. As for his Intelligence, it was increased to 34-points. Simrly, all other attributes also experienced significant changes.


    It was because he entered the fourth-dimension that he experienced such an increase in his attributes.


    "Four-Dimensional Vision"


    "Dimensional Depth: 50%"


    "Effect: You now have a clear view on the four-dimensional world. You can carefully spy on everything in the fourth-dimension."


    "Remarks: It is a vast expanse - the fourth-dimension. There are countless secrets. Advice: Do not attempt to look for any four-dimensional being. They are extremely dangerous."


    Luo Yuan¡¯s facial expression slightly changed as he read the advice given to him. He then looked at the Four-Dimensional Brain.


    "Four-Dimensional Brain"


    "Dimensional Depth: 20%"


    "Effect 1: Foresight 12 seconds."


    "Remarks: ..."


    "Effect 2: Quantum brain"


    "Remarks: Your brain isparable to a quantumputer."


    "Effect 3: Telepathy"


    "Remarks: Without the help of any sensory perception, information can be directly delivered to any living beings through quantum fluctuation. You¡¯ve begun to show signs of having themunication ability of the four-dimensional being."


    ...


    "Four-Dimensional Body"


    "Dimensional Depth: 5%"


    "Effect 1: You are now in the first stage of adapting to dark energy."


    "Remarks: You can now absorb and use the dark energy, causing each of your actions to possess immense power."


    "Effect 2: You are now in the early stages of achieving the ultimate body."


    "Remarks: Being a part four-dimensional being, you are approaching the limit of the three-dimensional physics. Three-dimensional creatures can hardly kill you. Soon, the high temperature in stars would feel just like a big bathtub to you."


    Luo Yuan stared at the system andughed coldly. Right at that moment, he felt a slight trace if micro-information fluctuations that were released from his body that entered the fourth-dimension, disappearing instantly.


    He had never sensed such fluctuations before. It was confusing as it was mixed with countless particles in space. At that moment, be it due to the condition of his body or the surrounding environment, he felt like he was omniscient. He could clearly sense even the slightest changes in the environment surrounding him.


    The civilization who came up with this system did not seem to be simple beings. The purpose of the system was seemingly to collect information.


    In addition to that, based on the frequent warnings and advice given to Luo Yuan regarding the four-dimensional beings, Luo Yuan could briefly guess why it existed and its history.


    Perhaps this system was invented by a super-advanced civilization that was beyond human imagination. During the development of technology, they discovered the four-dimensional world. Eventually, they encountered the four-dimensional beings or was even engaged in a war with them.


    However, even if a war did not happen, they would probably not give up such an amazing chance to research godlike phenomenon.


    They began to spy on the four-dimensional beings and carried out research on them. Ultimately, they even wanted to create artificial four-dimensional beings.


    It was apparent that this system was part of their n to create artificial four-dimensional beings and he was one of their targets. umting power through the system and constantly improving the target¡¯s strength and atst, achieving the purpose of entering the fourth-dimension. The system could then gather their target¡¯s information of entering the four-dimensional world.

 Chapter 521: Removing A Hidden Threat

    Chapter 521: Removing A Hidden Threat


    Trantor: EndlessFantasy Trantion Editor: EndlessFantasy Trantion


    The system¡¯s understanding of humans or life was beyond all the abilities of the human race or the biologists¡¯ abilities. Even now, the scientificmunity was not able to figure out a perfect strengthening approach that had no side effects. However, the technology this task-issuing ¡¯system¡¯ utilized was unimaginably profound.


    Luo Yuan no longer only predicted the future. He now possessed the ability to foresee the future as well. It was basicallyputation of big data based on a sufficient amount of information. This was a result of the four-dimensional brain¡¯s supeputing abilities. Moreover, the future events he foresaw may still change ording to changes in the variables leading up to the said event.


    However, the tasks in the system were significantly different from Luo Yuan¡¯s prediction, despite looking simr. It seemed like everything was destined, associated with thews of causality.


    He did a quick scan of his body on the atomicyer but found no traces of the system. It resembled a spirit, existing only in his body. He knew of its existence but had no ways to prove it.


    However, right that moment when the information was being sent out, he finally sensed the existence of the system when he felt a flicker in his body. It ran through his body, resembling a that was dragged through his entire body.


    Luo Yuan could do nothing if he did not have a way to track its existence. However, now that he had discovered a way, it would be easier for him to handle it.


    Luo Yuan gradually closed his eyes, attempting to sense its existence in secrecy. He then opened his eyes and they lit up. As he pressed his palm against his chest, the mist seemed to be pulled by an invisible force, eventually pulling it outside his body. Then, the mist shrank and was gathered on his palm.


    His Will was a mysterious power. One would need a very clear target in order for their Will to perform at its best. Without a clear target, the power of Will would be rtively weak. Initially, before Luo Yuan had seen outer space for the first time, the effects of his Will in space was rather useless. Nevertheless, once he managed to familiarize himself with outer space, everything changed. The reason his Will was rendered useless was that he did not know how to interact with outer space earlier.


    Luo Yuan looked at his palm. The mist was now the size of a sesame seed, looking like a ball of extremely dim light. He could not feel its weight at all. It was a particle that was even smaller than a proton. Luo Yuan could not even detect its weight even with his power.


    To prevent it from escaping or sending out any information, it was held close to Luo Yuan¡¯s palm with the aid of his Will, stopping all its movements both internally and externally.


    His will had now achieved an unimaginable level, seemingly without any limits to it. As he checked his body earlier, the magnification he could see things had been enhanced to the extent he could even see particles. That being said, if he wanted to, he could even perform nuclear fission and fusion.


    Looking at the ball of light, he sighed emotionally. He had been relying on the system for a long time and without it, he may have died during the apocalypse and his time back on earth. He probably would not even survive to this day. To some extent, it actually did its part to rescue humankind.


    However, times had changed and the system was of no further use to him. He did not dare to keep something of unknown origins by his side that could disclose information about him anytime from within his own body.


    The advanced civilization that owned the system may have bad intentions towards four-dimensional beings. Nobody was able to guarantee that after this advanced civilization had gathered enough information, it would not remove its veil to remove a sinister intention.


    He dared not underestimate the system.


    After a brief thought, he controlled the ball of light, broke through the three-dimensional space and sent it to the fourth dimension.


    Despite the fact that this ball of light held within it incredible technological prowess that could be a great driving force for humankind to use as a reference in their quest for future technological advancements, it was still too dangerous to keep within him. The current technology of humans was incapable of handling it worse yet, may lose out to the advanced civilization


    Humans were still able to defend themselves against the ssians. However, against such an advanced civilization that was beyond one¡¯s imagination, they had no choice but to face it head-on.


    The reason he threw it into the four-dimensional world was because time moved differently there. Luo Yuan¡¯s teleportation ability moved him through the fourth dimension at 10,000 times the speed of light and perhaps a small wave could sweep the ball of mist more than 10 light-years away. At that speed, time moved differently and the longer it couldst, the safer Luo Yuan and the rest of them were.


    After he had done everything, Luo Yuan was relieved.


    At that moment, he sensed something. He was startled and his expression changed to aplicated one.


    ...


    "Excuse me. I¡¯m Chen Xinjie, the mayor¡¯s secretary. I have something to report to the mayor." Chen Xinjie who was waiting downstairs said angrily. Her hair was messy and her eyes were red. She was panicked.


    "Secretary Chen, I can¡¯t help you. Please be considerate as this is the president¡¯s order. Without the president¡¯s permission, even the mayor would not be allowed to enter!" The guard regiment leader exined with a smile.


    "He¡¯s under house arrest. What do you want to do!?" Chen Xinjie was panicked, having a stoned expression on her face.


    Saying that he was under house arrest? Who would have the gall to do such a thing? The guard regiment leader thought of it andughed. He did not allow her to go in as he thought that the president would not want to see anyone now.


    "Let here in!"


    At that moment, a loud voice was heard, sounding like an explosion and it made him feel a little dizzy.


    "Yes, president!" He immediately answered respectfully, straightening his body and saluted.


    Though he was at downstairs, he felt like the president could see him.


    "Let. Her. In!"


    Everyone felt that it was peculiar because he was the only one who heard the voice.


    "But..." The assistant raised an objection.


    "It¡¯s the president¡¯s order. Just do what he says!"


    Chen Xinjie raised her head, looked at the top floor and doubted. Seeing that the soldiers had allowed her to enter, she did not think any further and walked into the hall rapidly. The staff then led her to where Luo Yuan was by using the exclusive elevator.


    She felt an indescribable pressure just before reaching the top floor.


    As she ascended in the elevator, the oppressive atmosphere became stronger. She had the wrong impression, feeling that the one on the top floor was not Luo Yuan but a gigantic beast instead.


    Soon, she reached. Chen Xinjie walked a few steps forward, feeling insecure. She realized that the door of the elevator had closed as she turned back.


    She then pinched her fist that had turned white as she slowly walked towards the manor.


    There was stream bubbling through the nearby trees and finely carved metal load-bearing columns. It was the first time she entered such a luxurious manor. However, she was in no mood to look around.


    The oppressive aura became stronger and soon, a deadly aura could be felt as it upied the whole atmosphere. She frowned as she had some difficulty breathing. She pressed her palm against her chest and slowly walked forward.


    She seemed to have heard some slight movementsing from afar, like electrical sparks that were exploding. She could sense it and subconsciously, she lifted her head.


    As she gazed at him, she had turnedpletely limp and almost fell down!


    Looking through the botanical garden, she saw a very big skull floating in mid-air and was as tall as the ceiling. She was frightened the moment when she saw him. She then returned to her senses and realized that he was Luo Yuan. Otherwise, she would have run away. However, she still felt a deep terror within her.


    "You... What happened to you..." Chen Xinjia was shocked and asked with a stammer.


    "Do I look imposing?" Luo Yuan did not speak. He closed his eyes and his voice was heard.


    Chen Xinjie felt slightly relieved as she heard the familiar tone, seeing the warm smile. She walked around the botanical garden and Luo Yuan¡¯s big body waspletely before her. She quickly covered her mouth and subconsciously retreated a few steps.


    He could not me her as he knew that anyone who saw him would react like this.


    He was indeed a giant. He was more than 10 meters tall despite sitting down. However, this was not the only thing that terrified her as she had seen Xu Zhiqiang transforming into a giant before in the Firearms Bureau.


    However, she had never seen such a frightening giant before. There were vapor-filled ripples all over his body and they were closely woven. At the same time, she could see subtle electrical sparks flickering on his body. The air surrounding him was distorted by these ripples. A soft, gentle breeze blew by, causing his body to be indistinct and blurry.


    In fact, Luo Yuan had tried his best to restrain his power. If he was rxed, the phenomena would be hundreds of times stronger. Even the maic field and gravity would be affected.

 Chapter 522: Experiment (I)

    Chapter 522: Experiment (I)


    Trantor: EndlessFantasy Trantion Editor: EndlessFantasy Trantion


    She raised her head, looking at the familiar yet fearsome giant. Chen Xinjie¡¯s heart was pounding. She was confused. After a long while, she calmed herself down and finally asked in doubt, "Luo Yuan, are you okay? What happened to you?"


    "It¡¯s a long story. Something¡¯s wrong with my body!" Luo Yuan sighed, answering her question telepathically.


    He dared not open his eyes. Eyes were the window to the soul. Regardless of how well he could restrain his power, the shadow of his Will would still exist. If they happened to meet each other¡¯s gaze, he would frighten her soul or even directly destroy her soul.


    "You... Can you still recover?"


    "I can¡¯t do it now. I need some time!" Luo Yuan replied with his eyes closed. He saw Chen Xinjie¡¯s face turn dreadfully pale as she endured the pressure on her body due to his aura. He then said, "You should go back now. You can¡¯t stay here."


    Chen Xinjie¡¯s heart sank that very moment as Luo Yuan answered with uncertainty.


    "But you..."


    "I don¡¯t need extra care. You shouldn¡¯t stay here. Oh yeah, help me inform Tian Jinping and ask him to prepare me a biologyb and a metal smeltingb. I¡¯m going to use them. Also, get me a few sets of clothes. They don¡¯t have to befortable but make sure that they are made of high-strength material. It will be best if they are made from the skin of the interster creature." Up until this moment, he was still naked. His clothes that were synthesized with the materials from the interster creature had been ripped apart when he entered the fourth-dimension earlier.


    After listening to Luo Yuan, Chen Xinjie left with a heavy heart.


    As soon as she left, he slowly opened his eyes and sighed.


    What he said earlier was tofort Chen Xinjie. In fact, he knew that even with thepression method, he could only tackle the problem of having the body of a giant, his power would remain the same. The only thing this would do would be to help him maintain the appearance of a human.


    Despite expecting this to happen, he never knew that the day woulde so fast.


    ...


    Half a yearter, at the metal smeltingboratory.


    Theboratory was built at thest minute and was a reconstruction of arge factory.


    It was extremely spacious. At both sides of the 10 meters wide passage, there were a fewrge instruments arranged ordingly.


    Arge body suddenly appeared at the passage of theboratory.


    "Eh? There¡¯s a slight deviation in the teleportation!" Luo Yuan looked at the ground beneath his feet, he was shocked. Soon, he knew why.


    It was because the spaceship was traveling at half the speed of light. During the short period of time when he entered the fourth-dimension, the change in position happened.


    Fortunately, the deviation was negligible. His four-dimensional brain that was on par with a quantum supeputer had subconsciouslyputed the difference in position. He then realized that the difference was less than 0.01 millimeters. He would not even have noticed if not for his four-dimensional brain.


    Luo Yuan put it aside and shifted his focus to the experimental equipment.


    All these were the most advanced facilities that were developed in recent years. They were originally only avable in the virtual world but recently, they had started to build out these facilities in the spaceship.


    That being said, only a few devices were built but industrial development could never be aplished at one stroke. It had to be done step by step. Thanks to the equipment, the industrial facilities in the spaceship had been upgraded several times. This was the reason Luo Yuan had been waiting for half a year.


    Despite being a waste of money and manpower, consuming arge portion of the resources stored in the spaceship, it had its advantage. At least when they arrived at the destination, they could shorten the time needed for industrial advancement.


    Luo Yuan walked into the information room. The technical documents, tables, and chairs were made exclusively for him. They were erged to the ratio of his body. The documents were of the size of a door, resembling what a giant would use. As a matter of fact, it was suitable for a giant.


    The sudden change in Luo Yuan¡¯s body size and the reason behind the change made the top management take notice. They recalled the loud voice that they heard on that day.


    Previously, people used to say that Luo Yuan¡¯s tremendously strength was merely a legend as very few of them had witnessed this before. However, ever since they witnessed his godlike power with their own eyes, everyone began to restrain themselves.


    Although Luo Yuan stayed mostly in his manor nowadays, havingpletely withdrawn from his official duties, the control he had over humankind did not diminish at all. In fact, he had strengthened his grip over humankind.


    ...


    Controlling his mind, thousands of books floated in the air, pages flipping as he focused his thoughts. A few minutester, the books returned to their original positions.


    He was slightly disappointed!


    These were humankind¡¯s most advanced facilities. They were still incapable of producing some of the advancedponents in bulk, only being able to produce small quantities in theboratory. However, the maximum degree ofpression they could get on an atom within these facilities were only about 100 fold.


    His actual height was 21.5 meters. That being said, in order to return to the body size of an ordinary human, his body size had to be reduced by 10 times at the very least. The volume of his body had to be reduced by a thousand times, the difference was too big.


    Fortunately, he did not need this equipment when he was going to transform.


    The main reason for Luo Yuan to use thisboratory was because he wanted to use the atompression simtion as a reference. At the same time, he could understand the effects of various atompression techniques. Despite a vast disparity of difficulty between trying topress an atom 1,000 fold version 100 fold, they would definitely encounter more uncertainties and problems as they moved forward but they were still using the same material. That being said, the theory behind thepression techniques should be the same and after conducting the experiment several times, he would be able to master it.


    Will was naturally an idealistic, omnipotent power. Since his Will was strengthened to the extent that it could now interfere with protons, even without the use of his four-dimensional brain, he was able topress atoms. However, this approach is only effective if the number of atoms was small. The number of atoms contained in the human body was 10 raised to the 27th power and this was an immeasurable power. Regardless of how strong his Will was, it would never be sufficient for such an endeavor.


    Using Will without the support of his four-dimensional brain would wasate arge portion of his power. While using his Will alone would give him precise control over his power, using his four-dimensional brain toplement it was undoubtedly a time-saving and energy-saving approach.


    ...


    A thousand-foldpression seemed to be a lot. However, it was just the beginning as there was quite a spacious amount of space inside the atoms.


    If atoms resembled as a standard football field, the atomic nucleus would be the size of a ping-pong ball. It upied only about a few hundred-millionths of the space inside an atom. The electron surrounding the nucleus would be thousand times smaller than the size of an atomic nucleus.


    The space inside the atoms was not totally empty, they were filled with electromaic fields. In other words, the matter that humans were in contact with were actually electromaic fields that existed only in the atomic interior.


    The essence of the steel they were using was thepression of the material under high pressure, reducing the size of the atoms. Through electromaic processes, the electromaic field within the atoms was strengthened, giving the material its desired stability.


    Since the maic field within the atoms had been strengthened, the energy consumed to produce a ton of this steel would be extremely huge. It would require hundreds of thousands or even millions of times the amount of energy required to produce regr steel.


    Fortunately, this material contained terrifying power. As the atoms were closely packed, there was no gap between atoms. Therefore, its physical properties, as well as chemical properties, were extremely stable.


    Luo Yuan did not want to waste any more time and quickly carried out the experiment. He headed towards the equipment that had a height of 50 meters. It was an experimental, fully sealed matterpression machine. The actualrge-scale matterpression machine was at least 10 times bigger than this.


    He opened the feed port. The metals that weighed a few tons in weight slowly floated in the air from the storage space, flying through a few hundred meters before being inserted into the feed port.


    As soon as Luo Yuan activated the machine, the feed port was automatically closed. The air was drawn out. The next moment, a powerful electrical energy akin to a dam gushed into the machine. A hum from the ball-shaped equipment was heard. Even the ground began to shake slightly.


    Luo Yuan slowly closed his eyes, sensing the changes that urred within the metal. After a few seconds, the metal ingot had melted in an instant, forming a huge, liquefied, metal ball. It floated within the container.


    The extremely high temperature and pressure in the machine resembled the interior of the sun. Such an equipment was simr to a fusion furnace. However, theplexity of the technology behind this equipment was far beyond that of a fusion furnace. The parameters included in the data of this machine would be hundred times of what a fusion furnace could provide. It was simr to the environment within the core of the star, undergoing matterpression.


    As time passed, it became smaller.


    ...

 Chapter 523: Experiment (II)

    Chapter 523: Experiment (II)


    Trantor: EndlessFantasy Trantion Editor: EndlessFantasy Trantion


    Luo Yuan stayed at the metalboratory for another 10 days. Then, he went to the biologyboratory.


    A pitifulboratory assistant who wore a protective lead-based garment was carefully carrying arge sterilizer, heading towards theboratory. He tried not to make any noise in theboratory. As he stepped on the soundproof flooring with his heavy protective garment, he would still make some noise.


    "ce it in the control room." Luo Yuan looked carefully at the small, dark-grey colored lump and said, without even raising his head as he could sense it.


    "Yes, mayor!" The pitiful assistant¡¯s body trembled a little as he walked towards the control room carefully. Right after he had put down therge sterilizer box, he quickly left theboratory as if he was escaping from danger.


    Despite the fact that the protectiveyer was able to protect one from the effect of his aura, it was impossible to protect them from fear. Not everyone could stay calm when faced with a giant.


    Luo Yuan shook his head, looking at the object in his hand again. It was a dark-grey colored piece of matter of the size of a marble. It looked solid. In fact, it was only a soft piece of bloody flesh previously.


    Biological tissues would experience significant changes afterpression. It resembled blood as the resulting Van der Waals force between the elements would be at least 10,000 times stronger. The liquid would then be a strangely transparent, gel-like substance.


    These were only the changes that happened to the blood. As for fats, the physical appearance of fats would change along with its hardness and toughness.


    Despite Luo Yuan having powerful strength, he would still need to put some effort in to crush it.


    Moreover, it was just an ordinary flesh. If it was his own body, perhaps the flesh would be almost indestructible afterpression of over a thousand times. Luo Yuan had no idea if it was the right thing do. At that very moment, with his huge body, Luo Yuan had nothing to lose. There was no way back.


    Soon, Luo Yuan snapped himself out of his thoughts and destroyed that strange piece of flesh by throwing it into the incinerator. He then entered the control room and took a look at the sterilized tray given by his assistant. There were various types of biological tissue in each tray in the sterilized tray. They were still dripping with blood. It was apparent that they were just extracted from the living organism¡¯s body.


    Luo Yuan wore the specially made rubber gloves and carefully picked up the heart that was still pumping.


    It was a cow¡¯s heart. Of course, it was just by name. In fact, it was an artificially made creature that looked like a cow. Its meat tasted like beef as well. The only difference was it was slightly bigger in size.


    However, although the heart was as big as football to ordinary humans, in Luo Yuan¡¯s hand he felt that it was merely the size of a ping-pong ball.


    He caused the surroundings to stir with a nce. Focused, he gave out an invisible aura that came out of nowhere, stirring the surroundings in theboratory with a powerful gust of wind, the sound of thunder clearly heard.


    Fortunately, the strange gust of wind came quickly and left quickly as well.


    In just one breath, everything had vanished.


    The heart that was pumping vigorously had shrunken andpletely lost its vitality.


    "Failed for the 12,001st time!" He scanned it using his Will and muttered silently. Then, he threw it into the incinerator again and thought in his heart, "Thepression ratio is exactly the same and my Will is synchronized with the atoms but why does a third of the elements dpose? Could it be because they are not well synchronized yet?"


    After Luo Yuan touched the tissues, he found out that the atomic structure of the material was totally different from that of the molecr structure of a chemicalpound.Thetter was way more difficult than the former as each of the atoms had to bepressed simultaneously. If any careless mistakes were made, a fluctuation or change in the position in atoms would result in the dposition of elements. This was simr to why the humans and ssians had special materials butcked special chemicalpounds - it required too high a degree of technical prowess.


    In addition to that, there wererge numbers of molecules in creatures, causing the difficulty to increase.


    This was undoubtedly a test on the synchronization on the multithreading of his Will and his ability to control his power.


    Fortunately, he had obvious improvements each time he attempted it. Compared to the first trial, the biological tissues werepletely crushed and thepressed flesh dposed into a gaseous state. This was a significant improvement in thepression process.


    His ability to control his Will had significantly improved during this process.


    Multithreading was a native ability of the four-dimensional brain. The way it functioned was simr to a quantumputer, allowing Luo Yuan to multitask at an unprecedented level. His thought processes would also be independent of one another, being able to work concurrently and at the same time ording to his conscience.


    After entering the fourth-dimension, his brain had never stopped calctions. Most of the calctions were performed subconsciously. His brain would start analyzing and calcting whatever he could see, sense, feel and even smell.


    The molecrposition of air, the density and three-dimensional data of an object, changes in the maic field and its strength, and even the possible futures that would happen a few secondster were analyzed andputed in his brain without any extra effort.


    However, theputations were done subconsciously as it was an innate ability. It was simr to how newborn babies learned to drink milk. His ability had to be trained. Regardless of how talented he was, he would not be able to work at his best without training.


    Right this moment, what Luo Yuan had to do was to coordinate these uncontrolled thoughts with his conscience in order toplete the synchronization of atoms during thepression process.


    It seemed simr to the process of concentrating Will but in fact, they werepletely different. If they were described asputers, the former would be an ordinaryputer while thetter would be a datacenter as well as an intr formed by countless supeputers.


    Each of the supeputers would upload the data to the database. They were independent of one another. At the same time, the datacenter could control the supeputer and assign tasks to them. However, they did not have control over the supeputers, yet.


    ...


    Luo Yuan continued with the trial.


    The amount of fresh meat in therge sterilizer box was decreasing. However, none of the trials seeded. After Luo Yuan¡¯s Will had depleted, he stopped and took a short break.


    He carefully picked up thest of thepressed pieces of meat, looking slightly excited.


    It was the best result he had so far. The meat was no longer dark-gray in color. It had a dark, red color instead. The rate of dposition was only one-fifth of what it used to be and it was apparent that the cells in some parts were still alive.


    A thought suddenly shed across Luo Yuan¡¯s mind, "Since the element has dposed, is it possible to recover it?"


    "It should work. Compared to the atomicyers, without a doubt, the molecryer could be recovered more easily!"


    His brain was processing quickly!


    "The total number of atoms in the meat is 1.2354^24!"


    "The number of cells is 0.1123 trillion. These cells are made of DNA, RNA, protein, glucose, fats, and water."


    ...


    Hundreds of millions of thoughts quickly analyzed the figures calcted. Handling such arge amount of data, Luo Yuan spent less than one second to analyze the data. They were no longer a secret.


    To Luo Yuan, the mystery of the three-dimensional beings was as simple as that.


    He closed his eyes and rested for about one minute. His Will had almost recovered. Thanks to his strong body, his Will recovered at an astonishing speed. After about 10 seconds, he hadpletely replenished his Will.


    Luo Yuan slowly opened his eyes and a beam of light then appeared. He then picked up the lump of meat. The next moment, he caused a stir in theboratory again!

 Chapter 524: In Vivo Test

    Chapter 524: In Vivo Test


    Trantor: EndlessFantasy Trantion Editor: EndlessFantasy Trantion


    In just one breath, everything in theboratory had returned to normal.


    He kept the lump of meat in his hand. After it had recovered, the deep red color of the meat had instantly turned into a bright red color as if there was fresh blood oozing out from the meat. It had a shiny, jade-like appearance. It no longer looked like a lump of meat but looked more like an agate gemstone instead. It was way harder than that and even a diamond would be as soft as mud whenpared to it.


    The most important thing was that it was alive. The muscle textures could clearly be seen from its surface with its jade-white fats.


    It was a miracle. Even the strongest mutated creature, the interster creature was iparable to this lump of flesh that weighed about 2,000 tons per cubic meter in weight.


    Luo Yuan was excited as this was what he wanted.


    However, just as he was about to continue with the experiment, he suddenly stopped.


    Suddenly, Chen Xinjie who was wearing the protective clothing entered theboratory. She was worried and said, "I asked the others about you earlier. You haven¡¯t taken your meals for a few days!"


    Luo Yuan turned his back on her, answering her with his telepathy, "You do know that food means nothing to me now?"


    "You weren¡¯t like thisst time. Even if you knew that it¡¯s useless, you¡¯d still try to live a normal life. You¡¯ve changed. You don¡¯t even look like a human. One day, you won¡¯t even be able to adapt to an ordinary human life anymore!"


    "I¡¯m sorry..." Luo Yuan replied.


    "I¡¯m sorry, I shouldn¡¯t have said that." Chen Xinjie¡¯s eyes were red as she turned her head away.


    Both of them remained silent for a moment, Luo Yuan then said, "Next month is our son¡¯s birthday. I might not be able to wish him on that day. Here¡¯s a birthday present for him!"


    The jade-like lump of meat floated in the air slowly and fell on Chen Xinjie¡¯s hand. Although he didn¡¯t put much thought into it, it was somehow unique and powerful. It was priceless.


    Chen Xinjie did not know why but she felt a sense of insecurity. She felt that she was about to lose him and immediately said, "We can still celebrate his birthday in virtual reality. No matter what happens to you in the future, you¡¯re still my man. At least we can still live together in virtual reality."


    Luo Yuan kept quiet. Nobody knew that he could no longer enter virtual reality. It was impossible for humans to bear the immense power that his brain gave off. Right this moment, a scene that he witnessed while entering the fourth-dimension ran through his mind. He then realized that there might be ways to enter virtual reality.


    With thoughts shing through his mind, his thoughts immediately arrived at the main server of the virtual reality via the signals. There was an ocean of data that appeared before him. His thoughts processes started operating at full force and a countless amount of information gushed into his head. The operational procedure of the virtual world was rapidly analyzed and subsequently hacked.


    The rm at theputer center of the spaceship¡¯s virtual reality department sounded immediately. However, before the staff members were aware of it, the rm stopped automatically.


    "What happened?"


    "It was a data leakage. Itsted 0.3 seconds. Everything has returned to normal now."


    "It should be fine. Perhaps they were carrying out some high energy physics experiments. It happens every once in a while."


    ...


    "Alright, I will go." Luo Yuan answered.


    Luo Yuan took only one second to hack the virtual reality server. To Chen Xinjie, he remained silent for only a short while. He then responded to her suggestion. She did not know that in this short period of time, he had already hacked the whole operational procedure of the virtual reality server.


    After Chen Xinjie had left, Luo Yuan wanted to continue with the experiment but right after he picked up the flesh, he stopped.


    He suddenly found out that after he realized that the virtual reality world could no longer take the power his brain released, he had never actually attempted to solve the problem. Even after the issue had been resolved, he was still unhappy but was rather calm. He may have neglected the problem initially but now, it was apparent that something was wrong.


    He was being indifferent as he did not focus even while he was speaking to Chen Xinjie. He was analyzing the data and nning for the uing experiment instead.


    It was rare that he stopped working. He then frowned.


    From a biological perspective, emotions and feelings were electrochemical signals. It was the response and feedback of creatures to environmental changes. When something good happened, one would feel happy and excited. On the contrary, when something bad happened, one would feel scared, sad, and angry.


    It was an evolutionary process whereby living beings could create a self-defense mechanism and although his brain¡¯s ability had dramatically improved after entering the fourth-dimension, it had somehow weakened the effect of emotions on him. Based on game theory, the former was his main priority, causing him to have more rational thoughts. He would judge the pros and cons rationally and no longer rely on emotions.


    Luo Yuan remained still like a stone for a long while.


    ...


    He practiced on the lump of flesh for half a month until he no longer made mistakes afterpressing the atoms. He then began to n for the second experiment. It was the in-vivo test.


    The first animal was the white mouse. It was the only animal from Earth that humans could bring to the spaceship.


    Since it was widely used in the in-vivo test in the Hope City¡¯s biologicalboratory previously, it had to be included.


    When a vegetarian diet was the dominant diet, people suggested using the white mouse¡¯s meat to improve the public¡¯s diet. If a process to produce meat was not invented in time, the people would have agreed with the suggestion.


    The white mouse came from the Earth and it was, of course, a mutated creature. The length of its body including its tail was approximately 40 to 50 meters long. They were given sufficient food to keep them nourished. Therefore, they were slightly fat. In addition to the fluffy fur they had, they looked exceptionally beautiful.


    At that moment, it was trembling in the terrarium. Something seemed wrong with its brain, making it look rabid. Its red eyes darted left and right as its body twitched every once in a while.


    All of a sudden, a big hand was inserted into the terrarium and grabbed the white mouse. The white mouse¡¯s body was shaking. It took a step back with its hind legs and fainted.


    Luo Yuan then realized that its heart had stopped beating and its brain waves were an irregr mess. The white mouse was frightened to death by the aura he unintentionally released.


    However, Luo Yuan remained unaffected. He did not bother as the white mouse was going to die anyway. He scanned its body with his Will. Meanwhile, when the white mouse¡¯s brainwaves came into contact with his Will, it disappeared.


    Luo Yuan recalled his Will. Hisrge index finger pointed at the white mouse¡¯s heart in mid-air. The white mouse shook its body vigorously and survived. Its brainwave had miraculously recovered.


    However, it became rather quiet, checking out its surroundings. It tried to move in Luo Yuan¡¯s hand carefully, looking confused as if it was its first time seeing the world.


    As a matter of fact, it was the truth. It was considered to be a new life-form. Compared to the original white mouse, they werepletely unrted to each other. The only rtion was that this mouse had inherited the body of the original mouse.


    When Luo Yuan was scanning the mouse with his Will, the initial memory formed by the white mouse¡¯s cerebral cortex and electrical signals had been erased by his Will. At the same time, Luo Yuan¡¯s Will had been imprinted.


    The new memory was basically formed this way. Without any interference from Luo Yuan, it could be a strong mutant soon.


    However, it was fated that even when the experiment had seeded, such dangerous creatures were not allowed to stay in the spaceship. They had to be destroyed.


    All the preparation work for the experiment had beenpleted. Luo Yuan closed his eyes to focus, on the preparations for the first in-vivo test.

 Chapter 525: Whirlpool

    Chapter 525: Whirlpool


    Trantor: EndlessFantasy Trantion Editor: EndlessFantasy Trantion


    Luo Yuan¡¯s palm became 1.5 meters wide. There were intertwined crevasses on his palm that looked like deep ravines.


    The little white mouse in his hand seemed to have sensed the danger as it felt an insecurity creeping up deep within it. Just as it was about to flee, his palm seemed to give off a shroud of dense light.


    The light did not dazzle but instead, was as clear as spring water. The light was akin to a transparent, soft gloss, resembling the purest diamond.


    However, the moment when the soft light appeared, it stirred up a sudden fierce wind. The palm was the center of the storm. All sorts of energy wereing off his palm, even the space-time fabric was vibrating like waves in a pool of water.


    The massive amount of atoms in the white mouse¡¯s body waspressed within a thousandth of a nanosecond. Even Luo Yuan was stressed when he did this. This was because his brain¡¯s response time had to be close to the speed of light as any deviations would cause it to stop. The experiment would have been a total failure.


    Fortunately, after practicing for more than 10,000 times, Luo Yuan¡¯s mind remained unaffected by these factors. Be it his ability to control his brain or the speed of his mind, they were incredible.


    Within a short while, the little white mouse had shrunk.


    Right that moment, Luo Yuan was relieved. However, it had not ended yet. He had to reinforce the electromaic strength between atoms so that the stability of the atoms could be reestablished. This procedure consumed arge amount of his Will.


    Perhaps the white mouse was small in size so Luo Yuan could take still withstand the amount of Will consumed. If he were to use it on his body, he would have to build an electromaic field strengtheningboratory to supplement his abilities.


    Most of his Will was converted to an electromaic field. The air on his palm had beenpletely ionized, turning into a miniature field of thunder. Countless electric tendrils struck, producing a thunder-like sound each time they did. Each of the electrical tendrils released a wicked dark light. People would be frightened just from the look of it but despite the fact that the electrical tendrils were only the size of a needle, the strength of the maic field they generated was actually thousands of times stronger than naturally urring thunder.


    Fortunately, the white mouse¡¯s body had beenpressed and its flesh was no longer ordinary matter. Otherwise, it would have vaporized when it was surrounded by such a strong electromaic field.


    The entire processsted for three seconds before it slowly ended.


    The electric lights had faded away, leaving only the mini white mouse that was lying in Luo Yuan¡¯s palm.


    It was 10 times smaller, resembling a perfect work of art. Its white fur had be whiter than mercury, reflecting a beautiful glow when light shined on it.


    On the other hand, it had gem-like eyes and ck ink-colored toes. Its naked belly had a ze texture as if it was indestructible. Thanks to its densely packed atom arrangement, its defensive ability was beyond imagination. Even if it was thrown into the sun, it could still survive as long as it was outside the core.


    From an ordinary creature, it had instantly turned into a tremendously terrifying creature. The dposition of elements was less than one hundred thousandth of that. If the rate of dposition was within the threshold level, it would have no effect on life. Therefore, when he scanned its body, he repaired it.


    At the same time, its joints were quite flexible. All of its organs were well maintained. However, everything seemed to have be frozen. Its heart was no longer beating, there was no blood cirction and the usual physical activities were not present.


    It seemed like it was still alive, though. Luo Yuan was excited when he discovered it as its brain was still emitting a weak wave that was going on and off. Furthermore, the weak wave was diminishing at a terrifying speed. It would probably lose its consciousness soon.


    Luo Yuan sighed. Of course, creatures that were rtively weak would be unable to handle such a strong body. It was akin to a baby wearing a thick golden armor. The baby¡¯s body would have copsed before the baby could even move.


    However, Luo Yuan remained unaffected. If one was topare the little white mouse¡¯s consciousness to a pure, wless diamond, it would be ridiculous. Moreover, since he was capable ofpressing the atoms, he could definitely get rid of this state.


    He could then transform into these two states, following the Will of his heart.


    In fact, right until now, he had forgotten his initial purpose. As he was being dominated by his rationality, constantly strengthening his body was his top priority.


    Next, he took another pitiful white mouse and continued with the experiment.


    There were still ws in the synchronization of his multithreaded Will and his ability to control it. Encountering such a small-sized creature like the white mouse, he could still handle it. However, he had no confidence if he were to do it on his body.


    ...


    Many of the white mice had be sculptures and were being disyed orderly in theboratory.


    As time passed, 10 cabs were filled to the brim.


    When the 11th cab was being filled, the sculptures had now be sheep of different shapes and sizes.


    After he had entered the fourth-dimension, there were great changes to his personality. The weaknesses of a human was disappearing. He could get used to being alone and he was willing to endure any hardships as long as they were beneficial to him.


    His abilities had improved dramatically. The time needed for atompression was reduced and had be close to turning into one of his innate abilities. Chen Xinjie and his superior had visited him during the period. Although he acted normally, he paid no attention to them as time passed!


    ...


    One of the mornings in virtual reality. The sky had brightened. It was the beginning of a new day.


    The only city in this ind was as quiet as a ghost town a moment ago. The next moment, it was so crowded. Many of the aircrafts were flying in the sky, heading towards the industrial area.


    In fact, other than the aircrafts, the city was not as unrealistic as expected. Technological developments had not extended for civil use. Most of the buildings were small and were constructed in the shape of a square. ncing at it, it looked like the fourth or fifth region of China before the apocalypse. All of the buildings here wereboratories. One would only feel like they were in a fantasy once they entered the buildings and saw the interior.


    At that moment, the aircraft seemed to be affected by an unknown power and there was green smokeing out of it. The aircraft gradually descended and caused chaos.


    Some of the aircrafts plowed into a crowd of people, causing a strong explosion.


    The people then started screaming. Fortunately, they were in virtual reality. Even if they had died, it did not matter.


    The crowd was terrified in the first ce. However, as soon as they regained their senses, they calmed themselves. They were excited, witnessing such a scene in virtual reality. Many of the residents here were researchers. They started to argue about the reason that caused this to ur.


    The light had be unusually dim as it stirred up a fierce wind.


    "Look! There is a whirlpool in the sky." An anonymous shouted.


    The people instantly lifted their head and looked at the sky. Countless dark clouds were swirling as if it was the effect of an invisible power, causing a huge whirlpool to appear in the sky.

 Chapter 526: World Invasion

    Chapter 526: World Invasion


    Trantor: EndlessFantasy Trantion Editor: EndlessFantasy Trantion


    In just one breath, the sky was shrouded in the whirlpool. It was as dark as ink, feeling like the day had turned into night instantly.


    As soon as the whirlpool appeared, the whole world was filled with a faint buzzing sound. Although the noises were small, it somehow gave off an immense, terrifying aura.


    At the same time, there were sirens screaming across the sky at theputer center of the virtual reality.


    "A massive data stream is invading..."


    "It is unblockable..."


    "The control has reached its limit..."


    "The CPU usage has reached 85%, it¡¯s still increasing..."


    Negative messages were constantlying in. All the employees were drenched in sweat and looked anxious. Everything had happened too quickly. All of the default interception methods were rendered useless. Even the artificial intelligence system remained silent, unresponsive to the invasion.


    ...


    In virtual reality, countless shes of lightning shed through the sky, resembling a dragon that wriggled across the dark clouds, giving off bright rays of light.


    The oppressive aura gradually grew stronger and at that moment, the whirlpool seemed like it was going against thews and theories of physics. A low rumbling sound of thunder was heard and the entire world seemed to tremble a little. Outside the boundary of the ind, the ground began to copse.


    The next moment, a huge human face gradually appeared in the whirlpool. The image was blurred and one could hardly see his features. It was formed through the condensation of dark clouds and it was difficult to distinguish how he actually looked like. He closed his eyes, looking at the ground coldly.


    It had upied one-fifths of the sky. It was so huge, it almost covered the entire sky. It seemed like a terrifying, destructive creature was going to invade the world.


    The world had be a blur as the whirlpool gave off countless rays of colors that slowly disappeared and it seemed like it was going to cause the whole world to copse soon.


    The crowd was no longer as rxed as they used to be after seeing the frightening scene before them and feeling the deadly aura being released into the air. Despite being in virtual reality, many of them were terrified and they ended up limping away, terrified. Many of them even left virtual reality.


    At that moment, the human face opened its eyes and frowned. It seemed to be sizing up the weak world. It remained still for a few moments and just as suddenly as it had appeared, the human face disappeared.


    After a short while, the clouds disappeared as well. The sun shone brightly on the ground and everything was calm the very next moment as if nothing had happened before.


    ...


    At the same time, a sudden strong wind blew on the empty ground. Ayer of soil on the ground suddenly disappeared. Streams of water nearby were disrupted, dposing into countless atoms in an instant.


    The atoms then bound with each other, forming elements.


    Cells were then formed from the elements, turning into a fine dust that seemed to be bone matter...


    Eight minutester, a skeleton gradually appeared out of nowhere. Soon, fascia was formed and a heart could be seen beating in the naked chest. Countless strands of flesh began to grow all over the body at a speed that the naked eye could witness. Looking at something like this, one would probably be frightened to death.


    Nine minutester, a naked shadow appeared on the empty ground. It lowered his head and looked at its naked body. Following the Will of its heart, a set of clothes suddenly appeared. The shoes and clothes rapidly appeared out of nowhere.


    It took about 10 minutes toplete the entire process.


    "That¡¯s too slow!" Luo Yuan thought in his heart. "If I entered the world with my full consciousness, I would only need one millisecond!"


    Unfortunately, the world could not withstand any more of his consciousness. He attempted to break into the world previously. However, virtual reality had almost copsed. Luckily he responded to it quickly and recalled his consciousness before the world copsed. Only a small portion of his consciousness was left in virtual reality.


    It was not the real world. It was too fake and weak.


    He could see two different faces of this world. One of them was virtual reality while the other was the ocean of data behind the scenes that constantly changed. The trees, rivers, atmosphere, and even the virtual space were formed by massive amounts of data.


    It could only deceive ordinary humans but it could not hide from Luo Yuan. If Luo Yuan was to treat this as the real world, it could be said that he had a thorough understanding of the origins of this world and its characteristics.


    "Perhaps to four-dimensional beings, the three-dimensional world that I¡¯m staying in is not going to exist for a long time. Both of these worlds are somehow simr. To those who live in worlds of higher dimension, both of these worlds are imperfect." A thought suddenly shed through Luo Yuan¡¯s mind.


    He shook his head and did not think about it any further. To think further was only a dream since he did not have sufficient information.


    After moving his heavy body for a moment, he finally adapted to the massive changes. The body was not too strong in all aspects. However, he was still a few times stronger than an ordinary human. To him, there was no difference between a person who was 10 times stronger and a normal person.


    ...


    The effect identally caused by Luo Yuan had not ended.


    The super server had been infected and a mysterious human face was formed in virtual reality. Although it seemed like a cyber attack, the reason behind it was terrifying.


    Theputer cluster behind this virtual reality was the best quantum supeputer that humans had invented. The facilities alone had upied the entire megastructure. Itsputation power was millions of times stronger than that of the ssianputers. In addition to that, virtual reality was equipped with an artificial intelligence active defense system. It was impossible to hack. At the very least, the quantumputer in the spaceship would have no way of breaking through these supeputers.


    Though that may be the case, it had indeed broken through the supeputers in an arrogant manner. They were incapable of defending against the invader.


    Humans were no longer ignorant like before the apocalypse. Ever since they were attacked by the ssian, they were mentally prepared for any attacks from an extraterrestrial civilization. However, they were worried about this incident.


    At the meeting room of the municipal government, the atmosphere was heavy.


    "The mayor is not here, I¡¯ll hold this meeting. I guess everyone has received the news. Please give your opinion and discuss how we should solve this issue." Bi Jianping said in a hushed voice.


    "Virtual reality is their target. I think we shouldn¡¯t take any action before they do as we might alert the invader. We should carry out aprehensive scan on the quantum supeputer. At the same time, we should ask the staff to determine the origin of the attack and the purpose of the invasion." Tian Jinping rubbed between his eyebrows and said!


    "I agree with what Mayor Tian said. The spaceship has been flying stably. No danger has been detected. Perhaps this is just a false rm and it could even be one intentionally triggered by humans." Li Feng agreed.


    "You have underestimated its risk. To humans, there are only two types of extraterrestrial civilizations. They are either a civilization that had fallen behind others or an advanced civilization. Only thetter is capable of threatening us. It can hack into the virtual reality server. That indicates that it can control our quantumputers. That being said, the invader can control humans as well. I suggest stopping the operations of all quantumputers in the spaceship!" The Minister of Organization, Ye Yong, raised his objection.


    "By doing so, all human activities have to be stopped. For how long should we stop? If we can¡¯t figure out the problem, are we going to stop all activities forever?"


    "I think that this discussion is useless. I suggest inviting relevant experts and schrs to attend the meeting ande up with a solution."


    ...


    The group of people started to argue over this issue.


    Bi Jianping smiled wryly, knowing that he did not have enough prestige to dominate the crowd. He took a nce Chen Xinjie and asked, "Please keep quiet. Secretary Chen, what do you think?"


    The crowd that was arguing suddenly kept quiet. Her status was rather special. In certain aspects, she was Luo Yuan¡¯s spokesman, putting everyone on alert.


    "Mayor Bi, I¡¯m here to listen and I attend this meeting as a non-voting delegate. I won¡¯t give any suggestion!" Chen Xinjie said coldly. She clearly knew her identity and she was being extra careful.


    At that very moment, the screen in the meeting room suddenly lit up and it was flickering.


    "What happened? Who switched on the screen..." A person was mumbling. However, before he could even finish what he was saying, he swallowed his words.


    Arge shadow appeared on the screen. Its face alone had upied the whole screen and the screen vibrated slightly like a wave that resembled a severe interference.


    A pair of cold eyes looked around as if it had prated through the three-dimensional scene and it seemed like it was sizing up the people before it.


    Bi Jianping dropped the cigarette that he was holding on the office table and Tian Jinping stopped rotating the pen that was in his hand!


    The meeting room was silent. Everyone had subconsciously bowed their body, showing their respect.


    "Dismiss the meeting if there¡¯s nothing else to discuss. Stop checking!" The giant on the screen said.


    The three-dimensional audio system had excellent sound quality. In the enclosed meeting room, his voice could still be clearly heard.


    The next moment, there was a buzzing sounding out of the screen and the screen turned off immediately.


    After a long while, Bi Jianping then said, "Let¡¯s wrap up this meeting!"


    ...


    After the experiment, Luo Yuan¡¯s gaze returned to normal. He then lowered his head, looking at one of the sheep in the terrarium. He then extended his hand, picking it up and continued experimenting.

 Chapter 527: Returning To The Ordinary

    Chapter 527: Returning To The Ordinary


    Trantor: EndlessFantasy Trantion Editor: EndlessFantasy Trantion


    On the grasnd near akeside, there was a padding made of white cloth and there was a variety of good food being served.


    It was a ce situated beside the river, close to the foot of a mountain. Theke water was so clear and there were fishes ying in the water. Nowadays, the industrial areas andboratories had upied the ind. It was rare to have a ce like this.


    It was the liveliest ce in virtual reality during normal times. The ce was very crowded no matter when. Right this moment, aside from Luo Yuan and two family members, there was nobody there. Looking at the security, he knew that the ce was like it was under martialw at the moment.


    Luo Junchao who was 11 years old looked like an adult. He was holding a small knife and cut the cake with a serious look on his face. Then, he took a piece of cake and gave it to Luo Yuan.


    "Daddy, this is for you!" Luo Yuan kept quiet for a short while. He then nodded his head.


    Luo Yuan had been very strict with him. To him, respect was more crucial than love. However, Luo Junchao had not noticed anything strange about it.


    "Mom, this is for you!"


    Looking at the family, Chen Xinjie¡¯s eyes turned red as they could hardly gather together. She then quickly lowered her head and ate a mouthful of cake, "It¡¯s so delicious!"


    "Mom, eat more if you liked it!" Luo Junchao immediately said, "When is your birthday? I can celebrate your birthday with you next time."


    "My son is the best. Unlike someone who has never celebrated my birthday with me and never bought me a gift." Chen Xinjie said.


    Luo Yuan smiled and said, "I thought you didn¡¯t mind. I¡¯ll give you a sculpture of a sheep for your next birthday. It¡¯s made of the same material as the gem that I gave to Xiao Chao."


    Chen Xinjie did not really care about the present. It seemed like he was in a daze. Ever since his power was upgraded, she had never seen any expressions aside from the stony expression on his face. Finally, she saw a smile on his face.


    "What happened?" Luo Yuan asked.


    "No..Nothing!" Chen Xinjie immediately turned away as her eyes were full of tears, "The wind is strong."


    She was good at hiding her emotions. However, it was impossible that Luo Yuan did not see it as he was so sensitive. He sighed in his heart but he did not expose his lies, "The wind is indeed strong."


    He then waved his hand. Part of the data in virtual reality changed seamlessly.


    Chen Xinjie felt that the wind disappearing in an abnormal manner. She was shocked and took a nce at Luo Yuan. However, when she thought of the meeting held in the afternoon, she knew it in her heart that it was him.


    Luo Junchao felt that his father was in a good mood today, he then requested, "Daddy, I want a sculpture too!"


    "Sure. But there¡¯s no sheep for you. Since it¡¯s your birthday, I¡¯ll give you a small white mouse." Luo Yuan said.


    After feeling happy for a while, Luo Yuan then asked Luo Junchao about his studies. He immediately answered in fear.


    His academic performance was neither good nor poor; he performed moderately. There was not much difference between the intelligence of the new generation of human and their predecessors. Their results depended solely on how hardworking they were. Apparently, he did not put much effort in his studies.


    ...


    After dinner, Chen Xinjie and Luo Junchao left virtual reality, sending Xiao Chao back to school. Most of the students were born in a welfare home and the schools were made to be boarding schools. Be it Chen Xinjie or Luo Yuan, they did not want him to be too different from the others.


    Half an hourter, Chen Xinjie returned to virtual reality after sending Luo Junchao to school.


    "Let¡¯s walk around!" Chen Xinjie said while grabbing Luo Yuan¡¯s arm.


    Luo Yuan nodded his head and both of them headed towards theke. He could feel that Chen Xinjie was very happy today. The gloomy face that she used to have had disappeared.


    "I feel that you¡¯re a bit different today." Chen Xinjie suddenly said.


    Luo Yuan¡¯s body suddenly stopped moving for a while. He then continued to walk forward.Of course, he clearly knew the difference that Chen Xinjie had mentioned. Only a small portion of his consciousness was left in this world. In addition to the effect of the ordinary body, his emotion that was originally suppressed by his rationality had recovered to some extent but sometimes, truth hurts.


    Luo Yuan said with a smile, "Is that true? Perhaps I¡¯ve been in theboratory for too long."


    Chen Xinjie grabbed Luo Yuan¡¯s arm tightly as if he would run away if she released her hand. She then asked, "Is there no improvement in the experiment?"


    "Yes, there is. However, there is still some distance away to sess!" Luo Yuan sighed. The experiment had actually reached a teau. There was no further improvement. Aside from the sheep, he could not handle creatures of a bigger size. It was because his Four-Dimensional Brain and his Will were not strong enough. There was no other way because these could only be improved through training.


    At that moment, he saw a lounge chair in front of him. He then suggested, "Let¡¯s have a seat."


    "You did quite well in today¡¯s meeting." Despite the fact that only a small portion of his consciousness remained, he had already entered virtual reality during the meeting. His memory and the way he thought were still the same.


    "I just found out that you¡¯re monitoring us all the time." Chen Xinjie replied gently. She felt proud when she thought of Luo Yuan¡¯s appearance in the morning.


    He was her man!


    "Eh..." Luo Yuan suddenly realized that he slipped his tongue. His Sense could reach the entire spaceship. It was difficult for him to not see it.


    Luckily, Chen Xinjie was not interested in knowing why. She then asked curiously, "The face that appeared in the morning, was that you?"


    She wanted to ask about this for a long time.


    Luo Yuan was stunned for a moment, he then nodded his head!


    Since she already knew it, there was no point for him to hide from her.


    Chen Xinjie opened her mouth wide, staring at him as she was shocked. Although she had expected this to happen, it was somehow unbelievable after she had confirmed with him. Based on the information she received in the morning, the face appeared for only one second. In a split second, the whole virtual reality was one-fifth smaller. All of the electrical devices and weapon systems were either damaged or lost its effectiveness.


    Fortunately, there was data backup system in virtual reality. Otherwise, humans technology might actually go backward from the event. She immediately asked, "How did you do that? Virtual reality is made of quantum supeputers!"


    "It¡¯s simple, as long as I want to do, I can definitely do it!"


    Chen Xinjie wanted to say that he was lying. However, looking at Luo Yuan¡¯s face, he did not look like he was kidding. She had to trust him.


    She suddenly realized that she did not really understand Luo Yuan. His abilities were stronger than she had expected. Perhaps his abilities were beyondprehension.


    She thought about when she met Luo Yuan in the real world. He always closed his eyes and turned his back on her. He never spoke to her and only replied through his Will. It was not because he was being cold to her, it was because he was afraid that he might hurt her.


    She felt his warmth and hugging Luo Yuan¡¯s arm, she said softly, "It¡¯ste. Let¡¯s go back to my house in this world."


    The night was quiet. They were not going to sleep tonight!

 Chapter 528: Getting Out Of The Spaceship

    Chapter 528: Getting Out Of The Spaceship


    Trantor: EndlessFantasy Trantion Editor: EndlessFantasy Trantion


    The next morning, Luo Yuan removed his consciousness from virtual reality.


    The beautiful night he had did not cause much distraction to his consciousness. Everything was like dust and bubbles as they were traceless. Fortunately, he could still remember his promise and the gift.


    With his Will, the sculpture of a sheep and a mouse was transported, disappearing from their original position.


    As half a four-dimensional being, interspatial transportation could be done easily. As long as the area was within the range of his Sense, he could easily transport any object to any ce.


    Looking at the slight vibrations in space, Luo Yuan instantly felt inspired.


    The inspiration came from virtual reality.


    Space was defined in a specific way in virtual reality. Through theplete control Luo Yuan had over the underlying database, he could easily cut, merge, nest all sorts of functions in the code that made up this space.


    Of course,pared to the real world, this dimension was fake. It waspletely made up of data and logic. However, in certain aspects, it could still be used for reference.


    Putting aside the experiment that had teaued, he looked excited.


    He then extended his hand and a glow from his Will was released from his fingers in an instant. Soon, his fingers were moving in the air. It looked like he used his fingers to lightly touch the water, causing the space before him to vibrate slightly.


    As the glow from his Will became brighter and the color had be clearer and sharper, the vibration in virtual reality became stronger. Soon, streaks were left in the space before him as if something had streaked across it.


    After collecting enough information, he stopped for a while. His brain was processing quickly. Right after his Four-Dimensional Vision had achieved 100%, he could see through everything clearly and there was nothing virtual reality could hide from his brain.


    A massive amount of data was being rapidly analyzed and screened. He could then draw a conclusion. At the same time, he was deriving thousand of future directions. Through screening, the future could finally be confirmed.


    One secondter, he grabbed the air.


    The next moment, there was a strong vibration in virtual reality. The ground and the wall of theboratory was distorted and a shockwave was spreading everywhere. Its destructive power was terrifying and it felt like nothing could stop it. Even the strongest metal meant nothing to the shockwave.


    If the shockwave continued spreading, the whole spaceship might get distorted and even stop functioning.


    Since the spaceship was built using high-density metal and advanced technology, many of theponents and parts had to be assembled precisely. Even the slightest changes could cause many problems to the spaceship.


    Fortunately, Luo Yuan had already expected this to happen. Before the destruction caused by the shockwave got even more severe, he unleashed his Will. In an instant, his hair was messed up and each strand of his hair gave off a faint glow. He had instantly taken control over the shockwave.


    At the same time, Luo Yuan¡¯s right hand was not moving. Five of his fingers were grabbing the air. He seemed like he had grabbed something but nothing was there. The space within his palm was vibrating vigorously, exuding an extremely dangerous aura. However, the space around his fingers miraculously remained unaffected as if it was isted!


    Luo Yuan knew that as long as he moved his hand slightly in the fourth-dimension, the coordinates of the space he held in his hand in the four-dimensional world would shift and it would be removed from the three-dimensional world, bing an independent dimension.


    The volume of the independent dimension was about 10 cubic meters!


    However, Luo Yuan hesitated for a moment. After a long while, he retracted his hand.


    It was the spaceship that amodated all of the humans. If the space in his palm was removed , three-dimensional space would definitely shrink, causing a chain reaction.


    Luo Yuan regretted, looking at the slightly distortedboratory. It was destroyed by the shockwave. He felt that theboratory was cramped like he was living in a small room. He had to move carefully, controlling his strength. Otherwise, he would easily break theboratory.


    He sighed, looking forward and lost focus. His gaze seemed to prate through the wall of theboratory and the hull of the ship, looking into the dark outer space.


    "Perhaps, I should carry out the experiment in outer space." A thought suddenly shed through Luo Yuan¡¯s mind.


    He then quickly carried out a feasibility analysis.


    Arge amount of data ran through his mind and soon, a mathematical model based on the amount of his Will and the speed of traveling in the four-dimensional world was created. At the same time, the resistance in space was calcted as well. Right after he determined the current speed he could of travel in the four-dimensional world, he was stunned.


    "7.5 times of the speed of light!"


    He could not believe and calcted it again. The result was still the same. However, it was calcted theoretically and the data in Luo Yuan¡¯s memory was not absolutely urate. The speed he could travel at in the fourth-dimension could only be estimated.


    In addition to that, once his traveling speed exceeded the speed of light, there may be some other influencing factors. However, these influences were not taken into consideration in the calction.


    Regardless of its deviation, it would definitely be faster than the speed of the spaceship. Once he got out into space, he would not need to worry about not being able to get back to the spaceship.


    His eyes glowed with excitement.


    He then moved his body and instantly disappeared from the spaceship. The next moment when he appeared, he was in the space. He extended his big body, awakening the long-suppressed terrifying power within him. He looked like he had escaped from a cage, regaining his freedom. He was filled with excitement and satisfaction.


    However, the excitementsted for only a short while. Soon, he calmed himself down, adapting to the environment. He did not realize it when he was in the spaceship. However, he could now feel the pressure that the spaceship had to withstand when it was traveling at a fast speed.


    Despite being in outer space, it was not an absolute vacuum.


    A small amount of gas and dust still existed. At a slower speed, these substances were negligible. However, traveling at about half the speed of light, regardless of how sparse the substance was, it would still be exceptionally dense.


    Right that moment, he seemed like he was traveling between steel. Every second, there were countless dust and gas bodies that surrounded his body.


    They had caused his body to give off a scorching light, releasing a terrifyingly high temperature.


    Fortunately, the onught and the high temperature released by these substances could do no harm to him aside from causing him a little pain. He could even calcte the energy that his body was enduring per second.


    The result he got was his body was capable of enduring energy equivalent to 10 tons of TNT. The moment when he entered the outer space at half the speed of light, he was able to endure as much energy as 15 tons of TNT.


    Luo Yuan¡¯s body size was rtively small. If he was to calcte the energy that could be withstood by the cross-sectional area of the spaceship, it would be as much as the energy released by an atomic bomb per second during an explosion. Even though the spaceship hull could withstand all these forces, it would still test the strength of the spaceship¡¯s hull.


    Without the invention of specialized steel as well as hull materials with physical properties that were beyondprehension, interster flight would be a huge barrier to any civilization.


    After being attacked by the space debris, Luo Yuan quickly descended at a very fast speed.


    As time passed, the onught of debris on his body grew weaker and the light that came off his body dimmed as well. Soon, it hadpletely disappeared. He could finally maintain his speed at 0.01% the speed of light.


    He spent only a few minutes to reduce his speed from half the speed of light to only one percent the speed of light.


    The spaceship had already traveled for a few thousand kilometers. Even Luo Yuan¡¯s Four-Dimensional Vision could hardly see much of it. Thanks to the imprinted Will in addition to the well trained Zhanmadao that was still in the spaceship, he could still track the location of the spaceship.

 Chapter 529: Miniaturized Universe

    Chapter 529: Miniaturized Universe


    Trantor: EndlessFantasy Trantion Editor: EndlessFantasy Trantion


    As the energy was released, Luo Yuan felt that his body had awakened entirely like a growing seed. The creatures were growing and the energy was slowly rising within him.


    When he was in the spaceship, his power was suppressed as he restrained himself. Even with the slightest bit of energy used, he had to subconsciously suppress it. However, in space, he had nothing to worry about.


    Again, he felt that he was about to enter the fourth-dimension, his body started merging with space. In fact, there was no defined boundary between the third-dimension and fourth-dimension. If one was to consider the fourth-dimension as a whole, then the third-dimension would be regarded as a daughter nuclide inparison to the fourth.


    Luo Yuan gradually immersed his body in the hidden power that appeared out of nowhere.


    Soon, his omniscience rose within him again. At that very moment, he seemed to have felt an endless amplification in strength. The radius of his Sense was expanding to hundreds of millions of kilometers. Even the spaceship that was far away appeared in his Sense again.


    A mysterious, five-colored glow, began spreading out of his body, shining through the dark outer space. He resembled the arrival of God. As he slightly moved his body, there were some fluctuations in the air resembling ripples in the water. The empty space had instantly transformed into an entity.


    He then extended his hand. Right after he moved, a powerful vibration was produced in the air that was a few kilometers away. Space was distorted as if it was twisted by an invisible hand and vibrated vigorously. However, it could not threaten him as the wave (or the so-called gravitational wave) would automatically subside as it approached him.


    The next moment, the distorted space immediately disappeared from the three-dimensional universe as soon as Luo Yuan raised his arm.


    At the same time, the space shrank.


    The speed it shrunk at was faster than the speed of light and even Luo Yuan was unable to capture it. In an instant, he felt like there were changes in his location, feeling like a part of him was missing from the empty space.


    However, Luo Yuan remained unaffected. He slowly closed his eyes and begun looking for the position of the space, that he had removed, with his Four-Dimensional Vision.


    To Luo Yuan, the space did not disappearpletely. It had been existing right in front of him instead. It was about to enter the fourth-dimension and had not yet even left the three-dimensional universe. However, ordinary humans were not able to see it or touch it. It could not be detected by regr technology either.


    He extended his hand and as soon as his arm flickered and disappeared, Luo Yuan¡¯s body had disappeared as well, entering the small space that he had removed.


    The radius of the space was about one kilometer. It was a ball-shaped object. His body was glowing, shining into the small space. A peculiar beam of light was released from Luo Yuan¡¯s eyes as he sized up the surroundings.


    It was not a three-dimensional space. It was an independent dimension instead. To say that it was a separate dimension would be inurate. It was better to describe it as a miniaturized universe. It was a perfect four-dimensional object. In fact, it was the first time that Luo Yuan observed a four-dimensional structure from all the angles.


    "The size of the space is about the size of a sphere that has a radius of 1.1 kilometers!"


    "It is bounded yet it is endless!"


    Luo Yuan looked towards the front and he could miraculously see his own figure. The lights in front of him seemed to have been reflected, directing towards his back. Simrly, if he continued flying, he would resemble an ant in a sphere, as it could never reach the end. It had no defined boundary and one could consider any position as the boundary. The space concept existed in the third-dimension had beenpletely subverted here.


    Of course, this was based on a three-dimensional perspective. Under the Four-Dimensional Vision, it was simply a space distortion. The space was perfectly rotated, resembling a Klein bottle (The actual Klein bottle could not exist in reality, part of it existed in the four-dimensional space.).


    To the three-dimensional creatures, they would have no way of escaping the miniaturized universe. Even if one possessed destructive power, without the ability to travel to the four-dimensional world, it was impossible to escape out of this space.


    Fortunately, the difference in dimension between the miniaturized universe and the real world was not big. Otherwise, even Luo Yuan could not enter and leave the miniaturized universe freely.


    During this moment, Luo Yuan was like an ant looking up into the four-dimensional world. Of course, he could sneak into the space of a slightly higher dimension. However, he would still not be able to enter if the dimension of the space was too high.


    In the meantime, the temperature in the space was increasing.


    In the beginning, the temperature of the miniaturized space was almost the same as that of the outer space, reaching absolute zero. However, after a few seconds its temperature had risen to the normal atmospheric temperature. Considering that the miniaturized universe waspletely enclosed, not even a hint of energy could be released. Of course, the temperature wasing from the heat energy released by Luo Yuan¡¯s body.


    Luo Yuan felt that his surroundings were getting hotter. He was shocked. He then calcted the energy released by his body per second, realizing that the energy released by his body was equivalent to 10,000 watts per second of electrical energy.


    As he thought of it, it was only the energy dissipated by his body, the energy he had must be hundreds or even thousands of times stronger.


    Looking at his body that was still glowing, he suddenly had a better understanding of his strength. Being in the state of a superman where he was half a four-dimensional creature, he had be exceptionally strong.


    ...


    Luo Yuan did not stay there for a long while. He then left the miniaturized universe and appeared in the outer space again.


    He did not get back to the spaceship immediately. His Four-Dimensional Vision was still looking at the miniaturized universe, not shifting his gaze. Of course, he would not easily let it go. Nothing could be more suitable, tobe used as aboratory or his personal space, than this miniaturized universe.


    As long as he could control this space, even if he was staying in the spaceship, his movements could no longer affect it


    However, although he knew how to remove this miniaturized universe, he had no idea how to bring it back. The miniaturized universe was floating around and constantly moving. Unless he wanted to drag it with his Will, otherwise, it was impossible for him to bring it along.


    It seemed like the miniaturized universe was light. However, pressure and frictional force between space were needed in order to move it. The consumption of Will was as much as the amount of Will needed to fly within his space-time bubble. He could still manage to do it if he was to travel at a slower speed over a short distance. However, even with the abilities that he had now, his strength would be incapable of doing it as the interster flight was traveling at half the speed of light.


    Furthermore, it was meaningless to do so.


    Entering the miniaturized universe without his Will, he would lose track of the spaceship. If that happened, he could just enter the outer space like now.


    The only method was to seal the miniaturized universe on a certain object, bringing it along with him.


    It was apparent that normal matter would be unable to seal this space. Firstly, it must be absolutely isted from space. Otherwise, it would not be able to seal it. Besides, the strength of the matter must be strong enough. Without which, it was useless if it was not portable after being sealed or only a small part of the space was being sealed.


    However, right until now, Luo Yuan had not discovered any objected that had an effect on the space and could seal it. Although the critical metal was strong, it was only selectively permeable to space.


    Luo Yuan¡¯s brain was quickly analyzing each of the matters that he had seen before, he then eliminated each of them.


    Suddenly, his eyes brightened.


    The skin of the interster creature!


    He had to admit that he was lucky as the jacket that he was wearing was made of the interster creature¡¯s skin.


    Without hesitation, he took off his jacket, exposing his muscr body. The thickness of the jacket was about 13 centimeters and it weighed one ton in weight. Its hardness wasparable to the critical metal that had a low degree of copsibility. The clothes could only be worn by a giant with immense strength. The jacket did not affect his activities at all as if it was just a normal shirt.


    He took off his clothes, scanning them carefully with his Will. Luo Yuan previously felt that the space anchoring ability of the material was incredible. However, he explored something new.


    In fact, the space anchor ability was not as amazing as he expected. Basically, it was just the adhesion force between space.


    This material would not fuse with space. Therefore, the material waspletely enclosed, creating an adhesion force between each other.


    Its structure was ratherplicated. It was different from the creature¡¯s tissue as it did not have ordinary cells, protein, and even fats. Without the fine blood vessels and nerve-like tissues, it was unbelievable that it was the skin of a creature.


    However,pared to its microscopic structure, it¡¯s strangeposition was not worth mentioning.

 Chapter 530: Seal

    Chapter 530: Seal


    Trantor: EndlessFantasy Trantion Editor: EndlessFantasy Trantion


    Luo Yuan was shocked when he saw that the material was made of atoms that were ridiculously big. In fact, these atoms were not ordinary ones.


    There were three nuclei in each of them. Based on its proton number, one could identify that three of these nuclei were carbon, hydrogen and oxygen nucleus respectively. These three nuclei were like a three-body star, revolving around each other.


    Everyone knew that as long as it was not antimatter, the atom would be positively charged. There was no gravity force between each other and so only repulsive forces existed. Theoretically, there was no way for the nuclei to be attracted out of the electron shell, causing the nucleus to revolve around each other and at the same time merging with the electron shell.


    Apparently, this type of atom was beyond logic.


    Due to each other¡¯s gravitational force, the size of the atoms was unbelievably huge. It was thergest atom among the carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen atoms. It was tens of times the size of an oxygen atom which was thergest one in existence. It was more than 10 timesrger than the total size of the three atoms. That being said, it was evenrger than an ordinary element.


    Three of the atomic nuclei had formed an extremelyplicated stress and kinematic system, causing the electromaic field within the atoms to experience quadrillions of changes per second. The dreadfullyplicated changes in the maic field seemed to have resulted in an even more immense power, allowing the material to be isted from space and thus to develop its own system.


    After he had done scanning the atoms, he discovered that the material was mainly made up of elemental atoms. It was because these elemental atoms were biological organic matter. However, it had no effect on space istion.


    He did not waste much time and quickly started to seal the space.


    His Will spread forth quickly and enveloped the miniaturized universe.


    Seemingly, the space was beingpressed by an invisible force and it started to shrink rapidly. At the beginning, it was shrinking at an incredibly fast speed. However, it started to slow down after a short while. Right after the size of the space had beenpressed to about 10 centimeters, the repulsive force had be incredibly strong. Despite his Will being boosted by the dark matter, he managed to reduce only a few centimeters of the space during each passing second.


    It had been three minutes, Luo Yuan then stoppedpressing the space. The miniaturized universe which initially had a radius of one kilometer was now only a few centimeters big. It was akin to a marble whose its edge was vibrating vigorously, exuding a terrifying aura.


    When he was about to seal the dangerous ¡®marble¡¯ with his clothes, he stopped. A scene that he predicted shed through his mind, foreseeing that it was too dangerous to do so. The skin of the interster creature was incapable of withstanding the highlypressed space.


    Once it was sealed, it would end up exploding like a bomb. Furthermore, it was not an ordinary one. It was a space bomb. The miniaturized universe would explode in a way that mimicked the creation of the universe. It would expand rapidly. Also, its expansionary force might even affect the space that Luo Yuan was at.


    Luo Yuan gradually reduced his strength, allowing the miniaturized universe to return to its original size.


    He frowned for about ten-thousandths of a second.


    Staring at the dark outer space, he pondered. Since an ordinary material could not bear it, how about critical materials?


    However, he was not giving it a try with his clothes. He aimed at outer space instead. The next moment, as his massive Will was being boosted by the dark matter, his Will rapidly spread out to an area of more than hundreds of millions of kilometers in circumference.


    Countless specks of dust that were hardly distinguishable by the naked eyes and an extremely thin and almost negligible gas in the outer space were being dragged by an invisible force. They gathered together and flew towards Luo Yuan. There was nothing strange in the first ce, as if nothing had happened. However, after about 10 seconds, the space became turbid.


    The soft mist resembling chiffon dancing in the air flew towards Luo Yuan at a speed of thousands of kilometers per second. After flying for 10,000 kilometers, the mist was like a neb.


    Despite the dark region between stars containing very little matter, there was still a considerable amount of matters existing in the spacious region.


    Luo Yuan extended his hand and his expression turned solemn. His body was exuding a mysterious vibe like a God. The atoms of the specks of dust and the gas were being ionized when they were still a hundred kilometers away from him.


    Some of the atoms that had greater mass were being split, whereas the lighter atoms were being polymerized. Since the mass of many of the atoms was either toorge or too small, they had undergone the fission or polymerization process for several times, turning into Luo Yuan¡¯s desired atoms.


    The dust and the gas cloud had disappeared quickly and there were mesing out asionally. It was because the fission and fusion reaction was too intense, releasing energy in the form of mes that was visible to the naked eye.


    These atoms then turned into carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen atoms. These atoms were then being merged forcefully using Luo Yuan¡¯s Will. During the entire process, the effort required was more than he expected and the alteration was even moreplicated. Fortunately, he still managed to do it.


    Soon, there was matter appearing out of nowhere and so the space had instantly grown bigger.


    About 10 minutester, a huge sphere that was about 40 meters in diameter appeared in front of Luo Yuan.


    However, Luo Yuan did not feel that it was that big since it was just twice as tall as him.


    The sphere had an extremely smooth surface and it was wless. Each of the atoms was arranged in an orderly manner.


    The sphere was definitely in a stationary state and it was sticking close to the space. It had rendered the gravitational pull of the stars and gxy around it useless.


    Luo Yuan¡¯s mass was toorge. The clothes that he was wearing could not bring such effect on him. Therefore, he had to control his speed, following the sphere¡¯s movement.


    Luo Yuan had neverpressed such a huge object before. However, since it had extremely big atoms, the number of atoms it consisted of would be about the same as that of a sheep. In addition to that,pared to theplexity of the atoms in a living being, the "elemental atoms" were somehow simpler and easier to bepressed.


    Following the will of his heart, the dark sphere let out ayer of bright glow, resembling a burning me. In just one breath, the sphere was beingpressed and the diameter of the sphere had instantly be approximately 1.5 meters.


    Thepression ratio was not just 1,000. It had exceeded 30,000 instead. However, Luo Yuan could sense that he was capable of doing so.


    Luo Yuan extended his hand and grabbed it. The sphere then appeared on his hand. As he was 21 meters in height, the sphere was like a crystal ball to him.


    An indestructible crystal ball that weighed more than 20 tons in weight could cause damage that wasparable to a small explosion of a bomb if it was thrown.


    However, to Luo Yuan who could generate 180 tons of energy, he felt that it had a great force in addition to being difficult to move. Other than that, he did not feel like there was anything special about it.


    After it waspressed, the spatial adhesion force did not disappear. Of course, it was not strengthened either. It just became thousands of times weaker. Its spatial adhesion force would no longer have an effect on fixing the space.


    Obviously, such ability was only rted to its surface in contact with space.


    Luo Yuan then resumed his work. He looked for the miniaturized universe andpressed it again. Nothing out of the ordinary urred in the scene, as he predicted.


    He then dragged thepressed miniaturized universe from the inteyer space, sealing it within the sphere.


    Soon, a buzzing sound was hearding from the sphere but nothing happened afterwards.


    Luo Yuan then scanned it with his Will. A circr space appeared in front of him. It seemed to have merged with the atoms, being firmly bound internally and it could not move at all.


    After a quick thought, his body had instantly disappeared from outer space, entering the miniaturized space in the sphere.


    Perhaps it was due to entering the miniaturized universe that his body ratio had been reduced as well. The radius of the miniaturized universe was still one kilometer. It remained unchanged. He did not stay there any longer, he left the independent space right after he had checked its condition.


    The space seemed to be slightly smaller now. Maybe the sphere¡¯s strength could probably hold arger space?


    Luo Yuan then gazed upon the infinitelyrge space.

 Chapter 531: Superluminal Speed

    Chapter 531: Superluminal Speed


    Trantor: EndlessFantasy Trantion Editor: EndlessFantasy Trantion


    Luo Yuan started to cut through space.


    The space that he was removing was even bigger than before and the speed had been increased as well but was not actually a cut. It seemed like a small balloon being squeezed out of a big balloon through the warping of space. There was no difficulty in merging the two small spaces at all.


    The miniaturized universe was independent of the big universe as they had a different dimension. Once they had the same dimension they would be instantly integrated into one.


    Luo Yuan did not hurry back to the spaceship. He stayed in outer space and continued his efforts. It was done effectively and mechanically. A miniaturized universe that had a diameter of about five kilometers was beingpressed into a sphere every five seconds.


    As time passed, he could do it more efficiently as he had gotten used to it.


    The dark energy spread all over his body and each of his cells was glowing. The higher dimensional energy seemed to possess a mysterious power, not only had his power increased significantly but it was also constantly replenished and was thus, never-ending.


    The miniaturized universe within the space sphere gradually grew.


    Two kilometers in diameter...


    10 kilometers in diameter...


    50 kilometers in diameter...


    ...


    Suddenly, Luo Yuan heard something calling him. He tilted his head and stopped as he was curious. It was not a sound as there would not be any sounding from space and of course, it was not an illusion either. Ever since he could focus his Will, illusions could no longer affect him. It was a spiritual sense!


    The universe was filled with countless quantum fluctuations. However, most of those fluctuations were meaningless and Luo Yuan paid no attention to them. His subconsciousness was only concerned about the changes that urred within him.


    Luo Yuan listened to it carefully but he heard nothing. It sounded vague, drifting inconsistently. It was akin to radio signals that were severely interfered and so he couldn¡¯t hear anything.


    "It¡¯s probably because Chen Xinjie has just realized that he had disappeared!" He suddenly understood that.


    Luo Yuan was agitated. Chen Xinjie was one of the people that could affect his emotions. Regardless of how rational he was, he did notpletely lose his feelings. It was only because his rationality had suppressed his emotions.


    He calcted the time through his memory. He then realized that he had been there for five days.


    He did a quick scan of the miniaturized universe within the space sphere, he muttered, "It should be big enough. It¡¯s time to go back."


    The diameter of the miniaturized universe inside the sphere had reached 300 kilometers. With such a big space, the miniaturized universe would definitely be able to hold tens of thousands of motherships.


    However, it had not reached the maximum capacity of the space sphere yet. The miniaturized universe was not even approaching its boundary. The space was being held tightly. It was so calm, resembling a stillke.


    He quickly scanned the stars around him. Thousands of trajectory paths and traveling speeds that were hundreds of light-years away from the gxy immediately appeared inside his mind. Their positions were adjusted rapidly during this calction. After one millisecond, aplete star as appeared in his mind, gradually changing as time passed.


    He detected the exact position of the spaceship. The next moment, the space surrounding him was being stirred. In an instant, his body started to move forward.


    After one second, his speed had reached 10 kilometers per second.


    He elerated and he had reached the speed of light in less than three minutes. The view around him became blurred and he could hardly see scenes in front of him!


    He could only see a beam of light, an endless light.


    Thanks to Luo Yuan¡¯s four-dimensional vision, using the four-dimensional world as reference, he reset the coordinates and he need not worry about him getting lost.


    One time the speed of light...


    Twice the speed of light...


    Five times the speed of light...


    He was still increasing his speed.


    In fact, Luo Yuan made a big mistake in the calctions of his traveling speed in the space-time bubble. He calcted his speed assuming that everything else happened under normal conditions. However, he did not take into consideration if he was in the state of transcendence. There was a huge difference between these two states.


    Although Luo Yuan carried the space sphere that weighed more than 20 tons, his speed was still beyond what he had calcted previously.


    10 minutester, his speed had reached 10 times the speed of light.


    Did photons have mass?


    Based on human technological understanding, the energy in photons did not have any mass. Perhaps this was the reason why particles could move freely in the space-time bubble. However, Luo Yuan could now dere that photons that traveled at a speed faster than the speed of light would have mass.


    Right at that moment, in the dark space, weak beams of lights that were negligible under normal circumstances struck Luo Yuan¡¯s body crazily at a speed 10 times faster than the speed of light. He could feel the pain as if his body was being ttened. He felt like he was carrying a thick steel board while traveling at a fast speed, during the same time his body was releasing a beam of light that was 10,000 times brighter than sunlight.


    The temperature associated with light of such brightness was more than millions of times higher.


    Luo Yuan believed that if he was not in the state of transcendence, be it his strength or defense having reached an incredible level, his body would havepletely vaporized at such a high temperature.


    The clothes that were made of the skin of an interster creature had disappeared when he was traveling at the speed that was one time faster than the speed of light. The space sphere was perfectly fine as it had beenpressed more than 30,000 times.


    At that very moment, he could finally maintain his speed. He did not elerate at an insane speed anymore, maintaining at a speed that was 15 times faster than the speed of light.


    Luo Yuan could feel his body burning. However, when he touched his chest, he was not injured. The power of being in the state of transcendence was indeed incredible.


    The system he had at the beginning suddenly appeared again in his mind, evaluating his four-dimensional body.


    "Being a part four-dimensional being, you are approaching the limit of the three-dimensional physics. Three-dimensional creatures can hardly kill you. Soon, the high temperatures in stars would just feel like a big bathtub to you.


    This was exactly the state described by the system!


    He had to admit that the advanced civilization indeed had a thorough understanding of part four-dimensional beings as well as four-dimensional beings.


    However, Luo Yuan still felt that the description was unbelievable.


    The limit of three-dimensional physics indicated that such existence was unconquerable and could not be killed. Be it immense strength, terrifying physical attacks or even the release of thousands of beams of gamma rays that were associated with sr energy, these creatures would render their effects useless. Perhaps such attacks could only cause damage to the outermostyer of such creature¡¯s skin.


    Their tolerance limits to energy in the three-dimensional universe were crazy. At the very least, the limit was still far beyond than what gamma rays could emit. It was powerful to such an extent that some of the stars in the universe could be moved freely by them.


    If all these were true, even with Luo Yuan¡¯s ability to think, he could not imagine what the super civilization owned, having the guts to defend against the four-dimensional creatures. At least, it could easily kill Luo Yuan who was only a part four-dimensional being.


    He was alert and aware of the advanced civilization. Although the system was banished to the four-dimensional world, it was not absolutely safe. It was highly possible that such a chip-like product was equipped with the function of tracking the user¡¯s position as well as recording a message history.


    If the super civilization reconnected with the system, the information would be retrieved.


    Humans¡¯ and his whereabouts would then be discovered.


    Escaping to another star that was a few light-years away might work if they were facing the ssian civilization. However, they might be easily discovered by this advanced civilization. It was a hidden threat.


    Encountering such an unconquerable civilization, Luo Yuan could only deal with it when the time came.


    ncing at the space sphere on his hand, a thought suddenly shed through his mind.

 Chapter 532: The Return

    Chapter 532: The Return


    Trantor: EndlessFantasy Trantion Editor: EndlessFantasy Trantion


    A strong beam of light was released into the weakly vibrating space. As it streaked across space, ripples were formed on its surroundings.


    A few hourster, the figure suddenly stopped moving. The space-time bubble then opened up, revealing a shadow. Of course, it was Luo Yuan.


    He turned his head back and still, there was no trace of the spaceship.


    This was because he had overtaken the spaceship!


    Traveling at superluminal speed, it was considered good as he could urately determine its direction. Since he could not see and capture the object, Luo Yuan could only briefly estimate the spaceship¡¯s location based on both their speeds as well as the distance between them. Uncertainties were taken into consideration so that he would not miss it.


    If he had not made any mistakes in the calctions and the spaceship had not changed its path, then the spaceship was about 30 light-minutes away from him. That being said, the spaceship would need about one hour to reach him.


    Luo Yuan slowly closed his eyes, spreading out his Sense. Meanwhile, his four-dimensional brain was processing quickly. Using his body as the center, he could sense the dust in outer space as well as the gas molecules in the area that was hundreds of millions of kilometers away.


    Apparently, there was not much difference between him and God. He even managed to sense the region that was billions of kilometers away.


    It was a tremendously huge distance. If Pluto was the boundary of the sr system, he could have sensed it entirely. Such a distance, one would have to travel for about one light-day at the speed of light to reach it.


    However, Luo Yuan had waited for half an hour and soon, he could then see the shadow of the spaceship. It was not because there were errors in his calctions but because the spaceship had changed its path a few minutes ago. At the same time, it was decelerating at a speed that was hardly detectable.


    "Is the spaceship looking for me?" Luo Yuan slowly opened his eyes and he was startled!


    Luo Yuan could not believe it. However, he could confirm that he was right as he saw that the spaceship had executed a big arc, flying towards him. It seemed like the spaceship was about to stop, looking for him who had disappeared.


    The people did not know that he could get back to the spaceship even when the spaceship was flying at half the speed of light. Therefore, they thought of stopping the spaceship so that he could get back to it.


    However, it was not easy to stop a spaceship that was traveling at half the speed of light. Deceleration alone would need about a year. They could not switch off the power and the engine during this period of time. At the same time, constantbustion was needed as it would assist in power boosting.


    The energy released by the spaceship was like the explosion of a bomb when it was traveling at half the speed of light. If the engine was being switched off directly, a few secondster, the speed would be reduced from half the speed of light to one-hundredth the speed of light. Decelerating in this way, even the spaceship would instantly copse, let alone humans staying in it.


    In addition to that, the spaceship would spend another two years to elerate, at the very least. These two years were undoubtedly the most precious time as humans were still living under the ssian threat.


    ...


    In fact, Luo Yuan had underestimated his influence upon humans. Be it fear or respect, his powerful image was engraved on everyone¡¯s¡¯ mind. Such an impression had reached its peak ever since Luo Yuan had be a giant and exerted his ability to easily control the virtual reality¡¯s global server.


    It was a crazy world and a crazy era as well. Be it before the apocalypse when everyone struggled to survive or after they had entered the outer space to escape, humans always felt insecure.


    It seemed like the people had been emboldened by him.


    It was not obvious previously as humans were already used to Luo Yuan¡¯s existence. Everyone revolved around his strong, cold Will.


    Right when someone noticed Luo Yuan had disappeared, their anxieties instantly arose.


    Unexpectedly, the decision was made smoothly during the top management meeting. Nobody was against it. Even those who were eager for power began getting anxious.


    Humans who entered the outer space for the first time were akin to babies that had just started walking. They were lost and confused. What they needed was neither apromise nor an argument, they needed a diplomatic and decisive man. The top management of the government was not prepared to handle an epoch without Luo Yuan.


    ...


    "A high-energy object is detected in front of us. Referring to the data given, the high-energy object might be ourmander!"


    "Coordinates: X:233445,Y:289300,Z:238209!"


    "The distance between the spaceship and the high-energy object is 3,542,000,000 kilometers." At the control center, a sounding from the artificial intelligence system was heard.


    At the same time, the artificial intelligence system had exported the video of the object.


    It was a blurry shadow. It seemed like it¡¯s surroundings were blurred, associated with a faint glow. Looking at the center, one could only identify that it was a shadow with a human figure.


    "It¡¯s impossible!" Bi Jianping and the top management were shocked. Based on the video, Luo Yuan had disappeared five days ago. The spaceship had traveled for five days and the distance traveled had exceeded 50 billion kilometers. They were now suspecting that Luo Yuan was ahead of them. It was indeed beyondprehension as it was unbelievable.


    Chen Xinjie followed behind them, remaining silent. She was breathing fast, staring at the shadow. Although she could not see a clear image of the shadow, she could somehow confirm that the shadow was Luo Yuan.


    At the moment, Bi Jianping asked, "What¡¯s the probability?"


    "The probability is 15%. The electromaic wave and light detectors have be turbulent. There is also a weak interference of high-frequency waves in space. Therefore, it is difficult to gather more information. Should we change our flight path to meet ourmander?" The artificial intelligence system asked.


    Waves in space? Bi Jianping freaked out. He had spent years on the spaceship and he knew that space waves or the so-called gravitational waves were one of themon dangers that existed in space.


    The existence of waves in space was not something rare in the universe as it could happen anytime. Normally, such waves were harmless. The height between ripples and the trough of the waves would usually be the diameter of an atom. Be it the spaceship or creatures, it could do no harm to them.


    There were many reasons why those waves were created. Most of them resulted from the vibration of objects that had strong gravitational forces, such as the explosion of a nova, crashing of neutron stars or the absorption of massive objects by a dark hole. These universal disasters were at a distance that was thousands of light-years away or might even being from another gxy. The distance was too far. The energy would be significantly reduced when it was transmitted to the spaceship.


    Nobody had ever witnessed a living being that could create them. If the mysterious shadow was not Luo Yuan...


    As he thought of this, Bi Jianping immediately said, "Wait, let¡¯s confirm first. Just in case..."


    Everyone had thought of this. They were frightened. Even Chen Xinjie could not confirm that the shadow was Luo Yuan. She knew that Luo Yuan¡¯s abilities were indeed beyond imagination, but not to such an extent.


    "How about sending an aircraft to see what¡¯s happening!" Li Jian then suggested.


    "We don¡¯t know the opponent¡¯s intention. We shouldn¡¯t act rashly!" Tian Jinping¡¯s face turned grave, shaking his head.


    Right this moment, there were some abrupt changes in the frightening shadow that remained stationary previously. He/it quickly flew forward and the speed was getting faster. Everyone stared at the screen nervously. At one side of the screen, the data of the shadow were being recorded. Despite one could not understand the data, the significant changes in speed were apparent.


    The speed of this shadow had reached 1,000 kilometers per second. In 10 seconds, the shadow had elerated to one-thirtieth of the speed of light. As he elerated at such a fast speed, even the critical metals were like soft mud to him.


    This ability was indeed terrifying!


    The atmosphere in the control center became heavy.


    What made people feel strange was that it was flying in a direction that was simr to the one of the spaceship. It looked like it was trying to escape, but it wasn¡¯t!


    "What¡¯s it doing?" A thought ran through everyone¡¯s mind.


    As time passed, the shadow was flying close to the speed of light and it was almost the same as the speed of the spaceship. The next moment, the shadow disappeared from outer space.


    At the same time, the spaceship trembled a little. Everyone shivered as they thought that it was an unknown attack. Everyone¡¯s heart sank.


    "What¡¯s happening?"


    "Themander has returned to theboratory!" The artificial intelligence system paused for a moment before it replied.

 Chapter 533: Barnards Star

    Chapter 533: Barnard¡¯s Star


    Trantor: EndlessFantasy Trantion Editor: EndlessFantasy Trantion


    "Bang!"


    Although it was less than ten-thousandths of a second, Luo Yuan hadpletely restrained the deadly aura that he was exuding. However, it had still caused a significant impact on the spaceship, especially theboratories in the residential area.


    A strong wind blew the very next second and countless debris started flying everywhere.


    After restraining all his strength, Luo Yuan waspletely isted from the dark energy. As soon as arge portion of energy had subsided, he suddenly had an illusion that he was going to copse.


    He felt like he had suddenly returned from being a God to a human, feeling lost.


    Luo Yuan recovered from his thoughts the moment he heard the rm resounding through the entire spaceship. He shook his head and sighed. He gently waved his hand and in an instant, it seemed like he could turn back time as all the debris had returned to their original positions. At the same time, part of the matters dposed quickly, undergoing nuclear fission...


    The clothes then reappeared on his naked body.


    He then gradually descended back to the ground from mid-air. Before he could even stabilize himself, the ground cracked again. He was startled and soon, he quickly responded to it. The weight that he was carrying was not what an ordinary ground could bear.


    He weighed only about 10 tons in weight. However, he was holding the space sphere.


    The space sphere that had a weight of more than 20 tons had exerted all its force on Luo Yuan¡¯s feet. Under such pressure, even the critical metals that had a low degree ofpressibility would be extremely weak.


    Luo Yuan sighed. He then decided to reinforce the spaceship once and for all.


    To Luo Yuan, the spaceship was too weak. Often when one was not aware of it or encountering any dangers, it would get severely damaged. Moreover, it was troublesome to repair it each time he returned from outer space.


    Naturally, Luo Yuan could restrain his strength before teleporting back to it, provided that the distance between them was short and the spaceship was either remaining stationary or flying at a slow speed. If the spaceship was traveling at such a fast speed, he was incapable of doing it.


    He must remain in the same state before and after teleportation. If he was standing still before teleportation, he had to remain still after teleportation as well. However, the spaceship was moving at a very fast speed. If he wanted to be safe, his speed had to be the same as that of the spaceship. Otherwise, he would crash into the spaceship at half the speed of light.


    Such an effect resembled the explosion of a hydrogen bomb in the spaceship. Putting aside the possibilities of the spaceship copsing, humans would definitely die in an instant. However, to travel at half the speed of light in the state whereby his strength was restrained, he was incapable of doing so even with his 27-points of Will.


    ...


    His Sense was spreading out everywhere. Despite the fact that after restraining his aura, his strength had been greatly reduced, he could still cause an impact on the spaceship.


    The next moment, be it the interior wall of the spaceship, the floor of the spaceship or even its armor, desultory gleams appeared on them. It was a phenomenon where a lot of atoms had left the matter, moving around freely.


    Although he had just started, Luo Yuan felt that he was too careless. Apparently, due to a prolonged period of time being in the state of transcendence, his ability in precisely determining his own abilities was affected. There were some errors in the calctions as he had slightly overestimated his current ability.


    Everything was normal. However, he had to put in more effort in handling the deck on the surface of the spaceship.


    Meanwhile, the spaceship was flying at an extremely fast speed. The temperature on the surface of the armor had risen to about 6,000 degrees Celsius. In addition, the spaceship was struck by arge speck of dust, causing the atoms to vibrate vigorously. This had also resulted in an increase of the difficulty level while controlling Luo Yuan¡¯s Will. If he was in the state of transcendence, it meant nothing to him. However, right this moment, Luo Yuan got very stressed.


    Fortunately, it was not a big mistake and it was still within his abilities. He frowned, releasing all his Will. The atoms that were moving freely were instantly secured by his Will and soon, they started to copse after being manipted by it.


    The next moment, the abnormal miniaturized atoms were beingpressed forcefully on the surface of the original matter. Soon, the armor became darker, leaving a shiny ck surface as if it was coated with a thinyer of ck light film.


    The thickness of the thin film was only about 10 micrometers. It was a few times thinner than the diameter of a strand of hair. One would not feel its thickness at all. Since his strength had been reduced, thepressibility ratio was only 4,000. However, its hardness and strength were still beyond imagination.


    The armor equipped on the outer surface of the spaceship that initially had bumps and hollows all over it had now be shiny and smooth as if it waspletely new. Although it was hit by arge amount of dust flying at half the speed of light, nothing had changed. Not even a scratch could be found.


    Luo Yuan descended to the ground again. Other than the floor shaking a little, nothing changed.


    ...


    The process sounded long. However, it had been less than 10 seconds since Luo Yuan had entered the spaceship.


    Right when the top management was still feeling doubtful in the control room, the main screen of the artificial intelligence system started to shake vigorously as if there was an extremely strong interference. One-third of a secondter, Luo Yuan¡¯s image appeared on the main screen. As he gazed upon everyone with a stony expression on his face, he said, "Hello everyone!"


    "There are some changes. I¡¯ve underestimated my abilities... However, it¡¯s a good thing. We will arrive at Barnard¡¯s Star soon, at most two years. However, before that, the spaceship has to stop operating!"


    The screen flickered for a while and soon, it returned normal.


    Before Luo Yuan left, he modified the ssian artificial intelligence kernel program. Everything left by the ssian had been cleaned, removing all hidden threats.


    At the central control room, Bi Jianping rubbed his face that had turned stiff, feeling that everything was unreal.


    Arriving at Barnard¡¯s Star in two years, was Mayor Luo kidding?


    He looked at his colleagues around him and everyone had the same expression on their face. They exchanged nces with each other, looking stony.


    ...


    However, no matter how ridiculous it sounded, everyone obeyed Luo Yuan¡¯s instructions. The spaceship had officially activated the stop program. As a matter of fact, the stop program had been activated even before this. They just had to continue with it now.


    ...


    As the spaceship was decelerating, Luo Yuan would leave the spaceship asionally. He would be missing for at least 10 days or sometimes even a month.


    The miniaturized universe within the space sphere was being expanded gradually over time.


    It initially had a diameter of about 300 kilometers. As it expanded and before the spaceship had finished decelerating, the miniaturized universe had expanded to 1,500 kilometers in diameter. It was almost half the diameter of the Moon.


    Of course, during this period of time, Luo Yuan did not spend all of his time removing space. He spent half of his time at the newboratory in the miniaturized universe. Being in the state of transcendence, difficulties that he encountered during the past could now be settled. Everything was progressing well in theboratory. The bodypression experiment was going to end real soon.

 Chapter 534: Dimensional Tear

    Chapter 534: Dimensional Tear


    Trantor: EndlessFantasy Trantion Editor: EndlessFantasy Trantion


    Argeboratory that looked like a space station now existed in the empty space within the miniaturized universe. It was a giant cube with length, width, and height that were more than 100 meters. Of course, to a giant like Luo Yuan who had a height of 21 meters, it was still a crampedboratory.


    The cubic space waspletely enclosed and there were no exits. All the materials used were highlypressed critical metals, with a density of 300,000 tons per cubic meter.


    It was the limit of his current ability. Even a neutron could hardly prate through such a high-density metal.


    After cleaning the remaining gases and dust repeatedly, it seemed like the space was now aplete vacuum.


    Despite it being aboratory, it was not equipped with any instruments or facilities as most of the biological experiments had already beenpleted. The only experimental subject left was him and this was also the toughest part of the experiment.


    Being a part four-dimensional being, Luo Yuan had somehow exceeded the limit of a three-dimensional creature to some extent. Not only had his tissues, cells, and chromosomes changed significantly, even the microscopic particles experienced some slight changes.


    About 70% to 80% of atoms in his body did not actually exist in this world, they scattered around in the space of different dimensions.


    These atoms were not stationary as they would shift their positions from time to time. They would experience dimensional tears asionally. Also, there were atoms that gained immense strength all of a sudden, traveling to the fourth-dimension. However, there was a bnce between such atoms.


    The speed of change was beyond imagination. Under normal circumstances, the number of atoms that either experienced a dimensional tear or upgrade in a few seconds was the total number of atoms in the human body. Being in the state of transcendence, the time taken for this to happen would be reduced to some ten-thousandths of a second.


    That being said, not only did his body exist in this world, at the same time, his body existed in other spaces as well. With his four-dimensional body in addition to the vigorous vibration of the high-frequency atoms, the difficulty level topress the atoms had been increased.


    He had done countless trials throughout the year. However, he failed. It was impossible for him to control the atoms that existed in the infinite space.


    These failures were not useless as he had slowly identified his direction. However, he had to do something risky.


    ...


    At that moment, Luo Yuan was sitting in theboratory with his legs crossed. A thick beam of light was released from his body and the space around him vibrated slightly, causing the wall of the whole spaceship to give a sudden tremble.


    He then extended his hand. The next moment, the skin covering his palm gradually disappeared, revealing the bloody flesh beneath. Before the dripping blood had even fallen down to the ground, it disappeared. Even the flesh had quickly disappeared, leaving only jade-white bones on sight.


    It resembled a virus that was being spread quickly throughout his body. A few secondster, even his arm had disappeared as if it had vaporized in the air. Soon, it spread quickly across his chest and legs.


    A few secondster, his body hadpletely disappeared. Even the energy crystal had dposed, leaving only his head that lingered in the air.


    Luo Yuan then opened his eyes maintaining a nk facial expression. He had lost his body. However, to him, he felt nothing strange. Perhaps his body had not disappeared, it was just existing in a different form now.


    Luo Yuan could clearly sense that each of the atoms that had left his body was still connected to him, including the ones that were in the three-dimensional world as well as those that were in spaces of different dimensions.


    They had a close connection with each other. Therefore, he dared to give it a try.


    Soon, his head had disappeared, turning his whole body into atoms that could move freely about.


    At that moment, it seemed like time had stopped!


    Right at the moment when his head had disappeared, Luo Yuan¡¯s mind was empty. His mind went nk and itsted for about thousandths of a second. Soon, beams of light gradually appeared in theboratory, that was the energy released by the high-energy atoms during a dimensional tear.


    At the same time, his consciousness fluctuated a little, appearing in space as well.


    At the beginning, the fluctuations in consciousness were weak, resembling a spark that was about to extinguish. However, it instantly became clearer and stronger.


    To Luo Yuan, he was absent-minded for only a short while and soon, he had regained his consciousness.


    Weakness!


    He had never felt so weak before. Under such conditions, the cold fusion reaction in his body hadpletely stopped. Even the energy crystal had been dposed into microscopic particles. The atoms that experienced a dimensional tear were supplying his brain with energy. Otherwise, he would have died.


    However, to Luo Yuan who possessed the prediction ability, it was evident that the risk was inevitable. Perhaps he could have attempted it countless of times by using his prediction ability.


    Luo Yuan quickly calmed himself down after the negative emotions shed through his mind.


    He had lost his five senses alongside his body. It did not seem that he hadpletely lost his senses, though. A small portion of his four-dimensional sense still existed. It was slowly bing blurry, though.


    During the dimensional tear, his body had gradually left the fourth-dimension. However, this was his main intention.


    That was right. Since being a part four-dimensional being would give him no way ofpressing his body, he might as well turn his body back to its four-dimensional version.


    Under normal circumstances, this would never happen. Be it he was in the state of transcendence or even under normal conditions, a certain amount of atoms in his body would always exist in other dimensions at the same time. The only difference was the frequency of change of the atoms.


    Of course, when all the atoms in his body could move freely about, they would have lost energy in order to supply for a dimensional upgrade. Therefore, the atoms could hardly undergo any dimensional upgrades.


    He remained still and waited patiently in silence. The energy released by the atoms during the dimensional tear was adequate to supply his brain and could even cover the entire miniaturized universe that had a diameter of more than 1,000 kilometers. Despite the fact that such power was iparable to being in the state ofplete victory, it was sufficient to handle the uing experiment.


    As time passed, theboratory remained silent. The entire space was shrouded in lights emitted by the atoms that experienced a dimensional tear.


    It had been more than 10 hours. The number of atoms that were going through a dimensional upgrade had been reduced from 7.65% to 0.01% and it was still constantly reducing.


    As the time was approaching, he started to concentrate and focus his Will...


    At that very moment, when all the atoms were falling, signs of death appeared. Luo Yuan¡¯s consciousness had vibrated vigorously and all the atoms were shrouded in his immense Will.


    It seemed like he was racing with death. Right after all the atoms had fallen, his brain no longer had an energy supply. The remaining energy could onlyst for about five to seven minutes or even shorter. Under such conditions, his prediction ability had disappeared. Even if he could predict any scenes, he would not be able to visualize the oue. He could only rely on calctions and estimations with significant error.


    Although five to seven minutes seemed long, it was only sufficient to maintain the basic need of his consciousness. Depleting arge portion of his energy, the time would be reduced by thousands of times and he would eventually die.


    Fortunately, to Luo Yuan, even if one second was left, it was sufficient for him to perform the calctions.


    Luo Yuan was never a risk-seeker. Especially when he was dominated by his rationality, he would never think of taking a risk. He would not have considered such a risky approach if he had no confidence at all.


    Right this moment, all the atoms that had left his body were beingpressed by his Will, exploding into a beam of dazzling, glowing energy. Soon, thepressed atoms were being drawn to the center, stirring up a strong wind in the vacuumed space.


    There were substances that quickly appeared out of nowhere, expanding in an instant like a balloon.


    After one-tenth of a second, a brain floated in mid-air.


    The bowl-sized brain had a ceramic white color. It had a shiny surface that looked like a metal. Initially, after he had his Will focused, it had been weakened. However, all of a sudden, his Will was being strengthened as if there was a powerful energy supporting him.


    Waves appeared in the space again!

 Chapter 535: Quantum Nervous System

    Chapter 535: Quantum Nervous System


    Trantor: EndlessFantasy Trantion Editor: EndlessFantasy Trantion


    Atoms that had gone through dimensional tears then formed into a group of cells, entering the fourth-dimension again.


    He then immersed his brain in the hidden power, releasing a beam of light. At the same time, omniscience had filled his heart, causing his speed of thinking to increase for thousands of times. He used to feel that human body remodeling was difficult. Yet to him, it was as easy as drinking water now.


    However, Luo Yuan stopped moving.


    He revealed his brain, hanging in the air in silence. After 0.1 seconds, still, Luo Yuan did not move.


    He suddenly felt that it was the best time for him topletely change his body. Ever since he had entered the fourth-dimension, he felt that his attributes had lost bnce as there was a huge difference between them, especially in his Strength and Agility.


    His Strength attribute was 52-points while his Agility attribute was only 27-points. It seemed like the difference was not too big since the difference in the attribute points was not even twice. As a matter of fact, the difference in abilities was more than 23,000 times, striking him with astonishment.


    In fact, Luo Yuan actually knew why there was such a huge difference.


    It was a shackle resulted from the transmission of signals through the human body. Including Luo Yuan and all the vertebrates, nerve cells would carry messages through the conventional way that messages were sent in the form of electrochemical signals. However, there was a limit to the speed of transmission of the electrical impulses. Its speed was merely thousandths of the speed of light. However, even after optimization, the improvement would still be restricted by its own limit.


    Furthermore, Luo Yuan¡¯s nervous system had almost been fully optimized. Naturally, it could hardly have any further improvement.


    In order to match his Strength and the speed of his nervous response once and for all, the only choice he had was to change the whole nervous system, changing it to one with a higher efficiency!


    Luo Yuan was about to use the quantum nerve cells found in the body of the interster creature as a reference. It was one of the ways the nervous system could be further improved, where signals and transmission could be done at a superluminal speed. Based on the theory of quantum entanglement, it allowed nerves to carry messages without any dy.


    Then, the speed of his nervous response would be as fast as that of his brain!


    ...


    While Luo Yuan¡¯s brain was processing quickly, a strong sense of consciousness suddenly broke through the miniaturized universe, arriving at the server of the virtual reality again.


    The most powerful super quantumputer in the spaceship did not only support the entire virtual reality, it was also the most important information technology repository of humans.


    A variety of advanced technologies developed in virtual reality would be stored here.


    Soon, Luo Yuan found all the technical documentation rted to the quantum nervous system and human biology. The next moment, a vast amount of data gushed into his head.


    One secondter, he exited the server. A small portion of his consciousness returned to the miniaturized universe within the space sphere.


    His brain started processing quickly, constructing severalplex data models of the human structure in his mind. The models were being rejected and reconstructed.


    In order to integrate a quantum nervous system into the human body, a simple modification would not work. The nervous system was one of the most important systems in the human body as many aspects were involved and required moreplicatedputation.


    If a human body waspared to aputer, then the nervous system would be the operating system. Although the programmingnguage of this system was rather different, its operating mode and functions were somehow simr to the previous one. This was undoubtedly aplex project.


    After half an hour, only then had he chosen an appropriate solution for the quantum nervous system.


    He immediately started the experiment.


    The lonely brain quickly extended downwards to the spinal cord and soon, a crystal-shaped skull and spine appeared out of nowhere, protecting the brain and the spinal cord. It was akin to 3D printing as a perfect human body had appeared!


    He had pure ck hair with a jade-white skin tone, associated with a glossy, ze surface. He did not even remotely look like a human.


    Right at this moment, Luo Yuan slowly opened his eyes, feeling that everything was new. His body was so light that gave the feeling of floating in the sky. Since he was at the vacuumedboratory, his concept of time was a mess. He did not feel strange even after changing to the quantum nervous system. He could only feel that the transmission of signals had be smoother, with more sensitive sense and there seemed to be a slight improvement in his vision. Regarding his sense of hearing and smell, he could not feel anything as he was in a vacuum.


    He started to move his body, starting by clenching his fist. The flexibility between his joints was quite good and there was no stiffness in his muscles. It seemed like his muscles were quite flexible as well.


    Luo Yuan could hardly imagine that the muscles were critical substances that had beenpressed to a ratio of 1,000. The titanium alloy was as soft as mud whenpared to such a substance. However, to Luo Yuan, the difference was not big. Even his skin was soft and everything seemed natural.


    This was the greatest difference, though. It differed too much from his expectation as he thought that afterpression, his body would react rather slowly and there would be no increase in his Strength, expecting that his Strength would be greatly reduced instead.


    However, things did not happen in such a way.


    He could feel that he had be even stronger.


    A thought suddenly shed through Luo Yuan¡¯s mind. He immediately checked the mitochondria within his cells by using his consciousness. He discovered that a change had urred in the mitochondria¡¯s speed during the cold fusion.


    "No, this is not cold fusion anymore." Luo Yuan was looking at the internal structure of the mitochondria where there was a white, burning me. Luo Yuan could not stay calm anymore, "This is a mini fusion furnace."


    Perhaps it was because the strength of the mitochondria had been increased for hundreds of millions of times afterpression. It could handle fusion reaction of higher intensity, resulting in an increased mitochondrial fusion.


    If this happened in the past, only a certain amount of energy could be produced by each mitochondrion per second. However, the amount of energy had been increased for at least ten thousand times.


    Luo Yuan clenched his fist with all his strength and started to flex his muscles. A terrifying amount of energy gushed out from his body, releasing a scorching light. It was simply a hot sma me. He subconsciously had an urge to destroy the wall.


    Luo Yuan then stared at the wall of theboratory. It was made of a material with apressibility ratio of up to 50,000. Its thickness was merely one micrometer, hence it was 10 times thinner than a piece of paper. Seemingly, it could be easily poked through. However, even when Luo Yuan was in the state of transcendence before this, he could do no harm to the wall at all. Not even a single scratch was made.


    He wanted to see whether the wall could still bepletely fine if it sustained a hit from him at his current Strength.


    He moved his body, following the will of his heart, his thinking and movements were well synchronized. In just an instant, his body appeared in front of the wall as if he had teleported.


    Soon, Luo Yuan struck a blow. Even humanity¡¯s current technology could hardly capture the speed of his attack as it resembled an electric gun that was fired. The speed of his attack had reached one-third the speed of light.


    After a few nanoseconds, theboratory was lit up, producing photothermal effects. The whole world seemed to have shifted to the Sun¡¯s interior.


    The energy generated by the blow was on par with that of the explosion of millions of tons of hydrogen bombs. The temperature had reached millions of Celsius degrees, filling the entire enclosed space.


    After half a minute, the dazzling light dimmed gradually.


    Luo Yuan was hanging mid-air in silence and nothing strange had happened to his body. His skin did not even turn red. Staring at the wall, a handprint that was barely visible appeared on the thinyer of metal.


    He had to admit that the toughness of this material was unbelievable. Even Luo Yuan who possessed such terrifying power at the moment could do no harm to the wall. However, there were some slight improvements as there were some marks left on the wall at the very least.


    Luo Yuan guessed that if his Strength could be 10 times stronger, he would be able to break through the wall.


    He then suddenly felt that something was wrong with his arm. He lowered his head and nced at his arm, he was shocked to realize that his arm had been broken into four to five fragments. The shape of his fist had been severely changed and his bones were all broken. However, it was strange that he did not feel any pain at all. He was startled for a short moment and realized that he had identally ignored the feeling of pain in his arm.


    Despite the feeling of pain seemed useless as it was a negative feeling, it somehow meant a lot to the living beings. Without the ability to feel the pain, humans would have probably gone extinct. It was part of the human body¡¯s protective mechanisms that helped in avoiding dangers, protecting one¡¯s body and avoiding injuries.


    Of course, to Luo Yuan, the injuries meant nothing to him as they could be recovered anytime. However, without the feeling of pain, he would always neglect them.


    Fortunately, it was not a big problem. Luo Yuan then fixed his hand and meanwhile, he started to adjust the quantum nervous system that had just been modified.

 Chapter 536: Everything Has Changed

    Chapter 536: Everything Has Changed


    Trantor: EndlessFantasy Trantion Editor: EndlessFantasy Trantion


    Aside from the feeling of pain, his sensitivity towards the environment had to be further improved as well. Luo Yuan¡¯s current speed of thinking was sufficient to handle arge amount of information. He was previously restricted by his nervous system which resulted in a dy in his ability.


    However, he had no more restrictions now.


    His sense of vision, touch, taste, smell, and hearing had to be enhanced so that they could be well suited to his brain.


    Adjustments had been ongoing for several days and it was only until the fifth day that Luo Yuan returned to the spaceship.


    The moment he entered the spaceship, he could hardly adapt.


    Luo Yuan was at a deste ce where it was quiet and peaceful. However, right at that moment, he felt that it was very noisy. A vast amount of information gushed into his head through his five senses.


    The entire world seemed to have undergone a drastic change!


    He could see the changes in each of the atoms that appeared in the air andputed its next trajectory path by instinct. He could sense the texture of the atoms that collided with his skin and instantly determine the power they possessed.


    The difference in the smell released by each of the atoms could also be determined, as well as distinguishing theirposition...


    He could barely sense any difference when he was in a vacuum. Right this moment, the side effects of the adjustment of organs appeared.


    Fortunately, Luo Yuan could quickly adapt to it in just a few seconds.


    Right now, Luo Yuan was no longer a person who needed about 10 days to half a month in order to adapt to the environment. This was what happened in the past when his Agility increased by one point. Thanks to his quantum brain with super speed, he managed to have absolute control over his body as well as the environmental information.


    The changes in the sensitivity of his sensory organs from the transformation were minor. The greatest change would be the transntation of the quantum nervous system which resulted in the synchronization of his body and brain. His response speed would be as fast as the processing speed of his brain.


    Furthermore, the processing speed of his brain was hundreds of millions of times greater than that of the human brain. Whenputation was done at high speed, the whole world seemed to have remained still.


    Of course, when he moved, there would be some unavoidable dys. It would not be as quick as the speed of his thought. However, his response speed was 10,000 times faster than before. In addition to his strong body with 1,000pression ratio, there were significant changes in his abilitiespared to what he had a few days ago.


    ...


    March, 2032.


    It was an old spaceship that had been flying for 11 years. It had finally stopped.


    The engine of the spaceship had shut down and gradually descended from space. At the same time, the people who went into hypersleep were awakened and got out from the hypersleep chamber.


    11 years had passed for those who just woke up from hypersleep. However, everything had changed to those who had remained conscious.


    Huang Jiahui, Zhao Yali, Wang Shishi and the rest of the women saw Luo Yuan in theboratory. However, what they could see was only his figure.


    Countless space waves fluctuated around him, colliding with each other. There was an endless strong wind blowing around him. Even though they were just standing at the door, they could hardly breathe.


    "Luo Yuan, you..."


    The people were stunned as it was unbelievable.


    They felt strange and insecure, seeing the blurry shadow in the strong wind.


    Luo Yuan remained silent. He was getting colder and colder to them due to his ability to think at high speeds. He tended to be absolutely rational.


    "Brother Luo, what happened to you? I¡¯m Shishi, don¡¯t you want us anymore?" Wang Shishi said in fear while her eyes were full of tears.


    Still, Luo Yuan did not move. Everyone¡¯s heart sank. They were drifted apart and he was cold to them. They were frightened.


    The mutant standing next to them shouted nervously. She wanted to approach him but she dared not do so. She could feel that the figure was scary, possessing a destructive power beyondprehension.


    However, Wang Shishi did not care about it and headed towards Luo Yuan with tears in her eyes. The strong wind blew against her before she could even approach him and she felt a pain in her skin as if it was being scratched.


    Luo Yuan sighed and finally turned his body back. At the same time, all the fluctuating waves around him that lingered in the air rapidly subsided as he released his Will. Everything was very peaceful now and all the leaked energy was suppressed by his Will!


    Right this moment, the people could finally have a clear look at his face. Their heart skipped a beat.


    His fair skin looked hard yet shiny as the light got reflected. His body did not emit even a hint of human aura and it was terrifying.


    If he did not move, one would think that he was a delicately made white ceramic sculpture.


    Luo Yuan looked at the people coldly. They did not seem to age despite having gone into hypersleep for 11 years. They were still as pretty as they used to be, like the charming flowers they once were. However, all these could no longer trigger him.


    "Please leave!" Luo Yuan said softly. Despite the fact that it was soft, it somehow sounded like metal with an immense prating power which deterred all of them.


    ...


    The women had finally left. Luo Yuan gazed at the door and stood still. He did not move.


    All the scenes immediately shed through his mind.


    They helped each other out when they were in danger. During the Reconstruction Area era, theyforted him. These were all supposed to be their beautiful memories. However, the memory had faded and it seemed dull to him.


    His memory did not change as he could still remember everything and it was even clearer than before. What had changed was his mentality.


    The people would cry over their favorite toy when they were young. However, as they grew up, they would no longer like it. Simrly, lust and the rtionship between humans were undoubtedly unnecessary and meaningless to a part four-dimensional being.


    He refused to be a four-dimensional being where he would grow stronger previously. However, he was the one who was asking for it now so that he could evolve. Ever since he possessed a quantum brain, this was the change that he had to experience.


    It was his destiny to be lonely. However, he enjoyed loneliness.


    There was no way he could travel back in time!


    ...


    Mid - March, 2032.


    All the top management and crews were waiting in the control room. Countless power monitoring devices were scanning every corner of the spaceship. As they got nearer to the scheduled time, the atmosphere became heavy.


    Nobody knew what would happen next.


    Despite receiving Luo Yuan¡¯s instruction, everything was still unclear. What he said was straight to the point. Nobody dared to ask any further. Ever since Luo Yuan entered the fourth-dimension, he was cold. After living a secluded life, his dignity was unaffected. Instead, he became more dignified and the people respected him like he was God.


    He was secretive, dignified, and terrifying.


    Many of the top management could still talk with Luo Yuan in the past. However, all of this would no longer happen. The people were frightened and shriveled, seeing the human shadow that looked like porcin.


    "There¡¯s only half a minute left!" Bi Jianping was sitting in his seat and put his safety harness on. He said softly while looking at the time.


    Tian Jinping nodded his head. He kept quiet and took a deep breath. He was nervous.


    Luo Yuan instructed them to enter the miniaturized universe.


    However, nobody knew what the miniaturized universe was.


    Was it a parallel dimension? Or was it a dimensional ne between dimensions?


    How was the environment inside the miniaturized universe? Was it dangerous? Would it affect the spaceship?


    Everything was unknown!


    Despite the engine having been shut down earlier, the spaceship was still flying at a speed of hundreds of kilometers per second. Nobody knew if an ident would ur!


    However, no matter how worried they were, they had to follow with their eyes closed.


    The artificial intelligence system started counting down:


    "Ten, nine, eight... Three, Two..."


    "Warning, warning!"


    "A powerful wave has been detected 1,000 kilometers from us. A distortion in the light has ured."


    "Keep moving straight!" Bi Jianping instructed in a deep voice. Beads of sweat began appearing on his forehead. He looked at the screen and there was a faint shadow that appeared in the sky.


    Soon, his pupils dted. He was shocked, discovering that the shadow was expanding rapidly.


    ording to the data obtained, the shadow originally had a height of 2.1 meters. However, it had now reached the height of more than 100 meters.


    It continued expanding.


    500 meters...


    1,000 meters...


    Three kilometers...


    The sky could no longer be seen and it seemed as if the spaceship was entering an entirely new world.


    As soon as the light disappeared, what appeared on the screen was a giant that was five kilometers in height.

 Chapter 537: Arrival

    Chapter 537: Arrival


    Trantor: EndlessFantasy Trantion Editor: EndlessFantasy Trantion


    The spaceship slowed down, entering the space channel that had been activated by Luo Yuan. Soon, it disappeared as Luo Yuan put away the space sphere and put it in his pocket.


    Due to the changes in his body size, the space sphere had beenpressed again. Also, Luo Yuan had abandoned most of the matters. The space sphere was currently of the size of a fist and it was about 200 tons in weight.


    Since it was highlypressible, the stability within the miniaturized universe remained unaffected. Instead, it became even more stable than before.


    As Luo Yuan looked towards the front, his pupils that were originally dark in color were now as ck as a dark cave. They were even deeper than the abyss itself and also extremely dark. Even a photon would be unable to escape his vision.


    The stars instantly became clearer. He could see the sr res on the surface of the stars and the ck moles that were hundreds of light-years away. He could also see changes in the terrestrials as well as the undting mountains on its surface.


    Specks of fine dust from Barnard¡¯s Star that were close to him could be clearly seen as well.


    All this while, as detected by the spaceship, there were only fours in the gxy. However, Luo Yuan noticed that there were not only four of them. There were fives instead.


    The reason why it was neglected by the spaceship detector was because the fifth was too far away. The distance between both of them was about one light-year. The Red Dwarf Star¡¯s rtively weak ray of light and its gravity force were negligible at such a distance.


    With its current speed, it would need more than 25,000 years for each round trip. Perhaps with some extra effort, the would leave Barnard¡¯s Star, bing a rogue on its own.


    In the past, this was undoubtedly the best ce for humans to hide. Humans would be excited about its discovery. However, humans would no longer need to hide.


    Not only was the current level of human technologyparable to ssian technology, ording to the estimations of some of the radical technologists, human technology would possibly exceed the level of ssian technology. Given another few years to develop, they would be able to deal with and wipe out the ssian expeditionary fleet.


    With Luo Yuan¡¯s current abilities, he was not afraid of the ssians at all. He was immortal to some extent. As long as his body was not broken down into atoms and the atoms in his body, including the high dimensional atoms and all other matters existing in his body were notpletely destroyed, he would be able to restructure his body with the remaining atoms and the energy released during the dimensional tear. Be it an expeditionary fleet or their of the ssians, he was capable of destroying their civilization with sufficient time.


    However, showing mercy to them would be meaningless. Now, the civilization that had almost single-handedly caused the extinction of humanity had to be destroyed by humans in return. That was the only way humans could get over the humiliation, take revenge on them, and rise from the ashes.


    ...


    Luo Yuan stood still in the air and his body gave off a mysterious glow. Soon, he retracted his gaze and activated his space-time bubble, flying towards Barnard¡¯s Star.


    As soon as his body size was reduced, the space-time bubble elerated.


    It was because the space-time bubble¡¯s speed was not only rted to space resistance. Aside from space resistance, the size of the space-time bubble as well. As the space time-bubble was thousands of times smaller in size, his speed became a lot faster.


    After about 10 minutes, his speed had reached 50 times the speed of light. It had not reached its limit yet as it maintained its speed at about 100 the speed of light.


    ...


    In the dark sky, a beam of bright light was traveling at a speed of 3,200 kilometers per second.


    The highly-energized photon struck Luo Yuan¡¯s body in an intense manner, emitting a dazzling beam of light. The temperature of the surface had risen up to more than one million degrees Celsius. He would probably have been vaporized by the high temperature if his body was beingpressed.


    Right this moment, a mild burning sensation could be felt on his skin. He could feel the pain as he was overly sensitive to that after the readjustment of his sensory nerves. Not only was hepletely uninjured, even his hairs were not standing on end.


    As time passed while traveling for several hours, Luo Yuan finally stopped as he deactivated the space-time bubble.


    He still could not support the consumption of his Will from traveling like as he needed to take a short break after traveling for about eight hours.


    He took out transparent, spherical objects that had the size of longan fruits from the space sphere. He then put them into his mouth and swallowed them.


    The spherical objects were water balls that had beenpressed to apressibility ratio of 1,000. It was the only food that Luo Yuan needed.


    Ever since his body size had been reduced, the response speed and the strength of the nuclear fusion in his mitochondria had be more intense and there was a substantial increase in his need for water. Drinking a mouthful of water was sufficient for anywhere between ten days to half a month¡¯s supply and he had to drink tons of water every day now.


    However, he would be unable to absorb the water. Hispressed cells were even smaller than an ordinary water molecule. Therefore, these water molecules would be unable to prate through the wall of his cells. It would be useless regardless of how much water he drank.


    Thus, water was beingpressed to the same ratio so that it could be absorbed by his body.


    Under suchpression, the physical properties of water had changed. It was countless times stronger than a diamond and it had high ductility. At the same time, it would have lost the sweetness of water. Munching on it would feel like as if one was munching on candles.


    Fortunately, he was no longer craving for food. Therefore, he was not suffering from this.


    Each ball of water weighed more than 10 kilograms. After eating more than 100 of them, he then stopped and continued his journey.


    ...


    Inteary flight was boring. Regardless of how beautiful a scene was, one would feel dull after seeing it repeatedly for a long period of time.


    Luo Yuan discovered nothing new throughout the journey. The only thing that was worth mentioning was him discovering a neb that was billions of kilometers long. It was made up of specks of dust and arge number of gases. It was a miracle, having a neb to appear in such a dark region which wascking in matters.


    It was considered as a mini nebpared to the infinitelyrge universe. The matter was not as dense as expected. The density of the gases was rather low,pared to that of Earth at its core.


    He did not stop there and had passed through the neb after about 10 seconds.


    As time passed, he became quiet and cold. Even if he was given more time, he was as calm as a peacefulke and nothing could stimte him.


    While his Will was being constantly consumed and restored, it had increased along with the speed of traveling in the space-time bubble. It had increased from 100 times the speed of light to 200 times and followed by 300 times that of the speed of light.


    Based on the system¡¯s evaluation, his Will had increased by one point or more and he now had a Will of 28 points. However, upon achieving such a speed, the space resistance index would be increased as well. It was impossible for his speed to increase for 10 times or more when his Will increased by only one point.


    In fact, the high temperature generated by his speed was already the maximum temperature that his body could endure.


    Under the unimaginably high temperature, his body was releasing a dazzling beam of light. Fortunately, it was made up of matter that werepletely different from that of an ordinary person. Since his body was densely packed with atoms in addition to the elements that were beingpressed to the same ratio, the chemical bonds between the elements were 10,000 times stronger than that of regr elements. Otherwise, his body would have dposed and died.


    However, Luo Yuan could not maintain such a speed for a long period of time.


    As he was approaching Barnard¡¯s Star, the intensity of light in the dark region increased.


    Despite it being only a Red Dwarf Star,pared to the intensity of light in the dark region, it was akin to the difference in brightness between day and night.


    When he was four light-years away, he could still barely maintain his speed at 300 times that of the speed of light.


    His speed was reduced to 200 times the speed of light when he was 300 light-years away.


    He only managed to maintain a speed of 100 times the speed of light when the distance between them was only one light-year. It was an old Red Dwarf Star. If it was the Sun, perhaps he could hardly maintain even a speed of 10 times the speed of light.


    Fortunately, despite him slowing down, he was also about to arrive at Barnard¡¯s Star.


    As time passed, Luo Yuan could see that the Red Dwarf Star was getting bigger and bigger.


    Its body emitted a dim red light. The light was soft yet warm. Unlike the wild Sun, sr prominences rarely urred on its surface.


    It looked like a good-tempered old man who was walking slowly. However, it was not exactly urate to describe it in such a way. In fact, Red Dwarf Star could possiblyst longer than the Sun that looked strong.


    It was very small in size, only less than one-third the size of the Sun. It did not have a high internal pressure and the response speed of the nuclear fusion was rtively slow. Therefore, it couldst longer.


    Luo Yuan continued flying for about 10 days. Eventually, he arrived at Barnard¡¯s Star.

 Chapter 538: New Home

    Chapter 538: New Home


    Trantor: EndlessFantasy Trantion Editor: EndlessFantasy Trantion


    Luo Yuan then removed the space-time bubble and flew slowly into the gxy.


    Without considering the rogues, the gxy was undoubtedly much smaller than the sr system. Fours, whether big or small, slowly revolved around the gxy along the trajectory path.


    Based on the distance between the stars, Luo Yuan then named them as No.1, No.2, No.3 and No.4.


    No.1 and No.4 were the terrestrials whereas No.2 and No.3 were the gass.


    The gas, No.3 was the biggest among all with a diameterparable to that of Saturn. It had an Earth-Moon system which was formed by five of thes. With Luo Yuan¡¯s vision, he could clearly see that strong wind was blowing in the atmosphere, lightning stroke and thunder roared in the entire world.


    No.1 was the smallest. It was more than 4,000 kilometers in diameter which was only one round bigger than the Moon or one-third of the Earth. Since it had a weak light and the temperature in space was extremely low, despite theary orbit being close to the star, there was still a thickyer of ice around it. It had a smooth surface and the topography of the could be hardly seen.


    Luo Yuan¡¯s target was No.4 which was the farthest away from him. Earth was already the biggest terrestrial in the sr system. However, the that Luo Yuan discovered was 1.5 times bigger than Earth. It was indeed a giant terrestrial.


    One could determine from its gravitational field that it was a with arge mass.


    It was a positive signal to Luo Yuan as this had indicated that it was basically a terrestrial. Furthermore, it was filled with arge number of heavy elements. It was a perfect for the exploitation of resources to humans.


    In fact, the avability of heavy elements was limited yet rare in the universe.


    It was because the nuclear fusion in stars would usually begin with hydrogen or helium and end with iron. Without great internal pressure in the star, only carbon or oxygen would be formed. In order to form iron, the mass of the star had to be at least eight times the mass of Sun. Zinc was the element with the highest order that could probably be formed by nuclear fusion.


    The heavy elements in the universe mostly came from the explosion of a supernova. When a giant star copsed, suffering from great pain before it died, it would release a terribly high temperature which was hundreds of millions degree Celsius. Elements which were higher in order than iron and zinc were created with the energy emitted before it disintegrated. For gold, tinum and the radioactive heavy elements, they were formed from the collision between neutron stars as well as devouring substances from a ck hole.


    Luo Yuan guessed that celestial bodies like the neutron stars existed in the star fields and the sr system before. Their disappearance had caused the star field to be filled with heavy elements.


    ...


    After a short while, he had arrived somewhere near the. He resembled a meteorite,nding rapidly on the surface of the.


    Despite the giant having immense gravitational force, it had a thin atmosphericyer as most of the gases were frozen under a temperature that was close to absolute zero. However,pared to the space outside that was almost vacuumed, it had a rather high atmospheric concentration.


    As guided by the¡¯s gravitational force, Luo Yuan¡¯s speed became faster and faster. His body started burning due to the friction between his body and the slight amount of gas that existed in the atmosphere. It started from a beam of red light that was hardly noticeable to a red ball and eventually, it turned into a dazzling bright light.


    He stirred up a strong wind on the which was originally quiet, and the air was vaporized by theyer of the ice surface. There were smoke and mist, spreading everywhere.


    As he was about to arrive at the surface of the, his speed had reached one-fourth that of the speed of light. Due to the strong kic energy, before the collision happened, a pit began to form on the iceyer with the circumference of hundreds of kilometers, creating a big bowl shape.


    "Bang!"


    A dazzling light could be seen on the surface of the as if it was a nuclear explosion.


    At the center of the explosion, the iceyer that was a few kilometers thick was instantly dposed into microparticles. Even the iceyer that was more than 100 kilometers away from the area of the explosion started to vaporize as the light that was a hundred times brighter than the surface of the Sun shone on it. Subsequently, the impact waves diverged in all directions.


    If one was standing high in the sky, they could clearly see that arge pit was formed with a circumference of hundreds of kilometers after the impact. It would be half of the size of the Jiang Nan province that existed on Earth.


    The force generated by the impact was iparable to the force generated by the blow he struck during the training previously.


    Luo Yuan was more than 100 tons in mass. In addition to the space sphere that was about 200 tons in mass, the total weight was about 300 tons. As the impact urred at the speed of one-fourth of the speed of light, the energy generated was on par with that of the antimatter bombs in Reconstruction Area.


    Luo Yuan was quietly floating in the pit, maintaining a neutral expression. Undergoing such an impact, it was unbelievable that he was not injured at all. Passing through an iceyer that was lesspressed than 50,000 inpressibility ratio felt just like passing through air to him.


    Right this moment, he had prated through the iceyer, arriving at the rockyer. His surrounding was still filled with dazzling light. No matters could survive under such a high temperature. Therefore, they were all dposed into atoms.


    "Gravity: 3.5G, Maic Field: 0.001T; It is 20 times of that of Earth... Fe: 51.5%, C: 13%, H: 8%, O: 3%."


    He quickly analyzed the surrounding. The was quite rich in the iron element. Iron had upied 50% of the entire region at the very least. If it was ced on Earth, without a doubt, it would be an iron-rich mining area. Furthermore, it was rich in water resources and trace elements as well. They were sufficient to be used as fusion fuels.


    As he waved his hand, the water vapor surrounding him separated. The next moment, he flew into the sky.


    After hundreds of seconds, he returned to space.


    He took out the space sphere and opened up a space channel. In just a short while, a sesame-sized mini spaceship slowly flew out of the space channel.


    During the flight, it was expanding at a speed that was visible to the naked eyes. One second ago, it was as small as sesame. However, the next second, it was the size of a roundtable. 10 secondster, it became an extremely big object...


    ...


    Half a yearter.


    The quiet Barnard¡¯s Star had soon be noisy.


    On the surface of No.4, using the pit caused by the impact as the center, arge mining and metallurgical area had been paved and extended to an area of more than 100 kilometers. More than 10,000 robotic arms were filled with energy, constantly digging the ground to extract the minerals.


    On the trajectory path of the, they were hustling and bustling at the metallic Space City that upied an area of more than 10,000 square kilometers.


    Many of the spaceships were busy extracting minerals, traveling back and forth between the Space City and the where various elements were transported. Soon after, these elements were smelted and manufactured into a variety of mechanical equipment.


    Due to the limited avability of resources, their productivity had been suppressed. It was terrifying, seeing the growth of productivity.


    As arge number of technologies were stored in the virtual reality, they had nowe up with results. In one and a half year, more than 10,000 factories had been constructed. They were still constantly building and expanding the factories.


    Two gantries of one of the biggest factories that upied an area of more than 1,000 square kilometers towered over the trajectory path. A new spacecraft construction project had officiallyunched.

 Chapter 539: Space - Its Invisible Dangers

    Chapter 539: Space - Its Invisible Dangers


    Trantor: EndlessFantasy Trantion Editor: EndlessFantasy Trantion


    In the past one and a half years, Luo Yuan had lived a secluded life.


    Luo Yuan¡¯s residence at the Space City was severely guarded. It was luxurious and spacious. At the same time, it was a solitary and lonely ce. The host was a superior person, always looking on human activities coldly.


    Beautiful outfits, delicious food, power, women... These were all carnal desires that had a weak influence on him as he followed an ascetic life.


    However, it did not mean that Luo Yuan had no longer have any desires. Being a part four-dimensional being, he was still a sentient creature nheless. To seek advantages and avoid disadvantages was a creatures¡¯ instinct. He would feel happy when something good happened to him. Simrly, he would get angry when something bad happened.


    He broke away from the materialistic and unthinking conformity as his desires were now, rather simple.


    Throughout the one and a half years, he would either stay at home or go to the miniaturized universe.


    Recently, he was interested in space and the fourth-dimension. He was indulged in the peculiarities of the four-dimensional space.


    Right this moment, he was holding a miniaturized four-dimensional sphere. It would change its shape ording to his Will.


    It looked like a two-dimensional sphere. When a four-dimensional space was put within a three-dimensional world, only its surface could be seen. One would be unable to look into its interior.


    As a matter of fact, it was an extremely big, hidden space. It was different from the universe. The four-dimensional space, including the miniaturized universe that had a diameter of more than 1,000 kilometers had a negligible amount of dark energy.


    Based on thetest predictions from scientists, 95% even more of the entire universe was made up of dark matter.


    However, it resembled a balloon which was filled with light-weight matter and energy, empty and hollow. There was no ocean of dark energy or dark matter within it.


    This was also due to the limited abilities he had. The dimensionality of the space was not high enough when it was being squeezed out. The miniaturized space could be formed by merely touching its surface. Lacking stability, it would easily fluctuate when slight pressure was applied to it.


    However, this woulde in handy for his research.


    Luo Yuan lowered his head and fell into deep thought. It seemed like something interesting had shed through his mind as he grinned. He then turned the space into the shape of a cylinder by using his Will. He pulled out one end from within while wrapping another end to connect them both. The external world was now connected to the miniaturized space, forming an actual Klein bottle with the four-dimensional space which was originally enclosed.


    The exterior and interior of the space could no longer be distinguished as if there existed a peculiar circting opening. Looking from a three-point perspective, it was strange as it looked like a snake that was eating its own tail. At the same time, the tail of the snake curved in and extended out from its mouth. It passed through its head and out to the big space of the universe. There was no need for it to pass through its surface. Of course, the surface being mentioned here was the surface of the fourth-dimension. It was the difference in dimensionality between spaces instead of it being the true meaning of surface.


    Luo Yuan was interested in seeing his own piece of art.


    He found out that the opening could exist in a stable manner without any external forces. It could be used as a stable channel to connect two four-dimensional spaces. Therefore, he did not have to open up a new space by force each time.


    "Perhaps I could form such a stable channel in the space sphere?"


    However, thanks to his highputational ability, he noticed that something was wrong. It was a serious issue.


    In order to examine it, the air surrounding him was instantly dposed into atoms. Within a fraction of a moment, the atoms immediately went through polymerization and before long, they formed various elements before turning into cells.


    A palm-sized white mouse was created out of thin air in a centisecond.


    The newborn little white mouse had just gained its consciousness and it was soon controlled by Luo Yuan. It was at a loss, it then entered the hole and moved around before it quickly got out of it.


    Looking at the little white mouse, Luo Yuan frowned.


    It could hardly be recognized as a little white mouse anymore. Its body had turned inside out and its skin could no longer be seen, exposing its bones. Not only were its brain, heart, and organs exposed to air, they seemed to curl up as well. Blood was circting along the naked blood vessels and the theories of physics were no longer applicable to it.


    Its body had changed significantly.


    However, it was still alive. The cirction of blood, the pumping of its heart, and the brain waves were all normal. Seemingly, it remained unaffected by everything that had happened to it. Perhaps this little white mouse did not even realize the changes that had happened to its body since not only had its body been reversed, its thinking might have been reversed as well.


    However, such an effect would only exist when it was near the hole. As soon as it was rid of the influence of the miniaturized space, the heart and the blood of the little white mouse had lost its support. Under the influence of gravity, blood started dripping down from its body. In just a few seconds, it was dead.


    Luo Yuan moved his hand slightly. The blood and carcass dposed into thin air.


    The experiment had verified Luo Yuan¡¯s prediction, but the oue was terrible. Without a doubt, space was the source of power. It was the basis of the existence of matter as any changes that urred in space would affect matter itself.


    Despite the distorted space being able to exist in a stable manner, it was only suitable to be used as a weapon of destruction rather than a channel to connect two spaces.


    Even Luo Yuan, who had encountered such a significant change in space would be killed if he did not pay attention to it since the changes happened quietly. One could hardly notice it as the changes urred gradually from the body to the mind.


    However, a person as strong as him would only need to restructure his body if his body turned inside out. It could cause no harm to him. However, if he was capable of noticing it before it happened, he could instead directly defend against the force of the space with his Will.


    "It seems like there is a solution to it!" Suddenly, he thought to himself.


    "Perhaps it can be connected by using two Klein bottles?"


    When he was about to carry out the experiment, an energy fluctuation urred in his room. Luo Yuan stopped and waited for a decisecond. Countless light particles gathered at the wall and soon, a virtual image was created.


    It was the image of a young woman. She was beautiful and charming. However, she did not look like a real person and of course, she was indeed not. She was the artificial intelligence from the virtual reality that was now responsible for the service management of the main programme in the Space City.


    "Master, the person in charge of the space physics and space distortionboratory requested to see you."


    Luo Yuan paused for a moment and said, "Please ask him toe in."


    It had been more than 10 years since theunching of the interster flight. Physics was not a field that had much improvement over those years, as they had been exploring the unknown. Regardless of how real virtual reality felt, it only contained information that had already been discovered. In addition, the spaceship was unable to carry out high-energy experiments, although inferences and theories were developed in the past 10 years, there was no way to prove them.


    The spatial physics and distortionboratory was focused on two of the severely affected fields.


    Since theboratory was built, it gave emphasis to gathering the most talented physicists. However, they had no achievements and were not evenparable to the standards of the ssians from 10 years ago.


    The main reason was because their theories could hardly be duplicated. On the other hand, they had been staying in the spaceship all the while. Hence, they could not carry out any experiments. This resulted in ideas that only made it on paper. Despite that being the case, they have been progressing rapidly in the past year.


    The ssians had a thorough understanding of space physics. This could be seen from the gravitational force generator equipped on the ssian mothership. It did not matter if gravity was being caused by spatial distortion or the other way around, the both of them were surely interrted. It was even possible that they had two functions that could control the gravity. This indicated that humans were just one step away from a warp drive. It was difficult to achieve but it was just like how humans evolved from the original steam engine to better technologies that were more practical in life. It was a huge, yet difficult breakthrough.

 Chapter 540: Meng Junhuas Fear

    Chapter 540: Meng Junhua¡¯s Fear


    Trantor: EndlessFantasy Trantion Editor: EndlessFantasy Trantion


    Lonely footsteps were echoing throughout the corridor.


    The mansion was big and spacious. Ever since he was released by the guards, Meng Junhua had not met a single person. It was very quiet as if it was an empty house. Meng Junhua was fearful of it.


    Despite being a member of a higher science institution, the person who was in charge of the strategicboratory still indirectly controlled several sophisticated factories under them. At the top of the food chain, he could now enjoy the perks as all the top management were treated equally. However, although he had superior IQ to his peers, his palms still sweat when he meets this person whom he revered.


    This person was like a God to him. He was so powerful that even science could not exin his existence.


    He was a supreme being that had achieved a limit beyond human imagination.


    Encountering such an existence... Regardless of how high one¡¯s status was, regardless of how much power they wielded, they still all were as small as ants.


    ...


    Meng Junhua noticed that the material beneath his feet was extraordinarily glossy. It gave off a dazzling white color as if it was a mirror.


    He was familiar with this kind of material. It was ayer of coating that had been highlypressed. The outside of the ssian spaceship was all covered with this kind of material. Although it was only a few millimeters thick, it managed to reduce the air resistance of the spaceship by 30%. The defensive power of the spaceship had increased by 1,000 times. Some of the meteorites with rtively low mass would hit its surface at half the speed of light. However, it would be unable to damage theyer of coating.


    The theory behind theyer of coating proved the hopeless gap between ssian and human technology. However, he could see that everything here was coated with it. It was not only the ground, even the surface of the buildings was coated with ayer of the material. Meng Junhua was shocked, his heart ached upon seeing that.


    If these materials were used to manufacture engines for a warp drive, it could even solve the problems in material science.


    However, facing Luo Yuan, nobody dared to request such thing.


    In fact, Meng Junhua could not understand, as thepressibility ratio of theyer of coating was beyondparison. When Luo Yuan was in the spaceship he could not unleash all his abilities, as thepressibility ratio of the spaceship was only 4,000. However, thepressibility ratio of theyer of coating had now reached 60,000.


    He had been traveling by using his space-time bubble flight mode for several consecutive months. His Will had be stronger. Aspared to the past, he couldpress the atoms further.


    ...


    He waited for more than 10 minutes. Luo Yuan had built a stable Klein bottle channel with opposite orientation and it had been optimized for more than 10 times.


    Luo Yuan had to put in a lot of effort in order to carry out the operation so frequently in such a short period of time.


    A Klein bottle was an actual four-dimensional space. It tended to be more like a part four-dimensional space. Although it did not have aplicated procedure, it was somehow extremely dangerous.


    He had to be extremely careful and monitor the entire process. If he was careless, a dimensional tear could probably happen, causing the four-dimensional space to be a three-dimensional space.


    It wasparable to dropping a bomb in space. Entering a dimension in an instant would cause a stir in the space, leading to severe damage.


    Encountering something like that, even an advanced material that was beingpressed to 60,000pressibility ratio was simr to an ordinary material. Even if he could survive through this, the entire Space City would have beenpletely destroyed.


    Of course, since Luo Yuan possessed the prediction ability, the probability for this disaster to ur was close to zero.


    Right this moment, a channel with a weird shape that was made up of two Klein bottles was rotating in his hand nonstop. He was preparing to connect the miniaturized universe. Soon after, he put aside his work and looked towards the door.


    Meng Junhua had just arrived at the door and he subconsciously nced at the living hall. It was a figure that was shrouded in a halo. The terrifying energy wave exuded by the figure made him feel as if he was at the center of a storm.


    The whole living hall was incredibly big. It had an area of more than 100,000 square meters and a height of about 60 meters. Luo Yuan¡¯s figure looked like a giant to him.


    Meng Junhua took a glimpse and he was taken aback. He felt his scalp tingling as he was frightened, he then immediately lowered his head.


    He requested to meet Luo Yuan simply because he was fearless. However, he had never expected that he would look so scary. As he was looking at him from afar, his body turnedpletely limp and almost fell down.


    "Why are you looking for me?"


    It was notfortable for an ordinary creature to listen to Luo Yuan¡¯s voice. It was deep and as powerful as ringing metal. In addition to that, he was spiritually frightened and afraid of his voice as well, he felt like it sounded mechanical. It seemed like the entire area was trembling as well.


    "I..." Meng Junhua¡¯s face turned pale and he was weak. He could not say anything as he was too nervous. It was a naturally urring phenomenon when a low-level lifeform encountered a superior lifeform. Despite already restraining his power, Luo Yuan could notpletely restrain the intimidating aura released by him. Besides, he had never met Luo Yuan before. That factor, coupled with all sorts of psychological factors made Luo Yuan even scarier to him.


    "Don¡¯t panic." Luo Yuan noticed what was wrong with him and immediately restrained his power. He then said, "I have heard of you before, you¡¯re Meng Junhua. I have read about the theory of quantum energy transmission proposed by you."


    Despite living a secluded life, it did not mean he did not bother with human development at all. He paid close attention thetest human technological development and so he could learn from it.


    Knowing that Luo Yuan had heard of him and read his paper before, he was excited. His face turned red and spoke incoherently, "Mayor... Have you really read my paper before?"


    Luo Yuan did not mind, although the way he spoke was putting his life at risk. The tone of his voice did not fluctuate much as he said, "The quantum phenomenon is actually the phenomena of a microcosm in the four-dimensional universe. Although you don¡¯t possess four-dimensional vision, you¡¯re capable of constructing an energy transmission model in the four-dimensional world. You have resolved many of my doubts."


    Meng Junhua had instantly forgotten that he was nervous when their topic involved his field of research, he had a strong thirst for knowledge and immediately asked, "How does it feel like? Entering the fourth-dimension?"


    Luo Yuan remained silent for a while. He then shook his head, "It can be hardly described by words. Even if I tell you how it feels, as a three-dimensional being, it is impossible for you to understand it. It feels like an enclosed space which is distorted, where three-dimensional creatures can only see part of the four-dimensional world."


    "The Blind Men and the Elephant! [1]" As a person who had consumed the wisdom elixir, Meng Junhua was exceptionally intelligent and he could soon understand what Luo Yuan meant.


    "Yes, it is like The Blind Men and the Elephant!" Luo Yuan nodded his head.


    "So... Are you a four-dimensional being?"


    "I¡¯m still some distance away from it!" Luo Yuan thought for a while before answering him.


    "Then what do you know about space? How do you travel using a warp drive?" Meng Junhua seized the opportunity to ask as it was rare. He then continued asking.


    "Why do you have so many questions!?" Luo Yuan said. Just as Meng Junhua began feeling nervous again, he continued, "I¡¯ll pass you the answers that you¡¯d like to know. Perhaps it¡¯ll help you!"


    Before Meng Junhua could understand what he meant, the next moment, he felt like someone was gazing upon him. He felt a cold breeze on his head as if his head had lost its protection and his brain was revealed.


    Soon, he felt dizzy and countless memories gushed into his brain like tidewater.


    The memory of an ordinary person could all be seen by Luo Yuan at once nce. It was unprotected and had an unlimitedputational ability. Luo Yuan could simply modify the potential signals through the cerebral cortex so that one¡¯s memory could be read, deleted, amended or added.


    Furthermore,pared to the terrifying amount of information that existed in the four-dimensional world, handling the information in a human brain was as easy as ABC to him. Despite, Luo Yuan had no intention to read his memories, Meng Junhua¡¯s memory clearly shed through his mind and he could remember it more clearly than Meng Junhua.


    After a centisecond, Luo Yuan then stopped, "I have agreed with your request to build a spaceboratory in the miniaturized universe. I¡¯ll open up the pathway of the miniaturized universe tomorrow. Do you have any other things to ask me?"


    ...


    Meng Junhua was muddle-headed as he felt like his brain was stuck. He had no idea what he had said in the living hall.


    He then walked out of the mansion as if he was drunk. He stood there for a while and a cold wind swept across his face, waking him up, "How did he know what I¡¯m thinking about before I even mention it?"


    A vast amount of imnted memory lingered in his mind. Suddenly, a thought shed through his mind and his back was drenched in sweat.

 Chapter 541: The Incoming Threat

    Chapter 541: The Iing Threat


    Trantor: EndlessFantasy Trantion Editor: EndlessFantasy Trantion


    Meng Junhua was intelligent, so he soon realized what had happened.


    He was frightened!


    Although he had no reactionary thought, he could not confirm that, deep down, he had nothing private hiding from the others. Furthermore, he was hiding 18 types of beautiful and charming robot girlfriends. His private life was amazing.


    Perhaps this was the reason why the superior would not utter a single word about the mayor and they would carefully avoid the topic. If he knew this would happen, he would probably have no guts to see Luo Yuan.


    He dared not feel angry or dissatisfied despite his memory being read.


    As soon as he calmed himself down, he started recalling the memory that had been added.


    He did not require much effort to recall it as the memory was clear to him as if it was engraved in his mind. Regardless if he was opening or closing his eyes, as long as he thought of it, all these memories would gush into his mind like torrential floods.


    Without the wisdom elixir, an ordinary person would have be an idiot, receiving such arge amount of information. Even so, Meng Junhua had an awful headache as he felt like his brain was going to break into pieces.


    There were all kinds of memories that covered almost everything.


    From what he could recall, memories from the field of physics which included quantum mechanics, spatial studies, gravitational forces and so on, to memories from the field of biology which included maic fields, advanced material science and other knowledge from other fields were all included in his memory. These memories included actual recordings, data, form, and a plethora of words describing the information.


    Meng Junhua grabbed his head and his nose was bleeding. Soon, his eyes that had a broken blood vessel in them gradually widened. He felt that everything was unbelievable.


    He noticed that all the information was avable for use for the improvement and extension of the current technology level.


    Meng Junhua knew nothing much about the other fields since he obtained thetest information of those fields from the periodicals. However, he was an authority on quantum and spatial physics. As he nced through the memories, he was enlightened. He gained further insights from all this information and he discovered that many of the immature physics theories could be improved or even subverted.


    A scientist who received all this information would feel exactly like a food lover being served with good food or a whoremonger bumping into a whore.


    Right this moment, Meng Junhua ignored a severe headache that he was suffering from and rushed towards his flying shuttle. He wanted to go back to theboratory very eagerly so that he could carry out experiments with these new memories.


    ...


    It was fated that it would not be a peaceful day today. After a short while, Bi Jianping came to him.


    Luo Yuan knew very well that if it was nothing serious, he would not disturb him. However, he knew that something had happened since he was here.


    "What happened?" Luo Yuan asked.


    Bi Jianping was panicked as he got there. However, as soon as he stepped into the spacious living hall, unusually calmed himself down. He then took a deep breath and his face looked grave. He said, "Mayor, the space detection system has detected a fluctuation in space. We have analyzed based on the direction which the space fluctuation ising from as well as the fluctuation variables and we came up with this." He said as he raised the documents he had in his hand.


    Luo Yuan lifted his head and took a nce at it. With his vision, he managed to skim through 10 pages of the information. The words and images were instantly disyed in his mind. It was an analysis report regarding the sources of the space fluctuations. The report emphasized that the source point of the space wave was moving at a superluminal speed and it was heading towards them.


    As Luo Yuan attempted to sense it, he discovered that there was indeed a space wave that was constantly moving and fluctuating. It was heading towards theboratory. One would probably feel confused due to the interaction of various space waves and neglected it as he would not even notice it in the first ce.


    The space fluctuation was caused by a mobile source that was traveling at a superluminal speed. There was only one reason why it was moving towards us.


    "We are discovered. Get ready for the battle. We have three years to go!" Luo Yuan calcted and said.


    ...


    Bi Jianping left but he was worried about it. It was a bad news for him and he lost his senses when he left.


    "Mayor Bi, are you okay?" The secretary who was standing outside noticed that something was wrong with him and immediately carried him.


    "I¡¯m fine. Please inform all the members that I¡¯m calling for a meeting!" He struggled to get rid of his secretary and then strode away, "The meeting will be held at 3 p.m."


    Humans were going to engage in a battle. Many of the developing strategies had to be readjusted. Some of the research projects and construction projects had to speed up as they urgently needed the space defensive system.


    Encountering the ssian that possessed superluminal speeds, humans had nowhere to escape and thus they had to fight them.


    Humans did not have much time left. Three years would pass in the blink of an eye.


    As he turned back, seeing that his secretary appeared to be reluctant, Bi Jianping seemed dissatisfied. He was temporarily taking the ce of Luo Yuan ever since he was not interested in the government affairs, but he was not well respected. Such a meeting had to be informed several days before. He then said in a heavy tone, "Please inform them, this is an urgent meeting!"


    ...


    Compared to Bi Jianping, Luo Yuan reacted rather calm to this news.


    However, a person was born curious. Still, he immediately teleported to space and headed towards the origin of the space fluctuation.


    It took him a long while before he managed to distinguish it through the space that was full of stars. He could see a blurry shadow gradually approaching him which looked like a distorted space caused by high temperatures. There would be a slight change in the light when the shadow passed through.


    Of course, it was not a real-time recording. Instead, they were some historical images that urred a few years ago.


    A huge amount of data umted in his mind. In 1/100 second, Luo Yuan calcted the actual size of the light shadow.


    It had a diameter of about 100,000 kilometers. Without a doubt, it was not the size of a spaceship. It was impossible such a big spaceship to exist, though. It must be a team of big warships that traveled with warp drive.


    Even Luo Yuan was shocked and surprised.


    The ssians potential was beyond imagination and they paid more attention to humans than one expected.


    However, from another point of view, one could understand that, be it a small or bigpany or a country, none of them would allow their enemies to continue threatening them, let alone a civilization of different races. Naturally, they would show signs of hostility and a high level of alertness. They would either be conquered by humans or wipe the human race out.


    Their hostility and alertness were at its maximum right when the first warship failed to attack them. The threat level had been constantly increasing and they felt a deep hatred for humans. The battle had to go on until one party eventually lost.


    ...


    Luo Yuan returned to his mansion. He kept quiet for a while and soon, he took out a space ball. He then left the Space City and teleported to the geosynchronous orbit.


    The next moment, countless energy was released from his body. A beam of blue energy light wasing out of his body. His body then entered the state of transcendence. As the dark energy merged with his body, his Sense was spreading wider and wider and soon, it covered the entire gxy. Huge amounts of data then shed through his mind. His omniscience rose within him and his face had turned stone cold.


    Soon after, he lowered his head, looking at the huge No.4. The next moment, an invisible power hit the surface of the. The whole trembled slightly and there was misting off its surface. Theyer of ice that was a few kilometers thick had copsed. It broke away from the gravitational force and gradually floated up.


    The small frozen snow measured a few tons in weight whereas the big frozen snow weighed more than 10,000 tons. Looking down from the space, they were very densely packed as if they were formed by specks of dust.


    The speed of the frozen snow was getting faster, resembling a broad, long river and headed towards Luo Yuan.

 Chapter 542: Disc

    Chapter 542: Disc


    Trantor: EndlessFantasy Trantion Editor: EndlessFantasy Trantion


    ary Geological and Meteorological Department


    The department was established one year ago. It was also one of the departments that nobody would pay attention to.


    As the atmosphericyer in No.4 was rtively thin, the temperature was extremely low. The shell of the was stable as there was no storms and volcanic earthquakes. Ever since humans arrived at the gxy, they had never detected any geological and meteorological changes even once.


    Apart from the period when the department had just been established where an inspection was conducted everywhere and they had to construct detection stations worldwide that caused them to be slightly busy, the rest of the time, nothing seemed to have ever happened.


    At the same time, it was a big department with 30 staff when it was first established. The number of employees had now been cut down to only four, including the person in charge. If it was not a 24-hour inspection where a shift schedule was needed, perhaps one employee would be enough. Artificial intelligence could now rece humans in all aspects. Seemingly, humans were only needed to perform one final step which was the verification step.


    The department was quiet. Qi Xuefeng brewed a cup of tea and sat on the chair that was lingering in the air.


    He was working the day shift today. Before sitting down, he took a nce at the monitoring screen where a variety of data was being disyed. Everything was normal and of course, that was within his expectations.


    He leisurely leaned against the floating chair and took out a textbook of adult education. He started reading the textbook and its contents were difficult. It looked like he was suffering from the boring form and data that were dancing in his eyes.


    After reading for a few minutes, Qi Xuefeng had a severe headache and he could no longer continue reading.


    As humans entered the gxy that was rich in resources after the hypersleep, technology was an integral part of human life. The quality of life had apparently improved and had rather lenient residency restrictions.


    However, they still lived based on the hierarchy of human. Although he looked rxed at work, as a matter of fact, there was no difference between his work and the ordinary lower ss employees. Not only was he given a low sry, the use of some of the sophisticated products and services were being limited, such as the life extension medical service that he was not eligible to apply for.


    There were only two ways that he could avoid being ssified as a lower ss. He would either have to be promoted to a position that was four levels higher or to pass all sorts of qualification exams.


    Although he was reaching 35 years old, he was still at the lowest level of administrative staff. Be it the former or thetter, it was still less likely that he could achieve that.


    Qi Xuefeng sighed and put down the textbook. The qualification examination was getting tougher and tougher. He had been reading for more than half a year. However, he only managed to flip through about 10 pages of the textbook. He had to read a total of eight textbooks in order to attempt the qualification exam.


    He was at a loss. He wondered how his future would be.


    This was not the happiest time, especially for people like him. There was not much hope in life, it was like the data being disyed on the screen. There was no fluctuation. It was dull and there was nothing exciting.


    The was very calm, as if it had been injected with arge dose of tranquilizers. It was as peaceful as a dead body. Nobody paid attention to the department and it had been abandoned at a corner.


    He felt that he would go insane one day if he continued working the damn job and doing nothing all day long.


    Right this moment, it seemed like someone had heard him. The data on the monitoring screen began fluctuating. Some of the screens flickered and turned ck!


    At the same time, a warning from the artificial intelligence system was heard.


    "Warning, warning! A 2.0 magnitude earthquake strikes the ne. The gravitational force in Zone A1 and Zone A2 is disappearing. The cause of this is still unknown and the subsequent effects are unknown as well. This is a peculiar phenomenon... The information is synced to the Extraterrestrial Information Bureau."


    Qi Xuefeng was frightened and immediately stood up. He then felt happy as something big had finally happened. Before he could apply to gather the powered satellites and investigate the zones, a messageing from the artificial intelligence system was received again.


    "The reason behind it has been discovered. Warning canceled."


    "What the f*ck is happening?"


    Right this moment, be it the sky eye system located outside of the gxy or the powered satellites being installed near the had taken aim at the location where the strange phenomenon urred. With the current level of human technology, it was not difficult to detect this as it was like the difference between darkness and sunlight.


    A broad, long river that was formed by frozen snow had got rid of the gravitational force of the and flew towards space. It was a tremendously terrifying scene.


    Be it the Extraterrestrial Information Bureau or the space detection center, everything became unusually quiet as if all humans had been petrified, gazing at the god-like horrifying scene.


    However, Luo Yuan did not bother to look at the snowy long river that was flying rapidly towards him. He looked down while holding the space sphere and quickly started setting up the space channel. A section of the miniaturized universe within the space sphere was being extracted, forming a giant part four-dimensional Klein bottle.


    Soon, he formed another four-dimensional space in space and modeled a Klein bottle of the opposite orientation from the previous one.


    Two Klein bottles of different orientations then connected to each other. The miniaturized universe and space was connected.


    Since he had been practicing for several times, Luo Yuan was already quite familiar with the procedure, aside from the Klein bottle formed that was slightly bigger.


    It was an extremely big channel and the entrance had a diameter of three kilometers. Even the ssian mothership could directly enter the miniaturized universe in the space sphere through the channel.


    However, it was not the end!


    Next, Luo Yuan was going to do some slight amendments to theplicated channel. It was a precise action, even Luo Yuan had to put a lot of effort into it.


    The channel made of two Klein bottles of different orientations was actually the process of reversing and restoring space. However, due to the space warps of the two Klein channels being different, the consistency of the Klein channels before and after entering was not guaranteed, hence one¡¯s body would experience somewhat of a shape distortion.


    Perhaps when a person entered, the brain and the body would be distorted despite half of the person¡¯s brain still lingering outside. Also, one organ might possibly stack with another organ based on the nck scale.


    It was very dangerous!


    Therefore, to guarantee one¡¯s safety when entering and leaving the channel, the precision of the consistency of the two Klein channels had to be extremely high. It had to be measured in Angstroms at the very least.


    It was difficult for a huge channel to achieve such a precise level.


    It took him exactly one minute before the readjustments ended. The deviation of the space curvature was about one-third the diameter of a hydrogen atom. In fact, its precision level could be hardly increased. Since the universe and waves from space were constantly interfering, the precision level was already at its maximum.


    At this moment, the broad, long river was less than 1,000 kilometers away from Luo Yuan. Arge amount of frozen snow was dposed into ionized atoms. Most of the atoms were ones with light mass. They were mainly made of carbon, hydrogen, oxygen and other elements, thus Luo Yuan required lesser effort to achieve this.


    Of course, with Luo Yuan¡¯s current ability, that meant nothing to him.


    Carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen were forcefully merged by his Will, producing three nuclear atoms with weird shapes. This type of atom was the basicponent that formed the space sphere as it possessed the power to iste space.


    The space fluctuations would disturb the stability of the channel. Therefore, a material like this was needed to block the effect.


    The next moment, the atoms were beingpressed at full force. The energy released gave off a faint glow and lit up the entire space, resembling a beautiful neb.


    As countless atoms were flying and gathering rapidly towards the channel, a matter appeared out of nowhere and spread quickly...


    ...


    It was a giant object lying across the geosynchronous orbit. It was strange to the ordinary people as it exuded a mysterious aura.


    However, looking from the front, it was merely a big circr ring where its center was connected to the dark space. On the other hand, looking at it from behind, it was a big disc which had a thin exterior and a thick interior. There was a space sphere in the center.


    However,pared to the giant object that had a diameter of three kilometers, the space sphere that was about 10 centimeters big was seemingly an insignificant object. The whole space channel was being locked in the disc and it was directly connected to the space sphere. What was left outside was merely the entrance.

 Chapter 543: The Pace Of War

    Chapter 543: The Pace Of War


    Trantor: EndlessFantasy Trantion Editor: EndlessFantasy Trantion


    As the Space City¡¯s analog light system gradually turned bright, a new day hade.


    After Cui Weichuan had taken his breakfast, he said goodbye to his wife and quickly headed towards the maic moldingboratory.


    Thanks to his long credentials over the past 10 years and his ideas that asionally shed through his mind, he could now finally be promoted to a junior engineer from an assistant engineer, as he wished. Not only had his sry and welfare increased substantially, he was now in the upper ss of the hierarchy.


    Of course, he was qualified to purchase a flying shuttle car. However, it was expensive and so he grudged paying for that as he used to be provident of his money. Furthermore, theboratory was near to his house. He could reach there by walking for about 10 minutes, he treated it as training.


    The Space City was categorized into two areas which were the gravitational area and the non-gravitational area. Most of the experimental organizations gathered at the former. Unless it was required by the experiment, nobody was willing to stay in the non-gravitational area.


    Basically, the non-gravitational area was an unmanned industrial area.


    As he walked along the street, it was crowded and unusually noisy.


    The Space City was undoubtedly a technologically advanced city.


    There was the glowing vault made of carbon fiber that was hundreds of meters tall which imitated the blue sky and white clouds. It also managed to intimate the soft breeze produced by the airflow, they felt as if they were living in a city on Earth. They did not feel suppressed and cramped at all.


    Thanks to the unlimited supply of resources, even the conservative government employed many of the manpower and resources to decorate a fantasy-like city.


    What¡¯s the definition of fantasy? The people would say tall and strange!


    The skyscraper that towered into the sky was a building with a peculiar appearance.


    Skyscrapers or buildings with strange shape could not be seen in the Space City. One could only see three to four levels at most and they certainly would not exceed six levels.


    However, the devil was in the detail. Putting aside all the materials and technologies involved, it was a technologically advanced city. It had highly efficient artificial intelligence powered logistic system, a weather adjustment system ording to the changes of the four seasons, a vault that imitated sunlight, a vacuumed train, and a highway in the sky...


    The advanced technology was adopted in all aspects. The first half of the year, even Cui Weichuan who was working in the research field could hardly adapt to it, let alone the ordinary people. The technology was basically used for military purposes in the past and was less likely adopted for civilian use.


    It was now all shown in front of the people, causing them to feel like the technology was misused.


    Most of the ordinary people did not have a thorough understanding of the human technological development. Their educational level was limited as many of them still remained at the same educational level before leaving Earth.


    However, when they suddenly realized that human technology had be so advanced in about 10 years, it seemed unbelievable to them.


    ...


    On a three-dimensional screen at the crossroads, old songs were being yed as usual. Cui Weichuan did not pay much attention to it and quickly walked forward.


    Human culture after the battle had been left behind as the songs and movies were all that remained during the Reconstruction Era. Hundreds of songs and more than 10 movies were being yed repeatedly over the past 10 years. He was bored of listening to them and watching them.


    Right this moment, Cui Weichuan found out that the crowd suddenly stopped moving!


    "What¡¯s happening?" He asked himself in doubt. Looking at the crowd, he noticed that the people were all staring at the three-dimensional screen.


    He had no idea when the song had stopped ying and a beautiful emcee appeared on the screen.


    "... We interrupt this for an urgent announcement!" Soon, the vice-mayor, Bi Jianping appeared on the screen and his face looked grave. He kept quiet for a moment before saying this, "The public and the residents, I¡¯m the vice-mayor, Bi Jianping and also currently representing mayor Luo to make an important announcement." Bi Jianping carefully said that he was representing Luo Yuan. He was overstepping his authority. Although Luo Yuan might not care, he could still easily be the target of criticism.


    "The year 2010 is a memorable day for all humans. It was the time when the antidote virus was used by the ssian and caused a terrifying disaster to ur..."


    Cui Weichuan and the crowd that was listening to him had their heart sank and their face gradually turned grave.


    "The ssians n with obvious killing intention had killed billions of people. After the destruction, it turned the humans that were struggling to survive into ashes.


    They were the newborn babies!


    The weak woman!


    The senior citizens!


    There were also our parents, our rtives, and our friends!


    ...


    Perhaps we are lucky to still be alive.


    We retreated and escaped. We are finally here, at a gxy that is about to die, struggling to survive. However, the ssian are not going to let us go because our existence is a sin."


    "In yesterday afternoon, the sky eye system being installed in space detected the traces of the ssian. They areing after us and they are going to wipe us out.


    Three years, there are three more years to go.


    The war is not going to end until one party dies and the star is destroyed. Nobody willpromise nor surrender. Be it the army or the citizens, they will live or die together.


    Now, I¡¯m representing mayor Luo to officially announce that humans are getting ready for war."


    ...


    Cui Weichuan and the citizens had subconsciously clenched their fists and their eyes shed with a trace of fury.


    One could easily forget hatred as most of them had already forgotten to take revenge on the ssian. Perhaps they subconsciously tried not to think about it. However, nobody admitted that they were born to be contemptible. Nobody wanted to be killed by the ssian as if killing a bug.


    In just one day, the aura of war spread out to every corner. The entire Space City was shrouded in a repressed atmosphere.


    This day, countless people were angry!


    This day, countless people were feeling insecure!


    This day, countless people were eager to fight!


    ...


    A few dayster, they officially started recruiting soldiers.


    The number of soldiers that they had recruited earlier had reached 100,000. Aside from the small number of the space army, armed forces were not established by humans for a long time. They had to be trained again.


    Other than that, a modified and more aggressive space defensive n had officiallyunched.


    It was a massive project. No.4 would be used as the center in the n. The defense range would cover up to a radius of one light day. More than 10,000 gamma-ray cannons and more than 100,000 set ofser and maostic weapon systems.


    Since the development of human technology, the productivity of industries would be less dependant on the number of employees. As they managed to master the unmanned factory technique and the artificial intelligence system, most of the production work could be operated without even a single employee.


    As long as they had endless resources, their productivity could be duplicated and expanded.


    ...


    Luo Yuan did not pay much attention to their preparation for the war. The spacious mansion seemed to have isted him from everything. The aura of war seemed to have disappeared as soon as it reached there.


    Luo Yuan was carefully holding his Zhanmadao as he was afraid that he would break it when he was unaware.


    The edge of the Zhanmadao¡¯s sharp de turned back. The de was chipped as he subconsciously touched it just now.


    A material that was originally hard, was very soft to Luo Yuan. There was nothing different from ordinary material. Despite having spatial waves surrounding the de of the Zhanmadao, it was still unable to cut through his skin.


    The energy of the waves was too weak. An advanced material that had beenpressed to apressibility ratio of 1,000 could perfectly absorb its energy.


    The sword had apanied him for more than 10 years. However, it could no longer keep up with his pace.

 Chapter 544: Conflict

    Chapter 544: Conflict


    Trantor: EndlessFantasy Trantion Editor: EndlessFantasy Trantion


    Luo Yuan was about to modify his Zhanmadao.


    He first used his Will to inspect the Zhanmadao. It was aplex of metal atoms and biomacromolecules. They were not arranged chaotically but they were in an orderly manner.


    Without a doubt, it was an excellent material. Despite being iparable to the advanced materials, be it its physical properties or chemical properties, they were superbpared to ordinary materials. Human technology was unable to produce materials with such strength just by using ordinary materials.


    However, these materials could easily be duplicated by Luo Yuan.


    Soon, a new Zhanmadao appeared in his hand.


    Both looked the same as if they were produced by the same mold. Even the atomic structure was the same. However, Luo Yuan could feel that both Zhanmadaos were totally different and he could distinguish the difference between them.


    One of the Zhanmadao resembled an extension of flesh and blood as it was closely linked to his body. It seemed like it was breathing like a living being. As an ordinary person approached it, one could feel the coldness of the Zhanmadao. However, the other of his Zhanmadao did not give off an aura. Aside from both of them having the same sharpness, there was nothing special about it.


    Furthermore, a duplicated Zhanmadao did not possess the power of the original.


    In fact, Luo Yuan did not feel surprised as he did not duplicate itpletely. With his microscopic vision by using his Will, he only managed to look through the neutronyer. He was incapable of looking through particles that were even smaller such as the Quark or Lepton.


    The imprinted Will itself was a substance in the deepyer which was made of the quantum-entanglement reaction. With his current ability, he was still unable to look through it. In addition, his Zhanmadao possessed the ability to cut through space. It was apparent that the substance was made of a something with a higher level energy wave.


    He then recalled the integration ability of the system previously. Despite him being rational it was still unavoidable that he was stimted by it.


    When he first started using it, he felt that it was amazing and did not think any further. However, he was in fear as he recalled it now. There must be immense technological abilities behind that power.


    As he knew more about the unknown super civilization of the system, Luo Yuan could feel how strong it was.


    The definition of strength was no longer about the amount of energy. Instead, it was about one¡¯s ability to control the microscopic particles. Anyone who had greater control over the microscopic particles, that person would have a better understanding of the nature of the universe and was thus the stronger one.


    Human technology only managed to look through the elementsyer. Compared to the unknown civilization, it was like an ant facing an elephant. As the elephant lifted its leg, it could easily kill the ant and turn it into minced meat.


    Even Luo Yuan was just slightly stronger than those ants.


    He frowned and snapped himself out of his thoughts since it was useless to think about it.


    The next moment, two Zhanmadao dposed instantly and at the same time, arge number of substances started merging together. One secondter, a new Zhanmadao reappeared on his hand.


    The new Zhanmadao waspressed to a ratio of 60,000 and weighed 1,000 tons.


    However, it was very light to him and he could lift it up effortlessly.


    Luo Yuan took a nce at it and soon, he ced it on a weapons rack nearby.


    As a matter of fact, the weapons meant nothing to him. As a part four-dimensional being, his Will was the strongest and was also the source of his energy. He made a new Zhanmadao just because he was prompted by a sudden impulse.


    Luo Yuan was not as calm as he expected since when he had been informed of the ssian that wasing. It somehow affected him.


    It was a sudden impulse caused by the war. It was a living being¡¯s desire to counterattack when facing danger. Luo Yuan subconsciously got himself ready for the war. Regardless if it was useful or useless, regardless if the opponent was strong or weak.


    ...


    In the afternoon, Chen Xinjie and Luo Junchao came to visit Luo Yuan.


    "Junchao, call daddy!" Chen Xinjie urged, seeing that her son was keeping quiet.


    "Daddy!" Luo Junchao shouted in fear, holding his breath.


    He had met his father again after several years. However, his father was a stranger to him. He had a non-human skin tone, which was a ceramic white color and an oppressive aura. He was spending his years in seclusion. All of these had caused him to have an extreme fear of his father.


    Luo Yuan nodded his head as he saw both of them, "What brings you here?"


    He asked coldly as if the two of them standing in front of him were strangers instead of his woman and his adopted son. Luo Junchao felt strange, seeing such a situation for the first time. However, Chen Xinjie was used to it and had given up on him.


    He answered coldly, "Your son wants to join the army and seek death. I can¡¯t convince him. Are you going to bother about this?"


    Luo Yuan did not answer and switched his gaze towards Luo Junchao, "Why do you want to join the army!?"


    Luo Junchao was frightened and he dared not raise his head up. He answered cowardly, "The ssians are ruthless. They want to wipe the human race out. I want... I want to be a hero like daddy. I want to rescue the humans!"


    The soldier recruitment propaganda could be seen everywhere and it filled the atmosphere with passion. Luo Junchao was influenced by that. He was already 14 years old. ording to the war provisions act, he was qualified to join the army.


    "However, you don¡¯t have my strength. You¡¯re just an ordinary person and you can¡¯t be a hero. You¡¯ll be a cannon fodder if you join the war. You¡¯d die anytime." Luo Yuan maintained a neutral tone.


    Luo Junchao was going through the rebellious stage. He was stimted by Luo Yuan as he criticized him. Still, he dared not raise his head up but said with courage, "I¡¯m not afraid of death. Humans have reached a point where their existence is at stake. Nobody can escape this. As your son, I should set an example for the rest. Even if die, it¡¯s meaningful."


    "Do you really want to join the army?" Luo Yuan asked.


    "Yes!" Luo Junchao answered without hesitation.


    "Luo Yuan!" Chen Xinjie did not care how strong Luo Yuan was. As a mother, ever since her son was born, he was her loved one. Especially when Luo Yuan was cold to her, her son was her everything. Right this moment, she shouted at Luo Yuan as it seemed like he agreed with him.


    Looking at Chen Xinjie who was angry, Luo Yuan said without any facial expression, "I can¡¯t convince him because it is a free-will decision. I respect his decision. Perhaps I can modify his memory and change his way of thinking. But I guess that you won¡¯t agree to do so and he won¡¯t ept it as well." Luo Yuan said calmly. However, what he said was frightening.


    In fact, if Luo Yuan had no feelings for them, he would not consider things so much and ask him patiently. He would have directly altered his memory where he could save his time and the oue would be better. Just like what he did to Meng Junhua.


    Chen Xinjie was angry and left together with Luo Junchao. Seeing both of them leave, Luo Yuan stood still.

 Chapter 545: Mystery

    Chapter 545: Mystery


    Trantor: EndlessFantasy Trantion Editor: EndlessFantasy Trantion


    Ever since he had entered the fourth-dimension, the primary changes in Luo Yuan were neither his strength nor his speed of thinking. It was his mode of thinking instead.


    The first two would be the changes in quantity whereas thetter would be the changes in quality.


    Under normal circumstances, a person would usually apply linear thinking for solving problems.


    It was like the construction of a road. In order to construct the road from one end to another conscientiously, there would be a starting point as well as an ending point. One would skip nothing in between. However, Luo Yuan would use a multithreaded thinking to solve problems where segmental construction would be done. A road would be separated into thousands of sections and the construction would be carried out concurrently. Perhaps during the construction of the road, there were thousands of roads being built at the same time.


    He had been carrying out countlessputations in his mind all the time. All these were his innate abilities and he did it subconsciously. Many of them were meaningless, though.


    Based on theplexity of the information being handled, it could be as small as the changes in airflow caused by his movement and as big as the effect caused by the cracking of ice to No.4.


    It was the ability of a four-dimensional being to have full control over the information where a huge amount of data would gush into his mind at any time and they were handled instantly.


    Due to his highly efficientputational ability, before his emotion could react to it, his mind had already made the final decision. Despite it might not be the best decision as most of the decisions made were cruel, it was somehow the most effective and beneficial one.


    "It¡¯s getting tougher for me to adapt to the human society."


    Luo Yuan sighed and soon, he snapped himself out of his thoughts.


    ...


    12 huge interster spaceships were in a circr arrangement and were 10 light years away. They were traveling with a warp drive, heading towards one of the gxies.


    A thickyer of densely packed photons was formed in front of the spaceship, emitting a dazzling light. As the fleets passed, space waves were formed, spreading wider and wider. They wereing unscrupulously.


    The spaceship of the fleets was entirely different from the ssian spaceship that went on an expedition on Earth.


    Not only was it much bigger, its shape was no longer of a perfect disc shape. It looked more like a sharp prism with an extremely smooth and shiny surface. It was beautifully engineered.


    Traveling at the superluminal speed and the sub-light speed waspletely different! The former would only need to consider when the meteorites struck and would not have to worry about the light pressure. The spaceship would not need to consider the flight dynamics or the effects that the shape would cause. However, one would not need to consider the impact of meteorites for thetter but light pressure would be the main issue.


    In fact, traveling at the superluminal speed was simr to traveling within the atmosphericyer to some extent. As the speed exceeded the light of speed, there would be an increase in the light pressure index. There would be an intense impact between the photons and the surface of the spaceship. The pressure produced would affect the spaceship¡¯s stability and heat durability.


    This would also cause the shape of the ssian spaceship to look rather simr to the flight vehicles within the atmosphericyer. The shape would be smoother as to reduce the light pressure.


    To a certain extent, it was a trace to its source.


    ...


    A meeting was held in the warmand center which was located in one of the spaceship that was slightly bigger.


    On the big three-dimensional screen, aplete gxy was gradually rotating. If humans were here, they would find out that it was the Barnard¡¯s Star.


    "Based on theputation of the artificial intelligence system, the ability of the first generation of the interster flight to make a long voyage and for the humans to arrive at this gxy is up to 99%. However, when required, we can reactivate the positioning system." One of the ssian who was short said as he looked rxed. "The natives thought that they can escape by owning our spaceship. However, they¡¯ll never expect that a positioning system is secretly installed in the spaceship. Even the designer of the spaceship does not know about this. Perhaps it¡¯s in a hidden corner or somewhere in theyer of the fusion furnace. It might be equipped in the interior of the armor of the spaceship." He teased and everyone who attended the meeting burst intoughter.


    "Perhaps when we arrive, they still know nothing about it. But they¡¯ll definitely not able to escape this time." Another ssianughed and said, "Unfortunately, the order is topletely wipe the human race out. Not a single one can survive. Otherwise, we can capture some of the people."


    As the ssian was more likely to be threatened by humans, the standard of the war had reached its peak. The ssian was all gathered in the interster warship of the second generation, doing their utmost best to destroy humanity.


    All of them were confident that there would be no idents and it was impossible for that to happen.


    Therefore, the atmosphere was quite rxed in the meeting room as none of them felt that the expedition would be a risky one.


    However, the ssian who was sitting at the head of the table did notugh. He looked old and was dressed in luxurious, ritualized attire, allowing him to stand out from the crowd.


    He frowned. As themander, He was the second best ssian. He had no idea why ever since the journey started, he felt insecure.


    Since he was small, he was different from the rest. He was sensitive to danger. Perhaps it was because of his instinct, his career was going smooth and managed to be the second-best ssian from an ordinary soldier.


    Right this moment, seeing his colleagues that looked rxed, he was worried. He somehow felt that the crowd had to be alert.


    "Don¡¯t be careless and never underestimate the intelligent race."


    As he talked, all theughter stopped and carefully listened to him.


    "They are somehow simr to us as they are also the intelligent race. The only difference is that we¡¯re taking the lead. Based on the estimation of the scientific institution, after owning our first generation interster spaceship, they¡¯ll experience a technology explosion. They¡¯ll adopt our technology and it¡¯ll be used as a reference to reduce the distance between us. Within 10 years, our winning rate is 99.9%. 20 yearster, the winning rate will be reduced to 95%. 50 yearster, the probability of winning is only 30%. Of course, this will happen when they have aplete research system. The actual situation might be slightly better. However, we can¡¯t underestimate our enemy. Defending in ce will, of course, be better than going on a long voyage. This will reduce the gap in technology between us. Also, please not forget that how the natives managed to get aplete spaceship..."


    As he said that, the ssian¡¯s heart sank. They looked no longer rxed and their face took on a ghastly expression instead. It was still an unsolved mystery and nothing logical could exin that.


    Based on the technology development report of this race which was obtained from the first generation spaceship, the entire race was in the initial stage in possessing the ability to travel in space. They could still not get out of the mothership. How did they get the spaceship?


    Why did the spaceship not fight back during that time?


    Besides, they activated the spaceship and escaped a few yearster!


    This indicated that the spaceship was not severely damaged. A mysterious power seemed to have existed.


    Unfortunately, the distance was too far and the message from the spaceship could not be delivered immediately, causing the disaster to happen. Everything was shrouded in thick mist along with a mysterious veil.


    "Therefore, we have to be well prepared for the war. Perhaps the journey will not be a rxing one. It is a battle between two civilizations and this is thest chance. If we failed the mission, it¡¯ll be impossible for us to remove the danger anymore. The longer it is, the better the defense system of the opponent is. As the technological gap is reduced, our chances of winning will be smaller."

 Chapter 546: Feelings

    Chapter 546: Feelings


    Trantor: EndlessFantasy Trantion Editor: EndlessFantasy Trantion


    In the big spaceship manufacturing factory at the border of the Space City, six space yards were arranged in a row. A huge gantry was waving arge number of robotic arms as it resembled a strong yet sensitive giant that was quickly assembling the spaceship.


    Blue mes were spitting out nonstop from one of the space yards. Soon, a huge spaceship gradually left the space yard and flew towards space. The first flight test began.


    ...


    At a distance that was more than a hundred million kilometers, the cabin door of a remote cargo ship was opened. A construction robot with a height of more than 10 meters was pushing the weapon modules forward and left the spaceship, flying towards space.


    A few dayster, a weaponunching tform that measured more than 200 meters in diameter appeared in space.


    Such a weaponunching tform appeared at almost every 100,000 kilometers. They were densely packed like a huge three-dimensionalwork. Beams of dazzling lights shot across the space asionally and disappeared far away.


    ...


    In just a blink of an eye, three years had almost passed.


    The mining area of No.4 had been expanded to hundred timesrger aspared to three years ago. The area in a circumference of thousands of kilometers was upied by hundred millions of mining machines. Looking down from the space, the entire had sunken, losing a lot of matters. The deathly stillness which originally hung over No.4 had disappeared as the began to tremble.


    The war wasing, creating a heavy and an oppressive atmosphere in the Space City.


    ...


    At the warmand center.


    "Have you detected the exact position?"


    Bi Jianping walked into the warmand center and said in his husky voice. Over the past two years, he was stressing out and his body was getting weaker and weaker. It seemed like the lifespan extension technique had no effect on him. In just three years, it seemed like he was 10 years older. He now looked like an old man who was at about the age of 70.


    "They did not slow down and has been traveling at the superluminal speed. The artificial intelligence system is unable to identify its exact location." The rear admiral who was a middle-aged man said as his face took on a ghastly expression.


    Since the armed forces were just established, there was neither achievement nor qualification. The military ranks of the soldiers were not high and the rear admiral was the highest position among humans.


    As the crowd entered themand hall, many of the staffs were seen hustling and bustling. Since were rushing tounch the space defense system, they were busy preparing for the preliminary test.


    Bi Jianping looked at the big screen at the center, a light source that looked like a cursor was flickering and moving towards the Barnard¡¯s Star.


    "How far is it away from us?"


    "It¡¯s about 0.3 light years away!" The colonel kept quiet for a while and said.


    Bi Jianping¡¯s heart sank. If the opponent maintained at such a speed, humans were just one month away from the war.


    "We don¡¯t have much time left!" Bi Jianping sighed.


    The atmosphere was indescribably repressed.


    Flying at the superluminal speed was beyondprehension. It was faster than the speed of light which indicated that before you could see it, it already appeared in front of you. The only way to estimate its approximate position was to obtain several values of the space wave and estimate the approximate position of the origin of the wave.


    However, there would be serious errors in calction. The stars in the gxy and the rest of the space waves in the universe would interfere. A slight deviation in angles would lead to a difference in distance for more than 10,000 kilometers or even more than 10 millions of kilometers. In order to attack based on the location of the space wave, the probability of hitting the target would be hundred million times smaller than the probability of winning a lottery.


    This was the only method where humans could detect their opponent. They could only pray that the ssian would stop flying using a warp drive and have a tough fight against them. However, the hope was frail.


    Humans warp drive engine was still under experimental conditions despite the fact that the theories and data were close to perfect. The first spaceship already went on a short-distance journey for several times. ording to the gravitational force of the gxy, unless it went very close to the gxy, otherwise, it would basically not be interfered.


    They would possibly arrive in front of the Space City. The entire space defense system would be rendered useless by then.


    "The evacuation n should start now!" Bi Jianping thought to himself.


    ...


    "Madam, we shall go now." A security officer said respectfully at the manor, next to a luxurious flying shuttle.


    "Let¡¯s go!" Huang Jiahui took a nce at the manor as she was reluctant to leave. She had no idea could she stille back after she left.


    Few of them then sat on the flying shuttle and soon, it flew off into the sky and left.


    Wang Shishi leaned against the window, staring at the scenery outside the window. Countless flying shuttles were flying across the sky like fishes. Humans were probably leaving the Space City and entered the miniaturized universe.


    Over the past three years, a new Space City had been built over there.


    In fact, one and a half year ago, humans had started the construction work in the miniaturized universe and started moving the matters. Now, humans were capable of achieving self-sufficiency. The avability of arge number of resources was sufficient for the development and human survival for 100 years.


    "Please wait, I¡¯m getting off the flying shuttle." Wang Shishi shouted.


    The security officer looked troubled, "But there¡¯s only half an hour left until the next scheduled flight."


    "Let her do so." Huang Jianghui was looking at the manor from afar and sighed. It was Luo Yuan¡¯s mansion, a spacious and secluded ce.


    Soon, the flying shuttlended in front of Luo Yuan¡¯s mansion and stopped. The security officer then opened the door.


    "I¡¯m going to visit Brother Luo, do you guys want to follow me?" Wang Shishi turned back and asked them as she got off the flying shuttle.


    "No, you may go ande back soon." Huang Jiahui shook her head and said, looking heavy hearted.


    "I¡¯m not going as well. He¡¯s not who he used to be." Zhao Yali¡¯s eyes turned red, trying to wipe away her tears.


    Without saying a word, Wang Xiaguang turned her head away.


    "I... I¡¯m not going too." Chen Jiayi said. She was now afraid of Luo Yuan and he was no longer a family member to her. She did not feel like going at all.


    Wang Shishi was upset and depressed, seeing none of them wanted to visit him.


    "I¡¯ll leave then." She cried while turning back.


    She ran to the manor, right to the living hall and slowed down. She had not been there for almost a year. However, nothing seemed to have changed. Everything still looked stone cold and there was no vitality. She wiped her tears before entering.


    However, Luo Yuan noticed that at first nce, "Did you cry?"


    "No, the wind blow sands into my eye."


    "The air in the Space City was about 100 nanometers small. An ordinary person won¡¯t feel ufortable for that!" Luo Yuan said, "It¡¯s because you lied!"


    Wang Shishi was stunned, looking at Luo Yuan. She had no idea how could he be like that. Perhaps love was easily forgettable.


    "I¡¯m sorry!" Thanks to the human memory, Luo Yuan could soon react to it. He maintained a neutral tone where one could not feel that he was apologizing sincerely, "I shouldn¡¯t have said that. Why did you look for me?"


    Wang Shishi then recovered from her thoughts. She was upset. As what Sister Zhao said, Luo Yuan was no longer who they used to know. She held her tears back and said, "Brother Luo, we¡¯re leaving. We¡¯re going to the miniaturized universe."


    "I saw it. You have 14 minutes and 35 seconds left until the next scheduled flight. You shouldn¡¯t havee to see me. You¡¯ll have to wait for the next flight now." Luo Yuan did not show his impatience and said without any facial expression.


    "Brother Luo, do you still remember me?" Wang Shishi looked at him and asked in disappointment.


    "Yes, I do. I could clearly remember every second with you ever since we met." Luo Yuan immediately answered. Still, he had no expression on his face and said in a neutral tone.


    "Why did you be so cold to us? Don¡¯t you have any feelings for us? If I die here, will you still remain unaffected?" Wang Shishi could no longer hold her tears back. She had had enough all these years. She tried so hard to retrieve their rtionship but he had been cold to her. She eventually burst into tears as she thought of the hard times she had been through.


    Luo Yuan could clearly see that drops of tears rolled uncontrobly down her face. Luo Yuan was stunned and strangely, he did not answer immediately.


    Feelings! It was the first time Luo Yuan thought of this. He then realized that he was unfamiliar with the word as if it was his first time listening to this word.

 Chapter 547: Awakening

    Chapter 547: Awakening


    Trantor: EndlessFantasy Trantion Editor: EndlessFantasy Trantion


    What was a feeling? A wave of knowledge filled him and soon, Luo Yuan got the answer.


    From a psychological perspective, feelings resulted from the strong mental reaction to external stimuli where actions were revealed unintentionally. Showing great concern for person or thing and emotions of love and hate was a unique way of expressing oneself to the objective reality. It was the human attitude towards an objective matter whether it fulfilled one¡¯s personal requirement.


    On the other hand, from a biological perspective, it was a biofeedback where a person would choose situations that would give one an advantage, avoiding those which put one at a disadvantage. It was an electrochemical reaction where the secretion of hormones was taken into consideration.


    However, no matter how well he could understand the definition of feelings, Luo Yuan found out that he could not feel it at all.


    He had no feeling of dislike or hatred. Even now that the ssian wasing, he felt nothing special about it and not even a tinge of emotion he had.


    Aside from his urge to destroy, he had no other feelings. However, it was not a feeling of hatred but a person¡¯s instinct when the danger was near. It was like when a goat provoked a tiger the tiger would have a strong killing intent.


    He could no longer feel the feeling of love, friendship, and family. He would feel bothered and it was a waste of time to him when his woman visited him. He was being impatient. He hated to interact with people, regardless of who the person was.


    The conversation between them was only a few bytes per second. It was indeed hardly tolerable to Luo Yuan who could handle hundred million megabytes of messages.


    However, as he thought of it repeatedly, he realized that nothing was wrong. Feeling was an unnecessary emotion and it could even be a burden to him who was seeking for improvement in his ability.


    As his brain had a strongputational ability, he was being dominated by rationality and his way of thinking tended to be data-oriented. Thus, he would instinctively seek advantage while avoiding those which put him at a disadvantage.


    Seeing Luo Yuan did not respond to her even after a long while, Wang Shishi stopped crying and looked at him. She looked disappointed, "Brother Luo, is it that you have nothing to tell me? You really don¡¯t mind it, do you?"


    As Luo Yuan recovered from his thoughts, he said as he started to get a little impatient, "I think that¡¯s all. Huang Jiahui and the rest are stilling waiting for you, it¡¯s time to leave!"


    Luo Yuan¡¯s coldness had caused Wang Shishi¡¯s heart to sink and she was chilled to the bone. She had fallen into despair and all of a sudden, she smiled wickedly, "Brother Luo, am I pretty?"


    "Of course, you are." Luo Yuan could not understand why and just told her the fact. Despite the perfect humans were now all grown up, Wang Shishi was still the prettiest of them all.


    Wang Shishi then took out a stripper clip. The stripper clip was emerald green and it had two sharp clips. It was jade green in color associated with a jade-like texture. It was a weapon that Luo Yuan gave her before the apocalypse which was also her favorite item. She grabbed the stripper clip in hand, looking pitiful and said, "Do you still remember the first time we met? My parents aren¡¯t home and I¡¯m alone. I was frightened and hungry. You¡¯re the one who gave me food. I¡¯m so burdensome to you but still, you brought me to the Reconstruction Area. Without you, I¡¯d have died."


    Nobody knew that when Wang Shishi was at the lowest point of her life, she met Luo Yuan. She was not even 14 years old at that time. Since then, Luo Yuan was everything to her. It grew from the feeling of respect to affection, it was the simplest yet most affectionate love.


    When the rest of them had given up on Luo Yuan and were in despair, she still had the passion for him and at the same time, she was the one who could not ept Luo Yuan¡¯s coldness the most.


    In Luo Yuan¡¯s mind, he had predicted what would happen next. However, he remained unaffected and still, seeing everything to happen.


    "You¡¯re the one who saved my life. Therefore, I¡¯m giving back to you now. I¡¯d like to see would you still remain indifferent even after I die."


    Soon, Wang Shishi looked at Luo Yuan unwillingly and pierced the stripper clip through her temples.


    The stripper clip was produced from the scaled horn of a high-level creature. It could easily prate through her temples. Her life was like firecrackers as it ended beautifully and quickly. The next moment, Wang Shishi¡¯s body trembled and fell to the ground.


    Luo Yuan remained calm despite he had seen everything. He was not triggered and remained still. He did not stop Wang Shishi who died in front of her.


    It seemed like he had lost touch with the world, watching everything to happen coldly from a third-person perspective.


    However, he could not stop recalling the scene when she fell to the ground. Countless memories of him and Wang Shishi gushed into his mind.


    She was innocent, passionate and being attached to him. Pieces of memories quickly shed through his mind.


    Eventually, sadness took hold in his mind. It was like a spark that was growing rapidly and soon, it upied his mind. He was upset and unwilling to let her go.


    Soon, his sense of alienation from the world gradually subsided. As he recovered from his thoughts, seeing Wang Shishi¡¯s body that was getting colder, he sighed while a flicker of humanity shed through his gaze. The next moment, an immense Will rushed out of his body.


    The entire Space City had trembled a little!


    His eyes were empty and had lost his focus. The whole world seemed to have be the world of atoms to him. The terrifyingputational ability of his brain clearly recorded the changes in all atoms each picosecond. With his memory, he could easily restore the atoms to its original state.


    The living hall was shrouded in his tremendously terrifying power. All the atoms were controlled by his Will and the atoms were under reflux.


    The next moment, the cold dead body soon regained its temperature. The heart that had stopped soon started beating and it was akin to a video yback. Wang Shishi was standing on the ground and her blood started circting. Lastly, the stripper clip was being pulled out of her temples inch by inch.


    The entire process was like the turning back of time.


    ...


    "You¡¯re the one who saved my life. Therefore, I¡¯m giving back to you now. I¡¯d like to see..." Before Wang Shishi finished her words, "Wait!" Luo Yuan interrupted.


    "What do you want to say?" Wang Shishi¡¯s hand was trembling. She stopped and asked coldly.


    "You asked me would I still remain indifferent even after you¡¯ve died. My answer is no! Thank you Shishi, it seems like I¡¯ve understood something!" Luo Yuan said despite his tone was still cold but it somehow sounded different.


    "What did you understand?" Wang Shishi¡¯s wish to die had subsided.


    "It¡¯s the meaning of life!" Luo Yuan said after thinking for a while.


    Soon, Wang Shishi left and she was inexplicably happy.


    ...


    After Wang Shishi had left, Luo Yuan instantly appeared at somewhere near the gxy. He closed his eyes and was lying across the sky. Under the influence of gravitational force, he revolved freely around the gxy.


    He could finally sense that something was wrong.


    Luo Yuan was finally awakened to the fact!


    He found out that the decision he made each time was not a subjective decision but was based on the results of the analysis. When Wang Shishi was angry andmitted suicide, he had analyzed that her death would do no harm to him. Therefore, even if he could easily stop her frommitting suicide, he did nothing and allowed everything to happen.


    His strongputational ability seemed to have caused him to be the puppet ofputation, weakening his consciousness.


    All this did not happen suddenly but gradually.


    When he just entered the fourth-dimension, despite he was being cold to them but his condition was not that bad yet. He would still mind what people think about him, especially Chen Xinjie. He would be annoyed by his body that was growing bigger in size and would try his best to reduce the size of his body.


    However, as time passed, his feelings towards them subsided and soon, he relied on his brain that possessed a strongputational ability to make a decision and was dominated by rationality. He could no longer distinguish between the thought of his objective consciousness and the judgment made based on his rationality. He slowly entered a maze.


    Seemingly, nothing was wrong since all the decisions made were right. Humans would lie but data and logic would not. As a matter of fact, it would result in the weakening of one¡¯s subjective consciousness.


    Ultimately, it was because his Will was still too weak and could no longer dominate his mind which had such a strongputational ability.


    His Will had infused with the ocean of data. Over the past three years, there was no improvement in his Will but it had regressed to a certain extent. Previously, he was lost in thought and could not figure out the reason behind this. Right this moment, he was finally awakened to the fact.


    His Will was neither cold nor ruthless. It was the persistence of his subjective consciousness and the way where it expressed oneself.


    Without the subjective consciousness, life would be a machine withputational logic. Regardless of one¡¯s strength and omniscience, one would only be a low-level creature that was seeking for advantages while avoiding the disadvantages. One would have lost the meaning of life.

 Chapter 548: New Life

    Chapter 548: New Life


    Trantor: EndlessFantasy Trantion Editor: EndlessFantasy Trantion


    However, he would not be able to stop the future trouble right after realizing it.


    The strongputational ability that his brain possessed allowed him to receive a huge amount of astronomical messages every second. The messages were quickly processed by his brain and most of them were either done instinctively or subconsciously.


    It was like when a person woke up from sleep and opened one¡¯s eyes, the information of what one could hear, see, feel, and smell would gush into the person¡¯s head. Even when one did not pay close attention to it, those messages were still unavoidable.


    He was being ced in an ocean of information all the time. Even if he was aware of it now, it was unavoidable that his mind would be invaded, distorted and eventually, assimted after a long period of time. He would be a puppet of his own mind that possessed theputational ability.


    It was because his Will was not strong enough to dominate his brain that had the super ability of thinking.


    There were only two ways to resolve this problem. One of it was to strengthen his Will so that his Will could have control over his brain. The second way would be to weaken one¡¯s ability of retrieving information. When the amount of information received was reduced, its ability to invade his mentality would be weakened as well.


    The former one could solve the problem once and for all. However, it was unrealistic since it was not easy to strengthen one¡¯s Will. It was a spiritual power which much depended on a living being¡¯s subjective consciousness. It was different from physical strength where it could be quickly aplished through biological modification approaches. It had to be done step by step and there would be no shortcuts.


    Despite thetter would be a temporary solution as it would still slowly invade his mentality, it was somehow the only way that could solve Luo Yuan¡¯s current problem.


    As soon as he had made up his mind, he immediately acted as he was experienced. He was able to modify his body with ease.


    He first reduced his level of vision by reducing the molecr size that could be seen by his eyes to what could be seen by an ordinary human.


    As soon as it was being adjusted, his sense of alienation from the reality had been further reduced and his consciousness had be clearer.


    He recovered from his thoughts and started adjusting other of his sensory organs.


    Ironically, his sensory organs were being modified to be extremely powerful previously. Right now, he had to readjust it.


    Since he had his body modified, his self-consciousness disappeared quickly.


    As his sense of touch, smell, hearing, pain, and vision had all been readjusted, his self-consciousness had be clearer. He could felt a tinge of happiness and was touched. He was slightly delighted physically and mentally.


    He felt like he was drunk and tipsy, recalling the beautiful moments that passed through his mind. Thest time when he felt this was six years ago when he first mastered the technique to reduce the size of his body.


    He was unfamiliar with it as he felt it again now.


    However, it was not enough by just reducing the messages received by his five senses. He was different from an ordinary creature as the messages that he received were of different dimensionalities. Not only were the messages received through the five senses of his body, they were received via his Sense as well as his four-dimensional vision that was capable of receiving the astronomical messages.


    The data received by his sensory organs was less than 0.5% of the total amount of data handled by Luo Yuan.


    The data retrieved via his Sense was only 8% of them whereas the remaining data was the four-dimensional messages. They upied an absolute amount of messages and they were also the culprit that caused his mind to be dominated by his rationality.


    Fortunately, it was easy for the screening of the four-dimensional messages where an energy protectiveyer was effective in reducing the ability of his four-dimensional vision.


    Of course, Luo Yuan would no longer need to put on a funny band on his forehead as his body itself was a great source of energy. The energy produced by the mitochondria in his cells through the fusion reaction was on par with the energy that could be generated by a small-sized atomic bomb.


    Luo Yuan had investigated the structure of the band before. It was a stableplex structure. Despite it had been more than 10 years but he could still remember every detail clearly. Soon, he immersed himself in his Will. The cells beneath his scalp instantly dposed. They were then quickly modified and merged with each other in only 1/100 second. A dim, weak light was emitted out of his forehead.


    It seemed like a beam of light had prated through his hard skin.


    Luo Yuan touched his forehead and could only feel that it was slightly hot. He waspletely fine. Furthermore, it was a releasing a beam of dim light. It was not visible to the naked eyes of an ordinary human during the daytime.


    Perhaps nobody would know that the high-temperature smayer in his body had reached hundreds of degree Celsius. He now had a blurry four-dimensional vision. He felt relieved in a humanized way.


    As soon as Luo Yuan regained his senses, he was stunned as he realized that he waspletely different.


    He was being emotional just now and even cared about what others felt about him.


    Despite his sensory organs had been weakened where the high-definition images which he usually saw had be pixel images. The big gap in his senses had made him felt like an ordinary person turning into a blind and deaf person. He felt that his body was numb as he could no longer feel the impact of the dust in space on his skin.


    However, he felt revived.


    Yes, it was how reviving felt like.


    He felt like he had broken free from the shackles and got to know the world again. He became more sensitive spiritually and had rity in his heart.


    Soon, he floated in the sky, staring at the Red Dwarf Star not far away from him. He had been seeing this star for countless times ever since humans moved over here. Each of the details could be seen clearly in the past. However, at this moment, he felt that it was his first time seeing this and he felt curious about it.


    Luo Yuan decided to follow his curiosity and desire and teleported to the surface of the star.


    Looking it from afar, the Red Dwarf Star looked unusually tame. However, as he looked at it closely, it looked like a furious giant that was spitting mes everywhere. Despite it was an old star, it was somehow still a star.


    mes that measured a length of hundreds of kilometers shed across the sky and were being pulled down from mid-air under the influence of gravitational force.


    Soon, Luo Yuannded on the surface of the star. It was like Moses stretching out his hand over the sea, where the mes were automatically separated into two sides, creating a long, endless gully on the mes. After going through a spiritual baptism on his Will, he seemed to have grown stronger. Even though he was not under the state of transcendence, his Will was still capable of defending against the storm of mes with super high pressure.


    Despite the fact that the Red Dwarf Star was an old star, it was somehow a star with extreme changes. Unlike the Sun where nuclear fusion urred within and outside the Sun, nuclear fusion only happened in its core. The energy was being released and absorbed from the outer core in the form of a photon. It was then transmitted to the outeryer of the star in a disorderly manner.


    Luo Yuan could see that the super high-temperature sma group appeared asionally on its surface and a huge me jet that was a few kilometers in diameter sted off into space.


    The initial temperature of some of the mes had reached more than 10,000 degree Celsius. However, the phenomenon was unusual. Many of the mes appeared to be in low temperature as the temperature was even lower than 1,000 degree Celsius. It was slightly red in color. As he walked further up, he did not feel like it was a star. He had an illusion that it was a gas instead. The low-temperature region upied almost 40% of the entire Red Dwarf Star.


    If a sunspot region was chosen, perhaps the flight vehicles manufactured by humans would barely manage tond on this.


    Of course, it was extremely dangerous. One would have to be extra careful and be prepared that one would probably suffer great loss. It was because the storm of mes and the gamma-ray that were constantly emitted by the surface of the star was stronger than that of Jupiter. Nobody would know whether the high-temperature sma group would st off from the sunspot region the next moment.


    Of course, the temperature could do no harm to Luo Yuan.

 Chapter 549: Lonely

    Chapter 549: Lonely


    Trantor: EndlessFantasy Trantion Editor: EndlessFantasy Trantion


    Luo Yuan immersed himself in the star as he went deeper and deeper.


    If the temperature on the surface of the Red Dwarf Star was considered warm, the interior of the star would be a ming inferno. The terribly high pressure had caused the high-temperature sma gas to turn into fluid after it was condensed. It was flowing at the speed of thousands of meters per second.


    An ordinary material would not be able to survive here. Even the aircraft carrier that they had before the apocalypse would copse and vaporized in a few seconds if it fell into this ce.


    Right this moment, Luo Yuan was no longer as calm as he was when he was on the surface of the star. The safety space supported by his Will was suppressed by theplex high-speed sma. It had been reduced to a diameter of fewer than three meters.


    Luo Yuan then dived into a distance of fewer than 1,000 meters.


    The reason why one would be afraid of the star was because it was violent. Next, it would be because of its high temperature. Its high pressure and the terrifying re from within that could generate quadrillions tons of energy had caused its interior to be filled with a destructive power.


    After more than 10 hours, Luo Yuan had finally stopped at the outside of the core. His Will that wasing out from his body had disappeared and his naked body was surrounded by the high temperature and radiations. He was not in the state of transcendence. Therefore, there was no substantial increase in his abilities. The absolute power of his Will was not as strong as one expected as it only possessed hundreds of tons of power.


    At the outeryer of the Red Dwarf Star, he could still defend against such power with the precise control ability of his brain and his prediction ability. However, as he arrived here, regardless of how strong his control ability was, even with the help of his prediction ability and absolute power, they would be rendered useless.


    Thanks to his strong body physique, he managed to endure the extreme conditions of the environment.


    A soft yet strong force was exerted on his body. The power was terrifying as it could destroy most of the existing matters. However, it somehow felt like a whole body massage to Luo Yuan. His hair did not even stand on end, encountering the temperature that was more than 100,000 degree Celsius but less than one million degree Celsius.


    It was an ocean of energy. Countless particles released dazzling beams of lights, creating a world of photons. There was nothing else he could see aside from light.


    Itsted for only a few minutes and soon, Luo Yuan felt bored about it. He was no longer interested and curious about it as he saw those repeating scenes.


    Right this moment, the energy held at the core of the star fluctuated and soon, a heated flow gushed towards Luo Yuan.


    It was a natural phenomenon that one would usually see over here as it happened frequently. The energy was transferred to the surface of the star from within its core through the heated flow of the high-temperature sma. The diameter of some of the heated flows could reach up to hundreds of kilometers, achieving a speed of more than 10,000 meters per second.


    Luo Yuan did not avoid them and soon, he immersed himself in the heated flow. He then sted off towards the surface of the star along with the heated flow of the high-speed sma.


    About 10 minutester, a loud thud was heard. The me sent him out of the star and right towards space.


    He then bnced himself in mid-air and remained still, attempting to identify the direction. The next moment, he returned to the mansion after several teleports.


    It was like a shopping mall. When it was first constructed, it was a multi-story building with a variety of luxurious decorations. As it was not practical, Luo Yuan had modified it and now, there was only a spacious living room left with an area of more than 100,000 square meters.


    There were no decorations and any extra items. Be it the wall or the floor, it was coated with ayer of advanced material. The whole living room was clean and clear.


    Looking at everything there, Luo Yuan now felt that the ce he used to be was cold like machines. The living room was empty as if it was isted from the world. He felt a chill.


    As his consciousness was no longer constrained, he instinctively hated what that had happened at that time when he was being a "puppet".


    All of a sudden, he did not feel like staying over there at all.


    Luo Yuan restrained his power and gradually walked out of the living room. He walked along the path of the mansion to get out of the living room.


    As he walked, the body of the security officers that were touring the mansion suddenly turned stiff and remained still as if he was petrified. It seemed like they were deterred by an invisible force. Their mind went nk. They then regained their senses as soon as he left.


    Luo Yuan noticed everything that had happened. He frowned. With his current ability, without gazing into his eyes, as long as one approached him at a certain distance, they would be spiritually deterred by him to some extent.


    The most troublesome part was his power could not be restrained as it was the glimpse of glory from his Will. If one¡¯s Will waspared to the star, the spiritual deterrence caused would resemble the radiance emanated by the star. Deterrence happened somehow when his Will had already been restrained to its maximum.


    Seeing the security officer¡¯s body that had turned stiff, Luo Yuan slowed down and hesitated. As he was about to reach the door, he stopped.


    He gazed at the sky, countless flying shuttles streaked across the sky. Arge number of people were leaving the Space City.


    "Mayor, are you going out?" The leader of the guard regiment lowered his head and asked respectfully. His body was shaking.


    He dared not approach Luo Yuan. As a super-evolved man, staying 30 meters away from Luo Yuan was his limit.


    Luo Yuan did not answer him, looking at the scenes outside and remained still. After a long while, he sighed and turned his body back, returning to the lonely living room.


    He did not want to look back on those days when his life was dull like a machine. Right this moment, he wished that he could feel the aura of an ordinary person. However, the reality had pushed him back to the lonely life.


    After Luo Yuan had walked for more than 100 meters, the leader of the guard regiment then stood up. In an instant, he felt that everything in front of him had turned ck. His body trembled and he almost fell down to the ground. As he regained he consciousness, he then realized that his body was drenched in sweat.


    "Leader, are you okay!?" One of the guards saw that from afar, immediately rushed to him as he wanted to carry him.


    "I¡¯m okay, get back to your post." The leader of the guard regiment waved his hand at him and rebuked.


    Seeing the figure that had disappeared, he was shocked. Seemingly, the mayor¡¯s power had grown stronger.


    However, what surprised him the most was the mayor walked out of the living room today and stood there for a short while. If he was not mistaken, over the past five years ever since he moved in, not even once did he walk around the living room.


    ...


    As the n to leave had beenunched, the Space City was getting more deste day by day.


    A few days ago, the city was still unusually crowded. The city was now empty and had be less crowded. Only a few of the soldiers and government executives stayed there.


    On the contrary, the atmosphere was heavy as the war wasing.


    Beams of lights streaked across the dark sky asionally and disappeared far away. They were undergoing the trial of the space defense system for thest time.


    At the same time, three warships were moving towards the boundary of the gxy, getting ready to block the way of the ssian¡¯s fleet. There were more than 100 of the crews who had written theirst will before departure. They were going to fight on the front line and were all ready to defend against the ssian¡¯s attack.

 Chapter 550: Dramatic

    Chapter 550: Dramatic


    Trantor: EndlessFantasy Trantion Editor: EndlessFantasy Trantion


    The spaceship had elerated for five days and eventually, it maintained at a constant speed.


    Hou Shuwen¡¯s face turned grave, staring at the holographic screen at the control center. It was the light dot representing the ssian¡¯s fleet, traveling at a terrifying speed and was approaching them.


    Their mission was to block their way and lure them so that the ssian would attack them. The ssian would then slow down or even deactivate the warp drive flight mode. At the same time, they could collect the firsthand information from them.


    Superluminal speed was rtive. As estimated by the information department, when one¡¯s own party was unable to determine the opponent¡¯s location, the opponent would not be able to do so as well, especially when the space fluctuation caused by the warp drive could cause a serious deviation in the opponent¡¯s attack.


    To some extent, the fleet was the target of fire.


    It was a difficult mission where everyone had a slim chance of surviving.


    "General, there¡¯s still one month left." A young adjutant reminded. Looking at his mustache and his young face, it seemed like he had not even reached 20 years old.


    However, there was nothing special about it as most of the soldiers here were incredibly young. They were not the ordinary people. They were the new humans. Most of them aged around 15 to 18 years old. Only the new humans could withstand the eleration of 8g over a long period of time. In addition to their strong learning ability, it would be easier for them to control the spaceship. After being trained for three years, they were now a qualified soldier.


    Hou Shuwen nodded his head, "Please inform the rest that we¡¯re releasing the first batch of the space fighter. Let¡¯s see what they have got."


    As it was being delivered via the quantummunication between spaceships, the cabin door of the space fighter instantly opened. Countless space fighters that resembled locusts were being fired out of the muzzle of the electromaic cannon. As soon as it was ignited, it elerated and soon, it overtook the spaceship and sted off into space.


    ...


    As time passed, the fleet felt increasingly oppressed. The light dot of the ssian¡¯s fleet was getting closer to them and was now 0.01 light years away from the Space City. At the same time, the space fighters were getting nearer to the light dot as well.


    It was extremely quiet in themand cabin and one could even hear a pin drop over there. The crews were all staring at the green dots that were arranged closely together. They were representing the space fighters. With the assistance of the artificial intelligence system, the variables were carefully adjusted and controlled and they flew towards the ssian¡¯s fleet.


    The space fighters scattered around the space like the sprinkling of pepper. The distance between each space fighters was more than 10,000 kilometers or more. This was to ensure that the space fighter would not miss the ssian¡¯s fleet due to the error in the space wave detection system.


    Nevertheless, the probability that both of them would meet was extremely low.


    Hou Shuwen was worried, looking at the data being disyed on the holographic screen. He closed his eyes asionally as if he was trying to sense something?


    He was an evolved man with recessive character. Compared to an evolved man with dominant character, it was a hidden type of evolution. Regarding hisbat strength, there was not much difference between them. Simrly, they had no unique superpower.


    However, it did not indicate that an evolved man of this form was not strong. Some of the evolved men would possess mysterious power that was beyond imagination.


    His ability was that he had a strong sense of instinct. Under the situation where he could see nothing at all, he could solely rely on aser gun to hit a soybean-sized bull¡¯s eye that was a few kilometers away with his sense.


    He was an evolved man who relied a lot on the weapon. In other words, the stronger the weapon was, the more powerful his destructive ability would be.


    Thanks to his ability, he could quickly stand out from the troop, bing themander of the fleet.


    After a long while, Hou Shuwen slowly opened his eyes. He looked disappointed. Perhaps it was because both of them were too far apart or probably due to the terribly fast speed of the opponent, he could not sense it at all.


    "Five of the space fighters had lost contact!" One of the crews suddenly shouted.


    Hou Shuwen immediately opened his eyes. He was shocked and soon, he looked delighted and immediately said, "Artificial intelligence system, please record the location of the space fighter before it loses contact and the time sequence. Build up the flight path and at the same time, send the data to the warmand center."


    This was an extremely important piece of information. It seemed like the space fighters had lost contact simultaneously. However, there was a slight difference in time between them. Based on the location of the space fighters that had lost contact as well as the difference in time, they could calcte the flight path of the fleet and its exact speed. They could thenunch an attack.


    It seemed like the messages were synchronized as they were delivered over a distance of hundred millions of kilometers to the supeputer at the war intelligence center.


    After exactly one secondter, the space defense system wasunched.


    The cannons that looked like the forts were hanging mid-air. The gun barrels gradually rotated and started recharging rapidly. A threatening aura was spreading everywhere.


    The next moment, over 10,000 beams of dazzling lights streaked across the dark space and disappeared far away.


    These lights were all filled with an immense destructive power. Through the transmission of quantum energy and the high-powered fuel cells, the energy released by the cannons could be oveid without limits. This could avoid the materials being restricted by the energy which allowed it to generate terrifying power. If it was being fired on Earth, a huge pit would be formed by just one beam of those lights, causing abrupt changes on the.


    If there were more than 10,000 of them, perhaps the entire Earth would explode into pieces.


    The space defense system hadunched the regional attack for five times.


    As Hou Shuwen raised his head and nced at the three-dimensional screen, countless beams of light passed through space and disappeared soon after. He did not have much hope, given that it was only a trial attack. Regardless of how powerful the attack was, if it had lost its uracy, it would be akin to killing a mosquito with an anti-aircraft where the effects would be rendered useless. It might even take about seven hours to reach the approximate location of the target.


    He no longer paid attention to it. He then lowered his head and looked at the images recorded by the space fighters nearby. They were synchronized and the photos of the space fighters that had lost contact were sent to him via the quantummunication device.


    It seemed like there were no traces showing that few of these space fighters had been attacked. They werepletely fine in space. However, they had lost their motive power.


    Everything was a mere fa?ade. Further analysis had been done by the spaceship and discovered that the surface of the space fighter had slightly changed in shape. There were even fractures and cracks appeared on some of the parts of the space fighter.


    It was indeed that the space fighters were not attacked. They got too close to the ssian¡¯s fleets that hadunched the warp drive, resulting in a slight change in shape after encountering the space fluctuation. The deformation was rather weak as it was not fatal even to humans. However, it could be a destructive attack on the space fighter that had been made precisely and the electronic system installed within the spaceship.


    In themand cabin, the atmosphere was heavy.


    Perhaps everyone knew what this meant?


    This indicated that without any attacks, the ssian¡¯s fleet was capable of destroying the human defense system. The spaceship would not need to stop at all. By just spending some time, they would be able to achieve victory.


    There were only 28 hours left until their arrival.


    Fortunately, humans had evacuated. Otherwise, the human race would all be wiped out.


    Again, Hou Shuwen sent the information to the warmand center situated at the Space City. He soon instructed, "Send out the second batch of space fighters!"


    The previous detection technique was effective. Despite they were unable to verify it, at the very least, there were some chances for them.


    As soon as Hou Shuwen instructed, a dramatic scene happened. The spaceship space wave detection system had instantly detected that the space wave was slowing down its speed. At the same time, the fluctuation of speed had been weakened.


    Hou Shuwen felt that it was unbelievable and he opened his eyes widely.


    ...


    Right this moment, the ssian¡¯s fleet decelerated ording to their n.


    The reason why they were doing so was because the ssian was unfamiliar with the first generation of the spaceship that couldunch a warp drive. They werecking the crucial superluminal speed detection technique which caused humans and the ssian to be like two blind men. Humans were unable to track the location of the ssian¡¯s spaceship. Simrly, the ssian was unable to determine the location of the human base camp.


    In order to detect its target, the ssian first needed to slow down their speed.


    As a matter of fact, the ssian¡¯s technology was not as powerful as expected by humans. They were almost on par as both parties had their own strengths. Over the past few years, there was an explosion in human technology. Human technology had surpassed the ssian¡¯s technology in certain areas whereas for the rest of the areas they were almost on par.


    Due to the problem of reality, the physics field was only developing quickly over the past few years. They were stillgging behind which caused the ssian to be able to travel in the warp drive flight mode before them.


    Unfortunately, one could often defeat their opponent with merely one crucial breakthrough.


    It was akin to the first appearance of a tank during the First World War. The United Kingdom took the lead in the invention of the tank where it could be used in a war and managed to retrieve a defeat. It was a big step forward despite the fact that the technical standards of both the United Kingdom and Germany were on par.


    However, the information received by both parties were non-transparent. Humans were afraid of ssian¡¯s mysterious technology. The ssian had great confidence in their mission this time. They were rushing to their destination without a single halt. They did not investigate it beforehand as they would never expect that the human technology had been developing so quickly in the past 10 years as they were traveling most of the time.


    Coincidentally, only 10 seconds had passed since the space fighter had lost contact until the ssian slowed down their speed. The most miraculous thing was that since the space fighters were all scattered around, one of them was only about ten thousands of kilometers away from it.


    As the ssian¡¯s speed had been reduced to slower than the speed of light and had first gotten its detection ability, the surrounding space fighters started to attack abruptly.

 Chapter 551: Authority Is Needed

    Chapter 551: Authority Is Needed


    Trantor: EndlessFantasy Trantion Editor: EndlessFantasy Trantion


    Although it was just a space fighter, it was somehow not small in size.


    The length of the body of the space fighter had reached 230 meters whereas its wings measured a length of 120 meters. Without taking various types of warheads into consideration, the weight when the space fighter took off had exceeded 12,000 tons. When it was fully loaded, it could reach a weight of 15,000 tons. It was a mini dual-use spacecraft.


    Since it was an unmanned space fighter, one would not have to worry that it would be overloaded. Therefore, regardless of its sensitivity or its eleration performance, they were far beyond the actual spaceships. Its firepower was an exception!


    Of course, this was only applicable to the actual spaceship.


    The war has begun right when the opponent had been discovered!


    The artificial intelligence system equipped in the space fighter that was nearest to the spaceship could soon detect its target. After about 10 nanoseconds, the opponent had been set as the target to kill through characteristic identification, message verification and a variety of identification techniques. The location of the opponent had been rapidly estimated.


    The next moment, a beam of high-powered gamma ray shed out from the muzzle of the space fighter and shot towards the front at the speed of light.


    At a distance of more than 10,000 kilometers, it was already considered as a face to face attack for an actual inteary war. The electromaic weapons (includingser and gamma-ray) took only 0.1 seconds to hit the target.


    The gamma-ray cannon was a strategic weapon which mimicked the ability of the interster beast. Ever since it was invented, it was the human strongest weapon aside from the antimatter bomb. Since the speed of the former one was being restricted, it was not practical to be used. Thetter was the most effective weapon to use when engaging in an interster war.


    Thanks to the continuous research that had been done throughout the years, the weapon was constantly improved and optimized.


    As its size was getting smaller and smaller, the time taken for the transmission of energy had been instantly reduced and at the same time, it grew stronger and stronger.


    It was originally arge cannon that was only suitable to be used as a strategic weapon and now it was a space fighter.


    Furthermore, a speed type weapon could travel at the speed of light. Unless detection could be done at the superluminal speed, otherwise, once it was being fired, it was impossible to detect it. Nobody could avoid it beforehand. When it was discovered, there were only two possibilities. The first one would be it had missed the target or had surpassed its target and the second possibility would be it managed to hit the target.


    The ssian¡¯stest warship was bad luck as it belonged to thetter.


    The gamma-ray cannon struck the tail section of the warship. Part of the energy crashed into the ssian¡¯s spaceship armor, resulting in a glow that was hundreds of times brighter than the sunlight. A small portion of the energy had directly prated through the armor and exploded inside the warship. It had done a significant amount of damage.


    All the electronic devices being equipped with the spaceship exploded. The spaceship was putting out the fire and at the same time, hundreds of ssian copsed before they could react to it.


    After 0.3 seconds, another ssian¡¯s spaceship joined the war. However, it was itsst time to have such glorious results. When the second beam of gamma-ray was being fired, the space fighter was beingpletely drowned by a high-poweredser.


    ...


    "Who can tell me what¡¯s happening?" Themander of the ssian shouted.


    The ssian had been preparing for the voyage for about 10 years. They only managed to construct such an amazing fleet by putting in their maximum effort. They only had 12 fleets in total. They just showed up and in an instant, they had lost one-sixth of them.


    It was such an irony that they were merely attacked by a mini warship.


    How could it be possible?


    Regardless of how talented humans were and regardless of how well they were mentally prepared that something bad might happen, they could not believe it. The reality was cruel but yet it happened in front of them in a bloody way.


    Looking at the screen disying two of the spaceships that had lost contact, he trembled a little and felt chilled to the bone.


    He shivered, seeing a mini warship with such an immense attack power and could achieve such a technological standard. He had to evaluate again the human¡¯s ability.


    Perhaps the ssian was wrong for releasing a demon which in turn had destroyed them.


    As themander questioned them, the face of all the ssian turned pale and remained silent. They initially had a mentality that they could easily defeat humans. It now seemed like a sharp knife had pierced through their heart.


    It was a huge psychological gap and seemingly, they felt that everything was unrealistic.


    The opponent that they now encountered was no longer a sheep that one could trample upon. Instead, it was a ferocious beast.


    At that moment, the ear-splitting siren of warning tore through the serene atmosphere within the control cabin.


    "Arge number of unknown mini warships are detected. Number of spaceships: 999... An energy source is discovered. It is 30,000 kilometers away from the nearest spaceship."


    "Energy source is discovered. It is 10,000 kilometers away from the nearest spaceship!"


    "Energy source is discovered..."


    The artificial intelligence system said with a neutral tone. Themander of the ssian was frightened to the point where his scalp was numb. He then stood up and instructed loudly, "Activate the weapon system. Take aim right at the target and kill them all!"


    "Commander, based on the analysis of the situation, there is no hostility in the opponent. It is not considered as a self-defense counterattack. It is an act of dering a war. ording to the war power use No.3, before dering a war, an authority has to be granted by the supreme head of state. Please submit your application as soon as possible."


    Themander of the ssian was stunned as he heard that. His body shook a little.


    "Couldn¡¯t you discover that they have started attacking us!?" He was suppressing his anger.


    "I¡¯m sorry to inform that there is no sufficient evidence to prove this. I¡¯d suggest you get an authority as soon as possible!" The artificial intelligence system replied.


    Simr to humans or how other high intelligence creature would be aware of an intelligence system, the appearance of the artificial intelligence had put the ssian on alert. Without a doubt, the ssian had be even more careful especially regarding the use of weapons in the spaceship, setting up a lot of restrictions and they were being constrained by the rules. Everything was so rigid like machines.


    As a stable yet mature civilization, the power from the military had to be bnced especially when one party still had control over the most advanced spaceship of the civilization. It was extremely risky. If one was ambitious, the political power of the entire ssian civilization could be ruined.


    In addition, the analysis done before going on the long voyage had shown that the journey would be a less risky one since who would expect that a civilization that could not even leave the 10 years ago could now threaten the powerful fleets?


    Compared to humans, the person behind who was controlling such a powerful fleet was the greatest threat to the superior. They had to be particrly aware of the person.


    Before departure, he was not granted an interim power to dere war.


    He did not discover the drawbacks of the rule in the past. The ssian had achieved world peace for more than 500 years. Even when a war was dered, there would only be a low-level domestic violence. It happened only once 200 years ago when there was the need to use the air vehicles on the. The issue had been resolved after a few days.


    They had no experience in an inteary war. They had no reason to dere a war as well since they had no opponent. Therefore, they used to rx their vignce against war andcking awareness of war. The long voyage they made to the Earth previously was their first time.


    Due to the big difference in abilities, it did not require much of their efforts and alertness since the superior paid more attention to the human potentiality to threaten them rather than their abilities.


    "Spaceship No.5 is attacked by a spaceship of an unknown model and has lost contact. ording to the self-defensews, activate the defense system... The target has been destroyed!"


    A bad news was heard againing from the artificial intelligence system. He was startled. The atmosphere in the control cabin was heavy.


    He shivered and immediately regained his senses. Right now, it was meaningless to argue with the artificial intelligence system. Furthermore, once the artificial intelligence system had made its decision, changes would not be made even after arguing with it. He quickly instructed, "Immediately activate the warp drive flight mode of the spaceship and travel at the superluminal speed. At the same time, please connect me to the... director office!"


    He was clenching his teeth as he uttered hisst word.


    "I¡¯ll follow your instruction!"


    The next moment, the spaceship trembled a little and began moving in full force. The fluctuation of the space became more intense and it started elerating.


    All the ssians held their breath and their heart was beating fast. They were afraid of the unknown future. The atmosphere in the control room got tense and oppressive.


    There was one thing good about the warp drive flight mode and it could be a drawback as well. It could instantly stop without inertia but it would take a long time to elerate.


    Beams of lights would appear in front of the spaceship or at the back of the spaceship asionally. The ssian¡¯s heart was beating fast as they were afraid that the next moment, the spaceship would experience what that had been gone through by the previous spaceships.

 Chapter 552: Insecure

    Chapter 552: Insecure


    Trantor: EndlessFantasy Trantion Editor: EndlessFantasy Trantion


    Engaging again with the humans had been a total tragedy to the ssians.


    Before the fleets started traveling at the speed of light, they had already lost four fleets in a lengthy three hour period.


    ...


    At the warmand hall of the Space City.


    As the scenes of the war were synced to the space fighters, the entire hall was filled with excitement and many of their faces had flushed red.


    Most of them were being pessimistic about the war before it started.


    ssian were the human¡¯s teachers to some extent. Humans learned their technology and everything from the ssian. Humans started from an imitation and soon they were beyond the ssian¡¯s capabilities. However, they were not confident enough since their improvement waspared to the technology that the ssian had developed about 60 years ago.


    Human¡¯s target was to catch up with the ssian and it had been done better than expected.


    Everyone was disappointed and depressed, especially when the ssian¡¯s fleet was getting a head start on the war by approaching the Barnard¡¯s Star in a way that was beyond imagination.


    It was a dramatic victory. Despite it being beyond one¡¯s expectations, although they somehow had relied on luck, it had still boosted their confidence.


    They then realized that the ssian were not as powerful as one would imagine. Putting aside that they could travel at a superluminal speed, their warship was iparable to the human¡¯s warship. Furthermore, they were confused and also somehow relieved when the ssian¡¯s fleet had no idea what should they do as soon as the war had begun.


    "It means that we¡¯ve only lost three space fighters and in turn managed to destroy four of their warships." Looking at the odd results, Bi Jianping was confused. The results of the war had been verified several times and confirmed that it was true. Otherwise, he would have doubted their reliability.


    Was it because the humans were too strong or maybe the ssians being too weak.


    "No particr conclusion has been made yet but the pre-judgment is that there might be an issue among themanders which caused them fail to enter the state of war." An officer exined, "However, their warships are indeed weaker. They can¡¯t defend against our gamma-ray cannon."


    Gamma-rays had a high prating power. However, heavy metal atoms could defend against the pration of the gamma-ray effectively. The human warships were equipped with multipleyers of advanced gold alloys. It was impossible for a space fighter to destroy a warship through such a pration protection system. Apparently, the ssian¡¯s warships did not do proper precautionary measures in order to prevent that.


    That¡¯s how technology was. When there was a shield, there would be a spear. There was no skill that could fight everything.


    At that moment, an rm was hearding from the warmand hall. The space wave detection system had discovered that there was a drastic change in their flight path. It all caused a stir in the hall and thus everyone was paying close attention to the changes urred in the light dot.


    It seemed like the light dot that was representing the ssian¡¯s warship was traveling on a curvature path. It gradually made a big turn and soon... it was heading back to the direction where it came from.


    Bi Jianping was stunned and asked in doubt, "What are they doing?"


    The officer was puzzled as well. The ssian¡¯s act was beyondprehension. He opened his mouth and mumbled, "It could be a strange strategy!"


    ...


    Of course, that was not the ssian¡¯s strategy. It was because they were not yet granted authority and on the other hand, after they had been defeated earlier they had to be extra careful.


    If the war was said to have made the humans excited and happy, what was left for the ssian was nervousness and alertness. The confidence they had before the war had vanished.


    "These are the human defense distribution map and the Space City which is situated on the orbit of the rock. We detected them before traveling at a superluminal speed."


    On a big holographic screen, aplex defensework was being disyed. They were like stars scattered all over the infinitelyrge space. All of the top management who participated at the meeting was stunned while staring at the screen since they felt that it was unbelievable.


    The number of defense facilities avable was lesser than what the ssian had but that was expected since theirs were built over the period of hundreds of years. As they had not encountered any enemies for a long period of time, they were seldom involved in military matters. Most of the space defense facilities were worn out antiques that had been built more than 10 years ago.


    But how long had humans stayed there?


    It was only about 20 years since they had lost contact with the spaceship that went on a long voyage. Even if the spaceship began traveling at full speed in order to leave the gxy, it would have taken about 12 years to do so. That being said, they had been staying there for at most eight years. Realistically, that period of time would be a lot shorter.


    "Their technology is quite advanced. To some extent, they have surpassed our technology." The ssian military staff continued and his face turned grave, "They are using a super high powered gamma-ray cannon that is beyondprehension. The defense of our spaceship is as weak as a thinyer of iron sheets. It is incapable of defending against it at all and yet this is merely the weapon of their mini warship."


    "They have even built threerge warships. They are at the position of our original trajectory path. It is obvious that they are aiming to block our way." The screen changed again. The people were all terrified by therge warships. They were so smooth and shiny and there were no splice joints, indicating how powerful their industrial ability was.


    Everyone remained silent in the meeting room.


    "Alright, the analysis will stop here! Does anyone of you have any solutions? Let¡¯s discuss it." Themander of the ssian said as he was trying to hide his anxiety and anger. In this current moment, he was disappointed in the bureaucracy that had entangled him. He had not been granted the authority to dere a war even until now.


    Of course, he could not admit that he had underestimated the enemy as nobody would expect that when they were still 3.5 light years away from the nearest (approximately 90 billion kilometers, using the Kuiper Belt as standard, the radius of the sr system was 15 billion kilometers), at the outer region of the gxy, which was absolutely a safety zone, they would encounter the human armed forces. ording to their original n, they would undergo a brief maintenance over there and also collect some information. They would then proceed to kill all the humans with ease.


    It was not his fault. Instead, the ssian had underestimated the ability of humans. The human race was terrifying. They had lost the war and failed to destroy the human race. In less than 10 years, humans would take revenge on the ssian.


    Fortunately, it was not that they couldn¡¯t turn things back.


    Thanks to the technique of warp drive, the initiative lied in the hands of the ssian. At the same time, it was a technique that possessed terrifying destructive power. Even if it went on a rampage, the human defense would still copse.


    However, he had no idea why he had such a strong sense of insecurity, it was as if that was the early warning of a disaster.


    It seemed like there was a driving force, urging him to leave this ce immediately.


    ...


    At the same moment, Luo Yuan was like a soul, hanging in the dark space that was hundreds of millions of kilometers away from the ssian spaceship.


    Due to the dark background, it seemed like his body had merged with the darkness. His vision had been readjusted and his previous sensitivity had been restored. He gazed at the ssian¡¯s spaceship quietly as if he was in deep thought.

 Chapter 553: Engaging for the Second Time

    Chapter 553: Engaging for the Second Time


    Trantor: EndlessFantasy Trantion Editor: EndlessFantasy Trantion


    With Luo Yuan¡¯s current power, such a war could no longer trigger him. As he entered the state of transcendence, he was capable of stopping the ssian from traveling with warp drive in merely one second and at the same time, he could also make them dpose into atoms.


    However, he resisted his urge to act impulsively. This war was very much like a baptism of blood and fire to the humans. It was a trial for them, achieving interster civilization status from theary civilization one. Regardless if it was a victory or a defeat, it would still be a valuable experience for humans.


    Right at that moment, Luo Yuan raised his head up, looking at the ssian spaceships that were lingering mid-air as they were being attacked by the human space fighters.


    The next moment, he teleported and appeared next to one of the spaceships.


    On the streamlined spaceship, there were obvious signs that it had been attacked by the gamma-ray cannon of a space fighter. The streaks were formed after it being melted by the high temperature and condensed right after. It looked like a frozen wave engraved on its surface.


    All the information of the spaceship gushed into Luo Yuan¡¯s mind with just one nce.


    The armor of the spaceship was made with an advanced metal that had beenpressed to a ratio of about 25. It was weaker than the metal normally used by the human interster spaceships that had beenpressed to a ratio of 30. However, the energy level of the space fighter could hardly get through the armor of the ssian spaceship.


    The thickness of the armor of the spaceship had reached about 50 meters but the gamma-ray cannon only managed to melt about 10 meters of it. The main impact came from the prating power of the gamma-ray.


    Soon, Luo Yuan entered the spaceship.


    He immediately blocked his sense of smell as a pungent smell reached his nostrils when he entered.


    It was filled with smoke and everything was burnt. Many of the parts were still burning and shes of lightning appeared asionally. It looked like an explosion of a nuclear bomb had happened and he could no longer see the original look of the spaceship.


    Luo Yuan waved his hand, all the smoke and mes disappeared in an instant.


    As it was destroyed by the gamma-ray, most of the equipment was damaged. However, he somehow felt familiar with the internal design of the spaceship.


    The human technology and the ssian technology were derived from the same origin to some extent. The human spaceship was built by referring to the ssian first generation spaceship. Perhaps humans would need to spend around 100 years for a significant change in technology where the imprints of the ssian technology would disappearpletely.


    The human warship looked more like a warship whereas the ssian warship looked like a dual-use spaceship.


    It was big and spacious. However, they had wasted the space they had. This would not happen in the human warship as space would be used effectively in order to prepare for the war.


    Arge number of fuel cells that were as tall as skyscrapers, countless fusion furnaces, almost all the empty spaces were used to prepare for the war.


    Perhaps it was because they had never encountered any dangers, the ssian spaceship looked peaceful enough. However, humans had never stopped engaging in wars ever since the apocalypse. They were struggling to survive even after leaving Earth. During the evacuation, they were getting themselves ready for war as well.


    Luo Yuan was jealous as he recalled this. Such a race was not qualified to exist in the universe.


    ...


    The ssian had only traveled a distance of two light years and then returned.


    When a war happened again after the humans had taken the lead for the first time, it had then turned out to be a one-sided battle.


    Countless high-density energy beams streaked across space but they failed to hit the target.


    ssian hadpletely given up on the weapon system attack. They rushed towards them with only their warp drive. One and a half dayter, one of the human spaceships passed by and then it instantly stopped.


    Fortunately, the distance between the three spaceships was big enough so that they were not all destroyed.


    However, it was meaningless.


    When the opponent was not identified and no attacks could be made, regardless of how many spaceships remained, they were all rendered useless.


    In addition, the ssian had obviously learned a lesson, they were no longer flying in a straight line. They started flying on a curvature path, resulting in the probability of hitting the target by luck to be even lower.


    All the weapon systems could no longer identify, estimate, or urately determine the location of the target.


    All approaches were rendered useless when encountering a spaceship that was flying at a superluminal speed. Humans could only rely solely on luck.


    Soon, the ssian¡¯s fleet flew passed the fort situated in the outermost region at a terrifying speed, heading towards the Space City. The space defense system meant nothing to the ssian spaceship and a hole was formed as it prated through it.


    At that moment, in the human gship that was still in the outer region of the gxy, Hou Shuwen pressed the main cannonunching button. There was a sheeryer of sweat on his forehead due to the weapon in the spaceship having been switched to the manual mode by him.


    Initially, he wanted to attack the ssian spaceship with his instinct.


    However, he was in despair for no matter how hard he tried to capture the right moment, his ability to sense with his instinct seemed to have disappeared.


    He found out that his instinct would do nothing when encountering a spaceship that traveled at a superluminal speed.


    "It¡¯s not working, it¡¯s still not working!"


    Sweat was dripping from his forehead and he was stressed. He was about to have a mental breakdown.


    He had been sitting in his seat for more than half a day. However, he dared not press the button.


    Seeing the ssian spaceship getting further away from them and the chance of attacking them getting smaller and smaller, he had then decided to rely on luck. An oppressive aura instantly spread out and the bodies of the people who were in the control room became stiff. Their mind went nk.


    Hou Shuwen felt that something was wrong, struggling to turn his head back. As a hidden evolved man with unique sense, his will was considered strong as he had barely managed to stay conscious.


    The cabin door that had been locked, opened on its own. A figure that looked like a spirit gradually walked towards them. His body trembled a little as soon as he saw the face of the figure. He then lost his senses. He felt strange as the figure had an odd skin tone that looked non-human.


    He was stunned and was unable to think.


    There was no warning from the artificial intelligence system, it was if he was in the crew of the spaceship.


    Hou Shuwen could sense that the person nced at him, he stood up and moved aside like a sleepwalker as if everything was reasonable.


    The person who entered was Luo Yuan.


    He could ept failure and injuries. However, it was meaningless to engage in a one-sided war. The war must end at the Space City. His adopted son was stationed at the Space City and he had to stop things from happening over there.


    Luo Yuan sat down and hesitated for a moment. After a short while, he untied the sma screen on his forehead. As the screen disappeared, his four-dimensional vision was released.


    He felt dizzy but he managed to adapt to it very quickly.


    Arge and clear four-dimensional scene appeared in his mind. The ssian fleet could be clearly seen.

 Chapter 554: The War Has Ended

    Chapter 554: The War Has Ended


    Trantor: EndlessFantasy Trantion Editor: EndlessFantasy Trantion


    As he soon as he got back to himself, perhaps it was because his consciousness had been constantly struggling with the ocean of data in his mind or because it had not been used for a long period of time and had been umting, Luo Yuan¡¯s Will had improved to some extent.


    In a short period of time, his Will had achieved 30 points.


    Just then, even if his four-dimensional vision had been released, even encountering the invasion of a huge amount of information, his Will still remained as stable as a rock.


    Of course, after a long period of time, it was inevitable that Luo Yuan¡¯s mind would be twisted and affected since it would be a slow invasion process. It would secretly assimte within his mind and in turn, could possibly twist it when he was not aware of it. He would not be able to sense it happening at all.


    However, thanks to his 30 points of Will, he had managed to remain conscious for a short period of time. During this period of time,putations had been done.


    As soon as his four-dimensional vision had been activated, Luo Yuan¡¯s vision seemed to have left the spaceship. His eyesight had been improving endlessly, in a way of how one was looking down from a height, gazing upon the entire world. Furthermore, his vision did not rely on light. It was the true definition of superluminal speed detection as his vision could witness everything at almost the same time.


    It was described as almost the same time since there would still be some slight dy with his four-dimensional vision. Even for speed that was far beyond superluminal, the dy would still be a few seconds, given that the distance was measured in lightyear units.


    Before he interfered with the war, Luo Yuan first hacked the artificial intelligence system of the spaceship. He then secretly hacked the control tform of the defense system which was installed in the Space City via the quantummunication system in the spaceship.


    As he "looked" towards the ssian fleet, thoughts were quickly changing in his mind. Countless prediction scenes shed through his mind rapidly. If he was to merge all the prediction scenes that ran through his mind in one second, it would be a yback that one could watch for several years.


    The next moment Luo Yuan got his desired results.


    He then pressed the button. He did not act quickly, and one could even say that he was acting slowly, as if he was not engaged in a war but instead in a game.


    He did not wait for the results and soon, he "looked" at the next spaceship!


    Even the cannon that was nearest to the spaceship would only show up after a few minutes.


    ...


    Currently, the warmand center of the Space City was a mess where terror had filled the hall.


    Despite it being within human expectations and training particrly given to them for this scenario, when it was actually happening they were still feeling helpless and hopeless. With the current human technology, they would be unable to break through such an attack.


    The whole process of the human space defense system began from the detection of a target, issuance of firing instructions, storing of energy and theunching of an attack in order to shoot the target. The entire highly intellectualized process required only 0.1 second. Despite, it was not absolutely urate to say that it required only 0.1 second, as each time a shot was being fired, the time taken would fluctuate due to certain factors. However, an adjustment would be made automatically by the fire control system. The difference in time would never exceed 100 nanoseconds.


    However, facing a target that was so far away and even moving at a superluminal speed in addition to the exact position of the target being unknown, the probability of hitting the target was 10,000 times lower than winning a lottery.


    Ever since the war began, attacks had beenunched by humans thousands of times. However, not even a single ssian warship had been destroyed.


    Bi Jianping was looking at the central three-dimensional screen in a trance. The light dot representing the ssian fleet was approaching the Space City quickly. His eyes had be dull.


    Humans did not stop their counterattack. As the ssian warships were getting closer to the Space City, the attacks made had be more frequent as well. Countless high-density rays were being released, causing the temperature of the whole gxy to increase by five degrees Celsius, lighting up the dark space.


    However, those attacks could do no harm to them.


    There were less than six hours left until the arrival of the ssian fleet. To some extent, it was like a countdown timer of his life.


    After looking at it for a while, he had no idea why he had managed to calm himself down as he originally felt nervous.


    He was ready to sacrifice his life!


    "Please inform those stationed outside to leave. We don¡¯t need their help for this war!" Bi Jianping said calmly.


    "Yes, Mayor Bi!" An officer who apanied him was stunned and immediately answered.


    Bi Jianping then turned back, looking out of the window. He remained still as he stared at the beautiful scenery of the city.


    The rest of them could leave but he could not.


    Especially when he was nominally the chiefmander of the war and also the top management. Even if the Space City was being destroyed, he had to be on the front line.


    During the propagation of the war that had been done throughout the years, nobody knew as well as him how much humans hated the ssian. Humans were aroused.


    For the war between humans and ssian, humans would definitely not be able to ept a deserter, there must be a person to bear the responsibility for the failure of the war.


    The one who was being granted the authority had to bear the responsibility, despite the fact that they were being defeated because of some objective factors and not because of his personal fault.


    At that moment, an rm was suddenly heard at the warmand hall, creating a stir in the hall. However, before a further investigation had been done, the rm stopped ringing abruptly.


    "What happened?" Bi Jianping asked, remaining calm.


    "There was an unusual data leakage on the system as if it had been hacked. Strangely, it recovered after a while."


    Bi Jianping was stunned. Soon after, he felt that the situation was somehow familiar, as if he hade across this before. "Is this a normal situation?"


    "It¡¯s less likely for it to happen. The quantumputer used in the control tform of the space defense weapon is of a new generation. Itsputational ability is more than enough. Unless it was awork intrusion, otherwise, it is impossible for this to happen. The ssian haveunched the warp drive flight mode. ording to our estimation, under such a situation, they can¡¯t do anything other than traveling. Perhaps the space wave has affected our electronic devices. We will make an arrangement for further inspection." The officer said as his face turned grave.


    However, Bi Jianping was no longer paying attention to what he was saying. It seemed like the officer¡¯s voice was echoing from afar and he had no idea what he was talking about.


    He suddenly recalled why the situation seemed familiar to him.


    It was because it happened in that exact same way earlier when that person appeared!


    Could it be that he was finally helping them out!


    He quickly lifted his head, staring at the central screen. His eyes were glowing, as if he could see that the person who was as powerful as God gazing at the ssian fleets coldly through the screen. As the thought ran through his mind, he shivered.


    Who would want to die if there was a chance to survive?


    As time passed, he was suffering dreadfully.


    Six minutes passed.


    The voice of the artificial intelligence system echoed through the entire hall.


    "It has been detected that one of the opponent¡¯s warships has left the fleet and has been destroyed by us."


    The hall suddenly fell into silence. Everybody had a stunned expression on their face as it was unbelievable.


    However, this was just the beginning.


    10 secondster, another ssian warship had been destroyed.


    Next came the third, the fourth, andstly the fifth...


    One of the warships seemed to have been struck by an antimatter tank ammunition fused with the defense mechanism of antimatter. The explosion was 100 times brighter than sunlight and the space was all lit up in an instant.


    Seemingly, everybody was petrified as they had remained still. One could even hear a pin drop in the hall, as there was only the voice of the artificial intelligence. Every time when its voice was heard, It was like an unrealistic dream to humans.


    "ording to an investigation that has been done, all the targets have been destroyed. The war has ended."


    In just one minute, the space wave representing the ssian fleet hadpletely disappeared. Only seven broken spaceships could be seen on the screen, quietly hanging in the deathly stillness of space. It was akin to a cold coffin.

 Chapter 555: Sensation

    Chapter 555: Sensation


    Trantor: EndlessFantasy Trantion Editor: EndlessFantasy Trantion


    When it was one o¡¯clock in the afternoon, at the maic molding experimental area, Cui Weichuan was in his protective garment, carrying out the final experiment on a smart maic molder together with two of his assistants.


    A smart maic molder was a metal molding device. It could precisely shape the metal by exerting maic force without the need to forge or mold it.


    Compared to the traditional forging methods, something good about the maic molding method was that it had a high uracy wheremissioning and maintenance of the products was not required. Once it was formed, there would be no burrs and uneven surfaces. It could be used directly after manufacturing, its effectiveness was a thousand times higherpared to the traditional methods. It was now widely used in the industry.


    Cui Weichuan¡¯s current research project was further improved, where the final product could be produced only by using the maic molder.


    Cui Weichuan got this idea from 3D printing. Before the apocalypse, 3D printing used to be a very popr term. However, it was not developed further over the years and was almost eliminated by the society. Be it the ssian or humans, the 3D technique was rarely used.


    One of the reasons was becausepared to the maic molder, the 3D printing technique had no apparent advantages. Maic molder was simple and easy to use and had totally inhibited and reced the development of 3D printing technology.


    On the other hand, there was an unsolvable w in this technique. Its end product was not strong enough and it was inevitable that fine holes would appear in the microstructure of the end product, which in turn affected the structural strength of the material.


    However, the concept could still be taken as reference. The molder now had been built by referring to the 3D concept.


    "Have you recorded the data on the product blueprint?" Cui Weichuan asked in his husky voice. Ever since the project had started, he had been staying in theboratory constantly for a total of two months. Fortunately, it was about to end now.


    "I¡¯ve recorded it just now!" The assistant immediately answered. Still, he made a final check. As a researcher, he would have to be extra careful.


    "Then let¡¯s start the machine!" Cui Weichuan ordered.


    Another assistant immediately took a step forward and activated it. As the electric current flowed through it, the maic molder buzzed instantly.


    The machine was not big, it was only at the size of a small table. However, it had an incredible function. If it was invented before the apocalypse, perhaps even an industrial town with a poption of more than 10,000 people would still be unable to activate it, as the atoms of the advanced metal were densely packed. It was not easy to mold it.


    However, such a consumption of power in this era was akin to a drizzle.


    The usage of electricity by Cui Weichuan¡¯sboratory alone had exceeded the critical point of ten billion kilowattsst month alone. Regarding therge-sized industries that constructed the warships, the usage of electricity per day would be the total consumption of electricity by the whole of China for several years.


    "The output of maic force is stable!"


    "The softening time of the material is within control!"


    "The noise of the machine is normal!"


    "The program is running smoothly!"


    ...


    The assistant tested the operating condition of the machine. Cui Weichuan was satisfied and nodded his head. He managed to look into the changes of the metal through the anti-radiation ss of the machine.


    He could see that the metal expanded slightly as a strong maic force was exerted onto it. It softened rapidly like a liquid, turning into a round-shaped object that looked rather t. At the same time, the remaining metal was ced aside.


    The maic force exerted on its surface was precisely controlled, changing rapidly and urately...


    After more than 10 seconds, as no extra materials were detected, the machine soon stopped operating.


    As it had been slightly cooled, the assistant then passed him the end product and then he began testing.


    Aside from the ss, it was an actual ancient spring-type mechanical watch. Its internalponents were automatically created ording to the program of the molding machine.


    The watch fitted perfectly and one would be unable to disassemble it. Of course, there was no need to do so since it would not spoil regardless of how much it was being thrown. It could be used up to 10,000 years until the advanced metal was finally corroded as the time passed.


    The atmosphere was unusually heavy and everybody looked depressed. It was because, since the afternoon, no news about the war were heard. Everybody was worried that something bad had happened.


    However, when the machine had passed all the tests, everybody looked happy and a smile was stered on their faces.


    It was an influential achievement. Everybody could imagine the sensational effect as well as the honor and status associated with it once the machine wasunched.


    Not many of the technologies were applied in the creation of this machine and it would, therefore be a new concept at most. It could only produce some small-sized products and its functions were limited as it could only mold an individual substance. However, it was considered as a pioneering achievement. One day, it would be able to build a big warship.


    "Bang!"


    Suddenly, the door of theboratory area was pushed open with a bang.


    Cui Weichuan and the rest were taken aback. As he turned back and was about to scold him, the person said nervously, "We... We..."


    The staff used to be an introvert. However, during this moment, his face flushed red and he was breathing quickly.


    "What happened? Tell me slowly." Cui Weichuan seemed to have sensed something and breathed a little faster.


    "We... We have won. The war has ended. Quick... Quickly read the news!"


    Cui Weichuan was a man who was steady. However, right when he heard the news, he felt that his body was going limp. Happiness filled his heart, it felt like a dream to him. It was unbelievable and so he asked, "Is that true? How could it be... No, how could the ssian..."


    "I... I can¡¯t believe it too but we have really won the war!"


    Cui Weichuan immediately essed the inte via a personalmunication terminal in his eye. He realized that there was news regarding their victory all over the inte.


    It was getting noisier outside and the noise was getting louder and louder.


    "Let¡¯s go, the people are celebrating outside!" The staff no longer looked dull. His face reddened. He then grabbed Cui Weichuan and ran towards the door.


    ...


    The news about the human victory spread quickly to the new Space City. There was an exciting atmosphere around the new Space City.


    People were celebrating in the streets. Some of them were dancing in excitement and there were others who cried to vent out as well.


    The people had suppressed their anxiety for far too many years. Be it before or after the apocalypse, a strong sense of insecurity lingered in the human minds especially when they detected that the ssian wereing, the oppressive aura had reached its peak.


    The preparations that they had made in the past three years and the sleepless nights that they had over thest three years could now be forgotten. The people were very excited.


    It was a long-awaited victory for humans!


    ...


    Luo Yuan quietly arrived at the new mansion that was exclusively built for him at the new Space City without alerting any of them. He closed his eyes while listening to the people that were screaming in joy. A satisfied smile could be seen on his face.

 Chapter 556: Foot Steps of Revenge

    Chapter 556: Foot Steps of Revenge


    Trantor: EndlessFantasy Trantion Editor: EndlessFantasy Trantion


    Days had passed, a damaged ssian vessel with a huge hole on its hull escorted by a dozen of gigantic engineering robots slowly approached a space-vessel disassembly line built for emergencies nearby Space City. The fate awaiting the damaged ssian vessel was to be taken apart.


    Due to safety reasons, this space-vessel disassembly line was built far away from Space City with an approximate distance of 3,000 km. With this distance, there wouldn¡¯t be much of an issue for Space City in the possible event that the ssian vessel exploded during disassembly.


    The ssian vessel was being secured on both sides of the vessel by two gigantic fixed mps. Up to a thousand suits of long-range remote control mech flew into the ssian vessel through the opening on its hull enthusiastically. All the mech suits were piloted by the brightest minds in their own respective fields, they¡¯ll be here conducting an investigation into the innards of the extra-terrestrial vessel to ensure the perfect conservation of the technology and to eliminate all possibilities of an imminent disaster.


    The armory of anti-matter weapons had to be the priority matter to be handled as to prevent any probable leakage.


    Because the ssian vessel had been hit by the Low Orbital Cannon, charged with the high-intensity gamma-ray, both sides of the spaceship had been thoroughly ripped through. The aftershock of the high-intensity energy was leaking out after passing through the control room, reducing it to a scene of absolute chaos. All corners of the vessel had been eroded by the extreme heat and nearly all electronics had been thoroughly reduced to nothing but dust.


    The might of the Low Orbital Cannon created by mankind proved to be extremely effective against the ssians. It was too effective in the sense that most of the spoils of war had been reduced to nothing but scraps.


    However, the researchers were not discouraged because the most vital parts of the spaceship, the engine and the energy reactor, were mostly in good shape since these two parts were mainly constructed from ultra-high-strength alloys. As long as if they didn¡¯t take a direct hit, there¡¯s little to no chance that they¡¯ll be affected let alone destroyed.


    Not to mention, this was not the only ssian vessel and all their damaged states varied from one to another. There are some with barely a scratch while others took a heavy hit and the vessel currently in the disassembly line was the nearest and the fastest to reach the disassembly line. In the initial wave of ssian vessels destroyed by Astro-fighter jets, there wasn¡¯t even a dent on the vessel¡¯s armor ting, meaning that those few vessels were in perfect condition, a prized bull to say the least.


    The ssian vessels used a dual-engine system. The first is a standard conventional engine unit, which works under the same principles as what mankind has been using for centuries, the other is a reaction-less drive unit.


    These two engines were the first to be disassembled.


    ...


    The reaction-less drive unit was urgently sent into Reactionless Drive Testing factory owned by the Aero-Physics and Aero-Curvature Testing Lab, numerous technicians rushed in to have it detailed, reverse engineered and perform studies the moment the unit arrived at the factory.


    Because the unit is capable of thrusting an interster vessel, the vessel¡¯s engine unit would normally have arge thrust unit. This ssian Reactionless Drive unit appeared to be even bigger, at 200 meters in height, almost as if it¡¯s a mountain.


    There is not a single doubt that this engine unit would represent the pinnacle of the ssians¡¯ technological engineering capability. However, when the test results of the engine unit came out, it left people with shocked and disappointed.


    On one hand, the metal that the unit was constructed upon was a titanium and magnesium alloy which only had a 28 threshold ratio,pared to mankind who would be using a 30 threshold ratio or even up to a 33 threshold ratio, the difference was significant. Under the perspective of mankind, the refinery processing tech and its precision was overly rough and the surface brightness was obviously unsatisfactory.


    Alternatively, this engine unit was far more developed than the ones still in the human¡¯s experimentalb. The force it generated was far greater, but there wasn¡¯t much of a technical difference. There weren¡¯t any obstacles to ovee as long as raw materials are avable. With humanity¡¯s engineering capability, the unit can be sessfully reverse engineered easily.


    With the engine unit, the knowledge and basics of reverse engineering within three months at most, humanity could replicate such an engine unit. Moreover, even more efficient, smaller and more powerful than the ssian engine unit.


    Such is technology, sometimes all that iscking is but a simple inspiration. If a normal traveler came to the future from the past, he can¡¯t immediately create technological marvels including the cell phone or motor cars, but will able to pass down the craftsmanship of the future slowly and as time passes, it will aid the development of human society through decades and even centuries, realizing the dream of huge technological advancements.


    However, from another perspective, it is also possible to know the ssian technology in all aspects down to the smallest of detail.


    mankind¡¯s technology could be counted almost as an anomaly, it had always been mainly used for military purposes and hardly ever anymercial reasons, a strong foundation in technological aspect and yet frail in theory. There were plenty of reasons that could exin what causes this phenomenon. For example, the insecurity regarding the survival of the people or the short development time-span, but the main reason for all is numbers of the poption.


    Till this day, even if a million of clones are born yearly, the total poption of actual human beings, still remained at a measly 12 million, and almost half of those 12 million people are still minors.


    Including the brightest minds from the scientificmunity including the engineers, their ratiopared to the poption stood at a shocking 6% of the total poption. However, since the total poption is small, the number remains at a disheartening amount.


    The amount of elites scientist that mankind had right now was seven hundred thousand. Maybe before their deathbeds, they could support a great nation with strong growth and positive development. But with the current human race that had entered the space age, all aspects of technological field branches had expanded vastly. All kinds of studies and areas of research had sported, new theories had sprung up from these new studies that challenge the old ideas, an endless amount of knowledge came pouring in as breakthrough after breakthrough came by. The number of researchers avable right now is far from enough to quench mankind¡¯s thirst for this new knowledge.


    Among the seven hundred thousand elite researchers, there were ny thousand of them that had consumed the Intelligent Booster pellets and were known as the super scientist. They were the ones supporting humanity¡¯s technological advancements. Even so, each of them can handle only so many tasks at once, so they would generally focus on to the matters that can¡¯t be avoided.


    These researchers¡¯ methods were normally in line with the military issues. As for those who can¡¯t enhance human base strength or can¡¯t produce any results regarding the enhancement of human strength, it was unavoidable that they¡¯re often ignored.


    ......


    As more of those damaged ssian vessels were being dragged to Space City, equipment in perfect condition was being sent off to their respective research foundations to be examined. In a blink of an eye, aplete ssian technological review report had been published.


    The researchers had found out that, human¡¯s tech regarding the critical material science, quantum energy transfer, technical engineering capability and precision aspects were much more advanced. However, fields including quantumputation, gravitation physics, nuclear furnace reactors and a dozen more areas were much more primitivepared to the ssians.


    In conclusion, the technological advancement of mankind and the ssians¡¯ were at the same level.


    Luckily, the early battle was victorious so that mankind could quickly patch up all their current weaknesses in their inferior technological aspects.


    For the next 6 months, mankind¡¯s technology had been improving at an unprecedented pace/ Advanced engineering skills allowed the humans to replicate the leading technical aspects of ssian technology without much of a hassle, covering up all their weakness by strengthening themselves in all manners.


    After all this time, mankind had never once eased up since their victory against the ssian, their wartime status was still ongoing to this day.


    It is impossible to have two interster civilizations under the territory. Furthermore, the seed of hatred between the mankind and the ssian had been sowed, there will be no end to this conflict until one of them is eradicated.


    To say that this war changes anything, that would be that mankind had be more confident ever since their first battle. Originally, mankind looked up towards the ssian, then they began viewing them as equals and then finally looking down on them. These were also reasons that caused vengeance to be much more personal. The passion for war has grown throughout Space City.


    The vengeance stood for the billions of humankind massacred as well as abandoning their home. All these filled mankind with dishonor and shame, these feeling of hatred had been brewing for two decades. These emotions were the main driving force for mankind, it only allowed nothing but sess.


    The new war machine had been activated.


    But this new war was not about defending, rather to be the aggressor, the one who starts the attack.


    The ssians had decided when the war started but had no idea when the war would end.

 Chapter 557: Outing

    Chapter 557: Outing


    Trantor: EndlessFantasy Trantion Editor: EndlessFantasy Trantion


    During the early morning at the forest, the weather was humid as it had umted a night¡¯s worth of dew, clear as crystals, lying atop of broad flora leaves. If you walked past the forest, it would appear as if it was raining.


    Luo Yuan wiped off the droplets on his face, his clothes were soaked to the point that the cloth was sticking onto his body making him feel ufortable. However, others like Wang Shishi and Huang Jiahui were high in spirits, it was as if they were skipping instead of walking.


    The mutant was the most active of them all. When she reached the location, it was as if she finally returned home. She was so excited she couldn¡¯t contain herself and started climbing trees, running and jumping around the area, and sometimes being attracted by the sudden random movement of a bush nearby. Out of curiosity, she ran towards the direction of movement to investigate the bush.


    As a perfect ecological cycle, naturally there were many wild animals lurking around. Most of the wild species were harmless as most were small to medium-sized herbivores. Of course, there were some typical carnivorous beasts. But within the eyes of the mutant, they were not even a threat.


    As she rampaged through the forest, causing mass panic among the local faunas along the path, the mutant¡¯s clothes got dirty and caked with mud. But she was enjoying each moment and didn¡¯t seem to get tired.


    The mutant had experienced significant changes in these short years. Her scales were no longer visible to the eye and her blue skin had slowly reversed into a normal, fair skin tone. As of now, her appearance closely resembled a human. If one wasn¡¯t being observant, no one could tell she was a mutant. From a perspective, this could be a result of an organism adapting to their surroundings, a sort of camouge ability.


    "This dew is too much!" Luo Yuan said, preparing to clear off the dew drops in the forest.


    Who knew Wang Shishi was telepathic and quickly stopped Luo Yuan saying: " Don¡¯t move, Brother Luo. We¡¯re currently experiencing life, recall the bitterness in the old society and contrast it with happiness in the new!"


    He stopped abruptly and looked around this area. He saw nothing but a dark environment with trees so tall it looked as if they¡¯re towering into the clouds and its¡¯ leaves resembling a-covering on the top of an umbre. The entire forest showed traces of life and movement within nature. Other than the harmless mutated beast, the scenery looked exactly like a post-apocalyptic earth.


    "This ce looks like Earth!" Luo Yuan whispered gently, then eventually cast off his thought.


    The rest of the gang had the same thought as Luo Yuan and they all couldn¡¯t help it but look at him with a strange look in their eyes.


    One year ago, Luo Yuan was keeping a low profile. Although he looked like he was the same man as before, in truth, he could never return to the way things were before. After witnessing Luo Yuan¡¯s horrifying "true form", there isn¡¯t anyone who couldn¡¯t have their mental state affected after witnessing such thing.


    To top it off, his temperament had be colder and alienating. Although it was much better than during the period without sensibility. But whenpared to the past, he was a totally different person. Not only that, his lust towards females had be stale and he no longer had any sexual desires, as if he was another person.


    Besides Wang Shishi and the mutant remaining heartless towards Luo Yuan, the others¡¯ feelings towards Luo Yuan was a mixture of awe and vignce to a stranger. The rtionship between both parties was in a semi-cold state.


    However, as of now, when the gang saw the scenery that resembled a post-apocalyptic Earth, they were reminded of the hardships they all went through together. If Luo Yuan was not there utilizing his strength in the cruel post-apocalyptic world to support a safe shelter from harm, how can they be here to weep and resent everything?


    When they thought of these, all their eyes brightened up.


    This naturally was not reality, but a simted virtual reality. Ever since Space City was built, it was followed by the continuous advancement of quantumputation. The construction of the virtual reality never stopped but was expanded to be much more precise and realistic.


    Nowadays, the whole virtual reality had spanned across ten million hectares. The space was asrge as the Jiangnan Province and the outer ring of the space area even expanded to about one hundred million kilometers in range and above that, even the celestial bodies were roughly replicated.


    When you were inside the simtion, it¡¯s hard for people to differentiate the simted world from reality and suddenly you¡¯ll feel as though that you¡¯re on Earth.


    The truth is the Virtual Reality was already mimicking reality to such a degree that there was close to no difference from actual reality itself.


    Due to the hindrances of various factors, only in Virtual Reality was that Luo Yuan and the gang could be in touch. This gathering was one of the rarer outings they had together.


    Half an hourter, everyone had made it up to a mountain hill.


    Below them lied the dense forest and at the top of the mountain was a t rocky tform, this was naturally the result of an intended design in the Virtual Reality. Gazing down all the way from above and the distanced city was still within the view from the mountain.


    "We can finally say we¡¯ve reached our destination!" Zhao Yali thumping onto her chest while gasping for air, her smooth and silky skin was drenched with sweat after climbing the mountain for the past few hours. For a neutral type of body in the Virtual Reality, this was definitely not an easy achievement.


    Her eyes nced towards Luo Yuan and found there wasn¡¯t any sweat on him at all, and his breathing rate was slow and steady, almost as if he was not worn out from the vigorous exercise they all went through just now.


    You had to know that the body types in Virtual Reality would remain the same, there was no way one could re-adjust it.


    "Yu.....Yuan, why aren¡¯t you sweating?" she hesitated for a moment, but then proceeded to call Luo Yuan by his old nickname.


    "My total control over one¡¯s body is not something that you can match." Luo Yuan spoke for a sentence, even though whenpared the split idea and the total amount of diving into a Virtual Reality was an insignificant part, controlling every inch of muscle on your body was a rtively easy task for him.


    But when he finished, then he realized that Zhao Yali wasn¡¯t interested in the theory behind how can one have total control over his body, she was just trying to start a conversation. He then immediately smiled and said, "Sis Yali, we¡¯re all tired, let¡¯s get some rest for now."


    "What about Luo Lan?" at this moment Huang Jiahui asked.


    Luo Lan is the name of the mutant, the name follows Luo Yuan¡¯s surname. At first, the gang tried to give her a name when Luo Yuan hasn¡¯t transformed for the second time, so they thought of giving her Luo Yuan¡¯s surname, which also had a double meaning of remaining alert, which reminded them to be mindful of sticky situations.


    "I guess she¡¯s still behind us, she¡¯s running everywhere. Even when I yelled at her, she refused to listen." Wang Shishi grumbled.


    When you think of it, Wang Shishi wasn¡¯t young at all. Due to the fact that she had consumed the Core of the Power Crystal, she still looked like a young woman in her 20s. But the reality was that she¡¯s close to 40 although her personality remained of a heartless little girl.


    As if she was called upon, the mutant leaped out from a tree panicking, an absolute look of panic within her eyes. She hissed something while running away and then behind her, a group of ho emerged chasing swiftly after her.


    When she saw Luo Yuan, she went straight in his direction. As if she was bullied and was seeking her parent. In her heart, Luo Yuan was the strongest of the group.


    When the group saw how the situation yed out, they startedughing. Even Luo Yuan starting smirking, although he had already known what would be the oue.


    Luo Yuan waved his hand slightly, and poof, all the wasps chasing the mutant was gone, vanished into thin air, as if they had never appeared.


    After this incident, even though there was some awkwardness, it cleared up quickly.


    The group of people sat at the side, looking at the majestic mountain scenery, cracked a few jokes. Luo Yuan asionally would join the conversation but not much was spoken, he was more of a bystander than an active participant in the conversation. The difference in points of perspective in life brought a significant difference in conciseness. It is already impossible for him to mix in with the group under this atmosphere, all the topics they¡¯ve discussed never sparked Luo Yuan¡¯s interest. He preferred to sit at the side, quietly looking at everything, and enjoyed each moment of it.

 Chapter 558: Conversation and Preparation for War.

    Chapter 558: Conversation and Preparation for War.


    Trantor: EndlessFantasy Trantion Editor: EndlessFantasy Trantion


    The Extraterrestrial Information Bureau. Acting as Mankind¡¯s only center of information regarding Extraterrestrial life forms.


    Ever since humans had discovered the ssian expedition fleets four years ago, the bureau had expanded at a rate like how a balloon expands when air was blown into it. Originally, nobody knew about the bureau¡¯s existence as it had only employed close to a hundred of person. But now, it had expanded to employing thousands of staffs for the department as of now.


    Even after the conflict between the humans and ssian, the Bureau never let go any of their staffs, but instead steadily employed more personnel and expanding the Bureau.


    The whole Bureau had been divided into eight sectors: the Star Map Calction sector, Astronomic Investigation sector, Universal Signal Monitoring sector, Extraterrestrial Civilization Exploration sector, Technological Advancement Reviewing sector, and finally the Extraterrestrial Civilization Diplomatic Embassy sector.


    Certainly now that when Mankind had discovered the civilized extraterrestrial life form, the ssian.


    ...


    At this moment, there was nothing but silence found within the council hall of the Extraterrestrial Information Bureau.


    A dismantled ssian vessel, which had its long-range quantummunication equipment fixed by humans, was disyed on the tform.


    Naturally, only a huge space vessel would get fitted with a long-range quantummunicator which was capable of establishing intearymunication with a high sess rate. Without a doubt, the quantummunicator¡¯s hardware size wasn¡¯tpact at all. Although this type of enormous equipment, towering at 30 or so meters, obviously won¡¯t fit inside the council hall, as of now only the quantummunicator¡¯s receiver had been set up on the tform (mainly to pick up on-site¡¯s sound and then transmits the signal to another equipment connected to the receiver).


    A negotiator and his assistant rehearsed from a draft in a low voice for a moment, then both of them drew in a deep breath, formed up a good luck hand gesture. Electricity surged through themunicator equipment and each tiny lights bulbs lit up in a domino effect. Finally, a green light signaling a normal working condition of the equipment was emitted.


    The signal channel had been established in a rtively short matter of time.


    "This is the Humans speaking, representing the Human Civilization, officially requesting a diplomatic meet up with the ssian to negotiate deals and terms. If you had received the signal, please respond immediately, I repeat, please respond immediately!"


    The negotiator carefully and smoothly delivered the line, just as rehearsed in the ssiannguage. He continuously repeated the message three times in total.


    To the previous generation, they were not unfamiliar with the ssiannguage. During a past era decades ago, to learn and study thessian technology, many individuals decided to pick up theirnguage and practice it frequently. For the Extraterrestrial Information Bureau¡¯s Diplomatic Embassy sector, it was a crucial skill that they had to master.


    Today, most the world¡¯s most powerful men had gathered. Besides those who were busy with other engagements, these men had gathered within the council hall, paying extreme attention to this historic phone call to an extraterrestrial civilization. Casting off any hatred against the ssian, Mankind¡¯s arch nemesis, this was undoubtedly Mankind¡¯s first officialmunication with another civilization from outer space.


    However, as time passed, themunicator remains silent besides a series of white noiseing through, nothing else came in.


    However, what had urred was within expectation. After all, even if the long-range quantummunicator was used, it was impossible for themunicator to transmit the signal across a few dozens of light years in a short amount of time, but what was unfortunate was that no one knew how long it would take for a response.


    The group of men had waited from the early morning to the afternoon and from the afternoon till sunset.


    Suddenly breaking the silence, a whisper came out from every speaker to spurmotion throughout the council hall.


    When the hungry bunch of men thought themunication with the ssian was a failure, a string of ssiannguage spilled out from the speaker, the whole council hall fell into silence.


    "Humans? You¡¯re humans?" This was the voice that came from over 30 light years away. Under all the disturbance and noise generated from the universe, the response sounded unstable, with frequent changes in the voice volume, and at times a sharp ear piercing noise.


    However, even if someone didn¡¯t understand the ssian tongue would also sense the fear and shock within those voices


    This was a mysterious feeling in their state of mind. As the side that lost the war, they wished this loss was just another ident. It must¡¯ve been due to other factors that had affected the expedition fleet (just as the truth), if so the probability of this happening was close to none. The ssian had trembled before the advancement pace of the Humans.


    "I¡¯ll repeat, this message came directly from Humans. Now representing the Human Civilization, we are officially requesting a diplomatic meeting with the ssian. Whoever you are, please contact your superiors immediately, wee in peace."


    Again with the waiting for a response from the ssian, this would definitely be known as mankind history¡¯s longest and slowest negotiation.


    ...


    While the ssian was lowering their guard, this was the same time that the Extraterrestrial Information Bureau was advancing their scam tactics.


    Mankind had also started production expanding in an exponential pace when technology had expanded past smart-era, its total production scale had long surpassed human limitation, and the production scale was only decided by the superiors¡¯ will, resources, and the environmental restrictions.


    Although the Barnard star system was the only star system avable to Mankind, the resources the star provided for the advancement was far more than enough.


    A single 4th¡¯s total resource quantity would be equal to every rocky found within the whole sr system.


    At the surface of the 4th, it represented the mark of Mankind¡¯s activity in towering engineering marvels, as if viruses were rapidly spreading everywhere. No matter if the surface atmosphere was to be frozen into a frostyer or the underground rocks, they would all be mined in a destructive manner, extracted into various elements, building factory after factory, machinery after machinery, as well as up to at least millions of gallons of fuel for the nuclear fusion furnace.


    This type of vast human activity had also affected the¡¯s temperature. Originally a tundra, with an average temperature of 3¡ãC annually. Now with the¡¯s temperature continuously rising. When the war reached its third year, the whole had already started forming a sort of light ozone and showed signs of weather changing.


    And within this year, the humans had their first reactionless drive-powered spaceship which began its testing phase.


    But only one of this model of the spaceship was built and the previous 30 prototype designs for the ship were scrapped.


    It was not that the ship had its ws, it was the other way around. Its design was wless, incorporating every ssian technology, allowing the human¡¯s technological capability to further improve to the next level.


    The ship¡¯s surface had appeared to be built with a smooth mirror surface, the reflection rate of the lights (the reflection rates of the vertical light ray when shined directly upon) was close to a 100% even though the light particle was still faster than light speed, it can be still effective when resisting those light particles.


    The ship¡¯s highest reactionless drive rate can achieve up to 4.5 times of light speed, surpassing the ssian vessel which had a drive rate up to only 3 times of light speed.


    The reason for all the prototype designs for the ship was vetoed over and over again was that the reactionless drive was still in its experimental stage when it fully developed throughout this year and when this special type of power furnace was fully functional. It immediately disyed an unrivaled superiority to all previous engine models.


    Even though this was only the first iteration of its kind, its highest energy output percentage had already surpassed human¡¯srgest fusion furnace¡¯s energy output percentage by up to 300 times or more. 10 of these were required to provide a satisfactory energy supply to the original design of the space shuttle.


    Also, even the fuel had saved plenty of space, even if it was a simple exchange of fuel source, it could easily free up to 15% of space.


    The energy expenditure of this initial iteration of reactionless drive vessel was like a water dam filled with water that had just opened its gates, it was like a flood discharge. Part of the space had to be used to store pure water (nuclear fusion fuel) and increase fusion furnace array.


    This 15% of extra space was not to be looked down upon.


    Mankind will never remain peaceful with the ssian. War had almost torn Mankind¡¯s history apart, aspared to the ssians¡¯ attitude towards military affairs as if child¡¯s y, human¡¯s attitude towards military affairs was picky to the slightest detail, having a deep obsession to maximize a weapon¡¯s capability to the limit. You wouldn¡¯t find yourself seeing humans who were onboard the military airships idle.


    Let¡¯s not talk about the 15% of the newly freed up space, even if it¡¯s a 1% freed up space, if not utilized properly it¡¯ll be considered a huge waste.


    The extra spaces meant that the design for the spaceship could be decided much more calmly. Under the rule that the new design wouldn¡¯t increase the ship¡¯s build, the only thing required for an even more powerful thrust would be a simple increase in the anti-matter reaction furnace.


    The only w it had was that the anti-matters reserve was limited.


    These past few years, the anti-matter prepping techniques had been improved. As of now, the energy or anti-matter conversion ratio had reached 10,000 to 1, which meant 10,000 parts of energy could only be converted into a part of anti-matter energy. However, ever since Mankind had set up a temporal colonial settlement over at the Barnard star system, humans¡¯ anti-matter production scale remained at a measly level. And during wartime, the production model never expanded.


    First was it was a huge waste of energy on a scale never before seen, second was that there was not much demand for anti-matter, as it was useless as an intergctic warfare weaponry when facing against your enemy light years away, so the best type of weaponry for intergctic warfare would be the light speed weaponry, as they¡¯re the fastest and the most effective weapon known to the world.


    As so, the humans had stayed at the system for over a decade and the anti-matter reserve had slowly stocked up to a total of a few thousand tons, and most of them were scavenged from the ssian vessel, but even with all these amounts of anti-matter reserves were not enough to act as fuel for a 30 light years trip for the reactionless drive space shuttle.


    Luckily this w could be easily offset, as of now with Mankind¡¯s technological advancement, it was little to no effort to scale up the anti-matter production nt.


    In just one year, during the fourth year, the anti-matter production model had expanded almost ten times reaching 5,000 tons.


    When the fifth year came by, the anti-matter production had reached 80,000 tons, and the price they paid was that during these two years, the 4th¡¯s temperature had risen yet again by another 10¡ãC.

 Chapter 559: The Wind Rises

    Chapter 559: The Wind Rises


    Trantor: EndlessFantasy Trantion Editor: EndlessFantasy Trantion


    Time flew since the war ten years ago. The ssian and the Mankind had a negotiation marathon under humanity¡¯s initiative in revealing their weaknesses and hiding their strengths to the ssian. Finally, a treaty had been signed after four years.


    An official peace treaty that forbade the vition of peace between the two intergctic civilizations had been established.


    Obviously, these types of peace treaties were only verbal promises, there¡¯s no one reinforcing the treaty¡¯s effect and binding effects.


    However, Mankind¡¯s preparation for war had not been slowed down by any means, rather they began speeding up their pace. After a decade of insane expansion, Space City¡¯s diameter had expanded by over a thousand times.


    Due to Space City transforming to a colossal urban area, it had cause massive geological changes on the 4th. Frequent earthquakes heavily impacted the mining of resources on the, which in turn caused the massive Space City to take earthquake countermeasures three years ago by increasing the city¡¯s altitude. In turn, it changed the¡¯s orbital path. As of now, it began slowly orbiting into the infinite abyss of space. Now, the 4th was actually the 4th Satellite.


    Circling the massive Space City was countless numbers of airships and shuttles moving in and out of the ports like schools of fishes, abnormally busy.


    However, most of these space shuttles were just cargo ships, with their simple structures that enabled swift and ease of manufacturing, one of these types of cargo ships can be built within two months. Currently, the whole human race owned a hundred billion tons of these cargo ships, capable of shipping up to a billion tons of massive raw material from the 4th and into Space City in a daily manner, quickly bing the most crucial factor to all other industrial sectors.


    ......


    Hundreds of thousands of kilometers away from Space City.


    A giant facility shaped that looks like an umbre, under the workforce of countless engineering robot,s gradually approached itspletion.


    This is an astonishingrge structure, it¡¯s diameters spanned dozens of kilometers. With its weight of up to ten billion tons, the five cargo ships that hadnded at its side looked as if those ships were micepared to a dinosaur. Even to humans from the current era, this was no small task.


    The structure was shaped like a radar, it was a radar. However, it¡¯s not your typical electromaic radar, but rather a Spatial Wavelength detection and lock-on radar.


    The radar included an extremely high effective spatial wavelength emitter, spacial wavelength receiver, electronic scanner, and a data analysis center. It was used to observe all the intel within a radius of a hundred light years.


    Ever since, the previous war with the ssian, when the Humans were faced with the ssian¡¯s light-speeded space shuttles, it was an utter defeat. There was nothing that the Humans could do about it but to learn from it after the war. Mankind had spent countless amounts of resource, manpower in researching, and perfecting upon light-speed transversing technology.


    However, up till two years ago, following the countless technological innovations and advancements in all foundation techniques and skills, Mankind had finally broken through the barriers of light-speed transversing technology.


    Honestly saying, the probe onto the theories of light-speed transversing was notplicated, except for the fact that there¡¯s an extra spatial emitter. Both the spatial emitter and the Spatial Wavelength detector were from the same principle, the only hurdle was that the Spatial Wavelength detector requires an extremely unnatural, sensitive level.


    Everyone knew that mankind could mass-produce attraction force and that the attractional force would produce spatial curvature andpression. If you think of space as the sea water from the ocean, then the matters found in space was like a dam with a slightly higher density and when the spatial wave passed through these matters. When both of them collided, it would cause some slight spatial wavelength movements echoing in the opposite direction.


    These wavelengths would then be picked up through the Spatial Wavelength Detection Radar, the matter¡¯s distances and size could be calcted through the wavelengths¡¯ traveling duration and the wavelengths¡¯ energy intensity.


    All of these were technically very simple, but when it¡¯s put into practical use, all of their difficulties had practically halted human progression right in their tracks.


    Since not every detected matter were neutron ck holes possessing a huge attractional force. Simrly, a space vessel that had a few billion or even several ten of billions of tons of matter, their attractional forces were so weak that it¡¯s almost undetectable. The feedback attractional wavelengths will be even weaker and could only be indirectly observed during the lepton stage.


    Moreover, even when the wavelength was observable under the lepton stage, these leptons will always go through the quantum probability movements. Furthermore, confusing the feedback is the effect from the spatial wavelength except if the lepton hadpleted stopped its activity and remained stationary, but this is rted to absolute zero which is also the pinnacle of physics.


    Every step in order to practicalize such feat was a very difficult task. That¡¯s why in these past few years, following a new generation of humans stepping into the work, there was originally some stagnation on the development of the technology sector that had finally gained some momentum. Every basic technological sector had continuously improved and finally broke through the barrier for light-speed transversing technology.


    The next generation of humans taking over the project at least had the intellect of a genius. When inparison to standard average humans, every one of them was among the top of their peers.


    Although they still weren¡¯t smart enough when inparison to the scientists who consumed Intellect pills. But in many different asions, the research sector was not about who is the smartest. Rather it was whose achievements would be higher, the sector was more about focus level and the asional inspiration. Not to mention, the vast number of individuals could potentially make up for all their losses.


    A staggering 90% of the next-gen humans who had matured entered the research sector, greatly making up for mankind¡¯sck of talent and profession within the field. Overall strengthening Mankind¡¯s technological advancement sector.


    ...


    Up in the sky, Luo Yuan had quietly looked onto the faraway Space City.


    Humans, who had nothing, managed to reach the barren star domain and remained at their sharpest till this day. Luo Yuan could be said to have witnessed Mankind¡¯s growth and energy. This is a form of booming development power and maybe one day, it would be the dominant forces on this, bing an advanced civilization.


    Only that this time, he couldn¡¯t see it anymore.


    The hidden disaster of the fourth dimensional is that it made him unsure of the amount of time that he could remain in the third dimension. He briefly sighed, a bittersweet emotion was found deep within him.


    As of this moment, there¡¯s a dim light glowing out from his whole body. A strong energy, which followed the movements of his body, formed a slight ripple around the space. His whole body had entered the higher state and in the radius of within a few billion kilometers, an endless stream of information had flowed into his brain like crashing waves. A whole new omniscient feeling, time to time, eroding onto his will.


    At this moment, he felt like he was an Almighty God, there¡¯s nothing that could stop him. But the actual fact is that it¡¯s true to the point as within this state, he could control every matter within a few billion kilometers of his radius.


    But his willpower remained strong as a rock, the vast amount of information rushing into his mind began eroding his conscious. He still managed to remain in an woke state, not even tempted by his god-like powers. All these tears under the opposing forces of both his consciousness and the information, his willpower grew ever stronger at a shocking pace.


    Till now, he hadpletely released all the blocked off information channels. Not only were his five senses recalibrated to their peak form. Even his forehead¡¯s smayer was totally abandoned. He had already got used to this powerful flow of information, his consciousness and willpower had be the true master of his body.


    Suddenly, Luo Yuan lifted up his head and looked far away. One test pilot fleet, from the distant star domain, came rushing all the way into the Barnard star system at very fast speed. This is only one of the ten fighter vessels fleet, the testing fleet finally returned after two years, when the five new vessels of the same ship were taken into ount. In just a short few years, Mankind had formed a 15 vessels fleet of Fighter Space Shuttles symbolizing their powerful conquering potential.


    From this side, it¡¯s easy to see that Mankind¡¯s engineering manufacturing technique was far superior to the ssian. As for the ssian, they could only produce Reactionless drive fighter ships in a small scale, but Mankind could produce it in batches.


    "The war will begin shortly!"

 Chapter 560: The First Conflict

    Chapter 560: The First Conflict


    Trantor: EndlessFantasy Trantion Editor: EndlessFantasy Trantion


    Half a monthter, the Spatial Wavelength Radar was functioning as initially designed. Its first mission was to proceed with a full-scale, extensive investigation towards the ssian civilization through firing hundreds of thousands of spatial waves at them. One dayter, Humans had finally received their first valuable information regarding the ssian civilization.


    Finally, acquiring more extensive knowledge of the extraterrestrial civilization.


    Although an extremely, primitive imagery was formed from the Spatial Wavelength Radar and that there¡¯s nothingprehensible from the image, but it enabled the indirect deduction of the object¡¯s weight and its precise location.


    Through investigations on the ssians optical images andparative analysis, eliminating all sorts of celestial bodies, it was possible to estimate that the ssian had been expanding their civilization within the current star systems for the past 30 years. The ssians had extended their . civilization to a distance of 31 light years from the Barnard Star System. If the investigations continued for an extensive amount of time, then Mankind could easily grasp their enemies¡¯ specific defense range and the general movements of their military.


    It could be said that in the wake of Spatial Wavelength Radar, Mankind had thoroughly studied the ssian and slowly gain an upper hand.


    The investigation of the ssians system through the Spatial Wavelength Radar had gone on for almost year and Mankind had gradually discovered surprising news that was apanied by a puzzling reality. The ssian had never entered war status, the whole civilization remained at a low consumption status.


    Throughout the whole year, the man-made objects that were situated in space didn¡¯t have any major development. It had to be known that as an inteary civilization that had almost the same technological advancement rate as the Humans; when they entered war status, their entire star system was being mined for resources in a destructive manner. Their production capability could be said to be a booming expansion, but the changes within one year were staggering as there was no such sign seen from the ssian.


    Although their man-made objects had technically spread to all corners of the star system, they acted as if nothing had happened when faced with such threat from Mankind. This reaction caused mass-confusion for the human data analysts.


    Are the ssian too rxed after the peace treaty was signed or are they too confident in their ability?


    Such behavior was totally unimaginable for the Humans who were still in the middle of preparing for warfare. A unified race, without any imminent threats, possessed a mind containing the knowledge from civilization thatsted over 500 years formed from a long period of peace.


    To those ssian who were at ease for too long. They were no longer familiar with war and also had lost their sensitivity against aggression and overall, a basic sense of danger.


    But from the Humans¡¯ side, it was undoubtedly good news.


    The preparation for war had been more than sufficient, Mankind had readjusted the expedition date. The date was dyed for an extra two years.


    ....


    After the war, on 21st of November of the year 13, the hyper-mall near the residential area of the Space City had be crowded following the mall¡¯s center screen showing a fleet start shooting mes out, sailing slowly.


    The sound of the crowd¡¯s cheers roared just like a tsunami. All the attendees were excited and kept on cheering. A fanatical atmosphere was up in the air as if the whole Space City were copsing. It was as if the humans were not going to war, but rather having another carnival.


    32 vessels of the enormous battleships slowly departed and began elerating.


    This Reactionless Drive vessel was formed with a sharp triangle structure and an extremely smooth surface that reflected the rays from the Red Dwarf, demonstrating the strength of the technology. It was like a sharp sword, slicing through the darkness of the space and in the blink of an eye, they were gone from man¡¯s eyesight.


    Through the ten long days of conventional engine sailing, this ship fleet had reached the edge of the Space City and activated their Curvature Engine.


    Apanying the anti-matter reaction furnace full power output, a powerful force was formed at the front end of the ship. The space at the front end began topress and topare the now expanding space at the rear end of the ship, the curvature bubble had formed around the ship!


    After the slow eleration, the fleet started to slowly gain momentum and after three hours, it reached their maximum speed.


    Right now, the battle fleets¡¯ speed had just exceeded six times lightspeed and the all the ships¡¯ bodies were glowing like a star. Resembling 32 dazzling lights, bringing human¡¯s destructive force and war swiftly towards the ssian.


    ...


    Even when the expedition¡¯s battle fleet had sailed off, around 10 or so of the military fleet factory continued their productions day and night. After almost one or two months, another new ship would leave Space City¡¯s bay and began its sailing. At the same time, the factories would still expand their operations without halt.


    At the second year, another twelve vessels of battleships would start sailing towards the ssian.


    And when the third year came by, it was the year where a total of 20 vessels of ships departed towards the ssian.


    ...


    When the fifth year came by, it had reached a total of 98 vessels.


    After every year, there was a new fleet beginning their expedition and their total numbers were increasing each time with each new vessel built better than the previous iteration.


    And at this moment, the first batch of expedition fleet, the lead fleet after five years of sailing, had finally closed into the ssian system.


    Curvature flight had a huge sound of astir, like a torch in the dark, the ssian naturally wouldn¡¯t be able to investigate. But two years ago, the ssian had detected that there was an iing object causing abnormal spatial wavelength movement. They determined it as a definite threat to the ssian species, finally causing this huge civilization to be active again.


    Before the warships reached the ssian system, Humans had already expected the ssian to arrange assaults from the edge of the star systems.


    Rushing to build a space stronghold and even some sparse fighter vessels, firing round after round of high energy rays as if it was raining, bizarrely lighting up\ space like a Christmas tree. However, just like the humans facing the ssian Reactionless Drive Airship for the first time, the ssian were helpless having finally faced Mankind¡¯s version of Reactionless Drive Vessels.


    The fleet was traveling at 2 million kilometers per second, heavily testing the ssians weaponry and detection system. Following the passing by of mankind¡¯s vessel was the strange space distortion; the majority of the ssian fort exploded with bright lights following afterward forming universal fireworks.


    Unfortunately, those were the outermost forts built by the ssian in these past two years, when the expedition fleet came in rushing through their weak defenses and entered the ssian Star System. The intercept firepower had suddenly gathered u as these star domains had been thoroughly decorated by the ssian as if they were Rai.


    If the outer defense line was likened to calm winds and light rains then the inner system defense could be said to be a storm with heavy downpours.


    Never underestimate a civilization that had continued expanding for over hundreds of years. This is a civilization that had been living on three separates, having over a hundred billion in poption and their location in the Ster system, Daison, had covered over a third of the Ster system.


    The energy harvested by the ssians annually would be equivalent to what the humans had harvested for over a hundred years.


    Which would also mean that the energy that they¡¯re using was potentially a million times over that of the Humans.


    When the war had broken out, even though it been only two years, the explosive power it overall contained was terrifying to all.


    Within the whole ster system, at intervals of almost every few thousand kilometers, there would be a defensive fort there, sealing off the whole ster system.


    The gathered ray at one point lit up with the entire Star System and Mankind¡¯s fighter vessels had finally begun to show damage. A high energy ray that was shot out of nowhere hit one of the vessels from the expedition fleet under the curvature state and the vessel took the direct high energy beam hit. There¡¯s no question that the ship itself was weak. Although to humans the photon beam was not powerful, nevertheless it still managed to open up a big hole within the vessel causing it¡¯s anti-matter reaction furnace to crack, lighting up the whole ship and at one moment within the darkness of space, it had shown up as a bright sun.

 Chapter 561: The Destruction of the Glassian Planet (I)

    Chapter 561: The Destruction of the ssian (I)


    Trantor: EndlessFantasy Trantion Editor: EndlessFantasy Trantion


    Both side¡¯s technological differences weren¡¯t big. As for targeting the light-speed target such as the Reactionless Drive vessel, there were no specialized weapons to fight against it. Just like during the previous war when Mankind was suddenly faced with supersonic missiles, besides using anti-aircraft gun shooting at the sky blindly and trying their luck, there¡¯s no option.


    The dangers of the energy ray had spread throughout the fleet¡¯s expedition route as if it was a road to death. Each step taken was a step towards their possible doom.


    Three hourster, another war vessel had just left the Curvature Flight and drifted along in the darkness of space.


    Quickly following after that vessel was another war vessel.


    All the human warship flight crews had a stern look on their faces, not a single one of them was afraid. No one knew who would be the next, but all of them had fully prepared mentally. As the first wave and spearhead of the Reactionless Drive vessel fleet, they were the ones who would be facing the most dangerous task in this expedition. All of them had realized the high probability of death before departing for the mission.


    "Distance from the first target, 3 light days remaining!"


    The reminder from the A.I. made the warship¡¯smander, Hou Shuwen tightly clench his fist. He estimated that there were 12 hours before their first contact with the ssians. But this was also the most dangerous 12 hours.


    .....


    Compared with the Humans, the ssian society had gone into total chaos. Within the flourishing city, where there were originally peace and order, terror and chaos ran rampant. The entire ssian society was a mess.


    "The Aliens areing!"


    "We are doomed!!"


    Within the two years of emergency war status, the ssian Government had portrayed Mankind as a force of evil and not a target to be reckoned; to unify all their people. The consequence suffered when their government had announced the emergency warning, requesting all their people enter the underground fortification, was that it sent the whole society into fear.


    The spaceport was located near the Residential. A vast number of airships ignored the prohibition order and abandon their in all sorts of directions, trying to escape from the potential war zone.


    Most of the airship owners weremoners and the guards that were stationed at the Space Port hesitating for a moment, not preventing the people from escaping. All of a sudden, a surge of airships had joined the deserting fleets.


    The long sustained peace had long diminished the ssians¡¯ fighting spirit. When faced with a weak opponent, they were able to stand tall and proud and fight back. Now, when faced with death and terror, none of them had a peace of mind.


    There were worse situations, the Reactionless Drive fleet that was stationed near the residential awaitingmands couldn¡¯t stand the stress and pressure. Resulting in those ships that were not far away from the residential to initiate their curvature engines and join the deserters. The spatial disruption by the warships had caused a huge disaster on the nearby, half of the¡¯s gadgets and electronics had turned into scrap metal in a blink of an eye. Most of the nearby space defense weaponry and equipment were sabotaged. No doubt that this had put the ssian in a very bad situation.


    Even before the arrival of the human¡¯s war fleet, the ssian society had quickly crumbled.


    An old ssian, covered in wrinkled skin, quietly looked at the spatial wavelength source from the holographic screen in the office of the ssian head of capital. Strings of bad news and the loss of order on society caused him to lose hope.


    Originally, when faced with a crisis that would threaten the ssian Civilisation, they should have been united as one. But now, all he could feel was that he had slowly lost control over the country.


    When he had finally received the news of the mass desertion at the Spaceport in which the 3 vessels of the Reactionless Drive battle fleet had also joined the desertion, the incident had already happened half an hour ago.


    When he had finally heard what had happened, he felt that his world was spinning and almost fainted. When he had finally gained a grip on himself, he yelled in anger, "This is treason! THIS IS TREASON!!! Destroy the invaders! Also..... let the troops mandatory summon and control their respective airships."


    These airships were the ssians¡¯st hope. Although it couldn¡¯t carry all the ssians, at least it would save the ssian from extinction.


    As for the destruction of over half as amount of defensive weaponry brought by the Reactionless Drive War Fleets, he had already ignored those incidents.


    "It¡¯s over, over.... The ssian are doomed."


    His heart had filled up with despair and hatred, despair against humanity¡¯s strength and hatred towards the colleagues who had restricted him and his geographical influence. Finally, it filled with hatred towards those businessmen who were not cooperative.


    The ssian weren¡¯t even supposed to fall into such a desperate situation. If they were to band together and show their true strength, it would be more than enough tost through this crisis. Even if they discovered the danger, the ssian society still wouldn¡¯t be able to change their nature and they can¡¯tpletely enter total wartime status.


    Not even 1% of the ssians¡¯ true strength was disyed, as for themitment for military matters. There were absolutely no efforts inmitting to military matters.


    The ssian were loosely ruled over, their jurisdiction was not centralized. There¡¯s also limited central constraints and local authority had most of the governing power. If the effect was not great during the time of peace. When it came to the time of war, such a scattered governing body would not be able to respond to the matter ordingly.


    However, as to hating these matter, he hated his previous predecessor even more. That idiot who couldn¡¯t do anything at all, if not for the long gone predecessor that had ordered the expedition on earth, the ssian wouldn¡¯t be facing such threat now.


    It was him who caused all of this, he¡¯s the sinner for the entire ssian civilization. He was the one who brought destruction onto the ssian.


    The current head of capital of the ssian race was haggard. Maybe it was time for the ssian to retreat, otherwise, the ssian wouldn¡¯t be able to escape at all.


    .....


    Four hourster, the ssian had finally begun their evacuation.


    Millions of aircrafts, flew from the 3 residentials to the nearest Space Port. At first, due to the evacuation n being dered secretly, there was still some sort of order maintained within society. With the evacuation news finally spreading, the whole society order had suddenly went into chaos. All sorts of crimes ranging from murder to ransacking were spread rampantly like a virus.


    To enter the aircraft that was at the Space Port, even the most educated ssians had became violent and ruthless to make sure that they fit within the capacity limit. Once a prosperous civilisation, it had turned into nothing but ruins and chaos, infinitely close to the brink of destruction.


    At the end, even the ssian Army couldn¡¯t wait be be a part of the evacuated personnel. Some of the abandoned troops had rebelled and began to steal airships. Each of the residentials had slowly descended into chaos, the selfishness of the mortals had presented itself most vividly in the face of disaster.


    After the humans closed in another light-year, they had rapidly slowed down to begin on concentrating fire.


    As of now, the human¡¯s first fleet had 18 vessels left. During the previous 7 to 8 hours, a total of 12 warships consisting of 360 soldiers had been killed during the journey. If the ssian had maintained military discipline to the very end, there would be no telling which side would ultimately be defeated.


    But as of now, the ssian had lost all hope.


    Within the shroud of the space, hundreds of thousands of airships had fled from the ssian, covering the entire ssian ster system. Within all those fleeing airships were cargo ships, Reactionless Drive War Ships, and even those light-aircrafts. All of them were like headless flies, escaping in different directions. Even within the residentials, it was like a sea of fire. Smoke was everywhere and chaos had ran rampant.


    Almost no one had payed any attention to the human¡¯s warfleet. Even now the volleys of attacks of the high energy rays towards the human war fleets were all manned by the A.I.¡¯s defence mechanism.


    Even so, when humanity finally crossed that final light day had arrived. Only 5 more of the human¡¯s war fleet had been destroyed.


    Even with such results, it had made the human war ship¡¯s crew members shout in joy. They felt as if they were blessed by the heavens and at thest light day, it was also the tightest defense area for the ssians. The human warships that were sacrificed were actually lower than the previous 2 light days.


    During light-speed traversing, the warships werepletely unable to know what was happening on the outside and because of that, they didn¡¯t know that the ssian civilization had already crumbled before the actual battle had started, and had long started abandoning their posts.


    The entire Reactionless Drive Warfleet flight route was nned based on the star chart. With the spatial wavelength radar pinpointing and investigating on the ssian Star system for over a year, the data of the star system¡¯s celestial bodies¡¯ movement were precise. The margin of error did not exceed more than 500 kilometers. They essentially wouldn¡¯t even need to stop when nearing the Star system at all, as what the ssian didst time.


    Following the fleet closing in on the ssians¡¯ first residential, the whole fleet had started to line a crescent form. A beautiful stream of light of shone from the dark sky, and when the crescent line had closed in on the, the human¡¯s warships had only 14 vessels left, the heavy artillery cannon had slowly begun to turn and had already charged up their shots with their muzzle begin to light up one by one, glowing brightly throughout the sky.


    The next moment, 14 rays of bright light shot down onto the first residential with the speed of light, as if a meteor.


    Other than 6 shots had slightly missed the, the other 8 shots hadnded a direct hit onto the.


    This was a type of high-intensity gamma radiation energy, through human expertise in quantum energy transferring techniques, there were no limitations on the type of barrel being used. It would still be able to ovey the energy for an infinite amount, focusing the energy infinitely. Every shot of the ray was equally matched to a ten-ton anti-matter missile. The powerful prating fire caused a part of the energy to directly pierce through the¡¯s core. Whenpared to anti-matter missiles, this weaponry was able to cause even more damage to a celestial body.


    The smell of death brought by the high-intensity ray as if it was God¡¯s judgment. In an instant, it pierced through the atmosphere, driving through the grounds of the first, the surface crust instantly evaporated and wasn¡¯t even able tost a second.


    It was as if the time at this moment was frozen.


    The next moment, a sudden bright light shone from all corners of the, swallowing river after river, city after city, andke afterke. The entire was shaking.


    The earth was cracking, the sea was boiling and the undergroundva started to explode, and hurricanes began crashing across the.


    Especially after a shot of the gamma radiation ray directly hit the¡¯s core. It effectively caused changes in the geomaic forces, forming terrifying storms.


    Within seconds, 70% of those ssians who still remained on the were dead, the remaining 30% were killed in the next minute. Under these kinds of disasters, no matter where you hide, there was no escape, the¡¯s scenery was as if it was the apocalypse.


    The human¡¯s war fleets never stopped. They made a big turn-around and started firing upon the second residential, bringing humanity¡¯s destruction upon it.


    .....


    Mankind¡¯s attack hadsted for 3 hours. Every residential was attacked in at least 5 waves. When all of the weaponry¡¯s batteries ran out of energy, the war fleet started to leave the star system. Operation "Straighten out Huanglong" was a sess, most of the ssian had been destroyed. Up next was to patiently clear off all remaining survivors.


    However, at that moment, the protagonist was not these war fleets anymore. Instead, he was in the high intelligence space fighter vessel.

 Chapter 562: The Destruction of the Glassian Planet (II)

    Chapter 562: The Destruction of the ssian (II)


    Trantor: EndlessFantasy Trantion Editor: EndlessFantasy Trantion


    Usually, high-tech warfare was swift, urate and deadly. One shot and you would be gone, there would not be any breathing room left for the opponent.


    In the old days of Iraqi warfare, when the war began, itpletely destroyed Iraq¡¯s regime. All it required were 21 days for all the territories to be brought under control. In that short time frame, a total of 128 American soldiers lost their lives. 110 of them were K.I.A. and 18 were killed in idents. In the past, the general forecast was that a war would usuallyst for one or two years at the minimum.


    As for the current warfare between Mankind and the ssian civilization, although the battlefield spanned across the interster systems, the beginning until the end of the warsted only 20 hours.


    Although the war was over, the battlefield was still not cleared yet. Following the destruction entire residential of the ssians, Mankind had totally secured the victory.


    When Mankind began withdrawing their war-fleet, there were a total of 14 vessels. Only 11 of those vessels had sessfully left the war zone, another 3 warships would forever stay in this part of the star system. A total of 120 ships and their crews had been sacrificed on the eve of dawn.


    The vast distance would have a dying effect on optical imagery, the human war fleet could not determine the oue of the battle. No one could guarantee the precision and uracy of the star charts. The question whether or not the attacks hit their targets lingered in their minds. In high-speed travel, even the slightest mistake, regardless if was it a millisecond of miscalction, that mistake would be amplified after traveling at light-speed for six times and the difference would be at least 1.8 kilometers of difference.


    The fleet¡¯smander, Hou Shuwen had established a video conference link to all other warship captains and after all of them had a moment of silence in respect to those who had bravely sacrificed themselves during the battle. All the attendees decided to proceed ording to the original n to clean up the war zone.


    A minuteter, ten thousand space fighter jets jetted out from all the warships into space. The jet engine shot out ion mes that spanned a few kilometers in length, flying to every corner of the nearby space.


    Aspared to the third generation of space fighter jets that had a dazzling performance in the previous battle against the ssian, these type of fighter jets had been developed into a fourth generation.


    With the front end of the fighter jet being sleeker, the aircraft¡¯s length spanned only 150 meters and its wingspan was at 65 meters. Even if this version of a fighter jet was much smaller, it did not mean that they were weaker than their previous generation.


    On one hand, they were just like the warships, using the same anti-matter power furnace. Alternatively, it was this model that had thoroughly scrapped the railguns, resulting in the light speed energy attacks being the only weapons left onboard. This decision had saved up significant space to store their ammo.


    The railguns were powerful and simple to build, they could even carry anti-matter missiles as well as all sorts of powerful warheads and even A.I. guided tracking warheads. Its major weakness was obvious, the weapons system required a huge space to operate, requiring a long eleration rail and the materials used to build the cannon barrel yed a major role on the weapon¡¯s effectiveness. On top of that, its power would not be like the energy weapons that could ovey their energy an infinite amount of times to further amplify its power through quantum energy transfer.


    As for a civilization that had just entered the space age, the level of their energy weapons was not advanced enough but it might be an advantage. However, it already began to seem tasteless for Mankind.


    Plus the usage of the anti-matter power furnace had greatly raised the space fighter jet¡¯s energy output by a few energy levels, allowing the energy attacks to beparable to an anti-matter warhead. Due to these reason above the wed rail-guns had gradually retired from the list of weaponry that humans carried.


    ...


    When the space fighter jets enteredbat, they had already begun clearing the remaining ssian autonomous defense forts. Previously Mankind was still unable to determine the ssian¡¯s technological advancement level because the Reactionless Drive warfleets were a technology that no one could fully understand, it surpassed both civilizations¡¯ understanding. However, at this moment, when the pawns of both sides collided, the technological difference between the Humans and the ssian could easily be determined.


    Regardless if it was the ssian¡¯s autonomous defense fort weapon reaction speed or the object movement trajectory lock-on predictor, it was still not fast enough to follow the speed of the space fighter jets. Shots after shots had been fired from the fort but the space fighter jets had long since acquired their targets and vaporized them immediately with a high-intensity energy ray.


    The space fighter jets had excellent mobility and the ability to change its trajectory path at any given time. This was because they had thousands of Gs, allowing sudden eleration as well as sudden braking or slowing down its speed. Within seconds of the jets flying in a straight line, they could suddenly be turning a corner at a 60¡ã sharp angle while they had the equipment to countermeasure the stationary defense facilities. The fights werepletely one-sided and the failure rate of each space fighter jet was exceptionally low.


    It was as if they were a swarm of locusts that constantly gnawed on the solid defenses of the ssians, gradually pushing the inner circle of the star system closer.


    ...


    "The war is already over!" Luo Yuan recollects his vision from the fourth dimension, his heart was filled with indescribable feelings.


    The ssians were high and mighty in the face of Mankind when they first appeared. They were so tall, they could cause people to suffocate. For that, Mankind was forced to abandon their home and engage themselves in the great escape.


    Yet, thirty years had passed and the situation had reversed. Humans had taken up habitat where the ssian civilization once was and a once a prosperous civilization had been wiped out.


    There was a saying that went, "30 years in the eastern river, 30 years in the western river."


    ...


    When midnight struck, there was only silence in Space City. Luo Yuan suddenly had an idea, one that gave him the desire to go to the front line of the war zone to witness everything. This civilization that gave him tremendous stress when he first met them... If he could not witness what they were like in close proximity, it would be his greatest regret.


    Moreover, the distance was only 30 light years away. He could travel a round trip within a month.


    When he had made up his mind, Luo Yuan left a short message in Virtual Reality before turning into the void and appeared in space within a blink of the eye. After a few more teleports, he had already left the Barnard Star System.


    He then immediately prepared for travel. When he had the thought, the surrounding environment started to change vigorously and the powerful spatial waves caused a kind of spatial tidal wave nearby.


    After all these years, his Will had strengthened more than ten timespared to what he previously had. Now, the maniption of the spatial dimensions were as simple as moving an arm. It was as if it was his natural talent. At that moment, the space-time bubble formed around him and began to push his body with an amazing speed.


    10 minutester, his speed had reached 300 times the speed of light. A high concentration of light-speed photons collided with the front end of the bubble constantly and an incalcble amount had begun to pile up, almost taking a physical form.


    Ever since he had reached the Barnard Star System 20 years ago, Luo Yuan had only engaged in this kind of space travel one time. All these years, he only used this method of traveling one single time. When he used this type of violent eleration, he could not help but to feel a little nostalgic. Within ten minutes, he had achieved the top speed of his space-time bubble.


    Luo Yuan was too close to the star system, unlike the dark zone in between systems, these photons were unusually dense and he felt like his body was gradually melting. A huge amount of atoms had been lost from his body due under the bombardment of photons. Traveling at 300 times the speed of light, it was his body¡¯s limit. If he went any faster, it would vaporize his entire body.


    However, Luo Yuan did not even have the slightest intention to slow down. He pondered for a moment and in the next moment, part of his Will was used to maintain the space-time bubble while the remainder was used to fortify every atom on the surface of his skin. The surface of his body had undergone some changes and it had totally destroyed the atoms. The core of every single atom had been forcefullypressed and the electrons had been turned into free electrons. However, all these were blown apart by light-speed photons in the blink of an eye.


    Now, the surface of his body had be extremely dense and was more reflective and shiny than a mirror.


    The cores of the atoms had formed a lump under the tremendouspression and were tightly bound together. The molecr movement and the vibrations of the atom core had thoroughly stopped, causing the surface of his body to be at absolute zero. The high temperature he was experiencing was no longer a problem.


    No matter how the light-speed photons collided with the surface of his body, it would no longer cause a single dent.


    His speed had gradually be faster to the point it reached 1,500 times the speed of light before it finally stabilized.

 Chapter 563: The Destruction of the Glassian Planet (III)

    Chapter 563: The Destruction of the ssian (III)


    Trantor: EndlessFantasy Trantion Editor: EndlessFantasy Trantion


    In the dark abyss of space, 6 vessels of the Reactionless Drive fleet were cruising at a high speed, away from the ssian in a panic.


    Many vessels were a few kilometers behind them. Approximately ten thousand regr airships were intercepted by a myriad of space fighter jets. Every vessel was fighting for itself, running in every direction. Every couple of minutes, some of them would blow up, decorating the space around them with a bright light from the explosion.


    There were shes of light in every direction and countless ssian casualties floated throughout the entire star system.


    There¡¯s a saying, "A fall into the pit, a gain in your wit."


    Under these sort of life and death circumstances, the ssian army¡¯s intelligence had been enhanced significantly. These eight vessels of the Reactionless Drive fleet had managed to sessfully pass through the lockdown by the space fighter jets using their light-speed capabilities. They left a few days worth of nk data in the optical detection system of the humans and immediately canceled the standard flight mode.


    Being extra cautious to avoid detection by the spatial wavelengths and res from their conventional engines, the 6 vessels of the Reactionless Drive fleet formed a formation. They had been extra careful flying at a low speed. Every engine thruster had been shut off and it was as if the entire ssian War Fleet were thoroughly merged with the shadows in the dark. This assisted the vessels in escaping the sector without making a single sound.


    Their luck was not bad at all. After a few days of flying at low-speed, they had sessfully escaped the maximum detection range of the humans and began their journey into an unknown star system.


    In reality, the diameter of a star system was terrifyingly huge, it¡¯s radius could reach up to hundreds of billions of kilometers. Even if the 11,000 space fighter jets of Mankind had been multiplied by ten, a hundred, or even a thousand times, it would be impossible to fully lock down the entire star system.


    ...


    Within one of the Reactionless Drive warships, several ssian refugees were squeezing in the residential deck. Not many of them were talking. While facing the pessimistic future, it caused all the ssians to feel down and depressed. An uneasy tension began building up in the air, slowly filling the entire airship.


    To them, the time after these days would a nightmare. No, it was even scarier than a nightmare.


    A once prosperous civilization hade to an end.


    They were forced to leave their homnd and escape into the unknown.


    Not to say the ssian had customarily wasted the empty space on the militarized war vessel, but at this moment, this decision had brought enormous benefits. The whole militarized war vessel managed to fit almost 8 million refugees inside. If this was the war vessel of the humans, perhaps not even a thousand refugees could fit inside.


    The whole fleet could fit about 50 million refugees.


    The ssian had more than just 6 Reactionless Drive ships. They had been building this type of airships long before the humans did. It was 50 years ago when the first experimental Reactionless Drive ship had appeared on the surface of the ssian. However, the technology at that time was immature and the building process was difficult. A total of 20 years was used to assemble a total of 12 vessels of the first generation ships and these were used in the expedition mission against Mankind.


    In the following era, they continued building more vessels to prepare in advance for a time of need.


    The ssians had a low requirement from their military as their countries were united and there were no enemies; because of this, military affairs were not the main priority and the humans were not able to spark the ssian¡¯s interests during that time. That conquest mission had managed to push them to assemble these types of warships. To the ssians, it was never about prioritizing the mission. Rather, it was supposed to be a test for their experimental technology. Destroying the humans just happened to be something that happened alongside their test missions.


    Up until the expedition mission¡¯s failure did the ssians finally begin to pay attention to the humans. Using the original blueprints of the Reactionless Drive warships and theirrge-scale factories, the ssian had continuously constructed fifteen more vessels in the past years. When these numbers added up to the previously constructed ships, they had a total of eighteen vessels.


    It was just before the crisis reached them that they had each escaped on their own. Even before society had crumbled, arge part of the ssian fleet had already copsed. Until now, they were still clinging to the government¡¯s grip, leaving their home with only six vessels.


    Amidst the war ship¡¯s control cabin, the ssian head of state that was previously in a state of shock suddenly asked in a hoarse voice, "Where are we currently located?"


    In the past few days, his mental state was rather unstable. Anxiety and confusion had thoroughly filled up his heart and up till now, it¡¯s been days since thest he slept. Every time he closed his eyes, he heard countless people screaming for help and begging for mercy.


    "The distance from our home is approximately 6.5 light days." Themander at his side respectfully answered him.


    "Are there any signs of movement on the alien spaceships these past few days?"


    "Until now, we have not detected anything regarding the enemy¡¯s spatial wavelength disruptions. They remain in the outer sector of our star system." Themander¡¯s face showed a hint of sadness. As for the reason of this sadness, everyone knew that within the fleeing airships, all of them were their own kin.


    The head of state could no longer hold back his facial expressions. He briefly closed his eyes for a moment, then stood up quivering and said, "This... This is the catastrophe of the ssians. We have been toofortable for far too long. We¡¯ve even forgotten how cruel and terrifying the universe is!"


    In the control cabin, everyone slowly stopped working. Everyone was frozen and were listening to the head of state¡¯s speech.


    "If we were to unite our power, strive at work, stand together as one, and actively prepare for war, perhaps the current the situation would be very different."


    One savvy military officer had established a conference call, allowing the head of state¡¯s voice to be spread to all the other vessels.


    "If we had taken note of that devil-like race from the very first moment, these devil spawns would have probably been thoroughly destroyed by us." His voice carried an endless sense of regret.


    "However, there are no ¡¯ifs¡¯ in anything and there¡¯s no turning back time. Even in this location, we¡¯re not too far away from our home system, our home. Those devils are still killing all our people and their bodies will be cosmic dust."


    "However, I still believe, this is not the end. This catastrophe will not be the downfall of the ssians. Instead, it¡¯ll be a brand new beginning. We still have our best scientists and our brightest schrs..."


    At this moment, the A.I.¡¯s warning had unexpectedly rung up at the control deck, drowning out his voice.


    "Warning! Warning! Unknown changes in the surrounding gravitational force has been detected. The ship is nowing to a stop."


    "Warning! Warning! Unknown changes in the surrounding gravitational force has been detected. The ship is nowing to a stop."


    ...


    "What¡¯s the problem?" The head of state asked in a voice full of panic.


    "We¡¯re being pulled by a mysterious gravitational force, the whole airship is stuck in the same spot!" One of the crew members promptly answered after searching for the reason.


    "How is this happening? Is this normal?"


    Everyone stood quietly. Looking pale, the head of state stared at them and immediately knew what was going on. He had a bad feeling about this.


    In the next moment, the screen in the middle suddenly shed a few times and almost immediately, a human-like figure had appeared on the screen.


    Every ssian present looked at the screen in fear, an inexplicable panic had gradually spread through them. This figure was standing out in space and it looked like a blurry image. It was as if the surrounding lights had been altered by him.


    The figure had eyes without the slightest hint of emotion in it. Through the screen, he stared through everyone¡¯s soul, causing all the ssians to shiver in fear and their minds to go nk.


    "ssians?" The opposite side seemed to be speaking in a bizarrenguage.


    Before all the ssian had the chance to hear what he said, the ssian warship had disintegrated into atoms instantaneously. At the same time, all the ssians had also disintegrated into atoms.

 Chapter 564: The Destruction of the Glassian Planet (IV)

    Chapter 564: The Destruction of the ssian (IV)


    Trantor: EndlessFantasy Trantion Editor: EndlessFantasy Trantion


    Luo Yuan floated around quietly in space. His altered, smooth and dense surface endlessly gave off a terrifying cosmic radiation.


    Tens of thousands of kilometers behind him in the void, the fluorescent scenery was visibly emitting dim lights. This was what happened when an object had been forcefully disintegrated into individual atoms.


    The previously silent ssian warships had beenpletely wiped out. Following the lights diffusing into the void, the concentrated field of atoms quickly spread out. Within this corner of the universe, there would forever be proof that these 6 ssian War Ships and its ten million refugees existed.


    Luo Yuan was not disturbed one bit because of his action. He did not think that this cold-blooded massacre would leave him with any psychological traumas. All he did was stop and ponder momentarily before continuing his journey towards the ssian star system.


    Due to his proximity to the ssian system, there would be quite a few human warships stationed around the area. If he were to activate his space-time bubble again, it would undoubtedly have a destructive effect. Fortunately, as of now, the speed he could teleport at was in no way slow.


    While in his transcendent form, the furthest distance he could teleport was ten billion kilometers. A light day would approximately be around 260 billion kilometers, which meant that he would have to teleport 26 times to cover that distance. If he also maintained light-speed while he teleported, this way of traversingrge distances would be way faster than his space-time bubble. The only issue was the immense mental strain that came from teleporting.


    Luo Yuan was not in a hurry to reach his destination, so he crossed space at a moderate pace and a dayter, he had entered their star system.


    The war persisted within the system, but it had long be a game of cat and mouse. From time to time, Luo Yuan could see trails of lights dashing through space and countless metal fragments resembling small asteroids floating through space.


    Following the arrival of Luo Yuan, these wreckages were easily cleaned up by him. Each were turned into a bunch of scattered atoms and at the same time, the escaping airships that remained were taken care of by Luo Yuan. As a result, the surrounding space had been cleaned up.


    In his transcendent form, Luo Yuan¡¯s power had been greatly increased. The dark energying from the fourth dimension was endlessly pouring into his body.


    In the three dimensional world, his might wasparable to a god.


    A few dayster, he had reached the residentials.


    Encircling thes like nebs were the spaceports that still remained in perfect conditions. However, thes have been destroyed beyond recognition.


    The extremely disorientedary electromaic field had caused all 3s to be in an intense state of discharge. Eventhough the electromaic pulses were spreading towards the heavy dust cloud near space, it was still possible to see that the whole atmosphere was experiencing an intense lightning storm.


    Thes¡¯ appearances were simr to that of a heavily injured beast. The earthquakes were its twitches, theva was its blood, and the endless gales was its wail. The surface of the threes were going through intense and terrifying transformations. Transformations capable of wiping out everything on its surface. Eventually, it became very difficult for Luo Yuan to even see the remnants of the ssian.


    The threes were not in Luo Yuan¡¯s sight for long. To him, this view was simr to the time Earth went through the exact same scenario, the only difference was that theses were experiencing a situations that was a hundred times more dire.


    At this moment, Luo Yuan had noticed that quite a number of ssians remained in the spaceport. Although they had managed to survive against Mankind¡¯s assault, they did not manage to get on-board thest airship and were trapped there.


    However, the spaceport was intended to be used as a stop for the airships. Obviously, there was no consideration that one day this ce would be acting as a shelter.


    Luo Yuan quietly appeared somewhere near one of the spaceports. This was where the darkest moments yed out, the outer shell of civilization had slowly began to melt away. Animalistic instincts were silently aroused and these ssian survivors were resorting to cannibalism and murder at every given opportunity.


    Luo Yuan¡¯s original intention to wipe out all the spaceports had suddenly faded after witnessing such horrors.


    Compared to a swift and painless death, living was a far worse fate to the remaining survivors.


    He swiftly headed towards the magnificent project nearby the star.


    This was a project that came close to being called a work of God. Even though Luo Yuan was observing at such a close distance, he was sincerely shocked.


    This was a huge Dyson Sphere. In Mankind¡¯s first ever ssian probe mission, this Dyson Sphere had already existed. When the dy time of optical imagery versus distance had been calcted, it suggested that the Dyson Sphere had been under construction for over 60 years although it was far frompletion. This piece of thin and ck, film-type of object only covered about a third of the star and even then, it was still humongous. It was the type of spectacle that would definitely make an impression on who anyone saw it.


    The whole Dyson Sphere¡¯s surface area was about ten trillion square kilometers. Its size was about 25,000 times the surface of the earth. It would require an astronomical number of materials and resources to construct such thing even if they were of the lowest quality.


    The fact was that a project such as the Dyson Sphere was no longer a theoretical challenge for the humanity of today, whose every technique and skills have matured. The only hard part was that the construction project on a scale that was toorge and would upy an immense amount of industrial resources. To top it off, the current red dwarf that Mankind was inhabiting was not suitable for construction on the magnitude of a Dyson Sphere. Therefore so much of it remains as a concept.


    Even if there was no problem regarding the techniques and skills, a civilization that was with or without a Dyson Sphere had two different identities.


    The Kordashev scale was a method used to measure a civilization¡¯s progress based on how much energy was being used.


    First level civilizations: This civilization is one that has mastered the energy of theirs by harvesting the¡¯s energy. (Harnessing a star¡¯s energy is the same as harvesting the¡¯s energy.)


    Second level civilizations: This civilization is one that is able to harvest energy from the entire sr system.


    Third level civilizations: This civilization is one that is able to harvest and utilize energy from the entire gctic system.


    Following this chart, Mankind had just about be a first level civilization not too long ago, but the ssians had already began approaching the second level. The level of energy they could potentially utilize was many times more than that of what today¡¯s Mankind was capable of.


    In fact, Luo Yuan was still shocked that the war was over in such a short span of time. In his thoughts, there was a strong possibility of victory but he did not expect that the war could be ended in such a short time frame.


    However, the result gave everyone a surprise. The ssians had no chance of stepping up against Mankind. Mankind paid the price of 21 warships and their crewmembers. In return, theypletely wiped out the entire defensive forces of the ssians.


    Were the ssians that weak?


    No. A civilization that had control of a Dyson Sphere and the energy that it could harvest was hundreds and thousands of times superior to the Humans. Perhaps, Mankind had technology that was slightly more advanced. However, sometimes strengthes in numbers and that could be used to cover fatal ws.


    Luo Yuan felt that the reason that motivated such an amazing feat was that the ssians naturallyck survival instincts in the face of danger.


    For humans, even in times of peace, the annualmitment to military affairs had been around one to three percent of their total GDP. This was especially true for militarized countries. To them, no effort was spared when it came to military affairs.


    This was due to the fact that Mankind was not a united and that within a hundred years, they have gone through World War 1, World War 2 and the Cold War where the eastern and the western countries constantly squared off against each other.


    Within these hundred years, if men were not at war, they were preparing for war. The rtionship between nations was simr to thew of the jungle albeit it had slight variations. However, nothing changed the naturalw that the strong were always respected.


    The difference was that the ssian had apletely unified and never had any sort of conflict. This naturally dulled any survival instincts they may have had previously in times of strife.

 Chapter 565: Encountering a Four-Dimensional Being

    Chapter 565: Encountering a Four-Dimensional Being


    Trantor: EndlessFantasy Trantion Editor: EndlessFantasy Trantion


    Luo Yuan continued to stay at the ssian Star System for another half day before deciding to return.


    Due to the witnessing ssian¡¯sck of a sense of crisis, Luo Yuan had even stopped killing the ssian survivors. In the end, some ssians that had a deep hatred towards Mankind had finally managed to escape Mankind¡¯s onught. To Mankind¡¯ long-term development, it was a stimnt for their survival instincts in the sense that there will always be an enemy.


    Whether this act would ending back to haunt the Mankindter, Luo Yuan thought the probability of that happening would be next to impossible. Not every race could be like Humans and rapidly produce super-intelligent individuals. Another factor to take in was the plummeting poption of the ssian; the only thing awaiting the survivors was the de-evolution of technology and the regression of their previous civilization.


    Luo Yuan¡¯s body then went invisible as to avoid the Human¡¯s space fighter jet¡¯s detection range that had spread to every corner of the ster system. With his small figurepared to this star system, it was as if he was a droplet in the sea. He then proceeded to silently leave the star system as silently as he entered. From the beginning to the end, no human space fighter jets had noticed anything amiss.


    Luo Yuan had waited after leaving the star system for 6 days. Afterward, he activated his Space-Time Bubble and headed in the direction of Barnard star system.


    However, after a few days of traveling, Luo Yuan suddenly felt like he was being observed.


    At first, he thought it was just his intuition and continued flying for another hour until he noticed that the nearby gravitational pull in space had some minor changes. It was then that he instantly knew something was amiss.


    Luo Yuan¡¯s face had be solemn and proceeded to slowly disengage the Space-Time Bubble. Aftering to a stop, he began to vigntly observe his surroundings.


    Currently, he could reach a shocking speed of 1,200 light-days each day. However, even with this terrifying speed, an unknown entity was monitoring him in the dark unexpectedly. It was frightening for him.


    His instinct drew him to look at a corner, however the nearby space remained quiet. From the overview of the area, there was nothing. Even with Luo Yuan¡¯s heightened senses, he was unable to detect any traces of any beings in that location.


    Luo Yuan¡¯s powerful Will had thoroughly scanned the surroundings. Whether it was the local cosmic radiation, neutrinos, photons or even electrons; nothing could escape his senses. As for the nearby microscopic dust particles and the thin gaseous bodies, he had thoroughly memorized their exact locations.


    However, there was nothing.


    Normal. Everything was perfectly normal, but this precisely was the biggest anomaly.


    The gravitational pull here was drastically increasing. At first, the increase was minuscule to the point it was nearly undetectable, barely equivalent to a gravitational pull given out by an object of a billion tons. However, the pull was nowparable to the moon¡¯s gravity and its force was still rising.


    Luo Yuan remembered clearly that this area did not have any records of a ck hole. Moreover, even if there was a ck hole, the gravitational pull would not be increasing in such a drastic manner.


    A few secondster, the gravitational force was approaching 10G and within a minute, it had already reached 1,000G. Space-time had clearly begun warping as if there was a ck hole rushing towards him at light speed.


    The fact of the matter was that the effect of whatever was happening was almost the same.


    Even in the vast universe, this was an incredibly rare situation. And although Luo Yuan was shocked, he was not afraid. His Will had quietly wiped out the spatial distortions and when the strong attraction force in space had finally affected his mass, it had begun to show signs of weakening.


    In theoretical physics, gravitational force will always ur where there was mass, resulting in universal gravitation. The bigger the mass, the stronger the gravitational force. If it one was to further research this matter, it was possible to discover that mass could equally emit a type of graviton or gravitational field by artificially enhancing the gravitons¡¯ energy. Using this theory, it was possible to create artificial gravity; resulting in the possible birth of a strong and more efficient Reactionless Drive engine.


    However, this was only gravity¡¯s behavior under a microscope. When taking into consideration the fourth dimension¡¯s macro perspective, the gravitational force of an object tranted to the strength of its fourth-dimensional properties. Therger the mass of the object, therger the object¡¯s fourth-dimensional properties, which was directly proportional to the impact it had on space. This leads to a form of spatial distortion and from that, forming an artificial gravitational force.


    Due to this concept, Luo Yuan would not be affected by any objects with a strong gravitational force unless he encountered celestial bodies that had an extreme gravitational force like a ck hole.


    He stared in the direction of the source of gravitational force. Luo Yuan did not need to wait for long. About an hourter, his ¡¯vision¡¯ had finally spotted a ck spot.


    The moment he spotted the source, Luo Yuan¡¯s body began to tremble. His mood was slightly disturbed and in his shock, he discovered this ck spot didn¡¯t exist in the third dimension. It existed in the fourth dimension, his mouth was left gaping as if he was facing a final boss.


    Under his observation, the fourth dimension was just an empty and dead space excluding the infinite amount of dark energy tides. It was difficult to see other things within that dimension. In that context, his body could be considered fourth-dimensional. From that, he could theorize the existences of fourth-dimensional creatures.


    Although these type of beings would definitely have a low poption, it was impossible to spot even a single of these being within 100 light-years. Because of this, people have doubted if such a creature existed at all.


    Luo Yuan¡¯s fourth dimension vision¡¯s scope to a normal creature was totally unimaginable. Normally speaking, he could perfectly see within a radius of 100 light years to the point that he would notice a small which had a radius of a 100 kilometers floating in the dark. If the distances were about 50 light years, he could clearly see whether that¡¯s surface had an undting terrain.


    Even though this ck spot was only as small as a meteorite, the distance was at least a few light years or even few dozen light years away and its speed hadpletely exceeded Luo Yuan¡¯s imagination. This shadow was constantly expanding after every passing second.


    At first, it was as small as a speck of dust. However, minutester, it had be as big as a sesame seed.


    Concurrently, the gravitational force had be stronger, reaching a staggering 10,000G. Nearby, endless amounts of space debris had been pulled in by the gravitational force resembling a stream of water flowing in the shadow¡¯s direction. This was not just the aftershock from a few light years away. Even the celestial bodies nearby had appeared to slightly shift in its direction.


    This was Luo Yuan¡¯s first time witnessing such a mysterious and terrifying urrence within the fourth dimension. The shadow could likely be absolute proof of the existence of a fourth-dimensional creature.


    His instincts told him that he had to flee immediately but his curiosity took over and he stubbornly remained at the same location.


    Even if he was to flee, he clearly knew that with this horrifying speed, there was no way that he could escape from it. He had already been targeted. Aside from staying at the same ce, there was nothing else he could do.


    To be cautious, Luo Yuan¡¯s body copsed instantaneously, every atom had been crushed by him. The cores of the atoms had been forcefully held and squeezed together by his Will. His original two-meter-high body shrunk to around twenty centimeters.


    In this state, every molecule in his body had disappeared following the separation of the molecr bonds. The entirety of his mass has solidified into a clump without intermolecr spacing.


    However, his consciousness remained unaffected was due to his quantum brain,puting simtion that already exceeded the shackles of having mortal flesh. Just like the quantumputation device, the calction of energy all came from the dimensionally reduced atomic cubits, not the cerebral cortex. To a being like him, a brain was just a type of decoration, inessential for life. Even if his brain was gone, it would not affect his ability to think.


    Under the state of transcendence, energy came from the fourth-dimension, so that he wouldn¡¯t need to worry about his body¡¯s energy requirements.


    As of now, his body was emitting a high amount of radiation. In this state, his whole body was seemingly unbreakable,parable to a white dwarf. Even if he was to be bombarded with Mankind¡¯s most powerful heavy artillery, it would be just like a wind blowing onto his face.


    Of course, there were disadvantages when staying in this form. Because his body had been thoroughly solidified, it was as he was a mannequin that stays put. Even with his godlike powers, there was nothing he could do in that state.


    Luckily this had nothing to do with it as his strength had reached the level of a fourth-dimensional being. The main concern would be the struggle of Will. When faced with such an opponent, even if his power was a magnified a hundred times, there was nothing he could do.


    However, as they say ¡ª Curiosity killed the cat.


    In the end, Luo Yuan only had a glimpse of the fourth dimension. When faced with the true powers of the fourth dimension, he was full of terror.


    Time slowly passed and this shadow had grownrger. About 3 hourster, this shadow had reached up to 1,000 meters in radius. Finally, Luo Yuan could take a look at its true form.


    This was a type of creature which was impossible to be described in the third dimension. Even Luo Yuan was unable to describe it when he saw it. It had no eyes, no limbs, and not ever a clear distinction regarding its interior or exterior. It was the subversion of the concept of biology, If you didn¡¯t witness it, you would never believe it was a living creature.


    Its body was adhering to the surface of the fourth-dimensional universe (third dimension world) at a boggling speed of tens of thousands of light-years per second. Although its body did not forcefully squeeze into the third dimension, it had already caused space-time in the nearby third-dimensional world to distort, causing massive ripple effects.


    Half an hour passed and just as Luo Yuan began to panic, this unknown origin fourth-dimensional creature suddenly stopped at 0.1 light years away.


    A single star system¡¯s average diameter was just about a few light days. A tenth of a light day, regardless if it was for mankind or Luo Yuan, was still a distance away. However, to this fourth dimension beast, it was already facing Luo Yuan.


    The next moment, Luo Yuan had felt a strong movement in quantum wavelengths. He then closely scanned his body and noticed the wavelength¡¯s energy and his body had collided causing sparks.


    Both of them remained stationary, the fourth dimension beast had intentionally stopped but Luo Yuan was afraid to move when faced with an unstoppable force. Luo Yuan was determined to cover up his powers, even the power that he used to maintain the bnce of space-time had been withdrawn, letting the terrifying gravitational force rip at his body to avoid the opposite party¡¯s hostility and to gain a slight sense of security.


    In his heart, he felt as if he was being exposed to a super-efficient spotlight, being stared by many people, causing him immense difort.


    Throughmon sense, this type of fourth dimension creature had long abandoned the standard living needs. It no longer needed to consume food but relied on a type of primitive energy harvesting form. However, no one could confirm it was not interested in a semi fourth-dimensional creature like him.


    It never tried to forcefully enter the third dimension, or maybe it knew it could never fit in. Even if it did not enter the third dimension, it¡¯s projected third-dimensional body had already formed a type of ck hole-esque source of gravity. Space-time around it had formed a semi fourth-dimensional cycle seal. The lights that passed through that area had never came back, as if it was swallowed and formed a pitch ck screen. Even the nearby stars, under the influence of the terrifying gravitational pull had changed their course and slowly began orbiting around it.


    Luckily both the ssian system and the Barnard system was at least at a distance of seven to eight lights years away. Else, who knew how many disasters it would bring to mankind.


    Luo Yuan could slightly feel its quantum wavelength disruption, almost as if it¡¯s carried a form of curiosity and exploration. However, this was not enough for him to rx, rather it alerted him.


    He could not help but think that this was like the scene where a kid was ying with ants.


    The next moment may usher the moment where the kid would "pour hot water on it", "burn it with fire," or even "just step onto it and kill it!"


    Facing a true fourth-dimensional creature, he was in the same position as the ants.


    Luckily, this fourth dimension creature was far gentler. Both parties had remained frozen for over a few minutes. Put another way, this four-dimensional beast was filled with a degree of curiosity. As Luo Yuan was being extra cautious, it slightly moved its body, causing part of the dark energy to fly off from the fourth dimensional surface and ascend toward an even higher dimension.


    That newly formed ck hole continued to exist for a few more minutes before it instantaneously exploded, giving off bright lights as it lost the support of gravity. Perhaps in a few hundred years, this location would give birth to an asteroid belt.


    Luo Yuan was relieved but still had some lingering fear. When faced with such godlike being, that type of pressure was like a mountain crushing you. It reminded him of the first time he faced the mutated snake.


    Luckily it was never too close and didn¡¯t harbor any evil intention. Otherwise, all it needed was to project that body onto the fourth dimension, creating a ck hole to easily crush him.


    No matter how strong and powerful Luo Yuan¡¯s Will was, he didn¡¯t have the confidence to ensure his safety within a ck hole.


    He stayed at the same location, looking at this fearsome creature fly further and further away until a few hours had passed. When he could no longer see it, he could finally rx. He then returned to his original body from his white-dwarf state.


    The next moment, he then activated the Space-Time Bubble once again and quickly flew back towards the direction of the Barnard star system.


    The scenery that he had witnessed today had left a deep impression on him to the point of feeling a genuine shock. Originally, he had some expansion ns in mind but after witnessing this scene, his thoughts quickly returned to normal. Faced with a true four-dimensional creature, he was still as weak as an ant.

 Chapter 566: The Moving Project

    Chapter 566: The Moving Project


    Trantor: EndlessFantasy Trantion Editor: EndlessFantasy Trantion


    Luo Yuan was being extra cautious and careful throughout the entire return journey. He had previously thought that interster journey was safe, however now he felt as if there was danger lurking everywhere.


    This universe was farrger than what he had previously thought.


    The appearance of the Fourth-dimension creature meant that this star domain was unsafe.


    When he finally got himself together, he was self-deprecating. He found out that if he was ever within the grasp of god-like beings, his power could no longer guarantee the safety of his life. He felt as helpless as a normal human.


    After all, safety was the first basic necessity of a living creature. Without safety, everything else was just a dream.


    No matter if it was Luo Yuan or the rest of Mankind, everything was in the creature¡¯s distance. Even if it was up to hundreds of light years away, possibly a few thousand light years, they would still be within its grasp.


    From the perspective of dialectics and probability, both the ssian and Mankind had been safely multiplying by tens of thousands of years. This meant the event of encountering a fourth-dimensional creature was a low probability urrence.


    The reason for the incident where he encountered the four-dimensional creature could be med on Luo Yuan transcending into a semi-four-dimensional existence. He was like a bump on a smooth piece of paper. To the four-dimensional creature, it seemed particrly eye-catching and grabbed its attention.


    What came next was lucky, a smooth flight straight back into the Barnard Star System without any incidents. Luo Yuan did not alert anyone and quietly returned to his house. He took out a few balls of highlypressed aqua spheres from the dimension ball he always carried, then swallowed the aqua spheres one by one. He then opened the holographic imaging equipment and found many unread messages from the time he was away.


    ...


    "Earlier, the entire Space City was in a stir. Everywhere was super lively. Too bad you missed it." This was Zhao Yali¡¯s message.


    Luo Yuan looked at the time disyed and it was sent not long before he had left the Space City. However, even if he was in Space City, he could and would not participate in this sort of lively atmosphere.


    "Why aren¡¯t you back yet after so long?" This was Wang Shishi¡¯s message.


    This equipment had some special traits as had anti-radiation properties, but this was its most basic functionality. Every second, there would be an astronomical number of frames running through the screen. However, to him, this type of imaging seemed to move frame by frame.


    Afterward, he sped up the yback of the holographic imaging. Those who had messaged him were his wife, a few of his children, and a few of the high positioned government officials.


    The former were asking normal household questions, but thetter were inquiries about the general policy of the government. However, subtly under those words, they carried the desire to return home to Earth.


    ¡¯30-odd years had passed, humans could finally return to Earth!¡¯ Luo Yuan suddenly realized.


    ...


    However, moving was no simple task. Mankind was no longer like what they were in the past when they escaped while carrying almost nothing.


    Within the 20-odd years of expanding in the Barnard Star System, Mankind had long umted countless belongings.


    From the fourth¡¯s topography, which had lost a huge amount mass after all these years, it was easy to spot that in all these years, humans had umted various belongings.


    Its total mass was now equivalent to the moon¡¯s mass. Although part of the mass had been converted into energy through nuclear aggregation, most of it had been turned into various machinery, equipment, ships, and reserve resources.


    Although Mankind had not developed a habit of waste, except in their mining and smelting industry. That could remain on the fourth under the control of the central A.I.¡¯s mining and smelting capabilities. The rest had to be brought back with them.


    The distance between the Barnard Star and Earth was only 6 light years. To today¡¯s version of humanity, it was not some difficult task any longer. With the Reactionless Drive warships, it would only require 2 years to make the trip. To top it off, this star system was rich in resources. There was no doubt that it would be the best mining source for humanity.


    Two years after gaining victory in the war, humans had gradually began their moving project.


    If it was ording to the standard moving procedures, it was estimated that mankind would need to wait for another three to four years, possibly even five to six years tomercially mass assemble the used Reactionless Drive Airships. After the airships were produced, the project could then be continued.


    Even if the moving project would take up to 10 years toplete, this was normal and was within expectations.


    However, the miniature universe floating near Space City had greatly sped this process up.


    The miniature universe¡¯s dimensional ne had been expanded ten times by Luo Yuan, giving it more than enough space to carry mankind¡¯srgest cargo airships and other various gigantic equipment.


    The factories located in the outer ring of Space City had been cleared up one after the other. Various machinery had been ced within a designated cargo container before it was loaded onto the cargo ship directly through the space door.


    Daily work was required to transfer up to a quadrillion tons of materials into the airship near the space door.


    ...


    2 yearster, countless mining machinery on the fourth remained continued following orders. They continued to send huge amounts of the extracted minerals to the smelting factory so they could be purified into various resources. These wereter sent to Space City¡¯s resource warehouse reserve through cargo airships. Numerous cargo airships flew between the fourth and Space City. Almost everything remained the same as it usually was, consistently busy. The only difference was that the entire Space City was now long empty, long abandoned by mankind.


    ...


    Luo Yuan briefly waved his hand and a Space Disc dashed towards his direction. Through the flight process, it was constantly shrinking down from its massive size and formed a round sphere that came to rest on Luo Yuan¡¯s palm in the end.


    The entire miniature universe had been sealed within the core of the Space Disc.


    After Luo Yuan had grabbed it, he looked at the Earth from afar. He then activated his space-time bubble and sped facing that direction.


    ...


    Earth!


    Ling Zhong-an carefullyy on the ground and ced his ear on the snow, closely listening to the movement underneath it. After a while, his ear moved briefly and a smirk slowly formed on his face.


    Although the Earth¡¯s temperature was still slowly rising, it remained around -30¡ãC annually and during the winter, the temperature would even drop to -50¡ãC.


    The extremely cold weather had caused the mutated beasts to adopt underground activities. Everyst beast who could survive until this day had some form of hidden talent, pushing those that could not adapt to extinction.


    To rely on the mutated beast¡¯s footprints and nests were the previous methods they used for hunting in the snow. Although it was a fairly useful tactic a few decades ago, it had now be less and less reliable.


    If there was insufficient patience, subpar listening, and ack of a strong foundation, then chewing on tree bark was all that humans could do.


    Luckily, Ling Zhong-an was armed with those skills. He was transformed into an extremely experienced hunter through a decade of hunting.


    He lightly knocked onto the thick ice cubes. His extreme hearing could rely on the ice cube¡¯s echo differential to determine the location of the mutated beast¡¯s cave. He would then be able to locate his target quickly.


    He refused to drop his guard, he would keep his body lying on the icy surface and continue to crawl forward for another ten meters or so. When he reached the top of the cave, he would then instantly burst out.


    His feet were carrying about ten tons of force and he stomped with all his might onto the iceyer. Due to the long, persisting extreme winter, theyers of ice over here had a high probability of cracking under a strike from a huge force. A crack of about half a meter wide suddenly appeared on the iceyer.


    After that, Ling Zhong-an did not hesitate and leaped down. A few momentster, a burst of miserable howls came from the ice crack.


    Half a minuteter, he leaped out from the ice crack carrying a mutated beast that weighed nearly half a ton.


    This mutated beast¡¯s brain had been crushed and had long been dead. Ling Zhong-an looked around but the tremor from thending had made him drop a few pieces of its brain out onto the snow. He felt sorry and swiftly picked up them up and stuffed them into his mouth.


    If it was the past, he would not even nce at these kinds of stomach-turning foods. He was born an evolved person and even during desperate times, he still would not consume raw and bloody foods; what more this type of disgusting brain matter.


    However, after a decade-long of living like a wild man, he had long forgone whatever remnants of hygienic behavior he used to have. In this world of ice and snow, he was not that lucky on a daily basis to be able to hunt such prey. Most of the time, he had to chew on the dry tree bark and roots to satisfy the hunger.


    He casually wiped off the blood stain from his mouth, estimated the next prey¡¯s location, and happily moved onto the next cave to continue hunting.

 Chapter 567: The Giant Beast

    Chapter 567: The Giant Beast


    Trantor: EndlessFantasy Trantion Editor: EndlessFantasy Trantion


    Heavy clouds covered up the entire sky like a dark shroud. It was still during the middle of the day but the light remained obscured. Even the sun looked like a slightly illuminated ball with a dim halo.


    The nuclear winter¡¯ssted longer than what was initially anticipated. A huge amount of dust permeating through Earth¡¯s atmosphere had caused the natural cleansing process to be greatly inhibited.


    Ling Zhong-an had a glimpse at the halo¡¯s position and understood that nightfall was approaching. He quickly picked up his pace and began rushing towards the cave¡¯s entrance.


    The distance from his current location to the cave was about twenty to thirty kilometers. If he did not hurry now, he would only reach his home after nightfall.


    After daylight ran out, the night woulde. This ce would then instantly transform into a living hell. Not only was the temperature bone-chilling, the dark was like an endless abyss formed by apletely impassable terrain. Those who were buried underground were there only because they were out hunting and forgot the time.


    Even if it was him, he had to be extra careful when nightfall arrives to prevent himself from getting lost.


    After a gust of cold freezing wind blew by, the originally warm carcass had gradually be cold. The bodypletely froze up within moments, and the hide he wore was frozen solid. It would be warmer if he was not wearing a pelt rather than the one he currently had on. Fortunately, as the most elite of the super-evolved humans of mankind, this coldness was not enough to affect him.


    Ling Zhong-an carried the mutated beast and proceeded to stride forward. Just before the horizon hadpletely swallowed up the sun¡¯s halo, he had finally reached his destination.


    He opened the broken metal cover stuck at the cave¡¯s entrance, revealing an underground stairway.


    This stairway was crafted from a huge block of ice. There were twists and turns within it, going a straight five hundred meters in the ground. Not only did it pierce through the icyyer, it had also gone through the permafrost.


    Compared to a few decades ago, the people that had gathered were few in numbers. In the past years, the old had passed, the sick had sumbed to their illnesses, and the missing were never found. Initially, there were approximately a hundred men, now it hade down to just a few dozens of them left.


    It was not that there were no women. The fact of the matter was that even though the number of women here was iparable to the number of men, it was at least a third of the number of men. Yet after four to five decades, not even a single female was born.


    Those who were able to survive up until now had to have been an evolved human. Each of them had their gic differences. From a certain perspective, every one of them should be reproductively isted if there were no idents. Perhaps after another few dozens of years, humans wouldpletely disappear.


    ...


    Today there was a slightly depressive atmosphere. Almost all the hunters had returned empty-handed and it been three days since the people around here had tasted any meat.


    Meat aside, there were plenty of other types of food within the food reserve. At least they would not starve to death, but for the most part, the tender grass roots and tubers found from digging through the permafrost near the cave area were consumed. Not only was the taste bitter, making it hard to swallow, it also did not contain many calories. Even if one were to fill their stomach with these, it would be a type of torment under these cold conditions during the night.


    When Ling Zhong-an returned with his prey, the mood began to lighten up by quite a bit.


    Ling Zhong-an dropped the food while smiling, "Today¡¯s luck was not bad at all. Xiao Hu, you¡¯re up. It¡¯s your job to handle this."


    The strong youngd called Xiao Hu stood up quickly. His face beaming with joy as he replied, "Yes, Boss!"


    Handling the prey was a cushy job. There¡¯s a saying ¡ª no chef ever died from starvation. Although Xiao Hu who was in charge of handling the prey was not a chef, he had numerous opportunities to prove his preparation skills throughout the entire process. Only a few scattered pieces of frozen, bloody chunks could easily fill up an individual.


    He then picked up the mutated beast¡¯s carcass and a dirty woman who was sitting at a corner quickly stood up to follow him.


    This was not mankind¡¯s Garden of Eden. The basic rule that they all followed was thew of the jungle. In here, when one had a fixed mate, itpletely symbolized his status. Fortunately, as Ling Zhong-an¡¯s henchman, he managed to have a woman assigned as his fixed mate.


    The woman¡¯s face was slightly disfigured. Half of her face had been torn off by a mutated beast in a battle of life and death. There was a permanent look of sheer terror on her face.


    However, no matter how pretty a woman was, it would not matter much here. This was a perfectly normal phenomenon after a few years of not bathing. Their faces would be filled with dirt and their original looks would no longer be visible.


    ...


    The mes burned bright ¡ª a few logs of wooden charcoal glowed a bright red color, resulting in a dim, red colored me. From time to time, sparks would shoot out from the charcoal.


    Anyone with the slightest glimpse at the huge metal wok could easily figure out that this wok was hand-built by ayman. The wok had been ced on top of a stone and the meat soup that filled up the metal wok was bubbling vigorously. Hot steam had simultaneously spread across the cold cave while emitting a fragrant and rich smell.


    A woman, who looked much better than the others, put in a few tablets of ck mineral salt and used a spoon to stir the rich, milky meat broth. She then took a spoonful of the broth and ced the spoon in front of her lips, gently blew on it and then took a big sip of the broth. The scene of her tasting the broth had made everyone drool.


    "Big Brother Ling, the soup is done." She told Ling Zhong-an while smiling.


    Ling Zhong-an smiled while nodding. He then assumed his authority and said, "Old rule, the one who hunted the prey gets half of it. The rest of the group gets the other half."


    As the boss, when the other hunters managed to hunt some prey, they would set aside a portion for him as a sign of respect.


    His left hand then picked up a big wooden bowl and his picked up a spoon. He selected the best and the fattest meat, spooning it into his bowl. He then filled his bowl to the brim with broth.


    When he had finished grabbing his serving, the rest of the men then excitedly brought their bowls and rushed towards the wok.


    Although the scene seemed chaotic, when looked at closely, there was some sort of order to it.


    Since Ling Zhong-an had gotten half of the meat previously, the cooked meat was not much. The rest of the people could only manage to get 2 pieces of meat each. Luckily the broth was enough for everyone.


    Piping hot meat slices apanied with a smooth broth slid down everyone¡¯s growling stomach. A warm feeling slightly spread from their bellies, causing their bodies to begin sweating.


    Ling Zhong-an shared his portion of the meat with his two women. It was only after they had their fill would he have the rest of the meat to be consumed. Pounds of meat filled up his stomach. That type of fulfillment gave him an immense sense of satisfaction.


    ...


    A good night¡¯s sleep through the twilight.


    Ling Zhong-an, while hugging onto his two women, was not ready to wake up early.


    Today, the rest of the people would not have much of a desire to go out hunting. Ling Zhong-an had brought back nearly half a ton of meat which could potentially feed them for up to a month. Even though everyone could only get a few slices of meat, when paired with the grassroots and tubers, it would still be enough to survive.


    "Why are there sudden tremors?" This wasing from an evolved human with an extreme sensitivity towards tremors and quakes, who was just awoken from his sleep. He opened his eyes extremely alerted.


    The rest of the people suddenly were not able to sleep, they began to gradually open up their pelts and stand up. A person without a sense of alertness would not survive in an apocalyptic world. Not to mention, a few hundreds of kilometers away, a volcano had recently begun to show signs of revitalization, alerting everyone.


    "Boss, I¡¯ll go and have a look!" Xiao Hu said diligently.


    "No, we go together!" Ling Zhong-an left the cave first followed by a group of men. If an earthquake happened, it would be suicidal to be staying underground for any longer.


    The tremor had be ever more evident, almost as if it came from afar and near simultaneously. It carried a sort of rhythm as if there¡¯s was mountain walking towards their direction.


    Halfway through the walk, everyone had guessed what¡¯s the cause of these tremors.


    "Screw it, let¡¯s go back. It must¡¯ve been that level-8 giant beast. Just wait for it to leave, then it¡¯ll be alright." Said Ling Zhong-an with a sort of frailness and slump in his voice.


    "This damned beast again!" The group of men started cursing.


    This was a type of ape-like, terrifying, giant creature. No one knew why but during the past decade, the beast would roam around this area for some time almost every one or two years. At first, it¡¯s body size was only a dozen meters high, equivalent to a level-7 beast. Ling Zhong-an still thought of it as prey during that time and was eager to try hunting it. However, he gave up because the distance was either too far away, or he was worried about getting injured almost every time.


    When he had finally made the decision to hunt it, the beast had already be a level-8 creature.


    Its height towered up to fifty meters high, while its hair exuded a bright golden hue from within the dark. Such characteristics were enough for anyone to lose any sense of grandeur around it. This type of creature was at the pinnacle of the food chain on Earth.

 Chapter 568: The Terraforming (1)

    Chapter 568: The Terraforming (1)


    Trantor: EndlessFantasy Trantion Editor: EndlessFantasy Trantion


    The group of men quickly returned to the cave. Among them, there were people who were chatting and some who were cursing, but it was apparent that no one feared the terrifying beast.


    Gradually, the spoken voices began to die down and the cave became quieter by the second. No one spoke. Everyone had subconsciously held their breath together as the giant beast¡¯s walking tremors had begun to grow louder and louder, almost as if it was heading towards their direction. Resembling rolling thunder, tremors shook off the dust and pebbles from the cave¡¯s ceiling.


    Oilmps continued to burn quietly. The impure oil caused the entire cave to have a smell of burning fat.


    "It won¡¯t copse, will it?" An evolved human suddenly questioned, breaking the quiet atmosphere.


    "Shut up!" Ling Zhong-an suppressed his voice and scolded anxiously. The distance between here and the surface was a total of five hundred meters, give or take. Logically speaking, even if there were several tens of thousands of tons of weight, the cave should still be able to hold itself. The issue was that during these few decades, this cave had been expanded at least ten times of what it originally was, spanning across tens of thousands of square feet. Nobody could guarantee it would not copse due to the tremors.


    Underneath the frozen Earth was a natural refrigerator sealing an incredible amount of food resources. When the cave¡¯s food reserve had been fully depleted, all that was needed was a few hours of digging. Eventually, they would find a hefty amount of edible grassroots and tubers. When they were lucky, there were even times when they found a mutated beast or various underground insects that were frozen to death. Naturally, thetter would be moremon. However, during these past few decades, the odds of stumbling into a mutated beast was slim.


    "I... was only just saying!" He felt everyone was staring at him in anger. That evolved human knew that he had angered the crowd. So he just mumbled a few words and immediately shut his mouth.


    Luckily, bringing bad omens was not his evolved ability. Soon afterward, the tremors had grown softer, a clear indication that the giant beast had left the area.


    The group of people collectively let out a sigh of relief, anxiously waiting to return to their resting ce that still lingered with their remaining body heat.


    "Say, this type of gigantic beast, how many tons of food does it need to eat daily? It¡¯s been over forty years, howe it¡¯s still alive?" an evolved human questioned with curiosity.


    "You think every inch ofnd on Earth has been frozen? Nearby the entrance of the volcano lies a piece of forest. That area is packed with mutated beasts. Who dares to roam around there?" another evolved human answered in disdain.


    Everyone knew about this. There were even people suggesting migrating to that area. However, after rounds and rounds of debates and discussion, no conclusion came about in the end.


    Firstly, the distance to the volcano from here was about a total of three to four hundred kilometers. Migrating everyone there was not a task that could bepleted within a day. Under the extremely cold weather, whilecking the necessary winter equipment and wearing the animal pelts that could barely cover up a person¡¯s body, many people would likely be frozen into a statue before reaching the halfway point.


    Secondly, that type of ce was like an oasis in the middle of the desert. It was not difficult to conclude that such a ce would gather all sorts of powerful and strong mutated beasts. Who would dare risk their peaceful days and migrate there?


    Although the life here was troublesome, the only irksome part was insufficient meat in their diet, yet filling one¡¯s stomach was a rtively easy task. For example, there was a significant supply of edible types of nts like the grassroots and tubers.


    Thebination of cruel reality and the despair of an unforeseeable future caused everyone over here to be in the state of eat or die. Even if they were alive, they were not truly living. As for the future, it was a prohibited topic to discuss and no one was willing to think about it.


    As if to release the stress, a couple had started to stage an indescribable scene. Along with unscrupulous screams spread across the entire cave, there were new couples swiftly joining along by the temptations of these voices.


    The atmosphere within the cave had instantaneously be... Obscene!


    ...


    At this moment, an extremely horrifying presence had suddenly shrouded this area, everyone¡¯s hair instantly stood on their end.


    It was an indescribable type of horror. It was as if one¡¯s heart was being grabbed tightly by someone and death was imminent.


    Inside the cave, all sounds had immediately disappeared and once again the cave had be silent, to the point that you could hear a needle being dropped.


    Everyone¡¯s faces were frozen in fear as if time hadpletely stopped.


    Only Ling Zhong-an was slightly better. Although he was like the rest, with his whole body going limp, unable to muster any strength. This atmosphere, luckily, onlysted for a few seconds then itpletely disappeared. However, it felt as if a year had gone by to him.


    Ling Zhong-an came down from his woman¡¯s body, his eyes fixed onto the frozen mud above his head. His whole body was exhausted and suddenly started whirring, leaving his heart palpitating, beating at a fast pace.


    This was the second time he felt that he was close to death. However,pared to the time when the aliens were destroying humanity, this time the sense of danger was undoubtedly even higher.


    "Something must have happened!" He was even more frightened.


    The fact was that this presence had shrouded the entire Earth simultaneously.


    The ape-shaped giant beast that was passing by just now was traversing step by step. With its body size as tall as a mountain, wherever it went, the icyyer cracked. However, its whole body suddenly limped and fell to the ground, it was terrified and shaking, not daring to move.


    A huge Ambilight bird was hovering about the great ocean interchangeably, searching for prey, its sharp and deadly eyesight had carried along a sort of haughty manner. Countless nearby airborne birds flew away in terror. Suddenly its body froze and with a cry, the humongous body had dived into the sea surface straight from the sky.


    A gigantic tree with its leaves as thick as gray clouds, with the surrounding mountain peaks not even being a fifth of its size, got struck by lightning as wide as a python that stroke down like a storm onto its leaves but there was no damage done to the tree. Suddenly, the tree trunk trembled, causing this area to undergo an intense earthquake.


    ...


    At this moment, all the remaining living creatures on Earth had frozen and did nothing but shiver.


    In the blink of an eye, the entire Earth had started having surging winds. Every strand of willpower had been used as they immediately started running for their lives as fast as they could. Concurrently, countless particles of dust had been attracted by a formless force, causing it to converge towards the south pole.


    The skies were filled with a dark cloud drifting at a fast pace. When looked at from space, the entire Earth seemed as if it was gradually being peeled offyer byyer.


    This was an unmatched shocking scenery as if God¡¯s miracle had shown down on Earth.


    Dark clouds simr to that of a snowball had rapidly rolled up, surging an endless wave of winds, causing its color to be darker and darker and the clouds thicker and thicker, as if it was an ocean made of ink.


    Quickly, a huge vortex above the south pole had been formed, followed by a series of intense lightning and thunderstorms.


    The gigantic lightning, looking like a dancing golden snake, repeatedly stroke onto the ice surface, frying out hole after hole of dark charred spots, the entire south pole area had turned into a terrifying area, filled with thunderstorms.


    Fortunately, the dark clouds were shrinking at an incredible speed. In about ten seconds, they had shrunken into a solidified sphere with a radius of about ten kilometers or so, a massparable to ten Mount Everests.


    However, it was shrinking continuously, and together flying straight into the air like a rocket. It pierced through the ozoneyer, flew out to near space, and during mid-flight, its material structure was constantly changing. Fission was urring at an atomic level. These atoms were turned into carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen before being forcefully rbined once again, causing a copse. From it, a huge amount of energy was released, causing the sky to light up as if a second sun was formed.


    All these were caused by none other than Luo Yuan.


    Currently, he stood in space, keeping a distance of about several tens of thousands of kilometers from Earth, forming this clump of dust and condensed matter. Luo Yuan prepared to use it to create a positive and negative Klein channel in the micro-universe. From a point of view, this was a type of recycling.


    He looked at Earth and frowned, the Earth¡¯s environment was even worse than what he had imagined. To recover into its former glory, a great amount of effort must be exerted.


    The sun¡¯s warm light had once again pierced through the atmosphere and shone directly upon the ground. As of now, it was still August ¡ª just in time for summer in the northern hemisphere, the sunlight was strong and ring. Within a few minutes or so, the temperature which was at -30¡ãC had instantaneously risen.


    The icy surface was gradually melting. The intense steaming effect caused the entire Earth, especially the northern hemisphere, to form a slug of water vapor. When looked down upon from space, a huge amount of clouds drifting towards every corner were rapidly condensing and forming rain clouds covering up the.


    If no precautions were taken, then during theing few months or even years, Earth would be covered in a continuous storm. Floods would rage across thends. Thend would be turned into swamps, the remaining living creatures on Earth would once again face another great extinction.


    During the first apocalypse, the mutated beasts were mankind¡¯s greatest enemy, but right now everything¡¯s changed. Under the unlocked virus¡¯s effect, the creatures of Earth had plenty of variety and diversity, it was already human civilization¡¯s most precious gic wealth.


    After thinking for about a hundredth of a second, Luo Yuan had a perfect solution.


    The next moment, his figure had appeared above the Pacific Ocean, this was an endless dark gray iceyer. Under the sunlight of a several dozen minutes, countless small water holes had appeared.


    Quickly, hundreds of millions of these holes covered the entire world¡¯s oceans except for the Arctic Ocean. His consciousness dived into the iceyer¡¯s every molecule and began vibrating them at a few billion times per second, elerating the molecule¡¯s vibration and causing the iceyer¡¯s temperature to rise rapidly.


    Facing this type of base material heating, the iceyer had nothing to go against it. The thick iceyer of a thousand meters had instantly melted into ocean water.


    The ocean had finally returned, and the sea level was gradually recovering, suddenly causing terrifying tides. Looking at the intense movement of the sea, Luo Yuan frowned and raised his hand and gently pressed downward, exerting a fearsome force that instantly spread out and calmed the entire ocean forcefully.


    His silhouette had once again disappeared.


    Up next, from his memories position, he opened up a new great river on everynd from the geographical bumps andbined countless branches of small rivers, lowering the low-lyingnd into ponds, clearing off the mountains blocking the way into the nds, and using his power again to begin carving out an underground riverwork, broadening and prating every hidden river and hiddenke.


    Controlling the flood was nothing to him. It was child¡¯s y.


    His consciousness had even dove into every weakness of the maind¡¯s te. Through the various procedures he used to ease the weakness off the. He began to concurrently fix and reinforce the crystal crevice damaged by the anti-matter, putting an end to the volcano¡¯s chances of having an eruption.


    From Asia to Europe, to North America and South America... Everything except for the South Pole had been preserved to their original state and every piece of the mainds had been thoroughly looked through by him.


    Only in about ten minutes or so, the entire Earth had shown drastic changes, as if the sky was now the sea and the sea was now the sky.


    And at this time, the Earth¡¯s first storm after a few decades, a great storm that covered half of the Earth, had finally begun!

 Chapter 569: The Hardship

    Chapter 569: The Hardship


    Trantor: EndlessFantasy Trantion Editor: EndlessFantasy Trantion


    Supposedly, this was how life on Earth began, a goliath of a rainstorm. The only one that couldpare was estimated to be the rain right after when the ancient Earth warmed up several billion years ago.


    On Earth, when daily precipitation is over a hundred millimeters, it is ssified as heavy rain. Anything beyond 250 millimeters was ssified as violent rain but this time, the Earth¡¯s precipitation rate was over 10 times of that. With the heavy downpour of rain, as if it was spilled from the sky as the muffled sound of rain hitting the icyyers was heard around the world. As time passed, the intense rain showed no signs of weakening. It actually began increasing its intensity and showed no signs of stopping.


    There was a depressing atmosphere throughout the cave. There were people whispering and there were those stupefied and remaining lying on their beds. There were also people shrunk at a corner with their ears adhered to the wall, listening closely to the weird movements outside.


    The previous terrifying presence had caused restlessness in all of the people.


    Ling Zhong-an was leaning onto the mud-wall and kept silent. The dim oilmps subtly swaying and flickering with an unstable re, causing his figure to alternate from dim to dark.


    "How do I smell water vapor?" A woman sitting nearby the stairs suddenly sniffed around, asking in curiosity.


    "I smelled it too, I was just wondering about it" An evolved human at her side said.


    At first, their conversation had not aroused other people¡¯s attention, nobody was in the mood to think about it. Everyone had their own problems to sort, however, the water vapor had gradually be heavier and water began to drip down from the stairs.


    The people suddenly noticed that they could not stay for long and gradually stood up.


    "It won¡¯t rain will it?" An evolved human asked while staring at the dirty water flowing into the cave.


    The group of people looked at each other with the expressions of disbelief. Ever since the Earth was frozen, there was no more rain. Even if it hailed or snowed, it was still a rare urrence, happening only a few times a year. Even so, every time when it urred, it onlysted half an hour at most. As for the rain, it was only a natural phenomenon that remained in everyone¡¯s memory.


    "It can¡¯t be. Maybe there¡¯s a new hot spring that unearthed nearby?"


    Everyone secretly agreed. Compared to rain, this exnation was much more feasible.


    However just a momentter, more water had flowed into the cave at an increasing speed. It seemed as if it was going to fill up the entire cave.


    Ling Zhong-an stood up and stared at it for a while. Suddenly, as if woken from a dream, he quickly ordered everyone, "We can no longer stay here. Everyone get ready to move!"


    Before his voice died down, he swiftly dashed towards his resting area. He then curled up a stack of his thick animal pelts and then picked up the air-dried meat hanging above his head. The rest of the people had gradually reacted and quickly went to pack up their luggage, the scene was absolute chaos.


    The water had gradually umted high enough to cover up their feet. A huge amount of water was following down the stairs, and flooding the cave. However, nobody gave it much attention and continued to pack their baggage.


    There is a saying, "Breaking a family is worth ten thousand dors." Even though it was only a few animal pelts and dried tubers that could barely fill one¡¯s stomach, those were still their basic survival items and equipment. Without those, as well as leaving the warm cave under such extreme cold conditions, most of them would not be able tost a day.


    The water flow had gradually grown faster, bing a spillway. The water level inside was rapidly rising, luckily everyone was an evolved human. Even the weakest amongst them had a body that surpassed a normal human¡¯s limit. Even if the cave was filled with water, at most they would just choke on a few mouthfuls of dirty water, there would be no life-threatening danger.


    The cave¡¯s stairs were mainlyposed of ice and thus were slippery. Under normal circumstances, it would not affect anybody¡¯s walking. However, as of now, there was a flood and under the huge impact force of the water flow, there was not much grip beneath their feet.


    The group of men had been washed off by the water several times until the water level had thoroughly filled up the entire cave. The group of men then held their breath trying to float to the water surface.


    The first to reach the surface was Ling Zhong-an. As he was struggling to stand up, he was just about to curse but then he saw the scenery in front of him, leaving his mouth wide open. His expression was one of total disbelief.


    The original dark gray icyyer had be an ocean.


    He stood silently under the rain, lost in reverie.


    "Did you feel it? This rain is warm." An evolved human suddenly stated.


    The group of people suddenly took notice. This rain was indeed unusual. In fact, it was not too warm, a dozen or so degree Celsius. To a normal human, the rain was still a bit cold and if they were drenched in rain of that temperature, they would fall sick.


    However, to these humans who had stayed under the extremely cold weather for a long time, even if they stayed in a cave, the temperature throughout the year would remain around three to four degrees Celcius. To them, rain at this temperature was unusually warm.


    Still, no one thought much about it. Ever since the apocalypse, many strange things had urred on Earth making them ustomed to strange happenings. Not to mention, even if there were people with distorting thoughts thinking that the nuclear winter had disappeared, they would just assume that it was just within their imagination.


    When Ling Zhong-an got a hold of himself, he wiped off the raindrops on him. His mind was in a daze. Not only was rain abnormal, the temperature was not normal either. The chill that lingered in the air was gone and within the rain, there actually was a warm feeling. Almost as if the smooth texture feeling of the icyyer beneath his feet was non-existent. He began to suspect whether he had crossed into another world and if the cave entrance had be a sort of dimensional doorway by some mysterious force.


    "Luckily, this is still Earth." He determined by observing the surrounding areas.


    He looked at his hand holding the meats and a bag of thick animal pelts, a sense of slight panic arose from his heart. However, when he thought of the situation right now, his heart sunk and his face looked grim, "I¡¯m afraid we can only abandon this cave. When the rain stops, the entire ce will bepletely sealed off."


    When he finished his words, the atmosphere became extremely quiet and everyone¡¯s faces looked grim.


    An evolved human broke the silence and cried out, "How can this be good, this is forcing us into a dead end!"


    "Now, where can we go? How will we make it through the night?"


    An evolved human gave up and sat on the water, venting his frustration by hitting its surface. His facial expression also carried a hard to describe sort of despair and anger, "Damn the Gods, they just don¡¯t want us to settlefortably."


    The rest of the people kept quiet and their face was filled with sadness. The pain in their heart would not dissolve.


    Right now, it was evening. There was not much time until the brutal cold night. Even if they were to hurry towards the closest hillside that was not flooded and dig out a new cave using all strength they had, they would still have to spend their night in an ice cave. Also, under this rainy weather, the tree branches had absorbed water and it would be delusional to think that you can use them to start a fire.


    "Let¡¯s go!" Ling Zhong-an looked at the precious mechanical watch on his hand, waved his hand slightly, "There isn¡¯t much time left."


    "Was life always filled with such hardships?" A female evolved human, unable to hold onto her sadness, asked.


    Ling Zhong-an was stunned for a moment and subconsciously answered, "It always was, is, and will be!"

 Chapter 570: The Terraforming (2)

    Chapter 570: The Terraforming (2)


    Trantor: EndlessFantasy Trantion Editor: EndlessFantasy Trantion


    The rain continued to pour. The droplets were warm, but it did not bring them a warm feeling. The only thing they felt was the cold from their heart.


    The group of people looked back at the cave that was filled with the turbid dirty water. Everyone¡¯s face was carrying an intense expression of heartbreak. This might be theirst time seeing that cave. If they ever returned here, it would be impossible to pinpoint the exact location under the miles of ice and snow.


    Time was limited. The group of people did not dare dy themselves and as they carried their drenched luggage, they began to hurry to their destination.


    The water level on the ground had risen to their hip region. Above them there was a storm and beneath their feet was the slippery iceyer ensuring that the journey was not an easy task. The group of men continued their journey, even though it was very difficult and their speed had been reduced as if they were walking tortoises.


    The raging water prevented the mutated beasts from hiding underground in peace. Normally, there was no sight of any mutated beasts. They appeared every once in a blue moon, but the moment they had surfaced on the water, it was possible to spot a few mutated beasts struggling in the water while howling in fear.


    When it was first witnessed by the group of people, their eyes gleamed causing them to be excited to the point that their facial expressions had been distorted. They began to hunt them down desperately but went numb quickly. Even if another mutated beast appeared at a location nearby, the group of people would treat it as if it was nothing.


    To withstand the extreme cold after the Earth froze over, all these mutated beasts that survived showed an adaptive evolution. Most of them had thick furs and ample amount of body fat, yet these mutated beast were struggling on water. They were only panicking due to the sudden changes in the environment but they would not drown. Even if they were to be hunted by the group, they could swim faster than any human.


    "Does anyone hear that weird water sound?" an evolved human suddenly asked


    "I hear it. It sounds like a waterfall. Look, the flood is flowing forward!" an evolved human at the side listened closely and said. Shortly afterward, he followed with a doubtful voice and said, "But I¡¯m sure that within a hundred miles radius of here was a nd, there shouldn¡¯t be any differences in the topography."


    This sound of a waterfall was there the entire time, it was only that the sound of the storm had overpowered it. Only when the group had reached their current position were they able to differentiate it clearly.


    "Why do you care about this much? I¡¯m still worried about getting through the night. If you have the strength to talk, move faster. The sky¡¯s getting dark." The discovery had not sparked anyone else¡¯s attention and was being ignored due to other people¡¯s frustration.


    "Everyone, speed up. We¡¯re almost there." Ling Zhong-an heard the conversation, looked at the time, the urged them to move on, "Who cares whether it¡¯s a waterfall or not? Even if there¡¯s a waterfall nearby, when the rain stops and the nightes, it¡¯ll freeze over no matter how big it is."


    Everyone thought that it made sense. If someone was to piss outside in the night, it¡¯ll definitely be frozen into an ice pir.


    The cave¡¯s distance to the hillside was only a few kilometers. The group of people rushed there at top speed during the entire way. After traveling for about ten minutes or so, they had finally reached their destination.


    At this moment, the water was flowing with turbulence. The water¡¯s surface was seemingly violent. Vortex after vortex, it was as if there was an endless abyss in front swallowing the billowing flood. As for the loud noise, it was as if tens of thousands of horses were galloping, the result was truly deafening.


    However, everyone was ignoring such influences. Instead, they were shocked by the number of mutated beast residing in this area of the hillside.


    The hillside was not big, the vertical height from the highest ce¡¯s distance from the water surface was only six to seven meters high and its area was only one to two square kilometers. Disregarding all that, the entire hillside was filled with various types of mutated beasts. Although it had not reached the level where the beasts would be next to each other, but when you looked, your vision would be filled with thousands of beasts.


    This hillside had be a nearby isted ind and became a refugee area for the mutated beasts.


    Everyone looked at each other and they saw excitement and greed in each other¡¯s eyes. This was exactly like when you are close to starving to death and suddenly there was a pie smacked onto your face. No! Smacked into your mouth!


    Only one of the mutated beast needed to be hunted, then it would be easy to get through tonight.


    Besides being able to fill up their stomachs, the pelts could be used to warm one up. Its most important function was that its fat could be used to start a fire.


    "No rush, these mutated beasts can¡¯t run anywhere. First, we need to go look for a ce and set it up to stay overnight." Ling Zhong-an said. As the boss, he had to suppress his excitement the best he possibly could. On the surface, he looked quite reserved but he had subconsciously grinned, which gave his feelings away.


    While saying that, he was the first to walk towards the hillside. At this moment he noticed that the hillside ground area that was not submerged in the water had mostly melted away and if his memory served him right, this slope was quite low. However, the area almost became a right-angled cliff as of this moment.


    Ling Zhong-an frowned a bit and a bad feeling began to rise, but he then discarded the nonsensical idea from his brain.


    He stepped on the ice surface below and lightly stomped on it. The ice surface seemed as if a bomb exploded and caused a huge spray of water. Concurrently, his body shot up into the air andnded on the hillside.


    Everyone else used various different ways to climb up the hill.


    The sky gradually darkened and fortunately under the erosion of a warm rainstorm, the ice had not stayed solid. Under everyone¡¯s desperate digging, a simple and wide ice cave had been dug out before nightfall.


    Seeing how the others were exhausted or maybe he was in the mood, the rarely generous Ling Zhong-an went out his own and hunted two mutated beasts, allowing the group of people to have a feast on. This meal allowed everyone to be filled up and satisfied.


    The only w was that there were no dry branches to be found and they could only eat the flesh raw and drink its blood.


    ...


    The sky gradually darkened. The rainstorm outside seemed never-ending and the deafening noise of the waterfall was seemingly bing increasingly noisy. The unfamiliar environment and the coldness that could chill into one¡¯s bone caused an anxiety not allowing anyone to fall asleep.


    The evolved human who was unlucky to sleep on the edge of the ice cave¡¯s entrance had covered it up with a mere few pieces of animal pelts to avoid being frozen to death in their dreams.


    He originally estimated that today would be tough, but as time moved on, a doubt crept into his heart.


    He noticed that the wind that blew from the outside was not cold, rather it carried a warm feeling. Was it not supposed to be the coldest winter? Why was it warmer outside than in the ice cave?


    "Boss, have you slept?" A woman could not help but ask in a light tone.


    "Talk!" Ling Zhong-an hugging his two women, answered in a deep voice, who obviously had not fallen asleep yet.


    "It seems like outside is not cold at all!"


    "You don¡¯t need to worry about it. The warmth was brought by the rain and when the rain stops, it will go back to being cold!" Ling Zhong-an replied in dissatisfaction.


    Time had passed until midnight, the rainstorm remained nonstop. Ling Zhong-an suddenly woke up after hearing the beasts howling one after another. It seemed as if they were wailing.


    After surviving in the wild for so many years, he was extremely sensitive to danger. This type of scene with hundreds of beast wailing was undoubtedly a bad sign.


    "Wake up! Looks like something¡¯s happening!"


    Surviving in the wild, everyone had extreme alertness. After hearing Ling Zhong-an¡¯s sudden loud warning, the group of people quickly stood up. In their semi-conscious state, they could feel that the Earth¡¯s surface was slightly shaking.


    "Another earthquake?" An evolved human said.


    Before the voice died down, a crisp noise ka-cha was heard. The entire hillside was shaking as if it was being dropped from a high ce. With its drop of over a meter, except Ling Zhong-an and a few people that could manage to stand steadily, the rest were unable to stand.


    Luckily for everyone¡¯s sake, these type of intense tremors only happened once. The follow-up tremors on the Earth¡¯s surface would be a lighter aftershock.


    During an earthquake, staying within the ice cave was dangerous. The group of people stood up and ran out from the ice cave. The rainstorm had seemingly be stronger, causing them to hardly be able to spread their eyes open.


    However, the persistence of the earthquake was surprisingly long. The group of people remained under the rainstorm for half an hour and the ground continued its tremors.


    "I don¡¯t think an earthquake would behave like this?" An evolved human suggested a difference.


    Men and women looked at each other, an uneasiness rose from within their hearts. After all these years, they had witnessed a hefty amount of earthquakes, but this was their first time witnessing one of this scale.


    Ling Zhong-an quickly looked around for a while but before his eyes were nothing except for a white haze. He quickly summoned Xiaohu, "Xiaohu, look around the area and inform me of its status."


    "Okay, Boss." Even if it was not requested by Ling Zhong-an, Xiaohu had already subconsciously activated his ability, causing his eyes to turn dark like a ck hole, absorbing everything, causing people who looked into them to be horrified.


    He looked for a while, then screamed and started mumbling, "It¡¯s no good. Hillside. No, the ice that we¡¯re standing on has been melted off by water. Now we¡¯re flowing off with the water!"


    "What?"


    "How is this possible?"


    "Are you mistaken?"


    The group of people looked shocked, along with a face of disbelief.


    Xiaohu as if discovering something suddenly screamed again, "Not good! In front of us is a great waterfall!"


    ...


    Luo Yuan¡¯s body was flickering with light as he quietly overlooked Earth. With an infinite calcting power, he could overlook and manage the entire Earth¡¯s hydrological data.


    The waterway andke that were opened up by him had already surpassed the natural formations of Earth. A simple river was a few ten kilometers wide. The depth, even if the iceyers were not taken into ount, was still about five to six hundred meters deep. Adding the rainstorm and the melting of iceyer¡¯s water volume, the results were shocking.


    He must constantly overlook the entire Earth¡¯s hydrological data constantly while modifying various areas¡¯ future hydrological trends, digest and separate the pouring of floods. Manually controlling the water to be under a dangerous level.


    However, this task had expended significant energy. He still had a great amount of remaining strength and thus modified the sporadic parts on the ocean surface to create small inds on the iceyer that would melt soon. At the same time, several frozen dead nts had been revived by him.


    The dried dead trees, dying grass, and lush shrubbery seemed to have had been reborn. Small green shoots were growing at an extremely fast pace that could be observed with the naked eye. Within a few minutes, a forest of a hundred square meters had been formed.


    As for Luo Yuan who can control neutron-level micro-material at will. Reviving the dead was an automatic process as simple as eating and drinking.


    Of course, this action had aplex calction that would shock most people. Even if he was actively working on it, it was not easy. Small inds had gone through modification one by one, it was impossible to modify the entire Earth in a short timeframe.


    These small inds were a separated refugee areas for the different mutated beasts. Some mutated beasts that were in danger had been transported by him and temporarily ced in there.


    The group of lucky survivors made Luo Yuan pay close attention.


    When he saw them for the first time, he was slightly surprised. He would have never thought that after so many years, there would still be Human survivors around and within them, there is someone he knew.


    As of now, they saw that they were going to be washed off into the river. Luo Yuan immediately had a thought and these dozens of evolved human, along with thousands of all kinds of mutated beast, were instantly carried by a formless force. With about ten times or so of supersonic speed, he rapidly sent them towards the ocean¡¯s ind.


    As of now, he could only temporary leave them there.


    They had been living in such harsh conditions for over forty years, they would not mind spending another few more days of that lifestyle. Compared to their previous conditions, this ind would at least notck food resources.

 Chapter 571: The Illusion?

    Chapter 571: The Illusion?


    Trantor: EndlessFantasy Trantion Editor: EndlessFantasy Trantion


    Although Luo Yuan had considered that they would not mind suffering for a few days, he did not consider that this event would leave them with some form of mental scar.


    His strength had exceeded the power grade of an evolved human, having the potential to reshape the world and destroy mountains. There was no one who could remain calm if they were to experience these sudden changes.


    A gigantic air bubble with a radius of a few kilometers, carrying all the humans and thousands of mutated beasts flew up into the air. The air bubble had intense friction with the nearby air and after several seconds it had formed into a humongous burning fireball. The nearby rain curtain had been torn through by the fireball, forming a mist. Wherever the fireball went, a long white passage followed in the air. By the time the mist dissipated, the fireball had long disappeared toward a far away area.


    Within the air bubble, whether it was man or beast, all of them went limp on the ground. None were able to remain standing. Every living creature was born with extreme fear. More so, they all lost control of their bowels, letting the stench permeate throughout the space.


    There was silence all around. No one dared to talk, and everyone just stared at one another, intensifying the fear within them. The fear spurred during the moment before being thrown into a bottomless waterfall was nothingpared to this one.


    The unknown could effectively draw out more fear deep inside one¡¯s psyche. Humans feared the paranormal type of mysterious forces more than visible and physical threats. The reasoning behind this is, the mysterious feeling could easily trigger a psychological association, further amplifying the effects of fear.


    Although the peripheral area of the air bubble was burning intensely, its internal temperature was surprisingly maintaining normal levels. After the initial shock, Ling Zhong-an was working hard to calm his intense heartbeat and quietly pressed onto the air bubble below him.


    The air bubble¡¯s membrane was pretty soft and smooth, simr to a thinyer of rubber. It felt as if it could be punctured simply by using a slight amount of force.


    However, this was only an illusion. He found out that when he pressed down onto it, it bounced back even harder. Furthermore, if it was deformed over a total of ten centimeters, no matter how powerful the force, the membrane would not stretch any further.


    As the peerless among the surviving evolved humans on earth, his power had long surpassed normal human limitations. His palm could easily crush rock into powder, as well as easily pierce through ten centimeters of steel. However, when faced with this type of unexinable air bubble, his strength was nothing.


    In fact, this was actually not just any type of air bubble. It was actually a type of electromaic field. An atom¡¯s core and electrons only ount for less than one percent of the overall mass. Over ny-nine percent of space as we know it is formed by electromaic fields and that is what men feel when touching a material surface.


    Every atom¡¯s electromaic field has a different frequency. All that is needed is a tune-up of its frequency and structure in order to be tough and highly insted.


    To a normal human, they would not be able to differentiate one from the other.


    Ling Zhong-an felt helpless about everything that had happened today. Even with his battled hardened body, there was nothing he could do. A numbness grew within his body, rendering him unable to muster any strength.


    Today, there was the terrifying presence followed by the heavy rainstorm and floods. They were forced to abandon the ice cave that they had been staying in for decades. They had ventured across dangers throughout the journey to the hillside. When he felt that they could temporarily settle down for a bit, it ended up with the hillside being melted off by the flood. This left them at the mercy of this mysterious force.


    As for their uing fate, he could and would not dare think about it.


    "Boss, airships! There are many airships! They have filled up space." The moment Xiaohu suddenly shouted, his voice carried an immense fear. It was not the one vessel from decades ago. It was not even two, it was actually over tens of thousands of vesselsing out of the void in an unexpected manner.


    The group of people panicked.


    All of them felt sadness encroaching on their hearts and started crying.


    "Are we finally finished?"


    "I knew it...I knew it. I always said that there would be a day that the aliens would return and the day has finallye!"


    "These bunch of bastards. Even if I die, I¡¯ll take a few of them with me."


    ...


    There was crying and there were people cursing. While they were talking, their voices began to slowly fade. With the absolute difference in power, no thoughts of resistance came into their minds. Everyone remained grim and desperate. Atst, they even lost the will to curse. The atmosphere was depressing and all that was left were a few individuals sobbing.


    "Maybe we might not die!" A person suddenly said at this moment.


    This statement had attracted everyone¡¯s attention, those who were sobbing stopped and lifted up their heads. This wretched middle-aged man proudly stroked his head and said, "If they wanted to kill us, why would they rescue us?"


    The group of people¡¯s eyes brightened up because of this statement. If they were hunted and then killed, it would bepletely pointless. This proud and arrogant alien race obviously would not do such pointless things. If they captured them, they might be of some use to them.


    After seeing that even Ling Zhong-an¡¯s gaze had been attracted by this topic, this wretched middle-aged evolved human became excited and said, "Have you ever been to a zoo?"


    "Fuck! Are you just spouting bullshit? Who from that era hasn¡¯t heard of a zoo? Don¡¯t keep people guessing, talk!"


    "Say, are we as humans an endangered species? Aren¡¯t we scarce?". Seeing that he had angered the group, this evolved human quickly yed his hand, "Also we humans have intelligence and once were a civilized race. But don¡¯t you think they have a different point of view about us? I estimate that no matter how wepared ourselves to them, our position would be slightly higher than that of a mutated beast."


    The group of people shed with aplicated mixture of emotion, they were the previous masters of the earth, but they now had to fight for their position with the mutated beasts. However,pared to facing death, this type of humiliation was not that hard to be epted.


    Human civilization had been thoroughly destroyed, reproductively isted and the entire race was about to go extinct. The remaining humanity had had long worn off and they no longer had any moral integrity. As for honor, a good death was nothing over staying alive. In order to remain alive, they would risk and do anything.


    Aside from the initial awkwardness, everyone seemed to have rxed a bit. The terror from death¡¯s shadow had gradually worn off and although it would not count as being refreshed, whenpared to losing the will to live and reduced to an endless state of despair, it could be said that huge differences in emotion urred.


    The group of people began to have an intense debate regarding their future life.


    Some of them were worried about being dissected by the aliens as studying material and their lives not being guaranteed. Others refuted the idea and presented their counter-argument, stating that a rare, endangered species like humans had an admiring and historical value. The aliens would not do such a thing such as destroying such fine specimens. With the aliens¡¯ tech, they had no need of a technique such as dissection, as it was a primitive research method.


    After a long debate, the final conclusion they came to was that there would be no need to worry about drinking and eating, simr to the lifestyle of a panda. The group of people was fascinated and there were even some who began to envision that type of lifestyle.


    Ling Zhong-an never joined the conversation and listened to everyone¡¯s argument. He began to feel lost in his heart. Had they been living in an alien zoo and being admired in an exhibition from the start?


    His hypothesis did not seem too difficult to be epted!


    Those who did not join the conversation included Xiaohu. Naturally, it was not because he had vigor. It was because he was attracted towards the tens of thousands of ¡¯alien¡¯ spaceships outside the atmosphere. Every single one of these airships was asrge as a mountain, causing him to look in awe. He could not help it and his whole body began to shake.


    At first, he was looking with curiosity and respect, but the longer he looked at it, the more doubts began to rise in his heart.


    These ¡¯alien¡¯ airships hovered at the Earth¡¯s outer atmosphere and had ships of various sizes. However, it was possible to distinguish that there were two different types of ships from their shapes.


    There was one triangr shaped with a sharp level and the other was a big belly disc-shaped type.


    The former¡¯s number were rare, numbering only a hundred vessels or so, those were reactionless drive airships that were built during the two years of moving. Every one of those ships was reflecting the sun¡¯s rays and with its smooth, eggshell-like surface, these airships¡¯ surface had no marks or defects.


    As for thetter, its surface was rough when looking at it with the naked eye. Xiaohu felt that its craftsmanship was no match to the former. On top of that, there were various types of marks and words.


    His doubts arose from those words!


    His evolved ability was the sort that was difficult to be measured in levels. He did not have much fighting capability but theoretically for his vision, even if everyone¡¯s vision here hadbined together, it was still far more inferiorpared to his own.


    His eye could absorb the weakest light rays and his vision wasparable to mankind¡¯s current state-of-the-art optical detection system. A few decades ago, he could already see those ssian airships tens of millions of kilometers away through the thick dust cloud in the ozoneyer.


    Although there was not much of an improvement in thest few years, locating the airships near the Earth was a very easy task.


    "The first cargo ship manufacturing nt!"


    "Cargo AS123440!"


    ...


    "The fifth cargo ship manufacturing nt!"


    "Cargo CW808000!"


    Looking at these words caused him to be in further confusion. Although he barely had the chance to write in these past few decades and had also not read anything as well. He instantly recognized all those characters, all of them were basically Chinese, English and Math. Everyst one of them was all part of Mankind¡¯snguage.


    "This is not possible"


    "How is this possible?"


    "It must be an illusion!"


    He mumbled to himself like a madman. The words before his eyespletely exceeded his understanding, simply incredible!


    This type of situation was like a person in poverty waiting for a meal, suddenly discovering that his family was extremely rich and his father was a high official of the United Nations, allowing him to have sex with countless of women in turns, while his mom had five hundred oil fields, resulting in his cash being able to circle the earth ten times.


    He rubbed his eyes and then viciously pped himself on both cheeks a few times until his face swelled up. He felt that he should be awake so he checked again and again.


    His strange reaction had finally attracted the attention of the others.


    "Brother Hu, what¡¯s wrong? Are you scared of the aliens? There¡¯s no worry, I¡¯m afraid in the future we will be having a good life." An evolved human said ungratefully with a red face.


    "Yes! Yes! From our discussion, we deduced that we won¡¯t be dying anytime soon."


    Xiaohu retrieved his senses, he looked at the group of people and asked in a serious manner while carrying a hint of excitement, "Are we dreaming now?"


    "Brother Hu, what dream? Are you still sleeping?" His woman said in rebuke.


    "Brother Hu, this is happiness after listening to the good news, it¡¯s not a dream."


    Ling Zhong-an felt something from his tone and quickly asked, "What have you discovered?"


    Xiaohu¡¯s face had a sort of indescribable type of strangeness. He swallowed his saliva, opened his mouth and under the urging of the group of people, he said, "If I tell you that these airships in the surrounding space belong to humans, would you believe me?"

 Chapter 572: The Terrified Giant Beast

    Chapter 572: The Terrified Giant Beast


    Trantor: EndlessFantasy Trantion Editor: EndlessFantasy Trantion


    As the rain continued to pour, a golden-haired giant beast was running at a high speed and asionally turned its head to look back.


    This was a humongous giant beast. Its muscles throughout his body were simr to reinforced, twisted steel wires. With its ck sheen, it seemed even more dangerous and terrifying, influencing people not to doubt the giant beast¡¯s power. It could potentially flip over a mother ship that weighed up to a hundred thousand tons.


    The beast¡¯s step frequency was two to three times that of a normal human. When apanied by its fifty-meter height, its speed easily surpassed the sound barrier. Aside from the deep loud noise of the earth rumbling, it would be apanied with the ear-piercing sound of a sonic boom wherever it went.


    As a level 8 giant beast on earth, there is nothing that could threaten its existence. If it encountered an enemy of equal level, even if he could not defeat it, the beast¡¯s terrifying strength would give it the advantage.


    In all these years, it had met some powerful enemies. Its territory was a warm area filled with a myriad of food sources, resulting in the asional invaders attempting to challenge its position as the sovereign of the region. In the end, all challengers would leave with minor or heavy injury as the price they paid, since the beast would tear the opponent apart with its strength.


    The most dangerous challenger was a cunning mutated bird. The beast never hesitated to use deception to trick the opponent so that it could kill the bird. It allowed the mutated bird¡¯s beak and ws to injure him by piercing through its stomach and exposing its gut. It then proceeded to fake its death, and atst those actions finally fooled the cautious mutated bird as it flew down from the sky. It then swiftly used its remaining strength and instantly broke the mutated bird¡¯s neck. Due to that fight, it had to rest for over half a year to recover from the injury.


    After all these years, it had gone through these type of battles six times. The end result was that fewer invaders dared toe and challenge it anymore. In the next dozen years, it had not experienced a challenge.


    However, such a powerful giant beast at this moment ran with a sense of panic and terror.


    Ever since the appearance of that dreadful presence, it had begun running non-stop. Although it was an intelligent giant beast, it would remain in the same ce as soon as the presence disappeared.


    The appearance of the frightful presence only exined one thing, the surrounding area was unsafe.


    The only part that was undeterminable was how far it was from that presence.


    A hundred kilometers?


    A thousand kilometers?


    As a mutated beast that understood mankind¡¯s measuring scale, it was nothing to be shocked off. This intelligent mutated beast had spent some time with humans, thus the humannguage was naturally something it knew as well.


    Actually, it had learned more than that. It even secretly learned sword skills that the humans used to use. In his territory, it owned a 40 meter-long wooden broadsword. Sadly, it had only wielded the sword once before it broke.


    ...


    Very quickly, it had returned to its own territory. Currently, it was an area filled with water vapor, lush and thick forests, as well as rich geothermal resources, causing the area to remain at a normal temperature throughout the year.


    The huge movements caused by its running had created a disturbance in the forest. Countless mutated birds pped their wings in panic and a huge amount of mutated beast began to run for their lives.


    The giant beast ran while looking deadly. Its fierce breath simr to that of a high-pressure column destroyed the nearby flora.


    An unlucky mutated beast panicked while also not choosing its path carefully. It desperately ran in a straight direction and suddenly went limp, its body went tumbling on the ground intensely under the huge force of inertia.


    Before its tumbling stopped, this mutated beast had been picked up by the giant beast.


    This mutated beast was not small at all. Its entire body was a few dozen meters tall and weighed a few dozen tons as well. But before the giant beast, it was nothing at all. The mutated beast was lifted with one hand and once the mutated beast was picked up, its skull was bitten off by the giant beast.


    The next moment, blood sprayed everywhere and the sound of cracking bones was heard.


    Only a few bitester, the entire mutated beast had entered into the giant beast¡¯s stomach.


    This little quantity of food was obviously unable to satisfy this giant beast¡¯s astonishing appetite. Quickly after that, the giant beast continued to chase a number of mutated beasts. After eating its fill, it had eaten hundreds of tons of food in its stomach.


    However, it was not nostalgic about the territory that it had upied for over a dozen years and it quickly proceeded to leave the area, running towards an even further direction.


    It wanted to leave far away from thisnd until it could finally feel safe again.


    There were no signs of the rain stopping as the rain continued to get heavier. Its golden hair seemed isted by a sort of force. Even when the beast was in the rain, its entire body remained clean, giving off a gleaming golden light.


    This giant beast leaped over mountains as he ran until it was forced to stop at a huge river.


    Even to the giant beast, the river was extraordinarily huge. The river was raging under torrent while the surrounding floods were rushing in this deep abyss-like Great River, forming an endless waterfall.


    The beast stood at the shore watching as the floods were washing up ashore. To a living creature with the giant beast¡¯s body type, this could not be considered to be dangerous, since the flood¡¯s water level had not even been able to cover up its heel.


    It looked at the bottomless huge river, almost eager to try and cross it but it hesitated over and over again. In the end, the beast dared not cross.


    To and creature, whether it was ake or a river, they were synonymous with danger. Moreover, this was a never-before-seen river. Even with the beast¡¯s current strength, if it fell into the water, it would still be an extremely dangerous task.


    At this moment, the beast suddenly heard a cracking noise on the iceyer beneath its feet. This scared it into quickly turning back and leaping over thousands of meters away. When itnded, it looked toward its previous location. The giant iceyer that was beneath its feet had detached from the river¡¯s shore and was washed into the huge river, causing a loud noise.


    The beast dare not to stand on the riverside, only looking at the river from far away.


    Its eye carried a sense of unease. This ce was not far away from its territory and it was familiar with its surrounding environment, but it had never seen this huge river before.


    The familiar environment was changing and it could not determine whether these types of changes were good or bad.


    It roared loudly, shaking its surroundings. The iceyer a few kilometers within the radius that had been covered by the loud roar had started showing cracks.


    The cracking of the ice scared the beast, it quickly turned away and started running, not daring to stay in the same location.


    However, misery lovespany, only after a few steps that terrifying presence had re-emerged. This time the presence was not fading, slowly it could be felt, the beast¡¯s fear surfaced as a mysterious power surged within it.


    Immediately, its body was wrapped by a transparent force field and flew up into the air.


    "Roar!"


    Seeing its body flying higher and higher, its hair was standing on its end. The intense fear of death allowed it to instantly break away from the heart deterrent caused by the presence and the beast showed its fangs as ferocity filled up its face and it began to growl deeply.


    The beast¡¯s body muscle began to rapidly swell and the huge surge of energy caused an air resonance simr to that of a bell.


    At this moment, the beast¡¯s golden hair had lit up and emitted an eye-squinting bright light.


    The next moment, its huge body fiercely rammed into the air bubble.


    "Bang!"


    As if being hit by about ten missiles. The next moment, the entire air bubble emitted a light simr to the sun.


    With its strength, it would be reduced to nothing when rammed by the beast, even if it was a mountain. However, it used every strength it had but thisyer of formless air bubble was left undamaged, aside from shaking briefly for a moment.


    After the ineffective ramming, the beast was not discouraged. Instead, it spiked the brutal, savage violence within it.


    It roared loudly and rammed towards the bubble again and again. It finally began to cause some structural change to the air bubble resulting in the bubble bing more and more unstable. It began to shake intensely, looking as if it was nearing its breaking point and at that moment, a majestic grand voice rang in the beast¡¯s heart, the voice was filled with impatience.


    "Don¡¯t move!"


    Facing this sudden voice, this giant beast suddenly widened its eyes as if it was struck by lightning, freezing it.

 Chapter 573: An Alien Encounter

    Chapter 573: An Alien Encounter


    Trantor: EndlessFantasy Trantion Editor: EndlessFantasy Trantion


    The small inds were located near the equator of the South Pacific, like a pearl ornament sitting in the middle of the ocean.


    All these inds were only up to a thousand square kilometers in size, and the smallest of them all was not evenrger than a square kilometer.


    However, regardless if it were big or small, all of the inds were lush with life. The howls of beasts could be heard one after the other while birds soared in the air as if they were dancing. Even when there was a heavy downpour of rain, it would not stop the vitality and energy of these animals.


    On one of the mid-sized inds, a group of evolved humans was nested in a cave located at the mountainside. Most of them were kind of lying on the ground, while those who were getting bored began to chat briefly.


    It had been over a week ever since they had reached this ind, and the group of evolved humans that were originally very skinny had now fattened up.


    The food source here was plentiful as the numbers of mutated beast brought in by the aliens in the past could only be described as bountiful. To add to that, most of them were rtively weak. Each time the evolved humans began hunting, there would be gains. They were also overeating from being starved most of the time in the past. Regardless of their weight orplexion, there were obvious changes during the past few days. The only thing that was not solved was the issues troubling their minds. There seemed to always be a haze in their mind causing them to be veryzy.


    An evolved human that was lying in the cave began scratching his back, peeling offyers of dead skin cells before hezily asked, "Where¡¯s Brother Hu?"


    "He¡¯s still outside, looking at the space station that we ¡¯humans¡¯ have built." Another evolved human answered in a sarcastic tone.


    The group of people beganughing. This was due to days of boredom and this was their only joy ever since that day. Brother Hu had be slightly abnormal, he would either be mumbling to himself daily, or he would run atop the mountains under the heavy rain as he gazed into the sky for as long as possible. Most days, he would go missing for almost half the time.


    "He won¡¯t really go mad, will he?"


    "You¡¯re the mad one, your whole family¡¯s mad!" Xiaohu¡¯s wife answered defensively, she would never believe that her man had gone mad. That being said, she would not believe in any of Xiaohu¡¯s mumblings either.


    "I¡¯m only stating facts! Don¡¯t you start scolding people!" The evolved human did not mind her outburst and waved his hand without even the slightest hint of anger.


    Staying together for over forty to fifty years, coupled with Ling Zhong-an¡¯s strong suppressive powers, their corners had long been dulled through time. Although everyone was not close enough to be called siblings, asions where they would argue and fight each other were rare.


    Seeing Xiaohu¡¯s wife beginning to get angry, the topic was then naturally stopped at that point.


    "Eh! It seems like the rain has stopped." At this moment an evolved human suddenly eximed,


    "Finally it stopped!"


    The weather over here was rtively hot and humid. Every day was drenched with water, and after nesting at the cave for a few days, hairs began to grow in every part of their bodies. At that very moment where they saw the rain stop, the group of people could no longer wait and walked out of the cave.


    The sky remained as dark as ink. The stopped rain could only be a temporary thing and it was entirely possible that a rainstorm would cause the rain to begin pouring again at the very next moment.


    Ling Zhong-an¡¯s looked around with a grim look. After only a day, the nts over here had almost grown an entirely different section, and their leaves and branches had be lusher. If there were no aliens, spending the rest of their lives here living a peaceful life would be quite the bargain.


    In the end, the existence of aliens was unfortunately like having the sword of Damocles hanging over their heads. It did not matter how they dreaded facing this fact. In the end, they would still have to ept this truth.


    Without reason, Xiaohu¡¯s mumbles shed through Ling Zhong-an¡¯s mind, moving him and causing him to say, "Let¡¯s go to the top of the mountain and have a look."


    The ind¡¯s mountain not that high as its vertical height was only around sixty to seventy meters. The cave they were residing in was situated at the half-point of the mountainside so climbing to the top of the mountain was only a few minutes.


    The group of men very quickly saw Xiaohu¡¯s figure.


    "What was he doing?" an evolved human asked with suspicion.


    Noticing Xiaohu desperately moving boulders like a madman, they thought he looked as if he tumbled through a muddy pond as he was fully covered in dirt. It was only when the group of men closed in that they noticed that he was arranging the boulders in an SOS emergency rescue signal, and he was close topletion.


    Ling Zhong-an grew gloomy after witnessing such a scene and quickly kicked away the array of boulders before he began yelling.


    "What are you doing? Are you bored because the aliens had forgotten about us? Or are you looking to die!?"


    There was some difort within his heart. He was just like a little girl that was about to be abused. Although he knew that there was nowhere to run, he felt that there might be a miracle that would happen even if dragged their time by just a little. Maybe the aliens have really forgotten about these humans?


    "Boss. Why are you all here." Xiaohu saw the arrival of the group of people and could not help himself but smile.


    Seeing Xiaohu maintaining a casual attitude, Ling Zhong-an angrily kicked him off. He was really angry and this caused his entire body to grow with ?n imposing manner.


    "Other people have said that you¡¯re crazy, I still wouldn¡¯t believe it! Now, I finally know that you¡¯re indeed going mad! If you continue doing as you please, don¡¯t you dare say that I¡¯m cold-blooded. I¡¯m doing this for the greater good of all our people."


    The group of men was trembling. At this moment, even Xiaohu¡¯s wife dared not beg the enraged Ling Zhong-an for mercy.


    Xiaohu had been kicked over. Tumbling for a brief moment, he stood up in a disheveled manner and remained silent. He clearly knew that no matter what he said, nobody would believe him. This was clearly too unrealistic. Perhaps, he truly was mad. Perhaps, it was an illusion that appeared in his brain. How else how would he see these airships and the half-built space station that wasbeled with the word "Humans"?


    "Boss, I understand. I¡¯ll never make the same mistake again," Xiaohu lowered his head and said in a depressing tone.


    Seeing Xiaohu finally admit his wrongdoings, Ling Zhong-an cooled off slightly. Xiaohu had a unique ability. To him, Xiaohu¡¯s abilities were better even if it waspared to ten evolvedbat specialists. Following that, he sincerely advised, "Not everything the eye sees is the truth. Perhaps, during these periods, stress has built up within you. When we return home, you¡¯ll have to rest well for some time!"


    "Okay, boss," Xiaohu replied in a mncholic tone.


    The group of people was preparing to return. However, at that very moment, a loud but deep buzzing was heard from the sky. The sudden appearance of the strange situation caused everyone to panic as they immediately looked up at it. The only thing they saw were clouds that were as dark as ink, drastically tumbling in the sky. It onlysted for a few moments before the clouds seemed to be pierced by a formless force.


    It was through that hole that their eyes saw through to a piece of the azure sky.


    At this moment, nobody was in the right mood to even admire the blue sky that they had not witnessed for decades.


    The very next moment, an object covered in a mes shot through the clouds rapidly and flew in their direction.


    "Not good! Quickly, hide!" Ling Zhong-an panicked and said immediately.


    His vision could not bepared to Xiaohu¡¯s butpared to a normal human, it was at least ten times more powerful. He could clearly see that the me-covered object was not a powerful mutated beast, but was a silver-colored piece of alien flight equipment.


    He stared at Xiaohu with deep hatred. However, this was obviously not the time for punishment and lecturing. He quickly hid beneath the cover of the lush canopy. A variety of nts were avable here with tall green shrubs growing everywhere. Even wind would not be able to pass through this ce, and he had no ns in confronting the aliens.


    Xiaohu briefly hesitated as he stood still. In the end, he still did not have the guts to anger his boss again so he followed the group of people and quickly hid in the forest.


    The buzzing gradually became louder, causing the air to tremble briefly. There was a terrifying tension in the air which caused everyone to subconsciously hold their breaths. It was as if their hearts were leaping out of their chest.


    "It¡¯sing in this direction," Xiaohu whispered.


    Everyone¡¯s heartbeat was suddenly elevated as a grim look suffused their faces.


    "Look at what you¡¯ve done!" Ling Zhong-an said in a deep voice that made him seem both frightened and angry at the same time.


    Xiaohu remained silent and closed his palm to tightly grip a knuckle. At this moment, he felt the tension within his heart as well. What he saw with his eyes was one thing, and what was happening now was an entirely different thing.


    The aircraft gradually slowed down. As the sparks surrounding it disappeared, it¡¯s silver, streamlined shape was revealed. It took a spin around the ind before it slowlynded on the mountain.


    A formless force was felt blowing and shaking the woods surrounding them, causing dust and sand to be sent flying everywhere.


    The group of men backed away once again as both their legs began to go uncontrobly limp. If it was not for everyone being unprepared for an encounter with the aliens, they would have run away by now.


    The airship was not huge at all. Compared to argemercial ne before the human apocalypse, it seemed much smaller. At the very most, it was close to the size of a light fighter jet. However, the technology that the airship contained and the powerful civilization behind the technology sapped their strength so they were unable to use any strength to resist.


    The airshipnded on the mountain and sent a gust of dust flying. After a moment, a hatch opened quietly. Just as everyone was wondering with unease at the kind of creature that would exit the ship, a humanoid form with a uniform appeared.


    It was only when they saw it that they were shocked, as their gazes now locked onto the so-called "extraterrestrial creature".


    She had a pair of hands, a pair of legs, and also a face that resembled that of a human. It could be said that everything about her body made her seem entirely... human.


    "You¡¯re the survivors of Earth?? I¡¯m an Extraterrestrial Information Bureau officer, my name is Chen Hongxia. We¡¯ve discovered the SOS emergency signal that you left behind. No one thought that there would actually still be people on Earth!" she said after looking at the group of people hiding behind the trees. Her tone carried a sort of amazement as she could not believe what she was witnessing.


    Her bright and clean smile had stunned everyone. Facing this beautiful and suspicious human female, the group of people looked at each other. Ling Zhong-an saw that no one dared to respond proactively and could not help but curse the useless bastards. He could only force himself to stand before forcing a rigid and tight smile. With a quivering voice, he replied, "W...We¡¯re human survivors. A...are you the aliens... that areing to pick us up?"

 Chapter 574: The Cruel Truth

    Chapter 574: The Cruel Truth


    Trantor: EndlessFantasy Trantion Editor: EndlessFantasy Trantion


    Before Chen Hongxia started her job, she went through professional training. During a scenario like this, she would avoid making a scene halfway through the mission byposing herself.


    Even so, she slightly widened her mouth in amazement, she almost wanted to search for a mirror to look at, trying toprehend what part of her image had made her break away from the human archetype. Maybe it was that the group of survivors that had a problem with their vision. She secretly pinched herself gently with her fingers and reappeared with a bright smile.


    "Of course I¡¯m a human. I¡¯m one of you, not an alien."


    Although her words were light, it was as if thunder had struck, causing everyone nearby to be in silence. Everybody was looking at each other with a stunned look on their face.


    There were neither cheer nor excitement like they had imagined. Not many people could ept this fact, and there were even some who were confused.


    At this moment a lean evolved human leaped out and whispered into the ears of Ling Zhong-an. "This is not possible, boss. Don¡¯t trust any of this! She must be faking it. It must¡¯ve been a lie. They¡¯re definitely scheming something."


    ¡¯Specifically, what scheme did the aliens have? What was their purpose?¡¯ He could not even think about it, but there was some truth in those words. She must not be human. After all, human civilization had long since been destroyed. This was definitely a fantasy.


    Everyone secretly agreed. Some of the easily excitable evolved humans individuals suddenly went quiet and calmed down when they heard the news. They subconsciously formed a circle, and it was as if they were facing a terrifying beast, and they were encircling the beast like a flock of sheep.


    Their mindset had already been set, and they have long since believed that spaceships belonged to the aliens. How could it be that easy to alter their mindset?


    "You... What proof do you have to say that you¡¯re a human? Or rather, how do you prove that you¡¯re not sent by the aliens?" Ling Zhong-an managed to reply steadily. He had just discovered a shocking truth, this alien or humanoid creature actually possessed a terrifying power. He discovered this when she subconsciously pinched her finger, causing the air to unexpectedly explode in a gentle manner.


    He could also manage something like this. However, he could never do it like her, unknowingly and naturally.


    Due to that exposed tiny detail, everyone could easily figure out that the seemingly harmless creature actually had terrifying physical strength.


    Chen Hongxia did not know that her involuntary action had sparked great unease within Ling Zhong-an. She was an evolved human, and a very powerful one to boot. Chen Hongxia was only her cover name, and Luo Yu was her real name.


    The surname Luo only belonged to a minority, and those who had this surname could be counted with one¡¯s fingers. For those with this surname, people would always think of their godlike father. That was reason enough for her to use a cover name to prevent this from affecting her work and learning.


    Not to mention that if not for her decent strength, the higher-ups would not even consider sending her out a dangerous mission like this.


    The survivors were not the friendly kind. If the situation was not settled properly, there would be danger. If it all went ording to the safety guidelines, all personnel had to suit up with a lightweight nuclear-powered battle suit, and arm themselves with kic weapons beforending.


    However, these were naturally useless to her. As Luo Yuan¡¯s clone, and also a rare type of evolved human with three abilities, no one could even threaten her under normal circumstances. Even if she encountered a level 9 mutated creature, she could just escape by teleporting.


    Chen Hongxia or Luo Yu was both funny and sympathetic. Looking at their miserable looks, she could understand the flurry of emotions going through their heads. No matter who or what they had suffered over the past few decades at this ce, this was probably not that much of an improvement in any way.


    She had seen countless of descriptions of beggars from various literature, as it described their ragged clothes, untidiness, as well as the stench and emptiness within their eyes. Aside from having animal pelts in the ce of ragged clothes, the remaining description were extremely on point. Immediately and patiently, she said, "ording to history¡¯s records, our group of humans had escaped from Earth since 2015, and after five years in a spaceship and leaving the sr system, we¡¯ve now returned. As for concrete proof, wait until you lot reach Space City, then you¡¯ll understand!"


    Just as everybody had their doubts cleared as they began to feel the excitement, who would have guessed that the lean evolved human reminded them in a deep voice once again. "Boss don¡¯t believe her. How could they have built a spaceship with the technological prowess of humans at tht time. It was one that could escape the sr system to boot! Even if a hundred years had passed, it would still be impossible."


    This evolved human¡¯s reminder was like a ssh of cold water that had once again put out the me of excitement that was beginning to build up within every person.


    "You¡¯re right... Spaceships! When did you guys build a spaceship?" Ling Zhong-an quickly asked after he was clear-headed. As the Firearms Department¡¯s Immediate Deputy Minister, some of the ssified information were also avable to him even if his title was merely one from the Reconstruction Area. For news as huge as a spaceship, how could he not have heard of it at all?


    "We didn¡¯t build any. We raided the ssians and took over their spaceship. We managed to hold the ship captive when they were executing their ns to destroy the humans." After attempting to justify her humanity over and over again, she began to get impatient. "By the way, the one that managed to capture the ship is Luo Yuan. I believe you¡¯ve heard of his name before."


    After stating the name, her face was filled with pride. It was her father¡¯s name.


    "Don¡¯t trust her boss! It must¡¯ve been made up by them... Luo Yuan, I¡¯ve never heard of his name before." That lean evolved human once again reminded him.


    "You just shut the f*ck up!" Ling Zhong-an angrily said, "You¡¯re very annoying, do you know that?"


    In fact, he had already believed her. The only thing was that the events leading up to this were simply too surreal, and it was hard to believe. Thinking back about it, if it was really the aliens, why would they even take the effort to lie to them. Everyone had a purpose, so they probably would not even make an effort to exin.


    As to Luo Yuan, this name had finally made him confirm his beliefs.


    He remembered this name and had oncepared notes with him. He had an amazing reaction speed and was absolutely brilliant when it came to hisbat techniques. During the exchange with him, there was a helpless mncholy in the air, leaving a deep impression on him. He would have never thought that this man would be so powerful in the end.


    At this moment he suddenly thought of something and quickly asked. "You¡¯re saying that not long after the destruction of the Reconstruction Area, Luo Yuan managed to hold an alien spaceship captive?"


    "That¡¯s right, based on historical records, Mankind¡¯s greatest leader Mayor Luo had returned to Hope City after a day. With the spontaneous support from the people, he had restructured human society and gradually gathered the refugees from the surrounding city area. Half a yearter, he migrated everyone to the spaceships."


    Everyone listened like they were struck by lightning. after some time, Ling Zhong-an opened his mouth and said with his deep and hoarse voice, "If that¡¯s a fact, does that mean that we¡¯ve been avoiding the human ships for all these years?"


    The cave that they were living in was very close to Hope City, and the distance was not even a hundred kilometers apart from each other. At first, they would always see spaceshipsnding on earth. Seeing things the way they did, they would always desperately hide in the caves to hold on to their lives at first. They were faced with nightmares even in sleep. Who the f*ck would have known that those ships were under human control!?

 Chapter 575: The Third Energy Crystal Core

    Chapter 575: The Third Energy Crystal Core


    Trantor: EndlessFantasy Trantion Editor: EndlessFantasy Trantion


    Before the rain gradually stopped, the rainstorm had been ongoing for over two months. After it passed, a significant area in the northern half of the globe began having sunnier weather.


    The ice had melted, the floods had receded, and flora was beginning to flourish.


    The nt¡¯s indomitable life force was definitely something to be reckoned with.


    Even after remaining frozen for over a few decades, the ice did not eradicate their vitality. Even if the branches had long eroded, the deep roots of the nts would still be full of life. Once the ice melted, various flora began growing from carcasses as they bathed under the glorious sunlight andpeted with each other for growth. The life force of the nts was visible at every corner.


    Before long, thend was rapidly dyed with shades of green. Looking at it then, it was hard to believe that just only two months ago, the ce was still a frozen wastnd.


    Following the receding tides, a partially-nned magnificent city would officially be built atop of the ruins of Hope City, and it would be hundreds of times bigger than the original city. It would boast a radius up to tens of thousands of square kilometers. Before long, the ce had already be a humongous construction area.


    Countless enormous cargo airships that were each as wide as a mountain, connected the logistic channel of the new Hope City and the micro universe that was currently situated in space. All the harvested materials and resources from the Barnard Star System were shipped to the New Hope City as the humans erecting building and factory, one after the other.


    Before waging war with the ssians, the humans were pessimistic toward the war. Perhaps, pessimistic was not the right term to use. However, most people were uncertain about the oue of the war at the time.


    There was a saying ¡ª People tend to think about losses before they think about winning. To top it off, this was a war that whose oue would determine the survival of an entire species.


    Naturally, if the humans won, it would end well. However, if they were defeated, a backup n had to be present. Their withdrawal to the micro universe was their final contingency. Even if the ssians finally managed to retake the Barnard Star System, the humans would still have sufficient resources to continue expanding after they sessfully withdrew into the micro-universe.


    Based on these operating standards, mankind had already destructively mined their fourth with part of its resources allocated to produce and expand their inventory of military equipment. Anything left over from that would be stored and be shipped to the micro universe.


    Before their expedition began, the humans already had a stockpile of resources that would be able to support their production capacity for over a hundred years. Up until the point where they migrated back to earth, the humans had already umted sufficient resources tost them over a thousand years.


    Naturally, this estimate was made with the assumption that their production would not undergo an explosive amount of expansion. However, if that were really the case, their resource stockpile would probably dry up within an estimated fifty to sixty years.


    Even so, this was s till a huge sum of wealth, and the total mass of their stockpile had now exceeded the moon¡¯s mass. Each and every element their had in store were calcted in the measure of trillions of tonnes. However, precious metals such as gold were avable in amounts upward of tens of trillions of tonnes. That alone was more than several billion times the total gold mined throughout mankind¡¯s history.


    The total mass of the sr system was made up of mainly gaseouss and ones where mineral resources could be mined were scarce.s that fit this category based on their size were Earth, Mars, Venus, and Mercury.


    Thergest of theses was Earth. However, its total mass only made up a third of the fourth they were mining in the Barnard Star Systerm. Even when all thes that fit the description in their sr system were totalled, it would still not hold a candle to a single in the Barnard Star System.


    As humankind¡¯s home, humans were unable to extract material directly from the ground like they did on the fourth in the Barnard Star System. Simrly, Mars was like a twin brother to Earth and had long been recognized as a secondary habitable. Even Venus and Mercury were considered to be backups that could be terraformed into habitables.


    Soon, the human poption began to explode. Not only was there an annual birth of two to three millionb-grown human clones, there was also the birth of the next generation of humans. Eventually, a baby boom would ensue


    Up to this moment, humans only had a poption that was close to thirty million. Conservatively, the poption would only reach five hundred million one or two hundred yearster. However, the fear that Earth would soon be overcrowded was not unfounded. Two hundred years was not that long a time for a civilization. Even for the new generation of humans, that was only two-thirds of their lifespan.


    It could be said that every rocky in the sr system was extremely precious since they were resources that could be used to expand and develop human civilization.


    Fortunately, humans had long since be an interster civilization capable of leaving their home star system. The ability to fly through space had given humans the ability to explore the surrounding star systems and seize control of the resources avable to make up for the deficit in their home star system.


    ...


    A war was currently ongoing in Jupiter.


    Luo Yuan stood in space and gazed upon Jupiter from afar. It was a giant that experienced an endless storm throughout the year. Its mass was already close to a star¡¯s critical point, causing the few huge vortexes throughout the to sh and graze against each other as they gave off intense energy reactions.


    Pulsing radiation, lightning, strong electromaic fields, and a storm with exceedingly high heat that could potentially shred objects into dust. It all made this ce closely resemble hell. No life would be able to survive under such conditions.


    Of course, this would have to exclude some of the extraordinary creatures.


    One such as Luo Yuan, or even the Interster Creature.


    At this moment Luo Yuan¡¯s body was glowing in radiance as a powerful wave of his perceptive abilities washed over the colossal Jupiter.


    Within the depths of the Jupiter, tens of thousands of kilometers within the hydrogenyer, a huge beast was diving into its depths while feeling an extreme unease.


    It was a humongous mutated beast, and its body was like a huge loach that was around three kilometers in length. Its entire body was slippery and was glowing with blue light. Within the dark surroundings of the hydrogenyer, it looked particrly eye-catching.


    Perhaps, its eyes had degenerated after having survived in the dark for so long. Its head was also tapered and its mouth no longer had any teeth.


    The terrifying pressure found within the depths of the liquid hydrogen could even crush steel. However, it was almost non-existent to the creature. It felt like it was in water as it swam through the liquid at a speed of a few hundred meters per second. It was amazingly fast as it desperately dove into the depths of Jupiter in search of its survival.


    However, its efforts would prove to be futile.


    At the very next moment, a terrifying consciousness possessed the beast, causing its body to freeze lightly before it began glowing with the radiance of a star. The beast struggled intensely as its body that was a few kilometers in length stirred the liquid hydrogen with such high pressure that it seemed like it was boiling.


    Its struggle seemed effective. As a creature capable of surviving in the depths of Jupiter, it probably had incredible power. When the beast felt the consciousness binding it begin to weaken, it began an even more desperate struggle. As it roared endlessly, its entire body grew at a fearsome pace as its original body now morphed into a ferocious one.


    However, it had failed to notice its surroundings. A radius of up to several hundred kilometers had silently warped and within a mere second, an isted, sealed dimension had been formed and it left this universe. The surrounding liquid hydrogen instantly converged around the void to fill it up.


    Then, the micro universe containing the space beast rapidly flew off, leaving the liquid hydrogen quickly. It sped through Jupiter¡¯s atmosphere and began shrinking as it continued its flight. When it reached Luo Yuan, it had already shrunk to the size of his palm.


    In the micro-universe filled with a light blue liquid hydrogen, a creature that only spanned the width of a needlepointfortably traversed within.


    Luo Yuan nced over it. Then, his fingers blurred for a moment and a finger was seen piercing through the universe and into the creature¡¯s body. When the creature passed, a glowing energy crystal core appeared within his palm.


    At the same time, the beast shrank rapidly into a clump as its body trembled and began to die. Its former vigor and vitality were now lost.


    Luo Yuan closely inspected it and realized that the creature did not show any signs of dying. A sudden smile appeared on his face as he then used the surrounding matter to re-condense a dimensional sphere. It condensed his surroundings into a dimensional sphere before he swiftly flew toward Earth.

 Chapter 576: Luo Yuan鈥檚 Giant Beast Farm

    Chapter 576: Luo Yuan¡¯s Giant Beast Farm


    Trantor: EndlessFantasy Trantion Editor: EndlessFantasy Trantion


    In the middle of Earth¡¯s outer space, a huge piece of factorynd was being rapidly developed. The factory was basically a module stitch ¡ª easy to disassemble, simple to install. Most of the parts were moved from Space City in the Barnard Star System. With that as their process, it only took only two months or so and the factory already looked spectacr. It covered over tens of thousands of square kilometers and was visible to the naked eye from millions of kilometers away on Earth.


    Compared to building a factory on the¡¯s surface, the Space Factory was undoubtedly far more advantageous. This was especially so for certain types of gigantic machinery with a huge mass or even a highly sensitive and precise instruments. Space was a naturally dust-free, zero-gravity environment that would more often than not, reduce the possibility of trouble and greatly reduce the technical difficulty of such an endeavor on Earth.


    Even if the humans had returned to Earth, the industrial area of utmost importance would still remain in space. Earth would only house small-scale industry and a variety of research institutions.


    ...


    After migrating back to Earth for no longer than two months, the humans still temporary lived in the micro-universe to this day.


    Luo Yuan went through the dimension portal. Before long, he appeared in his house and took out the energy core immediately, filling the entire hall with a psychedelic glimmer. The brilliance could shine through the wall and spread throughout Space City. The active energy concentration in the air was immediately raised by thousands of times.


    Naturally, there were two sides to a coin. One side of the coin was the low concentration of active energy in the micro-universe while the other side was the fact that the energy core emitted an incredible amount of energy.


    The core¡¯s was as big as a fist, and it was thergest Luo Yuan ever found.


    If the first energy core¡¯s size was measured as the number one, the second energy core would be measured as two. The final energy core however, it would score a ten based on that scale.


    Simr to the interster beast, the gap in strength was just too great!


    When Luo Yuan had first in the interster beast, he solely relied on Earth¡¯s gravitational pull. This made it falter and caused difficulty in its movements. The second beast was only active in both space and on the moon. However, the current interster beast could survive within the depths of Jupiter. Regardless of its strength or its size, it was in a league of its own.


    Luo Yuan pulled his thoughts together as he attempted to crack the energy core once more. However, he quickly gave up as the tiny core was almost made from pure energy from tiny leptons. With his power, he could only control things that went as small as a neutron so let¡¯s not talk about copying one, even cracking the way it functioned was several orders higher than what Luo Yuan was capable of.


    At the very least it was impossible to manufacture an item of that level in the foreseeable future regardless if it was Luo Yuan or the humans.


    Fortunately, he had already mentally prepared himself. Instead of being disappointed, he immediately established a telepathic mind connection instead.


    "Chief Dong,e here!"


    "Director, what¡¯s your order?" The Chief of the Security Corps quickly ran all the way over and stood with his head down at the entrance.


    He could feel a strange light in the hall. After exposing himself to such a light, his entire body felt a thirst from deep within. It was as if buds had begun . to grow while he bathed under the sunlight of early spring and it was stretching its branches and leaves.


    He dared not lift his head or suspect anything. After facing a leader that closely resembled a God, he would not feel anything strange at all. This was something that went without saying even in the presence of extraordinary situations.


    "Take this and send it to the Wisdom Tree nting Base. They¡¯ll take good care of it!"


    This light emitting energy core slowly floated to the front of the chief as he extended both his hands to receive it. The next moment, he felt a raging heat flow from his hand toward his body. Then, his entire body felt like it was ming hot, and it was as if he was being burned. His muscles were trembling vigorously, and his veins surfaced on his skin as his body seemed as if it was burning from a huge me. His gut seemed almost scorched, but he had a rigid attitude. Although there was a sudden change at that very moment, and he was internally panicking, his facial expression remained stoic. Then, he gritted his teeth and froze his face as he replied loudly, "Director! Are there any more orders?!"


    "There¡¯s nothing else. Go carry out your job!" Luo Yuan nced at him. Seeing that there was not much danger to him and that his life force was burning even brighter, Luo Yuan quickly answered him.


    The Chief of the Security Corps went out the door and quickly walked down the path with a fast pace. After walking for about ten meters or so, he finally sumbed and dropped to the floor, kneeling with an erratic breathing pattern. His saliva flowed from his mouth, and his entire body was steaming while it gave off heat to the surroundings.


    As the heat within his body gradually cooled down, the fear within his eyes had slowly turned to joy. He could feel his heartbeat rising along with a power growing within his body. As that happened, he felt renewed with an unspeakable form of happiness within him.


    He secretly clenched his fist, and as his joints cracked, an indescribable excitement rose within his heart.


    ¡¯This power!¡¯ He groaned from within his heart.


    After looking at the mysterious glowing object that had tumbled down onto the floor, he quickly picked it up and held it closed in his palm. At this moment, the object was a holy artifact in his eyes.


    As long as this object was in his hands, he would not dare to ignore or dy Luo Yuan¡¯s orders by any means. However, the holy object would at the very least be under his control while it was being delivered to the Wisdom Tree nting Base. Perhaps, he could slow down during the delivery.


    ...


    Aside from the Chief of the Security Corps¡¯ careful thoughts, Luo Yuan had also opened the A.I. system to read the messages from a few government higher-ups. He only nced through most of the messages briefly. The only few messages that caught Luo Yuan¡¯s attention was a proposal to construct a Dyson Sphere.


    The ssian¡¯s Dyson Sphere had deeply shocked and made a longsting impression on him. It was a marvel of engineering and was like a civilization¡¯s progress elerator. Once it waspleted, it would undoubtedly transform human civilization once again.


    This would mean that humans would gain ess to limitless energy, and there would be no further discussion about energy problems for thousands of years within the foreseeable future of human progress. However, even if they were able to utilize a-billionth of a fraction of the sun¡¯s energy, it was already sufficient for the humans.


    With their current technological level, the task of constructing a Dyson Sphere would not prove to be very difficult. With the knowledge and techniques learned from the ssian¡¯s Dyson Sphere and by referencing each other, the humans would most likely have a better implementation of the n.


    If it works, it¡¯ll benefit the future. If it was constructed now, they would still be able to reap the rewards.


    In fact, there have been arguments among the humans regarding the Dyson Sphere. It was like a double-edged sword that could potentially bring tonnes of benefit to mankind while bringing a significant amount of danger as well.


    Within the universe, every star was like a lighthouse within the dark and was a source for signal transmissions. For example, the Extraterrestrial Information Bureau of the humans had the task of constantly monitoring the situation of Earth¡¯s surrounding star systems and to explore the possible existence of another civilization nearby.


    If the Humans rashly weakened the signal transmission source or even shielded it. This would undoubtedly be a signal to extraterrestrial civilizations that something was happening in that area!


    This argument finallye to a close when the Spatial Wavelength Detector was used. It was then that this project proposal finally got a unanimous opinion.


    Through the years of monitoring the ssians in real-time, everyone realized something. Regardless of there being a Dyson Sphere in human civilizatino or otherwise, it would still be almost impossible to avoid an investigation from other simr civilization once there was sufficient activity in the star system


    With the sr system as the center, within a hundred light years would be 963 star systems. If a star were to be constantly monitored with the Spatial Wavelength Detector for over three days, it would only require ten years to carry out a full investigation.


    Additionally, all those were only the result of utilizing one Spatial Wavelength Detector. If there were five detectors avable, the investigation time would rapidly decrease.


    As for the civilizations nearby that were more advanced than the humans. They probably already had their sights on them ever since they began exploring their sr system.


    After Luo Yuan replied in agreement, his figure shed and entered his private micro-universe. He was preparing to test his ideas out.


    He took out a ck sphere containing an interster beast, and used his fourth-dimensional vision to look through the sphere, As he looked closely and thought about the ¡¯giant beast¡¯, about half an hour of time had passed and it still looked dead. It was like a dead fish that was not even wiggling as it floated on the liquid hydrogen. Its body was glowing dimly as ity there, dying. There was no struggle like when it was about to be captured.


    ¡¯Looking at the energy core, it¡¯s confirmed that it¡¯s very important to the interster beast. Once taken away, it was almost as if I was robbing it of half of its life force.¡¯ Luo Yuan thought in his mind. However, what was out of his expectation was that its recovery speed was only slightly slower than what he had originally assumed.


    He obviously did not capture the giant beast to have it as a pet but to continue to harvest energy cores. Although, with this slow of a recovery rate it was far from being able to satisfy Luo Yuan.


    "Looks like there has to be some way to do this!"

 Chapter 577: Time Flies

    Chapter 577: Time Flies


    Trantor: EndlessFantasy Trantion Editor: EndlessFantasy Trantion


    Although Luo Yuan may have been able to create life from atoms by just using his hands, they were merely simple organisms.


    He could do nothing to a level-9 space creature.


    To a creature at this level, each and every one of its cells carried a strong imprint of its will. Its cells were like individual living entities and if they were to be ssified as a kind of energy, its cells would be entirely made out of energy and atoms. For that reason alone, there would not be any conventional means to replicate those cells.


    It was not that humans had never tried to clone these mysterious creatures. There were countless experiments that were carried out. s, they were all in vain as they all ended in failure. It was either due to a gic breakdown in the embryo that caused it to turn into pus, or it would be a degeneration of the blood vessels.


    Initially, Luo Yuan was unable to use his own cells to begin the cloning process. This was due to an insufficient imprint of his will on his cells. At that time, the will imprinted in his cells was not even powerful enough for level-8 mutated beasts, let alone interster beasts.


    That alone was reason enough not for him to consider mass cloning these creatures.


    However, Luo Yuan would still have other means to obtain more energy cores even if it was impossible for him to clone them.


    Immediately, he entered a state of transcendence as his body began to grow with a flickering light. The powerful energy wavesing off of his body was causing the entire micro-universe to slightly tremble. The micro-universe was acting as Luo Yuan¡¯s experimentalb so it was rtively small ¡ª its radius was only about a hundred kilometers wide. Only from the leakage of fourth-dimensional energy, the entire micro-universe went into turmoil.


    Fortunately, this turmoil was far from being able to crush the entire micro-universe. Although it was absorbing the leaked fourth-dimensional energy, the micro-universe merely expanded a little.


    Luo Yuan paid no heed to the changes urring in the micro-universe. Instead, he stared at the dimensional sphere on his palm, his will searching deep within it as it covered each and every corner until it found the interster creature¡¯s body. It was then that, Luo Yuan could feel a slight resistance along a slight amount of forceing from it.


    The creature was now as fragile as a soap bubble. All it required was Luo Yuan¡¯s gentle mind reading and it would be easily crushed as its consciousness would have slipped away from the atoms.


    To this poor interster creature, it was undoubtedly devastating. The structure of its consciousness would be instantly blown away and be fully eradicated along with the imprint of its will on its cells.


    However, Luo Yuan would not do such a thing. Intead, his movement became even more delicate as he gently touched the thin protectiveyer of will.


    Throughout the process, the wave of Luo Yuan¡¯s will was rapidly calibrating. Before even a hundred nanoseconds had passed, theyer of resistance had instantly disappeared. The wavelength of Luo Yuan¡¯s will was now the same as the interster beast¡¯s, and its body was no longer fortified.


    A huge amount of unfamiliar memories began to appear within Luo Yuan¡¯s mind. These were the memories of the interster beast.


    At the end of its memories, it all led back to a mutated earthworm. It had hidden itself within the soil in a forest. By receiving nourishment and nutrients from the woods as well as the dead animals, it had grown rapidly.


    Eventually, it developed four limbs and its head evolved into a ferocious giant mouth. By then, it was no longer able to be satisfied from nt-based nutrients and began to consume mutated beasts. As time passed, it steadily climbed from the bottom of the food chain to reach the top from initially being at the very bottom.


    Throughout it¡¯s growth, it had been encircled by humans multiple times. Judging by its memories, it was probably situated in a rainforest somewhere in Africa because of the darker skin the humans had in its memories. During that time, the apocalypse had probably just began.


    After a while, the forces against it grew stronger and resulted in it getting grievously injured before it left thend and entered the ocean.


    This was simr to letting fish into water with plenty of food. It allowed the creature¡¯s body to continuously grow and gradually, it evolved into a giant aquatic beast.


    Countless memories shed through Luo Yuan¡¯s mind. The amount memories it had from these past few decades were exceptionallyrge. However, to Luo Yuan who had been epting an astronomical amount of information at almost all times, the rate this information was flowing into him was like an insignificant water drop in the ocean. It could not even start a wave.


    At that moment, Luo Yuan could instantly take over the interster creature¡¯s consciousness if he willed it, allowing the giant beast to turn into his secondary body.


    The only thing was that... This action would be meaningless to him.


    He was like a neutral bystander. By forecasting images and observing the giant beast along with its surroundings at a radius of about ten kilometers or so, the changes in every atom for the next ten seconds would be present to him.


    This was already the apex of the brain¡¯s abilities as it calcted these at its utmost potential. Within the ten kilometer radius, countless atoms were constantly moving in a random pattern. Each and every atom was moving reactively so no pattern could be observed.


    Fortuantely, he would not need to attempt that since his ability to predict the future already provided him with the results for theing twelve seconds.


    This was a talent that came naturally to him after his brain entered the fourth dimension. All he needed to do was to remember the future position of every atom after those twelve seconds while instantaneously changing the position of the atoms to how they should be twelve secondster (the future he predicted). There was no margin for error. Even if the difference was in the scale of a hundred millionths, the giant beast could potentially die.


    His brain was calcting in light speed as it burned a huge sum of energy while glowing brightly.


    Luo Yuan used his predictive abilities tens of thousands of times. Finally he was certain. In the next moment, time within the giant beast¡¯s body was seemingly jumping front and back as the changes in the first eleven seconds disappeared.


    The entire process waspleted in only a hundred thousandth of a second and the beast did not even feel anything out of the ordinary. The dying state it had been in has caused its reaction to slow down to outside stimulus.


    Luo Yuan observed it¡¯s condition, and upon seeing that it was fine, he felt relieved and continued the procedure.


    Since Luo Yuan¡¯s prediction of the future was a continuous process, a continuous flow of predictive images would instantly appear immediately after the giant beast¡¯s atoms were shifted to the desired state by Luo Yuan. This allowed him to continue the operation.


    As the time passed, time within the giant beast¡¯s body was moving at a speed that was tens of thousands of times faster than regr time.


    In the first one or two seconds, there was nothing noticeable.


    However, when thirty seconds had passed, the beast began to have a minor wiggle.


    When a minute had passed, the giant beast began to swallow the liquid hydrogen.


    After three minutes, it started swimming everywhere. Its skin had gradually became smooth and reflective.


    After ten minutes, a dim weak blue light reappeared on its skin, and its movement had be much smoother.


    Time slowly passed. It was only until half an hourter when Luo Yuan¡¯s mental state was close to exhaustion that he finally stopped.


    A powerful will was something he relied on to ensure the information he had was perfect. If unnecessary, he would never exhaust his will.


    At that moment, the interster creature began to swim in various directions in terror. The seemingly unknown changes in its body and its environment caused it great unease.


    Luo Yuan could instantly guess the reason this happened. After all, time did not really elerate. It was he who was controlling the changes in the atoms but he could not change the memories of its consciousness. In this case, its consciousness had already disassociated from the shackles of its brain and had its own memory.


    Within the brain, memory was a continuous thing. Although six or seven years seemed to have passed, the conscious memory would only have registered half an hour of time to have passed. The difference in the physical and conscious memory shed with one another, causing distress on the interster beast.


    However, Luo Yuan had no qualms with this and could not care less about its mental health.


    A smile suddenly shed on his face. He had noticed that within the creature¡¯s body, an energy core at the size of a soybean had already been formed.


    Perhaps, this process had to be done a few more times before the core could be harvested.

 Chapter 578: A Hundred Years of Haste

    Chapter 578: A Hundred Years of Haste


    Trantor: EndlessFantasy Trantion Editor: EndlessFantasy Trantion


    Time flew.


    Year 2153!


    It had been over a century ever since humans returned to Earth, and the human poption had already exceeded six hundred million. Following the production of the wisdom elixir that was eventually provided to every person, there was an explosive advancement in the technological field for the past hundred years.


    The humans went from only being able to terraform the Earth, to be able to perform arge-scale transformation of the entire sr system.


    A gigantic smart Dyson Sphere had already covered the entire sun and the limitless energy that it gave off was converted into arge amount of anti-matter by the nearby anti-matter factories.


    At the same time, Mars and Venus were orbiting on Earth¡¯s orbit as well. In order to safely migrate these twos to Earth¡¯s orbit, humans had begun researching theary Curvature Engines in the Year 2070, and after spending about ten or so years they had sessfully manufactured two enormousary Curvature Engines. Then used almost several hundred trillion tons of anti-matter, which wasparable to two years of energy produced by a tenth of thepleted Dyson Sphere, theypleted the task.


    However, everything was worth it. Earth¡¯s current orbit was most suitable for sustaining human life. The uingary terraforming was the easiest task and had only taken about ten years time before the two deads were now overflowing with signs of life. However, the only exception was that the creatures here had small bodies that were simr to some of Earth¡¯s creatures.


    To top it off, the various technical difficulty they faced during the construction had, in turn, provided them with a vast amount of priceless experience and knowledge regarding the construction of an extremelyrge structure.


    Before the construction of the Dyson Sphere, the humans had an optimistic estimation ¡ª at least the next thousand years, they would not be worried about energy issues. However, their energy expenditure had increased to the point that it had be muchrger than what the humans had initially estimated.


    There was a saying that the poor had the living standard of the poor, and the rich had the living standard of the rich. A poor man would not be able to imagine the monthly expenditure of a rich man that could very well be equivalent to all the earnings in a poor man¡¯s life. The same could also be said about humans today. When the energy supply was more than what they needed, various crazy inventions were built en mass.


    For example, a multi-functional mining tform for gaseouss called the ary Vacuum Cleaner" was currently being used to filter Jupiter¡¯s gaseous materials.


    Another example would be a multi functional mining tform for rockys called the ary Peeler" that was being used to peel off the rockyyers on the Barnard Star System¡¯s fourth and the Sirius Star System¡¯s fifth.


    Thest example would be aary fortress that was also known as the third "Humanity¡¯s Ultimate Defender" that could travel at fifty times the speed of light and was parked nearby Earth.


    All these gigantic structures had a radius upward of a hundred kilometers. During their runtime, the energy these machines could utilize was astronomical. This was especially so for theary fortress. It was a humongous structure that had a diameter of up to five hundred kilometers. Although it was much smaller than the moon, its mass was one and a half timesrger than that of the moon.


    With a hundred kilometers of a highly condensed alloy, even if the humans used all their strength, they would not be able to break through the defensiveyer within a short period of time except by using arge amount of anti-matter tond a direct hit. Once the structure waspleted, it was tested at the nearby star for a few times before it was deemed to be wasting too much energy. Afterward, it had remained stationary close to Earth.


    It was not that the speed of production of the anti-matter could not match the energy expenditure of the fortress, it was only that the humans were starting to have the awareness to stock up on this kind of strategic resources after all these years.


    Even if it was the humans of today, they would not really just sit back and rx facing the boundless gxy.


    Forty years ago, following the newly created, fourth generation space exploration equipment ¡ª God¡¯s Eye ¡ª the humans began to explore their surroundings and went as far as 1,500 light years from their original system.


    The extraterrestrial civilizations they discovered went from only three to twelve new civilizations. However, civilizations that could be discovered by the space exploration equipment were the weakest of them all. There was also a civilization that could explore their nearby star system, and among them was another interster civilization.


    Humans had ssified the danger level of each and every other extraterrestrial civilization with a strict ssification level.


    The lowest grade was harmless civilizations that could not even scratch the humans even if they used all of their efforts. They could only hide within their star system and werepletely harmless to Earth.


    This type of civilization was the mostmon type of extraterrestrial civilization that mankind had discovered. Over two-thirds of the discovered civilizations were ssified within this category.


    The next level was ssified as a light threat. These civilizations posed a certain level of danger. They could already begin interster exploration, and some of the more powerful civilizations had already discovered curvature flight. However, their technological advancements were still inferior. Even if a war were to break out, there would be no difficulty in determining the victory and losses, just like how the humans destroyed the ssian civilization a hundred years ago.


    The next level would be the medium threat civilizations that posed a huge threat over the humans because these civilizations were at the same level as them, and could at times be slightly more advanced. If war were to break out with this level of civilization, the oue would be very difficult to foresee.


    As for the high threat civilizations which were also known as the destruction level ¡ª they were far more powerful and more advanced than the humans. Against such a civilization, all they could do was run away as far as possible before showing the opponent any aggressive intentions.


    Fortunately, the humans were not so unlucky. They only managed to discover medium threat civilizations that were only beginning to approach a high threat level.


    The civilization was about 1,200 light years away from their sr system, with its forces at the side of all of its five neighboring star systems. It was like an overlord proudly monitoring all of its surrounding civilizations.


    Ever since it was discovered, the humans had been continuously monitoring this powerful civilization for over forty years. Throughout those forty years, where the civilization¡¯s main star system was situated in, the number of technological structures had been growing at an exponential rate, Naturally, this was not only the case for this civilization. In fact, the human civilization was also experiencing the same thing.


    A hundred or so years worth of time would let people forget the earlier times of war. Although the older generation of humans that had been through war had gradually passed away after all these years, the next generation of new humans that had an even longer lifespan was still young and full of vigor. Still, even though most of them held the position of a leader, there was still a sense of danger in their heart.


    Ever since the discovery of that civilization, the humans had immediately entered a wartime state.


    That humongousary fortress was the end result of the arms race, even if there were still two fortresses halfway through their construction.


    Besides that, the humans had built over fifty thousand Curvature Warships these past few decades and had constructed arge-scale space defense structure for the sr system. Its density and intensity were very different from that of the ssians.


    Whenpared to the ssian warfare with that kind of sad and normal atmosphere they emitted, there was nothing the humans feared.


    Within a hundred years, the humans had deeply researched about the energy quantification and the gradual maturity of the quantum energy leaping technique. With that, the energy weapons possessed by the humans improved at an extremely fast speed.


    Even if there was a transformation, it was definitely not an exaggeration when it came to military affairs.


    In the olden days, humans made surpassing light speed as their target. Aside from relying on luck, they had no better way of doing it.


    On one side, they did not have a precise detection system and the spatial wave as well as there being a significant deviation in the object¡¯s position. On the other hand, they had to solve the problem of the target¡¯s speed being too fast while being too far away.


    After all, the attacks could still miss even if there was no error with the precision of the target detection system. It would still happen even if the fire control system¡¯s quantum calctor had ever so precisely calcted the position where attacks wouldnd and it had started firing.


    For a target approaching at light speed under a few hours time, even one that would reach them within one or two days time, the deviation was simply too great. A minor spatial fluctuation or a refraction of air between the target and the weapon along with the asionally changing speed could destroy all their earlier preparation.


    However, their newly developed weapons that could surpass light speed changed everything. It had ovee the problem of distance along with the multiple variable disturbances the attackers could go through and would instantly hit its targets the moment it fired.


    Along with the miniaturized space exploration equipment and the far more advanced quantum calctor the humans now possessed, they had managed to improve their hit rate on light speed targets by almost a million times.


    However, even if it had increased by a million times, the chances of an attack hitting its mark remained depressingly low due to the original chances being far too low.


    Nevertheless, there would normally be hundreds of millions of shots going off in a war between two interster civilizations. Even if the hit-rate was low, the increased numbers could make up for it. Although a single cannon fort had a low hit-rate, millions of energy artillery shells would be fired around arge area. Regardless of how fast the target was, it would still be futile.

 Chapter 579: The Two Brained Man

    Chapter 579: The Two Brained Man


    Trantor: EndlessFantasy Trantion Editor: EndlessFantasy Trantion


    Within the darkness of space, a curvature airship was slowly approaching Earth¡¯s spaceport.


    Inside the ship¡¯s living cabin was a group of strange humanoid figured creatures that had gathered and were having some small talk. There was tension in the air.


    Their skin had a greyish yellow undertone, was hairless, and seemed rough. There were a total of four limbs on their body with three fingers extended from their palm, and there were two lumps that grew atop their heads looking just like a camel¡¯s humps. They also had an average height of about 2.5 meters, and it made them seem like small giants.


    They came from an area 200 light years away from Earth and were referred to by the humans as the Dicerebral Men.


    Through the evolution process, their brain had separated into two isted and mutually interacting brains. Each set of hands were controlled by a different brain, and this unique biological structure allowed them to naturally have the ability to work on separate tasks.


    Within this group of Dicerebral Men were high ranking officials from their government. Some were the brightest minds in their scientific field, others were specialized in surveince, while others were decision makers. It could be called a gathering of the elites but the truth was, ever since they arrived, they had rather limited movement aside from a few areas.


    The living cabin had no additional modifications. Everything was based on the stock model. For example, the floor and the walls only had ayer of anti-slip frosted metal. Aside from the light above their heads that were constructed with an unknown technique along with a smart surveince robot, there were not many traces of technology from a highly advanced civilization.


    However, even this odd little discovery made a deep impression on them.


    "The difference is too great. We probably won¡¯t even be able to build such airships within a thousand years!" An expert in raw material lightly stroked the smooth, reflective armoredyer of the outer region of the living cabin with his palms. He sighed while the rest of his arms were raised in excitement.


    Before they came, he would always carry a small knife along with him in secrecy. The knife was no longer than a finger and was made of their civilization¡¯s hardest material to date. That particr knife was still impossible to manufacture on an industrial scale and could only be created on a small scale within ab.


    However, even if he attempted to scratch the material with the de for an entire two years, the edge of the de would do nothing to the frosted metal on the ground, not to mention the extremely smooth wall. Even after the edges were sanded off, he still would not be able to make a scratch on the surface.


    "After all this ship belongs to an advanced civilization, it¡¯s impossible for us to imagine the scale of their technology. Without advanced technology in raw material, it would not be able to withstand the impact of radiation pressure." A physicist shook his head, and immediately afterward, he said, "I¡¯m more curious about the principles behind their curvature engine technology. Even a glimpse of it would do wonders!"


    "It¡¯s impossible, they definitely won¡¯t disclose any military tech to us." Full of despair, a high-level government official said, "Even if we got hold of the technology, it would still be useless. After this negotiation, we¡¯d be banned from further developing any military technology, and the human¡¯s war fleet would permanently be stationed in our star system."


    The atmosphere suddenly intensified.


    This meet up was not so much of a negotiation. Instead, it would be more like the signing of an unconditional surrender treaty as theypletely surrendered to an advanced civilization mightier than they were. There was essentially no room for bargaining. In fact, they had nothing against the humans, and it had reached a situation where it was regarding the life and death of their own civilization. Those who were with them would live while those who went against them would die!


    Five years ago, two vessels from the human war fleet appeared in their star system.


    The humans had decrypted the Dicerebral Man¡¯snguage, and began sending messages to every avable channel, advising them to yield. This caused mass panic in their ranks.


    A dayter, their previous leader strongly refused the advice and caused a massive war to begin.


    The Dicerebral Man¡¯s technology had advanced them into a star civilization and they wre close to bing an interster civilization. After umting for a few hundred years, the numbers they boasted in their war fleet in space was not something tough at. The Dicerebral Men organized the hundreds of ships in their fleet to advance toward the direction of the human war fleets.


    Only... As hundreds from their war fleets appeared and lighted up space around them, a dazzling light that was as bright as thousands of suns appeared before wiping out their defensive forces in a simrly dazzling manner.


    Within ten days, the human war fleet closed in on an inhabited. Under the immense pressure of extinction, their hardliner leader was relieved from duty and the first action their new leader took was to announce their surrender to the humans, thus ending the war.


    ...


    Airships gradually flew towards the spaceport, with an apanying human officer. All the Dicerebral Men had already entered the port and wereter transferred to an open-space ship before they were rushed to Earth.


    Compared to the rough and rigid living cabin used by the military, the interior of the open-space ship was undeniably much more luxurious. It was equipped with various advanced technological perks that awed them. A few of the Dicerebral Men that were bound to the seats felt a little out of their ce.


    "O Great Ones from the almighty civilization, is there anywhere we can view the scenery outside from?" A Dicerebral Man carefully asked the human officer apanying them. Before they arrived, they went through training in the humannguage. Aside from a different structure in the ent and structure, nothing else stood out enough to obstruct theirmunication.


    The officer gave them the poker face before he nodded andmanded, "A.I. activate the panoramic virtual scenery!"


    "Understood!"


    After the reply from a soft and gentle female voice, the surrounding walls of the ship immediately became transparent, and the surrounding suddenly darkened. It was as if everyone was riding in the sky as the sudden changes in the environment caused everyone to subconsciously exim.


    "This.... This is incredible." A Dicerebral Man scientist probed as he carefully stood up. If it wasn¡¯t for the feeling of solid ground under his foot, he would have believed that he was really in space.


    The virtual scenery technology... The Dicerebral Men had this technology as well but this... This felt too real and they would be hard-pressed to tell its authenticity. It was simply shocking.


    "Everyone look, behind you!" At this moment a Dicerebral Man eximed.


    One by one, everyone turned their heads and looked. It only took a glimpse for them to subconsciously hold their breaths.


    "God!"


    "This is amazing!:


    It was an unimaginably huge military port shaped like a beehive, with tens of thousands of war fleets under a gigantic metal mp. They seemed like rows after rows of soldiers awaiting their orders, arranged neatly line by line.


    When they thought that any single one of these airships could easily destroy their entire civilization, their entire body went numb. It was as if an electrical current was running through them. It even made a few of them feel like crawling on the ground. The might of this highly advanced civilization along with their technology left them in immense awe.


    Not long after they had eximed, another humongous structure entered their sight. At first, everyone thought it was aary satellite that was sooning to life but as they approached, it was only until everyone saw its silvery-smooth reflective surface and its impossibly unnatural, perfectly spherical shape that they began to feel uneasy.


    "O Respectful Great Ones, could you tell us, the humble, what those are?" The high ranking government official of the Dicerebral Men asked in a trembling voice.


    The young officer showed a slight smile that carried a sense of self-pride and said, "This is aary fortress with a diameter of 500 kilometers. Its mass is equivalent to a twentieth of your home, and once filled with anti-matter fuel, it would be able to travel for up to 6,000 years at 50 times the speed of light."


    50 times the speed of light multiplied by 6,000 years would be 300,000 light years.


    Once everyone heard this, they subconsciously drew in a breath of cold air. Their entire body was trembling with fear. It was known that the entire size of the Milky Way was only around 100,000 light years, but this humongous satellite-likeary fortress could actually fly out of it!


    The young officer only said a sentence before he went silent. Although the sentence he just uttered was not technically a lie, it was considered an exaggeration from a certain perspective. The interior of theary fortress was extremely huge. However, even when excluding all the necessary equipment, only a third of the area could be used as storage for the anti-matter fuel. Even with the current state of the humans, they would still require all the produced anti-matter from a Dyson Sphere within a hundred years in order to fill it up.


    As for the current anti-matter storage of thisary fortress, it could only sustain its flight for about 5,000 light years.

 Chapter 580: The Enlightening Visit

    Chapter 580: The Enlightening Visit


    Trantor: EndlessFantasy Trantion Editor: EndlessFantasy Trantion


    Throughout the journey, the young officer¡¯s attitude was not entirely appropriate. Although he was inpliance with the diplomatic etiquette for some of the non-sensitive issues raised by the Dicerebral Men, their questions were still answered. However, the officer had a prideful tone in all his replies.


    Humans had be the overlord of the nearby star systems and he had been part of them ever since he was born.


    As a highly advanced civilization with ever-changing technology, it was high time for human civilization to flourish to every nook and cranny avable to them. They would rather confidentlypel other advanced civilizations they discovered during their expansion to believe that they were still an insignificant pebble in mankind¡¯s advancing path. They would do this to every civilization within reach that they deemed to be barbaric and under-developed.


    After all, the humans were progressing at an exceedingly fast pace. A hundred years ago, the boom in the production of the wisdom elixir had enabled them to distribute it to every single person. At the same time, people involved in research jobs also increased to the astounding 91 percent figure they had today.


    In terms of absolute numbers, this was equivalent to an estimated 540 million people ¡ª an incredible number indeed. It was like they were parts in a gigantic engine that propelled the expansion of human civilization at an unprecedented pace to participate in an era of rapid evolution. Naturally, there would be a tendency for them to despise anything not deemed to be worth their time.


    However, in the eyes of the Dicerebral Men, the attitude shown by the young officer was not out of the ordinary. This was an attitude that only someone from a highly advanced civilization could have. Although his indifferent, prideful expression was not something the Dicerebral Men expected, it still gave them a grandiose, dazzling, and morous feeling.


    Quite a few of the alien females had been secretly judging this young officer. Within their fear was a burning sensation, even if their bodies were muchrger and stronger than the humans.


    ...


    The humans had long discarded the nuclear fusion engine and were nowmonly using anti-matter engines. This ship they were in was no exception. It could elerate to 0.9 times the speed of light, and it could even engage in short interster flight sessions with a few minor modifications.


    The spaceport was only about a million kilometers or so from Earth, so the aircraft could even approach Earth by slowly elerating at about 1,000 kilometers per second. Soon, they entered Earth¡¯s airspace and the Dicerebral Men were fascinated with the beautiful scenery.


    As they looked down from space, there was no other color aside from the jade-green of thend and the sapphire-blue ocean. If the ocean was a sapphire, then thend would be the jade that was embedded within the sapphire ¡ª it was truly breathtaking.


    Even after all these years, human activity remained within the northern hemisphere of East Asia and there was not much expansion. The remainingnd area basically remained a forest since the human poption was too low. They would require at least a hundred years to fill up the entire Earth, not to mention the other newly terraformeds.


    This time, it was almost as if the group of Dicerebral Men saw something out of the ordinary as they debated amongst themselves. After they were not able toe to a conclusion, they asked, "O respectable Great One, could you tell us what that semi-transparent thing is? Is it an energy shield?"


    The young officer took a nce and discovered that they were referring to the African continent. The entire continent had been covered with a vast electromaicyer 70 years ago and was a paradise for mutated beasts. The young officer nodded and casually replied, "That area has arge gathering of mutated beasts and is quite dangerous so we¡¯ve quarantined the area."


    The Dicerebral Men listened intently. What kind of beast would be so terrifying and dangerous that an electromaic shield of that scale had to be deployed? Why not exterminate it in the first ce?


    The energy that the shield was consuming per second was equivalent to their entire¡¯s yearly energy consumption. They could not believe that there was a beast dangerous enough to threaten such an advanced civilization.


    However, the humans were like an alien master race to them ¡ª rich and powerful creatures that could afford to do whatever they pleased.


    They asked another question but after seeing that their alien master was not in such a mood to answer much of their questions. They intuitively held their tongues.


    ...


    In fact, the entire continent had already gathered all the mutatednd creatures on the face of the and was serving as mankind¡¯s gic bank. Over a hundred countries participated in the organizational body that was responsible for the long-term collecting of gic and living organism samples. There were over 50,000 sets of new gene discoveries each year, bringing out hundreds of natural abilities that no technology could ever replicate.


    At the same time, close to 35% of their research found their results through biomimicry.


    For example, theirtest and most shocking results from the research were their man-made micro universe. It was the result of researching an amazing mutated beast called the Taotie.


    It had quite a small frame and was only as big as a puppy. However, its appetite was amazing. It could easily consume food hundreds of times its body mass. After they discovered such a thing existed, the humans immediately captured it.


    Finally, they discovered that it had a stomach that was from an entirely different dimension with its esophagus acting as a natural dimensional tunnel.


    It was not dangerous, so it could be cloned safely. During its embryonic period, the transformation and growth of its stomach were studied for years by the researchers but unfortunately, the principle of the formation of the isted dimension was never fully understood.


    Although there was an improvement in their understanding of the formation of the dimension, it did not stop the humans from repurposing this for practical use.


    The humans also made exceptional advances in biotechnology. To them, gic editing was as easy as programming, and they could even adjust the settings beforehand. Things like the size and shape parameters to directly create a biodimensional bag that was tens of thousands of timesrger than the original.


    It was foreseen that once these dimensional bags were gradually introduced into their inteary mineral transporting industry, the transportation efficiency could drastically increase by hundreds, if not thousands of times.


    ...


    Half an hourter, the ship flew across the southern hemisphere and finallynded on the airport at Hope City.


    All the diplomatic personnel responsible for this matter hade over to receive the passengers of the ship. However, not that man, its just that there were not many people, only two hade over to receive them.


    Throughout the journey, there was a variety of novelty and magnificent sceneries. The Dicerebral Men had no idea where they were supposed to look at and felt intimidated. After they stepped out of the door, they felt weak on their knees and declined to attend the banquet dedicated for them so they could begin their closed meeting.


    "Looks like their poption is very low. The entire was basically forest, there weren¡¯t even many pedestrians on the streets in the city! The businesses are also withering." An intelligence officer of the Dicerebral Men took the lead and said, "This means that their technological potential is not great at all."


    "But with up to thousands of years of difference, how many years do we need to catch up with them? Ten thousand years, tens of thousands of years? This is not a problem that we need to think about now." Their high ranking official knocked on the table and said in all seriousness. "Now, what we need the most is to collect all of the information that would be beneficial to us. This is especially so for their technology, social forms, their various advanced development experience and humbly learn from them."


    After settling all their problems and implementing a central idea, the group of Dicerebral Men continued to discuss the intelligence they had collected along the way.


    "Their automation processes are very advanced. There were A.I. present in every corner, basically eliminating their service sector. The only thing that we don¡¯t have an idea about is the condition inside their factories. However, I think it should be more or less the same or they wouldn¡¯t be able to possess such an enormous industrial capacity. Perhaps, we could expand in this area as well," said a Dicerebral Man.


    "Aren¡¯t you worried about an A.I. betrayal? It could cause the destruction of the entire civilization!" A Dicerebral Man objected the idea intensely. They had their own A.I. for a long time. However, due to the social impact, and the possibility of the A.I. losing control, it was only used in a rtively small scale.


    "This is the inevitable trend for the expansion of a civilization. Fire and electricity were also scary but we¡¯ve long since conquered those fears. Being afraid won¡¯t solve any problems. What we should do is to learn how to control it. Moreover, now that we have a sovereign state since the humans do not wish to destroy us, this means that we are of use. Even if there was a problem, we only need to humbly ask, I believe the humans wouldn¡¯t just sit and watch."

 Chapter 581: The Baja Civilization

    Chapter 581: The Baja Civilization


    Trantor: EndlessFantasy Trantion Editor: EndlessFantasy Trantion


    Did the humans gain any benefits from the Dicerebral Men?


    From the data they gleaned, there were a few examples.


    By solely looking at the annual energy expenditure, the Dicerebral Men¡¯s annual energy expenditure was about a hundred of a billionth inparison to that of the humans. The amount of energy used by a vessel from the curvature war fleet had already exceeded the total amount of energy required by their entire civilization, let alone the huge differences in their technological advances.


    If the humans wanted to eliminate the Dicerebral Civilization, it would be as easy as squashing an ant.


    The difference in strength between both civilizations was unimaginably great. To the Dicerebral Civilization, they were probably of some use to the humans since the humans did not destroy them. However, the human civilization was only concerned with their image and the way they behaved within the cosmic ins.


    In a famous sci-fi novel, there was mention of aw of a dark forest. It described the cosmos being like a dark forest, where every civilization was like a hunter armed with a rifle as they stalked the jungle like a phantom. Once the hunter discovered another living organism, he would have to first fire his rifle to eliminate it. This was because the hunter would have no way of determining the intentions of the opponent ¡ª whether it had good or ill intentions. The only thing to do was to preemptively eliminate the threat to protect oneself.


    However, to a civilization such as the humans, thew of the dark forest was not applicable. The universe was not dark, at least within the detection range of the humans ¡ª within a diameter of 1,500 light years. Every civilization was spotted, and they could neither hide or run. Every message flowing through would pass through the humans.


    If the universe was described as a map full of mist and darkness, then humans had obtained an ability to disperse the mist within a small range.


    However, not even the maddest lunatic dared to assume that the humans were at the apex of the universe. The three-dimensional universe alone was vast enough that even to this day, the humans had never left the Milky Way.


    Within the detection range of the human civilization alone were already twelve extraterrestrial civilizations that could leave their home. The entire diameter of the Milky Way was about 10,000 light years, and scientists had theorized that there was a possibility of there being over a thousand civilizations capable of leaving their home within the Milky Way, and those were only the civilizations that could leave their home. If the civilizations that could not leave their homes were to be taken into ount, the number could possibly reach the tens of thousands.


    Also, the Milky Way was just an ordinary member of the gxy cluster, the current gxy group was also a member of the Virgo Supercluster, and it was only an insignificant part of the universe.


    Within the gxy, the civilizations were like clouds and smoke and among those civilizations, their civilization much weaker than the humans. Naturally, there were also civilizations far more powerful than the humans.


    One could stand atop the bridge to gaze at the scenery but there would naturally be people standing on the skyscraper in the scenery to return the gaze. Simrly, while the humans were observing other civilizations, they were being observed as well.


    Within a universe that obeyed thew of a jungle, a brutal, aggressive evil that sought to destroy other civilizations, would naturally attract an even more powerful civilization that had ill intentions. This was not due to the value of justice and kindness. Instead, it was because the existence of these civilizations would bring chaos and terror to the other civilizations. Being vignt and wiping out these terrorizing civilizations in the meantime would probably not attract much scorn from the other civilizations.


    For this reason alone, the humans had been extra careful with their conduct and would only be active within their own star system. They did not even conduct expeditions like the ssians did in the past let alone have any basic form ofmunication with nearby civilizations.


    If it was not for the Dicerebral Men being too close to their sr system while being in an arms race with the humans, both of their civilizations would not probably be at odds with each other. If this location was not geographically superior to forward their base, the humans probably would not even pay attention to them.


    ...


    Monthster, a small curvature drone gradually closed in toward a powerful civilization that was about 1,200 light years away from Earth after being in flight for over 20 years.


    The opponent reacted swiftly before the drone even approached the five light-year mark. Before long, the small curvature drone had been intercepted by arge fleet.


    Then, after firing a giant railgun, the human drone immediately self-destructed.


    About 10,000 tons of anti-matter arranged neatly within the drone ship instantly exploded. Therge fleet thoroughly searched through the remains in the entire star sector after the st but aside from some scrap metals and the railgun, there was nothing left for them to salvage.


    Within the rail gun was a harmless metal sphere that contained a 0.5 meter thick, paper-based information written in a kind ofnguage along with coded data to engage in quantummunications with the humans. This book of knowledge of sorts could be easily decrypted to provide information on deciphering the humannguage by even those with basic intelligence.


    Moments after the object had been discovered, it was sent to this civilization¡¯s administrative star where they began analyzing it. A dayter, both civilizations had initiated the first contact.


    This civilization was called the Baja Civilization. Ever since the civilization¡¯s development expanded beyond their home, tens of thousands of years had passed, and their poption had reached over a hundred billion. They inhabited twelve differents and had forces spread across five sr systems. Within tens of thousands of light years, they had always been the overlord of their sr system since they were no other civilizations capable of challenging them. Even the ssians were like an insignificant ant to them.


    That was until the humans rose so rapidly!


    Initially, the Baja Civilization did not take any interest in neither ssian nor human. In fact, the strength the human and ssian civilization had back then was not even enough to spark their interest. Even if both civilizations fought one another, it would be like a cockfight to the Baja Civilization. It simply was not enough to attract their interest at all, even if the fight were to end up in the destruction of either civilization. It would be as insignificant as the death of an ant.


    It was only until both civilizations had sessfully developed the curvature technology and after one had sessfully destroyed the other that they gradually became interested.


    The fact that they had developed the curvature technology meant that they had evolved from a small to a big ant, even if the technology was still in its infancy. Even then, they had reached their limit of expansion and would not be able to threaten the Baja Civilization within several thousand years ording to thew of civilization development. A few thousand yearster, the Baja Civilization would have be even more powerful.


    However what the Baja Civilization could never have had imagined was that the rate the human civilization was expanding was way too fast. It was unimaginably fast and was enough to strike fear within them. If a civilization¡¯s standard growth rate was described as a gradual and steady progress, then the humans were growing by leaps and bounds.


    When the Baja Civilization turned around to once again, pay attention to the human civilization, they were suddenly a potential threat to the Baja Civilization.


    No overlord would be able to tolerate another rising force that could potentially challenge their position as an overlord. After they confirmed the potential threat of the humans, the Baja Civilization began preparations for war. On one side, they had initiated arge scale production of war fleets. On the other side, they had also begun increasing their anti-matter reserve.


    There were about 1,200 light years between both civilization and this was an extremely long distance to the Baja Civilization. The energy required by an expedition of several thousand war fleets was still an astronomical amount, even for the Baja Civilization that owned three different Dyson Spheres.


    Unfortunately after a few years of preparation, the Baja Civilization discovered that the humans had also begun war preparations.


    After this discovery, a massive uproar urred within the higher-ups of the Baja Civilization. The humans were within range of their detection. It was not that they could not detect the humans. Hundreds of years ago, the Baja Civilization had initiated a project to nt "eyes" in the nearby sr systems. Through hundreds of spatial wavelength detectors that were nted throughout every corner of the sr system, they managed to extend their vision to almost 2,000 light years ¡ª the maximum detection range of a single unit of the spatial wavelength detector was only about seven to eight hundred light years.


    With this discovery, it left a deep impression about the technological prowess of the human civilization to the Baja Civilization. Once again, they felt an even more intense threat.


    Be it their soldiers, a major event in their civilization, a life and death situation or their way or survival, none could be neglected.


    War was never a child¡¯s y. This was especially so for interster warfare that could spell doom to either civilization. Once defeated in war, the losing civilization would forever be in hell. This was why any mature civilization that went to war with a threatening civilization would usually be extra cautious.


    With this hovering above their heads, the Baja Civilization¡¯s original n for a war had been dyed over and over again. Followed by the rapid expansion of the human military, this gradually turned into a huge arms race between two advanced civilizations.

 Chapter 582: The Unified Field Theory

    Chapter 582: The Unified Field Theory


    Trantor: EndlessFantasy Trantion Editor: EndlessFantasy Trantion


    The year 2175. Somewhere in a kindergarten on Earth in Hope City.


    "Now everyone please turn to page 14 in the textbook. Today, we¡¯ll be discussing the story of our great leader, President Luo¡¯s childhood." Within the bright ssroom, the female teachers in the ssroom recited with emotion, "President Luo was born in a poor household, and ever since he was a boy, he had been very hardworking. Every day, he would busy himself by helping his mother with the cleaning and while she was cooking, he would be at her side studying as best he could.


    "One day, there was a typhoon outside. Windows were creaking from the wind, and the rain had sttered into the house.


    "He quickly went over to close off the window, and after closing the window, he discovered a piece of spider web that had been blown apart by the wind. However, the spider kept on knitting its web under the raging wind but the wind continued raging intensely, blowing the spider away each time. Still, it crawled back up with its spider silk and continued knitting its web.


    "When he saw this, he thought, ¡¯Even this has such perseverance and an indomitable will, much like us humans. How else can we not be like this tiny spider?¡¯


    "When President Luo was younger, he wasn¡¯t afraid of being exhausted. He was indomitable and brave so that he could contribute greatly to mankind when he grew up."


    Just before the teachers sat a row of children that had just learned to walk. However, every single one of them wore a serious expression.


    ...


    "What¡¯s this mess? Is this the current textbook?"


    Within the hologram at the front was a light distortion. Only a flickering figure covered in light could be seen within the disy, but it would asionally disappear as if the signal would be cut off at any moment.


    The first officer was a middle-aged man that carried a forced smile on his face while being covered in sweat.


    Following the passing of a senior-level officer like Bi Jianping, Luo Yuan retreated behind the scenes. This returned the political rotation to normal, and the leader at this moment was already the fifth generation since Luo Yuan.


    However, the leader that was always known to be tough was currently frightened.


    "T-this is, every human¡¯s love for you, and is history¡¯s evaluation of you. After all, there wouldn¡¯t be today¡¯s mankind without you. They won¡¯t be able to write off your achievements."


    "All these are meaningless to me!" The light figure seemed to be shaking its head. "Forget it. It won¡¯t affect the governance, just let it be."


    It was only after the voice died down and the hologram turned off that the middle-aged man was finally relieved. He wiped his sweat, and also had the surname Luo. His name was Shengwei and his grandfather along with his prominent family had given him an enormous political war chest along with unmatched influence.


    However, the only time he saw his grandfather was back in the virtual reality world. Following his grandmother¡¯s passing, he had never once set eyes on him ever again.


    To this day, the only impression left on him was amanding presence.


    Every time he was faced with such a presence, he would feel a tremendous amount of pressure. Not everyone could withstand the pressureing from someone that was branded as a god. The terrifying pressure almost stopped his heart for a moment. It did not matter if the presence was felt through a hologram. If he did not have a big heart, he probably would not have been able to stand up against the terrifying presence.


    After some time, he gradually recovered and continued processing the documents.


    Nowadays, the humans were not in such good shape. The dark clouds of war had shrouded the entire sr system. Although the negotiations with the Baja Civilization had been ongoing, both sides had not ceased their probing efforts at all. Throughout these 20 years, the Baja Civilization and the humans had sent hundreds of reconnaissance ships at each other to collect intelligence on the opposing civilization.


    The arms race between both civilizations had intensified, and the military forces would grow several folds every few years. Once the humans made their fatigue or weakness known, an inevitable war would begin.


    Now, the humans had expanded their ownership of minings from an initial 2 to the current 15.


    The semi-finished Dyson Sphere found at the ssian had also been reinstated for use after going through some simple modifications.


    At the same time, three different Dyson Spheres were currently under intensive construction in the nearby sr system.


    In fact, the sr system was not geographically superior at all. The nearby star systems were either binary or tri-star systems, so they had a distorted gravitational pull. Not only was a Dyson Sphere incredibly material intensive, this fact would also make construction a hundred times more difficult, slowing down the construction progress.


    The estimated time until itspletion was estimated to be at 20 or 30 years.


    That being said, what the humans currentlycked was time. To this day, the humans had never been able to reach their energy demands with their energy production. During times of peace, there would naturally be a surplus in energy reserves that was more than enough. However, when entering a full-scale war, it would take no more than two years to deplete their anti-matter reserves. This was the estimate for a passive and defensive stance in battle, and was not even one that included taking an expedition hundreds or thousands of light years away.


    To increase their anti-matter reserves, the humans had resumed mass production in their furnace by using Jupiter as a hydrogen collection center even after they had gradually eliminated their use of nuclear fusion power furnaces. Through energy fusion, they would create anti-matter. It would only be a drop in the bucket but something was better than nothing.


    30,000 curvature war fleets, 5ary fortresses, and 6 semi-powered intelligent space defense systems that were like 6 smalls orbited the sr system. The maximum range of their defense could reach as far as 50 light days away.


    This was especially so for thetter, which had a mass equivalent to three of the fourth¡¯s defense systems in the Barnard Star System. It could potentially swallow up a giant beast.


    The humans were now like porcupines baring their fangs and brandishing their ws. While they were outwardly strong, they were also inwardly weak. Once the war began, their strength would only be equivalent to three broad-axes.


    At this moment, his personal smart terminal suddenly received amunication request. He took a nce and the one who was initiating it was from the Supreme Scientific Committe so he put down the document on hand to immediately receive the call.


    As for the personal smart terminal, the humans had currently reached 10 or so generations from the very first version which was the eye chip. The current version was integrated with the user¡¯s body and simultaneously connected all the neural signals by using a nanoscale memory polymer quantumputer.


    Once one reached adulthood, billions of microbot polymer nano quantumputers would be injected into the human body.


    It was the gateway to bothmunication and virtual reality, along with a personal medical terminal as well. Even fatal injuries such as heart a rupture could be regenerated rapidly through these nanobots.


    Standard medical services had long since been eliminated from the current human society.


    ...


    "What, the white dwarf matter has already been synthesized under normal conditions?!" A moment after hearing this, Luo Shengwei said in surprise.


    You could not me his surprise. Although he was in politics, he only had a rudimentary understanding of science when he took over this position. The white dwarf matter seemed like the next step for critical materials, but both were actually two different concepts.


    A critical material only adjusted the internal and external electromaic forces of an atom. White dwarf matter, on the other hand, was rted to two short-range forces ¡ª the strong and weak forces in the nucleus.


    In fact, with the current technological potential of the humans, they would not face much of a difficulty in creating white dwarf matter. The only requirement to create the material would be to apply an extremely high pressure, and the material would be formed. About 100 years ago in the human¡¯s atomic physicsb, they had sessfullypressed 10 gold atoms into the state of white dwarf matter.


    The difficult part was to recreate it under regr circumstances. This was because white dwarf matter could not be like critical material ¡ª being able to exist under regr circumstances. Once the high pressure was released, the white dwarf matter would expand tens of thousands of times like a nuclear bomb.


    Except... Humans could already adjust the short-range forces.


    When he thought of this possibility, he immediately questioned them, and he finally got a confirmation.


    He hung up the phone, and his heart was beating intensely. After thinking for a moment, he quickly went and essed the academic database. Almost immediately, he found the sensational physics theory that was published about a decade ago ¡ª the Unified Field Theory!

 Chapter 583: The White Dwarf Warfleet

    Chapter 583: The White Dwarf Warfleet


    Trantor: EndlessFantasy Trantion Editor: EndlessFantasy Trantion


    The location where they held the high-energy particle physics experiment was not on Earth but in space.


    Thergest particle collider that mankind had ever built was there. It was ced in Mercury¡¯s original orbit around the sun, and it had a parameter that stretched an astounding 3.5 billion kilometers. Each time the particle collider was turned one, the huge amount of energy generated would cause dramatic changes to the gravitational and electromaic forces in space.


    This was aside from the Dyson Sphere, thergest single man-made object in space. It was also a kind of holynd for physics.


    Attached to the particle collider were countlessboratories and up to tens of thousands of affiliated experimental factories. Tens of millions of humans reside there, turning it into an enormous city in space.


    ...


    At this moment, within the High-Energy Particle Physics Lab.


    A piece of material equivalent to the size of a fingernail had been lying within the explosion-proof, anti-radiation, quarantine room.


    However, such a tiny little object had a mass of up to ten tons.


    Even state-of-the-art optical equipment would not be able to detect the material¡¯s true color as its entire mass gave off a high amount of radiation. The glowing off it was enough to make the room gleam with light that seemed like a dazzling aurora. It was also making a terrible amount of noise.


    Luo Shengwei had waited until he clearly understood the major significance of this breakthrough to the humans. Then, he immediately cleared the rest of his schedule and got into his personal ship to rush toward theboratory.


    "By supplying a high amount of energy to an atom, it¡¯ll scatter the electrons after it obtains the energy. Then, the electron clouds near the atom would be blown away, obtaining the core." Aboratory leader exined the process to Luo Shengwei in a dull manner. Nevertheless, his tone was one of excitement. "With this foundation in mind, we once again strengthened the strong forces between the atom¡¯s core, and finally obtained this amazing material. It¡¯s in the exact same state as the theoretical white dwarf!"


    This was not just an impressive breakthrough, it was also an important verification of the Unified Field Theory.


    Every phenomenon in the universe could be exined by the four basic forces ¡ª gravity, electromaism, as well as the strong and weak nuclear forces.


    The former two were long-ranged forces, while thetter two were short-ranged forces. All this time, physicists had been pursuing a way to unify all these natural phenomena. It was like the holy grail to them in the field of physics. It was a supreme throne, the ultimate answer to everything in the universe.


    However, the cognitive limitations along with inferior methods of observation muddled the theory and prevented it from bing fact from an argument.


    It was only until a hundred years ago that technology rapidly grew along all other fields in science, resulting in a technological boom.


    Withboratory equipment that was even more advanced, the methods of observation used became more and more refined, resulting in the resurfacing of this theory. Even so, it took another decade or so to rtively perfect the emergence of the Unified Field theory.


    The Unified Field Theory was also known as the Unified String Theory.


    The material had been thoroughly broken-down to its limit, including the strings which are the building blocks of the universe. It was a type of probabilistic wave that obeyed thews of quantum theory, and it would asionally disappear and reappear as it moved to and fro the fourth dimension from time to time. It did not matter if it was gravity, electromaism, strong or weak nuclear forces or atoms, all of their characteristics were a result of the various manifestation of these ¡¯strings¡¯. Every force was one of two sides ¡ª harmonious, or unified.


    However, theory remained a theory and no matter how logical a theory was, it would remain a hypothesis instead of fact until it was verified.


    The verification of the theory was, in a sense, no less inferior to the theory. Instead, it further perfected the theory.


    "Before you arrived, we¡¯ve already begun attempting destructive experiments on the material. However, due to theck of ample preparation, we¡¯re still not at its upper limit. At the current levels of testing, the material is seemingly indestructible."


    Luo Shengwei was faintly excited as he momentarily nced and saw that the material was radiating constantly, emitting a strong pulse. However, he immediately realized a problem.


    "This piece of white dwarf matter seems to be in a constant state of discharge. How long will it take before it stabilizes?"


    "Excellent question, it¡¯s true that the material could stabilize after a period of time when the energy within it is bnced. After all, it¡¯d be impossible for it to remain in a constant state of discharge. It¡¯s currently out of tune with its current environment ¡ª like a foreign body in a foreign universe. We initially wanted to wipe it out but after realizing that it would probably only exist for about twelve hours, we decided otherwise. Once the strong and weak nuclear forces weaken to some extent, it¡¯llpletely disintegrate. However, the containment room was built with high-strength critical metal, making it extremely safe. Even if the equivalent of a hundred thousand nuclear bombs detonated within the room, it still wouldn¡¯t be able to destroy it."


    "Since it is possible to create the white dwarf matter, shouldn¡¯t there be a way to make it stable in the long term?" Luo Shengwei immediately asked. The humans were currently in a tense situation, especially since they were enshrouded by the dark clouds of war. If this material could be used to build a war fleet, the contrast of power between the warring sides would bepletely rewritten.


    "Of course there¡¯s a way. It¡¯s to constantly supply the material with a huge amount of energy!" Theboratory leader replied hesitantly.


    Luo Shengwei¡¯s eyes grew bright as he immediately asked, "How huge of a sum?"


    "The average annual energy expenditure would be ten times the mass of anti-matter we have!"


    Luo Shengwei quickly calcted the number in his mind and almost lost his breath. Based on the calction, this fingernail-sized piece of white dwarf matter would at least require an energy expenditure of a hundred tonnes of anti-matter.


    So how much anti-matter were the humans producing annually?


    Barely a billion tons. Even if every anti-matter resource were to be used for the maintenance of the white dwarf matter, it could only maintain about one trillion tons of it. Although a trillion tons did not seem to be a small sum, it was actually only about a hundred million cubic meters whenpared to the extremely dense white dwarf matter.


    Even if a surface was painted with ayer of the white dwarf matter about one millimeter thick, it would at most only cover about a hundred billion square meters.


    What could a hundred billion square meters do?


    The current standard human curvature war fleets had a surface area of about twenty-five billion square meters. If the humans used up all their stockpiled energy, they could barely support forty vessels and this was only their maintenance. It did not include the manufacturing process. Although Luo Shengwei did not raise the question, he thought in his mind that the energy currently avable was far lesser.


    ¡¯So, to build or not to build?¡¯


    Luo Shengwei deeply thought about the matter for a while before he clenched his teeth and made up his mind.


    ¡¯Build it!¡¯ Even if they had to surrender theirst resource, donate all their blood before selling that blood, they had to build it!


    The material had a kind of absolute power to it. The white dwarf matter was very dense from its atomic cores beingpletelypressed. Although a metal like this was as crispy as a biscuit, it was tough enough not to even get a scratch when it was ced on a star.


    Even if the war fleets were only coated with a thin film of white dwarf matter, it would make it seemingly indestructible. Aside from anti-matter, the humans could not possibly destroy it with the power they currently had.


    ...


    Half a month after the theory was verified, a shipbuilding n codenamed "Pangu" had been officially established. Very quickly, the project began its construction.


    However, the white dwarf matter would still not be able to be produced at an industrial scale. It was still subject to the anti-matter criticalpression storage problem, and that problem would require some time to solve. However, most of the technology used was ready-made tech. This included the bio-space capsule that could expand the anti-matter storage capacity several hundred folds, and the most important one of all ¡ª the curvature engine.


    Its weight would be several hundred times heavier than a standard curvature ship, and it would weigh close to aary fortress. However, since it was only about two-thirds the size of a regr curvature airship, at the very least, the curvature engine would not require too many modifications.


    Unlike conventional flight, the mass of the ship would not affect the speed of curvature flight. The speed would only be affected by the space upied by whatever material was traveling. Even if the mass was hundreds or thousands of times heavier, it would still not affect the speed of curvature flight in a meaningful way.

 Chapter 584: The Third Fourth Dimensionalization ( I )

    Chapter 584: The Third Fourth Dimensionalization ( I )


    Trantor: EndlessFantasy Trantion Editor: EndlessFantasy Trantion


    The Kunlun Mountains. Afternoon. 1 p.m.


    Within a few hundred kilometers, countless airborne birds suddenly became frightened and began pping their wings. As they took flight, the sound of a intive whine had covered half the sky.


    At the same time, the cloudless blue sky above them that stretched tens of thousands of kilometers saw rosy, ribbon-looking clouds that looked like silkworms, and even broken cotton forming. These clouds traveled quickly but would seemingly disappear from time to time.


    On rugged trails that followed along a ridge, a humanoid figure walking along the trail slowly advanced step by step.


    The surrounding was unusually quiet. Even themon noises that came from insects had seemingly gonepletely silent following his arrival.


    Along the stone covered trail, the stones seemed to be covered by the moss growing on top of it. Both sides of the trail were flush in a green that gradually spread to the trail. However, before the greens managed to make contact with the silhouette of the person¡¯s body, they seemingly disintegrated and formed light wisps of smoke that left nothing behind.


    His figure looked rather fuzzy, and the surrounding air was vibrating intensely. Every force seemed to be warping from his presence.


    This man was naturally Luo Yuan.


    He was walking forward step by step with a face that seemed like white porcin. After continuing with a look of silence for half an hour, he finally reached the top of the mountain.


    The peak was extremely smooth and leveled. It was as if it a part of it had been shaved off. There were only four graves neatly arranged in the middle of the mountain peak but there was still bouquets of flowers arranged before each grave with petals unwithered.


    Luo Yuan remained silent for a moment and sighed in his mind. He could smell the familiar aroma from the flowers that still seemed fresh. These bouquets were left


    Luo Yuan was silent for a moment and then sighed within his mind, he could smell the familiar aroma that came from the yet withered flowers, these bouquets of flowers were left by Wang Shishi. However, when she noticed that he no longer looked the same, she began avoiding contact.


    The years were cruel. First, Chen Xinjie passed away.


    Then it was Huang Jiahui, followed by Wang Xiaguang and Zhao Yali. The oldest of them had survived beyond a hundred and seventy years old.


    Although the gic technology was extremely advanced and the humans had broken the code behind the secrets of life a hundred years ago, humanity still managed to draft a new version of human genes that could extend one¡¯s lifespan beyond 300 years or more.


    However, the human gene was simr to a piece of white paper that was suitable for painting. Previous generations had long painted images onto the paper, so even if current technology could already achieve a full-scale cellr gene modification, there was still a part within the human genome that they were forbidden from modifying.


    That part was the core of human life ¡ª the brain. Any modification done to the brain cells would definitely change the signal transmission to the cerebral cortex and would result in one¡¯s memory turning into nonsense.


    Not everyone was like Luo Yuan, who had a consciousness so powerful that it could retain his memory even if his body was to turn into a cluster of particles. Even then, he would still be able to think without any obstruction. He could also modify the memories in his brain.


    The new humans were only a slightly stronger version of the previous humans. Even if they had taken the energy crystal core, it would be like a castle in the air for them. They still would not be able to change the nature of their lives.


    Luo Yuan still remembered the first time he saw Zhao Yali. It was not long after he had graduated that he began renting a lot. He was still a young and brash man when he was faced with this gentle, soft-spokendy. Back then, he could not help but blush.


    He also clearly remembered that when he first met Huang Jiahui, it was when the apocalypse had just happened and she was in a policewoman¡¯s uniform, radiating an umon valiance.


    Then, there was Wang Xiaguang, a gentle and passionate woman that he still had plenty of things to do with her.


    There was also Chen Xinjie...


    All these memories... He felt every single memory as if they had happened yesterday. However, they had all been separated from him because of life and death.


    Did he love them? Maybe, maybe not.


    During that precarious apocalypse, that crazy era where any and all humanity would be lost along with reason... Nobody would consider the things he did. Most of their consideration would onlye from the lust that men had for women before it gradually turned into affection.


    ...


    Luo Yuan silently honored them for a moment and disappeared from the grounds.


    The next moment, he had reached the residential house nearby the space city. The constant growth of his powers for hundreds of years had made it impossible for him to live among the humans.


    If his will were measured by a value system, it would have reached 40 points. His will had improved a hundredfold and if the Luo Yuan in the past was a piece of critical metal, the current him was a piece of white dwarf matter that emitted extreme radiation. The air he breathed out could unconsciously and potentially eliminate the mental faculties of those within ten kilometers of him.


    There was a price to pay to be so almighty and powerful. Just as one obtained eternity, one had to suffer through eternity, alone.


    Fortunately, Luo Yuan had long be ustomed to it and had adapted to feeling lonely.


    His house waspletely exposed to space without any protective shield or defenses. However, not even a high-speed meteor shower could destroy the house that he personally synthesized with critical metals. The house was empty, just like death. Even light was not present since Luo Yuan had no use for it.


    His body floated to the metal¡¯s surface, and he turned his head to look toward the faraway Earth. He quietly stood there for a moment before he entered the clean but empty living room. Aside from the threeyered icy wall, there were no decorations.


    He swung his hand once, and a spatial sphere appeared from a higher dimension. It was the interster beast farm.


    That first generation interster beasts had long passed away. Fortunately, these creatures were unisexual. Before the beast¡¯s will copsed, it would spend its remaining energy to birth the next generation. The current interster beast living there was of the third generation.


    Perhaps, it was due to the fact that Luo Yuan could not elerate the amount of will in the beasts that they saw a decline in lifespan after every generation. The first generation of interster beasts lived beyond 300,000 years, the second generation lived only for about 150,000 years, and the third generation saw its lifespan decrease to only 50,000 years. It was already showing signs of dying to boot!


    In the past several hundred years, all three generations of the interster beasts had supplied about 16,000 energy crystal cores. This afforded them the opportunity to potentially produce up to three billion intelligence pills each year. It was likely that human technology could only continue expanding at the pace it was because of the sacrifice made by these three generations of interster beasts.


    Luo Yuan continued as usual and entered the interster beast farm with his will. He individually elerated the time these beasts were experiencing through quantum eleration. Who would have known that an impossibly tiny fluctuation appeared during that process, fragmenting the interster beasts molecules and caused its entire body to crumble.


    Of course, this incident to him, this maneuvering error, had not reached an irreversible point. As long as the interster beast¡¯s consciousness contained within the cells had not begun dissipating, he could still rapidly reverse the molecule¡¯s state to that of a few seconds ago.


    However, Luo Yuan was neither paying attention nor moving when he regained hisposure, causing about half of the interster beast¡¯s consciousness within the cell to dissipate. There was almost nothing left, making it impossible to resurrect the beast.


    However, Luo Yuan was not paying any attention to it at the moment. He slightly sighed.


    His fourth dimensionalization had finallye!


    Perhaps, the reason that his potential had grown so much more powerful was because Luo Yuan felt that the fourth dimensionalization he would go through this time would be more intense than thest. It was also happening more often than it was previously, allowing him only a few days to prepare.


    To this day, he had only experienced the fourth dimensionalization twice. This would be his third time.


    The first time he experienced it, the incident was over before he knew it. Aside from a deepening of hisprehension in the fourth dimension, a change also urred to his height. Not much of an effect could be seen to the outside world.


    The second time he went through the fourth dimensionalization, it caused a small fluctuation in his current dimension, expanding his body a thousandfold to be a titan that towered twenty meters high. He had terrifying destructive power and had almost destroyed the captive ssian ship.


    It was clear after the second incident that both times werepletely different. He estimated that the third fourth dimensionalization he went through would obviously be more intense, potentially causing a terrifying disaster.


    It was then that he thought he could not stay in outer space close to Earth or even the sr system.


    He immediately made up his mind and send both Wang Shishi and Luo Shengwei a message.


    The next moment, his body reappeared at the outer region of the sr system. After teleporting ten or so times, he had reached a distance of light years away from the sr system. However, his instinct told him that the current distance was still not far enough to guarantee Earth¡¯s safety.


    He thenpressed all the atoms in his body, crushing it to shrink himself into a body as dense as a white dwarf before he entered his space-time bubble to fly toward a random direction.


    Within only ten minutes or so, he had reached the limit of his speed, closing in at almost 4,000 times the speed of light with his curvature flight.


    His body was like a dazzling glow that streaked across space, speeding up along the way as he flew across star after star, leaving his home behind him. Leaving intense spatial fluctuations in his wake, he had transported himself far away.


    Five dayster, he finally ended his journey at a barren star system. The distance between this star system and his sr system was over 50 light years away.


    Then, Luo Yuanpletely halted the atompression on his body, reassembling his body back to its 20-meter height. Then, he gazed into the fourth dimension with a calm mind.


    His exhausted will was recovering at an astounding speed. Within only ten seconds or so, he hadpletely recovered himself and was back at the top of his game.


    Gradually, his body faded in and out of existence. He was both illusory and real as a humongous amount of dark energy gushed into his body. The dissipated energy felt like the pulse of the universe that managed to even disintegrate an asteroid belt that was tens of millions of kilometers away. Under the impact of this pulse, it was like a candle being exposed to extreme temperatures, melting within seconds to disintegrate into nothingness. Even the frozens hundreds of millions of kilometers away began to show signs of melting.


    The premonition he felt became even more intense as his body sent out an impending


    The feeling of premonition had be even more intense, his body had sent out a transmission signal in haste.

 Chapter 585: The Third Fourth Dimensionalization ( II )

    Chapter 585: The Third Fourth Dimensionalization ( II )


    Trantor: EndlessFantasy Trantion Editor: EndlessFantasy Trantion


    Time gradually passed as Luo Yuan remained suspended within this dested space without moving.


    Over time, his heart that had not been beating for over a hundred years began beating once again as the longing desire within his heart grew more intense.


    As time continued passing, the longing desire within him gradually affected his will but he refrained himself from resisting. He had never once shown resistance because it seemed like there was a pattern to it. The desire came from every single cell in his body, every atom, and everyposed basic particle in his body. Even if his will had been ten times more powerful, he still would have no way to resist.


    Only, he had always remained clear-headed and was not lost to the ecstasy within the depths of his heart.


    After being in this state for half an hour, the longing desire had reached a critical level. His body then shook for a moment before a humming sound from a bell was heard. Before long, his vision and his perspective of dimensions began improving exponentially.


    He was like and creature that had gradually grown a pair of wings before it began flying through the sky.


    A world even more magnificent than the one he was fromy before him. Matter, energy, space ¡ª never had he seen each of these things more clearly and so in depth, to the point where he could understand the essence of these elements.


    Luo Yuan felt like he had gradually immersed himself into the dark energy ocean. He was emulsifying with the water and was blending into it. Originally, the dark energy was seeping into his body. However, energy was dripping into his body and before long, it had be a trickle.


    Immersed in the ascension process, he did not notice that he had caused the three-dimensional world around to be stirred like a pot of hot porridge.


    The fourth-dimensionalization process was basically a process to copse the bonds one had with the three-dimensional world. Though the process, an intense spatial disruption urred, and the nearby sr system became the first to experience an urrence like this. Regardless if it was a or a star, they were all like tofu experiencing a concussion until they were severely deformed.


    The frozen gaseous closest to Luo Yuan was the first that could not withstand this form of destruction. The entire crumbled just like a shattered ss sphere before countless ice particles began to escape the hold ofary gravity as they floated into space. Before long, even these ice particles were shattered to ice dust by the spatial wave disruption.


    However, all these events just marked the beginning of what was toe. One after the other,s began crumbling away. Before long, even gaseouss were disintegrating.


    There was a star farrger than the sun. Although it was still able to temporarily maintain its shape, it ultimately reached its critical point. The spatial wave disruption seemingly elerated the nuclear fusion within the star¡¯s core. However, since its gravity was unable to hold down the intense reaction, the star expanded hundreds of kilometers per second as it grew significantly more dazzling.


    After a moment, an indescribable light shed through. At the next second, the star burst like a balloon, as itpletely crumbled. Following that, countless particles were released, and they flew towards space.


    ...


    Finally, Luo Yuan fell out of the ascension process with emptiness. He had no desires.


    He had always remained clear-headed from the beginning until the end of the process. Even at the most crucial moment, he did not give in to his desires and even managed to cast off the remnants of the disappointment he felt.


    Power clouded the surface of his body. After he went through the fourth dimensionalization process, his body had expanded and be 30,000 meters tall. The clothes on his body that were synthesized from critical material had long been torn apart when he expanded. He was currently naked.


    However, there were no lewd intentions. There was only the feeling of ultimate power and the sanctity of the human soul.


    Feeling his massive body, he sighed.


    With the average human behavior of sighing, an energy stream stretching about a few dozen kilometers shot out from Luo Yuan¡¯s body, causing a brief disruption in space.


    "I¡¯m bing more and more inhuman!" Luo Yuan took notice of all of these urrences and sighed in his mind.


    Plenty of dark energy hadpletely associated and had be part of him. It was in his flesh and bones, bing a part of his body. Even something as insignificant as him breathing would have the potential of causing mass disruption to this fragile world.


    About half his body had entered the four-dimensional state. This was especially so for his brain which hadpletely entered the fourth dimension. There was even some kind of transformation to his will.


    He could feel that he had an immeasurable amount of powerpared to the time before he entered this four-dimensional stage. It was almost as if his power level had grown by about seven to eight levels. The residual effects from his ascension alone had the potential to destroy the entire sr system.


    He looked towards the destroyed star system and stretched his hand to grab it. Then the surrounding void gradually distorted as his palm continuously grewrger. 10 kilometers, 100 kilometers, 10,000 kilometers... Finally, it was asrge as the newly destroyed star system.


    At the same time, the star system began to shake intensely as countless particles began spinning in a high-speed vortex had begun to shake intensely, countless of particles begun to spin at high speed like a vortex.


    Before long, a light spot began to shine from the center. As the spinning got faster, the light grew brighter, and the vortex gradually became more and more concentrated.


    Gradually, a star that was muchrger than it originally was, lit up. In the natural evolution of the neb, at least about tens of millions or even hundreds of millions of years were required for it to form a star. However, at this moment, it only took about 10 seconds or so.


    Once the star was formed, the enormous hand then gently scooped up the star and slowly enclosed the star within his palm. His movements were light and steady. It was almost as if he was too afraid that he would crush the star by ident.


    He retracted his hand, and through this process, his hand rapidly returned to normal. Then, he opened his palm and the star remained sitting there on his palm.


    At this moment, the concept of size was irrelevant, and the distance had also been made redundant. Billions of kilometers were within his reach, and the star with millions of kilometers of a diameter had be like a mud ball. Of course, with Luo Yuan¡¯s palm that had a diameter of almost 20 kilometers, this mud ball¡¯s diameter would be at least five to six kilometers. However, whenpared to the original size of the star, the gap in size was simply unreasonable.


    Catching the star, and grabbing the sun along with the moon. All these sounded like myths. However, Luo Yuan could achieve such things right now. To him, it was as simple and as natural as breathing or drinking.


    For a four-dimensional being had half of his body fourth dimensionalization, manipting the third-dimension felt like a natural instinct. His palm did not growrger. Instead, it was space that was distorted. Luo Yuan and the star system¡¯s distance had never shrunk. The only thing that shrank was space since size and distance were a manifestation of space. When space itself was bent and twisted, this natural phenomenon would be obsolete.


    He gently overturned, feeling the star¡¯s terrifying weight. Luckily this heavy of a weight was still manageable to him. However, it was as if the star was being toyed by him, and was intensely shaking, seemingly close to the precipice of being scattered again.


    Who would have guessed that Luo Yuan would feel something from afar once he was prepared to throw the star away? It felt like there was a crisis in that particr direction.


    Moments after he felt the presence, a vision immediately appeared within his mind. Although the vision was rtively short, it onlysted about a picosecond before it disappeared. Ever since he became fourth-dimensionalized, his physic abilities were strengthened immensely. Not only can he peer twelve minutes into the future, even crises from a distant future could be felt.


    Luo Yuan could recognize the object within the image at just a nce. It was a standard four-dimensional body and looked just like a two-dimensional circle or a three-dimensional sphere. Things in the fourth dimension would usually have a four-dimensional body and the resulting micro-universe was formed when it was cut.


    However, this was not just any micro-universe because it was rather spacious and it was formed by four-dimensional particles.


    At the same time, it was not some four-dimensional creature as well.


    Luo Yuan had seen one in the past. Although a four-dimensional creature would defy and break every single three-dimensional shape along with physics, it could also never be measured with conventional methods. At the same time, it was also an extremelyplex lifeform that would never have a perfect body.

 Chapter 586: The Four-Dimensional War ( I )

    Chapter 586: The Four-Dimensional War ( I )


    Trantor: EndlessFantasy Trantion Editor: EndlessFantasy Trantion


    For him to be called a four-dimensional creature... He was currently more like a creation, a technological creation.


    Then, Luo Yuan suddenly thought about the mysterious super civilization behind the system.


    The movements in the dimensions this time around was just too significant. The disruption this time did not only affect the three-dimensional universe but the other, deeper dimensions as well. These changes had an obvious pattern. Although ordinary civilizations would think of them as regr spatial disruptions, they would not be able to slip past the super civilization.


    This particr civilization had a profound understanding regarding four-dimensional creatures and they also had a faint hostility toward them.


    If anyone were to have the ability to create such terrifying creatures, then the most likely candidate would be this unknown super civilization.


    In fact, when any form of technology advanced to the point where they could go against and overturn a civilization, it would not be able to make a good impression to any civilization, especially since terrifying creatures like these pose an extreme threat to these civilizations. They had to die out quickly.


    To this day, Luo Yuan could still vividly recall the time the four-dimensional creature brought its dimension toward the three-dimensional universe. As it closed in, it caused various terrifying ck holes. To the creature, ck holes like these were how walking was to humans. A human would never think twice about stepping onto an ant nest since it would feel like an ident. As for the survival of a nearby civilization, life on an entire could be eradicated should their luck not be at its best.


    The creature was like a natural disaster to the universe and was a public enemy to the entire three-dimensional universe.


    However, having ess to this information and understanding it did not mean Luo Yuan should stretch his neck out for the executor¡¯s sword. Since he was currently walking the path of a four-dimensional creature, Luo Yuan would naturally take their side and anything standing against him would be his enemy.


    Moreover, he was not the only four-dimensional being within this system. In fact, he had yet to fully be one since the civilization of four-dimensional creatures ignored his presence and allowed him to roam freely. It seemed like he had yet to fully be one since the creatures probably thought his powers would be manageable as they were currently weak.


    Luo Yuan sneered in his heart. However, he dared not underestimate the amazing technological creation that was his four-dimensional body.


    It had the ability to roam the depths of the fourth dimension, proving that it had unparalleled power. To a fourth-dimensional creation like this, it could exterminate a civilization like the humans with just a single swipe. In the past, he would only escape and run like a dog since he had no other choice. However, he was no longer without choice.


    Almost half of his body had be fourth dimensionalized. In a certain perspective, he was almost a full-fledged four-dimensional creature. The only difference was in their strength and his current opponent, would obviously not be able to match the strength of an actual four-dimensional creature.


    Luo Yuan then measured the vastness of his ¡¯true body¡¯, and his body began to give off a bright glow as his body rapidly shrank. A terrifying pulse began to irradiate the entire neb, to the point where the sun within his palm was even blown to dust within moments.


    Within one a quadrillionth of a second, his transformation wasplete.


    From his initial towering height of 300 kilometers that made him seem like a cosmic entity, it suddenly shrank. Within a blink of an eye, he had already turned into a humanoid being that was about 2.5 meters tall.


    His entire body gave off a dazzling light as it emitted a destructive pulse. It was as if he was a blurry human silhouette that could slightly bend the light passing by his body.


    This shrunken body size was different whenpared to the atomicpression of a white dwarf. Although the white dwarf particles were extremely dense, they were still within range of what was possible with a regr material structure. The electron was still an electron, the atomic core was still an atomic core, and its atomic structure was stillplete.


    At this moment, the electrons in Luo Yuan¡¯s body had beenpressed down to the atomic nuclei. With all the protons merged into a neutron, the atoms in his body were now made up of a simple neutron parallel structure.


    The density of his body had already exceeded 100 million tons per cubic centimeter!


    There was an infamously terrifying celestial body in this universe, and its particles were made up from such materials. That celestial body was called the neutron star.


    The reasoning behind the transformation of his body into this state was that it could achieve an unimaginable toughness. At the same time, he had also reduced the effective surface area of his body so he could travel via curvature flight even faster. Now, regardless if it were fight or flight, he would be able to deal with the situation more calmly.


    Luo Yuan stopped at the same location, and his body suddenly vanishedpletely. It was as if he had blended into space.


    At the very next moment, his entire body hadpletely entered the four-dimensionalized state.


    His body had undergone drastic changes. The original humanoid figure that existed in the three-dimensional universe hadpletely vanished. As he entered the fourth dimension, his body extended beyond the higher dimension and it seemed as if endless twisted, folded space made up his body. It was just like a two-dimensional square, or a cube in the third dimension.


    In fact, his form in the third dimension was nothing but a projection. It was but an appearance. This, was his trueplete form.


    This world had been rejecting Luo Yuan¡¯s body as if he would be pushed out anytime. This made him spend a considerable amount of concentration and will every single second. However, he could still keep up with the intensity of his will and its regenerative speed.


    This was the first time he experienced the fourth dimension in person and was still able to retain his memories. It would also require one to enter the fourth dimension during teleportation but the time spent there was so short it could be ignored. Even if he were to enter the fourth dimension like that, he would have no memory of it.


    Infinite dark energy flowed like a stormy tide. If every single energy flow here was reduced to a three-dimensional measurement, it would be equivalent to a billion tons of nuclear bombs. The turbulence there was as intense as the ocean.


    Scientists had once theorized that dark and dark energy upied about 95% of the particles in the entire universe. However, this proportion was far greater than what the scientists had imagined. After all, whenpared to the one true universe, humans only existed within the third dimension that was like a thin membrane around the true universe.


    As of this moment, Luo Yuan was clinging to this membrane at a speed of at least 10,000 times the speed of light, flying unimaginably fast.


    Everything in the third dimension existed within the fourth dimension as a giant as well. As he looked toward the third dimension from where he was, he noticed that even a small would be hundreds of timesrger than Luo Yuan when it was present in the fourth dimension.


    It was at this moment that Luo Yuan suddenly noticed 10,000 times the speed of light was only the surface of what the fourth dimension had to offer.


    Once he had distanced himself from three-dimensional factors and further ventured into the depths of the fourth dimension, this speed limit grew.


    10,000 times the speed of light, 20,000... Soon, he reached 30,000 times the speed of light.


    Luo Yuan began feeling the rejection grow stronger along with the draining of his will beginning to feel like a flood. He immediately stopped venturing into the depths of the fourth dimension and stopped at 20,000 the speed of light. Then, he flew in the direction of the four-dimensional body.

 Chapter 587: The Four-Dimensional War (II)

    Chapter 587: The Four-Dimensional War (II)


    Trantor: EndlessFantasy Trantion Editor: EndlessFantasy Trantion


    A month had passed, and a figure shrouded in light suddenly appeared within the three-dimensional universe.


    Without a doubt, this figure was definitely Luo Yuan. He glimpsed pass an uncharted star system andpared it with one close to the sr system. Then, he realized that the star system was denser, with the distance between each star being at least a hundred light years or more.


    The distance toward the sr system was more than three thousand light years, and it was positioned between the Perseus and Sagittarius Cantilever. In fact, it was closer to the Silver Heart Zone.


    Based on the travel path of the four-dimensional beings, he deduced that their civilization could very well have originated from the Silver Heart Zone.


    He had expected this. More than 99% of matter found throughout the gxy was from the Silver Heart Zone, and it was also the coldest ce in the entire gxy. If time was turned back about ten billion years, this star had already existed, even to the extent of supporting a civilization while his current sr system and the sun was still in a chaotic state.


    The sun was only about five billion years old, and there was a five-billion-year gap between the birth of both stars. That was more than enough time to allow a civilization to progress to the pinnacle of what they could do, providing it did not fall.


    However, if it werepared to the Silver Heart Zone in terms of prosperity and age, the star system closer to the sr system was like a wastnd thatcked resources. Not even a de of grass would grow there!


    ...


    Luo Yuan had used up his will but it was rapidly recovering. In mere seconds, he had already fully recovered.


    He looked into the distance, and hundreds of light years within the fourth dimension was a four-dimensional figure that was inching closer. His heart was impervious to neither passion nor desire as hey there suspended in the void, quietly waiting for it to arrive.


    Time gradually passed and with the ever closing distance, the figure gradually grewrger as it changed from a blur to an image of vivid rity. It seemed to be simr to Luo Yuan¡¯s micro-universe but it was not formed from space. Instead, it was formed from a greyish ck matter that made its entire body seem majestic as dark matter swirled around its body.


    It was flying at about thirteen to fifteen thousand times the speed of light, and Luo Yuan realized that this discovery was good news. Regardless if it was only traveling at that speed to conserve the energy it expended or if it was unable to ascend to a higher dimension, this meant that the figure was not exactly all-powerful and imprable.


    Fifty light years, thirty light years, five light years.


    Luo Yuan only made his move when the distance between the both of them was less than half a light year apart!


    His body immediately ascended to the fourth dimension and promptly attempted to reach the peak of the dimension. Within mere picoseconds, his speed had increased to fifty thousand times the speed of light per second.


    When Luo Yuan ascended to the fourth dimension, an indescribable force shot out from the four-dimensional figure as it attempted to leap into a dimensional point that was even higher but it missed. About ten secondster, its energy finally dropped as it caused fluctuations in the fourth dimension that descended to the third dimension. Although the energy of the wave within the fourth dimension had diminished, the energy still remained unimaginably powerful once it descended to the third dimension. In the blink of an eye, the energy had reached the potential energy equivalent to that of a supernova gamma-ray gun. Containing the power of a few hundred suns, the terrifying energy shot forward until it hit a star nearby, piercing through it in the blink of an eye and caused it to rapidly crumble...


    Halfway through flying, Luo Yuan glimpsed at the three-dimensional world that was light years away, and he witnessed the event in shock. This energy wave was moving at a speed that was beyond his imagination. The wave traversed half a light year in only a matter of ten seconds or less. This was because the wave had already traversed more than a light year during the descent to the third dimension. Its speed truly exceeded his expectations, and the only possible exnation was that the attack was exceedingly powerful as it came from the fourth dimension.


    Like a signal, a barrage of waves began heading toward Luo Yuan¡¯s like howling wind and driving rain.


    This was the inherent advantage of a technological creation. Whenpared to a biological being, its firepower was far more intense and powerful.


    Unfortunately, despite being fourth dimensionalized, Luo Yuan¡¯s will could still not reach a distance of half a light year away. The maximum range for his will to function was only about a tenth of a light year. This also meant that he was in a position to take a beating but would not be able to retaliate in any way. It was the cold hard truth.


    This fourth dimension war was fought on apletely different scale. Whenpared to the interster war in the third dimension, a war waged in the fourth dimension was significantly moreplex and its scale was iprehensible to a mere three-dimensional being. Simrly, a three-dimensional being would not be able to hit a target since they were on different dimensional nes. If they attempted to, they would have to peer into the fourth dimension with their three-dimensional eyes.


    However, this super civilization was definitely something to behold. Having obtained a terrifying understanding of the fourth dimension, Luo Yuan increasingly felt the pressure within him build up following the ever closing gap between the both of them. Regardless of how he leaped through dimensional nes, his attack were still from him. On the other hand, the attack from the four-dimensional being was extremely precise to the point where it had a kind of predictive property and could even interfere with Luo Yuan¡¯s precognition.


    The rate at which he experienced time was already in the picoseconds. A standard second would feel like trillions of seconds to him. Moving at such a high speed in the fourth dimension, Luo Yuan had experienced hundreds of billions of variable dimensional changes per second and yet, he was still almost hit several times due to the disruption to his irvoyant abilities.


    Against this four-dimensional being, Luo Yuan basically had to go through a power struggle. Unfortunately, he was at a disadvantage.


    However, his previous encounters with this entity had allowed him to have a general understanding of how its attacks worked.


    It was a kind of descending dimensional strike, that descended from the fourth dimension to the third instead of the third dimension to the second. The attack was made to take on a four-dimensional being and it was extremely fearsome. If any four-dimensional beings were struck by the attack, it was likely that their body would descend from the fourth dimension and they would be a three-dimensional being.


    This attack could very well threaten his existence. However, once he understood the attacks of this attack, Luo Yuan managed to retaliate.


    Flying at high speed, he reached out with his hand and ¡¯grabbed¡¯ onto space mid-flight. Then, he tore off a piece of four-dimensional space and covered himself in it before he continued adding hundreds ofyer around him.


    It was a kind of four-dimensional space ¡¯armor¡¯ that was carefully carved and polished from space. As he added moreyers around him, his defence grew exponentially more powerful but he was running out of time.


    To the both of them, half a light year was not that far, especially since they could traverse that distance in only about three minutes. As time passed, both parties approached each other. Luo Yuan looked like a phantom as he phased in and out of existence to dodge the attacks only by a mere inch.


    The energy of the four-dimensional being descended into a sea of dark energy. It seemed like boiling oil was being poured into water as the dark energy in the battlefield went amuck, exploding into an endless stream of energy and light. However, damage done from something like this would neither damage Luo Yuan nor the fourth dimensional being.


    At that moment, there seemed to be a slight problem with Luo Yuan¡¯s will. It only protected him for half a picosecond before he was intensely shook. By then, it was far toote.


    Terrifying shockwaves were sent toward his body, wiping out all theyers of four-dimensional armor he surrounded himself with earlier. The impact gave off an endless stream of energy.


    Fortunately, he had the dimensional armor wrapped around his body so he managed to slow the waves down at the veryst moment, allowing him to swiftly escape or this war would have had ended prematurely.


    At that split second, there was a sliver of fear in his heart. To avoid something like this from happening again, Luo Yuan increased the amount of will expended at a whim.


    As he did that, his entire body gave off a powerful glow that enveloped the entire area. It formed an area around him that whenplete, would instantly recover his precognitive abilities and iste the disruptive force.


    Fortunately, the four-dimensional being quietly entered his range of attack only a few secondster.

 Chapter 588: The Four Dimensional War ( III )

    Chapter 588: The Four Dimensional War ( III )


    Trantor: EndlessFantasy Trantion Editor: EndlessFantasy Trantion


    Enveloping the four-dimensional figure was a three-dimensional membrane.


    The three-dimensional membrane was spherical and was thousands of kilometers in diameter. An endless array of dense, multi-colored pirs of light intertwined within the dimensionalyer. These pirs did not only exist within that dimension but had pierced through and ascended into further dimensions like aplex, neurovascrwork that controlled the movements of the four-dimensional being.


    This was a four-dimensional war fleet that utilized dark energy as fuel. It was also a weapon used by the Town State of the Pangu Civilization.


    The Pangurians were very differentpared to the humans. They were skinless, and their entire body was made from a blue exoskeleton. The bottom half of their body resembled a spider with four pairs of legs while their upper torso vaguely resembled a human. However, people would find it difficult to describe them as beautiful. They had an expression that seemed like they were wearing a mask, and they looked like the devil himself had crawled out from hell.


    As for the reason they looked like this... It was caused by the environment on their home. Since they came from a star system nearby the Silver Heart Zone, their environment was rather harsh as it was filled with cosmic radiation that was tens of thousands of times more powerful than what it would be if it were at the edge of the gxy. asionally, cosmic storms would frequent them as well.


    This affected the locations that could sustain life. They could not live in the ocean, so they lived in underground cavities. As the living organisms began evolving and moved toward the surface, some of them evolved to the point of being able to absorb the radiation. Others also evolved to have a tough exoskeleton.


    In the end, the species which managed to dominate the were the ones that evolved an exoskeleton ¡ª the Pangurians.


    Ever since the first recorded history of civilizations, this civilization that was found near the Silver Heart Zone had already existed for a few billion years. About thirty million years ago, after the intense war that had gone on for a few hundred years, the Pangurians had managed to emerge victorious against the previous ancient gctic overlord. Ever since then, they stood at the peak of the gxy and had remained there until this day.


    After all this time, this civilization had been through severe civil wars and cosmic level disasters. The most dangerous event that they endured was during the Silver Heart ck Hole incident which caused half of the hundreds ofs within the radius of the Pangu civilization to be wiped out, including their home. Although their final poption stood at barely eleven people, they still stood strong in the face of the declining numbers. Nothing could shake them from being at the pinnacle of the gxy.


    With constant technological development, the universe had unveiled its secrets to them millions of years after they had first begun exploring the mysteries of the fourth dimension. As they treaded into new territory, various physics theories were perfected one after the other while their technology underwent an explosive evolution.


    Infinite dark energy had made anti-matter obsolete. Spatial warping had reced curvature flight, and interster gates were present on all thes owned by their civilization. In the end, they were even able to continuously chip at the fourth dimension and move their entire civilization into an isted micro-universe to prevent it from ever having to endure another cosmic disaster.


    As their civilization spread its footprints across the universe, they managed to catch a glimpse of the four-dimensional creature in one of their intergctic exploration missions which caused a huge uproar.


    From the very beginning, the Pangu Civilization had always thought that life would cease to exist within the fourth dimension. In their mind, only the third dimension could sustain life but ever since that discovery, this idea waspletely shattered, and they began feeling an immediate threat toward the survival of their civilization.


    Theoretically speaking, a four-dimensional being was a dimension higher than a three-dimensional being. This difference was absolute. No matter how powerful a three-dimensional civilization was, they would never stand a chance if they went toe-to-toe against a creature like this. This also meant that there was nothing the Pangu Civilisation could do against a creature like this.


    Perhaps, the Pangu Civilisation¡¯s micro-universe could avoid a cosmic disaster. However, against a four-dimensional being that had existed naturally for eons, there was nothing they could do.


    Under threat of extinction, the Pangu Civilization began investing a huge amount of resources in researching dimensional ascension. They were searching for a way to achieve dimensional ascension to maintain their civilization¡¯s eternal safety.


    From matter to energy, and microbes to intelligent creatures, the Pangu Civilisation was engaged in research for a few hundred thousand years. Throughout the majority of the research period, they faced stagnation in the progress of their research, making it difficult for them to continue.


    About ten thousand years ago, they utilized light quanta which were a system resulting from a study to collect experimental information from all low-level civilizations within a thousand light year radius.


    However, the messaging system was unfortunately exposed to a supernova mid-flight and was derailed from its flight path. Following the cosmic storm, it finallynded close to a remove civilization after thousands of years.


    Although this was a premature experiment, it could be considered a sess. With trillions of samples and an experimental body that coincidentally managed to achieve dimensional ascension beforepletely transforming into a four-dimensional creature, the Pangu Civilisation had managed to collect a vast amount of precious experimental data.


    In a way, the experiment could also be a failure since the initial goal was to collect as much valuable experimental data as possible, hence the reason for free reign when it came to their growth. This exposed the gxy to a huge hidden danger. One would eventually reap what one had sown, and the Pangu Civilization was powerless against such threats.


    Fortunately, this four-dimensional being had already homogenized with the information ocean that existed within the fourth dimension so the creature was neutral. If you did not provoke it, it would not mess with you.


    However, in order to avoid another mistake and prevent the gxy from bing the four-dimensional being¡¯s yground, the Pangu Civilization wiped out everyst surviving experimental sample and sealed off this experiment.


    Obviously, they only missed killing thest remaining individual because it was too far away.


    On the other hand, under the continuous analytic study following the collection of the experimental data on dimensional ascension, the Pangu Civilization had begun building a four-dimensional warfleet in an attempt to monitor the dimensional ascension phenomenon throughout the gxy so they could wipe out the disaster before it ured to maintain and protect the gxy¡¯s stability.


    To the four-dimensional being, the gxy was far too small. It could barely contain two four-dimensional creatures, and the Pangu Civilization would likely not want to repeat their mistakes again.


    However, Luo Yuan was the first person that managed to get this close in the transformation into a four-dimensional being in the past few thousand years.


    ...


    At the same moment, within the control center of this super war fleet, hundreds of Pangurians stared at the light screen filled with endless data and forms in absolute silence.


    The time flow over there had been elerated by tens of thousands of times to be in sync with the supeputing power of a four-dimensional photon quantumputer. It was able to perfectly receive an astronomical amount of information originating from the fourth dimension. In a way, it was like an actual four-dimensional being.


    However, the warfare had continued up to this day, causing unease to everyone involved. This quasi-fourth dimensional being was far more powerful than what they had imagined. Compared to an actual four-dimensional creature, he seemed to be wise. This was unprecedented.


    To this day, this was the second time the Pangurians had waged war in the fourth dimension. The first time was about a thousand years ago when they were trying to y the actual four-dimensional being which they created. If the time taken to approach the four-dimensional being was excluded, the actual war onlysted for less than a second before the four-dimensional warfleet waspletely destroyed.


    From that point onwards, the Pangurians dared not provoke the four-dimensional being ever again even after a total of a thousand years into the future.


    The construction of a four-dimensional warfleet was rather difficult due to the sealing of the initial dimensional creature ascension experiment. There was a limited amount of experimental data that could be obtained which made it difficult for them topletely grasp the dimensional ascension technique up to this day.


    Every sessful construction of a four-dimensional warfleet was a gamble. Its sess rate was extremely low, and the resources it expended was significant even to the Pangurians that were at the pinnacle of civilizations. It was a herculean task that they only managed to construct three vessels in their four-dimensional warfleet to this day.


    If there was not absolute confidence, the Pangurians would not even want to undertake the risk of building such an extremely difficult project.


    Naturally, one of the reasons was also the four-dimensional being although the threat it posed to the Pangu Civilisation was rtively low.


    In a way, since the four-dimensional beingcked wisdom, it still relied on basic survival instincts. Even if it grew more powerful, everything it did would be for its own survival, and it would only retaliate when it was threatened. However, after that passed, it would hold no grudges.


    This was not the case for this three-dimensional being. When it detected danger, it woulde to seek it on its own initiative.


    In a certain way, the threat that this living being carried was far greater than the actual four-dimensional being to the Pangu Civilisation, and it had to bepletely eliminated.


    It was at this moment that an alert suddenly rang in the four-dimensional warfleet. At the same time, an oppressive and terrifying presence seemingly slipped through the four-dimensional warfleet¡¯s dimensional shielding and spread across its control center.

 Chapter 589: The Fourth Dimensional War (Finale)

    Chapter 589: The Fourth Dimensional War (Finale)


    Trantor: EndlessFantasy Trantion Editor: EndlessFantasy Trantion


    There was a subtle disruption on the energy flow above the three-dimensional membrane, and rays of light sputtered out from the light pirs, emitting ring rays as they lit up the entire dimension.


    "There¡¯s a slight vortex on the time-elerated reaction force field!" a Pangurian reported immediately through a telepathic channel, an expression of slight panic ran across its once ferocious face.


    "Dark energy harvesting speed had dropped to fifty percent, circumstances are unknown."


    "This isn¡¯t good, the four-dimensional warfleet¡¯s dimensional ascention point would continuously and precisely engage dimensional descent by half a degree every nanosecond. About a hundred nanosecondster, there¡¯ll be irreversible damage on the four-dimensional being!"


    ...


    Being an ancient civilization that had created a system about ten thousand years ago, Pangurians technology was deeply ingrained in the evolution of life.


    In order to avoid the existence of another four-dimensional being in the gxy, the ascention project for the dimensional creature had to be sealed and was strictly prohibited in the end. However, the experiments and projects exploiting the brains and other relevant gic optimizations had never stopped.


    Compared to the reliance the humans had on the popr wisdom elixir, everyone within the poption could achieve an IQ of a 170 or even beyond 180.


    However, the average Pangurian IQ could reach up to three hundred, causing their thoughts to be a hundred times faster than that of a human. It was also two to three thousand fold that of the humans in the ancient times.


    However, even with the control center¡¯s elerated time of about thirty thousand times, the Pangurians¡¯ thought process could only react at a speed that went as low as two nanoseconds.


    During the time when all of the Pangurian reacted to the situation by thought, it had worsened at an incredible pace. Various bad news appeared one after the other, causing panic in the atmosphere among the people in the entire control center.


    "Not good! Engage dimensional ascension now, retreat!" Finally, the warfleet¡¯smander roared a series ofmand.


    In only a matter of seconds, ayer of misty light shrouded the entire four-dimensional being. At the next moment, the vessel in the super warfleet had already leaped from their current dimension.


    However, all of the efforts were wasted. The force was like the roots of a lush tree where it had spread to the countless dimensions surrounding them. Following the flow of time, it gradually tightened its grasps onto all dark matter and energy within reach, isting the four-dimensional warfleet and causing the warfleet¡¯s dark energy harvesting rate to rapidly decline. Only a few nanosecondster, the warfleet¡¯s harvesting rate was already unable to keep up with the expenditure.


    Even so, that alone was not the only reason. Since they followed multple dimensions tightly, it seemed as if the dimensions had solidified and caused the fuel consumption for their dimensional ascension to be up to hundreds or thousands of times higher.


    If this continued, this massive four-dimensional warfleet would be like cattle and sheep waiting to be ughtered once the internal supplies had been fully depleted despite being in tip-top condition. At this moment, the attacks from the four-dimensional being had long stopped, seemingly trying its best to escape.


    Unfortunately, how could Luo Yuan allow it to escape?


    Within the radius of his will, he was like an almighty god and was the sole master of multiple dimensions within the radius of thousands of kilometers.


    The only ones that could go against him were those who had a simrly strong will.


    Although the four-dimensional being possessed a tremendous amount of power and an iprehensible amount of energy, the sole thing that itcked was willpower. Within this dimension, it was like a foreign object, a misfit which had the entire world as its enemy.


    However the rate his will was being consumed was also astonishing when he was in this form. At that moment, Luo Yuan felt that his enormous will had been draining at a very quick pace, and that he could only hold this form for a second at most before hepletely exhausted his will and get ejected from the fourth dimension.


    Fortunately, the time he had in this form was more than enough for Luo Yuan.


    A nanosecondter, the four-dimensional being had begun an irreversible dimensional descent as countless of spatial openings not unlike wormholes began appearing out of thin air.


    Three nanosecondster, these spatial openings were twisted into Klein passageways by Luo Yuan¡¯s will, causing arge amount of physical matter and energy to flow through these spatial passageways before they were thrown out of the dimension. Matter with four-dimensional properties would still be able to remain but as for matter with three-dimensional properties, they would be expelled from the fourth dimension.


    Luo Yuan had witnessed it with his own eyes. One or two carcasses that just came out of the passageways instantaneously vanished into thin air and was expelled from the fourth dimension.


    Five nanosecondster, this four-dimensional beingpleted its dimensional descent.


    Before the dimensional descent, Luo Yuan had sensed a warning from his irvoyant abilities. With a simple though, he withdrew himselff from the fourth dimension.


    As a kind of four-dimensional being, whenpared returning to a lower dimension, to ascending into a high dimension, it was like the flow of a stream, his bodypletely followed his thought.


    Just when he had entered the three-dimensional universe, severe waves had urred within the space around the dimension.


    Luo Yuan gazed into the dimension where the four-dimensional being was, he only saw an ocean of light, where the light had shrouded everything within a radius of ten or so light years. The vast amount of energy released during the dimensional declension of the four-dimensional being was simplyparable to a dark hole level, it had even caused space turbulence to multiple dimensions.


    Luo Yuan saw the urrence and was surprised. If he was near this level of disruption, it was estimated that he would have taken damage.


    Luo Yuan only gazed for a moment before he looked away because there were still matters he had to settle.


    He scanned his surroundings with a nce and discovered up to hundreds of corpses very quickly. The bodies were dispersed everywhere, and the body closest to Luo Yuan was a few million kilometers away while the furthest was several hundreds of millions of kilometers away.


    There were time differences when those bodies were being thrown out of the fourth dimension, and with the effects of four-dimensional speed, it causes those corpses to be widely dispersed.


    However, all the current Luo Yuan had to do was to use his thought and willpower for such distances.


    The next moment, he had arrived near one of the corpses. Since the corpses were thrown out of the fourth dimension through the Klein passageway, the physical structure of its body, including cellr and gic factors were turned inside out. Although only about a second had passed, there was no doubt that all of them werepletely dead.


    Fortunately, all of these had no effect to Luo Yuan¡¯s next move.


    He had managed to find a memory cell that belonged to one of these creatures. His willpower quickly scanned through it. At the same time, he rearranged and analyzed theplex information contained within their memory.


    Soon, countless light figures shed through his mind, and within only a few picoseconds, he had learned the Panguriansnguage...


    At first, he was somewhat distracted but very quickly he became serious and prudent.


    The understanding the Pangurians had regarding the fourth dimension was far more advanced and in-depth than what he knew. Most of their knowledge had also been turned into theories.


    For example, he could manipte the space around him based on a whim and could begin to elerate the time within a certain area. However, like a human baby that only knew how to drink milk despite being born into the world not long ago, it was his natural instinct as a four-dimensional lifeform, he did not know the system and theory operated behind it. He only knew that it was the way it was.


    Luo Yuan originally nned to search for the location of their civilization through the memories, but he had identally found something even greater by ident.


    On average, the lifespan of a Pangurian was about a thousand years, give or take; so, their brains were extremely developed and those who could pilot the four-dimensional warfleet were elites among the Pangurians.


    Every one of them had received up to hundreds of years of education, especially in the field of the fourth dimension. Every single one of them had received specialized training and learning.


    Since this type of super war fleet was cruising within the fourth dimension, it would be almost impossible to be able to pilot such a vessel. If they did not have any relevant knowledge in this field, no one would allow such an individual to pilot.


    Although they were not the best researchers, even with some of that public knowledge and theory, there was still something to harvest.


    Luo Yuan read through the memory of the Pangurian corpses one after the other while consolidating and summarising all the harvested knowledge and information. His understanding regarding the fourth dimension had be ever more so clear and thorough. Gradually, he formed a rtively more profound understanding of the system behind it all.

 Chapter 590: War and Peace

    Chapter 590: War and Peace


    Trantor: EndlessFantasy Trantion Editor: EndlessFantasy Trantion


    A moment afterward, Luo Yuan had a huge leap in the understanding of his own ability armed with this knowledge.


    After all these years, Luo Yuan had never fully discovered the true potential of his own ability. On one side, his potential was more than enough to oppress everything else he knew before he met the Pangurians. None of the civilization that he had met could ever pose a real threat to him. Naturally, with no threat came no desire to further pursue an even stronger power.


    On another side, it was also a limitation due to his understanding. To him, he discovered his own potential from self-teaching, self-experimentation, along with the limited exploration of this world on his own. All of these were like pearls, scattered and fragmented around him. For a civilization like the humans, these experiences were already a great repository of knowledge. However, whenpared to a super-civilization which was a product from tens of thousands of years of wisdom, the amount of experience could not even bepared.


    A glimpse into the wisdom of the Pangurians had allowed Luo Yuan, to string up and connect the pearls from a certain perspective, allowing Luo Yuan to discover that he could be even more powerful!


    With a single thought, countless particles in space flew toward a location and began to converge immediately. Within a few nanoseconds, another Luo Yuan had appeared close to the original. Next came a third, and then a fourth...


    One after another, new copies of Luo Yuan rapidly formed throughout the void space. A few secondster, the void was hosting thousands of Luo Yuans. About ten or so seconds afterward, the numbers had increased to about a few million and were rapidly increasing at an unknown rate.


    Only half a minuteter did Luo Yuan finally feel that he had reached his limit and proceeded to stop creating copies of himself.


    His clones had upied the radius of about one light year, and the numbers had reached up to more than 635 million, it resembled an army waiting formands. A massive gravitational pull was formed by the gathering of such a number of individuals, causing a severe bending of the light waves that passed through this area.


    Every individual clone could be considered as Luo Yuan but at the same time, they were not truly him. Perhaps, it could be said that the cluster of 635 million individuals was the true Luo Yuan.


    All these individuals were the materialization of quantum probability and would only obey a single with their hive-mind.


    Within this state, he was like a super calctor synced to hundreds of millions of smaller calctors. Theputational ability of his brain had increased hundreds of millions of times and could even see more than a day into the future within a certain range. The will and power of the clones were unaffected by his use of his foresight and it was as if they had amon will.


    However, Luo Yuan found out that this type of quantum probability clones had its drawbacks and caused a serious disadvantage.


    Under this state, the rate at which he received information would be greatly increased, severely eroding his willpower.


    A few secondster, he was made keenly aware of the tendency to be absolutely rational in this state of mind. Fortunately, his mind was always warning him and any time he felt like he was approaching such a state, he would immediately take countermeasures.


    With a single thought in Luo Yuan¡¯s mind, the clones disassembled into countless particles one after the other, dispersing through the vast void of space until there were only three of the clones left. It was then that Luo Yuan halted the disassembling process.


    Three clones ¡ª this was the limit of his willpower before it was subjugated to informational erosion. Any more than that and it could easily affect him.


    All three Luo Yuans looked at each other and immediately leaped into the fourth dimension, disappearing into thin air.


    Based on the information obtained from the Pangurians memories, the location where the Pangurian civilization existed was not within the three-dimensional universe. Instead, they existed within a micro-universe at an even higher dimension. The micro-universe floated along an ocean of dark energy, and its geographical location was constantly shifting. Only the Pangurian¡¯s four-dimensional warfleet could urately pinpoint its location.


    Unfortunately, that warfleet had long been destroyed. It was annihted in the destructive explosion of thest dimensional descent, and the explosion hadpletely obliterated all of the equipment, reducing everything to ashes. This rendered the tracking equipment useless.


    Luo Yuan only had two clues that from the Pangurian memories.


    Firstly, their three-dimensional position remained near the Silver Heart Zone.


    Second, this micro-universe was rtivelyrge, and its radius could reach up to a shocking 150 light years. This caused the micro-universe to cast a shadow onto the three-dimensional universe and form a ck hole. This ck hole was also the Pangurian equivalent of a mining that basically gave them ess to materials they needed.


    However, this clue was too broad. There were multiple ck holes within the gxy, and their ratio to thes was about a thousand to one. The ck holes numbered a few hundred million, and about half of those were located at the Silver Heart Zone.


    The thought of searching for the location of the Pangurian Civilization within the hundreds of millions of ck holes was like searching for a needle in an ocean.


    However, Luo Yuan was not in a rush. The cruel truth was that he was now doomed to never be able to return to the human world in his current state. With the immense gravitational pull he gave off, he would cause a shift in the gravitational pull of another that would result in a massive disaster, let alone earth.


    However, this meant he still had a lot of time, not to mention that he would never even dare to push forward, even if he clearly knew the location of the Pangurian civilization.


    After all this time, the Pangurian civilization paid extreme attention to their self-defense mechanisms due to the severe survival crises. To defend themselves against possible attacks from a four-dimensional being, the Pangurians had set up countless canons and sufficient firepower to around the micro-universe. Even if a four-dimensional being attacked the Pangurians, it could possibly suffer heavy damage. Perhaps, they could even defeat it themselves, making it unwise for Luo Yuan to engage them.


    With his current potential, he could easily gain the upper hand if he went against a four-dimensional warfleet. Even if there were two of them, all he needed to do was create a few of those quantum possibility clones, and it would still not cause too much trouble for him. However, he stillcked plenty of firepower to go against the home of the Pangurians.


    He was currently able to create or disassemble countless quantum possibility clones with only his will. Even if the clones died, he could still instantly re-converge and form more of them. No harm would be caused to his true self unless all of the clones were wiped out at once. The only limiting factor was his willpower. The more clones he formed, the quicker he expended his willpower.


    If he were to maintain a few hundred million clones while he was engaged in a battle within the fourth dimension, his willpower would bepletely diminished within a few picoseconds. Even if he were to only maintain about three clones, he would not be able to maintain his willpower for even ten seconds in an actual battle, and without his willpower, he was like a sitting duck.


    Fortunately, Luo Yuan¡¯s potential had been steadily growing even more powerful as time passed.


    The four-dimensionalization this time around was different from the others. It was as if it was a breakthrough. Simr to the few asions before, he would require some time to engage in a sort of umtion of power before an event would ur.


    However, after thest four-dimensionalization, his dimensional ascension was already at mid-point so the energy changes seemed to have led to physical changes. Luo Yuan discovered that during this period, he was inching closer to the fourth dimension all the time.


    a month ago, he was only about 50 percent into the fourth dimension but in only about a month or so, he had already reached 50.1 percent. His height grew from two and a half meters to three meters, and his willpower had also acquired some sort of ability to enhance itself from this event, without which he would not be able to maintain three separate bodies that easily.


    ...


    Time passed in the blink of an eye, and it had been thirty years since Luo Yuan disappeared.


    With confrontationsting almost hundreds of years along with hundreds of probes and provocations, the human and Baja Civilization had finally dered war on each other. Each civilization sent hundreds of warfleets to engage in intensebat with each other. At the region around the Sr System,y countless scraps of the warfleets and the ice cold carcasses of warriors and soldiers within the cold starry sky about ten light years away.


    With a warfleet ten times the size of the human warfleet, the Baja Civilization began to attack the human¡¯s mining situated at the outer star sector. This limited the countermeasures the humans could take so their early advantage during the early stages of the war had diminished quickly.


    Until this point, human technology had gradually be more advanced than the Baja Civilization. After obtaining an advanced warfleet and a firepower that grew ever more precise and urate, the Baja Civilization that was still in the era of the Interster Cannon truly had a taste of the disparity between their civilizations.


    Even in the early days, the exchange ratio between the two sides in the war was ten to one. Amidst the war, this exchange ratio reached a staggering fifty to one. Whenever the humans lost a vessel in their warfleet, the Baja Civilization would lose fifty.


    Furthermore, after the human utilized eight vessels of the seemingly invincible White Dwarf Warfleet, the Baja Civilization¡¯s warfleet finally experienced a small copse.


    This warfleet waspletely indestructible. Even when the Baja Civilization utilized their most powerful cannon to shoot at them, it would only send out a sh of white light. They had organized more than once and used arge number of vessels to ram against them for physical damage, kamikaze style. However, the vessels exploded before they even reached their target.


    When the war reached the end, it waspletely one-sided. At the same time, the humans had begun their counterattacks, causing the sparks of war to gradually spread to areas around the Baja. After struggling to support itself for a dozen years or so, the Baja Civilization finally threatened to destroy the outers of the humans and requested a ceasefire.


    Against this kind of threat, the humans had to carefully make their considerations.


    The Baja Civilization was on the verge of copse. Nevertheless, they were still in possession of a warfleet with three hundred thousand vessels. If they were to split up and escape toward their own home, there would surely be a small part of them which would manage to escape and attempt to begin the destruction of the outer humans.


    Thoses were not ornaments in the sky but were resources that contributed to the development and expansion of the human civilization. If an outer human was destroyed, the expansion that the humans envisioned would also be greatly affected.


    After negotiations thatsted a year, it ended with the conditional surrender of the Baja Civilization. That had ended the interster warfare thatsted for about sixty years.


    The humans had obtained all Baja Civilization technology along with their archives and eighty billion tons of anti-matter in a two hundred year installment.


    This number was equivalent to the amount that a Dyson Sphere could provide in about eight hundred years of operation. It was an astronomical amount which resulted in about four-fifths of the annual production of the Baja Civilization to bepensated to the humans.


    At the same time, this war had resulted in the human solidifying their position as the overlord of the Orion Cantilever Sector in the Milky Way.

 Chapter 591: The Era of Humans ( I )

    Chapter 591: The Era of Humans ( I )


    Trantor: EndlessFantasy Trantion Editor: EndlessFantasy Trantion


    In a lively within the Silver Cross Cantilever...


    The dawn of technology had long pierced through the prolonged darkness, and the civilization on this had entered a high-speed developmental phase. Within the period of a hundred years, they went from man and animal powered to mechanical-powered equipment. From the era of cold steel to the era of thermal weaponry, what followed after this was terrifying wars that went from one to the another.


    Within a hundred years, all of the countries on the were either already at war or were currently preparing for one.


    Ever since the second world war, peace had onlysted for about twenty years before both east and west alliances went to war with each other once more. Cities were reduced to rubble, and farms were burned to ashes resulting in countless civilians and soldiers losing their lives, especially during the second year into the war. With both the east and west alliances having gradually begun researching and manufacturing nuclear weaponry, a horrifying nuclear warfare soon arrived.


    The war onlysted for three years but number of dead individuals within their civilization had reached over 500 million. The number was about an eighth of their total poption. Every month, there would be a number of nuclear bombs dropping throughout their, causing fiery lights that seemed as if they were from hell to burst out everywhere.


    The war gradually became an unprecedented massacre. None emerged as the victor of the war and yet the war continued. Both major alliances hadmitted too much in this war for either of them to back down. After all, no one would want to take the initiative and show their weakness. Doing something like this would put them at a risk of losing everything ¡ª just like two strong men stabbing each other with a knife and waiting to see who would die first.


    ording to a standard progress development, this world war would still be able to continue for another few months to half a year until either sidepletely copsed.


    However, a message that originated from an extraterrestrial civilization sped up the arrival of peace. Everyone began panicking and the war could no longer be continued.


    The frontline soldiers were very quickly withdrawn, and at the same the leaders from every country had also begun to rx as they met with each other to exchange thoughts. If the message proved to be authentic, it would mean that they wouldpletely lose their home. Compared to a war for the supremacy of the, none doubted that this was both absurd and ironic at the same time.


    This was a famous demolition notice from an extraterrestrial civilization:


    "To the respected citizens of the positioned at CA80800087.


    We regret to inform you that, the that you¡¯re all residing is positioned on the Intergctic Highway and has been deemed by the Human Supreme Academy of Science, as a potential interference to the operation of the Intergctic Gateway. In order to ensure regr operation of the Intergctic Highway, which would improve the entire gxy¡¯s traffic condition, through the official authorization of the Government of the Human Empire, our department has decided to destroy your star system.


    As for the citizens of the CA80800087, we¡¯ve entrusted you to a third party, which is the nearby Ryder Civilization, to assist them with moving to the CA80800134 star system located about a hundred light-years away in five years. There¡¯ll be payments of a certain degree ofpensation, and if there were any inconvenience brought to anyone, please excuse us.


    Notice is hereby given


    The Demolition Department of the Hope City Stargate Construction Engineering Corporation of the Human Empire.


    Year 4335, July 21st ¡ª Human Era"


    The content of the message had cast a chill onto people¡¯s spine, causing them to shiver in the absence of cold; it was absolutely absurd. However, this was definitely not some individual or some sort of peace organization¡¯s prank. It was because this message had directly appeared in everyone¡¯s mind, where billions of individuals had received it at the same time in the entirety of their civilization. An extra-terrestrial civilization that could achieve such a feat would naturally also possess the means to annihte them.


    Since they still did not have the means to leave their home, they were considered a backward civilization. Facing such a behemoth of a civilization loitering within the nebs and even preparing to construct an Intergctic Highway, they were as weak as an ant. No one could muster any thought of rebellion against such an advanced civilization, and all they could do was ept their fate.


    However, the appearance of the extra-terrestrials had caused the entire¡¯s residents, no matter their country of origin or their political view, to feel the same survival crisis for the first time. Under this kind of stress, the differences they had were quickly cast aside, and after countless sessions of negotiations and agreeing to the terms, this¡¯s civilization had finally unified as one after the war three yearster.


    ...


    Five yearster, a huge fleet had arrived as expected, oppressing the entire gxy.


    "O great ones who hails from an all-powerful civilization. We ¡ª those of us who are lowly and backward are highly grateful to you, who havee to aid us. We can only see an inch away but have never known that this gxy had such an abundance of civilization. We¡¯ve also never heard of such a mighty and righteous civilization such as the Ryder Civilization. Ever since we received the message from the Human Empire, we¡¯ve been restless; worried about the future of our civilization but we were eager to know the information regarding the star sector and also what the human civilization was? O great ones, could you gave us some answer to the question of the lowly and backward us." The first leader of the civilization had a grand reception to the government officials of the Ryder Civilization and asked in a shuddering manner at the banquet.


    The government official of the Ryder Civilization proudly took a nce at him, and then nced at the mountain of gold gifted by the savage civilization as he coldly replied, "I know what your civilization seeks. In fact, all of you have no need to worry as the universe is indescribably vast, and most of the star systems are unable to produce life. To a civilization like us, we would not be worried about the limited resources for development and expansion of our civilization in the foreseeable future. All in all, this gxy is a peaceful one only if no two parties are too close to each other. Besides, no civilization would wage war against a backward civilization such as yours!


    "As for the Human Empire!" When it came to this, his face suddenly became dignified, and he subconsciously spoke in a deep tone, "The truth about this powerful civilization... Even we only know so much, the mystery surrounding this civilization is unprecedented. In this asion where we would aid you in your move, we¡¯ve also received a simr message from them!"


    "How is that possible? Your civilization is so high and mighty! How¡¯re there any civilizations that exist that could secretly send a message into your brain?" the head of the civilization said while forgetting his manners. Based on the information from their conversation, they were a civilization which came from a star sector about three thousand light years away but it only took them ten years to reach their. This would mean that their warfleets were moving at a speed of at least three hundred times the speed of light. It was as if a fantasy hade straight out of a legend and yet, the almighty Ryder Civilization was almost as weak and helpless as them against this mysterious Human Empire.


    "All of these are facts! Perhaps, you and I are basically the same against this mysterious Human Empire." Perhaps, they were in each other¡¯s shoes as the Ryder government officials looked at the head of the backward civilization. He sighed as he shook his head and said, "Based on their civilization¡¯s actions, we can theorize that this may be the Milky Way Gxy¡¯s most powerful civilization, a Super Civilization!"


    After all, the humans would soon be building an Intergctic Highway in order to shrink the scale of the gxy. This was not just to improve the traffic of the gxy. It was also a doorway to warn every other civilization. Such a feat was impossible to a civilization that was unable to suppress the entire gxy.

 Chapter 592: The Era of Humans ( II )

    Chapter 592: The Era of Humans ( II )


    Trantor: EndlessFantasy Trantion Editor: EndlessFantasy Trantion


    The message regarding the human construction of the Intergctic Highway had been broadcasted through the quantum high-dimensional telepathic range at tens of thousands of times the speed of light, spreading the news to every powerful civilization within the gxy. Countless civilizations were shocked by the urrence!


    After the mysterious disappearance of the previous gctic overlord about two thousand years ago, a new overlord of the gxy had finally emerged. Surprisingly, it did note from any civilization from the Silver Heart Zone... The civilization that aplished it was an extremely mysterious and unfamiliar one.


    The Silver Heart Zone contained about half of thes within the gxy. That area was the one that gave birth to most of the civilizations, and the interaction between them was much moremon and close, which in turn caused a higher frequency of wars waged between each other. If the Silver Heart Zone was a city, then the other areas within the gxy would be the wilderness.


    The existence of the Pangurian Civilization was like a great beast suppressing all the civilizations found within the Silver Heart Zone, deeply affecting and regting the rules andws within the area.


    Among the tall mountains and small hills, the Pangurian civilization was considered to be extremely powerful. As the transcendental crane that stood amongst the rest, they had firmly taken the position of being the overlord by surpassing all other civilizations tens of millions of years ago.


    All the remaining civilizations had gotten used to the existence of this overlord. Naturally, after securing their position as a powerful and almighty overlord, no other civilization could have expected that their overlord status to be taken away by someone else.


    In fact, during these tens of millions of years, there was not a single civilization that challenged the Pangurians for their position as the overlord of the star sector. In the long history, including the Silver Heart Zone and other star sectors, a total of twelve quasi-super civilizations had ever been born; only those civilizations were gradually able to be a threat to the Pangurians. From those civilizations, some of them made a fuss about it at their resident star systems while others kept quiet and continued their development as they continued expanding. However, if any of those civilizations were to show any signs that threatened the status of the Pangurian civilization as the overlord of the star sector, the Pangurian civilization would in turnpletely annihte them.


    Thus far, there was not even a single civilization that resembled that of the humans¡¯.


    No!


    It was not that they were that different inparison to any of the other quasi-super civilizations; the humans had already dered war against the Pangurian civilization.


    The human¡¯s message was like a loud explosion on a field, thundering across countless civilizations!


    Everyone remained quiet while awaiting the Pangurian civilization¡¯s reaction and response, and quite a few of them expected that a war which would decide the gxy¡¯s overlord status would be unavoidable.


    However, a full dozen years had passed and the Pangurians seemed to have disappeared. The entire gxy remained still, as if all of the civilizations had ceased to exist.


    Some of the powerful ancient civilizations were finally vaguely aware of something.


    They immediately looked at these past few thousands years and studied all of the cosmic-level disaster cases within the Silver Heart Zone.


    Since the previous incident where the Pangurians had revealed their location two thousand years ago, a total of twenty-eight huge disasters had urred in the entire Silver Heart Zone.


    Twenty-seven of those huge disasters were supernova explosions during a cosmic storm, and one of them was an intense pulse from the collision between neutron stars. These disasters had destroyed dozens of civilizations near the edge of the star sector.


    Furthermore, the star particle density at the Silver Heart Zone was much higher than the outer rim of the Milky Way gxy, since most of the areas there were made of nebs and countlesss that huddled together. It was a rare urrence for a cosmic-level disaster to ur at the edge of the gxy but within the Silver Heart Zone, it was a verymon event. Quite a few of those habitables had hosted civilizations that were the very first ones to flourish. After having been through a few dozen recements, a new civilization would arise from the one that had been destroyed every time.


    Omitting the natural urrence of cosmic-level disasters, a backward civilization would consider these disasters to be extinction-level events. However, once that civilization had obtained curvature flight technology and hyper light speed detection technology, they couldpletely avoid the disaster before it even urred, not to mention that the overlord of the Gxy, the Pangurian Civilization was also present.


    What made things so interesting was when a ck hole had copsed about 2,200 years ago, causing a mass of about three thousand stars to get poured into the gxy. This caused the area within hundreds of light years in radius to be a void empty space; even if two thousand years had passed, the area was still only made up of nebs that emitted hazy red lights.


    The powerful gravitational force that was created when the ck hole had copsed, had caused the fall of a nearby powerful civilization.


    After searching through ancient history regarding that ck hole, its mysteries gradually emerged.


    First of all, the ck hole was still particrly young and had appeared more than a million years ago within the area of influence of the original Pangurian civilization. After it came into existence, the spatial dimension of the universe would slightly shrink by a little every once in a while. What followed afterward was that the disappearance of the Pangurians civilization from the gxy, including all thes within their area of influence.


    Quite a few of those ancient records had theorized that the Pangurians had constructed an isted dimensional universe and the entire civilization had moved into that isted dimension, a dimension higher than that of the three dimensional universe. However, there was nothing to justify this theory.


    Moreover, the millions of years gradually covered this up. Apart from noting that the ck hole had actually left its original position, the Pangurian civilization¡¯s actual location still remained a mystery.


    Secondly, its mass and the gravitational pull that it created were extremely inconsistent with each other. The gravitational pull totaled that of a hundreds... but the mass it spewed out when it exploded weighed up to a few thousands, this urrence had totally overturned the general understanding of how things functioned.


    Finally, its position was constantly changing and its flight track was impossible to be calcted. Other than the gravitational force originating from the Silver Heart Zone and other simr disruption forces, there was not much to be noted. However, before its copse, the ck hole¡¯s position was already quite far from the area of influence of the Pangurian civilization and was much closer to the Silver Heart Zone.


    Much of these signs were pointing to a single clue, that the Pangurian civilization¡¯s existing location crossed path with that ck hole.


    However, no civilization could discover why this ck hole had copsed so suddenly. About a few thousands of years ago, before the ck hole copsed, it never sucked in an abundance of materials or particles. Its gravitational pull had also never even increased or decreased.


    Its copse was seemingly caused by an external influence that other civilizations were unable to detect.


    ...


    A dozen yearster, somewhere in the Silver Heart Zone, there was a sudden and intense ripple-like effect that shocked the dimensions. The next moment, a neutron star warfleet shrouded with a powerful binding field emerged out of thin air.


    Very quickly, the quantum high-dimensional telepathic range broadcasted a message to all of the civilizations in the star system, notifying them regarding the arrival of the humans.


    "The construction project of the Intergctic Highway will soonmence in this area, in order the smooth progression of the construction, a radius of ten light years away will officially be prohibited. The estimated time ofpletion would be a year, if there are any inconveniences that are brought upon any friendly civilization, please excuse us.


    The Construction Department of The Hope City Stargate Construction Engineering Corporation of the Human Empire."


    The quantum high-dimensional telepathic range broadcasted at intervals of once a day, for fifteen earth-days. When the fifteen earth-days had passed, the neutron star vessel suddenly fired and maintained thousands of energy rays. Once these energy rays had been fired, it leaped into the fourth dimension.


    Once they were detected by the spatial wavelength detector and aimed at by the space probe, the very next moment would see all the civilizations in the surrounding area would be vaporized by the energy ray that had dimensionally descended from the fourth dimension regardless if it was intentional or unintentional, powerful or weak. After vaporizing their primary target, the energy rays went right through them and continued their journey at light speed, even shooting through a few unlucky habitables that were in its trajectory. This caused severals to explode, leading to countless lives instantly being lost as coteral damage.


    This was an act of deterrence from the new overlord of the gxy. At that moment, all the civilizations secretly admitted that they would not stand a chance against this new overlord.

 Chapter 593: The Finale

    Chapter 593: The Finale


    Trantor: EndlessFantasy Trantion Editor: EndlessFantasy Trantion


    Earth, Sr System.


    Somewhere within a forest park at the center of Hope City, an ancient tree stood tall, dark, and quiet. Quite a few tourists were slowly walking along the forest trails in search of hidden secrets, and asionally initiated small talks with each other.


    Concurrently, in a remote location of the forest, a mysterious flight objectnded. A humanoid figure instantly materialized out of thin air followed by a huge amount of dirt that vaporized where the figure stood.


    After moving his body briefly and looking around the environment with a cold-eyed stare; he quickly walked on the trails of the forest.


    A couple was flirting with each other in a low voice but when they lifted up their head they were suddenly met with another person. They quickly smiled and apologized for their carelessness but that person did not even look at the both of them as he walked away.


    The prettydy immediately said, "That person is extremely rude!"


    After not getting any response from her partner, and she asked as he frowned, "What¡¯s wrong? Don¡¯t tell me you¡¯re thinking about work right now? You don¡¯t always get a rest day, can¡¯t you just sit back and rx?"


    "No! This isn¡¯t about my work, don¡¯t you feel that the person just now looked awfully familiar?" the young man regained himself and replied.


    "Eh, now that you mention it, he does look somewhat familiar..." that prettydy replied in shock, "I definitely saw that face somewhere before!"


    At this moment, both of them looked at each other in the eye in surprise and yelled.


    "President Luo!"


    "Quick, search the!"


    With curiosity in mind, both of them logged into the inte and very quickly found a picture of President Luo. Unfortunately, what they found was not a picture of President Luo but were portraits and sculptures of his.


    "He¡¯s only a 60 to 70 percent lookalike, President Luo¡¯s forehead was much wider. He had the quality of a leader. Look at this artwork where President Luo led the desperate humans to rebuild their civilization. Only the quality of both individuals is big enough of a difference. Looking like this, he would definitely taint the namesake of President Luo," thedy said in disdain.


    ...


    The mysterious person went through a space-folding door and walked into the park. He then looked into the capital district and finally, a different shade could be seen in his eyes.


    The entire capital district¡¯s dimension had been stretched and extended indefinitely. Just the surface area of the capital district alone had already exceeded the surface area of earth. With the vast adoption of the spatial folding technique, standardmuting methods had bepletely obsolete.


    At the same time, a dark energy harvesting technique had reced low-efficient nuclear fusion.


    He could vividly feel the entire city¡¯s exceedingly high amount of energy expenditure at each and every passing moment, causing him to feel that he was not standing on the surface of the he once knew, but on the sun¡¯s core.


    However, as someone who had managed to assault the home-base of the Pangurians, all these only sparked a little of his attention.


    Compared to the Pangurians who relocated their entire civilization into the fourth dimension and also managed toplete a four-dimensional warfleet, the earth was not too far behind. Ever since the humans took hold of Pangurian technology, the giant gap between the both civilizations¡¯ technological differences grew within only about two thousand years but yet, it was still not something that could be closed in such a small time frame.


    Even so, it was more than enough to look down upon the entire gxy.


    While this mysterious person scouted the human capital city, who would have guessed that at that moment, a number of three-meter-tall armored police robots with glowing red eyes would suddenly descend from the air and encircled this mysterious person.


    "Warning! Warning! Intruder, drop your guard! You¡¯re are under arrest!"


    The nearby pedestrians quickly evacuated in every direction after witnessing the situation.


    They were a silvery white robot that did not have any gaps or defects. Even on their articr joints, the robots were seamless. However, they were definitely not made of liquid metal but instead, a form of high-tensile critical metal with dark energy supplying it with immense power. This metal had hardness thousands of times tougher than a diamond¡¯s but it could still move its joints in a natural way.


    Without a question, that mysterious person was Luo Yuan. To be precise, he was Luo Yuan¡¯s insignificant clone. Compared to his true self that hadpletely entered the fourth dimension, this clone¡¯s body was just that of a normal human being¡¯s. With an average human¡¯s brain, the only difference was that the clone¡¯s willpower was slightly more powerful than that of an average human.


    Even he himself did not expect that he would be discovered almost right away after arriving.


    However, after he gave himself a little thought, it was obvious.


    As the human¡¯s home base, it was natural to have an extreme amount of surveince along with detection facilities for of all sorts of dimensional and energy changes.


    When he arrived, it seemed that there was not much activity since there was a limited range he affected when he arrived. However, just like an insect that had been caught by a spider web or a droplet that fell into a calmke, all of these would easily set off a chain reaction. Those reactions were more than enough to allow a sensitive detection system to detect them if something went wrong.


    Also, with the omnipresence of the A.I. surveince system, a mysterious intruder like him, would naturally have nowhere to hide once he was screened by the system.


    "Warning! Warning! Intruder, drop your guard! You¡¯re under arrest!" The amount of robot police that descended increased as time passed, and had slowly surrounded him.


    After witnessing that the activity in the area bing overbearing, Luo Yuan could not help himself but sigh before he quickly raised his hands.


    With his power, he could easily resolve this trouble he was facing, not to mention his true self in the fourth dimension... Even if he held back and only used a trillionth of his power, it would still be more than enough to instantly rearrange the entire city¡¯s A.I. surveince system records along with everyone¡¯s memory.


    However, the radiation brought by a dimensional descent would also cause the death of arge number of bystanders.


    ...


    "Which civilization are you from?"


    Outside of the quarantine room that could withstand the st of a nuclear bomb, a few high-level officers from the police department had looked into the intruder. All of them had grim looks on their faces; this event had shaken the higher ups. As the overlord of the gxy, the earth had actually been invaded by a mysterious figure! This news was preposterous, and it was crucial for them to find the truth.


    "Human..." Luo Yuan sat within the quarantine room and replied calmly.


    "Be honest with me, no need to resist us. Although your disguise is extremely good, we¡¯ve already found the clues, there¡¯s nothing we can¡¯t do within this gxy even if you had the body of a human."


    Luo Yuan maintained his poker face.


    That police continued his intimidation and asked, "Name?"


    "Luo Yuan!"


    "Shut Up!"


    "Damn!"


    "You dare to mock President Luo? Let me make this clear for you, that is an act of war with the humans!"


    ...


    A few of the higher-ups in the police department instantly got angry even if there was not much anger within their heart. This was mainly for political correctness as they had to be united against the enemy.


    Currently, the image of Luo Yuan had long been engraved in the minds of humans as a legend. From pre-school to primary school, from primary to lower-secondary school, and from lower-secondary to upper-secondary school, everyone grew up with the legacy and story of Luo Yuan.


    It was obvious from some statistics along these two thousand years that the Human Empire made about five thousand movies where Luo Yuan was the main protagonist. This tranted to roughly two movies every year.


    As for the portrait of Luo Yuan, a whopping 100 million units were dispersed to every government administrative department, scientific research institution, academic institution, and various museums.


    His sculptures numbered more than a million. Basically, there would be more than one Luo Yuan sculpture within every city.


    With that kind of terrifying influence, mocking Luo Yuan was as if you were taunting the entire Human Empire.


    ...


    In the morning of the second day, within the office of the Human Empire¡¯s President Luo Yaozu, a phone call from the police department suddenly came.


    "What! Disappeared?"


    "How do you people do such a thing?"


    "Search the grounds again! Give me a full-scale search again!"


    ...


    Luo Yaozu mmed the phone down in anger, and then swiftly made a few phone calls to the military. The humans had already begun their control of the entire gxy, not to mention their home base ¡ª the Sr System. He could not believe that there was actually a living being that could do whatever he pleased.


    ¡¯Did he think that this was a public toilet?¡¯


    Luo Yaozu sat for a while and calmed his head before he opened the video of the mysterious man. As he watched, his face gradually be grim since this intruder managed to outsmart the extreme surveince of the humans and disappear. The only thing left within the quarantine room was a mass with a jumbled quantum state.


    Luo Yaozu paid no mind to the life or death of the intruder. After all, he was more worried about the civilization behind him, if every individual was just like that intruder, he was afraid that the humans would finally meet their rival. Even if their technology was weaker than that of the humans, they would be extremely difficult to deal with that ability alone.


    He repeatedly watched the video multiple times and discovered that this intruder had remained calm while donning a poker face throughout the entire process. Not even a single emotion could be seen on his face. This caused Luo Yaozu to feel as if that person was not imprisoned, but was instead more like some sort of transcendental object that was overlooking all beings like a god ¡ª omnipresent and independent!


    That expression...


    Those features...


    Suddenly, Luo Yaozu noticed something. He locked his sight onto the intruder to look carefully, and immediately, a shiver went down his spine, reverberating throughout his body.


    His brain subconsciously brought up a section of thest night¡¯s interrogation video.


    "Which civilization are you from?"


    "Human!"


    "Name?"


    "Luo Yuan!"


    The first time he heard that reply, there was anger all over his face.


    However, there was currently a slight shiver overwhelming his body that even his scalp was somewhat numb from the chill.


    "This..."


    "This... This is impossible!"


    He quickly stood up and immediately searched his family collection for an ancient video clip. It was a video of a three-person family going for an outing at an ancient virtual reality world.


    A male figure, that looked exactly like the one in the interrogation video, could be distinguished in it. He carried a faint smile as he looked at a little boy that was politely and respectfully delivering food to him.


    That little boy was no other than Luo Yaozu¡¯s second generation ancestor!


    While this man... What was the origin of his surname...


    "Great...Great ancestor!" He could not help himself as he shouted. He then proceeded to p his cheeks with all his might while donning a look of death on his face.


    Even in his craziest dreams, he would have never thought that there would be one day where he would lock his ancestor up!


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